Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It’s been several days since Powder became a citizen of Piltover, under the guardianship of Hextech’s creators to learn the intricacies of the new science as it was being created. Everything was strange at first, having to live in a new house with Jayce and his mother, Ximena. After the incident at the cannery, Powder was trying to adjust for Jayce’s sake. He stuck his neck out for her to walk free, and even though she messed up his presentation, Jayce refused to blame her. It was refreshing, relieving even to not be reprimanded for screwing up.

But Piltover still grated against her, the sting from years of abuse from topside was never going to heal properly. It was too clean. Too nice. Too many things that Powder didn’t like. She didn’t like how she had to wash more than once a week or she was to be chastised by Jayce. She didn’t like that her guardian recommended her to wear clothes that were so much brighter than what she usually wore. Jayce meant well, but he was trying too hard to get her to fit in.

Viktor was better about it. He didn’t care about her table manners or what she was wearing, he just cared about her work ethic and desire to learn. He only wanted her to do what she did best. He gave her small mechanisms to take apart and rebuild, along the lines of ‘exercising the mind’ or something like that. As she spent the week recovering from her cold, it was comfortable to handle something she was familiar with.

This morning wasn’t any different as she sat in the kitchen, the sounds of sizzling behind her as Powder fiddled with the small screwdriver in one hand, a pencil in the other, and a spoon in her mouth. The carefully picked apart appliance was laying in front of her, almost mocking her with its complex designs as Powder went to connect a screw into one of the ports. She just about had it, one more little turn and-

“Morning!”

Powder jumped at the sudden noise, losing her focus and dropping her tool as it fell to the floor carelessly. She gave a bit of a pout before turning to look at the source of noise to give him a glare.

“You made me mess up.” she accused, already moving in her chair to pick up her screwdriver before Jayce bent down to scoop it up for her. But as Powder reached for it, the taller man pulled it out of her reach to inspect her work.

“Hmm, from the looks of it, I was definitely not the one to mess this up.” he teased before placing the tool down and pointing at a set of exposed circuitry, “You mixed up your wires again, it won’t even start until you fix that.”

Powder looked where Jayce pointed before groaning in frustration, “Why did Viktor give me something so complicated then? Didn’t he say I needed to learn the basics first?”

“I think he wants you to familiarize yourself with the parts over actually rebuilding the device,” Jayce announced as he walked over to the counter his mother was at, working away at breakfast as he leaned down to kiss the top of her head, “Morning, what’s cooking?”

“Good morning, you sound a lot better today.” Ximena answered as she cracked an egg over a pot of broth that filled the room with an aromatic smell of tomatoes and spices, “Huevos ahogados, I thought you two would still be holding those colds so I was going to make something to clear your chests.” she looked up to her son to see him standing a bit taller, a wider smile on his face as he held back a reserved giddiness, “But it looks like you both overcame the chills. You’re moving your equipment today?”

Jayce quickly nodded his head, “Viktor’s got the last of the equipment from the old workshop packed away, we’re moving everything into his workshop today!”

“Wait, we’re doing it today?” Powder questioned excitedly as she turned in her chair, she was positively vibrating with excitement, “We’re seeing Viktor today?”

Ximena hummed as she returned to focusing on cooking, “That’s right, Viktor’s been avoiding you two like the plague cause you got sick. I can’t blame him, luckily I have mom immunities.” she joked as she gave a gentle nudge to Jayce to move as she grabbed a few spices.

Jayce chuckled a bit, nodding his head towards Powder’s question. He couldn’t help grinning when the girl pumped her fist in the air, “Yes!”, and she was already jumping out of her chair to start running upstairs, “I have to show him all the mechanisms he made me rebuild!”

“No running!” Jayce chastised before heaving a sigh and depositing himself to a chair, “I’m sorry for my entire childhood, mom.” he muttered while moving the pile of metal Powder as working on to the side, “Was I this bad?”

Ximena huffed a laugh as she carefully mixed the pot before setting the heat down, “Ten times worse.” she muttered before turning and moving to lean against the counter to look at her son, “I remember how excited you got going through your father’s forge, I basically had to keep a leash on you so you wouldn’t run into any furnaces.”

“Did you ever think of letting me walk into one?”

“Every day.” Ximena laughed, Jayce was quick to join her as he leaned back in his chair. Everything was working out beyond his wildest dreams. While Powder needed to recover from her illness, Jayce was forced to work while sick. His only instructions with Viktor were through closed doors as his lab partner was adamant about avoiding catching their cold, typically stating that one of them had to be in working order to start moving the Hextech project along. So the both of them took shifts at gathering Jayce’s equipment from his old workshop, with Jayce only really able to grab a few boxes while Viktor took care of the rest while he was sick.

Jayce was grateful for the help, but the nagging in the back of his mind kept him from vocalizing it to Viktor. The statement the early night after their trial still rang through his skull, `Don't tell me how thankful you are, show me.’

How was one going to just show that kind of gratitude? Viktor had everything he needed, and the things he wanted Jayce didn’t think he could realistically get. It was a conundrum Jayce didn’t have time to figure out as a bowl was placed in front of him, a warm broth with a poached egg drowning in it. The aroma was mouthwatering, and as his mom placed two more bowls down before calling for Powder to come back downstairs, Jayce paused to look at his mother.

“Hey mom, do you think you could pack some for Viktor?” Jayce asked suddenly as Powder barreled down the stairs, cursing softly as she dropped a few trinkets and worked to start picking them up. Ximena stopped herself from getting up to help Powder to look at her son, a sign of confusion on her face before it melted into something softer as she nodded.

“Of course,” she breathed gently while smiling, “You should really invite him over now that you're not sick. I’d rather like to properly meet the man that saved my son’s academic career.” she commented as Powder got back into the kitchen, depositing her trinkets all over the table while being careful enough not to bump them against the bowls. As she sighed and sat back down, Powder grinned mischievously as Jayce fumbled with forming a sentence.

“I-I can’t just ask him that out of the blue, we just met and he’s done so much already.” he began to excuse, his laugh a bit strained while he prodded at his breakfast. He felt Powder kick him under the table and he couldn’t help but give her a small glare.

His mother didn’t seem to notice as she hummed, “Which is completely why you should do it, if you two are to be partners in your project, then shouldn’t you two get to know each other more?”

Jayce sighed as he rubbed his temples, “It’s not that easy, mom.”

“If we have Viktor over, I’m going to show him all my inventions I’ve made over the week.” Powder stated hopefully as she was already digging into her meal.

Jayce couldn’t help laughing, “All of them? You’ll bury the poor man in a pile of machinery.” he joked, earning a pointed glare from Powder and a swift kick to the shin as she didn’t stop from eating. Jayce winced from the assault on his leg, ready to call out Powder before his mother clicked her tongue at the both of them.

“Quit bickering and eat, the longer you take to finish the later you’ll be.”

.

Powder was huffing with the amount of stuff she had to carry, two boxes basically blocked her view and the backpack she carried almost made her topple backwards. Jayce was no better, possibly worse with bigger and heavier boxes, his own pack was ready to rip at the seams. They both struggled as they walked through the streets of Piltover, ignoring the strange looks pointed in their direction to Sidereal Avenue.

“How much longer do we have?” mourned Powder as she shifted the boxes in her arms, making a bit of a squeak as the top box slid dangerously to one side.

Jayce huffed as he tried to straighten his back, but quickly bent back when he felt gravity fighting him, “Viktor should be waiting for us at the end of the street, then we can put all of this stuff away.” Jayce struggled to explain as he walked, occasionally looking around his workload to see if Viktor was actually waiting in front of them and just watching them.

After the seventh time of looking around he finally notices the familiar cane tapping against the pavement as Viktor carefully walks to the street’s corner, unlike himself and Powder, the slighter man only has one small box tucked under his arm. Once Viktor turned to watch as they both approached, gently stopping Powder with a hand on top of her boxes, he regarded Jayce with a humorous tone in his voice.

“I don’t think I have room in my workshop for your entire lab, Jayce Talis.”

Jayce rolled his eyes as he turned slightly so he could get a good look at his lab partner and his tiny box, “Ha ha, where’s the rest of my equipment?” he asked, pointedly tilting his head to the box Viktor was carrying. Said man shrugged before shifting slightly and fixing the box threatening to fall over in Powder’s hold.

“I already moved most of it to my workshop, all that’s really left to do is take the stuff you have and unpack it all.” he noted, though he looked over the both of them to mutter, “Though do expect everything to be a tight fit.”

“How bad of a tight fit are we talking about?” Jayce asked, starting to move the direction Viktor was tilting his head towards as he nudged Powder the same direction.

“Considering this was a workshop for one poor Academy student that just got his first paycheck as an assistant…let’s just get over any issues with personal space at the door.” Viktor clarified as they all strolled down the sidewalk and several streets away from Sidereal Avenue, “Jayce, you shouldn’t have too much of a problem in the mornings at least. I have classes to attend and Powder will have school.” which was affirmed with Powder’s loud drawn out groan, “I should make it to the workshop before she does, and when she arrives we settle her down and get her homework done before we start teaching her Hextech.”

Jayce raised both his brows in astonishment at the already laid out plans, “You already have an itinerary for all this?”

Viktor in turn raised his eyebrows, “You don’t?” he asked sheepishly before hunching his shoulders up, “Apologies, I might have went ahead of myse-”

“N-No! It’s fine!” Jayce interrupted, his face panicked as he noticed Viktor slowly turning to hide his face from him, “I just didn’t expect you to already have all these plans laid out already.” he defended while timidly smiling to assure Viktor he wasn’t being weird, “It’s impressive.”

Powder huffed as she lowered the boxes enough to barely see over the top, spectating her guardians fumble over each other as Viktor turned his head back to look at Jayce with a bit of a small smile and a nod, “Thank you.”

The smallest of the trio blinked curiously at them as they finally stopped at one of the smaller buildings in the street they were in. It must have been five stories tall, tucked between two massively decorated structures, as the building itself looked more dingy than anything else. It looked out of place, with the patterns of whites and golds with blue green accents decorating the town, this building was a dark grey with barely anything to be accented with besides the large dome like window at the top.

“Here we are.” Viktor announced his hand outstretched as if presenting a new project in comparison to a drab property, “Our base of operations until the renovations are done.”

“Uhh.” Both Jayce and Powder started as they looked up.

“W-Which floor are we on, Viktor?” Jayce asked cautiously, the sweat beading down his face as he saw the look of pity Viktor gave him as he gave a sympathetic smile.

“The cheapest place was obviously the one with easily breakable windows.” Viktor stated as he looked up to the top floor and gave a consoling pat to Jayce’s straining shoulder, “No lift either.” he added. Luckily, Powder loudly vocalized what Jayce was thinking.

“Fuuuuuuuuuuck.”

.

The workshop itself was, for a lack of better terms, organized chaos. There was only one large workbench that stretched across the room, a singular chair that did not look comfortable in the slightest, a bookshelf that looked ready to buckle under the pressure of overstuffed books, and a couch that was so crumpled and covered in pillows and blankets that Jayce couldn’t even truthfully call it a couch. There was always something in the way, whether it was a hunk of metal or a box full of paperwork. Jayce was careful in setting his things down, sighing a breath of relief when he removed his accursed backpack. Powder on the other hand wasn’t so lucky, as she leaned down to set her boxes down and fell over them when her backpack slid and redistributed her weight to fall forward with a soft ‘oof’ and just decided to stay where she was at to rest her exhausted body

Jayce watched as Viktor easily maneuvered around his workshop to place his own box down, already opening it to pull out various sets of tools and place them with the pile already established on the countertop, ”I know you could only afford this back then, but why keep it now? You must have more than enough money to find a better place.” Jayce asked as he started opening some of his boxes to start setting his own gadgets up.

“You’d be surprised at the rental costs of a workshop near Sidereal Avenue,” Viktor commented, fiddling with a wrench in his hand before placing it down, “much less the workshops you were in with the Kiramman’s wealth. I could afford a better workshop, if I decided to swear off eating ever again.”

“I never knew.”

“It’s not too bad here, there’s a bathroom and this place still has the space for a kitchen…if we do a little reorganizing.” he started, already unsure of what Jayce thought before pointing to the roof, “Magnificent view at least.”

Jayce made himself look up to the ceiling finally, the vast spread of hexagonal windows spreading over in a dome like shape above them, casting the lights to angle in a perfect way that gave the workshop a more homely light to it, “Yeah…I guess you can say that.” he muttered before smiling a bit and relaxing his shoulders, “I think this will do for now.”

“Truly?” Viktor asked, his eyebrow raised at how peaceful Jayce looked as he inspected their new workshop.

Jayce paused as he turned to Viktor, his chestnut eyes bright as he nodded, “Truly.”

The two exchanged a long pause of eye contact before they heard Powder standing up with a stretch and walk over to collapse onto the not couch unceremoniously, “Well, I like it, it reminds me of home.” Powder stated as she leaned back to get comfortable, "Just brighter."

Viktor hummed as he leaned against his workbench, a small smirk on his face as he crossed his arms, "I feel like I should be taking offense to that.”

“You shouldn’t, it’s nice.” Powder commented, her hand reaching upwards to cover the sun from blinding her eyes, "Wish we could have curtains though."

"Niceness or not." Jayce started as he was leaning down to start gathering scattered papers off the floor, “That’s not going to stop me from organizing everything.”

“Everything?” Viktor said with an amused smile.

“Everything.”

The pace slowly fell into a peaceful routine as the three of them started to make something of this workshop. Some words were exchanged between them over the placements of equipment, and there were several times Jayce or Viktor had to jump into action from either something falling on Powder or something falling out of Powder's grasp. It took most of the day to get everything in working order, but by the afternoon, a workshop was mostly complete with the addition of Jayce's lab equipment. It still needed work, but it was something for a first day in the lab.

And by the sounds of Powder's stomach, it was definitely time to eat somethi-

"Ah shit!" Jayce cursed as he scrambled for the backpack he carried in, searching through its compartments for pulling out a small container with a look of dismay, it was cold now, probably wouldn't taste as good as it would have been this morning if Jayce actually remembered it.

Viktor looked up from working on his mechanism with Powder to see Jayce slumping his shoulder, "Is everything alright?"

With a dejected sigh, Jayce placed the container down next to Viktor, "Mom made breakfast this morning, she typically makes extra so I asked if she could pack some away for you." he muttered, "I forgot all about it, it's already cold now."

Powder looked at the container before she reached over to snatch it up and walk away from the both of them as she opened it, "Well if he's not going to eat it..." she excused before taking a seat on the couch and scarfing down with an uncaring abandon. Jayce grimaced at the loud slurping sounds but returned his gaze back to Viktor who was meekly tucking a piece of hair behind his ear and looking away.

“Oh, well give her my thanks for me.” Viktor muttered weakly as he tried to focus on anything besides Jayce. But his partner didn't let up so easily, instead he kept his stare before taking a deep breath to calm his nerves before spilling out.

“You could always thank her yourself.” Jayce said quickly, his hand moving to the nape of his neck as he now has to look away, “Would you like to come over for dinner some time this week? My mother really wants to meet you.” It was lame how he asked. Jayce had to curse at himself at how juvenile he sounded, he wasn't a kid asking a crush out, this was his partner in discovery! But he saw how nervously Viktor looked, amber eyes flickering around as he tried to come up with some type of excuse.

“Oh well, I…” he started, only to be stopped at the sudden impact of Powder running over and nearly tackling him with her arms around his middle and looking up at him with a bit of tomato on her face. She had her large blue eyes looking up at him, pleading as she gently shook Viktor as she begged.

“Pleeeeeaaase Viktor?

Viktor now had the trouble of trying to look away from both of them focusing on him, his words fumbling as he now just tried to get a gentle denial out, “I-I couldn’t possibly intrude on-”

He had to pause his sentence abruptly when Jayce took his hand, giving it a firm shake and a pat as Jayce made Viktor look at him with a serious stare, “You wouldn’t be intruding, we want you there.” he stated gently, his gaze intense as they both looked at each other for a solid moment before Viktor finally conceded with a sigh.

“I…guess I could find some time to visit…” he started before being wobbled around as Powder shook him around in enjoyment. Jayce seemed pleased as well, a relieved sigh breaking his lips as he smiled at Viktor gratefully. "I'll tell Mom to be ready then." he muttered.

“Yes! You’ll like Ximena’s cooking!" Powder exclaimed as she jumped about, "And I can show you everything I’ve been building! I made this one trinket that has a delayed timer so I can be set off at a longer duration-"

“A bomb?” Viktor interrupted with a look of exhaustion, his features looking even more tired as Powder grinned at him.

“Maaaybee.”

“We should really work on something less…destructive.” Jayce laughed softly as he started to bring up dinner plans with Viktor.

Chapter Text

Another day, another series of grueling tests to the hex crystal in order to discover its true potential. Jayce lazily watched the crystal spin in its apparatus while hearing the discordant sounds of Viktor’s welding right next to him. He pondered how many times they bumped shoulders over the course of the three hours together as they worked in their small space, the only thing in between them was Viktor’s extremely uncomfortable chair that he half sat on while he worked. Jayce struggled to focus on his notes in front of him as he was more distracted with how Viktor’s hair stuck out wildly from behind his welding helmet.

Once Jayce saw the small flickers of ember die down next to him, he decided to finally speak up now that he knew Viktor could hear him, “You think the new amplifiers will keep the crystal stabilized? Or would we need to match the frequency with the new velocity the crystal spins?” he asked curiously, his pen tapping impatiently against his book that was covered in new numbers and new equations that were being written down over the day.

Viktor took his time pulling his mask up, whatever project he did last that involved welding must have still been left over. With smudges of crude oil over his cheekbones and nose, Viktor looked more and more like a mad scientist, especially when he gave an eager smile to his taller colleague, “We won’t know unless we test it out.”

“But the windows…” Jayce muttered warily as he looked up at their dome shaped roof, the windows that allowed the light to come in were in their favor today. It wasn’t too bright for the need of curtains, and wasn't too dark for lamps. Maybe it was a lucky day for them, a day to be daring.

Viktor sighed while pulling the helmet off completely, fixing his hair as he spoke casually, “I’d rather we do this before Powder comes home from school. I can pay for windows anytime.”

“You’re right.” Jayce admitted, looking at their hex crystal again before absently adding, “We don’t really have that many hex crystals left if they become destroyed.”

His statement made Viktor pause his musings with his hair, his own gaze falling to the hex crystal as he spent a long minute staring at it, “How many do we have?” Viktor inquired as he reached over to gently turn the dial on the apparatus, the crystal made a small hum as it spun a little faster, just barely challenging the stability, but settled back to its usual rotations with an arc of blue light flashing over it. Jayce sighed in relief before answering.

“Well, I originally had twelve. I might have accidentally destroyed five during my own testing and I kept one in my prototype apparatus. Then…” Jayce gave a bit of a solemn smile before shrugging nonchalantly, “Well, Powder did her number on four of them.”

Viktor was humming in thought as he mentally counted, “So we have three left.” he stated bluntly.

Jayce responded with a short sigh, “Yeah…we need to make the ones we have count.”

They stayed silent for a moment, both pondering what progress could even be made if they failed and broke their remaining crystals. Every moment counted. Every possible test counted. Every crystal counted for the sake of Hextech’s future progress.

The silence went on long enough that Viktor of all people broke it, “We’ve been working together for a while now,” he started, the sight of his amber eyes sliding over to Jayce caught him off guard as his smaller companion continued his curious thought, “Yet I never asked about where you acquired these crystals in the first place.”

“Oh, well…” Jayce began, his face a bit flush as he turned his focus to the windows above, “I got several of them from Shurima, actually.” He could see his partner raising his eyebrows in his peripheral vision at his answer, “Remember a year back when Clan Ferros did the big museum showcase of what they found during that big expedition in Shurima?”

Viktor hummed in thought as he tried to recall, “I remember Professor Heimerdinger saying that Professor Lymere was more excited about the event than he was. I never went myself.” he admitted truthfully before shrugging, “I wasn’t a big fanatic of ancient history.”

“Me neither.” Jayce laughed before grinning wistfully at the memory, “The Kirammans were invited to the event and they brought me along.” He remembered walking through gilded gates upon dozens of people looking at old and ancient artifacts. There was Caitlyn, making jokes about how boring this whole thing was with Jayce chuckling alongside her. The ever stoic Ferros clan showing off their spoils with pride on their features. A display with a singular glowing crystal like Jayce had only seen once before. “That’s where I first saw one, nobody knew what it was supposed to be. A lot of people wanted to make jewelry out of it, but…” He made a hollow chuckle, rubbing his forehead as he watched Viktor looking at him intently, “You’re going to call me crazy.”

“Jayce.” Viktor always had a way of speaking, one that broke through a tense silence like a knife. Probably not a way to speak through a crowd, but maybe that was what made it more special when you were speaking alone with him. Jayce’s partner gave him a small smile to assure him, “You have told me about the concept of magic through technology and about teleporting from across the continent by a mysterious magic man. Do you really think I’m going to call you crazy now?” he asked, genuinely amused when Jayce held his stare for a moment to anxiously look away and laugh away the awkwardness afterwards.

“Right…you’re right.” Jayce muttered before gathering his courage up in one deep breath, his gaze falling on the hex crystal once more as he spoke, “The crystals…they…sang to me. A small humming but it was noticeable.”

Everything was dead silent for a moment, Jayce almost regretted his confession before he could hear Viktor speaking quietly, “Singing?” he asked, his tone astounded as he looked at Jayce with bright eyes, imploring him to say more.

“Yeah..” Jayce answered eventually, his shoulders relaxing as he continued, “With the frequency I heard it was…similar to the frequency of when I met that man. I knew somehow magic resonated with those crystals and no one seemed to have figured it out yet.”

“So you got it?”

Jayce couldn’t help but laugh as he shook his head, “I spent every coin I had in my budget for the year for just that one. Mrs. Kiramman was livid with me.” He grinned a bit at the memory now, holding his precious box as Councilor Kiramman reprimanded him and told him the devastating effects this would have on his graduate research, “After that I spent two years traveling the desert to find where Clan Ferros had their dig site, said it was all for my graduate project.”

Viktor nodded softly and sighed as he turned his head to look at the crystal spinning between them, “And now we have so few left.” he muttered regrettably. There was no blame in his tone. But there was regret. A regret that if only he just met Jayce sooner, before all the tests. They could have salvaged some of the crystals.

“We need to make the last few we have count, knowing Clan Ferros with their latest expedition to Shurima, they’re going to start actively finding the crystals.” Jayce commented, his tone picking up a serious inflection to it as he brought his notebook over to Viktor, “We need to make this work out, Viktor. Before they come back.”

Viktor took the notebook to look over their current work before gently asking, “But surely they won’t be able to copy our study?”

“Not yet, the math behind our stabilization isn’t public.” Jayce stated as he looked a little bit grim, “Yet.”

The two were silent once again, looking between each other and their notes. Viktor furrowed his brows in through before softly speaking up.

“We don’t want Clan Ferros holding these crystals over our heads.” He started carefully, watchful of Jayce’s reactions as he continued, “I know we are focusing on teleportation, but do you think we could make another project?”

Jayce raised his brow curiously as he took his notebook back and flipped to the page listing all their future projects for the future, “What do you have in mind?” he asked with his pen poised at the ready.

Viktor seemed to give a knowing smile as he gently tapped the base of the apparatus, “Well, if we don’t want Clan Ferros to be holding us hostage with their crystals.” he started before taking the amplifiers he previously worked on to begin setting them up, “We make the Ferros family need us.”

“Huh?”

Jayce watched his partner grin as he started hooking his creation to the active apparatus, careful with the switch to his left, “Jayce, you had a countless number of books on crystallography in your room, surely there is something in there to help in learning the basics of refining these crystals.” he jested lightly.

“There might be, but I...” Jayce started nervously, unsure of which direction Viktor was taking this conversation. But just by telling with the glint in Viktor’s eye, they had more work than they intended to do.

“And if we could refine them?” Viktor interrupted swiftly, “Make them less inclined to explode upon impact?”

“They could…” Jayce paused as he pondered intently, his eyes a bit wide as he quickly caught on what Viktor was trying to imply, “Be handled by anyone. Even civilians. If we have the secret of refinement-” he breathed out, completely awestruck as he just stared at Viktor.

