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Jinx grumbled as more piercing gazes landed on her body. She tried to ignore them as she readjusted her backpack strap on her shoulder. She shoved her hands into her pants pocket and trudged towards the academy's entrance.
“Stop right there!” Jinx clicked her tongue at the inconvenience of the person who interrupted her. She turned around with a tight smile on her face.
“What can I do for you, Sheriff?” Jinx mocked as she looked at the disciplinary president in the eyes.
“Your tie is crooked once again.” Caitlyn rolled her eyes at Jinx’s nickname for her and moved to fix the offensive article to its rightful place.
“It’s just a tie,” Jinx grumbled as she swatted her hand away. “None of us can perfectly wear their uniforms. Be grateful that I’m following the dress code at all.” Jinx snarked before whipping herself around to enter the school grounds.
“You just earned yourself afterschool duties for disrespecting,” Jinx heard but kept on moving further with a smile on her face.
…
“Viktor!” Jinx pushed the door into the laboratory where the inventor was slumped over the table immersed in one of his recent projects. “Hey!” Jinx pulled a chair up to sit next to him to see through his process of steady hands in an intricate placement of wires.
“Shh,” Viktor hushed as he was close to finishing his recent project. Jinx watched him tinker in silence and when he pulled back from the table. He shifted his glasses to focus on Jinx and give her his full attention. “What can I do for you?”
“Does it ever get better?” Jinx twisted her fingers as she usually does whenever she becomes anxious. Viktor sighed as he knew what she was talking about.
“No,” He didn’t sugar coat it as he can clearly see some scrapes on Jinx that seemed fresh. Jinx visibly shrunk on his admission and nodded. “But there are some things that are worth it. You just need to prove it all to them,” He patted Jinx’s head as he knew what it was like to be a scholarship student. How they treated him as lesser than others even though they were of the same intellect. “Tell me,” He started as he didn’t want to keep Jinx’s mood so down. “What is this I hear about you frequenting after-class discipline?” He saw Jinx’s face grow red and a shy smile accompanied it.
“Something that is worth it,” Jinx repeated Viktor’s words without giving anything away. He raised his eyebrows at Jinx’s answer and before he could question it any further she stood up. “I’m going to be late and I can’t tarnish my sponsor's name any more than I have right?” She excused herself before skipping out.
Jinx walked to the space used for discipline which was a soundproof room made to prevent others from eavesdropping on situations. It was also used for the guidance counsellor but that was something Jinx found useless for her.
She was rounding the corner when she bumped into someone on the way. She staggered back from the impact and immediately growled at whoever was making her late to her appointment until she saw the person.
“Sheriff!” Jinx beamed seeing Caitlyn’s stoic face. Caitlyn patted her uniform from the dust that was just transferred from the ground onto her uniform. “Apologies,” Jinx said as it was her fault that she wasn’t paying attention to her surroundings. All she got was silence and Jinx frowned at Caitlyn who was still staring at her.
“You’re late,” Caitlyn said as she looked up at the clock closest to them and Jinx followed her gaze.
“I’m only late by 2 minutes,” Jinx excused as she knew that she shouldn’t have stayed with Viktor for so long, even if they weren’t any words exchanged. “Are you angry with me?” Jinx asked as she didn’t think that 2 minutes would have been any problem.
“Being late lowers the reputation of reliability. It is my responsibility to make sure you don’t continue this habit,” Caitlyn uttered as she moved to guide Jinx to the room.
“You must have really missed me enough to bump into me. Aren’t you a little bit happy to know that I’m here regardless of if I’m 2 minutes late?” Jinx teased as she walked past her to enter the room. As soon as the door closed, Jinx felt a pair of arms circle around her waist.
She felt warmth coming from her back. “Happy.” Caitlyn lowly responded in Jinx’s ear as the breath of air hit Jinx’s neck making her shiver a little.
“So you did miss me,” Jinx concluded as she patted Caitlyn’s hands for her to loosen her grip. Once that grip was loosened, Jinx quickly turned around to press Caitlyn against the door. Her arms went around Caitlyn’s neck. Caitlyn hummed in response as her ears turned red. “I missed you, too,” Jinx admitted before pulling her into a kiss.
