Chapter Text
Vi had always liked working the Wednesday shift in the Last Drop. Early in the week you got the after work crowd drowning their sorrows and complaining about their bosses. Thursday you got the people just rushing to the weekend or starting their break early. Friday and Saturday were great for tips, but a nightmare for actually being able to breath.
Wednesday's were different. They were quiet. They had a few regulars who'd swing by and sometimes college students, but nothing that rushed the pink haired bartender off her feet.
She glanced down the bar and smiled. Powder had a small crowd of customers surrounding her as she spun her shakers, tossing one up into the air before catching it between two others, before bowing to a smattering of applause. Powder had always been better at the showing off part of the job. Vi had tried but it had never really been her style.
The redhead leaned on the bar, flicking through one of Vander's old cocktail guides. The book was an old friend, one of dozen's she'd read time and again, but this was her favourite. She was just re-reading a guide for proper muddling technique, when the small bell over the door chimed, the cool late autumn wind blowing in along with the newcomer.
She was tall, easily edging over six foot in her boots, her hair was midnight blue and tied back in a loose, rushed, ponytail. Beneath her long dark overcoat, she wore a white shirt tucked into pressed black slacks, looking for all the world like an office worker who'd stripped off her jacket and tie to get a late night drink. When she looked up and met Vi's gaze, everything else faded away from the bartender's mind. Perfect blue eyes shone behind a pair of light, wire framed spectacles.
The newcomer shook her coat as she looked around, shaking some of the light rain off onto the doormat before approaching the bar. For a moment Vi thought the blue haired woman was going to join the crowd around Powder's show, but instead she moved and pulled up a stool in front of the redhead, taking off her overcoat and folding it neatly over a nearby stool.
Vi closed her book and stepped in front of the woman, putting on her best smile. Polite, Friendly, not entirely flirty.
"Welcome to the Last Drop, what can I get you?" The smile that answered her was tired. Forced. Almost a little brittle.
"Is there anything you recommend?" Her voice was tight, coiled and a little restrained, with a strong Piltovan accent. Not the sort of voice Vi heard often, especially in here.
"Well, we've got some microbrews in, and most popular beers on tap." The look that the blue haired woman shot her could have frozen a hot tub. "Or.. Wine?" The customer pinched the bridge of her nose with a tired grunt, pushing her glasses up slightly. Probably a no to wine.
"Sorry, it's not your fault. It's been one of those days." The customer said with a drawn out sigh. "Do you have any cocktails or mixed drinks you'd recommend?" Well now she had Vi's full attention.
"Yeah, I think I've got a few that might suit." The bartender tried to hide her grin at the chance to impress the newcomer. "Anything you're in the mood for?" It seemed like her excitement was showing and a small smile was spreading over the customer's lips.
"Something to relax, that's not too strong on the throat. Have anything to match that?" Vi beamed, slapping her bar towel up so it rested over her shoulder.
"I have just the thing." Vi said with a grin. "Any dietary requirements?" The customer shook her head, and Vi got to work. She started reaching into the drinks well to pull out a series of bottles. For a brief moment she considered adding the sprinkles, but this customer didn't exactly seem the type, instead Vi grabbed a lime.
"Time for a show?" the blue haired woman asked, glancing down the bar to where Powder had somehow set all three drinks on fire, each with different colour flames. Vi snorted slightly.
"Not my style. You won't regret me making your drink though." She promised, giving a quick wink to the woman, grinning at the very slight blush colouring her customer's cheeks.
The bartender started grating the edge of the lime until she had a small pile of lime zest waiting in a saucer. Pushing it until the zest was in a circle the same size of a martini glass. She dipped a glass in a basic sugar syrup before rolling the glass in the zest until a thin layer of lime rested atop the of the edge.
"So? Rough day you said?" Vi glanced up. The customer was watching her as if studying the Zaunite's exact hand movements.
"Yes. Had a review of sorts from my boss' boss.." the woman added with a sigh. "Hitting every metric, delivering everything as required but still not enough." Her tone sounded more hurt than frustrated, like it was a personal failing.
"Ahh that sucks. So they can't even tell you what they expect?" Vi filled her shaker with ice before starting to add her ingredients. Vodka, white chocolate liqueur, vanilla extract and finally a dash of amaretto. The redhead didn't use a measuring cup, preferring to eyeball her pour. Those blue eyes were still fixated on her hands, almost like trying to memorise every one of Vi's movements. At the last moment, the bartender studied her customer before nodding to herself and adding an extra dash of amaretto.
