Chapter Text
Well after the fan fare had died down after the podium celebrations and the media circus had ended, Vi made her way back to the paddock. Throughout the day after the race, she had only been looking for one person who proved increasingly harder to get a second alone with since the race started. Not too hard to imagine when the princess herself was poised to win another home race in Silverstone. People had treated Caitlyn Kiramman differently this season however. Early in the season the media walked on eggshells before some brave soul, or stupid soul depending on who you are, decided to rip off the band aid and ask heir to the Kiramman fortune about the untimely death of Cassandra Kiramman over the winter break. With a few months to process, Caitlyn answered the questions with as much ease as she could, ensuring and later proving that she was ready for the season.
Vi knew her better than that.
Even with Vi knowing her better than that, it didn’t mean that the shorter girl was in any rush to get Caitlyn to open up. She would on her own time. One thing that Vi would do however was fulfill her side of a childhood promise that they would always be there for each other. If you count formative teenage years as childhood. To the media and multiple people on the grid through the years Caitlyn was known as the utmost professional and precise in everything possible. Vi on the other hand was known for adrenaline, sometimes rage and wearing her heart on her sleeve. In normal circumstances everything worked out fine for both of them, trading wins, podiums and championships through the last 4 years. This season was the furthest thing from normal.
Among many other changes, her trademark pink hair had been replaced by a black mess with red along the ends to match the red of her Ferrari. That hair gently bounced along the back of her head as she jogged down the paddock, tilting her head to each garage trying to find Caitlyn anywhere as she made her way to the Mercedes garage. A breath she didn’t even know she was holding escaped when she finally spotted Caitlyn for the first time since the first round of interviews after the podium.
Caitlyn sat on a bench along the back wall of the Mercedes garage, holding her helmet tight in both her hands, eyes glued to it oblivious to anything around her. Her black race suit was opened and dropped down to her hips not caring to change yet while Vi on the other hand was in her Ferrari polo already. Sapphire eyes stayed glued to the design on her helmet, fingers tracing the outline of two skeleton keys on the crown. Those keys had been a fixture on her helmet for as long as either one of them could remember. Slender fingers moved to a new design on the back, tracing over it like it was the most precious thing in the world. On the back of the helmet sat a small turquoise colored diamond shape with a gold outline, reminiscent of the earrings Cassandra Kiramman would always be seen wearing. A small sob fell from her lips as a tear splashed down on the hard plastic in her hands.
Hearing the girl that she loved breaking down broke Vi’s heart more than anything did in the last 6 months. Heavy boots carried her to the back of the garage, crouching down before Caitlyn slowly like she was a wounded animal that Vi had no intention of scaring. Callused hands carefully found their way to the helmet separating them, fingertips brushing against’s Caitlyn’s. Grey eyes searched for blue ones before tracking their view to the helmet, seeing the small splashes with each tear that fell. Violet’s hands moved over Caitlyn’s for a moment, thumb moving in a comforting circle before carefully removing the helmet from Caitlyn’s hands. Vi gently placed the helmet on the bench next to the slender frame in front of her before returning her hands to the softer ones which seemed stunned in place.
“Cait,” she started, fingers wrapping around the other’s hands. “It’s okay.” That was enough for what little barrier that still existed to crumble as Caitlyn’s sobs cascaded, body falling forward into Vi’s arms. Red eyes buried into a tattoo’d neck as the tears couldn’t stop no matter how much Caitlyn willed them too. She had held it together all day and just couldn’t any longer. “It’s gonna be okay.” Vi whispered, one hand wrapped around her waist as the other gently caressed blue locks.
The two sat there until Vi’s leg started to cramp then even longer until the sobs died down, breaths still unsteady but starting to return to normal. The silence enveloped them before Vi broke it. “Cait I will sit here with you all night, but we might want to get out of here.” No words came but Vi could feel the nod of the head buried in her neck. “Okay?” “Okay.” A whisper answered as Vi stood up, keeping her arms around her until Caitlyn was stable on her feet. Once there wasn’t a danger of either of them falling over, Vi pulled back just enough to look at Caitlyn as the taller girl sniffled. A hand came to her cheek, brushing the last few tears away before pressing her lips where they had been.
“You didn’t have to come here.” A small voice spoke, knowing that she hadn’t treated Vi the best over the last few months. “Yeah I did, Cupcake.” She replied with a warm smile and a shake of her head. With that she reached for the helmet, returning it to the hand of its owner before taking the empty hand in hers. “Come on. Where’s your stuff?”
