Work Text:
“Just…just stay with me, tonight, Vi,” Caitlyn said, heaving a deep sigh, leaning her shoulder against her office door.
Another late night, another late mission, another hour or so burning the midnight oil to clear out the paperwork. There’d been a few nights when Vi and Caitlyn would be the last two people in the station, the two partners tag teaming on finishing up work, patching each other up, any end-of-the-mission kind of tasks that could be done with just the two of them.
But tonight was a kind of exception. The last mission had gone on longer than planned, the hours dragging, and the battle afterwards with a few henchmen had left the two of them considerably tired upon their return to the station.
“It’s late, and I know you’re just as exhausted as I am, and I personally cannot bear the thought of you walking back to Zaun this late,” Caitlyn said, and she reached her gloved hand up, pinching the bridge of her nose as she shut her eyes. “Just…stay with me, tonight. I’m down the street.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Vi heard herself say. Every inch of her body was sore, pained, aching in a way that told her she composed of half an aging life and half a beat up fighter. Dragging her poor self down to Zaun right now, when she felt like this…
“Let’s…go, Cait. Your place.”
Caitlyn nodded.
They were silent on the walk over, both nearly dragging their feet across the pavement, eyelids heavy as they forced themselves to stay awake. When Caitlyn reached her front gate, her normally nimble fingers fumbled her keys, and she muttered a curse under her breath when she nearly dropped them in her clumsy attempt to unlock the gate.
Once they were through the front door of the mansion, Vi had the crazy thought of just throwing herself down on the marble floor to get some shut eye because marble’s surely more comfortable to sleep on compared to the memory of the cold stone of prison, but Caitlyn’s hand on her collar stopped her from doing so.
Even exhausted and worn out, Caitlyn could still read her as easy as a book.
They stripped off their boots, tossing them aside, not bothering with decorum or politeness.
Then they stumbled into Caitlyn’s bedroom, Caitlyn already tearing off her coat, her overshirt, the parts of her uniform most suffocating, and she brushed her hand over Vi’s arm, motioning for her that it was alright to do the same.
They didn’t have the energy for words, really.
Clothes tossed aside onto the floor, the two made their way to the bed — Vi in just her tank top and boxers, Caitlyn in a camisole and panties, and collapsed into it, blacking out just as soon as their heads hit the pillows.
—-
Vi groggily woke to the sound of hushed voices.
Slowly coming up from the dredges of unconsciousness, Vi could hear through the haze of drowsiness, the voices of Caitlyn and her mother.
“—planned this for weeks, Caitlyn—”
“Just give me an hour, Mother, I’ll be ready—”
An exasperated sigh, though quieted. “Do whatever you like with Vi, just make sure she locks the door behind her after she leaves. Do make sure you put on something suitable for the luncheon, hm?”
The sound of the door closing had Vi pushing herself up on one hand, squinting in the morning daylight to see Caitlyn stretching, making her way over to bed.
“Ah, Vi — I didn’t mean to wake you so early,” Caitlyn said softly, and Vi shrugged, wincing slightly at last night’s bruises on her back.
“S’no problem, Cait,” Vi said, voice hoarse and husky. Clearing her throat, she said, “Guess I should get ready to go so you can, uh, do whatever you need to do.”
“No, no. You should rest — I’ll give you a spare set of keys so you can lock the door behind you.” Caitlyn stood at the end of the bed, leaning a shoulder against a bedpost; in the golden light of the morning, even exhausted and tired, Caitlyn still looked lovely. “You should rest, Vi, really. I don’t mind you staying.”
The bed was incredibly soft, and the thought of stumbling her way down to Zaun to sleep in her brick of a mattress wasn’t really that compelling.
“You sure?” Vi asked.
“I’m sure.”
“Thanks, Cait,” Vi mumbled, and she fell back into bed, heaving a relieved sigh as she threw an arm over her eyes. “I’ll be out before lunch, promise.”
After that, Vi heard the sounds of Caitlyn taking a shower, then padding back into the bedroom to make her way to the walk-in closet to get dressed for whatever formal event her mother had signed her up for this time. Rolling onto her side, Vi decided to watch as Caitlyn sat down at the vanity in a modest, but backless, dress. She’d always liked seeing how Caitlyn’s nimble fingers so delicately and adeptly handled anything, any weapon, any tool, the eyeliner pencil.