"No, that's the frustrating part. If they could tell me what I'm missing, I could work on finding how to do it." The customer's gaze still hadn't broken from Vi as she rocked the shaker back and forth for twenty seconds. Knowing exactly when to stop was something of a trick that came from experience and making thousands of drinks like this before. The coldness seeping through the shaker would make her aware of when she'd mixed enough.
With practiced skill, the pink haired woman cracked open her shaker, putting a strainer beneath it and pouring the creamy white liquid into the glass, giving the steel cylinder a final shake for the last few drops to leave a frothy layer on top of the glass. Placing a napkin down, Vi put the glass on the paper and slid it over to her guest. The blue haired woman was looking at it with an eyebrow raised.
"And what do you call this?"
"Lime Cupcake Martini," Vi replied with a grin. "Normal recipe called for sprinkles on the edge of the glass, but it didn't look like you were in the mood for that. So lime, a bit of extra amaretto for that almond flavour, and we have a Cupcake Martini." Vi stepped back, proudly watching.
"You made the recipe up?" The customer looked up at Vi, blue eyes peering over her glasses. "Just for me?"
"Well, I adapted the recipe for you, sure." Vi gave a shrug. "C'mon, don't leave me in suspense, I want to see if you like it." The blue haired woman let out a short little laugh before nodding, reaching down to pick up the glass and bring it to her lips.
Her fingers weren't what Vi had expected. - She was used to office workers coming in with hands that looked like they had barely done anything more strenuous than typing. This woman's nails and fingers looked closer in appearance to Vi's. Nails cropped as short as they could be. Calluses and dozens of scars from tiny nicks and cuts.
The customer lifted the glass to her lips and took a sip. There was a pause as her eyebrows rose and she went back for another, longer sip. Her brows furrowed as she looked down, staring at the drink.
"This is really rather excellent." She said, looking up at Vi through her glasses and giving her a small smile. "I see what you mean about the extra bit of amaretto, and the lime zest cuts through the sugar perfectly."
Vi beamed. She knew she didn't have the showmanship of her sister when mixing, nor the encyclopaedic knowledge of drinks that her dad did, but when it came to making the right drink for the right person at the right time? She was the queen of the bar at that.
"Cupcake Martini, I'll add it to my recipe book," the redhead answered with a grin. The blue haired woman reached down, taking up the glass and sipping once more, savouring the taste before swallowing.
"Well, you've certainly delivered something I didn't know I was missing." The smile the customer gave Vi was different from the others she'd offered. It was hopeful and bright, grateful even.
"Not such a bad day now?" Vi asked with a wink. Washing her hands in the sink behind the bar and beginning to towel them dry.
"No. Not such a bad day at all. I don't think I caught your name?" She took another sip, eyeing Vi over the rim of her glass.
"Vi." the redhead smiled, extending a hand to the woman rapidly becoming one of her favourite customers. The blue haired woman reached out, taking her hand and shaking it.
"Caitlyn." There was a very slight reddening to the customer's cheeks as she shook Vi's hand. "Thank you for making me feel welcome."
"It's what we do here." Vi said, gesturing around. "Place where anyone can come and put their feet up. Leave problems at the door and be themselves." Caitlyn looked around, taking in the appearance. Crueller people, reviewers, yelpers, bloggers had called it a run down dive bar in the past and they weren't wrong. Not exactly. Vi didn't see it that way. It was definitely a dive bar, but Vi had worked hard to make it a welcoming haven. While Vander still owned the place, Vi was the one who did most of the management, stock work, and actually running the place.
She'd not changed much, an update to the jukebox, elevating some of the fancier bottles behind the bar to show off their range, changing the lighting to being a bit less harsh and a bit more intimate. That last change was something she was rapidly becoming grateful for as she gazed across at Caitlyn. Her goal had been to make this a home. It had cost them some of the old crowd, just like getting rid of the deals and happy hour promotions had, but so far she had no regrets.
"Do you enjoy what you do?" Caitlyn asked. She was staring into the glass, swirling the half full cocktail against the sides, watching the white liquid as it flowed. Her voice was quieter. More real somehow, like a mask was dropped. Vi watched her for a moment. Some customers, most customers if she was honest, didn't want honest conversation. They wanted vindication. A sounding board that would reflect back whatever the customer was throwing out.
It didn't seem like Caitlyn was that sort of customer. Maybe she had been when she'd first walked in, but this question seemed real, like one which deserved a real answer.
