Chapter Text
Vi was cleaning up her shop after she had just finished with a client, with abundant time to spare before closing hours, when her phone rang, Call Me Maybe blaring loudly in the small confinements of the booth signaling that Caitlyn was calling, so Vi immediately dropped the piece of kitchen paper soaked with disinfectant she had been using to wipe down the table, pulled off the nitrile glove and picked up the call.
"Hey Cupcake!"
"I need your sister's phone number please."
Not even an hello. And her voice was dead serious, which made Vi 's internal alarms set off all at once, like a collection of air strike sirens blaring at the same time. She froze in place, suddenly overcome by sheer terror. "What has she done?"
"Who, Jinx? Absolutely nothing, I just need to talk to her."
Just as quickly as it had set in, the incipient panic attack receded into the deepest corners of her faulty brain, and she drew a relieved sigh. "Ah… Okay sure, I'll text you her contact but… has something happened with the concert?"
"Oh no the concert is just fine don't worry, everything is going as smooth as a blue milk run, nothing to worry about." Vi smiled at the small Star Wars reference. "I just need to talk to your sister, that's all."
"Uh… is it something you can also divulge to me?" Vi asked, sitting down on her swiveling chair and reaching for a bottle of water she had left half empty on a nearby shelf.
"It depends. Are you familiar with the TV show Castle?" Caitlyn asked.
"Uh, yeah… I'm not as obsessed as my sister is but I do watch it. I'm a couple episodes behind now that I think of it," Vi answered.
She heard Caitlyn take a long breath, air sizzling in the microphone. "They fired her:"
Vi's confusion only grew. "Who fired who?"
Another, sharper, angrier, intake of breath. "Production fired Stana Katic from the show. Season 9 has been greenlit without her. And Tamala Jones for the record."
Confusion was replaced by anger. "THEY DID WHAT?"
"They fired the co-star of the show, the other half of the ship, the single greatest thing about the show itself," Caitlyn explained, through gritted teeth.
"Fuck's sake… Jinx's gonna lose it… Uh, I'll text you her contact, but I'm not sure it's a good idea to tell her now. She's most likely getting ready for work and no one wants a pissed off bartender."
"Vi… this is not something you should keep from your sister. You know how much she loves the show, she will be devastated!"
Oh, Vi knew perfectly well how much Jinx loved that procedural… She sighed and ran her palm over her cheek, thoughtful. "Well, I guess it's better if you break the news to her rather than me. Just give me a moment, I'll send you her contact information."
"Thanks Vi, much appreciated." Caitlyn's voice was softer now, calmer, but Vi wasn't sure it would stay like that for long, the moment she got to talk to Jinx.
"Love you, Cupcake."
"Love you too, Handsome…"
Vi closed the call and immediately sent her sister's number to her girlfriend, then pocketed the phone and went back to cleaning. "Guess I'll have to pay a visit to the Drop tonight, Jinx most likely would have needed some company that night. That show had been a crutch to her in a very dark moment of her life, a few years back, she had clung to it the same way she had clung to Caitlyn's music, and the current season had been the source of quite a few complaints, due to what Jinx had called character assassinations, and Vi had to agree, the premise of the whole season smelled fishy, as if they were out of ideas and were just going on blindly, with the murder of the day working fairly nice, but the overall story of the season lacking depth and coherence, compared to the tightly knitted stories the writers had developed for the previous ones, especially the first four seasons of the show.
"Oh well… we'll see what happens," she muttered to herself, spraying more disinfectant on the faux leather bed and wiping it down with a new piece of kitchen paper. "What the fuck are they thinking though, firing the actress that portrays the protagonist… If they're gonna cast Maria Bello like in The Mummy I'm gonna riot."
Not a minute after they had said goodbye, Caitlyn's phone dinged and she received Jinx's phone number and immediately sent her a text, telling her it was Caitlyn and that she needed to talk to her. Jinx' reply didn't take long to come, confirming that she could stay on the phone for a while, so Caitlyn called her.
