Sister Cities

Part 77: Jinx

"You don't have to, but if you have time after you're done with Viktor's lungs and you want to, I'm not gonna say no." She looks up at me. "They're really amazing, Powder. Especially considering how fast you made them."

"Duh." I spin in midair, then hurriedly pull down the hem of Caitlyn's ugly Piltie sack, which is dumb, since Vi wasn't looking for my lash marks until I do it. I stop bouncing.

"Are they healing okay?" she asks, going up on her elbows.

"None of your beeswax." I sit down, my back to her, and tuck the sack under my pulled-in feet. The monkey I drew on the front of it stretches out so its mouth is all wide. I can't wait to give this back to Caitlyn.

"Does anything hurt?"

"I said it's none of your beeswax."

She goes quiet. I take out her bunny from the ether and run its ears between my fingers.

"Caitlyn says Sevika stabbed you and that's where you got that gnarly scar," I say.

"Yup."

"She says you would've died if you didn't take Shimmer."

"Yeah, I would've."

"Why'd you guys fight?"

"I was told she knew where you were."

"Why didn't you just ask?"

"She worked for Silco. I didn't think she was gonna just give you up."

I put my chin on my knees. "Was that the first time you ever lost a fight?"

She takes a long time to answer. "Yeah."

"What about your chats?"

"Those weren't fights. Well, maybe the first one. If you count them all, I've lost a million."

"Caitlyn says she shot Sevika and saved your life."

"She did."

"She says she traded her prized heirloom rifle to get the Shimmer, but you don't know that."

Her silence confirms it.

"She says she's the one who got you out of prison."

"She was."

"I told her I was lying about you loving her."

Vi makes an indignant noise, then sighs. "Couldn't you have left that part alone?"

"Why don't you want her to know you love her?"

"Because I don't, and because she's Caitlyn fucking Kiramman."

"I don't think it matters to her if you're a sump-rat. She's different from the others."

"I know that. But it matters to me."

"I asked her if she loved you."

Vi's breathing stutters. "You shouldn't've done that."

"She says she 'cares for you greatly.'"

"Fucking hell," Vi mutters, getting to her feet. "Don't talk about that kind of thing with her again, okay? I'm serious."

"Hi, serious. I'm Jinx."

"Powder."

"Okay, okay, okay." I hop to my feet too. "I'm going to the lab today."

"You want me to walk you?"

"I know where it is."

"You're still an assassination risk in Piltover's eyes."

"An assassination risk as in I'll assassinate someone else, or I'll get assassinated?"