Chapter Text
All the wardens knew that the Sheriff was born with a silver spoon in her mouth. Conversations often took place in the breakroom about her inheritance, her family’s affluent status amongst the cream of Piltover, her inherent prim-and-proper ways. Vi had been given “the lowdown” by a low-ranking enforcer during her first week at the station, but it was nothing she had not already known from the moment she had met Caitlyn. Back then, the woman had been the shiniest Piltie Vi had ever laid eyes on, no questions asked. So she had been surprised when Caitlyn had proven herself to be different from her fellow elites. She was interesting, fair-minded, and (Vi was learning) adorable.
‘I do love the city, but I prefer the countryside. Cleaner air, wide open skies, a clear shot at my prey…’
Vi swigged from her beer as she listened. This was the first occasion she was spending time with Caitlyn outside of their work, though they were both still dressed in uniform. Vi’s gauntlets were stashed in the plush booth beside her, and across the table her partner’s rifle was leaning against the patterned wallpaper. A glass lantern hung from the gilded ceiling above them, casting a warm luminescence across Caitlyn’s features.
‘I haven’t been out to the manor in years, though I long to visit again. Mother and Father are spending the summer there and asked me to join them. Sometimes I think they forget I’m the Sheriff.’ Caitlyn finally looked up from her glass of wine and her eyes widened slightly at Vi. ‘Oh, gosh—I’m sorry. You must think that I sound like a Piltovan aristocrat whining about their petty hardships.’
Vi chuckled, leaning back comfortably in her seat. This hotel pub Caitlyn had brought her to was elegant—way out of Vi’s league—but clearly Caitlyn’s territory. It was quiet at this early hour of the evening, but soon it would be full of Piltovan socialites.
‘I would have, once,’ Vi answered truthfully. ‘But I know you mean well.’
Caitlyn smiled, glancing away from Vi as a faint blush coloured her cheeks. ‘And I suppose you don’t care for this spot, either? My parents brought me here when I was growing up.’
Vi looked over the pub’s gleaming tabletops, red-velvet seats, and strictly-uniformed waitstaff. The music backgrounding their conversation was a tedious Piltovan symphony of violins. She was also receiving judgemental looks from the bar across the room, where three well-dressed women were drinking cocktails and gossiping.
‘Not my scene, no,’ Vi admitted with a smile. ‘But I’m having a good time.’
Caitlyn sipped her wine. ‘So, where do you usually spend your Friday nights? Anywhere I’ve been?’
Vi tried to picture Caitlyn in the place she frequented on Friday nights, and promptly snorted into her beer.
‘What?’ Caitlyn asked, bemused. ‘What is it?’
‘Nothing,’ Vi put down her drink, unable to hide her grin.
‘Oh, come on,’ Caitlyn smiled slyly. ‘Some place the Sheriff would disapprove of? It’s not in Zaun, is it?’
‘Close enough,’ Vi shrugged. ‘Down towards the docks, a bar called the Loose Corset.’
Caitlyn’s mouth fell open, but she just as quickly shut it. ‘The Loose Corset?’
‘So you do know it?’ Vi said, feeling very entertained at Caitlyn’s expense. She was flushed again.
‘Only by reputation,’ Caitlyn confessed. ‘We once had a fight break out there that the wardens had to intercept. I was just a cadet back then.’
‘Must’ve been some fight,’ Vi said. ‘Just last week I had to pull apart two drunk tellers fighting over Jessie.’
‘Who’s Jessie?’ asked Caitlyn, wine glass raised halfway to her lips.
Vi smirked. ‘An…employee.’
‘Oh.’ Caitlyn took a larger sip of wine than previously. ‘Maybe I should visit this Loose Corset for myself. Sounds like an…interesting place.’
Vi re-envisioned Caitlyn at her weekly joint, this time out of uniform and a drink or two in. Suddenly she wasn’t so carefree in her amusement—the prospect was newly appealing. ‘Then just say when, sweetheart. My treat.’
Caitlyn went red again, and Vi started to wonder if her partner was a lightweight. But the blush faded quickly and Vi reconsidered. It was true that she threw around pet names like she was intimate with everyone, but Caitlyn, ever the professional, always disregarded them. It was intriguing to finally get a reaction from her. And Vi was not disappointed.