Archive of Our Own ^beta

Vi sighed happily and plopped onto the cushy sofa in the Kiramman mansion’s library. After the war had ended, she suddenly was saddled with so much free time, no longer constantly teetering on the tightrope of survival. Especially when Caitlyn had recovered and resumed her duties as sheriff, her time was no longer utterly consumed with undertaking the role of a caregiver. With so much of her life consumed with caring for others whilst simultaneously trying to survive her unforgiving environments from Stillwater, to the underbelly of a Silco-run Zuan, then to a literal war, it was strange to have so much time and nothing much to do. She was practically a housewife at this point, whipping up meals and treats for Caitlyn and sometimes the Firelights, as well as cleaning up the mansion despite the maids' insistence against it. But other than that, her days were now spent meandering around the mansion or the Firelights base, finding people to talk to, and waiting for Caitlyn to come home at night like a wife of a soldier sent away to war. Her refusal to Caitlyn's proposal to join her as deputy commander didn't help as well, the thought of having to don a uniform again already made her stomach queasy.

She was so bored . Until Tobias introduced her to something incredible. Something that now consumed her thoughts and all her free time. Something that had revolutionized her usually dreary and lonely afternoon, into one filled with hysterical giggling, her endlessly twirling her hair, and kicking her legs in excitement

Trashy. Romance. Novels.

They were chock full of idiotic character tropes, predictable and formulaic plot lines with a crap ton of plot holes. The plot would practically fall apart if logic was ever applied. They were perfect. 

Vi’s obsession consumed her swiftly; her bedside table now almost always always had one of her novels on top of it, waiting for her to pick it up the moment she woke up from where she left off the previous night. Her frenzy even alarmed Caitlyn, who had witnessed first hand how the all-consuming urge to finish each novel fueled her tossing and turning at night when she was inevitably forced to bed by Caitlyn. Her strange addiction was handy in helping her finish the plethora of books in a mere week. Impressive, but honestly terrifying.

Today she was continuing a novel that Caitlyn had picked up for her from the bookstore. An Ionian novel that had been recently published in Piltover. The main character of the story was a poor girl who worked at a coffee shop trying to make ends meet, until she met the Cold-hearted CEO love interest Kaitlyn Kornkob, when she accidentally gave her the wrong order, with the two of them eventually falling in love. Right up her alley.

Vi settled into the sofa comfortably and reached for her hot chocolate, her beloved companion when reading these novels. Without glancing up, her hand reached out for the mug.

Clink!

“Oh crap..” She muttered and she took in the mess she made, the drink spilled all over the previously pristine oak floors. 

Vi got up from her cushy haven and padded over to the mess to clean it up, only to step directly on the puddle of chocolatey goodness. Causing her to slip pathetically onto the floor, face first, book still in hand

Cait is gonna kill me…, Vi thought as her vision faded to black.

                                                          ~~~

When Vi came to, harsh lights immediately assaulted her vision, and her nose was filled with the distinctive aroma of coffee beans. 

“What the fuck?” She muttered to herself as she took in her surroundings. Blinking away the blurriness in her vision, she then realised she was not in the Kiramman library but in the storeroom of some sort of cafe? With shelves of different coffee beans and ingredients surrounding her. Her vision then panned towards her hands, which was somehow grasping the same book she was about to continue reading until she slipped on that damned puddle of hot chocolate.

Except that she flipped through the pages, it was completely empty, except for the first page which continued a single paragraph:

If you're reading this, congratulations! You've been transmigrated into the universe of the book “I accidentally gave the wrong order to the Cold-hearted CEO and then fell in love with her?!?”. To return to your original universe, you have to seduce the love interest, Kaitlyn Kornkob, by raising her affection bar to a 100%⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡

Good luck! ( ˶ˆᗜˆ˵ )

~Madoka, The Guardian Angel of Yuri ⊹ ࣪ ˖⋆˚꩜｡

Vi's mind played like TV static, unable to conjure any thoughts in total confusion. She maintained a staring contest with the book's text, before pinching her nose bridge in exasperation, how was she ever going to romance Kaitlyn Kornkob? As far as her knowledge went, the only person who was ever able to thaw the CEO’s cold heart was the main character, Viola Paprika. The very same person whose place she took when she was transported into the book. How she managed to get Kaitlyn to fall in love with her was still a mystery to Vi; she hadn't reached that part of the novel yet. 

