WHAT: Conversations that happen while Caitlyn showers and after as Vi dresses her wound WHERE: Morningside Apartments WHEN: January 26th WARNINGS: Nudity but nothing explicit, Vi's playing hot nurse STATUS: Complete
A hot shower. A fresh wound. A little blood, swirling down the drain. Caitlyn’s been here before.
She just didn’t expect it to happen again so soon, is the thing - and yes, there was some hurt pride there.It wasn’t as if she didn’t do her research. Enrolling in the defense teams allowed her to research previous instances with more thoroughness that didn’t always exist in previous network posts, and she was well aware that there’d be creatures coming out of the woodwork causing mayhem. She also wasn’t incompetent, and was capable of holding her own well in stressful situations. Hand-to-hand combat, firearm usage, above average strategic capabilities.
And yet, her first experience with monstrosities from some other world coming through landed her with a semi-critical injury. Vi (also injured) had taken the brunt of the responsibility of getting them out of that situation, alive, and it had been overall a very poor first experience in dealing with what many referred to as ‘Vallo Fuckery.’
Next time - she’d do better. Today, she was just trying to endure the aches and pains of recovery and quietly contemplating magical healing solutions as that was, apparently, a common thing. She had walked away from one of those ‘creepy fucker’ encounters with a long laceration starting from one side of her ribcage and running diagonally to her hip. So nothing deadly, just - annoying. Itchy, too. It had required stitches.
“This is going to be a scar,” she murmured to herself, squinting down at it with a wince. Caitlyn wasn’t void of those (there were a few small ones here and there) but this would be her first big one. Her mother would have lost it.
This would have been a good time to find out that Vi was already in the room, ready to retort with a wisecrack about scars. However, stealth was something from Vi's childhood and there was no way she could've sneaked into the room without Caitlyn hearing her. So at least it wouldn't be a repeat of the Enforcer having someone sneak up behind her in the shower?
To whit, the door loudly swung open as Vi mosly shouldered her way into the room with a tray of bandages and ointments in one hand and a magnificent bottle of beer in the other. Seriously, it was the best beer she'd ever tasted and she had already made several mental notes to go back and get more. She couldn't read the language that the label was written in and wasn't even sure how to pronounce the name of the place she'd gotten it, but that never stopped her in the past.
She carefully balanced the beer on the tray for a second as she closed the door behind her - she didn't want the hot humid air to escape, after all - before resuming her proper carry and approaching the bathroom vanity.
"Glad to see you on your feet, hot stuff." She could make out the silhouette well enough through the steam, water, and smoked glass. Vi absent-mindedly scratched at the bandages where she'd been patched up as she settled everything onto the vanity and turned to hop up onto it herself. Then she belched.
Hm, well then. The sound of someone barging in was only a little startling - seems like Caitlyn failed to expect Vi’s boldness also expanded towards private moments in the bathroom. She hadn’t anticipated this sense of casual comfort to arise from their living situation, and the thought brought as much relief as it did frustration.
“I’m tempted to sit on the floor,” she admitted with a tired sigh, tilting her head back to let the spray of water soak through her hair. It was her first real shower since the day those things showed up. When they got home she wiped herself down at best, too groggy on pain meds to do more than that before promptly passing out. “But it’s nice to feel a little human again. What did you even eat to burp like that?”
"Eat?" asked Vi with a quizzical note to her voice. Yeah, that might've been a good idea. Not just beer. Still, the soft buzz helped a lot, so she wasn't complaining. Too much. "You know, I could-" she started, almost offering to give Caitlyn a hand with her hair or washing the wound. BUT she didn't want to make her uncomfortable. Prison had long since ruined any modesty that she had, in particular.
"Yeah, anyway," she finished, shifting uncomfortably on the vanity. "I was worried about you, cupcake. That was one hell of a wound you got. Fuck, we're lucky they've got the kind of healing they have in this place. I'm not sure I want you going out there without my backup again. We're partners."
A brow rose but not that it mattered, Vi couldn’t see it through the fogged glass. If not eating, then - drinking? Caitlyn could kind of see the outline of a bottle if she focused enough. Hell, it made her want one but mixing alcohol with what she’d been prescribed was an awful idea. “I’m alright, it’s - it’s not that bad.”
It wasn’t her strongest argument. There’d been more blood than she cared to admit and if it weren’t for Vi having insisted on accompanying her, she wasn’t entirely sure if she would have made it out of that situation with any consciousness. Those things had been terrifying; stronger and stealthier than she would have guessed, too.
