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Battling Sevika’s goons always fired Vi up.
The shimmer charged mercenary in front of her groaned as the knuckles of her glove struck deep into his shoulder, sending flecks of purple splattering against her face. She bared her teeth and punched him again.
Bone crunched, just loud enough to hear around the crack of bullets.
Across the room, Caitlyn spun her gun in her hand, slotting in a fresh set of rounds. Her hair had shaken loose from its ponytail and hung in her face. Even in the dull glow of warehouse lights, she looked like a blood spattered angel.
Vi could not help but trace the curve of her bicep with her eyes as Caitlyn sighted down the barrel.
CRACK!
The mercenary fell back as his arm exploded in a shower of pinkish blood. He roared, seemingly unable to feel the pain, and leapt—
Vi did not have time to worry before Caitlyn swung herself around, letting the man’s momentum carry him straight into the swing of her rifle butt. She seemed to be barely breathing hard—
—Vi’s breath whooshed out of her as one of the lackeys drove his fist into her solar plexus. Her head cracked against the floor, and sparks danced across her eyes. Crap. She did not have the time to be distracted.
Shimmer dripped from his mouth like saliva as he loomed over her. Get up, Vi!
She felt, rather than saw, the trail of the bullet blowing her hair back from her face. She flinched as blood rained down over her, but slowly, he collapsed on top of her.
Vi kicked the body away and groaned. “Thanks for the save, Cupcake.” She popped the casing on her gauntlets to accept Caitlyn’s waiting hand up.
“Are you alright? You’re covered in blood!”
“It’s not mine.” She swiped her thumb over her lip and tried to look nonchalant. It came away red. “Okay, that is mine.”
“I’ll radio Jayce and tell him his prototypes are safe.”
“But what if there’s more?”
“That’s a problem for future Caitlyn and Vi. We’ve been staking out for hours. When was the last time you even had water?”
“Zaunites don’t drink water.” Vi tried to crack a grin, but even she could feel her dry mouth.
“Here.” Caitlyn unhooked her canteen from her belt and offered it.
“Thanks, Cupcake.” Now that her adrenaline was fading, she was starting to feel her bruises. She fumbled for the button on her other gauntlet. “Hey, Jayce?”
“What is it, fat hands?”
“Fuck you.”
Caitlyn pinched the bridge of her nose.
Vi cleared her throat sheepishly. “Your Hex drill prototype had some takers. We’ve been up to our asses in shimmer addicts since before breakfast, but I think we’re between waves. Mind sending someone to cover for us?”
“I’ll send Viktor. He has some tech he wants to try.”
“Thanks, Jayce.” Caitlyn leaned down to speak into the glove. “We’ll call you later.”
“Hoo, I’d hate to be that guy,” Vi muttered. Viktor’s weapons never killed, but the host of paralyzing, stinging, biting, and even once tarring and feathering contraptions were enough to make someone wish they were dead.
“Come on, let’s go home.”
It was strange to think of a place in Piltover as home, but in the weeks after the council building had exploded— After Jinx blew it up, her mind reminded her, unhelpfully— Caitlyn’s manor had been the only place to give her the closest she could get to a warm welcome. She could not go back to Zaun. Not with her sister’s trail gone cold and Sevika in charge of Silco’s old gang. Caitlyn’s parents seemed to tolerate her, at least.
Vi had been staying in one of the Kiramman family’s guest rooms, but Caitlyn marched her straight past it and charted a course for her own bedroom.
She pulled her into the adjoining bathroom and settled her on the golden tile floor, next to the massive claw foot tub.
“Are you taking care of me, Cupcake?” Teasing helped distract her from the feeling that she would someday pay a heavy price for touching such finery.
“Somebody has to.” She set her rifle down carefully, as she did all things, and ran a washcloth under the sink. “You’re filthy.”
“Thanks. I think you’re gorgeous too.” Violet set her gauntlets aside. They clattered too loud against the shiny floor. The sight of her reflection in it made her grimace. Her hair was matted dark with blood and shimmer, and purple gunk had dried across her cheek.
“Come here,” The bite of Caitlyn’s exasperation had no teeth.
Vi could not look anywhere but at her wide blue eyes, honed in on her face. It was that look, that clench in her jaw, that had drawn her attention in battle.
Caitlyn’s fingers gripped her chin and tugged her face forward.
“You’re going to be the death of me,” Vi groaned.
She said nothing, dabbing at her face with the blissfully cool cloth.
Vi leaned into her touch, closing her eyes as Caitlyn’s fingers found the scar on her eyebrow and stroked over it. Her hands moved up towards Vi’s hair, wiping at the blood crusted there.
