Work Text:
Caitlyn had been invited to a ball. An annual ball that she hadn’t been old enough to attend until she was eighteen. When she was of the age, she wasn’t set on going. Nothing about it piqued her interest, so she declined the invites she got each year since turning eighteen.
But now, four years later, her mind had changed. For all the wrong reasons, of course.
Reason number one: She would see Vi in a suit.
Reason number one : Her parents wouldn’t stop bothering her about it.
Reason number two: She was allowed to bring a plus one. (Vi was her first and only option, naturally.)
That brought her to her current problem: Finding a proper dress.
She had nothing against them, don’t get her wrong. They made her feel elegant and powerful. But they were so restricting and showed off everything .
That’s why she stuck to her uniform; it was the right amount of freedom for her to do her job.
She supposed dresses weren’t made to be fought in, although said task sounded quite fun if she was being honest.
She sighed, sorting through the various dresses on the rack her parents had sent to her room.
All of the options were either too short, too flashy, or too tight. Was it too much to ask for a simple dress?
A knock on her door snapped her out of her repertoire, and she walked over to her door to be met with the oh-so-familiar grey eyes she found herself thinking about more and more each day.
“Hey there Cupcake,” Vi said, giving her a once over and stepping in, “You having fun with that dress shopping?”
Caitlyn could just hear the amusement in her voice.
Little shit.
“It’s going fine, thank you very much.” She said, crossing her arms over her chest and marching over to the clothing rack once again.
Vi fingered through the dresses, making remarks on each one as she did so. There were just so many . A lot of them weren’t to her liking, either. How would she find the perfect fit?
A low whistle came from Vi and Caitlyn flicked her eyes over to the muscular girl, “This dress would be perfect for you.”
It was a royal blue-colored dress, cinched just perfectly at the waist with thin straps and v-shaped cups. The dress was quite long in fact, almost touching the floor from where it was hanging up. From where Caitlyn was standing there seemed to be a thigh slit on the left side.
Well.
“It’s quite a scandalous dress, don’t you think? I mean, a thigh slit? Really?”
Vi smirked, “That’s the fun of it, Cupcake.”
Caitlyn was stunned, face beginning to heat up. If only Vi knew the effect she had on Caitlyn…
She shook her head, trying to get her words out like she didn’t just think of Vi in some very specific ways.
“Shut up. What did you pick out then?” Vi walked over to Caitlyn, smirk still plastered across her face, and got real close into her personal space before saying, “That’s a surprise you’ll just have to wait for.”
That cheeky bastard.
“Ugh. If you’re going to be that way, you can’t see my dress until tonight either.”
That statement made Vi begin to flush. Caitlyn didn’t even want to think of the meaning behind that.
Vi just laughed, walking over to the door. Must she leave so soon?
“See you later, Cait. I need to go get tailored. That’s going to be a pain in the ass because I don’t think I’ve ever been tailored for an outfit in my life.”
“You’ll live, you big baby.”
Rolling her eyes, Vi walked out of the door and Caitlyn let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding.
Now that she was by herself, she walked over to the rack where all the dresses were hanging. She grabbed the dress Vi suggested, seeing that it was actually a pretty decent option. Maybe one of the only options.
She thought of the logistics, and with the way the dress was formatted, there was definitely a way she could put a gun somewhere on her, probably in a holster next to her shoes.
Hypothetically, there could be a threat during the ball. And hypothetically, Caitlyn would come as prepared as she could be. Meaning that she would bring a thigh holster as well with two daggers.
But that was all hypothetical, of course.
Sighing, she crossed her arms once again and began pacing around her room. Now that she was thinking about it, she’d never been to a ball before. Of course, her parents had her put in ballroom dance classes when she was growing up, so she wasn’t worried about the dancing aspect. It was interacting with other people she didn’t know, her parents knew , being with Vi all night. Being with Vi dressed up all night, in close proximity… it was going to be. A thing.
A thing she definitely was not freaking out about, thank you very much!