“Oh Janna…” Vi sighed, “What am I going to do..” raking her fingers through her hair.

Bam! Vi immediately snapped her neck up to see the door to the storage room suddenly slam open, revealing a disgruntled looking Loris donned in a ridiculously frilly cafe apron with a bow on his head.

“You finally woke up huh? Figuring the knock to your head with a kettle wouldn't have affected you that much considering how thick your skull is. Are you ready to continue on with your shift?” He yelled whilst beckoning her over. “Boss ain't happy.”

“Yea yea I'm coming” Vi grunted as she trudged over to the door.

“But before I go, can I change my name tag to Vi?” She asked. 

“Why the sudden change?” Loris raised his brow. 

“Let's just say it was… divine intervention.” She replied cheekily.

“I don't care if Janna herself told you to change your name to violin, vibrator or viagra, you are coming out of that storage room this instant to help with the customers to make up for that nap you took!” A shrill voice screeched out of the blue.

“Told you Mrs Kimchi Jiggae was mad.” Loris sighed before whipping out a roll of tape and a marker. Hastily scribbling down “Vi” on the roll, then ripping it out and pasting it on her name tag.

“C'mon let's go now before our heads get ripped off.” Loris said as he beckoned Vi out of the storage room. 

“There you are! I almost thought you were never going to wake up.” The shrill voice harrumphed again as its owner came into Vi’s vision. A stout Ionian woman with curly grey hair and a seemingly perpetual frown etched on her face stomped towards Vi and handed her an apron, then gestured at the countless order tickets behind her.

“Get to work missy.” Mrs Kimchi Jiggae ordered, an evil grin slowly forming on her face.

Any other person would've crumbled if suddenly faced with a dozen unfamiliar orders with varying beverages and a complicated list of toppings. But not Vi. When she had been introduced to the wonders of a coffee machine back at the Kiramman mansion, she was dedicated to mastering the craft. After much trial and error, and almost breaking the machine, Vi could now successfully prepare a cup every single morning before Caitlyn left for work. (Speedily too as they both usually got out bed way later than intended after cuddling) 

Vi whizzed through the hours as she whipped up countless orders, trying to work away the anxiety of literally being teleported into another universe . When a piercingly cold but familiar voice resounded through the bustling atmosphere of the cafe.

“Who was responsible for making order 516?” 

Shit. Shit. Vi was the one who had been preparing all the drinks for the last hour.

“Umm that would be me ma'am, what's wrong with it?” She inquired, glancing up at the owner of the voice.

It was… Caitlyn??? No, not her Caitlyn…judging from the sleek K.K. embroidered on her blazer, it was Kaitlyn Kornkob?!? The CEO was a carbon copy of Caitlyn. Except for the random sparkles and roses spontaneously forming around her face mid-air, as well as the wind blowing against her hair gently (wait weren't they indoors?) to reveal a jawline sharp enough to slice swiss cheese for one of Tobias’s charcuterie boards. Whilst being decked out in a smart navy blue suit as well as a heart motif floating on the top of her head with a label reading “affection meter” hovering above it with a measly 0% displayed on the heart. 

That was probably the affection bar the book was talking about. Anyways… Woah… I should get Cait to wear suits more often huh.. Vi swallowed, taking in the breath-taking view in front of her, as her mind drifted off picturing Caitlyn in different suits she had seen at the vast number of boutiques in Piltover.

“Are you even listening? I said you got my order completely wrong! I asked for a single shot of espresso, and you gave me a flat white?” Kaitlyn reprimanded, exasperated.

I must've made Caitlyn's morning coffee instead of the order! Vi gulped, reaching for the cup. “I'm sorry, let me remake that for you.”

“Are you serious? I'll be late if I have to wait again for another cup.” Kaitlyn huffed.

