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Hundreds of thousands of little lightbulbs mantled the City of Progress in their warm and enchanting embrace. The welcoming moonlight that accompanied them shone brightly over the elaborate rooftops, bridges, and symmetrical buildings of Piltover.
The Kiramman estate rested quietly in the silence of the night, save for the occasional squeak of an aging floorboard or the soft cry of a night fowl echoing from the gardens. Within the newest Matriarch’s grand bedroom—hidden behind lavender colored gauzy curtains and nestled in a bed far too luxurious for just two—Caitlyn Kiramman sat quietly awake.
The Sheriff of Piltover rarely afforded herself the indulgence of peaceful reflection, especially not after all that had transpired since the Noxian war. Yet tonight, wrapped in soft quiet, she allowed herself this moment of opulent tranquility.
A shirtless Vi lay on her stomach beside her, one arm tucked beneath her pillow. Her breath was slow, steady, utterly untroubled. The soft light from the nightstand lamp cast a golden aura across her bare back and arms, illuminating the rise and fall of her muscles and the intricate tapestry of tattoos and scars that told stories her Lieutenant rarely shared aloud. Caitlyn sat cross-legged at her side with pen and clipboard in hand, her azure eye meticulously tracing each line of ink and shadowed mark, warmed by the rare, precious sight of Violet sleeping in peace.
After Ambessa’s assault, Viktor’s devastation, and the loss of both Jinx and Vander, Vi had been left to shoulder a grief no one should endure. At first, it took Vi some time to adapt to the comforts of being offered three warm meals a day, a hot shower whenever she wanted, and a safe and comfortable space to relax and sleep.
When she first came to live at the Kiramman estate, she could had been considered a hollow husk of a human—with shoulders too sharp and cheeks drawn in… and her eyes... oh those eyes that Caitlyn adored… those light blues that had once been full of light, were dulled with sorrow in sunken sockets.
It had broken Caitlyn’s heart.
The fact that she knew that she had contributed to Violet’s affliction brought endless misery and guilt to the young woman with Ionian blood. Caitlyn solemnly vowed to make up for it for the rest of her life.
But her Violet had always been resilient. It was something Caitlyn admired deeply. With Ekko’s unwavering support and Caitlyn’s gentle presence—and perhaps the help of some tenacious individuals and her very own stubborn nature- Vi began to heal.
Now, months later, there was a softness returning to her. A glow. Her cheeks held color again, and her powder-blue eyes sparkled with mischief, with life. Slowly, steadily, she had stepped out of the dark. She’d taken to the estate’s rhythm: learning to cook all sorts of dishes alongside the kitchen staff, tending to gardens with calloused but curious hands, and getting lost in the endless tomes that lined the Kiramman library. She’d even gone over some of Jayce’s old blueprints and notes and taught herself mechanics, with a little assistance from Ekko and some more crafty Firelights. These days, she boxed and exercised not out of survival, but for joy. For fun.
And perhaps one of the most telling observations of all was that Vi had finally gained healthy weight. There was no further need for her to ration portions or to starve. But she kept eating the minimal to Caitlyn’s dismay. It wasn’t until Caitlyn had made the observation that she learned it was out of Vi’s selfless ways that she didn’t eat as she should.
Yes, Violet was immensely grateful to Caitlyn for feeding her, but Vi’s heart was so grand that she didn’t feel at ease knowing she could eat all she wanted when others in the undercity couldn’t even find scraps of food. So, in this understandable predicament, Caitlyn had reunited with Sevika, Shoola, and the Firelights. Thanks to the vast wealth her family had, she facilitated the creation of the first of many facilities where those less fortunate could be granted hot meals, safe spaces to sleep, and showers whenever needed. Only then, a very grateful Violet ate to her heart's content and slept with more ease.
Caitlyn’s gaze softened, and she felt a comforting warmth soothe her soul. She smiled; long fingers hovered just above the ink on Violet’s back.
Oh, her strong yet delicate, kind Violet. It was truly unfair how cruel fate had been to her gentle lover.