“Then Clan Ferros won't be able to hoard the crystals for themselves.” Viktor mused as he clicked in the final piece of the amplifiers into place, both men watched as the crystal slowed its spin, the hum quieting down to barely being audible.

Jayce kept looking at the calmed crystal for a moment before whispering out, “How would we start?”

Viktor smiled as he brainstormed with his partner, “We can use the amplifiers we’re crafting to have the hex crystal in a more dormant state so we can pick it apart, understand its components to see where we should start at.”

“You think they’d still function?” asked Jayce as he was already taking notes, his mind traveling faster than his fingers could write. Viktor was right next to him, watching him write from their joined space.

Viktor paused to give Jayce a steady glance before asking, “Have you been able to salvage crystal shards from the last five you detonated?”

“No…?”

The slighter man gave a definite nod as he returned to looking over the notes once more, “Then we will have to test that as well.” he softly recognized as he snatched Jayce’s pen from his hand to lean away and write something in his own notebook, “We’re still in the fledgling stages of our work, confined to being careful until we get a true lab beneficial to our research.”

Jayce watched as Viktor wrote. His eyes were intently focused on the paper in front of him. Since they began talking, Viktor completely abandoned fixing his hair, probably already forgetting to remove the smudges from his face. Uncaring of the world around him as he made Hextech’s future progress his priority. Jayce took note of how twitchy Viktor was in his writing, his hand flicking robotically as his eyes scanned over his own words and scribbled out any mistakes just to swiftly correct himself.

Jayce felt his lips quirk up as he watched the other work, “Heh, just by the sound of it, you want to get the ball rolling too.” he mentioned lightly to pull Viktor from his focus. His partner flinched, eyes darting to Jayce briefly before looking away again.

“I have never been…impatient before.” Viktor meekly admitted, distracting himself by running a hand through his hair, possibly messing it up more than it already was, “But just thinking about the benefits Hextech could do for Piltover…for everyone.” Jayce watched as his partner looked at his hand, forcing Jayce to look as well. Viktor’s hand was shaking, to the point he closed his fist in order to stop it, “I get…restless.”

Slowly, gently, Jayce lifted his hand to place it on Viktor’s shoulder. He gave an assuring squeeze as he smiled at his partner, “I’m anxious too, Viktor. We’ll ride this out till the end. I promise.”

Both inventors looked at each other for a significant amount of time, where bewildered amber clashed with warm chestnut. Viktor was the first to move. Jayce was the first to release a breath when Viktor reached up to place his hand on top of Jayce’s. Jayce could swear he forgot how to inhale when Viktor smiled at him.

“Till the end then.” he stated gently before tilting his head to the apparatus in front of them, “Should we start testing these new amplifiers?”

Jayce flinched as he struggled to pay attention again, his breath returning as he took a few seconds to focus once more and look back to their project. He grinned before looking at the apparatus with a newfound resolve, “Let’s do what we do best.”

.

School for Powder was pretty easy, but that was mostly because she was forced to work with much younger students compared to herself. She understood having to be held back because of her lack of schooling when she was younger, Viktor already warned her about that. What really bothered her was the fact that during study hours when her schoolwork was done, even her homework, she had nothing else to do. The girl busied herself with doodling, drawing scribbles of basic plans for her new inventions, the occasional monkey or mouse, maybe even a fish or two. None of it was really helping alleviate the boredom and Powder made a quiet groan as she opted to lay her head down and perhaps just sleep until their teacher got back.

A quick flash of blue and red made her eyes snap right back open. Nope, sleeping was not an option.

As Powder pondered on what else she could possibly do, the shout from across the classroom caught the attention of her and every kid in class.

“Hey! New Kid!”

The boy casually walked to her desk, ignoring the shushes and glares as he gave a pointed nod to Powder when she pointed to herself in confusion. The boy was roughly the same age as her, his blonde hair wild. His eyes were possibly a brighter blue than Powder’s own eyes. But his most defining feature was definitely the worn leather jacket he fitted on that was clearly several sizes too big for him, the sleeves ridiculously rolled up and still challenging to cover his hands if he wasn't watchful.

He leaned on Powder’s desk casually, his eyes were scanning her notes before she brought her arm up to cover her scribbles and to glare at the boy that so rudely distrubed her boredom.

“I have a name. You’ve heard it enough in class.” she stated plainly, her eyes narrowing impossibly further when directing to the boy.

But the blonde boy just responded with an uncaring grin, a nonchalant wave of his hand as if whatever she was saying didn’t matter, “Yeah, but I prefer New Kid.”

Powder could feel her nose scrunching up in irritation, “Ugh, I prefer to call you Irritating.” she grumbled before trying to ignore him, focusing back on her paper. But the boy just leaned over more, trying to look over her arm which she defensively pulled closer to herself.

“Rude. I have a name you know.” complained the boy, a pout evident on his lips before being quickly replaced with a devious smirk.

Powder felt her temper starting to flare, “You-!” she started, taking note of her raised voice and stopping herself. Easy. Take breaths. Powder took her time calming down, rationalizing why this kid was terrorizing her. What purpose would he have in just riling her up to possibly get herself in- “You’re just trying to get me in trouble.” Powder realized, her brows furrowing as she seemed to catch on when the boy grinned wider.

“Congrats, you figured me out.” the boy complimented, pulling his sleeve back to offer his hand towards her, “Name’s Ezreal.”

Ezreal. For a moment, Powder took her time digesting the name. But carefully she reached up, taking the hand offered to give it a gentle shake.

“Powder.” she muttered cautiously as Ezreal smirked.

“I knew that, duh.” he stated, his hand waving again as he turned his head away to look towards where their teacher would be sitting if she wasn’t out during these hours. Powder stopped herself from lashing out as she breathed in, breathed out. She didn’t have to start a fight. Jayce wouldn’t be happy if she started a fight. Viktor would be disappointed if she started a fight. She didn’t want to make either of them upset with her.

“What do you want?” she finally hissed out, her eyes narrowed as Ezreal finally looked back to her. His eyes stared over her, as if inspecting her very being with a fine tooth comb.

Ezreal nodded to himself before carelessly muttering, “Just wanted to confirm something.” He leaned a bit more forward, enough to keep their conversation private as he whispered to Powder, “You were the kid from the trial a couple months ago, right? The one that set off the glitter bomb?”

Powder’s eyes widened, her shoulders pulling up closer to her frame as she curled into herself defensively. “I-I don’t know what you’re talking about.” she mumbled, already worried about what this kid could possibly know. Jayce promised that no one would know. That they only had adults at the trial so none of her classmates would know. But then here was this kid, who after watching her reaction just grinned and pointed an accusatory finger at her.

“AHA! It was you that did that!” Ezreal loudly proclaimed, their classmates turning once again to see why Ezreal was being loud this time. He was grinning to himself, triumphant as he prodded his own chest with a thumb,“Score one for Ezreal.”

“Shh! The others are listening!” Powder heatedly whispered, her hands coming up to grab Ezreal’s jacket collar.

But Ezreal just took the threat with stride, blowing a raspberry as he tilted his head to the very same classmates that were turning their heads away to return to their studies, “Pssh, it’s not like they’re actually listening. Besides, anyone with a brain could just do some digging about the trial and find you out.” he stated bluntly, making a small yelp when Powder jostled him a bit by the jacket.

“How did you find me out then?”

The boy gave a smirk as he started to answer, “My uncle and Professor Heimerdinger are like this.” He proceeded to cross his fingers together and show her, “I eavesdropped on them when Heimerdinger came by the house. Old crystals from Shurima blowing up a building, some moron trying to channel magic with them, Heimerdinger’s assistant basically committing academic suicide-”

“Hey!” Powder interrupted, her eyes venomous as she gave a feral shake to the boy, “Jayce is not a moron! And Heimerdinger’s assistant has a name. His. Name. Is. Viktor.” she enunciated carefully as she gave Ezreal a proper throttling.

“Woah woah there! Touched a nerve didn’t I?” he joked before being shaken even more, catching the attention of his classmates again as he tried to stop her, “Note to self, don’t bad mouth Hextech moron- Ow! Okay! Okay! Jayce and Viktor! I said JAYCE AND VIKTOR!”

Powder seemed satisfied enough, giving Ezreal a look before releasing the boy and sitting back in her chair to huff. They stayed quiet for a while, classmates returning to their work once again while Ezreal focused on fixing his jacket. Eventually, Powder was nudged once more as she turned her head to the boy that has been irritating her since he walked up to her.

“Hey, come with me.” he muttered softly, offering his hand once more. This time it seemed genuine, friendly. Powder raised her brow and studied Ezreal’s face for a trick or some sassy comment. But when one didn’t come…she didn’t even know why she reached out to take his hand as he pulled Powder from her seat.

“Shouldn’t you be studying?” she asked curiously, wondering what trick this kid had up his sleeve.

But Ezreal just gave her a bored look, tilting his head towards the door as he challenged her with a smirk, “Shouldn’t you?”

Powder huffed as she took a few steps in his direction, “I finished my work today.” It seemed to urge Ezreal to grin and tug her along as they passed by their classmates to leave the room without a second thought.

“I did too, so are you coming along or do I need to drag you?”

Powder looked at the boy incredulously, wondering how stupid this kid really was. But how his face was just daring her to act out, Powder gave a small sigh before giving her own small smirk.

Ezreal let her hand go.

And Powder continued to follow him.

“Where are we going?” Powder finally asked as they roamed the school’s halls. Their uniform shoes clicked against marble floors but it didn’t seem to notify anyone as Ezreal walked in front of her, his arms stretched up and crossed behind his head as he nonchalantly walked through the halls as if he owned the place.

“To have fun.” he answered simply, only confusing Powder even more.

“Fun?”

Ezreal grinned as he fished a key from his jacket pocket to brandish it to his new partner in crime, “I got the key to our teacher’s office. Swiped it before her lunch break. If my calculations are right, which they always are, then she’ll be back after our study hours. Gives us enough time to go in and rearrange everything five inches to the left.”

“Wait- why would you do that?” Powder inquired, her features bewildered and her questions not even answered as Ezreal chuckled manically. He kept walking forward in strides, like he had a purpose just to fuck around with their teacher.

“C’mon keep up, New Kid.”

“Powder.”

Ezreal puffed out a small breath, “Right, we’re doing this for fun.” he eventually answered with a shrug, “Obviously we’re the smartest kids in her class, it’s honestly her fault for giving us such easy schoolwork. Can’t keep our mind stimulated and stuff.” he explained as they stopped before a door. With a few wiggles from the key, the lock clicked, and the door was opened up to reveal their teacher’s office. Everything was too neat here. Why did it have to be so neat?

Powder could only watch from the doorway as Ezreal bounded up to the desk and got to his tip toes, carefully he started moving pencils, paperweights, folders, all over to the left without a care if Powder was going to help him or not.

“Why?” Powder asked softly, stepping forward to quietly close the door behind them so they wouldn’t get caught.

Ezreal scrunched his nose as he moved around the desk to start moving the chair, “It’s always why with you,” he started before hitching his voice a few octaves higher to attempt to mock Powder’s voice, “‘why bother me?’, ‘why are we moving things around?’, 'why are we getting back at the teacher?’ yadda yadda yadda.”

“Hey I don’t sound like tha-”

“Have you ever just wanted to get back at everything?” Ezreal interrupted as he set the chair finally and started moving the rug as he looked up to Powder. His bright eyes held something else this time. No mirth, no mischief, just…hurt. “Even if it’s a slight inconvenience, don’t you just want to have the enjoyment of having the one up on anything?” he asked. Powder blinked slowly, her face forming a frown as she curled her shoulders close and started picking at her fingernails anxiously.

“I-I…” she started hesitantly, uncomfortable with how the conversation shifted so suddenly.

“Well, I do.” Ezreal butted in, looking down for a moment before sighing and walking over to the small end tables at the other side of the office and starting to move them, “My parents are the greatest explorers in Piltover, courtesy of the Piltover Explorer’s Guild, ever heard of them?”

Powder gently shook her head, her gaze watching as Ezreal busied himself with moving furniture, “Sorry, I haven’t.” she softly answered before looking back down to her shiny uniform shoes.

“Clearly,” Ezreal snorted, his back turned away before he perked up, turning around with the turn of his heel as he climbed onto the armchair to get some height, “But back to my sad and tragic backstory.” he continued, making a dramatic pose as he started, faux tears already forming in his eyes, “My parents are bigshot explorers, always off on a new adventure. They come back, sometimes.” he said, small hands splayed out to the air above him to indicate just how vast his parents traveled, “They tell me all about their adventures and all that they discovered and how fun it is. Then bam! Right next to the next grand adventure while I’m here, with Uncle Lymere, forced to study because he doesn’t want to bother with me.”

Ezreal’s arms fell back down, his body going limp against the chair as he stared up at the ceiling. Powder couldn’t place what the boy was feeling, but with how solemn he looked, she could only assume so much at the moment. A familiar feeling that she often felt herself. He finally muttered, a bit calmer now, “So here I am, in an old crusty teacher’s office. Rearranging all of her things so I can find some enjoyment to get back at my uncle. Maybe get in trouble enough for him to call for my parents.”

“And you tell me this…” Powder started, not wanting to finish because she didn’t want to be teased again for asking questions. This seemed like a sensitive moment between the two of them, and she felt that breaking this moment might mean she’d never see it ever again.

“Why?” Ezreal filled in for her, huffing a dull laugh as he shook his head, “I don’t know. I was always the lonely kid in class, too smart for everyone’s good. Too talkative. Then you came along. Then you were the lonely kid, the one that didn’t talk enough.” he muttered lamely and his hand waved around boredly, “And surprise, surprise, you were smart too. Pretty impressive for a trencher.”

Powder raised her eyebrow in surprise, but after a moment of silence she huffed a small laugh and smirked, “And you’re crazier than the typical topsider.”

“Two kids that just can’t seem to fit in.”

The silence fell back again. Powder pondering on why this kid even bothered with her. Why even share this information if he knew she was just as much of an outcast as he was. What could he benefit from? From telling her about his parents and his need to rebel? Powder took her time to think, and luckily Ezreal seemed to give her time as he lazed about in the chair before hopping off and getting back to the task at hand. It wasn’t until ten minutes later that Powder widened her eyes to look at the boy.

“...You…You’re asking to be friends.” she finally said, breaking the silence in the room as Ezreal stopped to look at Powder with wide eyes.

“W-Wha?! No I’m not! I want someone to point blame to when we get caught. Why would I want to be friends with you?” he excused, his laughing strained as he tried to lean casually against the desk. His eyes were wild. His breath was shallow as he tried to play it cool.

Powder gave a small smile as she sighed out, “Because you feel alone too.”

“...”

Carefully Powder walked towards Ezreal, taking note that she was slightly taller than him and now that she had the upper hand, she was able to smirk down at him as he struggled, “If you admit it, I might say yes. And I might agree to playing this prank.”

Once again the both of them fell into a tense silence, this time Ezreal was the uncomfortable one as he scrambled to make some snappy comeback. Something witty to irritate Powder and get that smug look off her face. But when nothing was able to come up, Ezreal pouted as his shoulders slumped.

Slowly he stood up straight again, looking away as he crossed his arms, “...Let’s fuck with this office, Powder.”

The girl sighed, her smile softening as she gave a shrug and got to the other side of the desk to begin pushing it, “You know what? Close enough.”

.

After several hours of adjusting the dials for the crystal to stabilize, both scientists gazed at the small field they created. Pens and pieces of paper floated around the apparatus steadily, but not nearly at the size and strength that it did the first night they stabilized the hex crystal.

Jayce stared ahead, slack jawed as he watched his notebook float past him, “Holy shit, it’s working.” he uttered wistfully. Cautiously he put his hand in the field, letting his muscles slack and feeling his hand remain afloat as he gave an astonished laugh. Viktor kept himself quiet as he added a few notes to his notebook, his goggles occasionally reflecting blue light access the room but otherwise mostly focused on keeping his own eyes safe while Jayce took the possible danger head on.

“Hmm.” Viktor noted as he gently prodded his pen at the crystal as it slowly turned in its container, “Nothing negative yet. It’s a good sign.”

Jayce hummed in agreement as he looked at Viktor with an unconstrained excitement, “Do we want to try taking a sample?”

Viktor opened his mouth to speak but paused to look at the crystal once more, slowly, he turned away before coming back to hand Jayce a pair of goggles, “It’s now or never.”

“Alright.” Jayce confirmed, pulling his goggles on and reaching for the hammer and chisel floating in front of him. With a deep breath he took both tools firmly into the field, the chisel poised ever so gently against the crystalline surface as his other hand hovered above it with the hammer, “Here goes nothing.”

Both men were too focused on their attempt of a sample to hear the small footsteps coming from outside the workshop. As Powder carelessly opens the door without a second thought as she was smiling, holding her backpack to her chest as she announced, “Hey, I’m back from scho-”

With the gentle ring of Jayce’s hammer, the crystal reacted. With an explosion of light, the room was filled with the sparks of magic. The thick taste of ozone flooded the air. Powder stared up at the scattered lights floating around carelessly. Flashes of blue, red, white, all ran by her eyes in seconds. Screams. Cries. Pain. Fear. Three figures, one big one, two smaller ones, they all stood above her. Monsters. With sharp teeth and hateful glares. Powder felt her body seize up, her frame shaking as her backpack fell out of her hands and all of its contents fell onto the floor. Her legs buckled uselessly, making her crumple to the floor as hot fresh tears were already forming and trailing down her cheeks.

At the sound of items falling, Viktor and Jayce swiftly turned around and pulled their goggles off. Both stilled at the sight of Powder, cowering on the floor as she was sharply inhaling, her lips trembling before a terror-stricken scream broke out of her and she was reaching up to pull at her hair. Jayce acted first, cursing softly as he bolted for Powder to gather her up and hold her steady while Viktor meticulously went to focus on turning the amplifiers and apparatus off. He did pause to take note of the shard that laid next to the crystal. It glowed just as vibrant as its source. But it wasn’t time for that now, later perhaps.

“Shit shit shit.” Jayce cursed as he tightly gripped onto Powder as tightly as she gripped onto him. He brought his hand over to gently pry Powder’s hand from her hair, quietly hushing her as she cried into his crumpled work shirt, “Powder, hey it’s ok.” he gently comforted.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” Powder rambled, her voice quick and slurred as she struggled to catch her breath. Jayce hated to see his ward like this, her body tense as a board and her breathing uncontrollable. He attempted to rock her gently as he tried to calm her down.

“Jayce.”

Jayce didn’t seem to hear his partner as he paid full attention to trying to pull Powder out of her hysterics, “Fuck, c’mon Powder. Deep breaths, in, out, in, out.” he whispered, breathing unsteadily and making a small worried smile when Powder tried to copy his actions.

“Jayce!” He heard it this time, Viktor’s sharp voice cutting through the panic. Jayce whipped his head around to see his partner standing above him. He looked casual, with a book under his arm as he held onto his goggles. Jayce felt his jaw tighten as he regarded Viktor a bit sharply.

“What?!”

“Couch.” Viktor stated simply, already making the few steps needed to plant himself on the couch and moving some of the pillows aside to make ample space for the three of them. Jayce calmed himself with a shaky breath, taking note of Viktor helping before slowly gathering up his ward and standing up on quivering legs.

“Okay, Okay.” he muttered softly, moving both himself and Powder to sit at the couch. She still curled into him, struggling to catch her breath. But now the only difference was Viktor gently taking Powder’s chin and having her look at him. Her breathing was ragged, tears and snot running down her face as she regarded Viktor with complete terror.

“Powder.” Viktor spoke softly, his grasp was gentle as Powder shook, shaking her head as she sobbed and weakly reached out.

“Please don’t leave me, I didn’t mean to. I just wanted to help.” she sobbed, but Viktor tutted her gently. Carefully he brought his other hand up and cupped her face, keeping her from shaking away from him as she shook.

“Powder, look at me.”

Wild blue eyes, darting in all directions, finally focused on Viktor as she trembled. Jayce kept his hold tight in attempts to ground Powder as she shuddered, “Please, please.” she whimpered meekly.

Viktor carefully inhaled, urging Powder to copy him before he slowly exhaled, “Take a breath. Is it the light?”

Powder sniffed, starting another round of crying as she bobbed her head. Viktor nodded softly as he loosened his sleeve to wipe her tears away before handing her the goggles he held in his hand.

“Put these on.” he directed, letting Powder take hold of them and struggle to place them on before Jayce moved forward to begin assisting. Soon enough, a pair of goggles were loosely around Powder’s head, not enough to protect but enough to cover her vision of the flickering blue light above them.

“Now you can’t see it. Can you still hear it ringing?” Viktor asked, already looking around the room for what he needed.

Powder choked out another sob as she nodded, making a small cry when Viktor got himself up to walk over to the workshop’s counter. Jayce was quick to tighten his hold, rocking the girl until Viktor returned with a large pair of construction earmuffs in his hands.

Viktor meticulously placed the muffs in Powder’s hands, letting her feel them before regarding her, “Once you wear this you won’t hear anything, understand?”

Powder nodded one more. Her breath hiccuping as she mostly focused on Viktor’s voice

“Good, once you put this on I want you to only focus on breathing.” Viktor made a loud inhale, waiting for Powder to copy him before doing the same as he exhaled. Once Powder copied him he spoke once more, “Understand?”

After a few attempts at breathing, Powder finally answers with a nod.

With that answer Viktor nodded as he looked to Jayce, who was watching Viktor the whole time with a look of astonishment on his features, “Jayce is going to be right here, hold onto him.” he pointed out, but as he began to move away, he was stopped by hands tightly gripping his sleeve, “Yes, Powder?”

“D-Don’t leave me.” Powder whispered desperately, her hands trembling, “Please don’t leave me.”

Viktor sighed before settling further into the couch, reaching up to gently pet Powder’s head in order to help calm her, “I won’t leave you either. I’ll be right here.” he said before taking his hand over Powder’s hand to help lift the earmuffs up, “I’m putting the earmuffs on.”

She attempted to follow the breathing she was told to do before her earmuffs were put on, her shudders slowly turned to a small shake against Jayce as he held her in place. He watched her for a moment, calming his own breath before regarding Viktor as he leaned back into the couch and shifted the book under his arm into his lap.

“Wow... How’d you know what to do?” Jayce asked quietly, shifting Powder in between them despite her whines of protest as she curled up. Viktor sighed as he looked at the girl, reaching to move stray hairs from her face and freezing with how she leaned into his touch.

Viktor slowly pulled his hand back, but was stopped again with Powder gripping onto him with no chance of pulling away, “I’ve had my own deal with attacks like these. Removing senses that are relative to the problem helps.” he admitted with a slump of his shoulders. The two were quiet for a moment, the only sounds in the workshop being Powder’s shuddering breaths between them.

“So it’s still the crystals after all, huh?” Jayce muttered solemnly as he leaned back into the plush couch.

Viktor hummed as he looked up to the ceiling, contemplating the afternoon light spilling in and mixing beautifully with the remaining flickers of magical blue lights, “Does she have them at your house?” he asked softly, not bothering to look back as he heard Jayce sigh.

“It’s not uncommon for her to break into my room in the dead of night. I typically do breathing exercises with her until she falls back asleep.” he commented slowly as he heard Viktor hum next to him. Jayce looked up at the ceiling now as well, watching a small blue light float across him as he slowly processed the issues about their situation. “Do you think…” he started slowly, swallowing the lump in his throat, “We should find someone to help her with all of this?”

He heard Viktor shift next to him, turning his head as shrugged. There was a look of uncertainty on his features, “Eeh, it will depend if she wants it herself.” he noted before glancing down to the kid in between them, “We can ask her tomorrow, when she’s of clear thought.”

Jayce nodded, but resonated a sigh a bit too deeply as he slumped against the couch, “...So…we just stay here.”

“Get comfortable.” Viktor directed as he already began opening the book in his lap.

“Right…” Jayce muttered, as he began to settle, thinking ahead of what needed to be done tomorrow as well as asking around for any possible therapists if Powder wanted the help. But at the soft feeling of pressure on his shoulder, Jayce paused to look down and blinked at the sight of Viktor’s wild hair in his face, “W-What are you doing?” he fumbled as Viktor shifted to have Powder leaning on him while he leaned on his lab partner.

