Chapter 1
It was late, or at least Jinx thought it was since her phone had died at least five drinks and three drunk makeouts with strangers ago and the watch Vi had given her on her eighteenth birthday rarely left the little box she kept it in.
It was a nice one too, she’d have wondered how her sister could’ve afforded something like it if she didn’t recognize it as their dad’s old watch that Vander had taken care of until giving it to Vi on her own eighteenth.
How many hours had Vi sat up and cleaned and prettied up that old thing for it to look almost brand new when she’d given it to Jinx?
Whatever.
Jinx shook her head and looked around for a taxi to wave down with no luck.
Kinda funny. No luck for Jinx. Only Jinxes for Jinxes.
“Fuck.” She swore under her breath, earning a look from a guy standing in the mouth of an alley smoking. She raised a finger in response and he scoffed before flicking the cigarette away and stomping back into the club Jinx had just left.
She scrunched her nose as the smoke reached her nose and glared at the guy’s back.
Her place wasn’t impossible to walk to but it sure would be a bitch to do it in these clothes and these goddamn she’d for some reason decided to wear heels. Mini-skirt, fishnets and a crop top wasn’t really her preferred attire to trek through Zaun’s streets in.
Sadly it didn’t look like she had much of a choice. The people she’d come here with had all either left earlier or were still in the club and with her phone dead it's not like she could call somebody.
With a groan that could rival a miner coming home after a long shift Jinx started walking in the vague direction of her apartment building, avoiding gross looking puddles and potholes with the ease of a native Zaunite, even if she was maybe, perhaps, possibly a little drunk.
’Not drunk enough.’ A little voice grumbled in her head.
’Well that’s too bad, Me, but the drinks in there sucked and there was no one in there I felt the urge to take home or get taken home by.’
What a shitty end to a night that had seemed so full of potential.
Once again Jinx mourned her lack of company, some one-night-fun would’ve at least made it semi-worth it.
The din of traffic and whatever her fellow Zaunite scum got up at least made her feel a little less alone as she walked. The sound of someone arguing through an open window, someone else yelling out their car on the street, two stray cats fighting in an alley and at least one person being kicked out by the partner for cheating in the middle of the night.
“Oh come on.” Jinx groaned as a car slowed down to creep alongside her. Great, fantastic, some creep wanted to make her night even worse. That's just wonderful.
When the driver didn’t take the hint when Jinx kept her gaze forward and never slowed in her stride she finally stopped. She stomped petulantly and swiveled around to glare right at the stupid tinted glass of the stupid car.
“Whaddaya want, asshole?” Jinx spat as the window started to lower, preparing for whatever sleaze would be leering behind it.
So she was surprised to not only recognize the driver but recognize them as Caitlyn fucking Kiramman.
The Piltiest Piltie to ever Pilt.
And also Vi’s ex.
Jinx would have preferred some random creep.
“Jinx,” Oh, Jinx had forgotten how that posh accent grated, “what are you doing?”
“Walking, what’s it look like, princess?” Caitlyn’s oh-so-pretty lips thinned and her eyes dipped down to her exposed tattoo for a brief moment before looking back up.
“I mean what are you doing walking around in the cold dressed like that.” She corrected and Jinx rolled her eyes. “And you don’t need to act like that when I’m just concerned.”
“Maybe I’m out here working? Maybe I’m trying to make rent and put food on my table?” Jinx couldn’t help but mock her. “Maybe you’re scaring away my customers and threatening my livelihood or whatever?”
Blue eyes narrowed at her.
They stared at each other, ignoring the cacophony of noise around them.
Then-
“Get in.”
“What?”
Jinx looked at Caitlyn like she was an idiot but the woman didn’t budge, just leaned over and opened the door with an expectant look.
For a second she considered turning around and walking off but a gust of particularly cold air chased the notion away. Jinx grumbled and threw her purse onto the floor and climbed inside the stupid fancy car.
She couldn’t help the sigh of relief as the warmth inside chased away some of the numbness that had begun to creep up on her.
Then, because she wasn’t about to make this easy, she turned around and smirked at the sharp profile of her sister’s ex.
“You know I was just kidding about working, right? Though if you’re really looking to hire someone for a bit of fun I know this girl near my building that-”
“Jinx…” Caitlyn sighed as she pulled back into traffic.
“What? I’m not judging you,” Jinx wiggled deeper into the warm seat as she gave winning-smile, “though trying to hire your ex’s little sister has got to be some kind of fucked up, right?”
She didn’t get a response but Caitlyn’s jaw clenched so Jinx counted that as a win.
After a minute simply enjoying getting the feeling in her fingers back Jinx noticed they were very much not going in the direction of her apartment.
“Hey! What gives, Piltie, my place is the other way!” Caitlyn turned and gave her a look that said she thought Jinx was an idiot.
“I asked where you lived twenty minutes ago and you didn’t answer and I’m not going to spend the entire night driving around guessing where your home is.” Caitlyn countered.
'Damn, really? I must be drunker than I thought. That’s a lot more than just a minute.’ Jinx thought with a grimace, it really had only felt like a minute.
“I was on my way out of the city so you can sleep off,” She waved a hand over all of Jinx, “whatever you’ve taken at my place and I’ll drive you back tomorrow.”
“Hey, I’ll have you know I only had a few, okay more than a few, but still I only drank stuff!” Jinx wasn’t sure why the insinuation that she had taken something rattled her so much, especially considering she did smoke and snort shit like that pretty often when she was out.
