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Vi took a quick glance over her shoulder and continued stuffing the small coins into her pockets. This might not be the brightest idea she’s ever had, but it was necessary. Even though she was dating someone from a rich family, she still couldn’t afford to pay for Powder’s tuition. Caitlyn got her into a good, fancy school and asked Vi if she needed any more help. Vi, being Vi, said no. Now, she was stealing on a Piltover market place, desperately trying not to get caught.
She grabbed an apple from the vegetable stand and took a bite, pretending nothing happened. She accidentally bumped into a tall guy and mumbled an apology.
‘’What the hell do you think you’re doing?’’ He hissed at her, clearly angry. He grabbed her arm and pulled her back.
‘’I’m sorry, dude! Jesus.’’ She tried to break free but he only tightened his hold. ‘’What’s your problem?’’
He reached into his coat and grabbed out his badge. ‘’I saw you steal that.’’ He pointed at the apple. ‘’You’re coming with me.’’
Vi panicked and lashed out at his face. He grunted as her fist came into contact with his nose and let go of her arm. She immediately took off and started running.
‘’Stop right there!’’ The man yelled behind her. ‘’Stop that girl!’’ He ordered to people around him.
In the corner of her eye Vi saw a couple of enforcers running her way. She made a sharp turn left and jumped up, trying to reach the roof. She was holding on with the tip of her fingers and looked down, seeing the enforcers running her way. She used all of her strength to pull herself up the roof and rolled over, taking a short break. No matter how old she got, she always found herself in these kinds of situations. She got up and started running again, trying to find a way out.
Caitlyn. She had to get to Caitlyn, she could help her. Stop them. She’d have to explain to her what happened, would she buy it if she said it was all a big misunderstanding? Probably not.
‘’There she is!’’ Vi heard someone shout from down there. She looked for enforcers but didn’t see any. She frowned. That’s new. Maybe they decided that Vi wasn’t worth their time.
‘’Get her!’’ Someone shouted behind her. She looked over her shoulder and saw about six enforcers on the roof, trying to catch up with her.
Vi cursed under her breath and accelerated her pace. She jumped onto the next building and the next, letting herself go with the rhythm. For a second she forgot she was being chased by dozens of enforcers. In her thoughts she didn’t see him coming. From the side, an enforcer dove into her, knocking her off her feet. She grunts as she hits the ceiling and rolls even further. She cursed as she rolled right off the building and fell into the mud. She whimpered as she tried to push herself up again, trying to continue.
‘’Stop.’’ A low voice commanded in front of her. Vi freezes and looked up. She locked eyes with an enforcer and he stepped forward. Vi backed up and started to get ready to fight.
He grinned. ‘’You sure you wanna do this, kid?’’ His hand reached down.
Vi lunged forward and punched him across the face. He got knocked back and pulled out the gun. He aimed it at Vi and moved his finger to the trigger. Vi pushed the gun out of the way, a bullet went to the side. She flinched at the sound but didn’t stop punching.
The enforcer grabbed her hair and pushed her down. She cried out in pain and tried to get out of his grip.
‘’Let go of me!’’ She yelled at him. She lashed out, hitting him across the face. Blood started to run down his cheek and he stared at her. Then, he hit her across the face and she fell down.
Other enforcers arrived and she was pushed down to the ground. One of them held her head down while another cuffed her hands behind her back. The pain across her face bit as they shoved her against the wall, searching her.
The coins fell out of her pocket, along with some other small stuff she lifted.
‘’What’s all this, thief?’’ The enforcer questioned her.
‘’It’s mine.’’ She hissed through gritted teeth, trying to ignore the pain in her wrists.
She got pulled back and led out of the alley.
**
Caitlyn put her pen down when she heard the knock on the door and looked up.
‘’Come in, please.’’
The door opened and an enforcer walked in.
‘’Sheriff, we had some trouble downtown. Thievery turned into assault, she fucked up Asher pretty bad.’’ He was young, younger than Caitlyn. ‘’I think you’d be interested in this. She had quite the impressive record, this could be a pretty big case.’’
Caitlyn huffed. ‘’I’m not here for big cases. If that’s all you care about, then this is not the job for you.’’ She got up from her chair and walked towards the nervous boy. ‘’What cell is she in?’’
He swallowed. ‘’We put her in 17, ma’am.’’ He handed her the file and she opened it.
There weren’t any specifics, just what happened and some physical information. ‘’Is she injured?’’
‘’Asher got her a few times. Nothing too bad.’’
Caitlyn stared at him. ‘’I’m gonna go over there. You do the paperwork.’’
He nodded. ‘’Yes ma’am.’’ He walked out of the office and Caitlyn followed him, locking the door behind her. She walked down the hallway and headed towards the holding cells. She put her key into the lock of 17 and opened the door. The figure inside looked up and backed up into the corner. Caitlyn noticed the cuffs around her hands and sighed. These people can’t do anything right, can they?
It only until then until she realized who the figure inside the cell is.
‘’Vi?’’ Caitlyn stormed in and knelt down in front of her girlfriend. ‘’What happened?’’ She looked at her face and cupped her cheeks with her hands, tracing her finger down the busted lip and bruise that was forming on her cheek.
‘’I’m sorry.’’ Vi whispered.
‘’Did they hurt you?’’ Caitlyn grabbed the keys and took the handcuffs off her wrists. She slowly pulled her up, careful not to hurt her and put her down on the bed.
‘’You should see the other guy.’’ Vi smiled slightly and looked at Caitlyn.
‘’Why did they even arrest you?’’
