It was almost midnight when Vi made her way into their tiny apartment at the far edge of Zaun, but she wasn't surprised to find that every light was on. The rainstorm had slowed to a light drizzle almost an hour ago, but their shitty roof amplified the sound of each and every rain drop.
Lights on meant Jinx had gotten scared. Scared of the dark, scared of the rain, scared of herself, it didn't matter. They all tended to cascade into one another, feeding and growing until they were mushed and mixed into incomprehensible terrors. When Vi was home, she could usually comfort Jinx through the attack, soothe her until her mind calmed. When she was away, though...
Vi desperately hoped this wasn't a Run. She really didn't want to spend the precious few hours before sunrise searching every nook and cranny of the damp alleyways of Zaun. She would if necessary, because Jinx was worth it, but she really hoped it wasn't.
She stepped quietly inside, taking care to close the door gently, and blinked. Her eyes took a moment to adjust to the bright interior. Jinx wasn't in the kitchen/living room/laundry room that also served as their entryway, but evidence of her life there was scattered everywhere - crayon drawings on the fridge, bits and pieces of unidentifiable-to-Vi mechanical contraptions sprawled on the kitchen table, bottles of neon colored spray paint in the corner.
"Jinx?" Called Vi, pulse quickening slightly when there was no answer. She tried to slow her thoughts. That didn't mean Jinx was gone, though the general lack of destruction of furniture meant it definitely wasn't a Rage.
Her concern lessened as she approached their bedroom, where from behind the slightly ajar door she heard a small hiccup. She pulled open the door fully to find Jinx, with her back pressed into to the corner of the wall, sitting on their bed with her knees to her chest. The girl was clutching the raggedy, patchworked bunny that had been Vi's so many years ago, then Powder's, and finally Jinx's.
"Jinx," Vi sighed with relief, then winced as her sister looked up at the sound of her voice and shrunk further into the corner, tears spilling over. "Powder," she corrected herself. She had long since accepted and embraced her sister's chosen name, and even grown to love it. Some days, though, Jinx needed something else. Sometimes, she needed to be small.
"Violet?" Powder's voice sounded hoarse and small.
Oh. Must have been worse than she thought. Vi hurried across the small room to their bed, kicking off her boots, and clambered on, sitting herself cross-legged in front of Powder, noting the streaks of blue in her sister's usually violet eyes.
"Powder, I'm right here." She reached out a hand to try to brush her tears off her cheek, only for Powder to spring toward her into a hug, knocking both of them flat. She let them stay like that for a few minutes, petting Powder's hair as she sobbed into her chest, then slowly lifted both back into a sitting position, Powder in her lap.
"Powder," Vi repeated, gently. Sometimes all her sister needed was to hear her voice, or to be held. "Powder, can you tell me what happened?"
Powder sniffled, and hiccupped, then shook her head. Sometimes talking wasn't very easy for her when she got especially small. She could work with that, though.
"Did you get scared?"
A nod.
"Scared of the dark?"
No, not the dark apparently.
"Scared of the rain?"
"Scared of you," Powder whispered, and Vi's heart sank. "Scared of you leaving. You hating me. Scared of being alone."
"Powder, I wouldn't. I couldn't!" Vi exclaimed. Except..."Not ever again. I promise." She pulled Powder back into her arms, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "I love you too much to ever leave, PowPow."
Powder was quiet again, resting her chin on Vi's shoulder. They rocked back and forth gently, just the two of them, for what seemed like hours. Vi breathed in the scent of her sister, a mixture of gunpowder and spray paint. God, she loved that smell.
After a while, Powder pulled back, just a little, biting at her lower lip, then pressed her lips against Vi's in a kiss that made Vi giggle. Powder's affection was always much more direct when she was feeling small.
"My head hurts," Powder said as she pulled back from the kiss.
"Let me get you some water, then," and Vi made to stand up to go to the kitchen, but Powder grabbed her hand.
"Don't leave me," she cried, eyes widening.
"Pow, you need some water. You're dehydrated."
"I don't want you to leave."
"Then come with me," Vi chided gently, "all the way to the kitchen."
Powder frowned, like she wanted to argue, but let Vi stand up. She still held her hand though.
"Come on, Pow, let's go," Vi said, wrapping her free arm around Powder's upper body, pulling her into a standing position, supporting her weight until she could tell her sister's legs were under her properly. Together, they walked hand-in-hand into the kitchen, Powder's eyes never leaving Vi once, like if she stopped looking Vi would disappear.
Vi grabbed Powder's favorite cup and filled it with cool water from the tap. Powder took it, still not letting Vi's hand go, and took a small sip.
"Thank you."
"Of course, PowPow." Vi swallowed. "You know I'd do anything for you."
Powder nodded. "I know." She took another small sip from her cup. "Violet?"
"Yeah, Powder?"
"Can we build a pillow fort? Like that time with," she paused, voice wavering, "with Mylo and Claggor?"
Vi had been sipping on her own glass of water and nearly choked. Her sister almost never brought up their adoptive siblings. She knew what she was referring to, though.
It hadn't been long since they'd been taken in by Vander, a few months, perhaps. Powder was 5, maybe 6. It didn't really matter. The four of them had spent an entire afternoon rigging up an elaborate fortress of pillows and blankets and cushions in the basement of the Last Drop. Most importantly though, that was the first time Vi had seen Powder smile since their parents had died.
"Sure, Pow. We can build a pillow fort."
Heading back to their bedroom, they pulled all the bedding off their bed and Vi arranged it in a little nest.
"Can you grab me the couch cushions?" She asked, pointing back out to the living room. "I'll be right here, you can see me the whole time," she added when Powder's eyes widened in alarm again, which calmed her.
With the couch cushions acquired, they wedged them upright so Vi could hang a blanket over them and leave room for two people to crawl inside.
Vi went first, so Powder could still see her as she crawled. After she made herself comfortable, she called, "Come on, Powder. It's really comfy."
Powder crawled in next to her, eyes glowing in the semi-dark, a bright, shimmer-induced purple again. She laid down, resting her head on Vi's chest.
"This is nice," murmured Vi, combing her fingers through Powder's hair.
"Mmm."
"Do you wanna sleep here tonight?"
"Yeah," Powder said, drowsiness already creeping into her voice. "Do you...do you think they'd like it?"
"Yeah Powder," Vi whispered, "I think they would."