Chapter Text
Vi set her rucksack on the floor of the old office, wrinkling her nose at the musty smell that had descended on the place from disuse. All the surfaces were covered in a thick layer of dust and motes floated through the sunbeams that managed to parse through dirty windows. The bar downstairs was spotless and meticulously kept whereas the room upstairs sat like a time capsule, fixed in place from her youth.
She walked over to Vander’s old desk, smiling as she picked up a mug that Powder had graffitied when they were younger. It felt weird to be back, to be in her childhood home again but with everyone else having grown up and flown the nest. Mylo and Claggor had flats in town while Powder was staying in dorms at a university several cities over. Vander had said that she still came back during term breaks, picking up bar shifts to cover the costs of her engineering projects.
And then there was Vi. She had tried university, lasted an entire year before realising it wasn’t for her. Then she had returned, worked several years to save up enough money to travel Runeterra. She had partied in Bilgewater, mountain climbed in Frejlord and celebrated lunar new year in Ionia. The idea was that the travelling would help her cement her sense of self, now she no longer had to be her sister’s keeper or try and look after Mylo and Claggor. While they had all seemingly found themselves, Vi instead found herself adrift, no longer anchored by responsibility, instead left to figure out who she was outside of it.
The travelling had taught her many things about herself but somehow she had ended up back where she started, only her rucksack and an empty bank account to her name. Vander had welcomed her back with open arms, opened up the old office space to be converted into a makeshift flat and offered her employment at the bar. Initially she had turned down his offer, having always found it easy to pick up odd jobs on her travels. Somehow being back home and no longer transitory seemed to make things harder, not to mention the empty CV that didn’t even boast a degree. So she had reluctantly dragged herself back to the bar and picked up her old shifts, fitting back into her old life as if she had never left.
And while the odd routines had survived the test of times, there were still small ways that the world would show her it had moved on without her. The subtle changes in the regulars, age slowly carving out their features and dappling their hair with subtle shades of grey. Favourites from the jukebox that had become merely a memory while new songs had risen to take their place. The drinks list that had expanded from a few beers to incorporate a range of cocktails and microbreweries to draw in a bigger crowd.
As the clock hit five and the mines and factories discharged, the bar became rammed and Vi once again found herself running from end to end meeting orders and handing out smiles. It was like nothing had changed, as if she was 21 again and not nearly 26. Her friends, or at least the ones she had had before she left, had all settled down with jobs and partners. They held quiet dinners at home or attended coffee tastings at fancy cafes in Piltover, throwing around the sort of money Vi would be lucky to make in a week, in a single night.
And so life continued, somehow skirting round her like it always had. Allowing her a front row seat to the incessant passage of time while she remained resolutely still. She watched a myriad of lives play out in front of her, holding herself at arm’s length from behind the wooden counter top that kept her at a safe distance. Observing as people came in as groups, as pairs, or came in by themselves and left with someone on their arm. Some nights it felt like the only person leaving the bar alone was her, locking up the doors in the early hours of the morning and shutting off the lights before making the short commute upstairs.
Vi was used to her own company, a necessary skill when you set off as a solitary traveller. But she had always been a people person, eking out connection wherever she went with a charming disposition and disarming smile. She had never lacked a person to talk to, a companion for dinner out or someone to take to bed. Everything including her presence had been temporary though, a fleeting moment that would only remain as a memory as she continued onwards. Occasionally she would find herself lying in a hostel bed and wondering if it wouldn’t sometimes be nice if it were the same person she talked to over coffee, that she debated with over dinner or that she wrapped herself up in at night.
Afterall she was the perfect chameleon, easily shifting into whatever the person she focussed on could want and need. It was an ability learnt from a young age, from trying to look after siblings and appease adults. Although it always came with the compulsion to move on, to not linger in a group too long in case they saw past the illusion and at the insecure and fragile person beneath. Vi had hundreds of contacts in her phone and she was unsure how many of them could list a single defining feature about her. Or if anyone of their answers would overlap at all.
It was her second week of shifts when the woman caught her eye. Sat at the bar, dressed in navy dress trousers and a white shirt, hair pulled back in a loose ponytail with hair falling forward and framing her face. She would take the same seat, order the same drink and stay the same couple of hours every time before tipping heavily and leaving alone. Always alone. Some days she drank undisturbed but others an array of people would shoot their shot. No matter the person, the woman would always finish her drink, flash a polite smile and leave alone.
