Please Don't Leave (Arcane//CaitVi)

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Caitlyn

"I'll be fine, Cupcake, please, I promise, but I have to go."

I felt my eyes burning as I clung onto Vi with every shred of strength I had left, my tired arms shaking as I used my own weight to hold myself to her. I was in my own bed, smoke and fire cascading outside the window. We still didn't know exactly who was attacking Piltover, but a good guess could be organized forces under Jinx's command paired up with traitorous enforcers, and possible soldiers from the Noxian army.

Either way, our chances of making it out alive looked to be slim to none.

"Please, don't leave, Vi, I need you," I choked out, my strength failing as my wounded body finally gave out and fell back to the pillows, pulling Vi down with me.

She made a quiet oof when she landed on me and then hesitated for a second, pulling away slightly so she could see my face. Her own expression softened as tears pricked both our eyes, and her mouth twisted into a frown. "Caitlyn..."

"Don't go," I said again, my voice a low wail in the back of my throat. In any other situation, I would have been blushing furiously at our closeness and how we were currently situated, and my heart would've burst from my chest at the way she was looking at me; but this was war, and I was hurt, and Vi was on edge, and I was in love.

What a mess.

Vi struggled to choke out her words, her eyes darting between me and the window, where the wreckage and death could be seen. "I- Cupcake, Caitlyn..." She swallowed hard, tears finally spilling over and dripping down her scarred face. "I don't want to leave you-"

"Then don't," was my whispered answer, desperation clawing up my chest. If she left and threw herself into the carnage that ravaged the city, I might never see her again. "I don't care if it's selfish, I just- I can't-" I sucked in a deep breath, chest quivering. "I can't lose you." I knew that both of our deaths were inevitable at this point, seeing as the bombs and gunfire were getting closer by the minute, but I forced myself to believe that if Vi stayed with me now, everything would be okay. We would be okay.

She grit her teeth, agony written across every handsome feature. "Please, Caitlyn, I have to keep you safe."

"Then stay," I said again, crying hard. I shook her shoulders gently, sorrow filling my gut as I knew my attempts were in vain. "Stay with me, keep me safe here."

"I can't keep you safe from inside the house," she sobbed out, panic melting into her eyes. She suddenly surged forward and crushed me to her chest, quickly sitting down on the bed and pulling me up to cradle my battered form in her strong arms. Her face was buried in my neck as she gathered a fistfull of blue hair into her hand, the other wrapped around my body ever so gingerly, afraid to hurt me further. "I- I can't sit here while there's danger and people dying and a threat to you just- right there, and do nothing." Her hold on me tightened, still somehow managing to be gentle and featherlight.

My heart cracked at the anguish in her voice, and my face crumbled as I leaned into her warmth, relishing the feeling of her calloused hands and hot breath on my neck while I still could. I tried one last time out of thin, wavering hope, reaching up to cup her face and smooth my thumb over her cheek tattoo. "Violet," I whispered. She shivered at my use of her full name. "Please. Don't go."

There was a moment of silence, both of us holding our breaths. Tears glistened on our cheeks. You could cut the tension with a knife. A slight twitch, a glance down, and then-

Vi's hand tightened in my hair, tugging it to tip my head back slightly and press a searing kiss to my lips. I gasped into her mouth, immediately melting into her and burying my own fingers into her shorter pink strands, pulling her closer and kissing her hard. The act was hungry and desperate, a message of hope and longing, sorrow, regret... love. I could taste the words on Vi's lips.