Chapter Text
It hurts, everything hurts, like flames consuming me from the inside out. I try to make myself sit up but just slide down right again, accepting that I might just die in this dirty alleyway. Black substance spilling from my lips, great, lovely. So pathetic.
The street smells like death. I shouldn’t be here, what even happened? Thinking hurts. Drugs, probably. From whom?
A flash of memory, from being in Piltover, talking with… someone?
This is not Piltover though. It’s dark, gross, and stinks.
Zaun.
Forcing a small smile while my visions blurs into blackness, some sort of last defiance against whoever put me here. Making fun of whatever gods may watch me on my last breaths.
-o-
Viktor wanted to get home as fast as possible, that he already had to waste so much time to get the things he needed got on his nerves. Though, at least, he could indulge himself in his work now, now that everything was ready. His steps fast and precise, turning right one last time, his home just down the street. Yet, he haltered, something felt… different. Normally he wouldn’t halter, normally he wouldn’t check the alleyways nearby. Yet, he found himself next to a woman lying curled up in the corner, dirty, pathetic even. The need to help her overcame Viktor, he didn’t know why, looked like a lost cause as much as he could tell anyways, should just leave her there. He sighed and slowly picked her up, feeling how overwhelmingly hot she was, absolutely overheating. She didn’t make a sound, definitely unconscious.
Viktor picked up his pace again and carried her to his home.
For now, he laid her down on his Sofa, getting rid of every unnecessary layer of cloth. Knowing exactly where a towel is,he quickly soaked it in cold water in order to lay it on her burning forehead. Logically speaking, he knew that she was way over lethal temperature,so there was no need to get a thermometer in order to check.
So, he went to his bathroom to prepare a tepid bath. He figured that the lass may not be human, which is why she was still alive. Not that it really mattered. She needed help,so he provided, as annoying as that may be considering how much he wanted to get back to his work.
With the water just at the right temperature, he went back to his living room to pick her up. He had seen enough bodies, there was no shame in undressing her. Viktor made sure that she was secure in the bathtub, not accidentally slipping and drowning.
He sighed, finally having the time to properly inspect her, now that she can finally cool down.
She had no major wounds, just a few cuts and broken nails, likely from a failed attempt to hold herself steady in that alleyway. If the woman had no wounds, then she got herself poisoned, he concluded. Just a normal sickness was out of the question, you couldn’t possibly end up that bad from a simple fever.
Viktor stroked the few golden hair that stuck to her face away, looking at her. She was really pretty but her attractiveness couldn’t save her from her human failures- if she even was human to begin with.
He checked her temperature again and it did reduce, still being in lethal range though. He decided to leave her in the tub for a bit longer, making sure that she was steady enough to not slip. Viktor went to his kitchen, preparing a light meat and some ice cubes.
-o-
It’s so hot, yet cold but hot… It's holt. My body aches but it’s not as bad as it was before. Wait, I’m alive? Well, I don’t think I can genuinely die but...how? It costs so much energy to open my eyes and focus but I manage. Well, this certainly isn’t a dirty alleyway. Head hurts. The water is nice. So someone found me and dragged me inside? That’s odd for Zaun standards but can’t complain. Is it just me or is it unbearably loud? Trying to look around makes my head spin, at least I can tell that I’m actually in a bathroom and not imagining things. It’s burning, loud, I cough and stupid black liquid spills again. Foodsteps.
-o-
After preparing everything for the strangers awakening, Viktor thought that he had a minute or two that he could spend on his work but that’s when he heard her coughing fit. It sounded bad, really really bad so he rushed to her.She was awake, which was good but she was coughing up a black and reddish gooey mass, which was the opposite of good. She looked up at Viktor, he could tell that she knows that he isn’t a threat but the one who helped her. Her mouth opens, ready to say something but then she starts to violently cough again and Viktor has to hold her up. He grabs a glass and collects a bit of the substance- for later investigations, and then wipes the rest away with a drenched piece of cloth.
Now that she’s awake and consent, he starts to properly clean her, rubbing away all that grime and dirt. He didn’t have to do this, it’s not like she had any open wounds that could get infected but his guts just told him to care for her. It isn’t that weird, really, he does, in fact, have compassion for others. The woman just hums, leans back and closes her eyes again, trying to relax as much as her body lets her.
“(Y/N)”
“Hm?”
“My Name.” She replies with a hoarse voice, barely making any tone.
“Viktor.”
He’s aware that she’s in no state to talk, so he does not ask anything of her. He simply starts washing her hair, letting his fingers glide through her golden strands. She is definitely not from around here, that much he can tell. She does not have any anomalies about her, he checked, very much human if it wasn’t for her unhuman durability. There is enough time to ask her about that later though, so he finishes brushing her hair.
Her body temperature dropped to a normal fever level, which is a rather quick development.
“Do you think you can stand?”
She looked down at her body and moved her arms and legs a bit, they felt like heavy metal, to have to lift.
“With help.” She slurs.
“That will do.”
And with that Viktor helped her out of the bath. She couldn’t stand alone so she leaned into him. It was a hassle to dry her up but it worked eventually. He wondered if she was embarrassed about her current predicament but concluded that she probably couldn’t care less as of now. Her clothes were dirtier than Jayce’s mouth, therefore Viktor provided her with one of his boxers and a shirt.
He wasn’t sure if she was about to drop unconscious again or just fall asleep from exhaustion. Nevertheless, he quickly helped her get to his bed. Viktor will sleep on the Sofa tonight, maybe even not at all, there is still so much to do.