“If I’m going to sit here, I might as well take a break.” he pointed out while moving his book to hold it properly, he was about to turn the page before Powder gripped onto his arm to keep him still. Viktor watched the girl for a moment before sighing and bringing his arm around Powder’s shoulders and settling once more, “You should relax as well, you’ve been here longer than I have.”

Jayce was taking a moment to collect himself, his brain moving faster than his mouth as he tried to process Viktor leaning on his shoulder while casually reading a book. This was almost comical, the three of them practically cuddling on this extremely small couch. It was too comfortable, too familiar with old memories. Memories of being cold and being fitted between his parents as the hearth warmed up the house, how they talked so casually about the day as a small Jayce tried to listen to what they said but was too tired to focus.

Lightly and cautious of his movement, Jayce moved his arm up and let it rest on top of the couch, giving Viktor more room to get comfortable as he reached around and turned the page for him, “Okay.”

Viktor hummed in thanks as he kept his gaze to the book in front of him, offhandedly he asked, “Have you read Professor Prandtl’s book?”

“W-Which one?” Jayce inquired gently as he looked over Viktor’s book, in this position, he was able to read just as easily as Viktor did.

“Applications to Centrifugal Forces.”

“I…don’t think I have?”

Viktor hummed once more as he brought the book up closer so both of them could read, “It’s truly interesting, we could possibly apply some of his equations to future tests with the crystal.” he explained.

Jayce nodded as he leaned his head a bit to look over a few of the paragraphs that the textbook held, “I’m listening.”

Viktor nodded as he began explaining all possible applications from the professor’s equations that could benefit them in future research. Eventually Jayce started chiming in, challenging a few of the theories with his own logic. As the two went back and forth in their hypothesis, they didn’t notice Powder’s breathing techniques slow to a small snore, her body was limp against her guardians as she dreamed peacefully.

Chapter Text

Jayce was nearly bouncing as he traveled down the street to his workshop, an excited smile permanent on his features as he looked up at the comfortably warm day. He hoped for the same weather tomorrow for the Jubilee. This was his first one and he was ecstatic to be invited to the Kiramman’s Jubilee Event, this party was going to be the first celebration he was going to attend since his discovery several months ago.

The inventor hastily opened the door to their building, making the grueling steps up to the fifth floor while reciting what he was going to say to Viktor and Powder. He really did want them to come along, he could figure that Viktor hasn’t been to many events that weren’t hosted by the Academy. Powder was a given, this would be her first big event topside. Jayce genuinely wanted them to have fun at their first Jubilee, the three of them to finally have a reward for all the hard work they've done.

As he opened the door to their workshop, the late afternoon light spilling a deep golden orange over the workshop that was challenging to see if it wasn’t for the lamp Viktor had on at the corner of the counter. Both his lab partner and his ward leaned over a series of wires, wearing their goggles as Viktor soldered wires together. He was in the middle of explaining how joining the parts form a mechanical and electrical bond before their much taller colleague opened the door, causing the both of them to pause and look over their shoulders. Jayce gave a small smile and waved as he carefully strides over to them to look at their work, “What’s being worked on?”

“Ah, welcome back.” Viktor greeted before turning back to his wire work, “It is rare to see you as the last one here. I was showing Powder how to fuse wires.”

Powder nodded as she pulled her goggles up to grin at Jayce, “Yeah, you’re usually here all morning before we come along.” she pointed out before poking his side and asking with a teasing tone, “Were you hanging out with your girlfriend or something?”

Jayce scoffed, rolling his eyes and reaching up to ruffle Powder’s head as she laughed at him, “As if.” He turned to Viktor, watching his tense shoulders stretch for a moment before focusing on work, “Sorry, I was summoned by Mrs. Kiramman.” he apologized, “I haven’t reported to her since the trial.”

Viktor continues his soldering, gently using his elbow to nudge Powder away from the flying embers since her goggles were off, “Oh? Hopefully for good reason.” he muttered casually, more concentrated on his work than making conversations today.

“Yeah, for a very good reason.” Jayce started, as he shifted to sit on the chair and looked back to his companions with a gleeful grin, “I know schools are cancelled tomorrow, so would you like to come to the Kiramman’s Jubilee party with me?”

Everyone was silent at the invitation, with Powder tilting her head and Viktor still working on his wires. Jayce felt his smile straining before he reached over and gave Viktor a small nudge with his foot, which earned Viktor nearly buckling. Luckily, he caught himself, his soldering iron slamming to the counter as he turned his gaze to his partner. Jayce could tell Viktor was glaring at him, good thing he had his goggles on to obscure his glower.

“The Jubilee?” Powder asks quizzically, confusion evident on her features as she watches her guardian nod and relax his smile again.

Jayce leaned forward in the chair, his elbows on his knees as he started to explain, “It’s a celebration that happens every quarter century, to celebrate the bounties the sea provided for Piltover. It would be all our first ones.”

“Not mine.” Viktor interrupted callously as he pulled his goggles away and started to put his work tools into the designated areas Jayce organized.

Jayce raised his eyebrows curiously before realizing. Quarter century, Viktor was, by all technicality, over a quarter century old, “You remember your first Jubilee?” he asked.

His lab partner responded with a small noise in the back of his throat and a so-so shake of his hand, “It’s all vague, I was only a toddler.” he answered while handing Powder the soldering iron, “You know where to put it, be careful, it’s still hot.”

As Jayce watched Powder nod and walk over to their organized storage closet, courtesy of Jayce’s need to have his workshop semi-organized to function. He turned back to look as Viktor opened his notebook and began writing again, “So you didn’t really get to celebrate it.” he affirmed.

Viktor shrugged absently, not even bothering to turn around, “Not in your manner, no.” he muttered.

“So how about it?” he inquired, standing up as Powder passed him so he could ruffle her hair again much to her amusement, “Caitlyn is desperately wanting to meet the both of you, these types of parties bore her to death if she’s alone.” he stated, “We could all get a much deserved break.”

But Viktor looked reluctant, finally turning where he stood to look at his partner, “...I don’t know Jayce.” he mumbled doubtfully, he was straightening his shirt sleeves and purposefully avoiding eye contact, “I’m sure the people of Piltover want to just see you.”

“Nonsense! They’re going to see the both of us with Powder-keg. The first of Hextech!” Jayce excused, looking for Powder to back him up. She was always able to convince Viktor when he wasn’t able to do it alone. But seeing her look of reservation, how she walked over to Viktor and seeing them both exchange something unspoken with eye contact alone, Jayce exhaled a bit in disbelief when Powder looked back at him.

“If Viktor doesn’t want to go, I don’t want to either.” she declared firmly.

“Huh?” Jayce blinked as his shoulders slumped, even Powder was on Viktor’s side this time? He moved closer to them, only one large stride from being in their space. But at this point personal space wasn’t an issue for them anymore. “Come on guys, this will be our first party since the discovery! Don’t you want to celebrate what we’ve achieved so far?”

Jayce watched as Viktor sighed, shaking his head as he tilted his head towards the mess of leftover projects and paperwork left on their workshop counter. He was being stubborn, and Jayce knew he had to pull the big guns out if he was going to get Viktor’s resolve to crumble.

“We could be doing important work, Jayce.” Viktor started calmly as he gestured to their incomplete work, “We don’t have time to go around and attend parties. We could be spending our time-”

Jayce reached forward, taking the hand Viktor was gesturing with and pulling it down to rest on the counter. He looked down at Viktor as his wild eyes darted to their hands, then back up to Jayce. Jayce knew he only had seconds as he took a breath and poured as much charisma and pleading as he could.

“Vik, please.” he begged, internally he was elated to see Viktor flinch, his eyes a bit wide, “I don’t want to do this alone, not without you. Not without Powder-keg. I wouldn’t have gotten here if it wasn’t for you both.” He made a good measure of tightening his hold on Viktor’s hand, which only earned a distressed scoff from the other as he snatched his hand back and turned away.

Jayce deflated a bit, disappointed at Viktor’s reaction and getting a sympathetic pat on the back from Powder as she looked up to him. He gave her a sad smile back but instantly snapped his head up when Viktor spoke again, “...On one condition.”

“Anything, whatever you want.” Jayce immediately responded, standing back up straight. He heard Powder whisper a small ‘yes!’ next to him but he was more focused on Viktor’s tense back as he continued.

“We leave early, and you come with us.” he stated, already placing his hand up to stop Jayce from speaking again, “No questions asked.”

Jayce released the breath he held to ask where they would go, more pleased that he got Viktor to agree. He smiled excitedly, nodding his head as he was already planning how their day would go tomorrow.

“Deal.”

.

Jayce paced in his kitchen as he waited for his party to finish dressing. He was wearing a fine cream colored suit, accents of bright gold and red complimenting each other with the Talis family insignia on his shoulders. His mother was the first to come into the kitchen, smiling in her beautiful and light blue sundress. She came up to fix her son’s tie while clicking her tongue at how stiff Jayce was standing.

“Jayce, you look anxious. It’s just the Kirammans.” she assured, “It will be like any other event you attended with them.”

Jayce released a nervous breath, “I know. I know, Mom.” he muttered as he straightened his suit jacket for the tenth time, “But this is Viktor and Powder-keg’s first time. I don’t-”

“You don’t want them to feel uncomfortable.” Ximena pointed out as she smoothed out his tie, “It will be fine, sweetheart. Viktor knows what he’s doing.”

“Yeah but-”

“Wasn’t he the one to take himself and Powder to the tailor’s shop?” she inquired with a smile on her lips, “He knows how to act around the upper class. Don’t worry so much.”

“Right.” Jayce sighed out, nodding as he calmed himself down at the sound of footsteps coming from the stairs. He perked up, walking over to the stairway to see how extravagantly Viktor and Powder were dressed in beautiful, rich, colorful clo-

They were wearing black.

Better put, Viktor was wearing a completely black suit, albeit a nice black suit with a red accented cravat around his neck. But still a very dark set for a very bright holiday. Powder was no better, her dress was black as well, only really added on with a gray bolero jacket and striped leggings. They look more dressed for a funeral than they did for the Jubilee, and Jayce was fumbling as they made it down the stairs.

“How do we look?” Powder asked, twirling around in her dress and smiling. Viktor nodded in approval, reaching down to fix the ties of her jacket.

Jayce was more at a loss for words, “Um- You look-” he was about to continue until his mother stepped forward, already walking over to Viktor and fixing his cravat despite his gentle protests.

“You both look amazing, don’t let others tell you otherwise.” she stated softly, “How much did these cost for you, Viktor? Not too much I hope.”

Viktor coughed a bit anxiously as he looked away, unable to force Jayce’s mother from straightening his suit as he answered, “It wasn’t a problem, I had money saved up despite my reduced pay.”

Ximena nodded as she looked over her work on Viktor, glancing down at Powder as she was in less need of last minute straightening. She smiled softly before looking back over to her son’s bewildered face, “Good, then we should hurry. The carriage is outside waiting to take us to the Kiramman’s home.” she noted while taking Viktor’s free arm, “Be a dear and lead this aging woman to the carriage?”

Viktor laughed a bit softly as he slowly started leading Ximena past Jayce and towards the door, “I would be glad to lead an aging woman if you introduce me to one, but I would also be absolutely elated to lead a beautiful young woman to the carriage.”

Jayce watched his mother swoon, turning around with a grin on her face as she pointed to Viktor as he gave a meek smile, “This is a boy I like! If you don’t keep him, I definitely will!”

With a strained smile Jayce nodded, his thoughts already racing to where he could barely spare his mother a joke. He had to stop himself when he felt Powder tugging at his sleeve to hurry up before she was running after Viktor and Ximena as they were climbing into the carriage. Jayce couldn’t stop to think properly, he fumbled to lock his home up and catch up with everyone else. He just couldn’t keep up with the conversation in the carriage as his mind raced with what others at the event would think with his lab partner and ward. He kept himself quiet during the ride as he could just barely hear the muffled words of his mother speaking.

“-And during the last Jubilee is when Jayce’s father decided to get a supply network from the north, the man was always thinking about the future.” Ximena was telling a story, a wistful look on her face as Powder and Viktor listened closely enough when Jayce started to grip himself back into the reality he was in. He turned his head to look out the window to notice the decorations flooding the streets of Piltover.

Everything was awash in colors to celebrate the festivities. Blooming flowers burst from windows and street lamps alike. Bands played and people sang about the land and sea, like lovers unable to live apart. Everything was so lively out there.

“Your husband sounded like he was an incredible man, Mrs. Talis.” Jayce heard Viktor respond solemnly, reaching over to pat his mothers hand as she gave him a kind look and thanked him softly.

Then why was it so morbid in this very carriage?

Today was supposed to be a day of celebration. A day of thanks and merriment. Why did it feel like they were going to a funeral? What would the guests of the party feel like seeing Viktor and Powder dressed like this? Maybe they’d be lucky, maybe others would be dressed in black. Would they think less of him because of the people he brought? Would Hextech be cut off from their funds if he didn’t make a good impression?

Jayce flinched when he felt a hand on his arm, looking quickly he saw Powder looking at him critically, “You okay?” she whispered to him softly as the carriage was slowing to a stop in front of the Kiramman’s estate. Already other carriages were around them, having other guests pouring into the premises in colorful gowns and suits alike.

With a bit of a nervous swallow, Jayce looked back down to Powder and nodded, reaching up to pat her hand, “Y-Yeah, just anxious. Been a while since I’ve been to a party this big.”

Powder seemed to nod in agreement, looking past Jayce to see the masses of people walking past their window, “It’s my first big party, so I think we’re in the same boat.” she muttered, “We’ll be okay though.” she encouraged giving him a confident smile, “We got this.”

Jayce paused his wild thoughts, gazing at his ward’s confident features before nodding a bit absently, “We got this.” he mumbled, taking a moment to take a long drawn out breath for himself and opening the door to the carriage.

Of course, Jayce was the first to come out, reaching out to help his mother out first, then Viktor, and Powder jumped out once the carriage was cleared. He tried to avoid looking around, immediately feeling the gaze of every high class member of society watching them. Sweat was already gathering at the base of his neck as he closed the door to the carriage and looked to his party companions. His anxiety must have been apparent, as Viktor cleared his throat and tilted his head over to Jayce’s mother.

“You should walk ahead with your mother, Powder and I will be right behind you.” he assured, stepping away to stand next to Powder and Ximena came up to his side and took his arm. Everything was a blur of colors and lights as he walked to the Kiramman’s foyer with his mother, the only real sound keeping him anchored was the faint clinking of Viktor’s cane behind him.

“Ah, if it isn’t the man of the hour.” A distant voice spoke out to him. Jayce forced himself to focus as he watched Councilor Kiramman walk over to greet her new arrivals. She was dressed in a brilliant combination of purples and blues while keeping her typical conservative style, and she gave a smile to Jayce as she reached to give him a brief hug before turning to hugging his mother, “It’s so good to see you, Mrs. Talis. Your son knows how to keep you out of the spotlight doesn’t he?”

Ximena laughed a bit softly, “I’m not the one for such attention, Mrs. Kiramman. I’m much more the type to focus on her business than anything else.”

“Of course, of course. We should catch up about the business sometime today, but first. Jayce, have you met the Traisot family yet? They’ve been very intrigued by your research.” Councilor Kiramman brought up, making Jayce blink as he gently shook his head and made a small laugh.

“I-I haven’t yet, no.”

The councilor nodded as she took Jayce’s other arm and began to lead him further into the party, “Then you must meet them first, just a quick introduction. Do you mind if I steal your son away from you, Mrs. Talis?”

“Of course not.” Ximena laughed softly, she gently gave Jayce a pat on the chest as he was slowly being pulled away, “I’ll stay with Powder till you come back, sweetheart.”

Jayce gave a small nod before stopping himself and his sponsor in their tracks, “W-Wait, Viktor. He needs to meet them as well.” he started, looking around the room for his partner and his ward as they were at least the easiest to spot in the sea of color. The stark of black was a blessing as Jayce excused himself briefly to move over to his partner, watching how his shoulders hunch and how unsure where he was even supposed to go.

“Viktor.” Jayce started as he reached to take his partner’s shoulder, “We have some people to meet. Some Hextech fans.” he charmed with a smile before looking down at Powder, “Can you make sure my mom’s not alone?”

The girl changed from having a look of uncertainty to a small nervous smile, “Yeah.” she affirmed with a nod, “Be back soon?”

Jayce grinned as he gave a nod, “We’ll be right back after this.” Slowly he looked to Viktor, offering his hand as he nodded his head back over to Councilor Kiramman, “Ready to rub shoulders?”

Viktor stared at the hand for a few seconds, his hesitancy apparent on his face as he slowly brought his hand up, “Not exactly what I planned today.” he muttered before taking Jayce’s hand into his, “But we shouldn’t take that long, should we?”

“Of course not.”

Viktor released a small breath and he started walking with Jayce, releasing the hand he held to walk properly with Jayce moving with him, “Alright then.”

.

They lied.

Powder thought that bitterly as she sat with her legs up in the Kiramman’s conservatory with Jayce’s mother sitting next to her. She was trying to cheer Powder up, telling her that this was Jayce and Viktor’s first public event since the Hextech research started. Of course everyone wanted to meet them. But Powder wasn’t upset about that. She was upset because they didn’t take her .

This was supposed to be a celebration for all three of them. But it just turned to more business, more work. Work she couldn’t even help out with because it involved talking to deep-pocketed stuck up people.

She felt useless.

Powder gripped her jacket tighter around her as the gnawing in the back of her head kept berating her. She closed her eyes briefly and took a deep breath. Viktor showed her how to calm her racing heart when she was getting like this. She couldn’t make a scene here. Not with all these people around. Then she’d have to get the help Jayce and Viktor said that she needed and Powder stated she didn’t want.

She wasn’t weak. She didn’t need help.

But the noises were so loud. She couldn’t tell who was talking to her or who was talking around her. It was too much, so much to the point she stood up and looked around for a place to hide. Anywhere she could just be away from everyone.

“Powder?” Mrs. Talis calmly called as she reached for the girl.

“Sorry!” Powder yelped, her hands up defensively, “I…I’m going to get some snacks. I-I’ll be back!” she excused as she ran off. She didn’t have the heart to look back. Powder felt herself bumping into multiple people, and was able to choke out an apology as she passed by. She ran and ran, either hoping she’d see her guardians or a hiding place first.

As the crowds got more and more sparse, Powder saw a decorative table in the center of one of the hallways. It was something to block others from going towards private quarters, and Powder was thankful for the long tablecloth that made it to the floor.

She moved to the table to pull the cloth up, ready to crawl in, but Powder jumped as she made a small shriek when there was already someone hiding under the table.

The other girl was older than she was, her blue eyes darker than Powder’s own eyes as she gave the younger girl a quizzical look. She was wearing a pastel yellow dress, with overly decorative beads and a hideous cream colored flower accessory on her collarbone. The girl scrunched her nose as she took the bottom of the cloth Powder was holding up.

“Do you mind?” she stated.

Powder stared dumbfounded, her breath heavy from running as she panted out, “What…are…you…doing…here?”

The older girl rolled her eyes as she gave a tug to the tablecloth, “Hiding. Obviously. Now either join me or let go.” she ordered while looking around Powder down the hallway, “I don’t want mother seeing me.”

Powder stared at the girl, her eyes curious as she ducked down and joined her under the table and away from the masses. They both sat on opposite sides, their only company being the table’s stand between them. Powder pulled her legs up to wrap her arms around them, and watched as the girl across her leaned back and returned to crossing her legs.

“I’m surprised another kid is at the party.” the dark haired girl mumbled, “It’s usually adults that are invited.”

“There were a lot of adults.” Powder mentioned shyly, “You’re the first kid I’ve seen since coming here.”

Curiously, the girl looked over Powder, her eyebrow raised as she finally got a good look at the younger girl, “Why are you wearing black?”

Powder shrugged, “Viktor said it was important that I wore black today.”

“Viktor…?”

“Yeah,” Powder started, “My…guardian. Well, one of them.” she mumbled, “I think Jayce was expecting us to be colorful like everyone else.”

The girl perked up at that, “Jayce? Like in Jayce Talis?” she asked.

Powder cautiously nodded, “Yeah…?” She made a small yelp when the girl moved closer, a smile on her face as she reached out to look under the tablecloth.

“He’s here?” she asked quickly, which only got Powder scowling as she turned to hide her face into her knees.

“He’s busy talking to schmucks.” she muttered darkly, “Viktor was right, we could have been doing something else besides this stupid party.”

The two were quiet for a moment, the girl lowering the cloth again as she looked over the younger girl. With a tired smile she offered her hand to Powder, “Maybe we…can go do something else. I hate this party too.” she mumbled, “My name’s Caitlyn, by the way.”

Powder looked at the girl before reaching to take the hand into hers to give a small shake, “Powder. ” She mumbled as she looked the girl over, so this was the Caitlyn that Jayce told her about. She didn't think to bring up her previous knowledge about the Kiramman's daughter as she watched a gleam carry over the noble girl's eye.

Caitlyn smiles as she crawls over to the other side of the table, “Well, Powder.” she started as she looked around from the other side for any sight of anyone looking for her, “I know a back door, we can walk around the Bluewind Court. Maybe play some street games while everyone else has their fun.” she offered with a grin, “We can be back before the party’s over, before anyone knows.”

Powder stared at the older girl- no, Caitlyn, for a little while before she huffed a small laugh, “We won’t get in trouble?” she asked as Caitlyn was already helping her out from underneath the table. Caitlyn was straightening her dress, nodded as she tilted her head down the empty hallways for them to start moving.

“If we get caught, I’ll take the blame.” Caitlyn affirmed as the both of them walked. Powder took note of how tall Caitlyn was, standing well above her and with a carefree smile on her face. Powder couldn’t help but smile too, as if this girl was radiating positivity.

“You’re like the opposite of my friend.” she joked, “He says I’m his scapegoat.”

“Sounds like a lousy friend.” Caitlyn remarked as they turned down another hallway, now completely out of sight of anyone from the party spotting them.

Powder laughed, shrugging her shoulders, “He is, but he tries.” she commented, “He’s my first friend up here.”

Caitlyn hummed in consideration as she walked a bit faster to reach the door at the end of the hallway, opening it carefully before looking around the outside of it, “This is the service entrance, we can sneak out here and go through the bushes to get to the streets.” she explained before turning to Powder with a smile on her face, “If it makes you feel better during this lousy party, I can be your friend too.”

Maybe it was the light shining through the door, maybe it was Powder’s own imagination. But Caitlyn was radiating and Powder felt something familiar blossom in her chest as she nodded dumbly and followed.

“Aren’t you a bit too old to be hanging out with kids?” Powder asked as they went through the door and hopped out into the sunny bright day ahead of them.

“Aren’t you a bit young to be dressed for a funeral?’ Caitlyn joked back as they walked towards the garden and the taller girl pointed out the bushes they needed to go through to make it to the other side. As they battled with the shrubbery, eventually they popped out the other side with minor scuffing and stains. Both girls gaped at the decorative streets of the Bluewind Court, amazed at the detail of colors and flowers and ribbons that nearly covered the streets. Powder was the first to turn her attention back to Caitlyn.

With a clearing of her throat, she grinned, already walking down the sidewalk to find some fun street games to play, “There’s a reason we wore black today.” she stated.

Caitlyn finally looked back, first to her dress and the green smears adorned on it before she looked at Powder, a curious brow raised as she ran to join her walk, “Then tell me your reason.”

.

They were at this for hours . Jayce thought it was one introduction, but it quickly turned into five hours of talking to heads of houses and councilors alike. He didn’t want to spend so much time talking about business, and what was worse was that he had taken the brunt of the questions. Viktor wasn't too far from him, Jayce wouldn’t allow the man to leave him like this. But not a single conversation even involved Viktor, no one even acknowledged the man. It had to have been the suit. The black. He was standing out too much. Jayce was racing to think of how to bring it up as he departed from his last conversation with a member of Clan Ferros and hurried over to Viktor.

“Hey,” Jayce started as he gently took Viktor’s shoulder and steered him away from the crowds, “Can we talk?”