Caitlyn caught her looking in the reflection, and there was a twitch to the corner of her mouth. “Think I’ll be able to hide the bags under my eyes?”
Vi snorted. “Unless you wanna look like a clown, I don’t think so. You scared they’ll judge you?”
Now it was Caitlyn’s turn to lightly scoff as she continued putting on her makeup. “I care very little for the judgment, but not even I’m rude enough to show up looking like I really did only get four hours of sleep.”
“I think you’ll be fine, Cait. You’re always beautiful.”
At that, Caitlyn paused, and the light blush to her cheeks wasn’t missable. “You always speak your mind, don’t you?”
“It’s why you love having me around,” Vi said with a grin. “I’d never bullshit you.”
“You never do,” Caitlyn replied softly.
Caitlyn finished getting herself ready, angling her face this way and that in the mirror to make sure she’d done her makeup just right. Vi watched all the while, because there was something about seeing Caitlyn like this — at home, unperturbed by Vi watching her, doing things that she would normally do alone but with Vi as her audience.
Once Caitlyn got a spare ring of keys from one of the drawers of her desk, she came towards Vi, and sat down on the bed next to Vi, the two of them simply watching each other for just a brief moment, dust motes of the morning flickering between them both.
“Here,” Caitlyn said, swallowing, as if she hadn’t wanted that moment to end. “Keys, make sure to lock the front door before you leave. There’s also food in the kitchen you can have, if you’d like any.”
“Thanks, Cait.” Vi’s fingers brushed Caitlyn’s as she took the keys, and their gazes lingered on each other longer than needed. “See you…at work, tomorrow?”
Caitlyn’s expression softened. “See you at work, Vi.” Her hand lingered in the air for a brief moment, hesitating, before Caitlyn cleared her throat.
“I’ll be going.”
“Right. See you, Cait.”
After Caitlyn left, shutting the bedroom door behind her, Vi lie in bed for a little while longer, staring up at the canopy of the bed, and she’d thought of the dozens of moments in time when she knew that Caitlyn knew that there were those lingering moments in time when there was something more between them but neither ever put a solid, concrete definition to it, nor did the other ever act on it, afraid of tarnishing that feeling that hovered so close.
—-
The next day at the station, Vi knocked on the door frame of Caitlyn’s open office door, and Caitlyn glanced up from her desk.
Tossing the keys into the air towards the sheriff, Caitlyn caught it deftly, glancing at it, then at Vi.
“Thought I’d return these. Thanks, Cait.” Vi made to turn around—
“Wait, Vi.”
“Huh?”
Then Vi was caught off guard when Caitlyn tossed the keys right back at her, and Vi clumsily fumbled the keys in the air twice before firmly catching it in her palm.
“Keep them,” Caitlyn said, and she resumed looking down at the reports on her desk, her expression that of that perfectly crafted business like face that Vi knew well, when Caitlyn didn’t want to reveal her thoughts. “We might have another late mission soon enough. There’s reports that a businessman in Piltover has relations to some unsavory folks from Bilgewater…”
As Vi came forward to read the new mission report from Caitlyn, she couldn’t help but feel the weight of the keys in her pocket, how she knew Caitlyn had, without words, given her a physical trinket of her trust.
—-
Caitlyn was right, and soon enough, the two were on a late night stakeout in front of the businessman’s residence, the two crouching in the arch of a belltower a street down.
The two were seated next to each other, Vi watching through a set of binoculars the man’s front door entrance, waiting for the moment when the fiend would no doubt make his way down to the docks to make his underhanded deal.
Meanwhile, next to her, Caitlyn sat unmoving, no doubt watching for signs of the target too. They’ve done this dozens of times; there wasn’t anything really surprising or exciting to do or watch on a stakeout like this, and they’d long since come to enjoy the comfort and silence of each other’s presence.
So, it was surprising when Vi felt a weight at her shoulder and then a sigh from Caitlyn; briefly glancing to her side, she saw Caitlyn leaning her head on her shoulder, shifting slightly so the two were closer together.
Vi forgot to breathe for a second; it wasn’t like this was crossing any line or something, she just wasn’t expecting Caitlyn’s expression to look so…
Like she was at peace. Comfortable. Relaxed.
“You good, Cait?” Vi asked, hoarse.
“Hm?” Caitlyn glanced at her. “Oh, yes. Is this…alright?”
“‘Course! If you’re tired, lean on me. I got you.”
