Chapter Text
“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” Vi grumbled under her breath as she tried to jerk her wheelchair forward.
“Great, just great,” she sighed, closing her eyes in frustration and throwing her head back. She was stuck.
Vi had moved to Piltover once reaching adulthood to avoid this very situation. Navigating Zaun in a wheelchair was damn near impossible but she’d somehow made it through her remaining teenage years after the accident with the help of her family carrying her and physically transporting her anywhere her wheelchair couldn’t maneuver. Which was, well, almost everywhere she tried to go. It was humiliating and a somewhat wretched way to live and she had been desperate for true independence after three years of virtual helplessness.
As much as she loathed Piltover, with its arrogant society and uppity citizens that reeked of privilege and conceit, she had to do what was best for herself and unfortunately Piltover was what was best for her. All buildings and infrastructure were required to be accessible by law, social services for disabled residents were robust, and the public transportation was impeccable. Vi was able to get a modest apartment for herself in a charming building with an elevator and had been living a life she truly hadn’t thought would ever be possible during those miserable years she had somehow survived in Zaun.
She had a job, she had a small group of close friends, she had her own place, she dated occasionally, but most importantly, she was able to get around perfectly fine by herself. This had been the case for years now.
Until this week.
A snowstorm had ravaged the city a week ago, followed promptly by a bout of freezing rain that turned all the snow to ice, and there were still mountains of it littering the streets and sidewalks. Vi had been cooped up inside all week since her wheelchair would never have been able to traverse the icy conditions the way they’d been for the past several days, but by this morning she outgrew her restlessness and had finally had enough.
It was ridiculous that a city with this much wealth was struggling to properly clear their streets and sidewalks an entire week after the storm had passed.
She figured that between the work the city had been putting in to clear the sidewalks and with things finally, slowly, too slowly, starting to melt, she should hopefully be able to at least make it to her gym that was only five blocks away from her apartment. And she’d been right. It took some finagling of course. She had to wheel around a few ice puddles and even had to push herself down the middle of the street for two blocks at one point to avoid a blocked crosswalk before getting back onto the sidewalk, but she’d made it.
Now her workout was complete and she’d exited the gym through the side exit without thinking. Everyone was required to enter the gym through the main entrance but she usually exited out onto the side street which was in the direction of her apartment just to save a couple minutes. She hadn’t considered the state such a side street might be in when she pushed herself out the door out of habit and now she was immediately regretting it.
She’d only pushed herself a couple feet before her body went lurching forward, propelled by the inertia of her chair as it got stuck in a patch of ice she hadn’t noticed.
She jiggled her wheels as much as she could but it was no use, she was really stuck.
“Fuck,” she muttered again. She was going to have to ask for help.
She hated asking for help.
And of course she was on the side street with little foot traffic. But to her surprise, when she looked up from her grumbling, there was a woman standing not too far away from her. She had midnight blue hair pulled into a neat ponytail, a beautiful black trench coat fell just below her knees, and she had on sunglasses, which Vi briefly mused was extremely smart of the woman. The sun was aggressively reflecting off the brilliant white snow piles and she’d caught herself squinting most of the way over here. Why hadn’t she thought to wear sunglasses? Probably because it was January and nobody thought to wear sunglasses in January.
Except this woman apparently.
Her demeanor was a bit off though. Although Vi couldn’t quite place why. She was just kind of, well, standing there.
Not close enough that Vi could use her indoor voice but not far enough that she would have to truly shout either. The woman seemed to be lost in thought, staring aimlessly ahead of her but not appearing to be looking at anything in particular.
Vi sighed. She really hated this.
But it was her only option.
“Hey! Hey excuse me,” Vi called out, lifting up one of her arms at the same time, giving a little wave to catch the woman’s attention.
The woman continued to look ahead, completely ignoring her.
Vi rolled her eyes. Oh. So she was one of those Pilties.
Vi almost thought about just waiting for the next person to walk by but given the street she was on, she had no clue when that might be, and she wasn’t going to be intimidated by a smidge of snootiness. If anything, she took it as a bit of a challenge.