Vi’s tattoos were bold and striking in daylight, but now looked like intricate paintbrushes in the warm dark, and if paid close attention, many freckles could be seen surrounding them.
They were scattered like a dusting of stars along Vi’s shoulder blades, across the arch of her upper and lower back, across her arms and thighs... Caitlyn had noticed them gradually—little sun-kissed gifts from long afternoons walking around Piltover and Zaun, or just napping on the Kiramman balcony.
They were like a star-struck sky, like constellations.
Caitlyn didn't touch them. Not yet. She was marveling at them. At the magnificence of the entirety that was the woman who had captivated her heart.
Putting the pen and clipboard aside, she leaned on one elbow, blankets gathered at her waist, her fingers hovering just above the freckled skin of the woman beside her.
“Twenty-one, twenty-two…twenty-three…” she whispered to herself.
Vi’s skin twitched under the faint tickle of fingertips, but she didn’t stir.
“Twenty-four, five, six… twenty-seven on just your right shoulder, Violet,” Caitlyn murmured, voice barely audible. “Twenty-eight… nine…”
The quiet counting lulled her into a meditative rhythm. The freckles weren’t evenly spaced. Some were clustered like galaxies around the arc of a tattoo, others solo like distant stars against the canvas of her skin; if close attention was heeded, some were seen right underneath the tattooed gears. It was maddeningly difficult to tell which ones she’d already counted and which were new. But Caitlyn didn’t care.
She was up to the challenge.
It was her new pastime, her indulgent little ritual.
Some people collected books. Some polished rifles or shoes for fun. Caitlyn counted freckles on the back of the woman she loved.
“Fifty-one,” she whispered, her voice feather-light.
That was when Vi stirred. She gave a small mumble, a shift of muscle under skin.
“Are you… counting?” Vi voiced sleepily, muffled by her pillow.
Caitlyn blinked and froze mid-hover. “I-I am sorry. Was I too loud? I didn’t mean to wake you.”
Vi turned her head just enough to peek with one eye, grinning sleepily. “Nah. Woke up to the endless whispering of an accountant mongoose.”
Caitlyn chuckled, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. “Really? The mongoose again?”
Vi nodded and smiled. “Yes. A very cute and curious one.”
Caitlyn smacked her tongue, “I was admiring my hot lover’s physique,” she said primly. “And counting her freckles. Her many, many freckles. It’s a very scientific endeavor; I’ll have you know.”
Vi made a soft, snorting noise. “You’re so weird.”
Caitlyn swatted her lightly on the arm.
“Hey.”
Vi chuckled.
“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” Caitlyn said, mock-defensive.
“It’s not a bad thing,” Vi chuckled and muttered into the sheets. “It’s adorable. Nerdy and weird as hell, but still adorable.”
Caitlyn smiled. “Your freckles remind me of the night sky. Their patterns are so elaborate and untamed at the same time. I’ve decided, admiring and counting them, it’s my new favorite pastime.”
Violet shook her head lightly into the pillow as she stifled a chuckle.
“I mean it. It’s quite hard, actually. You’ve got more freckles than I remember. I think the sun is finally having its way with you.”
Vi stretched lazily, one arm sliding out from beneath the pillow to rest against the mattress. Her voice was half-gone with sleep. “Well, I have been outside more. I have been out a lot lately. Doing all sorts of things, and you, your father, and the staff keep giving me snacks while at it. My freckles cannot help it. It’s weird.”
Caitlyn’s hand finally made contact. She lazily ran her nails through Violet’s arm.
Vi cracked a smile and sighed, her eyelids suddenly feeling heavier than before, “Oh… t-that feels… Very nice.”
Caitlyn’s fingertips grazed Vi’s shoulder blade. “You’ve put on weight, too.”
Vi tilted her head. “Are you calling me fat, Cupcake?”
Caitlyn blinked, cheeks shaded rosy pink. “It’s a compliment. I’m saying you’re healthy,” Caitlyn corrected. “You’re soft in places you weren’t before. And I… I love it. You are eating better, more. Your face, your hips, your arms…” She paused and took a deep breath. “Let’s just say I’ve been enjoying the progress immensely.”