“Legal stuff.” She tacked on to the end, just to cover all her bases.
“I’m sure.” Caitlyn said flatly with a sideways glance that told Jinx she didn’t believe her. Rude.
Jinx crossed her arms with a huff and sunk down in her seat, turning her head away to stare out the window. She watched as the grime of Zaun eventually gave way to the sparse vegetation that existed between the Sister Cities. The rest of the ride passed in silence except for when Caitlyn turned on some music.
A scowl broke out across her face when they finally entered Piltover. She still wasn’t sure why she had gotten into the car or why she hadn’t protested more heavily when Caitlyn said she was taking her to Piltover.
Whatever that’s for sober her to figure out, for now drunk her was gonna collapse on Caitlyn Kiramman’s couch and sleep off the vile shit she’d poured down her throat. Seriously, did someone mix up the alcohol with wiper fluid back at the club or something?
The pounding bass of the club she was realizing had actually been her own head responding to the rat poison they served there and she could only hope that if she ended up vomiting it was on something expensive in Caitlyn’s house so her suffering would be shared by at least one other person.
When they finally pulled into the driveway Jinx sneered at the sheer fucking poshness of the house.
“Come on, I’ll get you some water.” Caitlyn said before turning the car off and getting out.
Jinx followed, albeit not as elegantly as Miss Longlegs, and slammed the car door just a bit too hard before walking, stumbling really, behind Caitlyn as she unlocked the front door.
Jinx ignored the fancy bullshit in the hallway and kicked her heels off, groaning in relief at being able to wiggle her toes freely, the pair landing in the corner and nearly toppling a coat rack.
“Where’s your couch, Caity-Cat?” Jinx slurred a bit, and wow those drinks were really hitting her now. Who drinks to wait like an hour to actually feel them? It wasn’t even a good kind of buzz. She was gonna sue that damn club for serving this shit to people.
Caitlyn hung her coat up and turned to look at her with a tight expression.
“You’re not sleeping on the couch, Jinx.” She said sternly, like a teacher.
Mmmm, Caitlyn in a tight buttoned up shirt, pressed skirt that offered a hint of creamy skin right where it ended and before the stockings on her legs started, all proper and meticulous, glasses on her nose, hair pulled back in a tight bun and a ruler in her hand, threatening to spank Jinx and–
’Nope! Not gonna follow that thought. Ew ew ew! Your sister’s been there, Jinx! And on there, in there, under there, all over there! So just. No. Just don’t.’
Man, she must be really drunk, huh.
“-re you even listening, Jinx?”
“Huh?”
<><><><><>
Caitlyn leaned back against the wall and pinched her nose. She hadn’t left the hallway outside the guest room yet, still trying to figure out why the hell she currently had Violet’s little sister in her house.
And not just in her house or her guest room but also wearing one of her shirts as sleepwear, and Caitlyn was not going to let her mind linger on the flush of warmth that had filled her upon seeing the younger girl dwarfed in Caitlyn’s clothing.
She wasn’t.
She sighed and finally pushed away from the wall, making a beeline for the stairs and the bottle of wine that called for her from the kitchen downstairs.
The empty glass of water Jinx had finished in one go still stood next to the sink and after a moment's hesitation Caitlyn grabbed it, ignoring the cabinet where more fitting glasses could be found. She grabbed the wine bottle by the neck and trudged off to the living room.
Her mind swirled as she sunk down into the couch, questioning why she had Jinx in her house for the hundredth time.
She filled the glass halfway and without realizing it turned around so the part of the rim with a lipstick imprint of Jinx’s mouth faced her. A jolt of something unknown ran up her spine when she put her lips over the dark purple stain, maybe she imagined it but she thought she could taste something other than the wine as she did.
“What am I doing?” She asked the empty room.
She’d only been in Zaun to pick up a box of things she'd forgotten back when she and Violet had broken up. They’d barely said a word to each other, Vi had just greeted her at the door and shoved the box into her hands before slamming it shut again. It had hurt a little even if Caitlyn had no idea what she’d even say to her if she got the chance.
And then in some strange twist of fate she’d spotted Vi’s younger sister walking alone on the sidewalk, stumbling every other step and dressed like she was trying to see how much skin she could bare before risking frostbite.
She had no idea what possessed her to drive up to Jinx and offer her a ride but she hoped it was just lingering famillial affection for the little girl she’d seen grow up during her nine year long relationship with Vi.
‘Goodness, they’d really been together since they were literal teenagers.’ The thought tasted bitter even now, a year since they broke up.
She really really hoped that was it.
Her and Vi hadn’t parted on what could be called the best terms and one of the first things she’d learnt about Vi was how much she loved her sister and how protective she could be. So, if Violet found out Caitlyn had picked up her drunk little sister and taken her out of Zaun, into Piltover and then to her home she’d probably have about half a second to explain herself before Vi assumed the worst and broke her nose.
Her thumb ran over the lipstick stain and she refused to acknowledge the shiver that ran through her thinking about Jinx’s lips being there not even an hour earlier.
With a shock, Caitlyn realized how incredibly weird she was being and wine sloshed over and stained her sleeve as she hurriedly raised the glass to her lips again. She emptied the rest of the wine, not tasting it at all, before shooting up and going back to the kitchen to put the glass in the dishwasher and get herself her own glass.
Like she should have done earlier instead of grabbing the one Jinx had used like some creepy stalker.
Red spread across her cheeks remembering how she’d deliberately placed her lips on the same place Jinx had.
What the hell was she doing?