fantastic ✷ caitvi

4. come play

Caitlyn doesn't know what the hell she's doing.

She's supposed to be smarter than this. Why  an attractive stranger who happens to be a Zaunite back to her house in Piltover? She has no idea.

She shouldn't have stuck around in the undercity, waiting to see if she'd run into the pitfighter. She should've just left with Jayce, who looked rather confused when she insisted he go on without her. She could've gotten caught, and if her parents had found out she was creeping around the undercity...well, let's just say things wouldn't be very pretty.

But she couldn't help herself. Watching that fight had been...an experience, to say the least. Her eyes had been glued to Vi the whole time, utterly entranced. And can you blame her? The pitfighter is beyond attractive. Caitlyn is sure Vi has countless men and women falling at her feet every day.

Sure, maybe it was a bit impractical to wait around for a woman she's never even met before, but what's done is done, and it led her to this moment. So she doesn't regret it one bit.

And it looks like Vi doesn't either, because she's obviously intrigued by Caitlyn, maybe even attracted to her. But could a woman like Vi even be attracted to a woman like Caitlyn? They're completely different, both in looks and personality. Vi is definitely more masculine, if the prominent muscles, tattoos, and attitude are any indicator. Whereas Caitlyn is the complete opposite. She's rather feminine, hardly any muscles on her, and certainly no tattoos. Her parents would kill her.

God, why is she even thinking about this? She's known Vi for what, five seconds? She doesn't even know her last name, for goodness sake! She's definitely way in over her head.

Her eyes discreetly dart over to Vi, who sidles up next to her as they walk. Caitlyn inwardly groans. Even her side profile is attractive. The straight slope of her nose, the faint freckles scattered across her cheeks, the tiny scar above her top lip. She's a sight to behold.

"You're staring, cupcake."

There it is again, the raspiness of her voice. Caitlyn immediately snaps out of her daze, eyes focused straight ahead as she tries to ignore the heat of her cheeks.

"I should've known you were a Piltie," Vi adds as Caitlyn leads them into Piltover.

Caitlyn isn't sure whether or not she's supposed to take offense to those words. "And what do you mean by that?"

"You know exactly what I mean." Vi motions to the length of Caitlyn with a knowing expression. "Look at you. You just scream Piltie."

Caitlyn drops her gaze to the ground, not sure of how to respond. It's true that a lot of Zaunites hate Pilties because of their wealth and status. They envy them, really. And Caitlyn can understand it. She'd feel the same way if she was a Zaunite.

When she finally gains her voice back, she asks quietly, "have you ever been to Piltover?"

"Fuck no," Vi spits, as if just the idea leaves a bitter taste on her tongue.

She doesn't offer any more information than that, and Caitlyn doesn't bother to ask.

A few minutes later, they arrive before what looks like a castle, but really is just a fancy manor. Caitlyn catches the look of pure wonder on Vi's face, and she chuckles softly, finding it a little adorable.

"Damn, cupcake. You live here?"

Caitlyn simply nods. She was never one to brag about her lavish house or wealthy family. She never saw the point of it.

"Don't tell me you're some kind of royalty," Vi mutters as Caitlyn pushes open the gate.

The taller woman snorts. "Hardly. Now, are you gonna stand there and gawk, or are you gonna come inside?"

"Right behind ya," Vi salutes.

Caitlyn rolls her eyes as she unlocks the front door and strolls inside. All the lights are off, so she figures her parents must've already gone off to bed. It is pretty late.

"My bedroom is just upstairs," she whispers to Vi. The house is huge, so there's little chance her parents would hear her even if she shouted, but she'd still rather not take the risk.

"Wouldn't be the first time sneaking into a girl's bedroom," Vi grins, following Caitlyn up the stairs.

"Are you always this lewd?"

"Pretty much."

"How wonderful," Caitlyn mutters. They reach her bedroom, and she nods towards her canopy bed. "Sit down."

Vi hums softly as she plants herself on the bed. "Bossy. I like it."

Moonlight pours in through the window, casting the room in a warm glow. Caitlyn's hands twitch nervously as she kneels on the floor in front of Vi, her fingers gently brushing over the red head's bare abdomen. "Does this hurt?"

Vi shakes her head slowly, her lips slightly parted as she gazes down at Caitlyn. "Nah."

"You're probably going to be bruised tomorrow," Caitlyn says in a hushed voice, her fingertips still grazing the sliver of skin. "You're lucky that guy didn't do any worse damage."

Vi waves off her concern. "Pfft, I could take him."

"Could you? Because from what I could see, he looked ready to pummel you into the ground."

Vi's right eye twitches, her lips settling into a scowl. "What are you trying to say?"

Caitlyn's eyes flit up to hers, icy blue meeting light blue. "You seem like a great fighter, Vi. I may have only seen one of your fights, but I can tell you're good at what you do. Even so, you're not going to win every time. I can tell you're angry about not winning that last fight. What I'm trying to say is, don't beat yourself up about it. You did well."

Her words are sweet and gentle, coating Vi's insides like warm honey. As she figures out how to respond, Caitlyn busies herself with grabbing a wet wash cloth, bringing it to the faint cut right above Vi's left eyebrow.

"You don't have to, uh, do this, y'know," Vi mumbles awkwardly, her freckled cheeks slightly flushed.

"I offered," Caitlyn states simply.

"I know. But I'm telling you that you don't have to. We don't even really know each other."

Caitlyn stops dabbing at Vi's cut and sighs softly. "Alright. What do you want to know?"

Vi blinks. "I don't know. What do you want to tell me?"

"Well, I'm twenty-two—"

The red head immediately cuts her off with a wave of her hand. "Wait, you're twenty-two and you still live with your parents?"

Feeling defensive, Caitlyn goes ram-rod straight and huffs. "Yes. Is that a problem?"

"I guess not. I mean, I live with my dad and younger sisters, but that's only because I'm too poor to afford my own place." Vi shrugs.

Caitlyn softens. "But you're a pitfighter. Don't you get paid for every fight you win or something?"

"I use the money I earn to provide for my family," is all Vi says, averting her eyes.

"Oh." Caitlyn pushes herself up off the floor and sits herself next to Vi on the bed, making sure to put a few inches between them to not make things weird or awkward. "That's kind of you."

Vi just shrugs again and stares down at her bandage-covered hands. They clearly used to be white. Now they're covered in filth.

"I should go."

Caitlyn's body sags in disappointment. She doesn't want Vi to leave. She wants to talk more, to learn more about her. It hardly even feels like they've only known each other for an hour or two.

But she doesn't push Vi on the matter. Instead, she just nods. "You should look into changing those bandages. They're quite dirty."

She tries not to dwell on the swarm of butterflies flapping around in her stomach as Vi's lips quirk into a small grin. The red head lifts up the hood of her jacket before making her way out of Caitlyn's bedroom, but not before shooting her one last look.

"I'll see you around, cupcake."