Chapter Text
Both of her eyes are on fire.
Along with everything else.
The riots have been small, manageable. They are a warning, or so she thought. That was why they went ahead with the ceremony on the still-open bridge. A sign of unity between Zaun and Piltover. We are still one city. She doesn’t know how it starts. There is a sound in her blindspot and suddenly everything is hot and burning. Fire is met with gas until the entire world is heat and smoke. Caitlyn manages to fight her way to one of the towers and shove her back against it. Everyone is nameless, faceless, screaming. This bridge has seen so many riots. So much bloodshed. Caitlyn thought by keeping it open she could prevent that. But the tide rises all the same.
It’s the first proper fight she’s been in since Ambessa.
It’s awful and not nearly as bad as she was afraid it would be. It’s an impossible enemy. One that would have struck fear into her heart not very long ago. But she supposes after you take on Ambessa Medarda with a knife in your gut, no enemy feels truly impossible. Everyone is shoving for Piltover. That has always been the goal in the endless riots. This time there are no barricades in place. Because she decided there wouldn’t be. Because she manipulated and bribed and ordered there not to be. We are one city. One people. We rise or fall together. Every breath she pulls is laced with heat and gas. Since she was a little girl she was taught to run home. But the heat and gas is worse over there. She can’t make it home if she’s dead so she dives for the rail and shoves her way towards the Undercity.
“Commander—“ Steb is nearby, trying to pull her.
“No! Go!” She orders even though the breath that it takes to give makes her lungs scream. She has to get them air, “Go!”
Zaunites deserve to breathe.
A hand grabs for her and she strikes. It comes again and even though it is the last thing she wants to do, her hand finds the blade on Stebs belt and she sends a broad sweep towards the man. Flesh tears under the blade. She has no idea if the strike is lethal. She wishes that mattered more. He does not move back and she has one moment to think how wrong that seems before she shoves Steb back and throws her arms over her head. The explosion sends heat and debris flying. Only the foolish, stupid cape keeps her remaining eye from being damaged. The railing on her blind side falls away and for a moment, Caitlyn leans only on air. Then a rough hand grabs her wrist and rips her back so forcefully she stumbles.
Sevika.
“Come on!” She roars. They both hesitate, “we didn’t do this!”
Don’t put bullshit in my mouth.
“Go!” Caitlyn orders, forcing another deep lungful of the putrid air. Steb grips her wrist, “Go! I’ll be right behind you!” She shakes him off, “Get him out of here!”
Sevika grabs him as Caitlyn turns to cover them. Cover anyone who is making it to this side of the bridge. She looks for a gun, for anything of actual use but she’s growing increasingly blind. She shoves aside any feelings on the matter. She can fight blind. She can fight with a knife in her gut. She can stop this from being another tragedy. She is learning to use sound on her blind side. She just has to focus for anything that sounds out of place.
A sound she has never heard grates across her ears.
It’s so shocking she whips her head to look. The metal rope whines again and a sick realization hits Caitlyn’s gut. She has fought the shortages, kept supplies equal. But equal means there is less. Less to go around. Choices need to be made about what to repair. What takes priority. The metal screams in protest and Caitlyn stares as it begins to twist. No, to untwist. Another grate on her other side. All the people across the bridge. The bridge has stood for so long, seen so much. It’s an artery in the city. The break happening here is just an insult. It does not matter where an artery is cut. The blood flows out all the same. They have to get off the bridge. She has to get off the bridge. There’s another shrieking groan accompanied by a deep cracking sound. Her foot starts to move back when there’s a hail of bullets that forces her against the tower.
That stings even in the panic.
Why do they get a gun?
Green flashes out of her periphery and the gun starts to belch towards the Firelight. But if the gun is going towards him it won’t be going towards her. Caitlyn prepares to move when there’s another shriek of metal. The Firelight’s head whips towards it.
“Dive!” Caitlyn cries and he shoots towards in a graceful arc as the bullets only manage to catch the flap of his coat.
She can see the reflection of him shooting towards the far side of the bridge and getting swallowed in the smoke. She hopes his mask has some kind of filtration system. She sees other reflections of green and something in her hearts sings. They are trying to help. They had nothing to do with this—whatever this is. She hopes they are going to save a lot of lives. More bullets and more grating. Caitlyn rips her gaze and tries to find the nearest foothold. She has no idea if the tower will hold. She vaguely remembers hearing about how deep underground it goes. Either way her options are incredibly limited and the stone is going to fall away before she figures out a way past the machine gun.
She’s gotten all her weight onto footholds in the stone when she sees the green lights spiraling towards her.
