Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Caitlyn had been coming to the restaurant since she was twelve and her old dentist had been down the road. She’d been coming with Vi just every night for the last three years. At first it had been after their shared history class but Caitlyn had dropped the class as soon as she'd gotten the credits she'd needed for her degree. 

They kept coming though neither of them had many friends, Caitlyn had none actually which was embarrassing, Vi though struggled to keep friends because of her odd hours. For Caitlyn this was her dinner but for Vi this was her breakfast. Their 6pm meeting every day marked the end of her day and the start of vis. 

The younger woman took night classes and on her days off she worked at the last drop so she slept most of her day away. Thankfully the menu was well rounded and diverse enough that Vi could eat a full breakfast and Caitlyn could have her salmon rice bowl with a side salad she'd mix together. 

“No it's just not fair is all, he knows I work those days and yet he's still saying it's mandatory” Vi huffed as she stabbed her egg yolk. Caitlyn gave a hum and nodded. 

“Yes it does seem rather… targeted” she said as she brought her fork up to her mouth. 

“Thank you!” Vi shook her head and leaned back, she was disheartened by it all. She'd been coming to the classes on time for the last two years, she was top of the class with her grades working so hard and yet it seemed the teacher didn't care. He didn't want her there, which was fair, she guessed. Who wanted a criminal in their class. She shrugged “but what can I do, i'll just swap a few shifts, Vander will understand” 

“Of course he will, you're so lucky to have a boss like him I swear eda sees all my requests as a joke” Caitlyn huffed, eda was her manager who seemed to think it her personal mission to never give Caitlyn a day off if she could help it. She denied her last application on the basis she had not specified which year and when she'd told Caitlyn she'd denied the request I was too late to reapply. 

As she looked up she caught a familiar woman out of the corner of her eye standing at the counter. Her eyes narrowed wondering whether she was truly seeing her there or not. 

“Mum?” she called out as she pushed to stand. Her mother spun around looking at her with wide eyes and alarm before it fell away and she smiled. 

“Caitlyn dear what a surprise” her mother said softly reaching to pull her daughter into a hug. Her mother always acted as though she hadn't seen her in months and yet she'd seen her last week. Though she could admit she did not see her mother nearly enough now that she lived alone. 

“I thought you were busy tonight?” her mother asked and Caitlyn blushed as she peered back, Vi was looking at them fondly smiling slightly, when they'd eyes meet she looked away pretending to admire the curtains. Her mother followed her gaze and hummed. 

“Ah a date”

“Oh no!” Caitlyn quickly disagreed, Vi snorted behind her. Caitlyn pinched her nose as she shook her head. 

“Not a date, just a catch up, me and Vi do it every night” she explained her mothers eyes widened in recognition and she smiled knowingly.

“So this is vi, the one taking night classes?” her mother asked pointedly and Vi stood walking over with a smile. 

“Uh yeah that's me, it's nice to meet you mrs kiramman” Vi said holding out her hand, her mother shook it with a polite smile her eyes appraising as she looked at the woman. Caitlyn worried she'd go on one of her tangents and point out everything she thought improper as she usually did. Luckily she seemed to not find anything or she found so much she knew she wouldn't have enough time to list it all. As much as she hated to think the latter was more plausible than the former, her mother could be rather cruel in her standards. 

“Order for kiramman” a voice called out and cassandra smiled, grabbing the bag from the outstretched hand and turning to the door. 

“Well it was lovely meeting you vi, I do hope we meet again, and Caitlyn I expect to see you sunday for family dinner” her mother reminded and Caitlyn gave a nod pulling her mother into a quick hug. Her mother pressed a kiss to her cheek before turning away the restaurant door closing with the chime of a bell. Her shoulders slumped as she breathed a sigh of relief. 

She staggered over to her chair and collapsed into it. 

“Well that could have gone so much worse but we survived” she breathed as she retook her fork and loaded it high with lettuce before shoving it in her mouth. She was desperate not to answer any of the questions she knew Vi was going to ask. Sadly Vi wasn’t very good at picking up hints and she asked anyway. 

“How come I've never met your mother before?” she asked, slightly baffled that in three years of friendship she'd somehow never crossed paths with the woman. Especially when they came here. Every night. Caitlyn had chosen six o clock specifically to avoid her mother who grabbed dinner at 7:30pm on the rare occasions she ate out. Caitlyn made a face waving her hand as she chewed slowly, far slower than usual. Vi hummed leaning back to cross her arms over her chest, waiting patiently. 

When It became apparent she couldn't keep chewing she sighed and swallowed, averting her eyes to the table cloth. 

“Just never been an opportunity” Caitlyn murmured as she stabbed her fork through another piece of lettuce and went to bring it up to her lips. She peered up at her face and saw the down turn of her lips, her eyes wide, pained. 

“You're embarrassed of me,” Vi said shaking her head as she reached for her phone and backpack, rising slightly to stand. 

“No! Vi please” her hand shot out resting on vis wrist, Vi sat back down but the hurt was still in her eyes. She sighed searching for how to explain it. 

“I'm not embarrassed of you, i'm embarrassed of them” she confessed which was odd, why would she be embarrassed of her parents, they were lovely. They just had pretty high standards for people. 

“Huh?” vis face contorted nose scrunching. 

“My mother can be” she trailed off, eyes haunted as she thought back on all the friends she’d ever introduced to her parents. None of them had been well received. If her mother hadn't picked them they didn't last very long. Her mother was a judge before she was a counselor and she lived up to the title. She was harsh with ehr investigation into their character, needling every flaw they had and on numerous occasions even mocking them. Sometimes even to their face. Most people didn't wanna put up with that which Caitlyn understood. Her mother didn't mean to do it. Caitlyn didn't think her mother wanted her child to be a friendless loser. Yet somehow she didn't seem to see the error of her ways. She knew Vi wouldnt survive under her scrutiny and Caitlyn wasn't willing to put her under it. 

“She's a bitch” she finally admitted, breathing a sigh of relief at the weight that lifted off her chest at the confession. She never bad-mouthed her mother, she didn't realise how freeing it could feel. Her mother was the worst. 

“Oh she seemed nice” Vi said with a shrug and Caitlyn snorted at her innocence. Her mother always seemed nice until you were alone with her  and that's when she ripped you to shreds. 

“Yeah, because she was in a hurry, if she had stayed any longer she would have crushed you down into a million pieces and then laughed at your broken edges” Caitlyn explained firmly, eyes narrowed, nose scrunched. Vi was grinning now her smile exasperated

“That bad huh?” Vi asked and Caitlyn sighed, melting back into her chair a blush filling her cheeks. She shrugged, ducking her head to look at her salad. 

“Yeah, she can be” she admitted with a snort. She brought her fork up and took her bite, chewing slowly as she thought back on the interaction. She tried to remember her first meeting with Vander and realised she hadn't . She had never met Vi's father, or any of the rest of her family. She knew a little about them, her father owned the last drop where Vi worked and her brothers helped out there. That was it though. She didn't know anything else about them. She swallowed, her eyes squinted as she frowned. 

“What?” Vi asked as she held her own fork up. Caitlyn snorted. 

“All that about me being too embarrassed of you to introduce you to my parents, i've never met yours” Caitlyn huffed kicking Vi under the table. The other winced, pouting her lips at her. 

“No, pouting won't get you out of this, you made me feel guilty for something you did as well” she huffed, setting her fork down with a clunk and crossing her arms. Vi breathed her teeth grimacing as she nodded. 

“Yeah I did do that, hmm” she scratched her chin and the shrugged 

“Eh it's for a good reason” she dismissed and went back to her meal. Caitlyn scoffed leg kicking out to kick her again. 

“Oh? What good reason?” she demanded. Vi laughed softly before looking up at her like she was dumb, like the answer so obvious it was laughable. Caitlyn felt like she was being left out of the joke. 

“They're all batshit crazy” she answered and then continued to eat. Caitlyn gawked at her mouth hung open. 

“Well that can't be true,” she said dismissively. Vi was delightful, and from what she'd been told of Vander he was lovely as well. 

“It really is, they're all nuts,” Vi shrugged. 

“Well tell me about them then, you know all about mine, i've told you so much in comparison to how much you've told me” she couldn't believe it. She had told Vi all about her parents even though she never intended to introduce them. Vi hadn't  told her anything about them at all. Probably because she never intended for them to meet either. She shook her head. 

“Hard not to know about yours when they are literally famous” Vi scoffed and Caitlyn blushed at the reminder. Her parents were famous, or well not like super famous. 

“They're not famous, they are influential members of high society” she explained indignantly. Vi only shook her head looking at her sympathetically. 

“Same diff princess, same diff” she whispered mockingly. Caitlyn went to kick her under the table again but Vi moved her leg out of the way at the last moment the dull thud of her shoe against the bench seat drowned out by vis laughter. They were getting a couple of stares but she didn't care about them. She was still mad. 

“Tell me about your family” Caitlyn ordered, Vi sighed and pushed her plate into the centre of the table. She wouldn't be eating more. 

“Fine you asked for this” she murmured tongue wetting her dry lips as she thought of what to tell her. Where to start and how to phrase it. 

“They can't be that bad, not when you're… you” Caitlyn insisted and Vi smiled but it didn't quite reach her eyes. 

“Yeah and I went to prison, so” 

“Wrongful imprisonment, that wasn't your fault” Caitlyn said so full of earnest sympathy it made vis heart swell in her chest. 

“Well Vander adopted me after my parents died, ya know that already. He owns the bar, bought it out from his ex husband who is” she trailed carefully considering how she was gonna talk about Silco. Did she go straight in say he's a good for nothing criminal who stole her sister and broke her dads heart or did she go for the softer approach. He wasn't a gang leader anymore which she guessed was something, though it had taken Powder asking him to legally adopt her to get him to change, not the divorce or Vander pleading with him. So technically he was no longer a criminal even though Vi was sure he was still committing some sort of fraid, or embezzlement or similar crime that rich people committed. She shook her head and decided “hes in pharmaceuticals” 

“Well that's respectable, I didn't know Vander was ever married, from what I know he doesn't seem the type” Caitlyn mused and Vi snickered. 

“Yeah, he's not the type anymore, swore off all relationships after the divorce, shit was messy, they’d both just got custody off us and the courts didn't know how to divide us” she explained, it was a hard time for the two of them. Mylo and Claggor hadn’t shown up yet and wouldn't till midway through the divorce. But she'd been there grieving through the loss of her parents when the two tasked with taking care of the turned on eachother. She'd been so stressed out she'd started having panic attacks. 

“Vander thought Silco was a bad influence on us, and Vander hadn't  gotten over Silcos involvement in our parents death, blamed him, they fought a lot about it and then they split” she admitted tensely words hollow as she recounted that night. There had been yelling and then a loud crush and then Silco was grabbing his things and shortly after Sevika showed up and they left. He’d told them he was going for a while. Powder had cried and pleaded with him not to leave her. 

“I'm guessing it was not an amicable split” Vi scoffed at that and leaned forward, arms crossed on the table. 

“Nope, they made us choose sides, me and the boys stayed with zander” she trailed off biting at her lip, she didn't mention her sister alot, not that she wasn't proud of Powder or didn't care about her, it was just hard. “My sister decided to go with Silco” 

“Your sister?” Caitlyn leaned back shocked. 

“Yeah, well, Silco's not really a good guy”

“That name is very familiar, I'm not sure where I've heard it from,” Caitlyn admitted thinking back on it. Maybe she had a last name she'd know better but Silco lane didn't really ring any bells. 

“Nowhere good i'm guessing” Vi scoffed. 

“My brothers are more normal, they are both studying at psa, working at the bar with me, they're also just annoying assholes who get on my nerves thirty times a day” Vi admitted fondly smiling as she said it like she was trying to be annoyed but couldn't. 

“Well that's their job, Jayce annoys the hell out of me, he sent me memes when he got drunk last friday, not even funny ones, science ones, memes about quasars and particles and dead scientists from two thousand years ago” Caitlyn admitted. 

“That's so Claggor, he sent me one about hemogoblins, no clue what a hemogoblin is but it was kinda funny” Vi chuckled eyes squinted as she threw her hands up. 

“Hemoglobins are a protein in our blood that carry oxygen around” Caitlyn explained though she wasn't exactly sure she was very accurate she knew she was partly correct. It had been awhile since she was in a science class. 

“That makes sense, he studies biochemistry and is talking about blood a lot, I used to ask him if he was drinking the blood he claimed he was studying” Vi blushed rubbing at the back of her neck as Caitlyn cackled. 

“Like a vampire” Caitlyn struggled sometimes to pick up on the joke but she got it this time and Vi nodded which made Caitlyn smug as she smirked. 

“Well that's very impressive of him” she murmured and Vi nodded. 

“He is, sadly I fear he will be going to work for Silco” Vi said as she rolled her eyes. 

“Would that be so bad?” Caitlyn wondered, Vi went to say yes, terrible but she knew she was being irrational. Silco wasn't a horrible person he wasn't the guy he was he'd done the work gone to counselling with powder, took the steps to be a better person and it seemed to be sticking. Sadly Vi sometimes still felt like she was listening to them fight through the walls. She had been old enough to understand what had happened and part of her still blamed him a bit for it. Powder wasn't old enough and when she was she didn't care. 

“No it wouldn't be” she admitted. 

“He's better nowadays but I went years without seeing him after it all went down, so the guy I remember is from before he left and just after, when everything was bitter and tense. I'm not sure who he is now, not sure I trust him either” she muttered solemnly. 

“He can't be that bad if your sister chose him in the divorce” Caitlyn mussed which was a way of looking at it. Vi scoffed at her naivety. Powder took the easy route she knew she'd get what she wanted out of Silco so she took the offer he gave her. 

“Not how it works, but sure. She's always been his little girl, attached to him like a barnacle, gave her everything she ever looked at no matter the price,” she said a little harshly, she hadn't  gotten the same treatment, none of them had but  they'd always known Powder was the Silco's favourite. Whenever she'd do something wrong she'd go running to Silco who'd kick all her bad behaviour under the rug and whenever someone else did something bad he'd have Vander deal with them. 

“Vander can be pretty gruff at times, real man's man, Powder was always kinda sensitive, cried at her own shadow, Silco knew how to be gentle where Vander didn't” she confessed guilt eating away at her. Powder needed someone like that, she needed a guiding hand and a nurturing hold. Vi hated it couldn't be their mom who got to be that for her. Hated it was the man who killed her. 

“That's good, it's important to have that kind of figure for a child's development, my father was the same with me, my mother was always super rigid with the rules but he let me break them” Caitlyn explained missing the way Vi grimaced and tensed. 

“It was more, she couldn't do anything wrong and he refused to see any other way, he'd see us punished and her pardoned” Vi admitted 

“Did she misbehave a lot?” Caitlyn asked curiously, she knew Vi was a bit of a delinquent, she supposed her sister may have taken in her footsteps a little. She always had wanted to be more like Jayce. 

“Did we all, but yeah. Powder was more of the fuck around find out kind, she still kinda is, shed rather test it and seewhat happens then listen to someone tell her what’s gonna happen, it means she doesnt listen to reason” Vi admitted through gritted teeth her jaw tense.

“She seems interesting” Caitlyn breathed, she hadn't  even known Vi had a sister, now she knew she was a bit of a wild spirit, she wondered if she had vis same pink hair, her wide light blue eyes and flirty smirk. 

“Don't get that look” Vi commanded, waving her hands in front of them. Caitlyn paused looking down at her hands. 

“What look?” she asked innocently. She didn't think her face had changed much, she reached for her drink sipping on the straw as Vi looked at her closely, her eyes searching for something she must not like. She grimaced her ips tense as her nose scrunched. 

“You're mystified, curious about my sister” Vi stated blankly, “look, my sister? Off limits” 

“What's that supposed to mean?” she asked, her mouth dropping open as she scoffed. Vi knew she was not interested in romance and dating; she would never go after anyone's sister. She knew better than that. 

“It means don't go near my sister, she drives people insane” Vi explained hauntedly before she paused looking at her for a moment. She smiled and shook her head, what was she saying she'd be fine. Caitlyn had a specific type, topside socialites typically, the kind who wore expensive dresses and talked softly. The ones who acted so demure and innocent but whispered filth in her ears. Her sister was none of those things. 

Powder was rough and tumble, with a bombing voice that had to be heard in every room. She had a unique sense of style that most would think to be weird, and she only did what she wanted and she did it whenever she wanted. She would go where she pleased surrounded by equally loud people. 

“Ya know what you'll be fine, she won't be your type and I dont think your hers either so maybe she'll go easy and not try anything” Vi said teasingly. Caitlyn frowned looking down at herself. Why would she be the girls type, which was a weird thing to wonder she realised and shook the thought free.

“Try anything?” she asked, pretending to be worried. 

“Try what i've no clue yet, she seems to make her mind up on first glance, seduction, pranking, bullying” Vi listed on her fingers. 

“Bullying?” Caitlyn asked, actually a little worried this time. She hated bullies. 

“My sister is evil, there's no nicer way of saying it, besides you'd do best to avoid her at all cost” Vi said firmly. 

“Well from the little i've gathered about her I think i'll keep to my side of the city, wouldn't want to invoke the rage of your evil sister” Caitlyn said mockingly, tone light. 

“I'm not ridiculous, but promise me?” Vi said, holding out her pinky. Caitlyn sighed but reached over and wrapped hers around it. 

“I promise to not make any moves on your sister, though i'm sure that'll be pretty easy” Caitlyn didn't care for romance and as of late she hadn't  really been that interested in sex either, with her exams just off in the distance she was too exhausted to care fo the trivial aspects of it all. 

“That's what they all say” Vi murmured before she leaned back. 

“But if you're so sure, you can come to my family dinner on saturday” Vi forced the words out tensely. She didn't want to invite her, hoping she'd even decline saying ‘oh no I wouldn't want to intrude I just wanted to know more’ in that posh piltie accent, but even if she did agree, she trusted caitlyn. Trusted her not to judge her based on her family or change her mind because of their attitudes and personalities. She didn't trust her family to be on their best behavior though, family dinners usually didn't end well, but she had two days to persuade them away from certain topics and memories. 

“Wait really?” Caitlyn asked grining over at her. Vis heart sank as she realised Caitlyn was excited. 

“Don't make me regret this, don't dress fancy or bring any topside wine or flowers, just bring yourself and dress casually” Vi instructed firmly, Caitlyn nodded along with every point but couldn't help but think back to the other point she'd made earlier. 

“And stay away from your sister” she reminded teasingly. Vi closed her eyes, took a breath and shook her head. 

“And stay away from my sister” she ordered strongly. Caitlyn grinned 

“I can do that,” she agreed. 

“Sure you can” 

“Im serious, no wine, no flowers, nothing fancy, just casual me nowhere near your sister seems easy enough”

“Do you own anything not fancy?”

“Yes”

“Really? Your gym tank top was like sixty bucks” 

“Okay fair point, but screw you”

“Love ya too cupcake” 

When Saturday finally rolled around, Caitlyn was a nervous wreck. She made herself a cup of coffee then realised she didn't want to be jittery when she met vis family so she dumped it out and spent five minutes choosing which kind of tea to make. She decided on a simple earl grey, boiled the kettle, poured it over her steeper before she tipped it into her cup but missed and poured it over her hand. Then to make matters worse she drank it too soon, burnt her tongue. As if her life could not get harder she stubbed her toe on the way to put her cup in the sink, and snagged her sleeve on the cupboard door when she went to grab the flour. Her pancakes were fine but she didn't have any syrup so they were a bit bland. 

She wanted to cry, this was important, a huge milestone in her and vis friendship and she was messing it all up. It felt like an omen but Caitlyn refused to believe in omens because that would mean the dinner was going to go horrible and she refused to think it could. So she forced herself to take a shower, took her time to wash her hair and dry it before she sat back down on her couch. She had three hours till she had to leave. That was a whole lot of time to panic. 

Caitlyn decided to be productive, she washed the few dishes in her sink, rearranged her mugs, did a mock test and failed so badly she ripped it and threw it in the trash. 

“What a waste” she murmured before she walked into her bedroom. She sat down on her bed facing her closet. The door slid open to reveal her more casual clothes. Of which she did not have a lot. She had a style, preppy, put together and classy. Vi said it made her look like a trust fund baby and not in a good way. Caitlyn hated to remind her she was a trust fund baby. 

She grabbed a sweater, simple navy sweater with a subtle pattern embroidered in a matching navy thread in the formation of clouds. Delicate and unnoticable, she didn't know how much it cost. It was a gift. Given it was a sweater she doubted it could be too much so probably within range of what Vi considered not fancy. Fancy to Vi meant ornate and over a thousand cogs. This sweater could not be that much. She grabbed a white button up and a pair of wide legged jeans setting them down on her bed. She stepped back to look at the outfit and felt underdressed for a grocery run maybe, for dinner with her friends family maybe not. Still it was casual; she didn't think she could actually underdress unless she showed up in her pajamas which Vi had even once said were dressy. Maybe it was impossible. 

She put the outfit on, layered her jewelry on top and did her makeup, classy but like she was going to brunch with Mel and not a gala with her mother. She paused to look at herself in the mirror then, hergold watch, her fingers full of rings, hair up in a bun and thought she looked more masc that she had intended but rather nice. She checked her watch and was disappointed to find she still had two hours. Because no one in their right mind needed three hours to get ready for a casual dinner. She kicked herself as she reached for her laptop sitting back on her bed with it in her lap. She could work, she reasoned. 

Or she could stalk vis sister. Which seemed more reasonable. Vi had only told her so much about the girl finding out a little more couldn't hurt. She wouldn't walk into a mock trial without getting the case notes and planning out her argument. 

So she typed her name into search and found nothing, Powder lane had nothing, so she tried scrolling through vis limited following list and found nothing there either. Since she didn't know what she looked like she couldn't even look at the profile images and take a guess. So her sister didn't use social media that was good. Social media was a brain rot that promoted toxic social standards and online behaviour. 

Caitlyn herself had a limited presence and what she did have was mandated and curated by her family's social media team. She needed to keep some sort of public influence which meant her team posted three pictures a day and made her do the occasional story. 

She scrolled through vis photos, which were mostly gym pics, with the lesbian flag in her bio and all the flexing in front of mirrors; it was no wonder she had amassed over a hundred thousand followers. The lesbians were thirsty. Her abs were nice she could admit but alas she'd never been tempted by that road which was a shame. 

She decided to move onto looking up Silco instead. Sadly she wished she hadn't . The reason Vi hated him so much became apparent very quickly. Silco was known most famously for his shimmer scandal. The unregulated and unclinically tested drug which had hit the streets suddenly after a breach in their security. The articles she read all rumoured it to have been a calculated move, rumours said it wasn't a breach it was a ploy carefully orchestrated to get it out to people, he paid millions in fines and damages and had the entire drug recalled and redone into what it was now. Street shimmer still plagued the masses but now the more legal shimmer also helped people so she could see how you could be iffy on the guy. 

After the scandal things died down with articles about him but they didn't stop, the last one was about a big arms company buy out, she wondered why the hell he'd be moving into the arms industry but further search on the matter found her little to nothing. The legal documents were still sealed and no one was really talking about it. A huge multi million buyout. 

She did find a link to photos from his court case though and was struck by one in particular. The man sat at the table leaning back in his chair, a toy rabbit clutched to his chest with one hand whilst a girl played with the rings on his other. All of the other photos in the collection were of his har frown and burning anger, in this one he was relaxed, calm. Smiling softly as he listened to her talk. 

Caitlyn knew it had to be her. The elusive Powder she could find nothing about which made a lot more sense when she considered Silco's scandal and his desire to shield her from such an overwhelming force such as paparazzi and news anchors. Her parents had tried her hardest to keep her out of it, but she was a rebellious teenager and it hadn't  stuck now she wished it had because she hated the fact anyone could take a glimpse into her life through her socials. 

The photo was nearly a decade old so she was definitely not the same plump faced eleven year old in the picture but it left her all the more curious. Vis sister had bright blue hair, and the biggest blue eyes she'd ever seen on a person. Vis sister seemed small, rather skinny but with a very maximalist style which made her wonder whether she'd kept that or if she'd transitioned out of it with age. 

She dug a little harder now, she went back through vis following list checking every profile picture for bright blue hair but there was only one profile which had a drawn cartoon character with blue hair whose account was mainly art focused, museums from all over the world, food from cafes and restaurants, graffiti on city walls, galleries with more exclusive crowds. No one was tagged in anything and Vi seemed to only like never comment. It was a nice feed though, aesthetically arranged with a very prominent theme. 

Somehow she'd spent hours looking for Powder and found nothing and now she may be late. She jumped up from her laptop slamming it closed and rushed to slip on her shoes, spray a bit of extra perfume over herself and do a quick double take in her hallway mirror. She wasn't fussed but she couldn't change it now. She had to commit. She took her keys from the bowl and ran. 

She wasn't too late, thirty minutes late in all which nearly gave her an aneurysm as she pulled into the driveway. Caitlyn hadn't  known what to expect about the lane house, something small and quaint but homely. It was homely that was sure but also a lot bigger than she expected. Vi loved to paint an image of herself that potentially contradicted reality a little. The drive was full of cars and off to the side was a three car garage attached. She was quick to get out of her car gravel crunching beneath her feet. The porch creaked under her feet as she ran up. She knocked hesitantly turning to look out at the street they were on. Rather nice houses which all looked family homes and a smaller house to the right of them. 

The door shot open as she was eyeing a small cottage at the end of the drive and she flinched, straightening her stance shoulders back, a warm smile spreading across her lips. Except it was Vi who opened the door she groaned and relaxed. 

“Woah calm it, they're just my family, you're not meeting the queen though you already have” Vi snarked as she gave her a once over eyes appraising. She hummed and hawed over the outfit but sighed. 

“It's fine” she dismissed going to let her In but Caitlyn now felt over dressed. 

“Fine?” she demanded her voice high as she looked down at herself. She had nothing else, she didn't own casual to vis extent. It would seem vis idea of casual was her class outfit. All black with her familiar red leather jacket thrown over top. 

“Well it's not overly fancy” Vi said with a shrug as she returned to leaning against the doorframe clearly they weren't going anywhere until Caitlyn calmed down from the offence of being called fancy which was like finding a fork in the fork drawer, almost like you wouldn't find it anywhere else and if you did well then someones an idiot. 

“It's not fancy at all” she huffed this was slightly higher than inside wear, which stated in the name inside to be worn inside and inside only she would never wear inside wear outside or to other people's houses. 

“Yeah, how much that all cost? You're wearing a literal gold chain which i'm pretty sure has diamonds in it” Vi said slipping her finger under the chain and tugging it free and yes one of the links was encrusted with diamonds it was partly hidden over her neck so Caitlyn had forgotten. Vi slipped it under her collar and under her sweater's neckline. 

“Let's hide that” she whispered mockingly. 

“Also I know this brand and I know this sweater and I know it cost at least a grand” Vi murmured rubbing her thumb over the embroidered pattern on her waist. 

“Wait really?” Caitlyn scoffed looking down at the sweater in a new light. 

“Yeah Powder wears it all the time, I think she has every single white puffy shirt they've ever made, even their vintages which she had to go to a live auction for” Vi explained, tone shifting from exasperation to fondness as she recounted it. 

“She goes to auctions?” Caitlyn asked pointedly, she loved auctions, she had a bit of an auction going problem. Vi froze looking up at her with narrowed eyes before she shook her head. 

“Sister off limits” Vi reminded to Caitlyn's annoyance. 

“I was just curious” she insisted but Vi wasn't convinced. She looked down at her outfit, at the watch she wore all the time and yes her chain was a little over the top, and now that she was looking at the sweater she guessed she could see it was on the more expensive side. But it wasn't her fault she didn't  know, it had been a gift from viktor. She had never worn this brand; she just knew it was soft inside and oh so comfortable. 

“Okay but feel inside my sleeve” Caitlyn ordered rolling up her sleeve. Vi paused but did so thumb brushing over the soft fleece lining. 

“Damn that is nice, not worth what you probably paid for it but still” Vi said motioning her inside. Caitlyn sighed and stepped into the entryway. The room was warm, to her right a table with a coat hanger, hats and scarves all piled into their respective hooks keys dangling down, she hung her keys besides vis before moving to sit on the bench that ran along the left wall, cubbies filled with shoes and coats hung in hooks.s he found vis cubby and put her shoes with hers. She slipped her pocket free of her purse and into her back pocket before hanging it on the hook with her keys. 

“Dad! Cait’s here!” Vi called out leaning against the living room arch. Caitlyn recoiled at the noise panic settling in as she waited to meet vis father for the first time. 

Vander was just as she'd seen from the photos, a large very tall man with a beard and greying brown hair. A warm smile and an openness that made him feel comforting. He held out a hand and Caitlyn was quick to shake it smiling back. 

“It's lovely to finally meet you, Vi talks about you all so much,” Caitlyn said and Vander's  grin grew even wider as he turned to look at his daughter with a pointed look before turning back to her. 

“Well it's nice to finally meet you as well, even if it has taken three years were still missing a few so dinner might still be a while” he explained softly and she shrugged 

“Oh that's fine, it'll be nice to get to know everyone” she said eagerly, her eyes filled with mirth. Her plan was to get all of the embarrassing information out of vis brothers. She would not leave any stone unturned. 

“Who are we missing? If I may ask?” Caitlyn asked looking around, it was only them but she could hear the distant noise of men laughing up the stairs and guessed vis brothers were up there. 

“Well my daughter and her father, and likely ekko, and” he said before he trailed off with a careful look to Vi who frowned

“And?” Vi prompted her smile forced, as she waited for that final name. There were so many people it could be most she'd be happy with but one or two she'd prefer to never see again. Which giving Vander's  hesitation told her it was likely. 

“Sevikas coming” Vander admitted 

“Sevika!” Vi yelled head falling into her hands as she flopped back onto the couch dramatically. Vander chuckled at her and nodded. 

“She's taking powder and Silco to the airport straight after dinner” he explained tiredly. 

“Oh? Where are they going?” Caitlyn asked curiously looking between the pair. Neither seemed to have an answer to give her. 

“I'm not sure, they travel so much it all gets a little confusing to keep up with” he admitted rubbing at the back of his head. 

“They call it their bonding time, we go to boxing matches and they go to fashions shows and gun conventions” Vi admitted, seemingly confunded by the idea that  they'd willingly go to such things. 

“Your sister likes guns?” Caitlyn asked excitedly, she was a bit of a protege in shooting. She had won several competitions in her years. 

“Powder is actually working in the arms industry as a weapons manufacturer,” Vander explained tensely, his smile turning cold. Caitlyn could connect the dots, the arms company Silco had bought for no apparent reason. 

“Oh, wow” she breathed, nodding absently. 

“Yes, wow” Vander repeated, sharing a look with Vi before turning back inside. 

“Felt like I missed something there” Caitlyn whispered, Vi shrugged and patted her on the shoulder. 

“It's a Silco thing” Vi said and Caitlyn knew that but she kept that to herself. 

“Well hello there” Mylo said sweetly leaning over the stair railing, grinning mischievously. Vi huffed shoulders sagging gas she motioned to her brother. 

“Caitlyn, mylo, my brother” she 

“The better brother” Mylo whispered, shooting a look up the stairs but finching back when he found Claggor stood there a few steps up, arms crossed a disapproving glare boring through mylos soul. 

“Please everyone knows they love me more you're just jealous” Claggor murmured as he stepped around him and came down the stairs slowly, Mylo squawked. 

“No!” He yelled, motioning for Vi to back him up. 

“Eh, depends who made dessert today?” she asked, Claggor grimaced nose scrunching before he motioned behind him to where Mylo was pointing his thumbs at himself grinning madly. 

“Then yes I love you most, is it the cheesecake?” she asked and Mylo nodded sadly. 

“Yes I made the cheesecake, I'm not allowed to make anything else remember” Mylo confessed solemnly. Caitlyn frowned. 

“And why not?” she asked suspiciously. 

“Because he's too worried to step out of his comfort zone” Vi dismissed to mylos offence. He let out a loud scoff, shaking his head adimanty. 

“No, I brought a flan, turns out these hippies don't know what a flan is, too scared to try it, I ate my flan alone” Mylo recounted dramatically, hand pressed to his heart the other over his forehead as he pretended to weep. 

“You don't like flan?” Caitlyn demanded turning to vi. The other simply shrugged. 

“It was just jiggly and looked like someone had poured gravy over congealed milk” Vi admitted which was quite the mental image, Caitlyn hated the way that imagination popped into her mind. 

“Run, whilst you still can” Mylo whispered as he walked past shaking his head slowly. She nodded, shooting her shoes a worried glance. 

“You're meant to be on my side” Vi whispered leaning close. 

“Sorry, I can't, I really like flan” she pointedly murmured back Vi grimaced. 

“Oh yeah and Sevika's coming” Claggor added quickly as they walked into the living room, Mylo taking his chair in the window seat whilst Claggor claimed his by the fireplace. Vi walked over to a couch and Caitlyn joined her at her side. 

“Yeah I know, dad already broke the news why did no one think to mention it before I got here” she demanded leaning forward. The boys shared a look neither sure how to explain away their actions before just deciding on the truth. 

“You wouldn't have brought your girlfriend, duh” Mylo stated pointedly looking at Caitlyn who recoiled at the title. She was not vis girlfriend; she didn't know why people seemed so intent on labeling her as such. 

“Not my girlfriend,” Vi said coldly. Claggor chuckled as Mylo rolled his eyes. 

“Oh really, so you're single?” Mylo asked payfully, Caitlyn scrunched her nose and rolled her eyes. 

“She's still off limits, and so out of your league” Vi teased but Mylo didn't argue that point simply went back to his phone. 

“That was suspicious,” Vi admitted quietly. 

“What was?” Caitlyn asked as Vi bore a hole through the side of mylos head. 

“He didn't argue, who's the girl?” Vi demanded, Mylo rolled his eyes and looked over. 

“There is no girl, I just don't believe she's not your girlfriend” he admitted teasingly, looking between them sat too close together on a very long couch. Vis arm over the back of the couch where Caitlyn was sat her knee pressing against vis. Seemed like girlfriends. 

“We really aren't, no offense, she's lovely, and amazing but were not, no” Caitlyn said grimacing at the idea, she loved Vi but as a friend, a good friend nothing more. It wouldn't work. 

“Just shoot me why dont ya” Vi murmured as she laid her head back against the couch looking up at the ceiling. Caitlyn rolled her eyes patting her knee. 

“Yeah we didn't tell ya cause we really wanted to meet you, and we know Vi wants you to meet jinx” Claggor admitted breaking the tension. Vi tensed at the name looking to the side to avoid Caitlyn's curious look. 

“Jinx?” Caitlyn asked and Claggor sighed leaning forward in his chair. 

“Let me guess, they've all been calling her powder?” he asked tiredly, she nodded and he stiffened a moment, eyes closing as he took a deep calming breath, eyes angry as he looked to his sister for an explanation. 

“Well that's her name” Vi said softly, so light she almost missed It. Claggors jaw tensed the room suddenly a lot colder than it had been as she sensed the animosity between the two on the topic. 

“Legally it's not, on her passport, and all of her documents it's not, she changed it four years ago” he explained looking between his brother and sister who both refused to look over avoiding eye contact before he turned to look at caitlyn. 

“Oh to jinx?” she asked and Claggor nodded. 

“Yeah, took Silco's last name as well” he explained softly, he hated being angry but the topic really frustrated him. It wasn't hard to remember her name. They chose not to. 

“Until seven years ago you all had my last name as well” a voice coldly reminded, Caitlyn turned to look up at the man in the doorway, he'd aged since the picture she'd seen, he was shorter than she expected, his black hair slicked back and greying. He wasn't paying them any attention, eyes locked on Vander who stood in the other archway arm braced against the frame just as Vi always did. The tension was thick enough to cut with a knife, all of them waiting for their reactions. Caitlyn had never wanted to be anywhere else. It was like watching a nature documentary seconds before the predator pounded and he did. He stood tall, shoulders stiff and Silco's grim frown turned into a soft smile. 

“Hi darling, I brought your favourite” Silco said with a wink as he held out the bottle, Caitlyn recognised the label, quite an expensive vintage. 

“Silco bought every single bottle during their divorce because it was Vander's  go to and now he brings him a bottle every dinner”  Vi whispered, there were twelve unopened bottles in Vander's  office over the last drop. One opened in the cabinet of his desk. He said never drank them and yet he also never got rid of them. Vander took the bottle and hugged Silco, rolling his eyes. As they pulled away Silco's eyes roamed the living room before peering upstairs. 

“My daughter here yet?” he asked and Vander sighed, shaking his head. 

“You know powder—“ 

“Jinx” Silco cut off in annoyance, pressing a finger into the man's chest. The older rolled his eyes. 

“Jinx, it's still out, she should be here soon” he said sternly. Silco sighed as he reached up to unwrap his scarf. 

“We will start without her most likely” Vi admitted with a shrug. 

“Oh don't be sad for her, we always do, she doesn't care” Mylo jumped in waving his hand. 

“Sevika” Vander greeted warmly. Caitlyn looked back to the doorway to see the tall woman, her suit pressed and well tailored to her. 

“Vander” Sevika greeted back, Vander motioned into the other room and they disappeared through their voices quietly as they chatted. Which left Silco hanging up his coat, Mylo and Claggor jumped to their feet quick to excuse themselves and disappear down the hall.

“Violet, how have classes been??” Silco asked politely and Vi scoffed, shooting him a glare before walking away after the boys. Caitlyn stiffened suddenly alone. 

“Good, nice chat” he sighed as he sat down on the couch across from her. 

“Hi im caitlyn” she introduced with a small wave, 

“Kiramman, I'm aware,” he admitted. 

“Oh?” she grimaced, curious as to where from, she wasn't very good with faces. 

“I've done business with your father a few times, how Is he? By the way, he hasn't been at the country club in a while?” he asked curiously with sincere sympathy and concern. From what Vi had told her she expected the man to be more cold and yet he seemed rather nice. In an unapproachable way. 

“Oh yeah he fractured his thumb on a falling shelf in his office” she explained which was the less embarrassing version of explaining he'd been trying to put up the shelf and failed, miserably. Her mother had told her to stop telling people that.

“That's a shame, do give him my best wishes, pleasant man, talks about you all the time” Silco said and Caitlyn laughed awkwardly. 

“Only good things I hope?” she prodded eyes worried, he laughed and it only served to make her more worried. 

“Of course only good things, he's very proud of you, says you're studying law, interning at the merdarda firm, how has your final year in psa been?” he asked and Caitlyn smiled thinking of her father talking about her telling someone all about what she's been up to.

“Stressful but pretty good” she admitted proudly, she was close to being down and yet it didn't feel close enough. Nine weeks and then she had to take the bar. Which was not as exciting. 

“It's good you've got a placement lined up, after I graduated I took a gap year” he said, he'd taken that gap year to take over the gang but she didn't need to know that. 

“You know, I did consider that but I really like law and I can't wait to finally take part in an actual court case and not anymore mock trials” she huffed he chuckled nodding agreeingly. 

“Understandable, the first time I set foot in a real lab at glasc was the thrilling getting to do real work” he shared with a smile and she couldn't help but smile back as well. 

“Isn't  that the lab you blew up in your first week?” Claggor asked, peering around the doorway, Silco shot him a glare but nodded. 

“Guilty” he said as he pushed to his feet. 

“Of a lot of things,” Vi recalled, Silco shook his head at her. 

“Why even try?” he muttered to himself. 

“We’ll start since Powder won't be here for who knows how long” Vander admitted with a sigh towel thrown over his shoulder. 

“Jinx!” a chorus of voices reminded to the visible agitation of Vi and vander. 

“Is that what she prefers?” Caitlyn asked as she followed Vi into the dining room, the room was large with pictures hung all over the walls of different milestones and achievements, in the centre a lengthy wooden table sat with six seats either side and two at either end. Caitlyn sat down besides Vi and across from Silco the two seats on his left open. Claggor sat on Caitlyn's right with Mylo at his side. 

“It is,” Silco answered when it seemed Vi wouldn't. She was visibly unhappy about it, her jaw tense, shoulders raised as though to shrink herself into her seat. She wanted to ask why but she didn't want to start something when clearly they were all so impassioned about the topic. So she smiled and looked down at her empty plate a napkin laid over top. 

“I cant believe she's late again” Mylo huffed, receiving a firm elbow in the ribs for his whining. 

“Ow, what the hell, she's always late it's annoying” he continued defensively leaning sideways in his chair to avoid another elbow. 

“Usually I'd defend her, but today she is just out with friends so she should have been here on time at least” Silco admitted and Sevika snorted, shaking her head at the naivety. 

“When is she ever on time, she showed up late to her own eighteen birthday party” Sevika huffed. The table all collectively paused looking at her with eire as they recounted the event in question. Caitln looked around, curious to the sudden shift in atmosphere. 

“We don't mention that party” Vi stated sternly. Caitlyn's brows tightened as she waited for someone to maybe explain. No one did, sat there in uncomfortable silence. 

“Why?” Caitlyn asked softly, getting a dirty look from Vi who crossed her arms and turned to look at the pictures behind Vander's  head. 

“Vi ruined it” Mylo answered when the silence drew on too long. 

“I didn't ruin it” she scoffed. 

“You crashed it that was sure,” Silco reminded rephrasing it but no less nice in his wording. 

“Okay shut up” Vi hissed, shaking  her head, cheeks rosy with anger and embarrassment. 

“Let's calm down everyone and not discuss the unfortunate night any further” Vander commanded as he set the food down in the centre of the table, several platters all in dishes piled high. 

“Fine, let's eat,” Silco said with a soft smile to vander. 

“Let's” Vi dished her a serving and Caitlyn immediately began to eat, watching around her as everyone broke off into their own conversations, the atmosphere much warmer and nicer now that they were not talking to each other. Silco and Sevika were engaged in conversation about flight plans and baggage claim and the rule of never having an entire family fly in the same plane. Mylo and Claggor were discussing their classes and Vi was silently seething beside her. She watched her carefully out of the corner of her eye, tempted to reach out but caught by the memory of mylos words. They weren't dating and she didn't want to give her family any more reason to think they were so she kept her hands to herself. 

“Tell me later?” she muttered quietly and Vi sighed their eyes meeting. She gave her a pleading look and Vi relented with a grunt and nodded. 

“It's not that interesting a story, I was an asshole and I regret it” she admitted quiet enough no one else would hear but Claggor was always listening. 

“Not enough to apologize” he murmured into her other ear. 

“I did” Vi said firmly Claggor shook his head and 

“Not to whom it matters” he reminded looking over at a picture. Caitlyn followed his gaze to see the picture of Jinx still young and round faced in her cap and gown holding her degree pressed between Vander and silco. 

“You really defend your sister,” Caitlyn noticed and Claggor nodded. 

“Yeah, these guys like to say we were kids, we were hurting, and then blame her for what she did as a kid in pain” he admitted solemnly pushing his peas around his plate. Caitlyn wondered what had happened, why half the table seemed to defend her and yet the other half could barely mention her without anger. Why Vi was so intent on never bringing her up. 

“You make us sound like horrible siblings,” Mylo groaned, the table suddenly quiet. 

“You were, and she's right not to like you or take you seriously” Claggor reiterated harshly looking between the two, Mylo and Vi both averted their gaze neither keen on admitting they were at fault or if it was even their fault. 

“You guys have got me curious now” Caitlyn laughed awkwardly, luckily she didn't have to wait long though. The door slammed open a minute later a loud voice hollering out through the house. Silco smiled warmly reaching over to dish her a plate and set it at his side waiting for her to appear in the doorway. 

“You guys started without me?” she whined. Caitlyn looked up at the voice, her mouth falling open as she saw her for the first time. Her heart thundering in her chest. 

Jinx stood in the doorway with her hands on her hips, a skimpy white bikini top covering her chest and distressed shorts and a wrap skirt tied around it. Her skin was covered in varying colours of neon paint, hair tied back in the longest blue braids Caitlyn had ever seen. Her soft smile warm and full of mischief, cheeks rosy from exertion. A boy appeared behind her as she approached the table, looking uncomfortable, shirt stuck to his chest covering the worst of the paint but sticking to it as it dried. It stood out even brighter against his dark skin than it did on Jinx’s. 

“Hey” he greeted with an awkward wave. 

“Jinx!” Silco yelled, mouth hung open, eyes wider than saucers as he shook his head disapprovingly. 

“Hi dad, pops, sev” Jinx listed shiting a finger gun at each. 

“Hi brat” Sevika grunted, paying her no mind as she continued to eat like this was a regular occurrence. Caitlyn wondered if it was. 

“Why are you covered in paint?” Silco demanded and Jinx's grin widened revealing her sharp canine teeth as her finger patted against her cheek as she considered why she was late. 

“Think I can go shower, this stuff is kinda itchy?” Ekko asked awkwardly, peering out around Jinx who rolled her eyes. 

“Oh my god it's not that bad” she insisted, running a finger over his arm where some paint was still wet to draw a little heart. He grimaced tugging at his shirt, some of it stuck to his skin in places pulling away with a crunch. 

“Yes ekko, use Jinx's shower you've still got clothes in her room” Vander said softly, ekko gave a thumbs up and jolted out the room desperate to wash the pain off and change. Jinx watched him god exasperated by his dramatics. 

“It's mostly dry anyway, he's gonna be in there all night scrubbing” she huffed tugging her chair our besides Silco and sitting down, she pulled her legs up to cross over the seat and it was only then that Caitlyn realised It didn't have arms like the rest of them did. This chair was nearly identical minus its arms which was intriguing. She sighed, eyes slipping closed before she leant her head against the man's shoulder. 

“Hi dad” she murmured softly, he smiled tutting at the paint that transferred to his jacket but didn't move to push her off. 

“I need to buy you a watch” he commented and she grinned 

“Wouldn't help” she said around a jawn, her eyes tired. 

“I'm so tired” she whimpered, lips curled in an exaggerated pout, Silco chuckled at her. 

“You can sleep on the plane,” he murmured, bringing her plate closer to her. Jinx sighed but sat up grabbing her fork in a loose grip. 

“Okay why are you covered in paint you never answered” Vi prodded curiously eyeing the pain on her neck. Up her cheek and over her hair. There were goggle marks around her eyes so at least she'd worn eye protection. 

“Volleyball” Jinx answered with a strong nod. 

“With paint” Vi filled in the rest. 

“With paint, on a tarp. Art project” Jinx continued cryptically. 

“Oh yours? Another gallery maybe?” Caitlyn asked, Jinx blinked up at her and she could feel the stare Vi was aimed at her head. 

“Maybe” Jinx said softly, eyes narrowed as she looked at her for the first time. 

“Were you guys at the park?” Claggor asked and Jinx scoffed mouth falling open as she looked at him. 

“At the park? Paint is full of chemicals. You think we'd do that in a park? Around kids? Or at the beach with the water right there, the chemical runoff would be toxic to animals” Jinx explained passionately, suddenly very awake as she leaned over the table. 

“Right cause you care about chemicals” Vi scoffed, Jinx rolled her eyes at her, shoulder tense as she leaned back in her chair. 

“We, are not having this conversation again” Jinx insisted before she turned her eyes on Caitlyn 

“Who's the newbie?” she demanded her eyes roaming over caitlyn. She gasped lips parting as she sat a little straighter putting on a smile even though she was terrified, it was suddenly very warm in here. Vi tore her eyes away from the side of Caitlyn's head to look at jinx. The younger grinned expectantly. 

“Caitlyn my friend” Vi said looking at Caitlyn out of the corner of her eye. 

“Friend,” Jinx said teasingly, looking between them at their close chairs. Caitlyn shook her head quickly laughing softly. 

“We're not dating” she insisted firmly, Vi winced and nodded. Jinx's mouth dropped open as she looked at the display. Laughing loudly as she looked at vis embarrassed face and Caitlyn's blushing cheeks. 

“Well that was awkward, so vis friend caitlyn, what do you do?” Jinx asked, pushing her plate forward to brace her elbows on the table. Everyone else had gone back to eating but Caitlyn was caught on the girl in front of her whose eyes were bright with intrigue and mocking. 

“Uhm I study law?” she said and Jinx tilted her head with a hum. 

“Was that a question? Are you asking me whether you study law”

“No, no I do study law, i'm an intern at merdarda law” she was quick to correct stating it with an attempted confidence that faltered slightly. 

“A lawyer, a piltie lawyer” Jinx tutted, reaching for Silco's glass and throwing it back with a roll of her eyes. Silco snatched the now empty glass back and sighed. 

“That was mine” he murmured

“While you're getting another, can you grab me a capri sun” Jinx asked turning to peer at Silco innocently, he paused for a moment considering if she should before nodding pushing back his chair and going into the kitchen. 

“You own an arms company?” Caitlyn stated and Jinx smiled looking over at her. 

“I do yes, currently on military jets but im doing private work on a missile launcher for myself” Jinx said excitedly and Caitlyn blushed as she nodded tongue darting out to lick her lips, she caught the way Jinx followed the motion and her blush deepened. A strong foot collided with her ankle and she grunted grimacing. 

“I am more of a rifle girl myself” she admitted, Jinx's eyes narrowed. 

“You hunt?” Jinx asked, Caitlyn hadn't  expected her to clock her so quickly she gave a curt nod. 

“Uhm yeah pheasant and deer” she admitted even though she knew Jinx had judged her once for being a topside cliche and this was the biggest one out of all of them. 

“That was the most piltovian response you could've given, but I will look past it cause I also hunt” Jinx admitted with her own blush, Silco returned and set her capri sun down in front of her a freshly topped up glass of whisky sat on his other side. Jinx stabbed her straw through it. 

“She likes to pretend she isn't  also a bit of a topsider” Vi hissed mockingly. Jinx mocked her nose scrunching. 

“I am not,” she said firmly. 

“Ya act like one, where ya heading tonight?”vi said pointedly

“Ionia, for the festival” Jinx said jovially, Caitlyn paused her ears burning. Her father was from Ionia so she knew exactly which festival she was talking about. 

“The spirit blossom festival” she murmured and Jinx looked at her curiously, she gave a nod. 

“Ya know it?” she asked and Caitlyn nodded 

My father is ionian” 

“Hmm maybe you are cool, you're alright” Jinx said and Caitlyn grinned proudly looking bak down at her food. Vi snorted softly beside her and she thought back to the only rule she'd been given, vis sister was off limits. She was kinda hoping she could persuade Vi to drop that rule because she really wanted to get to know Jinx better. 

“You were right, this paint is not coming off” ekko huffed as he sat beside her, Jinx chuckled sipping loudly on her straw before shifting to rest her head on his shoulder, his arm coming up to wrap around her. 

“Gross” Mylo hissed, it managed to keep Caitlyn distracted though. Knowing she was taken dampened the attraction she felt. The night progressed rather easily after that with everyone making simple conversation, even though she would stutter every time Jinx would ask her a question and she knew for a fact she would have a bruise in the shape of vis foot in her calf from all the kicks under the table she received. 

“You had one job” Vi huffed as they stepped out onto the porch, Caitlyn sighed, head falling into her hands as she shook her head. 

“I'm sorry, you could have warned me” Caitlyn insisted, this was not her fault, if Vi had given her more to work off she could have prepared better instead she'd been ambushed by the beautiful accomplished woman. 

“How I supposed to know she'd show up half dressed?” Vi asked sarcastically but Caitlyn frowned and remembered that she was right and Jinx had been half dressed most of the night until Sevika had given the girl her jacket. 

“Oh right, yes that. Yes it was because of the bikini” Caitlyn agreed, cheeks boiling hot as she nodded. Vi paused eyeing her as she considered the response. 

“Was it not? Don't tell me you actually like her for her?” Vi said cruelly. Caitlyn stiffened. 

“What's that supposed to mean?” she demanded and Vi shrugged

“It means she's not your type” 

“I think she's kinda cool, she smart and she's accomplished and she's passionate about her work and she cares about animals and she works with kids, hello she's fostering a mute child, she's twenty two” Caitlyn exclaimed she'd found out a lot about Jinx that evening because Silco loved to talk about her and if asked Jinx didn't really shy away from answering. She was confident and laid back and energetic and fun and she had a dry sense of humour that worked with Caitlyn’s. 

“Oh my god you have a crush on my sister, well stamp it out” Vi said sternly her mouth screwed up. 

“I doubt you'll ever invite me back so im sure ill get over it” she sighed turning her keys over in her palm. Vi didn't seem convinced but nodded, opening the door again. 

“Goodnight Cait” she said tiredly before slipping back inside. 

“Night vi” she said to herself as she turned to look at the drive way. She walked up to her car slipping the key into the lock and paused taking a deep breath of the cold night air. She was worried she'd messed things up with vi. She'd given her one  rule and she'd already broken it. Not that she was gonna act on it or anything. She pulled open the door and dumped her bag in the passenger seat before climbing in and closing it with a slam. She sighed, head falling back to look at the star detailing on the roof. She reached up to turn on the car when something clattered against her window. She looked up to find Jinx smiling at her through the glass. She rolled it down. Jinx leaned against the open frame. 

“Hey” she said excitedly, Caitlyn stuttered looking up at her teasing blue eyes and smiled. 

“Hi” she said as Jinx reached behind her to hand over a phone, her phone Caitlyn realised that she must have left on the coffee table. 

“Oh, thank you I hadn't  realised I” she was cut off by Jinx's laughter. 

“I stole it idiot, I put my number in it, i'll call you when I get back maybe I can show you my art project” Jinx admitted sweetly before she stood tall. 

“Yeah i'd like that” she said, Jinx snorted at her giving her a side eye that said yeah I know. Caitlyn realised she had probably not been subtle. She was a mess, a very gay mess. 

“Bye caity-cat” Jinx purred as she slinked off to the suv parked on the curb. Sevika stood by the driver's side door on her phone. Caitlyn watched her hips sway, braids swishing back and forth with every step she took when she felt her phone buzz in her hand. Vi was calling her. She frowned, picking up and looked back to the house to find Vi stood in the window arms crossed, mouth pressed into a hard line. 

“Get out of my driveway” she hissed the moment the call connected and Caitlyn laughed as she held up her middle finger before rolling up her window. She looked over and found Jinx looking at Vi as well tongue poking out as she leaned over the open window. She laughed and hoped Jinx remembered to call her and maybe she could convince Jinx to ring her to family dinners because she knew Vi was never bringing her back.

Chapter Text

Caitlyn had only opened the app to check for a message from a brand that had wanted to partner with her. A notebook company that she'd been using since the start of her 2nd year at Plaw, a small company that wanted to send her a few for free if she agreed to tag them in her posts. Caitlyn had jumped on the chance and was waiting for them to respond to her response. 

She hadn’t paid her main page any thought for a moment as her thumb had hovered over the message button, but as she’d clicked it her page flashed for a moment and she caught the post that refreshed to the top, username popping out at her. JinxedArt. She swiped back, the message forgotten as she looked at the post. A lithe hand raising a lantern up into the sky, thousands of them floating behind her, a blur of bright golden light. She swiped right to the next photo, this one was taken from much further away, with the lantern inches from her finger her illuminated silhouette a glow with the warm light of a million lanterns. Jinx's dress was billowing in the window at her feet, her blue hair tied back in an elaborate style that Cait could imagine would be quite heavy. She wondered how long Jinxs hair was when undone. She knew that braiding it reduced its length rather significantly and Jinx's hair was down to her ankles in the braid so how long was it out of them. 

Caitlyn sighed, head leaning back against her pillow to stare up at the blank expanse of her ceiling. And in its place she imagined running her fingers through rivers of blue, curling the soft locks around her hand and braiding it. 

She grimaced that was far too soft a thought. Caitlyn had been into people before but usually that was more sexually charged, usually she was imagining bare skin and lingerie and clandestine meetings in five stay hotel rooms with views looking out at the expansive mountain range. Maybe if she really liked someone she'd imagine them in her bed, in her sheets, or sat in her button ups at her kitchen island sipping coffee from one of her mugs after a long night. 

Jinx though was different, for some reason when she thought about Jinx she imagined her parading around an art gallery staring her down with those bright eyes as she went on and on about the art and the techniques. She imagined her at a gun range holding Caitlyn's gun to her chest cheek pressed to the cold metal, she pictured Jinx illuminated by candle light at her favourite restaurant and yeah she could imagine Jinx sat on her wide bespoke couch in one of her button ups, with socks too big for her tiny feet laying over Caitlyns lap, sipping at a capri sun as she explained some big personal project she was undertaking. 

She already knew she was crushing bad, she just hadn't realised just how sappy it was making her. She wanted to hold Jinxs hand and wash her ridiculously long hair and read her favourite books. Make Jinx watch reality tv shows with her, and introduce her to Jayce. 

Caitlyn shot up in bed looking back down at the picture. She wanted to introduce Jinx to the guy who was just about her brother in everything but blood. That was new. She had never wanted to introduce anyone to Jayce. She’d always tried to do the opposite. Jayce was a territory not to be broached because his opinion mattered more to her than anyones. Caitlyn would sooner bring someone before her mother than she would even consider mentioning them to Jayce. Yet the idea of introducing him to Jinx didn't seem so bad. Because Jinx was smart and sure she was blunt and unapologetically bold and she said what was on her mind when it was on her mind, but she was also sweet as well, and when she was talking about her foster daughter she could go on for hours in such fondness. Caitlyn knew Jayce would like her, it seemed impossible he wouldn't. 

She took her phone back in hand looking at the picture of Jinx again before she scrolled away, the rest of her feed seemed so boring in contrast, the colours didn’t elicit as much emotion in her, didn't seem as vibrant or dynamic as the ones Jinx posted. She made it down a few days worth of pictures till she found another spread by jinx. The first few photos of Jinx in different ionian museums but the forth was of Jinx partaking in an event. Grinning widely as she made thoughtfully abstract ink lines in all different colours on a canvas bigger than she. The beige fabric making the vibrant colours pop. 

The next photo was of the finished product and it stopped her, sent a pang through the side of her chest tightening there as she looked on. She didn't realise how good Jinx was at realism, all of her own art was either graffiti work or abstract in some way. The massive mural which she guessed was to scale based on the picture of Jinx stood just off to the side, her height a match for the version of herself she'd drawn in the center. Standing at her feet was a young girl with short hair bright blue in colour, making a little hand heart over her chest smiling so wide it showed off her missing tooth. Jinx was looking down at her hand resting on her delicate shoulder. 

To Jinxs left was Vi, who looked younger, eyes crinkled with the big smile on her lips. She seemed so relaxed and at peace, her eyes clear and focused her smile easy and light. Caitlyn wondered if this was how Jinx saw Vi or how Vi had been. Before all the arguments and the fighting, before she'd gone to jail and a tired weight had settled over her shoulders constantly weighing her down preventing her smile from reaching up to her eyes.

On her right was her brother, Claggor stood close, his arm resting on her shoulder, a sly grin on his face and a bit of mischief in his eyes, like he was in on some secret which made full sense from her interactions with him. Mylo was on Vis side leant against her slightly a tired smile and a pretend nonchalance that was blatantly obvious in the way his lips crinckled around the corners and his eyes shone, like he was trying not to laugh, trying to be mysterious and yet couldn't. 

Behind Jinx was Silco, the man's hand resting over her shoulder, a fond pride in the gentle curl of his lips. Caitlyn knew that smile, she'd seen it directed at Jinx when she rested her head down on his shoulder, when he rolled his eyes and turned away to get her a capri sun. Caitlyn doubted Jinx knew anything other than that smile and those warm eyes which held so much love and adoration and yet they were only ever directed at her. At his side and behind Vi was vander with his stern frown and yet relaxed eyes, he was a force large and imposing holding an air of authority and yet at the same time he was protecting. Besides him were two older people, a man with a soft smile and a woman with a small braid swept over a shoulder looking down with teary eyes, their hands clasped together at their chest as they looked on with fondness. Caitlyn could make the assumption those were their bio parents. Something about the way they were not touching anyone, their lines and brush strokes more hazy and light welled something up in Caits chest. A well of emotion she didn't quite understand and hoped to never. Everyone else in the portrait was so real, their figures concrete, lines thick and precise like Jinx had drawn them a few hundred times. 

Caitlyn liked this image with a little more reluctance, her chest tight at the idea of moving away but she made the motion and pushed the picture up and out of sight the tension tightening just slightly. She had made it down two images and an ad before she scrolled back up and looked at the cover photo again. Jinx at the entrance of the museum holding up her lanyard with the entrance pass for invited guests. She was holding a small hand that was cut out of the image. Caitlyn hadn't realised before just how many tiny hands she'd seen creeping in the corner of pictures. 

She clicked onto the profile. There were tons of pictures of Ionia and a few more of Jinx. She wondered if that was a conscious choice. The pictures before of Jinx were more suggestions, she made the occasional appearance but she was mainly out of frame most of the time. That was part of why she hadn’t recognised her in her initial scroll now though Jinx was in so many more. 

There were still her usual style pictures, the murals, the temples and the city, the museums and the paintings and all the exhibits she'd visited and learnt about. But there was also now a lot more Jinx, Jinx in traditional ionian fashion, Jinx partaking in the events and doing the activities, and in one notable picture, Jinx sat at a kiddy table reaching for a crayon from the bucket as she held out another one to the girl besides her. Who was once again mainly cut out but her plastic ringed hand was in frame and her wide bucket hat adorned with several clips and stickers was tilted to rest against Jinx's arm as she reached up for the lime green crayon. 

The picture filled her with warmth made her swoon as she looked at the soft tilt of Jinx's head. Jinx was a parent. That was a very crucial detail, if she wanted to date Jinx she would have to be around the kid and work around the kid. She had never even considered kids, not since she had been one. She was an only child with few friends because her overly judgy mother liked to chase them away. Until she was twenty three her best friend had been a thirty two year old man. 

What did she know about kids, then again what did she know about dating. Next to nothing. Maybe this was a terrible idea, maybe she should block the number and hope Jinx never messaged her, and if she did she should ignore it and move on with her boring and ordinary life. Keep going to the diner with Vi every night, become a lawyer, never date or socialise outside of her existing social sphere. Caitlyn looked around the empty walls in her bedroom and thought back to the many pictures hung in the lane house, the family portraits, the imperfect photos slightly tilted taken of them in funny poses with scrunched faces. Her mother would never have a picture like that in her home, Caitlyn had never even considered having one either. Now though she kind of wanted that, she wanted a big family, and she realised maybe she even wanted kids. Or a kid. A kid who adored her mother so much she forced the woman to dye her hair blue to match, who wore an absurd amount of plastic rings. 

She wanted Jinx and she wanted all the hardships that would probably come with it. The kid, the company, the fragile family that was a moment away from blowing up. Caitlyn couldn't let this opportunity slip from her hand. 

She moved to the chat, before wondering if sending a message over zaunagram was too informal, it was the kind of thing the socialites she hated did to her, slid in her dms and pretended to care. She didn't even know what she would say. She tried some messages out, typing them, rereading over them before realising it was too blunt, too forward, too desperate. 

She considered asking Jayce, that guy had two partners so clearly he knew something about dating, then again he had nothing in the starting of the relationship, Mel and Viktor had been dating already and decided they wanted Jayce and slowly absorbed him into their relationship until he realised as they were all moving in together that they were dating. By then it had been over a year and a bit. 

She couldn't ask Vi for any advice either because Vi had been pretty firm on her stance in the matter and that was thoroughly against. So she closed the app and typed some out into her notes app and hated all of them. 

She was at a lose. She returned to Jinx's zauna page, scrolling down a little more, taking notice of the things Jinx did. All the paintings she posted, spreads dedicated entirely to paintings most of which were abstract and colourful, full of bold shapes and patterns. These paintings she would talk about the emotions they incited and the artists intended meaning behind it. Caitlyn was coming to realise a lot of abstract art had very deep philosophical meanings, most of which went right over her head, she could take the meaning and the painting but putting them together did not add up for her. She couldn't really understand how these splashes of colour and scribbled lines were meant to represent the stages of grief and the artist's hierarchy of emotional turmoil in a time of stress. 

On the flip side she posted a lot of gothic and violent paintings as well, deep emotional paintings that Caitlyn could understand a lot more. One post jumped out at her the most, a painting called Janus devouring his son, there were several pictures of it from all angles a zoomed in picture of the half devoured torso of the son. The painting was striking in not just its violence but also in its turmoil. In the caption wasn't a long and detailed rant on the painting and its creator but instead a link to a blog which contained a rant ten times longer than all the others. She had written in extensive detail all about the emotions conveyed in the painting and felt by the artist, the history and its somber creation and the techniques used to create it but also the scholarly intrigue with its dating and its title. 

The blog told her it was a seventy minute read, she read it from start to finish and followed the suggested links to further articles on the topic until she had spent a rather embarrassingly long time learning about it looking for Jinx in the subtext. She wanted to know what had grasped her so tightly, spurring her to write so passionately about what could be seen as a boring painting. There was no background or vivid colours, it was a dark and somber painting with only one main focus, the man and the half devoured corpse of his son. When she returned to the original post she decided to check the rest of Jinx's entries. Clearly she didn't update this as much as she posted on zauna but every entry was similar, long detailed and well researched entries into specific paintings, three of which were abstract, six of which were classical, and one of which was a statue that had been rescued from the depth of a well. 

Caitlyn wondered if Jinx was subscribed to art magazines, if every month a series of magazines arrived at her door like they did Caitlyns. She wasn’t subscribed to art but she did have a lot of gun and tech magazines that she got every month. A collection she kept in her office and which got put out on her coffee table. One gun magazine she had framed in a plastic protector and placed on display in her living room because she was featured on its cover. 

She wondered if there was a museum Jinx hadn't been to, whether she could find one to take her there, or if she could take her to an auction which sold these sorts of paintings. She knew Jinx liked auctions because Vi had said so. She could surprise her with her own knowledge on art. 

