Chapter Text
The Last Page sat nestled in its place on Hyde Street. From the outside, it looked like every other business on the strip, save for the sparse remnants of caution tape stuck to the doorframe, flapping irregularly in the faint breeze. On the inside though, The Last Page looked… well, it kind of looked like a disaster.
Caitlyn stood in the entryway alongside Vi, Powder, Ekko, and Vander as they each beheld the mess before them: Broken glass and little bits of metal covered the floor in front of the check-out counter, along with the first of many drops of dried blood. Muddy boot prints also decorated the already-scuffed hardwood, as did a smattering of books, and Caitlyn spotted a certain encyclopedia that was especially damaged.
The cops hadn’t been very careful when they searched the place, and it looked significantly worse than Caitlyn remembered from when she was last there… Though it had been quite overcast last time. This time, bright morning light spilled through the windows, the book displays that usually blocked a bit of the light having been knocked over.
After a moment or two more of silence, Vander sighed, itching his temple, and said
“Well, let’s get started then.”
-x-
After everything that happened after Vander had been rescued from the cannery, all of the legal proceedings, and dealing with the remaining questioning from Grayson, it was only now that The Last Page was getting the attention it deserved.
When Vander had mentioned the cleanup, Caitlyn was quick to offer her help, as was Ekko. After all, to Caitlyn, The Last Page was more than just a quaint old bookstore, it was like a second home, especially now that she was so close to the people that owned it.
That was why, as she scrubbed away at blood on the floor, she had no regrets about spending an entire Sunday doing some hard labor.
Though, as sweat dripped down her nose and onto the floor right next to the mess she was so diligently cleaning, she did regret wearing jeans.
It was hot. And it was growing steadily hotter as the day continued.
In fact, this might have been the hottest weather Caitlyn had ever experienced. With a childhood spent in the U.K., to her teens and beyond in New York, she didn’t think the temperature had ever crept past 90 degrees. Today, the temperature sat at around 95. There was a slight breeze that did little more than stir the hot air around, but that didn’t penetrate the walls of the store, and the display windows didn’t open, they found out. They had the door propped open, but that was doing a laughable job at cooling the interior.
Powder’s contraption, that had saved her and Vi on the day of Vander’s kidnapping, had unfortunately blown a fuse. At least that’s what Vander had said, but he had been trying to fix the power for approximately two hours now, while Caitlyn and the others cleaned. Caitlyn suspected it might be a touch more complicated than a blown fuse at this point.
She sighed and sat back on her heels, closing her eyes as she wiped her brow with the back of her hand. When she opened her eyes she noticed that she was not the only one suffering: Powder was currently laying atop the checkout counter, one hand over her eyes as she fanned herself with the other. Vi and Ekko were still hard at work, but they were dressed more appropriately than either Powder’s black, patchy, punk clothing or Caitlyn’s blue jeans and blouse.
They both decided to go sleeveless today, Ekko with a pair of cargo shorts and Vi with ripped denim cutoffs. They obviously had the right idea, as the two of them seemed to run hotter in general than Powder or Caitlyn, and Caitlyn had to admit she envied their foresight, purposeful or no. Despite their preferable attire, Caitlyn noticed they were also doing their fair share of sweating.
Caitlyn turned her attention back to the bucket of soapy water next to her and tossed in the sponge she had been scrubbing with. Kneeling over it, she began rinsing the sponge, and with the change in position she noticed the beginning of an ache in her back. Oh, joy, this process could only get worse, she thought in the miserable sort of way heat makes one think.
Just as she was about to go back to scrubbing, Vander walked out from the back room, olive shirt drenched at the pits and collar. He did not look particularly pleased as he stopped next to the checkout counter and sighed.
“Why don’t you kids take a break.” He said, looking pointedly at Powder, who for all intents and purposes already was. He made his way behind the counter as Vi and Ekko stopped working, each letting out a sigh of relief. Vander bent down and when he rose back up he had an armful of water bottles. “These aren’t quite cold anymore but here.” He tossed one to Vi, who caught it skillfully, and then to Ekko, then Caitlyn, and then placed one down beside Powder who wordlessly gave him a thumbs up.
