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Maddie’s mission was always clear from the very beginning. Keep an eye on Piltover; report back to Ambessa. It was her duty as a Noxian agent. She never really had the urge not to follow orders. Maybe spending time with Caitlyn Kiramman had made her demeanor falter but she always reported back even when she was feeling as though that was a betrayal of some kind. It wasn’t. It wasn’t, that's just what she had to keep telling herself. She was a Noxian. No matter how much she enjoyed Caitlyn’s company and no matter how much she felt as though maybe being a Piltovan enforcer and abandoning her Noxian duties might have been nice… it wasn’t an option. So, she kept it up.
Before she had ever been needed, she was a mere sleeper agent. There were no daily check-ins with Ambessa. Then, after the Noxian invasion, it turned into constant reports to her. The one thing she never reported on had been her closeness to Caitlyn. If Caitlyn said anything of importance that of course was reported on, but the love they shared was kept hidden. Until it wasn’t, and then she discovered that the love they shared was not so mutual after all. Ambessa had discovered their relationship and Maddie had almost lost her position until Maddie promised she would use this relationship to the benefit of Noxus. After all, she had already done so. How else would she have discovered all these things about Caitlyn Kiramman? So the relationship continued.
Maddie knew of the existence of Vi, the Zaunite-turned-enforcer before Caitlyn had any significance to her. She had overheard Caitlyn speaking, or more so yelling about Vi at the station when they had attempted to deny her enlistment. Maddie slowly grew interested in Caitlyn ages before martial law had been declared. She figured the two of them were close, but the thought of a relationship between a Piltover Enforcer and a Zaunite was slim to none, so she never worried much. To be honest, the thought had never even crossed her mind until she saw the wrecked state Caitlyn was in after Vi had mysteriously been dismissed from the strike team, and missing from topside entirely. Caitlyn never outwardly expressed her emotions, but had considered Maddie a close acquaintance before their relationship ever started, so sometimes she would shed a tear whilst on break together when she figured nobody was watching. Once Caitlyn warmed up to her, Maddie asked about Vi. Caitlyn never spoke about Vi negatively to Maddie, and if she pried too much she shut down completely. And “too much” usually meant asking a second time. Caitlyn would call Vi lovely and sweet and all sorts of other wonderful things. Once she realized who Vi was to Caitlyn, she asked Ambessa for help. She explained the situation to her and Ambessa had taken care of the rest.
Ambessa had a chokehold on Caitlyn like nobody else, so when she had asked about Vi’s disappearance, and what that meant to Caitlyn, she had caved. Ambessa had then let Maddie know about everything, who promptly tried to shut down any feelings Caitlyn had for that Zaunite scum. But it seemed as though she was too late. Apparently, opening up about Vi had made Caitlyn realize how deeply she still felt for her.
“I think our relationship should remain professional from here on out”
Maddie was livid. She stared Caitlyn Kiramman in the eyes and said gladly. She continued to follow her around. That very same night she had followed Caitlyn to her mother's statue and watched her place down a candle in her mother's honor. Caitlyn had allowed Maddie to stay in her house, assisting with government matters and caring for her father. Maddie was sure that Caitlyn would come around once again eventually, so she tried her best.
Plans progressed and Maddie wasn’t included in them. She stayed in the Kiramman estate while Caitlyn was posted in the Fissures with Ambessa, investigating the chemweapon beast. Imagine her surprise when she received a notice of the betrayal of Ambessa. Right there at the top of the page, the first name mentioned; “Vi” It had been two days before they returned when she had received it. When they did return, Caitlyn explained everything to her briefly, she was leaving out some of the key details but Maddie knew everything. Really, everything. She was not oblivious to Caitlyn's feelings towards Vi. Nobody really was. Vi had been placed in Caitlyn’s main bedroom for her recovery, one she had not known about until quite recently. Which made her realize how little Caitlyn really cared for her. In Vi’s absence, she had been placed in an extra room. Vi’s spot was still reserved. It would be a lie to say that Maddie had not been tempted by the compromising state Vi was currently in. Slipping poison in the food that Caitlyn fed Vi herself on the daily. Maddie's mind raced every time she looked at Caitlyn anymore. Here was Vi, the sister of the girl who killed Caitlyn’s mother. She'd been arrested and Vi had the audacity to storm in during a meeting and ramble about how her sister didn't deserve to be locked up. Sure maybe Ambessa was a bit manipulative, but that's just how Noxians behaved. Vi on the other hand was undercity scum, she should be thanking her and Caitlyn for not killing Jinx immediately. For not killing her for working with a known wanted criminal. Maddie tried to bring comfort to Caitlyn but she instantly pushed her away every time. She still lived in the house with them, as Caitlyn's enforcer partner who might need backup at a moments notice. Also to help care for Caitlyn's father. None of that mattered. Nothing would change. Caitlyn had been waiting for Vi. She was never meant to be permanent.
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Caitlyn and Vi were heading back to Cait’s house hand in hand. Their hands swung back and forth between the two of them childishly. Despite what had transpired Vi was still feeling anxious about her little sister. She wasn’t mad at her she just wanted to make sure she was safe but she didn’t have much of a means of doing that. She wanted to take her mind off of it so she had just been sort of talking about whatever came to mind. Cait had caught on and they’d just been walking and talking.