Vi would watch her while restocking the bar or unloading the dishwasher, fascinated by someone seemingly so comfortable in their own isolation. Vander would occasionally go down and engage the woman in conversation to which her entire disposition would transform. Her face would immediately light up, she would pull herself taller and speak animatedly, waving her hands wildly as she told a story or anecdote. Eventually Vander would leave to tend to other customers and as he said his goodbyes and walked away, the woman would deflate, her hand sinking into her lap and her eyebrows pulled down low furrowing her brow.
It was a month in, when Vi was entertaining herself by flirting with a young university student at the bar that she felt ice blue eyes watching her. At first she thought it was jealously, the woman unimpressed that Vi had never approached her and watching with contempt. But when Vi caught her gaze there was no animosity in the look, there was just childish curiosity before the woman shyly turned her focus back to the drink.
Despite being well aware of watching each other their conversations remained transactional, Vi never trying her luck and the woman never offering an invitation to. One night while closing up, Vi had asked Vander about the woman always sat at the bar. He had almost immediately brushed her off, pointedly telling her to not mess with the regulars before disappearing downstairs to take stock.
Vi had been wiping the same glass with the same cloth for the last ten minutes, surreptitiously glancing over to the blue haired woman sat at the end of the bar. Vi wouldn’t hesitate to admit she was gorgeous, sharp features, ocean blue eyes and legs that went on for days. But that wasn’t why she had been staring. No, she was staring because there was something about her that Vi and everyone else just didn’t get. Every night the woman would be approached and no matter the man, woman, they/them that sat down in the stool next to her and bought her a drink, not a single one had ever managed to stop her leaving alone.
Now, people could be picky, people could have a really specific types but at this point Jinx had claimed she had seen the woman reject pretty much everyone under the sun. They had bets running as to what on the earth the woman’s deal was and Vi’s impatience to find out was growing day by day.
Having caught their sweepstakes in action, Vander had sighed and chided them about not disturbing the regulars. He had then pulled Vi aside and pointedly looked at her before pointing out that she shouldn’t go fucking with a lawyer. He had said nothing about fucking said lawyer but then again that seemed an almost impossible task. Almost.
Finally caving and scraping together her confidence and putting on her most flattering smile, Vi sauntered down the bar and leant over the countertop just as the woman drained her glass. Before Vi could say anything, run one of her totally cheesy but definitely successful chat up lines, the woman looked over with a resigned look on her face.
“Please don’t. Whatever smarmy comment is on the tip of your tongue, then just leave it there” the woman grumbled.
“Why? Would you prefer I did something else with my tongue?” Vi grinned, flexing her biceps as she leant a little closer.
The woman just sent Vi an unimpressed glare that did nothing to douse Vi’s enthusiasm. A heavy hand on her shoulder on the other hand had her immediately bolting upright. With his other hand Vander slid a drink over to the woman who nodded with a slight smirk on her lips.
“Sorry for my daughter, I wish I could say travelling changes a person, but she’s always been like this” he grumbled, shaking his head at Vi.
“I assume this is the infamous Violet you’ve told me so much about?” the woman mused, sipping on her drink.
“The one and only I’m afraid” he said, slapping Vi on the back a few times with a bit more force than necessary before walking over to serve another patron.
“So was the cold shoulder because I’m infamous or-” Vi grinned, hoping something could still be salvaged from the bizarre interaction.
“No that was in response to the terrible chat up line I’m almost certain was on the tip of your tongue but thanks for the free drink I guess” the woman raised her glass in toast before gulping down the rest of the liquid and sliding off the stool.
Vi watched as she strolled out the bar, not looking back once before the door closed behind her and she was gone. She had hoped breaking their usual routine would help answer some questions not generate a whole lot more. Despite a crowded bar, a long clean up and being absolutely exhausted Vi found herself lying awake in her bed still running over their interaction.
