Chapter Text
Caitlyn was the type of person to always wake up early. At 6:00 AM sharp every morning she was awake, dressing herself and starting her brewer for herself and Vi’s morning coffee. Strict time schedules were a very important part of being successful, if you were to ask her. Vi herself was not so keen on this morning routine, however, and often opted for a few more minutes of sleep. She’d eventually crawl out of bed minutes before they had to leave, drowsily sipping her coffee and hastily dressing. Caitlyn didn’t understand how she could do it, if she were honest.
This was the main reason why, when Caitlyn found herself waking up at 9:00 in the morning with her partner suspiciously absent and with the smell of something burning hanging in the air, the sheriff shot up with wide eyes. Cursing, she stumbled out of the bed she shared with the pink-haired bruiser and searched around in her closet for clothes. Throwing on some pants and her robe, she made her way out of the room, pausing briefly to stare at Jinx’s door. Had she stayed? Caitlyn was tempted to open the door and check, but she stopped herself.
Jinx deserved privacy, if she had even stayed the night.
Wordlessly, Caitlyn slipped into the living room, hesitating at the sounds she heard coming from somewhere in her kitchen.
Laughter.
She moved to stand with her back to the side of the doorway, just listening. Apparently, Vi had woken up rather early and decided to make breakfast. Not entirely unusual; Vi enjoyed surprising her with treats every now and then. What really surprised Caitlyn wasn’t the sound of something sizzling or the smell of burning eggs that hung thick in the air.
It was the sound of Jinx. Jinx’s laughter.
It wasn’t the usual, manic giggles that the girl spewed whilst exploding something or in the midst of one of her attacks; It was a genuine, happy sound.
“--And I burned the whole thing?” Caitlyn heard Vi chuckle, apparently having caught the tail end of the conversation.
“Yeah,” Jinx’s voice echoed through the room. “And Mylo tried to eat it anyway.”
Caitlyn smiled softly to herself, glad that Vi had taken her words seriously the night before. The two were cooking together, something so simple and yet such a big step.
“Hey, grab the plates. I wanna get these off before we totally burn Cup--err--Caitlyn’s.”
Caitlyn let out a huff, too quiet for the two girls to notice.
There was a moment of silence and the sound of silverware clanking before Jinx spoke.
“...She’s not all bad, for an enforcer. I think…I think I want to try and get along. She’s not exactly my kind of company, but…She’s never hurt me. Not really.”
Caitlyn could imagine the way Vi shrank back at the words; Because of course, Vi had hurt her. Just like everyone else had. Caitlyn vowed right then and there that she would never make that mistake. Jinx didn’t deserve to be hurt anymore.
“I’m really sorry, Powder. For hurting you. For--everything,” Vi sighed, her voice pained. It hurt Caitlyn to hear her that way, and she almost considered going in to comfort her. But this wasn’t her moment; It belonged to Vi and Jinx.
“It’s Jinx,” Jinx replied quickly, voice taut. There was another moment of silence as Caitlyn imagined the two stared at each other.
“I--I can’t. I’m sorry. I can’t call you that,” Vi’s voice was thick with emotion as she took in a shuddering breath. Caitlyn held her own breath, worry tearing at her heart.
“I’m not Powder anymore. I know that that doesn’t make sense--It does! Shut up!” Caitlyn froze as Jinx’s voice picked up, and she wasted no time in rounding the corner. Jinx was suddenly on the floor, hands to her ears as she pulled at her hair.
“Stop, stop, stop, stop! Don’t--Don’t! They aren’t! They wouldn’t! Shut up!” Jinx grounded her teeth as she screeched, scratching at her arms as if trying to tear open the bandages. Caitlyn moved quickly, gently peeling Jinx’s hands away and holding them tightly in her own, denying the girl from further injuring herself. Jinx stared up at her with wide pink eyes, shimmer tears trailing down her face. Caitlyn frowned and turned, gesturing to Vi, who stood frozen in place. The pink-haired woman moved jerkily at the signal, taking up Caitlyn’s place in front of Jinx on the floor.
“Hey, hey, It’s okay. Look at me, okay? I’m not going to hurt you. Never again, okay?” Vi spoke softly, now holding Jinx’s hands and rubbing small circles in her palms. Jinx gasped for air, pink tears streaming down her chin as she seemed to listen to Vi’s words.
“Y-you’re gonna leave. You always do. I can’t--I can’t--Don’t make me do this again--”
“I’m not going anywhere. Never. I won’t ever put you through that again. I promise,” Vi stared desperately into her sister’s unnatural eyes, not seeming fazed by the glowing pink in the slightest.
“No, no, no you’re lying, you’re lying,” Jinx tried to push Vi away from her half-heartedly, trembling and hyperventilating. Vi’s face morphed into one of pity as she gently raised a hand to cup her sister’s cheek. Jinx didn’t move away, seeming to instinctually lean into the touch.
Caitlyn watched, her heart twisting in her ribs as Jinx slowly sank into Vi, allowing the bigger girl to envelope her in a hug. Jinx buried her head against her sister, body racking with sobs as she quivered. Vi held her tightly, murmuring words of comfort and gently combing a hand through her hair. Caitlyn sat beside them, rubbing circles in Jinx’s back.
Eventually, Jinx’s sobs quieted, so much so that Caitlyn had begun to think that the girl had fallen asleep right there in Vi’s arms. She was proven wrong, however, when Jinx sniffled.
“The food’s cold,” came the bluette’s voice, achingly small. Vi chuckled at that, sharing a glance with Caitlyn.
“We, uh, made breakfast,” the pinkette laughed awkwardly, gesturing with her eyes towards the plates of food long forgotten. Caitlyn hummed.