Caitlyn gave Vander a grateful smile and cracked open the bottle, taking a heavenly sip. She didn’t think she’d ever enjoyed lukewarm water as much as she did at that moment. After a few more gulps she lowered and capped the bottle, and then turned her head just in time to see Vi chugging hers.
Water spilled down her chin in a single rivulet, riding the curve of her neck as her head was thrown back, and disappearing down into her shirt. She downed the whole thing, crinkling the bottle in her fist and pulling it away from her lips with a loud, satisfied sigh.
“You’re a literal animal.” Ekko said, and Caitlyn was shaken out of her tunnel vision, cheeks feeling slightly hotter than the rest of her, eyes flicking over to his exasperated face. Vi smirked.
“Thanks.”
Ekko rolled his eyes and screwed the cap back onto his half-finished water bottle.
“You lot did a good job out here.” Vander said as he surveyed the floor of his shop. “I’ll help you finish up.”
“What about the power?” Powder asked, now sitting up on the counter, her head tilted inquisitively.
“About that…” Vander began. “I’m gonna have to call an electrician.”
“Oops…” Powder muttered guiltily.
“It shouldn’t be too bad.” Vander reckoned, running a hand over his beard. “Just maybe go lighter on the explosives next time, yeah?”
Powder gave a shrug. “I’ll try.”
After another hour of cleaning, the floor of The Last Page looked just about as good as new.
And Caitlyn was hot and tired.
But mostly just bloody hot.
It was just past 2pm and the weather had decided to become even more unbearable. She checked the temperature on her phone out of morbid curiosity, and lo and behold, it was now a stifling 98 degrees Fahrenheit. The humidity had risen too, much to everyone’s chagrin.
If she wasn’t sweating enough before, Caitlyn was certainly sweating now. She felt it at the small of her back and on her upper lip, and it was annoying. She wasn’t particularly sure why it bothered her so much, and that was annoying too. She figured it was the heat.
Vander had told them all to stop for the day, there was still cleaning to be done in other parts of the store, but it was simply too tepid to continue.
And so, the four of them found themselves in Vi’s Subaru, waiting impatiently for its poor, struggling air conditioning system to cool them off. Caitlyn was certain she wouldn’t usually mind something as trivial as the combined smell of everyone’s sweat, but right now it was merely contributing to the underlying irritation she was feeling, and if it weren’t so damn hot she would’ve opened a window.
“Fuck…” Vi swore as she fanned herself with her shirt. It didn’t seem to help, as with a frustrated sigh she tore the thing off over her head, leaving herself in only her sports bra and shorts. Caitlyn was greeted with a set of dripping abs, and that did make her feel a little bit better as she tried to take in the sight as subtly as possible.
Ekko had already removed his top and he was currently pinning Powder’s bangs up with a pair of bobby pins in the back seat.
Feeling envious, Caitlyn untucked her blouse from her pants and opened the bottom few buttons, tying the ends of the shirt together in a makeshift crop-top, letting out a sigh as some heat was allowed to escape through freshly exposed skin. She caught Vi’s eyes flickering down to look, and Caitlyn smirked audibly. Instead of having the decency to be embarrassed for getting caught, Vi looked up at her, raising an eyebrow in a little shit-eating grin.
Heat shot up to Caitlyn’s face and she crossed her arms over her midriff, looking away pointedly, annoyed that Vi had somehow won that wordless exchange. She also hated that she was pouting but she was too ticked off not to. Vi snickered to herself, and Caitlyn found herself grumbling.
They still hadn’t talked about it.
The sudden intrusive thought took Caitlyn by surprise, as she stared out the window, brow furrowing.
The two of them hadn’t talked about them since that day in Caitlyn’s apartment, when they hadn’t quite confessed anything. When they’d left whatever it was they had up in the air, left it unsaid. Caitlyn hadn’t had time to do much thinking about it, but sometimes it crept up on her. It had only been a week and they’d both been too preoccupied to have a conversation like that.