“Hellooooo!” she rang out again, waving her arm even harder.
Still nothing.
Gosh, was this woman serious?
“Jesus,” she spat loudly, “Are you really going to pretend like you can’t hear me?”
This time, the woman finally turned her head in Vi’s direction, she opened her mouth to say something, then closed it, unsure of herself.
“Yes, I’m talking to you,” Vi groaned.
“Oh, I’m, I’m so sorry,” the woman blabbered, her thick, posh, Piltovan accent proving Vi’s earlier assumption correct. She was one of those Pilties.
“I thought maybe you were…talking to someone else. Can I…help you?”
Vi rolled her eyes so hard they almost found a comfortable home in the back of her head.
“Do you see anyone else around?” she asked sarcastically.
The woman grimaced and clasped her hands in front of herself uncomfortably.
“I don’t see anyone at all.”
No shit, Vi thought to herself.
“Mind giving me a hand here?” Vi asked, shaking her wheelchair with both hands for emphasis.
“A hand with…what exactly?” the woman asked.
“You’re gonna make me spell it out for you? I’m stuck. Don’t tell me you’re really gonna leave me here, I know you Pilties are a bit heartless but I di-”
“Excuse me?” the woman shrilled, clearly offended.
“I mean seriously,” Vi scoffed, annoyed. She’d come to feel a bit more neutrally toward Piltovans during her years living in the city. She’d learned they weren’t all quite as bad as she’d thought and most people in the city were regular working class people, and despite their privileged upbringings making it difficult for her to connect with them on many levels, they weren’t all malicious, just a bit ignorant. Even the upper class generally left her alone as long as she didn’t get too much in their way. This woman, however, was reminding her exactly why she’d held a grudge against the city of “progress” for so many years of her life.
“You see a woman in a wheelchair stuck in the ice and you’re standing there playing dumb waiting for me to beg you for assistance,” Vi had decided she didn’t care how long she had to wait for the next person to walk by, it was a matter of principle now, “Worried your hands might get contaminated if you touch a disabled person?”
The woman froze. Her lips wobbled for a moment before her entire face settled into a stone cold stare. After a beat, she sighed and replied with a hint of weariness, “I’ll help you.”
Vi was annoyed. She didn’t even want the woman’s help at this point, so she opened her mouth to say just that.
“Save it, I dont nee-” but as she was in the middle of her angry rebuttal the woman in front of her snapped open a white walking cane.
“You’ll just have to let me know if there’s any ice patch hidden in the sidewalk you think I might slip on between me and you,” the woman continued, cutting Vi off quickly.
Shit, was the first thought that appeared in Vi’s mind.
The second, third, and fourth thoughts after that were:
Shit. Shit. Shit.
Vi swallowed and was unable to speak for a moment.
“Well?” the woman prompted, clearly irritated.
“Uh, uh, no, no there’s no other ice that I can see between me and you,” Vi offered with significantly less gusto than she’d been speaking to the woman with just a moment prior.
The woman sighed, struck her cane down on the ground and walked in the direction of Vi’s voice before the stick violently smacked against the wheels of her chair after only a second. Then the woman folded her cane back up again, placed her hand forward hesitantly, clearly reaching out for something to touch. The first thing her hand found was Vi’s shoulder, which sent a cascade of goosebumps all the way down the left side of her body. Then without a word, the woman slid her hand backwards, finding the back of Vi’s chair, then she slowly walked in a half circle until she was completely behind the chair and her hands gripped confidently around the handlebars in the back.
“Alright,” the woman said now, “What exactly do you need me to do?”
“Um, if you could just like, push forward really hard, I think that will do the trick,” Vi replied insecurely.
“Right,” the woman responded before pushing Vi forward, her chair jerking awkwardly out of the patch of ice. It had taken a split second, and it reminded Vi how limited she was in her movement. She’d obviously grown accustomed to living with her wheelchair after so many years, and was beyond thankful for the freedom of movement the chair allowed her after losing control of her legs in the explosion, but days like this really sent her into a tailspin of negative thoughts.