Caitlyn set her phone down reaching back to fluff her pillows into a suitable mound to support her back before she reclined. She was thinking too much wasn't she, it wasn't this deep. She sighed, grabbing her phone off her lap and returning to her page, when she first looked at the page she checked the first nine posts and scrolled away without any thought. Jinx herself wasn't in any of the cover images and she hadn't had the time to check every single one to see if she had been hiding between the pictures. Now though, looking at those photos she saw Jinx in them anyway. She knew through the pictures that Jinx drank exclusively coolers and iced teas, knew she ate anything citrus and loved a lemon cream tart from the little bakery around the corner from the piltover city bank. 

Caitlyn had been there twice, yet the image of the small space was vivid in her memory, soft blue walls and huge arched windows with embroidered curtains. And under one such window was a little three person table that featured in all of Jinx's posts in that cafe, she could picture Jinx sitting there smiling widely as she swiped the cream from the corner of her mouth, thumb slipping past her lips, hand wrapped around her iced tea. The photo she posted was from two weeks prior of her tart and her tea, an old science fiction novel by her plate with a little plastic turtle clip used as a bookmark between the pages. The book was well worn with a cracked spine and yellow pages, a smear of paint along the top where the bookmark had been. Caitlyn wondered if everything Jinx touched got smeared with paint. If she herself could become something bearing the traces of lime green and poison pink paint. 

In so many of Jinx's pictures was a small hand, never her face or even a silhouette but the occasional small hand always with a different colour nail polish holding onto Jinxs, cropped from the photo. Isha was always reaching out to touch the picture leant over the museum barrier, or on one occasion a photo of Jinx dressed to the nines, getting her hair professionally done and in the corner of the slightly tilted picture was a small thumb painted with bright yellow and jet black nail polish. 

She liked the photo not thinking about when it was posted or how far she had scrolled. Jinx was a very active poster, all of it a look into her daily life, into her interests and hobbies, she posted between five to six times per day sometimes singular photos others entire spreads of ten, twelve, twenty pictures. She kept scrolling, liking the occasional photo that caught her eye when a notification obscured the top of her screen. 

The purpose of her logging onto the app lit up in her mind and she expected to see the message from the brand but found something so much better. And so much worse in equal measures. JinxedArt posted a new photo, JinxedArt started following you back. 

Caitlyn screamed hand shooting up to cover her mouth as she slammed the phone down on the bed and shoved it away hearing it clatter off the side of her bed and onto the floor. She didn't look at it, she kept her eyes trained forward. this was fine, she was fine. So what if Jinx had followed her back? That was a good thing now she could dm her. Which she didn't need to because she already had her number, had already put her own into Caitlyns phone. 

She had been online though, probably not as long as Caitlyn had been but she had been online whilst Caitlyn was going through her profile. She turned over shoving her head into the pillows as reality hit her all at once. She had spent god knows how long scrolling through Jinx's zauna, went to her blog for crying out loud, she had basically stalked her and now Jinx knew it and was creeped out and wanted nothing to do with her. 

She shuddered at the idea of Jinx being annoyed with her, imagining her sitting in her rental home chuckling to herself at how annoying and desperate Caitlyn was. She had a nice laugh, Caitlyn thought solemnly. 

She pushed herself up onto her forearms turning her head to look over at her phone. Jinx had followed her back. She had taken the time to go to her profile and follow her back despite seeing all the likes so clearly she couldn't be that annoyed at her. Who would follow someone that didn't like that was just ridiculous. She jumped up twisting her legs off the bed and colliding to the floor with a clatter retrieving her phone from the floor. The notifications had gone away but the last photo of Jinx hadn't. The photo of her in a puffy black dress, sat in the front  row of some fashion show hands raised and her fingers spread to show off her many rings, beautiful colourful rings in silver. Jinx only ever seemed to wear silver she realised. A testament to how much she scrolled to be able to notice that little detail. She wore silver and rubies, garnets, really any gemstone that came in red or a pink. 

She groaned as she stood knee clicking loudly as she turned back to her bed, she stopped a moment as she clicked out of the app finger on the button that would turn off her phone when she noticed she had a message. She rested her knee on her mattress pushing back the sheets and crawling in as she opened the message. Somewhere in the back of her mind she considered it could be from Jinx but the idea was so preposterous she didn't really give it a second thought. Expected it to be from her manager who was such a workaholic she would message her on her weekend, her day off. It could have also been from her mother she reckoned. Both were messages she really didn't want to have to deal with at the moment. 

Instead of the familiar contacts at the top of the app was a new contact, her photo a blurry image of Jinx holding up with a little finger heart and winking. Which considering she hadn't set the picture nor did she have one of Jinx like that suggested Jinx had done it herself. Suggested she had stolen her phone, added her number then looked at her boring photoless contacts with simple first and last name format and decided to be different. Taking a photo to add to the contact and giving herself a little nickname. Jini, Caitlyn wondered if it was pronounced like ginny or genie. 

Her frown turned around, a smile tugging at her cheeks as she collapsed back into her pillows pulling the covers back over her. Her heart stuttered in her chest squeezing tight. She hesitated a moment thumb hovering over the chat, an irrational fear gripping her before she took the plunge and opened the message. Her face burned as she looked at the message. 

Have fun stalking my zauna? ;) 

She snorted to herself, her cheeks burning warmer as she looked at the little winky face. — You live an interesting life, it's intrigued me —  she replied, it sounded casual but Caitlyn had never been casual or nonchalant a day in her life. So she just hoped it was portraying the image of coolness she wanted Jinx to perceive. 

Ah it's a lie my life seems interesting because I add a filter and position things aesthetically my real day to day at home is rather boring 

The confession offended her for some reason, because it was a lie Jinx didn't realise she was telling. Caitlyn went to retort, — no truly your life Is interesting — but before she could send it Jinx messaged again 

You free friday? 

Caitlyn paused, her eyes widening as her chest tightened. She deleted the message shed written and wrote — yes — as her thumb hovered over the send button she paused, that seemed desperate, a little too forward so she deleted it. — as of right now I have no plans, is that gonna change? — that was a little flirty and also prompted Jinx to ask her. Before she could chicken out this time she sent it. 

Well I did say we would have to arrange a date for when I get back and I get back tuesday there's this gallery in the city I think you would like was hoping I could take you

Caitlyn grinned thinking back to her own daydreaming about dates and was a little proud she had read Jinx so well. — I would love that — she replied, It sounded so casual and yet Caitlyn was kicking her feet, grinning so wide her cheeks hurt. 

Well great i'll pick you up friday at six 

Friday. At six. That was five days away. Caitlyn was excited, already running with the possibilities. 

Wear something nice 

Caitlyn faltered, mind running, what would Jinx call nice. Vi had a very specific idea of what was nice on her, nothing fancy because it felt like she was dressing to impress with materialistic displays of wealth. And nothing brightly coloured because it clashes with her more muted tones. She wondered if Jinx would think the same. Jinx who attended fashion shows and dressed for herself and never anyone else. Whose style couldn't be described by any specific style but more a combination of hundreds meshed in her own unique way to compliment her body and her features. — can't wait, it sounds like a lot of fun — Jinx immediately put a little heart on the message. 

Caitlyn's heart was attempting to break out from under her sternum. Oh god she had a date. She had not been on a date since med school six years ago. She didn't date not because she didn't want to or because she couldn't get dates, she just struggled to feel attracted to people, to form those connections where she wanted to go further with a person. So many people she met on a day to day basis were other law students, all of which were a little too similar to herself, wholefully devoted to their studies, working at their internships, attending galas they didn't care too much for and making small talk that was flat and rehearsed. She heard the same repeated lines so many times it made her want to tear out her own hair, there was only so many robotic interactions she could suffer through before she lost grip of reality and became another one of them.

Vi had been different, from the first moment they had met Caitlyn couldnt assume what Vi was going to say and when she had spoken blunt and condescending Caitlyn had been stunned. Of course first impressions didn't really mean anything because she came to learn that Vi was kind. She was outgoing and she liked to talk to anyone and everyone. She was also a lot smarter than she liked to admit, she could lead a conversation about literature and classical novels and held really passionate opinions on writing conventions. Though Vi would and did look at her like she was crazy when she'd go on a tangent about anything philosophical claimed it was crazy people's way to tell the world their conspiracy theories. 

Caitlyn had always been able to relax around Vi, to talk about her boring day and her boring outings and be rewarded for it with the stories of vis interesting life. The people she met at the last drop, the night classes she took and the things she got up to as a nocturnal bartender broaching the day, because no matter how many things became twenty four hours the majority of businesses still held rigorous daylight schedules Vi was forced to conform to. Vis life was so different from hers and yet so similar as well. Both attending classes, both having weekend family dinners, reading books and trying new places. Except whilst Cait went to her internship Vi went to the bar. 

Jinx though, Jinxs life was completely different all together. Jinx traveled all the time to so many different countries and cities. She went to fashion shows wearing elaborate outfits. Attended science conventions and arms expos because she owned an arms company because she was passionate about designing weapons. Caitlyn had been to two science conventions and they were nothing like the galas she was forced to attend, they were lively with people who were actually passionate about their subject and their research. Jinx read old science fiction novels and painted in her down time when insomnia gripped her. 

And Jinx was raising a child she was working towards adopting. She was kind of cool. Wore what she wanted even though it wasn't the norm, said what she thought when she thought it without care but knew when to hold her tongue. She was twenty two and she didn't just stop having fun because people told her it was time to grow up and be an adult. When Caitlyn had turned eighteen and started pre med she had adopted the med student persona. She dressed in their fashion talked in their voice smiled like they did on the campaign photos. She had an image to uphold, the perfect upper class piltovian. A renowned doctor's daughter and a councilman's daughter. 

Quitting med school hadnt been easy but she had done it in the search of happiness, to find something that she was actually passionate about. Jinx had always known what made her happy and so she had seized it with two hands and made it her life, helped by the people around her who nurtured her passions and interests. So Jinx was cool and she had her life weirdly figured out and she liked Caitlyn. 

She could not believe it, she threw her phone down against the bed looking up at her ceiling at the blank expanse of white paint. She pushed from her bed wandering out down the hall into her living room pacing the length of her rug as she considered what she was gonna wear. Jinx said something nice, how nice was too nice, gala nice or quiet dinner between two kind of nice. How formal did she have to go for an art gallery? She had to look up art shows and look at what the people attending them wore to get an idea. Then she could go through her own clothes and decide. 

She wondered if she should wear a dress. Jinx had seen her in trousers at the dinner, she had adapted more of a masc presentation that she would because she felt comfortable in it and Vi had said casual. Now though she didn't know if she was meant to uphold the image she had originally presented or subvert it entirely. 

What if Jinx didn't like her in a dress. Then again she knew Jinx was a bit of a fan of a tighter silhouette in womens fashion, her page told her enough to know her favourite styles were tailored and form fitting when it came to others but she herself preferred a more boxy and formless shape. 

Caitlyn wandered into her kitchen pulling open her fridge to grab a bottle of water before returning to her bedroom. She sat the bottle down on the side table and sat on the edge of the bed, hands resting on her knees as she looked at her closet door. Was it too early to pick out what she was gonna wear? Probably. So she turned back into her bed, legs slipping under the covers as she stared ahead. She had a date. A date which was five days away. She could last five days. 

Turns out five days was a long time to wait. The following morning as she walked to the office she felt like she was walking on air smiling at everything and everyone. Her hair falling naturally over her shoulders in soft waves. She had woken up and taken the time to curl her hair just slightly to see if it would look nice and she liked to think it did. Instead of her usual breakfast of healthy pancakes and eggs she decided to treat herself by going to the cafe down the street from the office, getting herself the sweetest and stickiest french toast doused in berry compote and whipped cream. She never got it because it was just so much sugar but she deserved something nice. She held her phone up over her breakfast, pulling her tea closer to the shot, the little ceramic teacup painted with golden birds and flowers matching the plate. 

She added a cute filter that amplified the warm sunlight and posted it on her zauna, setting her phone face down on the table as she dug in, her hand itching to take her phone and see if Jinx had seen it. Jinx probably had a similar start time to her maybe even earlier because she had a kid so she was bound to be up. She ate slowly, eyes tracing over the magazine she had snagged from the rack whilst at the counter, fashion and art. She was learning there was quite the focus on the dead. Which seemed to coincide with the ionia festival which was about celebrating the dead. 

When she finished her breakfast she finally allowed herself to check her phone and found that Jinx had liked the photo but so had her personal trainer and she had three messages from the woman. Angry messages about her diet and the workout she would suffer through that afternoon. Caitlyn snickered as she sent a thumbs up in the chat, reaching for her bag over the other chair and standing. She pulled her hair back over her shoulder phone slipping back into her bag. 

The office was just a few buildings down across the street and as she walked in scanning her card in the entryway she shot a smile at Mira at the reception desk, the other womans eyes narrowing as she gave a forced smile back. She didn't let it dampen her spirit as she walked into the elevator pressing the button for her floor. As she waited she fixed her hair behind her ear, she did like the curls, she practised pulling it back loose strands poking out in a way that seemed intentional. She was gonna have to wear her hair up which meant she'd have to wear big earrings which meant a small necklace. The outfit was planning itself. 

As the elevator halted she rushed from the space bag slipping from her shoulder as she approached her little office. Mel hated cubicles, thought they were ugly so instead her firm had small offices. She rather liked hers, hated the day she would have to go up to the paralegal floor. Those offices were bigger but she had arranged her office decor to fit cohesively in this space. She would have to adapt which was sadly a fact of life. 

She slipped her door closed hanging her bag on the hook as she shrugged off her coat hanging it beside it. 

Caitlin's morning routine at the office was rather uneventful, drafting contracts and getting the case summaries together. A Lot of paperwork to file and since they had decided everything must be digital, navigating through the digital archive to properly file and catalogue finished cases with their digital copies before the paper copies got sent away. It meant she did a lot of scanning. By her break she was rather bored, music playing in her earphones as she focused on her tasks that were swiftly dwindling by the hour. She was too quick with it and Mel told her to drag it out but it was so repetitive she just did it naturally quick. No one was gonna notice if she took a little break, not when she was three hours ahead so she clicked out of the case documents and opened a new tab. 

Typing in art galleries into her search engine. There were three near her. Three galleries in piltover that were hosting events. That was pretty good for her, narrowed it down. Caitlyn now just had to wonder which one it could be. At first she thought she could see what the exhibit was on and decide which one seemed more up Jinx's alley but found that all three of them were hosting events that would probably appeal to jinx. 

One was a textile exhibit on the crossover of fabric and paint; the teaser images showed these swaths of fabric hung all over the multiple rooms floor to ceiling draped in black fabric, all of it painted in varying techniques. Even if Jinx didn't take her to that one she would have to go herself, the darker atmosphere enclosed space and colorful art was mesmerising. It seemed like something Jinx would love as well. She held hope maybe it would be this one. 

The second one seemed a bit more formal and stuffy which was probably more of a conventional first date location. With huge paintings done in oil. All romantic paintings depicting love of all kinds, in a long room made to look like some secret passageway, lined with stone bricks and illuminated by candles spread all along the floor. 

The third was the furthest from her taste, a simple white room with giant abstract paintings with splashes of red coming off the canvas against black backgrounds. There were sculptures in every room, mounds of the same red paint in shapes that she could almost think were meant to be the figures of people laid out and sinking into the base. It didn't resonate very nicely with her, stirring a sense of discomfort in her stomach as she looked at It. She hoped it wouldn't be that one because if it was she wouldn't be able to hide her obvious discomfort and Jinx would feel awkward for bringing her and she would have ruined the date.

Sadly this wasn’t helping her choose what to wear, all of the exhibits had vastly different atmospheres, the textile exhibit was bound to be warm so something light would be best whereas in contrast the red exhibit was done using wax which meant it was gonna be cold so something a little thicker would be beneficial. The urge to message Jinx and ask ‘which one are we going to so I can dress accordingly’ was strong but she got the idea Jinx would send her another winky face and tell her to have patience. Caitlyn's patience was legendary; she was so patient all the time. Yet it seemed to have worn out as the indecision grappled with her, she stopped for a moment brows knitted together as she looked at the big red blob of the third exhibit, that looked vaguely feminine and morbidly beautiful. It was so unsettling, so uncomfortable. 

She sighed, reaching for her paperwork when her office door flew open. Caitlyn yelped, jumping in her seat to turn to look at the intruder. It was simply her manager Eda holding a stick stack of papers. Caitlyn looked at her dwindled pile and realised she had not been active on their workspace enough and Eda had flagged her. 

“Hi Eda, how can I help you?” she said flatly, smiling as she did. Eda looked annoyed brows furrowed as she looked at her curled hair and her light minimal makeup before tutting. she set the papers on the desk with a grin. 

“I need these done, and can you make six copies of this please” she said, slipping a large folder off the top. A folder that had to have at least a hundred if not more pages in it. Caitlyn nodded, humming as she took the folder in hand. 

“Right this second or?” Caitlyn mused hoping Eda would say after she had finished her newly acquired paperwork alas she was not so lucky. 

“Yes, right this second kiramman its an important document” eda said sternly her faux smile falling away and Caitlyn nodded closing her tab and pushing to stand slipping her phone subtly into her pocket and returning her earphones to their case. Eda turned and left leving her door wide open as she slipped down the hall to her own office. Luckily for Cait the copier room was on another floor so eda wouldn't be staring her down as she stood copying. 

The room was also empty because it would seem she was the only one of the interns ever forced to go make copies because Eda hated her. 

Caitlyn stood in front of the copier foot thumping against the tile as she waited. Her hands clutched together pinching at her pinkie twisting and pulling at the appendage as she waited. She was so tuned out from the room lost in her own thoughts thinking of her date to come she didn't hear the click of heels behind her or the squeak of the door in the haze of the swishing printer and the beeping as a page released dropping into the collection tray. 

A warm hand settled on her shoulder shocking her out of her thoughts, she flinched shoulders straightening automatically before she realised who it was and relaxed slumping slightly as she looked down to mel. Caitlyn had always been rather observant but it didn't take a genius to notice that Mel wasn't wearing her heels; her eyes dropped to the cute sandals she wore instead. Her usually formal office outfit traded for something more comfortable and loose which told Caitlyn that Mel was coming back from a lunch date though that didn't answer why she was wearing flats but who was she to judge she wore the shortest of heels because with anything taller she was over six foot and Caitlyn lived in a world designed for people shorter and looking down all day hurt her neck. 

Mel was frowning up at her when she snapped out of her thoughts, her eyes concerned as she looked over her face for a sign she was unwell or unfit to keep working. When she didn't seem to find anything she relaxed her hand siding to her arm to rest on the bare skin just below her folded cuffs. 

“Are you alright, lost you there for a moment” she asked softly, eyes flicking between hers and Caitlyn shrugged nodding as she did. 

“Of course” she answered with a smile, Mel hummed unconvinced nose scrunching as she shook her head and Caitlyn wondered what she had said wrong. 

“You've been staring at that wall for five minutes” Mel said quietly and Caitlyn laughed awkwardly hand tugging her hair over her shoulder to tug at a strand. 

“Oh, well there's not much else to do when you're making six copies of a  one hundred and thirty eight page document” Caitlyn admitted turning to glare at the coping basket which was full to brimming with the prints, she had two copies already set aside and slipped into their folders a label slapped on the front with their catalogue id numbers. Mel chuckled meanly cheeks bulging with the force. 

“Yeah I don't miss that, that's why I hire people like you to do it for me” she said, slapping her hand against Caitlyn's lightly. 

“Happy to help” Caitlyn admitted tiredly and Mel tutted at her, head tilted as she smiled. 

“And is there something I can help you with?” Mel prompted leaning in closer, clearly she knew something was up, Caitlyn wondered if she should tell her, tell her about the date, about Jinx, about Vi and the dinner. She could, she knew Mel was a good listener and really good at figuring out how to fix things. She would also probably know what you were meant to wear to an art gallery. Caitlyn had been to art galleries but she'd gone alone in her own clothes never on a date and dates were completely different. She sighed, shoulders slumping. 

“Come on, forgot the copies were having a meeting” Mel commanded, her hand slipping down from her forearm to take her hand in hers and tugging her out into the hall. 

“Wait, the copies will fall on the floor” Caitlyn said looking back at the room but making no effort to escape the rather meager hold on her hand. Mel snorted, head shaking as she slammed the elevator button.

“And someone will pick them up and set them aside and then when i'm done with you, you'll go sort them” Mel answered simply as the doors opened with a ding and they stepped inside. 

“But they're Important, Eda wanted them asap” Caitlyn complained dryly reaching over to press the button for mels floor. 

“They'll be fine” she dismissed with a wave of her manicured hand. Caitlyn should get her nails done shouldn't she, she looked down at her simple pink polish chipping on the tips and grimaced at the lacking professionalism of them. 

“Fine, but just because you're my boss's boss and your orders outrank hers” Caitlyn nodded seriously and Mel let out a loud laugh, her head thrown back before she staggered forward. 

“I outrank her tenfold, I'm not just her boss's boss, I'm her boss's boss's boss, i'm the mega boss” Mel exclaimed excitedly, Caitlyn thought it was hilarious how happy she was at the fact. Mel was born to lead people, meant to order them around and command them and now she got to do that on a huge scale and she loved it. Caitlyn wondered if she would ever get to that level of leadership, her parents both had in their respective field and so had most of the people around her seemed only fitting thats where she was heading in life. 

The elevator dinged on the top floor, mels floor to be exact. The firm had silent partners that invested financially but Mel had been the only partner since she had been forced to buy out all the others a few years prior. Now she had an entire floor of empty offices all to herself, with a kitchenette and a coffee machine worth three months of Caitlyn's internship salary. Mel dragged her straight into her office, closing the door behind her with a click before she rushed around her desk running slightly to get behind it before Caitlyn sat. She had a big executive chair made of white leather that appeared like her throne. She sat down crossing one leg over the other before she motioned to the chair across from the desk. Caitlyn took it with a laugh collapsing ungracefully into the plush upholstery of the leather chair. A chair Mel had one drunkenly admitted cost thirteen grand to replace after her Jayce and Viktor had gotten drunk in her office and accidentally spilled red wine all over it. 

“Okay what is wrong with you?” Mel asked bluntly and Caitlyn frowned, taking a little offence at the question. She paused considering it. 

“Your coworkers have described you as gleefully manic all morning” Mel admitted with a grimace, the report resting open on her desk. Usually this stuff wouldn't come to her, she was a partner she wasn't meant to be handling the interns and yet, Eda seemed to think she was personally responsible for Caitlyn and so she sent it straight to her. It had said suspected drug use, which was impossible because Cait didnt touch drugs, hated the taste of them and only took the ones her father who was a doctor told her to take. 

“Wow, was it mira?” Caitlyn asked, leaning forward. 

“The receptionist?” Mel asked with a frown, she liked Mira. The girl was so sweet and so onpoint all the time. 

“I smiled at her and she didn't seem very happy about it,” Caitlyn admitted, Mel shook her head, eyes slipping closed for a moment as she took a deep breath before she opened them, directing a very meaningful glance at caitlyn. Caitlyn shifted the silence piercing. 

“Fine, there might be something,” Caitlyn admitted shrinking under the attention. 

“Please do share with the class” Mel said warmly motioning for her to elaborate as she reclined back into her seat. Caitlyn considered where to start, did she go with the happy truth or start with the disastrous dinner. 

“I have a date” she admitted suddenly, face flat until she thought about it again and couldn't help the grin from spreading across her face. She had a date on friday which was five days away which was still way too long. 

“Oh!” Mel exclaimed, eyes wide as her mouth dropped open. Mels shook stunned her slightly, the silence stretching as Mel stayed frozen, the gears in her head turning a mile a minute as she tried to come up with a response. 

“Mel?” Caitlyn whispered, snapping her fingers quietly and Mel flinched, shaking her head as she grinned her pearly white teeth on full display like a shark who'd just snatched up a five course meal. Caitlyn had made a mistake, hadn't she. She should have started with the dinner. 

“Tell me more, who with? When? Where? Dinner? A movie? Coffee date?” Mel asked, scooting her chair forward, elbows braced on the desk, her chin resting in her palms, nails tapping at her cheeks. Caitlyn swallowed bringing her own chair closer and sighed. 

“It's on friday, she's taking me to an art gallery” Caitlyn admitted a warm bush overtaking her cheeks as she thought of the date.

“Oh which gallery? There is one that opens Friday all about the impact of war," Mel admitted, which raised an alarm in Caitlyn's head that hadnt been on her list of galleries. Could the one Jinx take her not have been on the list she had mentally made. That opened a world of possibilities. Worrying possibilities. 

“Well she owns an arms company so I doubt it'll be that one” Caitlyn admitted, eyes falling to the desk as she ran her nail through the wood grain. 

“Oh a weapons manufacturer, that seems so perfect for you” Mel realised, slightly taken aback but not in a bad way. 

“Yeah, she's so…” she trailed off wondering how to describe Jinx but coming up short, there were no words good or bad to describe her. “She's something” 

“Something good?” Mel asked softly, raising a brow at her and Caitlyn sighed and gave a curt nod. 

“Yeah, I think so,” she admitted, her tongue darting out to lick at her dry lips. Jinx seemed like she would be a good experience, even if it didn't really go anywhere she knew just getting to have the opportunity would have lasting effects on her. 

“Oh Caitlyn i'm so happy for you” Mel murmured tearfully her eyes suddenly sparkling and Caitlyn frowned leaning back as she eyed her suspiciously. 

“Why are you crying?” Cait asked and Mel shook her head huffing as she wiped the stray tear from her eye. 

“I'm not, I'm overcome with joy, you're growing up” Mel murmured sniffling as she snagged a tissue from a nearly empty box which Cait could swear was full on Friday when they had last been in this office. 

“I'm twenty seven” Caitlyn reminded and Mel scoffed, shaking her head in denial.

“Yeah, now! but I remember when you were just eighteen and explaining pre med to me at three am” Mel reminded her eyes distant as she thought back to that night nearly a decade ago. Nine years and some change had passed since then, and so much had happened. She had watched Caitlyn go through so many changes on the hunt to figure herself out and somewhere along the line it had landed her here, in her office just months away from finishing law school with honors from the same law school Mel herself had attended a decade ago. She had a right to feel a bit teary with her overwhelming pride. 

“Oh you were so cute then” Mel whined, shaking her head in fondness. Caitlyn gasped, her hand pressed over her heart. 

“Im cute now as well” she defended but Mel only gave her hum eyes squinted. 

“It's not the same, you used to be so innocent and bright eyed, such big dreams and lofty ambitions but so angry as well, like a kitten biting at everyone's hands” mels explain teasingly, Caitlyn's mouth fell open her eyes wide as she made a wounded noise. 

“What? A kitten? Of a big cat at least? Like a leopard kitten?” Caitlyn suggested she would accept being one of the big cats because that meant she'd grow up to be a big cat like a leopard or a lion or something but she knew that wasn't what Mel was getting at. 

“No! a domestic kitten, a little ragdoll kitten” Mel corrected and Caitlyn felt like an arrow had been shot through her heart as she shook her head looking down at the desk with shock. 

“Those are cute, I love ragdolls” Mel said and Caitlyn scoffed.

“Yeah I bet, woah can we go back to talking about my date that seems like a safer topic than reminiscing” Caitlyn said shaking her head in exasperation and Mel smiled warmly and nodded. 

“Fine, what's her name by chance?” Mel said as she moved her computer screen to face her fingers resting on the keys and Caitlyn shook her head. 

“No, mel,” Caitlyn said flatly. Mel hummed unconvinced brainstorming. 

“I mean I bet I could figure it out anyway how many arms manufacturers are based in zaun anyway” she asked rhetorically typing that very thing into her computer and found there was actually a few more than she expected, “oh, seven” 

“Mel”

“And how many are women, two!” she said pointedly, this time more for the reaction she couldn't actually know that because to know that she would have to go to their pages and look for it which could take either five minutes or twenty depending on how much they valued the security of their ceos. Which was surprisingly little. She moved to the news tab, eyes catching on one article at the top. 

“Youngest arms ceo in zaun makes debut at progress day exhibition, oh wow impressive” Mel murmured more to herself than to Cait, this was for her now. Caitlyn stiffened, eyes widening in fright as she looked at the older woman who was reading through the article. 

“Mel!” she yelled, the room going still as Mel looked up at her slowly eyes flicking between the picture on her screen and the shock on Caitlyn's face, cheeks creasing with the force not to laugh as she set her head down in her arms laughing loudly into them the sound muffled by her sleeves. Caitlyn groaned, hands shooting up to cradle her face as she cursed. 

“Is this her?” Mel demanded motioning to the computer, she turned it around to reveal a photo of Jinx at progress day displaying a rocket launcher as tall as her. Caitlyn smiled at the image, eyes tracing down the curve of Jinx's nose, the curve of her lips as she grinned talking to someone besides her as she showed off her weapon. 

“Yeah, that's jinx” she admitted and Mel smiled looking at her now with that same fondness. She turned back to look at the picture of Jinx and hummed head tilting in appraisal. 

“Well she is very pretty, and she must be smart I mean she's so young, owning a company as well that's impressive” Mel exclaimed excitedly as she read on. Caitlyn smiled proudly. 

“She is impressive” she said softly looking down at her phone thinking of the blurry contact photo. 

“How did you meet her?” Mel asked, eyes squinted as she read on. Cailyn had not attended that year's progress day; she had caught Jayces flu and so the pair had stayed home together suffering on their couch. Caitlyn grimace leaning back in her chair eye averted out the window to the expanse of buildings that gleamed in the sunlight, the warm rays painting the sky 

“She's vis sister” Caitlyn blurted out, Mel paused taking in that information as she looked at Jinx before she turned her computer away and turned in her seat to give Caitlyn her full attention. 

“Vi? Your best friend vi? Diner girl vi?” Mel sked pointedly, emphasising best friend with so much force that Caitlyn felt it punching through her soul. Because Vi was her best friend, sure she was her only friend but if she had other friends Vi would still be her best friend because she was the best.

“Yeah,” Caitlyn whispered head hung low as she breathed through gritted teeth. She was so screwed, she was stuck between a rock and a hard place, nestled beneath its crushing weight trying to figure out how she could get out without injury. To herself and her rock who was in this metaphor her best friend vi. 

“Huh, well” Mel was starting something about to go into why it wasn't a big deal, how dating friends siblings wasn't a bad thing, Caitlyn knew it would probably be very uplifting as well. 

“She told me not to date her sister” Caitlyn blurted out and Mel sighed leaning back in her chair as she tried to work out a way to help her here. 

“Like verbatim? Like ‘dont date my sister’ jokingly or ‘Don't date my sister.’ ill kill you?” Mel asked, pitching her voice high for the first one nonchalant and casual and then pitching her voice low and threatening for the last one Caitlyn shrunk under the last one. 

“She said and I quote ‘my sister, off limits’ I take a lot of things literally that were not intended as such but I think she meant this one literally” Caitlyn explained seriously though she wasn't actually sure she thinks it was a pretty cut and dry answer. 

“Yeah there's not much room for interpretation there, and i'm a lawyer I can interpret anything to back my point” Mel said dryly a little added smugness towards the end and Caitlyn rolled her eyes leaning back in her chair elbow braced on the arm her head resting in her palm as she pinched the bridge of her nose. 

“I swear I was gonna listen, when Vi was telling me about her she was so negative and I thought wow she seems horrible” Caitlyn admitted head tilting to rest against her fist as she murmured “then I met her” 

“I'm guessing vis description didn't live up to reality” Mel said and Caitlyn nodded nose scrunching. 

“So off, she showed up an hour late covered in neon paint because she had dragged her friends to paintball which is not the kind with guns and full kevlar but volleyball except they dip the ball in paint” Caitlyn admitted. 

“She seemed to hate me and yet she kept asking me questions, at one point whilst I was in the kitchen alone she ambushed me and asked me to ask what my favourite colour was just sat herself on the counter and asked me random questions and then when she was happy left” Caitlyn recounted, Jinx had sauntered in wearing a flannel shirt her skin still paint covered but her face clean and splotchy from where she had rubbed the paint away. She had turned to Caitlyn, stood with her phone charging at the island and said favourite colour, no one had asked Caitlyn her favourite colour since she was a child and she paused mouth open with no response, without much thought she'd said pink. 

Jinx had nodded like she'd just asked a serious question and moved to the other side of the island hoisting herself onto the counter and turning to her legs crossing and started asking questions, random questions with no real purpose, ice breaker questions even. Favourite music, favourite season, favourite food, movie, cocktail, fruit, vegetable. Random unimportant details that Caitlyn found she hadn't really ever told anyone. Not many people were interested in her favourite vegetable which she did have because who didn't. Cucumber. After answering all her questions Jinx had smiled, turned on the counter and walked away leaving Caitlyn to stare at the doorway in confusion wondering what the hell had just happened. Vi had returned a moment later with Vander and the boardgames. 

“Either I'm an idiot—” Caitlyn said when she was cut off by an annoyed mel.

“You're not an idiot,” Mel said sternly, brows knitted together, finger pointed, ticking through the air. Caitlyn shot her a blank look and Mel held her hands up in defense motioning for her to continue 

“— And too blind to see anything besides a pretty woman or she's genuinely a pretty neat person,” Caitlyn suggested and Mel sighed, shaking her head. 

“I think that you're overthinking it, it's one date, a first date” Mel reminded and Caitlyn sighed nodding along. 

“I know, I just want it to go well, but I also don't want to upset vi” Caitlyn admitted. She hadn't considered the Vi of it all when she had been daydreaming about her date but now it was all she could think about. She thought back to the unread texts, to the missed calls and wondered if Vi hated her. If she didn't want anything more to do with her. 

“And going against her one wish probably will upset her” Mel realised and Caitlyn nodded. They sat in silence for a moment. 

“I'm guessing Vi doesnt know at all?” Mel suggested and Caitlyn shrugged, shaking her head. 

“No, she has an inkling I suppose, I mean she saw us talking in my car but she was just giving me my phone back” she couldn't help but smile at the memory. 

“She stole my phone” Caitlyn admitted dreamily, mels face scrunched in offence. 

“And that's romantic? Kids nowadays” she said pointedly hands over her chest and Caitlyn snickered to herself. 

“Uh well no, she just, she took it and she put her number into it and she gave herself a nickname for a contact and took a picture and set it as her photo” Caitlyn explained blushing as she realised how it sounded. Mel giggled hand pressed over mouth as she wiggled her brows. 

“Oh she likes you” Mel sang, giving her a once over. 

“Ugh, we're not kids,” Caitlyn grimaced. 

“Hey adults get crushes as well, seems you've both got one on each other” Mel teased squishing her pointer fingers together and wiggling them before she broke out laughing her face red as she hunched over head falling into her hands as she laughed loudly and unabashedly. Caitlyn cowered into her seat, legs drawn up as she hid in her hands, cheeks boiling as her chest constricted; she couldn't help laughing along embarrassed but also charmed. Sadly it couldn't last forever, as an image flashed in her mind of Vis disapproving look. Her downturned lips and tired sad eyes. 

“God Mel what am I meant to do” Caitlyn huffed legs falling from the chair with a dull thud as she sunk down into the cushion. 

“How am I meant to talk to Vi about this, what do I say, hey sorry you told me not to do one thing and one thing only and now i'm gonna go do that exact thing” she rested her head against the back of the chair staring up at the blue ceiling, she hadn't realised the ceiling was blue before, a soft powder blue. Powder link Jinx's birth name, the name she had changed but Vi seemed insistent on remembering her by. Because Vi had a complicated history with her sister and all of her family for that matter. So complicated that every interaction she had with her family was marred by the history that weighed heavy on her mind. 

“That's not even the worst part” she realised, Mel scoffed quietly a huff of air passing her lips. 

“That wasn't even bad to begin with so i'm guessing this won't be either” Mel said pointedly. 

“The dinner was… well it was something” Caitlyn confessed slowly, her words careful, it wasn't a disaster, she had been to disastrous dinners where everyone had argued and fought and had been to one where someone had thrown a glass at another guest so in comparison it was very tame. The conversations were lively when they weren't charged with past tension and if you let everyone break off into their own little cliques then it was pleasant. Sadly that was a little overshadowed by the unanswered questions she had about what had happened in their past. How had Vi crashed Jinx's birthday, what did Silco do that made Vi so angry, what did Jinx do to make Vi angry, why had Jinx seen it necessary to go live with Silco full time so much so she'd told a judge herself that she'd rather be with him than vander and her siblings. So many questions and she doubted any of the answers were happy memories on anyone's parts. 

“How so?” Mel asked curiously. 

“Vi doesn't get on with her sister for unknown reasons, she hates her dads ex husband Jinx's dad, both of them have adopted dads who were once married and then divorced after gaining custody and both took one each basically” Caitlyn explained which was the easy way of explaining that dynamic. 

“Oh that's not good for a child's development” Mel commented and Caitlyn shook her head with a grunt. 

“It was a choice made by Jinx and vi, something happened that made them fight and then Jinx asked the courts if she could stay with Silco full time and well they agreed and so Silco took Jinx and they moved and reduced contact” she said vaguely, she had no clue what happened after Jinx left, she just knew Vi didnt hear much of her sister after that. 

“It must have been bad then” Mel said solemnly though where Caitlyn was thinking of getting the information from the source mels hands itched to reach for the keyboard. Caitlyn knew Mel well enough to know she was taking the details from what she said as a way to narrow down her searches and shame burned at her throat.

“Very bad but I don't know what happened I don't think it's a first date topic either, I want to forget all about it but i'm so curious but I know it's a hard topic,” Caitlyn admitted, she wasn't gonna ask she had resolved. She wasn't going to push for answers to saite her curiosity because she knew the answers would come with time. But also because she liked Jinx and what had happened in her past probably wouldn't have much effect on the now. Except it could. Caitlyn wasn't dumb enough to let something horrific go because a pretty girl smiled and batter her lashes at her. 

“Seems like quite the dysfunctional family, and I would know. I have one” Mel motioned to the hung portrait of her and her mother, it wasn't as big as the other pictures but it was still eye-catching all the same. Yeah Mel was kind of the poster child for dysfunctional families. 

“That's the thing it's kind of not dysfunctional, it works somehow, like organized chaos, a card house even” Caitlyn dismissed her eyes glossing over all the pictured, portraits of mel, Jayce and Viktor a picture with a smudged lipstick mark over viktors face of Mel and Viktor graduating in their cap and gowns. Mel and some of her more famous cases. Newspaper articles and magazine covers and other pictures of her and her partners. 

“We both know chaos can not be organised” Mel said firmly, turning to follow her eyes landing on her degree hung proudly on her wall. Caitlyn would have hers soon, a few short months and she would be a paralegal, finally freed from the university clutches. To think she'd been there nearly seven years in two different subjects. 

“Yeah, but they do it so well, they have these moments where everything seems so normal and…” she trailed off eyes falling to the portrait of Mel and her mother, “it's comforting ya know, I never realised I wanted a family like that until I was sat right there surrounded by it” 

Caitlyn turned to look at Mel and found her already looking at her eyes seriously and understanding. Mel had got that with Jayce and his mother, she had found a family with Jayce and Viktor, one that was nurturing and caring that was filled with unconditional love and support. Caitlyn had that as well with them. She had a brother in Jayce and she had Mel to teach her and guide her and most of the time her parents were wonderful her mother just was also strict as well. But the lane / duartes were something else, claggor and Jinx's closeness, mylo and vis playful arguing, vander and sevikas comradery and her warm indifference to the rest of them except for Silco who she seemed always exasperated with and yet ready to kill for. Being around them when everything was fine was like coming home. It was like relaxing for the first time ever, and she craved that so much. She wanted to make things work with Jinx and stay friends with Vi at the same time because she really wanted to be part of that little dysfunctional family. 

“You want that with your girl?” Mel asked and Caitlyn shrugged shifting in her chair. She could admit it to herself but saying it out loud would really highlight how insane she was. She had met Jinx once and chatted with her twice, once in person and once through messages. She should not like her this much and yet here she was in Mels office acting like a lovesick idiot. 

“I don't know Mel, I really want this date to go well, but Vi is my friend, my best friend, my only friend. She's stuck around through so much and I won't throw that away for one date that may not turn into two” she said firmly, Jinx was cool and Caitlyn really liked her and definitely wanted to get to know her better. But she wasn't dumb enough to think that was worth imploding her friendship with Vi over. The fact she was even considering it was crazy enough. Doing it would be worse. She should cancel. 

“I won't betray my friend” she breathed mournfully. 

“You're not betraying her,” Mel said sternly, pushing up from her chair to move around the desk. 

“Im literally going against the one thing she told me to do, she said dont date my sister and now i've got a date with her sister” Caitlyn said meanly shrinking further in her seat as Mel came to stand in front of her sitting down against the edge of the desk before pushing herself on top, her feet dangling off the floor sandals slipping from her feet to clatter on the rug. 

“Yeah okay that is kind of daming, you'd be found guilty for sure” Mel admitted teasingly and Caitlyn looked at her a little annoyed. 

“Great, i'm going to friendship jail” Caitlyn snarked shaking her head as she brought a hand up to press over her eyes. She had to get her copies and organize them into folders and hope eda wouldn't be too mean to her for ditching even though she had been dragged away by mel. So much to do and yet at the end of the day no reward. She didn't think she'd be going to the diner. The idea of eating alone terrifying. 

“No, you're not, not if you talk to her,” Mel said, kicking her gently in the knee making her leg kick up gently with a grimace. Caitlyn frowned, turning to sit up properly looking at Mel and her warm eyes full of care and concern. She hated It she felt like she was being talked through a playground argument. A small spat that could be resolved so easily. Caitlyn knew it wouldbt be easy, she couldn't just say ‘sorry for the dinner im going on a date with your sister is that cool?’ and Vi would simply go ‘yeah sorry as well, sure date the sister I have a difficult and tense relationship with that I told you not to go near. Cause I'm Vi and I change my mind so easily’. Vi never changed her mind, that's what she liked about Vi she was persistent and she held grudges and she still wouldn't serve the guy who had tripped her three years prior on a late night at the last drop. She still told him to get lost every time he showed his face in the bar. Caitlyn didn't want to be that guy, she didn't want to be told to bite the curb by the one woman who she could say proudly was her friend. 

“How? She won't return my calls” she admitted sadly, she had  tried to call her to ask if she was okay, if the dinner had really been that bad. Vi had ignored every single one of her calls and her messages except for one which Caitlyn assumed she had accidentally read before not replying to, or the three messages that followed. She had asked if she was gonna be at the diner that night to no response. So she assumed the answer was no. 

“Don't you guys have dinner plans?” Mel asked and Caitlyn scoffed. 

“No, I asked she didn't reply” she admitted bitterly, it stung a little being ignored. Made an ache bloom in her chest that she had spent the weekend ignoring by looking into Jinx and the paintings she posted about and the books she read. She found Jinx's goodreads account through a five year old tweet and learnt Jinx read one hundred books per year. 

“You go every night, Cait, what are the chances she won't be there?” Mel asked, the answer as obvious as the sky was blue. The answer was zero because they were creatures of habit who lived on a fixed schedule. And more importantly they cared about each other even through the hardships. 

“You think she'd still show up?” Caitlyn asked meekly, and Mel sighed, reaching out to fix a hair, pressing it behind her ear and nodded. 

“Yeah Cait, I do think she will show up. I mean really what has changed?” Mel prompted and Cait paused mouth opening to answer but as she did she thought about the words. What had changed. Nothing. Nothing important anyway. 

Vi was still her friend, she still cared about her, she just knew her a little better now. Understood why she did things a little more and how her family had shaped her into the woman she knew. She had always known Vi was really close with vander but now she knew vander used to be married. She always knew Vi had two brothers, now she knew she also had a sister who she wasn't as close to but who she cared for deeply.Jinx wasn't vi, Vi was her own person and their friendship was separate to the one she was tryna build with jinx. 

If it all went her way she could have it all, she could keep Vi as her friend and go to her family dinners and play board games she knew nothing about in her living room, and she could go to the diner after work and meet with Vi at their table and eat breakfast and dinner with company. And she could date Jinx and learn more about her and what made Jinx so intriguing. And if it didn't go well then she would have to choose and she had already chosen Vi. Because she was her friend of over three years. Her best friend. 

“Nothing has changed” she realised her eyes falling to the floor and Mel nodded giving her cheek a soft pat. 

“Yeah sweetie, it's hard to show someone your family, she put herself in a very vulnerable moment and maybe it didn't go as she expected and right now she's thinking it just as much as you are” Mel murmured softly cupping her cheek in her palm and tilting her head up. Caitlyn knew she was probably right. 

“Hell after Jayce met my mom for the first time I was mortified” Mel admitted offhandedly, and this time her attempt to lighten the mood worked because Caitlyn laughed her brows knitting together as she looked up at the other woman. 

“Didn't he see her naked?” Caitlyn remembered and Mel grimaced, eyes squeezed shut as she nodded. Caitlyn had been told this story by a very traumatised and very drunk Jayce the day after it happened. 

“Oh yeah, it was traumatizing, she vowed to never do that again, though the first time she met Viktor the flirting was atrocious, we werent dating at the time and I was worried I was going to lose my bestfriend to my mother, oh I was livid, I swear I had never been more angry with her,” Mel explained dramatically, Caitlyn also knew this story well, Viktor remembered it fondly and still was friendly with Ambessa though the older woman no longer flirted she was still very casually affectionate with her son in law. 

“Your mother is something,” Caitlyn murmured and Mel nodded. 

“Yeah well family is rough but you'll be fine, go to the diner and talk it out. Then you'll both realise you were overthinking and laugh about it and life will go on," Mel explained pushing to stand and Caitlyn sighed pushing her chair back. 

“Thanks, I need this,” Caitlyn said as she pushed herself to stand legs aching under her as she stretched them. Mel moved aside to let her free. 

“I was a therapist in another life,” Mel said mystically though Caitlyn wasn't convinced she narrowed her eyes shaking her head as she stepped around the chair. 

“More like you are a master manipulator who uses her talents for good but sure,” Caitlyn said playfully, Mel mock scoffed at her hand pressed over her heart before she decided she wasn't offended at all her faux frown turning into a smug grin. 

“I'm gonna take that as a compliment,” she said. 

“Yeah you do that,” she said with a wave of her hand approaching the door with a sigh. 

Mel moved around her desk leaving her flats on the other side and as she went to sit down, searching behind her to hook her foot around her chair when she paused shouting out “oh and Cait!”

Caitlyn paused her hand resting on the door handle pulling it open slowly. 

“Yeah?” she asked and Mel smiled, pulling her chair close and sitting down. 

“Enjoy your date” she said with a wink, Caitlyn froze mouth dropping open before she corrected herself, laughing softly as she rolled her eyes, she turned slipping out and slammed the door behind her shutting out the sound of mels maniacal laugh. 

As Caitlyn fished her phone free of her pocket she checked the time heart lurching at the realization they'd spent over an hour and a half talking about her love life. She frowned, rushing to press the button as though that would hasten the elevator. When she finally got down to the copy room, no one had ended up picking up her copies but Eda was there arms crossed, a smug smile on her lips and Caitlyn really didn't know what to say besides she had a meeting with mel. Eda seemed to get even more annoyed with that. She spent the rest of her shift getting chewed out and came to realise that nothing could be worse than sitting across from her manager as she went on and on about her insubordination all just to stop mid sentence, vein popping on her forehead to simply sigh and tell her to get out because writing her up was worthless anyway. 

Caitlyn stood frozen in her office with her coat tied at her waist and bag over her arm and wondered where she was going. Did she go to the diner, test mels theory that she would be there. She owed it to Vi to show, because whether she showed or not she had to show up for her to prove that she would no matter what. So she grabbed her phone, eyes lingering on the notification that popped up at the top of her screen. JinxedArt liked your post, several of them. Seemed Jinx had gone on her own little lunchtime stalk. She smiled guilt chewing at her chest and shoved her phone into the depth of her bag. 

She turned out of the office walking down the street with slow steps as though she could drag out the inevitable. When she turned the corner on the street she eyed the diner, its green painted facade, its moulded panelling and huge square windows. The door and its stained glass window depicting a hummingbird back when the store had been a bakery before it became a cafe that then became a diner. She paused, hands tightening around the strap of her bag. She took a step to the crossing when she caught the blur of something pink. She froze, her mouth falling open as she spotted vi, arms braced on the table as she ate her breakfast slowly, her eyes focused on the chair across from her with a cold sadness that tore something in Caits chest and yet filled her with hope. Maybe their friendship wasn’t doomed. Maybe Caitlyn really could have it all. 

Chapter Text

Caitlyn walked towards the diner with a new sense of urgency, her chest squeezing tightly as she kept her eyes focused on the window. On Vi as she set her fork down, eyeing her watch, expression flickering so fast Caitlyn  couldn't catch them before it settled on a sad blankness. Vi leaned back in her seat taking her mug in hand fingers tapping against the side as she took a sip. 

Caitlyn didn't know what she was gonna say, had Vi told her she was gonna show up she would have planned out her apology, guess now she had to improvise, too bad she wasn't very good at improv. She shoved open the door and the moment the bell rang overhead Vis head snapped up, a blank look in her eyes as though she had been checking for the better part of the hour waiting for the one woman she wanted to show to walk through. When she realised Cait was there she came to life, her eyes widening lips parting slightly as she jumped to her feet. They stood there a moment both looking for the words but too caught in shook to know what to say. 

Vi had been sitting there next to an hour rehearsing what she would say if caitlyn showed up and yet it seemed she had wasted her time because suddenly the words were gone and she didn’t know how to say them. 

“Cait I” she trailed off and Caitlyn  smiled, dropping her bag from her shoulder and moving around her to stand over her usual seat pulling it out slowly. Vi hovered by her seat watching her movements, mouth opening and closing like she had something to say but didn't quite know what. Vi wanted to tell her everything, she wanted to explain, to apologize, and to hide away in a hole in about equal measures. 

“Are you gonna order?” Vi asked motioning to the counter and Cait shrugged as she untied her coat. Great start vi, she mentally chastised herself.

“No, i'm not really hungry, I also had a big breakfast” she admitted casually throwing her coat over the back of the chair before slipping her phone free quickly checking it before setting it face down on the table. She sat down, shoulders back, hands resting in her lap, moving to tuck her leg over the other, she looked so composed, Vi could only wonder what she looked like, she felt like a mess wouldn't put it past her to look like one as well. Vi fell back into her seat pushing her plate away to rest her arms on the surface. 

“Right, french toast which isn't like you, I mean you're always so dedicated to your diet” Vi said curiously her head tilted, Caitlyn  grimaced nodding.  

“Yeah I was craving something sweet” Caitlyn  said which was kind of true, she had just felt like she deserved something good, a little sweet treat that she knew would be Zaunagram worthy. So it was half for her and half to see if Jinx was paying attention to her. They sat there for a moment, the silence stretching on past the point of comfort and edging into uncomfortable territories. Caitlyn eyed the street out the window, the bright blue sky was starting to darken and so the sun was casting down across the buildings across the street. 

“I wasn't sure you were gonna show,” Vi admitted quietly, gripping her mug tight as she brought it up to her lips. The coffee had been cold for a while but she didn't really care. She took a long sip grimacing behind her mug at the poot taste. Caitlyn sighed, hands moving to rest on the table. 

“I didn't mean to be late, Eda kind of chewed me out so I ran long” she admitted though it wasn't an answer. Vi didn't think she was gonna show because she herself had not confirmed whether she would. It was a fucked up test, a weird way to show if Cait would give it a chance. Guess she had been proven wrong, Cait liked to do that. 

“Why'd Eda chew you out this time?” Vi asked, trying to be playful but the tiredness showed in her voice, the way it cracked as she yawned while taking another long sip of her coffee. 

“When was the last time you slept?” Caitlyn  asked and Vi shrugged eyes averted to the bottom of her empty mug. She huffed, setting it down rubbing a hand over her cheek and under her jaw. 

“Maybe sometime yesterday, i've just been thinking” she admitted blankly pushing back her chair. 

“I'm gonna go get more coffee,” Vi said as she stood grabbing her wallet. Caitlyn watched her get up and knew she should stop her, knew they had to talk but she saw the exhaustion in Vis eyes, saw the way she moved slow and lethargic. 

“Vi” Caitlyn called her hand shooting out to grip her wrist. Vi sighed looking down at her delicate hand wrapped around her wrist, Caitlyn seemed shocked by her own movement looking down at their hands when she noticed the bruising in her knuckles. 

“What happened?” she asked and Vi grunted pulling her wrist free. Caitlyn felt a fear pooling in her stomach but she knew Vi wouldn't go back to that. No, she refused to believe it. 

“Well talk in a sec okay, coffee” she said before turning away walking the short distance to the counter. Maquire was watching them both, her eyes flicking between Vis and over to their table. Caitlyn shrunk under her gaze feeling her chest tighten. She wasn't sure how to broach the topic. Whether she should come right out and say it, apologize for the dinner though she wasn't sure what she was apologizing for. Learning more about Vis life, being present for the uncomfortable moment. Maybe she should ask if she was okay even though the answer was so blatant she didn't see why she should ask. Vi wasn't okay, she hadn't slept. Vi loved her sleep. She was a fiend for a good nap. Only other time Vi hadn't slept was during last years exam season when she had been so worried over her grades she’d stayed over Caitlyns apartment sitting at her coffee table for hours and hours only moving to use the bathroom and make more coffee. Caitlyn had fed her and kept her hydrated with water bottles she delivered on a schedule. 

Now she wasn't sure how to help, it wasn't exams that were worrying her, it was her family. Caitlyn herself had a rough family life so she’d think she would know what to say but where her family was strict Vis wasn't. They were just treading around the ghosts in their lives. She sighed picking at the small thread in the table cloth, her mind running with what to say when a tea cup was set in front of her a thick slice of chocolate lava cake set just beside it. 

“Whats this?” she asked, looking between it and Vi. Vi was still standing, pausing for a moment her eyes focused and assessing before she sighed and took her seat, setting her cup of coffee down in front of her and shrugging. 

“I'm sorry” Vi said softly, grabbing her mug tight as she took a sip not evening wincing at the hotness too absorbed with her own anxiety waiting for Caitlyns response. 

“I'm sorry too” Caitlyn  murmured softly, hanging her head low as she turned her cup fingers slipping through the handle to rest her palm against the warm ceramic. Vi sighed loudly, turning to stare up at the ceiling. Caitlyn watched her wondering what Vi was thinking. Had she prepared for this, did she know she was gonna come today or did she just decide that she had to tackle it. Vi had always been impulsive even more so in times of great emotion. 

“You shouldn't be,” Vi finally said, sitting up straight and looking at her with so much determination it made Caitlyn  almost scared for what she would say next. 

“I—“ Caitlyn  went to start the words clear in her head when Vi cut her off. 

“I shouldn't have been ignoring your calls, or your messages, I shouldn't have been so rude or dismissive, just by the end of the night I was feeling very strung out and you should not have been the one I took it out on and for that I am so sorry” Vi said rushing through her words eyes glued to hers as though if she looked anywhere else they wouldn't hold her sincerity. Caitlyn nodded along eyes wide as she took it in. She didn't blame Vi for anything didnt even think she needed an apology. It was nice to get one anyway and so she smiled. 

“I forgive you, I understand, but why were you ignoring me?” Cait asked her throat tightening and Vi flinched subtly back at the question, her eyes dropping down. Vi had not exactly planned what she would say besides her apology, she should have remembered that at her core Caitlyn was an overly curious person who asked far too many questions. Vi wanted them to just move past it all and talk about classes and internships like usual. Guess she was out of luck. 

“I was embarrassed” she confessed, embarrassed by her family by her actions and by the fact that Caitlyn  was seeing past the veil shed established. Vi reached out pushing the cake closer to Caitlyn. 

“Eat” she ordered and Cait sighed, taking a fork from the cup before she stopped looking between Vi, her arms folded on the table and her breakfast left abandoned. She moved the breakfast to the side of the table out of the way and pushed the cake into the center.

“Split it with me?” she asked and Vi shook her head. 

“Nah I got it for you to make up for what I did” Vi admitted and Caitlyn frowned it made sense but she didn't want Vi to think she had anything to make up for her. 

“I don't need you to make it up to me vi, I don't care what happened at the dinner, I just want to understand, so please” she said sternly. Vi sighed shoulders drawn up to her ears, nose twitching as she fought back the tears welling in her eyes. 

“Fine” she huffed, taking a spoon and taking a piece of the cake and shoving it in her own mouth. Caitlyn smiled softly, taking a more delicate piece from the tip and eating it. 

“What happened?” Cait asked and Vi shrugged, waving her spoon around like that would explain it but only managed to flick a bit of chocolate sauce over Caits hand. Caitlyn sighed, grabbing a napkin from the tub and wiping her hand, balling the napkin up in her hand.

“I don't know, I was startled and i handled things badly” she admitted flatly, eyes averted down to the cake as she took another bite. Caitlyn sighed dramatically, shaking her head. Vi grimaced, eyes falling shut. She was screwing up without even meaning to, caitlyn wanted answers likely so she could avoid the same situation later. She wanted the truth. Vi just didn't think she liked how the truth made her look. 

“Fine, I didn't expect them to be there and the fact that everyone else knew but decided not to tell me…” Vi trailed off her jaw clenched as she smiled meanly down at the cake she took a breath through her gritted teeth before breathing out slowly and continued “I felt ambushed, I had a plan for the night an idea of how things would go and when nothing went the way I expected I felt blindsided”

“One moment I'm introducing you to my dad and the next everyones coming at me from all angles, I got overwhelmed” Vi admitted her voice sharp as she explained, Caitlyn  nodded along her words ringing hollow in her ears. She remembered what Mylo said. 

“You wouldn't have brought me if you knew they would all be there” she said taking another bite of the cake, the taste was lost on her but it gave her something to do, something to focus on. 

“No, I wouldn't have. I might have considered it if it was just Sevika but never would have if I'd known he was coming” she admitted coldly. Caitlyn remembered what Vi had told her before the dinner about Silco and  vander. Silco letting Jinx get away with things, being a bad influence. She thought about Jinx and what she had learnt about her, Jinx with her degree and her foster daughter. He couldn't be that bad an influence If Jinx had turned out so good. Still she trusted Vi and knew her feelings had to be based on something. 

“Why do you hate Silco so much?” Caitlyn  asked. Vi shuddered what a loaded question she thought. Vi sighed reaching for her mug as she decided what to say. 

Caitlyn watched her closely seeing the indecision eat away at her as she held up her mug no longer drinking from it just looking into it like the answers were at the bottom. Like maybe if she stared long enough the world would explode and they could get out of this conversation. 

“He was mean, and he said cruel things to vander and he stole my sister, he took pow—“ she caught herself jaw clenching shut suddenly, she set her mug down heavy on the table and took a breath “he took jinx away from me, and he let her get away with the accident because she was his favourite no matter how much she harm she brought to others”

Caitlyn felt like she'd been slapped that word ringing in her ears. Accident. What accident? She wanted to ask but something told her she wouldn't get an answer, she asked anyway “what accident?”

“Huh?” Vi looked startled her eyes shooting up to connect with hers. She hadnt meant to say that, hadn't meant to be so honest. She averted her eyes and shook her head. That was not the topic she was up to discussing. Embarrassing dinner sure why not, life altering accident that ruined her and her sisters relationship, yeah she'd pass. 

“Nothing, we're not talking about that right now, we're talking about him” she said firmly, stopping the conversation before it could start. Caitlyn felt a pang of anxiety in her chest, thought about jinx and her contact in her phone, the date that was burning a hole in her calendar as they spoke. She had a date with Jinx for Friday and yet she barely knew the girl. Could she really go knowing that something had happened. Something so big it was affecting Vi so many years later. Would she be a horrible person if she said yeah? because now it seemed impossible not to. 

“Then tell me about him” she said and Vi rolled her eyes making a series of disgruntled hums as she took another bite of cake. As she chewed caitlyn kept watching, her eyes focused and demanding. Vi swallowed dramatically and groaned.  

“God you are like a dog with a bone ya know that” she huffed, caitlyn was great but by god was she annoying sometimes. Curiosity killed the cat and yet caitlyn kept diving back in, lives ticking down unnoticed. 

“Hmm” she hummed a little smugly, a small grin curling on her lips. 

“Why can't we just move on?” Vi pleaded her tone turning soft, Vi was restless shifting in her seat eating away at the cake like if she kept her mouth full Caitlyn  wouldn't force her to talk. 

“Because you haven't” Caitlyn  said pointedly, Vi blinked up to look at her frozen in place, her shoulders stiff and eyes cold. She had moved on, she was past it because it was so many years ago. 

“What does that even mean?” she asked flatly, her lips tugging into a sneer and Caitlyn  wanted to roll her eyes. Vi did this when she was confronted she buried her head in the sand and pretended she didn't know what you were on about. Caitlyn did know, she'd been to enough therapy to get the jist of things. She knew Vi was trying to deflect, to sweep it under the rug so they could go back to before. Sadly Cait knew too much to let that happen. She needed to know these things because she was Vis friend and she couldn't help her if she didn't know what she was helping with. Maybe if they hadn't been through so much together Caitlyn  could let it go. Sadly they had been through too much across too much time and she knew Vi a little too well, knew this wasn't healthy for her. 

“Vi, by the sounds of things this was a decade ago, you said it yourself you don't know the guy anymore so what happened that was so bad you hate him too this day” she prompted sitting straight her words were blunt her tone cold and Vi shrunk under it, confused and unsure how to respond. 

“Why can't It be the things I said?” she asked petulantly and Caitlyn  took a deep breath Vi set her spoon down with a clink and crossed her arms over her chest. 

“I think it is that as well, but this sort of resentment, this anger is deeper than that” Caitlyn  said pointedly and Vi went to retaliate before Caitlyn  decided to confess whilst she was on the topic “and I may have done some research into the guy so I think I have an idea” 

Vi went solid, her eyes wide and the colour draining from her face. She blinked quickly, her jaw clenched as she turned to look out the window at the darkened streets. They sat there in silence for a moment. Caitlyn worried she’d overstepped, that she shouldn't have mentioned it she went to apologize but before she could Vi cut her off. 

“How much do you know?” she demanded her tone bitter as her hand tightened around her arms, her nails digging into her own skin to ground her. She wouldn't be angry that Caitlyn  had googled him but the word research implied scared her. Caitlyn was a powerful person with powerful friends. Vi didn't trust her research was surface level. How much did she know? How much has she been keeping from her? Did she always know? was this recent? So many questions with no answer. She was scared this was not a recent thing and yet there was no way she could prove it.

“I know he made shimmer, I know you beat a man almost to death in self defence who was on shimmer and I remember you saying Silco had some involvement in your parents death it's not hard to connect some dots” caitlyn explained her words flat devoid of any emotion these were the facts of life, there was no questioning to their validity because sadly those were the events of history. Vi hated the memory of her crime, but it had happened and sadly she was never escaping that fact. 

“So you didn't have your enforcer connections pull up the report? You didn't have Mel find the court case? You didn't use your connections to dig up information on my family?” Vi asked snarkily at her, the pointed words a blade that stung as it pierced through Caitlyns skin. Another one of Vis defence tactics, mean words and  hateful comments. When she got angry she got mean and now she was bringing up old promises. When they had first met, Caitlyn  had promised not to look into her case, promised she didn't want to know, Vi had been hesitant to believe her but she kept her promise and eventually Vi told her anyway. 

“No vi, I didn't do that,” Caitlyn  replied blankly, hurt by the implication she would go behind her friends back, that she would do the one thing she had sworn to never do. She had to remind herself that vi was trying to hurt her and not let it get under her skin. 

“Vi do you trust me?” Caitlyn  asked and Vi digested the words slowly, of course she trusted Caitlyn. Why wouldn't she? Except why would you accuse someone of crossing boundaries if you didn't trust them to keep them. Vi trusted Cait with everything she just didn't trust that Caitlyns moral compass wouldn’t step in. Caitlyn had a good sense of right and wrong and she struggled to see something wrong and not see it as wrong. Vi had done a lot of wrong things in her anger and now they stained her like a brand, she was a bad person and if Caitlyn  knew the things she had done she would see it to and then she wouldn't be her friend. She sighed leaning back in her chair and nodded. 

“Its not a very happy story” Vi huffed her words tired and filled with so much emotion, vis upbringing after a certain point rarely contained any happy stories. Caitlyn nodded seriously. 

“I doubted It would be,” Caitlyn  replied, she had spent a lot of time thinking of what could have happened for Vi to resent them like she did. There was no way a happy childhood filled with love turned you this cold and indifferent. 

“Silco created shimmer, at the start it was meant to be like a steroid boosted strength through an adrenaline rush, I don't know why he made it but he did and he didn't get it tested and one day” she trailed off, Vi was not a conspiracy theorist, she didn't believe in aliens or government plots to cover up the existence of secret test labs but she had done a lot of digging into the shimmer leak. She had done a lot of research into what had happened and she knew three key things, Silco was the last person in the building the night of the robbery, he had locked up and left, four hours later the cameras were cut off for maintenance, a routine bi annual inspection that put them out of use for an hour, this did not mean the alarms were not working, the alarms should have gone off but they did not because who ever broke in had the code to turn them off. Which gave them all the access they needed to go in steal the supply and get out without any issue and then leak it to a black market drug seller who made the high end stuff. The blame was pinned on a fellow researcher whose boyfriend was a bodybuilder. Case said he had her steal it for him so he could win some big competition. It didn't make sense if. If it was for personal use so your boyfriend could win a competition, why sell it under the table? 