“I think you’ve done plenty of talking for the both of us, Jayce.” Viktor dully joked as he followed along the direction Jayce was leading him. He took note of how stiff Jayce set his jaw, watching as his grip tightened on his shoulder as they got a good distance from prying ears.

Jayce sighed as he leaned against the wall, “Seriously,” he started before gesturing to Viktor’s outfit, “Why did you choose this for yourself and Powder? You both stand out.” he stated bluntly. Viktor’s eyes hardened a bit as he leaned heavily on his cane for support.

“It was important for us to wear it.” he explained simply, “Does our attire bother you?”

Jayce fumbled a bit as he rubbed his forehead, “N-No it doesn’t.” he lied lamely, “But I can’t be the only one to have noticed everyone looking at us. Everyone avoids talking to you- to even acknowledge you exist!” he pointed out, “I can’t answer all of these questions by myself, I need my partner to-”

“They’ll never acknowledge me, Jayce.” Viktor interrupted quietly, watching as Jayce turned his head to look at him properly. Jayce looked at how tired his partner looked, how his bag leg shook from over exertion. He was running around just as much as Jayce did, and even if he didn’t have the weight of talking to every person that wished to talk about Hextech, he was just as tired of the staring as Jayce was.

Jayce swallowed as he stood up a bit straighter, “What do you mean?”

But Viktor turned his head away, sighing in frustration as he explained, “They will never acknowledge Hextech as ours, Jayce.”

Jayce shook his head as he made a tentative step towards his partner, “But without you-”

“It doesn’t matter to them. People will think differently.” Viktor muttered as he took a step away, “It’s okay, I do not mind being in the shadows.”

Jayce held his breath as he looked at Viktor’s stiff shoulders as he continued to speak, “I care about Hextech, and how it can help the people. As long as that is getting done, then I am truly happy.”

Carefully, Jayce walked over, hesitantly reaching out to place a hand on Viktor’s shoulder, “Truly?” he asked softly, feeling tense muscles relax under his palm as Viktor turned his head and nodded.

“Truly.”

Jayce looked at Viktor with uncertainty across his features. Quietly, he stepped around his partner to face him, both his hands over Viktor’s shoulders now. He felt how the stiffness they held all day was relaxing under his touch. Viktor released a shuddering breath as he looked away from him, but Jayce spoke softly enough for only the both of them to hear.

“We can leave anytime you’re ready to go. If they don’t like one of us, then they can talk to neither of us.” he stated gently. Viktor flicked his eyes back up to him, unsure and hesitant as he reached up to place his pale hand over Jayce’s much darker one.

“Two more hours, then we leave.”

“I promise.”

And for two hours he did promise. After letting Viktor take a break and converse with his mother Jayce returned to his rounds of speaking more comfortably with guests. Eventually it was just him, Viktor, his mother and the Kirammans sitting together in the conservatory enjoying champagne as the afternoon crawled by.

“Speaking of schooling.” Mrs. Kiraman brought up as she looked around her party before turning to her husband, “Have you seen Caitlyn at all during this event?” she made a click of the tongue when her husband responded with a soft ‘I haven't.’

“Now that you mention it.” Ximena pointed out as she also started to look around, “Powder said she was getting something to eat, but that was a couple of hours ago. I asked a guest if they saw her and they said she took off the hide under a table.”

Jayce was quick to respond as he turned to his mother, “You didn’t go after her?”

Ximena was cautious with her wording as her son was looking at her, but slowly answered, “She needed the space, dear.”

“This was a big event for her, I can’t blame her for wanting to get away.” Viktor added as he watched Jayce stand up to get a better look for his ward, “Jayce, calm down. She’s a smart girl.”

“I know that.” Jayce stated as he was already stepping around the seating area, “I’ll go look for them both.”

“I’ll join you.” Mrs. Kiramman stated as she stood up to walk with Jayce, “We should hurry.”

Jayce nodded to his sponsor before looking to his mother and partner, “I’ll be back, and we can head home afterward.”

Soon enough both him and Mrs. Kiramman walked through the hallways of the estate, calling for Powder and Caitlyn on occasion as they looked for the missing girls.

“Jayce,” Mrs. Kiramman began as she walked over to him, “I have something to ask of you now that we are by ourselves.”

Jayce paused, stretching his head around to look for a familiar head of blue hair before looking to his sponsor, “What is it?”

She seemed curious behind her coldness, her perfectly plucked eyebrow raising as she crossed her arms, “Why go through all this trouble for that girl? She’s not even yours.”

“Well, I…” Jayce started, sucking in a breath, “I think she just needs someone.”

“And that someone is you?” she inquired doubtfully.

“And Viktor.” Jayce pressed, “She’s both of ours.”

Mrs. Kiramman sighed a bit tiredly, “She’s not your daughter, Jayce.” she stated bluntly, causing Jayce to flinch as he looked away, “She is your ward, to learn under you. Nothing less, nothing more. Why don’t you…” she seemed to pause, thinking of her words as Jayce kept his gaze away, “Why don’t you let her stay here? I can get her into Caitlyn’s school, afford her etiquette lessons, and make her a proper lady of Piltover.” she encouraged, “You can focus on Hextech, and you wouldn’t have to worry abou-”

“Thank you.” Jayce interrupted, “But I will have to decline the offer, Cassandra.”

The noblewoman paused, blinking incredulously as Jayce turned back to face her. His brows furrowed and his stare firm.

“I know you mean well, Mrs. Kiramman. But…she’s ours.”

They kept a long silence between each other, with the older woman ready to speak her mind once more before the sound of giggling broke through the tense silence. Both adults turned their heads to see their girls down the hallway, with Caitlyn grinning as she was pulling a flower petal from Powder’s hair.

“Caitlyn!”
“Powder-keg!”

The girls paused their steps to look across the room, with Caitlyn grinning as she started running across the hallway. Powder stayed where she stood, her eyes wide and scared as she watched Caitlyn nearly tackle Jayce in a large hug. The larger man caught her easily, sighing a large breath in relief as he swung Caitlyn around before settling her down. The girl was grinning ear to ear, nearly bouncing in her shoes and uncaring of the trouble she was going to get into.

“Jayce! You’re here!”

Jayce sighed as he nodded, looking over her shoulder to look at Powder and usher her over with his head nod before focusing back on Caitlyn, “It’s good to see you too, Cait. Where have you two been?”

“And why are you covered in stains?” Mrs. Kiramman added as she pointed out the various colorful stains on Caitlyn’s bright yellow dress. But Caitlyn coyly smiled, looking back at Powder as she shrunk her shoulders and tried to look as small as possible before the older girl answered.

“I was showing Powder around the house.” She easily lied, earning an eye roll from her mother and a sigh from Jayce, “She’s the kid you're watching over, right Jayce?”

Jayce nodded slowly as he walked over to Powder, kneeling down to look the girl over before muttering, “You okay?” he asked softly, getting a small nod from Powder before Jayce offered his open arms for Powder to rush into, gripping around his neck.

“I’m so sorry for the trouble, Mrs. Kiramman.” Jayce stated softly as he rose back up and held Powder to him, “We’re going to be on our way.”

Cassandra nodded as she walked to Caitlyn, giving her a look that spelt trouble for her once this party was over. “Very well Jayce,” she stated before finally letting her gaze fall to Jayce, “Please do take my offer into consideration. Until we next meet.”

Caitlyn nodded, her ear splitting smile falling once the icy glare her mother gave her turned her body cold, she carefully walked to Jayce’s side and gave a one armed hug around his back, “See you soon, right?” she said hopefully.

Jayce nodded as he reached his hand over to ruffle Caitlyn’s hair, “Very soon, maybe next time you can come over to the workshop.”

“I’d like that.” Caitlyn joked as she turned her head to look up at Powder, “I’d like to see you too.”

Powder kept quiet mostly, her face buried in Jayce’s shoulder as she watched Caitlyn refer to her. The younger girl only responded with a small nod before hiding her face further in Jayce’s suit as the taller man gave his farewells and started walking to retrieve his mother and partner. Quietly Powder mumbled quietly enough that Jayce had to strain himself to hear.

“I’m not in trouble, am I?” she asked cautiously, with a response of Jayce sighing and shaking his head.

“You’re not in trouble.” he started, “But next time you do something like this, tell us where you are. Okay?” Jayce hummed to himself as Powder nodded and he continued walking to the foyer with Powder in tow. Luckily for him, his mother and Viktor were waiting for him at the entrance. His partner was leaning even more on his cane that even Ximena was quietly asking if he needed help. But he quietly denied as he shifted the champagne bottle under his arm and looked over to Jayce with a relieved sigh.

“She wasn’t too hard to find I presume?” Viktor asked as he tilted his head over to the carriage waiting for them.

Jayce shook his head as he pulled his elbow out for his mother to take as he walked with her and carried Powder, “Nah, she was playing with Caitlyn.”

Viktor made a sound of affirmation as he trudged behind them, his pace slower as Jayce was already setting Powder into the vehicle and letting his mother climb in before waiting for Viktor to catch up. Jayce couldn’t help but chuckle as Viktor handed him the bottle to start climbing in himself.

“Really? Had to snag a bottle?”

Viktor gave a coy smile as he deposited himself on the seat and breathed out a sigh of relief, “It's a very good champagne, I can’t deny it.” he teased while leaning his head back, “We should return your mother back home. We have one more place to go for the Jubilee tonight.”

With a small nod Jayce got into their ride and gave a knock for the go ahead as the four of them traveled back to the Talis house. Jayce was reeling from their day, with the ride being mostly silent for everyone else as they were also recovering from celebrating the Jubilee.

The ride was nice, with the merry sounds of music and singing passing them all by. The relief Jayce felt of not being under scrutinizing gazes made his tense shoulders finally relax and his head lean back to enjoy the ride. He smiled softly as they eventually stopped and exited the carriage at the Talis household. With Ximena tiredly saying she was getting too old for the Jubilee and that she couldn’t possibly try doing another.

“Careful,” Viktor bemused with a tired grin, “You’re not the only one who has had their second Jubilee in their lifetime.”

Ximena laughed as she shook her head, “Hush.” she teased before looking at her son, “You enjoy the fireworks tonight. Get yourself and Powder home safely, alright?”

Jayce nodded softly, “We’ll be home before midnight. Get some rest, Mom.”

His mother smiled, giving Jayce one last gentle pat before retiring for the night, leaving Jayce to turn around and look as Viktor held his bottle under his arm and motioned for him and Powder to follow him.

"Come on, we need to make a few stops." was all he said as Jayce and Powder caught up to him to start walking.

They walked through the settling streets of Piltover, enjoying the last few hours of daylight as the people began to wind down and prepare for the night festivities of the Jubilee. They stopped at a food stall to grab dinner, Viktor stopped them at a flower stand to buy a large bouquet of flowers for Powder to carry with her, and finally they were approaching the bridge as the sun was preparing to set across the horizon.

Jayce could feel his anxiety raising again as they walked along the bridge, the kid's warnings about Powder's safety ringing in head as he reached for Viktor to stop him from walking, “Viktor, why are we out here?” he asked impatiently, "I...don't want to head to the other side at night."

Viktor was quiet the whole travel from the flower shop to the bridge, but when Jayce stopped him his tired eyes looked back to his partner, “There are major differences between the Undercity and Piltover, Jayce Talis.” he muttered solemnly, tilting his head to the railings of the bridge for them to stand near it and look over the channel waters, “This is one of them.”

Jayce looked over the channel, watching the water travel under the bridge as Viktor was fiddling with the wrapping of the champagne bottle, “I-I don’t understand.”

“Why would you? This is your first Jubilee.” Viktor muttered, pulling the wrapper off and putting it into his pocket before fiddling with the cork, “For years, Piltover has celebrated the gifts that land, air and sea has given to them. A joyous occasion for everyone up there.”

“Up there? You mean-”

“It’s not the same in the Lanes.” Powder mumbled finally, standing on one of the supports to lean over the railing like her guardians were. Jayce was swiftly moving in between Viktor and Powder, his hands at the smalls of both their backs. One was to support Viktor if he tripped and the other was to pull Powder if she leaned over too much.

Viktor didn't seem to take note as removing the cork was taking up his attention, “Very true. The sea means beauty and endless wealth up here, never think of the dark side of it. They aren’t the ones drowned by their neighbor’s hand.”

“Drowned?” Jayce inquired, his brows furrowing in confusion, “Impossible, Piltover has never drowned its own city.”

Viktor sighed as he looked at Jayce finally, his face worn out and filled with an emotion Jayce had never seen on his partner before, “In the Undercity, the Jubilee is a day of reflection. We give thanks for the bounty of the waves but, more than anything, we pay our respects to the sea for letting us live.” he explained before taking the body of the bottle and lifting it up enough to smash the neck into the railing beside him, Jayce flinched away at the sound of glass breaking, “Piltover has never felt the loving embrace of the sea turn angry.”

“You’re really poetic when you want to be.” Powder commented absently as she was plucking petals and letting them fall to the water below.

Viktor shrugged as he picked at broken glass before leaning over a bit and pouring some of the champagne over the railing, “Eh, I read it from a book when I was young.”

Jayce shook his head as he stood his ground, “How come I’ve never heard of this until now? There hasn't been any word of accidents by the seafront in years.”

“In Piltover.” Viktor added.

Jayce refuted with a frustrated sigh, “The Undercity is part of Piltover.”

Viktor shot right back, coldly stating, “Yet they do not list deaths from the other side of the bridge in their reports.”

“How would you know? Last time I looked, neither of you are sailors.” the taller man stated, turning his attention to challenge Viktor's statements before feeling Powder pulling at his sleeve.

“Jayce-” she started before she was interrupted with Viktor putting his hand up to stop her from continuing. He stood up straighter, while not being as tall, Viktor still demanded an attention all the same as amber eyes bore holes into Jayce's.

“You are right, neither of us are sailors.” he calmly muttered, “It does not mean we are wrong, just look for yourself.” Viktor pointed out towards the channel, making Jayce break their stare so he could look, “Look over to the docks, all those people?”

Jayce could barely see them as the shadows of warehouses stretched further and further. But at the docks, not too far from the destroyed cannery, stood dozens of people. The only real indication of them being there were the small candle lights they held. Some were moving closer to the water and those same small lights were traveling in the water, following the current. Jayce watched them carefully as he regarded Viktor conscientiously.

“Celebrating the Jubilee?”

Viktor shrugged, leaning back on the railing as he extended his hand out to pour his champagne once more, a steady stream of golden liquid falling to the churning waters under them, “In a sense. The Undercity makes their offerings to the sea in mourning for their loved ones lost.” he softly whispered, "You celebrate bounties, we reflect on what we lost."

As Jayce looked back over to Viktor, actually looking back at him. It took him several long moments of silence to finally place the emotion Viktor was showing, clear as day. Jayce cursed at himself for not being able to realize an emotion he was all too familiar with.

Grief.

Powder seemed to have picked it up the sentiment of this holiday earlier, as she was quiet next to Jayce. She reached as far as her small body could let her without falling over before finally dropping the bouquet off the bridge. Jayce watched as flowers and a broken bottle fell to the depths of channel below, the growing pit in his stomach growing as much as the rift he felt was growing between himself and the other two people at his sides.

“...Would it be…okay?” he finally asked, swallowing the pride in his throat as he leaned against the railing and dug into his suit pocket, “Okay if I paid my respects too?”

Viktor didn't turn back to him, looking over the water as the shadows finally stretched out long enough the cast the water in an inky black blanket, “Go ahead.” he muttered absently.

Jayce nodded carefully, taking out the golden coin he had in his pocket. It was just change to him now, but to the Undercity it mattered more. It was difficult to remember the privilege he had, and as he tossed his coin into the channel, hearing Powder compliment his throwing skill, Jayce promised to himself he wasn't going to forget again.

He didn't want to see the disappointment in Viktor's eyes.

Chapter Text

The morning was like any other morning, with the birds chirping and the citizens of Piltover beginning their day. The sky was clear and the wind was subtle, it was the perfect day for Academy graduates as their families and friends gathered outside the auditorium. Everyone wore their finest sets of clothes, many would be holding bouquets of flowers as a present to their son or daughter when they walked across the stage, but some…well, some were…

“Jayce!” Powder snapped her fingers to get her guardian’s attention once more, they were both knelt over the ground in the middle of the courtyard. Many onlookers were watching them work last minute on the canister Powder was insistent on fixing. She gave Jayce a pointed look as she opened her hand for the small wrench in his hand, “Keep up, I need to tighten these bolts.”

Jayce huffed as he handed the wrench over and looked over Powder’s project. It was shoddy, made at the last minute. But it was sturdy at the very least. “Why did you bring this?” he asked before glancing over his shoulder to watch their spectators leaving them to head towards the building, “We should be filing into the auditorium by now.”

Powder simply waved him off, blowing a stray hair from her face as she placed all her weight onto the wrench to tighten the bolt she was working on, “Psh, Jayce! We need this!” she insisted, looking over to her guardian before reaching to take the screwdriver from his other hand, “How else is Viktor supposed to know we’re here for his graduation?”

“I don’t know!” Jayce sighed out, looking over his shoulder once more, “Maybe cheering? Setting off a siren seems excessive.”

“You’re excessive.” Powder fired back.

Jayce rolled his eyes before ruffling his ward’s head, only earning an annoyed groan from her as he messed up her hair, “Real great comeback.” he teased, making his own groan as he pulled himself up to stand, “Are you almost done?”

Powder ignored the man, more focused on her work than Jayce’s complaining, “Just about, a few more bolts and it should hold.” she informed casually before mumbling to herself that genius takes patience.

With an impatient huff, Jayce looked back over the crowds slowly vanishing. It felt oddly strange attending Viktor’s graduation, but Powder demanded it when she heard Viktor had no family coming to his celebration. The girl knew no bounds when it came to her kindness, but Jayce wondered if this was crossing a threshold of some kind. They’ve all been acquainted for the better part of a year, crammed together in a much too small workshop to pursue limited testing on a hex crystal they barely understood. Despite their limited funds and space, they made due with what they had.

If only Viktor was satisfied with the same mindset.

Viktor wanted immediate results, to the point that waiting for approval to test was beyond frustrating for him. It wasn’t like Jayce didn’t understand the frustrations, but he was more delighted his project wasn’t being thrown away in the first place.

Jayce didn’t have much more time to contemplate Viktor’s discontent, spotting the familiar head of fluff walking through the courtyard to make it to the auditorium. The inventor scrambled to catch up with his professor before he too was lost to the crowds, “Professor Heimerdinger!”

The yordle paused his walk to look up to his student, giving a small wave as he marched over, “Jayce! My boy! How are you?” he inquired, swiveling his head around Jayce to see Powder clicking in a few last adjustments to her machine, “Working diligently as usually I see, even during a momentous occasion such as this.”

“Hah…yeah.” Jayce huffed out a laugh as he glanced at Powder before focusing back to his old mentor, “Have you seen Viktor yet?” he quickly asked.

Heimerdinger hummed as he shook his hand and pulled his hand through his mustache, “I haven’t yet. The graduates came here earlier than everyone else did for the last preparatory rehearsal. Don’t fret my boy, you and Viktor will be able to have ample time for your projects now that his schooling is complete.” he assured as he came over to pat Jayce’s leg.

He was hesitant to continue, wanting to state they could have really started if they had the space. If they had the funds from their stipends. It wasn’t waiting on Viktor that was the problem with progress, it was waiting for everything they needed to be ready. “I-”

Click.

Jayce paused to turn around, hearing Powder cheer as she gathered her tools and picked up her invention. She grinned over to Jayce as she brandished the gadget in her hands proudly, “Jayce, it’s done!”

Heimerdinger chuckled to himself, nodding up to Jayce as he turned to start for the auditorium once more, “Hm, it seems your student is excelling greatly.” he commented gleefully while rubbing his hand together, “Good, very good indeed. It will be my pleasure if I see the three of you after the graduation ceremony. I have a gift ready for you.”

“A gift?” Both asked in confusion.

“Mmhmm! I must not speak more, lest I spoil the surprise.” the yordle responded before opening the doors to the auditorium, “I shall see you soon! Until then!”

Just like that, the door was closed and Jayce and Powder were the last ones left. With a careful breath, Jayce glanced over to his student before nodding his head towards the door.

“C’mon Powder-keg,” he encouraged as he walked up and opened the door for her, “We should go find our seats.”

The girl nodded, her smile wide as she rushed to the door, “Right!”

Both of them walked through the hallways, looking between sets of seats to find a space they could both sit. The space was packed, every row filled with proud mothers and fathers alike. Powder didn’t seem to mind, trailing after Jayce as she looked at her contraption, “So should I set it off when they say Viktor’s name or when he gets his diploma?”

Jayce huffed as he looked down another row before moving on, “I’d prefer it if you didn’t set it at all.” he stated honestly.

“But if you could set it?”

A pause. Then with a small amused smile fell to Jayce’s face as he pointed down to a pair of free seats, “...When his name is called.”

Powder grinned deviously as they both moved to their destination, “That’s what I thought.” she lightly muttered. But once they sat, the girl strained to look over the many heads in front of her. The main stage was barely visible from their position and Powder huffed as she dug into her pocket for a piece of chalk, “Oh yeah, Viktor would never see us here. Thank goodness we have ole Howler here.”

“You named it?” Jayce asked, an amused huff leaving him as Powder stuck her tongue out to him and started drawing jagged blue teeth on her invention.

“Duh.”

Jayce shook his head before leaning back in his seat, now able to relax as he watched Heimerdinger paced his way up to the podium and begin his speech. It was the same speech as the one when he graduated. About the importance of advancement and having newer generations bring new ideas. How this city thrives on progress and discovery.

It made his mind wander, wander back to when Powder was in the workshop as the both of them made this scheme when Viktor left for a rehearsal. He remembered doing her wires as she made the trigger and asking her if she ever caught word of Viktor’s surname. It was a curiosity he had, one he never bothered to ask Viktor since they were so focused on Hextech. So focused on Powder. Too focused on everything but each other.

“He probably doesn’t have one.”

“He doesn’t have a last name?”

“Many people where we’re from don’t. Either we don’t remember or there was never a name to inherit. My sister and I didn’t have one either.”

He didn’t press any further after that. Anything that involved talking about the Undercity was always strained between them, so it was avoided altogether. It was better to focus on the now, and Powder preferred not to speak of the past. But it didn’t mean Jayce didn’t think. Didn’t think of a day where Powder and Viktor could go where they pleased with a name to back them up. A name that held some weight to it. A name that could give them respect they rightfully deserved.

His name could do. It wasn’t nearly as heavy as Medarda or Ferros. But it was respected enough. His mother wouldn’t oppose it either. Hell, she’d probably encourage it.

He hummed to himself quietly, the image of afternoon light flooding past a comfortable window filled his thoughts. The soft sounds of metal clicking. The strong smell of tomato and blends of spices filling the room. A peaceful imaginary scene of an older Viktor and grown-up Powder in the kitchen, working on a project as Jayce cooked.

“...Viktor and Powder Talis.”

“Excuse me?”

Jayce jumped at Powder’s question, turning his head rapidly to see his ward’s questioning gaze on him as he tried to cover his blunder with a strained laugh and a rough musing of her hair.

“J-Just thinking. Don’t pay me any heed.” he excused, thankful for the lights going out to hide the burning on his cheeks. To say something so foolish. Neither of them would want his name.

Would they?

.

“Uggh this is taking forever!” Powder lamented, her body slumping against her chair as Heimerdinger listed name after name and countless students walked across the stage with applause, “Why couldn’t Viktor’s name be Adam? Hell, even Franklin would be better!”

Jayce kept himself comfortably in his chair, his shoulders shrugging, “There’s a lot of students, Powder-keg.” he softly informed before sighing in boredom, “But you’re right, we should have expected as much.”

“Can we go back outside and work on Howler a bit more?”

With a shake of the head, Jayce patted Powder’s head as she leaned against him, bringing her legs up to curl into her chair, “I don’t think so, we’re in the ‘U’ category. Just wait a bit longer.”

Powder just responded with a grumble, watching the newest student take their diploma and walk off the stage, “Who knew there were so many names that start with ‘U’. Only losers get a name that starts with ‘U’.” she joked, earning a small jab in the stomach from her guardian.