"Guess my sister gave you my number," was Jinx' answer when she picked up the call.
"Your guess is correct, yes. Listen… did you by any chance check any social media today?"
"Uh? No, not really." Her voice conveyed the same confusion in her sister's just a few minutes prior. "What happened?"
Caitlyn sighed. "It's about Castle."
"Oh gods did they cancel it?"
"Worse. They fired Stana Katic and Tamala Jones."
Something metallic clattered in the background. "THEY DID WHAT?!?"
It was incredible how physically different the two sister were, but at the same time how similar in character, they had the same reaction, from the tone of disbelief in her voice to the choice of words. "I know it's… I have the TV Line article in front of me, apparently they were not asked to come back, which is flowery speech for they were fired, to help contain costs of the aging procedural. Bullshit, if you ask me."
"But it makes no sense!" Jinx yelled. "I mean… I could understand cutting Lanie's character, although that also sounds like a fucking terrible idea, but cutting off the co-protagonist? The other half of the ship? The -kett to Caskett? Terri's alter ego?!" The younger woman sighed. "What the fuck were they thing, this makes no fucking sense!"
"Don't ask me I'm as baffled as you are. This is absolutely insane, the whole situation is… I don't know, they're married and she's Captain in charge of the whole precinct, how the hell are they going to push forward the narrative? Make them separate after one year of marriage? Kill them both off in between seasons?"
Caitlyn's mind was running at one thousand ideas per minute and no matter what scenario she made up to justify the exit of the co-protagonist of the show made sense in the context of the serial.
"Oh come on they surely are dumb but they can't be that dumb!" Jinx said. "Or at least I hope so."
"Well now there's still hope the show isn't picked up for a ninth season as a whole," Caitlyn added. "It would mean the end of the show but do we really want a Castle without Beckett?"
On the other side of the line, Jinx muttered something Caitlyn couldn't understand but that sounded a lot like fucking idiots… "Don't know about you Cait, but I don't. Shit… I'm not even sure I want to watch tonight's episode. This whole thing totally killed the vibe."
"Same, yes." Caitlyn drew a long breath. "Listen… I'm not really in the mood to stay home mulling over this thing on my own, can I come down to the Drop after dinner? So we can mope about it together."
"What? Oh sure thing, I mean…" Jinx sounded a little awkward. "You're an adult woman, you can do whatever you want. But you're always welcome here, you know that. I'm sure Vi will appreciate it too if you come down."
"I guess she will. Is your Dad coming down too tonight?"
"Yep. He's getting ready as we speak, why do you ask?"
"I wanted to ask him a couple things for this Saturday, you know… safety reasons. I'm sure everything will be more than fine, he and my security team leader go way back and I doubt she will forbid me to come but you know, better safe than sorry."
"Ah yes, absolutely, the concert! I almost forgot sorry… that reminds me that I need to do post the timetable online… So… see you later?" Jinx asked.
"See you later. I'll eat something, feed Bonks and I'll be there. Save me a seat at the bar, please."
Caitlyn closed the call and set the phone down on the table in front of her, then she looked up at Mel, sitting opposite of her. "What?"
Her producer slash manager and part time confidante smiled and shook her head. "Nothing. Absolutely nothing."
"You're smiling. There's always something when you smile, especially like that!" Caitlyn prodded.
"Well, my darling… I can assure you that this time there's nothing, aside the fact that I'm very, very happy for you," Mel replied. "You have a girlfriend that clearly makes you happy and grounds you, but at the same time, you made a new friend, and you know better than me that it was never easy for you. Also I've got to be honest, this was the cutest autistic rant I've ever witnessed."
Caitlyn let out a soft rumble. "I'm not autistic…" she muttered.