“One day someone stole it, leaked it” Vi admitted, she wanted to say Silco leaked it, he didn't own the company at the time but he was the co head of research with his ex lab partner who had left shortly after the case was dismissed the man vehemently pointed the finger at Silco, who knew the access codes and the alarm passwords and the guard shifts. He knew the ways of security and it didn't take a genius to get through them. Which left out motive, why would he leak his own product well the simple answer was always the right one. Silco hadn't been the owner of the company because he had been a gang leader, and having a drug that powerful under his control would have given him more power, he just didn't realise it would backfire so badly on him. 

“Silco was accused, you think he did it?” Caitlyn  asked and Vi shrugged, yeah she did but she wouldn't exactly say that.  

“I don't think he didn't have some involvement in the leak” she admitted vaguely dismissing it with a wave of her hand. 

“But it doesn't matter if he did, what does matter is what happened, the leak gets out, and shimmer gets on the market and its worse than it was” there was a fiery passion in Vis voice, a double edged sword of both anger and disgust lacing her words with a poison that whilst not intended for Caitlyn  pained her anyway, Vis anger was a force you never wanted to be against and here in the quiet diner it seemed to be concentrated and yet restrained as she spoke “those early days after it hit the streets were carnage, because the drug gave people strength and the only people who take a drug for strength are the ones who have violent intentions”

Caitlyn knew this story, it wasn't widely known but her mother had been the judge in charge of taking the cases in court she had seen the men who had come in, the crimes they had committed, grand larceny, arson, murder. It had been violent and bloody and getting it contained had taken weeks, the investigation into what had been just a robbery exploded and task forces were created to find and stop its production. 

“The night before pows birthday our parents were not out to get ingredients, left us with Vander, Silco hadn't been around much then because of the investigation, I remember asking, Vanders anger existed long before our parents died and I think had I not asked that night maybe it wouldn't have boiled over like it did” Vi admitted her voice cracking as she recounted the memory. She had been a pre teen at the time, young and curious and she had liked Silco at the time. Back then he had been cool, with his leather jacket and his vinyls and cool job working in a lab and sure she knew he was also shady as well, she had heard her mother talking about it but she hadn't thought much about it. Vander had told her he was busy with an investigation at work but the way he had said it had stuck with her, the blunt and conversation ending tone, the way the words pierced the room leaving no room for her to ask more questions, she had felt a small bit of fear at the way he had snapped the words but she was young and so she shrugged it off easily. Vander was a gentle giant he would never get angry with them. 

“Their divorce was not your fault,” Caitlyn  replied. Vi chuckled darkly at that, shaking her head. Yeah why would it be, she just meant that had she not asked maybe they wouldn't have gotten into a fight about it maybe there wouldn't have been so much yelling. Vi still hated yelling, she hated loud screaming and angry voices. 

“Oh I know that, it's his fault, Silco chose to create shimmer and that's what ended their marriage” Vi explained so easily. It unsettled something in Caitlyn  the easy way which she said it like there was no other possibilities. She wondered what Silco would say, what vander would even say. She had seen them there together; the fondness was still there, a lingering love that would never be tamped out.  

“Vi thats” Caitlyn  was cut off. 

“The guy who shot up the store my parents were at was on shimmer” Vi blurted out coldly, her eyes burning with anger. She had been old enough to understand a bit better what was going on, had been old enough vander had let her tag along to the hospital and sit there waiting with him for hours on end for her father to get out of surgery. 

“I didn't know at the time Silco was behind shimmer, Vander and Silcos fights were loud, they scream at each other, Powder wasn't really all there I don't think, it was weird made me feel really alone” she admitted, Caitlyn  reached out her hand pressed over Vis and they both sat there for a moment the silence settling as they both absorbed the confession. Caitlyn felt her heart splitting in her chest the image of a young Vi sat alone listening to her godparents scream and fight whilst her sister ignored it all. Everyone dealt with trauma differently she knew that, it seemed where Vi had gotten angry and resentful, jinx had dissociated, found herself somewhere quiet and blocked out the world and the memories. 

“I was young and heartbroken, I blamed him. No. I blame him, it's hard not to” Vi confessed, she had been blaming him for over a decade now, blaming him for his part in the shimmer, for the fighting that had given her so much anxiety and so many panic attacks. She envied Jinx for being able to ignore it all to stare off into space and pretend the world didn't exist, that their parents weren't dead. 

“You already know the assault story” Vi murmured, Caitlyn  nodded, she did know, she had read that case file because it had been before they became friends. The violent assault that she would have deemed self defence which her public attorney had asked for a plea deal and gotten Vi five years. She could have made it out in three but Vi wasn't really known for her good behaviour. 

“I want you to tell me anyway” Caitlyn  encouraged, she knew the story from a file from the cut and blank way they had told it and she knew a bit from Vi herself from what she had chosen to share over the years. 

Vi took her hand back reaching for her mug raising it up to take a sip,  staring off into the bottom of her mug her hand clenched tightly at the handle as she spoke  “the guy was on shimmer, pressed a knife into my back and tried to rob me, I was seventeen, it wasn't too long after the incident and I was still really angry and I was scared” 

Scared was the strong way of saying terrified, she was terrified, heart beating so loud in her chest it was all she could hear. Vi had gotten into a lot of danger in her late teens, fallen in with a bad crowd doing stupid things for fun but until then the only danger she had gotten into was the kind she put herself in, this was another human being holding her at knife point with a hairline trigger, anything could have gone wrong. 

“I pretended to reach for my wallet and elbowed him, he stabbed me in the back and I—“ she trailed off her throat closing as she tried to place the rest of what happened. There was a haze after that, an anguish so powerful it sent a pang of pain through her forehead. 

“I thought about my dad,” she admitted for the first time since the ordeal. She hadn't remembered it but now it was all she could think of, she had thought back to her dad and her mom and everything else disappeared and she was just overcome with anger. she set the cup down and continued “I blacked out” 

“You went into fight or flight,” Caitlyn  explained and Vi guessed that was the term, though her response was obviously fight, she had taken the anger and she hadn't stopped fighting until an enforcer was pulling her off the guy. 

“Yeah I guess, next thing I know i'm on trial for assault accepting a plea deal for five years” and what a long five years those were, with only the boys and vander to come visit her, she spent a lot of time thinking about powder, about her day and her life and whilst she was still angry she also just missed her, regretted what she had said and wanted to see her. She got the courage once to ask vander and the man had clammed up and then they sat in silence, he'd later tell her it was because he had no clue, he couldn't lie because he didn't know what to lie about he didn't know what she wanted to hear. 

“So yeah, I blame him for bringing that drug into the world, I blame him for stealing my sister and poisoning her against us, I blame him for my parents death” she listed off, though mentally she was blaming him for so much more as well, she also blamed him for breaking Vanders heart, for causing the suffering of so many people who she had met in prison who had their lives ruined because of shimmer. Hell she blamed him for her going to prison a little as well, if that guy hadn't had been on shimmer he wouldn't have robbed her. It was a harsh way of viewing things but it was her way and if she couldn't blame him who could she blame. 

“That must have been very difficult for you, I can understand why you would resent him” Caitlyn  admitted truthfully, she could see why his actions had led to Vis resentment and hatred for the man why it would be hard to see your sister the one person who was meant to be on your side take the side of the one you hate most who you see as the cause of all the pain you had faced. 

“Yeah well you'd be the only one, everyone else seems to think I should move on and forgive him” Vi snapped, just let it go Vi, move on Vi, everyone was always telling her he had changed and she doubted it, he was fundamentally down to his core a terrible person there was no changing from that. She didn't think he'd know what change was if it hit him in the face, he'd just gotten better at hiding his evil she was sure of it. 

“Has he made the effort to get you to forgive him?” Caitlyn  asked, she had always deemed forgiveness to be earned after a series of events, there had to be an apology with sincere remorse and proof of actual change or growth. If someone said sorry but made no move to change their action she didn't think they were actually sorry and thus she didn't forgive them. 

Vi sighed dramatically rolling her eyes into the back of her head, which Caitlyn  could guess meant yes, he had tried before. 

“I mean he paid his fines, he went to therapy, he's apologized to me before, during the divorce, again after I found out, hell even after the birthday he apologize, a party I crashed and ruined with my anger” Vi grunted, Silco had actually apologized a bunch of times always with a sincerity that grated at Vis ears, he seemed sincere, remorseful and it made her sick. Why did he get to sit there being remorseful for the part he played in her parents death and ask for her forgiveness, her parents were dead because of him and yet he was asking her for her forgiveness. Yeah she had always told him where he could stick his apologies and ran away. She didn't wanna hear them at twelve or at seventeen, or even when she was twenty three. 

His apology after the party had stung the most, it was embarrassing, she was drunk, confused and fed up freshly out of prison finding out her sister was changing her name from the one she had given her at birth to the one she had called her in anger. Worse, she was taking his last name as well. Vi had grappled with herself taking Vanders name at sixteen cried about it feeling like a horrible daughter and that was taking the last name of the man who had raised her for five years, Powder was giving up their family name cutting the tie not just to their parents but to her as well all for the man who had taken their parents. Yeah she had kicked off and at the time she felt justified more than justified even. Now she wasn't so sure. 

Vi looked up as the silence became uncomfortable, her shoulders brought up to her ears, head hung low as she waited for Caitlyns reaction. For her to tell her she was a terrible person who was a shitty sister and daughter. She didn't get that though, instead Caitlyn  opened her mouth and closed it, sitting straight in her chair with her hands clasped in front of her, clearly she wanted to say something and yet she couldn't figure out what to say. Vi knew it was gonna be bad, a gentle way of saying we are no longer friends or something. 

“What–” Caitlyn  went to ask, the question there on her tongue before she caught herself. She didn't want Vi to feel obligated to tell her out of guilt. She had already opened up to her about so much she should be happy with what she had found out and move on, thank her for being open with her and tell her none of it was her fault. That she was still her friend. Still she couldn't find the words to express it. 

“What happened?” Vi guessed and Caitlyn  nodded, her question was a little more focused but the broadness was good as well. 

“Yeah” she sighed “what happened between you and jinx” 

Vi seemed shocked by the question taken aback slightly. She blinked and her mouth parted slightly as she considered the question. 

“Well that's a much longer story, a much deeper and sadded story” she admitted grimly, a lot had happened, one moment they were happy with their parents and the next they were being driven against each other in a messy divorce that lasted years, living in separate houses where jinx was forced to move between every weekend whereas Vi got to stay put with vander. 

“Start with the birthday, or during the divorce, I mean I understand not getting along with family, but I can see how much you care about her, and you said yourself you went year without contact, I just I don't understand how” caitlyn admitted rambling slightly in her curiosity. Vi hated how easy she pried for more. She wanted to shut her down completely, get up and leave but she knew why caitlyn was asking. 

“You don't have siblings” she stated flatly, caitlyn was an only child to older parents her childhood had been more rigid whereas Vis had been a lot more adventurous, young parents trying to navigate poverty and hardship with two young kids. 

“Yeah which Is why I want you to explain it to me, to tell me what it's like so I can understand better” caitlyn pleaded softly she needed to know more not just for her own curiosity but because clearly this was upsetting vi. 

“It was bad, but it wasn't all her fault” Vi admitted, looking out the window as she quietly said “I was a bad person five years ago, I was an even worse person seven years ago and I was pretty damn bad one ten years ago as well” 

“You were a kid ten years ago,” Caitlyn  reminded, Vi snickered at that turning to look back at her, there was a cold regret in her eyes, like she had thought about it a few hundred times and knew now she was at fault. 

“I was old enough to know better, and she… she wasn't. I blamed her for not knowing better, like claggor said i'm mad at pow—“ she caught herself, it was habitual, she had always called her powder, even before shed introduced the two because it was what felt right, she had named her for gods sake, she sighed gritting out the name “Jinx, i'm mad at Jinx for doing the same thing as me but in a different way”

“What happened vi?” Caitlyn  asked. 

“I wanna tell you, more than anything but its— its a lot” vi stuttered looking at her hands, it was a lot to have to listen to, to sit through and pretend to care about. Vi just couldn't imagine trying. 

“I have time” Caitlyn  insisted, she had all night if Vi was willing to tell her, hell she would sit here all week if it meant Vi would open up to her, to tell her what she had been through so that maybe she could understand her better. 

“It's not.. Well yeah it's a long story but Cait I mean emotionally I don't even think I could tell you everything happened and not break down” she admitted honestly, there were times where it still felt raw. Some wounds were fresher than others and those ones hadn't healed as well as others, they ached and they bled and they were sore to the touch. Vi wasn't ready to rip off the scab, “It's a lot mentally, it weighs on me constantly and I know you won't look at me the same after I tell you” 

“Vi you're always gonna be my friend” Caitlyn  said, Vi didn't seem convinced, which stung a bit. Caitlyn knew she had never given Vi any reason to doubt her on that and yet it seemed Vi was. A flare of anger burned in her chest, eyes narrowing as she gritted her teeth. 

“Do you not believe me?” Caitlyn  asked her lips down, turned in a frown and Vi laughed at that brow raising like this was all so hilarious. Vi did want to believe her; she just couldn't, that wasn't really that big a deal. 

“I want to, but I know it's not possible” she admitted casually suddenly a lot lighter like this was all so obvious. Vis shoulders untensed her jaw relaxed and she smiled slightly, a small curl on her lips. Caitlyn was remarkably offended by the sudden change of attitude. 

“Why isn't It possible?” Caitlyn  demanded and she knew she sounded hostile, she took a breath closing her eyes and recalling the breathing techniques she had been taught as a child. She had been more prone to outbursts back then, tantrums and the likes and her mother had made quick work to ensure she corrected herself, Caitlyn  knew how to be calm when faced with an opinion she didn't agree with, she loved them even. This wasn't a matter of opinion though this was an insult. She had never done anything for Vi not to trust her and yet for some reason she didn't. 

When she opened her eyes Vi seemed more neutral, her lips pressed into a flat line as she waited for her, she gave her a questioning look and Caitlyn  sighed. 

“I'm sorry, that came across as harsh. I did not mean that, I just want to know why you dont think Id still be your friend” Caitlyn  rephrased politely giving a faux smile, Vi snickered shaking her head and shrugged. 

“Its not a you thing, its just life I mean, I know I did a fucked up thing—“ she grimaced face scrunching as she closed her eyes tightly “then I did a few more fucked up things to the people around me, then one day I looked around and wondered where everyone went” 

“Okay, and? Youre not her anymore, im not judging you based on what you did im judging you based on what you chose to do about it, you know you fucked up and you changed for the better” Caitlyn  remarked pointedly, stabbing her finger into the table, ratteling the cups slightly. Caitlyn had been friends with Vi since her release, had seen her behind bars, and yeah they had their moments but if Vi could think that a few things she did a decade ago was what would push her away and not the almost killing a man then clearly she was mental. Maybe Caitlyn  was mental for being friends with an ex criminal but the ex criminal was a really sweet and positive person with a good outlook on what had been a pretty rough life up till that point. 

“I didn't change though, I went to prison” Vi reminded voice picking up a bit in mocking, she hadnt had the chance to change, one moment her sister was leaving in the back of a car with the man who had killed their parents and the next Vi was taking the plea deal. It was just six months between those two points and they blurred together a little, of drinking and fighting and dumb teen shit that got her into a lot of fights and arguments with vander and the boys. Not that she really changed after getting out anyway. 

“then I got out and I went right back to doing what I did, I spent six months drinking myself stupid and pitfighting, then I ruined my sisters birthday and put the final nail in our relationship” Vi admitted her voice cracking, Caitlyn  would circle back to the nail in the coffin in a minute but her mind was caught on the fact Vi had ended it there, like her life had ended after that party, like there wasn't a four year time difference between then and now, four entire years of her doing the work and getting better, four years Caitlyn  had been there with her helping her get better.  

“And then you went to rehab, started going to meetings, went back to school” Caitlyn  reminded Vi, hummed and hawed like she was technically right but not really. 

“Only thanks to you, had you never punched me I would have kept on” she admitted nonchalantly. Caitln wondered if she was doing this just to get a rise out of her. Vi had never owed Caitlyn  anything not for her support or her friendship and she certainly didn't owe her for getting sober, Vi had already known she had to get sober in the hospital emergency room, Caitlyn  had simply reiterated it after she had punched her an hour later. Punching an injured woman was not her finest hour Caitlyn  could admit but it had worked, got Vi to admit she didn't know how to get help, which then prompted Caitlyn  into helping her get it, so she could technically take some credit. 

“Exactly! Thanks to me, because I'm your friend, and I care about your dumbass” she yelled, kicking her hard under the table, Vi winced, hand shooting down to clutch her knee as she groaned, falling forward to rest her head down against the table with a thud. 

“Woah, okay ow, that hurt” she whined tears brimming in her eyes and Caitlyn scoffed taking deep breaths her parted mouth, there was so much anger and annoyance brimming within her. 

“Yeah well clearly this is all it takes to get you to pull your head out of your arse, and were getting enough stares as is, punching you again would attract a lot more” Caitlyn  huffed eyes roaming around the room which had gone oddly quiet she caught the rather obvious stares of other tables and the women behind the counter were snickering to themselves. Caitlyn blushed, ducking her head down in shame. 

“Sorry I shouldn't yell, or kick you” she admitted and Vi laughed resting her chin on the table as she squeezed her probably bruised knee. 

“Its cool, I just… Cait I don't know why you're my friend” Vi admitted resting her cheek against the soft fabric table cloth looking out the window, Caitlyn  sighed, reaching over and brushing her fingers through Vis short pink hair nails scratching at the shaved side. 

“Because despite having been through so much you're so strong vi, we're sitting here debating whether you're a bad person but if I hadn't met you I would have become one, the enforcers they're not… it wasn't the path for me and I know I wouldn't have realised if you didn't help me” she confessed slowly as she twirled a piece of her short hair around her finger. 

“Please all I did was call you names and trauma dump my tragic life story on ya” Vi grumbled, Caitlyn  smiled thinking back to that day in that court cell, Vi had been a lot more forthcoming with information taking and talking and all Caitlyn  wanted was for her to shut up, but somewhere along the lines she had started listening and when the pieces clicked so did her sense of justice as well, and with it the world made sense again and Caitlyn  had to go through her own quarter life crisis as she came to terms with the fact she had taken a second wrong path in her career. 

“You did yeah, prison Vi was so much more honest, kinda miss that” Caitlyn  snarked poking a finger into the side of vis head, Vi flinched back from the sharp pain of her nail looking up at her soft smile, Caitlyn  had rested her cheek on fist, eyes soft and reminiscing. Vi couldn't help but smile back, it had been a rough day, from her fight in the prison gym to being moved to solitary to being told she had to appear in front of the judge as her sentence was meant to be ending but was probably gonna be extended because of her fighting, to meeting the pretty piltie enforcer who looked at her like she would rather be anywhere else. Vi had flirted and Caitlyn  had been taken a back and responded meanly telling her to cut it out, she had realised then she could get under this one's skin and started teasing but one specific sentence from the piltie about her and her sad excuse for a life a rather mean comment made her spill her life story and then she was just rambling. 

“You don't, she hated you” Vi reminded which was kind of true, she had hated her for like five minutes and then she hadn't cared and then they went their separate ways, vis life fell further apart and then she was being punched by the woman in a hospital parking lot, she did hate her then, for a few months as she got sober and Caitlyn  persistently inserted herself into vis life, Vi really hated her then. She had also kind of liked her but it was evident caitlyn didn't feel even remotely the same so she moved on. 

“Yeah but she never shut up, she was a bitch but she also told me everything” Caitlyn  remembered fondly, Vi was so chatty back then, probably from all the solitary confinement and the fact the other prisoners just didn't like her, she spent a lot of her time alone thinking and never really talking and when finally given the chance to converse with an actual person who was probably not a threat of shanking her she took it with both hands and didnt let it go fo a good few years. Caitlyn couldn't really pinpoint where along the line Vi had learnt to use her brains filter and stop blurting every thought out but she kind wished she hadn't. She could know everything by now, the divorce, the birthday party, the incident she was sidestepping so determinedly. 

“A bitch huh? Not packing any punches to night” Vi murmured, bringing her arms back up onto the table and crossing them laying down against them. Caitlyn took her hand back and threaded her fingers together head resting on top of them. 

“Nah, im being honest you should give it a go” Caitlyn  teased softly shaking her head lightly. Vi grunted sitting up her hands pressing over her face digging into her eyes before dragging down her cheeks. For a split second she looked so ridiculous. Caitlyn  couldn't help but laugh. 

“Honesty sucks, talking about feelings and emotions is for losers” Vi sneered pathetically, her lips pouting and eyes droopy as the exhaustion really made itself known. 

“No, talking is good for you and I promise Vi, really swear it, i'm still gonna be your friend when you do” Caitlyn  said her light tone falling away to complete seriousness. Vi tensed her shoulders raising she shook her head. 

“Promise me” Vi said, quickly tugging off her pinky ring and setting it with a clink down on the table before she held it out. Caitlyn looked at it a moment before she did the same, removing her family signet ring from her right pinky, her other hand dropping to the table with it clenched in her fist and connected their pinkies. Vis grip was tight as she curled it around hers and Caitlyn  swallowed, this suddenly felt a lot more powerful than a simple swear. She remembered the first pinky swear they had made, Caitlyn  had thought it was childish but Vi had looked at her with such innocent and sincere eyes begging for that reassurance and she had relented. Now that she thought about it that promise had been pretty similar to this one. 

“I promise that no matter what i'm gonna keep your being your friend, I don't care what you did a decade ago” Caitlyn  swore their eyes locked and she saw the flickering of insecurity in vis eyes the way her eyes welled with tears before she blinked them away her eyes falling to their tightly gripped fingers. She nodded and went to pull away but Caitlyn  kept hers locked. 

“Vi tell me you believe me” Caitlyn  ordered keeping her pinky locked there, Vi looked back into her eyes the light blue piercing and she did believe her because Caitlyn  didn't swear anything lightly. They had only ever made one other promise, in the parking lot of that same hospital, Caitlyn  promised to help her all the way to the end.

“I believe you” Vi forced out her throat closing around the words choking her with their force. She did believe her, she believed her with everything she had. 

“Good I'm glad we sorted that,” Caitlyn  choked, her eyes suddenly burning as she slipped her hand free laying it flat against the table, her ring biting into the flesh of her palm. 

“Damn well uh how's life been? Good weekend?” Vi asked awkwardly and Caitlyn  jaw dropped, eyes widening as she stared down at the table, suddenly her phone which sat face down on the table felt rather ominous, she chuckled dryly. 

“Not really, I uh did some research into some paintings” she admitted Vi thankfully wasn't paying her any attention too busy averting her own eyes anywhere else. 

“Well that's fun I guess, that wasn't because” she trailed off the question hanging there on her tongue, this wasn't for Jinx was it, that would be weird. Her eyes narrowed her grin wide as she looked at Caitlyn, her cheeks rosey and her eyes so earnest. Nah couldn't be. 

“You're not like thinking about asking my sister out right?” Vi chuckled, Caitlyn  took a deep breath, held it there her smile wide and forcer eyes vacant as she looked behind Vis shoulder. Vi turned to look as well wondering if there was something super interesting over there that seemed to interest the other so much. 

“Right? Like you're not? You're not?” Vi asked again volume growing and Caitlyn  shrugged eyes falling back to her phone, technically she hadn't asked she had been asked, she didn't think that loophole would really work though. She shrugged. 

“Well I thought” Caitlyn  began but Vi was quick to cut her off her smile falling easily. 

“No you think nothing” she snapped gently, cutting the air with her hand. 

“I know shes cool, and I shouldn't have been so rude to you about talking to her, like talking is fine, if its at my house or in a neutral location preferably only ever in front of me” Vi explained her words spilling out as she articulated her word with a expressionate  move of her hand and Caitlyn  nodded along like she understood but mentally she was freaking out, she reached up subtly flipping her phone praying the screen wouldn’t go off as Vi kept talking “ya know actually try not talking to her if you run into her, she will take it as a challenge, she’ll talk your ear off” 

“She's very smart I doubt that would be a bad experience” Caitlyn  blurted out, Jinx was super smart she recalled the blog posts she had read, the ways in which she articulated her points and her sentence structure so fluid and dynamic. It was captivating if Jinx spoke even kind of like that but with that raw passion in her voice Caitlyn  would be down on one knee in an instant. She realised then Vi had stopped talking, staring at her from under her brows head tilted down, eyes bugging out as  her eye twitched. 

“No, it would be, once she sinks her claws into you she never lets go you'll die before she stops talking” Vi said slowly eyes haunted and Caitlyn  had to remind herself that Vi wasn't really interested in the kinds of things she knew jinx was, she wondered what they even had to talk about. 

“You make her sound so evil” Caitlyn  said flatly and Vi sat back wincing as she nodded. 

“Right, she isn't evil, or bad. I mean she has changed a lot! Probably because of all the meds and the counseling” Vi agreed, there was a lot of meds and a whole lot of intensive counseling and therapy. Vi only had to take a few supplements she couldn't imagine taking the amount of meds jinx did on a daily basis. 

“Look, that doesn't stop the fact that she has her moments, sometimes she's just… all over the place, constantly talking, bouncing from topic to topic, moving from room to room like a lost roomba, or a fly buzzing insistently by you then darting away then coming back and never out the window like you try to lead it” Vi ranted her words were tense her shoulders back and rigid as she stared singularly at the utensil container on the side. 

“Oh?” Caitlyn  hummed, she guessed that could get annoying, Caitlyn  was one for solitude and quiet, she preferred her peace uninterrupted. She doubted she could handle incessant chatter for long periods of time. 

“She's a lot all of the time, she's loud, she's talkative and she's combative and annoying” Vi said though this time a little more fond but still just as tired. Like Vi was talking about the cat who clawed up all your furniture, definitely inconvenient and definitely annoying but that's still your cat. 

“Is that all she is?” Caitlyn  asked, if it was all she was, Cait may have felt sufficiently repulsed but she was also aware jinx was more as well, she was curious and she was intelligent and passionate and she was sweet and caring. Vi paused, eyes darting around before she shook her head. 

“No, she's also a genius who's intensely passionate about the arts and guns and nature, she will make you go on a hike by the way” Vi said, finger pointed directly at her a little menacingly and Caitlyn  hummed. 

“Won't be your first date she has thankfully been taught that asking girls on hikes rarely ever gets her a second date, so maybe your sixth date” Vi explained a little proudly, Caitlyn  would bet money that the person who ‘taught’ jinx not to invite girls on hikes was vi, because Vi hated hikes and had dated enough women —most of zaun— to know a lot of them were not really into hiking. Though the women Vi dated were a very specific type so probably not very thorough data. 

They paused for a moment both caught on the idea there would be five dates before that, Caitlyn  was momentarily happy Vi was changing her stance when Vi broke out laughing, her head thrown back as she sniggered her cheeks bright red. 

“Like you'd make it six dates, you won't even get one so that's out of the question, not that you care anyway who likes hikes” Vi said through laughs, Caitlyn  shrugged cheeks burning as she imagined jinx walking through piltover's mountains, hair tied back into a single large braid, a bucket hat perched on her head, wearing short athletic shorts and a track top. Smiling wide. 

“I like hikes,” Caitlyn  admitted softly. Vi stopped laughing, catching her breath as she looked at her curiously, she reached out patting her hand sympathetically. 

“Sure ya do” she teased, Vi thought it was a little desperate of her to insist such a thing just to get her to reconsider her answer, she still wasn't gonna let Caitlyn  date her sister. 

“No I really do, it's good to connect with the outdoors” Caitlyn  insisted honestly, she used to hike with Jayce all the time he was much slower than she was always insisting Cait take it slow just enjoy your surroundings top of the mountains gonna be there whether we get there in an hour or five, she used to remind him that if they got up in an hour they could go down the other side and back over in five and then they'd see double as much. When she was training to be an enforcer, she used to drag Jayce out with her every other morning. She wondered if she had ever seen jinx on the trails before, so many people went by everyday on them and yet she had never stopped to consider them, now she wished she had, wished maybe then she could have met Jinx sooner. 

Vi was staring at her again, lips pressed into a thin disapproving line. 

“Doesn't matter you're not going on any dates with my sister” she reminded nodding her head encouragingly and Caitlyn  looked down at her phone, this should be the time to tell her. 

“Well I wouldn't dismiss the possibility” Caitlyn  suggested cause the possibility was one hundred percent, it was happening. Vi shook her head. 

“No,” she said bluntly. Caitlyn blinked looking left and right before she hummed. 

“No?” she asked and Vi smiled. 

“No” 

“Okay no what?” Caitlyn  asked purposefully, being a little dense. Vi seemed amused as she leaned in scooting her chair closer and Caitlyn  tilted back a little. 

“No Cait, you cannot date my sister” Vi reiterated this time more jovially and yet with more force. Huh she really was not being very open minded was she Cait wondered brows raised as she nodded though she wasnt agreeing she was just digesting the order. She made a curious hum pressing her hands together in front of her face before turning them down to point at Vi. 

“And why not?” she asked, she kind of had an idea why, Vi clearly had a very tense and strained relationship with her sister, and she clearly didn't want Cait to know about what had happened which if she dated jinx long enough she was bound to find out about. 

“It would be weird, you're my friend she's my little sister, I dont know its just not right” Vi explained rather vaguely, weird how Cait wanted to ask, what exactly would be weird not their age gap jinx was an adult who was probably more put together than most adults Caitlyn  and vis age. She was a lot more put together than Caitlyn  even. 

“She's an adult, with a job and a kid, it can't be the age gap you're worried about” Caitlyn  suggested and Vi recoiled at that, 

“I wasn't, but now I kind of am, she's five years younger than you” Vi admitted, eyes wide and horrified and oh god Caitlyn  had just given her another reason not to like it. Damm she was kindas shooting herself in the foot here, she hummed looking for other reasons. 

“It's just it would be so awkward when you guys break up, then i'd have to choose between my friend and my sister” Vi admitted, who do you choose in that scenario. The obvious answer would probably be her sister, except her sister and her relationship was strenuous at best, could she really choose the sister who had turned her back on her over the friend who had helped her get her life back on track. Vi had always known family was the one you chose not the one you were born with,  under those terms Cait was family even though Vi refused to give her any of the family titles like sister or cousin cause that would be plain weird. 

“What if we don't break up?” Caitlyn  blurted out, she had been considering it, she could make things work out. If she got the chance she wasn't gonna blow it, well technically she had the chance, she was trying to convince Vi to let her do something she was gonna do anyway, just Vis permission would absolve her of some guilt. 

“You will” Vi said honestly, like there was no other possibility. Caitlyn didn't like that in Vis eyes they were already cursed before they had even started. 

“Jinx is a lot and she's worse when you're dating her, she's clingy and demanding, who knows maybe you'll late one date with her on her best behaviour, but at the end of the day be it one date or twenty it’s gonna end badly” Vi explained, she was tempted to give her an example. Bring up one of Jinxs exs but most of the breakups Vi could remember were pretty rationally not Jinxs fault and the ones were they weren't Vi didnt have enough information on because obviously jinx wasn't gonna tell her about how she herself had screwed up her relationship. 

It seemed the universe was having a bit of a laugh because as Vi spoke Caits phone lit up, she jumped slightly careful to mask her fear as a message appeared on her screen, the small blue profile picture of jinx winking up at her damning, Cait hummed agreeingly as she reached for her phone putting a frown on her lips to better sell it as she checked the message. 

Hey just random question like you don't have epilepsy right? 

Or any eye conditions? Migraines? None of that? Tip top condition? Haha right? 

“Ya never know it might not” Cait said absently as she held her phone tighter brows pulled tight as she considered the cryptic message. she had a bit of a prescription but she didn't have any eye conditions, couple of headaches now and then but that was normal dealing with Eda. 

“No it will, there is no universe where you dating my sister ends well” Vi said bluntly looking between her and the back of her phone, caitlyns eyes flicked between her and her screen slightly panicked and Vi wondered what the hell she could be looking at that was so worrying. 

“Eh its fine, not like I date anyway, she just seemed like a person i'd wanna get to know” Cait said with a sad sigh as she closed her phone and slipped it into her jacket pocket, Vi watched her suspicious eyes glued to where her hand had disappeared under the table. Vi gave a hum sitting back her arms crossing over her chest. 

“Important message?” she asked, Caitlyn  seemed a little annoyed, eyes flickering with agitation at the call out. 

“Not really, unless you think Eda demanding to know about the missing photo copy is important” Caitlyn  said snarkily, head falling into her hands. 

“Ugh she's so annoying, she made me make six copies of a hundred odd page case files today, you know how long our printers take to do that?” Caitlyn  asked and Vi seemed relieved to be back on a normal topic.

“How long?” Vi asked casually. Cait was quick to jump into a long explanation of the day's events, but as she told Vi all about it she was thinking about the message wondering when she would get to respond and talk to jinx. Hoping that maybe Vi was wrong and this was the universe they'd get a happy ending. 

Chapter Text

“So you didn’t tell her?” Mel asked as she handed the waiter her plate, her eyes focused forward on her intern whose frown was so sad for a girl who should be so excited. Caitlyn shook her head and handed over her own plate crossing her arms and leaning against the table, she knew she had to tell Vi, knew that she should have told her already but she hadn’t had the courage and the opening had closed to quickly, shut down effectively with a slam and then locked with a deadbolt and key. She wasn’t sure how to bring it up now, wasn’t sure she would. Maybe Vi was right and this wouldn’t go anywhere and if it didn’t then she wouldn’t have to tell her ever and she could go on as normal. Or it would turn into something more and she would have to face the scorn from the other. She'd deal with it when it came she decided. 

“Nope” she popped the p and groaned burying her head in her arms, she wasn’t stressed so much as she was guilty. She had been given one order from vi and she had broken it. She knew she objected and yet she hadn't canceled, she had messaged jinx thrice since Monday, she had messaged her that very night in the safety of her bedroom to tell her that no she did not have any conditions and to teasingly asked where she was taking her, jinx had told her to be patient to Caitlyns annoyance. Still she had been, she had stayed off the internet, she hadn’t tried to look it up or find it so she could be surprised. She hated surprises but just this one she would attempt to keep the mystery intact so she could enjoy it as jinx intended. 

“Cait you will have to tell her eventually” Mel said softly and Caitlyn knew she was right she nodded into her arms. 

“I will, just after the date, next week even, I will tell her” she mumbled into her arms, the words jumbled but Mel got the gist of it and sighed in disappointment. 

“If you say so, just be careful” Mel warned head shaking as she dabbed the napkin against her lips. Caitlyn sat back pushing her glass aside out of her way. she kept her shoulders back, her posture straight as she rested her wrists against the edge of the table fiddling with the cloth napkin as she eyed the room, people were starting to filter in for their lunch break and their meetings, men in three piece suits a sea of black and navy the only difference between them their ties, the only ones she paid much attention to were the few outliers with fun patterns and colourful jacket linings as they shucked off their jackets in the warm restaurant. Women came in wearing pantsuits and knee length tailored dresses, they stood out in the dim room in their soft blues and crimson reds, some wore yellows and pinks and one particular woman with her locs tied back wore a brilliant purple pantsuit that cinched in at the waist. The sudden busyness told her they would be leaving soon, Caitlyn reached for her bag pulling her lip gloss free of the side pocket when a glass was set down in front of her, her empty one placed on her plate as they were stacked. Before the waiter could make a run for it Mel cleared her throat smiling up at the man, he paused at the side. 

“Can I get the bill?” Mel asked softly. 

“And I didn’t order another drink” Caitlyn remarked as she pushed the glass closer towards him, moving to apply her lip gloss peering in at her reflection in her mirror. She eyed the cherry sour curiously. She hadn’t ordered it but she wished she had so she could drink it, alas, she knew two cocktails before one pm wasn’t exactly very professional not when she had a meeting at three. 

“Your bill and drink were covered by the woman at the bar” he explained with a smile sending a pointed look over to the bar before he was slipping away. Caitlyn shrugged and closed her mirror with a click taking the glass in her hand. 

“Well I shouldn’t let it go to waste” she said as she took a sip from the small straw. She wouldn't turn down a free drink which was probably from one of Mels clients or other fancy friends, she peered over at the bar as she slipped her mirror and gloss back into her bag. She didn’t recognise anyone there a moment until she walked out from behind the partition following the bartender to the other end of the bar. She choked on her drink, setting it down with a heavy thud as her hand shot up to press over her lips. 

“Are you alright?” Mel asked and Caitlyn nodded glancing back up at the bar, jinx was leaning against the counter talking very animatedly to the bartender, a very beautiful woman with a fond smile and rather defined muscles as she shook another drink, nodding along and answering back in turn to whatever conversation they were having. Jinx must have felt the heat of her stare as she turned to look over her shoulder. Their eyes met and Caitlyn couldn’t help but blush as she averted her eyes giving her a small wave, Jinx gave a wave back and winked before turning back to the bartender and handing over her card. 

Caitlyn was quick to finish off her drink as Mel excused herself to fix up her makeup, she smiled into the bottom of her empty glass as she set it down. She turned expecting to see Jinx still leant against the bar, a plan forming in her head to go over and chat to her when she caught her slipping down the stairs. Caitlyn jumped to her feet grabbing her bag and walking with quick steps to the stairs which lead down to the entryway. 

“Hey” she called out hand braced at the railing on the top of the staircase, jinx was only halfway down her phone clutched in her hand as she stopped turning to look up at her. Her bright eyes roamed down her figure, cheeks burning a soft pink as she smiled. 

“Hi” Jinx said softly her smile slanted and fond as she moved back up the stairs coming to stand with Caitlyn just shy of the stairwell, the wooden partition giving them the semblance of privacy though Caitlyn wasn’t sure why she felt the needed to be secretive wasn’t like they were doing anything wrong. Still the guilt in the back of her mind reared its ugly head. 

“What are you doing here?” Caitlyn asked and Jinxs smile wavered as she looked past her to one of the big round tables by the windows, it was the complete opposite end to where Caitlyn had been sat which explained why she hadn’t noticed her. Caitlyn followed her eyes to the men sat there, all in those same black suits making disapproving looks at each other and sad noises as though communicating in their own corporate language and whatever it was about wasn't good. 

“Meeting, very important, very useless meeting” she admitted with a shake of her head, shrugging one shoulder as her hand came up to pinch the bridge of her nose. 

“They are all so annoying, and self entitled and they value their own paychecks above the good of the company and their employees, one of them is earning in the seven digits whilst his assistant, his personal assistant who he makes run around doing everything for him is only making five it's preposterous, he's a lazy arrogant ass” she complained head shaking as she pressed the heel of her palm into her eye yawning tiredly, Caitlyns eyes dropped down to the suit she wore, her light blue suit was perfectly tailored and the small crystal buttons glittered under the warm light. The vest under her jacket momentarily revealed when she unbuttoned it revealed the way  it accentuated her waist and the chain of her pocket watch clicked as the fabric moved. 

“That is sadly most of corporate Piltover” Caitlyn agreed, she had met enough of them at galas to know the type, the ones too rich and too out of touch to realise that things that were cheap to them were not cheap to all. She had done all she could to never become one of those people. 

“Sorry I shouldn’t bore you with this, how was your lunch?” Jinx asked politely though with a real eagerness like the idea of hearing about Caitlyns boring lunch with Mel was more exciting than the probably very drama filled lunch she’d had which had gotten her so riled up. Maybe that was why she wanted to hear something more on the mundane, something just simple and uneventful to balance out her rising anger. Though Jinx riled up was a sight for sore eyes, her cheeks were rosey, loose strands tugged out of her braids, her fingers clutching at her jacket, and her eyes. Caitlyn had seen a lot of pretty eyes but none of them held a candle to Jinxs, they were filled with passion and anger making her bright blue eyes take on more a deeper shade as they narrowed. 

“It was good, I just have some things to reconsider” she admitted slowly, her eyes fell back to Jinxs suit to where her hand was fiddling with the button on her jacket, pushing it through the hole before bringing it back with such a fluid ease it seemed she was doing it without realising. Caitlyn could imagine she did this everyday, popping the button as she sat rebuttoning as she stood, if this was what Jinx wore to a meeting she was probably very familiar with buttons. Caitlyn was almost tempted to wear a pantsuit with a jacket so she could feel those fingers working her own buttons undone to undress her. 

“We still on for tonight?” Jinx asked as she turned to the stairs and Caitlyn nodded eagerly, eyes snapping up. 

“Oh yes, I’m curious to where you will take me, think you can give me a hint?” Caitlyn asked her voice low as she leaned in shoulder braced against the partition and Jinx grinned lazily considering it for a moment before she shook her head decidedly. 

“Like I said last time, have some patience” she said pointedly her tone playful, Caitlyn sighed dramatically and nodded. 

“You’ll like it, its” she trailed off considering the words, Caitlyn waited with baited breath, she could make some assumptions based on how she would describe it but she wasn’t sure how to take “charming”

“Charming?” Caitlyn asked, shoulders dropping as she considered that word. Charming was subtle, it was compassionate, it was how you describe someone's actions, she wasn’t sure how a place could be charming. 

“Hmm yeah, I don’t know how to describe it without giving too much away” Jinx admitted equally as confused. She was considering it pouting slightly as she brainstormed and Caitlyn thought It was rather cute. 

“Well you could just tell me, save yourself the trouble” Caitlyn suggested playfully shrugging a shoulder, jinx smiled looking up at her through her lashes round eyes even bigger as she looked up and Caitlyn could see the mischief in them, could see the way they curled around the corners into a grin that told her Jinx knew what she was trying to do. 

“Ah no can do, caity-cat you’ll have to wait and see, a few more hours” jinx shook her wrist freeing her watch from her sleeve and tapped its face, her voice dropping a few octaves as she asked “you can wait cant you?”

“For you I can” Caitlyns breath stuttered as she tilted her head, Jinxs eyes widened throat bobbing. 

“For me? Huh," Jinx murmured, voice distant as she looked past her to the bar, her eyes hazy and Caitlyn was worried she had said something wrong. She went to ask, hand reaching out in the space between them when jinx chuckled and shook her head. 

“I’m gonna go, but I will see you later” jinx said with a smile and Caitlyn nodded, jinx moved past her hand brushing against her forearm as she moved to the stairs. 

“Yeah later” Caitlyn whispered and Jinx shot her another look earnest and pleased. Caitlyn watched as she slipped out the restaurant, hands sweaty as she wiped them down her skirt and heart thundering in her chest. She turned back to the bar sucking in a deep breath as the rest of the world came back to her. She leant her arms against the counter fingers tapping rhythmically as she waited. She considered the interaction curious as to the sudden and quick departure at the end there. Had she misspoke, said something wrong. 

Caitlyn peered up catching Mel walking towards her eyes down on her phone, the sea of people coming and going were quick to move out of her way parting like the sea for Mel. The other didn’t even seem to notice so focused on her phone moving through the room like she owned the place. As she approached the bar Mel looked up, shooting her a smile that promised nothing good for Caitlyn. She gulped, turning to Mel and letting the other woman take her arm. 

“So I’m taking you to run errands with me, I was gonna buy you dinner” Mel said as they descended the restaurant stairs 

“The firm was gonna buy me dinner you were gonna use the company card” Caitlyn corrected to Mels annoyance, she shot her a look as they stepped out into the street. 

“Yes well clearly someone beat me to it” Mel said putting emphasis on the word and Caitlyn rolled her eyes but didn’t answer looking out across the street at the high end boutique stores, with their carefully curated fronts. This part of town was fancy full of luxury fashion once upon a time. Caitlyn had thought it was nice but now it catered to a style she simply didn’t wear, so her eyes glossed over the beaded dresses and the padded silhouettes. 

Mel pulled her into a boutique, the store was small with rough stone walls and glass displays holding a single article of a specific piece, the place was nice, the fashion low key and it wasn’t basic but it was more of Mels style. Her jewelry usually did the talking for her. Mel wandered up the counter leaving Caitlyn to meander around eying the shoes set on pedestals with golden locks on the straps and spikes along the ankles. They had some nice bags but one really caught her eye, a slouchy leather bag with a big buckle around its center. It had a little charm hooked to its side, a little metal bear made from bolts and gears. She reached out, turning it over with her hand. 

“Cait” mMel called and Caitlyn jumped looking over her shoulder and returning to her side.

“What's up?” she asked as she came to stand besides her, eying the jewelry in the case, the thin studded bangles and geometric pieces of metal linked together in varying coloured gold. 

“We have to wait in a room” Mel explained with a tut and Mel nodded. 

“Okay will it be long, I've got a meeting in about an hour,” Caitlyn asked as the associate led them back down a short hallway and up some stairs to a room. 

“It should be fifteen minutes i'll have you back in time for your meeting don’t worry” Mel said dismissively and Caitlyn took her at her word following behind her into the room, it was cozy with a large black couch that curved around the room, in the center was a coffee table and a book of their latest runway pieces which Mel was quick to snatch up, the associate frowned holding out the tablet aimlessly Caitlyn took it from her and gave her a smile. 

“Can I get you two anything whilst you wait?” she asked and Mel shook her head as she flicked through the book's pages. 

“Uh no thank you were good” Caitlyn answered moving past her to sit down at her side scrolling aimlessly through the store's stock. Mel was looking out of the corner of her eye waiting till the door closed and the moment the click echoed in the quiet room she jumped, eyes locking on Caitlyn's slouched form leg crossed over her other. 

“What happened with jinx?” Mel demanded as she set the open book down on the coffee table. Caitlyn hummed clicking through a page eying a set of sunglasses. 

“What do you mean?” she asked, her eyes focused on the long rectangular frames and the logo on the side. She pressed call and clicked out of them returning to the home page. 

“At the bar” Mel said pointedly and Caitlyn peered over the edge of the tablet considering how to play it, she knew there was no getting around it, Mel had honed in. 

“You saw?” she asked and Mel squawked in outrage. 

“Of course I did, I was only gone twenty seconds before you were cozying up with her” Mel teased and Caitlyn groaned cheeks red. She hadn’t thought they had been that close; they had a pretty respectable distance between them. 

“You were in the bathroom though,” Caitlyn wondered. 

“Yeah for thirty seconds, it was crowded so I didn’t waste my time, came out whilst she was still walking up the stairs, waited to see what you’d do” Mel admitted which was just kind of nosy. Caitlyn had done it herself a few times stood just off to the side waiting for someone to finish her conversation, 

“You’re sneaky” she murmured as she scrolled through the bags, her eyes catching on that bag charm from earlier she didn’t hesitate to call it. 

“Thank you” Mel slid up beside her, eying the tablet over her shoulder. 

“Oh that dress is nice” she said as she pointed at a dress on the suggested list and Caitlyn nodded. 

“I guess” she agreed, clicking it, it was a long halter dress in emerald green. 

“For tonight” Mel suggested and Caitlyn eyed her out of the corner of her eye

“What are you doing tonight?” she asked and Mel shook her head, shooting her a judgy look before calling it. 

“For you, it would be perfect for the gallery” Mel explained as she took the tablet from her hand and began to scroll through the dresses. 

“I already told you I picked my outfit,” Caitlyn recalled, while Mel ignored scrolling through their catalog with trigger happy fingers, clicking on anything that caught her eye, even the things that Caitlyn wouldn’t be caught dead in just to see her reaction. 

“Don’t think you can distract me” Mel murmured to Caitlyns amusement. 

“Nothing happened we talked” Caitlyn said as she crossed her arms over her chest, she was about to tell her what they had talked about when the door opened and a woman came in setting a bag down on the end of the couch by the door and pulled a rack in behind her, holding the dress she had called and a few trays of other items, the sunglasses the charm the bracelet and shoes. Mel jumped to her feet, setting the tablet down and moved to look at everything. 

“Oh this charm is so cute but so not your style” Mel commented as she handed the charm over, Caitlyn plucked it from her hand holding it in her palm, it wasn’t her style but something about it reminded her of Jayce and she liked that. She liked its clunky metal limbs and engraved little face. The moment they were left alone Mel shot around. 

“You looked ready to jump her, just talked my ass” Mel said as she unfolded the sunglasses and rested them over Caitlyn's nose, Caitlyn pushed them up over her eyes, the room dimming so much she could barely see and she liked that. 

“Well I held myself back, really we just talked” Caitlyn admitted, yeah she could have jumped jinx there in her form fitting suit with her grin and her rosy cheeks. 

“Well obviously, she looked the same by the way” Mel said teasingly as she turned back to the rack grabbing the bangles and slipping them on her wrist, she knew she would be coming here so she had elected for bare wrists her usual bracelet stack sat on her nightstand as she tried on some new pieces, they clinked as she tried them on turning her wrist every which way and feeling their weight shift. She liked three of the seven and removed them all, setting down all but five and placing the two she liked on the coffee table. 

“Really?” Caitlyn asked, that was crazy, she hadn’t noticed Jinx was looking at her in any kind of way. 

“Oh she was blushing like mad, I could swear she looked down fifteen times, she is the perfect height when you’re in those heels to be just right there” Mel explained motioning vaguely to Caitlyn's chest and Caitlyn felt the heat rushing to her cheek as she looked down at her own chest. She wasn't wearing anything particularly revealing; her blouse was unbuttoned slightly but that was about It. 

“She looked?” Caitlyn asked proudly. 

“So many times,” Mel admitted. 

“Damn and I’m business wear, I’m wearing a sweater” Caitlyn whined tugging at her sweater sleeves, her outfit was very business casual, a white button up blouse with a navy vest over top and a pencil skirt. 

“It's a v-neck, showing enough to be classy and not unprofessional” Mel corrected, which sure the sweater was a v-neck but that didn’t take away from the fact it was still a sweater. She looked like a librarian, in contrast Jinx had been dressed in her suit and had just ended a pretty serious meeting whilst Caitlyn gallivanted with her boss clothes shopping. 

“Though I have to ask what did you say at the end?” Mel asked, peering up from her shopping back hand, reaching for the tablet on the table and calling the assistant back in. 

“What do you mean?” Caitlyn asked, 

“You said something and she just I don’t know short circuited” Mel said curiously, Caitlyn thought about it and knew when she was talking about, the moment Jinx had gone from friendly and casual to suddenly fleeing. 

“I’m not sure, I just told her I could try and wait” she admitted, she didn’t think she had said anything offensive or rude, nothing that she thought could even be construed as mean and yet jinx had been quick to run out straight after. 

“That's it?” Mel asked voice low and suspicion, Caitlyn went to answer but before she could the door opened their assistant returned with a smile. 

“I'll take these” Mel answered, holding out the tray with the bangles on it and Caitlyn was quick to set her sunglasses, bag charm, and snatch the shoes from the rack adding them to Mels pile. 

“And she is getting me these,” she added. 

“Oh I am?” Mel asked though she handed the tray over anyway and nodded to the woman her card already set out on the tray for her to take and pay with. 

“Yeah you’re my boss, I’m just a lowly intern, but you are a partner, you can afford it” Caitlyn remarked with a smile, she was very grateful for Mel and she would repay her over time but she knew this one time it wouldn’t really matter. Mel sighed. 

“You’re the daughter of the richest family in Piltover” Mel remarked and Caitlyn knew that was also true, but her parents money wasn’t her money anymore so it technically didn’t count anymore. 

“You are the richest woman in Piltover,” Caitlyn reminded and Mel grinned. 

“Oh right” she murmured as she leaned back against the couch. They sat there in silence for a moment, Caitlyn thought back to jinx, knowing now she had been checking her out was a good ego boost, made her feel hot and desirable and reminded her that maybe this wasn’t a one way street. When the sales associates returned with their bags, Caitlyn grimaced as she slipped hers on her arms. She had to return to the office with these which meant Eda would see them, great. Caitlyn slid her bag up her arm checking the time on her watch as she went and felt her entire world tilting on its axis. 

“Oh, im late” she whispered, rushing on out of the room, Mel rushed behind her heels clicking with each quick step they made till they were darting out of the store. 

“Late? Really?” Mel asked as they hailed a cab. Caitlyn hummed pulling her phone from her bag pocket and shot a message through the interface apologizing for her tardiness claiming internet problems as they began to pull away from the road. 

“Yeah only by a minute” caitlyn admitted, this was terrible, she was meant to be gaining her coworkers and bosses respect and all she was proving was that she was an irresponsible nepo baby. 

“God this is your fault you've got to stop dragging me out of work” caitlyn huffed, mel snickered besides her, eyes trained out the window. 

“You can always say no” mel reminded which was definitely true, caitlyn could say no, stay at the office doing the job she was a little over qualified for, she already knew what she was doing and how to do it, she had been a law inter before back when she was a teen and her mother still owned a firm, the offer had been there as well, she could have skipped the intern phase and went straight to paralegal but she had decided she had to prove herself first. Now she was sending the wrong message and she hated it. Hey pulled up in front of the building and caitlyn threw herself from the car adjusting her bags. 

“Thanks for the day out” she called over shoulder getting a tired youre welcome back as she slid through the scanner id pressed against the front. She saw the elevator doors closing and no matter how quickly she sped up she knew she wasn't gonna make it, she flung her bag up catching the door and it opened with a ding relieving her to no end. She slipped in pressing her floor and crowded in besides everyone else returning from their own lunch breaks. She caught their stares the way their eyes darted down to ehr bags and then up at her smiling face. Every floor from two to six someone got on and then someone got in and pressed another button and every time it happened caitlyn felt like screaming she watched as the minutes ticked by and she grew later and later and knew because of it Eda would hold her longer. The elevator music was a repeating pattern caitlyn came to realise as she heard it begin again and again and every time it did it hammered in the nails of her coffin. Finally after what was probably not as long as it felt the doors opened on her floor and before anyone else could get off caitlyn pushed past slipping down the hall and into her office dumping her bags under her desk and logging in. 

She pulled up the meeting room checking her reflection in her camera and fixing her hair slightly before she clicked into the meeting. Caitlyn muted herself immediately, pretending like she had simply been there the whole time because it seemed no one was gonna mention her late arrival. She nodded along fingers tapping distantly at the desk, she had known this meeting would be boring but actually being sat in it really hammered in that fact. Her eyes flicked between the clock and her coworkers' presentation. It was three thirty which meant she only had to get through another thirty minutes and she would be allowed to leave. So she leaned back in her chair and resigned herself to being patient.

It would turn out it would not be thirty minutes, because those thirty minutes would be spent going through the presentation itself and another thirty minutes after that would be spent explaining it. By the time they wrapped up, Caitlyn was ready to run, she closed out of the meeting without a goodbye closing down her computer and jumped to her feet to grab her coat. 

All the way home caitlyn was checking her watch, the minutes ticking by as they sat idly in the rush hour traffic, she had been a fool to think she would ever get home before four. The moment they pulled up outside her apartment building, caitlyn was throwing the cash at the man, uncaring how much she overpaid, eager to get out and start getting ready. She took the stairs with her shopping bags rustling on her arms as she took the steps two at a time, there were times where having long legs was really beneficial and this was one of them. She tore her keys out of her bag fumbling with the lock scratching at the metal as she tried and failed to open her door. Caitlyn pushed the door open with her hip dumping the bags down under her entryway table, her apartment wasn't large by any means, the door opening out into her square living room, the back wall entirely glass looking out at the harbour, to the left was her kitchen and guest room and to her right a short hall where her office and bedroom were located at its sides. 

Caitlyn kicked her heels off by the side table besides her couch reaching down to grab her phone charger from the plug in its top before rushing down the hall, her door had been left open from the morning and as she entered she kicked it closed dumping her charger on the bed as her hands worked at her belt, she shrugged off her coat hooking it on the hook by the door. Caitlyn had been lying when she had told Mel she knew what she was gonna wear. She had no clue what to wear, had spent the last few days saying she'd chose later and later and then later became now and she hadn't chosen anything. 

Luckily for her she had showered in the morning before work, took the time to wash her hair with her fancy shampoo and used her nicest floral soaps. She had even taken the time to shave her legs, and took the time to cancel her afternoon workout so she wouldn't smell of sweat. Or wouldn't have had Mel not dragged her out into the warm piltover day to shop around and carry heavy bags. So she was a bit sweaty which meant getting up at 6am was for nothing because now she needed another shower. She sadly didn't have much time for a proper shower, so she pulled her hair up unto a shower cap and made quick work under the warm water using her nice rose scented soap. As she stepped out of the stall she grabbed her lotions from the mirror cabinet spreading it over her palms and rubbing it into her skin with quick movements. She didn't have time to relaxedly rub it in, she needed to be getting ready. 

Caitlyn grabbed her robe from the door pulling It up over her shoulders before slipping back into her room, she pushed open the door on the fancier side of her wardrobe. This was the side filled with her nice clothes, the ones she wore to galas and dinners with her parents. Not the stuff she would wear to work or to an afternoon with Jayce. She thought back to jinx in her suit, the navy suit tailored to her petite measurements, tapering in at her narrow waist, the silver detailing and the heeled boots. Would jinx wear something similar to their date? Caitlyn strongly doubted she'd wear something so formal and dressed up, she had been on business that was a completely different space than a date. Still it gave her an idea of what jinx considered dressed up, she tugged out a simple boat neck navy dress, it was a narrow dress that tapered In at her waist and cut off at mid calf. It was a simple but elegant option that would look nice with the way she was gonna put up her hair. So she set it out hooking it over her curtain rod for easy grabbing later. 

She wasn't sold on it yet, the dress was so simple and so bland it was safe. She didn't want to be safe. She was here for the adventure and that meant going out of her comfort zone and dressing to impress a little. She moved back to her closet pushing aside her dresses one by one, she was starting to realise she was a far more boring person that she realised all of her dresses were safe, nothing too risky to be found in her closet. She lucked out with a green lace dress and set it besides the other one before turning to her drawers. 

Caitlyn may have not been on a lot of dates but she knew first dates weren't for any fancy undergarments, that was a third date custom, first dates were for getting to know someone so she grabbed something simple before she thought about the look jinx had given her by the bar, the slanted smile the quick once over and the blush, jinx was certainly attracted to her, that was undeniable, just was she so attracted to her that she would do away with waiting, could she be tempted to act a little hasty. Caitlyn wouldn't put it past her, couldn't deny it as a possibility so she set the simple pair back and pulled the hidden drawer above it out. This drawer held her more elicit delicates, there was one pair which she had bought for Mels bachelorette party, bright blue and lacy with flowers embroidered into the mesh. She hadn't gotten to wear it on that trip but now it seemed fitting. 

caitlyn plucked the set from the drawer and slammed it closed slipping them up her legs before undoing her robe and settling on the edge of her bed, letting it fall into a heap around her waist before she she slid her arms through the satin straps and buckle it behind her back scooping the tissue into place. She took a moment to admire herself in the mirror, the bright blue made her eyes pop, brought out the blue in her hair and stood nicely on her tanned skin. The balconette pushed her breast tissue up nicely as well. If Jinx could take one look at her and somehow not be into it, Caitlyn would eat her own heel because it was damn near impossible. She stood moving back to her wardrobe to find the right outfit. 

She grabbed a couple of items from her closet, pairing them with others and hanging them up until her wardrobe was looking a little bare and the realizations he would have to put them all back later told her maybe to narrow down what she had. She had to put them back before the date as well because if she were to bring jinx back she couldn't bring her into her bedroom with the mess it was in now. With clothes strewn across the bed, shoes kicked out under the window falling over themselves, her makeup set out in an organised formation on the vanity for later application. 

Caitlyn held up too shirts holding them besides a long flowing skirt and hummed, her eyes narrowed as she considered which looked better. The shirts were nearly identical but the one on the right was a tad looser and flowier which made them completely different. By now she had four dresses but mentally she only actually had two because the green one was too bright and colourful. As well as two skirts, a pair of trousers and five blouses. The indecision was starting to kill her as she threw the shirts down on the bed, they were both out, because if she couldn't pick between them it wasn't worth it. 

She moved back to her bed eyeing the outfits back lit by the sun and wondered why this was so hard. Usually she was great at picking outfits, she had never used a stylist and was regularly called a fashion icon in the articles after galas. She just knew how to dress to suit her body and impress others whilst still sending a message. Sadly this time she wasn't sure what message she was meant to be sending. Did she want to seduce jinx, drive her mad with want because if so the backless dress with the low plunging waistline was the dress to wear and shed have to change bras, but she wasn't sure that was what she was aiming for on their first date, maybe a few dates in when things were official– if they became official –that would be a better option. She was thinking something more subtle, she wanted to tease jinx get her curious and intrigued and make her want to take her to bed but not enough to actually send the message that that was what she would usually do on a first date, because she was no prude but she wasn't a whore either. Still that was a broad category of outfits. 

She just wanted to look nice, she wanted to look as good as the models jinx called her friends, wanted to stand out amongst the crowd as someone interesting and beautiful and someone who knew who they were and knew what they wanted in life. Sadly that was not caitlyn but she wanted to convince jinx that it was. 

Caitlyn shuffled forward on her bed, toes pressed into the rug as she braced her hands against the edge of the bed. She looked at her options at the blouses and the skirts and the dresses, looked down at her shoes all kicked under the window ledge nudging into her plant pots. The kind of sloped hand made pots were a flourish of colour in her otherwise bland and drab room, Mel had forced her to come to the event with her, a pottery night where everyone made flower pots and bragged about their fancy flower tending skills. Caitlyn had never tended a flower in her life at that point and had taken it as a challenge and started learning, now she had a flourishing balcony stocked with the flowers she was growing. 

She sighed, moving to sit on the floor and adjusting the pot, slightly moving her shoes away from them. There was a small smudge on the toe, she tried to rub away with her thumb which only made it worse. She frowned looking at the simple pair of black kitten heels, there was a big jump between the heel in her hand and the next shortest heel so if she couldn't wear these then she was unsure if she should wear heels at all. She was five teen on a normal day and jinx as she recalled was just pushing five two, some girls liked the height gap others detested it. 

She licked the tip of her thumb rubbing it into the smudge when a knock snapped her to attention, she knew she had not spent an hour and a half wasting time trying to get dressed. She pushed to her feet pulling her robe closer, the heel still clutched in her hand as she ran to the door, as she did she checked her watch frowning at the little hands. Only ten past five, she had plenty of time. She peered through the peephole, panic turning to anger as she threw open the door. 

“Jayce?” she demanded he looked up smiling wide and nudged past her she stared at his turned back “what are you doing here?” 

He shot her a grin over his shoulder holding up the two bags he held, the left clicking which told caitlyn it was probably filled with alcohol. He walked through her apartment easily slipping into her kitchen as caitlyn pushed the door closed with a slam. She rushed after him, dumping the heel down on her couch clutching her robe closed with one hand. Jayce was unloading the wine, pulling out a bottle with his right hand as he reached up with the left to free two glasses from the slip rack beside the fridge. He set them down and slid open the drawer. 

“I thought we could hang out” he said casually as he uncorked the wine and poured them both a rather generous helping. He shrugged and pushed the glass into her hand, setting the bottle down to move back to the unpacked groceries. 

“Well..” She was about to tell him she couldnt when he cut her off with a dramatic sigh, shoulders slumping as he leaned down against the counter top. 

“Mel kidnapped viktor, me and Vik were meant to be going over the repair plan for the hexgate but mel got a reminder for a reservation she made for tonight seven months ago at fiyeros, which I obviously hate” he ranted hands moving all over the place, voice wobbling as though he was about to cry. Jayce was always so dramatic when his partners decided to do anything alone, then he'd go back to normal, say he's joking and is happy for them and then return to his whining. She was sure that would probably have been her night, she had never been more thankful for a date in her life.

“And you know after what happened last time” Jayce added cryptically with a roll of his eyes setting his nearly empty wine glass down on the counter with a clack. Caitlyn who had been nodding along up till then paused. 

“What happened last time?” she asked, she'd never been there because the place had a weird ambiance of rich snotty couples who had been together five years and owned six houses together. Which seemed to fit mel and viktor too well. 

“The homophobic waiter” Jayce said as he reached under the counter for the pans, caitlyn felt even more confused. 

“When was this?” she asked, bracing her elbows against the counter as she cradled her head in her hands. 

“Three years ago, I know I know Jayce thats so long ago move on, it isn't that long ago and it feels like yesterday,” he whined making a pathetic attempt at her accent with  little laugh before he turned around and admitted “and also I was banned so it's not really a me thing, they are the ones who should move on” 

“You were banned from a restaurant?” Caitlyn asked, blinking up at him, Jayces ears were twinged red shoulders hunched before he sighed and turned nodding slightly. 

“Yeah I punched the guy remember, because he was really sexist and homophobic and he made fun of viktor after he poured wine down him which I still swear was on purpose” Jayce huffed, seemed pretty reasonable to caitlyn but then she had never really resorted to physical violence when dealing with bigots, she was rather level headed. She sighed and nodded. 

“Yeah that makes sense” she agreed, Jayce grinned no longer embarrassed but a little smug. 

“Anyway, Mel and Viktor are on a date together, without me. So I was like how am I gonna spend my night now? And I looked up what was in the cinema and the answer is nothing so unless you want to watch flesh eating zombie romcoms don't bother checking” Jayce informed which didn't really sound like Caitlyns cup of tea but was intriguing nonetheless.  

“Anyway I was like I want to cook and I haven't seen my favourite soon to be lawyer in so long” he dragged out the sooo into a drawn out motion deflating against the counter before he perked back up to smile at her. 

“It was last wednesday” she reminded him, he had made her pasta and they had online shopped whilst watching the newest episode of their firefighter drama. 

“Yeah ages” Jayce said, completely seriously. A week to him was ages, hell a few hours was years in his eyes. 

“Anyway, so here I am cooking you dinner” Jayce said jumping back up to full height, stopping to take in a deep breath when his eyes fell to her robe clutched to her chest, her hair tied up loosely in a style she wouldn't usually wear it in. 