“What, do you plan on stalking me the next time I’m scheduled to patrol?” she asked, lathering the shampoo into her hair. This wouldn’t take long - the steam of the shower made her bones feel like liquid and this was already drawing up so much energy. All she wanted to do afterwards was crawl somewhere soft, nestle up to something (or someone) warm.
"Maybe I'll sign up and tell them to put me on your team," was the casual answer, followed by another swig of beer. "I'd be a terrible stalker. I like to yell and hit things." She'd decided not to argue about how bad Caitlyn's wound was, because, well, for one, Vi knew that she would react the same way in the same situation and fucked if she was going to let herself be a hypocrite about that and two, the last thing she wanted was an argument right now.
Sighing, she leaned her head against the mirror, maybe harder than she meant to because the contact shook her brains a little bit. "Dunno. I just get panicky when you're in danger, okay? I can't get that fear out of my head when I thought Powder had--" she trailed off a bit miserably.
Caitlyn frowned. It’s not as if she needed to be babysat or anything - really, this was a fluke, she could do better. As Vi went on she was realizing that this wasn’t a slight against her competence out in the field (she should have known that, too, but that was the wounded pride talking). It was concern, and panic, and her being afraid.
Her heart ached in a way that still felt new but was oddly familiar around Vi.
“I won’t say no to you becoming my partner,” she said after a rinse of her hair. “We know we work well together. But if you don’t really want to then - don’t force yourself? I’ll be more careful. This is what I signed up for, though. To help defend people when something awful strikes. Danger is part of the job. The fatality rate of the defense team is low thanks to the medical care here anyway.”
Yes, she did her research.
Vi smiled softly towards the fogged up and translucent glass. She knew that about Caitlyn, that was what got her attention in the first place - an Enforcer that actually gave a shit and wanted to help. When the rest of them just seemed interested in beating down people who were already down, it was something she was pretty sure would either get Caitlyn killed by the machine she was willingly a part of or it would mean a real difference. The possibility of the latter was largely what interested her, despite having thought that hope had been beaten out of her long ago.
She scratched at her wound again, nodding. The "fatality rate" was low and Vi knew she'd do her damnedest to keep it that way. After all, defending the people who suffered was something she wanted to do, too. Just because it wasn't Zaun didn't really mean anything.
"Yeah, I know," was her answer. "Are you going to want help with dressing that beast of a wound or should I step out?"
There were a few moments of silence. Some shuffling behind the misted glass, a soft grunt. Metal squeaked, and the shower was shut off. It wasn’t the longest shower but it was enough. She felt cleansed for the most part, like the grime of the past few days had been finally washed off.
“I’m… going to need help,” Caitlyn admitted. Opening the shower door enough to snatch a towel shot pain up her body, and the motions of getting it wrapped around her were clumsy. She was able to step onto the mat though, finally getting a clear glimpse of Vi.
The sight of her was a nice view to drink in. Caitlyn smiled tiredly. “Thank you for keeping me company and making sure I didn’t trip while standing.”
Vi sat the beer down and hopped off the vanity before stretching and taking a long, sly look at Caitlyn. "I'm guessing it won't surprise you to learn this isn't the first time I've kept watch so someone else could shower." With a slight toss of her head to show it wasn't something she meant to turn things dark, she continued.
"You make clean look good." She teased a bit, running a hand through her hair. It was growing out, here in Vallo. She was going to need to get that taken care of before long.
Without waiting for a response, she turned to start getting the antibiotic creams and anti-itch creams and whatever other creams they'd given her ready. Then she set them next to the bandages and tape - those she knew well. After a brief moment, she spread some of the antibiotic on her fingertips and turned around with a smirk. "Show me where it hurts."
Caitlyn wouldn’t describe herself as someone who, ah, fumbled over much. She was always cool as a cucumber, and collected, and wasn’t one to ever have a rush of heat suddenly overwhelm her face. That at least could be chalked up to the hot steam of the shower. Flushed cheeks wouldn’t be out of the norm there. Vi had this habit of making her brain short circuit to the point that it had taken a moment for her to figure out how to even react, though - and the fumbling was mostly internal.
Mostly. Her eyes may have widened at that smirk. It was fine. This was fine. The wound needed tending to anyway, and Vi seeing so much of her wasn’t the biggest deal. It’s not like they were -
Wasn’t meant to be. The words were fresh. She wished it didn’t feel that way, but she wondered if Vi stood by them even now.
Biting the inside of her cheek, Caitlyn opened the towel to show the gash she’d sustained. It wasn’t pretty. It was still rather angry looking, in fact - bruised around the edges, held together by stitching that would dissolve on its own as the wound healed. The rest of her had some bumps and cuts, nothing that a few days wouldn’t do away with. “You give me whiplash,” she finally said.