Yet, they still fell into their old routine of flirting, now with the added bonus of being able to steal away and kiss for a few moments. It wasn’t as though it was uncomfortable, it was the opposite, really. It was safe. There was no risk in something casual, something playful.
But Caitlyn knew what she felt went deeper than that. So much deeper.
And it hurt sometimes when she was alone with her thoughts.
She wondered if Vi felt the same.
Actually, It annoyed her right now. Annoyed her that Vi hadn’t brought it up yet either. It was irrational, and she tried to nip that feeling in the bud, in fact, she would’ve just now, had it not been so fucking hot. This only added to her souring mood.
“Yo we should go get ice cream or something.” Ekko said, suddenly.
“Oh my god, please?” Powder begged.
“Yeah, sure, why the hell not.” Vi sighed, and she buckled up, putting the car in drive.
Ten minutes later, Vi had driven them to an ice cream stand, and the four of them stood in line, under the beating sun. The place was overly crowded, of course, but they were too hot to care. The minutes seemed like hours, but finally the four of them ordered their ice creams and sat down to eat.
There were a few fleeting moments of bliss as they indulged in the soft serve, Caitlyn had gotten vanilla, and the sweet, cold sensation sliding down her throat was practically orgasmic. Much like one of those, it was over all too quickly, and although the ice cream had cooled down their bodies a bit, it was still miserable to exist under the harsh sun.
So back into the car they went, and Vi drove aimlessly back toward the city. That was unfortunately when nerves started to snap under the pressure.
“Damn, Vi you’re car’s disgusting, how can you even see through the windows?” Ekko commented as he squinted through the windshield from the back seat.
“It’s not disgusting, shut the fuck up, its pollen season.” Vi shot back.
“Get a car wash.”
“Get bent.”
“It takes like five minutes; we’re not going anywhere anyway.”
“I’m not going through a carwash just to appease your neat freakiness.”
“Oh my fucking god, I’ll pay you to do it, seriously.”
“Little Man, I swear I’ll throw your ass to the curb right now.” Vi said, stubbornly holding her ground.
“Can you guys stop fighting? You suck at it.” Powder interjected.
“What does that even mean, Pow?” Ekko rounded on her.
“It means you’re voices are annoying right now.”
“Fine, tell your sister her car is gross.”
“… He’s not wrong, its like looking through a yellow filter.”
“You fucking traitor.” Vi said, appalled.
“See, I’m right! Get a fucking carwash!”
“If you want it to get clean so bad wash it yourself, asshole!”
“It’s not my responsibility to clean your shit!”
Caitlyn’s head was starting to pound.
“Why don’t we all wash the bloody car?” Caitlyn blurted, pinching the bridge of her nose between her fingers.
“Huh?” said Vi.
“We could all clean the car, the old fashioned way, with a hose. Maybe it would be a nice way to cool off.” Caitlyn said, her eyes still frustratedly squeezed shut.
There was a momentary silence as everyone considered Caitlyn’s proposal.
“I do have a hose at my place...” Ekko said, after a few seconds more.
“Bloody brilliant, please, let’s just do that, okay?” Caitlyn pleaded, opening her eyes to give Vi a look. Vi sighed, irritated but relenting, as she made eye contact.
“Fine.”
And Vi brought them to Ekko’s townhouse.
Caitlyn had to admit, Ekko was right, Vi’s car was filthy. A fine yellow dust was caked thickly over the green paint and there were remnants of dead bugs in the grill. Ekko had gotten a couple of plastic buckets from his garage, and he and Powder were currently scavenging his house for sponges while Vi filled the buckets with water from a hose. It only took a little while longer for Ekko and Powder to emerge from the house, holding sponges and a big blue container of what Caitlyn assumed was soap.
“Okay, grab a sponge, y’all.” Ekko said, walking over to one of the buckets and pouring some of the blue soap into it.