“Are you going somewhere?” he asked hesitantly, his smile slipping into a frown and caitlyn was actually surprised mel hadn't told him. 

“Yeah I was trying to tell you” she said softly and Jayce hummed, reaching for his wine glass and finished it off before reaching for the bottle and taking a long gulp straight from the  spout. 

“Oh Jayce” she sighed, shaking her head and taking the bottle from his hand. 

“No no it's fine, everyone has plans but poor old Jayce, scientists are solitary creatures anyway i'll live, were like little moles” he whimpered pathetically and caitlyn could almost swear he was actually crying but she saw the way his eyes shone with glee and mischief, he was playing at her sympathy bone lucky for her it was busy daydreaming about her date. 

“You are so dramatic, it's just one night we can have dinner tomorrow, and we've got forty five minutes so we can drink the wine whilst I get ready” she explained taking the bottle and her glass and moving into the living room. Jayce seemed frozen for a moment, eyes flicking back and forth like he was doing some complex equation. Caitlyn didn't care, leaving him waiting in the kitchen as she moved back to her bedroom setting the bottle down on her vanity and moving back to her clothes set out and still undecided upon. 

“Wait! Forty five minutes? That's it? And you're not dressed, your hair isn't done and you're not wearing any makeup? Caitlyn kiramman this is not enough time” he whined looking around her room, to her clothes hung up and her shoes tossed and kicked around, makeup lined up on the vanity and her jewellery strewn around. 

“Oh I'll be fine, you choose my outfit and I will do my makeup and hair. Multitasking Jayce, i'm a woman im amazing at it” she said proudly pulling out her vanity seat and motioning to the clothes she had hung out. He looked down at her and sighed moving to look at her clothes. 

“Yeah okay that might work” he murmured, setting his glass down on the shelf inside her closet and pushing the clothes down the rack to look at them all individually. They were all so different, not a dress was similar, there was no clear theme. 

“Wait where are you going?” he asked as he eyed the long dress and the silk skirt, they were incredibly different so it couldn't be a gala or a dinner. 

“Art gallery, mel didnt tell ya?” she asked as she leaned into the mirror blending out her concealer under her eyes she peered over her shoulder to look at his reflection, he was staring intently between the two similar blouses before bawled them both up and tossed them aside. 

“No, Mel loves Viktor more than me so he probably knows” Jayce whined with a pout as he hung up the skirts back in her wardrobe now a little more focused on what to pick out and what to set back inside. He had been to his fair share of galleries with Mel so he had an idea what to wear. 

“Oh be serious, it's one night to use reservations at a restaurant you can’t even go to” caitlyn huffed as leaned into the mirror blending out her eyeshadow over her crease, tongue poking out past her tongue as she made quick work of the simple burgundy shadow, taking  moment to press her finger into a glittery white shade with a blue shift and press it into each corner of her eye blending it in slightly before she wiped her finger off on a wet wipe. 

“Yeah I'm so lucky to have them, they love me so much I'm the luckiest man alive” he sighed softly cradling his own cheek, caitlyn caught the way he was simply staring off into space and shook her head. 

“Okay focus we've got thirty five minutes” she huffed, clicking her fingers and Jayce jumped, nodding seriously and getting back to choosing her outfit. 

“Right right, sorry your majesty, so an art gallery huh? Not usually your scene and I know its not for an event” he asked curiously peeking over his shoulder holding up one of the dresses, this is why caitlyn had given him outfit duty because he had no clue about her predicament he wasn't dragged down by whether it was sending the right message or the conveying the right meanings it was just an outfit and it didn't mean anything besides making her look nice. 

“Uh no, it's a date” she admitted as she squinted her eyes as she tugged out eyeline a soft brown pencil and drew on a very careful wing before bringing the pencil under her eye and blending it out slightly with her pinky to give it a bit of a smoky look. She hummed, leaning back to look at it and smiling before moving to the other; she hadn't realised how silent it had been until she peered up and realised Jayce was staring at her with a small smile and wide eyes clutching the dress to his chest.

“A date!” he yelled softly when their eyes met, he was practically vibrating in place. She nodded. 

“Uh yeah” she said and he turned on his heels looking at the outfits left, five down three to go when he realised he was still clutching a dress. 

“Oh wow, a date, this dress is creased sorry” he said distantly though he didn't seem very sorry about the dress as he dropped it into the hamper sitting down hand pressed together in front of his lips. 

“Oh that was a nice one” caitlyn murmured, turning in her seat as she reached for a sip of her wine. Jayce gave a hum looking at her with a focused kind of mania in his eyes that unsettled something in her. She wasn't scared of what Jayce was gonna say, she knew that he was happy for her he was just fighting the war that was older brother protectiveness, sadly they had been here before, the first time she went on a date and he had to come to the terms she was gonna do that and he couldn't keep her a kid forever. 

“So a date. With who?” he asked, reaching for his pocket and drawing out his phone. Caitlyn sighed leaning back in her vanity chair. Did she tell him about jinx, she wanted to but she didn't know if she should. 

“Just a girl” she admitted casually moving back in front of her mirror to keep doing her makeup, Jayce scoffed as she reached for her mascara. 

“Ha! Just a girl, not just any girl would catch your attention, she must be something real special, is she tall? Sophisticated? Fellow soon to be lawyer? Or hell buff enforcer girl whose name seems to have failed me” Jayce asked, moving closer to the edge of his seat with every question. 

“She's not very tall, five three maybe, I wouldn't say very sophisticated or posh, she's got class that's for sure, but she's wasn't raised like us, she's from the undercity” caitlyn explained with a dismissive wave of her hand, as she brought the wand to her lashes and blinked over them dragging her lashes through the bristles and coating them making sure they weren't too clumpy as she went. Jayce was frowning now his curiosity peaked. That was not her type; typically she went for taller upper class girls like her, sporty and a little combative but sweet. 

“Is it vi? Did you finally say fuck it and make a marriage pact?” he asked tiredly, caitlyn frown tilting her head to look back at him over her shoulder. 

“A marriage pact?” she asked, he rolled his eyes. 

“Ya know, if we're both still single by thirty we get married” he explained completely seriously, caitlyn had a hard time imagining that was a real thing, who would want that, she guessed it made sense if you did it with a friend why bother dating when you can just marry your best friend. She wouldn't though, she and vi could never be married, they would fight too much. 

“No it's not vi, and i'm not even thirty” she huffed lips pursued as she turned back to her makeup. He chuckled leaning back against her bed hands resting over his face. 

“You will be soon, and marriage is a serious commitment but its alot easier when you marry a friend, I mean look at Vik and Mel they've been friends over fifteen years and they're marriage is great” Jayce explained, caitlyn paused eyeing him curiously 

“Did Mel and Viktor have a marriage pact?” she asked and he nodded 

“Oh yeah, they made it in their first year, they didn't start hooking up though till their third, and they didn't even get married because of the pact at thirty” he explained distantly and caitlyn hummed nodding along as she lined her lips with a nice deep red pencil.

“Well no it's not vi, it's actually…” she trailed off uncapping her lipstick and holding it there close to her lips “it's actually her sister” 

Jayce shot up mouth dropping open as she applied her lipstick with quick even strokes painting her lips red. 

“Vis sister?” he demanded and Caitlyn sighed reaching for her phone and pulled up Jinxs zaunagram pulling up the first image, Jinx hadn't put herself in any of the first images in a little bit and she didn't have the time to find one so she just decided he could scroll a little and get an idea. 

“Here” she said, passing her phone over as she returned to her makeup, recapping her lipstick and grabbing a gloss from the drawer. She hadn't thought she would need one but she had forgotten how drying this specific lipstick was on her lips. 

“Did you pick my outfit?” caitlyn asked as she moved to stand fixing her hair slightly as she moved to the drawer on the other side of the room. Jayce stiffened and gasped, jumping to his feet, phone still clutched in his hand as he grabbed the last dress from the rack, the first one Caitlyn had chosen at the start of this whole mess and held it out, hooking it by the vanity on a shelf. 

“Wear this” he commanded before he retook the bottle of wine and flopped back against the bed resting back against her covers with a grin as he kept scrolling through her pictures and aesthetically pleasing image curated in a way that was both mysterious and fun, before he stopped on one from earlier in the week of her in her first class seat with a glass of champagne set on the table as she made a heart with her hands. 

“Wait, you're dating jinx?” he asked casually, almost unsurprised which made an alarm go off in Caitlyns head. She frowned turning around to look at him as she held up a pair of earrings. 

“You know her?” she asked as she set the pair down, and opened the drawer below it to grab herself another watch. The one she was wearing was a bit of a man's watch with a thick leather strap and large square face. It was bulky and it did not match the dress so she grabbed another one, a smaller gold watch with a thin gold strap. 

“Cait, i'm the cofounder of a huge tech company, yes i've met her” he answered like it was the obvious because of cause she should know Jayce had met her. She rolled her eyes and reached into the drawer to tug out some gold bangles and a tennis bracelet before setting them down besides her earrings. 

“How? I mean where would you have met her?” she asked as she sweeped the jewelry off the vanity's edge into her waiting palm and cradled them back to her vanity before dumping them on its surface. 

“At galas, at events, progress days, and innovators conventions, and at her graduation for god sake” he listed off and it did make sense, she knew jinx was an inventor that she worked in the arms industry which was part of engineering hell her company wasn't even confined to simple weapons It was also an aerospace and military vehicles manufacturer as well, even though the main focus was their arms. 

“Right yeah she has a phd” she remembered before sh frowned, caitlyn was working on her law degree which had taken her the last three years, she knew viktor and Jayce both had phds and because of that she knew it took from seven to eight years because first you needed a masters and a bachelor's degree which took four years by themselves. 

“She's twenty two though, I mean I'm pretty good at math but aren't phds from start to finish like eight nine years?” Caitlyn asked with a frown, she didn't think there was a mistake, she’d googled Jinx and had seen her graduation photo at the university of Piltech U stood with heimerdinger so she knew she definitely had one. The math just seemed very odd. 

“Her father paid for her to attend college level chemistry classes at Piltech U when she was insanely young, we and viktor were in our final year at the time actually, viktor was assigned as her ta” Jayce explained which didn't really answer any of her questions just gave her more. How did Silco convince the university to let her attend university level classes? And how young was insanely young? 

“How young?” she asked as she turned back unclasping the backings of her earrings, Jayce frowned and thought for a long moment. 

“Like twelve I think, she had to have viktor with her all the time on campus because of t, then ya know obviously we graduated and he got a new one but we hung out with ehr a lot that year, she was great” Jayce said as he reminisced a fond smile on his lips. That was news to her, she wondered why he had never mentioned it to her, this seemed like something she would have liked to know about. 

“They let a twelve year old attend university classes in a lab of all places?” she asked pointedly and he nodded looking a little ashamed himself. 

“Well yeah it was either that or juvenile detention, and you know heimerdinger really liked her, said she had potential and baby jail wasn't really gonna do anything but snuff it out of her” Jayce explained absently, Caitlyns mouth dropped open as she stared at him, juvy, was this the incident vi hadn't wanted to talk about the ages lined up if she did the math, there was a five year age gap vi said the incident was a few months before she went to jail at seventeen that would have made jinx around twelve or so. 

“Juvy? For what? She was twelve” she huffed arms crossing as she waited for him to go on, she knew at this point she had enough information just to google it but she was starting to wonder why it seemed everyone else knew about this but she didn't. She wanted to know how much he knew before she went digging for herself. 

“I don't think I should tell you, I mean clearly you don't know” he admitted sheepishly rubbing at the back of his head as he reached for a sip of the wine, she hummed eyes narrowing. 

“I doubt it's that bad but I need to know I have a date with her in twenty minutes, was it murder? Did she kill someone?” She asked her voice flat but she was joking, vi would have told her if she had murdered someone, that was not something you conveniently forgot to mention about the sister you wanted to introduce she also probably would have found that In her search. 

“What? Murder? No!” Jayce was quick to deny shooting up, hand clutching the bottle close to his chest. 

“So what did she do then” she prompted and Jayce sighed, crossing his legs and setting the bottle down on the side table. 

“Created and detonated an explosive in a residential area resulting in serious injuries to several people and thousands in property damage” he admitted slowly his words careful and methodical and caitlyn felt like every single one of them tugged at her heart because what the hell. How the hell did a twelve year old make a bomb? How did none of the adults notice beforehand and prevent it? How did she get her hands on the materials to even make one in the first place? So many questions all of which she doubted Jayce had the answer to this time. She understood why vi would be angry now. There was something unfair about it but then what kind of punishment does one give a child. She sighed leaning back against the hard edge of her vanity. 

“Okay, well that's a lot” she murmured eyes glued down to the carpet, what was she meant to do now, she had fifteen minutes not like she could back out now. Not that she wanted to either, she had meant it when she told vi she didn't take her past actions as a reflection of who she was now. She couldn't tell vi that and then judge jinx on what she had done as a child that had completely turned the trajectory of her future on its head. 

“You really didn't know?” Jayce asked hesitantly, she shook her head and he nodded. 

“It was huge that year, everyone was talking about it, or well I guess everyone at Piltech was talking about it, bomber, genius, and she's twelve years old. Her court case was so sad, heimerdinger had dragged us to it, she brought her stuffed rabbit, judge took pity I guess” he explained sadly, he had been there sat in the back with heimerdinger as the man read through the confiscated notes for her inventions they were well planned and thought out but the plan wasn't for a bomb strong enough to flatten a house like it had become but to splatter paint. 

Caitlyn remembered the photo she had seen of jinx at Silcos trial the man leant back against the railing as he hugged that same stuffed rabbit, jinx had been nine at the time of his trial, she could imagine that same plump cheeked kid sat in his chair cheeks blotchy from tears as she hugged the rabbit, it made her heart pang with guilt, she was a kid, why hadn't anyone been watching her. 

“No, obviously I didn't know about this” she admitted coldly her eyes distant as she stared down at the rugs edge her hand gripping the golden earring so tight the backing was digging into her palm when another thought popped into her head her eyes snapped up tho Jayce “who was the judge?” 

“Not your mom if that's what you're worried about, yeah a kid making bomb was high in the court system but it was in the undercity so she put put before the undercitys supreme judge” he explained, caitlyn sighed the idea of her mother having worked on Jinxs case was overwhelming, she was so glad she hadn't worked on the case. 

“Oh my god and now she is a weapons designer” caitlyn murmured and Jayce nodded a little proudly. 

“Yeah, she's uh, she changed a lot, I mean it Cait she's not a bad kid, she swears she never intended to hurt anyone, she just wanted to make a small paint bomb, a controlled explosion to launch paint at a wall, that was is she just underestimated the power and she was working on it in her dusty attic” he explained softly, which made Cait smile, she knew Jinx wasn't bad, she also knew that she had a complicated childhood but had changed her life around. And if she was working on it in her attic and something had gone wrong a spark even small with enough kindling could become a blaze. 

“Highly flammable” she answered and Jayce nodded. 

“Yeah place caught quickly and the house caved in fire alarms were old” he explained sadly, there was a lot of factors that went into an accident, a whole lot of small things that built up until what was a small mistake became a life altering accident, one that would be in some eyes the final nail in a tumultuous relationship, she thought of vis anger when she had brought up the accident, know that she knew what had happened she understood to a point why she would be so angry. 

“People got hurt” vi had been hurt she was guessing, maybe even the boys and jinx herself. 

“Yeah, you're still gonna go?” Jayce asked sparring her a look, they both already knew the answer. Caitlyn nodded. 

“Yeah of course” she admitted softly, it was a decade ago, she wasn't meeting the jinx from ten years ago she was meeting the jinx of today, the arms ceo and the foster mom who liked to travel and paint. 

“See, it doesn't really matter” Jayce scoffed and she rolled her eyes moving to stand and grabbing the second bottle from the floor. 

“Still it's a pretty serious thing, it's good to know” she agreed as she uncorked the bottle and poured herself another glass, it hasn't changed anything for her, she still wanted to get t know jinx and she still wanted to know about it from jinx herself, wanted to hear from her what had happened in the lead up to the bomb and the explosion and what happened after. She wanted to know about her uni classes and her revolving door of tas and if she still caught up with viktor and if she knew mel, oh she hoped jinx didn't know mel, because mel had looked at a photo of her and seemed like she didn't know her, if that was a lie an act caitlyn would be so mad at her. 

“God I just can't believe you know jinx” she complained as she turned back in her chair to peer at herself in the mirror, she reached up undoing her hair from its clip and shook it out, the loose curls bouncy as she shook her head, she was gonna do a messy bun which seemed easy. She dumped out some pins on the table and grabbed a few elastics. 

“Yeah i'm surprised i've never mentioned her, I mean we don't talk much anymore but we do still talk” he admitted fondly as he retook Caitlyns phone and began to scroll through Jinxs zaunagram again, she didn't pay him much mind as he made absent comments. Caitlyn rugged her hair back into the messy bun before she began to pin it pulling at strands to loosen them and pinning others closer to her head, she was halfway done when a soft knock echoed from the living room, she frowned turning to look at Jayce a pin in her mouth and another clutched between fingers held to her hair when she heard it again. 

“Oh my god” she whispered, head falling down to slam against the table leaving a smudge of foundation as she jumped to her feet dumping the pins down on the vanity, she collected her jewellery and jumped to grab the dress from the hanger. 

“What?” Jayce asked, eying her as she toed through her shoes looking for a pair to wear with the dress. 

“I haven't finished my hair or put on my jewelry” she explained as she motioned to the door and Jayce frowned nodding, 

“Right yeah?” he asked and caitlyn sighed head tilting back as she rolled out her stiff neck. She peered down at her shoes and ducked down to grab a simple slingback pair of heels. 

“She's here” she admitted and Jayces eyes widened comically as he looked between her and the door in quick succession. 

“Oh and you're not ready” he murmured casually and she nodded, she was in a robe and her underwear of course she wasn't ready, she also couldn't let Jinx know she wasn't ready so she couldn't answer the door. She waved her shoes in the direction of the door and huffed when Jayce didn't seem to pick up what she was putting down. 

“Go answer the door” caitlyn yelled as she slipped into the bathroom, the door closing behind her. She dumped her shoes into the sink and set her jewellery down on the counter besides it, she hooked the dress over the shower and tugged open the sash of her robe, dumping it on the floor at her feet before she unzipped the back of the dress, she bundled up the fabric of the skirt and stepped into it pulling it up over legs and her hips before settling it using one hand to hold it up as she threaded her arm through the sleeve and then moved to the next. The zip was low on her back and came up right to the back of her neck which was a bit of a hassle to get up. She was glad she had tied her hair up for this because she would not have been able to deal with her hair and the zipper if she hadn't. 

She undid the latch of her wrist pressing the back of her arm against the face and pressing it with her pinky in place as she did the latch up, thankfully she had unclipped her earrings earlier but she hadn't taken out her everyday studs so now she had to wrestle the small bacings free and dump them onto the counter before replacing them with the gold tear earrings, they clipped in place easily and now all she had was the bracelets, she slipped two bangles on each before slipping a thin bracelet on her left with her watch and her tennis bracelet on her right. She stepped back admiring the outfit, classy and a little bland but it worked with her, and she did look amazing. She grabbed her shoes, setting them down on the tile and stepped into them, moving back into her bedroom and sitting down on the end of her bed to buckle them up. 

She could hear the distant chatter and her heart pounded in her chest as she swiped her lipstick and gloss from the vanity shoving them in the first purse she found a simple black shoulder bag with a buckle over the front in gold, she shoved her phone and purse inside slipping in the essentials like her compact and her pain meds and plasters before she rebuckled it and stood. She took a deep breath, her eyes focused on the bedroom door half cracked. She pulled it open and peered around, jinx was standing in the doorway her hands resting In her pockets and when she heard the door she looked up and smiled, her cheeks slightly pink and her grin lazy but amused, Caitlyns heart stopped and she smiled back. 

Chapter Text

Jinx stood in Caitlyn's small entryway, hands shoved into the pockets of her dark brown corduroy bell bottoms slouching casually. Her grin turned lopsided when she saw her, head turning to rest against her shoulder as her eyes slipped down to take in Caitlyn's dress. She shifted it slightly, fingers tugging at the waist. 

Caitlyn's first thought about Jinx's outfit was the panicked thought that she herself had over dressed, her casual bell bottoms, a small patch at the ankle in dark orange thread bunching over chunky heeled boots. Their leather polished to a shine and a small red heart charm threaded onto her rust red laces. The three inch platforms elevated her and Caitlyn was thankful for it because her neck wouldn't ache so much from looking down all night. 

“You ready?” Jinx asked softly and Caitlyn blinked, considering it a moment, she had her purse with all of her essentials, her shoes on and her dress done up all the way, she nodded but as she did a piece of her hair fell from where she had haphazardly thrown it up. She sighed, reaching up to tuck it behind her ear. 

“Uh no, one moment let me add one last pin to my hair” Caitlyn murmured motioning to the loose curls and Jinx nodded eagerly. 

“That's okay, take your time” Jinx shrugged her eyes flicking between her eyes and down, now that Mel had pointed it out Caitlyn couldn't help but notice the soft blush at the top of her cheekbones as she shamelessly checked her out.  she chuckled softly to herself, turning to her hallway mirror. She pulled a pin free and fixed the strand in place pushing the others in a little bit further and moving them just so. Her eyes fell behind her, peering over her shoulder to where Jinx was stood, her back straighter, shoulders relaxed but posed. Caitlyns eyes dropped, her shirt was a billowing chiffon blouse with a plunging v-neck so deep she caught the soft dip of her belly button between the soft ruffles along the hem, with cord ties at the collar that hung down to her mid thigh. Caitlyn imagined using them to pull her in, fingers tangled around the cord as she used them as leverage to keep Jinx pressed to her. 

The top was so sheer she could see straight through to her blue cloud tattoo that running along her side, saw the way it dipped and curled over her arm and down over the top of her breast before disappearing under the low neckline of the lace cami beneath. Caitlyn blinked back to her own reflection, eyeing her reddening cheeks and her widening pupils it was rather insane how something so innocent could affect her, her tongue darted out to wet her drying lips as she reached for her purse on the table retrieving her lip gloss and unscrewing it as her eyes drifted back behind her. She traced Jinx's chunky silver jewellery, the thick stack of jingling bangles and the heavy pendant that sat between the two sides of the neck line. A short but just as large pendant hung just at her collar bone. 

Jinx had tied her hair back but a few strands of her bangs were hanging loose either side of her face, the tips resting over her shoulders, most of her azure hair was tied in two braids that sat high at the back of her head adorned with silver clasps and cuffs swishing with a mind of their home as she slowly swayed in place. 

Caitlyn saw the movement of her mouth heard the words shared between old friends but made no sense of them, nodding along distantly as she swiped the wand of her lip gloss across her lower lip, her thoughts drifting back to the tattoo spread across her chest, to the blue swirling clouds that disappeared under her shirt and out of her vision, she wanted to trace it with her tongue, wanted to map how far it went with kisses and she thinks she could convince Jinx to let her. Maybe if she did well enough on their date she could have her here, on the very couch the other was stood beside, that same night. 

Caitlyn chuckled darkly shaking her head as she pressed her lips together spreading the gloss between her lips, she peered over her shoulder in her reflection and caught the way Jinx's eyes had followed her movements, the way they caught on her lower back followed the curve of her spine as she leaned over the table, her hips pressed into the hard edge pushing out her arse. Caitlyns grin only grew as she slipped her gloss back in her back and turned leaning back against the table, her hand braced on its edge to cock out her hip. 

“You look lovely” Jinx choked her eyes darting up to meet Caitlyn's eyes, Caitlyn lifted a brow nodding. She had sort of guessed that by Jinx's reaction but it was nice to get her verbal approval as well. 

“You do as well, though I feel overdressed, we look like were going to very different places” Caitlyn commented her eyes dipping purposefully down Jinx's outfit, she wasn't sure where Jinx was going, but where Caitlyn was dressed formally Jinx's outfit was a lot more casual, she could see her going to a movie, or a brewery even. Still she looked nice. She wasn't so dressed up she looked stuffy or stiff, or as though she was putting on a front for her. Caitlyn could see her wearing something like this to one of her fashion shows and posting about it along the catwalks front row. still Caitlyn would have enjoyed seeing her in a suit. Would have enjoyed getting her out of it as well. Jinxs head fell, her chin resting against her chest and she shrugged. 

“Yeah that happens a lot to me, I promise you're dressed fine, you're dressed very nicely, very lovely you do look lovely” Jinx stuttered her eyes tracking down the dress, it wasn't anything special but she supposed it was a bit of an older piece, clinging to her in all the right places tailored to emphasis them. It complimented her hair and brought out her eyes. 

“I know, you said” she reminded softly and Jinx's eyes widened, freezing for a moment before she gave a curt nod. 

“I did, well I had to say it again” she admitted walking forward her hands shoving deeper into her pocket and balling into firsts, stopping herself from doing the inappropriate thing of reaching out. From pulling the strand hooked over her ear out in front of her face. For a moment neither of them said anything basking in the other's eyes greedily taking in the view when a throat cleared and they both blinked up. 

Jayce was sat on the couch’s edge, arms crossed over his chest, phone propped against the crease of his elbow, Caitlyn rolled her eyes, she knew demanding he delete whatever photos or videos he'd taken was pointless. He was grinning madly, his dimples popping and Caitlyn already knew she was in for an earful when she got back, demanding every single detail, her every thought from her to the end of the night. There was a stereotype that the socialites of high society were drama obsessed gossips, Jayce was an honorary member of those socialite crowds and the stereotype was true. 

“So” he drew out wiggling his brows with a smirk, “where ya heading?” 

Jinx shrugged her eyes flicking between the pair a little nervously, Caitlyn looked at her expectantly, she had an idea but maybe now Jinx would finally tell her where exactly they were heading, which gallery it was and hopefully which it wasn't. 

“Art gallery” she admitted blankly, Caitlyn sighed her hand reaching up to cover her face as she chuckled softly into her palm. 

“Oh? Which one?” Jayce asked, Jinx snorted, rocking slightly on her toes as Caitlyn peered through slightly parted fingers at her. 

“She won't say” Caitlyn stated with a shrug, Jinx grinned widely flashing her pearly white teeth mischief brewing in her eyes. Oh she was having so much fun keeping her little secret, she knew that whether she told Caitlyn or not the other would have a good time, but the suspense was the best part, it prevented her from looking it up and spoiling the exhibit. 

“You're gonna kill me” Caitlyn murmured to Jinx's pure delight her smug grin turned proud as she stood taller. 

“Well don't die before we get there, then you'll never find out and you'll be in the afterlife not knowing which would simple be tragic” Jinx remarked teasingly, her lips spreading to reveal sharp white teeth, Caitlyn's eyes fell to her thin upper lip, to the small scar over her cupids bow, she had painted her lips a soft maroon a shade similar to the eyeliner she had sharply applied across her top and bottom lid. 

“I can't promise anything, so much could happen from here to the exhibit, maybe you should tell me you know” she stepped forward fixing the cord that had tangled with the chain of Jinx's necklace her finger brushing over the soft skin beneath, “just in case” 

Jinx swallowed, her chest stuttering as she opened her mouth to respond before closing it again when nothing came out, she thought the power had gone out in her brain, that seemed to happen a lot recently. Alot where Caitlyn was concerned anyway, she shrugged head shaking, very tempted to tell her. 

“No” she whispered weakly, her lips curling down into an exaggerated pout, her bright blue eyes wide and unblinking. 

“No? Can't be convinced?” Caitlyn asked though she didn't really care anymore, she’d find out in time her patience suddenly renewed knowing that the wait would soon be over and she'd be rewarded for it shortly, she just liked teasing the other now, she liked the pink blush across her cheeks the way she lost her words and the eloquent genius seemed so much more tangible. She could confirm it even more by the warmth of her skin under her finger, the latest graze made the shorter twitch, so reactive to the softest of touches Caitlyn wondered just how reactive. 

“Well that sounds lovely, promise i'll get those groceries in the fridge and lock up on my way out” Jayce said loudly snapping them from their little bubble, Jinx seemed to have the biggest reaction jumping away her hand shooting up to rub at her neck as she smiled. Caitlyn hummed her eyes following every one of her smallest movements, the way she averted her eyes down kicking her shoes just slightly against the wood floors, the way she laughed soundlessly under her breath. 

“Thank you, Jayce, you know where the spare is?” Caitlyn asked as she reached for the door and Jayce nodded humming loudly his eyes filled with glee, she rolled her eyes as she tugged open the door holding it open for Jinx to slip out, she stepped into the hallway her hands moving down to shove back into her pockets, keys jingling as she wrapped her fingers around the fob. Caitlyns hand fell from the frame as she reached for her purse and followed her out, Jayce came to stand at the door leaning against the frame, his maniacal grin gone, replaced with just a fond smile that was less annoying to see. 

“Enjoy your night” Jayce said genuinely and Caitlyn smiled back. 

“Yeah we will” Jinx said, eyes flicking down the hall to the elevator, she sounded so confident, Caitlyn had seen the residual nervousness earlier but now all that was left with a knowing assurance that nothing could go wrong, it settled her and intrigued her in equal measures, she wasn't sure how she could be so sure they'd have fun but she trusted Jinx to be right. Caitlyn shot him a smile motioing for him to close the door and Jayce looked offended for a split second before he did. She bet he was pressing his ear to the peephole to listen to their conversation still so Caitlyn reached out her hand warm on the jins lower back and urged her down the hall. 

“Oh will we now, so much confidence” Caitlyn noted a brow raised in question. 

“I'd be shocked if you didn't have a good time, but you know the rules if you don't, you get a refund and a coupon for another date” Jinx said jokingly her voice raising ever so and Caitlyn hummed nodding as they approached the elevator. She reached out pressing the ground floor her,

“So wait what do I get if I do enjoy the date? If not enjoying it gets me the coupon for the second?” she asked and Jinx paused, head tilting to rest against her shoulder as she considered. She seemed perplexed, eyes narrowing as she let out a soft huh. 

“A good time, and next time you just pay full price,” Jinx said grimacing and Caitlyn snorted, nodding. Jinx cringed at the suggestion that Caitlyn would have to pay for the next day, that wasn't the right thing to say was it. 

“Ah seems fair” Caitlyn remarked softly as the elevator opened and she stepped into the metal box, her eye turning to look out the window, it was late enough that the sky had darkened but not so late the sun was setting, she would not get in before dark though, oh what would her mother say if she saw her breaking curfew. 

“So if you can't tell me where we are going, what can you tell me?” Cait asked, turning to Jinx who'd taken to leaning against the railing, her eyes focused out the window, her head tilted, eyes peeking at her curiously before she shrugged. 

“Well I know the artist, we were in school together, she works in oils with a very painterly like style but this is not a traditional art gallery or display, her paintings will be on show in an unconventional way” Jinx explained cryptically nodding along, Caitlyn felt even more confused than she had started, because what exactly was an unconventional method of display. What made the exhibit untraditional, oils were one of the most common and oldest styles she knew they had been used in various unorthodox ways but if Jinx even thought it unconventional maybe she had developed some new and unheard of technique. 

“That was so vague, it tells me nothing” Caitlyn admitted and Jinx smirked looking oh so smug. Caitlyn was starting to think maybe she just lived in perpetual smugness, knowing she was full of secrets and reveling in keeping them. 

“I know isn't it great how much you can you can say without saying anything” Jinx admitted curiously, so much she could have said about the artist, her upbringing, her life, and so much to say about her art, its style, colour, pattern, and the themes, and yet she was choosing not to say anything at all, because just telling her a little was telling her a lot. A simple indicator of the colour palette and its development throughout the exhibit would give It away. 

“Anything else?” Caitlyn asked stepping forward and Jinx turned herself full to face Caitlyn, their shoes bumping together softly, with Jinx leant back it made her so much shorter forcing her to crane her head up the crown of her head bumping against the elevator wall.

“It's really extraordinary” Jinx admitted, Caitlyn went to ask but the elaborate dinged and they came to a halt, the doors opening slowly and people stood waiting for it. So Caitlyn shut her mouth and walked out Jinx close at her side, Jinx tugged her keys out from her pocket reaching for the heavy glass door in the lobby and held it open for Caitlyn. So polite and very gentlemanly she thought as she descended the few short stairs from her building, she turned to the street, eyes glancing down each way, she wasn't sure what she imagined Jinx driving, maybe some sort of big jeep or fancy electric car like Jayce sported. Maybe something more classy. She wasn't expecting Jinx to have parked in the drop off area and left her car parked there the good twenty minutes she had waited for her. She caught the annoyed look from the bellboy as Jinx unlocked her car. 

The vintage soft top convertible was a dusty pink and the top a light beige. Jinx moved to the passenger door and opened it for her, her hand held out invitingly. Caitlyn moved her bag over her shoulder and took her hand stepping into the low car, for such a small looking car it was much roomier on the inside, the vintage interior gutted and replaced with a more modern one. Beige suede seats and a center console that ran along the middle of the car curling up to join the dashboard. Caitlyn rested her purse by the center console as she pulled her leg into the car, her hand tightening around Jinxs for a moment before she let go, reaching down to fix her skirt as Jinx closed the door. 

Caitlyn took the moment to look around the inside of the car, to the small hanging ornament over the mirror a plush star holding a heart, to the little frog sat on an air vent sipping on a coffee. her eyes fell to the small compartment in the door, some girls would expect maybe to see another girls lipgloss or a fake nail, a small sign that their date was already taken, in Jinxs was a small bottle of bubbles and a dinosaur broken off from the lid, not a sign Jinx had a secret girlfriend but a reminder that she was still a parent. She had a child who Caitlyn could now make the assumption liked dinosaurs. She would have to brush up on some facts so if she ever got the chance to meet her she could amaze her with her intelligence. 

Caitlyns smiled her hand reaching into the compartment to turn the light green dinosaur up right. She was holding it in her lap when the door opened and Caitlyn quickly put it back, turning in her seat to face Jinx. 

Jinx slipped seamlessly into her seat, relaxing back into the suede seat elbow resting on the console, she slipped the key into the ignition before it dropped down to rest on the shift. Caitlyns eyes followed every movement as they pulled out of drop off, joining back onto the road. She shifted in her seat, her knee pressed to the console. 

Jinx drove with such a confident nonchalance her eyes focused on the road with a laser like precision. Caitlyn was too enamoured to talk leaning back against the headrest watching her closely. For a while Jinx didn't seem to notice so focused on the directions and the turns she didn't look over, when she glanced out of the corner of her eye as they turned left Jinx turned catching her staring, Caitlyn wasn't embarrassed to be caught and smiled, Jinx's cheeks burned bright red as she smiled awkwardly. 

“Uh hi” she chuckled awkwardly, suddenly straightening in her seat hand squeezing tighter around the wheel. Caitlyn thought it was cute how embarrassed she got, how her cheeks went from pale to bright pink in milliseconds, how she uncurled herself to sit straighter as though her posture would bother Caitlyn, though Caitlyn could understand. She was very particular about her own posture sitting straight at all times because of the years worth of etiquette classes her mother had sent her to, she had learnt all the ways to sit and stand and walk like a lady should. She quite liked the way Jinx moved and posed herself with her fluid grace. Her hunched shoulders and her spread out form made her look relaxed and confident. There was a power in her nonchalance that signaled how little peoples opinions mattered to her. And yet she uncurled for Caitlyns. People's opinions don't matter enough but Caitlyns did. That made her feel warm. (R)

“I dont think ive ever been in this area” Caitlyn admitted looking out at the small town passing by their windows, they were getting to the outskirts of the city at the base of the mountains, she thinks maybe she had been to the lakes around her a few times, not enough to really know exactly where they were but enough to get that familiar hazy feeling. 

“Wanna tell me where you're taking us?” she asked though she already knew Jinx wasn't gonna. 

“Nope you'll have to see” Jinx said as she made another turn, they were driving through a sleepy town, it looked peaceful, people were walking their dogs down the street holding take away cups of coffee, there was no sidewalk traffic, no rushing to get places just a slow steady stroll on the nice warm afternoon. Caitlyn would like to live in a place like this one day, walking a dog or two smiling at familiar faces. As they passed by a store front, Caitlyn caught the reflection of Jinx's car in the window, spotted the way heads turned to look at it curiously, she guessed it wasnt every day they saw such a colour on a car. It was a rather specific shade of pink. 

“I like your car” Caitlyn blurted out as she rested her elbow against the door hand resting in her palm as she turned back to look at Jinx. 

“Thank you, I bought it after I passed my test, Silco gave me some money to buy a car and I was going to be really cliche, get a sports car ya know, something really fast and cool, get it wrapped bright green and paint it to look like toxic gas” Jinx admitted dreamily, Caitlyn could imagine it but she wasn't as big a fan of it as she was the convertible, she wasn't much of a fan of sports cars. Jinx grimaced, shrugging a shoulder as she changed gears turning to look at her over her arm. 

“Then I saw the kinds of guys driving sports cars” Jinx groaned solemnly, Caitlyn knew the kinds. They were the obnoxious trust fund boys who didn't believe In road safety or the men trying to recapture their lost youths balding and grey with too many kids to fit in such a low two seater. 

“Old rich men?” Caitlyn asked and Jinx nodded, face scrunched up. Yeah there were no rules about who could drive what cars but there was a stereotype that people were hard pressed to let go of. 

“Yeah my enemies” Jinx admitted, her voice filled with pure venom. Caitlyn hummed nodding but without really understanding, Caitlyn's enemy was her supervisor Eda, which seemed par for the course when it came to real world enemies, sadly there were no super villains out to ruin their lives. 

“Your enemies are old rich men?” Caitlyn asked and Jinx shot her a look like it was the most obvious thing in the world. 

“Yeah who else would it be?” Jinx snorted to her it must seem so obvious but Caitlyn could guess she was missing a lot of context to why Jinx held this specific bias. Maybe she'd learn on their date, or maybe there isn't an answer. Maybe Jinx simply woke up one day hating old rich guys and decided why not. 

“Well I saw an ad for a vintage car show, with car races, live auctions and free food and drinks, seemed right up my alley so I went hated most of the cars there, but then they brought out this one” Jinx seemed lost in thought her eyes distant and nostalgic as she thought about the day, the warm weather the fancy cars and their enthusiastic owners most of which were too passionate about their cars to hold any pretentious or sexist thoughts, they didn't care who was asking just as long as they got to answer in long and elaborate details, “oh I fought tooth and nail for this car” 

“How much did it cost you?” Caitlyn asked, her eyes narrowed, the car was nice, it was sleek and it was in a very special colour, she could guess it had cost a pretty penny. Jinx's grimace confirmed it, her drawn out hum as she turned away from her head ducked slightly. 

“A Lot more than Silco gave me to begin with” she admitted sheepishly, her head hung low as she turned away. 

“Oh he mustn't have been happy about that” Caitlyn teased, her mother had hammered into her from a young age the value of money and a good budget, of course her idea of a budget was probably a lot more than the average persons but Caitlyn had never once overspent on anything, sure she had splurged but she had done so thoughtfully and if she had a set amount she wouldn't even look at anything over it. She was intrigued by Jinx's nonchalance with money, maybe it was a new money kind of mindset that Caitlyn couldn't understand or maybe it was just a Jinx thing. 

“He was more annoyed about having to drive three hours to the event from work to pay for it” Jinx admitted fondly, the ease which she talked about him in comparison to the harsh venom Vi hissed caught her. She thought of the hatred Vi was harboring the things he had done, the verbal abuse, the goading, the crimes. She didn't doubt he had done all of it but it seemed he had also been a decent dad as well, a dad who'd drive three hours to lend his daughter money to buy her dream car, who’d already given her a set amount to begin with. 

“Do you know how to drive?” Jinx asked snapping Caitlyn from her thoughts, from the spiraling rabbit hole that was trying to understand the lane/ duarte family dynamics. She realised after a moment she had been asked a question. 

“Uh no” she admitted, not for any better reason that she had no need. There was no trauma or fears around vehicles or cars, she just hadn't ever needed to and so she never learned. A perk of living in the heart of Piltover, there was ample public transport and everything was within walking distance. 

“Im pretty fortunate to live in an area that's walkable, there's three grocery stores within a fifteen minute walk from my place, my work is a twenty minute train ride away and if I do need to go anywhere that's a little out of the way I can catch a cab” she explained, there was also corner stores around her area, several cafes and boutiques if she needed clothes or gifts or anything. 

“That's good, public transport is very valuable I wish I could use It more but I like driving, gives me a lot of freedom and well my work is out of the city” Jinx said the last part catching Caits attention more than anything else, Piltover and the undercity had pretty lively science districts, with a lot of factories and laboratories she wondered why Jinx hadn’t moved the headquarters into one of those. 

“Oh it is?” Caitlyn frowned, wondering where outside the city it could be, though she doubted she would be able to guess, something told her that the headquarters would be a well kept secret for safety purposes.

“Uh yeah about an hour's drive out of the city. The nature of my work being very dangerous and also a possible target by other countries means there is a legal limit to how close we can be to the city, I think it's like twenty miles” Jinx explained a little excitedly, that was also a reason why there was a science district to begin with because there were certain rules to where they could be located, not near any public water reservoirs or lakes, not near residential areas. And so many more, that's why the founders of her company had built it so far out of the city and expanded in the opposite direction so just on the off chance their dangerous experimentation went wrong there wasn't a risk to anyone in the near vicinity. Jinx had been annoyed at first by the drive but she was so used to driving it every morning that she just enjoyed it now, wasn't often she got to simply enjoy her time blasting her own music with all the vulgar lyrics she wanted. 

“I wasn't aware there were any rules about that, I mean Hextechs headquarters are pretty central in Piltover” Caitlyn wondered if that was because Jayce was a counselor and had decided to bend the rules for himself a little or if there was more nuisance to it than she could pick up on. 

“Yeah nice building as well, I commissioned the same architect to build one of our buildings a few months back, but that's besides the point sorry uh yeah Hextech is a biomedical engineering firm, its focus is less volatile in nature” Jinx said with a little pout, she wondered how much Jinx knew about Hextech, Jayce had said they'd met Jinx in their final year at the academy, the same year Jayce and viktor had been setting the foundations for Hextech as a company, as an actual business they could profit off, she wondered if Jinx had any influence over it. 

“I wouldn't say that I mean Hextech itself can be very dangerous,” Caitlyn commented thinking of the lab explosions Jayce had told her about, the particularly terrifying explosion she herself had witnessed, the scars on both Viktor and Jayce from its power. 

“Yes but they have designed around their containment, Jayce and Viktor spent the first three years of Hextech working on its safety, not that they're using it for any dangerous reasons” Jinx explained which was true, after the explosion that almost got Jayce expelled and he and Viktor had started working on it, Jayce had gone full safety mode, there was no room for error there was no world in which he would risk anyone getting hurt again, not himself and not Viktor for that matter, so the safety measures in place were elaborate and ironclad. 

“No Jayce despises the idea of using hextech for the purpose of weaponry” Caitlyn added with a scoff, she understood why, Jayce was a pacifist, he didn't believe in violence for violence sake, was very anti-war and was the most vocal about gun control in Piltover. Made him quite the party guest at hunting parties. 

“Oh I know, why’d you think he realised it could be used for that anyway?” Jinx asked produly giving her a smirk which made Caitlyn pause, she had thought she had been but now she was guessing Jinx had beat her to it. 

“You?” Caitlyn asked suspiciously and Jinxs smirk only grew sharp canines poking out past her lip. 

“I made a few… designs around harnessing their power for weaponry, Jayce hated it and pivoted in the complete opposite direction and now Hextech only makes medical equipment” Jinx admitted a little bit fondly though her voice was twinged with a slight bit of guilt. Caitlyn had once mentioned its potential after a lab explosion, Jayce had put his hand on her shoulder and told her he would never use the power they had been gifted for any such purposes, not even in Piltover's direst times. 

“Well anyway yeah I design weapons, I make and test bombs, I work with unstable elements and have testing labs working on harnessing nuclear power, things go boom a lot and when they do I'd rather the only people close by are the people wearing full protective gear” Jinx explained softly, Caitlyn wanted to know more about Jinx's work, wanted to ask more questions but their drive had been long enough and it seemed it was coming to an end as Jinx said “looks like were here” 

Caitlyns head snapped up on top of the hill they were climbing was a rather large and very ornate cathedral, its blackened stone walls ominous as the cathedral loomed over the village below. Jinx pulled up to the valet and put the car in park, hand reaching to unbuckle herself. Caitlyn was slightly worried a moment as she stared past Jinx to the cathedrals steep stone stairs. Jinx got out first pressing the keys into a woman's hand. Caitlyn sat for a moment unbuckling herself slowly and reaching down for her bag, Caitlyn's hand rested on her door when it opened, Jinx stood at its side, her hand held out for Caitlyn to take. 

Caitlyn took it stepping out with a little huff as her heel wobbled on the uneven ground, she stood tall slipping her bag  up her arm as Jinx closed the door. They walked around the car hand in hand and a moment later it was being driven away and with it Caitlyn's anxiety ramped up. 

Caitlyn eyed the large archway as they stepped up to the steps, her eyes taking in the carved angels in the stone, the elaborately carved pillars eroding away with age. Caitlyn had never been much of a church goer, she didn't believe in any religion and she hadn't thought Jinx did either, her frown deepened and Jinx paused a step away feeling her frozen. 

“Don't tell me you'll burn if we step inside?” Jinx teased and Caitlyn turned to her blankly, her eyes shifting from her to the cathedral and back. Jinx seemed to grow a little scared, her shoulders raised as she waited. 

“We're not attending a service if that's what you're worried about I swear, just an exhibit that happens to be in a church” Jinx explained softly, her hand giving a squeeze and Caitlyn hummed, taking a step towards her and squeezing her hand in return. 

“It's fine, just a little unsure” she admitted walking up the steps with Jinx . 

“You should know by now not to judge a book by its cover” Jinx murmured softly Caitlyn knew she was right she was judging it preemptively. The large arched doors were open to reveal two glass doorways and inside a small reception area, with split archways on either end but were people were going in to their left others were leaving from the right, she plucked a pamphlet from the stand by the door as Jinx walked the up to the counter, the woman sat at the desk opened her mouth to greet them but before she could Jinx set her invitation down on the counter. 

“Huh” she huffed taking the pass and reading it with narrowed eyes before she paused stilling, Caitlyn watched in fascination as the colour drained from her face and she pushed her rolling chair back standing with a flourish to grab a key from the side, she set the small card in a scanner before removing it with a beep. A small blue box was set aside and she reached for it, opening it with a tug to reveal two lanyards inside. She took the two in hand and moved back to the desk, her smile wide and so fake it made Caitlyn's skin crawl, she set the lanyards delicately down on the desks edge. 

“Please enjoy the exhibit miss Duarte” she said pointedly her tight smile widening to show off her perfectly straight teeth and Jinx smiled back before taking the passes, Caitlyn knew she was missing something in the interaction, there was something so pointedly scared in the womans face that had come from the small invitation Jinx had handed her. Had it said something on it. She shrugged her grip on Jinx's hand loosening but Jinx’s only tightened as she brought the pass up over her head with one hand before she finally did take her hand back to unclasp the other lanyard and moved around Caitlyn to clip it around her neck her fingers warm on her skin as she flattened it out.

Jinx moved back to her side to do the same to her own, pulling her hair through the lanyard strap the long braids looped over her arm and despite being raised over her head still  came down to the tops of her thighs swaying like silk in the wind as the cuffs and the rings clicked together every time they collided with a dull thud. Caitlyn had always been curious about their weight, she wondered how long it took to manage and braid, how much she spent on shampoo and conditioner and whether she used some fancy brand. 

Jinx moved around her one hand resting on the badge on her lanyard, Caitlyn was quick to follow her to the left archway which led out to a short hallway the right wall a white plaster that Caitlyn could assume was an addition, she was getting the sense this wasn't a working cathedral, there was likely no services held here or any kind of procession. She looked down at the pamphlet in her hand and opened it, her eyes skimming over the details about the remodeling the church underwent in recent years, the anonymous donation that allowed them to rebuild in the first place after the fire. She was so absorbed in the short blurb she didn't notice when Jinx stopped and Caitlyn nudged into her side blinking down at her, Jinx snorted quietly, plucking the pamphlet from her hand and folded it into her pocket. 

“The exhibit starts here” Jinx said pointing to the long rectangular room brightly lit. Caitlyn looked up, eyes widening as she took it all in. On the walls were projections of the art, their colours bright and vivid but the telltale signs of a projection dampened them just a tiny bit as they glowed against the grey stone behind them. All of the paintings were a series of the same room, they appeared to be stood in a little stone courtyard in some countryside villa. With vines crawling up the exposed yellow painted brick, bright white flowers bloomed across the vines up to wood window sills, windows half open with a fruit pie resting inside. In another projections there was a small green metal bench, a watering can set on the bench, a bouquet tied with twine inside of it, and a basket resting on the floor filled with lemons and oranges. All of the projections were one big scene only broken up by the silver frames that projected on the pillars dotted around the room, one of the largest projections on the back wall though had a golden frame, Caitlyn guessed it was the focal point. 

Caitlyn was shocked, her eyes wide as she turned around on the spot taking it all in again and again, she took in every flower and every painterly brush stroke that made them up, there was a very obvious style with exaggerated brushstrokes and bold colours. It was so immersive, Caitlyn had grown up going to her grandmother's countryside home and this made her think back on those warm summer mornings, the baskets of fruit hand picked by the help from the orchards that stretched across the hills, the bees small and pesky flying around the flowers. 

“Its lovely” Caitlyn whispered breathlessly, she had seen a lot of art in her search to deduce which gallery Jinx would take her to, she had expected something more like Jinx's interest, the abstract art with unusual textures and materials or the gruesome and gory renaissance art. This was unusual, the projection of the art was different and the first time Caitlyn had ever seen anything like it. But it hadn’t seemed up Jinxs alley but It was definitely up hers. She loved this kind of art, she loved the brush strokes and the bold colours and the way which they made her reminiscent of her childhood and the grandparents that had passed. She reached out her finger brushing against the wall, the art distorting around her hand causing the wall to appear behind it. The stone was warm to her touch, likely from the projector spending hours focused on it, she turned her eyes canvasing the surrounding area in search of where it was coming from, her curiosity peaked. 

“How?” she asked as she moved her hand back to where there was no colour on her fingers before moving it back causing the projection to curl around her palm the white flower cupped in her grasp. 

“The projectors are tiny and hidden in the floor,” Jinx explained, softly tapping her foot besides a small notch a foot away from the wall close enough not to be stepped on or stepped in front of to obscure the image. Caitlyn spotted all eight of them on the floor and nodded. They looked like small golden nails uninteresting and very easy to pass over. She looked up and found Jinx leant against a pillar, her hands shoved back into her pockets as she smiled on sweetly. She didn't seem bored or uninterested, just simply relaxed. 

Caitlyns worries disappeared, the weight lifting off her chest and all that remained was adoration, she was so grateful Jinx had brought her here, that she had shown her this because it was extraordinary. She wanted to reach out and take her cheek in her palm and kiss her, she wanted to hug her so tight and thank her profusely for bringing her here. 

Caitlyn swallowed thickly and held herself back from doing so, she had to remind herself this was the first room which was probably a little too soon. 

“Is it all like this? The entire cathedral?” Caitlyn asked as a way of distracting herself, Jinx shrugged pouting slightly. 

“Well no, but yes, most of the rooms are like this but some are not, there is a cohesive theming to them but there are some rooms which are more interactive” Jinx explained vaguely her hands coming out of her pocket to cross over her chest as she pushed off from the pillar. They lulled into silence as Caitlyn considered what to talk about, she had not been on a first date in so long she wasn't sure what the appropriate topics were. 

“You said you know the artist?” Caitlyn prompted, and Jinx blushed head ducking as she nodded. 

“We were at Piltech together, she was working on lasers and wanted to test how small she could make projection tech. A lot of our classes had these big bulky projectors hanging from the ceiling. she thought she could make them smaller and more convenient” Jinx explained excitedly her words picking up in speed as she recalled the familiar details of her schooling days, Caitlyn wondered if she was allowed to ask more about it, if she herself could even ask without edging too close to the incident. Vi didn't seem to want to talk about it so she doubted Jinx would either. Or maybe she would, Jinx already seemed more forthcoming than Vi, her questions eagerly answered, besides the one Caitlyn had been asking. She understood more now why Jinx would keep this to herself, there was something about the surprise that made it feel even better. 

“The paintings in the golden frames were made by her mom before she passed,” Jinx said, turning to look at the big projection on the back wall, Caitlyn turned with her, chest sinking as she looked at the biggest projection that had caught her eyes for a split second earlier but not registered. The painting was of a large half fountain that sprayed water up, a small child sat at its side hand reaching in for a duck floating along the water. 

“They're lovely,” Caitlyn said softly and Jinx nodded her eyes skating around the room, taking in the various pieces with consideration. 

“Yeah they are,” Jinx agreed with a lopsided smile.

“Onto the next room?” Caitlyn asked turning to look around the walls for the door, there was a short archway on the back wall and through it she could make out the dimmer lighting and the painted fields. There was a painting on the doorway of a yellow stone archway and an iron grate fence opened across it,  rusty old keys dangling from the lock. She reached behind her turning to peer over her shoulder to find Jinx looking up at the arched ceiling, there was another projection up there too, of painted clouds and bright blue skies the walls above were draped in long grey curtains which gave the illusion the wall simply stretched up but through the right side she could see the faint glow of the outside lights. She reached up, poking her finger into her shoulder. 

Jinx jumped slightly, a blush spreading over her cheeks as she smiled, taking the offered hand with a pretend reluctance, letting Caitlyn pull her into the next room. 

This room was longer and slightly wider and all the projections were of varying views of flower fields. On the right wall was an expansive painted field filled with rows and rows of tulips in varying shades of pink and red and closest to the floor were shades of orange and yellow, the two colours mixing together in their organised row. Caitlyn had never been to a flower field with the pollen agitating on her sinuses but she had seen on Jinx's feed a few photos of her standing in a field of sunflowers, their tall stems reaching up past her head and her stretched up hands. 

On the furthest corner of the left wall was the edge of the field stopping just short at a grassy clearing with an old wooden fence along the bankings edge looking out at distant waters and lulling waves. As they walked through the room the banking steadily decreased sloping down to a sandy beach and a soft wind brushed through the room, the smell of tulips and salt fragrant as she breathed it in. In the corner besides the frame a woman stood hiking her skirt up out of the water splashing at her feet holding a lace parasol, her eyes warm as she smiled out at the small boat on the water. 

“So what do you like to do in your spare time?” Jinx asked awkwardly, a small white cue card poking out from her pocket. Caitlyn smiled at the little display. 

“I read a lot mainly, but as of late it's been a lot of studying, i have my exams coming up” Caitlyn admitted with a grimace, her exams were just two months or more accurately a little over seven weeks away. She wasn't exactly worried for her finals, she was more worried for what came after. The bar. She wasn't ready to take the bar. She didn't think she would ever be. 

“Oh right your finals, then you get to become a lawyer though right?” Jinx asked and Caitlyns shoulders dropped, technically paralegals were not lawyers. 

“Not really, after that i become a paralegal, and then i'll become a trainee where i'll complete my formal legal education and then i will become a lawyer” Caitlyn explained enthusiastically, she knew she had made the right choice to move to law when the idea of spending another two years after her degree to get more training didn't immediately send her into a panic attack. Jinx nodded along with a serious look on her face. 

“That's kind of cool, I wasn't aware there was much of a difference,” Jinx admitted with a genuine intrigue that made Caitlyn want to tell her absolutely everything about the differences. She would refrain for the time being but she was getting the sense maybe Jinx wouldn't mind. 

“There's so many, law is such a broad field” she said finally breathing a deep sigh as she thought of the varying fields and the different career paths. One of those paths would lead her down the path of her mother, to becoming a supreme judge. Caitlyn was okay with not following that path if she could help it. 

“And you like it?” Jinx asked, Caitlyn considered the question slightly stunned. Not a lot of people asked if she enjoyed what she did, they told her they were impressed by her, told her how amazing it was she was going into that field following after her mother, just like they had done when she had been in med school and hating it. 

“I do like it,” she admitted honestly. She did enjoy her work, she enjoyed the boring paperwork and the research gathering and sometimes their cases were so ridiculous, Caitlyn was still reeling from the fabric theft in her second month at the firm. It was the oddest case she had ever seen, all about a brand's signature fabric turned murder. Because of course the theft of a few yards of high quality ionian silk was worth killing three people over. 

“You gonna ask more questions off your little cue cards” Caitlyn asked, eyes drifting down to the little white card in Jinx's pocket, the others eyes widened lips puckered before she laughed awkwardly shaking her head in denial. 

“No” she scoffed, voice pitched before she pointed to one of the walls “look at that piece isn't it cool?” 

Caitlyn shook her head as she turned to look at the painting. She had seen it a few times by now, soft white sand roots poking out from the top of the grass, a tall tree. It was pretty and intricate and when she turned Jinx was shoving the card back in her pocket with a smile. 

“Did you grow up with any animals?” Jinx asked and Caitlyn chuckled softly hand pressed to her mouth. It was kind of cute how prepared she had come. The blush on her cheeks was cuter her fiddling hands, fingers turning her rings over around her fingers. 

“I did, we had an old hunting dog hyacinth, my mothers dog who died when i was nine, the sweetest thing but yeah my mother hasn't been able to get a new one” Caitlyn explained fondly, thinking back on the large doberman, it's floppy ears and pointed snout had been constantly peering around doors and over tall counters. It was a rather nosey dog 

“He used to sit between my parents and follow along with their conversation, super yappy, i used to pretend he was my spy and send him to watch my parents talk and then report back to me” Caitlyn admitted with a chuckle, Jinx looked so fond nodding along as she listened. 

“That's actually so adorable” she admitted, Caitlyn blushed reaching up to retuck the stray strand of hair behind her ear. 

“We did have horses though, horrid animals” Caitlyn scoffed nose scrunching as she shook her head. Jinx paused, brows furrowed as she looked at her. 

“Really?” she asked and Caitlyn grimaced at the memory, there wasn't an animal she didn't like, but horses. Horses were intelligent creatures and yet they were always so unfairly mean, maybe it was a childhood fear of the large giants that seemed to stay with her but Caitlyn had never gotten over her discomfort around them. 

“Oh yes, terrible things, i was never much of a fan no matter how much my father wanted me to be, always took me in the mornings to ride and practice, one day though my horse sheppy started walking randomly and i was so confused where we were going, i tried to steer him back but he just kept walking, well he came to this puddle” 

“Oh?” Jinx breathed eyes wide with mirth. 

“He dropped me in it and walked away. I just sat there covered in mud cursing that stupid horse, I hated it. Well my father came over and i think he's going to help me up but he just splashed more mud on me” Caitlyn admitted the familiar memory smoldering in the back of her brain, the next morning when her father asked if she was coming to the staple shed pointed at her mud soaked uniform and told him she was done. 

Caitlyn looked down to find Jinx stood perfectly still, her eye twitching as she pressed her lips in a straight line. For a moment Caitlyn was worried she had embarrassed herself a warm blush burning at her cheeks but before she could correct herself and deflect the story Jinx threw her head back laughing. Her hand pressed to her hips as she cackled. Caitlyn caught the glare from an older woman over Jinx's shoulder and shot one back, she knew they were judging them, could feel their scorn burning into the back of her head but she didn't care, she laughed along hand squeezing the smaller one clutched in her palm and pulled Jinx forward, the other giggled as she stumbled on her platforms, Caitlyn's hand shot out to steady her letting Jinx rest her hand in the corner of her forearm thumb pressed into her inner elbow the cold metal of her rings sending shocks up her skin but she didn't shake her off instead she held her closer their shoes bumped together as Jinx corrected her footing. 

Jinx still had her eyes closed, chin resting against her chest as she battled for her breath, her laughter robbing it straight out of her lungs. She gasped her head shaking and finally managed to catch herself blinking up at Caitlyn with tears in her eyes. 

“Oh my” Jinx gasped her cheeks bright red, Caitlyn smiled reaching up to brush the stray tear from her cheek and Jinx’s cheek scrunched under her hand as she cupped it softly. 

“It wasn't that funny” Caitlyn murmured her own cheeks warm from the embarrassment, though she would tell Jinx every embarrassing story she had if she'd get the same response, if she could listen to her laughter and feel the warmth of her cheeks from the strain of it. 

“Oh it was” Jinx disagreed, her head shaking softly as she patted Caitlyn's arm sympathetically. 

“Well even so, i'm glad I could amuse you” Caitlyn admitted with a sigh peering over Jinx's head around the room, they were still getting glares and uncomfortable side eyes but where Caitlyn used to shrink under them now she stood taller with pride. 

“You amuse me greatly, if law doesnt work out you could be my little court yester” Jinx teased and Caitlyn hummed considering the offer, she was fairly sure the jesters were there to be made fun of and laughed at. That didn't really seem up her alley. 

“That feels like an insult” she said which made Jinx's grin widen, she shook her head firmly and stepped back 

“No! It's a compliment, you'd be cute in a little jester outfit” Jinx said, her hand moving to run down the length of Caitlyn's torso tracing the line of her hip easing up in pressure before she was slipping from Caitlyn's grasp, her hand tugging her forward. 

“Come come, we're being judged” Jinx said, shooting back the glares they had received from the other guests here. Caitlyn spared them no mind trailing behind Jinx, their opinions meant nothing to her, they were strangers she'd never see again who didn't know her. So instead of glaring she smiled smugly and let Jinx lead them. 

“I hate purists, the kind who think galleries should be silent and reflective, the ones who stand still for five minutes contemplating every brush stroke before they begin to spout off nonsense like they had personally sat there whilst the artist worked” Jinx said frustration slightly peaking out as she squeezed her hand tighter without realising. 

“Let's leave 'em to it, let them be snotty bitches together whilst we enjoy ourselves” Jinx said loudly getting them even more annoyed stares which was more than justified. There was only one voice quiet and pathetic calling out to tell them off and the words didn't really register as much as they passed into the next room. Jinx only laughed smugly as the door slipped closed and Caitlyn couldn't help but sigh. 

“So what are your parents like? I mean your dad seems iconic” Jinx asked and Caitlyn stiffened falling still just shy of the doorway. Jinx stuttered in her step, the sudden tautness in the once giving hand pulling her back slightly, Jinx frowned turning back in confusion. 

Caitlyn didn't know what to tell her, she had spent three years tiptoeing around the conversation with her best friend out of fear of judgment. How was she meant to tell the girl she kind of liked and wanted to see again her parents were fine but they weren't great. They weren't bad people they were just opinionated and their opinions were a little overbearing and controlling and they had high expectations that Caitlyn strived to meet and seemed to fail at every time.

“You don't have to answer, parents am I right” Jinx laughed flatley eyes darting around the wall and the painting likely projected on it “what a loaded question, that was stupid of me to ask, im sorry” 

Caitlyn reached out, shimmying them to the side to let people past them into the room, she'd look around at the art in the moment, once she had a satisfactory answer to give. Jinxs still looked worried and Caitlyn loathed to think she had caused such doubt in the other's mind. 

“It's fine, yes loaded question, but an important one,” Caitlyn said with a nod as she closed her eyes a minute to ground herself before opening them. 

“I could tell you about mine, well it's probably a much shorter story, they're dead, I was young, not much else I can say” Jinx said her words tumbled out without much restraint and Caitlyn smiled sadly, she knew they were dead Vi had told her. She wondered how different the events were in Jinx's memory than vis. 

“How young?” she asked and Jinx clicked her tongue brows furrowing as she thought back on the dates. 

“Uh like seven, well technically six, my mom died the night before my birthday and my dad died the day after” she admitted her eyes went blank head tilting as she gave a small shrug. Caitlyn sighed her chest tightening, she had both of parents she couldn't even imagine losing them at such an age. Jayce had told her about his dad about losing him and having only his mom to raise him how it had affected him, Viktor had once explained losing his parents as a young adult and Mel just didn't broach the topic of her own father. 

She was about to apologize when she caught the last detail, the day after Jinx's birthday, she frowned. That wasn't right was it, shouldn't it be the day of her birthday if it happened the night before. 

“Oh I thought” she went to ask her mouth hung open before she caught herself and shook her head “i'm sorry for your lose, I know they'd be very proud of you” 

Jinx shrugged rocking on her feet with a small smile, she looked down at their joined hand turning it over in hers, the soft clacking of her jewellery melodious in the quiet. 

“Its okay, I wish I could give you more information about them but I don't know much, I know what i've been told from Silco but he was more my moms friend not my dads, I know she was tall, wore her hair in a braid, and made bread, she loved to dance, and she sucked at art, but my dad didn't, he really liked carpentry” Jinx said happily her words soft and Caitlyn thought it wasn't a lot to know about your parents, all the small details she knew of her own parents felt heavier somehow. She swallowed, nodding along. 

“They seemed really nice” she said, her voice wistful and Jinx blinked up her eyes teary before she shook it away and nodded. 

“Yeah I think they were,” Jinx shrugged and turned pulling her into the room “Vi's the one you should ask she was twelve when they died she remembers more” 

Caitlyn felt like she'd been slapped, the guilt barreling into her chest at the reminder of their shared connection. Vi who was her best friend, who was Jinx's sister. Who had told her not to date her sister and who she was now on a date with. She chuckled under her breath turning to look up at the projections on the wall for the distraction. 

This room's theme must have been the beach, the wall they'd just come from was off the banking, the steep drop off from grass to sand with the parasol hooked on the fence railing. There was a small sloping path down the side worn away. She felt the soft breeze even more powerful in this room a soft splattering of water spraying against her skin causing goosebumps to rise along her arm. When she turned to look at the right wall she found Jinx looking at her already and she remembered what they were talking about. A fool would say they didn't look alike and Caitlyn wished that it could be her. She saw the differences in Jinx's smaller nose and rounder eyes bright blue instead of a softer light blue, they had different jawlines but that same oval face had similar slanted brows and  pout. 