There was probably a better time to start this conversation. Here in the bathroom, where Caitlyn was exposed and Vi insisted on tending to her injury would work well enough.
"We need to work on your compliments," answered Vi, moving to gently and carefully apply the antibiotic to the wound. She expected wincing, of course, but she restrained herself from letting out a whistle in admiration (of both the wound and the view, that is) because she could tell Caitlyn was uncomfortable. Arrogant, maybe, but not stupid.
Oh, the sensation of that cold ointment on tender skin (still warm from the shower) was weird. Caitlyn squirmed but did her best to consciously force herself as still as she could. “What even,” there was a short hiss of pain, “are we?”
It seemed like a fair question to ask. They had parted ways (not something she wanted), were then reunited under the unfortunate event of abduction by her maniacal sister and after that - they were here, where living together wasn’t a debate. It just was. “Adora is assuming we’re together, and Jayce is… questioning,” she said carefully.
Before Vi could effectively form a humorous response as to what they were, Caitlyn had continued and it drew her up short. She knew there were times to joke around and times to be serious. Which of course didn't mean that she 100% listened to that knowledge…
"We need to work on your timing, too," was her answer, finishing up the application of the cream and wiping the rest on her pants. She reached over to grab the bandage so she could wrap it around Caitlyn and kinda just looked her directly in the eyes. "I mean I don't know how you expect me to answer with a clearheaded response with you standing there like that in front of me."
Vi was kind of being a shit. Caitlyn met her eyes, scowling. She did also move her towel away to avoid any obstructions when it came to being bandaged, considering laceration went across most of her torso and some space for wrapping would be required. “Last time you said it wouldn’t work. And that’s -” another hiss, this time with a wince, and the next word came out pained, “fine.” It wasn’t. “But I keep getting mixed signals and would really appreciate some clarity.”
Or perhaps even some - boundaries, then? If they were going along with a ‘just friends’ label. The flirting was going to kill her. And she didn’t trust just anyone to see her this vulnerable either, literally exposed and wounded. This meant something to Caitlyn, and she’d like to think it meant something to Vi too.
Focusing on wrapping the bandage correctly helped Vi put some thought into her responses, at least, but she understood what Caitlyn was saying. And she knew she was being dodgy with someone who she cared about that was especially vulnerable at the moment. "I said it wouldn't work because I couldn't choose between you or my sister. But I also thought I'd be able to take my sister away from everything and I didn't want-- better a clean break, you know?"
But then things changed. And then they changed again. And then a third time when they got stuck here. "But fate had other plans, I guess. So did Powder. Is it all right to say I was wrong?"
Whatever spark of fight Caitlyn had in her was snuffed out. In place of it was a pang of guilt, because - god, was she being selfish? Demanding for some kind of label that defines them before Vi was even ready? Their entire situation was unorthodox, and the last thing she had expected was to develop anything for the woman she broke out of jail (illegally, considering she had committed forgery in Jayce’s name).
Then her sister and what she had done; it complicated things between them.
“I’m sorry,” she exhaled, looking away. Vi was right. Her timing was probably lacking, and not because she was standing before her with nothing on. “I regret not going after you. I should have - tried something. Anything, I suppose.”
"And I regret walking away. I could've tried to stay around you. Could've kept you from getting taken. We all have our guilt issues, don't sweat it." Vi finished wrapping the bandage, taped it all in place, and returned to a standing position. "Thing is, cupcake, I'm the idiot out of the two of us. If I make you feel like an idiot sometimes, too, it just means you get me."
With that, she leaned in to give Caitlyn a quick kiss on the lips. Nothing drawn out, barely just a brief contact before she pulled back and put her thumb on the other woman's chin. "Put on something comfortable, then you can warm yourself up with me on the couch. I could go for something stupid and funny."
Oh. Excuse her. Brain went a little mush there. Blame the kiss and the thumb on her chin and the it just means you get me part. It wasn’t explicit but Vi had her own language she was learning to decipher, and this was… good. This was something, then. It never stopped being something.
“I’d like that,” she said after regaining the ability to speak coherently like a normal person. The towel was wrapped around herself again, pinched beneath her arms. All the tension in her muscles seemed non-existent now, and while Caitlyn was definitely looking tired she also appeared to be content. “And maybe a nap. Moving around is exhausting. Viktor volunteered to get us food delivered at some point - I think we should take him up on it.”
"I'll grab you a blanket. If you fall asleep on me, I'll just watch the show without you," noted Vi, stepping around Caitlyn to leave the room. Of course, she'd also keep her warm and taken care of, but she didn't need to outright say that. "And I'll ping Viktor after you've had some rest. Hell, I'll make some tea while you get dressed, if you want."