“Valery Beaumont.” Echoed throughout the auditorium, another round of applause sounding as Jayce and Powder quickly sat up in their seats.

“They made it to the V’s!” Powder exclaimed, shaking Jayce’s arm in excitement, “Finally the V’s!”

Jayce held the girl in place as she was nearly jumping with joy as she fiddled with Howler to find his cord, “Wait…Wait for it…” Jayce warned her as Heimerdinger listed off a few more students, watching them pass by before finally the star of the hour.

“Viktor,” Heimerdinger started, jolting in surprise at the sound of a small siren, weirdly sounding like a dog howling, went off along with the sound of Powder loudly cheering. The moment was quieted when there was no applause as no student walked up the steps to go across the stage, when Jayce shot from his seat to shut off Howler and pull Powder back down to sit. The yordle awkwardly cleared his throat before continuing, “Ahem, my assistant, could not make it today as he has been busy with the development of Hextech. Moving on, Vincent Metranga.”

Both Powder and Jayce looked on as the graduation continued, with their onlookers turning their glares away to pay attention to the ceremony once more. Powder was the first to turn her gaze away from the stage to look at Howler, the device’s trigger broken with the noise leaving it broken and garbled.

“He passed by Viktor,” Power whispered in disbelief, looking back at her guardian with a look of worry across her features, ”what did he mean Viktor couldn’t make it?” she asked warily

He could only respond with a shrug and try to calm her nerves, “Last minute thing?”

Powder shook her head as she started trying to wrestle herself out of Jayce’s hold, “We’d know the last minute thing if it involved Hextech.” she hissed quietly, “Did something happen? We have to find him!”

“I know!” Jayce affirmed, releasing Powder only to turn her around to focus on him. She looked distraught, her hands gripping onto her contraption like a life line as she looked at Jayce as if he had all the answers, “I-I know..just wait till they finish up the names. We can look for him afterwards. Okay?”

His ward inhaled sharply, holding her breath while counting with her fingers before slowly exhaling. She nodded afterwards, moving back into her seat and gripping onto Jayce as Heimerdinger continued listing his graduates.

It didn’t take too long, another forty minutes later the last graduate was called and Heimerdinger made one last speech. Going on a tangent about how they are the future for Piltover and to take on challenges that would make a better tomorrow. Jayce was already getting up and leading Powder out before the real crowds started to leave. Being a favorite of the dean had its benefits, as Jayce was able to charm himself backstage to wait for his mentor to finish his speech. The only signal that they were at the ceremony’s conclusion was the round of applause that echoed throughout the auditorium, causing Jayce to stand up straight and nudge Powder to loosen her grip on him as Heimerdinger scurried over to the edge of the stages and started down the steps.

“Professor.” Jayce began, already ready to ask his questions before the yordle raised his hand up to pause his old student from speaking further.

“I understand, you were waiting for Viktor.” Heimerdinger started as he finished traveling down the stairs and stood before his student and his student’s student, “ My apologies for not noticing the last second of his subtraction from the graduation. He seemed so excited, yet for him to leave at the last minute is not unheard of with him.”

Jayce sighed but couldn’t really agree more. Viktor was the type to disappear at the least convenient of times, “Do you think you know where he could have gone?” he inquired.

“Now that you bring it up…” Heimderdinger began as he pondered before quickly snapping to attention, “Oho! He must have figured it out sooner than you two!” he chuckled lightly as he walked by and encouraged the both of them to follow, “Come! Come along now!”

Jayce and Powder exchanged a look of concern, hesitantly following after as Jayce asked cautiously, “Professor Heimerdinger, what must he have figured out?”

“You shall see.” was all Heimerdinger said with a cheerful laugh.

.

They walked for several minutes through the courtyard, passing by many graduates taking pictures with their families. All with large bouquets of flowers and award winning grins on their cheeks. They could have been like one of these families, Jayce thought as he kept up with his old mentor, celebrating and taking photos. They could have gone out to eat and celebrated. A fun day off before getting back to work.

But this was Viktor. Viktor would have immediately wanted to get back to work. Back to teaching Powder how to handle hex crystal shards as a start to overcoming her fear. To go back to figuring out how they would make something teleport farther than a few yards across their cramped workshop.

Jayce never seemed to have time to think anymore either, as Powder was tugging at his arm to get him to pay attention. Once he glanced down at her, she gave him a pointed look before pointing towards the direction they were heading. Jayce sighed before looking over, his eyes widening at the sight before him.

What stood before them was a large red building, one that looked brand new with the recent paint job it received. The windows were spotless and the garage doors were shining against the midday sun.

“Woah.” Powder breathed as she grinned.

Jayce was able to mutter out a few more words as he looked over the building in awe, “T-That’s the old engineering building…”

Heimerdinger laughed as he bounced his head and fished out the keys, “Indeed it is! Our construction crew has been hard at work on developing your workshop.” he informed as he urged the both of them to follow towards the front door.

“W-Wait,” Jayce paused as he looked between Heimerdinger and the building, “This is our future workshop?”

“Indeed.” the yordle answered as he fiddled with the key and stood up on his tip toes, “Viktor spent every moment between his classes designing the interior to accommodate for everything you would need. It explains why he didn’t go to his own graduation, the last of the installments were done today.” he informed before sighing a breath of relief when the door clicked open.

With little encouragement needed, Jayce carefully walked into the workshop's threshold. He couldn’t help but gape at just how large this building was from the inside. It looked like it was hollowed out, instead of individual classrooms the expanse was large across the first floor. With ample space near the garage doors for bigger projects, there was even equipment that Jayce could never dream would ever fit in their small workshop. He was shocked to see a forge, nothing as extravagant as the one in the Talis business, but something feasibly accessible and aerated enough to suffice. Lined against the north wall was a workbench, already organized with their tools and current projects that just needed the room to test. Then comfortably settled across the front door was a set of stairs and a lift right next to it.

“He was excited to show us this.” Jayce breathed out as he looked up to see the second floor, considerably smaller but he was unable to see the expanse of it beside the safety railing overlooking the ground floor.

Powder was gaping just as much as he was, taking note of the lift before shaking Jayce’s arm and shouting, “A lift! It's a freaking lift Jayce! Goodbye five flights of stairs!”

“And here I was thinking of adding more stairs.”

Both of them finally looked up at the source of the noise, watching as Viktor walked up to lean over the railing with one of his muted smiles. Powder grinned as she released Jayce and started running up the stairs to see her other guardian, “Viktor!”

“...Surprise?” Viktor offered meekly before grunting when Powder dove into him, hugging him around the waist as the man placed his hand on her head, “What do you think?”

“I love it!” Powder gleefully stated as she was looking around the top floor, her eyes wide and in shock as she released her guardian and started running around the top floor, “Is that-!” she didn’t even finish as she was exploring on her own. Viktor chuckled and shook his head as he took to the lift, pressing the button to lower it and get to the same floor as Jayce and Heimerdinger to let Powder explore on her own.

Slowly Viktor stepped over towards the two, Jayce’s gaping turned into a soft awe as he spoke out, “Heimerdinger said you designed this whole place for us.” he informed, smiling a bit softly, “This is incredible.”

“I…well…” Viktor started, bringing his free hand up to tuck a few pieces of hair behind his ear as he had to look away from Jayce’s intense stare, “It was nothing, really-”

He was interrupted with Heimerdiger coming over to pat Viktor’s good leg with a chuckle, “You've been working hard this year, take pride in your work, Viktor.” he urged with a proud smile on his features, “I hope to see more from the both of you now, with the space and proper equipment in a test friendly zone. Your work will come through in strides.” he stated before taking the keys he used to unlock the door and handing them over to Jayce, “Enjoy the workshop boys!”

Just like that, Heimerdinger made his way out through the front door, leaving Jayce and Viktor to stand in the foyer of their new workshop. Both men didn’t seem to know how to start talking, as they both awkwardly stood together.

“So…” both started, pausing when they realized they spoke at the same time and gave each other the time to talk. When neither did, it fell back into an awkward silence.

“Jayce!” Powder thankfully broke through the quiet, leaning over the railing with a wide grin on her face as she gestured for the both of them to come up with her, “We have a real kitchen AND a real couch! Come up here!”

Her words seemed to jump start both scientists, having Viktor clear his throat before gesturing to the lift for Jayce to follow, “Shall we?”

Jayce nodded carefully as the both of them climbed onto the lift and carried themselves to the second floor. If Jayce was impressed with the first floor of their new workshop, then the second has him absolutely dazzled.

The second floor was a more comfortable space to work, with a counter that overlooked the first floor and had three padded chairs sitting side by side. There was a kitchen as Powder stated, larger than the one they had in the old workshop but small enough to not take up too much space. Next to that was a small seating area with a real couch and coffee table, just steps away from a glass door that led out to a balcony that overlooked Piltover’s horizon. There were five doors and Jayce could only assume they were storage closets or rooms they would no doubt be sleeping in during late nights.

Powder stood in the center of it all, showcasing everything with a flair as she gestured her arms around for Jayce to fully take it all in.

“Look! Look at all this space!” she stated as she ran to the kitchen’s counter to snatch a mug and hand it over to Jayce. Once the man looked down he noticed the shining mug had a very large ‘J’ plastered to the front of it. Once he looked back up, turning his direction to Viktor’s pleased smile as Powder ran around, Jayce gently referred to him while running his thumb over the mug.

“This place…” he started as his partner turned their attention back to Jayce, “You thought of everything…”

“I, ah…” Viktor muttered, turning his eyes away to fix his sleeves, “It would have been bigger, but I designed separate bedrooms since we typically had the bad habit of staying in the workshop late.”

Jayce was about to comment that they didn’t stay up that late, but before he could speak, Powder was rushing up to one of the farther rooms to open the door, “Oh! Oh! I call this one!” she called out as she pushed the door open to squeal in delight, “WOW! It’s as big as the old workshop! It’s SO pink!”

“I think Powder-keg likes it.” Jayce softly laughed out, looking back to see Viktor smiling fondly in Powder’s direction. Once more Viktor looked back up to Jayce again, his eyes soft as he tilted his head towards his partner.

“How about yourself?” Viktor asked.

“It’s…” Jayce started, looking over the second floor once more until a large smile spread over his features, he nodded to himself before looking back to his partner with a soft reverence as he stated, “It’s perfect, Viktor.”

Viktor seemed satisfied enough with the answer, nodding gently as he gestured towards their new space, “Good. I’m glad. I should give you two the whole tour, shouldn’t I?”

.

They spent the rest of the day getting the finishing touches done to the new workshop. Moving some equipment and journals from their old work space across the city and filling their pantries with enough food that could overflow their old kitchen tenfold. Powder was insistent that they celebrate Viktor’s graduation and the new office with dinner, and Jayce was ecstatic to cook in the new kitchen. It was cozy, cooking a meal for his partner and ward as they talked about Powder’s route from school.

Eventually they ate, and Powder begged to sleep in her new room for the night instead of making the walk back to Jayce’s home, which Jayce couldn’t say no to with the girl using the kicked puppy maneuver. As she was getting comfortable in her new room, both men opted to be outside and lean against the balcony's railing to watch the lights of Piltover spread across the horizon.

It was a comfortable quiet the two shared, occasionally breaking into small talk for a few minutes. Jayce once again broke the silence, asking softly, “What did you even get your diploma on?”

Viktor hummed, putting more of his body weight against the railing as he answered, “Well I started off with biomedical engineering and eventually added on biorobotics.

“Wow.” Jayce breathed, “Were you planning to become a doctor or something?”

His partner shrugged as he contemplated, “I wanted to help people, whether that led me to being a doctor is debatable.” he muttered gently. He was quiet for another moment, looking out to the horizon as regarded Jayce with a somber expression, “You asked me a long time ago if I liked it here in Piltover.”

Jayce laughed a bit softly as he shook his head, “I wouldn’t think less than a year is ‘a long time’. But continue.”

“I think I can put in an input now.”

Jayce blinked for a moment, watching Viktor’s expression soften with a small smile before giving a small grin to himself, “Have things changed since then?” he teased lightly, dramatically wincing when Viktor answered him with a swift elbow jab to the side.

“Immensely.” Viktor answered, rolling his eyes as he turned back to the horizon once more, this time his smile wistful, “Strangest thing happened to me, I met this egotistical inventor with the cutest gap in his teeth. Seemed like just an haughty man that knew it all until I heard how ambitious he was for a project.”

“You think my tooth gap is cute?” Jayce regarded in surprise, his grin a bit wider as Viktor laughed and jabbed him once again.

The both of them laughed softly before Viktor continued, “Then after we committed several crimes together we ended up in a cramped workshop for the better part of a year with a kid learning under us.” Viktor finally turned his head to look at Jayce. For the brief moment they exchanged eye contact, Jayce noted how brilliant Viktor’s eyes were reflecting against the manufactured lights of Piltover, “After all that time, I did find something about Piltover I liked.”

“And that was?” Jayce breathed out, mesmerized by Viktor’s gaze before it was just as quickly broken when the man turned his head to the hand Jayce kept on the railing, slowly Viktor reached out to touch his warm skin with icy fingers. Once his hand was atop Jayce’s he spoke again, so softly that Jayce would have missed it if he wasn’t so focused on his science partner.

“You.”

It was like the spark of an ignition gauge, with how Jayce released his breath as he looked at his partner. His next set of words had to be careful, Viktor never initiated touches like this and Jayce was not about to screw this rare chance up. Slowly he brought his arm up, his hand gently placed on Viktor’s shoulder as he gauged Viktor's reaction.

“I…” he started, watching for any flinching or discomfort as he moved closer and had his hand slide over the back of Viktor’s shoulders to pull him into a hug. When he got no fight back, Jayce brought his other arm around Viktor's middle to hold his friend tightly, “You said I needed to show you how thankful I was, for everything you’ve done for me.”

Viktor shifted against him, making a bit of a nervous laugh at how tightly Jayce held onto him. His nose was pressed firmly against the other as he mumbled slowly, “I do remember saying that.”

“I’ll start showing you,” Jayce stated, already feeling emotions building up when he felt Viktor’s hesitant arm reaching up to wrap around his back, “If you’d let me.”

“...I-” Viktor started, hiding his face away as his other arm came up to wrap over Jayce’s shoulders, “This is enough, Jayce.”

Shaking his head, Jayce kept going, his face tucking into Viktor’s shoulder as he spoke, “Nothing will ever be enough to show you how glad I am that you showed up in my life.” he could feel himself shaking, his breath shuddering as his mind raced, “I was just another dreamer amongst a sea of innovative minds, Hextech would’ve never got off the ground it you didn’t-”

“Shh, Jayce.” Viktor spoke calmly, pulling Jayce away just enough to look at him and calm him down, “Just…shut up, okay?”

Jayce stared back, blinking away the wetness from his eyes as he nodded. The two of them stared at each other for a long moment, bright amber clashing with gentle chestnut. Jayce could see every detail of Viktor’s face this close, the beauty marks on his sharp cheekbone and the corner of his lips. The rings under his eyes and just how soft his hair actually was as it fell against his forehead. Before Jayce could continue he lowered his head back down and let the both of them embrace quietly without another exchange to one another.

But Jayce couldn’t help but wonder how Viktor’s lips would feel against his own at that very moment.

Chapter Text

It wasn’t exactly subtle. With how often both of her guardians exchanged meaningful touches and worked so close together despite the new space given to them, it was obvious to anyone with functioning eyes to notice something changed between them. Powder typically spent her time after school to curiously watch the both of them exchange conversations and the next set of theories as Jayce basically encroached on Viktor’s space. Maybe it was the year they spent cramped together, because Viktor never once protested about it. It was confusing. Not bad, but…odd.

Powder sighed during her class’s study hour and pondered the concept of Jayce and Viktor’s new closeness. Did she truly not mind? Or was the fact her guardians were focusing more on each other than her just so bothersome to her that she tried blocking it out? She didn’t even notice Ezreal sneaking up on her until his junk was dumped on her desk and he loudly pulled a chair up to sit with her.

His curious bright blue eyes just barely glanced at her paperwork before flicking up to focus on his friend instead, with a lazy smile he inquired lightly, “Whatcha thinking so hard about in there?”, already he was reaching up to knock on his friend’s forehead as Powder furrowed her brows at him, “I swear I can see smoke.”

“Haha.” Powder mused as she waved him off and leaned back in her seat, “It’s just…” she began, biting her lip to think of how to explain before throwing caution to the wind, “My guardians have been acting…weird since we moved into the new workshop.”

“Weird?” Ezreal repeated with a raised brow.

Powder just shrugged, her face unsure how to elaborate, “Like, I dunno, it’s hard to explain.” she muttered, resting her cheek against her hand as she thought aloud, “They’ve always been close, we couldn’t help that in the old workshop. But now that we have the space they’re practically glued to the hip.”

“Like…?” Ezreal continued, gesturing for the girl to continue if he was to be of any help.

With a frustrated sigh, Powder pouted as she rushed out her words, “Like, if Viktor’s upstairs studying sigils, Jayce is up there welding! If Jayce is downstairs in the forge, then Viktor’s down there explaining possible alloy combinations to use for their teleporter!” she stated in frustration, clicking her tongue as she leaned back into her chair once again and was gesturing wildly with her hands, “They have all this free time together now that Viktor finished school and I haven’t seen them apart!”

The two were quiet beside the sounds of Ezreal’s thoughtful hum afterwards, adding on the brushing of a fake beard and a hard smoldering face at nothing. Powder gave Ezreal an exasperated stare as he kept on for several minutes before answering casually, “Ah, sounds like they’re fucking.” Powder nearly jumped from her seat as her face flushed red.

“What?!” Powder practically shrieked, stopping herself when her classmates turned their attention towards them. She grimaced as she lowered her voice to start smacking her friend as he snickered at her reaction, “N-No! Gross! Ezreal!”

The boy just started laughing a bit louder, protecting his face from Powder’s assaults, “What? I’m stating a fact here!” he giggled out before wincing at one swift hit to the back of his head.

“A stupid accusation is what you’re stating!”

“Think about it!” Ezreal started, sitting up a bit straighter and having Powder stop hitting him to just glare instead. He took that as his opening as he continued, “You guys have been hanging out for a year now, a whole year cramped in a small space and forced to get to know each other. You’re like a little family unit now.”

“A family?” Powder repeated, her eyes wide and her body still after he spoke.

The flashes of blue and red came back.

An image of Vi reaching to hold her face and look at her with all the love a sister could muster. The flash of ‘x’s come over her eyes.

Mylo’s shitty smirk as he tries to beat her high score in the arcade. The flash of ‘x’s come over his eyes and chalk drawn tears trail downward.

Claggor’s big hand on her face when she tried to steal his jam pasties that he stole from topside. The flash of ‘x’s come over his eyes as well as an explosion at the side of his head.

Ekko’s paint covered face fills her vision, laughing as he is already getting up and ready for another round of their game. As he turns back to her the flash of ‘x’s crosses his eyes.

Vander’s deep laughter as he would pick her up and swing her around. The image of ‘x’s appears over his eyes as his body grows larger and more terrifying.

Powder inhaled a bit sharply as she clenched her fists, she shook her head to pull the thoughts away. A family was close. A family looked out for each other.

The image of Jayce carrying Powder around on his back while he worked came into her mind.

The flash of Viktor carefully pulling his fingers through her hair as he reads to her about how magic from other countries functioned.

Powder shakes her head again as Ezreal speaks once more. Only seconds passed by as she gazed at her friend as he looked back at her, unknowing of her internal panic.

He continued nonetheless, “Yeah! With how much you talk about them, they’re basically your parents!”

Powder swallowed the lump in her throat as her fists balled up in her lap, “I-I…never thought of it like that.” she rasped, her shoulders shrinking as she tried willing the thoughts of her old family away.

Her friend huffed a laugh as he leaned back in his chair, propping his feet up, “Obviously, it’s okay. I can catch you up on it.”

“That still doesn’t explain them being so close now though.” Powder mumbled, her eyes focused on the sole of Ezreal’s shoe to keep herself grounded.

Ezreal made a small exhale as he waved his hand boredly, “Duh, now that they have the space they can freely choose to be in each other’s bubble. Freedom of choosing is a real turn on for some old pe-”

That was enough to snap Powder out of her funk, making a face as she shoved her friend’s feet off her desk, “Ew! Shut up!” she berated as she glared at Ezreal’s mischievous face, “Can you not be gross for one minute?”

“I dunno, can I?” Ezreal challenged with a large grin and a waggle of his eyebrows.

Powder made a low sigh, now understanding why Jayce always rubbed his temples as she went to rubbing her own, “Okay, how should I show them I’m…supportive?” she asked, looking back up to him as she saw the boy shrug, “I-I mean I care about both of them, and they seem happy together.”

Ezreal pondered for a moment before jumping in his seat, “Make them a big surprise! Like a card or something. ‘Congrats on the sex’ scribbled right in the center.” he explained, stretching his hands out in the air like he was placing an imaginary banner up. Powder didn’t even give him a response as she thought, earning a pout from Ezreal when he didn’t get to hear Powder getting upset with him.

“I could…make something.” she quietly pondered, already taking her pencil out and opening her journal to start scribbling, “Maybe…try using a hex crystal shard?” she asked unsurely.

Ezreal raised his brow in concern, leaning over to look at the designs the girl was already writing down, “You think you could handle that?” he asked, his teasing tone set to something more serious as he watched his friend brainstorm.

“Viktor’s been showing me how to handle them.” she answered, her writing paused as she remembered Viktor’s icy hands placing the shard in her hand. He told her that it should be a start to her learning since it wasn’t nearly as dangerous, “It’s not a whole hex crystal so it doesn’t explode, and…it’s not as reactive as the big ones.” she explained quietly as continued working.

“Okay…so…maybe…” she pondered as she showed the basic design on a little snapper fish to her friend with a small anxious smile, “An explosive?”

Ezreal rolled his eyes dramatically while taking the design and balling it up much to the girl’s chagrin, “Boring, you always choose explosives!” he accused, mostly proven right with how Powder pouted.

“It’s my defining trait! It makes me charming!” she lamely excused as she snatched her design back and carefully straightened it once more. Ezreal huffed and shook his head in disapproval.

“It makes you stagnant, think of something else!”

Powder tried. She really did try as she racked her brain for anything else that could be a good gift, “Uh…”

“You’re hopeless,” Ezra excessively sighed as he grinned to Powder with his own pencil in his hand, “Thank goodness you have your good friend Ezreal here to help you. Let’s brainstorm.”

They spent the better part of their study hours plotting and planning, making some type of idea that would hopefully impress Jayce and Viktor. Powder hummed quietly as she paused her designing as she looked down to her hands. The same hands that were creating something, they destroyed so much beforehand.

What if she screwed it up?

“What if…” Powder mumbled as she clenched her hands up and sighed quietly, “What if they don’t like it?”

Ezreal paused his own writing, watching as Powder battled with herself before reaching over to pat her arm, “With how much you talk so fondly about them…” he stated, his stare firm as he gave his friend a comforting grin, “If they hate it, I’ll beat them up myself.”

Powder looked back to Ezreal for a couple moments before huffing a small laugh and shaking her head, “Jayce would kick your ass.” she said simply before returning to her designs, glad that if there was anyone that was on her team. She was glad it was this stupid boy.

“I doubt it, I have the spry youthfulness he lost years ago.”

.

“Did you tell your folks that you were going to be late?” Ezreal asked as he stuffed yet another sheet of scrap metal into his school bag.

They were in the alleyways of Piltover, not too far from Bluewind Court as Powder dug through a workshop's trash to make a treasure of her own.

Powder popped out from the dumpster, a handful of broken screws in her hand as she leaned over the ledge, “They’re not my folks, Ez. And I didn’t.” she pointed out before extending her hand out for Ezreal to reach out to her, “Hold this.”

The boy complied, grimacing as he pulled a few oil covered dust bunnies from his hand and packed the screws away as well, “How did you know these workshops tossed all their scrap?”

“Viktor complained about it.” Powder answered as she went back to digging and lowered her voice, adding an accent as she mimicked Viktor, “ ‘A waste of perfectly good materials’ he said, so it’s not like I’m going to hurt anyone by taking someone’s trash.”