Caitlyn nodded her head in recognition as she caught Vander’s eye, smiling as he nodded towards the bar stool that for all intents and purposes was hers. She pulled her jacket off, laying it across her bag and then waited patiently for Vander to come over. To pass the time she watched Violet flirting across the bar, the customer giggling in a high-pitched tone and covering her mouth with a hand. Vi flashed her a wolfish smile in response, adjusting her pose slightly so that she could subtly flex her arm muscles. The trick worked, the other woman almost instinctively reaching out towards her, catching themselves at the last minute but then following through when Vi gave them an encouraging nod.
As the woman’s cheeks became dusted with pink, Vi turned her head and caught Caitlyn watching. The bartender tilted her head almost imperceptibly and Caitlyn raised an eyebrow in response before turning her focus back to the wooden countertop in front of her. She drummed her fingers along the edge, tapping out an erratic rhythm as a way to occupy her hands. Just as she developed some form of rhythm a drink was slid along the bar, gently nudging into her right hand. She smiled as she took the glass, looking up expecting to find the kind visage of Vander looking down at her and instead being met with pink hair and stormy eyes.
Caitlyn felt herself tense up in response, unsure what to do under the scrutiny of the bar’s resident heartthrob. Any hopes of Vi leaving to attend to other patrons faded as she settled her forearms onto the bar and leant forward to rest her weight on them. Caitlyn pointedly looked over to where the blushing woman was still sat and internally sighed as Vi made no move to take the hint.
“Ok I gotta ask-” Vi started, tilting her head slightly as she spoke.
“You’ve got to?” Caitlyn interrupted, bringing her glass to her lips and staring over the lip. Vi seemed slightly taken aback either by the interruption or the tone, her posture tensing and pulling back slightly from the bar.
“What?” Vi asked, her face pulled into a confused frown.
“Do you have to ask, or do you want to? Those are two very different scenarios, and I was merely enquiring as to which we were in?”
Vi scratched her head and looked off to the side for a minute.
“Well, more want I guess” she muttered, looking back apprehensively.
“That’s what I thought” Caitlyn huffed, taking another sip of her drink and smiling as Vi shifted uncomfortably. Still, she stood her ground, trying to remain impervious to Caitlyn’s attempts to repel her.
“Well can I ask?”
Caitlyn smiled “Ah now there is the question” she said, gesturing to Vi with her glass and taking another sip.
“And if I wanted the answer?” Vi asked, her expression exasperated as she pushed herself off the bar and instead stood with her palms braced against the edge.
Caitlyn considered the request for a minute, her desire to drink undisturbed fighting with her growing curiosity.
“Fine Vi, what do you want to ask?” she finally relented, softening her tone slightly.
Vi almost immediately relaxed in response, settling her forearms back down against the bar.
“What’s your deal?” she asked.
Caitlyn immediately tensed in response, gritting her teeth and wrapping her hand in a death grip against her glass. Beneath the bar and out of sight, her left hand beat out a furious rhythm against her thigh.
“Regarding?”
“Like all the people that come over to talk to you, you turn down every single one” Vi brought one of her arms up, readjusting her weight to lean on her elbow and resting her chin in her palm. Caitlyn pulled back in response, sitting up straight in her bar stool and pulling her drink into her chest. She didn’t directly reply, instead making a non-committal hum hidden behind her glass as she took a long sip.
“Well I guess, I wondered what the deal with that was?”
“Why?”
“Curiosity”.
Caitlyn studied the woman in front of her and could find no malicious intent, no attempt to make fun at her expense. The woman seemed genuinely curious and after all Caitlyn had been studying her as much as she knew the bartender had been keeping tabs on her.
“I’m not interested” Caitlyn sighed, turning her gaze down to her drink and idly tilting the glass so that the ice cubes clinked against the edge. Vi watched the movement for a moment before looking back up with a furrowed brow.
“In answering the question or the people?”
Caitlyn considered her answer as she drained her glass.
“Both” she stated, setting the empty glass onto the bar with a dull thud.
“Wow you’re picky” Vi said, pushing back off the bar and shaking her head.
“I’m not picky” Caitlyn forced out, both hands furiously wringing around each other in her lap.
Vi scoffed, an amused smirk pulling at her lips.
“You turn down all those folks and say you’re not picky? Sheesh sure and I’m not university drop out who sleeps in the office above the bar”.
“I’m being honest, it’s nothing to do with being picky” Caitlyn sighed, dropping her head and allowing her vision to be obscured by the curtain of hair that fell forward.
