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Mel Medarda was an intriguing woman to Viktor. To many, she seemed as bright as the sun itself- a shining member of the council with an eye for the most interesting of specimens. The council regarded her highly as well, each one noticing her strength in their own ways. Hoskel was simple; Mel won him over with a trinket or two at their meetings. Heimerdinger was a talker; all Mel had to do was listen to make him feel seen. Shoola often went to her to discuss the current proceedings of the council, or just to gush about their current financial expenditures. Bolbok was agreeable when Mel exchanged words of compassion or empathy to them almost losing their kind to the arcane, and Salo was all too easily taken by his finer taste for imported wines and treats. Cassandra Kiramman was most subdued by low-hanging compliments towards herself or her daughter. In exchange, each one gave her the respect she deserved. While a room of regular folk would grant it to her without gifts and kind words, the council was vain and greedy.
Viktor had become all too aware of that. With the council being the main source of income for his and Jayce’s lab, he had taken to studying each of the council members. How did they tick- when were they most easily persuaded? Although Viktor did none of the talking for Hextech with Jayce and would most likely never need to interact with the council on his lonesome, he couldn’t say he wasn’t morbidly interested. He never took much interest in politics until now. Politics got in the way of bringing the well-needed help to the undercity, after all.
Which is where he found himself months ago, looking at Mel Medarda from a crowd of on-lookers and wondering: how did she tick? Underneath all her subtle moves, what was her goal? After all, she had Jayce around her finger… but who was Mel Medarda?
He had a better idea, now. As he began to question Mel’s motives, she surprised him by showing up to his lab late one night.
“I’m here on… personal business,” Viktor was confused. Mel looked flustered, confounded, and completely out of her usual confident self. All while sitting straight and presenting as perfectly as she could muster. He wished he had the strength to sit straight himself. They talked, Mel admitting what Jayce had told her that very same evening, and Viktor felt his heart burst forth.
He had forgotten. He’d tried to forget. Jayce and him… those slow nights in the lab. They’d fumbled before, drunkenly kissing at a pub. He didn’t even remember when they started kissing- just that he’d pulled away, completely flustered by the encounter. Then it kept happening whenever they were too close. Jayce would walk up behind him, leaning gently into his frame, and write on the chalkboard above them. Viktor would walk up to Jayce, who’d be sitting at his desk carving away into metal plates, and just perch on the desk. At least, while his leg still allowed it. Then, as if magic, they’d kiss. But never anything more.
It was teenager-ish. For two grown men, they never once actually sat down and talked about their relationship. Viktor thought, for a long time, it was because Jayce just wanted to relieve stress. It wasn’t about Viktor; it was about the work. It was about releasing pent-up exhaustion and anger, nothing else.
From what Mel was telling him, that wasn’t the case. Jayce had felt something. He wasn’t alone in his feelings; he almost wanted to cry. He had a chance.
“I actually… have one more proposition,” Mel asked, halfway between the lab’s exit and Viktor. Viktor looked between her and the door, unsure what she possibly had to ask of him.
“What is it?” Viktor asked. His hand twisted around his crutch.
“Have coffee with me in the morning,” She smiled, “I’ll invite Jayce. Let’s all talk, hmm?” Viktor let his emotions betray him and smiled.
“Sounds wonderful, Councilor.”
“Please,” Mel raised her hand, chuckling, “Just call me Mel. The formalities seem misplaced at this point.”
Viktor stood from his chair, grasping his crutch to help, “Alright, Mel. I will see you in the morning.” He gave her a gentle look and walked back to the Hexcore at the end of the room. Mel closed the door with a gentle thud.
While only a month and a half had passed, which seemed like chump change in the eyes of a lifelong scientist, Viktor felt his entire world had changed. As he woke to the sun rising, he felt the heavy arm around his waist and sighed. The silken sheets strewn atop him barely held any warmth- but Jayce was like his family’s furnaces: emitting heat at an inconceivable rate. Viktor was aware he ran cold but never seemed to notice until the larger man made it so obviously clear. A smile curled at his lip as he snuggled closer, pulling Jayce’s warmth in along his back. As he contacted the man’s lower stomach, he felt the additional limb around his partner’s waist.