“I know,” Caitlyn said softly. There was just the smallest hint of a smile on her lips. “I know you do.”
—-
After they bagged the guy for definitely trying to bring in some utterly illegal animals to the continent, Caitlyn and Vi returned to the station to pass the guy off to the officers on watch at the station prison. Once done with that task, Vi was just thinking of the best route home to avoid the more egregious and sketchy corners of Zaun this late when she felt Caitlyn’s hand on her arm.
“Need something, Cait?” Vi asked.
“You could just stay at my place again, Vi.” Caitlyn had that expression that looked neutral at first glance but Vi never missed that slight shimmer to Caitlyn’s bright blue gaze, that bit of nervousness that betrayed her straight tone. “It’s late.”
It wasn’t like the two of them were exhausted by any means, but…
“Hah, just can’t get enough of me, can you?” Vi asked jokingly.
Caitlyn pursed her lips, trying to hide a smile. “So, is that a yes?”
“Yeah, it’s a yes. Let’s go.”
—-
This happened a few more times.
Late missions, and afterwards, Caitlyn would brush her fingers against Vi’s arm, then her wrist, then slip her fingers between Vi’s, with an invitation on her lips and a little hopeful spark in her bright blue gaze.
And Vi would say yes, every time. She’d sleep in that giant bed next to Caitlyn and awake the next morning, rested and comfortable, before either one of them would leave for whatever venture they had to go to. Caitlyn’s parents seemed completely unperturbed by Vi’s presence, and more than once, Vi shared a cup of coffee with Mr. Kiramman, the two swapping tales of their jobs.
It was routine, now. If it was a late mission, Vi would just follow Caitlyn home, and Caitlyn would let her in.
At one point, after a particularly brutal battle in Zaun that had Vi catching a few cuts and slashes across her chest and arms, and Caitlyn was doing more secure first aid on Vi while the two sat on the bed in Caitlyn’s bedroom, Caitlyn mentioned Vi just bringing an overnight bag to leave at her house.
“It’s not like I can really give you a new shirt, you wouldn’t fit any of mine,” Caitlyn said, and she carefully undid one of the quickly and hastily done bandages on Vi’s arm that they’d slapped on in the heat of the battle — anything to keep them going for the next few minutes. “Just leave some of your clothes here, Vi.”
“You just worried I’ll bleed all over your billion golden hexes bedsheets, cupcake?” Vi asked, putting on a humorous grin before she swore under her breath as Caitlyn began cleaning the wound on her arm.
“They’re not a billion golden hexes,” Caitlyn said under her breath.
“So, a million?”
“Shut up.” Caitlyn rolled her eyes, and she reached next to her to pull out a set of clean bandages from the first aid kit near her. “I’m more concerned about making sure you’re alright.”
“I am alright,” Vi said. “I got you here with me, after all.”
Caitlyn chuckled. “Here, move your arm a little so I can patch you up.”
Vi ended up having to squeeze herself into one of Mr. Kiramman’s work shirts, which was just a bit small, but when Vi wondered if it the tightness of the shirt was showing off just a bit too much of her bodily physique as she looked at herself in Caitlyn’s closet mirror, she looked up to see Caitlyn with a hand over her mouth, eyes staring straight at Vi’s chest.
“Guess it looks fine on me, huh, Cait?” Vi asked, with a smirk and a wiggle of her eyebrows.
Caitlyn’s eyes snapped upwards, and her face flushed red. “Vi, let’s just get to sleep, I’m tired.”
The way she stalked away made Vi laugh out loud.
—-
So Vi afterward had an overnight duffel bag stashed at Caitlyn’s place.
If Vi were the one to wake up earlier, she’d finish taking a shower, get dressed and come out to see Caitlyn watching from the bed, their positions switched.
“Do I look good?” Vi asked. She flexed her arm for emphasis.
Caitlyn’s laugh was so adorable.
—-
There came a morning when Vi awoke to find Caitlyn still in bed beside her, a book in her lap, reading by the light of the morning sun.
“Good morning,” Caitlyn said softly, glancing at Vi, flipping a page in her book.
“Hey,” Vi mumbled back. With a small frown, Vi asked, “Don’t you have a thing this morning?”
“No, I decided not to go. My mother can stomach the disappointment, I’m sure, of me not attending yet again, the thousandth luncheon with various random politicians in Piltover.” Caitlyn looked over at Vi. “Besides. I thought it’d be nice if we could just…spend a morning together. If you don’t have anything to do, either…?”