“Oh? Bad breakup? Married? Issues?” Vi offered.
Caitlyn looked up and frowned.
“Just unspecified issues was your next guess?” she asked, slightly incredulous.
Vi had picked up a towel and was wiping any remaining moisture off the glasses that had just come out of the dishwasher. She shrugged in response, setting down a glass under the bar before reaching for another.
Caitlyn snorted in response, an exasperated smile crossing her lips. Slipping off the bar stool and deciding to call it an early night, she picked up her jacket and bag before looking back over at Vi.
“Well I guess I’ll go with option 3 then” she mused, trying to hide her grin as the barkeep seemed completely unsatisfied with her answer. She could feel stormy eyes following her movements so as she reached the door she turned to glance over her shoulder to give Vi one more smirk before leaving the bar.
They went back to purely transactional conversationalists while both keeping up their observations through subtle glances and watching each other out the corner of their eyes.
Caitlyn would watch Vi flirt with other patrons with puzzled curiosity and Vi would watch as a myriad of different contenders tried to sway the lawyer from her routine. While’s Vi’s success rate would be considered impressive by some, those chasing after Caitlyn’s affections had a resolute losing streak. She seemed impervious to charm, to subtle flirtations or even all out flattery. No matter what the other person tried, she would always politely smile and either send them on their way or pack up and leave.
Most would accept their defeat and return to their original place across the bar with their head bowed and their tail between their legs. Once in a while though people would try and hold their ground, wouldn’t accept the clear and firm rejection. It was when a particular man seemed to be pointedly ignoring the meaning of the word no that Vi realised she wasn’t the only one keeping tabs from behind the bar. Vander blew past her, pushing past the small gate hard enough that the crack of wood on wood could be heard across the bar. The man startled at the sign of Vander stood looming behind Caitlyn, his arms crossed across his chest and a scowl on his face.
Not appearing to have any sense of self preservation the man had tried to hold his ground and had been physically thrown from the bar for his efforts. Vander had still been riled up when he had come back in, storming past Vi and disappearing into the office to calm down. While serving the next customer Vi had chanced a glance down the bar to see Caitlyn slumped in her seat, face hidden by hair and a hand brought up to massage her temples. Taking the customers payment and flashing them another insincere service industry smile, Vi had gone to head over to check in with Caitlyn only to find her gone and her drink sitting untouched on the bar.
Vander finally emerged towards the end of the night, sighing as he looked down the bar at the barstool that was occupied by a new group and shaking his head dejectedly before moving on to serve customers. Vi had expected he would disappear as soon as the bar would close but he hung around, likely trying to expand frustration judging by the heavy handed way he wrestled the furniture around.
Eventually he came over to where Vi was cashing out the tills, settling onto the barstool in front of her.
“Was she ok?” he asked, running a hand through his greying hair and letting out a heavy sigh.
“Who?” Vi asked absently, her focus on making sure she didn’t miscount the till and have to start the entire process again.
“Caitlyn”
“I don’t know, by the time I finished serving the next customer she was gone. Y’know she might get less attention if she didn’t sit right at the bar” Vi mused, separating out the coins into separate piles and going through them methodically, stacking them into towers of ten.
“She sits at the bar because I suggested it” Vander grit out, his tone causing Vi to look up “much easier to see if she’s being harassed there then if she’s in a corner booth”.
“That wasn’t the first time was it?” Vi asked, tapping a coin against the counter as she spoke.
“No kid and with the way people are it won’t be the last” Vander sighed, easing himself from the stool. He stood for a moment looking around the bar before tapping his finger pointedly on the bar.
“You’ll keep an eye on her when I’m not on shift, right?” he asked.
Vi nodded, keeping her gaze down and her focus on the coins on the bar top. Vander tapped his finger on the bar a few more times before pushing off and heading downstairs to check the barrels. She watched him go, watched how he slumped just a little bit more, how his limbs seemed more stiff and his movements less fluid. Running the bar was a young person’s game but the only person capable of running it was her. Which is why Vander was still keeping up the visage of coping, not wanting to trap Vi within the four walls of the establishment through duty and expectation. It was well meant but sometimes she wished he would talk about it, what he wanted rather than always putting others first. Vander had always put his kids before himself, an honourable thing with young children but a trait that blurred close to stubbornness now all kids were in their twenties. Vi sighed, finished up the till and headed down to the tap room. For tonight she would settle for getting him to relinquish the task of shifting heavy barrels, talks of the future could wait.
