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"Alright," Vi says with a chuckle, "I think we've had enough for the evening."
That Caitlyn lets her pry the glass away without much complaint is proof in and of itself of a state of at least mild inebriation. Caitlyn does also pout though, an expression rare enough that Vi finds herself temporarily disarmed by the sight, her heart doing a teeny little backflip of its own.
"I'm not drunk," Caitlyn says. "And even if I were drunk, which I will once again maintain that I most certainly am not, would that be so bad considering we're in the comfort of our own home? Where no one will bother me?"
"No." Vi takes Caitlyn's wandering hands in her own to keep them from reaching for the crystal. It also lets her run her thumbs against the soft of Caitlyn's palms, far warmer to the touch than they usually are.
"Then?"
"It might not be bad," Vi says, "but you are very red right now. You could give my hair a run for its money."
The pout deepens. "I am not."
Vi chuckles and presses the back of one of her hands to Caitlyn's cheeks in lieu of a reply. There isn't a sizzling sound but honestly, she wouldn't have been that surprised to hear one.
"That's lovely," Caitlyn says with a sigh, already turning her head to nuzzle further against the touch. "Why are your hands so cold though?"
"They're not. You're warm." Vi cups her cheek gently. "See?"
Caitlyn hums, eyes already beginning to flutter shut. "You may have a point."
"I may have a point?"
One of Caitlyn's hands swats half-heartedly at her arm. "Oh, shut up, smarty pants." She sighs. "It's genetic. S'not my fault."
"I know, love."
Another quiet hum. Vi gives the cheeks in her hands a slight squeeze and gets rewarded with a soft snort for her efforts.
"You're lucky I love you," Caitlyn mutters even as her head tilts and she nuzzles into the curve of Vi's neck, warm as the midday sun. Her hands wind around Vi's waist. "I'm lucky too."
Vi holds her there in the low light of the dying hearth, in the glowing and flickering of the embers, the stars and the moon and the sun in her embrace.
"Yeah," she says after a few heartbeats, a wicked smile on her face that she knows Caitlyn can't see but will definitely hear. "You're definitely drunk, Cait."
Vi has been behaving weirdly.
To be honest, it's not that Vi's never been strange before. There have been plenty of times where Vi has, shall we say, taken her by quite the surprise with her choices. (And Caitlyn will be the last to say that she is not herself also strange, but that is entirely beside the point.) This, however, is not like those times. There is something going on here that she finds really quite baffling.
At the welcome party for the new recruits last week Vi hadn't let her participate in chugging the customary first beer, hogging it for herself instead. Granted while Caitlyn doesn't hate the beers they get, she isn't the most fond of having to down that much carbonated fluid in such a short period of time. Vi is aware of this. Vi has always been aware of this. Caitlyn has never been shy about making her dislikes known. But last week had been the first time that Vi had stepped in such a level of urgency and intensity one would think she were offering to take a bullet for Caitlyn. (Which is indeed another one of the many strange things Caitlyn wishes Vi not ever do again.)
Today too, Vi has swooped in, taken the glass of unfinished bubbly from her hands and then proceeded to hand it off to a passing waiter. She'd had one sip and yes, while it is true that it perhaps was not of a quality that she would have preferred, to have it removed right from her fingers? At an event where everyone else is imbibing?
Something is up.
"Vi," she says when the guest who'd been speaking to Vi has slunk off.
Vi turns to her with that one sheepish smile that never fails to take the sharp edges of her heart and wear them down something terribly tender. "Yes?"
Caitlyn's lips twitch at the speed that one syllable emerged. "If I could have a moment of your time."
"Yeah." Vi puts her own glass down on a waiting tray. "Always."
Caitlyn gestures for her to lead the way out onto the balcony. The air outside is warmer, humid from the weight of summer in full swing. She loosens her tie, fiddles with the button at her collar, watches Vi shrug off her own suit jacket.
"You've been doing something," Caitlyn says.
Vi grins, canines sharp in the lamplight. "I'm always doing something."
Caitlyn raises her eyebrows. "Of course."
"This isn't about the missing baskets, is it?"
Caitlyn's eyebrows rise even further. "Missing baskets?"
Vi's chuckle is the wash of a midnight breeze. "Yeah, I was pretty sure you didn't know about those."
"Nice try," she says as she sidles close, close enough to feel Vi's warmth through the silk and linen that separates their skin.
"Can't fault me for giving it a shot."
"And I never will," she says with a smile. "But you know me better than that by now."
"I do." Vi's leans on her, cheek to her shoulder.
"So," Caitlyn says. "Would you like to enlighten me as to why you seem to be behaving as if I am with child?"
The spluttering that ensues warms all the deepest nooks and crannies of her heart. "W-With child?" Vi manages around the thumps that Caitlyn's hand pats out on her back, around the choking on air. "You?"
"I thought it amusing too."
"I don't think you're pregnant," Vi says. "I— oh."
"Oh?"
"Oh, no, it's just—" Vi's face falls serious and the shadows gather in the sharp angles of her face. "Look," she says. "You remember that time you got drunk at home?"
"Yes," Caitlyn says with a frown. "I don't remember anything going monumentally wrong."
"You were drunk even though you kept saying you weren't—very much drunk behavior—"
"—I know."
"Yeah well, so you turned super red. The kind of red I only turned that one time when I had no sunscreen on."
Caitlyn's lips purse.
"I know," Vi says, hands coming up. "I haven't forgotten since, I swear."
"It's dangerous," Caitlyn reaches out to tuck that stray lock. "That's why I—" She pauses. "Oh," she says as it clicks.
"Yeah," Vi says, gaze soft and unbearably warm, her fingers finding Caitlyn's. She squeezes. Vi squeezes back. "I read up on it," she says. "I thought I'd just learn something new. I didn't think" —she shakes her head— "I got scared. I" —her eyes dart away then back and in the night Caitlyn knows she will never tire of their depths— "I know it's not even anything big, that maybe it won't be important or make a difference at all, given how we really don't drink all that much, but I just started thinking about it and I couldn't stop. I—"
Caitlyn reaches out, runs her thumb over Vi's cheek, closes the distance until all she can see is love. "I'm not going anywhere," she presses into the corners of Vi's lips.
"You can't promise that," Vi murmurs. "I'd make you if I could."
"You would," she says into the kiss. "But you wouldn't have to."