"I have good days, and bad." Vi said, leaning on the bar, not quite opposite from the blue haired customer, but close enough that they wouldn't be overheard. "It's not exactly what I'd imagined it'd be, growing up." Vi looked around at the bar once more, if she concentrated she could still see the regulars that drank here when she and her siblings had been running between bar stools. "But I couldn't see myself doing anything else." She looked back to Caitlyn to give her a smile, only to find one waiting for her.
There was a slight wrinkling around Caitlyn's eyes, but if Vi had to describe the customer's smile, it would be sad. She took another sip of the martini, savouring it.
"Do you?" Caitlyn glanced up at Vi's words.
"Hmm?"
"Do you enjoy what you do?" Those blue eyes looked tired. Even more so than when she walked in.
"Not as much as I thought I would." It was more like she was admitting it to herself than to Vi. "Growing up I thought everything would just neatly flow together. That I could do what I wanted and live the way I wanted." She took another sip. Only another few mouthfuls left in her glass. "Then life gets involved." Vi chewed her lip thoughtfully. Caitlyn was throwing a lot of herself out there, it couldn't hurt to do the same. It wasn't like her past was a secret here.
"Dreams and Goals are important, they can be all we've got sometimes. And life can be a real dick about it. But it doesn't mean you have to give up." There was a flash of anger in blue eyes as Caitlyn glared at her. Vi held her hands up in a surrendering motion. "All I'm saying, Cupcake, is if you're not at the place you want to be yet? Then it just means your journey's still going." The glare faded to be replaced with a gentler expression, a smirk edging across her lips.
"Do you give all your customers nicknames after drinks you make for them?"
"If I do, aren't you glad I chose this drink? It could have been so much worse." Vi's grin flashed bright and met one on Caitlyn's face, the customer's cheeks flushing slightly. The blue haired woman lifted her glass and drained the last of the drink before placing it neatly back on the napkin. "
"A fair point." She opened her handbag and took out a purse, reaching around until she found a twenty cog note. The customer held it out to Vi.
"I'll get your change." Caitlyn shook her head.
"No, keep it. You've given me a lot to think about. Think of it as a consultation fee." Vi smiled at the customer before putting it into the till.
"Appreciate it. Thank you. Think you'll need more inspirational talks?" Vi grinned as Caitlyn rolled her eyes.
"Way this month is going, I might end up becoming a regular."
"Well, you're always welcome here. Always nice to have someone who'll let me test out drinks on them." Caitlyn smiled as she shrugged into her long coat once more,
"Keep making drinks like that and you won't be able to keep me away."
"I can't tempt you with another?" Vi smiled, as much as hoping for this conversation to continue as for another chance to show off. It looked like the blue haired woman was going to sit back down before a sharp ringing sound squeaked out from the long coat. Caitlyn pulled her phone from her pocket and swore under her breath.
"And there's work."
"At this time of night?" Vi was sure office workers would be done for the night at this time.
"My boss can be something of a prick." Caitlyn gave Vi a reassuring smile. "Nothing I can't handle. Thank you for the drink."
"Anytime, Cupcake." Vi raised her hand in a wave as Caitlyn turned on heel and disappeared into the night streets once more.
The bartender picked up the glass and brought it over to the small sink. She was caught off guard when someone was already waiting there.
"Soooo, who was that?" Powder asked with a grin that promised no end of teasing in Vi's future.
***
Caitlyn glared up at the hotel as she walked inside. The Kiramman Royale, the only six star hotel in all of Piltover. Owned and managed by her parents.
When she'd been younger, Farah Grayson had been everything she had wanted to be. She was the bar manager for the Watch House, the hotel's ground floor bar and restaurant, and ran the place as naturally as if she'd been born for the role. She'd been calm, in control, a guiding light in her field. Whenever Caitlyn found herself between tutors, or her parents were busy with meetings, she'd make her way to the back rooms of the bar to talk to Grayson.
She'd sit in the back, kicking her heels against the small stool Grayson had set out for her, and listen to the woman tell her stories about what had happened in the bar, all carefully adjusted for a child's ears. Caitlyn would take it all in, drinking freshly made mocktails. Grayson had filled her head with humour, but also heart. She'd taught Caitlyn that a bartender's job wasn't just mixing drinks and that it definitely wasn't their job to get people drunk. That being a bartender was an important responsibility. It was being someone who could offer a port in the storm, a home when someone who needed it could rest. That a bar could become someone's sanctuary.
