Chapter Text
The morning starts out unassuming enough. Or, at least, the first two seconds of it does. Vi blinks her eyes open as the soft morning light filters through the curtains. Yawning, she stretches an arm out to pull Caitlyn in – except, she’s not there.
Groggily, Vi sits up to find the other side of the bed empty, sheets mussed and haphazardly crumpled like Caitlyn got out of bed in a hurry. She frowns, but then the sound of retching reaches her ears.
She’s barely awake and conscious to process it, but before she knows it, she’s throwing open the door to their ensuite to find Caitlyn kneeled on the floor and hunched over the toilet bowl.
“Fuck, Cait, are you okay?” Vi asks, worry filling her voice.
“I’m–” Caitlyn cuts herself off with a dry heave, doubling over. “I’m fine.”
“Yeah, because this is what fine looks like,” Vi remarks dryly.
“Hardy-har. I probably just caught some stomach bug. It’ll pass.”
Vi chews on her bottom lip. “If you’re sure…”
“I’m sure. I’m fine.”
Caitlyn promptly throws up again.
Vi winces, deciding to make herself useful around the house. As breakfast cooks, she calls the station to call Caitlyn in sick, knowing her girlfriend wouldn’t do so herself unless actively bleeding out. And even then, it’s a 50/50.
She flits around the kitchen trying to make herself useful and burn off nervous energy. She ends up setting the table and plating breakfast about five times over.
After what feels like hours but honestly must be closer to 30 minutes, Caitlyn meets Vi in the kitchen, wrapping her arms around her waist from behind and resting her head on her shoulder, dark blue hair cascading down around the two.
“Feeling better?” Vi asks.
Caitlyn mumbles a “not really,” her lips tickling Vi’s neck.
“I called you out of work,” Vi says.
Caitlyn grumbles. “Vi…”
“Don’t ‘Vi’ me. We need you in tip top shape for dinner with your parents on Friday.”
“It’s Tuesday,” Caitlyn points out, but she’s already on her way to giving in.
“Exactly,” Vi says, turning around to hold her properly, leaving light kisses down her jaw and neck. “Nothing less than perfection. We’re resting today.”
“We?” Caitlyn asks, her words coming out a little more than breathy.
Vi grins into her neck. “Both of us are staying in today. Let me take care of you.”
Caitlyn scoffs without any bite behind it, gripping Vi’s waist and gently pushing her against the kitchen counter. “Well, why didn’t you lead with that?”
Vi laughs, leaning back to kiss Caitlyn briefly, tasting her minty fresh toothpaste. “Hold your horses, Romeo, you still need to eat.”
“I can think of something else I’d like to eat,” Caitlyn says.
Vi barks out a loud laugh, caught off guard. “Maybe later. You need some actual food in you. In case you forgot, you were busy emptying your stomach in our bathroom. You really have to eat something.”
Caitlyn purses her lips. “I doubt it will stay down for long.”
“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it,” Vi says, leading her into the dining room.
But, as is with most things, Caitlyn is right, and another 30 minutes later find them in the bathroom again, Vi rubbing Caitlyn’s back as she aquaints herself with the toilet bowl.
Vi is slightly worried. Low-key. Like, in the lowest key possible. So low, in fact, that she's debating a trip to the hospital to confirm just how low key this whole thing is.
Vi clears her throat. “Should we see someone?”
Caitlyn shakes her head as best she can considering her current placement. “It’ll pass.”
It doesn’t.
It happens Wednesday morning, too. Carries on a little into the afternoon with Vi officially taking sick leave for the both of them as she holds Caitlyn’s hair back and murmurs soothing words.
It happens in the midnight hours of Thursday morning, Caitlyn rushing out of bed long before the sun even thinks to rise to throw up last night’s dinner as Vi stands in the doorway donning a pensive look on her face.
“Cait,” she starts. “I think we should probably see a doctor now.”
Caitlyn is too tired to argue. They make sure the last of her sickness is gone before Caitlyn drains basically the entirety of the toothpaste bottle and makes an appointment.
Vi and Caitlyn sit in the white, sterile office as they wait for the doctor to come in with the results. Caitlyn is nervously fiddling with Vi’s fingers as Vi mentally runs through all the possibilities. Caitlyn is a healthy person. She doesn’t get sick, period. So what the hell is wrong with her?