It was just Vi for god's sake! She was with Vi ninety-nine percent of the time and it wasn’t weird, not even in the slightest. How would this be any different? She was just overthinking it.
But. But . What if someone was rude to Vi? Started a fight? There wasn’t anything she could do to protect her from the assholes, nothing that would be effective enough for them to finally leave her alone. She could only defend, defend, defend. Telling her parents about it would do no good. Her parents weren’t too fond of Vi. At least her mother wasn’t, even though Vi had been staying in their home for well over a year.
It was always an itch in the back of her brain, why wouldn’t people pull their heads out of their asses and respect her? Her being born in the Undercity shouldn’t affect how she’s treated. It made Caitlyn so angry that no matter what she did or said, no one ever changed their attitudes towards Vi.
Shaking her head, she took a seat on her bed, looking back at the dress.
Some adjustments could be made.
-
Vi was uncomfortable.
Actually, uncomfortable was an understatement.
She felt poked and prodded at, to be honest. So many hands were on her and she did not appreciate it. Why did no one tell her that getting tailored would be such a long process with so many different people involved??
It was not hour two of her standing on the carpeted floor, barely wearing clothes, arms held out on either side. They were starting to cramp and really, how long did it take to measure her arms? Definitely not two fucking hours, that’s for sure. She was tempted to get her clothes back on and walk out.
The door opened and in walked her sister, holding a cup with what she assumed was that juice she liked so much.
“Hey. You look like shit.”
Vi barked out a laugh, throwing her head back.
“Thanks for the vote of confidence, Pow. Did you have to do this shit too? I hate it. I’ve been standing here for two hours.”
Jinx took a sip from her drink before responding, “No. I just picked out my clothes and called it a day. It’s not like they can kick me out for showing up in what I want, there’s no way in hell I’d be caught wearing a dress.”
“You and me both. I picked out a suit and I thought I could get away with just wearing it without the blazer, but apparently, that’s ‘inappropriate’ according to Cait’s mom. Sounds like a load of shit if you ask me.”
Jinx smirked at that. She’d talked to Caitlyn’s mother a few times, but the woman seemed to be scared of her. That ultimately meant she didn’t get in her way or tell her what to do. It was a privilege she always bragged about to Vi.
“Sucks for you!! Ms. Kiramman is scared of me for whatever reason so I get to wear whatever I want,” she said matter-of-factly.
Vi rolled her eyes, already knowing Jinx would bring that up. She never failed to rub it in her face.
“Anyway,” Jinx said, “Did you see what Caitlyn’s wearing? I bet you’re gonna die when you do. You’re so in love with her, it makes me sick.”
“I am not in love with her!” Vi protested, a flush making its way up her neck and to her ears.
“Suuure. And I didn’t launch a grenade into the councilor’s meeting two years ago. You’re not very subtle, sis. It’s obvious to anyone with eyes. Well, except Caitlyn I guess. Both of you are pretty stupid when it comes to feelings.”
Scoffing, Vi kicked at Jinx but she moved away right before Vi’s foot could come into contact with her shin.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She said, beginning to pout.
“Yeah, yeah. Well, looks like the fancy tailoring ladies are making their way back and I’d prefer to not get tied into their shit. Have fun with that on your own!” Jinx said, skipping out the door.
Vi chuckled to herself before she was being scolded for not standing up straight once again. Gods, what did these people expect of her?? She wasn’t a statue!
“We’re almost done dear, your arms and shoulders are just a lot ahem… larger and broader than the arms the suit has and we want to make sure it fits so you can wear it the entirety of the night without being uncomfortable.”
She supposed that made sense. Didn’t make it any less annoying though. She ran hot, meaning she’d probably take the blazer off twenty minutes into the ball. There was really no use in making such a big fuss about it.
-
Makeup, Caitlyn decided, was a very annoying thing that she was growing to hate more and more by the second.
Especially when someone else was putting it on for her. She didn’t see why she needed to put on fancy makeup for such a pointless event. There was no actual point in holding this ball every year except building alliances and announcing new Hextech projects. What a bore.
