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When winter came, and with it, frostbite to Stillwater it nearly killed Vi the very first year. She was only fourteen after all. She had to watch ass the guards mocked her, covered by thick, fluffy coats, when all she was given to fight the cold off was a thin cloth as an excuse for a blanket that did nothing to help drown her shivers at night.
During the day she would keep herself busy exercising, drilling holes into her wall, punch after punch. Even when her arms were shaking and blood dripped down her knuckles she kept going. Pain was better than cold.
Frostbite also caught her by surprise her second year locked up. “Someone will come for you.” She lulled herself to sleep every night. “Powder will.”
But the cold kept numbing her limbs and even if she denied it, it froze her heart too.
Third time’s the charm they say. This year Vi felt prepared to face the cold, so when winter came howling through her cell bars, she couldn’t care less.
“Nobody is coming for you.” She had made peace with that statement. It didn’t matter how much her heart ached when cloudy memories of soft blue eyes and warm chuckles visited her at night.
Being, feeling alone, kept her alive. In the end, cold wasn’t the only threat she had to face in that stone box.
Throughout her time there she had been doing favors in exchange for supplies, which included a few extra warm meals and some spare blankets. It hadn’t been easy, most people there still envisioned her as a child and wouldn’t take her seriously, but bit by bit she had established a reputation of her own (which landed her in an isolation cell more times than she was willing to admit).
Vi laid down on her cot, sighing contently as she covered herself with the makeshift blanket she had crafted, ripping the edges of several clothes and binding them all together.
She smiled, satisfied with her work, but winced as a sharp pain reminded her of the cut on her lip. It was definitely going to leave a scar behind, but thanks to the guy she beat up, a nice meal was waiting for her the following day, instead of the tasteless pile of goo prison food consisted of.
Vi closed her eyes, enjoying the warmth, the comfort and… The silence. Suddenly it was too quiet. Warm ears left clear streaks as they washed away the dirt on Vi’s cheeks.
“I don’t understand.” She whispered into the night. She finally had some peace to relish by herself so, why did it hurt?
Then it clicked.
She was finally able to rest, to put both her mind and body at ease, but she also realized that by warming up her bones, she had also enlivened her heart.
And only a frozen one can keep feelings at bay.
***
Vi woke up shivering, the cold still lingering on her skin. It took her a while to study her surroundings, to understand she was not in Stillwater anymore.
The room was huge, with arched ceilings and tall columns, opposed to the dark concrete block she used to live in. Her bed was not hard either, instead it was soft and sunk under her weight.
Vi sighed, running a hand through her hair. Sometimes, this would happen. After spending so much time locked up, it was hard to believe she was finally out, that she’d made it.
The woman shifted to her side, trying to get comfortable again, until she noticed a figure lying next to her. Caitlyn was curled up in the sheets, lips parted and breathing softly.
Vi smiled as she caressed her cheek.
Cait had been caught up at work that afternoon, so she had spent the evening alone. Vi vowed she would wait for her girlfriend to come home, but after such a long day, exhaustion had washed over her the minute she stepped out of the shower, leaving her knocked up in bed.
She had been lost in thought, getting lost in Cait’s features, as if she wanted to memorize every detail of her face: her soft breathing, the tiny freckles scattered across her nose, the tooth gap she was shy about but Vi found extremely endearing…
Then she noticed something, Caitlyn was wearing a jacket, her jacket. The one she thought had gone missing, and especially, the one Caitlyn supposedly knew nothing about.
Vi couldn’t help but chuckle softly, the sound resonating in the silence of the room. She looked the neon lights on her nightstand: 2:44 am.
She took a deep breath, the shadows of her dream still lingering in the back of her head.
With one final sigh, she curled herself next to Caitlyn, wrapping her arms around her waist and inhaling her scent as she felt her muscles slowly beginning to relax. Cait shifted in her sleep, turning her head to rest on Vi’s Chest and moving a leg over hers, keeping her as close as possible.
Vi felt something melt in her ribcage at the gesture. She closed her eyes, feeling Cait’s heartbeat match hers.
Yeah, frostbite was never going to get her again.