Getting to know you
Powder sat the bar helplessly crying over her sister. All she wanted was confirmation to if she was alright or not. Vander had closed the bar and gone out to look for Vi. This was all her fault. If she had just left those stupid things alone none of this would've happened and she wouldn't of been separated from Vi.
Claggor took notice to how she was struggling. He took a seat beside Powder and pulled her into a hug.
"What did I tell you earlier? Vi's strong and you know that. She'll be ok. We'll all be ok. So don't worry about it. How do you think Vi would feel seeing you sulking over her like this?" Claggor asked trying to calm the girl down.
Powder sniffled and wiped her eyes, "She'd feel awful knowing I was crying about her."
Claggor gave a small smile. "Right. So try and be optimistic. Vi will be home soon."
"Ok. I'll try. For Vi."
Powder sighed getting up from the bar stool and walking towards to jukebox to play some music to calm down. 'Our love' was her favorite disc. Vander played it all the time saying it was their mother Felicia's favorite song. Because of that it was Powder's too. Sometimes when it was just the family around she and Vi would dance to it together so to make herself feel better she starting dancing along to the track.
She did this for a minute until someone turned her attention. Ekko busted into the closed bar and began yelling. "Guys! I heard from around the brothel someone saw Vi in top city!"
Powder stopped and gasped. "She's ok? We need to go find her!" Finally. News telling her that her sister was alive and not dead.
Claggor disagreed. "No. We need to stay here and wait. It's not safe to cross back over there since we technically committed breaking and entering. Vander will deal with it."
Stay and wait? Was he serious? Powder couldn't just sit around and do nothing if they knew where she might be. This whole thing was her fault. So now she needed to fix it.
"No! I need to find Vi. I wanna help and bring her back home. I'm not waiting for Vander to get back!" Powder protested angrily at her older brother. The commotion was enough to drag Mylo up from the basement. He found it hilarious that she believed she could help.
"Hah. What are you going to do? Jinx our freedom? Complain the whole time?"
Mylo was making her even more irritated. "Like you're any better. You suck just as much as I do pointy chin!" Powder bickered. The two began going back and forth with each other. Ekko found it very amusing while Claggor was stressing.
"Cut it out! Go back downstairs and find something to do please." Vander yelled startling the four kids. He had just come back from having to make a difficult decision about Vi with Benzo. What a joy it was to break up the fight between Powder and Mylo on top of worrying about your other child.
Powder tried her best to protest but to no avail. If Vander said no that meant no. In an anxious state once more, she followed her father's directions and went back to the basement. It hurt her to be down there. Everything reminded her of her sister and how worried she was for the girls safety. Ekko had only said he'd heard someone say they saw Vi, not that she was safe from the enforcers hauling her away to Stillwater.
Powder's eyes darted over to Vi's bed where her possessions like the saxophone or the poster of a woman she took from a catalog on one of their jobs and even the book the two sisters had fought over to read multiple times lied. It made her feel extremely guilty. Vi loved every single one of those things. What would happen to them if she was in prison? Would they still remain here when she got out?
Crying once more, she laid down in Vi's bed hoping by some miracle she'd come back home unharmed and safe from danger.
-
Caitlyn was stunned. Under City was worse than she'd imagined. It was so... dirty and tragic to see. The air was hard to breathe and extremely polluted. Shady people lined every street corner eyeing the two girls as they made their way down to the Last Drop aka Vi's home.
Vi couldn't help but laugh at Caitlyn's facial expressions in her disoriented state. She looked appalled and freaked out. No wonder. Being from Piltover this was probably the most frightening thing Caitlyn could witness. She was privileged so there was never any need for her to come to the lanes.
"Y'know, you remind me of my mom in a way as strange as it sounds. The faces you made makes me think back to being younger when she'd take me and Pow down to the market where shady things happened. Mom hated that we got exposed so she'd always make faces like that." Vi admitted. This was the first she had really said about her life to Caitlyn.
"Your mom huh? You still live with her?" Caitlyn asked curious on Vi's relationship with her mother.
Vi went quiet for a moment and took a deep breath, "I wish. She and my dad died on the bridge a couple years back when I was 9. Now me and Powder live with Vander and my two adopted brothers Mylo and Claggor."
Caitlyn felt bad. Not like she would've know about Vi's home life without asking. "Sorry for making you bring that up. I'm glad you've got people looking out for you and your sister. It's always nice to feel someone has your back."
Vi cracked a small smile, "Yeah. Kinda sucks being the older sister. Means everything that happens to them is on me. Like at the penthouse. That was on me, I should've been smarter and kept them out of trouble."
The explosion wasn't Vi's fault. Like Tobias said, No way she or anybody other than Jayce would've know how dangerous the things he had lying around were. Caitlyn didn't harbor hate against Vi for it.
All this talk about Vi and her life was going to drive her crazy. "So, you have any siblings? You don't seem like it." Vi asked changing the subject to Caitlyn.
She shook her head, "Nope. Mother and father never had any after me." Figures as much. She seemed like an only child.
"Y'know if you ever decide you want one you can take Powder from me. I love her to death but I need a break sometimes. No scratch that, take Mylo. What I wouldn't give not to have to deal with his constant fighting and stupidity all the time." Vi joked.
"I think I'll have to decline your offer thank you." Caitlyn laughed. He had to be bad if he was her second choice.
The two walked through Zaun talking on and on about their lives and interests. They had a lot more in common than Caitlyn originally thought. Vi was easy to talk to unlike everyone else in her life. She made Cait feel like less of a misfit and more just misunderstood by the people around her.
