[It wasn't uncommon for Caitlyn to arrive home to clutter. It wasn't all Vi's, some of hers too, but it was clutter from their lives. Cups and other dishes left behind after quick morning meals, clothes tossed aside and forgotten, papers and notes (usually Caitlyn's) set down or misplaced. It wasn't dirty, just lived in, and Caitlyn loved it.
As awful as Aldrip could be at times, she loved the life they had built together. The sorrow of losing other loved ones still laid heavily on her chest, but at least she had Vi. As long as she had Vi, she could survive the rest.
As she was gathering a few things to take back to their bedroom, her singular blue eye landed on file folders she didn't recognize. The familiar Piltover symbol stood out to her, and she dropped everything else in her hands immediately to grasp the strange papers. She sunk to their couch, starting to flip through the pages of the first one, and her heart sunk. The papers almost fell out of her hands as shock took her, because--
She wasn't expecting this. She wasn't expecting this at all.
The files. The damned files of Vi's imprisonment. The ones she had asked for when she first sought her out in Stillwater, and was told didn't exist. Marcus, that lying bastard, weaseled his dirty fingers into everything. Yes, he was maybe the only reason Vi was still alive, but he was also the reason Vi suffered needlessly for seven years, and she didn't think she could ever forgive him for the tortures Vi went through. She didn't like to talk about it with Caitlyn, but she knew. She saw the way she tensed. Saw the way she avoided talking about prison with anyone that asked. Saw the way nightmares still overtook her, even in Caitlyn's embrace.
She didn't know if she could read this, and yet, she couldn't look away. She couldn't pry it out of her hands or stop, even when every page was worse than the last. The lying about her age. The clear abuse they intentionally put her through. They did this to a child. By the time the last page as been scorched into her brain, tears are rolling down her cheeks.
If she hadn't already restructured Stillwater in her time as Commander, she would be ready to burn the place down right about now.
She doesn't know how long she sat like this, rereading those horrifying words, anger burning in her chest, while tears escaped, but that's how Vi would find her, when she reentered the home.]
it's okay we can handwave that they showed up recently or smth LMAO
[Vi actually loves coming home to Caitlyn. she didn't think she'd ever think that something would feel like coming home again after losing Vander and her siblings, but Caitlyn was home. she'd been home for a long time, and even in Runeterra she aws going to get that now too.
she feels like the luckiest girl in the world sometimes, despite all the shit that's happened to her.
she comes in from a shift at Lupin, and kicks off her shoes at the door before padding inside all the way.]
Honey I'm--
[and then she finds Caitlyn, crying.
her stomach drops.]
What happened??
[she rushes to her, her focus only on that woman she loves so much. she doesn't even notice the files that she has with her because she's so alarmed about it.
Caitlyn's crying. not even something she does very often, but only around Vi.]
[Caitlyn's barely aware of the moment Vi walks in the door. Usually that's one of her favorite moments of the day. They pretend like they haven't seen each other or spent half of the day working together already. Their bodies meet, they kiss and share details about the moments they were apart, and a lot of times... clothes disappear. She might have had dinner already prepped, or ordered something for them, but today, things took a turn.
It's only when Vi rushes to her that she comes back to reality, her blue eye locking eyes with that reddish-pink hair, and all she can think of is a scared child, being tortured.
She's never forgotten the moment she first saw Vi. How she was intimidated by her demeanor, how she was terrified out of her mind, to even be in Stillwater, let alone interacting with a criminal so dangerous they were locked away in placed where the sun never dared to look. Even then, she thought she was stunning, but she wouldn't trade anything for the happy and healthy version of that woman she loved so deeply.
How could anyone have done this to such a kind and warm person? To a fucking child. Gods, she wanted to raise Marcus from the dead and kill him all over again.
Any composure doesn't last long, and she can't even swallow the sob that escapes her as she drops the files and immediately throws her arms around Vi.]
[she was not expecting for Caitlyn to sob and fling herself into her arms like this, but she catches her anyway. she'll always catch her.
she has no idea what to say, what's caused it, and her anxiety spikes as she still doesn't notice anything about the files. the only thing that she cares about right now is Caitlyn crying.]
Are you okay?? Are you hurt? [she starts to sound a bit panicked now, because if something happened to her Caitlyn, she's going to lose her shit.] Did someone fuck around with you? Who were they?
