Work Text:
It isn’t that Vi doesn’t like Snowdown, it’s that she’s never really had any reason to celebrate it before. Sure, when she’d been a kid they’d done the standard affair of presents and stories but that was before everything had gone to shit and she hasn’t really had time to celebrate it since. Stillwater had served a “Snowdown dinner” that was somehow worse than the standard affair of tasteless slop and that had only served to turn her off the experience even more.
This, like a dozen other things, changes when she meets Caitlyn. Caitlyn is downright enthusiastic about Snowdown, more than anyone should have a right to be. Weeks before the actual day, she invites Vi to a party which is boring and full of stuffy diplomats and important types. It's Caitlyn's parents' party, and Cait, it appeared, only invited her for some company that wasn't trying to get funding from her parents.
"We'll do a proper celebration later," she tells Vi, and the prospect inspires more nerves in Vi's stomach than it has a right to. She can do terrible parties, she's great at distracting Cait but an actual celebration, with genuine cheer and all the strange traditions that Pilties have...it's utterly terrifying.
The best part of Snowdown is that she gets to take a break from work. They've been trying tirelessly to find Jinx, bring her to justice but it's been dead end after dead end, stakeout after stakeout and as a chill starts to sink into the city, she grows more and more miserable. The break is a welcome relief but it leans that the actual celebration, the proper one with Cait, is close.
“If you’re that nervous,” her girlfriend says as they’re getting ready. Well, Cait is getting ready, Vi has already showered, gotten dressed, and is now pacing the length of the bedroom of their apartment. “You can stay here. I dont want to make you go if you’re opposed.” Vi pauses for a moment, glances through the door of the ensuite bathroom to find Cait staring at her, concerned.
“I’m not opposed,” Vi says, and she isn’t, nor really. “I’m just…I don’t want to disappoint your parents or embarrass you in any way, and I’m nervous that’s what’s going to happen.” It feels like weakness to admit to such things but Caitlyn frowns and crosses the tiny distance between them and cups Vi’s face gently.
“You could never embarrass me,” Caitlyn says softly, brushing a hand through her hair with such tender care that Vi could die on the spot. “I have said it a dozen times and I will say it a million more if I need to, but I have never once felt ashamed of you or of my love for you.”
Vi swallows thickly and nods and accepts the kiss that Caitlyn plants on her forehead gratefully. These are things that she knows on a surface level but there is a part of her dark and ugly, the part that wakes in the middle of the night, heart racing and cheeks damp, which believes Caitlyn will see a piece of her she doesn’t like and then she will run away and Vi will be alone again.
“We should probably go soon, huh?” Vi asks and Caitlyn nods pulls away to finish getting ready. Vi doesn’t resume pacing, choosing instead to perch on the edge of the bed and wait. Vi has gotten better at waiting, though she’s still pretty shit at it. Caitlyn emerges from the bathroom and smiles at her and then frowns.
"Are you going to wear your wraps?"
"Should I not?" Vi asks, looking down at her hands, and she hopes that Caitlyn will say it's ok.
"You can if you want," Caitlyn says. "I just wanted to make sure."
Finally, Caitlyn is ready and they set out for the Kiramman estate. It’s a relatively short walk and there’s little chill to the air. Still, by the time they’ve arrived, Vi’s nose is red and Caitlyn won’t stop teasing her about it.
They’re greeted by the estate’s staff, who welcome Caitlyn like a long lost child, hugging her tightly. They accept Vi with open arms too, and she shakes numerous hands and learns more names than she can keep in her hand.
An older woman looks between her and Caitlyn knowingly as she pulls away from hugging Cait. She then turns to Vi, sizes her up.
“So this is the elusive Vi?” the woman looks at Vi with a calculating gaze. “A pleasure to meet you.” She extended her hand and Vi took it hesitantly, flinching when her hand was taken firmly. "Caitlyn has spoken a lot about you."
"Let her be, Evelyn, she's nervous enough about meeting my parents." Caitlyn's voice is quiet but firm and the woman-Evelyn-only smiles.
"I'm just glad to meet the person who's made you so happy." Evelyn says and she softens, smiling at Vi. It has to be what one would call motherly, that expression on her face and Vi feels hot under her gaze.
"Caitlyn!" There's a call from the doorway and Caitlyn's father rushes out of the large home. Tobias Kiramman is as unintimidating as a person can come and Caitlyn grins as he pulls her into a hug. Vi barely even flinches when he moves onto her. "And Vi! So wonderful to see you, both of you."
"Thanks Mr. Kiramman," Vi says brightly and he waves a hand.
"Tobias, please. You're dating my daughter, you're practically family." The words make Vi's heart stutter in her chest and before she can unpack that, Caitlyn's mother is also in the doorway, beckoning them inside.
It's as grand and impressive as it is in Vi's memory, perhaps even more so. It's also way more decorated, fake snow lining ledges and branches hanging from the ceilings, trailing across the walls. There's a few other things here and there, but they seem to have gone from a more natural look and Vi appreciates it more than some of the saccharine things she and Cait had seen in the district while they wandered one late evening.
"I like your decorations," Vi says politely as she trails into the house after Cait and Tobias. Caitlyn looks over her shoulder and gives an encouraging smile and Vi takes strength from it. "Thank you for inviting me."
"It's our pleasure, really," Tobias says eagerly, dropping from Caitlyn's side to stroll alongside Vi. "Caitlyn told us that you weren't very into Snowdown so we attempted to tone back the festivities but...well, we're all quite fond of it and we're hoping you'll get to see a side of it you haven't seen before." He grins sheepishly. "Of course, if you aren't enjoying yourself, please let us know. We wouldn't want to make you feel uncomfortable."