Ezreal seemed skeptical as he threw his bag over his shoulder and walked closer to the end of the alleyway to look out, “It’s salvaging from private property. If enforcers catch you, you’ll be in big trou-” he started to explain before his sights settled to blue eyes as bright as his, looking right back at him, “Oh no.”

It was a little girl, much younger than Ezreal and Powder but she wore the same school uniform they did. Her eyes were wide as she watched them and wrung her hands together when Ezreal caught her looking.

“What? I can’t see what you're ‘oh no’-ing about.” Powder huffed as she struggled to lean back over the dumpster, removing an oil stained paper from her hair to look at her accomplice, “What?”

Ezreal pointed a finger at the end of the alleyway, the girl flinching and looking anywhere else in panic, “We’ve been spotted.” he stated, watching Powder freeze and accidentally fall out of the dumpster, “Isn’t she in our class?”

Powder scrambled to get up, looking as the girl looked back at them with big eyes. Her hair was pink, her eyes a large and bright blue as she anxiously exchanged a look with Powder.

Why did she have to have pink hair?

There were flashes once more. The girl’s pink hair morphs to be shorter and her facial features change to look like her sister. Powder shook her head vigorously as she charged forward.

“Hey!” she called out a bit aggressively.

“Eep!” The girl was cowering, shaking like a leaf and not even bothering to run away as Powder got up in her face and gripped the straps to her uniform to keep her in place, “I’m sorry! I didn’t see anything! I was just-”

Powder gave the girl a firm shake to shut her up, “You’re right, you didn’t see anything.” she threatened, her eyes blazing as she felt a burning in her chest. She couldn’t stop seeing Vi, a young Vi. The same Vi that she…

She gritted her teeth, tightening her hold as she looked down at the girl, “Who are you?” she demanded.

The small girl trembled, her small pale hands coming up to try loosening the hold on her uniform to no avail, she struggled to speak up, “S-S-S-Sera-”

Luckily Ezreal was there, noticing how roughly Powder was handling the younger girl. He hesitantly placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder to get her to snap out of it, “Hey, let her go. You’re scaring the shit out of her.”

But Powder didn’t relent, her eyes burning with unshed tears. Her head was screaming at her, the voices reminding her of what she did. How she ruined everything she held dear. How this girl was a grim reminder of what she lost. Her grip tightened even more, to the point her fists shook and her palms were stinging with pain. She inhaled sharply when Ezreal took her hands and forced her to open her palms so she could release the other girl.

The smaller girl backed up, her eyes wide and fearful. But she didn’t run away, it made Ezreal curious as he stepped up to give Powder a moment to collect herself, “Sorry about her, she’s got a few screws loose.” he excused as he nudged his friend, “What was your name again?”

“S-Seraphine….” the girl finally answered, her eyes settling on Powder for a moment as she softly spoke, “I’m sorry, again. For upsetting you.”

Powder was preoccupied with flexing her hands and steadying her breathing, looking up momentarily when the younger girl referred to her, “Huh?” she started, her brows furrowing as Vi finally faded away, showing the nervous little girl with way too pretty hair bows and charms on her belt to be anything remotely like her sister. Powder huffed as she turned away to get her bag from the dumpster, “Nevermind. You’re a witness now, come here.”

Seraphine flinched as she held herself close, “I-I won’t te-”

“You won’t tell,” Powder affirmed as she took her bag and walked back over to the smaller girl to dump a school bag in her arms, “especially because you’re abetting us in this.”

“W-what?” She mumbled incredulously, struggling to hold the bag in her arms as it metal clicked together in the pack.

Ezreal seemed stupefied, blinking in shock as he watched Powder go back to take the larger pieces of metal she couldn’t fit in her pack under her arm, “You can’t be serious, you’re going to let a little kid like her help us?” he asked dumbfounded as Powder stood up straight.

“She’ll be less inclined to tattle if she’s involved in it.” Powder explained, turning back to stand with her friend and their accomplice. Seraphine was still shaking, but she didn’t move as she watched the older kids talk about her.

“And if she doesn’t want to do it?” Ezreal challenged.

“She will,” Powder stated, her eyes falling to the pink haired girl as she flinched from Powder mustering the hardest stare she could. “Won’t you, Seraphine?”

Seraphine kept her ground, her eyes wide and looking right back at Powder. “U-Uh…” the girl began, swallowing the lump in her throat before nodding quickly.

With a stiff nod back, Powder tilted her head for both of them to follow out to the roads, “Good, let’s get to the Academy.” she muttered, not bothering to watch as Ezreal shifted his bag to fit better or Seraphine tighten her hold on the bag she held as they both followed along

“What about your folks?” Ezreal asked, walking to Powder’s right as Seraphine caught up to Powder’s left, “They’ll think it’s weird that you got two kids trailing after you.”

Powder just shrugged, “I’ll just say I have my friends over for a tea party.” she excused.

The boy made a face as he grumbled lowly, “Tea party? Sounds girly.”

“Shut up,” Powder huffed, shaking her head as the three of them toted their loot down the sidewalk. It was relatively peaceful, with Powder and Ezreal bickering and occasionally they asked Seraphine to be their tie breaker. The girl was still quiet, but when pressed she meekly gave an answer.

As they passed down the last few streets needed to make it to the Academy, Powder caught sight of two much older boys watching and laughing at them. She was the first to stop, her hard gaze on the boys as Ezreal paused to scowl and try nudging his friend to keep moving.

The taller of the teen boys pointed at their group, yelling out so just about anyone in the street could hear, “Look at that! Ezreal’s gathering more and more sumprats!”

“Hey! Being a real charity case there blondie! You should be getting a medal of honor!” called out the other boy, once again the both of them laughing at them. Powder tightened her grip on her scrap metal, wanting so badly to curse these kids out before she felt Ezreal’s hand on her shoulder.

“Don’t, they’re just being assholes.” Ezreal assured as he tilted his head back to yell right at the teens with a haughty smirk, “Hey, at least I got more girls hanging out with me in my early teens than you would in your life!”

The boys gawked at Ezreal, their faces flaring up a blazing red as Powder and Seraphine laughed at them. They raised their fists, already starting to move up on the kids as Ezreal made a small ‘uh oh’.

“You little-!”

“Run!” Powder shouted, already sprinting and hearing the clattering of metal behind her as the other two caught up.

The swiveled through the streets, narrowly dodging people and carriages alike. Seraphine was squeaking out apologies as they ran past adults, and Ezreal was tripping at every sharp turn they made. Was this what Vi had to go through? Powder glanced behind her back to see the teens hot on their tail, with a grunt Powder tossed her sheet metal in another alleyway before falling back to take her bag back from Seraphine, cursing slightly when a few pieces of her scrap fell out.

“Why are you so slow?! I could run laps around you when I was seven!” She yelled at the both of them and pointed down the direction of the Bluewind Court, hopeful that if they cut through the court to the Academy that they could lose their pursuers.

“I’m sorry! I’m not USED TO RUNNING FOR MY LIFE!” Ezreal pointed out as he tripped once more, his only saving grace from falling was Powder grabbing the back of his shirt and pulling him back up to run.

“They’re just teenagers!” Powder stated hurriedly as she scanned the square for a simple route.

“SCARY TEENAGERS!”

“Less yelling! More running! Keep up Pinkie!”

Seraphine was out of breath, but smiling as she struggled to keep up, “O-Okay!”

The kids kept running from their pursuers, luckily getting some distance thanks to a slow carriage getting between both of them. But as Powder scanned, there wasn’t much to keep low besides running all the way to the Academy. She glanced back to her companions, seeing how out of breath they were as they struggled to keep moving. Powder looked back again, more determined to find a place to hide above all else.

It was like an angel was watching over them. A tall blue haired angel that was casually walking out from a fancy building. She tucked hair behind her ear and Powder grinned as she waved wildly.

“Caitlyn!”

“Powder?” the girl asked in surprise as she was crashed into by one of Powder’s hugs. When the younger girl pulled back she gave a frazzled grin before looking behind her.

“Hide us!” she begged as Ezreal and Seraphine caught up, almost crashing into Powder and Caitlyn with heaving breaths.

Caitlyn scanned her eyes over all of them, taking note of their tired pants and looked up to see the two teens running through the crowds, “Behind these bushes.” she hurried as she pushed all of them into the shrubbery behind her, “Are you hiding from those guys?”

Powder poked her head from the bushes and nodded her head, “They were being assholes, just tell them you never saw us!”

Caitlyn seemed pressed, her lips thinning to a straight line before turning around abruptly, she sidestepped to cover Powder. As the boys ran up to her, also out of breath, they looked around for the trio before settling onto Caitlyn’s tense stance.

“Hey! You’ve seen any kids running around here?” the taller boy asked.

“Kids? I haven’t, what are kids?” Caitlyn rushed out. Powder saw Ezreal quietly slap his forehead, “Psh, kids. Right. Uh, I think I saw some…tiny people…running that way?”

The boys gave her a curious look, but eventually they shrugged it off and started running the direction Caitlyn pointed out. The older girl sighed in relief, watching three heads pop out from the bushes as the blonde boy commented bluntly to her.

“You really suck at lying.”

Caitlyn rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms, “What did you want me to say?”

“Shut up Ez, you did fine Caitlyn. Thank you.” Powder muttered as she pulled herself out from the bushes, offering a hand for Seraphine to take. The young girl looked at the hand curiously before accepting the help out and slowly starting to pull twigs from her hair.

The older girl nodded softly as she focused on the boy of their group, “So you’re the famous Ezreal? Powder told me a bit about you,” she regarded before turning her stare over to the youngest girl, “And you are?”

“S-S-” she started, running her fingers through her hair to pull any leftover twigs that were buried away.

Powder butted in to answer as she stepped back into the bushes to retrieve her bags, “Seraphine, she’s an accomplice.”

“For…?” Caitlyn pressed, watching the smaller girl flinch under the gazes she received. The thunking of two bags falling in between all of them snapped Caitlyn back to see the backpacks filled to the brim with scrap metal.

Powder shrugged as she stretched and picked up her bag, “She saw us diving through dumpsters,” she explained simply, “Needed extra hands to carry.”

“Uh…huh…” Caitlyn deadpanned, her eyes amused as she couldn’t help the smile crawling over her lips, “Need help?” she offered, her grin only getting wider when Powder sighed a breath and smiled back.

“I wouldn’t say no,” she muttered before pausing to look around Caitlyn for any signs of her bodyguards or her mother, “But what about your mom?” she asked curiously.

But Caitlyn just giggled softly and knelt down to take some paper sticking out of Powder’s backpack and a pen from one of the side pockets,“I’ll leave a note.” she excused simply, already writing down that she was going to visit Jayce and Viktor in their new workshop.

Powder huffed a small laugh, shaking her head, “You know what?” she giggled out while shrugging, “Fair enough, let’s go.”

Once Caitlyn stood back up to fold her note and tuck it between the gates of her building she left from, the girl turned back around to cross her arms at the children picking up their bounty, “Hold it.” she started, “Release the girl, we don’t need hostages.”

Ezreal huffed as he lifted his pack up, “Told you.” he pointed out to Powder as the girl pouted, “We tormented her enough, let the girl go home.”

With a sigh, Powder turned to look back at the younger girl, her gaze timid and her hands twitchy since she had nothing to hold onto anymore, “Seraphine,” Powder started, taking in another breath to sigh, “You’re not obligated to follow us anymore, you’re…free.” she grumbled out before adding, “Sorry for being so mean. T-Things have been tense.”

Seraphine blinked owlishly, but when Powder apologized the girl smiled softly, “I-It’s okay…” she mumbled, “I-It’s my fault for being nosey.” she paused afterwards, wringing her hands together and mustering up the courage to speak up once again to ask, “C-Can I still come with you guys?”

Powder raised her brows in surprise that even after being so mean, someone would even want to keep hanging out, “You don’t have friends you want to hang out with?” she inquired curiously.

The smaller girl looked away now, nervous as she answered, “I…don’t have any friends. I just moved here.”

It took a moment for Powder to click the pieces together, her eyes blinking as she remembered what those teenagers were yelling at Ezreal about, “Those guys…called us both sumprats. Are you…from the Undercity too?”

“I-I…” the girl seemed ashamed, her gaze looking down as she shrunk her shoulder close and ran fingers through her hair. But slowly she nodded, her eyes closed and ready to be rejected.

A twinge of sympathy rushed through Powder, watching Seraphine squirm and flinch made Powder think of herself. A year ago she was a wreck of a person. Hell, she still was. She remembered her first few months topside, before Ezreal crashed into her life and it was just her and her guardians. She remembered walking to the workshop alone after school and the stares she received from the adults that knew who she was.

It was lonely.

Powder cleared her throat, gaining the attention of Seraphine once more as she offered her hand, “I…think we got off on the wrong foot.” she muttered lamely, “I’m Powder and these are my friends.”

She pointed at Ezreal first, “That Ezreal, he’s kind of an ass but he means well.” the boy answered by sticking his tongue out and pulling his middle finger out to Powder.

Then she pointed to Caitlyn, who blinked in confusion before giving a small wave as Powder introduced her, “And that’s Caitlyn Kiramman, she likes to get in trouble a lot.”

“Hey now.” Caitlyn started with a pout, “I don’t mean to get in trouble so often.”

Powder huffed a small laugh before looking back to Seraphine, “I know how lonely it is being up here, but…” she began with a slow sigh, “It gets better when you make some friends…if you want…” she left the sentence to hang as he kept her hand outstretched for Seraphine to deny if she wanted to.

But the girl looked at the hand for a moment, looking back at Ezreal and Caitlyn before falling back to looking at Powder. Her eyes were wide and tearing up as she reached forward to take Powder’s hand and give a weak shake to it.

“I’d really like that.”

.

She expected someone to be at the workshop.

As Powder carefully opened the door to the workshop, she furrowed her brows in confusion when she heard no sounds of machinery being worked on, no gentle arguments from her guardians, no greetings for coming home.

“Where are they?” Powder mumbled to herself as she let everyone else in, “Coast’s clear.”

As they all filled in, Powder let them marvel at the expanse of the workshop as she started up the stairs in search of her guardians.

“Woah, Jayce wasn't kidding when he said the new workshop was able to hold an airship. A small one, obviously but compared to his previous workshops.” Caitlyn awed as she watched Powder scouring upstairs, “Found them yet?”

Powder wandered over to the doors Jayce and Viktor claimed as theirs, with a deep breath and hopes she didn’t see something she didn’t want to see, the girl carefully opened Jayce’s door to peek inside. Automatically she sighed in relief at not finding her guardian, just his overly neat room with his perfectly folded laundry on his pristinely clean bed. How the strong smell of his cologne still wafted through the room and made Powder’s nose wrinkle before finally backing out.

She hesitated with Viktor’s door, again holding her breath and opening the door to something more familiar. While her guardian wasn’t present, his room looked more lived in. The sheets wrinkled and bunched up to one side, his clothes hung over an ironing board haphazardly. The smell of motor oil and chocolate was much more comfortable for Powder as she sighed and closed the door as well.

“No one’s here!” she called out, finally stepping to the kitchen counter and taking note of the piece of paper under her mug. As she pulled the letter out, she recognized Viktor’s hasty writing scribbled over the parchment.

Powder, Jayce and I are presenting our findings to the Council today. Dinner’s in the fridge, do your homework and deconstruct the Valdiani on my desk. No bombs, no explosives. We’ll be home late, so don’t stay up for us.

Dearest Regards, V

Powder rolled her eyes as she tucked the note away and walked over to the railing, “We have the workshop for the afternoon. Enough time to get our work done.”

As the four of them gathered upstairs, surrounding the coffee table as Powder dumped all the metal out and spread out her design. Her companions looked over her invention blueprints in confusion.

“Is that a glove?” Caitlyn asked as she tried to make sense of the drawing with a confused stare.

Powder gave a meek shrug as she nodded, “Kinda, the purpose is to send you to where it points.”

Seraphine blinked as she looked from the design to Powder, “H-How?”

With a sigh Powder went into explaining, “Alright. So Jayce and Viktor have been working nonstop at trying to make their teleporter work.” she began, “But we’ve been struggling to figure out how to do it.”

She slowly pointed to her design, “I’ve had the idea floating around but I think I can do it. It’s not exactly what they want but it could help.” she proposed anxiously with her eyes set on her design, “If it can help, then it’s enough.”

Ezreal seemed skeptical, “And we help, how? I’m sure you’re the only one who knows how to handle these types of tools.”

Gently, Seraphine cleared her throat, “I-I know how to handle a few tools.” she mumbled timidly, “The small ones, at least.”

Powder stuck her tongue out at Ezreal briefly before grinning, “I’ll show you how to handle the easy ones, Ez. Cause with your exceptional ability to copy my homework, you’re being tasked with applying the runes to the metal.”

The boy rolled his eyes, but the grin on his face was apparent, “Oh boy, what fun.” he chuckled lamely.

Powder grinned as she explained the plan to get the prototype started to the reset of her friends.

Friends?

An odd concept.

.

Everyone was holding their breath as Powder held the crystal shard delicately over the prototype’s port.

“Are you sure about this?” Ezreal asked unsurely, pulling his leather jacket over himself to protect his face in case metal started flying.

Powder made an unsure noise as she kept her hand hovering, glancing behind her goggles to her friends as they stood behind her, “We won’t know until we try it.”

Slowly, Powder lowered her hand, feeling the crystal vibrating under her fingers as it pulled itself into the port. With a shrill ringing, the runes lines under the plates of metal thrummed and glowed, making Powder widen her eyes and swallow nervously as she saw the glove shaking.

“I-It’s loud.” Seraphine whimpered, bridging her hands up to cover her ears in an attempt to deafen the noise, “Parts are clinging together with the crystal vibrations.”

Powder winced as she nodded, ready to pull the crystal out before an arc of blue light passed over. Thrumming once again with a wave of energy that sent the four of them back along with everything on Viktor’s workbench.

“Powder!” Caitlyn yelped as she sat up, “It’s losing control!”

But Powder wasn’t listening, her heart was racing and fingers flinching as she struggled to breath. The blue arcs in front of her were starting to send her spiraling. Flashes of blue once again sent her reeling at the sight of her former family flickering into her vision.

“I’m sorry.” she whispered out, her eyes wide as hot tears were starting to travel down her face, “I-I just wanted to be useful. I didn’t think this would happen…”

Ezreal winced as another wave knocked them back down, “Hey! Runeterra to Powder! You’re going to blow another building up if you don’t do something!”

The image of Vi was the one to stand out the most, her expression mournful as she looked at Powder with a love that only a sister could muster. Letting a sob out, Powder clenched her fists before standing up on shaky legs, “I wanted you to be proud of me, all I wanted to do was see you be proud of me.”

With a screech, Seraphine fell back as yet another wave made them stay on the ground. She looked up to see Powder was the only one still standing, walking with heavy steps towards her invention as the ringing was drowning up anything she was saying.

But Serpahine could feel the despair coming off Powder in waves. How her shoulders shrunk and her fists shook. A despair no child should ever go through in their life, nor should a child her age be able to comprehend.

“Powder!” Seraphine called out, hoping she was shrill enough to overcome the ringing, “Whatever happened…it’ll be okay! We’ll be here for you! F-For anything!”

The sound of Seraphine cut through the madness like a knife, with Powder hitching her breath as she turned her head back to her friends. Right, she was in the workshop. They were working on a glove.

For Jayce and Viktor.

Powder gasped as she turned her head back around, looking back to the glove once more as she finally moved forward against the pressure fighting her back. She gripped onto the edge of the desk, keeping herself steady as she reached for the port with an outstretched hand.

She couldn’t ruin another life for herself.

With a yell, Powder dug her head into the port and yanked the crystal shard out in one fell swoop.

Just like that, everything stopped. The ringing, the pressure, the waves knocking everyone down.

It all stopped.

As scattered papers settled, Caitlyn was the first to pull herself up. She rubbed the bump on her forehead before looking at Powder with wide eyes, “Woah…” was all she could whisper out as she turned to watch the other two sit back up.

Seraphine was next to get back up, her ears still ringing as she clenched her eyes shut, “Ouchies.” she mumbled to herself, “Is everyone okay?”

“Woah…that was…trippy.” Ezreal mumbled as he sat up, his jacket covering his face. With a huff and a slight pull of the trinket off of him, he could only raise his brows when Caitlyn and Seraphine gasped at him.

“Your face!” Caitlyn stated as she pointed at Ezreal’s confused face.

“What about my face?” Ezreal asked carefully, running his hand over his nose to make sure nothing was broken. Serpahine filled in the blanks, pointing specifically at his cheeks.

“You’re glowy!” she claimed as lo and behold, one the height of his cheekbones, right under his eyes…were two bright blue triangles.

Ezreal blinked a few times, his expression bewildered as he scrambled for anything to show his reflection.

“I need a mirror! Now!”

As Ezreal searched desperately for a mirror, Caitlyn slowly walked over to Powder as she was still standing at the workbench, her hand clasped tightly round the shard in her hand and breathing heavily.

“Powder?” Caitlyn inquired as she slowly reached out, “Are you okay?”

As a gentle hand landed on Powder’s shoulder, the girl turned her face around to look up at Caitlyn with wide red eyes, “Cait…” she wetly whispered before turning around and wrapping her arms around her older friend, “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”

The elder girl blinked, surprised by the hug as she awkwardly wrapped around Powder to calm her down, “Hey, it’s…okay. No one’s hurt, that’s all that matters.” she comforted as she looked around the mess they made, sighing slowly she laughed a bit to lighten the mood, “Though we should probably clean up and put our project on standby for another day.”

Powder didn’t really say anything as she nodded against the older girl and started counting her breaths.

.

It was early in the night when they all split up. Caitlyn headed back to the Bluewind Court to hopefully sneak back home before her mother caught her. Ezreal headed back to his home with his ego even more cocky with the addition of his ‘sexy magic tatts’. But with Seraphine being so young and inexperienced with navigating the streets of Piltover, Powder and her took the slow walk through the streets to get her back home.

“So…” Powder began awkwardly, “I’d understand if you don’t want to hang out after…all of that.”

The smaller girl was humming a small tune, occasionally watching people passing by and changing her tune briefly. But when Powder referred to her, Seraphine turned her head back and tilted her head, “Why wouldn’t I want to hang out anymore?” she asked softly, smiling softly, “That was the most fun I’ve had…well, ever.”

With a quiet laugh, Powder shook her head, “You got bullied and chased around the streets, then tossed on your ass by magic mumbo jumbo.” she pointed out bluntly.

Seraphine giggled as she shrugged, “So?” she inquired quietly as she looked back out to the streets, “Sometimes you need to go off rhythm to feel alive.”

“You’re weird.” Powder laughed, “I like that.”

The two kept on for a few moments, enjoying each other’s company as they walked through the dark streets of Piltover. Only really illuminated by the streetlights and remaining businesses open. For normal kids to be wandering the streets alone, it was unheard of. But for a pair of Undercity kids, this was undoubtedly the safest they could have ever been.

“Do you miss them?” Seraphine suddenly asked, her eyes sincere as she looked at Powder’s eyes widened in astonishment, “Whoever you lost…do you miss them?” she clarified.

“H-How’d you know?” Powder asked cautiously, watching the smaller girl give a solemn look at her new friend.

“You…you’re going to think I’m crazy.” she whispered.

“If you’re crazy then I fear for what I am.” Powder joked, her voice wavering slightly.

With a sigh, Seraphine slowly mumbled, “Your…soul.” she began lamely, inhaling a bit sharply as her face flushed with embarrassment, “Think of your soul like an…instrument. It plays a song and with other instruments a nice song is played.”

Powder raised her brow at what Seraphine was trying to explain, “So my soul is an instrument?” she tried to understand.

“Like the percussion.” Seraphine cleared up, “A drum solo, or a xylophone.”

As they passed by a fence, Seraphine took a pencil from her backpack and tapped it against the fence in a sporadic rhythm, “Your soul sounds like this.”

Powder blinked in confusion as she listened to the beat. It was wild, quick, and had a loop about it. She watched as Seraphine struggled to explain further, “You sound like this, like it’s missing something. No strings, no keyboard, no guitar…like your song is missing something.”

As Powder listened to the beat, seeing Seraphine struggle to continue, the older of the two sagged her shoulders as she sighed out, “I…am.” she finally admitted, “Missing them.”

