My Light, My Lux

Chapter Eight

Days go by, and Lux follows Jinx everywhere. At first, it's a polite distance, watching her work in the lab, eating together across the bronze desk that serves as a table (and as whatever Jinx wants it to), going home together side by side, sharing funny stories...

The second week, Jinx feels brave enough to share the not-so-funny stories of her childhood, of how she fucked up, again and again, of how Violet fucked up, of how they reconciled, of arduous therapy and medication...

And Lux, to the inventor's surprise, starts sharing sob stories of her own, and wow, being a mage in a place that hates mages, but being privileged enough to be able to live while hiding it... Feels like being a closeted lesbian in a place that wouldn't accept you for who you are but would allow you to live as long as you hide. In short, fucking awful. Jinx can understand why Lux ran away.

The third week, Lux starts holding Jinx's hand when the two walk home. The following week, she starts giving her kisses on the cheek before bed.

Jinx still sleeps on the floor. But Lux doesn't only sleep in her bed; she sleeps in her heart.

It is at that point that Jinx knows she has to talk to someone about this. And her options are very limited: Viktor (who was kind enough to let Lux hang around, banishing the thought that she might be a Demacian spy), Vi (hell no to the no no no), or Caitlyn.

Fuck.

So, on their day off, when Vi is too busy sleeping in, and Lux as well (which is a surprise, seeing as the blonde girl is usually always up and ready to go), Jinx is fidgeting in her seat in the kitchen while the Piltie makes her signature not-quite-muffins.

"Hey, Cait."

"Yes, Jinx?"

Fuck, how do I ask her that?

Jinx looks around the living room. Over the years it has become such a cosy shared place, with its comfortable armchair and the array of chairs around the tiny table. The paintings on the walls aren't even that vomit-inducing and might be considered pretty... sweet. Not as sweet as all the magazines Caitlyn has which are addictive, what with all the ads inside them which Jinx might be drawn to like a moth to the sun. After all, the junk in her room and office isn't all work-related.

And the adjacent kitchen is such a great idea, making the small-ish apartment look decently big, with the kitchen and the living room forming a single space that is well-illuminated thanks to the six windows looking in two different directions.

"Can I ask you something?" Jinx asks finally as she shifts in her kitchen seat uneasily. "But you can't tell Vi."

Caitlyn nods from her spot next to the kitchen counter and puts the muffins (or whatever they are) in the oven. "All right, I won't tell her that her little sister is a simp."

"Great, so— hey, that's—!"

Caitlyn breaks into laughter, and, honestly, Jinx chuckles a bit too, because the Piltie totally got her. It's been nice, these few years. Being forgiven. Being embraced into the family. Having not only Vi as her sister but also Caitlyn as her sister-in-law. (If Vi or Cait ever have the guts to propose, it'll be official.)