Vi made a noise that was mostly a groan and a chuckle tangled together. “Pervert.”
Caitlyn chuckled. “Don’t tease me, it’s not my fault that you are so attractive. And I just love you like this. Well fed. Resting. Safe. Here, in peace next to me.”
Vi didn’t respond for a moment. She just lay there as her cheeks reddened, face pressed to her pillow, letting the quiet wrap around them again. She took Caitlyn’s hand to her lips and gave her knuckles a soft kiss.
Caitlyn brushed some stray pink hairs behind Vi’s ear.
Vi mumbled. “Anyway… how’s the count going?”
Caitlyn cleared her throat dramatically. “I had reached a staggering fifty-one before you so rudely interrupted me.”
Vi huffed a soft laugh. “Fifty-one? That’s it?”
Caitlyn sighed with the dramatic flair only someone completely besotted could manage. “You are impossible. I was only getting started! Every week there’s more. Last week I counted 256, and the week before 233. You keep sunbathing, and I have to start all over again.”
Vi gave her lover a questioning look and chuckled, “Dear Janna. For how long have you kept this up?”
“Shut up.” Caitlyn pouted with a teasing grin.
“You can always resume your obsessive weird hobby later, my cute weirdo,” Vi said, her voice a slur of warmth and sleep that Caitlyn adored. “But it’s late, and you need to try to get some sleep. I don’t like you straining your eye.”
“Sorry, darling, can’t do it yet, not until I make my final observations for the night. I have made my personal goal to keep an updated journal with the most accurate number of freckles that you have.”
Vi grinned. “Sounds exhausting.”
“Vastly. But the results are highly gratifying.”
Vi snickered. “Unhinged.”
“I’m methodical. I’ve made it my life’s mission to chart every single star on your precious sky. You must have gazillions of them. Constellations of stars waiting to be charted.” Caitlyn added matter-of-factly.
“Gazillions…? You are making up words now?”
“It is not made up. It’s what you say when the number gets so big, they get really difficult to count.”
Vi turned her face towards Caitlyn and raised an eyebrow, “Nah, you just made it up.”
Caitlyn faked being offended, “I would never. I WILL go get the dictionary now and show you it’s in there.”
Vi huffed a sleepy laugh. “No need, I believe you… nerd.”
Caitlyn swatted her lover’s arm again. Vi chuckled.
Vi leaned towards Cait and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek. “Lucky for me, I only have moles to count on you. Way easier than freckles.”
Caitlyn blinked, “Oh? Now that’s intriguing. I have kept track of them, too.”
Vi’s grin widened against the pillow. “Of course you have.” Vi teased and lazy stretched, arching her back just slightly, flexing her strong arms and midriff—enough to make Caitlyn’s brain short-circuit for a second when the waist-length sheets scooted down just enough to show the start of Vi’s happy trail.
Of course, Caitlyn’s hitch of air didn’t go unnoticed by Violet.
“Pervert.”
Caitlyn gasped, faking to be disgruntled, “For being so sleepy, you sure are sharp as ever with the teasing.”
“Hard pass when you get so cute when I tease you. My brain is capable of performing such tasks while in low energy-saving mode.”
Caitlyn chuckled.
“I must admit I adore those seventeen moles.”
Caitlyn paused and squinted at her, “You miscounted. I have fifteen, not seventeen. I know my own body.”
“Not the way I know it,” Vi said in a melodious tone.
“Fallacies.”
“Nope.”
Caitlyn raked her hair and cleared her throat. “Where exactly are these supposed extra two?”
Vi smirked mischievously. “Oh, you know. In private, intimate, secluded places… ones only noticeable by your fortunate, smug girlfriend.”
Caitlyn’s face flushed a lovely shade of rose. “Vi…”
Vi chuckled, completely unapologetic, snuggling deeper into her pillow. “Don’t worry, I took notes.”
Caitlyn looked at Violet, shocked. “Y-You did not.”
“Okay, not on paper,” she admitted. “But up here.” She tapped her temple with a finger. “Locked away. Top secret.”