The blue haired woman slipped into the employee corridors and found her way to the familiar staff elevator. As she rode up to the twenty fifth floor, Caitlyn caught her reflection in the mirror. She adjusted her ponytail, tying it higher on her head once more, something more professional than the loose, relaxed style she preferred. Scowling, the blue haired woman reached into the pocket of her coat and pulled out the strip of fabric and began tying it in a perfect bow around her throat, buttoning up her collar once more. Hanging her coat up on her hook, she pulled on the black waist coat and buttoned it over her chest before slipping into the back of 'Piltover's Finest' the private bar of the hotel.
"You're late, Kiramman." Marcus sneered at her from behind the bar, pouring another draft beer to one of the regular whales who stayed in the hotel.
"My shift was over, Marcus." Caitlyn put emphasis on the last word, glaring at the man as she began to set up her station. She normally had better patience for this sort of thing, but being called in after the night's earlier frustrations almost had her ready to unleash a muddler on the head bartender.
"Oh I'm sorry, I thought our 'Aspiring Star' was meant to be on call at any time." He didn't even try to hide the sneer from his voice.
"I rather thought the bar manager would have things in hand." She snapped back. It was foolish, but it had been nice to get out of here.
She looked out over the bar, putting on her professional smile while facing the customers. This place was like night and day to where she'd been earlier in the night. On the surface, most people would say this was the nicer bar. It was brightly lit, with a design that must have netted its architect and designers a small fortune. The bar top itself was polished obsidian with gold trimmings and each of the golden and leather bar stools could have easily paid the grocery bill for a small family for a month.
Not that hardly anyone sat at the bar. Most of the clientele of the Finest were either top tier guests, or local politicians and businessmen who were members of the exclusive Hexcore club. There were a few of them tonight, huddled in small booths or throwing their heads back in abrasive laughter with guests far too young for them.
In Caitlyn's view, the small hole in the wall bar she'd been guided to earlier that night beat out the Finest in every area bar one. The only thing she preferred around this private bar was the view. The entire wall opposite her workstation was reinforced glass, polished so perfectly that it almost looked like there was nothing separating the room from the night sky of Piltover.
When she'd told her parents that she had decided to be a part of their business, at first her mother had been delighted. She was less delighted that Caitlyn wanted to work in the bar area of their empire. Cassandra had tried everything, demonstrating all the executive areas of the business where her daughter would be a much more natural fit, but no matter what, Caitlyn's mind had been made up.
Caitlyn had wanted to take up a position in the Watch House, meeting and working with the general public like Grayson had. Her parents' compromise was that if she wanted to start in this area of the business, she wasn't going to serve the riffraff, but would make connections in 'Piltover's Finest'.
She put her most professional smile on her face as one of the establishment's regulars stepped up to the bar.
"Mister Hoskel." Caitlyn bowed her head very slightly. It was one of Marcus' decisions that he'd changed when he was promoted to bar manager. 'Little signs of respect to show how much we appreciate their custom'
"Caitlyn, I keep telling you, please, call me Torman." The smile on his face wasn't anything like professional, almost more of a leer.
"I'm afraid I can't do that, Mister Hoskel, it wouldn't be proper and would go against policy." Caitlyn lied. Marcus hadn't instituted a rule against first names. He'd even tried to encourage the staff to flirt a little. Some of the other bar staff did. Caitlyn had glared at the suggestion until Marcus gave up with getting her to try.
"Bah, what's proprietary matter between friends?" He leaned on the bar, scuffing the polished obsidian with his sleeve. Caitlyn made a note to polish it later.
"What can I get you, Mister Hoskel?"
"Oh the usual, Caity." The slow jazz playing into the bar just about hid the sound of Caitlyn's grinding teeth.
"Gin and Tonic?" He let out a bark of delighted laughter.
"I knew I was one of your favourite customers!" She gave him a professional smile. It was easier than screaming "No, you just always order that, and have done for the past twenty years."
It wasn't that she didn't like gin and tonics. They were fine. But she knew she could do so much more. Mixing and creating drinks like Vi had done? That was the dream, the chance to explore and create. Instead, mostly opening bottles of wine, craft ales or spirit and mixer drinks.
She knew the type of gin he preferred and the tonic he always drank. Opening a small bottle of the mixer and preparing the drink with a pre-sliced piece of lemon. Typically they always served drinks on the perfectly circular glass coasters, but inspired a little by her earlier encounter, she grasped one of the custom branded napkins and presented the glass to him resting on that instead.
