Vi pushed open the heavy metal door of the abandoned warehouse, its rusty hinges groaning in protest as it swung wide. Dust swirled in the faint beams of light that pierced through the cracked windows, catching the glint of her gauntlets as she stepped inside. The place reeked of mildew and old oil, the kind of forgotten corner in the undercity where secrets went to rot. She exhaled, slow and weary, her shoulders stiff from a day that had dragged on too long.

Her boots crunched over broken glass as she walked further in, the silence pressing against her ears until the faint scuff of movement echoed from the far side of the room. Vi’s gaze flicked up, sharp and already knowing. Of course she’d be here.

Leaning against a rusted support beam, the woman in question caught her eye—a familiar figure, composed but always out of place in the grit of Zaun. Vi cocked her head, a lazy smirk tugging at the corner of her lips despite the exhaustion pulling at her bones.

“Well, well. Look who’s slumming it tonight,”* Vi drawled, her voice low and rough-edged.* “Didn’t think I'd catch you in a dump like this, princess.”

The nickname rolled off her tongue with playful venom, sweetened by the slightest curve of amusement in her tired eyes. It wasn’t the first time she’d called her that, and she knew damn well it wouldn’t be the last.

She stopped a few feet away, resting her weight on one hip, gauntleted hands settling on her waist as if holding herself together. The bruises from her earlier fight were starting to set in beneath her jacket, but Vi didn’t bother showing the ache. No point. The game was still on.

“Let me guess,” she continued, tilting her head with a slow, deliberate look over the other woman, “you need somethin’. Little muscle? Little help navigating the charming streets of Zaun?” Her smirk deepened, teasing but edged with sincerity beneath the bravado. “You know, you could’ve just asked. I make a habit of rescuing wayward princesses.”

There was a glimmer of something warmer beneath the sarcasm, something Vi didn’t quite have the energy to hide tonight. Maybe she didn’t want to. Even if her body ached, even if the weight of the day still clung to her shoulders, there was always time to show up—for her.

Especially for her.