"I've been telling you for years, Caitlyn. You show signs of being on the spectrum, and that's okay, it's your superpower. Just… be careful because those signs sometimes get in your way and become a hindrance."
"I'm just shy, Mel, that's all."
"You can be shy and autistic at the same time. Don't take it as an insult or as something that I point out as a negative trait. It's just a fact, it's part of you and that's totally fine. Look at Jayce! His autism has never been an issue for him."
"Except he has the ability to read the room of a triceratops."
Mel frowned. " What do you mean?"
"He's smart, like… really, really smart. His understanding of music is unmatched, and he is an incredible sound engineer on top of that and he's been instrumental in the making of all my albums especially because he works fast and he works hard. The problem is that sometimes he just can't seem to understand human emotions."
Mel seemed thoughtful for a moment. "Uh, yes. I have to agree on that. It gets worse when he's stressed."
"Yes. Also… come on, I can't be autistic. Someone would have noticed back when I was in school," Caitlyn added. "That's how it goes, right?"
Mel had known her for a decade, she had seen Caitlyn grow from an awkward teenager into a full adult, and a couple of years back she had approached her with the idea that she could be falling on the autism spectrum, mostly because she was worried about some of Caitlyn's deep burnouts that happened especially when she was stressed because of tours or recording albums. After the end of the Rouge World Tour and the sudden breakup with Lauren, Mel had been the first one Caitlyn had trusted to talk about the difficulties she had encountered returning to music and composing, and it was then that the producer had brought up the idea that Caitlyn could be falling on the spectrum and what she was experiencing wasn't just heartbreak, but a full blown autistic burnout and that the breakup was just a fraction of the issue.
Immediately, Caitlyn had opposed the idea, not because she thought autism was something negative, just because she didn't feel like she fit. Just that.
"Caitlyn, you'd be surprised how many people, especially women, miss the childhood diagnostic window because they're high functioning, and you could really be among those cases. There's nothing to be ashamed about."
"I wouldn't be ashamed if it turned out I was autistic, Mel!" Caitlyn rebuked.
"Then why don't you look into it?"
"Because it's not worth it!" Caitlyn exclaimed. "I'm twenty six Mel, nearly twenty seven, I'm an accomplished adult that sometimes has issues with minor burnouts…"
"You call your burnouts minor?!" Mel asked, clearly bewildered. "Cait… just a little over two years ago you spoke about enrolling into university and study criminal law because you felt like you couldn't write anymore and you'd be more fit at the Enforcers Headquarters than the stage, that's not minor to me! You were a wreck, and Lauren breaking up with you was only a minor part of the reasons you were feeling like that."
Caitlyn let out a short sigh. "It doesn't matter anymore, I've passed that point, I feel good about my writing and my life in general. It won't happen again."
"You can't know that. Burnout is not something you can prevent, sometimes it just comes because life can be overwhelming Caitlyn, you've seen it with your own eyes and experienced on your own skin. For all you know, you could be right and I'd be wrong, maybe you're not autistic as you say, but you could also find out that maybe sometimes talking to a professional could be beneficial."
"Come on you think I need a shrink?"
Mel shook her head. "I don't think you strictly need a shrink, as you call them, but having someone to talk to, one that is trained not to judge and to offer impartial advice if needed, could actually be beneficial to everyone, you included, that's all."
"I'll think about it, but I doubt I will have time for it. And speaking of time, I have to go home, feed my cat, eat my grilled turkey breast and steamed broccoli, feed my cat something that is most likely more nutritious than my own dinner and then… complain about the firing of the main actress of one of my favourite shows with my girlfriend's sister."
"Well, that sounds like a good plan, meager dinner aside. See you tomorrow?"
Caitlyn got up from the chair, grabbed her things and leaned close to Mel to kiss her cheek. "See you tomorrow. How's the selling for the streaming tickets going?"
