Arcane (Vi x Female Reader)

Act 1, Chapter 2

    I'm standing with Claggor, watching Mylo and Powder mess with the shooting range as Vi continuously beats her own record on the old boxing machine. The air is hot and heavy with moisture, as it often is in the undercity and the neon lights of the room mixed into a low purple and red haze. We often came down to this building when we needed a little entertainment but Vi was down here more than anyone to train. I preferred to run and climb when I needed a good workout. I knew agility was my strong suit, but Vi would box with that machine until her body gave out at least four times a week. I watch her carefully, she's dripping with sweat but her movements are still quick and calculated. A few years back, this would have put me on the edge of my seat, watching her dodge and duck under the dangerous punches, but as time went on and she remained unharmed, my anxiety dissipated. I wonder if Vi had felt the same way at first, when watching me flip off and above buildings.
    "Remind me why we bother with this dump," Mylo says from the other side of the room as Vi finishes the round.
    "Vander said to lay low," Vi responds, wiping the sweat off her forehead with her arm. I suddenly feel as though my watching her is intruding and I look down as the blood rushes to my face. "Enforcers never come down here, this is as good a place as any," she finishes.
    "Oooh, what's the matter Mylo? You worried Powder's going to beat you again?" Claggor teases. I snicker along with him. Powder can almost always best Mylo in a shooting match and it's entertaining to watch his ego be taken down game by game. I walk over to them as Mylo complains about Powder fixing the game and sit up on the counter as the blue haired girl plugs in the shooting range. She hops back over the table that I am seated on and begins to prepare her weapon as Mylo weakly misses a few shots. Powder glances at me and I give her a reassuring smile.
    "You guys know we wouldn't take you on a job you couldn't handle right," Vi mumbles to my right. Her voice is sadder and more desperate than her usual joking or determined tones. Mylo, as usual, misses the disheartened weight of the phrase and blabs on. I hop off the counter and go over to her. She's taking off her gloves and her knuckles are bloody and bruised underneath. I grab her hands harshly, wipe them with the end of my shirt, and when I look up she's watching me. Her gaze catches me off guard and I pull away quickly, looking down and wrapping my arms around my waist. I'm jared out of nervous shock by the sound of Powder's voice.
    "Hey guys, you should see..." Before I have time to process her words, the glass protecting our hiding spot is shattered and I man I've never seen before comes crashing through. I immediately turn to the source and see a horde of Enforcers staring back at me.
    "Fuck," I say under my breath. "Vi," I gasp, jogging up to where she stood. She throws out her arm in front of me and sushes me as the enforcers begin to inspect us.
    "Go ahead idiots, we've got nothing," Mylo exclaims. Vi and I exchange glances and I internally cringe at Mylo's idiocy but my attention is quickly diverted by an Enforcer closing in on Powder. I feel the panic rising in my chest and I can't imagine how Vi must be feeling so I don't hesitate to turn to Claggor. He immediately pulls the lever signaling for a long rehearsed plan for situations such as this to be enacted. We all dart off in separate directions. Vi throws something metal and I hear Mylo fire some likely useless shots while I run around the back, looking for Powder. I hear the younger girl shriek and speed up to find her in the shooting range, Vi trails close behind me and she grabs Pow as we run. We all file in line, make it out the back, and dash down the alley. For a moment I think we've lost them but I turn around to the sight of Enforcers trailing as our group comes to an abrupt stop. I look forward to investigate the reason for our hold up and see that Vi has spotted another group up in front of us. I know that in a matter of seconds they'll be closing in on us and they'll get to Vi and I first.
    "What's the plan , Vi? " I yelled up to her apprehensively.
    ""I don't know, I'm thinking," she responds bitterly.  Just then we hear a whistle from above us that drags our eyes to the source.  Echo appears above us, sending down a ladder we've all begun to clammer up in a matter of seconds. I'm last, as is the norm of our group, but this time it's not in my favor. As I'm around halfway up, an enforcer grips onto my leg and I shriek. He's pulling hard and for a moment I think that I won't be able to fight him until I feel Vi's hands clutching my own as she pulls me up in a swift motion and kicks down the ladder. I collapse into her for just a moment, allowing myself to give into a show of weakness, and I feel the shadow of her arms around me. My heart beats uncontrollably and my breath is shallow, all my adrenaline still pumping through my veins. I almost lost them all.  I hear Vi sigh and I pull away to see the expression on her face. She looks relieved and there's a trace of something else I can't quite place.