“I could tell; the house smelled like you’d started a fire.”
“Oh, come on, It wasn’t that bad.”
“It was pretty bad,” Jinx added with a teary chuckle. Caitlyn smiled softly and stood, reaching out with a hand to help Vi to her feet. With her came Jinx, still pressed to Vi’s side.
“Here, why don’t we eat?” Caitlyn smiled, handing Vi a plate and taking her own, holding onto a second one for Jinx. Caitlyn was typically very strict about eating at the table, but one look at the still-trembling girl tucked under Vi’s arm made her relent and lead the way towards the living room. They settled onto the couch and Caitlyn took the remote to the television, throwing on some soapy drama.
Quietly, they began to eat, and it took all of Caitlyn’s restraint and years of training from formal parties to not pull a face. It was not very good, and Caitlyn wondered how exactly the two had managed to ruin eggs.
“So, how is it?” Vi asked with a shit-eating grin, knowing full well that it was terrible. Jinx snickered.
“It’s…” Caitlyn trailed off, making useless gestures with her hands. “...cold?”
“Well I think it’s bad,” Jinx frowned, perking an eyebrow. Caitlyn chuckled, idly eying Jinx’s bandages to make sure she hadn’t reopened them. To her relief, they were clean, with no blood staining the white wraps.
Jinx seemed to follow her line of sight, subtly holding her wrists. Suddenly, Caitlyn remembered the paint that they had bought.
“Oh! If you’d like, we can use that paint now?” She asked, standing and meeting Jinx’s already tired eyes. Some curiosity sparked there, and Caitlyn decided that that was enough. Jinx nodded, and Caitlyn hummed, turning and making her way towards where she’d left the paint on the counter. Smiling to herself as she imagined her plan working out perfectly, she snatched a few of the paints and the oil pastels, the latter still wrapped in a bag to hide the contents.
She returned to the two on her couch, sighing inwardly when she saw that the sisters were now sitting on opposite sides, as though Jinx had realized who she had been clinging to. She sat down on the floor before them, placing a few containers of paint before her on the ground. After a moment of thought, she picked them back up and replaced them over a splayed-out trashbag. No use ruining her carpet.
The other two occupants of her room watched her, Vi with curiosity and Jinx with tired yet interested eyes. Patting the ground beside her with a smile, Caitlyn set some paint down in front of Jinx as the girl sat down. She repeated the motion to Vi, who grinned at her pink paint.
“So, what’s this for, anyway?” Jinx asked, staring down at her blue paint with a blank expression.
“I thought, perhaps if I could show you this, it would help,” Caitlyn reached for Jinx’s arms.
“‘Help?’” Jinx echoed, brow raised.
“Next time you feel the need to…harm yourself,” Caitlyn grimaced, “I would like you to try this instead.”
Caitlyn followed the words by dipping a brush into the paint--non-toxic paint, of course; Caitlyn wasn’t stupid--and gently painting strokes along Jinx’s elbow, mimicking her cloud tattoos. Jinx’s eyes were wide, though she looked almost excited.
Vi was quick to catch on, wetting her own brush and doodling little faces onto her arms. Jinx watched her for a moment before reaching out and taking the brush from Caitlyn, pressing it to the skin of her upper arm. She hesitated, as though she had wanted to draw something but changed her mind, before pasting a small monkey onto her arm. Caitlyn smiled encouragingly, taking her own container of paint and drawing cupcakes running down her arms.
Within minutes, they were laughing, with Vi having drawn her own name onto Caitlyn along with many little hearts, and Jinx doodling an unflattering portrait of Vi onto her sister. Caitlyn hummed as she painted more clouds onto Jinx’s pale skin, and Jinx laughed when Vi tried drawing a similar portrait of the bluette onto her.
It was perhaps the most natural she had ever seen the two, with Vi looking genuinely happy for the first time in a long while, and Jinx with a sparkle in her eye that wasn’t due to explosives.
It fell silent when Vi reached out towards Jinx’s face, making the girl flinch. When Jinx opened her eyes again, Vi had drawn the word ‘Jinx’ on her cheek in the same fashion as her own tattoo.
“There. We match,” Vi smiled softly, and gasped as Jinx practically tackled her.
“That’s my name. That’s my name!” The small girl laughed happily, tearing up. Vi looked slightly confused and uncomfortable, though she would never pass up a hug from Jinx.
“If--If that’s who you want to be, what you want to be called, then that’s what I’ll call you,” Vi cupped Jinx’s cheek again, drawing her teary eyes up to meet her own. “I don’t care what your name is. I love you.”
Jinx nodded stiffly against her chest, tears running onto Vi’s shirt. “Love you, too.”
Caitlyn watched with a very happy smile, extremely proud that her plan had worked. She sighed with a chuckle, already thinking about the mess they’d have to clean. To her, though, it was more than worth it.
“Oh!” the sheriff exclaimed suddenly, turning around for the other bag she had brought over from the counter. “I got you something else.”
She removed the oil pastels from its bag and held it out towards Jinx, who stared at it with wide eyes. Her gaze flicked from the pastels to Caitlyn and back again.
“...These are for me?” She unlatched herself from Vi to get a better look, gaping at all of the colors. If Caitlyn’s guess was right, these were better than any art supplies she’d ever had.
“Yes, I saw you eyeing them at the shop and, well,” Caitlyn chuckled, pressing them into Jinx’s hands. The girl took them, still looking shocked. Then, she laughed.
“Thanks, Caitlyn. I mean it.” Her gaze was full of genuine gratitude, and Caitlyn couldn’t help but smile softly.
“Of course.”