“Ha like she'd tell me anything, she's more closed off than a mummies tomb,” Caitlyn said flatly only a tiny bit annoyed by the truth in it. Vi was harder to crack than the Piltover city vault, she was a safe guarding her secrets and Caitlyn had the self control not to try just blowing the door off, hitting the sensitive spots with a grinder and cutting a hole in the side. She would let the lock open on its own with only the softest pushes. 

“Ya know I never asked, hell until you showed up at our house I'd never heard of you at all,” she sounded a little angry but her smile remained pleasant “how'd you even meet vi? i'm assuming you're not the type frequenting Zauns bars in your free time” 

“No? Why not I could be a secret alcoholic, known in all the bars across all of the country” Caitlyn asked, drawing a circle with her finger and Jinx’s brows pulled tight as she eyed the movement, repeating it with her own finger. She raised a brow up at her unconvinced. 

“She's never told you? Nothing?” Caitlyn was a little hurt by the fact the woman she considered her best friend hadn't even taken the time to tell her sister about her, she'd told her parents even if she had never intended to introduce them. 

“Like ya said, my sis is closed off” Jinx agreed and Caitlyn hummed looking up at the painting on her left, of a large boat out on the water, the murky green water splashing against the beach. where did she start, did she tell Jinx about the hospital parking lot where they really became friends or the brief but life changing event in the courthouse, both nights sent her down different paths considering her own existence but one was more tame than the other, one did not include a sudden violent outburst as well. 

“I guessed it would have come up somewhere along the lines, but we met in the courthouse” she admitted fondly. Jinx frowned, her nose scrunching up as she looked Caitlyn over. 

“Huh” she breathed, blinking at her with a little curious glint in her eyes that was quickly dashed away. Caitlyn felt like she had missed something her head tilted as she considered the short interaction.

“What?” Caitlyn asked, slightly scared of the answer, there were plenty of reasons someone would be in a courthouse, not just because they were criminals but she guessed it made sense Jinx would jump to that conclusion considering her family. 

“That's just not where I expected at all, what were you doing in a courthouse? My sister makes sense she has a record, you though? I don't know” Jinx admitted a little teasingly, Caitlyn was not offended Jinx's mind had gone there but she was slightly offended that up until then Caitlyn couldn't have been anything besides a goody two shoes. That she couldn't be tough enough to acquire a record. 

“You don't think I could also have a record?” Caitlyn asked, earning a soft laugh from Jinx's smile quirking up in one corner as she furrowed her brows up at Caitlyn. 

“Do you?” Caitlyn wanted to tell her about her past, her less than savory  university years where the rules had blurred and she had gone a bit wild. Maybe that was better kept to oneself until the fourth date. 

“Nope” Caitlyn admitted popping the p. 

“So where did you expect we would meet? You've got me curious now of what preconceived notions of me you have?” Caitlyn admitted curiously, she wanted to know what Jinx seemed to think about her, what she had deduced from her social media, and her interviews and the few university debate videos that were out there. Caitlyn had gotten very into competitive debate in her law class. 

“So many, you're a closed book Kiramman, your Zauna is like a walking ad and very rarely is it of yourself” Jinx admitted, intrigued by the mystery of it. Caitlyn was such a publicly private person, her image was perfectly tailored to be as impersonal as possible. It made Jinx want to know her all the more. She wanted to see Caitlyns kitchen when it was in disarray when there were dishes piled in the sink and leftovers cooling on the counter, not when she was posing with a cake on a stand holding up a birthday candle.

“I have an image” Caitlyn admitted blankly, she herself didn't even like the image their team had made, she didn't feel very represented by it, but as terrible as it was she was still a public figure, which meant it was better to craft the elaborate lie then to put out the truth and face the criticisms that would hit too close to home.

“Yeah and it's a nice image, but it's inauthentic mundane, and if you scroll long enough you start to know its repetitive” Jinx explained, Caitlyn wondered how far she scrolled, then again she wasn't sure she would find anything too scandalous even if she scrolled to the very bottom. Anything that wasn't in line with her mothers image had been scrubbed when she was being elected to the council. 

“That's kind of who I am, pretty mundane with a fairly repetitive schedule” Caitlyn admitted tiredly, she wasn't very interesting sadly, she attended galas when required, showed up to work on time every day, left at the same time to her home where she would revise, and when she wasn't working she was in class or at the diner with vi. 

“No” Jinx stared blankly, Caitlyn frowned. 

“No?” she asked and Jinx looked up at her with a smug little grin. 

“No, no one is mundane and no ones schedule is perfectly repetitive unless they are a robot and it brings them joy, but I refuse to believe you derive joy from a strict schedule” Jinx scoffed head shaking and Caitlyn hummed a blush burning across her cheeks as she averted her eyes. 

“I actually do” she admitted softly, Jinx looked a little shocked by that, brows furrowing as though it was inconceivable. 

“I would have assumed a library or somewhere as equally nerdy,” Jinx said pointedly, turning the conversation away from that discovery. Caitlyn caught on to the word tacked on the end of that statement, nerdy, she wasn't a nerd, yes she wore round frame glasses in the evening to read, and she wore loafers and funky patterned sweaters in the winter. 

“Oh really? Do you think I'm a nerd?” she asked with a smile stretching across her face and Jinx seemed taken aback, looking up at her with wide eyes. 

“I didn't say that” Jinx wiggled her finger in disagreement and Caitlyn reached out wrapping her hand around it. Tugging her hand close. 

“Ah but you were thinking it weren't you?” she asked pointedly, Jinx licked her lips shrugging her shoulders. 

“Can I plead the fifth? I don't know much legal jargon but i've heard that in a few shows” Jinx asked her tone turning innocent as she pleaded blinking up at her with soft doe eyes and Caitlyn sighed she hoped Jinx didn't catch on just how much her eyes affected her, how the innocent tilt of her head and the soft round eyes did her in. 

“You may, and pleading the fifth is to plead to the fifth amendment self incrimination clause, if a question asked would require you to to answer in a self incriminating way you plead the fifth because a lawyer can not ask you to incriminate yourself” she explained quietly, grounding herself by reciting the amendments in her head, Jinx looked enamored nodding along with soft hums.

“Oh woah, you really do know alot about law” Jinx admitted with a shrug and Caitlyn giggled. Yeah she had spent the last four years of her life studying it relentlessly, she'd be a little embarrassed if she didn't know much about law. 

“Well I do study it” she reminded and Jinx blinked, nodding before a devious little smile took over her face and Caitlyn already knew what to expect before she said it. 

“Nerd” Jinx teased, “still question stands what was a nerd like you doing at the courthouse?”

“Me and Vi met when I was still an enforcer, which was what i did after i quit med school, I got sent to guard her cell whilst she was in the courthouse, we didn't become friends till a few months later” she admitted truthfully, she expected Jinx to simply shrug off the information but her eyes dimmed and she frowned. 

“How many months?” she asked, Caitlyn thought about it a little, she hadn't bothered to count how many, she knew it was more than a few though. 

“Five or six,” she admitted. Jinx turned away nodding seriously and Caitlyn wanted to ask what she was thinking. Why was that so important? 

“Lets go to the next room” Jinx offered, smiling up at her but Caitlyn could see the strain in her eyes, she reached out but her hand missed as Jinx pulled away.

The next room was the north transept, a large slightly square room with one curving wall to their left, the ceiling sloped into a dome following the walls curve, most of the ceiling was obscured by the thick canopy of fabric leaves that adorned the branches of trees lining the walls top ledge and off it hung the trees roots. The leaves swayed in the small breeze, a fragrant scent of orange blossom strong in the room. Hung from the leaves catching the light every so often were crystal oranges. peaking between the leaves light rays of varying colours shone down through the gaps speckeling the dimly lit room with colour. 

Caitlyn caught the way the colours dance across Jinx's skin in one particular place just shy of the door a rainbow of colours stretched across Jinx's cheek to her arm and she smiled down at it turning her hands over in intrigue. Caitlyns heart stuttered in her chest at the warm glow in her eyes and the shining blue against her cheek and orange against her throat. 

The ground was laid out with fake turf that crunched beneath her feet as they moved to the projections. Momentarily forgetting their conversation to take in the art, the immersive setting like a blanket of secrecy over them. It seemed most people had skimmed through this room as besides one other couple they were the only ones in it. Caitlyn wandered up to the projection near the door. Most of the paintings were a continuation of the orange tree forest but there was something else about them, about the roots popping up from the earth and the painterly flowers blooming along the edge leaning over the frame. In the one that had caught Caitlyn's attention a small basket had been set just shy of the frame filled to the brim with oranges and lemons and curled around one orange was a small squirrel, its fluffy tail raised as it nippled on the skin of the fruit. 

Behind the branches hiding in the tree's depths sat little fae children with their mischievous eyes and gleaming alabaster skin that glowed faintly even in the dim lightless forest. Caitlyn felt their eyes on her even as she moved to the next painting, her eyes catching them there again, different all the time but nonetheless sneaky. Upside down in the branches, tugged under the roots, hiding behind the trunks. 

“I really like this one” Caitlyn admitted as she stopped in front of one projection, it was taller than her spanning the majority of the wall a small section of trees that split of deeper into the forest of orange trees, flowers bloomed deeper in the dark but what really caught her was the way the light had filtered down through the leaves above splashing colour across the painted grass, bright red and orange splotches of colour dancing across the projection. 

“It is remarkable, personally i'm more of a fan of this one over here” Jinx said tugging her over to the otherside of the room right into the corner, the tall but skinny projection was projected right onto a pillar something they hadn't seen till then of a tall tree its bark chipped away a snake crawling up its side, a small heart carved into the exposed wood with the initials n and p scratched inside “it's the artist Noelle, and her wife Pierra” 

“Did you ever carve your initials in a heart?” Caitlyn teased, bumping her shoulder lightly and Jinx squawked indignantly, face scrunching up like it was the most preposterous idea out there. 

“Of course not, I just drew my graffiti symbols, monkeys and crosshairs and sharks with little heads in their jaws” Jinx admitted smugly reaching into her back pocket and retrieving her phone where painted on the back were the symbols in question, a shark took up most of the back of the case same bleeding head clasped in its jaw but in the lower corner was the monkey head and the crosshairs and a mushroom cloud. 

“Cute case” Caitlyn complimented with a nod.

“Thank you I made it myself” Jinx said proudly, her smile widening as she turned tucking the phone back into her pockets. 

“So you said something about med school?” Jinx reminded turning to the next projection over. Caitlyn frowned a little startled Jinx had decided that was how ro pick conversation back up. She laughed awkwardly pulling the strand of hair free to twirl around her finger as she considered what to say. 

“Uh yeah I quit med school in my third year” she admitted, Caitlyn didn't really like to think back on it, there was a lot she could have done differently and a lot she took for granted in the pursuit of approval. She didn't regret that time in her life or what she learned but she could admit it wasn't the environment for her. 

“Wow, so bad you couldn't tough it out till the end? Med schools what 5 years so you were half way done?” Jinx asked curiously, Caitlyn grimaced chest tightening at the reminder, she doubted Jinx's intent was to be condescending or rude, but there was something about the phrasing that had always rubbed her the wrong way. Everyone was always asking her why she hadn't sucked it up when she was so close to the end, having the degree would have been a lot better than not. 

“Uh it was a four year programme, so I just had the one year left” she admitted eyes averted down to the fake turf as she scruffed her heels against It “think I would have killed myself before the end of the third year so” 

Jinx shot around to look up at her, lips down turned and eyes wide with surprise. Caitlyn was worried she'd been too honest. 

“Sorry that was inappropriate of me” Jinx apologized firmly and Caitlyn believed her she smiled though it didn't reach her lips. 

 “No no it's fine everyone says it” Caitlyn dismissed but she wasn't convinced, Jinx reached out hand settling warm on her forearm as she shook her head looking apologetically up at her. 

“That doesnt mean it's right, a hundred people doing the wrong thing doesn't make it right just means they're all idiots” Jinx insisted harshly, Caitlyn's  smile softened as she nodded. 

“Well you're forgiven, it's really fine, I know sticking it out till the end would have been beneficial id have a medical degree even if I never went into medicine again I just” she trailed off mulling it over for a moment, she couldn't stay there any longer, she was lonely in a crowded room, looked over and for good reason but at the time she couldn't see that. She thought she was doing fine when she was falling behind. Caitlyn shrugged. 

“Couldn't stand being there anymore” she settled on. She kind of hoped Jinx wouldn't ask anymore but she saw the look in Jinx's eyes that sympathetic curiosity and aimed back at her. Caitlyn was starting to realise she was a little annoying. All her questions about Vi's family and their torrid incidents that tore them apart well it must have been grating at Vi’s skin. 

“What was so bad?” Jinx wondered, Caitlyn thought about the worse parts of her classes, she thought of the embarrassment of getting questions wrong, her average test results when everyone else was going high marks and grades, the early starts and the later ends, she thought of panic attacks in the forgotten asiles of the library and the splitting headaches that had followed her everywhere. 

“Nothing, just didn't interest me, think of your most boring class” Caitlyn lies easily, prompting Jinx to reflect on her own experience. Jinx hummed her lips, pursuing as she thought. Every class had its boring lectures, the one off lessons that dragged on and the practicals that were so repetitive she could do it blindfolded there was only really one class that had both of those things which repeated frequently. 

“Civil engineering class, bored me to death, 10am start every tuesday and thursday with a fossil who spoke five words an hour and used twenty year old slideshows” Jinx admitted with a grimace, the guy was on occasion a fine teacher but that was rare Jinx knew within the first week that it wasn't the class for her, hell only reason she took it was because she needed the credits for her graduation, shed ended up just finding another class which would get her over the threshold and which was more Inline with her interests and up to that point education. 

“Okay now imagine every class is that civil engineering class and you start at 9am and you don't live on campus and your building is on the furthest side of the campus in the opposite direction of where you do live” Caitlyn explained blankly, she was meant to show up for 9am but because of where her class was and how far she lives she had to leave at 8:15 which meant she had to be up at 7am every morning which wasn't so bad, people did that every single day, but when you're getting to bed at 2am from all the revision you've been doing those five hours were not really sustaining. 

“I would have dropped out in the first week, I mean I did, I changed the class to one better suited to me in my second week because I knew it wasn't going to get better” Jinx admitted with a shrug and it seemed so easy, Caitlyn wished she had dropped out when she had the chance, when she had showed up that first week of pre med and realised she was bored out of her mind. Foolishly she thought she had to crack into the course before she could pass judgments. She should have listened to her intuition.

“Yeah well I really thought it would, spent years telling myself it'll get better, it's just boring now but this is just premed, that med school would be great i'd make friends and get good grades, then I got to med school and it was worse, so I said programme will be it I will love my foundation programme” Caitlyn said passionately, she had really been desperate to make it to the end, she had kept telling herself Cait it's gonna be alright things will get better, because the most powerful tool in our toolbox was our own minds and if she could just make herself believe that then she could trick herself into actually feeling it. 

“Well i’d been trying not to think of the time on all of this ya know” she sighed looking up at the projection of the small tilting bird house and the small hand gripping the bird's body tight and felt a little like that bird. 

“Time was going to pass anyway and id already spent the last four years on medicine, twenty two years old and people were starting to talk about what came next” Caitlyn breathed shrugging a shoulder 

“Then you become a doctor” Jinx guessed and Caitlyn shook her head, once again it seemed so simply you finish your course and you go into your field, she guessed Jinx hadn't had that starting phase, she left school and was already her own boss working on what she wanted. 

“Kind of” she murmured “not really, after med school id become an intern Id go to a hospital for my two year foundation course, then I'd start another 6-8 year specialist training course, of course I would be working in a hospital but I would be doing that and revising still, and i'd be doing exams and tests and I realised that my whole life would be medicine,”

“Which you hated” Jinx finished and Caitlyn nodded though that was the least of it, she didn't just hate medicine she despised It, loathed it, she tore her textbooks up after she quit in a fit of cathartic rage then she'd thrown them in her fireplace and drank whiskey on the living room floor of her old apartment. 

“Yeah it wasn't really a good time for me, makes me sad to think about, my dad was so proud of me following in his footsteps ya know” she shuddered feeling her eyes burn at the reminder, he was disappointed and she knew it no matter how much he'd insisted he wasn't “he really wanted me to come work with him at his practise, and even when I told him I was going into surgery he was still so excited” she murmured tiredly, she had been excited as well at following in his footsteps. The only thing that made it worth it was getting to talk to her dad about his work medicine, she could relate to him in a way, and he loved to tell her stories about his time at med school but where his time was fun and challenging hers was just hard and frustrating and nerve wracking. 

“How did your parents react to you quitting?” Jinx asked and Caitlyn laughed maniacally, that was a really loaded question and the answer was terribly.

“My dad told me it was okay to quit when I told him, my mom wasn't as supportive” she scoffed her mother was far from supportive, she was enraged “id wasted four years of my life which I felt really scared about but to her id also wasted hundreds of thousands on my schooling as well only for me not to atleast get my degree she told me I had to finish what I started” 

“You didn't” Jinx reminded and Caitlyn nodded a little smugly. She had not finished and she hadnt let her mother bully her into trying either. 

“No I quit the next day” she admitted proudly, her head held high and Jinx grinned back at her. 

“Good on you for standing up for yourself” Jinx said, her hand reaching out to rest on Caitlyn's forearm and she nodded before her face twisted. 

“I also threw my phone in a river and hid at Jayces for the next two months in shame of what I had done, way too scared to face my mom” she admitted flatly, that was a dark time of fear and anxiety and she had seen the messages on Jayces phone knew her mother was trying desperately to reach her to demand answers. Caitlyn had confided herself to one room in his spacious manor and refused to leave. 

“Oh well” Jinx began mouth open as she mulled over her response, she breathed out closing her mouth with a soft laugh and Caitlyn couldn't help but laugh a long, her head falling into her hands, it was a very dramatic time as well. She had been running on pure anger and spite and in the moment had acted in a dramatic fashion. 

“I ended up getting very ill, id spent so long working myself to the brink for med school, I had no passion for it and so if I wanted to get the grades like the rest of my classmates I had to work five times as hard, every single night i'd stay up doing copious amounts of drugs, drinking insane amounts of whiskey and caffeine revising all my subjects” she admitted a little embarrassed, Jinx didn't look at her with judgment though she seemed understanding a reminiscent look in her eyes. 

“That cant have ended well” she murmured and Caitlyn nodded thinking back on that point of her life, when everything was going wrong and the only person she had to blame was herself which she did plenty of. 

“It did not, after I left I just kind of had nothing, I spiraled into derealization, depression and had a sequence of severe panic attacks, my health declined rapidly and that landed me in the hospital” Caitlyn had a panic disorder far longer than she was in med school, shed been diagnosed with it at twelve years old but there had never been an episode as bad as that one and there hadn't been any since. 

“My mum came and apologize after that, told me she hadn't realised just how hard I was working and what I was doing to myself, she told me she was glad I had quit” Caitlyn said her tone bitter, there was something in the fact it took her spending a month in a hospital detoxing for her mother to finally admit she was wrong. For her to finally give her support. 

“Im happy she came around in the end” Jinx said softly smiling warmly and Caitlyn nodded, yeah it was nice even if it had taken her longer than she would have liked having the support was better than not having it. 

“Yeah took her awhile, and a hospital, and a very long conversation with my father, and Jayce but she tried, she's still trying, she didn't really like what I did next though” Caitlyn added cryptically catching a curious look from Jinx , she thought it was obvious to connect the dots but it seemed Jinx had forgotten.

“Which was?” she asked excitedly.

“Become an enforcer” Caitlyn reminded and Jinx's face fell nose scrunching up as she shook a disgusted look off her face. Caitlyn could understand that despite having worked as one for a while and really believing in them her faith in the force had diminished quickly. 

“Ah yes, is it weird of me to be glad that didn't stick? they're not my favourite people” Jinx asked flatly and Caitlyn chuckled under her breath. 

“Its fine, they're not mine either anymore, I was probably not all there when I made the decision, saw the pamphlet in the waiting room, was bored out of my mind and grabbed it” Caitlyn said, the waiting times in hospitals were absurd, there were periods of just sitting around hooked up to ivs where no was visiting and she was forced to find her own entertainment, most of the time it was grabbing the pamphlets from the shelves and reading about the most random of topics, she knew far more  about the effects of smoking than she needed to. 

“Yeah probably don't make life altering decisions in a hospital for when you get out” Jinx remarked lightly and Caitlyn grimaced everyone had been a little confused when she had announced her plans, Jayce had asked if she was sure and Caitlyn had just said yep and done it.

“Wasn't my finest hour, I did spend another two years of my life on it though” she admitted embarrassedly, she had spent far too long with the enforcers but she didn't really regret it she learnt a lot during that time. 

“Two years?” Jinx asked, voice pitching up in shock and Caitlyn nodded. 

“Yep, academy was I think 9 months and then I became a probation enforcer and I had just had my badge a little over two weeks when I met vi” she admitted fondly, she was still riding the high of having her badge excited to be an enforcer and then she had met vi, and things went downhill as she started seeing the things she was being purposefully blind to. 

“I realised I wasnt really helping people everyone we arrested fell into two categories, the guys who deserved serious jail time who got bailed out either the same day or the same week and then the guys who didn't deserve severe punishments who ended up serving them”  she explained distantly, there was a real problem with the rich buying their way out of their crimes, paying off witnesses and getting great lawyers to threaten their way into getting what they wanted. 

“I mean Vi did almost kill a man even if she had the best lawyer in the world she still would have done time” Jinx remarked pointedly, which was true to a point but if she had a better lawyer the time she would have done might have been a few moths or house arrest and community service, she would have had some sort of punishment but she wouldn't have had to face five years. 

“Yeah but it wouldn't have been five years, he stabbed and robbed her and guess how long he got?” Caitlyn asked, her jaw clenched and Jinx's face softened as she nodded.

“How long?” she asked softly.
“Eighteen months, got out in twelve for good behaviour, lawyer claimed the stabbing was a reaction to Vi attacking him and not the other way around, said he made a mistake and so Vi got five years for being attacked and defending herself” she explained, shed looked into the guy after she had met Vi and found he was the son of some rich businessman who got his son a great lawyer to get him less time. Sadly the cameras that had caught the event had been too damning even for a great lawyer to fight against but they had managed to turn it around and focus in on the assault and the injuries he had sustained not the injuries Vi had suffered. 

“I wish Vander had called, I mean we both know Silco has a pretty great lawyer, probably could have got her off without any time” Jinx admitted jokingly, Silcos great lawyer had managed to get Silco acquitted of all charged so even though Caitlyn still was on the fence about that guy she could admit that his lawyer was damm good. 

“Well she shouldn't have needed a great lawyer, the one appointed to her should have done his job” Caitlyn said harshly before she caught herself shaking her head as she took a deep breath “sorry, it just pisses me off” 

“So you decided to become a lawyer” Jinx continued and Caitlyn smiled though it didn't reach her eyes and she nodded. 

“Yeah so I can hopefully prevent that from happening to any more innocent people” she admitted firmly and Jinx smiled appreciatively gaze roaming from her face down before she blinked up at her eyes hooded as she hummed. 

“Ugh that's so noble, all of your career attempts are just you wanting to be the white knight aren't they?” Jinx asked teasingly and Caitlyn wouldn't go so far to say she was trying to be a white knight. She just wanted to help people and the obvious careers to do that were doctor or enforcer, then when that didn't work she realised she could help in the courts. 

“Basically yeah” she admitted with a shrug and Jinx rolled her eyes. 

“So what about you?” Caitlyn asked as they turned up the short narrow steps up to another narrow rectangular room where a faux cliffs edge running down the left wall, wave sounds crashing loudly around them and metal benches lined the right wall. The projections were all of varying cliff faces. 

“What about me?” Jinx asked as she came to a halt in front of one of the projections her eyes focused on the illusion effect that made it feel like she was really stepping to the edge of a cliff, a breeze brushing against her cheek from the small fans under the faux cliff ledge. She guessed she was meant to step a few feet away not to see them and accidentally break the illusion. 

“What made you decided on arms?” Caitlyn asked as she moved to sit down on the bench, her ankles were a little sore from her heels, the straps buckle digging into her skin tightly, Jinx hummed her back to her and Caitlyn traced her eyes down the tattoo on her side following the way it curved over her back and up to her neck to the base of her hairline. 

“Well I like weapons, I like designing them just made sense I guess” Jinx said easily with a shrug of her shoulders, Caitlyn hummed the incident present in the forefront of her mind. 

“Right” she chuckled and Jinx peered over her shoulder, her eyes curious. 

“I grew up with them, i've known how to shoot since I was seven and Silco bought me these gun books which taught me how to take care of my firearm, they got me curious on how to take them apart as well” Jinx admitted fondly turning to walk a little further down to the next projection this one of distant islands. 

“I used to the same, but I never knew how to put them back together, used to take them all to my mother to repair” Caitlyn admitted, she had at one point thought her mother was the coolest, with her rifles and her pistols and all the target practise, as soon as she was allowed to join them on their bi monthly hunts she was trying desperately to learn. Still she had never really thought of trying to engineer her own weapons. Maybe it was the abundance of them she had at her disposal. There was always a gun in every other room, all different kinds and calibrations and brands. 

“It was actually the opposite for me, Silco used to bring me his when it jammed and asked me to figure out why” Jinx admitted as she came over collapsing on the bench beside her, her legs spreading to nudge into Caitlyn's knees pressed together and Caitlyn rested her hand down on the others thigh her finger tracing at the seam without much thought. Neither of them moved to push it away. 

“That's sweet” Caitlyn smiled and Jinx nodded her head tilting to rest on her shoulder, the ease at which Jinx dolled out her affection was addicting, there was something so casually earnest about it that made Caitlyn's heart swell in her chest. 

“Yeah got me thinking a lot, i'm trying to do the same with Isha but shes less interested than I was, she always complains I won't just do it for her which is so confusing because I always wanted to do it for Silco, eh kids are weird” Jinx admitted curiously scoffing like it was so incomprehensible that a child would not want to put together guns in her spare time. Caitlyn could see she just wanted to get her excited in them like Jinx was so they could bond but she wondered if you were allowed to call your own child weird?

“You can't call your own kid weird, other peoples kids are weird, you have to say unique, quirky, eccentric” Caitlyn murmured thinking back on her own parents vocabulary surrounding her, Caitlyn had been a weird kid she was quiet and generally unresponsive to the people around her. Her mother used to say she was a judgey toddler, she'd hide behind her legs and fiddle with the buttons on her waist coat and whenever someone would try and get her attention she would largely ignore them or make huffing noises in response. Her parents had made very conscious efforts not to call her weird or unusual in company, she was unique, just quiet. 

“No I don't, she's weird, there's no crime in that, if she wants to be an odd ball then eh who cares I mean i'm her mom and im as weird as they come guess she got it from me” Jinx admitted with a shrug and Caitlyn felt her heart swoon at that, Jinx wasn't weird as much as she was a bit of a character she was just authentic, it was nice to hear her say her daughter was allowed to be weird, Caitlyn had never been allowed not to fit into the role of extraordinary, talented, polite and sophisticated. She was a growing lady of a powerful family. 

“I don't know why I went into weaponry it's definitely not what i started with, there was a big push for civil and medical engineering, Piltover wants to be a pacifist state so bad but its not, it can't be, it was around the time Noxus was kicking off again that I started researching their military weapons and well from there the answer seemed obvious” Jinx admitted distantly her eyes reflective as she thought back to what had gotten her down this path. She liked guns and she liked weapons, she hadn't ever considered it could be her career. What twelve year old was even thinking about their career but at twelve she had to start planning ahead for her future and so she'd gone with what had made sense. 

“What were you working on before?” Caitlyn asked curiously thinking of the various fields she could have gone into. 

“mainly space tech, satelites, rovers, and modular space stations. I still work on it a bit in my free time, but…” Jinx admitted before she trailed off sitting up straight and turning in her chair back resting against the arm of the bench and Caitlyn frowned eyeing her curiously as Jinx's eyes roved over her in consideration. 

“What?” Caitlyn asked and Jinx hummed a glint in her eyes that told her Jinx was getting a kick out of this. 

“I'm not meant to tell you” Jinx admitted quietly shuffling forward knee bumping into Caitlyn's thigh again and Caitlyn's hand squeezed tightly stilling her shifting. 

“Oh come on, please?” Caitlyn pleaded softly, turning her narrowed eyes on Jinx and the other hummed, pulling her lower lip between her teeth as she considered it. 

“I'm currently in competition for a space contract” she blurted out after a second before she squeezed her lips together and Caitlyn gasped brows shooting up. Caitlyn had sat through one too many drunken rants about the engineering contracts that hextech had been awarded over the years so she had a fairly good idea on what that meant for Jinx . There was a lot of money tied up in these kinds of contracts but there was also a large expectation to deliver. 

“Wait really?” she asked curiously and Jinx nodded excitedly, she guessed it was pretty nice to be able to merge your two favourite hobbies into one. 

“Yeah were meant to find out at the innovators expo” Jinx admitted with a huff and a roll of her eyes, 

“You don't like the innovators expo?” Caitlyn wondered thinking of all the time she herself had attended, she found it was rather fun, there were always so many cool inventions. 

“No i love it, but i have to give a speech” Jinx admitted sadly pouting as she crossed her arms over her chest a soft blush spreading down her cheekbones at the idea. Caitlyn wouldn't have put it past Jinx to be nervous for some speech, so outgoing and talkative. Then again she guessed maybe it was different when you were tasked with showcasing the big projection you'd been working on for a year or even a few years to thousands of equally genius people most of which were envious of your success. 

“Woah well I have full faith your speech will be lovely and you'll get your contract” Caitlyn said sweetly, Jinx smiled arms dropping, one hand coming to rest over Caitlyn's hand. 

“Thank you, I won't be hard done if we don't but it's one of those side passions ya know” Jinx leaned her head back talking up into the room, Caitlyn actually didnt know she didn't have a side passion she felt so deeply about, she had interests and hobbies but there was nothing else besides law for her. 

“Yeah I mean mel might be a kick ass lawyer but her passion at home is painting” Caitlyn said, Jayce's side passion was blacksmithing in his home forge, and Viktor’s was his sourdough starter, there was nothing in the world more monitored than the giant jar of yeast that screamed when you mixed it after a rest. 

“Yeah mine are missiles and on my weekends the moon” Jinx chuckled to herself and oddly enough the image that popped into her brain was of Jinx on the moon with a missile that got Caitlyn laughing along. 

“Shhhh!” an old woman hissed, Jinx and Caitlyns eyes snapped over to the woman and then they both broke out laughing again. Jinx stood her hand pulling Caitlyn behind her. 

“Come on, we're being shooed away again,” Jinx murmured, tugging her through the room and into the next. 

“You know I would have never thought you'd started off as anything but weapons, I mean considering how you got in I thought you'd known what you wanted and just ran with it to the end” Caitlyn said with a chuckle, Jinx paused her shoulders stiffening as they came to a stand still in the short hall. A woman cleared her throat behind Caitlyn and Jinx sighed, her jaw clenched as she took her hand and tugged her through to the otherside and away from the entry letting the few people behind them pass into the room. 

“How I got in?” Jinx asked and Caitlyn's mouth dropped as she realised what she had said, she had not intended to bring it up but her brain to filter was a little burned it seemed. 

“Oh I didn't mean” Caitlyn's mouth dropped open as she tried to think of how she could explain herself. Jinx just laughed, head falling to rest against her chest as her shoulders shook and Caitlyn was a little concerned as she waited for the other to respond, either to tell her off or to redirect the conversation to something else. 

“No no, it's fine I should have known you'd find out or already knew” Jinx admitted breathlessly, where Caitlyn expected annoyance or sadness there was just an open amusement, like to her it was really no big deal. She guessed she had thought it would be. 

“If it helps I only found out this afternoon” she admitted swallowing thickly and Jinx raised a brow already knowing how. 

“Jayce?” Jinx asked. 

“Yeah” Caitlyn breathed with a grimace. 

“It's okay if you don't want to talk about it, I know it must be hard” Caitlyn insisted but Jinx only laughed, her head shaking as she rubbed at her cheek fingers pushing at the skin before they moved back to cup her neck. 

“Cait, it's fine, it was a decade ago, I'm not the same person I was back then, I'm medicated for my bipolar and depression, I attend weekly therapy appointments and have been for nine years, I got help” Jinx admitted proudly nodding her head. 

“I know,” Caitlyn said softly, she did know Jinx had gotten help and she really believed she had changed since then. 

“It was a freak accident, I didn't intend to hurt anyone but that doesnt make me any less responsible for the harm I did cause, I've apologized profusely for it and vi…” Jinx trailed off with a sigh shoulders deflating as she scuffed her shoes into the tile below, she turned to the projection at her side looking at the square stone houses with their crawling shrubbery creeping up the sides. Her eyes took in the shape but she wasnt really seeing it staring absently into the wall. 

“Vi hasn't really ever forgiven me, neither has Mylo and that's okay, they're allowed to still be wary but it's never gonna happen again” she admitted shrugging a shoulder as she waved her hand dismissively. Caitlyn knew as much as she was trying to act casual, it hurt she saw it in the way her shoulders hunched hands shoving deep into her pockets. 

“Can I ask what happened?” she asked gently and Jinx nodded seriously, turning to look at her head on. 

“I built a bomb in my attic, I was sleeping up there at the time, Vi  was a teenager too old to be sharing a room with her kid sister and one day we got into a fight after she kicked me out to hang with a girl” Jinx admitted tone picking up a bi of an edge towards the end, which was understandable Caitlyn wouldn't have been happy to be kicked out of her own room either. 

“So you moved into the attic?” Caitlyn asked curiously, she thought of her own attic, stuffed full of old dressers and cabinets, the furniture tarp covered and abandoned, there were random assortments of things up there all of it holding no significance. 

“Yep, lived up there for three months, we had these old pallets from the bar Vander kept in the garage which I used to prop my mattress up off the floor well we also had this old tv as well but all the movies were old war films and well I saw the explosions bright orange and white, back then movie explosives had powder in them so I thought wow that's so cool I want that” Jinx explained excitedly, that had probably been her happiest, she had her own room again a place just for her where she could go to hide out, she got to watch random old movies from the comfort of her comfy twin bed. Vis annoying and mean friends weren't there to judge and mock her when Vi  would slip out. 

“So you tried to replicate them” Caitlyn filled in and Jinx grimaced, yeah stupid wasn't it, the things  that went bang and were meant to imply great destruction was what she wanted to recreate seemed that should have been the obvious answer to what would happen. 

“Yeah, I started researching, didn't really know what bombs were or that they would hurt anyone I just knew they exploded with colour and I wanted a hot pink one” Jinx admitted sheepishly, most of the explosives in the movies didn't hurt anyone people just ducked behind walls and barked orders around them. 

“You were just a kid” , Caitlyn murmured softly and Jinx sighed, that's what everyone said, just a kid. She was twelve that was old enough to know bombs were dangerous, shed just had the oddest childhood, an oddly sheltered childhood paired with the long stints of dissociation she had missed a lot of things and in her moments of lucidity had missing hazy spots in her memory. 

“I was a kid who should have known, I was smart enough to do my research into how they were made but not smart enough to research what they were for, there's oddly not a lot of warnings in online bomb building tutorials” Jinx admitted lightly slightly humorously, Caitlyn couldn't really verify that fact, she wasn't really researching how to build bombs in her shed in her free time. 

“That is true” Caitlyn murmured and Jinx shrugged with a chuckle head shaking in exasperation. 

“Well I set up a canvas in the corner and boom” Jinx cheeks inflating before she popped her tongue loudly hands miming the explosion. 

“The place went up” Caitlyn answered and Jinx gave a curt nod before her face fell, chin propped against her chest as she reached her hands up pressing her palms into her eyes as she sighed. 

“Yeah and then it caved in, Mylos room was below the attic, he tried to get out but was really hurt in the process, he still can't really lift his arm above his head properly” she looked horrified breathing forced as she recalled the traumatic event. Caitlyn felt her heart squeezing her hand itched to reach out as Jinx continued “Vi  got severe smoke inhalation and minor burns, Vi  and Mylo had to get Vander unpinned from the rubble and Mylo got Claggor unstuck, I went out a window, into the back garden, I thought I had killed everyone”

“Jinx” Caitlyn gasped her hand shooting up to press over her mouth. 

“I had a panic attack called Silco to come and get me when Vi found me and we fought, she called me a Jinx , Mylo used to call me it as a tease but it felt like an insult and when Vi  said it Jinx just packed so much venom it hurt a lot more than when she punched me in the face” Jinx admitted sadly her eyes going hazy at the memory and this time Caitlyn did reach out her hand settling high on Jinx's neck as she turned her to face her. Jinx had tears in her eyes as she reached up fingers curling around her wrist to ground herself. 

“She punched you” Caitlyn murmured angrily, Jinx shrugged laughing flatly it sent a shiver down Caitlyn's spine. 

“I don't blame her for it, but after that I dissociated, Silco came and got me and we went to the hospital for my injuries, by then fire marshals and police had arrived at our house and Mylo told them what i did police came and posted outside my door and I was questioned” Jinx recalled the hospitals white room, she was a criminal by then and so the nurses had to put her in a special room usually reserved for toddlers, the bed was soft and padded with colourful decals spread across the walls and toys in a basket by the bed. Silco had played with stacking toys with her till the police came to question her. 

“Silco got me a lawyer, and after they left I told Silco I didn't want to be with them anymore I just wanted him that he was my only family I still thought everyone was dead of course and Vi  had abandoned me” Jinx explained quietly she had been out of it when he'd told her so when he'd told her that they were alive the words had gone in one ear and out the other. 

“That's why you all stopped talking?” Caitlyn asked, she could see where things had gone wrong. The high period of anger and resentment had bubbled into miscommunication and by the time they could have worked it out Vi  had gone to jail. 

“Yeah, I went to trial, Mylo and Vi  testified against me told the judge I was a danger and should be put in a facility, Vander though said I was still a kid, I met Heimerdinger shortly after and he testified that a facility would turn me into a vegetable and that I was too smart to be put into a detention center” Jinx's tone had turned bitter, the first time she had seen any of her family and it was everyone telling a judge how she should be put in a facility to rot, Mylo was the only one who had worded it like that but Jinx had extracted the sentiment from the others as well. 

“He got you started at Piltech,” Jinx nodded, smiling again at the memory. The man was an odd thing that had showed up with an offer that seemed a bit too good to be true and well she had no other options so she took it. 

“Yep, Id already been a few years ahead at the school Silco put me in so It was just the next step up I guess, don't get me wrong it was hard, I was in therapy every day after class, working with psychologists to create a prescription that would help with the disorders I was being diagnosed with and trying to get up to university level literacy” Jinx explained her energy perking up, Caitlyn nodded thinking of her first year in university, the long hours the very quick ramp up in difficult from her school days, the suddenes to what she was supposed to learn. That was coming from a pre med course as well where she had been taught the basics to understanding what else they would teach her she couldn't even imagine going from a regular middle school to university within weeks. 

“Yeah I mean you were just twelve even the smartest of genius would have had a hard time adjusting” Caitlyn agreed, brows pinched together at the idea of a small twelve year old running around a tech university in Piltover, then again from what Jinx had explained of what had come before she doubted the other was doing much running. 

“Exactly, my grades that first year were abysmal, but Heimerdinger was tutoring me and viktor was teaching me the foundation skills in our frees, by the second year I was up to par still average but I was university average not middle school average so doing well” Jinx admitted embarrassment creeping into her tone, she knew everyone expected her to just do well instantly, she was a genius they said she would be fine, well even geniuses couldn't suddenly go from basic advanced mathematics to university further maths in a few months. Still everyone around her had been so enthusiastically supportive, they wanted her to both get better as a person but also with her education. She guessed she knew why now. 

“That is incredibly impressive for a thirteen year old” Caitlyn complimented and Jinx grinned proudly. 

“Thank you, I was a very impressive child” Jinx agreed smugly before her face fell and she shook her head. 

“Not that any of my family cared by then Vi  had gone to jail Mylo and Claggor were both in rehab and wanted nothing to do with me and so it was just me and Silco against the world, and sevika too but she also didn't like me back then though but she just hated kids” Jinx admitted sadly though her voice picked up when she said Silcos name, it stuck out to Caitlyn what Vi had meant by Silco poisoning Jinx against her but she was guessing maybe Vi just wasn't seeing the support that Jinx was getting.

“She didn't seem to hate you at dinner” Caitlyn reminded and Jinx's grin turned mischievous as she smirked. 

“No I've since weaponised my own child against her, ishas got her wrapped around her tiny pinky finger, hell I think she has everyone wrapped around her finger, evil genius, gets it from me” Jinx said tilting her head as she struck a pose before laughing. 

“The evil or the genius?” Caitlyn asked with a derisive hum, she hadn't seen much evil. She could get the genius that seemed to leak off of Jinx like a second skin but she was too sweet to be very evil. 

“Both” Jinx answered brows furrowed as though she didn't get why it was obvious. 

“Well I've yet to see any of this so called ‘evil’ so maybe just the genius” Caitlyn snarked teasingly earning a scoff from Jinx her eyes widening as she put on a face of pretend hurt. 

“I can be evil, I can show you evil” Jinx insisted, stepping closer as she crossed her arms across her chest, eyes narrowed as she made herself look intimidating. Maybe it was the fact she was so short and sligh but she just looked cute and pouty. Caitlyn wasn't very scared. 

“Then why don't you?” Caitlyn asked with a scoff, because she wasn't evil, there was no evil or malicious bone in her body. Jinx stuttered face scrunching as she blinked up at her. 

“Huh?” she breathed. 

“Show me your evilness” Caitlyn murmured quietly teasingly and Jinx's laugh stuttered as her smile wobbled as she tried to fight back the rising cackle in her throat, they had been shushed out of so many rooms so far. 

“I think they’d kick us out. I can be very evil,” Jinx insisted with a hum, Caitlyn was rather unconvinced though she needed an example. She went to open her mouth but before she could Jinx cough softly turning away out of Caitlyn's hands eyes searching around the room they had barely taken in. 

“lets move to the next room, it's a continuation of this one, but more urban city than small village you can actually see the shift here in these projections, they stared off more medieval but are steadily evolving in design to be more modern” Jinx announced as she pointed between two projections closer to the next door, there was a slow shift between the building, from the left door was the more medieval and older buildings that slowly transition to modern villas trying to capture the look of those older houses. 

“This is probably obvious but I'm only starting to realise it's getting darker” Caitlyn admitted as she looked at the soft dimming light of the sun behind the buildings, the warm yellowish tone to the sky above their heads. 

“Huh?” Jinx asked looking up to the blocked windows there was no way they could really tell what time it was. Caitlyn laughed softly and pointed to the projections. 

“The projections” she murmured. 

“Right yeah, there's two or so hours between each collection, the sun is gradually setting until we get to the end” Jinx said softly which made sense, the first art had a bright shining sun rising over the house. 

“So the sun should be setting in the next one?” Caitlyn asked as she reached out hand warm on Jinx's back as she turned them towards the doorway into the other room. Jinx smiled and nodded excitedly. As they lulled into the silence, Caitlyn felt a little nervousness rising in her chest. 

The weight of their conversation loomed heavily over them, Caitlyn could see the way her shoulders tensed her teeth worrying at her lip. Caitlyn had enough anxiety to see the cogs turning in Jinx's head, the fear she had Jinx ed it, ruined the mood when in fact she had done the opposite, Caitlyn had already been down bad. Now she was a bit head over heels. 

Jinx was right about the next room, the buildings were taller, more modern like they were walking through the city, though not really through Piltover or Zaun but a city a few centuries older. Their greying bricks illuminated by a dim lamp glow as the sky darkened through the gaps, these projections were narrower and overlapping, a few projections per wall. 

“So how did you find out about this place?” Caitlyn asked, catching Jinx's attention. 

“Uh she invited me, I promised to write a review on my experience afterwards” Jinx admitted finger looping through the strap of her lanyard pulling it taught as she looked down at the pass, the special guest pass that her friend had graciously given her for the trouble of a simple review and a good word. 

“Don't you need notes, I haven't seen you taking any?” Caitlyn asked her knowledge on reviewers fairly brief, she thought of the reviews Jinx had written her steady streamline thoughts ranging from the display to the craftsmanship to the colours and the history. She guessed she'd pictured Jinx sitting on one of those low museum benches, her notebook open in her lap, writing furiously as she looked between her paper and the painting in front of her. Maybe that had been a bit romantic of an image but she liked the way Jinx looked at the art, her careful focus and her perceptive blue eyes. 

“Don't really need to, I mean reviews especially about art arent hard, I just keep it all up here rattling around until I need to put it to paper” Jinx explained her words carefully and light but not patronising in any way. 

They settled back into silence, Caitlyn would usually be desperate to fill it planning out her next questions but she found she didn't really mind the quiet, she liked Jinx's company her grounding presence at her side the way she could stop and observe her as she pleased, she noticed that Jinx liked to be watched, would perk up under her attention. She liked to watch Jinx observing the space around them, eyes brightening at a particular detail in the window of a building before they narrowed on a small smudge that no matter how small It was still shown in the projection. She had a few questions she wanted to ask but one caught her the most. Jinx had said she had no one to go with but she had a built-in person to go with. she had a kid, and why have kids if not to take them places you didn't want to go to alone. Jinx took Isha to so many places and so many galleries, Caitlyn wondered why she hadn't brought her to this one, or she guessed maybe she had and it had just been earlier in the week. Maybe Jinx had already been and was pretending she hadn't so she could go through it again with Caitlyn.

“So why didn't you bring isha?” Caitlyn asked, Jinx paused her eyes confused one brow raising as she smiled. 

“On our date?” Jinx asked and Caitlyn realised that yeah maybe bringing your kid on a first date was a bit abnormal, probably not what most people are doing. She hummed, averting her eyes to her folded hands.

“I mean, the exhibit, the art isnt adult in any way and well I know you take her to a few, seems perfect for her” Caitlyn explained and Jinx snorted. 

“Yeah but Ish has severe eye sensitivity, as the rooms get darker the projections get brighter to accommodate, it can be a bit of a headache for a normal person I just know for her it would have been hell” Jinx explained fondly her smile soft curling at the edges. There was a common compliment to women postpartum that motherhood suited them, Caitlyn had never understood it, the exhaustion and frustration present on their face the slow lethargic way they moved through the world, Caitlyn thought it was a great thing motherhood but she had never met anyone who the idea of ‘motherhood’ suited. She was realising now that maybe the women she had met weren't meant to have kids because not a single one of them had ever looked so happy and fond of their own child. Motherhood did suit Jinx , the way her eyes crinkled and her eyes lit up with fond joy. There was something sweet about it that made Caitlyn's heart flutter in her chest. 

“Oh do you go to events beforehand to check if they'll be okay or email ahead, how can you ensure they'll all be okay?” Caitlyn asked, it seemed like this one was obvious with all of the projectors and bright lights, but she didn't think they all were, there was a dull artificial lighting to most conventional galleries and museums, a kind of light that isn't focused downwards but brightened a whole room evenly. It wasn't fond of the eyes and Caitlyn was well aware of the nuisance it could be. 

“I just know what she can and can't handle, anyway even that wasn't the case we've just been to a lot of museums this week, she's happy to get a night with Gert” Jinx said a twinge of jealousy seeping into the end and Caitlyn wondered who gert was, a friend or something. 

“Gert?” Caitlyn asked, Jinx sighed dramatically deflating slightly as she rolled her eyes in an exaggerated manner. 

“My babysitter, usually she picks Isha up from school and stays with her till I get back, and sometimes Isha asks if I can go away so she can hang out with her,” Jinx explained her anger and jealousy easily recognised as false as she laughed into her hand, her eyes lighting up. 

“That must hurt, so easily betrayed” Caitlyn teased, Jinx pressed her hands to her heart head nodding. 

“It's the worst, I thought it was teenagers who didn't want to hang out with their parents, I never expected my seven year old to ditch me” Jinx whined, her head falling to rest against her chest. 

“Guess you're gonna have to find out what Gerts bribed her with and offer her double” Caitlyn suggested and Jinx's eyes lit up her head shooting back up as she reached out snatching Caitlyn's hand and tugging her over to the next doorwar. 

“Come on, the next room has cake” Jinx announced excitedly, Caitlyn frowned eyes glancing at the doorway, cake? She hadn't been told there would be food, she guessed she should have expected anything, Jinx had been so vague she truly could have walked into anything. 

Chapter Text

“Cake?” Caitlyn asked as they slipped through the short hall into the next room. They had just stepped in when Jinx paused, turning back to look up at her eyes narrowed in consideration. 

“You don't have any allergies do you?” she asked worriedly, and Caitlyn shook her head. 

“Uh no” she answered and Jinx relaxed, her shoulders dropping as her smile widened. 

“Great” Jinx stepped aside and Caitlyn took in the room, it was the south nave with a bit of the room cut in half, the projections stretching across of It of train tracks and the opposing side of a train station wall. Caitlyn turned to eye the wall to her side of the train platform, the repeating metal beams and the signs all pointing in random directions with gibberish platform names that made no sense to her. The drab greyish green walls were bleak in the dark train station, with no sign of the time outside besides a blinking clock on a train timetable board. 

Caitlyn had caught a lot of trains in her life to know this station was based on the new council station, she also knew it had to be one of the older platforms based on the copper pillars and the curving metal arches. Most of Piltover was straight and uniform but there was something flowy about the painterly lines. Jinx pulled her hand away, slipping out of her grasp and wandered over to the booth in the corner. Caitlyn eyed the ticket booth curiously the realistic old booth had a chipping wood frame and a foggy glass window that slid open as Jinx approached to reveal a man. 

Jinx leant against the counter pulling up her lanyard to flash to the man. They chatted briefly about what Caitlyn wasn't aware her eyes too focused on the stained glass shimmering in the moonlight framed by the arched window, it was oddly disorienting to see the cathedrals architecture in this place, the mix of gothic pillars and stained glass windows above and slightly down the start of the train stations wall, the swirling copper beams harsh against the round marble pillars. She blinked her eyes aching as she reached into her bag slipping her mirror free from the side pouch and quickly checking her makeup, there were slightly creases around her cheeks, her smile lines accentuate but only slightly, her lipstick was also licked away a triangle of pale pink peeking out from under the burgundy red of her lipstick. She sighed, reaching into her bag to retrieve her lipstick when she caught the blur of blue in her mirror and looked up to see Jinx , two delicate plates in her hand and a smile on her lips. 

“You might want to wait to reapply your lipstick, you'll just have to do it all over again after eating this” Jinx said as she held out the small plate, Caitlyn nodded closing her mirror with a snap and slid it back into her purse before reaching out to take the plate her finger grazed the smooth porcelain when a loud whistle sounded over head and she flinched, Jinx didn't blink at the noise steading the plate in her hand before turning. 

Two doors had slipped open in the fake wall, the projections flipped individually from right to left, a train into position in front of the station. Caitlyns mouth dropped open and Jinx grinned nodding to herself as she walked towards the train. Caitlyn walked quickly to keep up behind her clutching at her back as they slipped through the sliding doors into the long skinny room.

The room had been fitted to look like a train carriage, with long wooden walls and long skinny windows, the projections glowing on the wall outside. There were eight booth seats, the backs tall coming up halfway up the wall and stopping a foot away from the luggage racks overhead. Jinx took a seat setting the plates down and motioned for her to sit across from her, Caitlyn considered it a moment her hand resting on the tables edge trailing over the real wood grain of the sturdy table, she could sit across from her and play footsie under the table, run the tip of her heel from Jinx's ankle to her knee and then in grazing the inside of her thigh, she could do that. Or she could sit beside her, press them side by side shoulder to knee and draw patterns into her thigh and trace her nails over the inseam of her trousers. She liked that idea better. 

Caitlyn moved to stand at the end of Jinx's bench and set her bag down with a soft clatter on the table. Jinx didn't move, eyeing her curiously. 

“Shimmy over” Caitlyn instructed motioning with her hand Jinx to move. Jinx frowned but did as told, pressing herself against the wall. These benches were really not meant for two people, maybe one adult and a child but they were more for sitting across from one another as you enjoyed the small cake. Caitlyn knew they'd take the time to rest here though, knew that what would likely take others ten minutes at most would take them twenty at the minimum and she relished in that feeling the pang of pain in her toes from the arch of her heels. She sat down beside Jinx, crossed her ankles and pressed her knee to Jinx's. 

She saw the questions brewing in Jinx's mind but decided she wanted to look at her cake. She pulled it forward picking up the tiny fork from the side, it was rather cute a four prong  fork the length of her index finger and the width of her thumb curving gently at the handle. She turned the cake over. The cake was a square cake with blue glaze swirling with bright colours poured over top, the mixing of the dark blues with the sunflower yellows and the venomous greens a striking contrast. On top of the glaze was a chocolate frame dusted with gold shimmer and a little paint brush. She pulled off the frame and took a bite turning to Jinx to catch her staring her eyes wide and focused on her elbow braced on the table as she sat nearly sideways to watch her. 

When their eyes locked, Jinx blinked cheeks burning as she turned to look down at her own cake, hers was slightly different her glaze, a soft lilac with swirls of white and that same striking green mixing on top. Her frame dusted silver. 

“Do the different frame colours mean anything in cake form like they do the real thing?” Caitlyn asked and Jinx hummed around a bite of her cake swallowing with a cut off moan. 

“Uh not that i'm aware” Jinx looked down at her cake suspiciously the hole in the center the only thing amiss. Caitlyn eyed the hole in the center the frame left intact on top of the cake. Caitlyn cut into her cake from the corner stabbing her piece with her small fork and brought it up to her lips. It seemed to be red velvet. The moment she tasted it her taste buds lit up eyes widening as she moaned softly around the rich taste. She was quick to take another bite the chocolate frame discarded on the side. After a couple of bites in a shared cake bliss, she felt the warmth of Jinx's thigh pressing into hers, her knee boney against her own and she remembered what her intention had been when she had sat down. She moved her fork over into her other hand and reached down her hand pressed to Jinx's knee as she leaned back into the benches back. Jinx looked at her curiously but she didn't move to shake off her hand so Caitlyn kept it there, her index finger tracing small circles into the corderos textured ridges. 

“You really only ever wear silver?” Caitlyn asked, eyeing the small chain that rested on the side of Jinx's leg. She looked down as well and nodded. 

“Mainly, I have an old watch that's got gold hardware and a few pieces I pair with it” Jinx admitted slipping her hand under Caitlyn’s and turning it over in her hand leaving it resting against her leg but now stationary. Caitlyn guessed it was the price she'd have to pay to have Jinx's warm palm against her own, her rings cold against the sides of her fingers and clinking against her own softly.

“Where did you get the watch? A gift? I can't imagine you'd buy it for yourself” Caitlyn asked thumb brushing over the silver ring on Jinx's thumb, a bulky signet ring with an unfamiliar crest stamped into the metal, initials she didn't recognise stamped underneath. 

“Actually I got it at an auction, and technically Isha bought it for me out of my own money” Jinx admitted though she rolled her eyes as though annoyed her tone was so thick with fondness it was hard to believe she was particularly bothered by it. 

“Did she scratch her head?” Caitlyn asked teasingly, shed done that once in the early days and her mother and father had spent the rest of the afternoon laughing at her like it was the most riveting inside joke, they'd look at the little bag she was carrying remember the rather gaudy broch inside and look at each other before falling over themselves laughing. Caitlyn hadn't taken them to anymore for a few months but when she did her mother had reminded her not to scratch her head unless she wanted to start a broch collection. 

“Worse, I handed her my padel as I got her drink out of my bag and she started waving it around, in the time it took me to realise and get it out of her hand we'd won” Jinx explained with a shake of her head, Caitlyn could picture it, Jinx leant over unaware as the bids ramped up and finally raising her head to realise. She chuckled lightly at the imagery. 

“That's so cute,” she admitted and Jinx groaned. 

“Yeah it was, she loves that dumb watch though, its too big for her at the moment but one day it'll be hers, Silco had it engraved with the day I became her foster parent and Im gonna buy another one with the day I get to adopt her on it” Jinx said and Caitlyn nodded but her mind was caught. She wasn't well versed in the adoption process, she wondered knowing what Jinx had done in her past If that impacted it. 

“How is that coming along? Adopting her I mean?” Caitlyn asked. Jinx leaned back into her chair, her fork set down beside the nearly gone cake. 

“Well” Jinx started her mouth open for a moment before she closed it. She took the last piece of her cake off the plate with her fingers and plopped it in her mouth, licking the glaze from her fingers. Caitlyn waited but now she was worried. 

“It's a long process, made longer by my age and background” she finally admitted quietly, a little embarrassed by the fact. Most of the other foster parents she had met had said the process was easy. You got your placement and six months later you were starting the adoption process. Jinx had fought tooth and nail to prove she was a good home for Isha and could take care of her before she was allowed to foster her. 

“You know I’m fully reformed, I did my community service, I got my degrees, I have a stable income and a house fully paid off I've passed every drug test I’ve ever taken and I don’t drink often” Jinx explained her voice pitching passionately as Caitlyn nodded along. She believed her when she said she was reformed, Jinx could have left at that and Caitlyn would have agreed. The way she defended herself also told Caitlyn that Jinx had had this conversation a few times, told her that Jinx spent a lot of time convincing others she was fit to take care of her kid. 

“I believe you” she said firmly and Jinx paused her eyes bright as she took deep laboured breaths eyes slightly teary. 

“Thanks, a lot of people don't” Jinx admitted tiredly. Her head dropped and then she shifted resting it on Caitlyn's shoulder. 

“There is a lot of logistics, and Isha has to be in my care for at least twenty four months before I can adopt her formally” Jinx murmured quietly before she trailed of in a whisper “i'm still scared they're gonna change their mind and deem me unfit though” 

Caitlyn's heart ached in her chest, she couldn't understand that fear because she didn't have kids but she saw the way it affected Jinx the way her hands balled into fists in her lap eyes unfocused and hazy mouth slightly parted as she held her breath. Caitlyn pressed Jinx 's hand down into her leg and shook it bringing her back. 

“That's crazy talk, I might not have known you long but it doesn't take a detective to see how much you love that kid, how good of a parent you are” Caitlyn insisted, Jinx looked up at her chin hooked on her shoulder her breath lightly fanning out against Caitlyn's chin. 

“You think so?” she asked softly, and Caitlyn nodded firmly squeezing her hand with a pulse. 

“Oh yeah” Caitlyn breathed with a slight shrug of her shoulders, her smile small but genuine. Jinx blinked the stray tears from her lids and nodded. 

“You really don't care about what I did?” she asked, Jinx was so incredibly confident but underneath it all was still a kid who'd lost so much, still clinging for forgiveness and understanding. Caitlyn wondered how many people had shunned her for what she did, how many people had heard the tales and wrote her off as crazy. 

“You gonna do it again?” she asked though she knew the answer. Jinx was smarter now than she had been at twelve. 

“Well no, not in an old attic anyway, in the safety of a detonation chamber in my lab yes” Jinx admitted truthfully pulling back to nod along and Caitlyn already missed the warmth of her on her shoulder, missed her weight pressing into her side. 

“Then no Jinx I don't care, just as long as you don't get anyone hurt and you blow up your bombs safely” Caitlyn admitted, she was actually quite curious to see one explode. She wasn't a huge fan of loud bangs but she wouldn't mind seeing an actual bomb be blown up in a safe location with ear plugs in her ears. Maybe one of those silent ones. 

“I did hurt a lot of people” she whispered and Caitlyn nodded thinking of Vi and the way she couldn't even approach the topic. She thought of Mylo whose anger was still there in his words, in his darting untrusting eyes. But she also thought of claggor who had forgiven her so easily, who defended her against her siblings and advocated for them to apologize to her. She thought of Silco who'd been spared any injuries but had had to pick up the pieces of his daughter in the aftermath of what she had done by sheer accident. 

“You were a kid with undiagnosed mental disorders, who was left unattended with dangerous materials and made a mistake” Caitlyn explained, she still couldn't figure out how Jinx had managed it, she wondered how she had built the thing, with common household materials even. Maybe they were easier to make then she had been led to believe but she didn't think that a kid no matter how bright they were should have been able to figure it out without someone at least wondering what they were up to. 

“Yeah I know, but still it's okay if this is all too much” Jinx said her tone upbeat in the fake way that cashiers used the hour before closing. 

“What is too much?” Caitlyn asked, her eyes narrowing, she had an idea of where Jinx was going with this. She was being given an out. 

“Me” Jinx admitted flatly and Caitlyn clenched her jaw squeezing Jinx's hand tight. She didn't want an out, she wanted an in. She wanted to know more, wanted to get the chance to at least know Jinx and decided for herself if that was something she could handle.

“Jinx” she breathed, closing her eyes a moment and when she opened them it seemed to have done the opposite thing, Jinx looked slightly nervous. 

“I still have episodes now and then, they're rare but they happen but I have methods to get through them, and I'm away a lot, like all the time, I love traveling, and I work long hours, I commute several hours per day, I miss a lot of texts im super annoying to get a hold off” Jinx explained her words tumbled out quickly in the same breath mushing together and Caitlyn nodded along taking them all in. She also worked long hours, also commuted over an hour to work every day. Caitlyn was more of a texting person herself but she also forgot to check her phone as well, after it went on silent mode It was like it didn't exist. 

“Okay, I can handle that,” Caitlyn said and Jinx frowned brows furrowing. 

“I have a kid for christ sake, Cait I really would understand if you decided that we would be better as friends” Jinx said softly, and Caitlyn thought of the way Jinx talked about her kid. How she lit up whenever Isha was brought up. She had never thought about having kids, didn't think that was in the cards for her, thought she'd go on living alone forever, settle down at forty with a nice woman and travel around the world childfree and happy. Caitlyn was also notoriously bad at cards, she had never won a game of go fish, or black jack or even uno for that matter. She liked Jinx and so she was willing to step up for her if she needed. She wasn't going to be scared away because of it. 

“Do you want to be just friends?” Caitlyn asked brow cocked and Jinx froze her eyes darting around lip tucked between her teeth before she shook her head. 

“No” she murmured quietly, Caitlyn smiled widely. 

“Great! I don't either” Caitlyn announced and Jinx blinked at her, wide eyed and hopeful she turned in her seat turning Jinx's hand over and squeezing it twice in quick succession. Jinx squeezed back once. 

“I really like you Jinx, I like the fact that you travel a lot, I want to know all the places you go to and the things you see and one day i'd like to come along so you can show me all your favorite spots” Caitlyn admitted softly, there was more to it than just the travelling but she thinks Jinx got her underlying message. 

“I have a lot” Jinx murmured and Caitlyn chuckled. 

“Hmm you can take me to every single one of them” Caitlyn offered, Jinx smiled widely, her sharp teeth poking past her lips and Caitlyn wanted to kiss her so stupidly bad. She bit at her lip. 

“It's a date” Jinx announced happily and Caitlyns heart panged in her chest, she had another date with Jinx. 

She was so freaking excited. This date hadn't even ended as she was already thinking of the next, she was planning it out in her head spinning over the places Caitlyn could take Jinx instead, something just as cool and fun. She could still see the slight doubts in Jinx's head but they seemed to have largely passed. It still didn't mean she couldn't stamp them out for the future “Jinx, I don't care about what you did ten years ago, I care about what you did in the aftermath, I respect it even, I have so much respect for you, I can't imagine going through all you did and turning out to be so awesome” 

“Kids benefit more easily from therapy, it wasn't that hard” Jinx murmured and Caitlyn breathed out a drawn out sigh turning to look down at her plate before she looked back up brows raised at the mischievous little smile on Jinx's lips. 

“Take the compliment jinx” she ordered and Jinx tried to repress her grin lips pressed together as she nodded seriously. 

“Okay it was incredibly difficult, I should have been given a medal for my hard work, remind me how proud you are of me?” Jinx said lightly her frown flipped so completely and Caitlyn mentally patted herself on the back for getting her to smile so wide. 

“So proud, bursting at the seams, slightly envious at your perseverance” Caitlyn answered flatly, her tone unshifting and Jinx couldn't help the way the snort slipped past her lips the noise ungraceful but cute nonetheless. 

“And you said I was awesome?” Jinx asked, eyes narrowed as she held up her fork like she was holding a microphone and Caitlyn rolled her eyes. 

“You're awesome” said Caitlyn again, completely honestly her words softening just slightly and Jinx seemed to catch it falling quiet as she nodded. 

“Hmm, you're sweet” Jinx murmured grin lopsided as she shook her head leaning back into Caitlyn's side setting her fork down with a clatter on the plate, “my ego has never been stroked so thoroughly before it's damn near purring” 

Caitlyn blushed the retort there on the tip of her tongue, she shook her head biting her tongue hard as she thought about it. Caitlyn looked down at her and Jinx peered up at her wide eyes, curious. Caitlyns eyes fell to her plush lips coated in a shiny gloss and she leaned a little closer feeling her breath fan out against her own lips, Jinx looked down as well her eyes locked down on her lips as Caitlyn's tongue darted out to wet her lips. They were leaning in the silence so loud in their shared space. 

The whistle blew over head, so loud it shocked them and they both jumped apart blinking up as they looked to the end of the train the doors were opening again and others were filtering in. 

“Guess this is out stop” Jinx murmured quietly and Caitlyn felt a pang of disappointment in her stomach but below it a smoldering heat at the denial, the fact that they were so close, she just had to be quicker next time. Because Caitlyn was sure now more than ever there would be a next time. She could be patient. Caitlyn laughed, her head falling to lay down against the table as she chuckled. 