“Well what else do you want me to do cupca-” Vi’s protest was cut off swiftly by her manager who slammed her away from the counter.

“I'm incredibly sorry Ms Kornkob! We’ll give you a full refund and make you a new drink as soon as possible.” She apologized hurriedly in a tone that was vastly different from the one she used to yell at Vi, while bowing deeply.

“Go make her order immediately! And get it right this time!” She shooed Vi away hushedly before refunding Kaitlyn. 

Didn't realize Kaitlyn was such a prick… to be fair she was probably only nice to Viola in the novel… Vi pondered as she made the drink. 

“I’m sorry about the mix-up, it won't happen again.” she drawled, passing Kaitlyn her new drink.

“Hm.” Kaitlyn’s piercing stare tore into Vi as she picked up the beverage. “It had better not.” She started before stalking out the door.

What a spoiled asshole! What do you mean by “it had better not”? Vi fumed to herself, arms crossed.

“Do you realise what could've happened?!?” A familiar screech broke her out from her reverie. 

“That was Kaitlyn Kornkob! CEO of Kornamman Industries and daughter to Kassandra Kornkob. Your mistake could have cost us her priceless patronage!” her manager squawked, smoke practically coming out from her ears. 

“Sorry I guess…” Vi replied snarkily and rolled her eyes. “Anyways, I'm heading off now, looks like it's the end of my shift.” She said after seeing the darkening sky, and began strolling away. Until a hand reached out abruptly and held Vi by her collar. 

“Where do you think you're going, missy? You live upstairs from this cafe anyways in exchange for working here with a lowered salary. So you're not heading back up until you clean up every square inch of this cafe until it's spotless.” 

Vi groaned as she turned back to the disgusting sink filled to the brim with blenders and cups. Already feeling exhausted, she knew she wasn't going to be able to leave anytime soon.

                                          ⊹˚₊⊹˚ʚ☕️੭

The next day, Vi showed up to work with an aching back and an even worse mood from cleaning up the entire cafe the previous night. 

Can't believe I had to scrub the entire place just because of Kornkob’s stupid tantrum… at least today's much less crowded, she contemplated to herself as she bent over the counter, attempting to stretch the aches away.

The door then swung open, and a weary-looking Kaitlyn Kornkob barged into the cafe. Speak of the devil, Vi thought, easing her eyebrows and sighing dejectedly.

“What can I get for you today?” Vi grunted out, barely managing to keep the annoyance out of her tone as Kaitlyn approached the counter. For a moment, her piercing blue eyes seemed to soften before returning to her usual glare.

“Look, I get that I was being a prick yesterday. It was rush hour, and you were clearly overwhelmed. I shouldn't have rejected the only solution you could have provided me. I'm sorry about my attitude.” Kaitlyn muttered, thumbs fidgeting and eyes now fixated on the counter. Vi’s eyes widened a fraction. She hadn't thought that Kaitlyn would have the humility to admit fault and apologize. Maybe she wasn't such an asshole after all.

“It's fine, it was my fault anyway for giving you something that you didn't order. Let's just put this behind us, cupcake.” Vi winked and held out her hand as a peace offering. “Name’s Vi by the way, but I guess you already knew that.” She said, gesturing to her name tag.

“Cupcake? My name is Kaitlyn.” She retorted, cheeks faintly flashing because of the moniker. 

“Well, you're so sweet, like a cupcake. Anyways, same thing as yesterday? A shot of espresso?” Vi snickered. Kaitlyn nodded, and Vi immediately set off to work. 

“Here ya go!” Vi rushed back to the counter with the beverage and a cupcake. 

“I.. I didn't order this?” Kaitlyn exclaimed, gesturing to the pink frosted cupcake with an artificial bright red cherry on top. 

“It's on the house.” 

“Do I look like someone who indulges in such childish sweet tre-”

“Just take it, Cupcake. Consider it a gift for being so sweet.” Vi winked and shot her a grin. 

Kaitlyn sighed and begrudgingly took the sweet treat. “Thanks.. I guess..” She muttered softly, looking at Vi one last time with an appreciative smile before leaving the cafe. 