This was still new to him. The first proposition of sleeping in the same bed as both of them, Jayce and Mel, almost made him guffaw- but he held his laughter, hearing the seriousness of their request. He would’ve said no if it wasn’t for the last month and a half.
Viktor felt he knew Mel. He hadn’t before, but he knew her now. They’d talked. They kept talking. Jayce couldn’t stop them from talking. Jayce was promptly told to go work on his schemes as they continued talking. Mel was a fascinating person and Viktor felt equally scrutinized by her in the best way.
They picked themselves apart. Viktor did not know anything of the Medarda name, like many of the other clans and houses of Piltover, and felt captivated by every story Mel allowed him to hear. In exchange, Mel seemed genuinely interested in his time living in Zaun.
“And your parents?” She’d asked, her eyes glistening.
“My father was… not around,” Viktor admitted, shifting his gaze across the room, his mouth drawn into a pout, “And my mother. Well. I knew her; that’s as much as I can really say.” He knew his voice betrayed him, twinged with sadness. Mel reached forward, placing her delicate hand atop his calloused one. She had a habit of rubbing her fingers along others’, whether it was meant to be soothing or just to cause distraction. Viktor couldn’t help but love the contact. They sat in her quarters, sitting in chairs near the large terrace. It was a warm day; the temperature often helped alleviate pain from Viktor’s bad leg.
“She, like many others around me, saw me as a burden,” Viktor shook his head from side to side, as if he were weighing the morality of his own mother’s decisions, “and down there… I was. I couldn’t make any money. I couldn’t be shipped off into the mines or used for any menial labor. I was just a mouth to feed.”
"What did you do?"
“I didn’t stay,” Viktor sighed, “I sought refuge with others- children without parents.” He looked up, “That’s how Sky and I met.”
“Sky?” Mel almost sounded bewildered, “I did not know you knew each other before the university.”
“You’re probably one of the few who didn’t assume,” Viktor chuckled, “Everyone up here thinks we know EVERYONE down there. I get requests to bring goods or deliver messages to Zaunites almost every week.”
“What do you tell them?” Mel bit her lip.
“I don’t know anyone down there, so I decline.” He spoke honestly, “The only person I would know down there is… well- no one up here would know, surely.”
Mel relaxed back into her chair. She twirled one of her locs around her finger, “Well, to all those who do not know the brilliant inventor Viktor- damned be their souls. They are missing out on one of the most interesting humans to have ever graced this planet.”
The two chuckled together- they often damned the souls of those who disagreed with them in any way. Just earlier that morning, Viktor had whispered to Mel that their waiter be damned as he hadn’t refilled their coffee cups since they first ordered. What better to do between two friends than damn those they find generally inconveniencing them?
Viktor’s mind settled, letting his eyes flicker close. Jayce seemed to be waking himself, as he shifted around the smaller man’s frame, bringing his arm closer. He sighed, his warm breath tangling through Viktor’s hair. Viktor let out his own huff of amusement, letting himself fade back into sleep, his mind dipping beneath the waves of slumber. Damned be the sun as it rose, interrupting his comfort.
Mel was the first to truly rise, gently jostling the two out of their stupors. Jayce groaned, mumbling into Viktor’s shoulder. Viktor just yawned, stretching his limbs out from wherever they were able to. Jayce had a vice grip on his left arm, which he kept pinned to the bed under Viktor's chest.
“Vik,” Mel whispered, “I have to meet with Councilor Kiramman this morning. Can you wake him? He needs to be at a council meeting at noon, otherwise, you have the morning to yourselves.” Viktor heard her shuffling at the far end of the room, the drop of her nightgown, and her rustling into her day clothes.
“Myep,” He mumbled, a mix of ‘mhm’ and ‘yep’ that Jayce so foolishly said a few days prior. Viktor decided to never let him live it down. From behind him, he felt the larger man chuckle. Each shake reverberated through his whole frame, surrounding him. He shuddered as Jayce’s head moved, his stubble grazing Viktor’s collarbone. Jayce planted a gentle kiss on the bottom of his chin.
“Just a little longer,” he sighed, “I want to keep you here, just for… fifteen more minutes.”
