Chapter Text
If there was one thing Viktor knew about the population of Piltover's esteemed academy, it was that they loved gossip. Nevermind that he'd been teaching here longer than most of the younger staff, or that he was basically the right hand man of Heimerdinger. To them he was still that skinny old crippled Zaunite from when he first walked into the academy, the one that avoided talking to people, who was so invested in his work he hadn't made a single connection outside of the councilor. In many ways, they were right. He was still fairly skinny, and he'd made a total of one friend outside of the councilor despite his 8 years of service. He was still completely invested in his work, and the only reason they hadn't axed his course despite the low turnout rates three years ago was that he was under Heimerdinger's favour.
So really, you couldn't blame him for being curious why as he walked down the halls, people weren't looking at him for once.
Viktor's brows furrowed as he watched students crowd the windows facing into the gardens. They were giggling and gossiping, as the young are often to do. It wouldn't be all that surprising if it weren't for the amount of them, or for the fact that even some of his more uptight students were joining in on the fun.
He walked towards them, face impassive. Thankfully one of his students caught sight of him and carefully made room. Viktor nodded in thanks and peered out into the gardens.
It was professor Heimerdinger, which wasn't all that surprising. The dean was usually the one to accompany guests. Who he was with was more curious, though. It was a tall and well built tanned man dressed in white with black hair and an emblem emblazoned on his shoulder.
He was handsome, definitely-- but otherwise unremarkable. Viktor moved away from the window ready to brush it off as another celebrity crush when he'd heard the students whisper his name.
Jayce Talis. He stopped, head tilting momentarily before continuing on his walk. Jayce Talis, as far as he remembered, was an egotistical but charismatic inventor who helped increase productivity and improved safety regulations for Piltover's labour force. He was generally loved by the people for his assistance and was awarded for his efforts last winter. Viktor read some of his earlier works when Talis was still in the academy and found them a bit too theoretical for his liking, but he'd never seen the man himself. Until now, apparently.
Viktor walked down the stairs that led to the main hall and took a turn left straight into the gardens. It was annoyingly sunny but after years of staying in the upper city he'd gotten used to the heat.
"Professor Heimerdinger." He called out, effectively hitting pause on whatever conversation the two were having. The shorter man turned around, eyes immediately fond. Talis turned as well, though slower, but Viktor didn't pay him any mind.
"Viktor my boy," he said softly in that caring tone he often used "Good morning lad, what is it?"
Viktor walked towards them, cane tapping lightly against the paved streets. He was standing in front of them now and if stares could burn then Talis would have already melted him. He ignored it.
"I wanted to talk to you about the funding regarding…" Viktor's eyes shifted. Talis looked curious, though a bit miffed at being interrupted. Viktor reveled in it. " the prototypes ."
Heimerdinger's eyes widened. "Ah, yes. That. I'll have my assistant schedule an appointment with you after my meeting with the councilors."
"Thank you."
"I assume the two of you haven't met?"
Finally, Talis spoke. "No, I'm not sure we have."
"Well then let me introduce you. Jayce, this is Viktor. He teaches advanced biomechanics. Viktor, this is Jayce Talis, one of our alumni. You've read some of his work as my TA if I remember correctly."
Viktor nodded. "Yes I have. Signing every page of your notes is a bit egotistical, don't you think?"
Talis' face flushed slightly. He coughed into his fist. "Thankfully I've grown out of that habit; Now I only sign after every fifth page."
Viktor chuckled and shook his head. "An acceptable improvement," He held out his hand for the other to take “What brings you here?”
Talis took his hand. The shake was firm but not too strong-- like he was afraid of hurting him but wanted to offer him some semblance of respect. It was cute.
"I was speaking with Heimerdinger about my employment."
Viktor's eyes widened just a bit. He turned his head towards the students who were still looking at them from the windows. Curious minds, they were. At least it would pull off some attention from him for a while if the golden boy was added to the staff.
"We're planning on bringing him on to teach advanced mechatronics."
Viktor turned to Heimerdinger. His mentor was looking at him now, a knowing glint in his eye. The Zaunite wondered what he saw.
"He'll be Frederick's replacement, then?"