“Are you quite finished?” she asked the person doing her makeup, Rebel , someone who had always looked over Caitlyn as she was growing up.
“Calm down, Cait. I’ve barely started and it’s not even a lot of makeup. Plus, it’ll make your eyes pop for a certain you know who!!!” she wiggled her eyebrows at the mention of Vi, and Caitlyn turned bright red.
“Ohh you’re so in love! It’s adorable.”
In love?! Absolutely not! Maybe yes she did find Vi incredibly attractive, and smiled at any mention of her, loved listening to her talk about anything and everything, appreciated her being there for her when she was going through one of the worst times in her life, and maybe just wanted to kiss her until she couldn’t breathe anymore and all she could hear was the whimpering sounds she just knows Vi would make. But that didn’t mean she was in love with her. Definitely not.
“In love is an overstatement. I just appreciate her a lot.”
Rebel gave a knowing look to Caitlyn but said nothing.
She was about seven years older than Caitlyn, so she was a big sister figure if anything. When she was little she taught Caitlyn a lot of important lessons that she’d never forget. If it wasn’t for her, Caitlyn wouldn’t have figured out that she liked girls so soon. It was a crazy concept to her, that she could just be who she was - free of judgment. It was exhilarating, but scary at the same time.
A few minutes passed of silence and cold hands on Caitlyn’s face until she was finished.
“All done, darling! Have a look.” She said, moving away from the mirror Caitlyn was sitting in front of.
It was quite simple makeup actually; eyeliner that was winged out just before the end of her eyebrow and brought out in the corner of her eye. Rebel smoked it out, which Caitlyn found that she liked a lot. There was a slight gloss to her lips, which was the perfect touch. Anything else would’ve been too much for Caitlyn. She turned to examine each side of her face and the light caught onto her cheek, showing off the generous amounts of highlight that shone on her cheeks and brow bones.
“You love it! I knew it, don’t deny Caitlyn. I know how you like your makeup.”
And damn her, because she was right.
“It’ll work for tonight. Thank you.”
She got up and walked over to the rack full of clothes, carefully slipping on the matching royal blue heels that were provided with her once she picked her dress. They had strings that were in an X formation across the front of her heel with a pointed toe and a strap around her ankles. It had the perfect spot for the holster she asked for, so she slipped a gun there. Just in case.
She went to retrieve the two daggers off of her nightstand and slipped them into the holsters on her thigh and exhaled, feeling fully prepped for the ball.
There was still about forty-five minutes until it started, so she decided to make way to Jinx’s room.
Over the last year and a half, they’d become great friends.
Walking to her room, which was down the hall by a few doors, she knocked and heard a faint come in and opened the door to see Jinx sitting on the desk chair that she fell asleep in most of the time.
She looked up just as Caitlyn was coming through the door and said, “Damn Kiramman! You clean up pretty nicely if I do say so myself.”
“Why thank you! I’m loving this outfit you have on and how my mother can do absolutely nothing about it.”
“Her being scared of me is something I will always find funny.”
Caitlyn went and took a seat on Jinx’s bed, propping her chin in her hand, looking out the window to see the sunset.
“Do you think everything’s going to be safe tonight? I know there isn’t much danger anymore but I just can’t help but feel that we can’t have anything nice without it getting ruined.”
“That’s called paranoia. I have it too, but don’t worry I’m going to be prepared!” Jinx said, opening her coat for Caitlyn to see it had inside pockets on both sides. It looked like Jinx had filled them with her various bombs and other weapons. That made Caitlyn feel a little bit better.
“I’ve got stuff too but I always feel it’s not enough.”
“I’m sure if anything happens Vi will be the first person to step up and kick ass. She wouldn’t let anything happen, I’m sure of it.”
Caitlyn nodded, what Jinx said was true. Vi would set herself on fire to keep everyone else warm if that’s what it took to keep them safe. It’s one of the things Caitlyn loved about her.
Wait.
