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It isn’t often that both Vi and Caitlyn shared a day off. Yet despite all odds today just happened to be one of those days. It had been a quiet rainy morning and it was looking like the rain wouldn’t be letting up anytime soon. But that didn’t matter to Vi, not when the woman of her dreams was right there in her arms. A content sigh escapes from her lips as she hugs Caitlyn tighter.
The thunderous sound of footsteps racing down the staircase informs her that their quiet morning is about to get a whole lot louder. Sure enough, not a moment later Jinx comes barreling over the couch and plops down on her lap without a single thought about the fact that Caitlyn was already there. The air in Vi’s lungs is forcefully pushed out leaving her gasping for air.
“Good morning to you too Jinx.” Caitlyn snickers out as she pats Vi’s back.
Vi is still struggling to breath but Jinx doesn’t seem to notice. Instead her sister curls up and snuggles closer to her. From this distance Vi can see the dark circles that reside underneath Jinx’s eyes and can feel her warm breath against her neck. Vi is about to question her sister but Jinx speaks up before she can.
“There’s something I need your help with. Both of you.” Jinx quietly admits. She isn’t looking at them, instead she’s focused on her hands as she fiddles with one of her braids.
“Of course, shoot.” Vi says seriously, Caitlyn nods along with her.
Another five minutes pass by in silence as Jinx continues to fidget. Her brows are furrowed in concentration as she continues to stare at her hand that's playing with her braid.
“I have a problem.” Jinx says cryptically.
Vi instantly tenses up. She hates the way her sister always beats around the bush. But she also realizes that it’s simply how Jinx processes things. She can feel the overwhelming urge to crack her knuckles, but she fights against it. That doesn’t stop her from mentally reciting the code to the safe where her atlas gauntlets are stored. Just in case.
“Go on, we’re listening.” Caitlyn quietly encourages.
“Okay here goes.” Jinx takes a deep breath. “How do you know when you like someone?”
A combination of stuns hit Vi all at once leaving her paralyzed for a minute. It takes seeing her sister’s comically beet red face to pull her out of her stupor. Thankfully Caitlyn as always is the picturesque definition of remaining calm under pressure as she swiftly catches her fumble. Caitlyn gently places her hand on top of Jinx’s.
"If you're already questioning it, then that may be a large clue as to how you feel. But tell us why you think you might like this mystery person?" Caitlyn soothes.
“I- where do I even start?” Jinx asks, and Vi knows by now that she’s not rhetorically asking where to start. She simply doesn’t know how a conversation like this is supposed to go.
Caitlyn smiles brightly at her sister. “Well why don’t you tell us a bit about them, and how they make you feel?”
“How about this, what's their name?” Vi adds, finally recomposed enough to speak.
“Zeri.” Jinx answers almost immediately.
Vi wracks her brain for any Zeris but comes up empty handed. The look on Caitlyn's face tells her that she doesn’t know of any Zeris either. That doesn’t surprise her though the name sounds very distinctly Zaun. Her hand moves to rub Jinx’s shoulder to help ground her.
“So what’s different about this Zeri compared to say Ekko?”
Jinx sits quietly for a moment. “I don’t know? When I’m around Ekko I feel normal, I guess? But when I’m with Zeri my heart always starts beating fast. Like super duper fast, and my palms get all sweaty and gross. And it feels like she draws my attention to her.”
Surprise hits Vi like a suckerpunch. She never realized that her little sister might be attracted to girls as well. Though she supposes she’s never given it much thought mainly because she’d love her no matter what. Despite her shock Vi resolves herself to stay focused. That doesn’t stop Vi from filing that bit of information away for a later date.
“And it’s like even when I’m not around her my brain constantly drifts to thoughts of her, and I just don’t understand!” Jinx stresses as she begins to tug and pull at her hair like she often does when she’s overwhelmed. Vi is quick to take her hands into her own to stop the pulling.
Caitlyn takes Jinx’s arms in her hands and gently begins to rub up and down them. “Let’s take a few deep breaths okay. In.”
Vi rubs circles on Jinx’s back as she counts to seven in her head.
“And out.”
“In”
“And out.”
The familiar process is repeated a few more times, but Vi can already see how much more relaxed her sister seems. She’s no longer a tense curled up heap in her lap. And by the time Caitlyn finishes Jinx appears to be slowly returning back to her normal self.
