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The Ionian sun warms Caitlyn’s skin like a memory as she tilts her head back, letting the light spill over her, golden and unfiltered. The sea breeze combs pleasantly through her hair and the sand is soft beneath her feet—fine, pale, unmarred by footprints except for her and Vi’s.
Behind them, nestled into the cliffside and shaded by delicate cherrywood trees, the Kiramman estate rests in quiet splendour. It’s been in the family for generations; a summer retreat from the intensity of Piltover. A place of warmth and stillness.
She hasn’t been back here since she was a teenager.
As the thought occurs to her, Caitlyn closes her eyes and lets her mind begin to drift.
She recalls long summer days spent in the garden with Mother, hands buried in soil, learning the names of every herb and bloom, and being scolded gently for picking berries too early. The scent of jasmine in her hair, grass stains on her knees, and that sense of quiet joy that only came from doing something slow and rooted in the world.
Then there were pleasant evenings with her father, taking the scenic route into town just to buy a single scoop of ice cream, always pistachio for him, always lemon sorbet for her. He would often reach across and steal a spoonful of hers, laughing with fondness crinkling the corners of his eyes, and chuckling harder still when Caitlyn mock huffed before reaching right back and stealing a spoonful of his in retaliation.
And when Jayce had entered their lives like an unexpected meteor, they would sit out on the Kiramman balcony until the stars came out, talking about everything and nothing. Piltover, Hextech, politics, books, regrets, dreams.
Oh, how he always had such wondrous dreams, Caitlyn reminiscences affectionately, a pang of sorrow tugging at her heart even as she smiles faintly at the thought of him.
A splash suddenly draws her attention, and her heart, unfailingly, turns towards Vi.
Vi is standing waist-deep in the surf, wide-eyed and glowing with the kind of joy that’s almost too big for her to hold in. The sun catches the water droplets on her skin, beading across the toned lines of her arms and shoulders. Her hair is damp and curling slightly from the salt, wild and messy, just how she likes it. Her skin has bronzed beautifully since they arrived, and the freckles across her cheeks are more vivid now, like constellations Caitlyn yearns to trace with her fingertips.
She seems so undeniably alive out here, Caitlyn thinks reverently, her stomach swooping happily to see Vi so unburdened.
Vi lifts her face to the sky, eyes fluttering shut, a peaceful smile playing on her lips as she basks in the warmth. She turns slowly in the water, arms stretched out like she’s trying to hold the whole horizon, her laughter blending with the crash of waves.
Caitlyn can’t stop watching her. Can’t stop thinking about how different this must feel for Vi—how much more it must mean.
She knows Zaun’s summers were never like this. They were hot, yes, but in a suffocating way—heat without light, sweat without sun. The lower lanes never saw the sky, only the green-glow haze of chemlights, the press of steam, the ever-present hum of machinery. That’s where Vi grew up; in the fog, beneath the world. And then, years stolen away behind the walls of Stillwater, where sunlight was rationed like water, and joy was a forgotten language.
The thought makes a dull ache pull unbearably at Caitlyn’s chest, settling uncomfortably beneath her ribs.
She doesn’t want this summer to be just a vacation. She wants it to be everything. A beginning. A promise.
She wants to give Vi every warm day, every salty breeze, every golden hour she was ever denied. And not just for the season, but for as long as Vi will let her.
The water splashes again, and Vi looks back toward the shore, catches Caitlyn watching her.
A grin spreads across her freckled face—mischievous and radiant. ‘Come on, Cupcake!’ she calls, beckoning with both arms. ‘Or are you worried your ridiculously massive hat is gonna float away?’
Caitlyn blinks, startled, and instinctively lifts a hand to the brim of the wide, floppy sunhat she’s been refusing to admit she likes. ‘I’ll have you know, Violet, that this hat is the height of Ionian elegance,’ she says, voice mock-haughty as she steps toward the water.
Vi’s grin only grows. ‘Oh, yeah? You planning on using it as a sail?’
Caitlyn huffs a laugh and breaks into a run, kicking up sand as she goes. ‘You’re impossible.’