Vi had assumed that her vigil over Caitlyn was no more than an old man’s paranoia and protective instincts over those of his daughter’s age kicking in. That was until she heard raised voices coming from the end of the bar. A woman in a form fitting dress was sat opposite Caitlyn, her arms moving wildly, and her voice raised and high pitched. Caitlyn meanwhile looked frustrated but was still trying to move her hands in an appeasing motion and sculpt her body language into something unthreatening. A clear attempt at deescalating a situation whereas the other woman seemed content to add fuel to the fire. Just as Vi made a move to walk down there and interrupt the errant soap opera playing out at her bar, the woman grabbed a full glass of cocktail and threw it straight into Caitlyn’s face.
There was a brief pause where both parties seemed to be frozen in shock, the woman with her arm still held out and hand gripping the now empty glass and Caitlyn with liquid running down her face as her shirt slowly soaked what had missed its original target. Vi picked up the pace, but before she could get to the incident the other woman looked over her shoulder and caught site of the bartender and fled.
Vi snatched up a towel from under the bar and held it out in silent offering. Caitlyn didn’t notice at first, her eyes closed and her face taut as she took several deep breaths. She slowly opened on eye to look over, looking at Vi and then down at the towel but making no move to take it.
“You ok?” Vi asked
“Never better” Caitlyn replied sarcastically, pulling at her damp hair and running a hand down her face so that most of the liquid was removed.
“C’mon I’ve got a bathroom upstairs and I can lend you a new shirt” Vi opened the small side door that led to the back bar and stood aside to let the other woman past. Caitlyn stayed on her stool, eyeing Vi suspiciously as if it were all part of a trick. Vi huffed and continued to avert her gaze slightly.
“Honestly just trying to help you out, your white shirt is now very see through and if you’re trying to avoid people hitting on you then you might wanna at the very least borrow a t-shirt” Vi said gesturing to Caitlyn’s top but still keeping her gaze averted, having already caught a clear view of the bra sat beneath the fabric.
Caitlyn followed the gesture, breathing a frustrated shit under her breath. She looked between the top and Vi several times before cautiously sliding off her stool and walking round to the back bar. Vi flashed a tight smile before giving a silent message to Chuck that she would be right back before leading Caitlyn upstairs to the small studio flat she had carved out of the old flat.
She hadn’t exactly intended to have people up here tonight, let alone a terrifying lawyer and the place was a mess. She desperately tried to pick up pieces of clothing and rubbish from the floor, nudging things aside with her foot under any available surface.
She rummaged through a cupboard to find the most acceptable and crucially clean towel she could and a change of clothes before walking back over to where Caitlyn had paused by the door.
“Erm bathroom’s through there, you’re welcome to have a shower or get changed or whatever. I need to go check in with Chuck and the bar but I’ll be back in a bit”.
Caitlyn merely nodded, making no attempts to move and merely looking around the flat. When she was convinced, she wasn’t going to get a reply, Vi went to move past and back down to the bar and was almost at the door when she felt fingers encircle her wrist.
“Thank-you” Caitlyn said quietly, still focussing on another point of the flat. She immediately released her hold and Vi ducked out the door, leaving her be.
When Vi returned Caitlyn was sat on the old and lumpy couch, hunched over with her head in her hands. As Vi approached she looked up from her hands and offered a weak smile.
“Thanks again”
“S’okay” Vi said easing down onto the arm rest. “Do you want a tea or something? More booze?”
Caitlyn seemed to contemplate the offer for a moment and Vi watched as her hands subtly wrang round themselves as she thought. Eventually she sighed and looked back over.
“Yeah, tea sounds really good actually”
Vi nodded and slid off the armrest, heading over to the small kitchenette and rummaging through her cupboards desperately hoping she did actually have some. Finally finding the packet, she set a teabag in the mug and set the kettle to boil. As it groaned into life, Vi turned back around and leant against the counter, with her palms rested against the edge.