"Last time I saw the data, you've already sold more than half million PPV passes, but as days go by and the concert comes nearer, each day we see more and more people buying. An educated guesstimate, as Robert from Marketing said the other day, could see the PPV passes surpass any concert streaming records seen to this day. There's margin to say that we'll go over one million, but most likely we'll see numbers between seven hundred thousands and seven hundred fifteen thousands."
"Good. I told you that keeping the price low would have been the best choice! Remember that I want part of the streaming revenue donated!"
Mel sighed and rolled her eyes. "We've already allotted percentages of the revenue to your usual suspects!"
"Add Zaun Music School to that!" Caitlyn said while she walked down the corridor. "And look into youth mental health services please. Gods know those are always underfunded!"
It felt a little strange, being invited to the Drop by her own sister to discuss the firing of an actress from a TV show, with her girlfriend, but Vi couldn't really complain. It's not like she had bigger plans other than showering, eating dinner and then being a total couch potato until bedtime came so beer, crisps and some company weren't really an unwelcome distraction.
Also now that she could drink alcohol again after the cut, she was more than welcome to indulge a little bit.
They had an appointment for nine PM, but Vi decided to go a little earlier, to check on her sister. And to have the chance to maybe smoke a joint together if the pub wasn't too full and she could take a break.
She was more than a bit surprised when she entered the pub and found Caitlyn already sitting at the bar, chatting with Jinx as her sister dried the still steaming glasses coming out of the dishwasher after the cycle wash.
"Hey, how are my favorite girls doing?" she asked as she slipped her jacket off her shoulder and leaned close to Caitlyn to give her a quick kiss on the cheek. After all they were still in public and displays of affection had to be toned down.
"Pissed, that's how we are!" her sister said with a displeased grunt.
"Have they said anything more, aside that they plan on going forth with a new season without them?"
Caitlyn shook her head. "Nothing. The other actors sent your average PR message on Twitter thanking them for the years spent together on set, but nothing. Andrew and Terri did comment, but they're out of production as of last year, so their words has very little importance."
"Can't really say their absence went unnoticed, quality of the show took a pretty steep dive," Vi said. "What are you two drinking?"
"Zero Gin," Caitlyn said. "Placeholder name."
At that, Vi frowned. "And that's placeholder for what, exactly?"
"Non alcoholic gin tonic. Made with zero sugar tonic water because Caitlyn here is on a very strict diet," Jinx replied. "Fairly new release, the supplier offered Dad a 6 bottles carton at a discounted price and I'm using Cait here as my test subject."
"I've got to say Vi… this isn't bad at all. I mean, it's pretty clear there's no alcohol here, the taste is different, but it's not a bad alternative. Pretty tasty, everything considered." She offered Vi the glass. "Try it."
Vi took a quick sip through the straw. It was slightly sweeter than the average gin tonic she was used to, but it was miles away from the average non alcoholic alternative she had tried during her life. "Uh, it's surprisingly good. Nice catch Jinx, you just need to work on the name."
"Yeah you're right Sis… Zero Gin sounds everything but a gin tonic…" She tapped her fingers on the bar, and Vi smiled at the perfectly manicured nails with flashy neon nail polish and a stylized monkey painted on each middle finger. "Well I guess you can't top the Jinx Tonic."
It was Caitlyn's turn to frown. "That sounds like a grenade made drink."
"Because it is!" Vi exclaimed. "It's a gin tonic with the proportion inverted, served with neon blue colored ice. It's the drink that smashes you no matter your alcohol tolerance."
"Ah no wait, that's the Long Island Jaeger Bomb!" Jinx laughed. "But I can't claim to have thought of that, I saw it on social media. So… speaking of drinks. What's your poison tonight?"
Vi checked the labels on the tap. "Oh you've got the Soundwave, I'll have one of that!"
"On its way!" Jinx grabbed a
Taking advantage of her sister's temporary distraction as she poured her pint and that of another guy that had just approached the bar asking for a refill, Vi turned towards Caitlyn. "How was your day?"
