Caitlyn had a tightly knit expression, trying to keep it together. Inside she was failing miserably, her heart screaming up at the heavens, demanding her mother back. But she was gone. The door had closed, and it could never, ever be opened again. She numbly twisted the Kiramman Key in her fingers, hardly daring to lock eyes with her father.
The quiet in the room broke when he spoke, looking behind Caitlyn at…
“What is she still doing here?” Tobias barked, malice tainting his words and his gaze hardening at the sight of Vi. The despondent red-head just turned and walked away, hands by her sides, eyes full of guilt and a clear confliction.
Caitlyn desperately wanted to follow her, to break down into her arms, and just… give up. So with a gentle hand on her fathers shoulder and a single softening glance, Caitlyn was one step away from Vi. Literally.
Rain pattered against the large, arched windows, giving the tall hallway an eerie colour. The whole world was crying, but Caitlyn didn’t know if it was sharing or doubling the grief. She had the shot. But she hesitated. All because of the girl in front of her.
“Hey..”
Caitlyn stopped in front of Vi, face still taut in a neutral expression that didn’t do much to mask her grief. Slowly her composition fell away, her eyebrows drawing together, tears threatening to spill. She wasn’t the person her father wanted to be. She was broken, not used to such a suffocating anguish.
Small steps forward, trying to stay up, to stay strong. But more than anything Caitlyn just wanted to collapse and never stand again, she wanted to give in. She couldn’t stop herself from falling into Vi’s arms, relying on the red-head to hold her in this nightmare.
She choked out a sob, squeezing Vi tight, desperate to move on already, to avoid the grey colour life had turned into. Vi was the only person who still looked the same, who still stood stable and strong. The red-head’s arms held Caitlyn up effortlessly, hands clenched as she provide a pillar to lean on, a shoulder to cry on.
Something Caitlyn hopelessly needed. The blue-haired girl buried her face in Vi’s clothes, tears wetting the fabric, sniffles and sobs muffled. It made Vi’s heart ache that she couldn’t protect her from misery like this. All she could do was stay by her side.
Caitlyn began to lift her head, to ground herself in the steadiness of Vi’s eyes, when she felt the red-head’s hand on her cheek. Her touch was gentle and Caitlyn couldn’t help leaning into it, looking up at Vi, eyes vulnerable and glistening.
This small action, so desperately needed in a moment like this, brought a bit of colour back into Caitlyn’s world. Rain filled her head like white noise, blocking out her thoughts just this once as all she could do was admire the girl in front of her, a float for when all she wanted to do was drown. So she settled for another kind, drowning in the softness of Vi’s eyes, and the way her thumb moved to her chin, pulling her forward.
Vi let herself kiss Caitlyn, pouring all her heart into it, hoping it would be enough to convey what words couldn’t. She would always be here, by Caitlyn’s side to support her. Nothing would ever change that. It was a promise, sealed by the kiss, one that couldn’t be broken.
And when Caitlyn opened her eyes again, expression changed by hope, her world wasn’t so black and white anymore. It was powder blue and a sharp red, only illuminated as a rainbow by the girl in front of her. Maybe Caitlyn could survive. Maybe she could stay strong, for Vi.
As the two stood there, arms around each other, sharing the weight of the world, things didn’t seem hopeless anymore. Things seemed possible. Like Caitlyn surviving this crushing grief that threatened to spill with her tears when she let her mind wander.
She held on a little bit tighter, breathing in deeply, trying to keep her eyes dry. She shouldn’t be this weak. She shouldn’t be showing this much emotion. But with Vi, Caitlyn just seemed to let everything drop away, leaving just the two of them still alive, everyone else cast aside.
Vi held Caitlyn harder, holding on to hope. To her hope, Cait. It felt right like this, with each other pressed close, warmth shared like the beating of their hearts. Caitlyn needed this. Vi needed this. They both found solace in this moment, one that not only comforted their hearts but connected their souls.
Things would never be the same.