After about seven and a half eternities, the doctor comes back in and she looks… happy?
“Congratulations,” she says, and Vi’s whole world is shifted two inches to the right at her next words. “You’re pregnant. About four weeks along.”
What.
The universe seems to come to a complete standstill as Caitlyn and Vi’s hearts stop and their breaths hitch in unison. They both freeze, and Vi’s mind is agonizingly empty yet buzzing and overloading at the same time. Distantly, she realizes that the doctor is still talking and she desperately tries to tune back in.
“...understand that this might be a shock,” she’s saying. Vi almost snorts. Understatement of the fucking year. “Have you two been using contraceptives?”
“Um.”
“Yes?” Caitlyn tries, collecting herself faster than Vi. The doctor hums. She looks like she wants to say more, but Caitlyn cuts her off. “Could we have some time alone, please?”
The doctor gives them a sympathetic smile. “Of course.”
She leaves the room and Vi’s brain seems to leave with her. It’s almost painfully silent as Vi tries to wrap her mind around how the fuck?
“Pregnant,” Caitlyn says, sounding faint.
“How the fuck?” Vi asks, echoing her thoughts, and she sounds like she just ran ten miles.
“I didn’t…” Caitlyn starts. “If you’re thinking–”
“No, I know,” Vi says, taking Caitlyn’s hand in hers. The thought hadn’t even crossed her mind, if she’s being honest. She has complete faith in her girlfriend. “I just… how?”
Caitlyn’s face pinches. “What are we going to do?”
“What are you going to do,” Vi corrects. “It’s entirely your choice.”
And then they lapse into silence again. Vi’s left to think. She’s never really thought about children before. Never really had the luxury to. Down in the Lanes wasn’t much better than the Undercity, but she never wanted to subject another person to the suffering that came with just trying to survive. And then she got thrown into prison. So. Not much there, either.
But now, she has Caitlyn. She’s living Topside in a fancy apartment with the love of her life and it actually might be a possibility. She can’t deny the appeal of having a mini version of both her and Caitlyn running around and causing general mayhem. If not now, she supposes, then one day.
Caitlyn moves and Vi is brought out of her thoughts as Caitlyn’s other hand joins her first where it’s intertwined with Vi’s. Gently, Vi leans forward to kiss her, trying to convey all her love through a single action.
“I–” Caitlyn pauses; takes a breath. “I think I want to keep it.”
All the oxygen leaves Vi’s lungs in one fell swoop, and she feels almost giddy. “Are you sure?”
Caitlyn nods. “I’m sure. Is– is that okay?”
“More than,” Vi smiles. “I love you. You know that, right? No matter what. We’ll face this together.”
This time, it’s Caitlyn that leans in, kissing her in a way that’s only slightly too risque for a public setting where the doctor could come back in at any moment. She does pull away before the doctor re-enters, but she stays shoulder to shoulder with Vi as she and the doctor discuss medical things. Vi’s not paying attention, in all honesty.
Was this entirely unexpected? Yes. Does she wish they could have had time to plan and think this through? Also yes. But does she want to get rid of it? No. Vi supposes she’ll just do what she always does: stumble through it with the best intentions and somehow make it out the other side. This time though, she’ll be stumbling with Caitlyn. Maybe they can lift each other up into more of a steady way forward. What a thought.
“Vi?” Caitlyn says.
“Whuh?”
“Doc says we can go home now. Lost in thought?”
“Just thinking about you,” Vi says honestly. “And… this whole thing. Shit, we have to tell people, don’t we?”
“Oh my god,” Caitlyn says. “I need to tell Jayce.”
“If you would like privacy again,” the doctor says, startling Vi. She’d forgotten about her. “I’ll be outside.”
“Thank you,” Caitlyn says, already pulling out her phone and punching in Jayce’s number, setting it to speaker so Vi can hear as well.
It rings thrice before he picks up. “Hel–”
“Jayce. I’m pregnant.”
And Jayce laughs . He laughs and says, “Cait, aren’t you a little late for April fools? That was a month ago.”
“Jayce,” Caitlyn says, and something about her tone shuts him up for a good 20 seconds. It’s so silent on the other end that Vi has to check that he’s still on call.
“What? Oh my god. You’re serious?”
“I… yeah,” Caitlyn says.
“Oh my god. Is Vi…?”