"Tiring, but nothing that won't be solved by a good night of sleep. Yours?"
"Just fine. A couple of piercings this morning, but I spent most of it working on designs for jobs I have booked next week, then I had a client for the afternoon. Nice guy, got a little cute ghost floating out of a shell on his ankle."
"Didn't you do a similar tattoo last week on a girl?" Caitlyn asked.
The pint of fresh IPA appeared in front of Vi and in a whirl she was gone again to pour more pints. "Yep. On his wife. It was their way to celebrate their anniversary. I thought it was really funny as a concept, instead of tattooing characters from Ghost In The Shell they actually got a ghost coming out of a shell. It's genius, I love that!"
"Do you have a picture by any chance?" Caitlyn asked. "Of the tattoo I mean, not the guy, I don't care about the guy."
"Oh of course." Vi took a quick sip of beer then she fished for her phone into the inner pocket of her jacket, hanging from the back of the chair. She opened the gallery and showed her the photos of the most recent tattoos she had done, a cute chubby and smiling ghost floating off a simple clam. "Here it is."
Caitlyn took the phone in her hands and checked the photo. "You're right, it's really cute. Though I'm quite sure you could pull off a portrait of Major Kusanagi."
"From the original movie or from the upcoming live action with Scarlet Johansson?" Vi asked.
"Both. I've seen how you do portraits, you could pull off both the anime style and the realistic portrait of a real person. And you did an amazing Black Widow a couple of years back, so you already know how to do Scarlet Johansson," Caitlyn said, handing the phone back.
Vi chuckled and put the device back in the pocket. "You stalked my Instagram…"
"I needed to be sure you were a good artist, I wanted to see for myself."
"I know, don't worry. I'm just surprised you scrolled so far back!"
"Let me guess, you were bored!" said Jinx, chucking herself back in the conversation once she was done serving the patrons. "And you doomscroll when you're bored."
"That's exactly what happened, I was waiting to board the plane that brought me back to Piltover after the last date of the tour, back in early November. I had absolutely nothing else to do in the waiting room, everyone was exhausted and no one really wanted to talk, except Skye who had caught the rumor that I wanted to pull the plug on a tattoo. She sent me your profile, and I scrolled through it for a long while. What can I say, between your art and the random shots of you working in tight tank tops, I was thoroughly entertained."
Jinx' left eyebrow shot up into her hairline. "That's the gayest thing I've ever heard in my entire life. And I've shared a bunk bed with a lesbian for over twenty years."
"Says the bi one," Vi chuckled.
"Pan, thank you."
"Yeah right. You came out of the cupboard instead of the closet…"
Both Caitlyn and Jinx laughed, and Vi felt oddly proud of the joke. She took a sip of her beer and when she set the glass down on the coaster, she looked up and saw her Dad coming in from the back.
"Good evening girls," he said, his gruffy, accented voice so deep it seemed to boom even in the loudest environment, no matter how softly he spoke. "How are you doing, Caitlyn?"
"Very good, Sir. You?"
"Same dear, same. So, I heard there's been a bit of an earthquake in a show you all watch." He turned and grabbed a pint glass from the shelf behind the bar and started pouring himself a Guinness, as he always did when he started working.
"Yep… and we're holding a AA meting about it," Jinx replied. "Only we're not anonymous nor alcoholic."
"One could argue I'm addicted to my meds," Vi blurted out and immediately regretted it. That was a topic no one ever liked to discuss, it was stupid of her to bring that up and she really didn't want to derail the conversation to such a grim matter.
"They're meds that keep you functioning," Jinx interjected, eyes narrow. "You're not addicted, same as a person with diabetes isn't addicted to insulin, end of discussion. But yeah Dad, they fired the main actress and another recurring one, basically erasing the duo from the show."
"But… didn't the two main protagonists marry last season? You were almost doing cartwheels on your bed when you watched the episode."
