It had been a few weeks since the interaction with Jinx in the Undercity and the couple had started to fall into a new routine. Every day they would go about their regular business, Caitlyn going to work some days and others staying in to have a romantic day with Vi, and at night Vi would go down to Zaun and spend a few hours with her sister. There had been some rumblings in the enforcer's circle that they were looking to bring Vi on board, amazed at her quickness of finding Caitlyn as well as her fearlessness in just about every situation. Caitlyn had offhandedly mentioned it, but nothing seemed to be in the form of an offer. Vi didn't want an offer anyway, she didn't want to be an enforcer... at least not right now.
The problem with Vi having a full day each day followed by going to the Undercity in the evening was that she didn't have much time for resting and sleeping. As much as she loved spending time with Caitlyn and as relieved as she was to finally break through to Powder, she was utterly exhausted most of the time. Caitlyn had tried to get her to sleep, sometimes using trickery to try and lull her girlfriend into a snooze, but the boxer was resilient to such methods. Caitlyn was struggling to think of ways to lighten Vi's load, it hurt her a bit to see the person she loved exhausting herself day in and day out. Eventually she had a thought. Not one she thought particularly enjoyable with a variable chance at success, but she had to do it for her Muffin.
A few days later, when Cait had a day off, she took Vi into town for lunch and proposed her thought, leaving her true reasoning for why she wanted it out of her explanation. She loved Vi a lot, and by now had gotten to know her quite well, and she knew that if she proposed anything in the interest of Vi's wellbeing she would probably refuse. She was a protector by nature and had a certain level of pride to go along with it. Cait even remembered far back to their first encounter when Vi pushed her hand away from cleaning a cut. Perhaps she thought it a sign of weakness, or some kind of neediness, Caitlyn truly couldn't be sure.
After explaining her thoughts Vi was left surprised. She hadn't expected such an idea to come from Caitlyn, especially not so soon. She liked the plan though, and it seemed in good taste. It was something Vi would have attempted to do eventually anyway, but to know that it was something her Cupcake was already prepared for gave her a fill of confidence and relief.
So, the next night that Vi was going to the Undercity, she asked Powder to meet her on the bridge instead of Jericho's. And at the time they usually meet up Vi had arrived with Caitlyn, the couple walking hand in hand.
Caitlyn was sweating bullets. She didn't want Jinx to see her as just another enforcer and certainly not a threat. She was already having second thoughts about this whole idea, her heart beating so rapidly with nerves it could burst from her chest. As they approached her girlfriend's sister through the bridge's fog she had to put all her strength and trust into Vi being able to nullify any situation that could arise.
Vi was also nervous, she didn't know how Powder would take this proposal. She had worked out some kind of speech to explain to Powder what was going on but she knew her sister only had so much reason to work with. She didn't want Cait to get hurt, she didn't want PowPow to get hostile, the whole situation had a good chance of escalating. Vi just wanted to stop that. She had peppered in small details about Caitlyn each night she spoke with the gunslinger in an attempt to humanize her. She wanted Powder to see Caitlyn as a person, as someone who could be a friend, as someone who she loved. She didn't know how successful any of these efforts would work out to be but she had done her best.
Jinx was simply confused while she stood waiting on the bridge for her sister. Why would she want to meet up here? She never brought her big gun with her when she met with Vi, only ever the pistol. She knew there would never be much threat with Vi around anymore, and if there was, her older sister could handle it. She patiently waited for her sister to come through the fog with whatever yielded this special occasion on the bridge. Unfortunately, the big surprise seemed to be that she had brought her enforcer, her "Caitlyn". Weren't these nights supposed to be their own time? Why was she bringing this person into the mix? She didn't understand, and she was starting to panic. Their silhouettes were slowly becoming more detailed, more human. Jinx remained confused. She wanted to shout out, but before she could, it seemed the tall one had stopped walking forward. It was just Violet's image becoming clear in the moonlight, not the other one's.
When Vi finally reached her she gave her a greeting and a hug, reminding Powder who she is and that things are okay. When their embrace released, Vi lowered herself so that her eyes were at the same level as Powder's. She grabbed her hand and started to explain.
"PowPow, I've brought Caitlyn with me today, okay? I know these nights are ordinarily meant for just us but this is something that's important to me, and I want you to understand," She started to explain.
"Explain what, that she's taking you away again? That you're leaving me again?" Jinx started to say, raising her voice.
"Shh, easy, PowPow, easy. It's not like that at all, you're still seeing me every single night, okay? I want you to remember when we lived with Vander, and Mylo, and Claggor. We cared about each other a whole hell of a lot, right? But we also cared about those idiots, right?" Vi continued, her voice soft in an attempt to keep Powder calm.
