Sister Cities

Part 76: Vi

CW: discussion of coerced sex/dubious consent, police brutality, and death of a child

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And for once, you let go

Of your fears and your ghosts

One step, not much

But it said enough

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 I convince Powder to give up my bunny so I can wash some of the soot off it during my shower, since she hasn't let go of it since she got back from shooting and plans to bring it to bed with her, and Aluya just gave us clean sheets. Choosing the manor over the fort was a lesser-of-two-evils situation for her that I started regretting fast. She huffed all evening and drew a face on the sink, using the knobs as the eyes; I caught her passing by inside an air vent while I was getting the snack she requested from the kitchen, but I shot her a look and found her back in our room when I got there. She colored on the new nightshirt Caitlyn happily coughed up for her to sleep in. (I collected a bag of essentials for us from the hideout when I was out today, but Caitlyn always lights up at the chance to offer anything, so I encouraged Powder to accept. Bad move.) Now she makes me push her hallucinations into the wardrobe and block the door with the desk chair.

"They're making fun of me for being here," she grumbles. "Like they're not also here! Ever think of that, Mylo?"

"You know you can still go back even if you're not ready to apologize to the Firelights," I say, turning up the volume on my comm. As of an hour ago, Ekko's still alive, but I'm not taking chances. "They're not gonna chase you out."

Powder sticks out her tongue. "Who says I'm apologizing to the Firelights?"

I don't respond. I'm not doing this with her. It's been a long day.

"I have to do something first," she says after a long pause.

"All right. Tell me when you've done it."

The mattress creaks as she climbs under the covers. I put the comm down and turn off the lamp.

"You can go kiss Caitlyn, but make sure you come back here once you're done," she says.

I laugh, caught off guard. "I wasn't gonna kiss Caitlyn tonight."

"You should. Then maybe you'll be able to keep your eyes off each other for five minutes tomorrow."

I snort again and try to pick out her shape. There's no purple gleam, so she already has her eyes shut. I put my bunny on her chest and both her hands come up to snatch it.

"How long can I kiss Caitlyn for?" I ask.

"Not more than an hour. Pay attention to the clock."

This time I keep my laugh behind my teeth. "I'll try. Yell if you need me before I'm back."

"I thought I can't yell in this house."

"Well, you definitely can't come into her room looking for me, so you're getting a yelling pass."

She fakes a loud, violent gag. I pat the little bump of her feet under the blankets and creep outside. It's pretty late, fully dark downstairs and in the hallway except for a couple dim cut-glass wall lights, but there's a glow under Caitlyn's door, so I give a soft knock.

She opens it, breaks into a wide smile, and ushers me in with a quick touch to my elbow. I almost jump. Then I almost jump at her, but I hold back on that one too.