“What happened? I mean you don’t have to tell me but you er look pretty bummed about it” Vi asked, tilting her head slightly and trying to walk a fine line between caring and intrusive.
Caitlyn turned on the sofa, resting an arm along the back and frowning over at the wall as she thought. The frown deepened and she let out a long sigh before shrugging.
“I don’t know” she said dejectedly, ducking her head and looking down at her lap.
“Huh?” Vi called out over the sound of the boiling kettle.
Caitlyn looked back up, catching Vi’s gaze as she chewed her lip.
“I don’t know what I did, she came over, we talked, I politely declined her invitation and then boom boston tea party to the face” Caitlyn mimed the action, her eyes going wide at the end before she sighed dejectedly and turned her gaze back down.
“Jeese what a jerk” Vi admonished, pouring the hot water into the mug and walking over to set it on the table before retaking her position on the armrest.
“She’s not the first, although normally people are screaming frigid bitch rather than throwing drinks” Caitlyn huffed, leaning forward to grab the mug and holding it close to her between both hands.
“Fuck that’s messed up”
“I guess if it keeps happening I must be doing something right? Lowest common denominator and all that” Caitlyn shrugged and shyly looked over at Vi from over the top of the mug.
“Nah, they can’t just expect you to give ‘em what they want because they spent like 5 mins talking to you, that’s fucked” Vi stated.
Caitlyn hummed and took a sip of the tea. Her brow furrowed and she watched the steam rising for a while, drumming her index finger against the rim of the mug. Vi gave her space, sure the other woman was thinking something over. It was something Vi could recognise, taking a base emotion and trying to carve it into something that wasn’t too objectionable for the current audience.
“Can I ask you something?“ she eventually asked.
“Sure shoot” Vi flashed a reassuring smile, bringing her left foot to rest on the arm of the sofa and setting her chin onto her knee.
“Am I flirting with them?”
“How’d you mean?” Vi asked, tilting her head slightly to better look over.
“Like I see you watching sometimes, do I lead them on?” Caitlyn looked up as she spoke, that ever present crease between her eyebrows.
Vi took a moment to think over the question, over every interaction she had watched from the other end of the bar.
“I don’t think so, I mean at first I could understand their confusion but then I thought about it and your just being polite. Problem is it can be very tricky to walk the line between friendly and flirting without getting your signals crossed and then people wanna see what they wanna see right? Confirmation bias and all that. So no I don’t think you are, but surely you already knew the answer to that? I mean are you intending to flirt?”
Caitlyn immediately tensed, sitting up right and her eyes widening slightly in alarm.
“Oh god no, I’d honestly rather prefer they would just leave me alone. I just wish I knew why I scream ‘please chat me up’.”
“You’re pretty, sat at a bar alone, obscure enough sexual orientation that everyone feels like they have a chance” Vi huffed, shrugging when Caitlyn shot her a disbelieving look. Eventually she caved, slumping back against the backrest before taking another sip of tea.
“Well isn’t that fucking ironic” she grumbled.
“What is?”
“I’m ace, none of them stand a chance” Caitlyn huffed, shaking her head before taking another sip.
“Ace?”
“Yeah asexual” Caitlyn replied, looking over at Vi and making her crumple slightly under her scrutiny.
“What does being ace mean?” Vi asked, hoping that asking and not knowing was better than bumbling ahead and hoping she could pick on context alone.
“It means a whole bunch of different things along a massive spectrum but for me it means I don’t do the whole instant physical attraction thing. I don’t look around the bar and go ‘ooh they look hot’. I just see people. Never felt the compulsion to hook up or date or anything else. I guess friends are enough for me, I don’t really feel the need for anything else” Caitlyn stated, only the increased speed at which her index finger tapping her mug giving any indication or her nerves or discomfort.
“Huh, so that’s why you never go home with anyone?”
“Yep, I just don’t really work that way, have that desire, maybe a loose neuron somewhere or something I don’t know. I honestly just come here to get a drink after a long day, maybe catch up with Vander if he’s on shift or try to avoid Jinx if not. But something about a woman sat at a bar by herself screams I need your attention apparently.” Caitlyn threw up her empty hand in exasperation before leaning forward and setting the mug back down on the table. She made no move to get up instead slumping back against the sofa and leaning her head back along the edge to stare off at the ceiling. Vi followed her gaze, sighing as she realised the ceiling definitely needed adding to her to do list judging by the peeling paint.