When each of them had a sponge in hand Vi started hosing off the Subaru, and Caitlyn watched as the pollen started to get washed away, clumping up around the pools of water that began to form under the car. Once most of the surface was shining and clear of dust, the actual cleaning began. Each of them picked a part of the car to soap up, Caitlyn chose the driver’s side, Vi the hood, Ekko the passenger’s side, and Powder the back.
The sun remained harsh, and every time Caitlyn dipped the sponge into the soapy bucket near her and Vi, she relished in the cool water against her skin. A few times she leaned up against the wet surface of the Subaru to reach its roof, and felt her clothes dampen as a result, but she didn’t care one bit. The four of them were relatively silent as they cleaned, and Caitlyn found herself achieving a sort of Zen in the repetitive motions and periodic dips of her hands into the water.
A Zen that was abruptly and rudely interrupted when a particularly careless slap of a sponge onto the windshield by Vi splashed soapy water into her face. She sputtered and wiped away the water with her forearm as she gave Vi a glare. For a brief moment Vi looked like she was genuinely sorry, but her expression quickly grew mischievous.
“Oops, sorry Cupcake.” Caitlyn’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Didn’t know you weren’t a fan of getting wet.” Ah. Caitlyn replied by flinging water at her.
“Shut it.” Caitlyn scowled.
“Oh? Was I mistaken? Here, lemme help you.” And Vi squeezed her sopping wet sponge as she flicked her wrist, aiming the spray at Caitlyn. But Vi had terrible aim, and a few fat droplets hit Powder on the head.
“Hey!” Powder whined, and completely missing who it was that hit her, threw her sponge at Ekko. It made a wet slap as it hit him directly in the chest.
“The fuck?” Ekko’s face screwed up in confusion as he flung water back at her. Powder rushed by him and grabbed her sponge from the driveway, making a mad dash for the bucket of water in between them as she plunged the sponge into the water. “Oh hell no.” Ekko backed away from the car, but Powder was quick, and she launched a spray of water from the sponge directly at him.
But Caitlyn was less concerned about that and more upset about the smug fucking grin Vi had plastered on her face. She scoffed and walked over to their own bucket, dipped her sponge in and raised her hand to repay Vi. The look on her face was enough to wipe the grin off of Vi’s and her eyes went wide as her torso was splattered with water.
“Oh you’ve done it now, Cupcake.” And Vi made as if to fling more water, causing Caitlyn to try and dodge out of the way, but instead, Vi dove toward the bucket of sudsy water, dropping her sponge and grabbing it with both hands. Vi lifted it close to her chest and took a step toward her, and Caitlyn yelped as the realization set in.
“Shit!” And Caitlyn bolted.
Vi chased her around Ekko’s front yard as the situation devolved into a full fledged water fight. Powder had gotten ahold of the hose and was now chasing Ekko into the back, and Caitlyn wished she’d thought of that as Vi continued to try and pour the contents of the bucket onto her.
As much as Caitlyn was adamant that she would avoid getting those suds on her at all costs, Vi, it turned out, had a bit more stamina than she did. The chase continued for at least ten more minutes before Caitlyn skidded on a patch of grass, wet from some of the water slopping out of Vi’s bucket earlier, and she lost her footing. As she fumbled, Vi caught up with her and in a last ditch, desperate effort, Caitlyn grabbed onto the bucket as Vi tried to hold it aloft.
“Hey, let go!” Vi demanded, her voice wavering with laughter.
“Not a chance!” Caitlyn exclaimed, but she was quickly realizing she would not come out on top in a test of strength against Vi. So, Caitlyn resorted to fighting dirty, and she swiped a leg underneath Vi, attempting to knock her over. As Vi yelped, she’d felt a surge of victorious pride, but as Vi tumbled backward, she realized she would not be able to let go in time to stop herself from going down with her.
The bucket, trapped between them, sloshed water up onto Caitlyn’s face and all over Vi as she hit the ground. They both sputtered as the bucket rolled away, but Vi recovered quicker, and Caitlyn felt wet arms wrap firmly around her.