He didn't notice. He didn't even say thank you, just gave her what she assumed he thought was a charming smile and staggered back to the booth where his guest was. It wasn't even a busy night. Marcus could have handled this level of customers on his own, though it seemed like he had headed to the back to check on costs or hide in his office.
Caitlyn kept her professional smile on as she cleaned the bar and looked out over the tables, waiting to see who would approach the bar next. The door swung open and a much more genuine smile spread over the bespectacled bartender's lips.
Farah Grayson, the hotel's Food and Beverage Manager. The reason behind the hotel's reputation within Piltover as the home for some of the city's best known restaurants and bars. Caitlyn's friend and mentor.
Grayson was the only exception when it came to drinking at the bar. She pulled back one of the stools and sat in front of Caitlyn's station, smiling slightly.
"I thought you were done for the day, Young Kiramman." Her smoky voice, a mix of confusion and delight at seeing her protégé. After her earlier failure at impressing her mentor, Caitlyn thought she wouldn't see her again.
"Marcus was having difficulties." Caitlyn did try to hide the disdain from her voice, but not too hard. The older woman looked around and returned to the bartender, an eyebrow raised.
"Clearly, it's a busy night." Caitlyn snorted a laugh as she started getting her ingredients together. Grayson was someone else that she always remembered what she drank. Classic Old Fashioned. The recipe was easy, but getting it perfect for Grayson was something Caitlyn had never managed. It was the source of her frustration earlier in the day. At least the day was giving her another chance. The manager watched as Caitlyn gathered sugar, orange slices, cherry and bitters. Grayson's lip quirked up as she watched the bartender pause and look back at her.
"Do you have a preference on whiskey?" No matter how many times, Caitlyn always asked the question, and always got the same answer.
"I'll let you pick," Caitlyn groaned as she picked up a bottle from one of the illuminated shelves behind the bar. She began muddling the orange, cherry and bitters together with a lump of sugar in the bottom of a tumbler glass. "Were you having a good evening before you were called in?"
"It was nice. I took your advice." Caitlyn replied, not looking up
"Oh?" Grayson's lip curled in a smile.
"I visited that bar, you were telling me about downtown. The Last Drop?"
"Ah, and how was it?" Caitlyn poured the ice into the tumbler before glancing up at Grayson. There was a hint of nervousness in Caitlyn's eyes before she poured the bourbon into the glass.
"It was nice. Very homey, not what I expected when you said you used to drink there." Caitlyn pulled another napkin and presented the glass to her mentor resting atop it. Grayson glanced down at the napkin and her smile grew slightly.
"Well, I haven't told you all my secrets." Grayson reached down to lift up the glass and sip at its contents. The older woman stared at the amber liquid, swirling it slightly before putting it down again. Caitlyn studied her face, as if trying to get a hint of Grayson's thoughts.
"Not bad." Was all Grayson gave her. The bartender sighed and started to tidy up her station. The frustration must have amused the steel haired woman. "You'll get there." Another failure. Caitlyn managed to keep the disappointment from her face.
"Who served you?" Grayson asked as she took another sip.
"Someone called Vi?" Caitlyn glanced up from where she was wiping down. "She made me a Cupcake Martini," the blue haired woman's lips curved up slightly in the memory. "It was really rather good." Grayson nodded.
"Vi's a skilled bartender." Caitlyn's eyes snapped up, she had thought that, but didn't know Grayson held her in such high regard. "A little rough at the edges sometimes, but she's skilled at finding what people need." The bartender couldn't help but bristle slightly at that. She knew her people skills weren't quite as good as she'd liked, but having it thrown up in sharp contrast stung slightly.
"She was quite fun to talk to." Caitlyn admitted, half to herself, she glanced up to find Grayson grinning at her and felt a blush spread over her cheeks.
"Oh? So think you'll be back?" Caitlyn was about to answer when she heard a door swing open behind her and Marcus stepped back into the bar.
"Farah, I didn't know you were joining us, I would have greeted you myself." He shot a glare at Caitlyn, as if blaming her for him not being on the floor when his boss turned up.
"Quite alright Marcus, I'm here off duty, as it were." The bar manager quickly started trying to sweet talk Grayson, telling her all about how profits were fairing in his part of the hotel. Caitlyn didn't bother trying to overhear. All she could think about was Grayson's question. Would she go back? It didn't really need much thinking. She knew she would be.