“This isn't working. Get in the tub.”
Vi quirked an eyebrow. “Trying to get my clothes off, Cupcake?”
“I’m trying to get the blood off you. And the shimmer. We don’t know what prolonged exposure does to someone who does not drink it yet, and I do not want you to be the first to find out.” She glanced down at Vi’s jacket. “Is that leather?”
“I stole it off a guy, remember?”
“I know, but-” Caitlyn flapped a hand. “Real leather can’t get wet.” She sighed. “Just give it to me.”
Vi shrugged out of it slowly, watching how Caitlyn’s eyes flickered down the planes of her shoulders as though she could not help herself. It sparked a little smile tugging at the corner of Vi’s mouth. It felt strange to be so exposed in a Piltover mansion.
A bad mannered little voice in the back of her mind whispered that she should ruin it. Break something, or— The image of her kissing Caitlyn on the bathroom counter, pressing her back against that ornate mirror filled her mind unbidden. She shook her head as though she could dislodge the thought. What a way to get thrown out.
Suddenly self conscious, she tucked the hem of her shirt back into her pants and handed Caitlyn her jacket.
She folded it carefully, as though it were something precious, and set it beside her rifle. Military precision. She kept those same precise movements as she turned on the water and ran her hand through it.
“Is this too warm?”
Vi blinked at her. “You’re asking me?”
“You’re the one going in the tub.”
“Oh.” Feeling a little stupid, Vi copied her movement. The warmth of the water seemed perfect. All that heat on demand… She shucked off her shoes before the memory of her and Powder huddling together on cold Zaun nights could enter her mind. She felt horribly out of place as she lowered herself fully clothed into the tub and leaned her head under the stream of water. It felt heavenly, even as the back of her shirt soaked through.
“What kind of conditioner do you use?”
Vi opened her eyes. “Conditioner?”
“Nevermind.” Caitlyn grabbed a bottle and poured it over her hand. Suds rose into the air, iridescent and playful. The shampoo smelled like Caitlyn. There was no other way to describe it.
Vi gasped as Caitlyn sank her fingers into her hair. She had often washed Powder’s hair, but no one had ever helped her bathe since her parents. The feeling of someone else's hands working soap through her locks, especially Caitlyn’s hands, sent gooseflesh rippling over her skin.
She lost herself in the feeling, especially as one of her thumbs sank into the knot at the base of her skull.
Feeling safe with a Piltie, Vi? Yes, but Caitlyn.
She thumbed over the bruise at the center of her ribs. She had already decided Caitlyn was worth acting stupid for.
The faucet squeaked as Caitlyn turned it off and tossed her a towel, soft and absorbent. “Thanks, Cupcake.” Vi draped it over her shoulders and let the wet strands drip onto it freely. She pulled herself out of the tub and sat on the side of it, feeling very empty of quips and very aware of her own skin.
“Of course.” Caitlyn’s hands were wet as she ran them back over her hair, breaking eye contact with Vi.
“What about your hair?”
“Oh, um...”
Vi glanced at the counter. A gold handled brush sat beside the sink. Vi pushed herself off the tub and walked over to it. “Here, sit down.”
Caitlyn opened her mouth as though she might protest, but no sound came out. Finally, she perched herself on the edge of the tub, looking anywhere but at Vi.
Vi straddled the tub and tapped Caitlyn’s thigh to indicate she do the same.
A tense silence descended as Vi swept her long black hair back over her shoulders.
“Loosen up, Cupcake, I don’t bite.” Vi tried to sound nonchalant but her words sounded strangled, even to her. She knew how much trust it took for a Piltie to expose her back to a Zaunite. Caitlyn placed her trust so willingly— even back at the jail, she had. Vi had thought she would exploit it then, but now?
She cradled the back of Caitlyn’s head, turning her slightly so that she had better access to the hair that hung over her ears. The brush caught on tangles, and Caitlyn tensed. Vi was out of practice. She tried again, slowly untangling the thick strands of dark hair. Finally, it slid through without resistance. Vi could not resist following in its wake, carding her fingers through Caitlyn’s locks.
She pulled them over one shoulder, and could not help but stare at the small stretch of pale skin before it disappeared into her collar.
“Someday, I’d like to see you in less neck ruffles.”
“It’s my uniform, Vi,” Caitlyn huffed a laugh. It made something in Vi’s chest clench.
Her voice stopped short as Vi encircled her hands around her waist and pulled her close. Her tights skimmed on the slick porcelain, and Vi found her nestled back against her chest, even closer than she had expected. “Thank you,” Vi mumbled into her neck, “for taking care of me.”