“She’s the only possibility,” Caitlyn assures him. “I swear it.”
“How is that possible?” Jayce asks. “It’s almost like some sort of crazy magic… Oh my fucking god.”
“What is it?” Vi asks, nervous.
“Oh my fucking god,” Jayce repeats. “Magic.”
Caitlyn frowns. “I’m not sure I follow–”
“Caitlyn Kiramman.” Caitlyn’s jaw snaps shut at his words. Jayce takes a deep breath. “Remember when you commissioned that thing? When’s the last time you used it?”
“A couple weeks ago?” Caitlyn answers, cringing a little at sharing the private information, but Jayce is in his no-bullshit mode. Vi can almost picture his face. “But I don't– oh my god.”
Finally, Vi’s brain catches up to the conversation, and she laughs out loud. Jayce makes a sound on the other end of the line like he’s being strangled, Caitlyn puts her head in her hands, and Vi laughs.
“I knew I never should have made that for you,” Jayce bemoans. “I know things I never wanted to know and it’s all your fault.”
“Aw, don’t be like that, Uncle Jayce,” Vi teases. Caitlyn snorts.
“Shut up,” Jayce grumbles. “I’m not the one who apparently made a Hextech baby!”
“With your help!” Vi points out. “You made the thing! Thanks, by the way. Works wonders. You really can feel everything.”
Jayce full on ignores her, changing the subject with the subtlety of a brick to the face. “So, are you two keeping it?”
“That’s the plan,” Caitlyn says.
“Wait, how are you going to explain this to your parents? Aren’t you having dinner with them at their place tomorrow?”
And once again, Vi’s heart stops beating. It has to be unhealthy to have this many stalls on her poor, poor heart. “Fuck.”
Caitlyn grimaces. “Fuck,” she agrees.
And Vi is kind of sort of definitely absolutely freaking out. Because while she and Caitlyn have been together for years, Cassandra and Tobias Kiramman still scare the absolute shit out of her. And now that she’s gotten their daughter pregnant? Vi thinks Cassandra might just reenact their first meeting, but this time, she’ll pull the trigger.
In that moment, Vi goes through every stage of grief in about two seconds.
Oh, the mortifying ordeal of being perceived.
After they’ve confirmed the pregnancy 100 percent, Vi becomes a mess. The doctor tells them to come back for a checkup in about 4 to 6 weeks, but it goes in one ear and out the other. A thought strikes her, and she almost trips over her feet during their relatively brief walk home.
Caitlyn seems to be finding amusement in Vi’s panic over her parents; at least one of them is having fun. Vi supposes Caitlyn deserves a good laugh considering she’s the one the pregnancy will affect the most. God, even thinking about it makes Vi dizzy with a swirl of emotions.
“Cait,” Vi begins, trying to keep her voice steady. “How old-school are your parents?”
Caitlyn huffs in an attempt to reign in her laughter. “A little more than slightly old-school, I’d say. Not too bad, though.”
“And, uh.” Vi fiddles with her fingers, needing something to do. “How would they feel about having a baby out of wedlock?”
“Oh, they’d hate it,” Caitlyn says, grinning. “At least, my mom in particular would be absolutely livid. Is this your way of proposing to me?”
“No! I mean, no? I mean, I will propose, but I want to do it right.”
Caitlyn laughs. “Relax, darling, I’m teasing you. And how do you know I won't propose first?”
Vi gently bumps Caitlyn’s shoulder with her own. “Because we’ll pull the sappy ‘propose at the same time’ shit, obviously.”
Caitlyn laughs again, taking Vi’s hand and intertwining their fingers. “Obviously. How could I not see it before?”
“Keep up, Cupcake,” Vi says. “But, uh. Are we telling your parents tomorrow or…?”
Caitlyn winces. “I would rather not. At least, not tomorrow. But we do have to tell them eventually.”
Vi mentally starts writing her will. Of course, most of her things will go to Caitlyn. She hopes Caitlyn will teach their kid how to box when she’s gone. “Seriously though, how are you handling this so well?”
“I’m compartmentalizing. It’ll sock me in the face later, I’m sure.”
Vi nods. “Ah, yes, great strategy.”
“The best,” Caitlyn agrees as they turn onto a familiar street.