Love? Loved about her?
Fuck.
-
Upon entering the ball, Vi was a ball of nerves. It’s not like she cared about what other people thought about her or her upbringing, but it’s not like she was too fond of being around said people for an entire night.
Quickly scanning the room, she looked for her sister. That bright blue hair of hers was easy to spot in a crowd and lucky for her, she spotted Jinx right away. She strode across the ballroom to where she was standing, perched against a wall with a flute of what she assumed was that juice she liked so much.
As she approached Jinx, she spotted another familiar face: Caitlyn. And holy shit.
The mental image Vi had of Caitlyn in that dress didn’t even compare to the real thing.
She was the epitome of beauty. Vi wasn’t sure how she was going to function the entire night with Caitlyn looking like that .
The dress hugged her curves in all the right places. Her hips were very much on display, as was her back. Her long, long legs poked through the slit on the left side of the dress and hold on. Was that a thigh holster Vi saw? Was this real life? This girl was going to be the end of her.
Trying to compose herself, she made her way to stand in front of Jinx, who seemed to be people watching. She was wearing similar pants to her usual attire, except they were just plain black this time with an oversized matching blazer. Underneath she was wearing a very cropped top - also similar to what she wore on the daily. She didn’t switch out her boots for heels, which wasn’t surprising. A newer addition to her appearance was that her hair was braided, but only in two tiny ones on the top of her head. The rest of her hair flowed down her back.
“Hey, Jinx. You look nice. If Cait’s mom wasn’t so scared of you, I bet she’d be up your ass about this outfit right now.”
Jinx laughed, sipping her juice, and looked at what Vi was wearing, then over to Caitlyn who was still talking with some people that looked too important for Vi to care.
“You look great, too sis. Caitlyn’s gonna drop dead, that’s for sure. I can’t wait to see the look on her face.”
Vi scowled and looked away, suddenly feeling her face heat up. Stupid Caitlyn for making her feel this way.
A few minutes went by before Caitlyn turned back to where Jinx and Vi were. In the short time she was talking, Vi managed to snag a flute of champagne off of a platter that one of the waiters was carrying around.
When Caitlyn finally laid her eyes on Vi, the look on her face was priceless.
She was absolutely slack-jawed. Vi almost laughed, except she had the same look on her face. From where she had been walking over to Jinx, she didn’t see the makeup that she’d put on, and wow .
The black smoked-out eyeliner brought out the blue in her eyes, even more, it was mesmerizing to Vi. She could drown in those eyes.
Caitlyn was having a hard time breathing. When Vi said she was leaving her outfit a surprise, Caitlyn didn’t know it would be a surprise quite like this .
She was wearing a red suit with a separate black lace top that stopped right before where the buttons of her pants were, so her toned stomach was on display. The blazer was perfectly fitted around her arms and gods her shoulders. The once silver jewelry that she usually wore had been swapped out with gold jewelry and she had a small necklace to match her earrings. There were little tiny bits of gold incorporated in her makeup as well, and if Caitlyn thought Vi was attractive before…
Caitlyn looked down to see Vi was wearing heels . They were similar to hers in shape, having a pointed tip. But instead of crisscrossing over her feet, some strings wrapped around the lower parts of her legs just above the strap at her ankles.
“Ah,” she started, trying to collect herself. She looked away for a quick moment and took a deep breath, then turned back to Vi, who was still staring at her in disbelief.
“You look wonderful, Vi.”
At that, Vi’s mouth closed and her face turned the same color as her suit. She took a few seconds to reply, trying to collect herself (a harder task than it should be.)
“You don’t look too bad yourself, Cupcake.” and how the hell did she sound so much calmer than she looked??
“See, that dress was a good fit for you.”
She winked at Caitlyn, slowly raking her eyes down her figure.
Stupid stupid stupid stupid.
They held eye contact for what felt like an eternity before Jinx began to laugh, and they snapped out of it. Right. They were in a room full of people.
“ Jesus . The tension is so thick between you guys right now. I’m leaving before things get more heated.”