It had taken this random lady no effort at all to push her forward. Left to her own devices, Vi probably would have frozen to death, sitting in that spot for hours. Obviously, that would not have really happened. She had her phone. Worst case scenario she could have called someone. But still.
Vi had gotten so lost in her thoughts she didn’t notice the blue-haired woman was still walking, pushing Vi slowly up the hill.
“Um,” Vi started, “You don’t have to keep pushing me…I…I got it from here.”
“Nonsense,” the woman offered back matter of factly, with the type of tone that made it clear she was not to be argued with.
“The sidewalk on this street clearly hasn’t been salted properly, what if you get stuck again? I can bring you to the end of the block until we reach the main road, it’s not a problem.”
Vi was honestly stunned a bit but wasn’t sure how to respond. They were on a double block, and the woman was clearly walking at a deliberately slow pace, probably afraid of being surprised by an errant patch of ice. At this rate it would take them at least ten minutes to reach the corner.
“So, uh, hey,” Vi chimed, “Sorry for giving you a hard time. I didn’t realize…” she trailed off, finding herself in a brand new social situation and not sure what the protocol was here.
The woman behind her cleared her throat as she continued to inch forward slowly up the hill.
“It’s fine. Where are you from if you don’t mind me asking?”
“Uh, Zaun.”
“Ah,” the woman remarked, “Well I suppose that explains your distrust. I don’t blame you.”
“Still, I shouldn’t have spoken to you that way. I was frustrated and took it out on you.”
“It’s hard to be reminded of your limitations and ask for help,” the woman responded sadly, “I understand.”
“Right,” Vi answered weakly, realizing that the woman must actually understand. It was rare for her to meet someone that she felt could actually empathize with her reality. She loved her close circle of friends, but they were all able-bodied and as much as they were good-hearted people who made an effort to accommodate her disability, she could tell they struggled to really grasp how it impacted every aspect of her life.
“What were you doing standing around over here in all this ice anyways?” Vi followed up. She didn’t want to continue to sit in silence for the next five minutes, but also now that she’d had time to calm down from the turbulent start with the woman she was a bit intrigued by her. Would it be weird if Vi tried to befriend her? They were total strangers to each other. But they seemed to be around the same age and it would be nice to talk with someone she could connect with on a different level.
“I had an appointment with my ophthalmologist, I was waiting for my driver to come pick me up.”
Her driver? Maybe Vi wouldn’t be able to connect with this woman after all. Only the stupidly, stupidly, rich had personal drivers. On the other hand, if the woman was blind, maybe she was just referring to a city service. Vi realized she didn’t know much about disability assistance in the city outside the services that benefited her directly. She should probably do some research to become more knowledgeable.
“There’s an ophthalmologist around here?”
“Yes, the office is right next to the gym.”
“Really? I’ve been going to that gym for years and I never noticed,” Vi reflected.
“Hmm, are you blind too?” the woman quipped lightly.
Vi laughed. She really had misjudged this woman entirely.
Guilt started to inch up her shoulders but she pushed it down.
People make mistakes. It’s OK.
“So you’re funny too,” Vi teased, trying to keep the conversation light.
The woman giggled, “Perhaps.”
“Uh, we’re here. At the corner by the way,” Vi declared when she noticed they’d finally reached the end of the block. A sense of dread started to eat away at her brain. The two of them had just started to hit it off and now Vi couldn’t think of any reason to keep the woman any longer.
“Oh, right, here you are,” she let go of the handlebars and Vi grabbed onto the wheels of her chair, pulling them each in opposite directions to swing herself around to come face to face with the woman. Now that she was really looking at her it struck Vi how stunning she was and she was left speechless for a moment.
Holy hell.
She was lucky the woman couldn’t see her because she was pretty sure her jaw had fallen open and she probably looked like an oaf, so she quickly tried to compose herself and coughed.
“Um, thanks by the way, for the push, you saved my ass big time,” Vi tried smiling to really get her point across and then mentally scolded herself. She can’t see your smile you dolt.