Caitlyn lifts Jinx’s head up by the chin and offers her a gentle smile. “Believe it or not I know a thing or two about what you’re going through.” Caitlyn’s eyes briefly glance up to meet Vi’s own, a sparkle of adoration twinkles within them.
“You do?”
Vi and Caitlyn both hum their agreement. They both know exactly how Jinx feels.
“I remember when I realized I first had feelings for the uptight, posh, and stunningly pretty enforcer that broke me out of Stillwater. It felt wrong, like I was betraying the undercity because I had developed feelings for some topsider.” Vi admits. “I couldn’t stop kicking myself after we had our brief falling out. I kept telling myself that we never had a chance, we were too different. Hell, I told Cait that we were like oil and water. But feelings don’t care about how different you are”
It feels strange to verbalize these thoughts, but she can see by Jinx’s furrowed brow that she’s thinking hard about this new information. A gentle hand moves to rest on her shoulder.
“I can still remember that day, that fight, like it was yesterday.” Caitlyn adds nostalgically. “I was so frustrated with Vi for leaving. But I was more frustrated with myself for trusting her. I remember thinking the only way to forget Vi was to literally wash any trace of her off of me. To the point that I ran straight to the shower when I got home. It was a silly idea, and one that certainly didn’t work. No matter how hard I tried my mind kept going back to Vi.”
Caitlyn’s face blushes bright pink to the point that Vi believes that there is more to this story than what Cait is saying. Thankfully it seems that Jinx doesn’t pick up on what Caitlyn is leaving unsaid. Instead Jinx simply nods her head while she mumbles quietly to herself.
“So what did you do about it?” Jinx asks expectantly.
“Well kiddo, there’s not much you can do about it.”
Jinx’s eyes go wide as panic dances within them, but Vi swiftly continues.
“The best thing you can do is simply ask her if she wants to go on a date, and try it out. The worst she can say is no.” Vi sagely adds. Or at least it would have sounded wise had Caitlyn not ruined it by snorting to herself.
Her sister’s head whips back to face Caitlyn as alarm once again creeps into her expression.
“Sorry, what Vi said is true. It’s just funny to hear it coming from you.”
Vi gasps in faux offense.
“Vi, love of my life.” Caitlyn begins sweetly. “You and I both know who asked out who, after months of someone dancing around the topic.” Her finger gently pokes into Vi’s side causing her to squirm away.
It isn’t hard to see what Caitlyn is doing. She’s intentionally being extra playful in an attempt to help lift Jinx’s dour mood. Unfortunately Jinx doesn’t seem to notice once again lost in her own mind.
“But what if she does say no? W-what if she brings up my past?” Jinx stammers out. “What if she-”
“Jinx.” Vi interrupts pulling her sister back into the present. “We can’t predict how people will react to the things we say or do. You never know what she’ll say, not until you try.”
Vi can see Caitlyn nodding along out of the corner of her eye.
“That’s right and if something does happen or things don’t go the way you want it too, well Vi and I will be right here for you. Okay?”
Jinx nods and curls up impossible closer into Vi’s chest. For a while Jinx seems content to sit in comfortable silence with them on the couch. Enough time has passed for the downpour to finally let up. To others it may seem like a waste of a day, but there’s nowhere else Vi would rather be than on this couch with her wife and sister. A sentiment which Jinx herself doesn’t seem to share. Jinx slowly stretches and looks around the room until she notices the few streams of sunlight beaming in through the window.
Vi startles as her sister jumps up from the couch. “I’ll be back later!” Jinx exclaims as she rushes out the front door.
It isn’t until Jinx has already left that the weight of their previous conversation finally hits Vi.
“What are we going to do? What am I going to do? Jinx is asking a girl out on a date!” A mixture of excitement and worry oozes from her voice.
A soft chuckle escapes Caitlyn. “Dear, she will be fine. She’s a big girl after all, and if Janna forbids something does happen we'll be waiting right here to help her out.”
Vi sinks back against the couch. Caitlyn’s right there’s nothing she can do but wait. Her eyes wander up and down her wife. Perhaps there’s something she can do while she waits though. Caitlyn lets out a startled yelp followed by a stream of giggles as Vi pounces on her pinning her to the couch. She runs her tongue over her lips as she looms over Caitlyn. She just has to remember to give them enough time to shower before Jinx gets back this time.