“O-oh…” Seraphine paused her music as she turned back to look at Powder’s expression turn mournful, “I’m sorry, I-I didn’t mean to make you sad.”

“Do I really look so obvious?” Powder asked, “It’s…hard to try to get used to this new life.”

Why was she confessing this to someone she just met?

“I still see them…on bad days like this. Sometimes it’s just voices, other days it’s flat out seeing them.”

Was it because she was a kid like her?

“Jayce and Viktor think I need help, but I want to be strong. For them, for Vi. I want to be someone that can make others proud, that can show everyone that they were wrong about me. That I’m not a…”

A girl from the Undercity?

“That I’m not a jinx.”

Powder stared down at the ground, biting down on her lip to will away the tears from forming. She felt stupid, spilling her feeling out like this. In front of a girl she barely knew. But as Powder looked away, the smaller girl cautiously walked forward and placed her small hand on Powder’s arm.

“You are strong.” Seraphine said quietly, “To keep going on, despite everything. That’s strength. A strength only the greatest of heroes can obtain.”

Slowly Powder lifted her head up, staring back at bright blue eyes with her own. She was genuine in her words, and as she urged for the both of them to continue their walk, the weight of holding her feelings in started to lift.

“You’re from the Undercity too, right?” Powder croaked out, “H-How’d you get up here in the first place?”

Seraphine smiled wistfully as she started humming again, a small little tune before she started to tell the tale of how her and her family got out from the Undercity and joined the folds of Piltover.

Powder listened, nodding solemnly at what happened to her old home. The change it was going through and how many were selling everything they had to be able to move topside.

It made her miss home.

Maybe one day she’d return to help its people.

Chapter Text

It was exactly one year from today that the lives of three people changed spontaneously. A new realm of science was on the precipice of being fully utilized in order to help every man, woman, and child around the world. Once Hextech was fully supported, Viktor knew that life for the Undercity would finally change for the better.

If they could get past this particular hump.

The man of progress himself paced the halls just outside the Council chambers, worrying his lip and running his hand through his hair for the eighth time in the past ten minutes. Viktor wondered vaguely if Jayce would suffer early male pattern baldness if his partner continued the ministrations on his head.

“Okay, be cool. It’s just a progress report, we’ve done this before.” Jayce was telling himself, smoothing his hair back down as he stood up straight to look over their paperwork for the tenth time in half an hour.

Viktor was leaning heavily on his cane, lamenting that there were no forms of seating in the Council halls to let him rest his weary back. He opted to keep near the wall, just in case he needed an extra surface to fall back on if he collapsed, “Last time we had more substantial material to work with.” he pointed out bluntly.

Jayce paced around the hall anxiously, “I know! I…I know. It shouldn’t be too bad, we tell the truth.” he mumbled as he rubbed his face, grimacing that he didn’t shave before they left as his palm felt like it was going past sandpaper, “There’s been hiccups with the teleportation.” he sighed out.

“You mean there’s been no progress with teleportation, at all.” Viktor deadpanned, watching in amusement as Jayce tensed up and wandered over to his shorter companion to point a finger into his vest.

“You! Shush.” he warned, his face annoyed before it slowly fell into a look of despair. He all but slumped against Viktor, surprising the man as he was pressed to the wall and feeling the weight of Jayce’s head on his shoulder as he mournfully groused, “We’re so fucked.”

Viktor kept still, taking a moment to collect himself when Jayce placed his head on him before gently bringing his hand up. Tentatively, he carded his fingers through Jayce’s hair, smoothing out the frazzled strands and letting Jayce relax against him, “Not fucked…but definitely in the red.” he corrected gently.

“Shit…” Jayce cursed as he buried his face further into his friend’s shoulder, breathing deeply of the smell of motor oil that seemed to always be able to stick to Viktor. Viktor in return could smell the cologne Jayce insisted on wearing when they went to public places, overwhelming and strong, a perfect match with its recipient. Absently he wondered what Jayce smelled like without the overbearing cologne. But there was no time to think of that, they were in deep shit, “Our second progress report ever and we got nothing to show for it.” Jayce says mournfully, his shoulders sagging and pressing more weight onto Viktor as he struggles to keep the both of them up.

“We could literally do nothing in the position we were in, Jayce.” Viktor assured, trying to lift the larger man’s spirits so they could at least start this meeting on the right foot, “With the new workshop we’re bound to improve, with the ability to test to the fullest extent.”

“But we need something now.” Jayce pressed on.

Viktor felt himself frown, just as frustrated as Jayce with their progress and at his own inability to do anything. There was no magic he could pull from his ass to dazzle the Council and make their problems better. Slowly, Viktor brought his other arm up to lay it across the back Jayce’s broad shoulders, something to comfort the other man since his usual tactic wouldn’t work here, “I’m sorry, I…can’t fix this.” he whispered, the hand moving through Jayce’s hair going behind his head and pulling him into an embrace against his shoulder, “I’m sorry.”

The two stayed quiet in their awkward embrace, as Jayce brought his arms up to wrap around Viktor’s middle. The new closeness they shared was obviously elating for Jayce, finally able to display his gratefulness for his partner’s work through touches and embraces that Viktor only mildly complained about. He was even happier when Viktor was the one to initiate it, as rare as it was.

Jayce sighed as he calmed himself down, his muscles relaxing and his shoulders lifting back as he turned his head over to look at Viktor’s face. The man was still in deep thought, probably searching his mind for anything to make their meeting go more smoothly. Being this close to Jayce, Viktor could see the fair features of his face twitch in thought, how his brows furrowed, how he gently chewed at his bottom lip, how his nose scrunched up just slightly. Viktor was told he was very expressive if one just paid attention to him, but Jayce was an open book of expressions. His emotions flowed freely, and if you knew him well enough you could easily read what he was thinking. But how his eyes lit up with a humorous shine to them, Viktor wondered if his own statements were correct.

“Where would you like to go?” Jayce suddenly blurted out, watching in amusement as Viktor’s eyebrows raised and his eyes widened as he pupils flickered towards where Jayce was watching him.

“Excuse me?” Viktor asked softly.

With a small amused huff, Jayce continued, “When we’re exiled, where would you want to go?”

Viktor paused, his eyes scanning around the empty halls briefly in thought before huffing a small sigh, “I’ve heard Bilgewater is where all the rejected scientists go when they’re exiled.” he commented humorously, smiling slightly when Jayce’s shoulders shook with a laugh.

“Really, Bilgewater?” Jayce questioned, pulling back from their hug to look as Viktor sighed and gave a shrug.

“I’ll be the perfect weatherman.”

“Pfft, a weatherman?” Jayce asked with a skeptical expression, his grin apparent as he urged his partner to continue, “Please explain.”

Viktor grinned, “I’ll predict rain every day.” he began factually, “I’ll only be wrong 20% of the time, but my correct predictions will outweigh my anomalies.”

“You’ll be a con artist is what I’m hearing.” Jayce clarified with his eyebrow raised, his tone humorous as he watched Viktor give away the hint of a smile.

“The best for Bilgewater.” he noted, letting his head fall back to look up to the ceiling above them, the stress of their situation dying down as they talked about their possible future, “How about yourself?”

“Hmm,” Jayce started, finally peeling himself from Viktor to lean against the wall besides the other man, with his arms crossed and his mind lazily thinking. Jayce hesitantly answered “I’ll guess I’ll get back to the hammer business, I guess, make a secondary location for the Talis company.”

“I see.” Viktor muttered slowly, nodding as his face twisted slightly as he struggled to ask, “...Would we…” he started, the words dying in his throat as he kept his gaze away from Jayce, unsure he wanted to see the other man as his emotions went unchecked.

“Go on.” Jayce urged, leaning over to nudge Viktor’s shoulder to get him to continue.

“Would we…still,” Viktor started again, swallowing the lump in his throat as he weakly mumbled out, “Be…together? With Powder?”

The taller man took a minute to process what Viktor asked him. Even if all of this was for not, and they both get exiled. Viktor wanted to stay with them. How he enjoyed these moments now at this point in time. With him and Jayce working on Hextech the moment the sun rose over the horizon, hastily made breakfasts and Powder taking whatever her hands could grab before she ran off to school. Hours of back and forth banter over a passion they both had until their ward would return, with piles of finished homework and a drive to learn more.

After a year of this, Viktor couldn’t imagine anywhere else he would want to be without Jayce or Powder nearby. But maybe that was a pipe dream. Something he could keep to himself.

“...You’d really want to stay with us even if this all falls through?” Jayce breathed out, his eyes wide as Viktor reached his hand up to straighten the wispy curls of his hair to distract himself.

“There wouldn’t be much worth for me out there if I’m on my own.” he admitted dully, “I would stay, if you’d have me.”

The two exchange a look for a while, as the minute passed by Jayce’s face softened as he watched Viktor keep the stare for as long as he could before his eyes forced him to look away. As he settled to look at his shoes, Jayce leaned over to surprise the man once again by landing his head on Viktor’s shoulder once more.

“Well, it’d be pretty hard not to have you around.” Jayce commented gently, grinning while Viktor looked at him curiously as he continued, “You’re kinda stuck with me, till the end.”

Viktor silently looked at Jayce with bewilderment of what he uttered. Surprised that someone would want to be stuck with him. Even after a year of little results, Jayce still found worth in him to the point of staying with him even if everything went wrong.

The quirk of his lips made Jayce smile even more, causing the taller man to reach up and muddle Viktor’s hair as the both of them laughed quietly. The moment was eventually cut short, though, by the sounds of small footfalls approaching them, as Heimerdinger marched up to his previous students.

“Ah! There you are boys!” Heimerdinger mused as both men stood up straight to greet their old professor, “I hope you have a riveting progress report to present to us!”

Jayce exchanged a glance with Viktor before huffing a small nervous laugh, “Professor…of course we do.” he stated lamely, watching his Professor hum in amusement as he marched past towards the Council’s chambers.

“Splendid! I cannot wait to hear!” Heimerdinger humored as the doors were opened, Councilor Mel Medarda opening the entrance with calculating eyes scanning over both Jayce and Viktor.

As golden eyes fell upon Jayce, her smile turned coy as her chin lifted curiously, “You seem nervous, Jayce Talis. Are you ready?” she asked, opening the door a bit wider for Heimerdinger and both scientists to enter the shining sun filled chambers of the Council.

Jayce visibly swallowed, his fists tightening as he glanced over to Viktor one last time, “Ready?”

Viktor turned his head to look back, his eyes set with a purpose as he quietly answered.

“We got this.”

.

As it turns out. They didn’t have it.

After a hastily put together presentation, Jayce and Viktor got the grilling of their lives. There were arguments if they should even continue with the project, or that Hextech research should be transferred to the Ferros Clan since they discovered the crystals in the first place. Mel fought tooth and nail for them, telling the Council if anyone could do it, it was Jayce. Viktor could tell Councilor Medarda didn’t want all of this to go to Clan Ferros, whether it was in empathy to Jayce’s dream or her own benefits are unknown. But it didn’t make their lectures any less severe as they had to face the punishment of their funds being cut until further developments were presented.

The worst consequence was threatening Powder’s stewardship if nothing was proven worth teaching.

Which was why both men were silent during their trek back as they made the walk of shame back to their workshop. Their very livelihoods were at risk and everything they worked so hard for so close to being thrown away.

What was supposed to be done in a situation like this?

As the both of them slowly opened the door to their workshop, ready to head to bed and just forget everything that had happened. It was oddly quiet.

Too quiet.

“The lights are still on.” Jayce regarded as they looked around their workshop, straining his neck to try to see if Powder was still up as wandering around the second floor.

“I told Powder to go ahead to bed.” Viktor remarked to Jayce’s curiosity, already motioning with his head to the lift so they could get to the second floor and see the utter chaos that befell upon it. Both workshop desks were in utter disarray, with papers hastily tossed on countertops without a second thought. Yet, there was no sight of a small blue haired child waiting for them, “Powder?” Viktor called out as they stepped around to find any signs of the girl.

Jayce huffed as he moved to their desks, noting the haphazardly put together paperwork on his desk as he commented slowly, “Looks like she did more than just her homework.”

Slowly Viktor traveled over to his own desk, pushing piles of messed up paperwork away and pulling out a small device from underneath, with a small hum the man concluded, “The Valdiani is untouched. I told her to deconstruct it.”

A tense silence fell through the room, Jayce sharply inhaling as he immediately started walking his ward’s room with hurried steps, “I’ll check her room.”

He didn’t even hear Viktor respond as he stepped to Powder’s door, making a few light knocks and waiting. It was still too quiet, Jayce concluded as he sighed deeply and opened the door to peer into the dark room.

The multitude of colors that were scattered around the room cause Jayce slight disorientation, the swaths of neon pink and blue still bright even under the cover of a nightly shadow. But as he looked upon Powder’s very pink bed, he sucked in his breath to see it as it was this morning. The covers were mostly thrown off and the bed was empty besides the stuffed bunny the girl kept on her bed at all times.

Jayce suddenly felt sick as a weight dropped to the pit of his stomach.

“Viktor.” he called out, swiftly turning his head towards his partner as he still meandered about his desk, pulling piles of papers aside to stack them properly. Viktor raised his head once Jayce called out to him, his eyes hard as he noted Jayce’s panicked stance. “She’s not in there?” he inquired, watching as Jayce quickly shook his head and struggled to control his anxieties.

Viktor clicked his tongue before digging through papers once more, hoping to find something that could educate them of their ward’s whereabouts. It just had to be something after another, he sourly thought. While getting the last of the papers shoved away, Viktor paused when he felt something solid underneath the cover of parchment, “I found something.”

The taller man was at his partner’s side in an instant, looking down at the curious hunk of metal settled on Viktor’s desk as he pulled his hand up to the small of Viktor’s back.

“Is that a glove?” he asked, reaching to turn the garment around to inspect the metal fully and paused at the strange series of engravings etched onto it, “It’s…covered in runes?”

Viktor took his time, pulling plates of metal up to look at what Jayce was pointing out, “I know these runes.” the man suddenly realized as he ran his finger over the runes he instantly could reach for, “Air, Travel, Movement…do you think?” he asked, glancing back at Jayce as the man’s eyes widened in astonishment.

“She was crafting something?” Jayce breathed out, looking over the runes once more and immediately thinking the worst, “Fuck, fuck, do you think she-”

With how Jayce was already panicking, Viktor was swift to interrupt as he quickly pulled his chair up to sit down, “No time, we need to figure out what she did.” he stated, taking the glove and searching for a stand to place it on. As he saw Jayce, unable to move from his shock, Viktor barked an order to get Jayce to act, “Find my book.”

It seemed to be enough to snap Jayce back into it, releasing a breath Jayce instantly went into action to scour for the book of runes, “Right, right.” he muttered, already digging through his own desk and throwing papers aside to hope that the text was buried under everything. Panic coursed through his veins, making his hands shake and his breath quicken. What could have happened? What already happened? Jayce cursed under his breath, pushing his desk in frustration before rushing to the kitchen to search there, “Shit, Viktor what if-”

“Calm down, Jayce.” Viktor tried to ease, his gaze focused on the glove itself and trying to learn its mechanisms as swiftly as he could, “We’ll find her…wherever she is.” he muttered the last part of his sentence hesitantly as he heard Jayce cursing and groaning behind him. How he stomped over to the seating area and almost flipped the couch over in desperation to find the book they needed.

“Why would she make something like this?” Jayce remorsed as he moved to his knees to look under the coffee table, heaving a large sigh of relief when the book was finally located. He all but ran over to Viktor’s side once more, gently placing the book down on the desk as he watched the man prod and inspect the device in front of him.

“This is Powder we’re talking about, she makes whatever she wants.” Viktor informed as he poked the open hold at the top of the glove’s palm, “The port, it’s too small for a hex crystal.”

“A hex shard?” Jayce offered, leaning over his partner to get a better look at their ward’s invention, “She knows how to handle those better, right?”

Viktor seemed hesitant to answer, his face blank as he let out a gentle sigh, “...Yes.” he answered solemnly, his fist clenching as he continued, “The inner mechanisms are loose, if there was something to cushion from parts bumping against one another.”

With a click of the tongue, Viktor muttered to Jayce, “Get the heat resistant foam.”

“What’s the point of this?” Jayce asked in frustration, rubbing his hand over his face but complying to Viktor's demands anyhow.

“If I can make it work, it could give us an answer of what happened.” Viktor answered firmly, taking his notebook out and writing down the equation needed to stabilize a hex shard in comparison to their larger counterparts, “Get the goggles and gloves. We’re doing what we do best.”

For a moment, Jayce watched how his partner toiled away with a determination that would put any other scientist to shame. With how his brows furrowed and his lips tightened into a thin line as he worked. He was just as frazzled and worried as Jayce was, but while Jayce fumbled and panicked, Viktor stood stalwart and pushed forward.

At times such as these, Jayce envied Viktor’s tenacity.

After several minutes of gathering equipment, getting safety gear on, and making the right calculations. Jayce stood over his partner once more, his gloved hand delicately holding the hex shard over the port of Powder’s project.

Jayce couldn’t help swallowing anxiously, “You think it’s going to work?” he asked unsurely, glancing at Viktor as the man stared at the project at hand and gave his partner the nod to go ahead.

“We won’t know until we try.” Viktor stated shortly as he motioned Jayce once more to begin, “Do it.”

With an unsure nod, Jayce held his breath as he slowly clicked the shard in place. The glove’s runes began to flare up with a brilliant blue, reflecting off both men’s goggles as the mechanism began to shake chaotically.

Jayce clicked his tongue as he held the glove in place, “The frequency!” he noted as he could feel the vibrations traveling up his arms. The shakes grew more violent, the ringing almost deafening in his ears as he barely heard Viktor curse next to him.

“Hold on!” Viktor ordered, struggling to move as he reached for the stabilization dial. With a few clicks the vibrations died down, the ringing just a dull aching in the ears, “...There.”

But nothing happened. The glove sat calmly, its runes illuminated and the metal shining.

“It’s not doing anything.” Jayce breathed out, his eyes wide and almost tearful before he quickly shook his head and kicked the desk, “Dammit! It’s not doing anything!”

One year, they only had her for one year and they lost her. How stupid he was, to think that Hextech could be used by anyone. That something like this couldn’t have possibly happened. Jayce wanted to yell, to scream, to cry. He wanted to throttle Viktor but all he could muster was keeping himself up as he felt the overwhelming sense of grief that he thought he would only have to feel once-

Click.

At the sound of the door opening below, both men shot up to look over the railing. Walking inside as if she wasn’t giving both her guardians a heart attack, was Powder. She looked sheepish, like she knew what hour it was and prayed to anything that would listen that both men would still be gone. But to her dismay she heard Jayce release his breath and turned around to give a small wave, “I’m home?”

“Powder!”

“Uhh…I can explain?” Powder tried to excuse while shrinking her shoulders as she saw Jayce race down the stairs. Fearing the worst she braced herself, holding her eyes tightly shut as the air was knocked from her lungs from Jayce colliding into her and holding her in an embrace so tight that the girl had to squirm in order to breath right.

The man was a wreck, holding his ward in a crushing hug as he buried his face in bright blue hair. Powder could vaguely feel her hair growing wet, but awkwardly held Jayce as he harshly hissed out, “Oh, you are in so much trouble, young lady!”

“W-What? What did I do?” Powder worriedly inquired as she pulled back from Jayce enough to see his stern face, wet with tears. Her soft blue eyes traveled up to the railing where Viktor still stood, giving Powder a pointed look as he lifted up her project, “Uh oh.”

“‘Uh oh’ is right!” Jayce, audibly distressed, held onto Powder’s shoulders, “What were you thinking? Messing with crystals when we weren't around?” he inquired.

Powder pulled her shoulders closer, looking anywhere other than Jayce’s disappointed face as he berated her, “I-I just wanted to…”

“What did you want to do that didn’t require us around?” Jayce pressed on, his tone pleading so he could just understand why his charge did what she did, “If something happened, if the hex shard exploded, if it worked and sent you somewhere we couldn’t find you. Powder, please tell me what was so important so that I can-” he continued, his shoulders shaking as he felt emotions climbing again, “So I can know if something’s wrong. So I can fix it.”

“I-” Powder began before the ringing sound went off again, this time followed by a loud boom.

While the both of them were talking downstairs, Viktor let Jayce chastise their ward as he further inspected the glove Powder made. It wasn’t badly made, the metalwork needed improvements and the inner mechanisms needed fine tuning. But the runes were written perfectly, shining brilliantly as Viktor curiously slipped the glove on his hand without a second thought.

It was comfortable, the inside lined with an old worn leather that gave good cushioning for Viktor to move his fingers easily. The man hummed in thought as he turned the glove around, his fingers experimentally flexing as he felt a residual vibration coming from the glove itself. As his fingers were pointed upwards, with one more flex of his fingers…

His surroundings were completely changed for the brief second he was in the air, the surroundings of their ceiling visible before he was falling.

The sound of Viktor harshly landing back onto the floor snapped everyone back into reality, with Jayce springing up and rushing back up the stairs with Powder at his heels

“Viktor!” Both of them yelled out, rushing to Viktor’s side as he laid flat on his back with wide eyes and a gaping mouth.

Jayce could feel his anxiety heightening, his hands shaking as he placed them on his partner to feel for any broken bones, “Viktor! Are you okay?” he asked, his hand coming up to Viktor’s neck to check for a pulse, just in case, “Can you hear us? Viktor?”

“I-Incredible…” was all that Viktor whispered out.

Powder was no better than Jayce, her hands pulling at Viktor's limp arm to get him to move. Tears were already on her face, her breaths coming out hurriedly as she was quickly rushing her words, “I’m sorry! I didn’t think it would actually work!”

“It can be done.” Viktor continued as he slowly pulled himself up to sit despite the yells of protest.

“Don’t get up! You might have broken something!”

But Viktor didn’t heed as he sat up, reaching with slender arms towards their ward to pull her into an embrace as he laughed.

“You did it!” Viktor rasped out, his smile uncharacteristically gleeful, “You just saved Hextech!”

Powder blinked owlishly as she wiped her tears away, pulling back from Viktor’s hold to give him her bewildered expression, “Wha-?”

But Viktor continued, holding Powder’s shoulders as he reached to tuck a few stray hairs from her face, “How did you do it? The runes? The types of metal? You have to elaborate your building process-”

Jayce slowly paused Viktor’s ramblings, taking his partner’s shoulder to garner his attention, “V, you’re sounding a lot like you hit your head during that fall.” he warned before actually reaching to check Viktor’s head just in case he did hit his head.

“I-I uh…I just wanted to make something…” Powder slowly answered, sheepish as she shrugged her shoulders and looked away from her guardians’ curious stares, ”For you guys…”

“For us?” Jayce urged for Powder to continue, watching the girl squirm as she struggled to say what she wanted to say.

Powder eventually found her wording, “Cause it’s been a year and all. And we’ve gotten closer together so I just wanted to…tell you guys that…” she swallowed the swell of emotion that crawled from her chest as she looked at her guardians with uncertainty, “I love you? And that no matter what choices you make, I’ll still love you?” she stated even though her own words lacked the confidence it truly needed.

Both Jayce and Viktor watched Powder spill her feelings out for them, as she made herself look away so she wouldn’t have to see them. Jayce softened his features, his eyes turning gentle as he spoke, “Powder-keg…”

“I know I fuck up a lot, and I’m weird and slow to understand stuff and a general pain to be arou-”

Powder didn’t have time to finish as she was pulled into Viktor’s embrace again, her eyes bewildered as Jayce also came in and enveloped the both of them in his arms.

“Powder,” Viktor started, his voice firm as he held her tight, “You are the smartest little girl I have ever had the honor of having as a pupil, and I don’t ever intend for you to ever forget that.” he couldn’t stop himself from huffing out a small laugh as he added, “You’re stuck with us.”

The three of them remained on the floor, in their strange group hug as Powder let herself be happy for once. This family was drastically different from her old family, it was smaller, a bit high-strung. But good. It was still good.

“Am I still in trouble?” Powder asked suddenly, lifting her head up to see both her guardians, looking at her with stern expressions.

“Yes.” Both men answered simultaneously, causing the girl to laugh awkwardly and shrug nonchalantly.