Her affection bar went up… Vi realised, cheeks reddening.

                                        ‧✧˖°☕ ׂ 𓈒 ⋆ ۪

As the days crawled by, Kaitlyn began to visit the cafe regularly, coming in mostly for her morning coffee, and almost always leaving with a sweet treat courtesy of Vi. Her affection bar slowly crawling upwards to a 50%.

One slow day in the late afternoon, Vi was bored out of her mind; she had already cleaned the entire cafe floor to ceiling twice. There was no one else inside, Mrs Kimchi Jiggae had already left for her weekly G-Dragon karaoke sessions with her friends as the cafe was about to close for the day. 

Man.. when can I get out of here, I miss my Caitlyn… Vi huffed to herself as she settled on sweeping the floor for the nth time that day.. until she stepped onto a suspicious heart-shaped water puddle that somehow spontaneously appeared on the spot she was stepping on. She wasn’t even mopping for Janna’s sake. How did that even happen?!

This must be that wretched “Guardian Angel of Yuri’s” fault! Oh well… here we go again , Vi thought miserably to herself, resigning to her fate as she plummeted face-first to the floor. When an arm swiftly wrapped itself around her waist and pulled her upright. 

“You alright? Be more careful next time! What if I wasn’t there to stop you from falling?” 

Of course it was Kaitlyn Kornkob. Vi grumbled silently and mentally rolled her eyes. 

Kaitlyn had her arm wrapped around Vi’s waist, pulling Vi close towards her chest. Her hair was somehow tousled in a manner that was exceedingly attractive and seemingly effortless, with wind gently blowing through her hair again, despite Vi not recalling the air conditioning ever being that strong, seriously, how was she doing this ?? 

“My hero!” She gushed in a coyly sweet tone. “Whatever would I have done if you weren’t here to save me!” Vi batted her eyelashes incessantly before pulling herself out from Kaitlyn’s embrace.

“I-I thought you were going to get hurt! Well, excuse me for caring about your well-being.” Kaitlyn scoffed, folding her arms whilst Vi giggled at the break in your usually cold demeanor.

“Anywho, what can I getcha cupcake? The usual? Make it quick, though, we’re about to close.” Vi questioned, about to return to the cafe counter.

“Well, actually.. I meant to come just before the cafe closed. I wanted to ask if.. if you would like to go out on a date with me. Right now.” Kaitlyn blurted out, hands twirling her blue locks. Her ears now turned a bright red, almost as if steam were about to blow out. 

Vi’s eyes widened at the sudden confession, her mouth falling slightly agape. The thought of Kaitlyn asking her out hadn't even crossed her mind, she assumed she would have had to keep bribing her with complementary sweet treats until they reached a 100% on the affection bar.

“S-sure! Right now?” Vi stammered, still reeling from the shock. “Lemme just turn everything off first.” She managed to mutter before rushing to the counter to turn off the lights and air conditioning.

“Where’re we heading to?” Vi inquired when she returned to Kaitlyn's side.

“To the park. I saw quite a number of flowers blooming, and it reminded me of the time you were complaining about being stuck in the cafe when it was summer… so I wanted to show you.” Kaitlyn replied, before walking over to the cafe entrance and holding the door open. “After you.” Her shoulder pointed towards the door,  gesturing for Vi to come over.

“In that case.. I’ll grab a little something for the road,” Vi responded, jogging towards the fridge where she had kept the remaining desserts earlier that day and arranged them carefully into a to-go box. 

“Are you sure your boss would be okay with that? She doesn’t seem like the laidback sort..” Kaitlyn spluttered, caught off guard by Vi’s complete disregard for respect towards authority figures.

“It’ll be our little secret then, cupcake!” Vi chuckled mischievously, pressing a finger against Kaitlyn’s pursed lips. Her other hand playfully swung the takeaway box before skipping out of the cafe exit, tugging a momentarily stunned Kaitlyn out of the cafe.

“So.. shall we start walking?” Kaitlyn coughed, attempting to disguise the slight flush decorating her cheeks and return to her usual composed self faster, offering her hand as Vi locked up the cafe.