There’s three of them and they zip in a wide arc that makes her think of how one of the ridged bullets spiraled out of her gun. This is purposeful. The green winks in and out as they use the environment to disorient whoever is at her back. She’s seen the tactics before. This playing field is wider, but they use them just as effectively. Taunting and disorienting and keeping each other safe and—
“Cupcake! Arm!”
Oh God.
She has just enough time to throw out her arm as Vi loops over the bridge and shoves herself under her arm. There’s a sharp pain in her fingers but it barely registers as Vi locks her arm around her wrist and they fly clear over the bridge. For a moment Caitlyn is suspended over nothingness with only Vi’s hand on her wrist and her waist keeping her from falling. Vi swerves the board under her feet and they dive into the fresh, cool air under the bridge. There’s cold air but it rushes by Caitlyn so fast it’s not any easier to breathe. It’s utterly irrelevant as Vi shoots them along the bank. Caitlyn cranes her neck as much as she can. It’s a blur of smoke and gas and some horrible augmented creature with a machine gun. Green darts in and out of the smoke as the bridge finally, finally cracks away. She has no idea how many Firelights are there but she sees the corner of Vi’s mouth move in a silent count and the board somehow goes impossibly faster.
Vi makes a sharp turn and there is a horrible sucking sensation as the tunnel rushes up around them.
It’s all hazy and stagnant air. Caitlyn cannot look anywhere and risk throwing off their balance. Though that does not seem to be a concern for Vi. Through gaps she can see other Firelights zipping in the dead space above them. Vi keeps her board lower and urges more speed out of it. A light appears ahead.
“Bend your knees!”
They are suspended again above an impossible distance.
Then they arc downwards.
It’s the same formation which might be the only reason Caitlyn stays on the board. Even if she fell, Vi’s got a tight grip on her and she knows she would be pulled back. There’s an impossibly small opening she sees them all aiming for. She can’t help but squeeze her eyes shut. Vi gives the hand one her shoulder a squeeze of reassurance Somehow they don’t crash. Everything is black and then it erupts in to warm light. The boards slow but Caitlyn keeps her eyes squeezed shut as they almost drift downwards. Like leaves falling off of a tree. The board vibrate as it it slows to a stop and then drops. Just enough to elicit a surprised sound from her lips. But they have stopped. Caitlyn thinks she might be sick but she shoves the urge back. She just needs to get her bearings. There’s a hiss and a clasp being undone.
“Not bad for your first flight, Piltie,” Ekko says.
Caitlyn’s eyes fly open and her body catches up with her. Her stomach twists and lungs burn. Her eye sting and her knees buckle. Vi hefts her weight up and suddenly her physical discomfort matters very little. She does not know if the blindspot was intentional but her body does not seem to care as her sore hand grabs the lapel of Vi’s jacket. Vi reaches for it but her fingers lock onto the leather. She won’t look up, she’ll keep respecting that decision. But she can hold on. Vi shifts her weight and Caitlyn is terrified she is going to step away but she just turns so they are facing each other. So the arm Caitlyn still has around her shoulders slides to her neck. The hand around her waist slides across her back and drops free, but only to reach up and pull Caitlyn’s hand from the back of her neck and guide it to her cheek.
“Hey, Cupcake,” she says and her voice is warm and soft and suddenly Caitlyn can breathe again.
“You—“ the air is Vi scented. It’s the sweetest air she’s inhaled in months, “you caught me.”
A warm sound she can feel because Vi’s breath is against her face. There’s still pain in those grey eyes but something else is there too.
“Of course I did, Cait. I wasn’t going to let you fall.”
The dam breaks and Caitlyn throws herself against VI’s bulk. Vi’s arms lock around her and pull her close. Caitlyn doesn’t care that she is weeping in front of people she would never want to weep in front of. Doesn’t care who sees her. Vi is warm and real and here. And holding her tightly. All Caitlyn can do is sob against her and try to pull her closer. Every tug she gives Vi answers with a tightening of her arms. Sometimes there’s a press of lips against her head and she just shoves it closer against Vi’s pulse point. She can feel it against her temple. Steady, strong, here.
Vi breathes deeply and evenly and finally Caitlyn tries to match the rhythm. Eventually every breath is not a sob or shallow pull. The world filters through her ears slowly and Vi just holds her until she lifts her head. Just enough to place them but Vi gets a little space between them. Space Caitlyn is not willing to give up.
“Shh,” Vi soothes, “I’m not going anywhere, just let me look at you.”
“Can I look at you?” Caitlyn questions.
The warm chuckle almost summons annoyance through the relief. She presses her forehead against Vi’s collarbone.
“Yeah, Cait, you can look.”
