Caitlyn’s feet carried her down the too-familiar path, cupcake in her grasp, on autopilot as she counted down the distance in her head
Two blocks away, there was a distinct blue porchlight ignited at the end of the street and a warm hearth to huddle beside. But that wasn’t what Caitlyn had come for.
Admittedly, Zaun still felt alien to her even so. She doubted she’d ever get accustomed to it, Not that she’d ever really get the chance, now.
A thousand rehearsed sentences ran through her brain and were rejected as she drew closer. Only a block now, she could almost swear she could pick out voices coming from her destination despite knowing it was impossible through the bustle of activity that surrounded her.
Perhaps it was wishful thinking, or the volatile memories whispering as they so often did in the back of her brain. Raised voices, angry words they’d regret in the morning, doors slammed and cold nights. All that was left of the happiest years of her life, reduced to a guilt that gnaws at her chest and an agonizing numbness.
“She’s my sister!”
“She’s dangerous.”
“I can get through to her!”
“Right. Because that worked out so well for you the last time.”
“Last time you were with me. She doesn’t trust you.”
“And I don’t trust her not to blow you to smithereens if I’m not present!”
Vi set her jaw, stubbornly. “I’m doing this. And I’m doing it alone.”
Caitlyn narrowed her eyes at her partner. She knew that when Vi got like this, it was nigh-impossible to convince her to back down, particularly where Jinx was concerned.
She heaved a heavy sigh. “Fine. But if she hurts you, nothing Topside nor in the Undercity will be able to stop me from hunting her down.”
Vi’s expression morphed into one of intense relief. “Don’t worry, Cupcake. I can take care of myself.”
“I know,” Caitlyn wrapped her arms around Vi in a tight hug. She would have squeezed tighter and held on longer had she known then it’d be the last they’d ever share.
For while Vi had insisted she go alone, Caitlyn had never had intention of listening when she’d been told to stay behind.
Caitlyn shook herself out of the memory as she approached the familiar home. It was… nicer than she remembered it. The hole in the roof was gone. The walls were whole and untarnished. Even the formerly run-down porch was clean and looked sturdy.
She took a tentative step and noticed that the creak in the steps was gone. She heaved a breath of relief. At least the chances of her being noticed before she was ready were slim. Clearly Vi had been busy fixing up the place, the way she’d always talked about doing.
Caitlyn’s heart felt heavy at the thought that she was now a stranger in a place they’d once talked about together, The place they’d dreamed about together, before everything had gone so terribly, terribly wrong.
She hadn’t been fast enough. She hadn’t been fast enough. Jinx was gone and Vi was dying because she hadn’t been fast enough.
Caitlyn’s grip on her rifle tightened as she turned away from the glass, unable to watch her unconscious partner for a moment longer.
Jayce walked up beside her and cleared his throat a little to let her know he was there.
“Hey, you okay?” He asked softly.
Caitlyn looked up at him, back over her shoulder, then back at him.
“No,” she answered after a moment, her voice colder than the Freljordian tundra. “I’m angry.”
With that, she left the room, rifle still tight in her grip.
She lingered in front of the door, frozen, as the cascade of memories burst unbidden into her brain.
The blue hair, the maniacal laughter, the sound of too light feet skipping down the cobblestone.
No.
The explosion, the swaying silhouette, the melodic voice taunting her, mocking her. How could she be a hero if she couldn’t even save the woman she loves?
Stop.
Smoke. Burning. Those dangerous, glittering eyes that glowed the color of the repulsive drug that had swept across Runeterra. The plague that had taken so many years and so many sacrifices to finally quell.
Black powder, Laughter. Those hateful, hateful eyes. A click. A taunt. A click. A moment of silence.
Please…
Gunshots.
Caitlyn’s hand is poised to knock, but she doesn’t, instead resting her forehead quietly against the door. Her shoulders shook with the effort of holding back the tears that surfaced with the memory of a life that hadn’t been hers to take. It was stupid, selfish really for that to be the choice that caused her suffering.
A voice floated through the door and for a moment Caitlyn panicked, terrified she hadn’t been quiet enough to not be noticed. But as it grew louder, other voices joined it, and one in particular roared with a distinct, boisterous laugh that made Caitlyn’s chest ache.
The explosions the night Caitlyn’s life fell apart paled in comparison to the powder keg that was Vi the moment she’d learned what Caitlyn had done. The frost that coated the Freljordian fjords was steam next to the ice that ran through Caitlyn’s veins as she held her ground.
It wasn’t their first fight by any means, especially not in the past weeks. But nothing could have prepared Caitlyn for the harsh reality that it would turn out to be their last.
“Why did you do it?”
“She was a psychopath.”
“That isn’t your call.”
“She was slaughtering thousands!”
“She was broken! She needed help!”
“And how many more would you have left to die for her to live?!”
“SHE WAS MY SISTER!!!”
Caitlyn’s eyes were like chips of ice as she looked at her partner evenly. “She almost killed you. She would have killed you.”
“She was scared! If you had just WAITED I could have gotten through to her!”
“I don’t regret my actions.”
“Of course you don’t. Why would you? You’ve never understood a goddamn thing about family. About love. It’s always about you. Everything has always been about you! I don’t know what I expected from a filthy fucking Topsider! ” Vi spat the word like poison but for once, Caitlyn didn’t even so much as flinch.
“You’re right. I don’t understand. I don’t understand how you were able to stand by while your sister killed thousands. Zaunite, Piltovan, she didn’t give a shit. Was it love that led you to keep letting her go, knowing you were only condemning others to die? Or was it guilt over the fact that you punched her once when you were kids after she killed your family?”
Vi’s eyes flashed dangerously and Caitlyn took a step backward, wondering if she’d gone too far.
Just as she opened her mouth to speak, however, Vi simply shoved past her and walked out the door.
“Whatever.”
Caityn narrowed her eyes at Vi’s retreating backside. “Really? You’re going to run away again? Is that all you know how to do?”
Vi paused in her step, but didn’t turn around.
“Don’t wait up for me,” She muttered before she disappeared into the darkness.
Caitlyn stepped back and turned away from the door, resigned. No amount of apologizing would ever be enough to heal the chasm of a wound that lay between them. No matter how many times she’d come back here, trying to convince herself she could make it right, she couldn’t stop the memories of that fateful night.
No more, she resolved, as she placed her offering on the top step. She needed to move on. What was done was done.
She heard the sound of the knob turning behind her and quickly pulled her hood back over her head as she left.
The quick clop of boots sounded on the sidewalk as Vi’s voice drifted out into the night, still engaged in loud conversation with whomever it was that she was hosting.
The final words Caitlyn would ever hear from her former partner echoed in her ears as she walked away for the last time.
“No, but wait. I gotta tell you this story. There were like five people crying involved and it was fantastic.”