“Of course, we have to look out for each other after all,” the woman did that thing again where she clasped her hands together in front of her although this time she added a bit of fidgeting to the mix and played around with her fingers.
The woman then opened her mouth again to say something, then closed it. She bit her lip and Vi noticed a small gap between her front teeth. So cute. How could someone be so gorgeous and so adorable at the same time? Vi felt like her head was swimming.
She wondered what she had been about to say so she piped up herself, “Do you…” and then quickly realized she didn’t even know what she was trying to ask.
“Would you-” the woman cut herself off, “No, never mind, um, have a nice rest of your day.”
Vi desperately needed to know what the woman wanted to know if she would do.
“No, no, were you going to ask me something? I’m all ears.”
The woman smiled, biting her lip again.
“I just, well, it’s alright for you to say no…” she herself trailed off this time.
“Say no to what? Don’t leave me hanging here…again,” Vi joked.
A chuckle.
“Well, there’s a cafe on the other side of the main thoroughfare I usually visit after my appointments. I was too scared to walk over there today with the state of the sidewalks. I was wondering well, would you mind if I pushed you over there?”
“Like I’m your seeing eye dog?” Vi teased.
“Goodness, no!” the woman gasped, “I would never compare anyone to a dog. I just meant for the stability, so I don’t trip on any ice.”
“Whoa, calm down, I was just teasing! Of course you can,” as Vi was quickly trying to salvage the situation a thought popped into her head, “Under one condition though.”
“And that condition would be…?”
“You let me join you and pay for everything, as thanks for helping me out. And to apologize for being an ass. A two for one deal, if you will.”
The woman looked surprised, “Oh, you really don’t have to.”
“Yeah, but I want to. Whaddya say?”
A grin started to etch its way across the woman’s lips, and good god this woman was beautiful. She wanted to make her smile over and over again just for even the chance to get a glimpse of that tooth gap.
“Well, alright, if you insist.”
“I insist.”
A bell chimed as Vi and the woman crossed through the doorway into the cozy cafe.
“Ah, Caitlyn! I was wondering if you’d make it in today,” a young green-haired barista beamed at them as they approached the counter, “Your usual?” they asked brightly.
Caitlyn coughed and replied sheepishly, “Um, no thank you, Vex, I’ll just have a black tea with a bit of sugar. And a scone if you have them. And, uh, whatever my friend here is having, we’ll be on the same bill.”
The barista looked a bit surprised but punched the order into their tablet. Vi eyed the woman, Caitlyn, curiously, wondering why she wasn’t ordering her usual.
“Sorry no scones today, Cait. Deliveries have been such a mess after the storm.”
“Oh, well, just the tea then I suppose.”
Vi leaned forward to see what they had left in their display case, “They’ve got some cupcakes,” she stated, almost as if thinking out loud.
Caitlyn froze.
“Do you not like cupcakes? More for me then I suppose. Could I get a black coffee with a splash of cream and whichever’s your most popular cupcake?” Vi asked kindly to the barista.
“Coming right up, that’ll be fourteen fif-”
Caitlyn coughed, “Um, actually, Vex could I please get a cupcake as well. Strawberry please.”
“Alrighty, that’ll be eighteen eighty three. Take a seat and we’ll bring everything over!”
When the two of them turned around, Vi’s stomach dropped. All the regular tables were taken and the only ones left available were some high tops in the back of the shop. There was nowhere for her to sit.
“Oy! Tabitha, move your booty over to one of those high tops and let these ladies have that table,” came the barista’s voice from behind them before Vi even had a chance to try to figure out how to handle the situation.
The woman sitting at the front table with the most space around it looked up in surprise, took one look at Vi and Caitlyn, offered a quick sympathy smile and shuffled out of her seat.
Vi hated the sympathy smile, but she’d grown used to it by now. She sighed and made her way over to the table, thankful for the barista’s help. Despite the momentary discomfort, it was nice to be in the type of place where everyone seemed to know each other. It reminded her of her father’s bar The Last Drop. And they must really like Caitlyn in here.