“It’s not like that!!” Vi called out after her, but she clearly ignored her and continued making her way to the other side of the ballroom.
She turned back around to Caitlyn, who was looking to the ground with a red face. The things this girl did to her…
Vi was about to try and have a simple conversation with her, but just before she could a song began to play. A slow song.
Couples around them began to gather and dance together. Vi felt very out of place. How the hell did she forget that there was dancing at balls??
Seeming to sense her inner conflict, Caitlyn placed a warm hand on Vi’s shoulder. Vi turned around and saw the still present flush across her cheeks and a hand held out asking the silent question: may I have this dance?
How could she decline? She slipped her hand into Caitlyn’s, squeezing it firmly, and followed her to the middle of the ballroom where everyone else was.
“Fair warning, Cupcake, I can’t dance.”
Caitlyn smiled fondly, “Just follow my lead.”
And she slipped her arms around Vi’s neck, clasping them together at the nape. Vi froze for a split second before forcing her hands to snake around Caitlyn’s waist.
They began to sway at first, slowly going in a circle. Caitlyn’s thumbs began to gently run up and down the back of Vi’s neck, sending shivers down her spine.
“Watch my feet. Copy what I’m doing but opposite so you fit like a puzzle in the open spots.” Caitlyn said quietly, only for her to hear.
Vi looked down to Caitlyn’s feet and she began stepping in different directions. It was almost like a rhythm - a pattern. Step forward then left, then back, then right. And she did that once more. Vi began to do the same, just opposite feet.
1 2 3 4, 1 2 3 4, 1 2 3 4.
“There you go,” Caitlyn said, pulling her a little closer, “You’re a natural.”
She closed her eyes, focusing on the pattern for a few moments. Opening her eyes after a few seconds, she was met with striking blue eyes that were already looking at her.
There she goes again with that look of endearment.
“Why do you look at me like I’m so dear to you Cait?”
Caitlyn didn’t seem to have much of a reaction, except smiling smugly to herself and looking down. Vi began to count the steps of the dance again before Caitlyn spoke, “Because you’re like the sun to me, Vi. You light up any room you enter, you shine brighter than anyone I’ve ever met. You keep me warm and make me embrace myself. I’ve never met someone like you. I like to think it was some sort of test of fate that we met when we did. To see if we were compatible if we would work out together. To see what our dynamic would be like if there was a threat at hand. The way we just. We fit together, we work well together, our personalities are almost opposite but they work. I look at you like you’re so dear to me because you are.”
Vi didn’t know what to say. Caitlyn really felt that way about her? Like she was the sun? The beginnings of a smile started to appear on her face and she felt her heartbeat start to quicken. How could someone as amazing as Caitlyn feel that way about her ? It felt like a dream.
“Caitlyn I…” she started, not sure what to say.
“I’m like the sun to you?” she asked and Caitlyn nodded, turning her head to the side and smiling, her teeth peeking out.
“Gods Cait, you have no idea how much that means to me.”
They inched closer to each other as they danced as if they were the same. Their bodies fit together perfectly, like a puzzle piece. Everything about it made sense.
Five minutes later, the song ended and the couples dispersed, going back to their casual conversations. Caitlyn and Vi didn’t move for a second, too caught up in each other to notice. If either did notice, they didn’t say anything. Being intertwined like they were was nice. Really nice. Neither of them wanted to separate so soon.
Eventually, they pulled apart slowly and walked back over to where they were standing before the dance.
Vi had slipped her hand into Caitlyn’s before they started walking away and Caitlyn hadn’t let go. She took that as a sign to act on her gut.
“Can we go somewhere? To talk?” Vi asked quietly.
“Of course,” Caitlyn said, leading them out of the ballroom and to outside where there was a nip of cold compared to inside where it was quite warm and stuffy.
Caitlyn shivered, catching Vi’s attention. She unlaced her fingers with Caitlyn’s and began to shrug off her blazer, placing it on Caitlyn’s shoulders. It was a little big on Caitlyn, even though she was taller than Vi.
