Work Text:
The Fight
Cait was still in her long dress, the one that the paparazzi had already snapped pictures of, when Vi re-convened with her on the boardwalk. She carried herself with the grace of an upper class Piltie—it was baffling how light she could be on her feet, even with the clunky wedge heels. Vi enjoyed how tall they made her, “How was it?” Vi asked, noticing the way that Cait was eyeing her up and down. Which—she she didn’t blame Cait, because she was covered in industrial grease and her hands were aching. Cait looked beautiful, though. That was one plus from this whole screwed up morning.
“It was…fine…” Cait narrowed her eyes, “Vi, I’ve only been gone four hours! What in the world happened?”
Jayce, also covered in the grease, gave an innocent wave to Cait who merely squinted at him in return.
She looked down at herself, the undercity slime of runoff and industrial oil clung to her clothes and skin.
“Nothing too crazy.” Vi muttered.
“Nothing too crazy?” Cait mimicked, offering her hand, “Violet.” The warning tone, the one she used when Vi was all in her head and coiled up and unable to do anything other than pace the floor up and down the hallway at night.
“I’m gross.” She muttered.
“You’re fine.” Caitlyn took her hand anyway, “Won’t you walk me home?”
She always knew what to say, to help Vi loosen the knots which formed in her shoulders and her chest and her guts. Right. Walking home. After Cait had been at the Piltover Yacht Club for some political breakfast thing and Vi had been dicking around in the under city. Normal.
“What did you get up to, lovely?” Cait squeezed her hand a bit more tightly, “Are you hurt?”
“No…No, don’t worry. Probably need to rinse this stuff off, though.” Vi was aware she also smelled like industrial waste, but was glad Cait didn’t mention that to her.
Cait eyed her for another moment, seemingly satisfied that Vi indeed was not hurt nor limping. She let Cait pick up her hand to inspect her wrapped knuckles, “Well….no blood is a good sign. Tell me about your adventures.” As always, she was completely non-judgmental. After years of prison where everything was a challenge and a clique and loyalties mismatch, it was still difficult to accept that Cait didn’t mean any of those things. Though, Vi supposed it was similar to Cait and her family playing politics. Cait fruitlessly tried to swipe the grease off her knuckles.
“No can do.” Vi stated, “You tell me about your morning first.”
Cait made a snort, “Please. You can read it in the tabloids.”
Four Hours Earlier
She hadn’t expected for Jayce to follow her down to the undercity for a supply run, and she certainly hadn’t expected for Jayce to have rapport with the Firelights. A group of them joined them immediately, one of the young men slapping Jayce on the back.
Because Mel had apparently redirected some chocolate shipments in return for Jayce able to scavenge as much scrap as he wanted. The whole Jayce and Mel thing was a bit lost on Vi, but she kept that opinion to herself.
Vi made a snorting noise. She wanted to just see Ekko and makeup for some of the last seven years away from the people she cared about. Mostly, she wanted to feel a sense of familiarity. It was so hard for her to relax since she was first locked in Stillwater, her anxiety maintained a steady boil under her skin and make her skittish and jumpy for all sorts of reasons she never had been before.
Was this how people felt when they got out of prison? When they survived an ordeal such as what she and Cait had been through? Vi willed herself to swallow, hating how dry her mouth felt, hating that she was terrified to bump into the person who was once her baby sister. She found herself under her hood, looking over her shoulder despite the protection of numbers gathered around her. Calm down, calm down. She wanted to hit a wall until her hands hurt, her arms tingled, and she was too tired to move.
They made it to the base, and Vi felt some of her anxiety abate in the enclosed cave leading in. The leader of the scout group knocked a pattern into the blast door with his fist. Ekko was the one to open it, “Vi?”
“Ekko.” She greeted him.
“What brings you?” The glance he threw over his shoulder immediately put her on edge.
“Jayce needs to pick up some supplies.” She stated.
Ekko paused, “You and I need to talk.” Any quell in her anxiety returned full force. Her stomach turned so acidic she felt like she might puke. What? What was wrong now? Vi couldn’t keep doing this.
“It’s alright.” He assured quickly, “Nothing bad. We just need to talk for a minute.” The door rolled open, and Vi stepped through, flanked by the Firelights. She joined Ekko at his side, “You might not…love this but… well…an old…associate of Vander’s.”
“What?” Vi squinted.
“Sevika. She wanted to join our ranks.” Ekko stated.
“Are you shitting me? The one who knocked my tooth out and almost killed me?” Vi nearly spat. Her anxiety somehow ratcheted up another level. She missed her wall. Her trusty jail cell wall that she could break her knuckles against and then pass out at night in a haze of swollen hands and delightful throbbing. Even better if she could split all of her knuckles right now across Sevika’s face.
Even better. She balled her fists and rolled her shoulders, stretching her neck back and forth as she prepared.
“She’s in here. Still under twenty-four hour watch. But she wants to join our cause.” Ekko was saying. Vi’s heartbeat was in her ears. “We won’t let her near you unless you want to see her.”
Vi was in Stillwater again in her swimming brain; being weak was a death sentence, “I want to see her.” She practically snarled.
Vi wasn’t sure what she planned on doing, but she saw Sevika and the little smirk she always made and Vi was marching toward her.
Jayce was between them in an instant while Ekko caught Vi by the wrists, “Vi! Neither of you are going to fight in here!”