“You betcha cupcake.” Vi grinned and took Kaitlyn’s hand.

As they strolled leisurely towards the park, Vi began recounting the dozens of stories she had accumulated from working at the cafe. From an alleged vegan demanding for goat’s milk instead of oat milk as he was convinced oats were sentient beings, to a pre-teen chugging an entire iced chocolate milk in seconds before throwing it all up moments later. Her colorful stories, accompanied with Kaitlyn's blunt quips, complimented the peaceful atmosphere and beautiful scenery perfectly. 

Then, without warning, the temperature suddenly plummeted, a cold and strong gust of wind blew fiercely against Vi’s back.

“Isn’t it summer?? Why does it feel like the temperature dropped by like 20 degrees?” Vi complained as she wrapped her arms around herself, trying to keep warm. “The sun is still up, how’s it so cold?” 

“Here, take this.” Kaitlyn shrugged off her blazer and placed it over Vi’s hunched-over back. “It should keep you warm while we walk.” She placated, rubbing Vi’s shoulder comfortingly.

“Thanks..” Vi murmured, her cheeks puffing out and heating up,

before a melody reminiscent of trashy romance drama started playing in the background.

“What the-” Vi whipped her head around to spot a band mysteriously appearing behind the two of them that she could've sworn on her life wasn't there seconds ago.

You know what? I'm not even going to question it anymore. She sighed as she continued trudging down the path beside Kaitlyn.

“Oh yeah! Did I tell you about the time-” Her attempt to return to her usual demeanor dying on her lips when she turned her head and caught sight of Kaitlyn. 

Despite the confident smile plastered across Kaitlyn's smug face, it was clear the ice-cold wind was winning. The CEO was shivering ever so slightly, as if she was attempting to conceal her discomfort, her fingers rubbing against each other in an attempt to keep warm. 

“You silly mongoose…” Vi teased, trying to ignore the fond smile tugging at her lips.

“C’mere.” With easy steps, Vi made her way towards Kaitlyn and snaked an arm across the latter's waist, closing the gap between the two before pulling her right beside her, their bodies flush against each other. Then placed the blazer around both of them. They were close, too close...and yet, it brought a warm comfort. The cold that had been plaguing both of their bodies erased.

“This way, we can stay extra warm with our combined body heat and the blazer,” Vi explained conspiratorially.

“You sure you didn't just want to get closer to me?” Kaitlyn retired, her tone laced with false exasperation.

“Swear on my life, cupcake.” Vi replied, smushing her cheek against Kaitlyn’s, her eyes meeting cerulean orbs before drifting towards a red blob on Kaitlyn's blazer.

Vi squinted, it was a.. little red T-rex embroidered on the inside of Kaitlyn's blazer. 

“What are you looking at?” Kaitlyn asked, tilting her head to see what Vi’s gaze had panned towards.

Her eyes then shot open once she noticed Vi was staring at the dinosaur embroidery on her blazer.

“T-this isn’t what it looks like! It’s a uhhh…. a ketchup stain! Oh silly me, I’m so clumsy when I eat haha…” Kaitlyn blurted out awkwardly, her face contorting into a forced and much too wide smile, her cheeks puffed out and flushed a bright red.

“Kaitlyn, I’ve seen you eat at the cafe, you literally take off your blazer and put a napkin on your shirt before you start eating. Besides, I’m pretty sure you’ve never split or dropped food once in your entire life.” Vi retorted, “There’s nothing wrong with it, in fact, the lil’ guy’s pretty cute.”

“Oh look! We’ve arrived at the park already with a nice seat for us to appreciate the flowers on, guess we'd better go sit down!” Kaitlyn declared much too loudly, before vacating the warm haven underneath her blazer and striding hurriedly to the bench.

“Wait up!” Vi hollered as she ran over to the bench.

“Took you long enough.” Kaitlyn remarked, petting the empty spot on the bench, clearly returning to her composed appearance.

“Coming, your highness.” Vi snarked, making a big show of setting down Kaitlyn’s blazer over the bench and sitting down on heavily with a loud huff.