Caitlyn takes in this new Vi. She almost starts to look for her Vi, but she’s right there. Her pink hair is shorter, spikier. And pink. The muddled darkness has been banished. The only remnant is a thin braid that starts as two plaits buried in her hair before funneling into a small metal bead where they become one. Goggles peak out from her hair. The goggles, Caitlyn realizes. Only now they protect her eyes as she zips through the city. The jacket she wears is a deep violet color. Caitlyn touches her wrapped forearms and Vi’s smile widens.
“What?” She asks.
“You were right,” she says, “that coating can irritate the skin.”
The gauze.
It almost makes Caitlyn cry all over again. The idea that Vi has had it this whole time, underneath the wide clean wraps that now spiral up her forearms. Instead she focuses on something, anything so she will not start to weep. She has no idea how long she will have with her. If this is proof she is alive or her finally, finally letting Caitlyn see her. Anything—
“Seriously?” Caitlyn brushes the top of the familiar, infuriating pants.
“They’re my lucky pants,” Vi says. The smile falls, “not my only ones anymore.”
I want to be with you without feeling like you’e the only thing that’s real.
“Vi—“
“Hey, I’m here,” Vi catches her hand. Caitlyn feels the soreness, “I’m here,” she repeats, “come on, let’s get you cleaned up.”
She sits across from Vi and lets her clean her scrapes and place narrow white bandages along the deeper ones. The antiseptic here stings but the pain helps Caitlyn know this is not a dream. Even as she works Vi’s eyes keep dragging back up and catching her gaze. Caitlyn gives her a questioning look and Vi motions to her own eye. Caitlyn leans forward and lets Vi touch her face. Her thumb brushes along the bottom of Caitlyn’s eye socket, gently exposing more of the glass nestled in her eye socket. Caitlyn wants to watch her reaction but the touch is so nice she feels her eye closing.
“That’s some eye,” Vi says.
“I wanted them to remember,” Caitlyn says, “what we did down here, before—“ Vi’s breath catches, “I didn’t want them to forget. I was going to leave it empty but Steb—“
“Steb?”
“His idea,” Caitlyn explains, “it seemed right.”
Vi’s hand trails up and pushes through her hair. Caitlyn leans forward before her fingers are even at the back of her head. Their foreheads press together. The touch warm and familiar. It’s the only touch Caitlyn has had but now she can open her eyes and see the hand Vi has clasped over hers. Further proof she is here. They are here. Vi’s breath is shaky as she leans into the touch.
“I missed you,” she whispers, so faint Caitlyn almost doesn’t hear it.
“You’re here,” Caitlyn says, not meaning for it to come out as a question.
“Yeah,” Vi replies, her voice strong. Their eyes meet, “I’m here,” her eyes flash with emotion, “I’m so—“
“I don’t care about anything else right now,” Caitlyn cuts in, “just—be here with me.”
Vi shifts upwards and scraps the chair closer until they are pressed together. Caitlyn spreads her legs so they band the outside of Vi’s thighs. They lean on each other, holding the other close enough to feel but far enough to see. Vi invades almost all of her senses until there is no chance any part of Caitlyn can doubt this is real. The longing, the missing, the frustration all sigh away as their fingers gently explore new scrapes and new hair. Eventually Caitlyn’s fingers trace Vi’s braid to the bead and down to the end. It’s a tribute. Vi will always carry the pain of what happened. But when she twists the end around her finger, the look on Vi’s face turns sad. Not tortured, just sad. Mournful. She lets out a breath and leans back. When Caitlyn goes to let her, Vi traps her fingers on her shoulder, still tangled in the braid. Caitlyn waits as she forces her eyes open and looks at Caitlyn.
As she doesn’t try to hide it.
“Every woman in my family has worn a braid,” she says, “I wanted to try it out.”
Not just Jinx. Not just that pain. There’s another pain here. The pain of someone who lived the life Vi had before all of this. Caitlyn thinks of the tiles that she left her. Vi spent so much time fighting to get back to her past. To a past that had already vanished. She knows Vi’s parents died on that bridge. Killed by Enforcers. There has been so much grief in Vi’s life. She thought Vi’s ghosts never stayed gone. Most of them don’t. Vander raised Vi, he was her dad. What happened there his tragedy enough. It’s almost easy to forget that he only did that because Vi’s parents were murdered. Caitlyn has sworn she will not let the old pain be swept under the rug by the new. It looks back at her in the mirror every time she wears the swirling green and purple eye.
It seems Vi has made the same promise.
Oil and water.
I love you.
You are so loved.
Caitlyn twirls the braid around her finger and brushes the edge with her thumb. Vi lets her inspect it. Lets her see it. Caitlyn settles the long hair against the purple of Vi’s jacket. She wonders if it is purple as a blend of Jinx’s blue and Vi’s pink. Or if it means something else entirely. There is time enough to ask. To figure this out. Vi’s eyes scan her face as Caitlyn meets her gaze and offers a smile.
“It suits you.”