“Fifteen feels like an estranged dream,” Mel chuckled across the room, “I’m more likely to find you two lounging about fifteen minutes before the meeting.”
Viktor laughed, “You’ve ruined me, Jayce. Do you know how punctual I used to be?” He gently jabbed his elbow back, nudging Jayce’s strong abdomen.
“Oh please,” Jayce mulled, “You’d still be in the lab if it wasn’t for me. Having only last slept… I don’t know… 13 hours earlier?” Viktor only hummed in response, turning into more of a muffled squeak. His eyes peeked open as he realized his mistake, the sudden noise causing him to cough. Jayce paused, moving his arm up to relieve pressure off Viktor’s chest as he regained himself. As Viktor hacked and coughed, he felt Jayce gently rub his hand on an exposed part of his back.
As he slowed his coughs, he heard Mel’s shoes click across the marble flooring. When he was able to open his eyes, he saw the woman walk around the bed’s corner to his side. Her hand gently pressed into his hair, stroking back, and rubbing gently. Viktor sighed as he stopped coughing, melting into the touch. She stroked through his hair so expertly, he often found himself forgetting his own name.
“Don’t push yourself today,” Mel commented, “I noticed the minute I woke up; the air is dry today.” She leaned forward, over Viktor, to kiss Jayce on the cheek. As she pulled away, she scruffed up Viktor’s hair and retracted her fingers. “I’ll see you later.”
She walked back across the room’s threshold, and Viktor noted her leaving with the gentle click of the door. Once it closed, Jayce let out a sigh.
“I can’t believe-“ he paused, sighing again, “I’m really grateful.”
“For what?” Viktor knew he was playing games, but Jayce was too fun to play with to stop.
Jayce smiled, Viktor felt it against his skin, “You. Her. This. All of it. I feel like… when we first did it.”
“While I too am fond of our… fornication, is that really your best descriptor of this?” Viktor snickered to himself. Jayce shot his head up, finally making eye contact with the other man. His expression was taught with playful annoyance.
“I mean when we took the first step. Into Hextech. When we cracked it in Heimerdinger’s lab-“
“Cranked it.” Viktor corrected. He was proud of that joke; he didn’t want it butchered.
Jayce laughed and shook his head, “Cranked it, sure. When we floated together. When we were literally weightless in the light of our own discovery- THE discovery. I feel that here. With us. Discovery. And I am breath taken.” Viktor conceded in his games, allowing the corner of his mouth to fold upwards, reaching up his free hand to Jayce’s face.
“Discovery is the very foundation for our kind,” Viktor agreed, “I’m glad. I feel the same way.”
Jayce’s eyes mellowed, bringing his face back down to the crook of Viktor’s neck, “I was worried. So worried that either one of you would… that this wouldn’t work. Even if it didn’t-“ Jayce stopped himself, rolling over onto his back, staring up at the ceiling, “I would never have forced either of you. The goal here, like we’ve communicated so many times before, is just that- communication. But that hopeful romantic part of me can’t help but be so utterly grateful.”
“I hear you,” Viktor confirmed, rolling over to curl into Jayce’s side. He didn’t like laying on this side, too much pressure on his leg, but he knew he wouldn’t be staying there long, “You’re allowed to be grateful. I did not expect to find Mel such good company. I am grateful to be surprised.”
“Too good of company, sometimes,” Jayce laughed, “I don’t know how you two do it- you have so much to say! All the time! When will you ever run out of things to talk about?”
“Seeing as we just started reading the same book, I highly doubt any time soon.” Viktor conceded.
Jayce rose from the bed, sitting straight up, “You two… are starting a book club?!” He almost sounded incredulous, but there was a layer of amusement behind it.
“Wondering why you weren’t invited?” Viktor asked, raising himself from the sheets. As the silk dropped from his slim body, the minute heat he’d conserved flew away. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and reached for his crutch, leaning against the side table.
“Bah,” Jayce waved his hand, “I wouldn’t be able to keep up. Besides, I don’t think I’d be interested in reading the historical melodramas you two are most likely dealing in.”