They lapse into comfortable silence for the short five minutes left of their walk. Vi just lets herself feel the warmth of Caitlyn’s hand against hers, her body at her side, grounding. And Vi thinks, with Caitlyn by her side, maybe she can survive dinner with her parents.
Vi is not going to survive this dinner.
From the moment she and Caitlyn walked through the overly intricate doors of the Kiramman mansion, Vi’s been struggling to keep her hands to herself and not fuss over every single thing Caitlyn does.
Tobias had wrapped Caitlyn in a bear hug that made both her and Vi cringe, exclaiming, “Caitlyn, darling, it’s been too long!” and Vi had to physically restrain herself from pushing Tobias off her. It would only look too suspicious, and questions are the last thing they need.
Thankfully, he let go rather quickly to greet Vi with an equally enthusiastic hug, letting his wife say hello to Caitlyn. Cassandra had nodded at Vi, but it was the closest to a warm greeting she’d get. Vi wonders if that will last.
The two older Kirammans disappeared into the kitchen after welcoming Caitlyn and Vi in, which left the younger couple sitting at the dining table. Vi briefly debates making a run for it.
But the rattle of metal against hardwood brings Vi’s attention to Caitlyn, who’s dropped her fork in the middle of arranging the fancy cutlery in a way Vi will never understand, and is staring at nothing with a thousand emotions flitting across her face. “Oh my god, Vi,” she breathes, and Vi wants to bury herself in to a hole in the ground and never come out because it’s fully hitting Caitlyn now, the fact that they’re pregnant, and it could not be at a worse time because Caitlyn’s parents are in the other room and will be out at any moment.
It’s all Vi can do to be damage control because really, it’s her fault they’re here in the first place. She rests a hand on Caitlyn’s. “We’ll be fine. We just have to get through this one dinner. Besides, your parents can’t murder me now, even if you’ll absolutely rock this thing without me or not.” That gets a small chuckle out of Caitlyn, and Vi considers it a win.
“Who’s murdering whom, now?” Tobias asks as he comes into the living room with plates. He had refused to let Vi or Caitlyn help them set the table, but Caitlyn went and set up the silverware when he wasn’t looking anyway. (Vi doesn’t bother to try and help with that, she’s still lost on all the apparent different types of cutlery and would only get in the way.)
“Uh,” Vi says. Fuck. Think, Vi, think! “I’ll be murdering anyone who tries to get between me and your cooking.” It comes out as more of a question, but it seems to do the trick. Caitlyn shoots her a look that says nice save. Tobias just chuckles as he sets the plates on the table and claps Vi on the back.
“You really ought to come over more often, the both of you,” he says. “You’re part of this family, Vi, you always have been.”
And Vi kind of doesn’t know what to say to that. It’s touching that Tobias considers her as one of them. Don’t get her wrong, she’s still scared of him, especially now, but she’s always liked him.
Before anything else can be said though, Cassandra and two of the housemaids come bearing the dishes stacked high with food and spices and Vi lets her stomach take over for a bit, drowning out nerves with hunger.
As they get settled and tuck in, Vi’s hand finds Caitlyn’s under the table. Caitlyn spares a glance over to her and gives her a small but nervous smile. Caitlyn turns to her dad as they talk about work, with Vi chiming in every now and again with stories of epic busts. But Vi’s nervous. So incredibly nervous, and Cassandra seems to pick up on it, leveling her with a scrutinizing stare that could raze mountains. Vi does her absolute best not to squirm in her seat.
Caitlyn’s hand is still slightly shaking under hers, but it calms significantly as dinner goes on. Cassandra talks about upcoming parties that are really just political plays, Tobias talks about a gruelling surgery that eventually evened out with a happy ending; Caitlyn and Vi groan about unnecessary paperwork. Vi cracks jokes that have even Cassandra laughing, and she feels good. Not great, but good nonetheless. It actually feels like a family dinner.
She should have known it was too good to be true.
Just when Vi thought they were out of the woods and they’re settling into dessert, Cassandra asks, “So, what are you two hiding?” and her blood freezes in her veins.
Vi coughs and Caitlyn’s spoon pauses halfway to her mouth. “What?” Caitlyn asks.
Cassandra rolls her eyes. “Oh, don’t give me that. Caitlyn, you’ve been consistently using the wrong fork this entire time. The last time you did that you were six years old. And not only does Vi look like she wants to be anywhere but here, she’s told a total of twenty five jokes, which is excessive, even for her. It’s her coping mechanism. You two are nervous.”