“Hm.” Vi thought on it; she’d planned on waking up and hauling it down to Zaun to visit Ekko and do some work on the community gardens around the Firelights base, but that wasn’t a hard commitment or anything. “Nah, nothing.”
Caitlyn’s smile was golden. “Good. I don’t have any plans—”
Vi yawned. “Wanna just chill in bed for a bit? Hope your book’s good.”
“It’s…interesting,” Caitlyn said, and she pinched the corner of a page between her thumb and forefinger. “I find some novels to be far less exciting than the adventures you and I share.”
She put the book to the side, on her nightstand, before settling down into bed across from Vi, the two of them looking at each other, the slant of morning sunlight dappling across the blankets of the bed, across them both, creating valleys of little shadow.
“Guess we do share a lot,” Vi said, and she made a gesture to the bed, the bedroom, whatever it was Caitlyn had decided to open her house to with Vi.
“I wouldn’t share it with anyone else.” Caitlyn didn’t quite meet Vi’s eye as she said that, and there was just the slightest tinge of pink to her cheeks.
Vi, on the other hand, studied her partner for a long moment. Again, the feeling in the air changed, shifted, the way it always did when the two were alone together, toeing that little line in the sand that neither of them crossed, that both knew existed.
Shifting a little closer, Vi reached a hand up, brushed a strand of hair out of Caitlyn’s face, gently tucking it behind Caitlyn’s ear. Vi let her hand hover for a brief second, before she took it away, letting it fall between them both, onto the sheets.
As if in reply, Caitlyn’s hand slipped upwards, tracing the lines of Vi’s arm tattoo, Caitlyn’s fingers deftly following the black ink. She’d done this before, in brief, quiet moments they’d had before during late night stakeouts, but here, in Caitlyn’s home, in Caitlyn’s bed, Vi couldn’t help but feel goosebumps rise up her arm just from Caitlyn’s touch.
Vi’s intake of breath was mirrored by Caitlyn, and Vi noticed the parting of Caitlyn’s lips, the light breath of air she exhaled.
“Cait,” Vi said. She swallowed.
Caitlyn took a second to answer; her gaze flickered up to Vi’s, so bright, so blue. “Yes?”
“What are we, Cait?”
The question hung in the air, and it was as if the dust motes flickering in the morning light also took pause, wondering at the answer, when both Caitlyn and Vi knew the truth already. It just had to be manifest.
“I…thought you wouldn’t want to put a label on it, or anything,” Caitlyn said quietly. She reached her hand up higher, fiddled with Vi’s shirt collar. “I…know we’re more.”
Then, Caitlyn shifted closer; their faces were just inches apart, and still Caitlyn kept her gaze downwards, her fingers still playing with Vi’s collar. “Does…does it bother you, that…I haven’t—”
“I haven’t either,” Vi said.
“Why haven’t you, then?”
“I just…” This time, it was Vi’s turn to glance away. “I dunno. You’re technically my boss, I didn’t wanna make the first move, and I dunno how dating really works in Piltover.” The words came out braver than Vi intended; maybe it was just her usual bravado saving her ass, but these were her honest thoughts. She really couldn’t ever lie to Caitlyn, not really.
Vi continued, “I didn’t wanna do anything unless—”
“It was on my terms,” Caitlyn finished. “Oh, Vi.”
When Vi met Caitlyn’s gaze with her own, that seemed to embolden Caitlyn, just a little. She leaned forward, her nose brushing Vi’s, and Vi had to stop breathing — she’d known this was coming, for a long time, because that was just how she knew Caitlyn and how Caitlyn knew her but it was finally happening.
“And here I thought I was being too forward with you,” Caitlyn murmured. She brought her hand to Vi’s face, cupping her cheek, and her thumb brushed Vi’s cheek. “Your boss, inviting you to sleepover, almost every night? I couldn’t believe you weren’t telling others about it.”
“Why would I?” Vi asked. “It’s — like you said. I wouldn’t share this with anyone else. This is — it’s our time together. I don’t — I don’t want other things to get in the way of that. I — I want us, Cait.”
“Good,” Caitlyn said, and there was a smile on her lips now. “Because I do too.”
They closed the distance between themselves, moving on instinct, the way two partners do after knowing each other for years. The kiss was slow, soft, sweet — they were in no hurry, not when they both knew they’d have more of each other in the future, each day, and each night.