“Actually,” Viktor smirked as he rose, “It’s a romantic comedy.” He didn’t have to look back to imagine the stunned disbelief on Jayce’s face. He walked over to a small bag perched on top of a chair at the end of the room. Inside were his belongings, a night bag he’d constructed after their first sleep-in in Mel’s room. From it, he drew a clean tunic and pants. “Could you assist me, Jayce?” Viktor called back. In his own room, he had mobility aides installed to dress himself: clutches and bars to lean onto. Mel’s room was devout of almost all ledges, or any at Viktor’s height to assist him.
“Of course,” Viktor heard Jayce get out of the bed and walk towards him. They’d been through this before; Viktor already instructed Jayce on what to do and what not to do. Jayce kneeled, taking the pants from Viktor’s grasp, and situating them so they were easy to step into. Viktor placed his free hand on Jayce’s shoulder and stepped into the pants. The other leg was always trickier, but Jayce was strong- Viktor allowed himself to put his full weight on the other man to lift his better leg. The less pressure on his bad leg, the better. Jayce lifted the pants until Viktor was able to grab them with his own hands. He deftly zipped them over his boxers, buttoning the academy-regulated clasps into place.
Jayce grabbed Viktor’s shirt from the chair, undoing the front buttons, “So, we have the morning. Do we want to go to the lab? We can discuss the Hexcore.”
“Perfect,” Viktor agreed, reaching out his free arm towards Jayce. He slipped his arm through the open hole and let Jayce bring the other side of the shirt around him. Once his arms were through, Viktor was surprised to feel large hands on his chest. Jayce caressed him, rubbing up and down his sides and across the gear that kept his back brace in place. He rubbed in all the sensitive nooks and crannies, where the medical gear had made Viktor particularly uncomfortable in the past. Viktor sighed at the touch, letting his eyelids flutter close. Jayce let his hands travel up Viktor's stomach. He brushed over the scars under Viktor’s nipples, bringing his thumbs over the very tips of them. Viktor cursed himself as a squeak escaped his lips. Jayce’s hands kept rising until they were on his collarbone, then his neck. Viktor looked up as his head was finally cradled, Jayce looking directly into his eyes.
“Handsome,” he confirmed, leaning forward. Viktor closed his eyes as he met Jayce halfway, letting their lips mold together. As they broke apart, Jayce smiled at him. Not that signature smile of his, the one that won over the people of Piltover, but a real one- one that was only awarded to him and Mel. Viktor reciprocated with his own, as meek as it was.
As Jayce broke their touch, he walked over to a bag of his own, more sloppily thrown against the far wall. Viktor would be lying if he said he wasn’t eyeing the other man’s back muscles as he walked forward to dress.
The doors to the council’s chambers closed with a satisfying clunk. Mel had taken a longer moment to thank the other councilors for their thoughts, making plans with each to reconvene at their most convenient times. Jayce and Viktor sat outside, waiting for her escape, and rose as she was the last one to exit. She looked towards them, a gentle beam of appreciation on her face.
“You both did well,” she affirmed, “Even after Hoskel started the session raging on something utterly unrelated and Heimerdinger showing up late to his own meeting- I did not have confidence. I should have; you can absolutely handle your own.”
“What glowing praise,” Viktor teased, “but I agree, Jayce’s words rung true. Hopefully, it can help us with this next step.”
“I don’t doubt it,” Mel smiled, “Now- are you two hungry? I made reservations for this afternoon; either in celebration or pity- depending on this meeting’s outcome.”
“Yes, please,” Jayce nodded, his stomach growling only milliseconds behind his words.
“Again, I must point out the overwhelming fountain of confidence you have in us,” Viktor smirked, “But yes, I haven’t eaten all day.”
“Jayce.” Mel sneered, “I thought you said you’d make sure he eats.”
“I thought he did!” Jayce threw up his arms as the trio began walking down the hallway, staring daggers at Viktor, “You said you had toast! And then yogurt with berries! I saw the bowl!”
“I did,” Viktor conceded- “You’re just too easy to tease.”
The three shot words of disgruntlement back and forth and laughed as they continued down the long passageway to lunch. As they kept in gait together, Mel and Jayce matching the speed Viktor could comfortably keep, it dawned on Viktor. He knew who Mel was, apart from his new companion. She was trustworthy.