[Sorry, Vi, words are hard when you're this upset. And Caitlyn is very upset. It wasn't like she hadn't imagined the horrors Vi had went through in Stillwater, but seeing it so obviously cruel, right in her face? To see how she was mocked and mishandled intentionally? Fuck Marcus, fuck the Warden, and fuck everyone that had any part in the cruel behaviors in that prison.
She pulls away a little, not quite out of Vi's arms, but away enough that she's able to wipe away some of the mess all over her face. Her eye is still blurry with moisture when she looks at Vi, lip quivering as she tries again to find her words and vaguely gestures to the mess of papers on the floor.]
These...files. T-They were here when I got home. Violet, they're...from Stillwater. About you. I-I knew they were cruel to you, but this--- what they describe, it's...inhuman.
[Vi doesn't comprehend it, at first. what files? Stillwater? it's almost as if it was a lifetime ago.
and then her stomach twists, and she remembers. being beaten and screaming Powder's name. being assumed she's on drugs because of the mentions of her. she'd never corrected them, because none of it was their fucking business.
that cell, that was so devoid of fresh air and light that she felt like she was going insane. being interrogated, laughing at them while they interrogated her, because she was so desperate for them to know that they didn't scare her. they did, but it wasn't stronger than her need to get back to Powder. all the abuse and neglect for seven years...
she only vaguely comes back to the present, but she hasn't noticed that she's stopped holding Caitlyn. that she's walking away from her, and picking up the files. that she's scrambling through the house looking for a lighter--
they've got to go. she doesn't know that her face is pale and her eyes wild in her desperation to get them out of their home. no. no. they can't exist. not here. not where Caitlyn can see them and read them until she drives herself insane too--]
[It's a bit startling, when Vi is pulling out of her embrace and scrambling away with the files in hand.]
Vi--? What are you--
[Caitlyn's on her feet in seconds, trailing after Vi, voice full of concern. Her own sorrow over the files is long out of mind, her priority shifting to Vi and only Vi.
It takes a minute of chasing after her that she manages to get a hold of her, putting both of her hands on Vi's shoulders and trying to stop her from moving long enough to keep her attention.]
Vi, look at me. Come back to me. Let me help.
[She has a feeling Vi wants the files gone, and she's fine with that, she just doesn't want Vi to do something rash and hurt herself in the process.]
[Vi's eyes are wide as Caitlyn takes her shoulders in her hands, eyes stinging as her hands start to shake. she looks at this person she loves so much, those blue eyes that have grounded her through many issues, here and at home.
and then they blur, because she doesn't deserve Caitlyn. in moments like these, she feels like she doesn't deserve her at all.]
You weren't... supposed to know. I don't want anyone to know--
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
backdated idk A WHILE
As awful as Aldrip could be at times, she loved the life they had built together. The sorrow of losing other loved ones still laid heavily on her chest, but at least she had Vi. As long as she had Vi, she could survive the rest.
As she was gathering a few things to take back to their bedroom, her singular blue eye landed on file folders she didn't recognize. The familiar Piltover symbol stood out to her, and she dropped everything else in her hands immediately to grasp the strange papers. She sunk to their couch, starting to flip through the pages of the first one, and her heart sunk. The papers almost fell out of her hands as shock took her, because--
She wasn't expecting this. She wasn't expecting this at all.
The files. The damned files of Vi's imprisonment. The ones she had asked for when she first sought her out in Stillwater, and was told didn't exist. Marcus, that lying bastard, weaseled his dirty fingers into everything. Yes, he was maybe the only reason Vi was still alive, but he was also the reason Vi suffered needlessly for seven years, and she didn't think she could ever forgive him for the tortures Vi went through. She didn't like to talk about it with Caitlyn, but she knew. She saw the way she tensed. Saw the way she avoided talking about prison with anyone that asked. Saw the way nightmares still overtook her, even in Caitlyn's embrace.
She didn't know if she could read this, and yet, she couldn't look away. She couldn't pry it out of her hands or stop, even when every page was worse than the last. The lying about her age. The clear abuse they intentionally put her through. They did this to a child. By the time the last page as been scorched into her brain, tears are rolling down her cheeks.
If she hadn't already restructured Stillwater in her time as Commander, she would be ready to burn the place down right about now.