Caitlyn let her forehead drop to Vi’s bare shoulder, groaning softly. “You’re insufferable.”
“And yet, you adore me like that.”
Caitlyn huffed and bent to kiss her girlfriend on the forehead, “Absolutely.”
Vi made a satisfied little hum, like she was drifting back toward sleep with a win tucked safely under her belt. Caitlyn brushed her fingers lazily on Vi’s back.
“You know,” Caitlyn murmured, voice quieter now, “when I was younger, a friend of my mother said that moles formed on spots your past-life lovers kissed you the most.”
Vi cracked an eye open again. “Is that so?”
Caitlyn nodded. “It stuck with me. It’s silly, I know. But it’s rather quixotic lore…”
Vi turned her head just enough to glance up at Caitlyn, who was now downcast with peachy cheeks and a face filled with timidness. Violet stretched her hand to softly caress Cait’s cheek. Her stormy eyes were full of love. “It’s not silly at all. It’s a very nice idea.”
Caitlyn’s eye lit up, “Really? I love the idea actually,” she whispered excitedly. “Especially if it was your soulmate’s doing.”
Caitlyn flustered even more, and for a moment, she looked smaller to Vi, “Specially if someone like you had been my soulmate.”
Vi studied the dark-haired woman’s face. The moonlight made Caitlyn’s blue eye shine like a hexcore, and for a second, she could see a small and idealistic girl underneath—the one that was forced to tame and lock away her true self while growing up feeling like a misfit in the wannabe Utopia of Piltover. But Violet had come to see that her lover, Caitlyn Kiramman, was nothing short of a hopeless romantic. If anything, Caitlyn was her poetic, posh, sharpshooter, clever and adventurous, adorable yet sexy mongoose, and Vi wouldn’t have it any other way.
Violet smiled, “That’s the way it was then, currently is, and will forever be. Only someone with a grand admiration towards your body, like myself, could come up with the perfect location of those gorgeous beauty marks.” Vi added with the kind of quiet confidence that only came at 2 AM.
Caitlyn looked at Vi, flabbergasted.
Vi shifted beneath her, lifting her head enough to press a slow, deliberate kiss to the mole just above Caitlyn’s navel.
“Because those moles are in places I adore.”
Caitlyn’s breath caught. Just slightly.
Vi’s lips trailed higher, warm and gentle. Another kiss, soft and reverent, just beneath Caitlyn’s ribs.
“I adore all seventeen of them and will kiss each one of them every moment I can,”
Violet kissed a mole on Cait’s left shoulder. Caitlyn hissed under her breath, goosebumps prickling her skin.
“In this life… and as I did in the last one and will do in the next ones. And every single time I will worship these and each part of your stunning body.”
Vi kissed one on Cait’s collarbone. “In every lifetime,” Vi murmured against her skin.
Caitlyn inhaled sharply, her breathing becoming breathy. She reached out to still Vi with a hand to her shoulder. “Violet- “
Vi looked up at her with a tired but wicked grin. “I haven’t even gotten to the best ones.”
Caitlyn’s cheeks flushed a deeper red, and she took her hands to her face. “You’re a menace.”
Vi chuckled and dropped her head back to the pillow, triumphant. “Only because you are. Relax. I wasn’t going to go for the hidden two. Not tonight, I know you are in the middle of your latest case study.”
Caitlyn shrugged her shoulders, part of her couldn’t deny she was a bit disappointed Violet didn’t continue her recount. But she knew Vi meant the truth. Her fixations could be somewhat… silly… and obsessive. And now the thought was that Vi was fond of the idea of being her soulmate.
Caitlyn’s ears became red and hot. She took a deep, enamored sigh,
What was she, fifteen years old?
“Oh, Janna.”
Then there was silence between them for a few minutes, warm and lazy, like stretched honey.
Vi breathed soundly and was likely asleep. Caitlyn grunted and lightly tapped Vi’s shoulder.
It took a few tries before Violet opened an eye. “Hmm?”
Caitlyn tilted her head thoughtfully. “So… seventeen, you say?”
Vi rolled her eyes and hummed.