The expression on her face looked… warm. Pleased, even. She was happy that Caitlyn hadn't recoiled or tried to tell her no. She was sure she'd probably ruined something at some point and was lucky just to be friends, but at the same time she wasn't one to shy away from going after what she wanted. Fuck a clean break.
“You don’t have to…” Do all that were the words that turned to ash on her tongue upon realizing that it might be pointless to say. Caitlyn always pushed back and latched to her independence fiercely, not wanting her parents to unnecessarily dote on her or - worse, go behind her back and request easy tasks for her on the job so she’d be less likely to be put in danger. But this wasn’t that, and she didn’t want to push Vi away for wanting to help her.
So she pivoted. She followed Vi out, put a hand on her shoulder and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “‘You’re so sweet,’” she quoted, mouth forming a smirk against her cheek. “‘Like a cupcake.’ Thank you. I’d like that.”
Chuckling at having her words parroted back to her, Vi nodded and placed her hand over Caitlyn's for a moment before departing towards the kitchen to prep some water. Sure, it was tempting to offer to help Caitlyn get dressed, but honestly she'd prefer doing the opposite if it came down to it.
There was already a set of spare clothes set out on her bed - lazy wear like sweatpants, a baggy shirt. Changing into them took a little more effort than she’d like (creasing her midsection with any bends and turns of her torso made her body scream) and whole thing was also very exhausting, but after a comb through her hair she was ready to do absolutely nothing.
By the time Caitlyn managed her way into some comfy clothes, Caitlyn had already deposited herself firmly into the corner of the couch and had a tray with two mugs and some hot water in front of her. That was another thing she liked, not having to wait for the water to heat up over fire - it was just push a button and wait for a few minutes. She'd already steeped some tea bags in each mug and was flipping through shows to find something interesting.
When she saw Caitlyn step out into the living area, she offered a soft smile and lifted up the blanket in her lap to make room next to her. "Sugar? Cream? Plain and boring?"
“Sugar,” she confirmed and made her way languidly towards the couch. Sitting wasn’t painless, and she did it with an awkward stiffness that eventually melted away once she settled in more comfortably. Caitlyn naturally gravitated against Vi though, leaning her weight against her with the hopes that her - partner? person? girlfriend? - was well-aware that she had zero plans to move anytime soon. “And with a dash of cream. Are you -”
Those were crime documentaries Vi was sifting through, weren’t they. Caitlyn found those to be strangely addicting - and weirdly comforting to have in the background. “I don’t want the Tiger King one,” she said firmly. “That looks so ridiculous and can’t be real. The Vanishing at Cecil Hotel, maybe?”
"Ridiculous has some merit, but yeah, that guy's face gives me the creeps. Vanishing hotels it is," responded Vi, flipping over to that particular choice before setting the remote in Caitlyn's lap - where her hand remained just a touch longer than it needed to. Then she winked and reached to put some sugar into the tea and used these little tong things to press the tea bags. She thought about pulling the teabags out, but she wasn't sure where she'd put them other than just sitting on the tray… so she just left them in for now, adding a bit of cream and then reclining again. Settled, she passed a mug over to uh-- her girl? Her roommate? Eh, who needed labels.
"Careful, it's almost as hot as you."
Heavens, that was cheesy. If that line had come from anyone else she would have rolled her eyes, but since it was Vi - well, let’s just say Caitlyn would insist her cheeks were still pink from the shower. “That was terrible,” she claimed, doing her best to bite back a smile. The tea was taken and she blew at the steam before taking a sip to test the temperature. “Is that what I’m subjecting myself to? Flirtation with pick up lines?”
She didn’t hate it. She was still snuggling up to her after all so Vi was clearly doing something right.
"Captive audience," agreed Vi, wrapping one arm around Caitlyn to pull her in closer and using her other hand to drink a bit of her own tea. It was pretty easy to tell that she enjoyed Caitlyn folding into her like this, plus she'd be right there if there was any pain or discomfort or any other need. She could tell herself that she owed it to Caitlyn, from the time she even gave up her rifle for some shitty Lane cure (that worked) to keep her from dying - but you can lie to others, not yourself. Not really.
"All right, I'm ready to settle in for this show when you are."
There was no pain or discomfort. Genuinely none. As long as she didn’t move much, that is, and she found herself satisfied with the position they were in. Vi was warm. Soft, despite having a body hardened by the cruelty of life. “I am,” she assured, both hands hugging her cup so her arms weren’t currently free to wrap around her, but.
Caitlyn did lean in to press a soft kiss to her cheek again. “Thank you."