“So who’s that someone you saw?” Vi asked and glanced sideways at Cait. Cait stopped in her tracks and Vi felt her slightly stiffen at her side. “I’m just curious. You don’t have to tell. I don’t really care either way.” Cait swung their intertwined hands a couple of times and then said “Maddie”. Vis's face went loopy. “While I was gone, you were seeing… Maddie?” Vi looked at her funny and Cait stared at her with her lips thinly pressed together. Vi was holding back laughter and stammered while trying to finish her sentence. “I mean to each their own I guess? I’m just genuinely wondering what made you choose her? Of all the people up here?” Cait continued to look at her with a blank stare on her face. Vi suddenly felt her giggles evaporate and her expression went blank when she realized Cait wasn’t finding this amusing as she did. They both looked ahead of them and continued walking. Their hands, still intertwined, were no longer swinging around playfully.
The rest of the walk back was silent and Vi wondered what could possibly be the reason for Caitlyn's reaction. She understood the awkwardness that came with talking about previous partners with a different one, but clearly, she had shown Cait it wasn’t a huge deal to her. Caitlyn obviously felt differently… Vi thought about how everything seemed so perfect for a while and now there seemed to be a rift between them again.
They entered the house and Caitlyn let go of Vi's hand but then lifted her hand and pressed it to Vi's chest “Could you wait for me in my room? I’m going to check on my father” A weight lifted off of Vis's chest and she glanced down at Caitlyn's arm. “Yeah, sure…” Cait smiled at her gently and dropped her arm. She turned away and walked towards her father’s study. Vi stared at it until the door closed behind her. She then turned around and made her way to Cait's room.
When she entered the room, she laid down on Cait’s bed before abruptly sitting up and pacing around the room. The thought of things being ruined again scared her beyond belief. She sat on the edge of the bed and thought about what she could possibly say to make Cait not hate her.
When Cait opened the door Vi stood up and walked over to her and started sputtering out “Look I wasn’t thinking I- I don’t know why I thought it was okay to say all that I probably shouldn’t have brought it up at all I’m just so sorr-“
“Violet”
Cait had said her name a couple of times before Vi had realized and stopped talking.
“Vi, it’s okay. I’m open to talking about all of this I just needed a minute to… I just…” She let out an exasperated sigh. She took Vi’s hand and led her to the edge of her bed. She sat down and motioned for Vi to do the same. Cait lifted her knee to the bed so should could turn her body fully to Vi. Their hands rested intertwined between the two of them. They started at each other for a moment before Cait leaned into Vi and kissed her gently. She smiled against Vis's lips before putting her forehead to Vi’s and sighed softly.
“It was… convenient.”
Vi moved her eyes to meet Caits.
“It makes me terrible I know but.., she was there. She showed interest in me and you were gone and…”
Cait broke eye contact and looked down. Her eyes welled up with tears. Vi released her hands from Cait’s and cupped her face.
“Hey, if you don’t want to… “
“No, I need to. I just don’t want you to feel hurt”
“Don’t worry about that. After all, I was the one who brought it up.”
Vi dropped her hands off Cait’s face and grabbed her hands again. Cait kept her gaze averted from Vi and started speaking slowly.
“My mother had high expectations for me. She didn’t want me to be an Enforcer but once I had earned my position she learned to live with it. She died being mildly dissatisfied with the person I became. There was an enforcer from Piltover who was interested in me. Maybe even after everything, I could end up in a relationship with somebody she would respect. Someone she’d be proud to call her daughter-in-law. I was distraught, and I was lonely so I clung onto the first person I deemed fine enough.”
Vi lifted herself off the bed and wrapped her arms firmly around Caitlyn. Cait nuzzled her face into Vi’s neck and let the tears finally fall.
“Please don’t think I’m embarrassed by you. Or that I'd rather be with someone else just because of where you come from. Back then it was, the grief was controlling my every thought, my every decision. Sometimes I think it still does.” She spoke into Vis's neck as they both continued clinging to each other.
“Don’t worry Cupcake, I understand.”
Cait started to cry a little harder then. Thinking of how she hurt Vi. Thinking of how what she just told her must have hurt to hear. Even if she didn’t show it. She stood up and clung to her even harder. Vi stroked the back of Cait’s head and ran her fingers through her hair gently. Cait took a deep breath.
“For the record, I do think I could’ve chosen someone slightly more visually appealing. My mother probably would’ve preferred you over her strictly by virtue of aesthetics.” They laughed together at that while still hugging tightly.
Later that night while the two of them were getting ready for bed Cait suddenly asked “Are you sad?” Vi turned around and looked at her.
“Sad about, what exactly?” Cait approached her and looked down at her. “The things I told you about.” Her lips were pressed together in a thin line again. “Um- uh, not particularly sad. I mean I’m sad you felt that way but I’m not sad that you did that. Well maybe I am but it’s not like I blame you.” Cait stared down at Vi. “I’m a bad person aren’t I. Using someone as a rebound. Hurting you. You deserve to be with someone who could give you so much more Violet” Vi stepped back “Why are you saying all of this? I thought it was alright now Cait…”
Caitlyn still stood with a blank stare. “But it’s not, is it? I won’t be able to change what I did.”
Vi took her hand abruptly “You’re right, you won’t,” she pulled on Cait’s arm to make her lean down to her level. “But I’m going to make sure you never feel like you have to do any of that again.” She cupped Caitlyn's face and kissed her hard. They wrapped their arms around each other slowly. “It’s okay, okay?” Vi whispered. Cait nodded and moved her head into the crook of Vi’s neck once again.
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Maddie heard it all. That's okay, Caitlyn was never meant to be permanent to her either. She appreciated the warmth. Holding back on the poison will have been worth it. Caitlyn and Vi can be happy for a day or two. She’ll be the one to end it soon. Caitlyn will die from her very own bullet. The Noxian empire will prevail.