“And you’re absolutely sure?”
“Cross my heart.”
Caitlyn clicked her tongue, pretending to think. “I’m going to have to verify this for scientific accuracy. Eventually. When I am done with your freckles.”
Vi closed her eyes and murmured, “Take your time, Detective Mongoose.”
Caitlyn laughed and flicked her shoulder. “You’re never letting that nickname go, are you?”
“Never,” Vi said hoarsely, trailing off with a smile, already sinking back into sleep.
Caitlyn gave her lover a toothy smile, “I will try to be quick and brief. And also, silent.”
“Carry on, Sheriff, while you are at it, I will dream of verdant fields filled with flowers and cute animals. The most charming one will be a dark-blue colored mongoose and will have a clipboard and a cute little top hat.”
Caitlyn chuckled, “I am quite taken by said scenery. I hope there is an equally adorable angry oil slick somewhere there as well.”
Vi gave a little huff of breath, her lips twitching up. “Not really, but there’s this super cool looking rabbit wearing a black leather jacket. She’s next to the mongoose that is enthusiastically counting the stars in the sky.”
Caitlyn smiled from the warmth her soulmate could only provide her being. She leaned down and pressed a kiss to her shoulder. Then her arm. Then the top of her spine. Then another, further down, each one tender and unhurried.
Vi made a sound somewhere between a laugh and a sigh. “Cait…”
“You said I was weird,” Caitlyn whispered against her skin. “So, I’m being weird.”
Vi’s voice was thick with sleep again. “You’re kiss-counting?”
“I didn’t want to whisper numbers and wake you again.”
“But instead, you kiss the freckles. As if your kisses wouldn’t keep me up. You’re ridiculous,” Vi muttered, burying her face deeper into the pillow. “And sweet. But ludicrous.”
“What can I say, it’s hard to pass.” Caitlyn teased, then gave Violet’s lower back another kiss, this one to the freckle near her ribs.
Caitlyn traced one knuckle along Vi’s spine, pausing at a small freckle near her shoulder blade. She kissed it without thinking.
“One more for the count,” she whispered.
There was a little sleepy grunt. Not quite awake. Cait smiled.
Violet let herself savor the warmth, this rare hush between them. Vi could be rough around the edges, all swagger and sarcasm, but she loved it when Caitlyn melted her to this point. She was swarmed with kisses, loving touches, and affection.
Vi shivered slightly, not from the cold, but from the quiet intimacy of her lover’s ministrations. She exhaled, already drifting again. “Don’t stop then. Who knows, you might hit the gazillion freckles tonight.”
Caitlyn laughed softly. “Hardly, but I’ll try.” She lay on her side, facing Vi’s sleeping form, her fingertips and lips still gently exploring constellations of freckles. The room was steeped in quiet, nothing but the low hum of the city below and the peaceful rhythm of Vi’s breath.
Vi had drifted off again with that lopsided grin still etched on her lips, a single arm flung over the pillow, her pink hair, as unruly as the Zaunite. Caitlyn could have stayed like this forever—watching her, counting freckles, memorizing her peace.
“Eighty-nine,” she whispered, barely a breath.
She shifted down just a little, kissing the dip of Vi’s lower back. “Ninety.”
Vi didn’t stir. Her body was loose, completely relaxed, and Caitlyn felt the quiet magic of the moment settle around them like a warm blanket. Tiredness was getting to her, making it hard for her to keep her eye open.
Caitlyn muffled a yawn. She rested her forehead against Vi’s shoulder blade, finally allowing her eye to flutter shut.
Maybe tomorrow, she’d start the count again, since she was this tired already.
And she would try to finish… or maybe not.
Caitlyn smiled.
Maybe that was the point.
When she opened her eye, she was surprised by a breathtaking field of endless grass. It had flowers of all hues of blue, purple, and pink scattered across it. And on top of her was the vast, velvety twilight sky scattered with more stars than Piltover ever had the courtesy to display. It was truly a sight to behold.
Caitlyn stretched her hand and gasped when she saw a tiny and furry blue paw in sight. Then she realized her toes-, no, her paws felt the soft grass beneath her toe beans.