Speaking of Caitlyn, she was sitting caddy corner to Vi at their table, slipping off her gloves and Vi got a good look at her fingers. Slim but clearly strong, nails perfectly manicured, and long. Even this woman’s fingers were perfect. Once again Vi found herself thankful the woman couldn’t see her, how embarrassing would it be to get caught staring at her fingers?
“I love this song,” Caitlyn mused with delight. Vi had been so checked out staring at her fingers she hadn’t even noticed there was music playing in the shop. She perked her ears and focused, trying to make out the tune. She frowned.
“I don’t think I know this one.”
“Really?” Caitlyn asked, “So, not gay then I presume.”
Vi couldn’t help herself but to let out a deep belly laugh. Who asked questions so directly like that? The people sitting closest to them looked over at her, not quite judging, mostly just shocked at the sudden loud nose.
She wiped a tear out of her eye, “If you could see me, you would not be asking that.”
Caitlyn quirked an eyebrow at the statement, “Oh?” she asked, voice laced with intrigue, “And if I could see you, what would I see?”
“A stone cold butch lesbian forged in the deepest, darkest corners of butch lesbianville.”
There was that tooth gap again as Caitlyn giggled. Was it possible to fall in love with a tooth gap? Was Vi going insane?
“Noted,” Caitlyn breathed out through her giggle right as the barista came over with their order, placing everything down with little fanfare before walking away.
“So what’s the song anyways?” Vi asked as she sipped on her coffee, god that was good coffee. Maybe she’d need to start coming here more often.
“Oh!” Caitlyn chimed excitedly, placing down her teacup so she could talk with her hands, “It’s MUNA, they’re one of my favorite queer bands. This song is called “I Know a Place” it was their first big single. It was used during the credits scene of the Carmilla movie that came out in 2017, have you seen Carmilla?”
“Uhh, no?”
“Well it was a web series that came out forever ago, quite atrocious really, I mean it was terrible, but like in the most amazing way, you know what I mean? Like just messy vampire lesbian drama shot on a shoestring budget, and I do mean shoestring. You were basically watching the show through a webcam. Very camp. And it got popular enough they were able to finance an actual feature film. I mean it was quite impressive what they were able to achieve off grassroots popularity alone. This was before tik tok and virality were a thing you know.”
Vi couldn’t believe this woman that was rambling to her was the same one she’d asked for help less than half an hour ago. That woman had seemed cold, detached, unsure. This woman was bubbly and had somehow managed to take a simple question about a song and segue into nerding out about a lesbian vampire show?
Vi would be lying if she said she wasn’t a little bit enamored.
“Yeah, totally,” Vi added, wanting Caitlyn to know she was still listening.
“Well, so anyways this song was in the credits of that feature film, that’s how I personally found MUNA and I’ve been obsessed ever since but I don’t think a lot of their fans these days actually know about that. I mean, maybe they do but I doubt it. They’re still pretty indie but have garnered a lot of success in recent years, which is good of course, they deserve it.”
Caitlyn was still smiling as she picked up her tea again. When she placed it back down, insecurity started to creep across her features.
“Uh, sorry for rambling,” she said with a tinge of shame as she placed one of her hands onto the table and started to very slowly slide it around, probably looking for her cupcake.
“What? No I loved that,” Vi responded as she flicked her eyes toward Caitlyn’s hand. She wanted to just grab the cupcake and hand it to her but had to stop herself. Caitlyn was a grown woman, and Vi knew too well what it felt like to be helped with something you could do yourself.
“Oh,” Caitlyn said as her hand finally bumped into the cupcake and she picked it up, very carefully and meticulously starting to pull the wrapper off, “Well, you weren’t saying anything so I thought maybe I scared you off.”
“Not at all, I was nodding along, sorry I forgot you can’t see me, I’ll make sure to be more vocal next time,” Vi countered.
“Next time?” Caitlyn asked, Vi could tell she was trying to suppress a smile.