“I guess that would include me huh? That’s why you gave me such a chilly reception?”
Caitlyn winced in response, before looking over with a small smile.
“I may have been a little quick to judge but in my defence you do spend a lot of your time using terrible chat up lines on girls sat alone at the bar” she pointed out, the smile growing as Vi chuckled in response.
“In your defence it is totally what I was going to do” Vi grinned, stifling another chuckle as Caitlyn good naturedly shook her head.
“If you’d rather I didn’t disturb you now I can go grab my dinner in the office or-“ Vi started, gesturing with her thumb to the door as if that wasn’t clear.
“Its ok, I appreciate your company Vi, it appears you are an endearing brand of fuck boy” Caitlyn replied, tilting her head slightly and flashing a sly smile. The look definitely sent alarm bells ringing in Vi’s head, she knew trouble when she saw it and every single fibre of her body reacted as if in mortal peril. As she always did she deflected back to a thin layer of bravado she wore as an armour to keep the rest of world at bay.
So instead of stumbling over her words awkwardly she just laughed in response.
“What?” Caitlyn asked, the smirk growing into a full blown smile that for once reached her eyes. Vi pointed with her finger at the expression, smiling as Caitlyn immediately went cross eyed staring.
“That right there is how you get yourself into trouble” Vi stated, crossing her arms across her chest and twisting so that her feet were on the sofa cushion and she was facing Caitlyn.
“Excuse me?”
“That, what you just did. That felt like flirting”
“Shit” Caitlyn breathed, her face twisted in disbelief as she looked back at Vi who cackled in response. She was interrupted by a pillow launched at her face that nearly knocked her clean off the sofa, barely keeping her balance.
“I might be able to help you with that” Vi mused, holding the errant pillow to her chest and resting her chin on it so it couldn’t be reused as another projectile.
“Oh are you going to explain to me the mindset of the allosexual?” Caitlyn asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Sure” Vi grinned.
“And what do you get in return?”
“An invite to whatever fancy shit high class ladies like yourself do on a Friday night” Vi stated, sticking her nose in the air and looking at Caitlyn out of the corner of her eyes, earning her another exasperated smile.
“See now that sounds like flirting” Caitlyn said, pointing accusingly.
“See, you’re already getting it” Vi responded, a slight patronising lilt to her tone that had the desired effect as Caitlyn scrunched her face up in faux fury.
“So do we have a deal?” Vi asked, leaning forward and holding out her hand.
“You’ll help me figure out how not to accidentally flirt myself into tricky situations and in return you get to crash my Friday night plans?” Caitlyn asked, watching the hand but not reaching out to shake it quite yet.
“I mean I was thinking more you could bring me as a friend but sure I can be your emotional baggage for an evening” Vi shrugged before wiggling her fingers in offering.
Sighing Caitlyn leant forward, grabbing Vi’s hand in a firm grip and shaking it a few times maintaining eye contact.
“Fine, I’ll meet you here 7pm Friday” she sighed, retracting her hand.
“Yes, ma’am”.
”Vi?”
Vi hummed in response.
Suddenly Caitlyn’s smile was gone and replaced again by a frown, her fingers once again wringing in her lap.
“You know you’re getting no where right?” she asked quietly.
“Yeah but sometimes I just enjoy it for the hell of it, plus its still a nice little confidence boost no?” Vi offered, watching as Caitlyn considered her response.
“If I say yes will you immediately demand I return the affection?” Caitlyn asked cautiously.
“As a strong ally of my new found asexual friend I would never do such a thing” Vi said, faking shock and holding a hand up to her heart.
Caitlyn snorted in response, immediately relaxing again and a small smile tugging at her lips.
“Right. Yes, it is still a nice confidence boost”.
“So I can continue?” Vi asked wiggling her eyebrows and grinning.
“I’m not sure I could stop you if I tried” Caitlyn said rolling her eyes which only caused Vi’s grin to grow further.
“Y’know I reckon you and me are gunna be fast friends” Vi mused.
“Oh do you now?” Caitlyn looked up and raised a single eyebrow.
“Oh You and me Cupcake? We’re gunna go far”.