“We didn't move, but it feels like we've gone miles” she whined she felt like she had been round and round on a roller coaster, like she had been through every single emotion and more, Caitlyn wondered if all dates were this emotional. 

“Yeah it's incredibly immersive all of her exhibits center around movement and distance” Jinx explained her passion clear and Caitlyn peered out through the fold in her arm at Jinx. She was staring out the window, her eyes focused on the moving projections and the changing landscape neither of them had bothered to take in. 

“Well it definitely worked” Caitlyn admitted breathlessly as she pushed to stand she moved out of the way of the bench bracing her arm to help Jinx out from the booth as she reached for her bag. By now she doubted she had any lipstick left the decadent red velvet having wiped it all away. She didn't move to reapply it. 

Jinx grabbed both their plates up off the table stacking them on her hand before she turned tugging Caitlyn behind her down the long train corridor and through the small door into the next room. There was a small window and another man in a train conductor's uniform accepting the plates with a smile. The door had opened out onto a long concrete walkway that descended down two short steps to the main room. The projections all of the mountains, their image stretched up to the tip of the wall, the sky stretching along the curve of the ceiling to further accentuate the mountain's looming height, she could just see the sun was starting to see warming the mountains from behind the warm golden glow illuminating the greenery.

“Just a random question but do you like hiking by any chance?” Jinx suddenly stopped at a small desire path projection, the small trodden path had a post at its side and footprints carved into them suggesting it was a hiking route. Caitlyn thought back to the warning Vi had given her. She stifled her laugh, biting tightly at her lip as she looked down at the floor. 

“What's so funny?” Jinx asked curiously, nudging Caitlyn with her shoe and Caitlyn couldn't help but burst out laughing drawing some judgy eyes their way which were soon met with vicious glares from Jinx. 

“Nothing, I swear, Vi just warned me about this” she admitted through teary chuckles, her eyes burning with the force of her laughter. Jinx groaned and dropped her hand to cross her arms over her chest, her pout pushing out her lower lip. 

“Oh my god, just because she doesn't like hiking doesn't mean it's some torturous activity” Jinx huffed, stamping her foot slightly and Caitlyn chuckled softly nodding along and reaching back for Jinx's hand  resting her hand against her forearm. 

“Yes Jinx I like hiking, I used to take Jayce with me” she admitted and Jinx lit up her arms unfolding as she retook Caits hand in hers. 

“Really?” she asked eyes wide and shocked, she moved closer and Caitlyn nodded. 

“Yes” Caitlyn confirmed, Jinx's face exploded with joy. 

“I actually got into hiking because of Jayce,” Jinx explained excitedly and Caitlyn frowned. That couldn't be right. Sure Jayce was fairly active now but he hadnt always been, she used to drag him out with her she couldn't imagine him willingly introducing someone to hiking. 

“You did?” Caitlyn asked slightly unconvinced but Jinx didn't seem to notice too caught up in her excitement at another link they shared. 

“Yeah, I was having a hard time in my first year, I wasn't really allowed to leave campus because obviously I was a criminal, but Jayce convinced Heimerdinger that the stress of exams was making me claustrophobic and I needed fresh air that wasn't the small patch of grass outside the science building where everyone went to smoke” Jinx explained fondly, Caitlyn could imagine it, Jayce was very convincing when he wanted to be. 

“So one afternoon, he came into my dorm and said come on we're going out, he took me shopping, bought me these bright pink hiking boots and this stupid chicken bucket hand and took me on a hike, we took the easy tourist route up but when we got down” Jinx trailed off a knowing look in her eyes and Caitlyn could already guess. 

“well I wanted to go right back up, so we took the expert route up and we sat at this waterfall for a while” Jinx explained softly, Caitlyn thought of the waterfalls in Piltover there were a fair share but there was only one she could imagine Jayce taking her. Only one which had to route, one which led up to the lake above and another the harder one which led to the waterfalls. 

“Eas fors?” Caitlyn asked breathlessly, Jinx's eyes lit up at the name and Caitlyn wanted to tell her that she had been the one to introduce Jayce to that waterfall, that it was her father who had introduced it to her. She bit her tongue she would share that particular story another time. Maybe on whatever number date they ended up going hiking on. 

“Yeah, we sat at its side and I told him about birds” Jinx admitted a smug glint in her eyes and Caitlyn hummed, she wasn't very knowledgeable on birds but she guessed Jinx was. 

“Do you know a lot about Piltover's birds?” Caitlyn asked and Jinx paused, pulling her lip between her teeth as she sorted through her answers. 

“At the time? Absolutely nothing” she admitted with a shrug “id bought a book whilst he was trying to figure out kids shoe sizes, id point out a bird and whilst he wasn't looking flick through it till i found the bird and then spout out facts”

“Did he catch you?” Caitlyn asked and Jinx shook her head smugly. 

“Nope to this day has no clue” Jinx said proudly, her smirk devious. Caitlyn wouldn't put it past him, Jayce was so perceptive except to what was right in front of him. 

“Do you now know anything about birds?” Caitlyn asked and Jinx nodded a bright blush forming high on her cheeks. 

“Too much, I got scared he'd catch me out and so I researched them like mad, I also joined a bird watching community under his recommendation” she admitted with a grimace, there was a lot she was willing to do to not get caught but this was too far even for her, the ruse was sadly no longer a ruse, she actually liked bird watching now and what she had initially done as a kind of random joke was now a weirdly big part of her life. 

“Wow that's quite the commitment” Caitlyn acknowledged and Jinx smiled shrugging a shoulder. 

“Yeah it was never meant to go this far, but I have to make you promise to never tell him” she admitted and Caitlyn hummed nodding, that seemed fair. She held out her hand, finger poised and Jinx paused. 

“Pinky swear, but only if you tell me a bird fact” Caitlyn said, Jinx smiled reaching out and linking their fingers tightly before she gave it a shake. 

“I think i'll have to decline, my bird knowledge is more of an 8th date topic” she added as she stepped forward grimacing slightly, she may have called Caitlyn a nerd earlier but she was the biggest nerd there was and nothing made it more obvious then when she was going on about birds feather patterns. 

“Wow gonna make me wait seven more dates?” Caitlyn asked silently, preening at the idea that there would be seven more dates for her to wait. That Jinx was even thinking that far ahead. She surely was but it was nice to know it was reciprocated 

“Yeah I kind of like you and if I told you now, you'd run for the hills” Jinx said thumb pointing to the mountain at their side with a little chuckle. 

“I really wouldn't, but i'm going to hold you to it,on our eighth date all I want is bird facts” Caitlyn answered truthfully, there was probably very few things that would make her go running when it came to Jinx, shed think after learning all she had learnt maybe she would get that itch, the non committal itch to run but there was something settled in her. 

“And nothing else” Jinx said pointedly as though a threat, widening her eyes and Caitlyn hummed curiously. 

“Nope nothing else, we can have a picnic by the lake and you can tell me all about the different species of birds we encounter” she offered, she thought of Jinx stretched in cargo pants and a vest top binoculars around her neck telling her about the local bird ecology. 

“That sounds nice” Jinx choked as she shuffled quickly through the door into the next room, Caitlyn shrugged following after maybe she wasn't a fan of picnics. The next room was a tall rounded room, eight projected hedges lining the walls and in the center a tall sprouting tree. Around the tree's trunk a project spun, two young adults ran around it, their nudeness covered by leaves and twigs smiling widely. Four of the eight hedges had arches cut from them and through them lined expansive green hills, the last glimpse of the sun shining along the horizon painting the fields golden  as animals prowled languidly. 

“Did you really ask everything on your cue cards?” Caitlyn asked and Jinx paused coming to a halt in front of a projection of a cat on a hedge her hand reached up to drag her finger along the painted cat's curling body.

“I did not” Jinx admitted pulling the card from her pocket and there were several questions written in the neatest tiniest handwriting she had ever seen. 

“Ask me another” Caitlyn prompted and Jinx smiled reading over the questions with a focused eye, 

“Do you want a serious one or a fun one” Jinx asked and Caitlyn grimaced at the idea of a serious one, they had already had so many serious questions, both of them disclosing so much, most of which she had a hard time believing would usually be told on a first date but alas neither of them had tried to make a runner so maybe they had not over stepped. 

“Fun one” she answered after a moment and Jinx nodded before she lit up.

“Hypothetically if you woke up with a super power what would you want it to be?” Jinx asked lightly, looking up from her card and Caitlyn hummed. 

“Mind reading” Caitlyn answered swiftly, the answer in the forefront of her head the moment Jinx had said super power. She thought of the looks people shared that conveyed their hidden meanings, the subtle silent actions and even the outrageous loud actions with no warning or explanation. Caitlyn didn't understand people but she wished she did. 

“Woah you answered that fast” Jinx noted nodding

“I just want to know what's going on in other people's heads, what goes through their minds before they do or say or purchase something” Caitlyn explained carefully mulling the reasoning over in her head. 

“Mine is pretty blank, I just get an idea and do it” Jinx admitted with a shrug and Caitlyn chuckled softly with a nod, she had never got that, her plans were well thought out in preparation. Everything had to have its reasons. 

“See that's the thing, I don't do that, I have to consider it, I think of what i'm going to say and then I rethink it and then I say it, I decide my plan of action consider the things that could occur and then I do it” Caitlyn admitted she knew it sounded rather crazy, to put so much effort into such trivial pointless details, she wished she could be more free with her actions but there was always the tiny voice in the back of her head that reminded her that she had an image to uphold. She was a Kiramman and she was to act like one, “If i'm buying something I think of the outfit it could go with the place id display it in my home, the function it would have in my daily life”

“That's very organised” Jinx admitted looking at Caitlyn out of the corner of her eye. Curious but the idea of simply not just doing things on the immediate whim. Not seeing something in a store and purchasing it without a care of where she'd display it but knowing that it would look cool. She had a better idea of what it was like with clothing. Jinx had several large wardrobes, large and spacious full of her clothes and shoes and handbags and jewellery, she was a bit trigger happy when it came to buying new pieces and she was only starting to come to the conclusion she had to stop. 

“Yeah I guess you don't really get to do that with a kid huh?” Caitlyn asked, she didn't know much about kids but she knew they kind of threw off a schedule and a plan like the changing of the time. 

“Not really, I mean you could probably raise kids in an organised manner but most of the time you're working around their wants, needs, and schedule and that can change really quickly” Jinx admitted with a grimace looking down at her shoes in horrified memory. 

“You don't know how many times i've thought we had a plan only for her to reveal a bake sale at the last minute or a charity fundraiser of a science fair” Jinx groaned head shaking as she thought back to all the slips shed been handed at the last minute, it was really awkward and led to many disasters and long nights spent throwing things together hoping they stuck. 

“You know I never asked but what kind of school is she in?” Caitlyn asked, she had personally gone to a private school, it was a snobby place that Caitlyn had never felt very included in. 

“A gifted education programme at highcross school” Jinx whispered, face pinched in embarrassment which made no sense because Caitlyn knew it was a great school. 

“Oh I went there, not their gifted programme my mother always said” she caught herself before she could repeat the rather mean rhetoric her mother always spewed. Jinx seemed to know what she meant anyway. 

“For the special kids?” she asked pointedly and Caitlyn nodded biting at her lip. 

“Its not, there's an actual special needs class but the gifted programme is for the kids who test out of their year, Isha is testing three years up and is about to test up again in her next review” Jinx explained her anger turning to pride as she recalled how smart her child was, from where Isha had started when Jinx first enrolled her to where she was now was leaps and bounds apart. 

“Probably undermines my point that it's not for the special kids because well isha's deaf” Jinx admitted and Caitlyn eyes widened at the new information. 

“Oh is that hard, Jayce has a bit of hearing loss in his ears so he's been learning sign Is that what she uses as well?” Caitlyn asked and Jinx seemed to relax more, nodding proudly. 

“We all know sign and she has hearing aids but they give her migraines so she's been learning how to lip read, so just if you ever try to tell me something in front of her cover your lips because is very nosey” Jinx explained bringing her hand up to show her and Caitlyn snickered at the idea of the child eavesdropping in on their conversations from afar.

“Is it horrible of me to say that could actually come in really handy. You could employ her as your lip reader to get gossip for you” Caitlyn snickered and Jinx considered a moment before she shook her head disapprovingly and Caitlyn bit her lip to stop her laughing.

“She already spills all of my secrets to Silco and gert for free, if you give her the option to pay her she’ll learn that information has value and start charging for everything” Jinx huffed dramatically a small but of fear on her face before it melted away. 

“She can follow in your footsteps and become a ceo, a little business woman” Caitlyn cooed and Jinx grimaced her nose scrunching at the idea. 

“She's got her eyes set higher, I think she wants to take over the world, council maybe” Jinx admitted eyes wide in fear and Caitlyn couldn't help but laugh.

“That is admirable” she admitted through her laughing and Jinx sighed nodding along before she shook her head. 

“Hmm I guess ill find out in time, whatever she wants to do will be fine with me” Jinx admitted softly, and it really was that easy wasn't it Cait thought. Letting kids do as they please. Her mother would have a fit. 

“I wish my mom had been like that” Caitlyn admitted solemnly and Jinx frowned her lips down turned, she knew that Caitlyn's mother hadn't been supportive of her dropping out but was she not supportive of her going into medicine in the first place. 

“Was she not supportive?” Jinx asked and Caitlyn let out a long drawn out sigh as she blinked up at the domed ceiling. 

“No she was, but there were respectable careers you know, there were certain paths laid out for me and there wasn't much room to go exploring outside of them” she admitted with a scoff of course Caitlyn hadn't really thought to pursue anything else but it would have been nice to get the option. 

“So you never got to pursue the arts?” Jinx asked her tone light and teasing, Caitlyn had a brief stint with the arts but never in much of an academic sense, outside of university she got to dabble but before that in her high school days her focus was entirely science based 

“Not really, there were two careers for my future, either a lawyer or a doctor and most of my studies revolved around those two” she admitted with a shrug she wasn't really bothered by the narrow choices but she guessed she envied the people who got to think about it beforehand, the people who should up to university taking courses without knowing what they were gonna do after. 

“Well i'm not gonna restrict my kids on what they want to do, as long as they have a plan for their future that isn't just living off my money then i will be okay with anything” Jinx admitted and Caitlyn liked that answer, though her brain caught on the plural she had used, kids. That was a lot to think about, Caitlyn took a deep breath and turned to her fully, eyes earnest. 

“Tell me about her” she prompted, Jinx looked at her curiously, her smile tilted as she frowned in confusion. 

“Isha?” she asked. 

“Yes, she is a big part of your life and well i want to get to know you which means getting to know her” Caitlyn answered her words perfectly curated to show her dedication and it seemed to stun the other as she looked up at her eyes wide as she blinked slowly. She bit her lip and nodded motioning over to a bench pressed below one of the projected hedges. Caitlyn sat down and Jinx slowly sat besides her hands tucked into her lap. 

“Well what do you want to know?” she asked which Caitlyn should have expected, she knew nothing about kids, what did she want to know. 

“What's her current favorite thing?” she asked and Jinx paused for a moment, eyes narrowing before she turned to look at her. 

“Currently its magnets, specifically these magnet connecting toys, she has thousands of them, they're pretty sturdy as well so she uses them to make forts” Jinx admitted passionately. 

“Does she prefer blanket forts or sturdy box forts?” Caitlyn asked which was a rather specific question, it made Jinx pause. She knew the answer, what kind of parent did not but what a question it was to ask. 

“Blanket forts, she likes to put things on the outside so they cause silhouettes on the walls” Jinx explained and Caitlyn hummed thoughtfully. 

“Does she share your love of space?” Caitlyn asked and Jinx smiled fondly and nodded. 

“Yeah, if the council thing doesn't work out i think she might be an astronaut, though i don't think she understands that we don't have the technology to go to the constellations she loves” Jinx explained wistfully, childrens dreams were so expansive and wide, they had such brilliant aspirations for greatness and Jinx wished she could promise it would work out like she wanted it to. 

“Well you're pretty smart, maybe by the time she's old enough you'll have figured it out” Caitlyn said softly and Jinx paused her heart stuttering in her chest. 

“Yeah maybe” she breathed quietly. Little over a decade, she could work a lot of magic in that time, set her sights on the stars so that one day her daughter could go out and explore them. 

“Curious I didn't ask earlier but how long do you have left before you can adopt isha?” Caitlyn asked, Jinx took a deep breath blinking up at the sky. 

“Two months” she admitted excitedly, just two short months and then the adoption process would start which would hopefully go a lot quicker some said it could be six months but then the last time someone had told her it would be six months it had actually been twenty four so Jinx was done listening to the advice that wasn't from her agent. 

“Oh Woah so you would have been…” she trailed off doing the math in her head eyes widening as she realised “twenty”

“Well I started fostering her at twenty, Id been petitioning to foster her for a few months before that, I was actually nineteen when I first met her” Jinx admitted wistfully, she knew it was unconventional but there was not really much of a choice in her mind not that she would have made any other. She had been gone the moment she had seen the little girl.

“Oh my, I can't even imagine when I was nineteen I was popping adderall and spending two days studying then two days sleeping off the effects just to do it again, I can't even imagine deciding to foster a child” Caitlyn admitted a blush burning at her cheeks as she realised what she just admitted, she laughed awkwardly but Jinx only seemed amused.

“I wasn't either, i'd been going to our distributors factories to get an idea of who we were working with when I found this kid, hyperventilating in a crate, id had my fair share of panic attacks so I knew how to calm her down, after that she wouldn't let me go” Jinx admitted, she still had the small scars around her back from where Isha’s tiny hands had wormed under her shirt in her desperation to keep holding on to her, she wouldn't let anyone else take her not that Jinx had wanted to let her go either. 

“What was she doing in a factory?” Caitlyn asked and Jinx's face closed her, her smile dropping away replaced with a fiery anger that brightened her eyes. 

“She worked there,” she admitted quietly. 

“Child labour” Caitlyn realised her jaw clenching. 

“Yeah. We bought out the factory and reported the organisation to the enforcers” Jinx admitted a seething breath slipping through her gritted teeth as she squeezed her knee tightly. 

“I think I remember that, they are going on trial soon” Caitlyn had heard the story from mel, Caitlyn hadn't been working at the firm yet and so she wasn't told much but what she did know was the evidence was plenty and the leads ironclad. She was getting them and she was getting them good. 

“Yeah most of them went under but the big guys who got caught will be sentenced at the end of the year” Jinx admitted tiredly, knowing that some of them even as lowly in the operations as they had been were still out there made her blood boil in anger, she had hired a very good security team after she got Isha whilst she knew it was unlikely they'd come back the mere chance wasnt slim enough for her liking. 

“They tried to take her from me, and she just looked at me with these giant gold eyes full of terror, I knew that if I left her that I was a horrible human being so I ended our meeting and found as many kids as I could managed to convince them to come with me and called the cops, I knew if I left and tried to call that they'd take the kids and run” Jinx admitted turning in her seat to face Caitlyn, Cait saw the fire in her eyes, heard the passion in her tone and knew that Jinx really had done all she could. 

“How old was she?” Caitlyn asked she realised she didn't actually know how old Isha was. 

“Four about to turn five, but I didn't know that, I would have said two three at the most she was tiny, she still is but she's fuller now, roundest cheeks ive ever seen” Jinx admitted dreamily her smile bulging her own round cheeks and Caitlyn reached out her hand cupping her soft cheek thumb pressed into the plump part over the curve of her lip. 

“Like yours?” she asked, pinching gently and Jinx snickered, shaking her head. 

“We look nothing alike” she sighed and Caitlyn shook her head in disagreement. 

“I wouldn't say that same button nose, blue hair even if hers is dyed, round cheeks, rounder eyes” she listed thinking of the mural Jinx had drawn her in.  

“Oh she begged for that blue hair” Jinx admitted softly and Caitlyn hummed her eyes drifting down to Jinx's lip pulled between her teeth as she worried it slightly. 

“And you gave in?” she asked and Jinx sighed dramatically. 

“Like you said round eyes, it's hard to say no” she admitted, Caitlyn understood that looking at Jinx's wide eyes remembering the way they had turned on her pleading and soft. She was slightly worried for the day she had to meet Isha and even more worried for the day those eyes would turn on her. She was screwed wasn't she. 

“How do you manage it all?” Caitlyn asked and Jinx frowned her head tilting back to rest on the back of the bench squeezing Caitlyn's hand between the cold wood and her warm cheek. 

“All of what?” she asked, at this angle she looked softer, those eyes turning up at her so perceptive and curious. 

“Work, travel, family, a kid, your art, hobbies” she listed and Jinx shrugged a shoulder. 

“ Youre not gonna like the answer” she whispered, eyes narrowed and Caitlyn Frowned thinking of what she could be doing, secret government pills that allowed her to stay up all night without ever needing to sleep, a secret calendar where the week was actually twice as long and we had more hours in the day. 

“Time travel?” she asked in faux seriousness and Jinx giggled turning her face into Caitlyn's hand hiding her eyes as she curled up into herself softly. 

“Ha I wish, still physically impossible” she chuckled as she sat up looking at her warmly. 

“Never say never though” Caitlyn reminded and Jinx nodded seriously as though it would ever be a possibility as Caitlyn asked “So how?” 

“I have an assistant, and a babysitter, and a team of staff and a personal shopper who fills my fridge and who does most of my shopping” Jinx listed which yeah seemed obvious in retrospect, how else did anyone get anything done? they off handed it to other people. Caitlyn thought about her mothers assistant, the rather mean woman who wore business suits all day even oddly late at night. 

“Yeah im not important enough for an assistant” Caitlyn Admitted with a shrug, she was the assistant until further notice which was fine by her. 

“She's awesome fills my calendar out for me and leaves post it notes on my desk to remind me where I'm meant to be, at first we had a problem where id hoard the post its and forget which were new and which were old but now she takes them when she writes new ones” Jinx admitted fondly and Caitlyn Hummed her eyes narrowed. 

“Oh that's nice” she murmured quietly and Jinx sighed, eyes rolling in exasperation. 

“I'm not interested in my assistant” she stated teasingly and Caitlyn Scoffed awkwardly averting her eyes. 

“I didnt” she went to say, turning to look back where she found Jinx looking at her with a pointed look, brows furrowed and teasing. 

“I can see it in your eyes, promise, she's like a mom to me, came with the company” Jinx explained earnestly and Caitlyn Sighed yeah that seemed better, she wasn't a very jealous person but considering who her old supervisor had been and how he had gotten fired Caitlyn wasn’t gonna risk it.

“Oh thank god, just seemed like one of those cliches ya know” she breathed shaking her head. Jinx snorted moving to stand and offering out her hand to Caitlyn to take. 

“What the hot assistant who the boss cheats with” Jinx asked as she hoisted Caitlynto her feet stepping into her face with a grin. 

“Yeah” Caitlyn Breathed, nodding slowly. 

“I'd say that only happens in the movies but it really doesn't, one of my department heads was caught doing just that like 6 months ago, morons really we fired him” Jinx admitted with a grimace a look of disgust flashing across her face as they walked over to the next doorway this one blocked off by a beaded curtain of glittering cream crystals. 

“It's good you took immediate action,” Caitlyn murmured. Caitlyns favourite room up until they passed through the draping tassels had been the orange tree forest, the hanging fruits from the fabric leaves had felt so magical, the small fae children hiding away in the forest and the biblical imagery of the snakes in the grass. It really showed how much attention to detail had gone into the whole event and Caitlyn had never been more glad to have trusted someone than she was now. As the curtains fell away she stepped out in front of Jinx onto a small wooden platform, the white painted boards creaking under her foot. They'd spent a lot of time walking through the exhibit getting to know each other and it meant they were some of the last people there and they were the only people in this room. 

The long dark corridor bathed in a dark blue glow. A long white bridge stretched from one side of the room to the other and beneath it a projection of water lilies floating gracefully through rippling water bumping into each other before drifting away. Wisteria hung down from the ceiling blowing in a soft breeze rustling over their heads as she moved to step onto the bridge. Despite the creaking wood it felt secure under her feet as she moved to stand in the center, her chest aching as she looked around at the brilliant lights dancing around the room. There was something mystical in the air. 

Caitlyn leant over the bridges railing pushing up onto her tippy toes to peer down as she braced herself on the railing. She heard the creak of the wood as Jinx came over and looked over to her side. Jinx was leant against the railing arms crossed over her chest and in her hand another one of those water lilies clasped in her palm. Caitlyn frowned, mouth opening to ask where she had gotten it when Jinx reached up, slipping the clip through her hair at the base of her bun and fixing it in place with a small smile. Caitlyn gasped, hand shooting up fingers grazing along the fabric edge. 

“Thank you” Caitlyn Breathed as she turned hand reaching out to cup Jinx's cheek in her palm, there was a hammering in her ears as she leaned in  pulling Jinx up to meet her half way as she pressed their lips together. Caitlyn had started with the intention of soft chaste but when she felt her lips against her own heard the soft gasp slip out of her soft lips she was gone. She moved forward, backing Jinx into the railing, deepening the kiss, shifting her bag up to her elbow before she pressed her other hand to Jinx's hips. 

Their kiss was far longer than was probably appropriate for such a public space but just the mere idea of pulling away made her heart ache. She wanted to stay here forever, surrounded by beautiful art, the taste of sweet cake in her mouth and the warmth of Jinx pressed against her from hip to chest. She pulled away to take a deep breath pressing their foreheads together a second later. 

When Caitlyn Opened her eyes she found Jinx still had not breathing shallowly as she clutched her eyes closed her cheeks a bright pink lips stretched in a dopey lopsided smile. Caitlyn sighed pulling back thumb, slipping a stray strand of hair up out of Jinx's face and Jinx finally opened her eyes slowly blinking up at her, pupils blown wide and brows raised in shock. 

“Woah” she breathed and Caitlyn Felt a bit smug at the reaction moving back her hand slipping from her hip slowly the same way Jinxs had fallen from hers just that morning. 

“You know this isn't even the best room” Jinx murmured and Caitlyn hummed looking across the bridge to the other doorway. The last room. It left a bittersweet feeling in her chest at the idea. She thinks that this room had that one beat just because of that fact. When they stepped into that room the timer would start ticking down and before they knew it their date would have come to an end. Caitlyn wasn't ready for it to end. 

“I'm not ready to leave this one yet” Caitlyn admitted looking around the dimly lit room, the whistling breeze above their head melodious as she moved to peer over the railing at the bopping water lilies grazing languidly in a circle around the floor. They weren't real and yet that seemed to make it all the more magical. She reached up her finger grazing over the flower in her hair and wondered where the hell Jinx had got It from. Jinx came to stand besides her forearms braced on the railing as she leaned over to peer out at the projections on the wall. Layers and layers of trees swaying leaves hypnotising as they stood there. 

Sadly they didn't get to meander there all night enjoying the quiet together because before they knew it another group were wandering it and the bridge was only so wide. Caitlyn sighed standing straight and turned to Jinx. The other was watching her head propped on her palm, eyes soft but slightly tired and Caitlyn was suddenly struck by her own tiredness. She sighed holding out her palm. Jinx looked at it a moment before she brought her hand up slowly and dropped it into Caitlyn's waiting palm letting herself be pulled slowly across the bridge to the final doorway. The arch oddly symbolic in a way as they passed through. 

Caitlyn understood why Jinx said this was a better room. It was a continuation of the lake but slowly meandering around the room were swans, two of them ducking through paintings before they spread their wings and began to fly up to the arched window above. 

“You were right, this room is nice but I like the last one better,” Caitlyn admitted. Maybe she'd been a bit spoiled for choice but she'd seen so many amazing pieces that evening, so many rooms with such immersive experiences that this one left a little to be desired. Or maybe it wasn't the art at all, it wasn't the fluffy clouds or the moon shining down on them, the sound of rain echoing in the empty space. Maybe it was just the fact that she had finally taken the plunge to kiss Jinx in that room. That was probably more likely. 

“I love swans,” Jinx admitted, her hand reaching out to brush over the wing of the bird as they spread and Caitlyn Hummed. 

“I'm a bigger fan of peacocks personally” she admitted, Jinx snorted softly shaking her head as she turned back to her. 

“That's such a Piltie answer” she teased and Caitlyn Scoffed mouth agape. How were peacocks Piltie in any way, they were the national bird of Zaun because the chembaron margot was a huge fan of them and kept thirteen on her property. 

“How?” Caitlyn asked and Jinx rolled her eyes. 

“Because they are show offs, they fan out their pretty colourful feathers as a way to attract people. They're the biggest flaunters, like Pilties” Jinx explained with a grin and Caitlyncould almost see her point If it didn't have one gaping flaw. 

“They're still the national bird of Zaun, that makes them Zaunite” Caitlynreminded and Jinx hummed. 

“Eh but we're not talking about national birds, we're talking about behavior, tell me the Pilties don't flaunt their wealth at every event?” Jinx asked and Caitlyn really couldn't disagree, she thought to mels elaborate dinners, the council's elaborate galas, and the academy's fundraisers which were more of a way to kiss investors arses in lavish and absurd ways. Caitlyn had grown up around it and sadly many of Piltover's elites thought showing off their fancy car collections was a viable way to attract women to date them. Sadly it was and it worked on a lot of Caitlyn's friends. She guessed it had also worked on her that evening as well, Jinx's vintage convertible whilst not the classic bragging car was still a vehicle of high value. 

“You know swans are actually the national bird of Piltover, they're all protected by the council so harming them in any way is prohibited” Caitlyn Blurted out and Jinx nodded eagerly. 

“I actually did know that, did you know that swans intertwine their necks in a heart shape with their mate and swim like that?” Jinx asked excitedly and Caitlyn nodded. She knew a rather odd amount about swans because one of the big reasons they were even protected by the council was because the first bird Mel had seen when she arrived at Piltover was a swan and when she had served her term on the council she had fought for their protection. She liked to tell Caitlyn All about it. 

“Did you know swans form soul bonds, and stay together for life?” Caitlyn asked which was an obvious fact, Jinx blushed eyes widening a moment before she nodded. 

“Yeah, seems kind of nice” she said softly and Caitlyn sighed shrugging as she looked over at the pair flying off into the moon. 

“Yeah I wouldn't mind it” she admitted distantly when Jinx's hand squeezed tightly around hers. When she turned back Jinx was averting her eyes over her shoulders, cheeks red again and she frowned. 

“I guess this is it?” Caitlyn Asked, eyeing the door that would lead them back into the reception. 

“Yeah, I mean it is eleven pm we had to leave eventually” Jinx admitted and Caitlyn frowned her eyes darting down to her watch and sure enough Jinx was right, it was twenty past eleven. They had just spent five hours together. 

“Oh woah, where did the time even go?” Caitlyn Chuckled “guess it flies by when your having fun”

“Ah so you admit this was a good date?” Jinx asked teasingly as they approached the door and Caitlyn sighed. 

“Guess that means i'll have to pay full price next time, how tragic” Caitlyn Pretended to feint hand pressed to her forehead smiling as Jinx laughed, head falling to rest against the arm holding the door open. 

“Eh i'm a pretty cheap date anyway, i’m sure your coffers wont take too much of a hit” Jinx teased and Caitlyn squawked slightly offended of the idea she wouldn't treat Jinx to an equally extravagant date after the one Jinx had given her. She had set a standard and now Caitlyn had to rise to the occasion. 

“It offends me you'd think im looking for cheap, my trust can handle you” Caitlyn retorted, Jinx shook her head. 

That feels like a challenge?” Jinx asked as they passed into the reception, Jinx motioned to the valet and they stopped at the doors. She reached up to unclip her lanyard. 

“It was a challenge, are we meant to hand these back?” Caitlyn Asked as she turned the badge over in her hand. 

“Oh no, they're souvenirs, a little token I guess” Jinx explained with a shrug as she reached up as well, unclipping her own and wrapping the strap around the badge before she slid it into the pocket of her trousers.

“Your car ma’am” the valet said the door held slightly ajar as he held the keys through the crack. Jinx smiled, taking them from his hand before she reached into her pocket and freed a cash clip. She slipped the clip free of the bundle of cash and pressed it into his hand before reaching for the door. She held it open for Caitlyn Motioning her out. 

“Thank you” she whispered as she passed through the cold air frigid on her skin and Caitlyn Shivered as she rushed down the steps, Jinx close behind her. Jinx was quick to open her door hand held out to help her again. Caitlyn could get used to that. Maybe it was old fashioned but she'd seen her father do it a few million times for her mother not to swoon just slightly at having it done for her. 

Their drive back was spent in light chatter, both of them exhausted and yet bursting with excitement. There was a spark crackling between them that kept the conversation flowing. The empty roads seemed to blur together outside the window until they were pulling up outside her building again. Caitly felt her heart sink at the familiar glass doors and the bellboy who shot them a glance. Jinx turned to her not moving to get out of the car just yet and Caitlyn felt odd at the idea of getting out. They sat there the silence comforting until Caitlyn Sighed elbow propping up on the center of the console as she turned to look at Jinx. The other turned as well shifting in her seat bright blue eyes peering back at her. Caitlyn leaned over pressing a quick kiss to her lips with a sigh. 

“You could come up?” Caitlyn asked but before Jinx could answer she leaned in and pressed another kiss to her soft lips drawing this one out longer and nipping at Jinx's lip as she pulled back. Jinx sighed her eyes sad before she shook her head. 

“I wish I could” she admitted leaning over and kissing her deeply but there was nothing sexual in it, the kiss was yearning and desperate but chaste in a way. There was a restriction there that held her back and Caitlyn wished she could convince her to let go. To come up with her, spend the night. She sighed when Jinx pulled back the hands cradling her cheeks warm and Caitlyn sighed. 

“Its okay” she nodded and Jinx pulled back giving her a sad smile before she moved to get out of the car coming around to open Caitlyn's door for her hand held out to help her up and when she was free the door closing she backed Jinx into its side kissing her firmly and just as Jinx went to deepen it she pulled away clicking her tongue at her. 

“I really can't, babysitter due to leave in twenty five minutes” Jinx reminded finger reaching down to tapover Caitlyn's watch and damn that was such a good reason. Isha took priority. 

“I can do a lot of magic in twenty five minutes?” Caitlyn offered, earning a giggle, Jinx's lips pressed together as she shook her head. 

“Such a tempting offer, but I live forty minutes away” Jinx admitted shamefully, eyes a little wide and Caitlyn blinked. Forty minutes, babysitter set to leave in twenty five. Jinx was late. 

“Oh no, why didn't you say, go!” Caitlyn stepped back pulling her bag up her arm to rest on her shoulder. 

“Isha wont care im late and gert will get triple and my guest room, it's fine really” Jinx explained. Caitlyn mentally swooned at that, maybe Caitlyn Was like all the other girls, seduced by the casual flaunt of wealth. She sighed, turning to move around the car Jinx walking with her. Caitlyn was halfway to the steps when she felt the urge to look back. Jinx's warm gaze on her neck sending a spark down her spine. 

“Text me wont you when you get in?” Caitlyn asked as she turned back, Jinx was leant beside her open door, arm braced on the top of the door. 

“I will do that, thank you for a lovely evening” Jinx said with a sigh and Caitlyn Didn't think that was right. 

“Shouldn't I be thanking you? You took me on this date” Caitlyn Reminded but Jinx shook her head. 

“Yeah but you agreed to come with me, gave me five hours of your time, dressed up in a beautiful dress, well that's a lot to be thankful for” 

“You're a charmer ya know, but really Jinx, thank you. I had a really good time” 

“Least I could do”

“Goodnight Jinx”

“Goodnight Cait” 

Chapter Text

It had been a few years since Caitlyn had lived in the Medarda townhouse, but she still kept the key Mel had given her when she had been crashing in their guest room. She slipped it now from her key purse, flipping over the hook to free it from all the others as she raised it to the lock. There were three short stairs that went up to the townhouse and resting on the top besides the other door was a small parcel. She bent down when the lock clicked leaving the pouch dangling a moment as she grabbed the parcel. 

She wondered how no one had realised to grab it, as far as she knew they had been in most of the evening, though their idea of resting in was hanging out in their own respective offices along the varying floors of the seven story townhouse so she guessed maybe no one had heard the knocking. She shoved open the door, softening it against the wall with her hand before she spun on her heel and slipped it closed. 

The small entryway was a rather cold and narrow room, just wide enough for her to stretch her arms out straight, dividing the entry with the foyer; two tall twin glass doors halved the space; a golden latch kept the right door closed. Her heels clicked softly against the multicolored vintage tiles as she dropped the parcel onto the side table before she reached for the cold handle and opened it with more care for the glass panes. She sighed at the blast of warmth that flooded in from the foyer as she slipped into the long hallway. 

She closed the door with a click standing for a moment to take a deep breath. She loved Jayce, Mel and Viktor and she loved their weekly dinners but she also was human and sometimes she just wanted to curl up on her couch with a book or study for that matter. She knew her mind would be immediately changed the moment Jayce set the amazing homemade meal down in front of her but for now all she wanted was to sleep. So she took another deep breath, squeezed her eyes closed and prepared herself for the onslaught of curious questions and the well meaning interrogation and stood tall. 

Caitlyn slipped the knot of her scarf free with deft freezing cold fingers before she pulled open the narrow closet doors open, the cabinet was built into the wall coming up to her hip with protruding cabinets, and above it hooks for bags and scarves and hats recessed into the wall and on the bottom a small bowl for keys and other assorted knick knacks that accumulated there. As Caitlyn hung up her scarf with one hand she dropped her key purse into the bowl and eyes the assortment of screwdrivers and nuts and random rings that must cost fortunes and crumpled receipts, all small tokens of the lives that lived in the house. The small pencils, and all the red pens, the rings and single lonely earrings, the bolts and reading glasses she knew Jayce would spend the evening searching for in vain before they’d be found again in the morning on his way out. 

As she slipped her purse down her shoulder she flinched at the dull thud of the cane on the hardwood floors. she hooked her purse in on the hook closest to the wall and turned smiling over at the man, standing just up the two short steps that led into the lounge. He was dressed nicely, his hair tied back in a half up half down style, the cashmere sweater tucked into high waisted khaki trousers. Viktor was never the one to greet her in the entryway, Mel always came to find her or even Jayce on the occasion but Viktor always preferred to stay cooped in his study or at the counter with Jayce nursing his first and usually only drink of the evening. So to see him here eyeing her curiously lips quirked in a sly smile was strange. It made her stand a little taller and move a little quicker to remove her wet coat and hang it on the hook in the corner. 

He moved to lean against the archway his eyes narrowing as he caught on to her nerves. There was something too perceptive about viktor, a likeness that told her he understood her far more than he should. It wasn't uncomfortable but it reminded her that her mask wasn't as fool proof as she would like. So she turned hands clasped in front of her and smiled. 

“How'd the date go?” he asked pointedly, not dodging around the bush as Mel would have done before, then again something this monumental she wouldn't put it past Mel to just jump to it and ask anyway. His casual and sly smile faded away and revealed cold judgement as he waited, it made Caitlyn pause, Viktor never looked at her like that, like he was expecting disappointment. 

“What date?” Caitlyn chuckled awkwardly and Viktor rolled his eyes in fond amusement huffing softly before he stood tall hand gripping tightly at his cane. 

“Don't be like that, we all know about your date” he said frowning deepening with a grimace as his brows pinched together “with jinx” 

“I didn't know you used to be her ta” Caitlyn said lightly and Viktor relaxed slightly a small smile flashing on his lips before he shook it away and nodded. 

“Yes, it was a long time ago, it doesn't really come up much” he admitted tiredly eyes moving away from her to gaze at the pictures along the staircase, she followed his eyes, she had seen that staircase a few million times if there had been a picture of Jinx on it she would have noticed and asked. 

Except would she have? There were alot of group pictures of hundreds of people from Viktor's research teams and graduation photos of so many faces she had never cared for. It was in a photo just under the window, Jayce was standing at Viktor's side looking at him lovingly, and there was Jinx she had to have been sixteen or so, her braid reaching just past her hip eyes bright and her smile wide. She wasn't wearing anything elaborate, just a simple brown and beige striped button up tucked into some wide legged trousers wearing a rather absurdly big jacket that was oddly familiar. 

“How long has this been here?” Caitlyn demanded turning back to Viktor whose disapproval had turned to amusement as he smiled. 

“It's always been there, I put it up when we moved in, it was when Jinx was originally interning with us at hextech”  Viktor admitted carefully trying to think back to the day in question, it was a rather uninteresting event.

“Jinx interned with you?” Caitlyn asked, Jinx certainly hadn't mentioned that. Not that they had really talked about it much, she could have asked but Caitlyn had still been under the assumption that Jinx's friendship with Jayce and Viktor was a rather brief affair, a year when their paths intertwined and then never again. She was happy to be wrong but it was so odd to consider that Viktor and Jayce had an entirely separate life outside of her. 

“Not for long, I think only for six weeks for the credits she needed for her degree” Viktor explained with a dismissive wave of his hand. 

“Huh” she hummed looking back at the picture at Jinx's wide grin, thumbs hooked in the pockets of her trousers leaning back slightly to push out her hips. Before when Caitlyn's eyes had slid over the pictures her eyes would have caught on Viktor or Jayce or Mel, she found them in the crowds or by themselves and she didn't really pay anyone else any attention. Now when she glanced around other pictures she noticed that Jinx appeared in a few, always in similar fashion to the people around her, in sweaters and blazers and button up blouses. Her hair in all stages of growth ranging from her elbow to her knee but in all of them she looked so happy. She was never not smiling, or looking mischievous in some way, eyes narrowed, nose scrunched like she was plotting something. 

“Ya know it would have been cool to know, maybe I could have met her sooner” Caitlyn admitted softly breathing through her nose as she looked at one particular photo, Jinx was  in the background leaning over the railings at the hextech headquarters goggles resting in her loose grasp. She was just a small part of a much larger photo, of Jayce and Viktor but it was as though she was the brightest part, her smile wide as she looked on and now that Caitlyn was seeing her she wondered how she had never seen her before. She was here this whole time. 

“I wouldn't have introduced you even if I had mentioned her” Viktor laughed like it was the funniest thought, Caitlyn frowned, chest constricting. Why wouldn't he want to introduce them? She couldn't think of any reason why they wouldn't have gotten along. Maybe they might not have dated back then but maybe they would have been friends and then gone on to date later down the line. 

“Why not?” she asked head tilted and Viktor hummed in thought eyes considering a moment before he shrugged. 

“She's… special” he decided, which to Caitlyn seemed like the diplomatic way out of the question. What did special even mean, Caitlyn knew what special meant when it had been said about her but she was getting the sense that Viktor wasn't saying it in the same way about Jinx. 

“Special?” she asked, Viktor grimaced, jaw clenching as he looked away. She could see the cogs turning in his brain and knew he wanted to escape from her line of questioning. He had accidentally backed himself into a corner. 

“Child prodigy, destructive potential, fiery temper, she is a powerful asset to have, Jinx Duarte, ceo and owner of lanefront arms and tactical weapons manufacturer, well it's taken a lot to get her to this point” he trailed off eyes dropped to the floor as he looked pained at the memory, Caitlyn already knew Jinx had been through a lot, knew she had put in a lot of work to achieve her success. Caitlyn wasn't dumb though she could read between the lines, Caitlyn as she was, spiraling into drugs, angry at the world,  and a temperamental Jinx trying to reestablish her life in a confusing and new environment, probably wouldn't have been a good mix. She probably wouldn't have been a good influence to have around back then. She remembered her mothers embarrassment at having Caitlyn show up with her at events, Jayce had never seemed to harbor that same discomfort but maybe she had just been too far gone to realise it. She ducked her head, chuckling darkly. 

“Yeah she's kind of cool isn't she” said Caitlyn softly smiling at the picture as she calmed her racing heart, she felt a little tipped over at the idea that maybe she could have set back Jinx's progress. 

“Cool, not the word I would have chosen certainly unique, very interesting girl and a very good friend of mine, maybe you will be a good pair” he smiled before he looked over at her giving her a once over as he said “I won't hold my breath” 

“You dont think we'd be good together?” Caitlyn asked a little offended, she didn't really care what Viktor thought about her dating life, that right was reserved for Jayce and Jayce only but well she guessed she cared what he thought about jinx, if they were such good friends and he did know her as well as he was suggesting the idea that they wouldn't work out well she was a little worried. 

“What I think doesn't matter, she speaks very highly of you though, and that's all I care about” he said, Caitlyn felt punched in the face, cause of course Jinx would have talked about her, Caitlyn had told probably everyone besides the obvious few that she was going on a date with jinx, why had she never considered Jinx would do the same and tell her friends. She wondered what Jinx had said, apparently it was good, she'd spoken highly of her, what did highly entail? When did she even tell him? Couldn't have been that morning could it have? 

“She spoke of me? When did you see her?” Caitlyn asked, stepping closer to the archway as she twiddles her thumbs, Viktor looked amused shaking his head softly. 

“In the week, we met at the university to discuss the funding she provides, that wasn't all we spoke about of course, but it was the reason we told the dean we had met, got me a two hour break” Viktor said, they had gotten lunch delivered and eaten it in his office as she graded papers for him, it was a rather nice afternoon.  Caitlyn looked at him, her eyes wide and mouth agape as the questions piled up in her head. There was so much more now she needed to ask. 

Jinx donated to the university? How much? How often? What had they talked about that lasted two hours and she had come up along the lines, or was it all about her, had Jinx spent two entire hours telling Viktor about her like she had done mel. She mulled it over in her head, plucking through her varying questions what was more important, knowing what Jinx donated or knowing what Jinx had said, did she really want to know what Jinx had said about her? Apparently it was good. She blinked down at her feet opening her mouth to ask when the dull thud of heels on the hardwood startled her out of her racing thoughts. 

Mel smiled widely as she walked over, throwing her arm over Viktor's shoulder with a sigh as she hooked her chin over his other arm coming down to wrap around his waist. M

“Darling, hogging Caity all to yourself how could you?” she scolded gently clicking her tongue, Viktor relaxed lips perused as he hung his head looking at her with such fondness. 

“I'm not hogging her, she was taking off her coat and I was making conversation as she did” he dismissed with a flick of his eyes and Mel nodded agreeingly though she wasn't so convinced. 

“Cause you make conversation in the foyer all the time” she teased, everyone knew Viktor would usually be in the room furthest from the foyer when they had guests due to arrive, he did not like the company and he preferred to minimise his time with them. Caitlyn was lucky enough that he would usually join them a few moments after she arrived but usually in the lounge, he was simply never first. 

“Oh yes, plenty of conversation” he murmured, Mel raised a brow, head shaking. Caitlyn hummed, snapping Mel from her stupor, the other blinked arm tightening around Viktor's waist as she looked over at her. 

“Ah well, you could have called me, hi Caity, how was your date?” ml asked excitedly, her voice raising and Caitlyn hummed, eyes narrowing as she felt the burn of Viktor's eyes as they bore through her. 

“Is that all anyone wants to know about?” she laughed awkwardly reaching up to untuck her hair from behind her ear. Mel frowned in confusion brows knitting together. 

“Well what else have you been up to?” Mel asked and Caitlyn was a bit caught there wasn't she, she didn't do much most of the time, her routine was pretty boring and uneventful so a date was a rather odd and rare occurrence. 

“You could have asked about my classes, meetings, the coffee I had with my mother this morning” she listed though none of those things were as interesting as her date, her classes were mainly revision prep, her meetings were pretty boring and run of the mill, and then she really didn't want them to ask about her mother she already regretted mentioning it. 

“How did your coffee morning go then?” Mel asked, her brow raised in amusement, Caitlyn sicked in a deep breath through her nose before she released it through her mouth. The answer was simply terrible. Her mother spent most of it telling her about her latest trial, so she spent most of it hearing about human trafficking. Lovely breakfast conversation. Caitlyn had spent the entire morning nodding along though she was still riding the euphoria of her date the night before so she wasn't too bothered. Of course then her mother had decided to ask her why she hadn't been at dinner that prior evening. The truth was on the tip of her tongue, she could have told her then and there she had a date, a date with a very lovely and very nice girl but she had found herself choking on the words and instead lying. 

“My date was amazing” Caitlyn sighed shoulders slumping as she jumped up the two short steps into the lounge crossing the gap to the couch, new ones she noted before collapsing down on them she let her shoes fall off with a clatter to the floor and turned to lay down along the large couch head propped up on the arm. 

“And how is jinx?” Mel asked as she extracted herself from Viktor's back to peer over at her, Caitlyn hummed on consideration. Jinx was sweet and talkative and she had a fun and infectious personality. Jinx was amazing. 

“Jinx is…” she thought about the question Mel had asked her in her office and smiled “she's something good” 

“Oh sweetie i'm so happy for you, ah you have to tell me everything” Mel announced as she skipped over to the mantle grabbing the freshly stocked decanter from the plate, she uncorked it with a pop and poured them all glasses feet tapping in a pattern against the floor as she set the crystal decanter back down. 

“Up” Mel ordered snapping her fingers, Caitlyn sighed tiredly and moved to sit properly on the couch holding out her arm with a huff for the offered glass. Mel pressed the cold glass to her hand with a chuckle before she took the other two and moved to the other couch across from her, the one Viktor had sat on, his cane resting against the coffee table. He pressed a kiss to her cheek as she sat besides him. She set the glass down against his good thigh and he took it, their fingers wrapping together a moment before they separated. They were always so cutely intimate. You would say they had been married a few months and not the few years they had been. 

Caitlyn wasn't one to envy others relationships but she did want that easy intimacy that the three of them shared. She guessed it came with time, in their case fifteen rather long years. She wanted that she guessed she had to be patient and maybe when she was their age she would have it with her partner as well. 

Caitlyn threw her drink back with a grimace before she stood grabbing the decanter and filling her glass a little fuller this time before she moved back to the couch, the once filled decanter was now less than half filled and if she was given the chance would be empty by the end of the night.  

“Oh, rough day?” Mel asked face soft with concern, and Caitlyn considered her day. 

“Something like that..” She looked down at her glass swilling around the dark amber liquid with a sigh, she blinked up at the two, both of them watching her closely waiting for her to spill her woes on them. They were so relaxed, practically overlapping on the couch, pressed shoulder to hip to knee to ankle. They always sat like that except for at the dinner table though at other tables with bench seating then they were once again sat like that. 

“How long after you two started dating did you tell your parents?” Caitlyn blurted out, she immediately regretted it, Viktor's face darkened and Mel's closed off. He took his drink from her hand and took a long sip. 

“Well I didnt” he admitted sadly, not that he couldn't, they put it off and in the end they put it off so late he never got to tell them before they passed. 

“I told my mother after our third year anniversary” Mel explained fondly, though she knew that story a bit she was glad not to know too much. The only reason Mel had even told her mother was because the other woman had been shamelessly flirting with Viktor all night. 

“Okay, how long after you started dating Jayce did you tell her about him?” Caitlyn wondered, she was starting to realise maybe she had chosen the worst people to ask this too. They weren't exactly the best references for relationships, Mel and victor's relationship had been anything but conventional the first seven years, then Jayce came along and then it was even more unconventional. Now things were more normal but Caitlyn didn't think her relationship would follow any of the same paths as theirs did. 

“Well that certainly came quicker, I think it was our second anniversary, not any of our choice though, she showed up uninvited” Mel huffed pouting slightly, ambessa did have a habit of doing that, not that she was unwelcome but notice was nice. Notice she very rarely gave. 

“Ah” Caitlyn breathed, turning to spread back out over the couch to stare up at the crown mouldings. Mel had the advantage of her mother living in another country to avoid telling her parents about her boyfriends, Caitlyn sadly saw hers every week, couldn't hide anything serious from them for very long either. 

“Why darling? This have anything to do with the coffee you shared with your mum?" Mel asked, making Caitlyn chuckle indignantly. 

“Something like that, she was just…” she squeezed her eyes shut and reached up to press her palm into her eye as a headache thrummed against her skull, “asking a lot of questions” 

So many questions, when she wasn't talking about human trafficking she was asking about caitlyn's life, her week, her afternoon, her comings and goings, she was hinting that Caitlyn was up to something and the idea that maybe Caitlyn was just busy with her revision didn't seem to satisfy her. Which obviously it was a lie but how was her mother meant to know that. 

“Follow up question” Caitlyn huffed as she pushed to sit up crossing her legs on the couch. 

“Go on” Viktor offers, to Mel's agreement. 

“How long after you started dating did you warn Vik about your mum?” Caitlyn asked, Mel looked at Viktor out of the corner of her eye, her smile widening. 

“Three months” she admitted jovially. Three months of knowing each other, not three months of dating specifically, she knew her mothers type and had looked at him and thought he fit the criteria perfectly. She hadn't liked him as anything but a friend but looking back she could say the idea had made her a little jealous, Viktor wasn't for anyone else to have. 

“Hmm” she hummed thoughtfully, eyes narrowed in consideration, Suddenly waiting three years to tell her mum about Jinx seemed more reasonable, and maybe waiting a year to warn Jinx about her mother was also reasonable. Jinx was worried a few bird facts would have her running for the hills well telling her about her mum would have her blinking out of existence she would run so fast. Her mother was crazy. There was no nice way of putting it. She loved her mother sure but that didn't take away from the fact her mother was insane. 

“So are you two dating?” Mel asked happily, and Caitlyn stopped turning to look at her. Were they dating? She hadn't asked? Did a date count as dating? 

“Who? Me and jinx?” Caitlyn scoffed laughing awkwardly, she had no clue. What was the dating etiquette nowaday. 

“Are you seeing anyone else?” Viktor asked which sure she was being purposefully dense, but of course there was no one else. Everyone got excited at the idea she could have one date if she suddenly had another and the world would end. It would be so monumental. There was not, probably wouldn't be for another five years if her dating history was anything to go off. 

“No, I'm just not sure, does one date constitute dating? I mean we've talked through text, had one amazing, very lovely date, shared several kisses, have hinted towards a second date as well as a seventh and an eighth, but is that dating? Can I say we are officially dating? Is she my girlfriend? Or just like a friend I've been on a date with and plan on going on more with?” Caitlyn asked gradually, sitting up more with every question she asked, her voice growing in panic as she realised she had no clue what their relationship status was. Mel and Viktor blinked wide eyed over at her, panicked expressions a mirror of each other. 

“Do you want her to be your girlfriend?” Mel asked with a cough and Caitlyn sighed, finishing off her glass with a groan. 

“Well I wouldn't say no if she wanted to be my girlfriend” she wasn't sure Jinx did though, she thinks maybe she does, she certainly did “I definitely would like her to be my girlfriend, id get to say hi this is my girlfriend jinx, god that sounds brilliant doesn't it? My girlfriend jinx, this is Jinx my girlfriend, jinx” 

She breathed cheeks burning as she mulled the words over in her mouth, you'd swear she was only just learning the word, girlfriend. What a strange yet so lovely word. She liked the idea of it. Of Jinx as her girlfriend. She'd get to hold her hand again, though Jinx just seemed to like holding hands so maybe she'd get to do that even as her friend. She got to kiss her again, get to take her to lunch and breakfast and read with her on her couch. She had never had a girlfriend before she wasn't sure what was different from just a friend. 

“Ask her to be your girlfriend if you want her to be your girlfriend” Viktor said pointedly and caitlyn's face scrunched up, nose twitching. Could she do that? Just ask Jinx to be her girlfriend so soon, wasn't there a quota for how many dates you had to go on before you reached that stage? Was there even stages anymore? Vi had several girlfriends over the last few years and Caitlyn hadn't really seen there be much process. One day vi was talking about a date the next she was talking about her girlfriend. It sort of just happened, or maybe it didn't and Caitlyn was just unobservant on these matters.

“Isn't it too soon, we've only been on one date?” Caitlyn asked with a sigh, face falling. 

“Shared multiple kisses though” Mel teased playfully her voice squeaking as she bit back her laughter hiding her face in Viktor's shoulder, he simply sighed looking at her as though the answer was very obvious which Caitlyn was guessing it was. 

“A lot, so many, she's a great kisser, i've never kissed anyone so short before, it was a rather odd experience, not bad of course, just interesting” she admitted freely hand reaching up to brush over her lips, if she pressed down on them, she blinked shaking her head “must be how Jayce feels all the time, poor guy must have awful neck pain” 

“Were not that short” Viktor said bluntly, this was a constant source of contention for the trio, they weren't that short but they were on the shorter end. 

“I am tall” Mel scoffed, which was so not true she was five foot six without her heels though she rarely parted with them. She had been forgoing them a lot though recently, even now her ‘heels’ were two inch chunky heels, not her typical stilettos. 

“You're average height” Caitlyn agreed, average height was technically tall. Jayce though was tall. He was a giant actually, a little over six foot, seven bare footed, and six eight in his loafers. Even if the pair had been six feet themselves, he still would have quite the distance to cross to get to them. 

“Jayce is lucky though, he's a man, he doesn't wear heels. Do I have to wear flats now? Jinx wears platforms a lot. If I want to avoid neck pain I should wear flats shouldn't I?” Caitlyn asked though it seemed logical, she was very used to looking down but bending down at such an angle all the time was bound to have some long term effects on her neck. 

“No? Did Jinx say anything about your heels yesterday?” Mel asked which was true, Jinx had not seemed to care if she had worn her heels, had even liked them which was probably because of what they did for her legs. 

“No, she did say my outfit was lovely though, three times” she admitted with a smile, she thought of the soft blush on Jinx's cheeks her wandering gaze and her stunned awe, “also you were right she does look a lot, is very affirming”

“It is, isn't it? Sometimes being respectful is nice but if i'm gonna wear a plunging neckline at least take a glance” Mel huffed rolling her eyes, and they both took it as an invitation to glance down at the neckline of her dress. It wasn't so much plunging but was a deep scoop neck that did show them off rather nicely. Maybe it was an odd thing to notice, but were they bigger? Perkier too, she frowned, head tilting. 

“Did you get a boob job?” she blurted out, Mel gasped cheeks flushing as she looked at Caitlyn amused at her honesty. 

“No, it's a new bra” she admitted with a dismissive wave of her hand. Viktor hummed appreciatively, nodding along, where Caitlyn had looked away he was still looking. 

“Damm you have to send me the link, it is doing magic” Caitlyn complimented and Mel looked proud at that, her grin widening to reveal straight pearly white teeth. 

“Thank you” she said with a playful bat of her wrist. Viktor squeezed her hand and smiled cheeks red and pupils slightly blown. 

“Lovely darling” he said softly, slightly choked as he reached up to press a chaste kiss to her cheek. She turned as he was pulling away and pressed one to his lips. 

“What are we talking about?” Jayce asked as he swooped into the room dropping to press a quick but lingering kiss to Mel's other cheek before he moved to stand behind Viktor peppering soft kisses to Viktor's shoulder and jaw before he stood up. 

“Boobs” Viktor admitted tiredly, Jayce gasped cheeks flushing in embarrassment as he laughed awkwardly. Blinking up at Caitlyn his head tilted slightly. 

“Jinx checked me out a few times,” Caitlyn explained plainly. 

“Ah yeah” he sighed shaking head head as a small smile stretched across his lips “she was definitely staring at your ass” 

“Jayce, how long after you started dating these two did you tell your mum?” Caitlyn asked, collapsing back into the pillows letting her legs fall from the couches edge. He hummed blush deepening as he rubbed at the back of his neck. 

“Honestly?” he asked and Caitlyn already knew just from that the answer wasn't going to be very helpful. 

“No lie to me” she said tiredly, she'd go with whatever the lie was because at least then he'd be trying to grasp at what she wanted to hear which Caitlyn didn't even know yet. 

“I waited six months” he said with a fake showboaty smile, which was oddly unsettling, it was charming sure but it was so obviously fake it made her skin crawl. She hummed, averting her eyes to her drink. 

“The truth?” she choked as she brought the glass to her lips despite there being nothing in it, just for the soothing motion. 

“I told her the next night at dinner” he admitted quietly, which she should have expected. Jayce told his mum everything. The idea that maybe he would know how to wait any amount of time to tell her something big was ridiculous even for her. 

“Ah” she reached over to the coffee table and set the glass down on the edge head falling into her hands. 

“Guess that's not what you wanted to hear” he sighed and she looked up at him shaking her head. 

“Thanks for trying anyway” she shrugged, moving to stand and stretching her arms up above her head, the alcohol was starting to dull her brain, made her shoulders a little looser and the room a little unsteady. It was pleasant but it was tiring. She wanted to go to bed, which gave her the homemade meal she could smell from the kitchen and she definitely would be asleep very soon. 

“I want to tell my mum about Jinx but I just not sure if its appropriate yet” she admitted, she had thought about it at the cafe, the truth right there on her tongue ready to be spoken, and it would have made her mother happy, she knew her mother wanted what was best for it, but she also knew her mother would immediately look into jinx, she would get up her past record, and all the things Caitlyn was excited about getting to know about Jinx from Jinx she would learn from a thick file handed to her over dinner by her mother, likely annotated with how much her mother disapproved. Her education would be a selling point she was sure of it, but the fact she had been given that education instead of serving time would make her disapprove. Caitlyn wasn't sure she could handle her mothers opinion yet. 

“Maybe wait a few dates before you do that, you don't want to tell your parents only for it not to work out, I mean I love cassandra but she can be a bit judgemental, she won't take the news without a million questions and wont take the breakup any better” he explained knowingly, which was a fair and valid point. Caitlyn hated to think of Jinx and her breaking up but if they were she knew for a fact that her mother would treat it as another thing she got wrong. 

“Ugh why are you always so right?” Caitlyn huffed, taking the glass off the coffee table and moving to set it back on the plate on the mantle. 

“Because I'm a genius?” Jayce reminded earning a scoff from both Caitlyn and viktor. 

“The ego on this man” Viktor murmured, head tilted back on the couch to look up at the man in question who was grinning proudly. 

“Come on, dinners ready” Jayce huffed, pinching Viktor's cheek meanly causing the other to laugh softly as he slapped his hand away. Mel stood first grabbing Viktor's cane from the coffee table and handing it to him, her hand squeezing his tightly for leverage as he stood with a grunt. 

“What did you make?” Caitlyn asked as she came to stand at Jayce's side following him through the arch way and the short hall into the dining room. 

“Lasagna” he announced proudly, caitlyn's stomach grumbled at the mention. Jayce's lasagna was a gift from the heavens; it was divine. She walked past him collapsing into her own seat and eyeing the covered dishes. The long table had been set as normal, the four plates lining the table with napkins set on top. 

“You're the best,” Caitlyn huffed as she watched him step up to the other side of the table pulling off the dish's lid with a flourish and setting it down. Mel and Viktor appeared in the doorway murmuring to each other quietly about what Caitlyn was too distracted to notice as she watched Jayce cut a big piece of lasagna from the corner for her. She held up her plate for him to put it on the gooey cheese sauce stretching and oozing from the top. 

“So Cait, how was your date?” Jayce asked as he set Mel's plate down in front of her, Caitlyn huffed, turning her glass around with a hum. 

“It went well” she admitted as she reached for the decanter of red wine set in the center of the table. She wasn't much of a fan of red wine but if it was what  Mel was serving she wouldnt refuse. She poured herself a generous glass mulling it over in her head. The date was amazing, she had never had a better date and it wasn't just because she had not been on many but because it was just a great afternoon. 

“Oh? Anything of note happen?” he asked, wiggling a brow as he served Viktor's plate and set it down in front of the man. Caitlyn thought of the highlights of the date, she knew what he was after, he wanted to know the juicy details. 

“Well there was cake,” she said with a smile, that had been nice, the cake was so delicious it was like taking a bite of heaven. 

“That's nice, I meant with jinx,” Jayce said bluntly as he fell into his seat, hands clasped in front of him. Caitlyn hummed shrinking under his focused gaze. Her cheeks tightened as she pressed her lips together. 

“We kissed?” the words troubled past her lips despite herself. Jayce gasped mouth falling open in shock and delight. 

“Oh?” he breathed, leaning forward. Caitlyn shrugged chin resting against her chest as she stabbed her fork into the corner of her lasagna. She cut herself a piece before holding it up to her mouth. 

“Hmm, I kissed her,” she said quickly as she shoved the fork into her mouth, chewing quickly around the delicious meal. Jayce truly was a genius in the kitchen, they could thank his mother for that and Caitlyn did every time she saw her because she couldn't imagine living without this every weekend. 

“Was it romantic?” Jayce asked head tilted, Caitlyn thought it was definitely romantic, but she kind of wanted to scare him a bit. 

“I mean, define romantic” she asked, his eyes narrowed lips pressing into a line. She could see the cogs turning in his brain as he considered the possibility. She knew it was a great kiss but she was aware she had her fair share of bad ones. 

“In a scenic location with a nice calming ambiance, ya know in the rain at midnight kind of romantic, or ya know just not in my pantry” he huffed, Caitlyn had never understood why a kiss in the rain was viewed as peak romance, it was cold and wet and shivering as you tried to kiss wasn't very fun when your teeth were clattering together was a recipe for split lips and the flu. And the pantry kiss was a one off that had happened several years ago she couldn't believe he would bring it back up again.

“That was one time, I apologized” she scoffed while taking another bite. Mel snickered softly, head shaking, though Viktor seemed rather confused. 

“Im sorry when was this?” he asked and Jayce shuddered, eyes horrified as he shook his head at his partner. 

“Don't ask, I don't need to relive it” Jayce huffed reaching over his glass of wine and drinking a long gulp, Caitlyn snickered as she snatched a piece of garlic brad from the platter dunking it into the cheesy sauce on the top of her lasagna. 

“It really wasn't that bad” she said dismissively as she bit down on her bread, she leant back in her chair elbow braced on the arm. 