"Well we never said that the move made sense, Dad," Jinx said. "Listen… had it been Lanie that got axed, I would have been sad about it because I love her character but if the show lost the sassy medical examiner that doesn't even appear in every episode… it won't crash. But getting rid of the co-protagonist?"
"Uhm," he grumbled as he drank his beer. "That doesn't really sound like a good choice, especially if the show is already dwindling in quality."
"How do you know so many things about it, Dad?" Vi asked.
"Because I hear your sister talking about it, that's why!" he said, setting a broad hand on Jinx' shoulder. "You know how she is. If she likes something, she can't stop talking about it for days if not weeks. Or years, since it's an ongoing show. So… what happens now?"
"We're hoping for a cancellation," the three of them said in unison, which made Vander frown.
"Girls, isn't it a little excessive? I mean, there's people working on that show."
"We are very aware of that," Vi said. "But what would be worse? Getting cancelled now, so they have time to go look for employment in other shows that are going to soon pick up shooting, or being let go I don't know… at Snowdown time because the show gets abruptly stopped when the ratings drop below zero because Captain Obvious of course no one is going to watch the show without Beckett?"
"Ah, hadn't thought of that. If they continue to make it will you still be watching?"
"I doubt any of the true fans will, Sir," Caitlyn replied. "It's true, the show is a crime procedural mixed with comedy moments, but at its heart, it's a love story. It's like… I don't know, trying to do a Terminator movie without Arnold Schwarzenegger."
"No one would watch it, yes."
"Gotta say, I wouldn't mind a spin off about Hayley, the British girl," Vi added. "She's cool, probably the only good thing about Season 8."
"Isn't it because Toks Olagundoye is also hot as fuck?" Jinx asked.
Vi shrugged her shoulders. "I mean, can anyone sitting at this bar say that I'm wrong and that she isn't a beautiful woman?"
"Well… she does look like she could be my producer's twin, or at least her relative. You know Mel?" Caitlyn pointed out and both Vi and Jinx nodded. "Their voices are so similar, it's uncanny!"
"Wait, isn't she from here too? The actress I mean," Vander asked.
"Born in Nigeria, but she grew up a little bit all over the place, I think she spent a lot of time in London," Caitlyn said. "But yes, a spin off about her wouldn't be bad."
At that, Jinx sighed. "Dunno though… I mean, don't get me wrong I love Hayley as much as you do but… unless the manage to replicate the magic, it would be just another procedural."
Scratching her head, Vi nodded. "Yeah, you're kind of right. Listen Sis… do you have time for a quick smoke break? Teemo down at the dispensary got his hands on some new high CBD strains, he said it's perfect for stress but doesn't make you too sleepy. Wanna try some?"
Vi didn't really need to ask, her sister was always down for trying a new strain of weed, especially if it was supposed to help with stress. Gods knew her autism gave her high stress levels that sometimes not even her meds helped deal with. Jinx looked up at Vander, purple pleading eyes wide like that of the Puss in Boots from Shrek 2. "Can I?"
He rolled his eyes and gave them a quick nod. "Yeah, go. Just don't take too much time off!"
"Oh come on the pub is half empty!" Jinx exclaimed as she ran around the counter to join Vi on the customers' side. "I'm sure you can handle it on your own, you're big and strong uh? Also, Caitlyn here needs to talk to you about this weekend so hey, that's your chance!"
Vi looked at her sister than at Caitlyn. "About what?"
"Security, mostly. I'm almost sure that Grayson already called to inquire about it but I still like to be personally involved in such matters so I would like to speak to you about a few things about this Saturday."
He gave her a quick nod and a smile partially hidden by the thick graying beard. "Sure thing."
Before heading out, Vi rummaged in the pocket of her jacket for the cigarette lighter. "We'll leave you to talk then. Come on Jinx, dunno about you, but I really need this joint!"