She doesn't know how long she sat like this, rereading those horrifying words, anger burning in her chest, while tears escaped, but that's how Vi would find her, when she reentered the home.]
it's okay we can handwave that they showed up recently or smth LMAO
she feels like the luckiest girl in the world sometimes, despite all the shit that's happened to her.
she comes in from a shift at Lupin, and kicks off her shoes at the door before padding inside all the way.]
Honey I'm--
[and then she finds Caitlyn, crying.
her stomach drops.]
What happened??
[she rushes to her, her focus only on that woman she loves so much. she doesn't even notice the files that she has with her because she's so alarmed about it.
Caitlyn's crying. not even something she does very often, but only around Vi.]
that works too LMAO
It's only when Vi rushes to her that she comes back to reality, her blue eye locking eyes with that reddish-pink hair, and all she can think of is a scared child, being tortured.
She's never forgotten the moment she first saw Vi. How she was intimidated by her demeanor, how she was terrified out of her mind, to even be in Stillwater, let alone interacting with a criminal so dangerous they were locked away in placed where the sun never dared to look. Even then, she thought she was stunning, but she wouldn't trade anything for the happy and healthy version of that woman she loved so deeply.
How could anyone have done this to such a kind and warm person? To a fucking child. Gods, she wanted to raise Marcus from the dead and kill him all over again.
Any composure doesn't last long, and she can't even swallow the sob that escapes her as she drops the files and immediately throws her arms around Vi.]
Oh, Violet--
no subject
[she was not expecting for Caitlyn to sob and fling herself into her arms like this, but she catches her anyway. she'll always catch her.
she has no idea what to say, what's caused it, and her anxiety spikes as she still doesn't notice anything about the files. the only thing that she cares about right now is Caitlyn crying.]
Are you okay?? Are you hurt? [she starts to sound a bit panicked now, because if something happened to her Caitlyn, she's going to lose her shit.] Did someone fuck around with you? Who were they?
[she'll go fuck them up-]
no subject
[Sorry, Vi, words are hard when you're this upset. And Caitlyn is very upset. It wasn't like she hadn't imagined the horrors Vi had went through in Stillwater, but seeing it so obviously cruel, right in her face? To see how she was mocked and mishandled intentionally? Fuck Marcus, fuck the Warden, and fuck everyone that had any part in the cruel behaviors in that prison.
She pulls away a little, not quite out of Vi's arms, but away enough that she's able to wipe away some of the mess all over her face. Her eye is still blurry with moisture when she looks at Vi, lip quivering as she tries again to find her words and vaguely gestures to the mess of papers on the floor.]
These...files. T-They were here when I got home. Violet, they're...from Stillwater. About you. I-I knew they were cruel to you, but this--- what they describe, it's...inhuman.
no subject
and then her stomach twists, and she remembers. being beaten and screaming Powder's name. being assumed she's on drugs because of the mentions of her. she'd never corrected them, because none of it was their fucking business.
that cell, that was so devoid of fresh air and light that she felt like she was going insane. being interrogated, laughing at them while they interrogated her, because she was so desperate for them to know that they didn't scare her. they did, but it wasn't stronger than her need to get back to Powder. all the abuse and neglect for seven years...
she only vaguely comes back to the present, but she hasn't noticed that she's stopped holding Caitlyn. that she's walking away from her, and picking up the files. that she's scrambling through the house looking for a lighter--
they've got to go. she doesn't know that her face is pale and her eyes wild in her desperation to get them out of their home. no. no. they can't exist. not here. not where Caitlyn can see them and read them until she drives herself insane too--]
no subject
Vi--? What are you--
[Caitlyn's on her feet in seconds, trailing after Vi, voice full of concern. Her own sorrow over the files is long out of mind, her priority shifting to Vi and only Vi.
It takes a minute of chasing after her that she manages to get a hold of her, putting both of her hands on Vi's shoulders and trying to stop her from moving long enough to keep her attention.]
Vi, look at me. Come back to me. Let me help.
[She has a feeling Vi wants the files gone, and she's fine with that, she just doesn't want Vi to do something rash and hurt herself in the process.]
no subject
and then they blur, because she doesn't deserve Caitlyn. in moments like these, she feels like she doesn't deserve her at all.]
You weren't... supposed to know. I don't want anyone to know--
[she didn't even want to think about it anymore.]