“It was bad, you were divest of clothing in my pantry” Jayce huffed through gritted teeth eyes crazed, she didn't have a top on that was not divest of clothing and the top was still technically on it was just around her waist, the girl she was with was less clothed but then he could barely see her from around caitlyn's back anyway. So like was it really a big deal or another of Jayce's overreactions. 

“Our pantry love? This one?” Mel's eyes flicked through the panel doors that lead into the kitchen to where she knew their pantry was, it was more of a utility room, it had the big clunky appliances in it, like the air fryer and the deep frier and a bunch of specialty machines with names Caitlyn had never bothered to learn because they were rather useless except for their one designed purpose. It wasn't the current pantry though, before the remodel they had a much smaller pantry lined from floor to ceiling with hefty wooden shelves and a ladder, now it was a small room with a long counter and big doored cabinets and a step stool instead of the ladder. More modern, less cozy. 

“No the old one, before I gutted the kitchen, that's actually why I gutted the kitchen, I needed to reclaim the sanctity of my space after such a horror” Jayce admitted eyes vacant as he looked down into his wine glass, Mel's smile quirked as she nodded sending Caitlyn a grateful look. Mel loved that pantry she loved all her drawers with the wooden containers and organisers she had hand picked and organised. She barely cooked but you better believe that she had organised it all. 

“You are so dramatic,” Caitlyn whined, rolling her eyes playfully. Viktor and Mel nodded to Jayce's offense. 

“I can be worse” Jayce threatened and Caitlyn wouldn't put it past him. So she mimed locking her lips and sat up straight bracing her arms on the table's edge as she started eating again. For a moment it was quiet, the only sounds their forks clattering. Caitlyn reached for her glass only to realise somewhere along the line she had drank it so she reached over for the decanter and poured herself another glass. The day had been annoying  and so surrounded by her family eating really good food she decided she was allowed to unwind a little. She knew she had a guest room that was all hers to crash in, with clothes in the closet and essentials in the ensuite so she'd take the rare opportunity to indulge a little. 

“Ya know you never did answer his question” Mel prompted, she was nursing a gin and tonic glass held to her lips. Caitlyn thought back to the question at hand, was it a romantic kiss. She couldn't help the smile that spread across her lips as she reclined back in her chair sliding down on the seat slightly to hide behind her glass. 

“Yeah it was romantic,” she admitted. She had been around, kissed a lot of girls, kissed two guys just to see if it was as bad as the other girls said and agreed it was. Despite all the kisses she'd partaken in, none had been as nice as that one. 

“It was towards the end of the date, the entire exhibit was made up of these projected paintings and every room had its own theme and it got progressively darker as we went through them all till we got to the second to last room” she sighed bracing her elbow on the table and cushioned her chin on her palm head tilted as she drew little hearts in the sauce on her plate. She thought back to that room, to the dark purple lighting and the soft blue glow that shone up from the floor, the blowing wysteria swaying around them. It was pleasantly cool and intimately quiet and it felt like for a moment they were the only people in the world and she never wanted to be anywhere else. 

“We stepped onto this small dock that connected to a white bridge that stretched over this projection of a lake and floating on the water were these water lilies, oh It was perfect” Caitlyn sigh dreamily, eyes closing for a moment before she sighed, setting her fork down with a clatter. 

“That sounds magical cait” Mel murmured softly, her hands clasped in front of her, face filled with pride and joy for her. 

“It was, Jinx gave me this water lily hair clip and well I had spent the entire exhibit thinking I should kiss her and then there she was right in front of me and well I didn't really think about it, I just” she sighed her grin so wide it hurt her cheeks “kissed her”  

“That's very sweet Cait” Mel sighed 

“Oh my god yeah that is romantic” Jayce said excitedly leaning so far into the table he was practically out of his seat, he was bursting with excitement and Caitlyn was a bit embarrassed for him. Her love life really isn't that interesting In her opinion. But when you've spent the last five years looking into an empty glass just a drop of water in it could entertain for weeks. 

“Kind of puts us to shame” Viktor added solemnly, getting a gasp from Jayce and a grimace from mel. Caitlyn hadn't really heard much about their first kisses, she didn't care but she was curious to the reactions just the mention got. Mel looked dreamily sad and Jayce looked confused, eyes moving around the room as he tried to place the memory. 

“We aren't very romantic, are we?” Mel admitted with a tsk. 

“No, our first kiss was in the laundry room of your old dorm building,” Viktor recounted, turning to look at Mel, she reached out her hand resting over his as she nodded nose scrunched up. 

“We were looking for my earring in all of the linens, we'd just given up,” Mel sighed, smiling warmly at the memory. They both turned to Jayce who was deep in thought, hands clasped in front of him as he stared down at the remains of his dinner. 

“Where even was our first kiss?” Jayce finally asked, blinking up at the pair who looked equally amused trying to hide their smiles. 

“You had a panic attack after out first kiss” Mel reminded and Jayce's face went bright red as he nodded, “yep, I kissed him in the kitchen and he freaked out so we sat on the floor until Viktor found us and that's the night we all started dating” 

“It was yeah, they sat together on the coffee table as I sat on the couch wrapped in a blanket freaking out” Jayce admitted, this story Caitlyn did know she didn't know how it started but she did know that Mel and Viktor had sat him down and explain it almost like a business contract that they were into him and wanted to bring them into their relationship, showed him their coloured spreadsheets and calendar plans. They had planned the next six month trial period with date nights and events so that they could get equal and fair time to explore their individual relationships as well as their shared relationship. It's apparently hard to freak out when someone is talking you through a powerpoint on polyamory. 

“You gave yourself a concussion after ours?” Viktor reminded and Mel chuckled darkly as Jayce's head snapped to the side looking at him wide eyed as his mouth dropped open. 

“I did?” Jayce asked voice cracking and Caitlyn couldn't help but wondered how the hell that happened. Though she didn't really need to search her own memories of Jayce too hard to figure out how, he was clumsy and when he got excited or scared or confused he lost all motor control and he was prone to falls. So she wasn't very shocked though she was amused.

“Wait really?” Caitlyn asked, brow raised as she looked at Jayce pointedly. Viktor hummed, nodding softly. 

“Oh yes, rain kisses are not and will never be romantic, I kissed him in the foyer of our old apartment building and he was so shocked he stepped back into the puddle we had been dripping onto the floor and he slipped” Viktor recounted fondly laughing softly though he tried not to “hit his head so hard I had to take him to the er” 

“I don't remember that, I remember waking in the ER and running to your building from the cab, I definitely don't remember that kiss,” Jayce admitted sadly, crestfallen at the idea that he couldn't remember the real first kiss they had shared. Then again It wasn't like the one remembered was any better, it was the same night they had gotten together cuddled in Mel and victor's custom made giant bed, Viktor had been sleeping on his shoulder Mel having turned away from them sometime in the night but he hadn't been able to sleep. He’d looked over to find Viktor watching him curiously. 

“Ah probably for good reason you were shocked I'd ever cheat on mel” Viktor said as he patted Jayce on the forearm letting the other take his hand in his, Jayce laid his other hand over time and brought up to his lips. Caitlyn watched the interaction fondly, the real love in all of their eyes even though she could still see the disappointment in jayces. 

“Ha! As if you'd ever cheat on me” Mel scoffed, shaking her head as she moved to sit closer to the table. 

“God, no, too much work. Why put so much effort into hiding an affair when I could put the same amount into maintaining my loving relationship?” Viktor asked rhetorically, it made sense, hiding anything was hard and nerve wracking and it put a lot of pressure on someone's shoulders on the flip side loving your partner was rather easy and you didn't have to be ashamed to be with them in public, didn't have to waste money on hotel rooms or absurdly fancy private restaurants where you could get privacy. 

“Ugh you're so sweet” Mel purred as she patted Viktor's cheek softly, he frowned, eyeing her arm curiously. 

“Why are you, ah I don't care, I'm right that's all that matters” Viktor huffed, letting her do as she pleased. By now no one really needed their hands, dinner was finished their plates empty and all of the too stuffed for seconds. 

“You are right, cheating is for losers” Jayce agreed as he carefully set Viktor's hand down on the table and pushed his chair back to stand. He took the plates from in front of them stacking them in his arm before he drifted from the room. He appeared a minute later and set a covered cake stand in front of everyone. 

“Wanna eat this in the sun room?” Jayce asked motioning behind him to the glass doors that led into the sunroom. A room made of wrought iron frames and green glass windows. The rain had calmed a lot in the few hours it had been pouring outside. 

“Hell yeah” said Caitlyn as she jumped to her feet, snatching her glass from the table and rushing to open the doors for jayce. 

“Grab the plates and cutlery won't you?” Jayce said pointedly looking between Mel and Viktor with a knowing smile. 

“Fine” Viktor huffed standing and reaching for his cane propped against the table, they walked into the kitchen hand in hand whispering between each other quietly. Caitlyn hadn't been suspicious but she saw the focused look in Jayce's eyes and she knew that he was sending them away on purpose. So she slipped into the sunroom and took her seat closest to the windows in one of the wicker armchairs. He set the cake stand down on the coffee table, a low octagonal wood table with a glass covering. For a minute neither of them said anything, as Jayce pulled an armchair over to her sitting besides her elbows braced on his knees. It was almost like he was waiting for her to start. 

She wasn't sure what she was meant to say, she knew it was probably about the date but what was she meant to tell him about it. She wanted to tell him everything from start to finish but she didn't think she had enough time for that. So she sighed, sunk into her seat and shrugged. 

“Cait you know you can tell me anything right, I am and I will always be here for you” Jayce started his tone soft and sincere, but it seemed rather random. Nothing she had done warranted that sort of reassurance .

“Yeah, I do,” Caitlyn breathed, nodding softly. She knew she could count on him, hell he was probably the only person in the world she could properly count on to always have her back. 

“I want you to be happy, I want you to do what makes you happy” Jayce said firmly, it hung there in the air a moment as Caitlyn absorbed It. She knew he wanted her to be happy. She thinks maybe she finally is, and maybe this could make her happy.

“I really like her jayce, it was a really nice date,” she confessed, head falling to rest on the arm of the chair and Jayce seemed pleased with that answer but there was still something sad in his eyes. Something conflicted that told her he was trying to tell her something she wasnt getting. 

“Jinx is a good person, she is a friend, but youre my sister,” Jayce said firmly, forcing their eyes to meet. She got it now, she rolled her eyes turning to blink up at the glass ceiling, the soft green windows pattering softly with rain. 

“Dude I'm not gonna make you choose between us in the divorce cool your roll” she huffed playfully, her lips stretching into a grin that tugged at her cheeks. Jayce reached out palm warm against her shoulder as he shook his head. 

“Oh were at divorce? You think youre gonna marry her?" Jayce asked which made her pause. That was too far, she had been joking she wasn't  the marriage type didnt think it was really worth it. 

“You're putting words in my mouth, we had one date, one great, amazing, very fun, date” she dismissed her brows knitted together as she looked at him forcing her words to carry the weight of her tone, 

“Will there be another?” he asked, which yeah of course there would be. 

“Hopefully” her cheeks burned as she thought at the dates they had already ‘arranged’ to spend the afternoon talking about birds “hopefully many, she told me you took her to eirs fors told you about birds” 

“Yeah I did, she needed that and well I thought about you and I knew that when you were stressed about exams it's where you liked to run off to, I knew it helped you so I guessed maybe it would help her” he admitted earnestly. It really was just like Jayce to be so sweet, she was constantly being reminded that Jayce simply was a good person. Caitlyn strived to be a lot of things in life but the one person she wanted to be like was jayce. Kind to a fault and graciously caring to everyone. 

“How come you never mentioned her before?” Caitlyn asked, the question had been burning at her all evening, it didn't make sense why she would never come up, if she was this huge part of his life why wouldn't she another huge part of his life not be aware of it. 

“Because I didn't want you to be jealous” he stated flatly, like the answer was obvious. Caitlyn wouldn't go so far as to say he was a jealous person, she was fairly content with everything she had. 

“Jealous?” she asked her tone pitching. Why would she be jealous over Jayce having other friends? 

“You and I were spending a lot of time together then, starting premed, rebelling against your mother, and well I knew you needed me and you needed undivided attention, I didn't want you to think I was replacing you or that I couldn't dedicate all my attention to you” he explained thoughtfully taking the time to lay out his words as though rehearsed, she guessed maybe at one point it had been, It had been a decade he had to have wanted to tell her at one point or another. It made sense as well. Caitlyn had been going through a lot back then, she was finishing high school and then she was starting premed and everything seemed so much more monumental when you're eighteen. 

“I wouldn't have” she went to retort but Jayce shaking his head stopped her, because yeah she might have, “okay fine, yeah I would have” 

“I probably could have brought it up sometime between then and now but you know when you've been putting something off for so long you just decided you'll get to it when it becomes relevant again” he admitted mournfully head hung low as in shame. He had wanted to tell her so many times the words on the tip of his tongue over dinner but then he just didn't, he'd say a coworker, an intern, one of Viktor's students. He had told her about jinx, he had just never named her or gone so far as to actually tell her about their friend. 

“Yeah” she thought about telling vi about the date, she had a lot of opportunities over the last week to bring it up, to mention it and had kept choosing not to. Well she knew she had to now, she would. On Monday she would tell her. Or well she'd try. 

“I kept meaning to mention it, but you know, comparison is the truest evil, and well I didn't want you to do that to yourself” Jayce murmured, his words so quiet Caitlyn was almost sure she had imagined them, hoped she had imagined them. She blinked lips parting to reply with disagreement but when she really thought about it. Thought about Jinx back then, the prodigy that everyone was fawning over getting a degree at a prestigious university, being mentored personally by heimerdinger and Viktor and even jayce. 

“You thought if you brought up the amazing child prodigy you were mentoring id compare myself and get depressed” she realised, she let her arm fall from the chair as she turned to brace her forehead against the cold wicker. 

“Well you were already depressed I just didn't want you to just give up entirely” he said so sincerely, Caitlyn scoffed shaking her head. She wouldn't have given up, she would have just been a bitch. 

“Thanks” she huffed “you're right, I mean I probably wouldn't have been very receptive to the idea, I do wish you would have brought it up sooner but im glad at least i'm learning about it now” 

“You know if you do make it official you could bring her to dinner, she could sit in the empty seat besides you, ya know so you're not sitting on that side all by yourself” Jayce said excitedly his words loud as he sat up straighter and Caitlyn's heart constricted in her chest at the idea that maybe she could bring Jinx here, around her family. It seemed like a nice idea. 

“Woah okay let's slow down, we've been on one date” she grumbled, one date and Jayce was already pushing for a meet the family type dinner. Yeah she would pass on that, her mother was one thing Jayce was another. A twinge of anxiety sent her heart beating faster and she shook the idea away from her head. 

“But you have plans for more,” Jayce reminded her, which was definitely true. 

“Hmm, yeah” she muttered as she pushed to sit straight fixing her hair behind her ear, she looked up catching the blue of movement behind the door, Mel peering over Viktor's shoulder, her brows furrowed as they waited patiently. She nodded and Mel's grin stretched widely.

“We brought plates” Mel announced stepping into the room holding up the china plates and Viktor rattled the forks behind her, there was lipstick smeared over his lips and a self pleased look in Mel's eyes that told Caitlyn that at least they had found some way to occupy themselves after completing the task that must have taken three meager seconds. 

“Thank you love,” Jayce said as he pushed his chair back and stood walking over to the coffee table and removing the lid on the cake stand to reveal the decadent berry tart beneath. It looked heavenly with individually piped cream dollops covering the entirety of the top drizzled in raspberry syrup. Caitlyn loved berry things, she didn't have much of a sweet tooth preferring things sour than overly sweet. 

“So what were we talking about?” Mel asked as she pulled over an armchair. They had been around the coffee table but were now in a rather ellipse-like circle in the corner turned away from the coffee table completely. Viktor sat in the one beside Jayce hooking his cane over the arm and held out his plate for Jayce to deliver a large slice. 

“Thank you” he huffed before he turned away, leaning back into his seat and drawing his legs up onto its cushion as he dug in without waiting for the others to be served, too excited to hold back. 

“I have a bit of a problem” Caitlyn admitted with a grimace as she took the offered plate from jayce, she turned her fork around in her hand considering her conundrum. She had not been on many dates in her life, but she had never been on a second date before. So she wasn't sure how exactly she would go about getting one. 

“Already? That must be a record" Mel muttered quietly, Caitlyn shrugged, stabbing a fork into her slice and brought it up to her lips. The tart was as delicious as it looked. The cream was rich and sweet but it was balanced out by the tart syrup and the sharp tang of the currants in the tart. Overall it was amazing which was to be expected from anything Jayce made. 

“Yeah, I like her, Jinx obviously. And well I want to see her again” she said firmly, eyes flicking to Jayce “I do want to make this a lasting relationship” 

“Hmm” he hummed, nodding encouragingly as he sat down in his chair. Caitlyn grimaced her cheeks red with embarrassment. What twenty seven year old didn't know how to ask someone out on a second date. 

“How do I do that? We've already established it's too soon to be classed as officially dating” Caitlyn began her words quiet as she shrunk into her seat. 

“No, we established that to be dating you have to ask her to be your girlfriend,” Viktor recalled, turning to look at her brows raised and she nodded lips pressed into a line. 

“Is it too soon to do that?” she asked, it seemed they didn't know either. Jayce opened his mouth to respond but nothing came out, he covered it up by shoving a piece of tart into his mouth and shrugged. She looked to Mel who looked similarly as confused brows furrowed as she looked up at the rain pelting down against the slanted windows in the roof. 

“Does it feel too soon?” Viktor asked, breaking the silence and Caitlyn considered it. To her it wasn't but then she wasn't sure if she was rushing things, she knew there was a stereotype about sapphic relationships moving too fast, was she falling into that stereotype, was she not considering things fully. Or did she just know. Did the settled feeling in her stomach actually mean she should just jump in and see or did it mean she was doing the right thing but she should slow down. 

“No” she landed on. She wanted Jinx to be her girlfriend, she wanted to meet isha and she wanted to go on a bunch of dates with her and now that Jayce had put the idea in her mind she wanted to bring Jinx to these saturday night dinners and have her sit on her left, she looked over to the vacant ar chair left on the other side of the coffee table, she didn't know why they had five arm chairs but not she could imagine Jinx sat in it at her side. 

“Then ask” Viktor said bluntly, Caitlyn hummed her chest constricting in her chest. Something about the fact that It was Viktor telling her to ask Jinx made it feel more powerful. She thought back to their interaction in the foyer, the idea that maybe they wouldn't have been good together in the past but that he knew that maybe they could be now. 

She nodded distantly and reached for her glass of wine, throwing it back with a huff. She was slightly buzzed by now, her head spinning as she reclined back in the seat and brought another piece of tart up to her lips. Well that settled things she guessed. She would ask Jinx to be her girlfriend. She could do that, she'd been asked to be people's girlfriend before. Only caveat was that every time that had happened in the past she had said no. She wasn't much for dating. 

“How?” she breathed sitting up with a yawn. Viktor blinked looking at her like it was obvious and she guessed maybe to him who had asked Mel out and then orchestrated them asking Jayce out that yeah it was quite obvious. Viktor was very upfront about what he wanted though. ‘The worst that could happen was they say no’ he'd always say followed up by him saying ‘not that they'll say no’ she wished for even an ounce of his confidence. 

“At the start of your next date” he finally answered when it was clear she had no clue. She hummed nodding in consideration, yeah that would be nice then they could on their date as girlfriends, and then if she said no they could end it there and go their separate ways. She just needed to get a second date.

“And how do I get one of those?” Caitlyn asked, Viktor blinked, eyes narrowed as he turned to her. 

“You ask her on one” he stated flatly setting down his empty plate on the coffee table with a clatter. She considered it, just ask her on one. That seemed easy enough. 

“Sure, so just like message her, hi want to go on a second date?” she asked, though this time she was just teasing, it seemed to work as Viktor took a moment pressing his lips closed as he took a deep breath through his nose. 

“No” he huffed shaking his head, Caitlyn snickered 

“Yeah don't do that, maybe workshop that a little” Jayce added with a grimace, and Caitlyn realised that they actually believed she was being serious, she really had to work on the delivery of her jokes learn how to pitch her voice up in a teasing manner and not maintain the same monotone flatness for everything. 

“Oh so now I shouldn't just ask her outright” she said lightly, Jayce nodded sympathetically. 

“Cait you gotta plan something, you pick out a nice restaurant, or a nice event and then you invite her to it” Mel explained sweetly smiling softly over her as she reached out to set her own empty plate down on the coffee table reminding Caitlyn to eat a little faster she hummed as she took another bite. 

“So where should I take her?” she asked looking between the three, there was a bit of a high bar set for her. That exhibit had been amazing and interactive and it had taken up several hours of their afternoon so she couldn't just pick a dinner she needed equally as engaging as the exhibit. 

“Yeah I mean you do kind of have to rise to the occasion here” Jayce admitted eyes wide and as he considered just where she could take her. 

“What do you mean?” Mel asked curiously looking between Jayce and Caitlyn curiously. 

“That gallery? She has to bring the same energy, something equally as romantic and immersive” Jayce explained thoughtfully, Mel nodded her head tilted as she cushioned her cheek on her palm looking at Caitlyn with narrowed eyes. 

“Okay and how do I do that?” Caitlyn asked, Mel tsked nose scrunching as she considered places in Piltover, she didn't know Jinx very well so it was hard to really say. 

“Jayce and Viktor would be a better help there” she finally admitted motioning to the two of them. Viktor blinked his eyes open tiredly looking around them. 

“Huh” Viktor asked as he yawned. 

“Where can I take Jinx on our next date?” Caitlyn asked pointedly, Mel had good thinking there, Viktor knew Jinx well. If anyone was going to know what Jinx liked it would be viktor. 

“You can't ask us” Viktor huffed brows pinched in confusion and Caitlyn's face contorted. 

“What? Why not you guys are the only couple I know,  if you don't know then I have nothing” she demanded softly leaning forward in her seat, her plate clenched tightly in her hand. 

“Cait our idea of date night is a fancy dinner or a jazz bar for drinks and live music, we're boring people” Viktor admitted unabashedly. They were in their thirties they weren't going on elaborate dates anymore, yes they still went on dates but they were more lowkey nowadays, they went out to relax and enjoy eachothers company. 

“Oh that's a good idea, jazz bar” Mel hummed excitedly, Jayce shook his head lips pressed into a flat line.  

“Not Jinx's scene though” Viktor admitted with a sigh. 

“Right” Mel collapsed back into her seat, they sat there together in silence nursing their drinks as they thought of options. None of them had any good ideas. 

“Take her to a botanical garden” Jayce said catching their attention, Caitlyn hummed thoughtfully, it sounded like a lovely idea, Piltover had tons of amazing botanical gardens and Caitlyn did like plants and gardening. 

“That seems like a good idea actually, I might be able to get after hours access to the glass house, my mother is friends with the woman who owns it” Caitlyn explained excitedly sitting up straight in her seat, the idea was forming so easily in her brain. She could imagine Jinx there in the gardens surrounded by all of the flowers, eyes wide in faciation. She could tell her all about them. 

“Ah but you'd have to explain to your mother why you needed after hours access” Mel reminded and Caitlyn blinked her heart squeezing in her chest as fear slammed right into her back sending her heart into a tizzy. Shit yeah she couldn't tell her mother about her date plans, she'd then have to sit through the barrage of questions and the demands to know who she was dating. Then her mother would demand to meet her and Jinx didnt deserve that torture just yet. 

“Fuck” she collapsed back in her seat head tilted to stare up at the ceiling she was so screwed wasnt she. 

“You'll be fine” Viktor huffed, and this time when he yawned Jayce did too. 

“I hope so, can't get to the eighth if I can't make it past the second” Caitlyn murrurmed head tilting to lay against the seat's high arm, Jayce frowned. 

“The eighth?” he asked pointedly, such an odd number to be dreaming about he thought though by now Caitlyn had a bit to drink so maybe she'd lost her mind. 

“We joked that on our eighth she’d just tell me bird facts all afternoon, I want to test her knowledge” Caitlyn admitted shyly, she imagined Jinx's head cushioned in her lap as she rambled on about birds and bird facts for hours on end. Oh she couldn't wait, as weird as it sounded it seemed like a pleasant afternoon. 

“You’ll be there a year, she knows far too much about them” Jayce admitted a bit scared as he recalled being the one on the receiving end of such an afternoon. At first it had been a few facts here and there and then it had devolved a few small facts became long in depth explanations. She used to sit across from him with her notebook and camera as she scrapbooked about birds she had seen on the campus and facts all about them. 

“Yeah she did say, she used to tell you about them?” Caitlyn asked a knowing smile on her lips as she recalled the fact Jinx didn't actually care for birds back then but had come to like them as she had continued to uphold her ruse. 

“All the time, I don't think she even likes birds, she just likes knowing things,” Jayce admitted, shaking his head as he pressed his eyes closed around a yawn. 

“Sorry” Jayce murmured as he blinked the water from his eyes, arms stretching up over his head. 

“God you're so old, it's only ten o'clock” Caitlyn huffed with a shake of her head, Mel smiled looking between the two men with a fond expression. Viktor was basically asleep in his chair, head pillow on his palm and Jayce chuckled though he didn't try to disprove that assumption. 

“We've all been up early as of late” Mel admitted, Caitlyn hummed looking between them all curiously. Nothing had really changed about their schedule so she didn't know why they would be getting up early. She didn't really care though. 

“Or its cause you're getting old” Caitlyn teased pointedly earning a group of rolling eyes and annoyed sighes. 

“Or it's because of that sure” Mel relented, raising her hands in front of her in surrender before she moved to clasp them together, chin bracing on her knuckles. 

“Why don't you boys go to bed?” she said with a smile looking over to the pair both yawning, their eyes half lidded as they blinked the sleep out of their eyes. Caitlyn remembered when they would all stay up till two in the morning playing board games, long gone were those days as they failed to stay up past dinner. Then again she knew she was no better, she wouldn't be staying up too much longer. 

“No we can stay up” Jayce grunted waving a hand dismissively even though his eyes were closed and he was basically already asleep in his chair. Mel stood with a sigh moving to where Viktor truly was already asleep, head turned into the corner of the chair arms crossed over his chest. 

“Dont torture yourself, go to bed” Mel insisted shaking Viktor's shoulder gently, he blinked up at her smiling softly before he sighed.

“I won't refuse that, I'm knackered” Viktor groaned as he pushed to stand reaching for his cane. Jayce moved to his side offering him his arm to lean against. 

“Goodnight Cait” he sighed, waving as he walked past. 

“Night Jayce, night Viktor” Caitlyn said softly as they walked out of the sun room leaving just her and Mel sat together. 

“Come on you can tell me in more detail about this kiss of yours over a drink” Mel said jumping to her feet and Caitlyn chuckled, taking her glass and following after. She hadn't actually seen Mel drink anything, she had been sipping on her drinks all night but she hasn't really been finishing any. They walked through the short hall under the stairs that led into Mel's home office. It was a room similar to the one in their office. With bright white walls and bookcases lined with legal textbooks and academic journals in all sorts of languages Mel spoke. In Front of the fireplace at a slight angle was a long chaise lounge with comfortable cushions piled high along it and a small glass table. Caitlyn grabbed the table and set it down in the middle of the couch and set her glass down on it as she kicked her shoes off and left them piled by the leg of the chair. 

Mel appeared a second later with the decanter in her hand and her own glass refilled in hand, she poured Caitlyn a new glass, bourbon in a wine glass not its intended vessel but well they worked with what they had instead of wasting fresh glasses for now reason. Caitlyn pulled a pillow over her lap as she took a sip of her drink. 

“So spill” Mel ordered leaning to the side against the chaise low end, Caitlyn blushed as she thought about the kiss. 

“The kiss in the gallery wasn't the only kiss” Caitlyn admitted, Mel gasped her hand swatting at the pillow as she sipped on her glass. 

“Oh? Where else?” Mel asked as she bit at her lip. The kiss in the car had been quicker but it had been with more intention, it had meant to be teasing and it had meant to rile her up, which she thinks maybe she succeeded in even if Jinx didn't take it any further. 

“In the car in the dropoff zone of my building, she dropped me off and I kissed her again, invited her up” Caitlyn admitted blush deepening and Mel's mouth dropped open as she laughed. 

“On the first date? Really Cait?” Mel teased faux sympathy written across her face as she mocked the other. Caitlyn laughed, she knew there was an etiquette, you weren't meant to sleep with them till the third date but they lived in the modern era where if you wanted to sleep with your date on the first date then you did. Because who really cared anymore. Caitlyn shrugged leaning back as she took a long sip off her drink, the liquor going down easy and tasteless as the alcohol from the night had built up. She wasn't drunk but she was in that night fuzzy equilibrium where she could speak without fear of embarrassment and knew that if she closed her eyes anywhere she wouldn't open them till morning.

“So did she accept?” Mel asked and Caitlyn sighed, shoulders slumping. 

“No” she admitted with a sigh, she was a bit bummed by that actually, she knew why Jinx hadnt accepted, her reasoning was totally valid and Caitlyn even commended it, but she did want to. She guessed maybe she'd have to slip it into the planning of their next date, she'd ask Jinx about when she could slip her away for a full night, or even just the day. 

“Wait really?” Mel asked nose scrunched at the idea that Jinx wouldn't want to sleep with her which Caitlyn totally agreed was crazy. 

“But she checked you out so much” Mel murmured solemnly and Caitlyn shrugged and took another sip. 

“Yeah shocked me too, I mean clearly she's attracted to me, and I know that if she could have she would have but alas, she had to get home to her babysitter” Caitlyn explained softly which got an approving humm from mel. 

“Oh right the kid” Mel's eyes widened in horror as she remembered Jinx was a parent. Caitlyn couldn't forget because she had to keep reminding herself they were a pack deal. If she wanted to be with Jinx she would have to live with Isha being around. 

“Isha” she sighed softly, she thought back to the mural of the kid, the only photographic proof she had besides tiny hands and bucket hats. She knew the kid was small with big blue eyes and ga toothed smile. Knew that even if Jinx didn't agree they did look a little alike. 

“Right, how are you handling that?” Mel asked as she reached over for the decanter topping her drink up a bit fuller before she poured caitlyn another glass. Caitlyn shrugged, taking a long sip of her drink as she considered the response. 

“Well I haven't met her yet obviously” she dismissed, eyes flicking down to the drink in her hand as she sank further into the couch, her knee bumping into Mel's thigh who rested her glass against her knee. 

“But you want to” Mel inferred, she was spot on there. Caitlyn by nature was a curious person and she did want to meet isha, she wanted to get to know her, she seemed like a cool kid, which Caitlyn couldn't say for most kids. She was getting a well rounded education and she was traveling with her mom and experiencing these amazing places and well she guessed she wanted to know how that translated into the development of a child. She wanted to know if she was just as worldly as her mum. 

“Well yeah, of course” she said obviously, if she wanted to make it work with Jinx she had to make it work with the kid first. 

“Oh so it's like seriously serious” Mel asked, Caitlyn hummed tugging her chapped lips between her teeth as she considered it. They weren't serious obviously but Caitlyn could admit she was serious about the relationship. Crazy as it was after only on date her curiosity far outweighed her anxiety. 

“I think so,” she said, a little unsure of her answer. Mel didn't look very pleased by her answer, her head shaking as she bit down on the corner of her lip. 

“No babe, either it is or it isn't” she admitted pointedly, either she was in and she was serious about Jinx or she wasn't. 

“Fine yes, I want it to be serious, I want to meet her” Caitlyn groaned her cheeks red as they were deepening to crimson. She was trying to play it cool but she guessed she wasn't allowed to do that anymore. 

“Ugh that's so sweet of you” Mel groaned 

“I'm just a sweet person” Caitlyn snickered, she was not that sweet but she could definitely pretend to be. 

“Yeah you are, you're gonna be fine, that kids gonna love you” Mel admitted wistfully, longing in her eyes as tears built in her eyes a little, Caitlyn frowned humming as she took a long sip of her drink. 

“I hope so” she admitted, she really hoped so, it would be heartbreaking to get so far as to be finally introduced to isha only for her to turn around and say ‘I hate you, you're not allowed to date my mommy’ and then Jinx would dump her and she'd be back at square one, except this time she might actually just swear off all relationships forever. 

“Why don't you take her to a ballroom dancing class” Mel exclaimed, she had been really trying to figure out a date idea for her seems she had finally found one. Caitlyn thought back to her old ballroom dance lessons, she had been decently fine at it but she hadnt had to dance in years she was rusty she'd make a fool of herself. 

“I suck at ballroom dancing,” Caitlyn reminded which made Mel nod enthusiastically. 

“I know! that's why I suggested it” Mel exclaimed excitedly, what an odd idea, embarrassing herself on the second date, maybe the tenth when she was sure things were official and Jinx wasn't going anywhere but the second? When Jinx could just cut it off without much fanfare. Too risky. 

“Your idea is I make a fool of myself in front of the girl I like” Caitlyn asked but Mel didn't seem to see how terrible of a bad idea that was. Or maybe it wasn't a bad idea and she was being too particular. 

“Yeah, you'll have a blast laughing about it” Mel explained sweetly, Caitlyn still didnt see how it could be a good idea. 

“She'll have a blast laughing at me” Caitlyn concluded, though the sound of Jinx's laugh was music to her ears, her teary eyes bright from her glee her grin stretched across her face. Yeah okay that wasn't so bad. 

“Seems perfect” Mel sighed dreamily, Caitlyn was wondering how often Mel orchestrated dates she knew the guys would be bad at so she could laugh at them making a fool of themselves, maybe this was a love language she didn't quite get. 

“No, is mini golf a good date idea?” Caitlyn asked steering the topic away into safer territory, she was good at mini golf, really good at actual golf as well, she had accompanied Mel to enough games to know what she was doing. And to have her own set of custom clubs with special grips in her favorite cerulean blue colour. 

“Maybe for the third date? If you want something as equally amazing as the exhibit maybe aim higher” Mel encouraged her voice slightly squeaky as she disagreed. She was partly right, mini golf wasn't very exciting nor did it take long enough, there was one very elaborate course though the rainforest cafes mini golf course, it was huge. Even if she didn't take Jinx she'd have to force Jayce to come along because she really needed to go again. 

“Painting class?” Caitlyn proposed, there were some really nice ones happening, she knew Jinx loved art and she loved to paint and Caitlyn was just bad enough at it that it could work out, spend the afternoon painting each other in a portrait painting class laughing about how terrible Caitlyn was at art. 

“Ya know there's a painting competition happening soon I think you need to apply but it's this performance art piece where everyone stands around in canvases in a circle and paints for an hour” Mel explained eyes bright with glee, it seemed fascinating, it wasn't exactly open to all but Mel had been invited and well she knew the woman who was running it, she could put in a word get Jinx and Caitlyn too easels for the event. 

“Oh that's cool” Caitlyn hummed, thinking of Jinx focused on painting. They wouldn't really be able to talk though they would be too focused on their own work. She also didn't think she was good enough for a competition but it would be exciting. 

“Oh yeah, I mean I think you've got three weeks till it happens though” Mel admitted, Caitlyn tsked head shaking. She needed something sooner, she wanted to see Jinx soon, not in a few weeks' time. She threw back her drink and set the empty glass down on the table before she reached to take the decanter from Mel's hand. She passed it over easily letting her pour out her own glass but put her hand over top of her glass when she went to top her up. She hadn't drunken much of hers, sipping on its edge now and again but not very quickly. 

“Oh no too long, I need something sooner” Caitlyn explained and Mel sighed shifting in her seat letting her legs drop straight off the side as she blinked up at the ceiling. 

“Can't wait a few weeks huh?” Mel teased looking at Caitlyn with faux mockery, she was desperate she could admit it. 

“God no, I want to see her again this week” Caitlyn admitted with a scoff, she did really like jinx, she liked her company and she liked her charm and she wanted to hang out with her more. She had always been like that though when she made a new friend she found a way to incorporate them into her weekly life. Made sure she would be able to maintain the relationship in her busy schedule. 

“Hmm, that new planetarium show maybe, I think it's like three hours long though” Mel offered, Caitlyn had heard about it and didn't realise it was three hours long but that was perfect. She could take Jinx out for a quick bite to eat then they could go to the showing and if she planned it for late enough even convince Jinx to stay the night. The plan was forming. 

“That could work, when is it?” Caitlyn asked, Mel took a moment to think about it, her eyes narrow as she tried to remember what Viktor had put on his calendar. They were going to it but not on opening night. 

“Monday after next, I think” Mel offered though she wasn't so sure herself. 

“Hmm a little far out, but that might be perfect” Caitlyn grinned, that was great. Only problem was she wouldn't be able to go to the diner with vi. She’d have to find a really good excuse. Or she wouldn't because she was going to be honest and she was going to tell the truth. 

“You know Viktor knows the host, I could get him to talk to the guy, might be able to get you an exclusive showing” Mel offered after a moment's thought, she wasn't sure what Viktor's stance on her and Jinx were but she hoped that he’d at least help her out. 

“Fuck that would be good” she 

“Glad to be of help” Mel said proudly, her smile softening as she brought her glass up to her lips, but did not take a drink, she held it there a moment before she set it down on the table blinking back at her lap before she chuckled. 

“You are so helpful, I didn't think it would be this hard ya know, I thought planning a date was just picking a place and showing up but its like so much more than that” Caitlyn admitted tiredly as she reached for her own drink and took a long sip. 

“Yeah sweetie dating is hard as hell, you'll be fine though, you've got the heart” Mel said proudly her hand reaching out to pat Caitlyn's shoulder In uncoordinated movements that were more like gentle brushes of her fingers. 

“God I hope you're right, I want this to work Mel, is that crazy? Am I crazy? One date and i'm losing my mind” she asked slightly panicked, this was not normal was it. She shouldn't be this turned over after one date. Maybe Jinx was a witch and she had cast some sort of spell on her. She felt enchanted. 

“You're just excited, your first big girl relationship where there's actual stakes” Mel dismissed with a shrug and Caitlyn detested the fact this was her first real adult relationship. So what if she had never really actually dated anyone. No one had ever really felt right, there was never a spark that said I want to get to know you. Maybe it was just all of the mystery surrounding Jinx but she wanted to know her. 

“Ya know Jayce always said Cait you'll just know when it's right and I thought he was insane, how was I meant to just know, now it makes sense” she admitted, she used to complain to Jayce that she was worried she was gonna die alone, hed always tell her not to worry, there was someone real special around the corner waiting to love her and when she found her well shed just know. Caitlyn liked to believe he was right and she guessed maybe he was. 

“He says that?” Mel asked softly, her eyes bright with that adoration that always seemed to overtake the three of them whenever they did anything sweet. 

“Yeah I used to ask him how he knew you guys were the ones for him and he would say he just knew, I thought he was insane obviously” Caitlyn admitted, she thought he was insane five times a day so like this wasn't much of a shocker. 

“He's sweet, it's really not like that” Mel admitted with a grimace. Caitlyn paused looking at her curiously. 

“You didn't just know?” Caitlyn asked, she reached over for the decanter and poured herself another glass, scooting in ready for this story time. She thought they all just agreed that they had known. 

“Oh no, for the first two years me and Vik dated I didn't think we were gonna last, were such similar people I thought it could only end badly” Mel chuckled lightly at the memory, she hadn't expected much from the relationship, but then she came around “of course it didn't and life went on and slowly I came around to the fact that Viktor wasn't going anywhere and well neither was I” 

That made a lot of sense to caitlyn, she always thought that was how it was meant to go, you fell in love over time not just at first sight across a dining table. But then again Jayce insisted he fell in love with Viktor that first day in his old dorm room, looked at the man criticizing his notes and his ego and fell head over heels.  

“Then of course Jayce came along and those feelings were much more lust then they were romantic” Mel admitted, Caitlyn gagged face scrunched up, she didn't need to know anything about that. That was still her brother. Viktor she didn't care Jayce though was off limits. 

“I don't need to know how you lusted after my brother” Caitlyn huffed as she finished off her next glass and reached for another. 

“Sorry, well I didn't think I liked him romantically and me and Viktor talked about it and I realised that Vik definitely did, we spent the first year coming to terms with what that meant for us and as we were discussing it I realised that maybe I did like him in a romantic fashion” Mel admitted, she had used to feel bad about it, not seeing Jayce in that way but still wanting him. She liked him, sure he was her friend but he wasn't someone she thought she would want to date. She came around in the end but it took her a while and now look at her, she loved the guy. 

“So whilst Jayce pined for many years you didn't even consider him as a romantic option” Caitlyn teased, Jayce had always been a piner, he was hopelessly in love from day one and Caitlyn had loved to tease him about it. She'd always known Viktor returned those feelings for him but she hadn't been able to read Mel as clearly so she hadn't even considered she didn't. 

“Not seriously no, he was my friend, we were all friends, he was hot sure but he was also very aloof, ambitious, I knew he had potential and I wanted to harness it but I was so focused on my own work I didn't even consider it” Mel explained a blush burning at her cheeks, she knew Jayce could be great and she knew that Viktor and Jayces work would do great things so she had encouraged them to work on it, which maybe it wasn't typical for her to have encouraged her boyfriend to work super closely with the guy he definitely had a crush on but she was so secure she didn't even care. 

“Damm poor guy,” Caitlyn huffed, grinning wildly. She felt a little bad for Jayce but not really, It had worked out in the end and he got what he had wanted. 

“Well we figured it out in the end” Mel sighed, smiling over at the portrait of the three of them sitting on the cabinet between the filing cabinets. It was a copy of the big one in the lounge, it was a few years old by now, didn't have their wedding rings. 

“Just took you a few years,” Caitlyn teased. Mel turned to her eyes seriously and Caitlyn really had to work on the delivery of her jokes didn't she? 

“Don't wait a few years Cait, if you know now well you gotta go for it” Mel stated seriously her tone giving her no room for argument. She thought Mel didn't regret that it took her time, wasn't that the whole point of that conversation? 

“What if it ends badly?” Caitlyn asked the words tumbling past her lips far too honestly. Maybe she was more drunk than she realised. 

“Everything ends, I don't know how it's going to end Cait and neither do you but you gotta enjoy it whilst it lasts” Mel explained mournfully, she was right there was an end to everything but why did there have to be. Why couldn't things go on forever. 

“I'm scared it'll end badly” she admitted, Mel sighed, reaching out and taking her hand, her small hand squeezing hers tightly. 

“Maybe I'm optimistic but I think you're gonna be alright, something tells me things are gonna work out” Mel admitted with a smile, her head tilted as she considered the woman before her. T had been happening a lot recently, Mel stopping just to look at her expressing how odd it was that she had grown up even though she had been grown up for many many years. 

“That is optimistic” Caitlyn huffed, earning a soft huff from Mel as she shook her head. 

“Ah well” she shrugged, a yawn cutting her off before she could go on. 

“Are you going to crash here tonight?” Mel asked, turning to her with a soft smile, Caitlyn looked down at the empty decanter and the very little left in her glass and sighed. She didn't feel buzzed but everyone knew that until you stood up you never really did. So she nodded and brought her glass up to her lips and finished it off with a sigh. 

“Yeah probably for the best” she admitted as she blinked the sleep from her eyes. She was pretty exhausted, she was starting to realise, her head full of cotton and her mouth dry as she pushed the pillow from her lap and set the glass down with a clatter a bit too close to the edge. She hummed pushing it in and moved to kick her legs over the side bracing her elbows on her knees. Caitlyn cradled her head in her hands, palms pressed into her eyes as she rook in deep breaths. 

“I should not have drunk so much” she admitted with a grimace, she didnt drunk like she used to, had not drunk this much in the last nine months but there was something about the weight of her own guilt and the frustration of dealing with her mother that made it seem like a good idea. 

“You're allowed to indulge now and then and lucky for you, you're a sleepy clingy drunk so you can get away with it” Mel murmured softly, her hand reaching out to push a stray strand over Caitlyn's ear. Caitlyn turned into her warm palm and sighed. Mel looked soft in the lighting and just as put together. Which was odd considering she had drunk as much as that decanter as she had. Eh some people handle their liquor better she supposed. She moved to stand the world tilting ever so and she grimaced.

“I don't know how I ever functioned like this” Caitlyn admitted, Mel's lips pressed together as she stood with her. 

“That's cause you didn't, you got by” Mel reminded, which was probably more likely, Caitlyn didn't know how she had appeared to everyone around her but she guessed maybe she hadn't been playing it as cool as she thought. 

“You're probably right” she huffed, trailing behind Mel and out into the hall, the dishes from dinner were still in the sink, their plates left in the sunroom. They'd be gotten to in the morning. The stairs creaked under foot and Caitlyn blinked from her stupor turning to look up as Mel took the stairs slowly, her hand braced on the railing. There was a certain silence in the Medarda house that only arose at night and it made everything seem a little louder and a little more nerve wracking. Caitlyn stumbled up behind her but where she turned continuing up the staircase Mel moved over to the first door off the landing. 

“Goodnight Cait” Mel whispered out and Caitlyn froze on the stairs turning to blink back at her, Mel's hand rested on the doorknob and Caitlyn remembered they no longer stayed on the same floor. Hadn't in over a year now, not since Viktor's surgery when they had relocated down from the fourth floor to the second. Everything had shifted down after that actually. Caitlyn was still up on the fourth floor though.

“Yeah, goodnight mel” she whispered back, she waited till the bedroom door closed before she continued up the stairs, taking them slowly so as not to lose her footing. The stairs had always been wide but now they felt tiny as her foot slipped on the edge. She braced her arm against the railing as she continued around the bend. There was a long landing on the third floor with doors lining either wall guest rooms mainly. 

She turned, fishing her phone out of her pocket. It wasn't too late, just gone eleven fifty as she turned to sit down on the stairs, her head hitting against the railing with a dull thud as she looked at the messages that awaited her. There was one from her mother inviting her to a dinner on friday night, the words nonnegotiable standing out to her like an alarm. She hadn't done anything to warrant anything besides a regular dinner with her parents except she had missed two in a row. She opened her messages and typed out a response when she paused. Her mother wouldn't be very happy to get a message at midnight. Even from her own daughter so instead she clicked out of the chat with a flick of her finger leaving her message unanswered and her reply unsent. 

Below her mothers contact, the only one with a profile picture was jinx. Winking at her in her small bubble. She clicked on the image enlarging it on her screen and sighed. Ask her on a date Cait, that's what she'd been told. Just ask her, easy peasy. Probably also wasn't a good time to be messaging her was it. Sat in the stairwell drunk as she was even though she wouldn't go as far as to say she was drunk. 

“Do you want me to call you?” she asked to the picture as she rested her head on her knee, the photo didn't move to reply, couldnt it was a photo. She sighed, hand slipping to wrap around the phone as she pressed her eye into her knee and sighed. There was a buzz in her hand that shocked her to sit up. Somehow she had pressed the call button and now she was ringing jinx. The soft burr of the ringtone loud in the hallway and Caitlyn gasped quickly, ending the call as she pushed to her feet and moved to rush up the stairs. She hoped she hadn't woken the others with her phone's volume. 

Her bedroom was the last door at the end of the fourth floor right in front of the window where a matching bench seat sat. She shuffled over her feet moving slowly as she felt her heart hammering in her chest, she wished Jinx didn't notice she had attempted to ring her, hoping the other wouldn't ask about it. She'd play it off say she'd fallen asleep and done it by accident, that was plausible wasn't it, Jinx might believe that. Or she wouldn't. Or Jinx would see straight through her and she'd have to admit she was drunk and dumb and when she was drunk she was clingy and she wanted to hear her voice. 

Because she did, she wanted to hear her talk about birds and tell her about her mother and that entire conversation which had ended with her wanting to pluck her own eyes out. 

“Fuck” she murrmured as she turned her phone over in her hand. Nothing had changed, the world was still spinning and Caitlyn could go on falling asleep and maybe when she opened her eyes in the morning this would have all been one bad nightmare. 

She slipped her phone back into her pocket, her other hand reaching for the door handle and pressing it down when she felt the soft vibrating against her leg, her ringtone echoing through the hall. She jumped, shoving open her door and slipped inside back pressed to the door as she freed her phone from her pocket and almost dropped it in her panic. Jinx's profile photo greeted her, everything froze as she gasped. 

She answered the phone as she clicked her door closed. 

“Hi” she breathed. 

“Are you alright?” Jinx asked, her tone panicked and Caitlyn couldn't help but giggle, she sounded tired, her voice raspy with sleep, it was a pleasant timber. A moment later the guilt pooled in her stomach at the realization she had woken Jinx up. 

“Fuck im sorry” she moved to put her phone on speaker setting it down on her dresser, “I didnt mean to call you, I was replying to a message from my mother” 

“How does that end with you calling me?” Jinx asked, which fair point, how did she end up from point a to point z in such a short amount of time. 

“Well I'm not exactly sober right now so my coordination isn't that good,” she admitted tiredly as she yanked her sweater over head and dumped it down on the floor. She eyed the bed, the large four poster canopy bed piled high in blankets. There were two large recessed windows with seats built into them that she wandered over to now snatching her phone off the dresser as she moved towards them. 

“Well yeah, I want to hear your voice and my hands did the rest” she murmured as she set the phone down and sat beside it she fumbled with her belt as she pressed her back into the cold glass of the window. It was cooling on her overheating skin. Jinx hummed through the phone. 

“Sorry, you can go back to bed” Caitlyn sighed as she managed to get her belt open and slid It free from her belt loops. She dropped it to the floor with a soft clatter. 

“Are you getting undressed right now?” Jinx asked her voice thick and Caitlyn stopped, was it weird? She hadn't stopped to consider maybe she shouldn't, Jinx couldn't see her so what did it matter. 

“Uh yeah, sorry, I'm just getting back to my room, I'm staying at Jayce's tonight” she admitted with a chuckle as she moved to slid off the seat to kneel on the floor, her arm still resting on the cushion as she laid her head down on top of it. 

“No it's uhm yeah it's fine, you wanted to hear my voice?” Jinx asked choking on her words and Caitlyn couldn't help but laugh as she nodded before she remembered Jinx couldn't see her nodding. 

“Hmm, you have a nice voice” she admitted dreamily, she did like this voice though, sleep thick and gravely as though she was parched. Caitlyn was definitely parched, her throat dry as she swallowed around the bitter taste of alcohol still in her mouth.

“Thank you, you know you've actually saved me some back pain, I didnt realise I had fallen asleep at my desk. I've been working from home all day I try not to go into work on weekends, but with how busy we've been I knew I couldn't just leave it” Jinx rambled on filling the silence as Caitlyn hummed along distantly, her eyes were heavy as she moved peer out the windows, there wasn't much to see besides the darkness illuminated by the moon bright behind the clouds. 

“You deserve breaks as well” she murmured and Jinx laughed bitterly.  

“Ha yeah I wish, I’m swamped, I brought my work home and spent the last five hours finishing it, must have fallen asleep here” Jinx admitted with a yawn, there was shuffling through the phone that told Caitlyn Jinx had grabbed her phone and was moving. She wondered what kind of bed Jinx had, if it was a four poster bed like hers, or a simple sleigh bed like the one Caitlyn had at home. Or a canopy bed. Maybe it was none, maybe she had gone back to her roots to the pallets on the floor. She imagined her climbing into it, tucking herself into her sheets as she laid her phone down on the pillows. 

“Guess that means you're too busy for another date anytime soon” Caitlyn sighed, moving to stand as well and setting the phone back down on the dresser. She pushed down the zip of her trousers as the silence stretched on. 

Caitlyn pulled open the drawer and rifled through it for a soft t-shirt she could wear. She had quite the selection but now with her skin ablaze sensitive as it was she didnt want anything scratchy or too thick. She chose a well worn and well loved shirt a few years old and set it over the dresser as she reached behind her to unclasp her bra. 

“What?” Jinx asked her voice, piercing the silence of her room, Caitlyn had started to think she was alone when she heard it blinking down at her phone as she shrugged off her bra and dropped it into ehr pile of clothes on the floor. 

“A date, with me, again, soon” Caitlyn admitted and Jinx hummed quietly through the phone. 

“I would like that” she admitted softly and Caitlyn smiled widely, her heart soaring in her chest. 

“Great, we have to plan one, I've been thinking of places I could take you, i've so many ideas” Caitlyn admitted excitedly as she moved to push her trousers off her hips, they fell with a soft thud around her ankles. She stepped back kicking them over to her clothes pile. It left her stood in the room bare besides her underwear finally no longer overheating. She sighed, head falling back as she reached for the soft t-shirt on the dresser. 

“Oh? Anywhere nice” Jinx asked and she thought of all the options she had been given. Some to embarrass herself with sure but also some rather nice sounding ones, she was mostly convinced by that planetarium showing. She loved the stars and she knew Jinx did as well. Still she couldn't reveal her hand to Jinx just yet. She needed to surprise her. 

“Hmm, yeah, do you like botanical gardens?” Caitlyn asked as she reached up to pull the shirt over her head. There was silence for a moment before Jinx came back to the phone. 

“Love them” she admitted and Caitlyn could hear the ruffeling of fabric loud through the speaker, the squeak of bed springs and her face heated up again warmer than even the alcohol could make it.

“Are you getting into bed?” she asked, picturing her there staring up at her ceiling phone pressed to her ear. 

“Yes” Jinx yawned quietly though the phone before she huffed “I am now in bed yeah, so lucky tomorrow is a sunday, and i've no plans” 

“Oh? Nothing?” Caitlyn asked as she moved to get into her own bed pushing the covers down to the foot of the bed leaving just the thin sheet which she yanked free from the others and bunched it up to press against. It was cold against her skin as she laid down on top of the soft sheets. It was pleasant as she tugged her pillow closer, phone resting beside her head. 

“Nope, nothing, I mean besides hanging out with isha” Jinx admitted tiredly and Caitlyn hummed smiling into her pillow at the image of the two of them soft mundane and boring sunday activities. Like breakfast at the dining table and homework at the coffee table and cartoons on the tv. 

“I can't wait to meet her,” she admitted with a yawn. 

“Yeah I can't wait to introduce you” Jinx admitted and Caitlyn's heart skipped in her chest. She wanted that so bad and it was nice to know Jinx was serious enough about her to want to as well. 

“Second date, this week?” Caitlyn prompted firmly, her words slurring a bit as she failed to hide her yawn. She was really tired now, her eyes heavy as she let them slip closed.

“Hmm i'll have to see, I can't get to my calendar from here” Jinx said softly and Caitlyn frowned, tilting to peer at her phone through narrowed eyes. That wasn't the response she wanted. 

“Hmph” she huffed her lips, quivering down into a pout as she hugged her pillow closer to her chest.

“Don't pout, that's what happens when you call someone at midnight” Jinx teased her words softly and there it was again that gravely sleep worn tone that told her that she was just exhausted as Caitlyn was. 

“Oh so this is my fault?” Caitlyn asked as the sleep started to creep in around the corner of her eyes and Jinx's laugh was manic

“Hmm, all your fault, but I'm not mad,” Jinx admitted with a sigh. 

“Hmm” she sighed the sleep taking over as she drifted off, slipping into the expansive oblivion that was the darkness. 

“Cant be when youve been driving me mad all day, only reason I cant finish my work is because im too busy wondering what youre up to, fucking hell calling me whilst youre changing why can I picture that so vividly, wish me luck trying to sleep I think ill lie awake the next few hours just picturing you” Jinx admitted crazed, a soft snore caught her attention through the phone as she turned pushing up her forearm to eye the phone, she could hear her soft whisteling breath through the phone and knew Caitlyn had fallen asleep. She sighed, taking her phone in hand and smiled. 

“Goodnight Cait, hope you aren't too hungover in the morning, i'll check my calendar first thing and get back to you about that date, god I hope you remember this” Jinx hated to think she wouldn't that maybe this was all the lonely rambling of a drunk woman not when her heart was racing in her chest her hopes set so high that she wouldn't be able to reach them to pull them down even if she stood on her tippiest toes. 

“Okay yeah goodnight” Jinx said as her thumb hovered over the end call button her heart racing in her chest before she sighed and pressed it as quick as she could. 

Chapter Text

Caitlyn never met with Vi on a sunday, it was one of those rare days that Caitlyn dedicated entirely to studying and which Vi used to catch up on her rest. Typically for Caitlyn it was a rather uneventful day of nothingness, she would have a nice lie in cuddled up in her own bed with a book from her nightstand before she'd get up, make herself a diet safe breakfast and eat it on her couch in front of the tv where she would catch up on the reality tv shows that Jayce was forcing her to watch, then she would start studying, usually a few hours sat on the floor in front of her coffee table, a cup of matcha on a coaster besides her cup of pastel highlighters. 

Sadly that sunday morning Caitlyn was not in her own apartment, when she woke that morning it was too the sun spilling through her open windows, painting the sky and her room gold. A headache pounded in her skull as she moved her arm up from tucked under her body to block out the sun. It didn't help much but for a moment there was a reprieve. Her shirt from the night before was wracked up uncomfortably under her ribs, the tag she hadn't cut out cutting into her skin making her skin itch. 

The thin sheet she had been cuddled up with was tangled up between her legs pulling it uncomfortably sending a jolt of pain through her hip as she moved to tug it free. For a good few minutes Caitlyn stayed there, in pain and uncomfortable and oddly cold as the sun was yet to warm the room around her, though it seemed to be getting brighter as it rose over the tree clearing piercing through the little peace she had found in her arm. She wanted to kick the drunk version of herself for being so stupidly vindictive not to close the curtains before crawling into bed. 

She finally rolled over with a grunt, a powerful pang of pain ripping up her spine as she twisted her legs out from their blanket prison to tuck up against her chest. She tucked her head into her elbow before yanking the blanket over her tucking it under her forearm to keep it in place, as though the thin light blue sheet would be able to keep the sun away. She yawned into her arm, forehead twinging with the sharp stab of pain. 

Caitlyn took the moment to blink the sleep from her eyes, her hand coming around to wipe the crust from her eyes. She would have to get up soon, she needed to check the time, make sure she had actually charged her phone and get dressed. She didn't have any plans for the day and she knew that Mel would probably let her rot the hangover away in her room but she didn't want to inconvenience them any so she would get out of bed and go home to study like always. 

It took her a lot more effort than one would assume to shift over knees braced on the bed as she pushed up to a kneel on her bed, the thin sheet falling from around her to rest around her back. Her shirt naturally fell back into the place but that tag irritated her greatly. Caitlyn pulled the shirt back up and wrapped her hand around the thin white tag before she pulled tearing it from the seam and threw it off the side of the bed promising herself to get it later though she knew more likely shed kick it under the bed and forget about it till she had to go under there looking for something. Pressed into her hip was a red and angry looking indent from her phone, she huffed reaching into her sheets and fished it out, clicking it on with a grimace. She had five percent which was just perfect. 

Better yet though is a message at the top of her screen. Caitlyn didn't get a lot of messages and never this early in the morning, it was just over an hour old which meant that it had been sent at five am.  Why had Jinx been awake at five am Caitlyn wondered as she kicked her pillows up her bed and twisted to rest against them head thudding back against the headboard as she tugged the bedding over her. 

Hope you're not too hungover this morning ;) 

How the hell did Jinx know she would be hungover? Caitlyn asked as her thumbs hovered over the keyboard, she was worried for a moment she had done something seriously embarrassing when the memory slammed into her. She slammed her phone down on the sheets, eyes rolling back to stare blankly up at the ceiling. Shame burned at her cheeks as it pooled itself in her stomach churning with the nausea that had rolled up her throat and threatened to spill. 

Fuck. 

She had called Jinx, she had wanted to call Jinx, sure but she had actually gone through with it, at midnight, one date and she was drunk calling her. How the hell Jinx has not immediately blocked her Caitlyn didn't know, which was the good part though isn't it, Jinx hasn't blocked her, she had answered the phone, talked with her, was generally forgiving about the whole ordeal. Had even agreed to a date with her again. Jinx had agreed on another date with her. She turned her phone back over, smiling fondly down at the simple message. 

— Wish I wasn't, sorry about last night — she sent with a sigh as she twisted sinking into her pillows as she wresteled her way towards her nightstand. She reached between the back of the cabinet freeing her charger and plugged her phone in with a little beep. Her head fell to rest against the soft pillows edge as she breathed through the nausea clawing at her throat vile burning her throat as she swallowed around it. 

Caitlyn slowly pushed to the edge of the mattress grimacing at the pain of her joints as she kicked her legs over the side, flinching at the cold rug under her feet. There was a thrum of water in the radiators and a click that told her that Mel was awake and had switched the heat. Mel was always up early but this seemed excessive even for her, Caitlyn shrugged as she pushed up to her feet blinking away the dizzy spell that washed over her rocking the room on its axis. Despite how horrid she felt her stomach growled menacingly demanding food from her, she had a craving for something sweet, pancakes maybe with syrup and berry compote and she knew that she could probably go down and hound Jayce to make them for her but there were no better pancakes on a sunday morning then the diners. Something about them warm, perfectly round, fluffy and light was unbeatable. Even by Jayce who was a master cook. 

She wasn't too fussed though on going by herself, something about it seemed rather odd. She shuffled around the bed, her hand braced on the post as she turned, the world unsteady beneath her feet before she pushed off and staggered to the windows. She pulled the old shutters from the wall and shoved them closed before she yanked the curtain across them. It was immediately darker even with just the one closed, she moved across to the other and did the same breathing a sigh of relief as the darkness overtook the room. 

Caitlyn turned her arm braced against the wall as she eyed her discarded clothes on the floor. She moved over to the dresser and kicked them closer to the wall to be collected later when she could bend down without losing her dinner. She opened the door with a grimace, the creak of the wood grating in her ears as she moved to pull out some clothes for the day, taking a pair of her leggings from the middle drawer and a thick sweater from the bottom. 

She bundled them up in her arms and moved into the ensuite that adjoined her room. To her left was the sink, a curving basin that hung off the cabinet built below. Her ensuite had a clawfoot bath, the curtain still pulled around the tub, and hooked on the window's tall frame behind the door was her robe, a long soft blue robe that was a bit dusty from its long abandonment. She shifted through the door and braced her weight back against it, closing it with a soft click before she moved to eye the space for somewhere to put her clothes. There was a stool besides the sink to her right. Covered in paint and holding folded towels. She could set them on top of the towels but she would have to grab them with her wet hands after to get said towels so she would prefer not. Luckily for her, Jayce was handy and had made a wooden covering for her sink when she had complained of doing her makeup on the floor, her room wasn't big enough for a vanity or a desk so they made it work. 

She shifted her clothes into one arm and moved to pull down the covering from behind the mirror, setting it over the sink for somewhere dry to rest her clothes for after her shower. Caitlyn moved to kneel on the floor with a grimace, her hand braced on the sinks edge as she opened the cabinet rummaging through the pill bottles for a simple painkiller. She had a lot of strong painkillers she was coming to realise, most of them acquired when she was training to be an enforcer, the aches and pains from her long and thorough workouts had started building up after a few months when they should have gotten easier. She finally found some paracetamols in the back of her cabinet, the small capsule painkillers a soft yellow colour. She plucked the box out of the cabinet and moved reclining back against the cabinet as she popped two into her hand and took them with a gulp. She regretted it, her stomach lurched up her throat. 

Caitlyn slowly moved to her feet, her eyes closed as she took long deep breaths through her mouth to ease the nausea, she was sure she wasn't going to throw up, she could usually tell when she needed to actually be sick but she still didn't like tethering on the edge, her stomach cramping painfully with her breath. 

She shoved the bath curtain back sitting back against the tall edge to slip her shirt over her head, there was a small hole now in the seam where the tag had once been, she should have cut it she thought as she chucked it absently into the room, she didn't take off her underwear as she hooked her leg over the baths edge her foot resting against the plastic duck stickers in the bottom. She had put them in there when she was feeling sad, thought maybe they would help her not stand and stew in her misery. How could anyone be sad when they were looking down at rubber ducks in various costumes. Apparently really easily, nowadays she found it was harder but back then she could have found misery in the eyes of a newborn kitten making biscuits looking up at her with round brilliant green eyes. 

Caitlyn reached over and tugged the shower handle, the water spilling down with a sigh spilling over the bath's edge to splash across the floor and wet her bath mat. She pulled her other leg over the edge and pushed to stand yanking the curtain back in place to stop anymore water spilling onto her floor. The water was nice and warm as it battered down against her skin, erupting goosebumps up her arms as she moved to grab her soap from the side. The warm water was nice to relax her aching muscles and ease her headache, the world was starting to feel more real and so was she. She uncapped the soap pouring a generous helping onto her hand, she wasn't dirty by any means but she felt off and she wanted to feel right. So she lathered the soap in her hands, her eyes focused ahead on the tiles as she formulated a bit of a plan for her day. 

She was going to call vi, invite her to the diner and she was going to tell her about the date, she would leave out the second date for now, if all went well she would tell her on tuesday or something but telling her about the first date and then springing the second on her so soon was asking for trouble, shed pace it, get her reaction then formulate her response. Pivot if needs be. She could do that. 

Only problem was that it was very possible Vi wouldn't want to come, and was probably asleep. It was… 

Caitlyn paused, reaching for the shower curtain and drawing it back slightly to peer at the clock high on the wall, it was six fifty am, which was oddly enough definitely Vis time. Vi wasn't much of a morning person but her idea of morning was skewed considering she slept  from ten till five every day, she and Vi would meet at the diner at five, thirty and then Vi would usually go to her classes and then work, she did have earlier classes throughout the week but most of them were after six. Yeah Vi was probably already awake, had probably gotten off work a few hours earlier, if she acted quick she could invite her to the diner before she started making her dinner. 

