Hello everyone! No I am not dead and no I have not stopped working on my writing. I have just been going through some annoying times recently and lost my desire to write. I was still trying mind you just very very very slowly. Betrayal is being worked on as well and should be released before the end of the month! (Hopefully sooner than that but with how things are going it may be longer.) Anyways this was supposed to be released by Christmas but…. Between work, finals, a trip to Arizona to go see the Boise State vs University of Arizona game (Go Broncos!), and getting sick it got pushed back. Anyways enjoy the short-ish read in which Shaw heavily helped with.

"Winter," Caitlyn suddenly began, speaking to nobody but the thin air surrounding her. "As much as I love the snow, it's dreadfully tiring most of the time. Especially, when it means catching the bad guys. Crime even usually spikes are this time of year too. It's like they know how much I detest how slick the roads get." There was a crackle of belt buckles being undone. "But that…. that's the least of my concerns."

She paused for a moment to glance over at her dresser and the small photograph of a pink-haired lady grinning stupidly at the camera. "Vi. Stupid, idiotic, and lovable Vi," Caitlyn continued mumbling. "I swear she turns into a little kid again. The first day it snowed I caught her skipping out on her patrol to build a bloody snowman! Oh, sure, the kids loved it, or so she insists, but the jewelry store owner sure didn't when he found out all his storefront necklaces were missing! She doesn't even know how lucky she is that we caught the three bastards and got them back later. The mayor would've been breathing fire down my throat!"

She took several deep breaths to cool off and let out a deep sigh.

"And to add to these two problems, Jayce has returned from his most recent trip, boasting about his grand deeds which Vi quickly must compete against. Two hundred and twenty three thousand dollars' worth of damage between the both of them. That was only one night! Over a drunken bet of who could create a better techmaturgical upgrade. Alright, I understand the desire to drink every now and then, but alcohol and science DO NOT GO TOGETHER!"

Caitlyn paused for several long, arduous moments as she held her undershirt in a death grip, again waiting for her temper to simmer down before resuming her routine.

"And last and worst of all," she continued, "my parents invited her over for dinner! The Time of Snowdown is supposed to calm one's nerves at the end of the year and prepare us for the coming one. Mine? They've been frayed to the very last one! I'm surprised I haven't gone off the deep end and buried myself in the couch with a vat of ice cream while I watch some sappy recording on the telly."

She was about to throw herself onto the bed and punch the pillow in a sad mockery of her composed public persona, but instead froze as she thought about it. "No…" she took a breath, "Calm… calm… I'm sure she will present herself in a fashion most elegantly. Like a rhino in a suit." Her skin paled. "Oh, gods… maybe I should just call off the dinner? It would be for the best, wouldn't it? Just tell her that the cooks burnt the food and we'd just get Ionian takeout instead?"

She paced back and forth in an indecisive manner before stopping in front of the mirror and glaring at her frazzled reflection. "No! I'm better than this. I'm the Sherriff of Piltover and I've taken down more criminals in my illustrious career than I've had hot meals. I'm sure I can handle one night. After that, losing my sanity is fine. Also, it's not like it is her first time meeting my parents! She did a wonderful job at destroying three vases last time she was here, and apparently that was not reason enough to never let her back into the mansion."

She finally managed to do up the last knot. Her top hat sat on the shelf, and her raven hair had been straightened to fall in waves over her torso. In place of her typical striped corset, a long blue dress hugged her figure in all the right places, exposing not much less than her usual outfit up top and stopping just before the floor down below. She'd spent much of last evening choosing it, and she prayed it would be liked.

"Okay… calm. Calm. I am calm."

Ding-Dong.

"She's here!" she shrieked in a most unladylike fashion, throwing her hands up in terror. "She's here oh no oh no oh no she's here, she's…" She glanced to the clock, and then did a comical double-take. "…right on time?"

She remained silent for several seconds as she stared at the clock, letting the sounds of the house be the only noise in the room for that time. She could smell the cooked boar and roasted turkey, see the sun had begun to set, and hear the tinkling of crockery downstairs as the dining table was prepared to host the meal.

Even though it was a serious event, Caitlyn was still taken aback by Vi's punctuality. She always showed up to work late.

Gingerly exiting her room out onto the second floor landing, she paused at the view from the top of the stairs for yet another pleasant surprise.