Vi looked away.
Caitlyn frowned. ‘’What did you do?’’
‘’I stole an apple and I got caught.’’
‘’Why the hell would you steal an apple? You could’ve just asked me for food if you couldn’t afford any yourself, you know. I thought we talked about this.’’ Caitlyn wasn’t mad. Just worried.
‘’It wasn’t just an apple.’’ Vi avoided her gaze. ‘’I want to go home, Cait.’’
Caitlyn grabbed her hand and led her out. ‘’Lets go. I’ll take you home.’’
When they walked towards the door, someone grabbed Vi’s arm from behind.
‘’Where the hell do you think you’re going?’’ Asher hissed.
Caitlyn turned around and pushed his arm away. ‘’Don’t touch her.’’ She stood in front of Vi. ‘’Step away from my girlfriend.’’
‘’Your what?!’’ The enforcer frowned. ‘’She attacked me! Look at my face!’’
Caitlyn didn’t move. ‘’Have you seen hers? I read the report. You used unnecessary violence. You should be glad you’re not fired right now.’’ Her tone was cold. ‘’Now step back. Leave her alone from now on.’’
Caitlyn could feel Vi staring at her. She grabbed her hand and they left the police station.
**
Caitlyn handed her girlfriend a cup of tea and sat down next to her. She pressed a soft kiss onto her forehead and joined Vi under the warm blanket.
‘’So.. You wanna tell me what happened?’’ She looked at Vi, trying to catch her gaze.
Vi was still looking away, obviously uncomfortable. ‘’Not really.’’
‘’You don’t have to be ashamed. You can tell me anything.’’ Caitlyn brushes her hand across Vi’s.
‘’It’s embarrassing.’’ Vi locked eyes with Caitlyn.
‘’That’s okay. Talk to me.’’ She whispers softly.
‘’It’s Powder. I can’t afford the academy. I don’t want to let her down, I can’t pull her out just because her lame sister can’t even pay for her school.’’ Vi closed her eyes. ‘’It’s my fault. I should be a better sister for her, but I’m not. I’m not worth anything.’’
‘’That’s not true.’’ Caitlyn tried to comfort her. ‘’Why didn’t you tell me? I thought you had a job?’’
‘’I do, but it’s not enough. I can barely pay rent.’’
Caitlyn couldn’t bare to see Vi like this, so vulnerable. On one hand, Caitlyn didn’t understand why Vi never told her anything. Vi knew she would always take care of her, that’s what they always do. On the other hand, she understood it. She’s never had to ask for anything, everything was always given to her. Caitlyn knew how hard it was for Vi to open up and talk about her problems. She wasn’t used to having a place to rant.
‘’You know I’ll always help you, right? There’s no need to lock all of your feelings inside, you can talk to me about anything.’’ She wrapped her arms around her girlfriend.
Vi looked up. ‘’I love you, do you know that?’’
Caitlyn smiled and kissed her. ‘’I love you too.’’ She wiped a lock of hair out of her face. ‘’I have an idea. Do you want my help?’’
Vi nodded. ‘’I don’t want to bother you with my problems, though.’’
She chuckled. ‘’You’re not bothering me with anything. You’re my girlfriend, your problems are my problems.’’
A small grin appeared on Vi’s face. ‘’Really?’’
‘’Yes.’’ Caitlyn said without hesitation. ‘’What if you and Powder moved in with me? You wouldn’t have to pay rent and worry about food anymore. Besides, Powder wouldn’t have to travel all the way uptown anymore, the academy is nearby. I could get you a better job, to make sure you never have to steal anything ever again. And if you do find yourself in a difficult position, you can tell me and I’ll take care of it.’’
‘’But, your parent’s wouldn’t-‘’
‘’I don’t care about my parents. I care about you. I’m my own person, I make my own decisions. I’m an adult and I can differentiate a criminal from someone who’s been forced in an unfortunate position. If my parent’s disagree they can respectfully kiss my ass.’’
Vi laughed. ‘’I believe that’s what you parents would call ‘vulgar language.’’’
Caitlyn grabbed her face and pulled her in for another kiss. ‘’Wait until they find out what I do to you in bed.’’ She whispered in Vi’s ear.
Vi choked on her tea and coughed. ‘’Whoa, cupcake. Moving a little quick here.’’
Caitlyn grinned. ‘’Do you want me to fire Asher? I could easily do it.’’
‘’I fucked him up pretty bad. He got what he deserved.’’
‘’I’ll just give him a mountain of paperwork to sort out. Keeping him off the streets for a while. Only an asshole would arrest someone for stealing a damn apple.’’ Caitlyn shook her head.
‘’Could you grab me some ice? My lip is starting to swell.’’
Caitlyn jumped up without saying a word and returned with an icepack. She handed it to Vi who gently put it against her lip and threw her head back with a sigh.
‘’I’m not giving you any more kisses as long as you keep that thing there!’’ Caitlyn crawled back into her spot, cold.
‘’That’s cold, cupcake. Literally.’’ Vi couldn’t help but smile. ‘’I’d love to.’’
‘’What?’’
‘’To move in with you. I’d have to talk about it with Powder though, I’m not sure if she’d like the idea as much as I do.’’ Vi grabbed her hand. ‘’As soon as I convince her that we wouldn’t be having constant sex, it should be fine.’’
Caitlyn chuckled. ‘’Good.’’ She played with Vi’s hair. ‘’I love you. A lot.’’
‘’I know.’’ Her eyes twinkled as she looked at Caitlyn. ‘’I love you too.’’