Curious, she walked over to a puddle of water near her and poker-faced at the sight. She was undeniably a dark blue-haired mongoose that wore a classy top hat and had an elegant matching eye patch.
“I will be darned.” She said with a huff.
“Took you long enough to join us.” Said a teasing voice next to her nonchalantly.
Caitlyn blinked at the raspberry-colored bunny that waddled through the grass with huge boots too big for her. It also wore an adorable black leather jacket, and her furry face wore an unmistakable VI shaped tattoo.
No way she was mistaken. She was indeed dreaming.
Ever since Viktor’s attack, a strange thing has happened amongst those affected. They would sometimes share dreams, their thoughts could… sync. And now that seemed to be the case, and somehow, she ended up in Vi’s dream.
Vi crouched next to her, strangely unbothered by the strangeness of the scene. She ate a cupcake. The soft breeze carried her musky sandalwood and amber scent.
“How come you get to wear boots and I don’t?”
The bunny turned and looked up at her with cheeky eyes. “Jealous, Cupcake?”
Caitlyn laughed, “I don’t get a break from you. Not even in the dream world. Not even in this ridiculous form.”
“Hey now, mongooses are not ridiculous. They are highly sophisticated and revered deities in Viland, Cupcake. Like you, for example, the Piltovan Enforcer Sheriff mongoose.” Vi explained matter-of-factly to Caitlyn as she gave her a toothy smile.
“Vi…land…?”
“Yes, a land filled with cupcake-loving Vi bunnies.”
Caitlyn gave her a weird look.
Vi pointed her paw to the side, “Over there, there’s PsyOps Vi chasing after some chembugs, and Demon Vi is napping under that tree. Oh, and not long ago I saw bunny Heartache Vi chasing after mongoose Heartthrob Caitlyn.”
“I… I am very confused, but I have a feeling I shouldn’t inquire further…” Caitlyn scratched her temple.
Vi chuckled, then, without another word, Vi lifted her tiny paw and pointed skyward. “This is what you were looking for, right?”
Still somewhat puzzled, Caitlyn looked up and gasped.
The stars were moving. No—organizing. Grouping together in dots and clusters. Forming different shapes. Spiraling. Dancing. Some of them Caitlyn recognized from endless nights of counting her lover’s freckles. Others were new—freckle patterns, mapped like galaxies.
She squinted. That one looked like… Violet’s left shoulder blade?
Caitlyn gasped. “Amazing. How did you do that?”
“It’s now our dream, I guess your meticulous mind has something to do with how they are behaving.”
“Fascinating. I wonder…” Caitlyn closed her eye and produced a tiny clipboard and pen.
“Better,” Caitlyn said, pleased. Then her paw moved in the air as if tracing the countless stars, naming each one like she always did—quiet, reverent, delighted.
Vi smiled at Caitlyn warmly and walked up behind her and slipping her tiny arms around her waist.
Caitlyn leaned back into her without hesitation.
Vi shifted just enough to peek at her, eye half-lidded and shining with affection.
“Figured you would keep counting even in MY dream,” Vi muttered, but she was smiling too hard to sound convincing.
“This head mongoose of House Kiramman has to be thorough. She’s very serious about her stargazing duties.”
Vi chuckled, “You and your obsessions. Care if I joined you?”
Caitlyn abruptly stopped and, turning around, looked at Vi. Her eye lit up with excitement.
“Yes, please!”
Vi laughed quietly, warmth bubbling in her chest.
“Let’s count those gazillion stars of yours.”
Back in the quiet of Caitlyn’s bedroom, Vi exhaled in her sleep, the sound content and slow. She adored being the little spoon, not that her pride would allow her to openly admit it to her lover.
Caitlyn stirred slightly, nuzzling closer to her back, one arm slipping over Vi’s waist. She sleepily kissed the base of her neck.
“Two-hundred and two,” Caitlyn murmured into Vi’s skin, voice full of sleep.
Vi didn’t respond. Not with words. But her fingers twitched faintly in sleep… as they were intertwined with her Constellation chasing mongoose.