Jinx felt a hand on the lower back being pushed further into Caitlyn’s body as the other one went to her neck as well. “Your crooked tie,” Caitlyn began as her thumb caressed the neck at the point where the collar was. “It brings attention to your neck where something that should be concealed isn’t properly hidden,” Caitlyn explained as she was the one who pulled away first. “I can still see it a little,” She gently rubbed the area and Jinx flushed at the scene of how she got it.
“You should have told me that sooner!” Jinx pulled out of Caitlyn’s embrace to put a hand on her neck where the area was just pointed out.
“I thought you knew what I meant after you pulled away this morning,” Caitlyn flushed further as she explained.
"I thought you were being the usual sheriff enforcing the dress code. Not helping me hide the hickey you yourself inflicted," Jinx told her side as she began to understand why there were so many gazes on her.
"Do not worry," Caitlyn responded. "No one has brought it to my attention about the affliction from your…," Jinx watched as Caitlyn's face flushed even harder as she struggled to find the word. "Bedroom activities," She finally said as Jinx began laughing at the substituted word.
"Sex, Caitlyn," Jinx said without any embarrassment or shame. "You can say sex no one can hear this conversation unless you're into that stuff then that's where I draw the line." She shook her head as the smile didn't die down on her lips.
“What am I supposed to do with you?” Caitlyn sighed as she was pretending to think about her own question.
“Well,” Jinx dragged. “I could think of a number of ways,” Caitlyn looked at Jinx who gave her a wink once eye contact was made. “You could always love me and put up with me just as much as I put up with you,” Jinx suggested as she took a step towards Caitlyn her arms slowly raising up. “Or…” She added as her hands went to her tie to fix it like nothing ever happened. “We can go out the door and go back to being schoolmates that happened to cross paths.” Jinx held on to her brave face as she knew that all good things in her life will always come to an end.
“Hmm, you put up with some tough choices,” Caitlyn took a step forward to Jinx. “I’m liking the former rather than the latter,” She placed her hands on Jinx’s waist.
“See,” Jinx randomly blurted. “Worth it,” She gave Caitlyn a kiss giving herself a mental pat on the back for proving to Viktor that being called after school was definitely worth it. Especially since it gives her more time to be with her girlfriend.
…
Jinx was pouting as she hasn’t seen Caitlyn yet at school. Even though they were in different years it didn’t prevent Jinx from catching a glimpse of her girlfriend. Usually, Jinx would have a friendly banter with her in the morning but when she saw someone else take her post something didn’t quite feel right.
It wasn’t until lunch that she heard in passing that Caitlyn has caught a cold. When she had heard the news, she had wanted to rush on over to Caitlyn’s home to see her. She had to stop herself from going as she would most likely be scolded by Caitlyn and her sponsor, so she had to endure the urge as time passed too slowly for her liking.
“Can I ask you a question?” Jinx entered the lab once more as she was in a rush to see her sickly girlfriend. Viktor adjusted his glasses before responding.
“It’s too early for you to help me with the process of the experiments. I can only show you in theory as you are not ready to apply it in the real world.” He explained without missing a beat.
“No, not that,” Jinx waved as that was the last thing on her mind at the moment. She played with her fingers a little bit as she didn’t want to screw things up. “How do you… help someone with a cold?” She asked as she didn’t know what to do. Back at Zaun, there wasn’t much to do when someone got sick but hope that they manage to recover quickly. She knew that Caitlyn had capable doctors to look after her health, but it didn’t stop her from worrying. She needed to see her and there was no one that was going to prevent her from doing so.
Viktor took a long pause to access Jinx’s overall body language to see if she was seriously asking him that. He sighed before motioning Jinx to sit across from him.
“It usually depends on how sick the person is. Though I don’t think you should worry about it if the person is living here in Piltover. Many doctors know how to speed up the immune system,” He started explaining but saw that Jinx wasn’t looking for comfort. “Jinx,” He coaxes as he patted Jinx’s head. “I don't know what you are asking of me if you don’t tell me,”
“I want to be the one that helps speed up the process,” Jinx quietly admitted as she pouted at her own weakness in front of Viktor of all people.