Vi doesn't quite know what to do with the sentiment so she smiles and assures him that she will (she absolutely won't) and then they're in a small lounge area. There's a bar in the corner which has been covered with drinks and snacks, enough to feed half the Lanes, and there's soft instrumental music playing in the background and it's a scene straight from one of the books that Vander would read to them when they were younger. It makes Vi's heart ache in a way it hasn't in a while.
"Feel free to help yourself to drinks and appetizers," Cassandra Kiramman says. She's barely spoken and she keeps looking urgently at Cait and then over at another room and Vi knows that her girlfriend is about to get some sort of a talking to regarding her appearance. She knew that it would happen but it doesn't make it hurt any less.
They disappear and Vi wanders over to try some of the food (she thinks best on a full stomach after all) and Tobias fixes her a drink and they chat about some of the better cases they've closed since their last visit. It's easy to fall into a rhythm with Tobias, talking and listening. She hardly remembers that it's her girlfriend's father that she's speaking to, not an old friend of Vander's or someone else from the Lanes.
When Cait and her mother finally return, Cait's shoulders have drained a little of the tension they had been carrying and she crosses the room quickly to pull Vi into a hug. She doesn't object of course, but she is curious as to the course this is taking. Caitlyn doesn't explain but there's a loving and fond look in her eyes and she doesn't have to explain. Understanding passes between them and Vi turns back to Tobias to finish the conversation.
Once they've made their way through the snacks, Cassandra declares that it's time for gifts and at least Vi has remembered that part of the tradition. Her salary is meager, all things considered, so she had done her best with Caitlyn's advice, getting her father a bottle of some alcohol that he apparently prefered but didn't get too often. His face lights up when he pulls it from the simple bag Vi had placed it in and he gets up from where he's sitting in one of the small chairs to hug her.
"Thank you so much, my dear," he says and Vi almost chokes on air because no one has bothered to call her dear before, not before Cait and her stupid little family which has, apparently, somehow grown to include her.
Vi's gift for her mother was basic and very embarrassing but she hopes it will be a forgivable sin because she's broke and Snowdown can get expensive even on an Enforcer's budget. It's a small woven series of branches that she'd found at a stall while wandering some of the more respectable parts of the Lanes, which came few and far between. Vi's sure it's meant to be a decoration of some sort and bites her lip and worries before Cassandra smiles at her ( properly smiles) and thanks her. Caitlyn is beaming at her and they exchange a few more gifts with Caitlyn bounding on her toes until it's finally time to give her present to Vi.
The box is small and Vi is glad that it's probably something very simple because she's not sure she has the emotional capacity to deal with something completely devastating. She undoes the ribbon holding the thing together and gently pulls open the lid of the box....and immediately breaks down sobbing.
Instantly, Caitlyn sweeps in and pulls her into a tight hug and Vi turns and she's bawling like a little kid but she can't...she holds Caitlyntighter and she tries to get her erratic breathing under control. She barely notices the box slipping off of her lap and onto the floor. She calms down in a few moments (she's good at composing herself, she has to be) and she pulls herself away from Cait and breathes harshly through her nose, scrubbing furiously at her eyes. She takes one glance at the box on the floor before devising her escape.
"Pardon me," she mumbles and she doesn't wait for an answer before she's stumbling from the room, trying to find a small little corner to jam herself in so she can calm the fuck down . Footsteps follow but she doesn't register them, doesn't register much of anything until she finds a small door and cracks it open and shoves inside and then crouches against the wall, trying to get her breathing under control.
It's a closet of some kind, maybe made for storing cleaning supplies or extra linens or whatever it was the Pitlties had that necessitated thirteen closets per house. It's small and it's dark and it's quiet and that allows Vi to get a small grip on herself before whoever is following her bursts through the door.
The door, unfortunately, does not burst open. It is hesitantly pulled and on the other side sits Caitlyn, face awash with worry and caution. There's no pity (Vi hates pity, always has) and Caitlyn slips into the room, lets the door fall shut and she plants herself on the wall opposite of Vi, staring at her. She doesn't reach out, she doesn't say a word, she is just there and that is what has made them work so well in the past. Cait has an implicit understanding of all of her needs and Vi has always felt in her debt for that.
"I'm sorry that I upset you," Caitlyn says quietly, reaching across the small space. Vi meets her halfway, gripping her hand like a lifeline.
"I'm not-" Vi begins but her voice catches in her throat. She lets out a strangled noise, a wounded animal, and she tries again. "I haven't had anyone give me anything for years. Not really. There were things here and there, sure, but I-intention and thought wasn't something found a lot in Stillwater. A lot of action and reaction, ya know." She shrugs off the words, trying to lessen the sting. "I'm sorry, I've ruined all of this, haven't I?"
"Of course not," Caitlyn says immediately and she sounds so damn sincere . "Vi, my father meant what he said and we all stand behind it. Your comfort is more important to us than any of the traditions that we have. We'll only leave here when you're ready, be it five minutes or three hours." She holds Caitlyn's hand and she breathes and she calms her racing heart and when she finally looks up at Caitlyn, she feels better.
She feels lighter.
"I think I'm good," she says slowly. "And thank you. I didn't thank you before, for the gift. It's wonderful."
Caitlyn smiles and helps her to her feet and they emerge from the closet mostly intact. They return to the living room and Caitlyn's parents are gracious enough not to mention what happened, instead choosing to pull out deserts and insist on taking Snowdown photos. Vi tries to lose herself in the celebrations, and it's easy with Cait at her side and her wonderful parents in front of her. There is peace for once, in Vi's brain, and she treasures it.
And if she's wearing clean wraps about her knuckles, old ones tucked away in a bag to be brought home well...no one really comments on it.