“Ugh, no!” Caitlyn complained as she struggled to get out of Vi’s grip to no avail. Vi managed to flip them too, so all of the water on her dripped onto Caitlyn from above. They wrestled on the grass, clothes and hair soaking, the grass undoubtedly staining Caitlyn’s light-colored blouse, but she was far too preoccupied with getting this brute off of her to care.
Vi’s laughter rang through the air, and it vibrated through her chest into Caitlyn, who was pushing her face away with dirty fingers, feigning anger and holding back laughter of her own. Vi pulled her head back only to double down a split second later, curling tightly around Caitlyn, effectively trapping her, and burying her face in her neck.
It was only then that something seemed to snap between them, like a crackle of electricity. Caitlyn stopped struggling, and Vi’s grip relaxed as they panted in tandem. Vi rose her head and looked down at Caitlyn, wet bangs sticking to her forehead, lips slightly parted.
“Hey…” She muttered.
“Hey.” Caitlyn found herself saying back, and suddenly she felt a chill and a rush of heat at the same time. Goosebumps prickled her skin, but she knew her cheeks must be red. Before she could entertain a single other thought, Vi kissed her, and Caitlyn raised a hand to cup her cheek. The kiss was slow and sensual, and Vi wasted no time licking her way into Caitlyn’s mouth, her hot tongue sliding eagerly against Caitlyn’s. The feeling drew a whimper out of Caitlyn’s throat, and Vi slid a hand up in between them to tease Caitlyn’s midriff. It was the grittiness of the touch that stopped them, and Caitlyn pulled back from the kiss and looked down to see vi’s hand coated in dirt and grass.
Vi had the grace to look apologetic at Caitlyn’s mild disgust. Though, now that she thought about it… She looked up at Vi’s cheek and pursed her lips at the dirty fingerprints that stained it.
“Maybe we should…” Vi began.
“Get cleaned up?” Caitlyn finished.
“Yeah.”
The two of them found themselves in Ekko’s downstairs bathroom, having shed their shoes and socks as to not track muck into Ekko’s house. Caitlyn started the tap and began wetting a washcloth when she heard Vi start the shower behind her. Caitlyn rounded on her.
“You’re not serious—” She started speaking before she’d turned around to see Vi already shedding her cutoffs, leaving her in only her boxers and bra. Caitlyn’s eyes went wide as she stared, caught off-guard.
“What? We’re already wet.” Vi pointed out, appearing completely unbothered.
Caitlyn shut off the tap.
-x-
Vi slammed Caitlyn up against the tile unceremoniously as she sucked hickeys into her neck, steaming water falling onto her back. Caitlyn was letting out little gasps of pleasure under her and it was sending Vi to another fucking plane of existence.
Her hands wandered across every exposed plane of Caitlyn’s skin, pulling, and grabbing, rough against soft. She was so soft. This wasn’t the first time Vi had touched her, of course, but it was the first time she had access to so much of her. It was damn intoxicating.
Her skin felt like it was burning with lust, dripping like lava, she wanted more than just this. With Caitlyn’s leg hooked over her hip like this, with the expanse of her neck covered in marks she gave her, Vi wanted to take and take.
“Cait…” She mumbled into her skin.
“Mm.” Caitlyn verbalized, gently nudging the side of Vi’s head with her own. Fuck that was cute.
“Can I take your bra off?” Vi blurted, unable to stop herself from asking.
“Only if you take off yours.” Caitlyn answered, and Vi looked down at her for confirmation’s sake. And damn did her eyes say she wanted just what Vi did.
Vi figured she’d start with her own, shucking off the black fabric with only a little difficulty. When she looked back at Caitlyn she saw the hunger in her dark eyes, and it practically sent a shudder through her. Caitlyn trailed her hands up Vi’s stomach and Vi couldn’t stop a shaky breath from leaving her lungs as her fingertips brushed against the bottom of Vi’s breasts.