“Yeah, I mean if that’s alright with you.”
Caitlyn bit her lip and replied gleefully, “I think that’s alright with me,” right before biting into her cupcake. Vi didn’t know anyone could make eating a cupcake look so proper but somehow Caitlyn was managing it.
“And maybe next time I can find out what your usual is,” Vi ribbed, “There a reason you didn’t get that today?”
Caitlyn choked on her cupcake, quickly placing it down, pounding on her chest and gulping down some tea to clear the obstruction from her throat.
“Um, no, no reason,” she wheezed.
Vi laughed, “Oh, c’mon, I don’t believe you. What’s the deal?”
Caitlyn sighed.
“Promise you won’t laugh?”
“You can’t see it but I’m crossing my heart and hoping to die, I promise I won’t laugh.”
Caitlyn folded her hands in front of her on the table, sighing again.
“I usually get a blueberry mocha cookie crumble frappuccino with caramel drizzle and…and extra whipped cream,” she spluttered out.
Vi wasn’t sure what she was expecting but it certainly was not that and she found herself having to hold back a laugh.
Caitlyn must have noticed the silence and groaned, “You’re trying not to laugh aren’t you.”
Vi inhaled a breath and managed to choke out a, “No.”
“Oh for godsake, just go ahead and let it out.”
Vi let out all the breath she’d been trying to hold in and a cackle bounced around the walls of the cafe.
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, I mean I just, I wasn’t expecting you to say that, of all things. I didn’t even know one drink could have that many words in it.”
Caitlyn grumbled but then couldn’t help herself from smiling a little bit too.
“It’s ridiculous, I know. I come from a very noble family, my mother would be appalled to know I’m downing such a concoction in public, but I suppose that must be why. I wasn’t allowed to have anything like that growing up and now I have a bit of a problem. But I suppose there are worse things.”
“Yeah, there are definitely worse things than a blueberry truffle mambo frappuccino,” Vi teased.
“Blueberry mocha cookie crumbl-” Caitlyn started to correct her before frowning, “Oh, you’re making fun of me.”
“Only a little. But I promise I’m not judging. Please order that next time, don’t stifle your true self on my account.”
“And when is next time?” Caitlyn asked flirtatiously.
“How about…” Vi stopped to think, “This weekend? Is that too soon? Did I just embarrass myself?”
Caitlyn giggled again, “Not too soon. I’ve quite enjoyed your company. I’m free Saturday morning?”
“Saturday morning is perfect,” Vi beamed, she couldn’t believe her luck.
Caitlyn rattled off her phone number to Vi who shot her a quick waving emoji so she’d have her number as well before the two of them cleaned up their mess and made their way out of the cafe.
“I’m headed toward Danbury,” Caitlyn mentioned as they stepped onto the sidewalk, “My driver usually picks me up there since he can’t stop on the main road here.”
“Hey, I’m headed that way too,” Vi lied, her apartment was actually in the complete opposite direction of Danbury, but Caitlyn didn’t need to know that, “You want a ride?”
“A…ride?” Caitlyn asked, confused. “No, my driver is probably already waiting for me there.”
Vi chuckled, “I don’t mean a ride home I mean a ride from here to Danbury, maybe you forgot I’ve got built in wheels,” Vi flirted, “You pushed me all the way here it’s only fair I repay the favor.”
Caitlyn opened her mouth in surprise before finally realizing what Vi was suggesting and there came that smile Vi was slowly getting addicted to.
“You’re not worried about the ice?”
“This sidewalk is totally clear since we’re on the main strip, and with my big buff butch arms I can get up to a pretty good speed,” Vi said playfully, hoping to fluster Caitlyn a bit, “Don’t tell me you don’t think it sounds a little fun.”
“Alright,” Caitlyn acquiesced easily, she clearly wanted to ride in Vi’s wheelchair but needed to put up a bit of a front at first to not seem too eager.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah,” Caitlyn grinned, sticking out her hand to seek out the wheelchair and finding Vi’s shoulder again just like she had when they first met. That moment felt like a lifetime ago to Vi and goosebumps exploded across her entire body this time, not just the side Caitlyn was touching. Caitlyn slowly lowered herself onto Vi’s lap and Vi had to make a conscious effort to control her breathing.