‘And you’re too slow for someone with legs as long as that!’ Vi taunts teasingly.
Caitlyn ignores her and hurriedly dives in after her, the cool water slicing around her like silk.
Vi shrieks in mock offense as Caitlyn splashes her square in the chest, and then it’s a free-for-all—water flying, waves crashing, two hearts beating in sync under the vast, sunlit sky.
And for once, there’s nothing but joy as the ocean churns with laughter.
Vi lunges, trying to get the upper hand, but Caitlyn anticipates her move, sidestepping just enough to send a wave crashing into Vi’s side. Vi splutters dramatically, then retaliates with both hands cupped, sending a full arc of water straight into Caitlyn’s face.
‘You absolute brat,’ Caitlyn gasps, wiping salt from her eyes.
Vi is already backpedaling, laughing so hard she can barely stand. ‘You started it!’
‘I was admiring the view,’ Caitlyn says, voice clipped but playful as she sloshes forward, eyes narrowed with intent. ‘And you ruined it.’
Vi snorts, a knowing smirk curling at her lips as she purposely drags her gaze appreciatively over Caitlyn’s bikini clad body, mirroring the hunger Caitlyn had been burning into her ever since Vi stripped down to her own swimwear.
‘Pretty sure you’re still admiring the view, Cait.’
Caitlyn’s mouth falls open in protest even as her cheeks rush with a heated blush that gives away her guilt. Knowing she has no defence, Caitlyn charges her.
Vi shrieks again, nearly slips, and they meet in a splash and a tangle of limbs. For a heartbeat they wrestle, the tide pulling at their feet, before Caitlyn manages to get an arm around Vi’s waist and pulls her close. They’re both breathless and dripping and grinning like idiots.
The waves lap enchantingly around them, and the sun paints gold across Vi’s wet hair. Their laughter fades slowly into quiet, and Caitlyn feels it—that rare, fragile stillness that only comes when the world aligns just right. Vi’s arms loop lazily around her shoulders, and Caitlyn lets her fingers trace the edge of a freckle just beneath Vi’s eye. It’s darker than the rest, and Caitlyn remembers noticing it the first time Vi ever smiled at her, and to this day it still makes her heart somersault.
‘Having fun?’ Caitlyn asks softly.
Vi tilts her head and her smile shifts—still bright, but softer now, real in a different way. ‘This is… the best. Seriously.’ Her gaze drifts out to the endless blue. ‘I didn’t know water could be this clear, or that air could taste this clean.’
Caitlyn’s throat tightens. ‘You deserve all of it.’
Vi looks at her then, eyes shining. ‘You always say things like that.’
‘Because it’s true,’ Caitlyn murmurs earnestly, her breath stolen by Vi’s unbridled happiness.
There’s a pause, long enough for the sea to whisper something private between them.
‘I never thought I’d get something like this,’ Vi admits, voice quiet, uncertain in a way she rarely allows. ‘I mean… not really. Not with someone. Not with you.’
Caitlyn brushes a strand of wet hair from Vi’s forehead, her palm lingering there. ‘Well, now you have it. You have me. And this summer? This whole life? We’re building it together, remember? One adventure at a time.’
Vi’s only response is to lean in and kiss her. It’s warm, like the sun, and salty, and perfect. Not hurried, not desperate, just a gentle seal to a promise neither of them says out loud.
They stay like that, wrapped in each other, while the waves wash around them. Far in the distance, gulls wheel in the sky, and the wind carries the scent of jasmine from the cliffs. Time forgets them, and for once, they let it.
Eventually, Vi pulls back with a smirk. ‘Okay, but seriously, Cait, your hat—’
Caitlyn groans, laughing, and dunks her again. ‘Let it go!’
Vi surfaces with a shout, splashing wildly, and the water war begins anew.
Summer stretches ahead of them like the horizon—wide, warm, and endless. And Caitlyn knows, deep in her chest, that no matter what the world throws at them next… they’ll have this.
They’ll always have this.