Jinx gave her a loud slap on her back as they headed for the door, leaving Caitlyn and their father to talk. "Remember when we used to buy shitty weed from Teemo before it was legalized?"
Vi snorted out a suffocated laugh. "That was shit for real. But at least he tried to get us good stuff, we just couldn't afford it every single time."
They pushed the heavy door and stepped out into the small square where the pub had its main entrance. There, a square, tall table with a few scattered ashtrays on its surface was placed for all the smoking patrons that wanted a cigarette break but didn't really want to go home yet or they had yet to finish their pint. There, Vi set her own half full pint and lit the joint, shielding the flame with the palm of her hand.
"So? Is it really as good as Teemo said?"
Vi gave a quick inhale, the aromatic smoke actually burning a little in the back of her throat. "I've had better, but for what I paid for it, not bad." She passed the joint to her sister. "What do you think?"
"Eh, I agree with your initial assessment. For a high CBD strain it's not bad. Lacks flavor though."
"Yeah sounds about right…" Vi muttered as she took the joint back. "Smells nice though."
"True, yes. So, I heard Caitlyn's parents are coming down to the Drop this Saturday."
"Yeah, I took the liberty to invite them, since Dad knows them already. I wasn't sure they would have accepted with such a short notice, but it looks like they were free. Do you think Dad minded that?"
Jinx shrugged as she exhaled a puff of smoke. "Nah, he was just surprised. He wasn't expecting it I guess, not so soon I mean, you two have been together for four months."
"Five, actually," Vi corrected and gave Jinx the joint. "It's different this time. They already know each other."
"Yeah I mean, can you believe it? Those three have done countless protests together and Dad casually fails to mention it?" Jinx exclaimed. "Party pooper."
"Well, I have the feeling he thought it wouldn't have been polite to disturb them just because his daughter liked their daughter's music. It's already enough that he got us VIP tickets going through Grayson. I highly doubt he ever envisioned that his other daughter would get involved personally with Caitlyn either, now that I think of it."
"Oh you bet that never entered even his wildest dreams!" her sister laughed.
"Not even mine, actually." Vi took a deep breath and then a pull of ale from her pint. "I'm just a little worried…"
Jinx frowned as she took a draw from the joint, which was now getting close to the butt. "About the concert?"
Vi shook her head as she swirled the last inch of beer in the glass. "No it's not that. She's a pro, she knows what she's doing. No it's just… she's like the most famous pop star in the whole universe, she's more influential than Madonna at this point of her career and I'm just… me. I'm nobody, a drop in the ocean, how the hell can I even compare to that?"
Rolling her eyes, her sister shook her head. "Have you ever thought that maybe, just maybe… that's exactly the reason she was attracted to you in the first place? That she doesn't want or need you to compare to her? What you bring into her life is normalcy, and that's just fine!"
"For now, yes. But you know how it works, one day she'll realize that if I'm left to my own devices I end up making a fucking mess every single time, and she'll leave. It's always like this Jinx… tale as old as time."
"Oh for Janna's tits, fuck off would ya?" Jinx said, exasperation seeping into her high pitched noise. "It happened the grand total of once, and only because you and Sarah weren't compatible on a neuro-psychiatric level. Your ADHD ass isn't compatible with a neurotypical brain, they just don't get us of the neurospicy sorts. Your girl in there though, she's on my fucking boat, she's autistic as fuck, she just never realized that!"
"Yeah…" Vi admitted "I thought that too…" she said with a quick nod.
"There you go, finally you make some sense. See? You know how solid a couple made by two neurydivergent people can be, especially if it's autism paired with ADHD. It's like eggs and bacon, they complete each other, it just works!" She reinforced her words with a playful fist to the shoulder. "But it only works if you're honest about this, even the downside. Tell her and let her know your worries, I'm sure she'll appreciate the honesty."