"I-I guess, sure, they were kind of like family," Jinx stuttered, still upset.
"Exactly, we were close with those guys! Now Cait and I, we've gotten pretty close too, and it's almost like if I were always with Mylo and Claggor and you couldn't be with us. I don't want it to be that way, and I can see why that's upsetting for you. So, I want you to try and get to know Caitlyn too, okay?" Vi finally asked, hoping for anything but a bad response.
Jinx's nose crinkled. She didn't like the idea but in her heart she knew that Vi had a point. She hated Caitlyn, truly, but she didn't know the enforcer at all. And as much of an asshole that Mylo was, she did still have a soft spot for him. And Claggor was the definition of a gentle giant who she really did adore. She remembered destroying Mylo in the carnival shootout games too, she knew this Caitlyn considered herself to be something of a marksman, maybe it would be time to see who had the better shot.
"I know it might not come easily," Vi persisted after seeing Powder stand still with her nose crinkled for a little too long, "But I want you to at least try, alright? Caitlyn's trying too, I care about both of you way too much to have to keep you separate."
Jinx knew what Vi's love felt like, and admittedly she wanted it all to herself. But if she had to share it with someone then it has to be someone Vi thinks is worth it, it's not something she tosses around lightly.
She took a step forward, her hand still in Vi's grasp, and Vi led her to Caitlyn. When they reached the enforcer there was a short, awkward silence between the two. Neither was sure who should speak first. Vi stood nervously at the side, waiting for any form of conversation to spark. After a few moments that felt like eternity, Caitlyn finally broke the quit air.
"Hello, Powder," She said quietly.
"What are you doing with my sister?" Jinx asked aggressively.
"I'm... uh-" Caitlyn stammered.
"You've got her living up in Topside now, with all your fancy devices and wooshy clothes and big shiny buildings!"
"Powder," Vi interrupted, "I'm living up there by my own choice, okay? Cait isn't forcing me to do anything I don't want to do."
Jinx sneered, looking expectantly at Caitlyn for a response.
"It's true, Vi is living with me in Topside because that's what she wanted. We thought it would be easier because I've got the space for both of us. I wouldn't worry, your sister still has the Undercity grit she's always had," Caitlyn explained. This had quickly started to feel like more of an interrogation than a meeting, but with Vi mediating the exchange it didn't seem so bad.
"What do you do with her up there?" Jinx asked, leaning closer to Caitlyn to get a better look.
"Well, um, sometimes we go out for lunch, we've gone down to the harbour-"
"What do you do with her up there?" Jinx asked again, assertively. Caitlyn was trying to search for words, not finding any good ones to say. She looked over at Vi following a series of ums and uhs, Jinx following suit.
"Yes, Powder, we have," Vi told her. Jinx looked at Caitlyn again, the sniper having taken a half-step back out of concern, and then looked back at Vi.
"She means that much to you? You trust her that much?" Jinx asked her sister.
"She does, and I do," Vi replied affirmingly. Jinx took another step forward onto Caitlyn, glancing up and down her body before letting out a quiet scoff.
"I guess," She said to herself, but loud enough for the others to hear. "So," she continued, "you must really like her a lot, huh?"
Caitlyn looked at Vi for confirmation, and Vi nodded. "I do," Caitlyn said, "I care about her deeply. I- I love her. Your sister, she's an incredible person and is truly special. I can see why you would be so protective of her."
Jinx stood still and listened, processing all the information. She remained still even after Caitlyn had stopped speaking, her only movements a short nod and a bounce of the toes.
"I've got all I need. No Jericho's tonight, sis, see you tomorrow," Jinx said loudly before beginning her walk back to Zaun. Vi couldn't decide if she wanted to follow her or not, just to hear what she thought and such. She didn't seem like she wanted to be followed, she didn't even look back at the pair. Powder is someone who's learned to look back if there's something she needs to look back on, and Vi didn't want to push her too hard. She'd let her sister process everything she'd heard that night and discuss it with her the next day.
In the present Vi made sure Caitlyn was feeling okay. It seemed like she was holding half her breath the entire time, and she was, and it felt good to let it out while in the comfort of Vi's arms. Vi knew this couldn't have been easy for Caitlyn, frankly she admired the bravery it took considering every interaction they've had so far. But the bridge was no place for Cait's nerves to properly settle, so Vi held her hand the full walk home and let the sniper lay on her chest once they got into bed. No matter how tired Vi had been the past many weeks, this one interaction exhausted Caitlyn ten fold. Both of them were glad to be back in bed together, and they were relieved at how well the meeting with Powder seemed to go.