You're not safe here (Vi Arcane x Reader)/(Jinx Arcane x Reader)

Dichotomies (stress-free happy chapter)

(Imagine the outskirts like a Holly Warburton painting, it's not canon but you know who doesn't care? Me)

Quiet.

That's the word you'd probably use to describe your time at the outskirts of Valoran.

Growing up in a bustling city like Piltover, you'd learned to appreciate the little walks you took through the lower levels of Zaun. Those places that, you imagined, at some point were just as loud as the others, yet, after years of struggle and hard work, had been deserted, leaving only abandoned warehouses and corroded duplexes that the shimmer fiends would squat in.

Even then, the quiet you allowed yourself to revel in when you walked Zaun was never really quiet. There were memories, voices almost, travelling with every gust of polluted wind, that told the story of collective disappointment that everyone seemed to share in the Undercity.

You stayed for a few days in your appartment. They weren't quiet per se, but there was nothing loud about them. Most of the time you spent cuddled in bed with Violet, her holding on to you like you'd disappear if she let go. You'd get out of bed late, Vi looking at you from the bed, tired eyes silently calling you back into it. You dreaded the thought of walking outside, and when you did, you wished for nothing more than to come right back to her.

During the day you'd keep it low-key. You met with Sophia in the city, her hand behind your back as familiar faces greeted you and waved at you with a smile. It was strange at first; you expected to receive disdain in their voices and tomatoes thrown at your face, but your relationships in Piltover seemed to be just fine. This served as silent confirmation of Mel's discretion; of her lingering love. She hadn't told anybody. She was keeping her misery a secret, letting it kill her from the inside, all by herself.

The thought of that made your entrails curl.

You had already found a landlord in the outskirts that was charging you an eye and a leg for a hill-top cottage. You called it modest; he called it furnished, well illuminated, and highly coveted by the Piltover elite as a vacation home. Dichotomies.

Sophia hated the thought of you leaving. She insisted you and Vi could stay at her place, use the guest bedroom and wait for everything to blow over; most times she offered, a tear or two would leave her eyes, which made you opt out of voicing your arguments to her that this was never going to blow over. In the end you'd hug, most times having reached the bridge that connected Piltover and Zaun, looking over both cities, letting the mixture of breezes caress your face. You'd talk about your plan for move-in day, and her plan to visit you as soon as you moved in.

"You know, part of me wants to hate this whole...Vi thing." She said one time. "I'd be lying if I said I'm not jealous of her."

You looked up at her tear-welled eyes as she scanned the view in front of you. She cleared her throat before she continued. "But I'm not an idiot. I know that she loves you, and I know that...you love her." She finally met eyes with you, tears flowing down her face. "Oh, I'm gonna miss you so much."

You laughed, tears falling from your eyes, imitating hers. "You need to stop making this harder for me."

She scoffed, wiping her soaked cheeks. "Making what harder?" She dramatically looked down at your crotch.

Your combined laughter mingled with the breeze as you fell into each other's embrace.

After many more hugs, and dropping Sophia off at her house, you'd walk back to the bridge, sun setting over the buildings behind you. You'd walk around Zaun for a bit, trying your best to ignore the creeps that would mention out-of-pocket comments about the way your hips swayed when you walked, reaching any small food stand that caught your eye, and grabbing something for you and Vi to eat back home.