“You aren’t actually embarrassed about the embroidery, right…?” Vi probed, her elbow gently nudging Kaitlyn’s side, her gaze softening. “I was just caught off guard, I genuinely think it looks dope, I wasn’t trying to demean you or anything.”

“Is it not childish..? Silly? Especially for a woman of my age, of my status?” Kaitlyn asked, voice apprehensive in a way Vi had never heard before.

“Cupcake, why does that even matter? As long as you like it, the way that other people perceive your interests shouldn’t concern you.” Vi reassured, rubbing Kaitlyn’s shoulder placatingly. 

“It’s just that… most people have certain expectations of me, as a CEO and heir to Kornkob Industries… and those expectations somehow slowly carried over to my personal life. My interests, my hobbies, what I’m like as a person. I guess I eventually let those expectations dictate what aspects of myself I display to others, ones that seem to match up with the persona I put up every day.” Kaitlyn admitted, her eyes darting away to avoid Vi’s gaze.

“On my sixth birthday, my parents gifted me a red T-rex plushie, I called him Mr Squiggles because his arms were so tiny but muscular that they looked like squiggles. He was my entire world. I never went anywhere without him despite all the ridicule from the other kids, or my parents and tutors’ incessant pleading and eventual chiding to put him away.” Kaitlyn sighed and paused, taking a deep breath and a moment to recollect herself. 

“Until one day at a shooting competition, and I had just won. The other competitors had seen my plush, and out of anger.. Yanked him out of my hands and ripped him into shreds. The worst part was when my mother told me to cease my crying, telling me it as good riddance that my toy was finally gone so I could grow out of my childishness. But I guess even now, I still can’t let go of my immature interests, going so far as to have a red dinosaur sewn inside of my blazer as a goodluck charm.”

 Kaitlyn chuckled humourlessly. “Don’t I sound ridiculous? A 23 year-old whining over a dinosaur plushie she lost over a decade ago.”

“Oh cupcake…it's not stupid at all.” Vi took Kaitlyn’s hand into hers, rubbing small circles on it to comfort her. “Having Mr Squiggles taken away and ripped apart probably made you feel as if you had to grow up faster, as if you had to leave your interests behind. But who says interests have an age limit, cupcake? If you ask me, that’s immature as hell. It's like you're accepting your future to be dull and depressing, who the fuck wants that? Being an adult should be exploring the world, learning about yourself, and discovering what you love.”

Kaitlyn gripped back Vi's hand, adoration bleeding through the look she wore, reflected in the powder blue canvas of Vi’s eyes, before shooting Vi the most unrestrained, most gleeful grin she had ever seen on Kaitlyn’s face. There were no longer any strange sparkles forming around her face, no more supernatural bloomings of roses mid-air. Just Kaitlyn with that genuine smile, showing off that charming tooth gap that Vi adored. 

Vi smiled back, utterly enamoured. Then gripped the back of Kaitlyn’s head and brought her in for a kiss.

                Objective Complete! 100% Affection reached

                                                         ˗ˋˏ ♡ ˎˊ˗ 

                         Commencing return to Original Universe 

Vi came to groggily, eyes blinking rapidly as she tried to process what had just happened. When did she even pass out? 

“Finally up, sleeping beauty?” A familiar voice teased.

Vi sat up immediately. It was Caitlyn, but her Caitlyn. 

“Caitlyn…? Is it really… you?” Vi asked, astonished. Her eyes darted around to examine the room for any sparkles and roses, or any wind miraculously blowing indoors. 

“Thought I was Kaitlyn Kornkob?” Caitlyn smirked, pulling out the novel from behind her back. “You need to stop reading while walking, darling. Imagine how worried I got when I came home to you collapsed on a puddle of hot chocolate with this book in your hands.”

Vi laughed sheepishly before reaching her arms out for an embrace, proceeding to bury her face against the cranny of Caitlyn’s neck, breathing in her comforting scent.

Oh Janna… She’d never trade this for the world.

The End₊˚ʚ₊˚✧ ﾟ. ₊˚ʚ₊˚✧ ﾟ. 

This fanfiction was sponsored by Subway.

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