“Alright, miss blueberry cookie crumble, swing your legs to the side a little bit and put your arms around my neck,” Vi instructed.
Caitlyn huffed in annoyance at the nickname but did what Vi said without protest and now her face was mere inches away from Vi’s, facing toward her and Vi could feel her breath puffing against her cheek. The goosebumps re-activated and a chill shot through her spine.
“We must look ridiculous,” Caitlyn mumbled.
“Of course we do, you ready?”
Caitlyn laughed, the sound so sweet in Vi’s ears she wanted to drown in it.
“I’m ready,” Caitlyn responded, tightening her hold around Vi’s neck.
“Alright, here we go!” And then Vi was pushing them forward as fast as she could. She wasn’t lying when she said her big, buff, butch arms could get them to a good speed and after only a few moments they were flying down the sidewalk, wind whipping violently against their hair.
“Oh my god!” Caitlyn shrieked as she buried her face into Vi’s neck, devolving into a fit of laughter.
Only a minute later they’d already made it to Danbury street and Vi slowed down, halting to a stop right at the corner. Both of the women were out of breath and laughing together. Vi turned her head to look at Caitlyn as she laughed but her face was already so close that she ended up knocking their noses together.
“Whoops,” Vi breathed out with a smile, still panting from the exertion of the ride.
Vi could feel Caitlyn’s warm breath in her own mouth and it was intoxicating. It tasted like black tea and strawberry cupcakes.
Caitlyn’s pants started to even out but she hadn’t moved her face away from Vi’s and Vi didn’t dare move either.
“Can I-” Caitlyn started to ask and Vi answered immediately, knowing she would give Caitlyn absolutely anything she wanted in that moment, “Yes, yes, whatever it is yes,” she panted against Caitlyn’s mouth.
And then Caitlyn was kissing her. It took Vi’s brain a second to register what was happening, and then she was snapping her hand up to rest against Caitlyn’s neck and pull her closer so she could kiss her back. The kiss was a bit frantic, both of them filled with adrenaline, lips haphazardly sliding together with no real rhythm, yet neither of them seemed to mind or care. Vi got lost in the kiss and eventually as the adrenaline started to settle she slowed down the motions, kissing Caitlyn with purpose, sucking tenderly on her bottom lip, opening her mouth with her tongue and licking into her. Caitlyn whimpered in response and Vi quickly added the noise to her list of favorite sounds right next to Caitlyn’s laughter.
Eventually, they broke apart, gasping for air, foreheads knocking together.
“I’ll see you Saturday?”
“Yeah,” Caitlyn smiled dopily, “Yeah, I can’t wait.”
“Me either.”
Later, when Vi was back in her apartment and getting ready to shower, her phone dinged from its spot on the sink. It was a voice note from Caitlyn. Vi couldn’t help but smile widely, glad this feeling of infatuation wasn’t one-sided.
“Hi,” Vi could hear the woman stifling a giggle, “I realized I never got your name.”
Vi snorted. How on earth had that never come up?
She pressed the little microphone icon to send back a voice note of her own, assuming this must be Caitlyn’s preferred method of communication.
“It’s Vi,” she spoke into the phone. Just as she was about to send the quick message she paused and thought about Caitlyn’s accent. Suddenly she was desperate to hear Caitlyn say her name. She deleted the first message and recorded it again.
“It’s Violet,” she said this time, pressing send before she could overthink it.
A message came back almost immediately.
“Violet,” Vi shivered at the sound of her name wrapped up in Caitlyn’s dulcet voice, “What a beautiful name.”
Vi went to bed that night with three more favorite sounds than she’d woken up with that morning.
The sound of Caitlyn’s laughter.
The sound of Caitlyn’s whimper.
And the sound of her own name on Caitlyn’s tongue.