Vi’s jaw drops in time with Caitlyn’s.
Tobias just looks confused. Confused, but intrigued. “Is there something you two need to tell us?”
“Um,” Vi says eloquently.
“Honestly, you two act like I don’t know you at all,” Cassandra continues. “Go on, spit it out.”
Vi looks to Caitlyn in a panic, and even though she has an expression that Vi is sure mirrors her own, Caitlyn nods slightly as if to signal I guess we’re doing this . To be completely frank, the nod just spikes Vi’s anxiety because they’re going to tell her parents and any and all affection Cassandra might have held for Vi will take a complete nosedive. And Tobias just might kill her.
“I, uh,” Caitlyn tries, squeezing Vi’s hand in a vice grip under the table.
“Oh god, is anyone hurt?” Tobias asks. “Who–”
“I’m pregnant,” Caitlyn blurts out.
Cassandra’s spoonful of pudding clatters loudly to the table and then it’s just. Silence. Pure silence as both Cassandra and Tobias’s eyes snap back and forth between Vi and Caitlyn. Vi wants to reiterate: she’s not making it out of here alive. She’s honestly not sure if she's even breathing at this point.
And then, after several eons:
“What?” Cassandra snaps. Vi winces, and suddenly the table looks incredibly interesting. She wonders what kind of wood it is. Probably mahogany. Cassandra glares at Caitlyn. “How did this happen?”
“I-it’s Vi’s,” Caitlyn says, as if that’s any explanation. She’s shifting the blame, and Vi would respect that in any other circumstances if it isn’t actively throwing her under the bus.
Cassandra’s scathing glare is redirected at Vi with ten times the force behind it. Oh no. Vi is actually surprised she doesn't combust into flames right then and there. “How did this happen?” she repeats.
“I– um–” Vi’s mind scrambles because while she feels compelled to tell the truth, there is actually no way in hell she’ll explain the how to Caitlyn’s mom, are you fucking kidding? “Magic?”
Cassandra scoffs. “You expect me to believe that?”
Caitlyn coughs into her hand. “She’s, um, she’s not lying. I’d… rather not go into the specifics of it, but it’s the truth. I swear it.”
Cassandra’s eyes narrow in obvious doubt, but she drops the matter, to Vi’s immense relief. “You realize the implications of this, yes?”
“Yes, mother.”
“Are you keeping it?” Tobias asks, speaking up. Vi jumps, having forgotten about him.
“We are,” Vi confirms. “We–”
“Why don’t we let my daughter speak,” Cassandra cuts in, her tone cold and unforgiving. Yep, Vi thinks. Completely and totally fucked. She mournfully waves goodbye to any chance of a good relationship with her. “She’s the one who’s… incapacitated.”
“Mother,” Caitlyn warns.
“Well? Are you?”
“We are,” Caitlyn repeats.
“And you’ve seen a doctor?” Tobias asks.
Vi wisely keeps her mouth shut and lets Caitlyn talk. “We saw one yesterday, which is when we found out.”
“When are you due?” he continues.
“Early January,” Caitlyn says.
And then the table falls silent again. It’s somehow even more unbearable than the first time around. Vi’s nose itches, but she keeps still as a god damn statue plucked straight from the garden of Medusa to avoid the ire of Mama Kiramman. Tobias looks conflicted and his wife is just downright pissed. Vi counts 200 seconds before–
“Is everything alright?” one of the kitchen staff pokes her head into the dining hall. “I hope dessert is to your liking.”
Caitlyn’s forehead meets the table with a loud sigh.
Later, in bed, Caitlyn plays with Vi’s hair as the brawler lays her head on her chest, the rest of her body starfishing over the sheets. “I suppose that could have gone worse,” she muses.
Vi snorts, bringing a hand up to rest on Caitlyn’s lower stomach, right over where their child rests. It’s mind-melting to think of. “It could have gone better.”
“Not by much, not really.”
“Reassuring,” Vi says dryly. “Are you okay though? Truly?”
“They’ll come around eventually,” Caitlyn says. “But I’m okay, because right now, I have you.”
Vi litters kisses up and down her neck. “You have me always, Cupcake. Don’t you forget it.”