“Through there.” A soft nod towards a closed door was all she got out before closing her eyes for a moment trying to shake off the headache creeping its way through her skull from the tears. Vi pulled her along to a small changing room, emptied out save Caitlyn’s belongings. “Out of that suit.” After the command, Vi was digging through Caitlyn’s bag to pull out whatever clothes she had brought. This time a loose hoodie and comfortable pair of jeans. When she turned around, Vi was expecting Caitlyn to be changing but she was unmoved, fingers curling through the open visor of her helmet. “Cait?”
“I’ve been horrible to you.” A sharp intake of breath and exhaustion giving her the courage to let out what she had spent the last three months beating herself up about. “I…”
I don’t deserve this. I don’t deserve you. I miss you. I fucked up.
On the exhale, the Mercedes driver fell back against the wall, eyes on the woman she fully believed she had ruined everything with. “Why’d you come back here? To find me?”
“You know why.” Vi stepped closer, occupying the space that she knew she never wanted to leave but was forced to at some point since the funeral. Her hand cupped a soft cheek, not marred by scars or tattoos like her own as she looked into perfectly blue eyes. Blue eyes started to water with tears Caitlyn didn’t even know she was capable of producing more of at the moment. “I’m sorry,” was all she could get out before tilting her head back, willing the tears to not fall.
“We can talk about it later.” She ended with a gentle brush of the cheek. “Right now, out of this.” Vi tugged on the hem of the long sleeve, starting to pull it up for Caitlyn, breath catching as fingers brushed against toned abs. The memories of pushing her then girlfriend into a wall and kissing her rushed to the front of her mind and were just as quickly compartmentalized away. With some maneuvering around the helmet, the shirt was off and Vi was handing over a hoodie. “Hold this?” Caitlyn extended her helmet and Vi carefully took it with a sad smile and a nod.
Not long after the two were finally leaving the paddock, Caitlyn interlacing their fingers as Vi led the way to the parking lot. “Where’s your car?” Caitlyn looked around for a moment to orient herself to remember where she’d parked. “Around the corner, just there.” Vi led them by the directions before stopping in her tracks when she saw the car she’d decided to drive. “Really Cait? The SLS?” She only answered with a shrug as Vi shook her head. It wasn’t just an SLS, she decided to bring the super rare SLS Black Series that was worth more than most people’s houses.
Once they got to the car, Vi dug through Caitlyn’s bag over her shoulder and found the keys. She opened the gull wing door to the passenger seat for Caitlyn earning a confused look. “If you think I’m letting you leave this place alone, you’re crazy.” “Vi you don’t have to.” “I know, I’m doing it anyway. Now, in.”
“Fine.” Caitlyn relented, finally letting go of Vi’s hand and raising her own in the air in surrender. With practiced grace she slid into the low seat of the Mercedes SLS and started buckling up. Before Vi shut the door for her, she crouched next to her just outside the car. “Want to hold this?” The helmet carefully held between them. “Or want me to put it in the back?” Slender fingers traced the skeleton keys one more time before her eyes met Vi’s. The look she found assuring her that things would be okay. She had Vi at least for right now. “The boot’s fine.”
With a nod, Vi stood up and gently brought the gull wing door down to shut. Momentarily Caitlyn was alone with her thoughts while Vi put their things in the small boot. There was something domestic about it all that made her heart ache. This could have been their reality in another life. In this one, Caitlyn’s grief pushed Vi away and she regretted every second of it. The amount of times her thumb would hover over Vi’s name only to toss her phone to the side was more than she could count. The sound of the hydraulics in the door snapped her out of her thoughts, eyes following the mess of black and red hair as Vi stepped down into the car.
How did I mess up this bad?
“What?” Vi asked with a teasing look. “I got something in my teeth or something?” “No.” Caitlyn shook her head longing for what was sitting right next to her. “It’s nothing,” she added, eyes returning to the windshield as Vi started driving. They fell into a semi comfortable silence, leaving the circuit, neither one of them wanting to unpack the last six months right now. About a mile away from the circuit, Vi felt fingers slip in between hers, one arm resting on the center console as she drove with one hand. She made no attempt to move her hand, just giving the missing puzzle piece a small squeeze before stroking comfortable patterns in the soft skin with her thumb. Five minutes later, Vi stole a glance to the passenger seat and saw that Caitlyn had already fallen asleep. Gentle patterns continued on the five time Silverstone winner’s hand as Vi sighed. This is gonna be a long two hours.