"Yes. It'll be nice to add another young mind to our team. Treat him nicely, will you?"
He isn't exactly young . Is what Viktor wanted to reply, but he kept his mouth shut and instead just smiled in amusement. Everyone was young in Heimerdinger's eyes.
He turned his attention back to Talis. He was still looking at him.
"We'll see. Don't let me hold the two of you up. I'll see you later, then, councilor."
Heimerdinger hummed in approval. Talis smiled. "I look forward to working with you."
Viktor shrugged. Would he? The Zaunite merely smiled. He needed to go to his office now, Ms. Young needed him.
He gave Talis a brief pat on the shoulder before he left.
The next time they met was a month and a half later when his lovely assistant had the gorgeous idea to lock his laboratory, steal the keys, and go off for an entire day to force him into some sort of rest. It wouldn’t work, of course. He could still theorize outside of his room and the nice thing about having a brain was that you didn’t need to lug it around in a suitcase. Still, he was starting to worry Ms.Young and, well, last time he went overboard she’d gone into a coma for two months. She cared for him, and while he wasn’t exactly fond of rest , he’d learned his lesson. The guilt would eat him alive.
So it was with great disgust that he found himself walking to a cafe to buy himself some sweets and tea to wash it down.
Sweets, he found, were in ample supply in Piltover. When he was younger he couldn’t exactly acquire as many of them considering the price and scarcity. It was much easier to get a pint of beer than a cheesecake, and the sweets he did get he’d only ingest in small amounts so they could last for longer. So you couldn’t blame him when a chunk of his salary that he didn’t spend on funding his own research was spent buying sweets. A little indulgence for a man who owned next to nothing.
Viktor turned to his left, order in hand when he saw a familiar shock of blue hair. He smiled softly, he knew that hair anywhere. “Jinx.” he called out. Her head shot up from the item she’d been tinkering with on the table, goggles still firmly affixed to her face. Powder, or Jinx as she went by in Piltover, was one of the two Zaunites he’d recommended to Heimerdinger once he graduated. He didn’t tell him of course that he found them because Powder tried to steal something from the dean's office, or that he found Ekko because he’d gone down to inspect illegal wares in the undercity. It didn’t matter because he was the same as them, once. Just with a bit more luck.
Jinx smiled, wide and mischievous. She pushed her goggles up, clearly glad to see him. “Viktor!” she called out, excitedly pushing the chair opposite to her further out.
He walked towards her table and settled down, watching idly as she continued to tinker. It was another one of her bombs. He’d be more concerned about safety if he didn’t trust her, but it was still dangerous to be doing it out in the open. She’d be a wonderful demolition and weapon specialist in the future.
Viktor took off a slice of his cake as she shifted through her notes. He hummed in approval. She hadn’t been doing that before, but after a careful talking to between him and Ekko she finally relented. “Can I see?”
She blinked, looked up at him, and nodded. The notebook, despite being disorganized, messy, and filled with too many doodles, was still understandable to him. She’d drawn the prototype and her process, carefully writing down theories and haphazard thoughts. Beside them were things written in neater script, probably from Ekko when he decided to visit.
“Has Ekko considered my proposal?” he asked, quietly writing down an answer to one of Jinx’s questions in her notes. She shrugged, leaning back slightly. Her chair nearly tipped over. “I don’t know why you keep trying, boss. He’s never gonna hang out with Pilties.”
Viktor shook his head, not disappointed--just amused. Ekko insisted that he’d be of more help to Zaun if he stayed down instead of pursuing an education Piltover. He was right, he supposed. Viktor was too busy recently to do rounds and offer prosthetics down below. Still, he gave it for free when he could, and he’d convinced Heimerdinger to help fund Ekko’s research into engineering pollution resistant plant life in Zaun and creating safer alternatives to the technology you could only find in the undercity.
He carefully pushed her notes back over to her. “And what about you?”
“Eeeehhhh” Jinx shrugged, shoulders reaching her ears. “You know how it is, they don’t like you, sometimes they hate you, it is what it is.”
