#i hope its clear that vi isnt actually Mad at/doesnt hate powder. all just typical 'sibling being a shit on purpose' things yk

[silverislander]

day 9: rivalry

vi steps back, trying not to pant too hard and wiping her forehead with her forearm. the scoreboard lights up with her name, and she turns to grin at caitlyn.

"how's that for excellent?" she wiggles her eyebrows.

caitlyn is still staring, blush a little too strong for someone who had just been standing there watching vi box for the last couple minutes. vi is finding out today just how much she likes that look on her.

"yes, i- um. excellent is a good word for it."

vi laughs, which makes caitlyn laugh, too, and they're both standing a little too close together, both a little breathless. forget the scoreboard, this is all the reward vi needs.

just being here feels like the real victory. it had taken weeks for caitlyn to earn the whole gang's trust enough to be invited to the arcade, plus nearly a month to convince grayson to let her leave the bar at all while she talked with vander. vi's been planning almost that entire time, making sure the arcade is actually kind of clean (mylo had made fun of her all the way), bribing powder to fix the machines, practicing on the bag to make sure she didn't make a fool of herself when she finally got to show off to caitlyn; it's gonna be perfect.

even better: she's finally engineered her and her girlfriend of one week some time away from their guardians, and they hadn't suspected a thing. the fact that this could be called their first real date makes vi simultaneously terrified, proud and excited, although she'd never admit it. the fact that she thinks she's finally going to get to kiss caitlyn tonight, prissy topside parents and overprotective bartenders aside, feels just the same.

and then powder asked to tag along and threw a wrench right in her perfect plans.

vi's not really sure why she asked to come. powder had made no secret of her disdain for caitlyn, and vi thought she'd made it pretty clear what kind of outing this was going to be. whatever the reason, powder had piped up to add that she wanted to come to the arcade too. mylo had been all too happy to push off his "babysitting" responsibilities, vander had been a bit too pleased that vi wasn't heading off alone, and that was that: it wasn't going to be caitlyn and vi, it was caitlyn and vi and powder.

whatever. vi loves her sister- she wouldn't have been able to say no to her anyways.

"you guys aren't going to kiss, are you?"

vi grits her teeth and reminds herself of just how much she loves her sister.

"did you win, pow?"

the original plan had involved getting caitlyn to shoot for her first, coming up with some kind of witty compliment, then going for the boxing machine because she knows she looks cool when she fights. after that, presumably, the universe would conspire to make things work out, vi would ask to kiss her goodnight before chivalrously walking her back, caitlyn would say of course, vi in that pretty voice of hers and boom, fireworks, dramatic music, they kiss and everything is great. because it's vi's life and something has to go wrong, though, the second she'd very suavely mentioned that caitlyn would be so good at the shooting game, powder had begun an aggressive campaign to hog it for the foreseeable future.

"i didn't." she's lying- vi saw the board light up, first place, same as always. "can i try again? i think i'll get it next time, so-"

"maybe we can let caitlyn try for a round?" vi tries her best to not sound like she's pleading.

"but-"

"please?"

"it's okay, vi." caitlyn smiles, and- whoa, okay, she's holding vi's hand. is her hand sweaty? her hand is definitely so sweaty. she kind of wants to die. "if powder doesn't want me taking anyone's place on the board, i completely understand."

vi's brain still isn't fully back. "but- powder's the only one on the board?"

caitlyn just shrugs and begins to gently tug her away, still smiling. powder, though, looks shocked, and then makes a face that always worries vi: she looks determined.

"you can use it."

"thank you," vi mutters in relief.

"only if you and i go head to head, though."

there's the catch.

"sorry?" caitlyn turns back to face her again, the smile gone from her face.

"i want to play against you. you're really good, right?" powder grabs one of the pistols and almost slaps it into caitlyn's free hand. "i'd love some real competition."

"powder-"

"you're on."

vi looks to caitlyn. her mouth is set the same way it is when she argues with grayson to let her stay in the bar for another hour, her head high.

whatever. the night's already gone down the tubes, and she'll still get to see caitlyn shoot. might as well let powder have some fun, too.

powder, who is not really giving off i am having fun vibes, grins with maybe a little too much teeth, starts the machine and raises her gun. next to her, caitlyn takes aim, her hands steady and eyes sharp.

it's practically a neon blur to vi. she's not sure she's ever seen the targets move this fast, let alone this many shots being fired off at once. she tries her best to keep an eye on the score, and it's close all the way up through.

she'd be lying if she said her attention wasn't too focused on her girl, though. caitlyn is in her element, calm as anything, aiming and firing and reloading like it's as easy as breathing, like there's nobody else in the room. a strand of her hair has come untucked from her ponytail, and vi wants to brush it back for her.

the bell rings, though, and the moment is over. vi checks the point total- twenty-five in the difference, someone had missed a single target- at the exact same time the bell rings.

CAIT lights up the first-place spot.

now it's vi's turn to make the same face caitlyn had earlier: jaw dropped, flushed, openly staring. "cupcake, that was..."

caitlyn blows off the muzzle of the gun and sets it down on the counter. she turns to vi, fucking winks- vi thinks yeah, she's definitely going to die tonight- and then turns to powder, holding out her hand.

"good game," she says.

powder glares, and it takes a second too long, but she does shake caitlyn's hand, and only a little too hard, too. vi is proud.

and then she says, "good game, cupcake," with the biggest, smuggest shit-eating smile. vi lunges for her with the fullest intent of dragging her out of the room and putting her in time-out, but she's too fast, and she races away into some corner or side room on her own, cackling the whole way.

vi just closes her eyes and sighs. "i am so sorry-"

caitlyn's lips are on hers before she can even finish.

fuck it, maybe tonight is perfect after all.