Chapter Text
Stressed was an understatement of how Vi was truly feeling.
The pot whistled shrilly as she rushed to cover it.
"Behind," she yelled.
She entered the walk-in fridge, propping the door open with a cement block, and immediately sighed. Mylo followed her inside.
The walk-in was in a mess — liquids were not labeled properly (no name or date), cooked meat was left on the top shelf alongside unwrapped, uncooked meat, and cans were haphazardly thrown into a large box. How could Vander let this place get in this state?
"Mylo, how many times do I have to remind you? When was the last time you cleaned in here?"
"Uh…I dunno…like last week?"
"Uh-huh, right. This can of tomatoes is dated 2016. See that box of produce I told you to throw out?" She grabbed the box and shoved it in his face.
"Rotten."
"I'm not finished. This file management is a mess."
"It’s part of my Mojo, Vi."
"Vi, your pasta is overcooking!" Claggor said, peeking his head into the walk-in.
Claggor wasn't even supposed to be back here — he was FOH.
She would have to deal with this mess later. Vi left Mylo and went back to her station. The pot was uncovered and boiling instead of simmering. She adjusted the heat and grabbed her knife to cut the celery and carrots. Only to find the vegetables missing.
"Who touched my station?" she said, looking around at everyone's faces.
Sevika, who two minutes ago looked like she was seconds away from the grave, was now smiling. A sight she never wanted to see again.
Vi rolled her eyes. "Real mature, Sevika." She found the veggies floating in the water in a nearby sink. She rinsed them off and started to dice at her station.
Sevika leaned in close that she could smell the cigarette smoke on her breath, "You cut vegetables like a bitch."
"Yeah? Your Mother wasn’t complaining last night."
She added the vegetables to a frying pan, stirring them till they turned golden. Next, she added minced ground meat along with tomato puree. It was almost done, but it was missing something key. Somehow, in the unorganized walk-in, she found the sugar.
"Behind," she yelled, carrying the big container behind Sevika.
With the final touch, it was finished.
"Will you quit with the yelling? Your racket made my sauce break. There’s like four of us in here."
Vi quickly peered over, adjusting the knob before returning to mixing the pasta with the bolognese. "The sauce broke because the heat was too high. And, it’s part of the new system, Sevika. The point is-"
"Yeah, yeah, you learned stuffy rules at your prissy, Piltie West Coast Restaurant. Well, your system is fucked. I managed fine the last 15 years I've worked here. Vander never complained. They taught you to make teeny tiny food on precious china, but never how to make a simple pasta."
"Save your words for when you actually try it. This is better than that sump shit y'all call pasta."
"Fighting words, Vi, but I’ll try it." Mylo chimed in
"All of you will try it, it’s only fair," Vi said as she plated the bolognese onto a large shared plate and watched as they ate.
"Holy shit—" Mylo exclaimed as he devoured his portion in seconds. He attempted to eat more, but Vi slapped his hand away.
You know that shit’s good she thought as she watched Sevika chew tentatively. She couldn’t say it loud, not yet at least. It didn’t matter if she impressed the goddamn president or Janna herself; everything needed to have a stamp of approval from Sevika. Sevika could be a real pain in the ass.
Vi grumbled as she remembered how Sevika treated her when she came back. The first week, she wouldn't let her touch anything in the kitchen despite the fact that she graduated from the CIA and worked at Piltover's finest. The second week, she kept bossing her around as if she didn't know her shit. It took time for her to accept the change, let alone introduce her own take on a classic dish.
They all turned to look at Sevika with bated breath. She knew it was damn good, but she gripped the wooden spoon nevertheless.
Sevika folded her arms and looked away, narrowing her eyes. "It’s…acceptable," the older woman admitted with a tight smile.
"—But we aren't serving it today. There's not enough time."
She could accept that small wins were still wins in her book.
Vi looked at the clock and indeed it was time for dinner service. She hit the bell to start service.
—
It was hard to miss her sister in a crowd. When they were younger, she would beg Vander to dye her hair even just a strand. Vander never acquiesced much to Powder's dismay. Years later, she had clearly gotten her wish. Her hair was now radioactive blue in long makeshift braids. Vi looked through the kitchen window to see her yelling at a customer, again. Fuck. This was not what she needed, only a couple of hours into dinner service. "Where’s Ekko?"
Crickets.
Ringing the bell, Gert appeared holding an empty serving tray.
"I have a group of two still waiting on their food? Is the ticket ready?"
"That's a great question, right, Mylo? You want to tell her why you are taking so long on the garnish?
"I didn't think the spinach would take so long to defrost."
"That's right, Mylo, you don't think. Hurry up."
With a grunt, Mylo turns off the stove and grabs the hot pan.
"Shit—" He drops the pan, letting it splatter all over the floor and near the entrance.
"I'm so sorry I'm late. I had a final and—" Like clockwork, Ekko comes in and as soon as Ekko steps in the back, he slips on the food with a hard crash on the floor.
Vi pinched her nose bridge. "Can we just have one day — one day without chaos?"
"Nope," chimed Gert, popping the p.
—
It was near the end of service, and Vi needed to find out what happened FOH; it was her job after all. Wiping off her hands with a towel, she entered the dining room. She was greeted by the sight of the Powder and Mylo duking it out on the arcade machine. Somehow, after all these years, it was still working.
"Powder, can we talk?"
"Can’t, Sis. I am crushing Mylo on Sharp Shooter."
Mylo didn’t even have a second to snake in a taunting remark as his face quickly crumpled and he sank down in defeat. Powder started jumping with glee and hooted so loud it made Vi’s ears ring.
"Seriously," she insisted.
Powder huffed in annoyance but finally turned to face her.
" Fiiiineee, " She waved Mylo off. She sauntered over to where Vi was standing, leaning on the bar.
"Whaddya want?"
"You lost your shit against a customer."
Powder rolled her eyes. "I wouldn’t have to if they didn’t ask me stupid questions." Powder put on her best customer service voice, "No, sir, we cannot change the traditional pizza to be dairy-free. No, we can't substitute the regular beef with wagyu beef. This is a family business."
No, it was something deeper. She knew it. Call it her gut, but Powder wouldn't do that for no reason if there wasn't something building up.
"Pow, what’s really going on? I'm here for you. Always." And for the first time since she’s been back, her sister’s hard exterior melted away. Powder started chewing her lip and curled up in a ball.
"Sorry. Professor Heimerdinger has been on my ass about my inventions. Claiming that they were too ‘ambitious’ and ‘dangerous’", Powder said using air quotes.
"He’s so nitpicky. It’s so —" Powder’s eyes suddenly light up. "Like last week, he called me to the front to test my latest invention. You should've seen the look on his face when it not only worked because duh I use safety precautions, but my class quite literally stood up and clapped, even the pilties."
"See, I always knew you would get it." She leaned in to hug Powder and hated to see her tense at her touch, but felt relieved when Powder pressed back warmly. Maybe their relationship wasn’t totally ruined.
"Yeah, tell him that." Powder laughed bitterly.
Powder raked through her hair vigorously as if she were looking for something.
"That’s not all," She admitted with a sigh. "Vander…He’s been having money problems."
Vi knew that business had been dwindling since she left a couple of years ago, but she didn’t know the true extent of the problems.
"How big of a problem are we talking?"
"Like a quarter of a million problem."