“Shit.” She muttered, and quickly found the clasp of Caitlyn’s bra, undoing it impatiently. As her soaked bra plopped onto the shower floor, Vi took in the sight of Caitlyn’s boobs, possibly the most perfect damn sight she’d ever seen. It fucked her up, how much this was affecting her, it was like she was seventeen and seeing her first pair of tits with how she needed to pick her jaw up of the floor. Caitlyn let out a breathless little laugh, and she realized her face probably looked fucking stupid.
So she fixed that by leaning down and promptly pressing a kiss to the top of one of Caitlyn’s breasts. The gasp that followed spurred her on, and she cupped both of her breasts with just a bit of roughness as she moved down farther to tongue one of her nipples. That was the first time Vi heard Caitlyn moan so openly, and it ignited something desperate in her belly.
She squeezed and kneaded, drawing out more pretty noises, and played with Caitlyn’s nipple between her lips, pulling ever so gently with her teeth. Caitlyn’s hand shot up into Vi’s hair, giving it a rough tug, and Vi groaned, pressing closer. Her thigh slid upward on instinct, and Caitlyn met it with enthusiasm, grinding downward once, twice.
It was all too much for Vi. Something in her reached the boiling point.
“Cait, fuck, I—”
And before she could say it, she realized what it was she was trying to initiate. She stopped abruptly, her brain wrestling with her fucking libido.
“Vi…”
She couldn’t answer, and her hands left Caitlyn’s skin, pressing up against the wall behind her. She couldn’t do this… Caitlyn’s hand lifted her chin up. The face that greeted her was awash with sympathy, almost devoid of the lust that just covered it, it was jarring.
“Vi, look at me.”
Vi’s eyes met hers, finally.
“Sorry…” Vi mumbled, “I dunno why I stopped.” And she wasn’t exactly lying, but she did have a strong fucking inclination.
“We don’t have to, you know, we can stop.” Caitlyn assured her, and bless her for being so damn sweet.
That was the problem, of course. Vi didn’t want to stop. She wanted her so fucking much right now, wanted all of her, but it would be kind of a dick move if she didn’t admit she was in love with her first.
She’d been trying to find a way, she really had, but it kept getting away from her. What was she even going to say? It was a lot easier to just… do. To fuck her feelings out. Like she’d done every other time she’d gotten this far with anyone.
Caitlyn though…
She didn’t want that this time. The way Caitlyn made her feel, it was… it was different. More. She wanted more.
Vi was never great with feelings, but fuck if she didn’t have a lot of them right now, and some sort of confession was trying its damn best to claw its way out of her throat.
“I…” Vi swallowed thickly. I think I love you. Really? That’s what you came up with? When you were about to fuck her in a shower? Vi cursed internally. “I wanna go slow.”
“We can, it’s okay.” Caitlyn continued, and Vi bit her lip as she tried not to curse aloud.
“No, I mean… fuck…” She failed at that one. “It’s not classy to fuck someone before the first date, right?”
Vi practically saw something click in Caitlyn’s brain.
“Vi… are you asking me out?” She said, with an amused smile.
And Vi realized she’d just have to give up on salvaging her pride.
“Yeah.”
“While we’re practically naked in a shower?”
“Yes.” Vi let her head fall and her forehead smacked against Caitlyn’s collarbone. Her ears were burning with embarrassment. Which felt strange since she’d been sucking Caitlyn’s tits literal seconds ago, but she apparently didn’t have control over which emotions took precedent at the moment. Caitlyn laughed, making Vi whine, but before she could feel any more like jumping off the nearest cliff, Caitlyn kissed the top of her head.
Vi raised her head to look at her. Caitlyn’s eyes were a bit misty, and Vi blinked in surprise.
“Yes.” Caitlyn said with finality. Vi’s heart took fucking flight.
“Yeah?”
And Caitlyn kissed her. Vi wrapped her arms around her tightly, and after a few moments, they parted.
“Think we should get out of here before Ekko and Powder get suspicious?” Caitlyn asked.
“Good idea, Cupcake.”