"Vi sweetheart I'm so relived to see you! Vander's been looking for you!" Someone called out from the brothel right in front of the two. Babette. Vi gave the yordel a hug despite being injured. Babette eyed Cait giving her a dirty look.
"This is my friend Caitlyn. She helped me get back over here from Piltover." Vi introduced hoping to eliminate the concern Babette had about the other girl.
Babette sighed, "If you say so. I just don't want to see you get in trouble sweetheart. We don't deal with people from Piltover for obvious reasons and I know you know that."
Vi knew she was only looking out for her. But Caitlyn was different.
Saying their goodbyes, Vi and Caitlyn went on their way until they made it to the Last Drop. Must've been nightfall by now because the place was closed. Taking the extra key Vander had hidden outside, Cait opened the door quietly and helped Vi make her way downstairs to the basement.
Vi immediately noticed Powder asleep in her bed. Mylo and Claggor laid passed out on the couches beside.
"My poor Powder. Looks like she's been crying." Vi said with her heart aching at seeing the dried tear stains that remained on her younger sisters face. She grabbed a cloth from the nightstand and wiped them from Powder slowly making sure not to wake up the sleeping girl.
"You should stay here tonight. Vander or somebody can walk you back home tomorrow. It's not good to be out at this time especially by yourself. I'm surprised we made it back here with no problems." Vi suggested hoping she could continue her conversations with Cait.
Caitlyn agreed knowing that was the safest option.
Vi climbed into bed and laid right beside Powder. Cait followed laying at the end of the bed and the two began trying to go to sleep. It wasn't very easy. Caitlyn stirred tossing and turning not feeling at ease in a place that wasn't her own home.
"Wanna go up to the rooftop with me cupcake?" Vi asked also not being able to fall asleep and sensing the girls uneasiness.
Rooftop huh? The offer definitely intrigued Caitlyn.
"Why not. I can't sleep anyways. It's like I'm an insomniac."
-
Vi lead Caitlyn up to the top of the building. It would take some parkour to get to the so called 'rooftop' Vi was on about. Poor Caitlyn wasn't used to this stuff.
"Here just follow my lead. I'll catch you if you fall so don't worry." Vi promised taking the girls hand and showing how to get across from one house to another despite being injured. It was a lot of jumping and leaping. Caitlyn struggled to keep her balance but eventually found a way to make it work albeit more graceful than Vi who looked like she was straight out of an action movie.
"Not too bad for someone that's been pampered all her life." Vi joked making fun of the fact Caitlyn had told her about all of the maids and nannies her family had.
Caitlyn scoffed and continued until they made it to a rooftop with an immaculate view of the night life down below. For a city as messed up as Zaun was, this was a fresh breath of air. Vi sat near the edge ushering Cait to sit next to her of which she happily obliged.
Vi rested her head on Caitlyn's shoulder. Silence lingered between the two. It wasn't awkward but comfortable.
Vi was the first to break it. "You see that bunny up on the powerline? Some jerk took it from me and threw it up there when I was a kid. Sometimes I'd stare and hope the wind or something would knock it back down to me." She explained pointing different things out.
"And that stain on the sign over there? Mylo was trying to draw a middle finger and tripped. His ass made that splotch." Vi began cracking up.
Caitlyn loved that Vi was comfortable enough to tell her everything about herself. It seemed like she lived a million different lives. If she could stay like this forever with her it'd be a dream come true.
"This may sound ridiculous to say but I kinda wanna stay here with you. I don't want to go back over to Piltover and to my family. I wanna stay by your side." Caitlyn admitted feeling embarrassed over the way she and Vi had hardly known each other for a day yet it felt like forever. A small smile crept onto Vi's face, "Anytime cupcake."
Silence rang through the air once more as the pair embraced the comfort brought on by one another. No words needed to be exchanged. They both knew they felt the same way about each other.
Maybe it was the heat of the moment, but Vi felt the need for more. She reached over and cuffed Caitlyn's face and planted a small kiss on her lips. Caitlyn was definitely taken aback not expecting it but damn did it feel right in that moment. She kissed back looking forward to exploring this newfound connection with Vi. Was this what the soulmates she read about in books were like?
Vi stopped, realizing what she was doing, and turned away from Caitlyn. Caitlyn who had been enjoying the moment was now confused.
"What's wrong? Did I do something?" She asked fearing she did something to freak Vi out.
Vi shook her head, "No. This just isn't right. We're from two different worlds. I'm already falling for you so quick, I don't want to lead myself on for something that won't last."
Caitlyn put a hand on Vi's shoulder. "But I like you. I don't mind if I'll have to sneak around my family to see you. I don't think I've ever met anybody that's understood how I feel as much as you do Violet. Can we at least try and see where this leads?"
That was all Vi wanted to hear. That she wasn't crazy and Cait felt the same way she did. She wanted so badly to protect herself and stay true to what she knew was reality, but damn was Caitlyn making that so fucking hard. Maybe following your heart was the right choice after all.
Vi sighed accepting defeat, "I think you're right cupcake. It might be hard but if we try maybe we can make this work."
Caitlyn smiled at her answer and took the lead kissing Vi once more. The two embraced the spark and stayed like that for a few minutes.
"Stay with me tonight?" Vi asked not wanting this to end. Caitlyn let out a laugh, "I thought we already established this Violet. I couldn't leave even if I wanted to right now. So yes, I'll stay. I dare you to try and get rid of me anyways."