Vi wanted to, she really did wanted to tell Caitlyn about this and make sure that she was aware of her issues and mental challenges that often threw a wrench in the gears of her relationships. But years upon years of social conditioning in the form of outright bullying had the effect that she was now terrified of opening up to people, and no amount of therapy had helped her come to terms with it, she barely opened up to her own sister about this kind of thing. This was the one aspect in life she constantly masked. She knew it wasn't right, pretending that everything was fine even when things were not wasn't exactly the best strategy, especially if the pretense was kept up for people pleasing reasons to her own detrimental, but she couldn't help it. It was so ingrained in the fabric of her being that it was impossible for her to do anything different.
"I'll try," she simply said, voice low and words not properly spelled.
Which only served to anger her sister. "You'll do it. And if you don't I'm going to do it for you. I have her number now, and I'm not scared to use it!"
That made Vi chuckle. The idea of her little sister wielding Caitlyn Kiramman's phone number as a weapon was kind of hilarious. For a moment, she wondered how Jinx had saved her contact, because knowing here, it was highly improbable that she had used her actual name and surname as a contact info, she always used nicknames for that. Also, Jinx wasn't stupid, she knew she really shouldn't use Caitlyn's full name as her contact, just in case someone peers at her phone and finds it.
"I'll keep that in mind then."
"So…" Vander started, leaning against the counter. "How can I help you?"
"I'm sorry to be a bother and I'm pretty sure you already spoke with Grayson about it but… do you mind if we have someone of our security team keep an eye on us? It's not like we don't trust you or feel unsafe, it's just how we handle things."
"It's not a bother at all, Caitlyn," he replied with a kind smile. "And I'll tell you more, not only I've spoken to Grayson, but I actually invited her to the concert and she gladly accepted the invitation. I'm not sure if she's to come as your official security attache or just as a guest, or if anyone else will come with her, but I will tell you what I told her. If it makes you feel safer, if it makes your parents feel safer, for themselves and for you of course, there is no problem for you to have someone from your security team here at the concert."
"Thank you, Sir. I know it's… an hassle, to say the least. But when I stay in the same crowded place for a few hours I'm not really allowed to be on my own. Not that I don't trust your clientele, it's mostly a contractual obligation."
He let out a soft chuckle. "Let me guess, your record company wants to keep their golden goose safe and sound, am I right?"
"On my part, yes. On Mum's side, it's just the nature of her job unfortunately. It happens that people react poorly to her actions and opinions and they like to express them in the form of threatening posts on social media. Lately she has been receiving a lot of them over her crackdown on corruption and industries lobbying politicians," she explained. "And her security team things some of them are actually real, and not just big talking online."
He blew out a long sigh. "I'm sorry to hear that, Caitlyn, I hope this resolves quickly. Take your security teams with you, there's room for everyone, no issue and no bother at all."
"Thank you Sir, much appreciated."
He raised his glass to her and they gently tapped their drinks together in a quick toast. "You're very welcome, Caitlyn. And please, call me Vander."
"I'm not really sure I will comply immediately, you know… the respect adults at all costs mindset my parents instilled in me is kind of well ingrained at this point."
A thick, bushy eyebrow shot up into his forehead in a confused but at the same time slightly sardonic frown. "Are you not an adult, Caitlyn? I mean, I am fairly sure you're the same age as Vi, so you're well over the age required to vote, purchase alcohol and drive a car. I admire your politeness, but trust me, here…" He waved around at the pub, most likely meaning its informality and homeliness, or given the context that was what Caitlyn interpreted. "Just drop the formalities. I know you respect me. What matters to me is that you respect my daughter."
"I do S… Vander. I do respect Vi. And you can rest assured that I love her and that I will do my damn best to make sure she's the happiest woman on Earth."
Caitlyn saw Vander's lips shift beneath his beard, his eyes trained on hers for a long moment before he raised his glass and took a sip of beer. "You're already succeding at that, Caitlyn, don't worry about it."