Viktor grimaced but nodded in understanding. He knew what it was like to not have anyone to talk to. It said a lot about him that his only friend was his assistant who he’d rejected just a few months prior.
“Don’t mind it. You’re doing great, I’m proud of you.”
“You better be! I’m working my ass off here. I got praised by that Talis guy, though. Called my work “amazing” or whatever.”
Viktor’s eyes widened. Huh.
“I see. That’s… good.”
He watched as she took her notes back, eyes scanning for what he’d written down. Her brows furrowed for a moment before a look of understanding passed her face. Her mouth formed into an “O”. Jinx shot up out of her seat, notes and contraption in hand. She was smiling again.
She leaned down, pecked him on the cheek “Thanks, chief!”, and then ran off without a word. He blinked, hand raising to rub at his cheek.
Viktor smiled briefly. If all went well, the children of Zaun would not have to suffer the same way he did. It was what kept him going, and it was… pleasant to get a reminder of it, every once in a while.
It was when the waiter approached the table with Jinx’s order that he realized she hadn’t paid.
He chuckled quietly. You could take a person out of Zaun but you couldn’t take the Zaun out of them. He shook his head and paid for it anyway. Maybe he’d give the food to someone else. As much as he loved sweets, he could only consume so much. He continued to eat, trying his best to take a break as Sky put it.
“Excuse me, is this seat taken?”
Viktor didn’t bother to look up. Despite only meeting him once, he’d heard his voice enough from his loud rousing speeches to know who it was. Instead, he looked around the room, taking careful note of how there were definitely more than enough empty tables to seat him.
“No, take it if you wish.”
“Thank you.”
A rake of wood against wood later, and he was now faced with the sight of Jayce Talis in front of him. He was looking at him again with that same curiosity as before, like he was studying a specimen he couldn’t quite understand. Somehow he didn’t feel violated by it.
“I saw you talking to one of the students.”
“Jinx?”
“Yes. People usually avoid her so I was surprised. Did you know she’s from the undercity?”
Viktor raised his brow, unsure of where this conversation was going. Did he not know he was a Zaunite as well?
“Yes, I’m aware. Is there a problem with that?”
Talis’ brows furrowed, analyzing his face. It was clear to Viktor he didn’t know what he’d done wrong-- and then he realized. He spluttered, raising his hands up to placate him. Cute.
“No! Sorry, I don’t mean it like that , it’s just that… her ideas are interesting, most of my students aren’t as willing to innovate as she is, and she learns fast.”
Viktor nodded. Good . He could take a hit, but he wouldn’t have anyone insult his sponsors. Especially in front of him. Finally, the tips of his lips quirked up. “We Zaunites work with what we have.” he answered, words injected with just a bit of pride. “It comes with the city.”
“We?”
“I’m from the undercity as well.”
Talis’ eyes shined then, like he was sliding a piece of a puzzle into place.
“I see,” he smiled. Viktor stiffened, not used to the positive reaction. “Heimerdinger told me to consult you concerning something I’m working on. He says you’re the right man for the job.”
Viktor hummed, unsure of what to say. He took a piece of his cake and ate it.
“While I’m not… fond of having to ask someone this, would you mind coming over to my studio tomorrow? For consultation.”
Viktor swallowed, eyes trained on the man opposite to him. He seemed genuinely uncomfortable to be asking someone this, like he was moments away from squirming in his seat. It was hilarious.
“Alright.” Viktor answered, placing his fork back onto the plate with a soft clink. He placed both of his hands on top of the table and laced his fingers underneath his chin. Jayce sighed in relief, shoulders sagging. “But what is it you need help with?”
And then he was back to being uncomfortable. For a man so used to being in the spotlight, he sure wore his heart on his sleeve.
“I… I can’t say. You’ll see it when you get there.”
Viktor quirked his brow, now curious at whatever it is that the golden boy wanted to keep secret.
“I understand, then. I’ll see you tomorrow, Professor Talis.”
The other man looked up at him, back to being relieved-- and then smiled. It was bright, annoyingly so. Viktor hated the way it made his throat go dry.
“Jayce.”
“Hm?”
“Call me Jayce.”
“... Alright then. I’ll see you tomorrow, Jayce.”