Work Text:
“I’m sorry I can’t be there,” Caitlyn says and her voice is sad.
“I get it. Work. I just miss you,” Vi says, pulling the phone closer and rolling onto her side as if that would somehow, maybe, make her feel a bit closer to Caitlyn.
“I miss you, too.”
Cailtyn’s voice is soothing and quiet, a little distracted as she cooks dinner. Vi listens, somewhat content, to the ambient sounds of a whisk in a bowl and running water. They don’t have to say much, just listen to each other and be there.
“You’re going to see Vander tomorrow, right?” Caitlyn asked a few moments later. “I know he misses you.”
“Yep. And then Jinx gets back from school next week and she’ll be here through winter break.”
“Mm, that’ll be so nice. Don’t forget to bring her my present.”
“I won’t.”
Caitlyn starts to talk about the work conference she has the next week and Vi listens intently, asking questions about coworkers and a client Caitlyn had been having some trouble with. Outside, snow begins to fall, soft and shining in the light from the streetlamps. Vi watches it, mesmerized for a moment, a lump growing in her throat as she listens to Caitlyn talk. Damn it if Vi doesn’t miss Caitlyn more than she’s ever missed anyone before in her life.
“Anyway, I should let you go. I know you’ve got a late shift tonight,” Caitlyn says, breaking her out of her thoughts.
“How about you come visit me at work?” Vi asks, sitting up and looking at her pathetically small tree with the drooping branches. Caitlyn would have been able to make it look right.
“Oh, Vi, you know I would if I could,” Caitlyn says, her voice regretful. “I’d be there your whole shift, the grumpy lawyer with the perpetually furrowed brow that scares off all the pretty girls who want to flirt with you.”
Vi snorts. “No girls flirt with me.”
“Please,” Caitlyn scoffs. “We both know that’s not true.”
“You know I’d never do anything, don’t you?” Vi asks. She already knows the answer, wants to reassure Caitlyn anyway.
“Of course I do.”
Vi sighs and drops her head. “Alright. You’re right. I should go get ready.”
“Text me when you get off,” Caitlyn says. “I love you.”
“Love you too.”
***
Vi decorates her tree on a video call with Caitlyn who looks radiant even with the bad connection, her blue hair twisted around one finger as she looks thoughtfully at the scraggly boughs.
“I mean, the lights help,” she offers.
Vi laughs. “It’s okay, you don’t have to comfort me. I’m just no good at picking trees without you.”
“I like it. It’s very Peanuts of you.”
Vi grins and holds up an ornament. “Remember this one?”
Cailtyn rolls her eyes but smiles back. “Of course I do. I couldn’t talk you out of it.”
“It’s funny,” Vi insists, hanging it on the tree.
The hairy white beast with a smaller creature on his back grimaces back at her from its place, Season’s Greasons beneath the clay figures in bright red lettering.
“Don’t pretend you don’t miss it,” Vi says, pointing at the camera. “Your tree might be fancy like a magazine but nothing beats Season’s Greasons and you know it.”
Caitlyn is quiet for a moment too long and Vi looks at her, really looks at her, and sees Caitlyn quickly wiping at her cheeks, her face turned away a little.
“Cait, are you okay?”
Caitlyn lets out a shaky laugh and nods. “Sorry. I just miss this so much. I miss you so much.”
Vi sets down the ornaments she was holding and moves to sit on the couch, taking her phone with her. “Hey, it’s okay. We’ll be together for Christmas again next year, right?”
“Yes, I know.” Caitlyn pushes a breath out between her lips, blowing a raspberry, her eyes still bright with tears. “It's so silly. It’s just one year.”
“Exactly. Now help me figure out where to put the rest of these.”
It’s not until later that night, in the deep, dark quiet of her room, that Vi lets her own tears come.
***
“Jinx is driving me crazy,” Vi complains into the phone, pushing a hand into her hair. “She keeps asking me to find her a fake ID.”
Caitlyn laughs on the other end of the line. “You know how you were at that age. Give her a break.”
“I’m gonna give her something if she doesn’t knock it off. Are you sure you can’t make it for Christmas?”
“I wish I could but at this point, flights are going to be a nightmare, you know? And I’d only be able to make it for a couple of days.”
Vi closes her eyes and rubs them. “I know, I know. I’m sorry. I’m not trying to be an ass about it.”
“I promise, I’ll make it up to you.”
***
Vi wraps Caitlyn’s gifts, cursing herself for forgetting to post them before now. They won’t make it in time for Christmas, but at least Caitlyn will have something to look forward to after the holidays.
“Vander, do we have any more tape?” she calls.
“In the hall closet,” comes his rumbling reply from down the hall.
She’s face first in the closet, digging through a shelf of random office supplies, when Vander walks by with a chuckle.
“It’s right here,” he says, reaching over her head to pluck it from a corner, hidden by a box of super glue (Who needs an entire box?) and holds it out when she extracts herself.
“Thanks,” Vi says sheepishly, taking the roll from his hand and starting to pick the end loose.
“Think they’ll make it in time?” Vander asks as he follows her to the spare room and watches her take her place on the floor again, surrounded by scraps of wrapping paper and the couple unwrapped things she has left.
“I hope so.”
“Maybe you could just hold onto them until she comes after the New Year. Then you can be with her while she unwraps them,” he offers.