Viktor chuckled at Jinx’s childlike behaviour. “There is nothing wrong with your thought process,” He validated and acknowledged Jinx’s feelings. “It’s natural to worry for the people you care about,” He nodded in understanding. “Especially when they are worth it,” He teased as Jinx flushed at his words.
“I can’t seem to shake the thought of them leaving,” Jinx shivered at the thought of Caitlyn no longer being in her world anymore. “It terrifies me,” Jinx felt her chest hollow, and she placed a hand on her heart to try and ease it. “I know Topside gives out the best of everything but I can’t,” Jinx choked as she can still remember the losses she had seen and experienced back at Zaun. She knew that she shouldn’t compare the two cities but the fear was still there.
“Jinx,” He held Jinx’s shoulder. “How about this time I’ll teach you how to take care of someone with Piltover’s ways rather than wait it out and hope for the best as we do in Zaun,” He reassured as Jinx looked at him with bright eyes. “Now, listen and watch carefully, okay?”
…
Jinx steadied her breath as she took a look down at the street that could be the death of her. She looked ahead to where Caitlyn’s bedroom was and held onto the backpack strap closer to her chest. She took a few steps back and charged forward to take the leap. She landed on the roof with success, and she slid down to get into the window.
“Cher?” Jinx softly called as she opened the window and all she got was a mumbled groan coming from further inside the room. “Caitlyn?” Jinx quietly walked into the room as she didn’t want to risk someone catching her.
Jinx arrived at Caitlyn’s bed only to see her shivering with her blankets bundled up at her feet. Jinx pulled the sheets up to try to keep her all warmed up. “No,” Caitlyn whined as she moved to get the blankets off of her. “It’s too hot,” She continued while Jinx kept moving the blanket as well.
“Your body is fighting off the virus and it needs that warmth to speed up that process,” Jinx explained as she didn’t want to see Caitlyn try to prolong her illness any more than it was necessary.
“But it’s too hot,” Caitlyn whined as she looked at Jinx. “it’s uncomfortable,” She pouted while Jinx reluctantly let Caitlyn push the blankets to the foot of the bed.
“At least drink some water,” Jinx huffed as she was told by Viktor that if they are experiencing a rise in body temperature while complaining that they are too hot to try and relieve it by drinking water. He also told her that they are to avoid taking cold baths or showers as they can constrict the blood vessels and that trap the body heat making her shiver and have her body generate more heat. “Can’t have you getting heat exhaustion or hyperthermia or a heat stroke on my watch,” Jinx started going through her bag to find the water bottle Viktor suggested getting. “Here,” Jinx unscrewed the cap and put a straw in it so Caitlyn didn’t have to get up. She moved the straw to her mouth so she could have at least some fluids in her system.
“I’m tired,” Caitlyn said after she took a sip of water and Jinx smiled.
“Then sleep,” Jinx coaxed as she moved a piece of wet hair out of Caitlyn’s eyes. Jinx watched as Caitlyn closed her eyes before she retracted her hand to go grab a damp towel. Viktor had told her that even though she shouldn’t take cold baths or showers it shouldn’t prevent Jinx to get a slightly warm towel to sponge the skin. To her confusion, Viktor had to go into detail on how it is able to boost the cooling effect of evaporation to reduce body temperature.
Jinx had made many notes but the only thing she couldn’t get was the medicine as she feared that all the side effects might harm Caitlyn, so she still stuck with the self-healing ways that Zaun usually does minus the shimmer and stuff. She took the damp towel and slowly dabbed it on Caitlyn’s face as well as her forehead. She watched Caitlyn’s complexion look better over time until she was sleeping peacefully. That was when Jinx knew that it was working and sighed in relief.
Until the sound of approaching footsteps echoed outside Caitlyn’s door. Jinx quickly grabbed her bag and hid under the bed. She listened as the door opened without a creak. The footsteps slowly but quietly came close to the bed and Jinx had to hold her breath. She heard some movement from the friction of clothing.
