Work Text:
Caitlyn pulled the hood of the cloak and her bag even tighter around herself. Roaming around the streets of Zaun at night was no longer a foreign thing to her but Vi wasn't with her this time. Without her other half constantly at her side, she couldn't help but feel like something was missing. Caitlyn shook her head and continued on her journey, beelining it towards Jericho's stall.
Her poor fiancée had been hit with a nasty fever and the usually tough and healthy brawler had been out of commission for a couple of days now. Vi's temperature had finally gone down enough that Caitlyn felt comfortable leaving her alone in the apartment. She left water and painkillers by the bedside just in case Vi needed it and kissed her partner goodbye. She was sure Vi would love waking up to a hot bowl of Jericho's slop, so that is what she will do …after making a few stops, that is. It was, after all, a rare occurrence for her to come to Zaun without Vi. She needed to take the opportunity while she could.
When she arrived at the stall, there was a few people tucking into Jericho's cooking with gusto. She spotted him animatedly conversing with one of the patrons while chopping up his mystery meat with practiced ease. Caitlyn sidled up on the far end of the counter and waved to get his attention. Seeing her, he immediately finished up his conversation and plopped the diced ingredients into a big pot of stew behind him before leaning towards Caitlyn with a grin.
Jericho gestured and spoke in a foreign tongue. Caitlyn wasn't fluent in the language but context and gestures was enough for her chalked it up to him inquiring about where Vi was.
"She's been sick. High fever."
Jericho nodded and glanced around his stall for a moment before grabbing a few stalks of a chili-like vegetable from under the counter. He placed them in front of Caitlyn and started talking again, motioning for her to crush the vegetables in a mortar and pestle then put the crushed up vegetable close to his nose.
"I see. That can clear up the sinus?"
Jericho gave her a thumbs up.
"Thank you for the tip. It'll certainly help Vi," Caitlyn said while pocketing the vegetables into her bag.
"I'm also here to order two of the usual. Take away. In two separate bags, please." Caitlyn handed him the money and Jericho quickly turned to his chopping board, getting started on her order.
It didn't take long at all for the order to be completed and soon, Caitlyn had two bags of hot food in her possession. She tucked one into her bag and held the other in her hand.
Now that one errant was done, Caitlyn turned on her heel and head to her next task. One down, two more to go. Caitlyn navigated through the main streets and kept a distance from the dark alleyways even though she knew they were shortcuts that could lead her to her destination faster. No, she wasn't on business tonight and she'd rather stick to the more well-lit areas of Zaun.
Along the way, the Undercity seemed to come even more alive in the night and the bars and shops she passed by were full of people winding down after a hard week of work. Through the windows, miners covered in dust and soot can be seen to have hung up their gear and chatted amongst each other with drinks in hand.
Turning right on one of the main streets, Caitlyn was greeted with a flurry of activities. Hawkers yelled out to passersby about their tasty and cheap dishes, random knickknack sellers displayed their ware of that ranged from scavenged electronics and cooking utensils to wallets and clothes to the masses. Caitlyn had stumbled into one of Zaun's night markets and it was in full swing.
While Caitlyn was tempted to stop by one of the stalls, she had a suspicion that she would quickly become the target of scams and theft as soon as a word left her mouth. While she can walk like a trencher nowadays, talking and haggling like one was still an elusive skill to her. Vi had tried to teach her but her Piltover accent was too strong and she sounded ridiculous. So she left the area and followed a path towards the town plaza.
After a few more minutes of walking, she was at a quieter part of town, a small square where Vander's statue is located. There were still people milling about the area but they were all minding their own business, lounging in front of the shops, leaving Caitlyn a moment all to herself.
Caitlyn knelt down in front of the statue, taking out a candle and matchbox. She lit the candle as well as a few others nearby then set it next to the other items left at the memorial. Pictures of loved ones lost to the Zaun-Piltover conflict littered the area at the base of the statue, reminiscent of the one she saw on Zaun's side of the bridge. She took in the statue for a moment. Vander is remembered in Zaun as their peacekeeper, becoming a symbol of resilience and comradery to the city.
Caitlyn said, "I would have loved to meet you. From the stories that Vi told, I think we would've gotten along quite well with each other."
Nothing could be done about it but Caitlyn had feel a slight tinge of sadness that Vi got to ask for her parents blessings to marry her yet Caitlyn couldn't do the same. She spoke a few words of prayer for the dead before standing up and making a quiet exit from the square. Her last and most daunting task lies ahead of her.
