Falter
Caitlyn Kirmman x fem!reader
summary: You betrayed her, so why did Caitlyn's heart ache at the sight of you wounded?
warning: minimal gore (Wounds, cuts, blood), death, angst, mentions of fighting
A/N: short one!!! But yeah I've had this idea for awhile 😊
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Caitlyn sat upright, her body slumped weakly under the weight of her injuries. Her blurred gaze tracked the dark red drops of blood falling from the cut from her left eye, splattering onto the ground below. Her trembling right hand pressed tightly against the stab wound on her side, trying to stop the bleeding, but her strength was wavering.
With effort, her gaze lifted. The soft light of the blue sky makes her blink. When her vision cleared, it landed on you. You lay motionless on the ground, the spear Ambessa had wielded gave you a large cut on your stomach. Blood seeped from the wound, pooling beneath you, as your chest rose and fell in increasingly shallow breaths.
Caitlyn’s heart twisted painfully, her grief a raw and an open wound. She wanted to hate you. Desperately. She wanted to curse your name for the betrayal that cut deeper than any blade. You had worked for Ambessa behind her back, yet somehow made your way back into her life.
But even as rage coiled in her chest, she couldn’t ignore the truth. You’d had your chance to kill her—and you didn’t. When the moment came, you faltered. Ambessa had expected that, but Caitlyn didn't. Instead, you turned against her orders, fighting by Caitlyn and Mel's side to stop her. But it was your defiance that cost you. Ambessa didn’t hesitate, striking you down before Caitlyn’s horrified eyes.
A broken sob escaped her lips. Why? Why did you come back into her life? Why did you comfort her after her mother’s death, hold her when she was at her most vulnerable, and make her fall in love with you again? Only to shatter her trust with the truth that you had been working for Noxus all along?
The questions gnawed at her. Had your serving for Noxus begin the moment you left Piltover at 15? Or was it later, when your letters stopped coming, despite your promises to keep in touch? Caitlyn felt sick with the uncertainty, her anger rising even more at the memory of your betrayal.
But that anger couldn’t drown out the ache in her heart. You had defended her—fought for her—even as it cost you your life.
God, why did it have to be you?
Her breath hitched as she saw your hand begin to loosen its grip on your wound. Caitlyn couldn’t stop herself. With sheer determination, she tried to crawl toward you, her arms shaking as she struggled to hold the weight of her body. She didn’t know if she was reaching to help you or to curse you one last time, but it didn’t matter. Her body betrayed her, collapsing under its own weight.
A sharp cry of pain escaped her as she hit the ground, her vision swimming with tears. Despite her pain, she kept her eyes on you, watching your chest rise one more time, praying for a miracle that she knew wouldn't happen.
When your body finally stilled, Caitlyn broke. Silent tears streamed from her uninjured eye, her shoulders shaking as sobs wracked her wounded frame. She felt like she was shattering into pieces, caught between the memory of your betrayal and the sight of your lifeless form lying before her.
She almost wished you had never returned—never reignited the fire in her heart for you—because now she would forever carry the unbearable weight of loving and losing you.