“Sweet dreams, Caitlyn,” Jinx heard the love and care in the woman’s voice before the footsteps began making their way out of the room. Jinx listened to the door click but didn’t move for a while until she knew that she was in the clear. She crawled out from under the bed and knew that she had overstayed her welcome even if it was unannounced.
She began to pack her things making as little sound as possible. She looked at Caitlyn once more and indulged herself just for a little bit. She approached the bed and kissed her forehead before she went back home.
That was the plan as she was about to take a step out the window until her waist was hugged, and her belly felt really warm in that instant. Jinx froze in her spot but recovered after a few seconds when she heard Caitlyn’s voice.
“You’re leaving already?” Caitlyn broke the silence as she pulled Jinx closer.
“I don’t want to disturb your sleep,” Jinx replied. “Besides you shouldn’t even be out of bed.” She turned to push Caitlyn further into the warm room rather than the cold wind coming from the outdoors.
“Will you be okay going to school tomorrow?” Caitlyn changed the subject as Jinx got her to sit on the bed. Jinx raised her eyebrows at her before a smile appeared and a small laugh.
“It’s the weekend tomorrow, Caitlyn, we don’t have any school,” As if lightning struck Caitlyn, she weakly gripped the bedsheets at the realization that she wasn’t going to see Jinx for another 2 days.
“Are you going to stay with me when I wake?” She asked as her voice was low.
“Is the mighty Sheriff reluctant to part with me?” Jinx poked as she saw Caitlyn’s actions and found them cute. Caitlyn didn’t give her a verbal answer, but her appearance told her everything. “Are you asking me to stay, Sheriff?” Jinx leaned down to try and get an answer from her.
Caitlyn pushed Jinx just as they were about to kiss. “Don’t. You’ll get my sickness,” Jinx grabbed Caitlyn’s wrist to pull them away to give her a quick kiss.
“So, I get sick. Better me than you,” Jinx nuzzled Caitlyn’s forehead as she truly meant it from the bottom of her heart. She remembered Viktor chuckling as he finished explaining and just joked that kissing makes the entire process quicker.
“That’s sweet, but if you get sick I’m going to feel bad,” Caitlyn’s arms found their place around Jinx’s waist.
“Then, you can take care of me,” Jinx suggested as she let Caitlyn pull her onto the bed. “But, right now you need to sleep.” Jinx urged as she can feel the slightly higher body heat that Caitlyn was exuding from all their touches. “We’ll see each other when you wake up,” Jinx slowly moved Caitlyn back into her usual sleeping position.
“I love you, Jinx,” Caitlyn breathed out as her eyes slowly dropped as Jinx felt her heart swell. She tucked in the blanket for Caitlyn and kissed her on the cheek.
“And I love you too, Caitlyn,” Jinx softly confessed as she made her way out the window once more.
… Extra…
Jinx returned to the home of Viktor as she was currently residing with a smile on her face. She entered the front door to Viktor sipping on his coffee at the table.
“I’m guessing the result are good?” He said without looking up from the documents that were scattered around the table.
“Of course. I made sure she drank water, lightly tapped her with a towel, and made sure she was all warm before leaving,” Jinx confidently listed the tasks she has learned. “Oh, I also gave her a kiss for a speedy recovery,” Jinx puffed with pride got Viktor’s attention.
“You what?” He looked up at Jinx with wide disbelieving eyes.
“You said that if that doesn’t help at all just kiss it all better,” Jinx paraphrased with innocence written all over her face.
“I meant that as a joke,”
“Well… it’s too late now,” Jinx laughed as she proceeded to go to her room. Viktor just sighed and just shook his head.
“Don’t come crying to me when you realize getting her sickness was not worth it at all,” He grumbled under his breath.
“Won’t be needing to. I already have that covered,” Jinx retorted while Viktor’s jaw dropped a little at Jinx’s reveal. “And for her, it’s always worth it, Viktor,” Jinx added before closing the door to her room.