Bright light blinded you as you stepped out into the open. And almost immediately you could feel your heart sink into your stomach.

The arena was empty. Not a single seat was taken, not one enforcer was to be seen. The silence was deafening, crawled into your ears, up your brain and played with it.

The beating of your heart mixed with your breathing. Vi's steps approached, drew some circles before she came to a stand behind you.

As she took a hesitant step back she bumped into you. Out of reflex your hand flinched, reached back and wrapped around her wrist.

Vi froze. You could feel her warmth press into your spine. She trembled a little. But the expression on her face didn't give away that it was out of slight fear.

She sensed that something wasn't right just as much as you. It was so obvious only someone who was oblivious would have managed to ignore the signs.

Your gaze wandered along the naked walls, fixed and scrubbed. Also higher than before. The metal dome that kept the arena locked seemed more stable now, less approachable.

Considering the very possible use of electricity you made a mental note to not try and climb your way to victory again.

But your instincts were right. The arena looked new, more polished than before and by far more sturdy. Before it had been like a pit, a hole buried inside another hole to rot away.

Now it looked like it could entertain some fine people.

As soon as the thought crossed your mind you found yourself looking up at the jaw. The glass was shiny, definitely polished. Maybe even new.

The urge to find out how the inside looked overcame you for a brief second. But as soon as silhouettes appeared behind the glass your interest shifted.

Curious, you tilted your head. As you did so, the back of your head brushed against Vi's. Strands of scarlet entwined with (H/C) strands.

"I assume you see more than I do.", Vi turned her head to look back over her shoulder.

The warmth of her breath caressed your cheek, mixed with the cool touch of her iron earrings that dangled from her left ear.

"Someone's inside the jaw.", you said and pulled her to your side.

"What's the jaw?"

"This.", you gestured with your chin up to the lounge with the glass front that hoovered above the seats of the arena.

Vi sucked in an audible breath, held it for a moment. Thoughts shimmered in the dirty blue of her eyes and it seemed like her legs wanted to run away.

But instead of showing weakness she just grabbed your hand and gave it a squeeze. At first there was a wave of annoyance that chased through you.

It lasted for about a second before you realised that she had nobody else to hold onto in this moment. You were all she got. And she chose to trust you and lean on that.

A soft sigh rolled off your lips. Your eyes fell shut for a brief moment but you did return the squeeze to calm her nerves.

You needed her able to fight and fear was a mighty tool. If spread in the right amounts it could control the masses. But too much of it could make revolutions grow and armies riot.

The Undercity's relationship with Piltover's enforcers had always been a good example for that. People feared the enforcers but if they tried to scare them just a little too much they tried to cross the bridges.

Which ended in war. And many, many dead. You knew. Just like many people you had lost some people to these fateful battles.

It had been bloody, hopeless. And yet the people had been so scared they had considered it their only option. Death over constant fear.

You wanted neither. But just like everybody else you needed to fight to gain something better. And Vi was an ally that could help with that.

Just how you could help her. This was a relationship of benefits. Nothing more. At least in that moment you tried to convince yourself that this was true.

"What's gonna happen now?", Vi's blue eyes found yours.

There was a hint of hesitation visible in them. The weight of being unsure, unable to tell what to do next. Usually she was so unbothered, acted on a whim.

Now she couldn't. At least not if she wanted to see another day.

"Honestly?", you took a deep breath, levelled your thoughts to return to reality, to think rationally instead of go wander around all the possibilities. "I don't know."

"Won't be pretty.", she guessed.

You chuckled slightly.

"Probably not.", in one swift movement you made her hand rise to your eyes and examined the bandages once more just to be safe. "Don't overdo it. But also don't stop just because it hurts."

"You say that as if I didn't grow up in the Undercity. I had more fights than Vander could get angry over."

Snorting, Vi flicked two fingers against your forehead. It took you so much by surprise that you flinched, for the very first time in forever.

It was so sudden and over so quick that it left you speechless for a second. Blinking, you locked gazes with her.

The beating of your heart pressed against the bones of your rib cage, smooth and yet more powerful than it was supposed to be.

Did she make you fluster?

You weren't quite sure. And if the answer was yes you wouldn't have admitted it. Especially not to her.

Clearing your throat, you managed to regain consciousness and just turned away to pretend that the jaw was a whole lot more interesting.

"Keep your guard up.", you just said and made your fingers crack to loosen the tension. "We don't know what we bargain for here."

With a nod, Vi turned to press her back against yours once more. Both fists raised she made sure to cover your blind spot.

The gate on the other end of the arena started to slowly open. One last time your eyes jumped up to the figures that moved behind the glass.

Now they were two. And one of them seemed strangely familiar.

"No way...", you muttered to yourself. "Interesting."