Sister Cities

Part 16: Vi

I watched the end of the world through my bedroom window

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It's Caitlyn that comes in and wakes me up the next morning, rather than Ekko. The first thing I see is Powder, blowing an impressively large spit bubble, and Caitlyn is the second thing, looking on in alarm and saying, "Please stop that."

"Make me," Powder says without popping the bubble.

Caitlyn forcefully moves her gaze to my side of the room. "Good morning," she says.

"'Morning."

"I was wondering if you could show me to the shower."

I leap to my feet. "I'd be delighted."

"Where's the punchline?" she asks, suspicious.

"You'll see." I grab my boots and turn to Powder. "We'll bring breakfast in a little bit, okay?"

"See ya, lovebirds."

Caitlyn and I stop at the balcony to check out the state of things, and right away, someone wolf-whistles. Before I can figure out where they are, someone else starts clapping, and so does someone else, and then everyone on the ground is hooting and applauding with their fingers pointed at us.

"What is this?" Caitlyn hisses, taking my hand, and the noise ramps up tenfold.

"At long last!" Lenara shouts. "At long last, they admit it!"

"Admit what?" I shout back.

"That you're involved!" yells Snake, tugging at her collar meaningfully. I look back at Caitlyn, whose whole left shoulder is out there for the world to see. She notices the same thing at the same time and turns cherry red.

"We've sort of been rooting for you two," Lenara explains, "but we weren't gonna say it, since she was a pig. But now she fixed that!"

"Thank you?" says Caitlyn, her hand on her shoulder. I pass her my jacket.

"Everybody fuck off," I snap.

With one last cheer, they all get back to whatever they were doing before. I can't help laughing, but I keep my arm close around Caitlyn as we get moving again, sympathetic to her offended Topsider sensibilities.

"They're gonna take some time to get used to you," I say, grabbing a hunk of soap. "I won't try to keep them from riffing, but tell me if anyone ever goes too far."

She nods, then stops walking. "What... is that?"

"That," I say, "is the shower."

"You can't be serious."

"What's the matter, cupcake?" I tug on her hand. "Scared of a little cold?"

She stumbles after me, shell-shocked. "It's not enclosed."

I pass her the soap. "It is on two sides."

"There are another two sides!" she says. "Is this soap? Why is it gray?"

A nearby Firelight looks up from his laundry to snort. "Piltie's first time bathing with the peasants, I see."

Caitlyn frowns at him and continues staring at the soap while I pull her the rest of the way to the water pump. Her horror seems genuine, not like the superior scorn of an enforcer, so I say, "You can hang a sheet on that branch if it'll make you feel better."

"But there's still this last side! People can just walk over and watch."

"Nobody's gonna watch. Or, if they do, tell me so I can beat them to death."