Standing at the open door and chatting eagerly with Caitlyn's mother who'd opened the door for her was Vi. And, unusually for the belligerent and hotheaded policewoman, she'd taken the time to dress herself up for the occasion. It wasn't a case of Vi's definition of 'dressed up' which usually consisted of raggedy shirts and mostly intact pants, but with brand new black dress pants and vest combo, a white undershirt, and a tie. Her hair was even tied back into a small ponytail.

"She looks really nice…" Caitlyn thought to herself, her cheeks faintly turning red at the sight.

Her mother turned upon seeing Vi's gaze switch focus and spotted her awkwardly waiting at the top of the stairs. "Sweetie, don't you look just lovely," she gushed. She turned back to Vi. "She's been getting herself ready all day. You must really mean something special," she added in a whisper. The younger woman grinned sheepishly as she scratched the back of her head, all while looking the detective's way.

Caitlyn heard though. "Mother," she said as politely as she could, "I'm sure you have some other guests to attend to, right?"

"Pish posh, I would love to spend time with my daughter and her-" She paused. "You two are dating now, right?"

"Mother! I think I heard father calling for you."

"I don't-"

"Yes, he did, and you know how irascible he can get!" Caitlyn said, shooing her mother away with somewhat more gusto than was probably needed. She returned a moment later with a look of embarrassed annoyance replacing her normally calm face.

"Before I say anything else, I'd recommend you call the fire brigade, Cupcake," Vi said with a snicker.

The look for annoyance morphed into confusion. "What for?"

"'Cause you're smoking!" As Caitlyn's face went a brilliant crimson color, the pinkette burst into laughter and waved a hand. "Oh, I've been waiting so long to crack that joke…" She wiped away a fake tear from the corner of her eye. "So, anyway, your mom knows about us?"

The woman managed to compose herself and bring the temperature of her face down to a reasonable level with a considerable effort. "She knows," she said, "and because she can't help but gossip about everything she hears everyone else alsoknows. Never mind that's she usually completely wrong. Last week, I was engaged to Jayce because I looked at him for longer than normal."

"That's crazy."

"I know, bu-"

"Because right after we went back to my place and-"

"Finish that sentence and I will have you locked away in jail for the rest of your life."

"With the fuzzy cuffs? Cupcake, you really know my weak spots," she smirked, adding a wink for extra kink.

Caitlyn blushed despite her outrage. "Of course it is… both on and off the job you will be the death of me…"

"But you'll die happy!" Vi gushed, Before her superior could crack a sarcastic joke, the Enforcer leaned forward and enveloped her in a ribcage-creaking hug that only worsened the scarlet on her cheeks. "I'm just messing with ya, Cupcake. Anyways, let's go do something. This stuffy air is already making me uncomfortable… or maybe it's this tie? Too tacky?"

"No… it looks wonderful on you," she murmured. She pulled out of the bear hug and coughed politely. "And my father really wanted to meet you formally, as my girlfriend."

"Is that a bad thing?"

Caitlyn wanted to say yes, but... "No, not really. They've always been supportive on my other wants," she added with a shrug.

"That sounds good… you know I was thinking Ionian food sounds really tasty!"

"NO!" Caitlyn answered. "You're not escaping this one!" Mentally, she chided herself for having thought the same thing just a little earlier.

"Girls, we're waiting!" Caitlyn's mom yelled from the dining hall.

Caitlyn tugged a little on Vi's arm to indicate they should move, but the woman hung back just a little. "I don't know if this is a good idea…"

The detective tilted her head. "It's not like you to hesitate," she said with a laugh. "Tell you what, if you come, I will…" She leaned in close to her partner's ear and whispered the rest.

Vi's expression brightened immediately and she snatched up Caitlyn's hand. "Come on, Cupcake! We shouldn't keep your parents waiting!"

The Sherriff of Piltover wore a brilliant smile on her face as she let the pinkette bodily drag her along through her own house, not once letting it slip even as the Enforcer loudly announced her presence to the surprised occupants of the dining room in true Vi style.

After all, Caitlyn had told her she had made cupcakes for dessert.

And you thought it was going to be dirty! Shame on you! Also that fire brigade joke was completely Shaw's idea that I thought was pretty funny and had him add it in.