Now, instead of moving across the city, Caitlyn started to move upwards. She picked a side of the city that had rooftops that slope up towards the highest points in Zaun, making for a more relaxed climb. As she slowly made her way vertically, she picked up on parents tucking their children into bed and a group of friends celebrating someone's birthday in one of the many buildings. Usually she had to make a mad dash across the area for one reason or another so to really see to the people of Zaun living their lives was sobering.
After about 10 more minutes, she was at one of the tallest points in Zaun. The old tower had various cables and antennae attached to it. At the top, Caitlyn took a second to catch her breath and sat down, taking in the sights of The Undercity of Zaun.
She could feel some anxiety starting to spike up within her but with a few deep breathes, she managed to push it down. She pulled off her hood and closed her eyes, thinking of the reason why she wanted to do this. It only felt right for her to do so.
Caitlyn stood up and took out the flare from her bag. With some hesitance, she pulled the pin and held the flare up. Bright blue smoke erupted into the air, becoming a clear beacon in the dark night sky.
It didn't take long at all.
Merely minutes after, she heard rapid footsteps clambering up to the top level that suddenly halted not too far from her. Caitlyn lowered the still burning flare and through the blue smoke, stepped out a fairly healthy looking Jinx. Slightly thinner than the last time Caitlyn saw her in Stillwater before her escape but her eyes were blue and not… shimmer-like. Caitlyn admits that it was relieving to see that what Vi had told her about Jinx was true with her own eyes.
"What are you doing here?" Jinx's voice broke the silence that settled between them. It wasn't as hostile as it did five years ago when they first met but it was guarded all the same. Confusion was apparent on her face as she was expecting Vi but saw Caitlyn instead.
Caitlyn placed the flare on the ground. Next to it, she put the paper bag filled with Jericho's still-warm food as well as another bag that contained medicine from her rucksack.
"Vi is down with fever right now so I came instead to pass these to you."
Jinx looked at the packages on the ground with an impassive face and sniffed.
"Thanks, I guess."
Caitlyn nodded. Now that her last errant was done, Caitlyn would have to make a quick haste back to get Jericho's food to Vi as soon as possible.
And yet she found herself rooted to the spot.
Jinx noticed this hesitancy and didn't move. She kept most of herself shrouded in the darkness around her.
Caitlyn balled her hand into a fist and shook her head slightly. She had been waiting for this moment for a while now. She needed to do it now or the chance might pass her forever.
"I'm not sure if Vi told you this but she proposed a few weeks ago."
At this, Jinx rolled her eyes and scoffed. She folded her arms to her chest and fully moved into the light of the flare.
"To you? Who would've guessed?"
Caitlyn opened her mouth to say something but found herself not knowing what to say. So she paused and simply said, "Yes."
Jinx started to look more like herself then paced back and forth a few steps.
"It's about time, I'd say. She's been talking about it for months."
Caitlyn drummed her thumb on her thigh and took in the information. Vi never really mentioned what she and Jinx would talk about whenever they meet up every few months to hand off the supplies. Caitlyn didn't want to pry and Vi never said anything so to find out that they had been discussing about the marriage and Caitlyn rather extensively was quite… shocking. She would need more time to process it.
The younger woman stopped her pacing and her lips moved to a more mischievous smile.
"So why are you still here? You wanna ask for my blessing?"
Caitlyn's back straightened at the question and she let her mind ponder the question for a couple of seconds. She then shook her head and said, "No."
It didn't matter to her what Jinx thought and her blessing wasn't something Caitlyn sought out for nor wanted. She and Vi were getting married and that was it. With nothing else to say, Caitlyn pulled her hood back up and adjusted her bag. The warmth of Vi's take out pressed on her back through the bag.
Before she managed to turn and make her way down though, Jinx spoke.
"Hey," Jinx bit on her bottom lip.
"Congratulations."
Caitlyn was taken unaware of what Jinx said and blinked a few times in surprise before quickly composing herself again.
"Thank you."
The two blue haired women looked at each other for a few more seconds before Caitlyn finally fully turned around to make her way down the tower.
She would need some time to think about what had happened tonight but Caitlyn was relieved that nothing untoward happened. She started to break into a quick jog to clear her mind. She can process her feelings and thoughts later but for now, she had to make her way back to the love of her life.