“Of course. You’d do the same, if-”
If I had the means. If I lived somewhere I could take her back to.
“-I was the one who got thrown.”
Vi’s eyes stung, and she gritted her teeth. “You’re too good to me.”
“Oh, I…” She trailed off, and Vi sucked in a breath as her hand found her hair. She stroked it gently, almost reverently. Like Vi was breakable. “You deserve to have good things too.”
Vi squeezed her eyes shut, a sob suspended somewhere in her chest.
Caitlyn must have felt it, pressed against her back, because she pulled away.
She bit her lip, trying to control herself. She was going to scare Caitlyn.
But then a gentle hand pulled her off the tub, onto the floor, and finally, into a proper, face to face hug, pulling Vi’s face down into the crook of her neck.
She let Caitlyn gather her close and cried. She had forced herself to focus on Caitlyn when they ran to the council building. When they had dug Caitlyn’s mother out of the rubble. When the ambassador had clutched Caitlyn close like Caitlyn was doing now, broken and bruised but alive. When she had finally realized Piltover and Zaun were at war.
She’d forced herself not to cry at so many injustices. But this? She felt too raw to be handled this closely.
“It’s okay. I’ve got you.”
She cried about her sister. About the war. About the hundred little things that struck like little papercuts piling up day after day.
Caitlyn held her steadily throughout it all, rubbing the back of her neck in soothing circles. When the wave of emotion finally subsided, she was still there. She did not pull away.
It was Vi who sat up first, rubbing at her sticky eyes as though it would hide them.
“Thanks, Cupcake. You just keep on catching me, huh?”
“Of course. I…” She shook her head, reaching for Vi’s hand as though where they knelt, knees pressed against one another were not enough contact for her. “I wish I could right the wrongs that have happened to you.”
“That’s not your job.”
“Maybe I want it to be.”
“No.” Vi squeezed her hand back. “You being here is enough. This is enough.”
“Maybe I want more.”
Vi’s breath hitched as she caught Caitlyn’s eyes flickering down to her mouth, so quickly she might have imagined it. “Cupcake…”
“I’m certain you feel the same way. Tell me I’m mistaken and I won’t bring it up again, but I know there’s something.”
Vi could not help but chuckle. “You Pilties are so used to getting your way, huh?”
Caitlyn’s face fell.
“No, no, I’m teasing.” Vi drew their entwined hands up against her heart. “Just teasing. I…” She shook her head, unable to hold off the uneven grin spreading across her face.
“You are so wonderful. You make me believe I’m worth it. Just…”
The plaintive note in her voice made Caitlyn squeeze her hands all the harder.
“Just tell me I’ll be worth it to you. For the way they all look at you when they know you’re on my arm. I’ve been looked at like I’m nothing for all my life.” She reached to tuck a fallen strand of hair behind Caitlyn’s ear. “I don’t want that for you.”
“But I want that for me.”
Vi pulled her fingers up to her mouth, pressing her lips against them with reverence. She brushed her lips over the knuckles and looked up at Caitlyn through her bangs.
“Then I’m all yours, Cupcake.”
Caitlyn’s face flushed a brilliant red.
The curve of her flustered mouth made something in Vi melt. She ran her hand down the other woman’s jawline, and she leaned her head into Vi’s hand.
“God, you’re killing me,” Vi breathed, “Can I kiss you?”
Caitlyn nodded, looking a little dumbstruck, all wide blue eyes. She gasped a little as Vi leaned in. She could smell the gunpowder from the fight clinging to her skin, and wanted nothing more than to run her mouth across it. She gripped Caitlyn’s waist, hoisting her into her lap so that their mouths could meet.
She gasped a little, bracing her elbows on Vi’s shoulders to tangle her fingers in her choppy hair.
Vi reveled in the softness of her lips, the heat of her mouth, the way that she pushed back against the kiss like she was squaring up. She ran her hands up to Caitlyn’s shoulders, hugging her so close she could feel the lithe flex of muscle from her knotting her hands in Vi’s tresses.
She pulled away enough to breathe, pressing her forehead close to Caitlyn’s. “You’re messing up all your hard work, Cupcake.”
“I have time to fix it. We never told Jayce what later meant.”
Vi laughed. “I’m starting to think I’m a bad influence on you.”
“If it gives us more time together,” she tapped at the bruise between Violet’s ribs, “and you more time to rest this, I don’t think it’s a bad decision at all.” She pressed a kiss to Violet’s cheek, where the tear tracks had finally dried.
Vi turned her head to chase her mouth.
“I certainly can’t complain.”