Vi looks at him, eyebrows scrunched up. “What will she open on Christmas?”
“I’m sure her parents have sent her some gifts, Vi.” Vander shifts, leaning against the door frame. “I just think you’d enjoy being together while she sees what you bought her.”
Vi pauses, smooths a piece of tape down on the wrapping paper and thinks. “Nah. We can just get on a video call or something.”
“Fair enough, kid,” Vander says. He watches her quietly for a few more moments before speaking again. “You really miss her, don’t you.”
“Every day,” Vi says, nodding, her eyes still on the package she’s wrapping. She blinks back the tears that always well up when she thinks about missing Caitlyn a little too hard. “It’s cool though. I’m glad she got this opportunity.”
Every time she talks about Caitlyn, Vi hopes she can convince herself to miss her a little less. It never really works.
***
Vi goes to her work’s Christmas party and wears a horrifically ugly sweater and makes everyone laugh and drinks far too much of the punch someone whipped up.
There’s mistletoe hanging from the rafters of the small pub and one of her co-worker’s younger sister tries to drunkenly corner Vi underneath it after making heart eyes at her all evening. Vi gently turns her down with a “I have a girlfriend and yes she’d find out and no I do not want to cheat on her, but thank you for thinking of me” before steering her back towards her brother.
It’s fun and it’s light hearted and the whole time she thinks about Caitlyn. Caitlyn who is eyeballs deep in her case and couldn’t get a flight home in time. Caitlyn who is alone on the other side of the country, lonely which Vi knows because Caitlyn told her as much. Caitlyn with her beautiful blue eyes and long legs and sweet smile.
The night winds down and Vi holes up in a corner and watches the revelry and listens to the music that usually makes her smile but this year just makes her feel a touch sadder than normal as she nurses her drink. Vi texts with Caitlyn until Caitlyn has to go and then she calls it, waving goodbye to her coworkers to stumble outside and wait for a ride.
The cab driver is blessedly quiet and his radio silent as he drives her through the city back to her apartment and Vi leans her head against the cold glass as she watches the blur of buildings slip by and tries not to think. She’s glad she left her tree lit, the glow of the lights oddly comforting as she climbs into bed, wishing she wasn’t so alone.
***
The Kiramman’s annual Christmas party is in full swing by the time Vi, Vander, and Jinx show up. Jinx has been waxing eloquent about the evils of classism for the last hour and Vi is ready to throttle her as they walk up the steps to their mansion.
“The Kirammans are nice. Just… go find yourself a drink or something,” Vi hisses.
Vander claps a hand on her shoulder and shakes his head, smiling. “I’ll take care of this one. You go have a good time.”
It’s swanky, one of those parties where waitstaff carries around silver trays full of flutes of champagne or small finger foods, and Vi takes a glass of the sparkling drink with an apologetic smile as she wanders. She finds Cassandra and Tobias in one of the rooms near the entryway, sipping drinks and speaking with some friends.
“Thanks for inviting us,” Vi says and she means it. “It was really nice of you.”
Tobias pulls her into a warm hug which she returns with one arm and Cassandra gives her a less tight than normal smile, which Vi takes as a huge win.
“We’re glad you could come,” Tobias says.
Vi wanders the party some more and says hi to a few of Caitlyn’s friends she’s met before finding Jayce and Viktor and hiding out with them in one of the studies. It’s quieter in here. They sit and talk together and Jayce brushes Viktor’s hair away from his forehead tenderly and it makes Vi’s heart clench a little.
The party continues and Vi tries to have fun but eventually leaves the two of them to walk aimlessly around the party. She ends up climbing the stairs to find Caitlyn’s old bedroom. She explores, looking at Caitlyn’s equestrian medals and the pictures she stuck into the edges of her vanity mirror and picks up an old bottle of perfume and sniffs it and it just makes her miss Caitlyn more. For a minute, she considers taking it, but decides that’s a little weird and probably rude and puts it back down in its place.
She moves to sit on the edge of Caitlyn’s bed and she turns the champagne glass in her hands and watches the bubbles dance. The door opens then, startling her, and she stands quickly as if she’s been caught doing something untoward as it swings wide.
Then she stares at the intruder who is staring right back, her blue eyes big with shock and a distracted smile on her face.
“Caitlyn?” Vi asks, blinking a little as if she’s hallucinating. “What the fuck are you doing here?”
Caitlyn doesn’t answer, just steps through the space between them and pulls Vi into her arms.
Vi hugs her back as tears fill her eyes and she buries her face against Caitlyn’s neck, breathing her in. She holds her so tight she’s sure Caitlyn will protest but she only feels Caitlyn’s arms tighten around her.
“I’m sorry I’m late,” Caitlyn murmurs. “Couldn’t get a cab from the airport.”
Vi just shakes her head. “Shut up,” she laughs tearfully, muffled by Caitlyn’s coat.
Caitlyn leans back enough to find Vi’s cheek with her lips, then her mouth, and kisses her softly and deeply. Vi’s heart thunders in her chest and she blindly reaches behind Caitlyn to set her glass on the vanity. Then she slides her hands into Caitlyn’s hair and holds her there, anchored together, as they kiss. Outside of this room there’s nothing that matters, not Christmas music or champagne or gifts or anything. Caitlyn is here and everything feels a bit more right in the world.