“Get your hands off me!” Vi’s venom startled even herself. It made her stomach clench. Her anxiety made her instantly wet with sweat. It’s Ekko. It’s Jayce. She tried to remind herself. The trigger of him grabbing her sent shivers down her legs, knees jouncing uncontrollably. Her heart thudded in her chest and she either wanted to hit something or flee or just cry. She was scared. Vi resented the feelings, and vowed to channel the anger into her fists. The next fight with Sevika—Gods help Sevika next time she got her hands on her. Vi had a score to settled, especially with her tooth gone and the solution being a fucking Piltie dentist offering to drill a new fake one into her jaw. Which, apparently, was normal.
Vi breathed. Because she wouldn’t swing at Ekko and not at Jayce. God, she hated this. She hated the amused look on Sevika’s face, the way the woman smirked at her, pulling out a cigar and lighting it. It was amazing she still had working lungs with how much she smoked.
“Relax, Vi. I did like your old man, and I did like you—”
“Right. When you turned on him.” Vi spit on the ground, flexing the muscles in her arms and tightening her sore fists. Her hands were always sore, but she couldn’t let Sevika see that.
“Alright, ladies, easy.” Ekko muttered, “She’s legit. Still have guards on her but she’s been helping us and has intel about treatments for Shimmer addiction.”
“She ain’t legit.” Vi snarled, standing her ground, toes curling in her boots as she wanted nothing more than to lunge at her. Why? Why the hell did Ekko have Sevika in his hideout.
She’s not with Jinx anymore. And probably wasn’t ever. She’d heard enough rumblings in the Zaun streets that Jinx had beaten the fuck out of Sevika, and that Sevika certainly wasn’t a fan.
Sevika didn’t defend herself, merely gave Vi a nod.
“You two aren’t going to fight. Not here. Not unless you’ve got padded gloves and rules.” Ekko stated while Jayce bravely positioned himself between them.
Sevika huffed a sigh, “You’ve got Vander’s rage in him.” She muttered, “I’m not here to fight you, kid.”
Though, Vi only got angier as she said it, her own self control hanging on by a very frayed thread, “You’re on. You’re fucking on!” She nearly spat again. This was for Vander.
Sevika cocked her eyebrows, “Hmmph.” She made an amused noise, “Alright, kid. I guess we’ll have to set a date. I’m not up for a fight right now.” She pulled off her jacket to show her prosthetic was yet to be replaced.
“Yeah you better pick a date. Where and when?” Vi hissed.
“Vi—” Jayce muttered her name, looking concerned.
“Hey!” Ekko was harsher this time, “Hey! When you’re both recovered! Not for a while. And there will be rules.” Vi noticed he looked directly at her when he said that and she resented it.
Oh, she was going to kick Sevika’s ass.
--
“You challenged Sevika to another fight?” Caitlin nearly shouted, causing a couple walking with a baby in a stroller to pause and look at her, “Violet!”
“Well, Ekko and his guys will break them up before they kill each other?” Jayce, who’d started walking with them, piped up sheepishly.
“I don’t want to hear anything from you.” Cait shot at him, “Vi! You’re already missing a tooth.”
“I can get another one drilled in.” Vi shrugged her shoulders.
“You stormed out of the dentist and called him a maniac!” Cait rolled her eyes.
“Well…it’s an option?” The way she said it, it came out more as a question. Okay, so she hadn’t intended to make Cait angry. But Vi also was Vi, and things were different in the under city, and she couldn’t just walk away from a fight when she was being challenged. She was supposed to be one of the best brawlers in Stillwater! Vi wasn’t ready to let that reputation fall away from her.
“You’re lucky you’re attractive and I’ll watch that fight.” Cait muttered, still sounding unimpressed.
Vi felt the heat creep up from her neck. Suddenly she was fourteen again, awkward and looking for words as a pretty girl called her ‘attractive’, “You…you want to watch me fight?”
“You think I’m just going to not show up to your…what is this? A ’boxing match’?” Cait made quotations with her fingers on her free hand as she said it.
Vi paused, looking for words. She knew Cait was being silly and incredulous with her, and had reason to be annoyed. But…this meant something. This was the one thing she knew how to do, the skill that Vander had taught her. It was the skill that kept her alive in Stillwater, “Thanks. I’d like you to be there if this actually happens.”
“Ekko was already taking bets. It’s happening.” Jayce stated.
“He’s doing what?” Cait shook her head, reaching up to move a chunk of Vi’s greasy hair away from her eyes, “But… why are you covered in grease?”
Vi and Jayce exchanged another sheepish glance, “Carried a bunch of scrap in that they fished out of the runoff ponds. And Vi fell off a hoverboard.” He answered, not looking at Caitlin. She let out her best high-society sound of disgust and Vi couldn’t contain her laughter.
“You’re getting a damn bath before you touch anything. I’m serious.” Cait stated but kept holding her hand, stroking over her knuckles now. As promised, she let Vi walk her home, “Already starting more fights? In your condition?”
“Like you weren’t out shooting every morning.” Vi defended herself.
“That’s different!” Cait insisted.
“It is not different!” Vi cried, letting her girlfriend drag her through the front gate of the Kiramman mansion.
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Thanks for reading. Hopefully another spicy/touch starved Vi chapter soon where Cait runs her a bath. Stay tuned.