“Won’t you be cold?” Caitlyn asked, worry clear in her voice and on her face.
“Nah. I’ve always run hot. Don’t worry about me, Cupcake.” Vi said, reaching up to smooth the crease in Caitlyn’s brow with her thumb.
Caitlyn swatted Vi’s hand away, making her laugh. She continued walking, now going ahead of Caitlyn. She looked up to Vi and son of a bitch she was going to die.
Vi’s back was on full display - all of the tattoos giving her a show. She’d never seen all of them on display like this before, not up close at least. They were all such intricate designs, woven into each other. Caitlyn made a note to ask about them one day.
Realizing she had stopped walking, Vi turned to the side and that’s when Caitlyn’s mind went blank. She hated to be vulgar, but the fact that Vi’s chest was on display ( not her entire chest, get your mind out of the gutter, Kiramman! ) right in front of her face… she couldn’t help but stare.
Vi smirked, “See something you like, Cupcake?”
Caitlyn stood stock straight quick , face burning, “Nothing of the sort.”
“Whatever you say…” Vi said as she continued walking.
They walked for just a few more minutes, approaching a small garden and Caitlyn scoffed at the cliche of it all.
Finding a long bench with flower vines wrapped around it, they each took a seat.
“What did you want to talk about?” Caitlyn asked, clasping her hands together and settling them in her lap.
Vi sighed, scratching at her cheek right where her tattoo was.
“Ever since things were finally… ok… and your family accepted Jinx and me to live with you, I can’t help but find that my feelings for you keep growing and growing and growing by the day. It’s scary, Cait. I’ve never felt like this about anyone before… My chest is always tight when I’m with you like I can’t breathe, but at the same time, I feel as if I’m free of all the shit I’ve been through. I don’t know how to explain it. You said that I… I’m like the sun to you and that got me thinking about the moon. When I was little, I’d always take Powder out to this big open junkyard that was behind The Last Drop , and we’d lay down and look at the stars for hours. Sometimes Vander would start opening and find us still out there. I always found myself looking at the moon. I felt such a strong sense of comfort and security from it, and I don’t know why.”
She looked up to Caitlyn, looking between her eyes with the same vulnerability that Caitlyn had only seen one other time.
“I’m like the sun to you, Cait. And you’re like the moon to me. You’re like that warm blanket of comfort and security that it always brought me. I don’t know where I’d be today without you. It’s taken everything in me to not grab you and kiss you for the last few weeks if I’m being honest. The urge was always so strong, but I was so scared to screw up this great thing we had going so I never acted on it. But, seeing you tonight, hearing what you said, I’m not scared anymore.”
Caitlyn had a shit-eating grin on her face, cheeks, and ears rosy.
“So what are you saying, Vi?”
“You really gonna make me spell it out for you, Kiramman?”
“How will I ever know what you mean if you don’t?” She said, inching closer, her fingers creeping up on Vi’s and covering them, basking them in that comfort and warmth that she craved.
Vi brought her free hand up to Caitlyn’s cheek, brushing a stray hair out of the way before cupping it. She leaned into the contact, just slightly.
“I’ll spell it out for you Kiramman, just you wait,” Vi whispered, hot breath against Caitlyn’s lips.
They met in the middle, finally finally kissing. There was an immediate spark, and fireworks went off in Vi’s head. Her imagination was so so far from the real thing, once again .
Caitlyn pressed further into Vi, needing more of her, needing to be closer, closer, closer.
The air between them got heated real quick - going from quiet gasps to louder, more desperate sounds. It was almost like they’d been waiting for this moment since the first time they met.
After they separated, Caitlyn said,
“Why did it take us so long to do that?”
“Beats me, Cupcake. But if I know anything, that’s not going to be the last time it happens.”
Caitlyn grinned, diving back in for more.
As they kissed to their heart's content in the garden, daybreak began to approach and the moon slowly began to vanish, the sun peeking out from behind.