Caitlyn rushed the rest of her shower kicking off her wet underwear and leaving it in the tub as she moved to towel herself quick as possible, her hair tied back in a low ponytail that was sure to be tangled when she tried to take it out later. She tugged her underwear on grimacing at the feel of the dry fabric against her wet skin and moved to scrub her skin harder with the towel before she tugged her leggings on. Her top and sweatshirt were easier, the fight to get her leggings on her damp skin taking so long by then her skin had dried, letting her slip the tank top on without fuss and pull her sweatshirt over top. 

She slipped back into her room and grabbed her phone off the nightstand, Jinx had messaged her back in the forty five minutes she had taken to shower her contact at the top of her screen. She clicked it on, her lips quirking up into a smile. 

Ha the hangover makes up for it no trouble

Caitlyn chuckled rolling her eyes and regretting it a second later as her forehead twinged in pain she moved to her contact clicking the call button and set the phone down on speaker phone as she moved over to her armoire besides the mirror, she tugged the door open grabbing her running shoes from the bottom rack and a pair of socks from the basket besides them. They had fun colourful whales on them and bubbles. 

When her phone stopped ringing Caitlyn sighed assuming that Jinx hadn't answered, she moved to stand unrolling her socks as she went to retrieve her phone, she pressed the button on the side only to find the call had connected it had just turned itself off of the speakerphone, she jumped to turn it on. 

“Hi” Caitlyn yelled and Jinx breathed a sigh through the phone. 

“Oh hi, so you are there” Jinx huffed, she had been starting to think Caitlyn had called her by mistake that she was talking to herself again which her meds were meant to be stopping her from doing. 

“Ha yeah I went to grab socks left my phone whilst it rang” Caitlyn admitted with a sigh as she sat down in the window alcove setting her phone down on the cushion as she bent down to slip her socks on. 

“Oh let me guess, black ankle socks” Jinx teased 

“Nope whales, colourful whales” Caitlyn admitted proudly grinning to herself as she snapped the band of her socks. She could hear Jinx laughing softly through the phone. 

“Show me” Jinx said a second later her phone vibrated against her leg, a facetime request popping up on her phone screen she pressed accept immediately moving to take her phone in hand and rest it against the lamp, she wasn't sure she was in frame properly, but she didn't care because a moment later Jinx was appearing on her screen smiling tiredly over at her, a blank white wall behind her. Her hair was loose tied back behind her, some strays falling in front of her face. 

“Hi again” Jinx said and Caitlyn took a breath shifting forward and holding up her sock. 

“Whales” she said and Jinx hummed, her eyes taking in the sock curiously, tracking every small drawn whale with critical eyes. 

“Sperm, blue, humpback, baleen, sei” Jinx listed before her brow furrowed head tilting as she brought her phone closer to her face, it was remarkably cute, her small little pout as she tried to work out one of the whales. She was impressed by her knowledge. 

“What’s the one on the ankle?” Jinx asked and Caitlyn frowned pulling the sock back and turned it around, there was a small green whale over the ankle 

“Oh a north eternal right whale” she recalled with a smile she tapped over the soft jaw, “you can tell because of the dramatic mouth shape” 

“You know a lot about whales” Jinx remarked turning her out of frame to yawn, making a soft sign with her hand that caught Caitlyn's eye, 

“What are you up to this morning, at 6am, you said you didn't have any plans” Caitlyn asked curiously and Jinx leaned back in her lips quirking into a small smirk as she shrugged. She leaned back into her seat sliding down slightly as she rested her arm on the arm rest. 

“Ha well” she breathed mirthlessly, lips puffing out as a horrified look crossed her eyes, Caitlyn was momentarily worried about what had happened. What had occurred in the last six hours for her to look so scared, her face greying as she blinked absently over at something in the room. 

“I wish it had stayed that way” she breathed before she perked up blinking at the camera with a smile “nice to know you do remember last night” 

“Oh i'm so embarrassed about that, I am so so sorry for that you know” Caitlyn admitted tiredly grimacing in embarrassment, she was glad for the call just as much as she regretted it. That call had gotten her a second date which was definitely a bonus. 

“It's cool, you're not the first person to drunk dial me but you might be my favourite” Jinx teased with a smile shooting her a sly wink and Caitlyn smiled tongue darting out to lick her lips. She liked Jinx wink, liked the fluttery feeling in her chest everytime it was shot in her direction. 

“High praise” she choked, swallowing thickly around a soft breathless laugh. 

“Well if you like praise I can keep it coming” Jinx offered brow quirking up with a smirk as Caitlyn's cheeks flooded red. Caitlyn froze eyes wide as she looked at the camera, her heart thundering loudly in her ears. That was definitely an invite, she opened her mouth to respond when Jinx sighed, head thumping back against the wall as her hand began to move in rapid sign. Caitlyn was definitely not keeping up with any of that. 

“Hmm, okay, uh yeah we're at the hospital” Jinx admitted her cheeks bright red as she ducked her head down behind her entire face bright red as she averted her eyes. 

“The hospital? Is everything alright” Caitlyn asked, her stomach falling out from under her as she snatched her phone up, Jinx smiled, shrugging a shoulder in dismissal as she peered over behind the camera to where Caitlyn could assume Isha was. 

“Ah yeah, everythings fine, someone but not saying who” she teased her grin spreading as she turned her camera making a very obvious motion off to the side, there was a small scampering behind the camera before a hand was reaching over waving in front of the lens obscuring Jinx's face for a few split seconds and Jinx's smile softened. 

“Hi isha” Caitlyn said with a little wave there was a small hum behind the camera as Jinx turned it to show the small girl climbing up into the chair at her side, her grin wide. 

“Yep, her, has to get a few stitches” Jinx admitted tiredly her tone laced with worry as she used her free hand to reach out fingers tucking Isha's short dyed blue hair behind her ear which revealed the small cloth pressed over her forehead blood staining her light yellow ducky t-shirt and flaking down the side of her face. Caitlyn slammed her hand over mouth to stop the gasp that threatened to spill. 

“Oh?” She choked and Jinx took a long deep breath nodding as she reached over, setting her phone down on the free chair at her side a second to scoop Isha up and sit her in her lap before she collected her phone and turned back to Caitlyn. She looked so soft, Isha's head resting against her shoulder where she could now see the blood which had soaked into her shirt spilling down her chest. The small girl seemed tired yawning around her clenched fist. 

“What happened?” Caitlyn asked softly, Jinx let out a sigh, a tired drawn out thing that started from deep in her chest and ended with her eyes closing for a second as she turned to press a kiss to Isha's forehead before she blinked them back open to address Caitlyn. 

“She slipped off my bed, I don't have a very high bed its a foot and a bit, you know what maybe two feet at most” Jinx explained casually if it weren't for the fear Caitlyn could hear in her voice, 

“Serves her right she went to kick me and lost her balance” Jinx teased though it didn't have the desired effect as she lost the energy after she said serves. She was tired and she had been terrified but she had been through this a few dozen times to know that they were fine and this just sort of happened sometimes. Kids were clumsy and they weren't fully aware of their limbs and their balance just yet, they also were not very aware of how high things were or how hard you were gonna hit the floor if you fell. 

“My poor baby” she murmured into Isha's forehead, the girl blinked up at her round eyes earnest and curious as she pouted, signing something slowly at Jinx with her shaky hands and Jinx hummed signing back. It warmed Caitlyn's heart to see. 

“She's okay though?” Caitlyn asked and Jinx smiled looking a little shocked. 

“Oh right as rain, pouty though, I think I freaked out more than she did, head wounds bleed an absurd amount” Jinx confessed her cheeks red, the wound was about an inch long on her hairline. Isha hadn't reacted at first laying there as the blood pooled around her before she sat up slowly blinking at the red on her hand before turning them over to show Jinx who had been absolutely horrified. She bundled Isha up in a blanket, pressed a cloth to her head and rushed them to the hospital. 

“Yeah they do, because of the blood vessels close to the skin, they're usually not serious” Caitlyn explained thinking back on her time in med school, she'd learnt quite a bit about head wounds but she strongly doubted Jinx wanted to hear any of that, not with how panicked she already looked. 

“Yeah hers isn't either, it was scary and I didnt like it, rushed us here and she got a brain scan and an x ray and now we're just waiting for the nice nurses to come back and do her stitches, but they're not proper stitches no needle and thread, it's kind of like tape you just put it over the wound and you pull a little plastic tab and they close the wound, very cool, pretty fascinating” Jinx rambled her eyes focused ahead to Caitlyn but she was pretty sure it was more for Isha's benefit as the little girl nodded along yawning into her mamas neck tiny hand reaching to grab at Jinx's shirt. 

“Yeah a zip stitch right, I've had to apply a few of those back in my time” Caitlyn murmured as she reached down, slipping her feet into her shoes. Jinx nodded, blinking her eyes open as she yawned widely. 

“The nurse was telling me all about the process to calm me down as ish got her brain scan, I couldn't go in with her, even though i'm her mom, had to watch through a window” Jinx huffed rolling her eyes as her lips pouted out, Caitlyn wondered if she realised that Isha was doing the exact same thing as her brows furrowed causing little creases in her forehead her nose turned up with a small scrunch and her lower lip puffed up into a pout. It was rather adorable actually. 

“She seems like a good nurse,” Caitlyn admitted as she turned, bracing her back against the wall and Jinx nodded.

“She is, so what about you? Any plans this morning?" Jinx asked turning to look at Caitlyn, she wasn't sure if she should tell Jinx she hadn't told Vi about their date. If all went to plan she would tell her but for now she'd keep it to herself she decided. 

“Just breakfast, felt like pancakes so i'm going to go get some” she admitted with a shrug, she would have to shoot Vi a message right after this to invite her. 

“I would kill for pancakes right now, we're going to get breakfast right after this and then it's bedtime” Jinx admitted around a well timed yawn, it seemed the mention of her bed made her tired. 

“Have you slept?” Caitlyn asked, if she had called her at midnight and Jinx had been woken at atleast six am that was just six hours of sleep which was definitely not enough. And that was at best, at worse shed had maybe an hour or two depending on when she got to bed. 

“Somewhat, I got like three hours” Jinx admitted with a dismissive shrug slightly jostling Isha which got her a soft sap in the jaw. Jinx snorted, head shaking as she rolled her eyes up into the corner. 

“Jinx” Caitlyn chastised her head shaking in disapproval which earned her a snort from the other who seemed mildly offended to be told off. 

“I know I know, I would have slept in, but this one has no concept of a lie in” Jinx said deflecting the blame onto her daughter which was criminal considering said daughter had a head wound and was suffering enough as is. Caitlyn sighed the fight kicked out of her, hard to be mad at a kid especially a cute one. 

“I didn't close my curtains, I had no choice,” Caitlyn muttered bitterly, her eyes flicking back to her dark shutters and her now closed curtains. The only light in the room was the lamp she had clicked on. 

“You poor poor thing” Jinx said though her face was remarkably flat giving away the mockery it truly was. 

“I'm so pitiful I know, thank you for gracing this meager peasant with your attention it's been wondrous” Caitlyn complained head tilting as she moved to a kneeling hands clasped in front of her as she giggled behind them. It must have been funny because Jinx's face fell lips pressed into a thin line as she tried to hold back her laughter from shaking the girl in her lap, her eyes watering as she blinked up at the ceiling, a slight chuckle slipped past her lips as her grin grew and she nodded. 

“Fuck, Maybe its because im sleep deprived but that was hilarious, thank you for that” she hissed taking deep steading breaths as she laughed into her hand, it was clear it was so stupid but it was funny and she had needed that a little. 

“No worries” , Caitlyn said softly, her chest warm as she caught the way the glee had brightened her face, her eyes wide with mirth ehr cheeks rosey. She had a lovely side profile Caitlyn noted, the soft slope of her nose, the roundness of her chin curving up into her jaw.

“I'll message you when I have access to my calendar, so we can schedule that date” Jinx said snapping Caitlyn from her musing, Caitlyn blinked her throat dry as she nodded. 

“Right, yeah I will be waiting very dutifully by my phone” she said breathlessly, Jinx looked a little curious brow slanted as she chuckled breathily. 

“Sap, get a hobby” Jinx teased gently, her nose scrunching as she giggled to herself.  

“Okay, can you hang up please” , Caitlyn pleaded, she knew she should probably do it herself but she just couldn't find the strength to reach out and turn it off, she'd probably keep Jinx on the line forever if she could. Her charger was right there she could probably make it work. 

“Oh I have to hang up?” Jinx asked one brow raised in question as she smirked, smile lopsided to reveal the sharp point of her canines biting into her plush lower lip. 

“Hmm, yeah I can't seem to do it” Caitlyn sighed dramatically, Jinx made a mournful sound and a second later the call disconnected one last wink frozen across her screen before it disappeared. Caitlyn fell back, her head resting against the bench as she grinned. There was a soft fluttering in her chest, heart squeezing so tight every other second she swore she was having a heart attack though she wasn't very worried. She thought about Jinx, sat there, her daughter clutched in her lap, a soft smile spread across her cheeks and her heart stuttered all over again. She wasn't dressed up or wearing anything fancy, her hair a mess but she looked beautiful, all comfortable and confident in her own skin. 

Caitlyn sent Jinx a quick message — hope Isha's feeling okay — before she moved through her contacts to Vi’s, she typed up a message — think we can talk at the diner — and then she deleted it that kind of sounded morbid a bit dark even, like she needed to tell her some terrible horrible news. Which she guessed to Vi it probably would be. She sighed crossing her legs in front of her as she typed  — want to get breakfast, my treat? — when had Vi ever refused free food? The answer was almost never. 

It didn't take long to get a reply, Vi messaging back a simple thumbs up, clock emoji, question mark. She couldn't help but roll her eyes at the silly little icons as she typed —8? — it was turning quarter past seven now. She grabbed a hat from the top of her armoire dusting it off with a flick of her wrist before she slipped out of the room, her phone shoved into the side pocket of her leggings. When she got down to the first floor Mel was already there sat at the dining table, her head clutched in her hand as she poured over a crossword. 

“Hey, you're up early,” Caitlyn noted as she slipped into the kitchen pushing open the sliding doors with her hip. There was still coffee in the pot, so she grabbed a small cup and poured herself a bit filling the rest of the cup with milk before she added some caraMel over top. 

“Yeah, I've been getting up early lately,” Mel admitted, her eyes flicking up a moment before she hung her head back down and continued to work on her puzzle. Caitlyn leaned back against the end of the island looking at Mel curiously. Her head hung down, hair tied back over her shoulder, the ends of her braids tugged at and frayed, her cuticles scratched and bitten. 

“Are you alright?” Caitlyn asked and Mel sighed, arms folding down in front of her as she looked up at Caitlyn, there were deep bags under her sunken eyes, her skin patchy and grey. It was incredibly worrying to say the least, Caitlyn hadn't been around much lately, not for a lack of trying but simply because she had been overworked with exam revision. She guessed if something big was happening they would have told her but she was starting to wonder if that was true. 

“Not really, i'll be fine later just hits really hard in the mornings” Mel admitted with a shrug, reaching over for her coffee which was a lot lighter than Caitlyn had ever seen her take. 

“Youre sick? Is it serious?” Caitlyn asked the excitement and giddy glee had been so easily stamped out of her leaving a hollow pit in her chest. She felt the nausea that had eased away returning with a vengeance turning in her stomach. 

“Oh god no, i'll be passed this soon, few more weeks and this should have sailed past and everything will go back to normal” Mel admitted with a light laugh her smile spreading gently across her lips to reveal her perfect teeth and for a moment she looked normal, the same bright woman untouchable by anything. It did a little to ease the ache in Caitlyn's chest but it only begged the question what was wrong. 

“Few weeks? What illness lasts a few weeks?” Caitlyn demanded her voice cracking over illness, this was worrying. 

“This kind” Mel admitted with a shrug, her words dismissive and leaving no room for Caitlyn to pry or gain any information.

“Which is?” Caitlyn asked pointedly coming to stand in front of the table her hand pressed into the wood. Mel hummed and hawed eyes darting around as she considered what to say and it all made Caitlyn very worried.  

“I can't tell you yet, we're looking into it,” she admitted, which only seemed to make Caitlyn more worried. Looking it what? So they were doing tests? Why didn't Mel mention it? She had been fine at work or well Caitlyn had thought she appeared fine. 

“It's not cancerous?” Caitlyn asked softly, her mind filling in the horrid blanks, cancer seemed the most likely given what limited information she had, it would definitely be more than a few weeks of sickness though maybe even months. 

“No!” Mel yelled, mouth dropping open as she flinched back her hand shooting up to press over her heart as though aghast Caitlyn would even suggest it. Caitlyn flinched as well, eyes narrowing as she hummed. 

“And you're going to be fine?” Caitlyn asked, it seemed Mel definitely did not want her prying so she would stop but she was still concerned. 

“Yes, I'll be alright there is nothing to worry about” Mel said firmly, hands shaking in front of her as though that would dissuade the worries and the concern written all over Caitlyn's face. She hummed face pinched as she nodded.

“If you're sure” she said, incredibly unconvinced to stop worrying, she would now just keep her worry to herself. Hold it in until Mel was willing to tell her what was up. 

“I am” Mel said firmly, stabbing her pencil once into the table with a resounding clack which felt very final, like a judge declaring the verdict. 

“Okay then nine across is ulna, and thirteen across is the uvea, and three down is dosage” Caitlyn said leaning over the table peering at her unfinished cross word, Mel loved to go across and solve them one by one before she'd go to down, Caitlyn just looked for the ones she knew and filled them in, Mel had probably not even gotten to the ones she was pointing out now but hey a little help for later. 

“Caitlyn I hadn't even gotten to them yet” Mel chided though she marked them in any way a small tut escaping her lips when the first two letters that made up fourteen across and seventeen across lined up with three down rather perfectly. 

“Happy to help,” Caitlyn said as she chugged the rest of her coffee and moved back into the kitchen, she quickly rinsed out her cup before pulling open the dishwasher and setting her cup down in the top rack. 

“So any plans this morning?” Caitlyn asked as she returned to the doorway leaning against the doorframe. Mel blinked up at her head tilting to rest against her closed fist. 

“I'm going to review the court transcripts, then I'm going to paint, we have to update the portrait,” Mel admitted, turning to look out through the windows. Their portrait was a few years old by now and there was more to be added to it.

“Ah have fun with that, I think i'm going to get breakfast” Caitlyn admitted blinking down at her phone, she had ordered her cab on the app as she walked down the stairs and the notification that popped up at the top of her phone screen told her it was ten minutes out. 

“I'm meeting with the boys for lunch” Mel admitted a soft smile overtaking her face as a blush burned across her cheeks. Caitlyn frowned looking up to the ceiling where their room was. 

“Oh they're already out?” she asked curiously, at seven am? On a sunday? Yeah that was new. Viktor very rarely woke before nine on the weekend and Jayce usually went with whoever was pushiest, if Mel decided she wanted breakfast more then Viktor wanted to cuddle than he'd be in the kitchen making her food but if Viktor decided he wants cuddles more than he'd be upstairs basically trapped in bed. 

“Yep, big meeting at Hextech apparently one of their supplies went bust and now they have to find a new one” Mel admitted with a sigh, eyes widening before they narrowed and she shrugged. 

“That seems worrying,” Caitlyn said. They had a very delicate supply chain for their parts, something about very high standards and licensing that had to be met. Caitlyn had never really understood it but Jayce had tried to explain it a few dozen times. Parts came from all over but there were only a few places that could produce and manufacture the very pristine and delicate parts they needed and sure they could make them themselves but it would cost them millions to open the factories and years to train enough employees to meet those standards so they bought them instead. 

“They'll be fine, there's just going to be delays and angry clients” Mel admitted with a dismissive wave of her hand. 

“Ah well if you say so, my cabs outside, i'll see you later” Caitlyn called out as she rushed from the dining room, she tugged open the cabinet door and unhooked her purse from her section grabbing her keys from the bowl and like she had said Jayce’s glasses were gone. When she slipped out of the front door her cab was waiting on the curb a simple black car and suddenly it all felt very real. She was overcome with a tightening in her chest, she closed her eyes, fists balling at her side as she took deep breaths breathing in through her nose then out through her mouth, three times before she decided she was ready. 

Caitlyn arrived at the diner a few minutes early, hands beading with sweat as she slipped inside, at this time it was bustling with the usual crowd, all getting a quick breakfast before their  nine am starts. Luckily no one had taken their table. 

except there was the little reserved plaque resting besides the cutlery. Caitlyn frowned, eyeing it hesitantly before it was plucked up by Maguire with a smile. 

“Hey sugar, you're here early” she commented as she swapped out the cutlery in the container with new ones, fresh ones. 

“If the tables reserved we can sit at another one” Caitlyn commented but Maguire only shrugged picking up the cutlery container with a huff. 

“Nonsense well move them over there by the other window, you not sitting here would be just as weird for me as it would be for you, can I get you anything whilst im up, i'll put it in for ya” Maquire asked completely sincerely and Caitlyn was almost a little embarrassed about being clocked like that, It made her happy though. 

“Can I get a tea and some pancakes” 

“Syrup and compote on the side coming up” Maqurie sang as she moved past her cutlery clinking in her arms as she carried it off. Caitlyn moved to the table slipping her bag over the chair before sliding into her seat leg crossing over the other. She caught the blur of pink through the window, jogging up the street and the calmness that had overcome her was quickly and easily dashed away at the reminder she had to tell vi. There was nothing here to stop her either, no distractions. She would tell her. 

A moment later Vi was appearing when she looked up to see Caitlyn in the window she smiled and slipped through the door the bell jingeling quietly overhead. Suddenly It all felt so real, she was going to tell Vi in a few minutes what she had done and she could only hope and pray that she forgave her and maybe didn't object to it. 

Vi seemed none the wiser to her internal panic walking over with a soft smile, she was in her post work out clothes, a soft pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt a large hole in the neckline and a self satisfied smile. Caitlyn had to go to the gym soon, she hadn't been working out as much lately, self indulging in all the nice things she used to ration out over the weeks. She had a few too many cupcakes and french toasts and even a cake pop that was mildly disappointing but had cost her three quid. She was going to get soft, her well maintained abs disappearing beneath her plush skin. It wouldn't be a horrible thing of course but she really did like the gym, she liked her body as it was and she was okay with maintaining it. 

“Hey” Vi said with a huff as she came to stand beside their table, setting her gym bag beside the window with a dull thud before she pivoted and slid into her seat, legs spread and feet hooked around the chair legs. 

“Hi,” Caitlyn sighed, her chest constricting as she recalled her carefully constructed script. Start the conversation casually, get Vi to relax and then break the news. 

“What's up? We usually don't hang out on the weekend” Vi admitted as she leaned in her arms braced on the table. 

“No we don't” Caitlyn agreed with a nod, yeah this was odd wasnt it. Besides being here so early in the morning both out of their usual attire, Caitlyn more dressed down than usual and Vi looking about the same as always except now a bit redder and weirdly moister. 

“So what's up?” Vi asked her face serious and Caitlyn found her words suddenly missing, she opened her mouth to tell her. 

“Uh” she breathed eyes widening as she blinked down at her hands clasped in her lap. 

“Good weekend?” Vi asked which was a safe enough topic if her weekend hadn't started with a date with Vi's sister which was why they were even there in the first place. So she could tell her about that. 

“Yep, great weekend even, I… ” she trailed off biting her lip between her teeth as she laughed awkwardly “um”

“You um?” Vi teased brow raised in mocking. 

“I had coffee with my mother” Caitlyn blurted out, that wasn't a safe or easier topic but it seemed like a whole lot easier than telling Vi what she had actually done. How was she meant to tell the other that the one thing she had been told not to do she had done exactly that and planned to do it all over again. 

“Oh, did it go well?” Vi asked her head tilting in confusion, good weekend and a meeting with her mother were words Caitlyn had never spoken together, those did not belong together sadly. 

“Not in the slightest, no” Caitlyn sighed, slumping in her chair. Fuck why had she even done this to herself. She could be back home by now in her own bed. Instead she was here, trying to figure out how to save this conversation. 

“Ah well, you want to talk about it?” Vi asked sincerely, her face open and sympathetic. She probably got it as well, her and her weirdly odd crazy family. Caitlyn wanted to kick her. 

“Not particularly but why not, my mother is crazy” Caitlyn stated flatly, she definitely did not want to talk about this but you know what she wanted to tell Vi about her date so much less, she'd rather tell Vi in excruciating detail the way her mother had pried into her life, asked about her finances her lack of drivers license and lack of appearance at events, and at home and even worse her lack of marriage. Her mother really did want her to follow her own lead and make decisions for herself on what was best but she did want grandkids. So badly. But kids outside of wedlock was a taboo she was not willing to accept, she was remarkably okay with the gay thing, her lack of a wife? not okay with. 

“What did she do this time?” Vi asked brow quirking as she leaned back in her seat, arms crossing over her chest and Caitlyn felt her chest untightened.  

“She was just going on and on about my absence as of late, i've been spending more time at home revising or with Jayce and then I was meant to go over theirs for dinner last weekend but I cancelled and then I was meant to go yesterday and I cancelled again to have dinner with Jayce at his” Caitlyn trailed off a soft breath slipping past her lips as she sat back her hands balling into fists on the table, when she laid it all out like that she really had cancelled a lot hadn’t she, shed been cancelling on Jayce a lot as well, Vi was probably the only constant she hadn't been dropping the ball on, except she had cancelled on her friday. To go behind her back on a date with her sister which was the sole reason they were here now so she could tell her. God she was horrible. 

“You should make time for your parents, I know they are overbearing but they're family” Vi said gently, eyes absent as she turned to peer out the window. Caitlyn was getting advice about family from the woman with the most complex family there was. Then again Vi met with her family every saturday for their family dinner so clearly she was making time for them even though the relationship was tumultuous at best. 

“Hmm” Caitlyn made a face shaking her head in dismissal, she would rather not spend too much time with her parents than was necessary. Though it seemed Vi was assuming she meant she was making a point about her family which she guessed maybe she was. 

“Yep, I should shut up, probably shouldn't comment when it comes to family” Vi chuckled to herself, Caitlyn went to disagree but then she remembered the dinner, their conversation, Jinx and what she had told her. 

“Probably not but how is your family?” Caitlyn asked curiously, she didn't think Jinx would have told Vi they had gone on a date but maybe she'd surprise her and Vi would tell her Jinx had already mentioned it and that it was fine and she was mostly joking about not dating her sister. Oh how a girl could hope. 

“Ugh crazy as normal, Jinx apparently had a date with some hotshot honor student, she's also trying to convince ekko to come intern with her at lanefront he's in his final year of his bachelors apparently he's going to hextech” Vi explained casually, laughing to herself when she mentioned Jinx's date. She seemed to miss the way Caitlyn's face locked up the awkward smile forced on her face as she hummed. So Jinx had mentioned their date, she just hadn’t mentioned her name, and technically she wasnt an honor student and she didn't think she was a hotshot. 

“Oh right, ekko. Why doesn't he want to work with Jinx?” Caitlyn asked her voice cracking over Jinx's name, Vi seemed to notice eyes narrowing a second as they paused. Caitlyn thought she was caught, suspicion written across Vi's face, eyes deconstructing her with measured scrutiny looking for something. She must have passed whatever test Vi was pulling as she sat straight arms falling to rest on the table. 

“Hates the idea of having Jinx as a boss, understandable of course she can be so particular about everything I fear she's such a control freak” Vi admitted with a roll of her eyes, she said it so harshly as though it was the worst thing in the world. Before the date Caitlyn might have taken no notice but there was something very contradictory about the Jinx Vi described and the Jinx she had met. Jinx who seemed to go with the flow who was so laid back she was horizontal. 

“Control freak huh?” Caitlyn asked a harshness she had not intended slipping into her tone. Vi gave her a questioning look like she was shocked Caitlyn would second guess her, Caitlyn wished she could understand what was going on in her head. 

“She's always going with the flow until it's about her work, then she's particular” Vi corrected a self satisfied smirk spreading across her lips. It was the way she said particular that grated in Caitlyn's ears, the same way her mother had told people Caitlyn was just special, she was just different, unique. Like it was this horrible thing meant to garner sympathy and explain away her odd behavior. Caitlyn swallowed thickly letting out a deep breath as her tongue darted out to drag across her teeth sharply, she wanted to correct her but she had no good reason for feeling so impassioned by it. None that she could explain anyway. 

“What is Jinx working on at the moment?” she asked her words forced as she tried to smile but found that her cheeks just wouldn't cooperate. It made her look a little odd she was aware. She already knew what Jinx was working on, she was working on her prototype for the innovators expo, writing her speech for the event. Vi didn't seem to know that though nose scrunched up as she hawed dismissively blinking down at the flare of her phone screen as a message appeared on the front. 

“I don't even know, I don't want to either, guns and missiles… and bombs” she shuddered swallowing thickly around the lump in her throat as she squeezed her eyes closed before shaking it away, she seemed distracted as she slid her phone off the table checking over the messages flooding her phone as she responded “not my kind of pint” 

“Makes sense” Caitlyn murmured she was starting to connect the dots, vander and Vi's refusal to comment on Jinx's job in arms working with bombs and missiles when she had blown up their old house. Yeah that seemed fair. 

“So what else happened this weekend?” Vi asked as she closed off her phone, setting it face down on the table. 

“Boring, besides the coffee I had with my mother, I went over Jayce’s for dinner, got a bit drunk am probably hungover, might have drunk dialed someone” she blushed horror flashing in her eyes at the reminder the person she had drunk dialed was still Vi's sister, she chuckled awkwardly reaching up to run her fingers through her hair as she grimaced “but that's not a story I can share” 

“Yes please dont, I've seen you drunk enough to know what youre like” Vi teased head shaking as she looked back down at her phone, she flinched and picked it back up turning it over in her hand as her face fell again. 

“It's not that bad anymore” Caitlyn defended, she had been a lot better at not drinking and keeping herself off her phone. She knew she was a problem. She was clingy and chatty and it was never at a good time. 

“So you say” Vi hummed distantly, eyes focused on her phone as her thumbs moved over the keyboard typing swiftly. Caitlyn sighed, arms crossing over her chest as she waited, they sat there a while in silence as Vi's face flicked through emotions. 

“Do you need to get that?” Caitlyn asked pointedly, she was fine sitting in silence but there was something about sitting there as Vi messaged on her phone so focused Caitlyn doubted she even realised she was still there. Caitlyn was almost sure she could pack up and leave and Vi would blink back to life in an hour and realize she was alone. 

Vi blinked up at her wide eyes, she went to speak, eyes flicking back down to her phone but she didn't seem to know what to say. Vi huffed cheeks ballooning out before popping as she leaned forward her phone gripped tightly in her hand. 

“It's the last drop groupchat, i'm not sure what exactly is going on” she admitted tiredly shaking her head as she looked down at the messages as they flooded in, confusion from the Claggor, panic from Mylo and slight annoyance which was all mostly Vi. She had left at two am and everything had been fine but apparently the boys had come in to take stock and something had happened, what that something was she didnt know. 

“Why don't you ring vander” Caitlyn suggested lightly, vander was the boss and if there was something happening it was likely he knew about it. So it made sense that the first person Vi should think to call was vander. 

“You'd be okay with that?” Vi asked brows pitched as she grimaced at the idea of leaving the table to make a phone call when they had come here for breakfast to hangout. 

“Yeah it seems important” Caitlyn admitted bluntly, it really wasn't a crime to make sure everything was okay with your family. Vi looked appeased at that, smiling faintly as she pushed her chair back with a scrap. 

“It's probably not, I can call him later” Vi offered even though she was practically already out of her seat thumb moving through her contacts to find Vander’s in her favourite list and maybe it was crazy of Caitlyn to notice that of the eight contacts in the list Jinx's wasn't one of them neither was powder which she was far more likely to have Jinx down as in her phone. 

“No vi, make sure it's not important instead of stressing over it wondering if it might be” Caitlyn chastised, she would so much rather know if something was up and how she could help than sitting back and worrying that there could be something wrong and feeling guilty over not being there to help. Vi made a face nodding slowly as she pushed to stand. 

“That's so smart, i'll be right back and then we can order” Vi insisted, Caitlyn went to remark she already had Vi had already darted around the partition and out the door the bell jingeling overhead to signal her exit. Caitlyn sighed, shoulders slumping as she leaned on the table. 

“I'll be here” she murmured as she began to pluck at the table cloth, it was a different one, crocheted white yarn a bit plasticky likely for easier cleaning. Round making it curve over the edges of their square table. She blinked at the pacing blur out the window, Vi had her head tipped back as she paced waiting for him to answer, she saw the moment he did because Vi stiffened standing straighter as though he was right there in front of her, her hands balling at her sides as she came to a stop by the lamp post. 

Caitlyn decided it was the perfect time to check her own phone. She shifted straightening out her leg and slipped the phone from the side pocket of her leggings, turning it on with a click on the side. She had a few oddly enough but there was only one that really caught her attention. 

Are you sure about this week? 

She froze brows pinched as she opened the message, reading over it again. Was she sure? Yeah of course she was. Did it not fit into Jinx's schedule? — Yep, but its cool if you cant we can do something next week. — she sent, a little bummed to have to go an entire week without getting to see her. She had enjoyed their date, really enjoyed it. She went to close her phone propping her elbow up on the table, chin hooked on her palm when she noticed the text bubble typing in the corner and paused, waiting patiently for Jinx's reply. 

Good I  know a place 

Caitlyn frowned brows pulling together as she read that message, Jinx knew a place, she thought she got to plan this one. — You planned our last date shouldn't I get to plan this one? — she asked, she didn't actually mind she could plan the third if it was really that important to Jinx. 

Sure I mean if that's what you want I just 

Jinx sent it there, she just what? Caitlyn wondered head tilting as though reading it at a slight angle would make it make sense. It didn't. She went to reply typing her response when another message popped up 

I just know a place 

That was vague and mysterious, Caitlyn was coming to realise this was going to be the art gallery all over again wasn't it. Where Jinx knew where she was taking her but Caitlyn was meant to beat around the bush guessing in vain as Jinx snickered to herself evilly. 

— what kind of place? 

A restaurant? 

Another exhibit? 

Movie? 

Something else? — she knew she was kind of spamming but she kept sending them and then another idea would pop into her brain. She set her phone down moving her hands away not to spam her with more guesses even though they were definitely piling up into her head. 

Its an arcade, five floors of old arcade games, good prizes, and yes actually a restaurant and a movie theater but it only shows old horror movies 

— I love old horror movies — there was a long pause after that message that made Caitlyn slightly worried, she twideled her fingers, eyes flicking over to Vi still leant against the lamp post, her face stiff as she nodded idly blinking every eleven seconds. Caitlyn was definitely curious what was going on there. She looked over to the kitchen as the doors opened and Katey came out carrying her plate and tea. Katey was the usual waitress, short but strong bright auburn hair tied back in a high ponytail. 

“Hey sorry this took so long we ran out of pancake batter, can you believe that” she added with a snicker her smile soft. She set the pancakes down in front of her and set the cup of tea on the edge of the table pushing it in with a soft rattle. 

“Thank you” Caitlyn smiled as she reached into the pot for the silverware bundle.

“No trouble, enjoy” katey sang before she was slipping away leaving Caitlyn to tuck in. She unrolled her silvery, setting the napkin down under the lip of the plate as she swapped her fork into her left hand and her knife into her right. 

Maybe we can see one another time I want to test your skills at tetris and dance dance revolution, classics ya know 

Caitlyn perked up, setting her cutlery down besides her pancakes as she grabbed her phone. She loved dance dance revolution, she was amazing at it. Had spent a rather embarrassing amount of time learning how to play it whilst Jayce made embarrassing attempts at flirting with viktor. Mel was surprisingly good at the game and had delighted in beating her. 

— I will crush you at dance dance revolution — she sent back possibly a little zealously. How early was it appropriate to get competitive, how soon could she reveal she was actually crazy and overly competitive. She guessed she would find out. 

Ha as if, you're soo on 

My dance skills are unmatched 

I will destroy you. 

It seemed she wasn't the only one who was a bit competitive — it's a date, when were you thinking?— she asked, fingers crossed for some time soon, then again it seemed like a better idea to go next week now that she knew there was competition planned, she needed time to prepare to get back in the groove so she could win. 

I might have to rearrange some things but how about wednesday? 

Caitlyn frowned, rearrange some things? She didn't want to make Jinx change her schedule just for her, that seemed so pushy. She felt a bit guilty as she considered what to say, she grabbed her fork and cut a piece of pancake off before shoving it in her mouth. They were fluffy and light and filled with happiness, really working to ease her mind as she looked back at the message. — oh no don't do that for me, just tell me whens best for you and we'll do it then — That seemed good, that gave Jinx the option to schedule it around herself and her tricky schedule, Caitlyn's schedule was pretty easily adjustable but she knew it couldn't be the same for Jinx, ceo of a company with a child. Seemed like a bad mix. 

No it's alright my calender is a mess it's easier to rearrange things to make time than it is to just find a day with enough free time already available to schedule anything 

That made sense she supposed, take the individual events and rearrange them throughout the week to make a big block of time instead of just finding an untouched block of time already — if you're sure — 

I am it's really no trouble, my enemies will understand the rescheduling, might even piss them off a bit which is always my aim 

I'll pick you up at five ;) 

Caitlyn couldn't help but chuckle to herself at the reminder of Jinx's “enemies” cheeks warm from the little winky face icon. She went to respond but the text bubble appeared in the corner so she stopped, setting her phone down on the table as she retook her fork and cut herself another piece of her pancake stuffing it into the little container of berry compote with a hum before she brought it up to her mouth. The compote might just be the best thing she had ever tasted, it was tart and sour and it really balanced out the sweetness of the pancakes. 

I'll mention now I will have to be home by 11 Gerts got a final thursday and won't be able to stay late 

Caitlyn cursed, her seduction plan thrown right out the window, ah It was fine, she had patience. She chuckled to herself  as she typed out her message — that's okay, I can definitely show off my great Tetris skills in that time frame — cause clearly she wasn't going to be showing her any of her other great skills any time soon. 

I can't wait :)

She closed her phone cheeks aching with the force of her smile as she set it face down on the table, plucking her fork back up and taking the pot of compote in hand. When there was another jingle of the doorbell, Vi coming in her hands shoved into her pockets a grim look on her face as she collapsed back into her seat. 

“Everything alright?” she asked pointedly as she cut a piece of her pancake stabbing it with her fork, heart hammering in her chest as a blush burned at her cheeks. She was so glad Vi had taken so long because it would have been so awkward if Vi had walked in and asked who she was messaging because then her plan would have gone straight out the window and she would have told her  everything.

Which was a stark reminder that she had a plan. She was going to tell Vi about her date with Jinx and instead of doing that she had stalled for time and in her absence set up another one. Now though it didn't seem an appropriate time to drop it on her, not when she looked five seconds away from an aneurysm jaw clenched so tightCaitlyn was worried about her teeth. 

“No, fuck you were right” Vi huffed head falling to rest on the table with a bang and a rattle of cutlery. Caitlyn flinched, clutching the compote close to her chest in shock. Oddly enough this had happened a lot so she wasn't really that shocked. She reached over pushing the strands of pick hair out off her plate grimacing at the slight bit of syrup clung to her locks. Should she mention it? Probably. Was she going to? No. 

“Is it serious?” Caitlyn asked as she hid her smile by shoving a pancake in her mouth, not that Vi was paying her much attention anyway. 

“Yep, burst pipe, vander wants me to come in immediately to help move stock out of the store room and away from all the water so they can get to the pipes” Vi admitted with a deep groan lips pulling  up into a sneer as she yawned, she had worked all night gotten home at five am and had not gone back to sleep since then, too busy studying for a test to even consider sleeping. Now she wanted to sleep though and she wasn't going to. 

“Oh that's horrible” Caitlyn acknowledged with a sigh and Vi nodded pushing up to rest her chin on her forearm. 

“Yeah lucky I didn't order yet huh, cause I definitely have got to run” Vi admitted with a groan, Caitlyn sighed, snatching another fork from the cup and pressed it to Vi's hand. Vi grinned as she took a big piece from her stack and shoved it into her mouth smearing syrup across her chin. Caitlyn couldn't help but wince as she pushed a napkin into her face. 

“Hmm” gave her a thumbs up as she moved to stand, setting the fork down on the edge of the plate as she swallowed. 

“Thank you” Vi chuckled as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a twenty throwing it down on the table with a wink. 

“You don't have to pay for a bit of a pancake” Caitlyn said, taking the note and holding it out for Vi to take back, she smirked, shaking her head and pushed Caitlyn's hand back. 

“Thank of it as an apology for running out so soon, I did want to know what you'd been up to, missed you friday” Vi admitted hip leant against her seat and Caitlyn felt the guilt tightening in her chest as she hummed her palm clenching around the money as she nodded. 

“Yeah, I know. Now we'll just have more to talk about tomorrow” Caitlyn said with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, her teeth pinching down on her tongue to stop the words from spilling past them. Vi didn't need to know just yet, not with the stress of the burst pipe on her shoulders. She could wait. 

“Ha right, that's saying vander lets me leave tomorrow” Vi snorted rolling her eyes dramatically, though it looked like an actual sincere concern of hers. 

“You'll sort it out dont even worry about it” Caitlyn insisted and Vi softened turning to her with a smile. 

“I'm not worried so much as I am annoyed, I told susanna that damn pipe was acting up but does anyone ever listen to me, no. So yeah now it's burst and we have three feet of water in our store room. How lovely” Vi complained, her voice pitched in that squeaky way it did when she felt bad about being frustrated like she wasn't entitled to it. 

“Sorry that sounds awful” Caitlyn sighed and Vi shrugged, reaching over and taking the fork back and cutting off another piece with a shrug. 

“It's not that bad, just annoying. I will see you tomorrow” she said though then she blinked at the piece of pancake on her fork a puff of air leaving her lips as she rethought it “fingers crossed anyway” 

She shoved the pancake in her mouth and set the fork down, turning around the partition and yanking the door open flinching back to let someone past before she was leaving. It was for the first time since she had come back that Caitlyn felt like she could actually breath, she sucked in a deep breath leaning back in her seat as she looked at her phone burning a hole in the table. Evidence of her damning betrayal like a beacon that it seemed only Vi couldn't see. Somehow she had managed to get away with it again. 

“Yep, tomorrow” she breathed, tomorrow she would tell her. She had to get It over with and telling her she had been on one date seemed a lot better than telling her she had been on two. So the sooner the better. 

She ate her pancakes slowly, eyes flicking between her phone and her plate every other second as she thought of what she was gonna do now. She hadn't actually thought about the aftermath, she had expected to tell Vi and then deal with the fall out. Now there was no aftermath and no fall out and she was by herself which is the last thing she had wanted. Dealing with the fall out of admitting her betrayal seemed so much better than sitting here in silence eating alone. The sound of her fork clinking against her plate and the scrap of her fork so grating on her ears it was remarkable how much she could ignore when she had someone to distract her. Vi was so chatty most of the time. 

She set her knife down and grabbed her phone, turning it over. Finally, she flicked through the apps wondering what she could do to pass the time. She had a few games but she liked her puzzle games and none of them were mindless enough for her to play as she ate. So she clicked on zaun360, the tracker app she had goaded Jayce into getting with her. He was at the office which was boring but it wasn't that far from the diner. Fifteen minute walk. Sundays were always slow and usually if Jayce was there it was for personal reasons so she probably wouldn't be interrupting anything. 

Caitlyn pulled up his contact clicking into their messages, the last one she had sent was from friday night —oh my god, dinner tomorrow— he'd called her a few seconds after. Now she typed out a message twisting in her chair taking her elbow off the table to stab her fork down into her pancake as she typed with her fingers slowly, — you free to talk? I was thinking of popping by — 

It took a few minutes to get a reply and in that time she managed to finish off her pancakes, pushing the plate into the center of the table as she cleaned her face, folding her napkin and setting it on her plate as she reached for her now lukewarm tea. Jayces message was short and snappy 

Yep, feel free to let yourself in, ill message up to reception you're coming down 

She'd been given a keycard to the lab years ago back when she was doing accounting for them in her free time. It wasn't as powerful as Jayce’s or Viktor’s but it gave her access to most areas of the lab that she would need. Meant she could walk in and pass through the scanners without needing to sign in at the desk and get a visitor pass. She could also take the elevator down to Jayces lab and walk into his workshop whenever. She took her purse off the back of her seat and slipped it over her shoulder standing with a groan. 

She slid her phone back into her pocket as she approached the counter leaning her hip against its edge as she waited by the register. Maquire peered around from the back bushy black curls bouncing as she stood up properly from her stool. 

“Breakfast nice?” she asked as she brought up her tab and sent it over to the card reader, Caitlyn freed her wallet from her purse and slipped her card out. 

“Amazing as always, Vi had to slip out early though” she admitted with a shrug as she inserted her card typing in her pin. She could have done it contactless but she liked the little chat she had with Maguire. 

“Oh she okay?” Maquire asked her arms braced on the counter, Maquire was a lovely woman who'd been working in the diner as long as Caitlyn could remember a friend of her mothers. Sharp features softening with age but never softer than when she was talking with her daughter. 

“Yeah she's alright, work trouble apparently there was a pipe problem” she explained as the reader beeped and she slipped her card free putting it back in her purse. 

“I'll remember that for tomorrow, give her a free cake” Maquire decided, standing to her full height with a little sway long acrylic nails tapping against the desk. 

“She’ll like that, thank you” Caitlyn said politely as she turned towards the door. 

“Have a lovely afternoon love” Maquire called out, Caitlyn shot her a smile over her shoulder as she pulled open the door stepping out into the brisk afternoon. There was something oddly pleasant about a spring afternoon in Piltover, the weather warm but not sweltering, the sun high but not overbearing and the breeze that swept through the streets was just divine. It made for a rather pleasant walk downtown, arms crossed over her chest as she eyed the store fronts, the colour array of boutiques and displays, spring brought out the colour in everyone. Got people putting flowers in their windows, big displays of curated bouquets in such bright colours. There were a few florists on the street she walked down, and every time she passed she had to stop and admire the flowers in their containers spilling out along the sidewalk. 

Did Jinx like flowers, she wondered, she stopped to admire the primroses by the side, soft blue petals with bright yellow centers a soft fragrance wafting out from their cores. Delicate and charming. She crouched down by eying the bouquets and finding a nice one tucked into the back,. behind some others and grabbed it holding it out to really look at. it wasn't just a pure blue bouquet mixed with a few soft red and pink ones and those same blue ones, she smiled finger brushing over the petals as she stood turning into the store. 

The store was a cute little place, the walls covered in flowers in various bright colours, reds pinks, yellows and oranges climbing up from the floor and curving up the wall. She turned around the large stand in the center, a table supporting a pyramid of arrangements in boxes tied with ribbons and glitter tulle. 

“Hi, can I help you?” a soft voice asked, catching her attention. Caitlyn smiled as she looked over at the counter against the back wall, the register hidden by some flowers though these ones were real, they were crystal flowers mixed with crystal bugs in a crystal vase carved with an intricate pattern. 

“Uhm yep just these today” Caitlyn said as she held out the flowers, the woman a shirt brunette wearing a brown pantsuit with an oversized blazer rolled up to her elbows smiled knowingly taking them from her to scan the small tag hooked on one of the flower's stems. 

“For your partner?” she asked and Caitlyn frowned, shaking her head. 

“Uh no, If I were to buy her flowers id buy them the day of our date not three days early” Caitlyn admitted as she reached into her purse taking out her reusable bag from the side pocket and her purse, she set her purse down on the counters edge as he unfolded the bag from its little pouch. 

“Smart, primroses are a good flower for giving to a loved one, the red ones symbolize young love, charm and longing whilst these pink ones symbolizes feminity and grace, they're meant to be given to women who mean the world to you, blue just means daydreams, usually means you were thinking about them” she explained smiling at the bouquet as she turned over each colour with their explanation. She shrugged, handing it over and motioned to the card reader. Caitlyn pressed her card to it as she slipped the flowers into the bag. 

“Well I was thinking of her when I was picking them up, maybe i'll be back to get her some” she admitted, the woman hummed her eyes narrowing as a smirk spread across her lips. 

“A smart woman would be back” she said quietly, turning away to tear the receipt and hand it over. Caitlyn considered it a moment, it wouldn't be too much of a hardship to stop here on her way home grab some and go before Jinx picked her up. She could definitely do it. 

“Guess you'll see me wednesday then” she relented with a shrug. 

“Smart girl” she teased and Caitlyn sighed, turning and leaving the bag of flowers clutched in her hand. They were certainly pretty flowers, hopefully Jayce would have a container she could keep them in as she hung out there so they wouldn't go thirsty whilst she uploaded her woes on him. 

The Hextech headquarters was definitely an eye-catching building, taller than any around it even if they were on skyscraper alley, a street lined strictly with skyscrapers the size of small city blocks. Despite the fact it was just another skyscraper amongst a few it was the most modern of them. Two tall towers joined together by curving bridges and balconies of greenery adorning the building's sides. As she passed under the bridge she freed her keycard from her purse clutching it tightly in her hand as she approached the sliding glass doors under the bridge. The main foyer of the building was a very large modern space with lounge beige couches, reports and business men sat around waiting for their appointments and even some interns huddled together over laptops coffees from the chain coffee shop across the way. 

She didn't go to the reception, simply walked up the scanners, flipping her keycard out from her palm and sliding it through the scanner, the glass panel dividers opening with a click and a beep. Behind the scanners were metal detectors, tall boxes enclosed in the wood panel wall that divided the foyer from the courtyard. She passed through with another swipe of her card and a beep and stepped through. 

The courtyard was a huge cavernous room, for a building mainly glass and windows there was surprisingly no windows inside, the space warmly lit from a hanging chandelier, Caitlyn had never really consider mythology but if she was a fairy she expected this was what the inside of a tree trunk would look like, the narrowing ceiling the overhanging balconies organically curving around the room panelled in wood. If this was a tree trunk it would mean Jayces lab was in the roots, she approached the elevator in the wall, the glass chamber ominously tall and empty at this hour and held her card up to the scanner waiting for the doors to open with a silent woosh. She stepped into the box, her hand tightening around the handle of her bag. 

It took her quite a few minutes to make the slow descent down with only the cold grey walls to look at as she tried not to consider the darkness around her and the fact that in the space between floors if the elevator were to get stuck there really was no saving her. Shed have to wait in the dark. 

She shook that thought out of her head as the elevator doors opened and she finally got to breathe reassured she wasn't going to be stuck. The floor was entirely Jayces so when the doors opened they opened just a few steps from Jayces workshop, the heavy metal doors locked and the warning above off which told her he wasn't doing anything that would require any ppe. Which she was glad for because at this level so close to the forge everything was boiling hot. 

When she pushed open the doors her arm outstretched to the scanner, clearly designed around a man with a much wider wingspan than hers she found Jayce hunched over his desk scribbling away into his notebook. She closed the door softly behind her, careful not to snap him out of his focus as she looked around the room. There weren't a lot of places for her to put her flowers, most of the containers in the room had open bottoms. 

“Cait?” Jayce asked, catching her attention as she pulled out a metal toolbox, it was empty and a bit rusty so maybe it wouldn't be noticed. She took it moving to dump her purse on the wooden table. She hummed as he walked over to the sink filling the bottom with water and setting it on the side as she slipped the flowers out of her bag and set them into the toolbox. They really brightened the rather drab and colourless grey and brown room. There were a lot of tools and shelves and wooden containers with labels written in Jayces scribble on them. 

“So, what brings you to my humble lab?” Jayce asked as he shuffled over on his rolling stool to lean against the counter she was leant against pushing up onto her tiptoes to grab the cups down from the cabinet. Jayces workshop had everything and happily for her he had tea. She set the cups down in front of the kettle before she took it off the plate and moved to the sink. 

“Are you okay?” he asked and Caitlyn shrugged, she was fine. Stressed but fine. 

“Yeah” she breathed shoulders raising just an inch as she filled the kettle up to the top and turned, forcing a smile. Jayce looked a little scared, cheeks pinched as he nodded eyes wide with concern. She sighed moving back to the counter and set the kettle down on the plate before she pressed down the lever. 

“I fucked up” she admitted hands braced on the counters edge. He sighed pushing to a stand the stool rolling back with a squeak. He reached our warm hand settling on her shoulder. 

“Hide a body kind of fucked up, need money, passport, fake name kind of fucked up? House in ionia kind of fucked up?” he said lightly his toe teasing and it did make the bundle of tight strings in her chest unwind just slightly as she sighed shaking her head. 

“No, but I wouldnt rule out the fake name and passport just yet, I fucked up with vi” she admitted, yep if it all went wrong maybe that fake name could help her flee the country, she could get that house in ionia set up a new life with her trust fund that shed ciphon into an account off shores, maybe leave Jinx a message lead her on a treasure hunt and at the end shed ask her to come visit her in ionia and maybe they could make it work long distance. Sounded kind of nice. 

She reached for the drawer tugging it open to retrieve spoons and tea bags and the little stolen sugar packets Jayce had stashed, he got them from the canteen but not a box of them like he could grab he just grabbed a few from the counter worried someone would catch him taking too many, he had once had someone ask why he was taking five packets and had to awkwardly lie and say he took five sugars in his tea. A lie which continued to haunt him as the man who’d asked was a part of his board and had remembered this information and so next meeting hed remembered to add them to his tea which sparked others to ask and now whenever he met with them he had to drink the ungodly sugary monstrosity. 

“Oh” Jayce breathed, turning to lean back against the counter confusion written on his face as he tried to brainstorm ways to help her. Jayce was good at this usually, knew what to say like it was second nature, this time he wasn't sure what the problem was. 

“I went on a date with Jinx,” Caitlyn reminded and Jayce nodded, still very confused, she sighed, reaching for the newly boiled kettle and poured in the water over the teabags.  

“Okay?” he asked as he took the cup from her offered hand, it was a mug Caitlyn had bought him actually a handmade chameleon mug with a curling tail handle airbrushed green and yellow the rim its mouth open and screaming eyes just balls with holes poked into them and little black dots. It was a fun mug, certainly a favourite.

“Jinx is Vi's sister Jayce vis only rule about me meeting her family was that her sister was off limits” she reminded roughly twirling her spoon through her tea the clinking of it against the cup loud in the workshop “i've gone ahead and broke her one rule and now i'm lying to her about it” 

She felt terrible, her chest tight at the reminder she was a liar. She hated lying. She always tried to be as honest as possible. She didn't want to live a lie and yet she was living the biggest one of her life. She had sat across from her with the intention of coming clean but at the first chance to get rid of her had snatched it and avoided her fate. 

“Caitlyn I dont think this is that big a deal” Jayce remarked as he raised his tea up to his lips sipping it with a hum. He’d ruined his perception of heat writing his thesis when he had started chugging coffee from the pot. 

“It is a big deal, lying is a huge deal I shouldn't be deceiving my friend, I shouldn't be going behind her back, I should tell her” Caitlyn ranted lying was such a huge deal to her, going behind her back and pretending it wasn't happening made her feel awful, except whenever she got a message from Jinx that worry seemed to disappear and she forgot about Vi and her warning and what she would say and then she put her phone away and it was all she could think about that regret and guilt creeping back in. 

“Then tell her” Jayce said like it was so simple, like she could just tell vi. She couldn't just tell vi, blurt it out and hope she took it well. She had to softly ease her into the idea, explain away her worries and really hammer in the benefits. 

“I can't, because if tell her shell stop me seeing jinx” she admitted, shed tell her she wasn't allowed to anymore and shed b forced to make a choice her friendship of four years or the girl she'd been on one date with and well the answer as heartbreaking as it was, was easy. 

“Jinx is a grown woman, so are you, Vi can't stop anyone from seeing anyone” Jayce reminded very pointedly which sure was mostly true. She turned leaning back against the counter the cup warm in her palms as she brought it up to her chest. 

“But she is my friend, I don't want to lose my friend” she admitted quietly, this caught Jayce’s attention, lips parting with a sigh as he nodded. He set his cup down with a soft thud and reached out his hand warm on her shoulder. She set her own cup down letting herself be pulled into a hug head leaning down to rest on his shoulder. 

“Yeah you won't, Vi isn't going to abandon you because you're dating her sister” Jayce said softly, his chin resting against the side of her head, arms wrapping tightly around her. It was nice, Jayce's  hugs were always great made her feel grounded. 

“She might” she huffed, eyes closing for a moment as she reached around him. She wasn't sure what Vi would do, she didn't mess around when it came to her family and clearly she felt very strongly about her sister, so either it wasn't as bad as she thought or it would royally blow up in her face. 

“I strongly doubt it” he chuckled, head shaking his chin slightly ruffling her hair which she would have to fix when she finally let go of the hug. 

“Jayce” she whined 

“Caitlyn” he repeated back teasingly squeezing her tighter before letting go she didn't step back completely staying in arms reach. 

“What do I do?” she asked, of all the people who would know what to do she really hoped it would be him. She trusted his opinion not to lead her astray. Except he wasn't so sure either. His face scrunched up as he considered stepping back hands resting on her shoulders with a squeeze. 

“You stop panicking for one” he suggested earning a roll of her eyes from Caitlyn, that was easy enough to say. She was always panicking. 

“Easy for you to say” she mocked, lips turning up into a pout as she pulled back snatching her cup off the counter. Jayce only rolled his eyes and walked past her moving over to the otherside of the room to a small workbench. 

“Come here” he commanded waving her over, it was where he made the cogs had a curved cut out section with a bench clamp and peg poking out at a slight angle, Jayce had a horrid habit of sitting a bit slanted to the bench shoulder pressed into its edge as he leaned left so he'd set up the clamp and peg to match his taste. It was quite a busy little space with tons of little wooden drawers, some pushed in all the way, others slightly out, all of them different lengths and heights and depths and scattered with no particular order up the wall. There were even a few cabinets with doors pushed open from the things inside. Cups of tweezers and calipers and files all lined the top of the drawers along the cabinets  doors. 

“Sit down” Jayce ordered as he pulled out the stool and patted its cushioned top. She frowned, eyeing the little workbench. Why did he want her to sit there? Was he going to off load the cogs to her that was a torture befitting real horrible people. Which sure she had done some bad things and lying to her best friend was a real bad thing but she didnt think it was bad enough to warrant torture. Still she moved over and set her cup on the bench's top and sat down with her hands settling in her lap. He reached over pulling the soldering iron cup over and maneuvering it down for easier reach before he moved around her and pulled open a drawer pulling out several rolls of wire before he reached into another drawer a bit further up the wall and grabbed another roll of wire of a thicker gauge. The fact the rolls hadn't been side by side but in fact were so far apart along different rows really frustrated her. 

“Here” he said as he took the soldering iron out of the cup and pressed it into her hand before he set the wire infront of her and pulled open a deep drawer sectioned out into little squares and filled with random bits and bobs.

“Make something” he said, arms waving over the table before he grinned moving to her side to push his stool up against the cabineted counter. Caitlyn blinked down at the soldering iron warm in her hand and the wire on her station and frowned. 

“What?” she asked as she put the soldering iron back into the cup and took the wire in hand. It was about as thin as pencil lead and cold in her grasp. She wasn't sure what she was meant to make or even how she was meant to do it. 

“This is what I do when I'm stressed” he admitted moving to a cabinet just to her right and opened its door to reveal an assortment of odd misshapen things, from bees to flowers to rabbits and weird wire butterflies all of them made of random scrap pieces of metal. Nuts and bolts and screws and nails. They were odd and they were crooked and imperfect but they were small and delicate and solid. It filled her with a sort of ease knowing that it didn't have to be perfect. 

“So I just make anything?” she asked, looking down at the wire and unrolling it slightly, testing out a little bend in the wire. 

“Yeah, anything you want don't worry about the materials, there is literally everything in this room and it's yours if you want to use it” Jayce admitted, easily motioning around the many different containers and drawers and cabinets. She did know that there was just about anything in the room. There was one thing she wasn't allowed. 

“Oh yeah? Can I have a hex crystal?” She teased turning in her stool to face Jayce, he frowned, jaw clenching as he considered it, his eyes narrowed and Caitlyn was reminded again that she was blunt and so her question had probably come across seriously. She went to retort but Jayce sighed, shoulders sagging. 

“You're joking but you know I would give you one if you had good enough reason” he answered, which was very diplomatic of him and also stupid. Caitlyn could make any reason sound good with enough time to plan it. She was a great liar which made it worse. 

“I know” she grinned, turning back to her station, Jayce's  hand settled on her shoulder again a moment later snapping her attention back to him. 

“I'm not going anywhere, i'll be right here okay” he said as he pulled over his own stool and set his notebook back down on the desk a few feet away. It was a nice distance not too close to be encroaching on her space but not too far she'd feel alone. She nodded hand tightening around the wire making a small kink in it she would have to smooth out. She looked at the soldering iron nervously, she had a vague idea how to use it. She hadn't in many years but the basics were unforgettable. Now she just needed an idea of what she was gonna make. She looked over at the little collection in the cabinet and it was the flowers that caught her eye. They were folded and hammered metal soldered together or just nuts soldered into an octagon shape. Basic and simple. 

She thought about Jinx again, because for some reason most of her thoughts went back to that. She thought about the water lily hair clip, soft delicate fabric petals that sat on her nightstand. She looked back down at her wire. It was a pretty easy shape, it didn't take a genius to figure it out. She started with the center petals which was easy. simply short circles she pinched together and soldered at the tips before moving out three petals per row slightly bent over the underside of her thumbs knuckle then folded up to cup the core. When she got to the outer layers she left a little space between the two sections and began to fold more wire around them to fill in the shape so it wasn't just a single wire loop. She soldered them all together at the top a soft sharp tip forming at the peak. 

Surprisingly it was pretty easy, fiddly sure she ended up clamping it with a clip as she worked on the outer petals turning it every petal to get to the others as she worked. It kept her calm, her hands busy and it was just on the side of hard enough that she didn't have the time to really think of anything besides what was infront of her. It meant that time passed before she could really blink and by the time she was finished a few hours had passed and with it her anxiety. She sat back looking at the flower, a flat spiral curled around its base to act as the lilypad soldered together underneath in the way of the iconic vein-like pattern. It was pretty damn good if she had to say herself. 

“Done” she breathed, unclipping it from the clamp and holding it cupped in her palm out to Jayce to inspect. He smiled, thumb brushing along the delicate wire with a pleased hum. 

“And how do you feel?” he asked, looking up at her a soft smile spreading across his lips. He so knew how she felt. He was so smug beneath all that care. It was evident in the pride shining in his eyes. 

Caitlyn took a deep breath taking stock of herself, her stomach had settled, her chest loosened and her heart calmed to a steady and regular rhythm in her chest. Her head also felt so much clearer, focused and alert. 

“Good” she admitted, a little shocked at how easy it had been.  

“I feel good,” she repeated with a smile, setting the flower down on the table. Jayce smiled standing up and clapping her on the shoulder fingers squeezing her a moment before relenting. 

“You have no reason to panic Cait, Vi’s going to come around. You're her friend, her best friend and she might not see it as a good thing at first but she will come around” he explained and he sounded so assured of it, that Caitlyn couldn't help but hope he was right. He really hoped that Vi would understand her here. 

“I have to tell her first” she realised, Vi couldn't come around to the idea if she didn't know about it. 

“Do you want to tell her?” Jayce asked, which was  not the question she was expecting and not the question she had considered. Did she? Not exactly but that was more because she didn't want to face the backlash, if there was no worry about it she would want to tell vi. She'd tell her in a heartbeat because she liked having Vis support. 

“Yes” she whispered, her eyes distant as she blinked down at the floor, stained with various burn marks and foot steps. 

“Then tell her, but don't do it because you feel obligated, do it when it makes sense. Things are new with jinx, you don't want to tell her too soon when it might not work out” he grimaced towards the end the mere idea of it not working out a horrid thought. She knew he was right, hold off. Tell her when she was ready except didn't that make it worse, doing it again and again knowing that she is betraying her friend. 

“We're going out again Wednesday,” Caitlyn admitted, swallowing thickly around the guilt. 

“Ah, well tell her after wednesday” Jayce suggests with a chuckle which was probably a good idea now that she thought about it. Shed already made the plans and it wouldn't do her well to cancel them because Vi decided to kill her. 

“How am I meant to face her the next two days knowing I'm actively betraying her?” Caitlyn asked, she'd done it last week on the sheer basis she had no clue what would happen after the date, one date didn't mean anything especially when she didn't think there would be another. She hoped there would be but she wasn't convinced. 

“Betrayal is a hard word, Cait, you're not betraying anyone” he corrected softly, whether or not betrayal was the right or wrong word it did not ease the fact that was what it felt like in her heart. 

“I feel like I am” she scoffed, leaning back against the desk, the wood digging into her uncomfortably a grounding pain that made things seem more real. 

“You have a good heart kid, you're gonna be fine” he said firmly, head shaking fondly as he peered back at the flower on the table. She followed his eyes to the delicate flower chest untightening slightly. 

“What are you going to do with this? You gonna keep it?” he asked as he took it up off the counter holding it out for her to take. She sighed eying it, she didn't really have a plan for it beyond making it. She could give it to Jinx, a reminder of their date and the clip and their kiss. That was sweet wasnt it?

“I think I want to give it to Jinx, she gave me a hairclip, a water lily like the ones in the projection. Like this one” she smiled her thumb brushing over the soft petals, sadly it wasn't wearable but maybe she'd put it on her nightstand like Cait had put the clip on hers. 

“That's sweet Cait, keep doing things like that and it'll all work out” he patted her on the back and moved to stand taking his cup from the counter before reaching past her to grab hers as well. Caitlyn smiled down at the flower before she turned. 

“I hope so, I do like her, Jayce,” she admitted and Jayce stopped in the middle of the room taking slow careful steps backwards as he smiled knowingly. 

“Yeah, I know”