“You know, fair enough.”

.

After the insanity was placed to rest, when Powder gave up her blueprints and departed to sleep. The night continued for both scientists as they winded down from their troublesome day. Viktor rested on the couch, his bad leg outstretched to relieve the pressure while he looked through his pupil’s notes and wrote his own in the notebook to his side.

Jayce made himself known by his heavy footsteps, carefully navigating to sit down at Viktor’s right as he leaned over slightly to look at what Viktor was reading.

“So…” he began, the only voice in the silence of a dark living room that was only illuminated by the moonlight from the balcony windows, “What do you think of it?”

Viktor sighed gently as he leaned back in his seat, “It’s…astounding.” he muttered in awe, handing a paper he finished reading to Jayce as he continued, “I’m utterly speechless. The placement of the runes was done by pure chance. She used a variety of different metals that she pulled from scrap dumpsters. Everything she did was a random chance that it would actually work. Yet, it did.” he mused gently as Jayce was chuckling next to him.

“For someone speechless, you sure do have a lot to say.” Jayce said humorously, shaking his head in amusement before watching Viktor wince from shifting in his seat, “You okay? You did take a big fall.”

Viktor grimaced as he brought a hand around and rubbed at the sore spot on his lower back, “I landed on the coccyx bone. If anything it’s just a dull pain now, nothing to worry about.”

“Hm,” Jayce hummed, his shoulders heavy as he leaned over and stretched his legs out, “Sorry, my head is killing me.” he excused, laying his head against Viktor’s thigh as he sighed in relief.

Viktor only flinched slightly as the sudden weight on his lap, peering down at Jayce curiously before returning to his notes. Absent-mindedly, Viktor brought his free hand to meticulously thread his fingers through Jayce’s hair while reading notes. They both kept silent during their exchange, to the point Viktor thought Jayce fell asleep. But as he paused his musings, ready to lift himself up and retire for the night, he heard Jayce regard him quietly.

“Viktor…” Jayce began, hesitant as he flicked his eyes up to his partner as he softly inquired, “Do you think we’ve done good? Raising Powder in a place like this?”

It took Viktor a moment to hum in thought, tilting his head to the side, “We’re doing the best we can,” he contemplated, quiet for a moment as he was distracted with his thoughts, “It’s…difficult to know what we’re doing right and what we’re doing wrong when we have never experienced it before.”

Jayce nodded as he looked up to Viktor, taking note of the small smirk on his face before he shrugged nonchalantly, “She is not dead, so I think that’s well beyond what many were expecting.”

“Very funny.” Jayce dully mused, huffing a small laugh before settling once more, studying the dark ceiling above him before quietly muttering out, “I want to make her happy.”

The silence stretched for a while, with the dark being their only comfort as both men quietly mulled over their thoughts.

“Jayce.” Viktor began, softly breaking the silence as he looked down at Jayce with a softness to his eyes, “No one can make anyone think or feel or do anything. If she desires happiness, she will seek it out herself. All we can do is support whatever decisions she makes and be there for her when she needs us.” he kindly explained as he slumped his shoulders back against the couch, watching as Jayce thought over what Viktor said.

How Jayce’s brow furrowed, trying to digest Viktor’s words carefully to make a response just as intellectual, was endearing. Viktor couldn’t help running his hand over Jayce’s brow to rub away the tension, watching his partner look up at him with admiration and fondness as he quietly let Viktor do as he pleased. Pale fingers slowly trailed down strong cheekbones, gliding gently over the scars Jayce sported as the man’s eye fluttered shut. Viktor continued his trail, going over soft cheeks and making a soft huff as he prodded his partner’s jaw.

Jayce abruptly opened his eyes, pushing off the offending hand now as Viktor plainly stated, “You need to shave, by the way.”

“You don’t like the scruff?” Jayce teased with a huff, smirking as he watched Viktor roll his eyes and suppress his smile.

“I detest it, actually.”

“What’s wrong with it?”

“It feels bad.” Viktor stressed, his eyes narrowing playfully, “Like I’m handling a cactus.”

Jayce laughed as he shifted to sit up and grin, “A cactus, huh?” he mused, his hands cupping Viktor’s face as he mischievely smirked, “Can cacti do this?”

Viktor flinched as Jayce brought his face closer, dangerously close before turning his head to the side and rubbing his rough cheeks against his partner. The slighter man practically squawked as Jayce assaulted his face with sandpaper.

“Jayce Talis!” Viktor struggled, trying to push the larger man away as he laughed, “S-Stop this instant!”

Jayce chuckled along, leaning more into the attack and moving to pin Viktor down so he couldn’t squirm away, “Take back your detest of my face!”

Viktor struggled to grasp his words, “I never said I detested your face! It’s-” he took a breath, pushing his partner’s face away, “Jayce!”

They both paused, panting from practically wrestling on the couch. Viktor took note of the firm weight on top of him, Jayce’s face smiling down at him as he tried to regain his breath. His smile was wide, the gap in his teeth glaringly obvious along with his asymmetrical lips that pressed against Viktor’s pale hand as he kept him at an arm’s distance.

After several moments, Jayce realized his predicament. He looked down as he assessed how he was pinning Viktor down, immediately sitting up to give Viktor the space he needed while clearing his throat out of sheer awkwardness.

“Oh um…” he muttered, his face darkening as he looked at the floor as Viktor straightened his shirt, “S-Sorry, I might have gotten carried away, I-I should go shave.” he excused, slowly getting up to leave before Viktor’s hand grabbed his wrist to halt his movements.

The smaller man looked at his companion, his eyes focused on Jayce’s for once. “Not yet.” quietly whispered Viktor as he tilted his head up, looking at the other quizzically, an unknown emotion only reaching his eyes, “Jayce…what are we?” he asked gently.

“Huh…” Jayce never took the time to think about it, Hextech took priority for them. But now, faced in the safety of the darkness of night, Jayce could take his moment to think. “We’re…”

What exactly were they? Friends? Colleagues? Something more? Jayce couldn’t place a label on their relationship, he was scared to place a label on what they had. A fear that if he said something there would be a finality to this delicate something they had. He didn’t want to risk it, to risk this. Hextech needed Viktor in order to progress, the future of Piltover needed both of them to focus on their dream.

“We’re partners. Of course.” he slowly answered, his smile tight.

Because love and legacy were sacrifices one makes for progress.

Viktor seemed to understand this as well, his shoulders sagging gently as he released Jayce’s wrist, “Right.” he muttered, his eyes once again retreating from looking at Jayce to focus on the floor below him, “Right, we’re…”

“We’re partners.”

Jayce nodded as he wished Viktor goodnight and slowly navigated back to his quarters for the night. With a tight chest and clenched fists, Jayce cursed gently as he closed the door to his room and tossed himself into his bed for a fitful sleep.

Why did sacrifices have to hurt so much?

Chapter Text

It was just any other day at the Hextech workshop, with the sun shining and the cool breeze starting to bring in the autumn chill. All citizens of Piltover kept themselves dressed warmly and ready for scattered rainfall, hopeful that this rainy season wouldn’t be as bad as last year’s.

But inside, it was too warm. With the thrum and hum of machinery and an always active forge, there was never a fear of freezing. Just the typical fear of workplace accidents here and there.

“Stay still, I know how to handle scissors.” Viktor scolded as he gently held his ward in place, she squirmed under his hold as she once again pulled her head back.

Powder huffed as she looked up to her guardian with narrowed eyes, “I’m sorry! It’s scary from my point of view!” she excused, just hearing Viktor scoff and move her head to look forward again as he took the burnt parts of her hair to clip away, the girl pouted as she watched blue and black strands fall to her lap, “How much are you having to cut?” she groused.

“Just some of the bangs, don’t worry.” Viktor assured as he threaded his fingers over blue strands and paused once he found the rough texture of crisp hair, “We should really get your hair shorter in general, it’s less hazardous.” he said, taking the tuft of hair and cutting the blacked edges, “Less welding incidents.”

“But I like my hair long!” Powder protested, taking the longer parts of her hair forward to get out of Viktor’s reach, “Please don’t!” she begged, glancing back to her guardian as he sighed and returned to leaning against his desk.

“What would you suggest then to counteract any more hair singeing accidents?”

Powder hummed in thought, her hands mindlessly going through her hair as she meekly offered, “Fix my braid?” she suggested with a shrug, “I usually do my own but...it’s probably too messy for this kinda place.” she muttered, gesturing to the whole of their living space.

Viktor seemed to take his time contemplating, looking over his charge’s hair, “Eh, I’ll see what I can do.” he said, gently combing through the girl’s hair to get the knots loosened, “I’ll warn you, I’m not good at it.”

Powder seemed to grin at the preening, her head tilting back for Viktor’s ministrations to her hair, “Then you can spend today practicing!” she teased excitedly, glancing back up to Viktor as he gathered long strands of hair together to separate.

“I should be working, who knows when Jayce will be back.” Viktor muttered as he woefully looked back at his desk, the abandoned welding project left in the open and begging for them to return.

Powder didn’t seem to take notice of Viktor’s longing to go back to work, instead grinning as she chirped, “He’s at Cait’s asking for loans! Knowing Mrs. Kiramman she’ll keep him there for a while, so you have plenty of time!”

With the new research they obtained, progress for Hextech was being made in strides. But of course, because of their dower presentation from the last progress report, money was tighter than ever. Viktor truly hoped that they didn’t need to turn to dumpster diving and making sketchy purchases to get the materials they needed, but if this meeting with Jayce’s sponsor didn’t go as planned. Well, Viktor could at least keep lookout and barter with some merchants in the Undercity.

With a sigh, Viktor turned his attention back to his ward’s hair, “If you say so.” he muttered as he pulled pieces of hair over each other, reminding himself of how he kept wires braided together when he was assisting Heimerdinger with his projects.

“Ow!” Powder winced as she yanked her hair away and turned to glare at the startled man, “I’m not a piece of machinery!” she exclaimed before turning her head back around, crossing her arms in a huff as Viktor hesitantly ran his fingers back through and set up to start over.

“I don’t know how tight you want it.” He admitted, trying once more to notice Powder wincing and flinching away.

Giving a large huff, Powder momentarily stood up in her stool to reach up and tug at Viktor’s hair, watching him wince as the girl gave him a pointed look, “Tight enough to hold my hair, not rip my scalp off!”

“Okay! Okay!” Viktor hissed as he pried her hands away and made her sit back down. With more gentle hands, a softness he used only for more delicate projects, he carefully pulled Powder's hair back to start, “Like this?” he asked as he waited to gauge how Powder answered.

Powder hummed quietly, “You’re getting there.” she answered, “It doesn’t hurt anymore.”

Nodding softly, Viktor turned back to braiding Powder’s hair. As the two of them stayed quiet for several moments, the only sounds around them being the whirring of machinery downstairs, Viktor finally picked up on Powder’s almost silent humming. This was peaceful, a quiet moment that dared not to be broken by chaos. But as Viktor got near the end of his braiding, he noticed how it would trail all the way down Powder’s back.

“Your hair has gotten long, why keep it like this?” Viktor asked gently, hearing Powder huff a small laugh.

“I made a bet with Ezreal.” she responded simply, “He’s growing his out too, he said whoever gets their hair cut short first has to loudly state in public that they're dumb and their opponent is the smartest person in Piltover.”

Viktor huffed a laugh as well, shaking his head, “Ah, bruising his ego I see.” he mused, “And you’re sure you will win?”

Powder smirked confidently, her eyes determined as she stared ahead, “I can't lose, not to him. That's more of an embarrassment then the punishment.”

“Then maybe you should be more careful with your hair.” Viktor teased, gently flicking the top of Powder’s head as he continued, “Focus on what you’re doing instead of daydreaming.”

“Maybe focus more on blah blah blah.” Powder mocked, rolling her eyes and giggling when she felt Viktor playfully hit the back of her head once he tied the end of her braid.

“Alright, how is it?” Viktor inquired as he urged Powder to leave her seat, “Go to the mirror.”

Playfully sticking her tongue out, Powder marched over to the mirror near Jayce’s bedroom door, his last ditch effort to fix anything before he left for the day. As Powder pulled herself up to her tiptoes, the girl marveled at her own reflection. “It’s…pretty.” she breathed out.

With her newly cut bangs, Viktor swept them to one side in order to disguise the burnt ends. This was the neatest her hair has ever been placed in a braid, with no flyaways or clumps falling out. It was neat, it was tidy.

It was very Piltovan.

Powder slowly pulled her braid over her shoulder, looking at the neatness of Viktor’s handiwork as she ran her fingers over her soft hair, “I didn’t think my hair could look like this.” she muttered.

Viktor wasn’t too far away, taking his cane and moving across the room to reach for the broom tucked away in the kitchen, “I’ll have to say one thing about Piltover,” he commented idly, walking over to Powder in order to hand her the broom to clean up, “Their hair products are undisputed, it’s no wonder Jayce is so insistent on buying conditioner.”

With a quick laugh, Powder ran back over to their area to start sweeping up the burnt pile of hair on the floor, “Jay is the second most hair obsessed person I’ve ever met.” she remarked, grinning when Viktor hummed in agreement before raising his brow in curiosity.

“Who’s your first?”

“Ezreal.”

Viktor snorted in amusement, shaking his head as he returned to his desk once Powder was done cleaning up, “You know, I should have already figured that out.” he mused.

Looking back at their incomplete project, melding a pair of alloy metals together. Viktor pondered when his life got so comfortable, was it when he arrived in Piltover? No, even being part of this society was overbearing. The scathing stares and the questioning of his own intelligence. Was it when Jayce bombarded into his eyesight with a fascinating dream of a better world? Maybe, though it was hard to learn to work with another person that matched his intellect. When Powder got comfortable with both of them? It seemed more likely, the thought of educating a pupil was never something that passed his mind. But now that he was experiencing it, watching Powder learn her craft and enjoy every minute of it. It made his chest blossom with pride that maybe, just maybe, she was going to make the difference.

As Powder hurried back over to his side, she grinned as she reached over for both their goggles. She planted his pair into his palm as she wrestled to get hers back on. With a sure nod that her eyewear was safely fastened, Powder looked back up to her guardian with an eagerness to master the skills shown to her, “Shall we go back to work?”

Viktor carefully nodded, his smile soft as he turned to showing Powder the basics of welding safety once more.

.

Money is what made progress even possible. Without it, any project wouldn’t have a chance of making it to the spotlight. It was a sad truth, and one Jayce just wished could be eased for the prosperity that Hextech could provide.

They just have to get a good start.

That was why he was awkwardly sitting in a much too plush patio loveseat in the Kiramman’s observatory. Sitting across from Councilor Kiramman as she sipped her tea and listened to Jayce literally beg her for the funds needed to get Hextech moving.

“If I could just have a temporary loan, Mrs. Kiramman.” he pleaded, his hand wringing together as he swallowed his pride, “Viktor and I have finally gotten headway to the teleportation project. We just need extra funds to set up a positioning system and materials for a prototype.”

He watched as Mrs. Kiramman sighs as she places her tea cup down, her hands delicately folding over her lap as she looks at her sponsee with a reserved amount of pity.

She regarded him slowly, as if spelling out to him what he already knew, “Jayce, you heard the Council’s decision. Because of your lackluster report, your funds were cut.” she stated, her eyes cold as she watched Jayce hunch over more and rub at his temples..

“I-I know, but please.” he sighed out, looking back up to the councilwoman with a desperation in his eyes, “I’m not asking you as a councilor, Mrs. Kiramman. I’m asking you as my sponsor.”

Jayce always had a way of using his words to entice a crowd, and it was just as effective to his benefactor as she looked over Jayce with a calculating stare. She was always the mediator of the extremes, and even if she didn’t outright fully support Hextech, she supported Jayce.

The man watched her contemplate her choices, her lips tight as her gaze questionable as she leaned forward to take her tea cup once more and take a thoughtful sip.

All was silent, with Jayce holding his breath in anxiousness as he swallowed the lump in his throat.

“I’ll give you the loan.” Mrs. Kiramman stated finally, breaking the silence and watching as Jayce slumped his shoulders in relief, “Under one circumstance, of course.”

Jayce didn’t even think as he nodded his head, letting his breath leave easily, “Anything, thank you Mrs. Kiramman.”

Mrs. Kiramman hummed softly, tapping the porcelain of her cup to state casually, “Let us take Powder with us to our vacation home for the holidays.” she watched as Jayce tensed, his fists clenching as his head snapped up to look at the older woman, “Don’t get upset, I have no ulterior motives.”

Jayce was still cautious, his eyes unwavering as he looked to his sponsor suspiciously, “Then why invite her?” he carefully inquired. He watched as Mrs. Kiramman sighed softly, looking over the various plants they had growing to distract herself as she muttered quietly.

“It’s…Caitlyn.” she finally admitted, her shoulders dropping as she looked back to Jayce with more emotion behind her eyes, “She hasn't wished to go back to the countryside since…well, Chief Grayson’s death.”

After a moment of thought, his memory of the previous chief in his old workshop popped up. How she interrogated him about his illegal equipment, it was the same day he met Viktor. The first day he was arrested. He slowly nodded as he mumbled out, “Chief Grayson was the woman that inspired Caitlyn to be a markswoman, wasn’t she?” he asked tentatively, remembering the few occasions he had with Caitlyn talking about Chief Grayson letting her win a competition.

“Gods forbid I inspire her to do something.” Mrs. Kiramman remarked a bit dryly as she nodded, “But I was hoping…if she had a friend go with her she would be more inclined to go.” she stated calmly.

Jayce nodded softly in understanding, knowing Mrs. Kiramman only meant well for her daughter’s sake. But there was no fault for Caitlyn wishing to never return to a place of fond memories, the wound would be too raw. Too hurtful to remember someone you cared about no longer being there. He bitterly remembered the warm hearth of his old home before he sighed and shook his head of such thoughts, “I’ll ask Powder-keg, how about that?” he asked gently, “I don’t want to sign her up for something she doesn’t want to do.”

But Mrs. Kiramman only responded with a withering sigh as she looked to Jayce with a more serious regard, “She’s your charge, Jayce. You don’t have to take her input on every decision you make for her. If it's for her best interest, then you should be able to be the one to make that call.” she chastised, watching Jayce flinch while sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. As she took another sip of her tea, Mrs. Kiramman added, “That’s parenthood, Jayce.”

Jayce flinched once more at the thought of factoring this as parenthood. For the past year he inquired every decision he made for Powder with the girl, some choices they had to argue over. Things like doctor checkups and homework, subjects that Jayce had to place his foot down for. But to be told right in his face that he was actively parenting this kid that he and Viktor fought tooth and nail for just to make sure she was under their protection...

Could they really call themselves Powder’s parents?

Wait, they?

Jayce shook his head, rubbing his temples before slowly standing up to stretch his legs, “I-I’ll keep that in mind, Mrs. Kiramman.” he muttered before looking up over to the window of Caitlyn’s bedroom and sighing, “I’ll still ask her, though. I’ll ask Caitlyn too, if she wouldn’t mind watching over Powder-keg.”

The elder woman seemed to understand Jayce’s intentions as he stood up, nodding softly as she gestured him to go on ahead as she remarked, “She’s in her room, you know where it is.”

With a nod and a small thank you, Jayce departed from the conservatory and walked through the halls of the Kiramman estate to find the mahogany door that a grumbling teenager could be heard from. With a few series of knocks, Jayce was greeted with a disgruntled Caitlyn rolling her eyes as she spoke.

“Mother, I told you, I’m not going to pack- Jayce?” she asked hurriedly as she noticed that it wasn’t her mother at the door, with a swift few steps she wrapped her arms about her surrogate sibling, “Why didn't you tell me you were here?” she grumbled despite the wide grin on her face.

Jayce huffed a small laugh, embracing the girl as he ruffled her hair, “Sorry, I was mostly here for business.” he apologized before pulling Caitlyn back, “How are you?”

The teen huffed and rolled her eyes, “Too busy, with the holidays coming up, school has been swamping me with assignments.” she answered before swiveling around Jayce to look for a small blue head of hair, “Did you bring Powder?” she inquired when there was no sight of the younger girl.

Jayce chuckled as he messed up Caitlyn’s hair once more, earning a huff from her as he answered, “Not today, Viktor wanted to teach her basic welding today.” It seemed like a good leeway, as Jayce anxiously rubbed the back of his neck to bring it up, “Speaking of Powder-keg, I have a proposition for you.”

Either he was too quiet or Caitlyn didn’t hear him, “Damn. I got her a present.” she muttered, pulling Jayce inside and forcing him to sit at the edge of her bed while she opened her closet up. Jayce quietly regarded the room, the pristine of clean that he knew Caitlyn didn’t upkeep if it wasn’t for the help of the maid services, he glanced over at the open suitcase near the closet, barren of any signs of packing for the holidays soon around the corner.

He vaguely wondered what they were going to do for the holidays before Caitlyn broke the silence, “What are you implying?” she asked, leaning back out of the closet to watch Jayce fumble with his words.

“I-I, well…” he began, sighing before finally spilling out, “Your mom told me you don’t want to go to the vacation home.”

The girl seemed quiet for a moment, watching Jayce’s every move as she processed what to say. Her gaze was emotional, her brows furrowed with a reserved sadness that she kept to herself.

“I…” she began, her voice cracking before she quickly cleared her throat to push down her swelling emotions, “It’s still too fresh, knowing Chief Grayson’s gone. I went by her grave the other day.” she muttered reluctantly, looking down to her feet as her shoulders pulled together.

Jayce gave Caitlyn a sympathetic hum, patting the spot next to him for Caitlyn to trudge over and sit before leaning her head against his shoulder. With a gentle movement of his arm he pulled the girl close, “How was it?” he asked quietly, giving Caitlyn the time to muster up the will to speak.

“It’s still covered in fresh flowers, people still miss her.” she weakly mumbled, her voice wet with unshed tears as she reached up to rub at her eyes, “I…still miss her.”

Unsure of how to comfort the girl, Jayce tried to come up with something. Gently he leaned his head against Caitlyn’s, not acknowledging her quiet tears as he spoke, “She was a good woman, despite how little I got to know her.” he huffed a small laugh as he shrugged, “She was the one to arrest me after all.”

Caitlyn couldn’t help her small laugh, shaking her head as she commented, “Maybe she had the right idea, with how much trouble you cause.”

“Maybe…” Jayce laughed gently, looking across the room as the bitter subject of loss came up once more, instead of facing his own problems, he spoke of someone else’s, “Powder-keg lost people the day Chief Grayson died.” he muttered.

“She doesn’t talk about them much.”

“I can’t blame her, talking about loss is…hard to talk about.” he stated softly, rubbing Caitlyn’s shoulder as she worked to wipe tears away, “But that’s why you have others around you to support you through the hard times.”

Caitlyn took her time to digest what Jayce said, but quickly enough she gave a small laugh as she looked up to the man with a teasing glare, “Like how Viktor hugs you when you’re stressed?”

Jayce flinched, his face warming up as he looked anywhere that was in Caitlyn’s direction, “How did you-”

The girl’s teasing continued as she reached to prod at Jayce’s sides, “I’ve been over at the workshop enough to see my fair share, thank you.” she mused before gently nudging Jayce to look back over to her as she asked, “Now what was this proposition?”

“Right…” Jayce mumbled, clearing his throat and willing down his flushed face as he continued, “Your mom wants you to go to the vacation home when the holidays come up, she wants to invite Powder-keg as well.”

Caitlyn widened her eyes, her expression surprised and dubious as she pressed on, “She does?”

With a nod, Jayce sighed gently, “She says it might be better if you went with a friend.” he stated, taking a breath to finally look back down to Caitlyn, “Powder-keg could use the break too, I think. Hanging out with workaholic men could have some negative connotations when you think about it.” he joked lightly, laughing a bit anxiously as Caitlyn didn’t seem to laugh with him.

“Would Powder even want to go?” she asked, her gaze doubtful that Powder would even agree considering her devotion to learning Hextech.

Jayce shrugged, “I think she’d be happy as long as she had someone with her.” he answered honestly as he reached up to mess up Caitlyn’s hair again, “She looks up to you.”

“I’m not much worth looking up to, just a sheltered girl in a cage.” Caitlyn remarked, pulling her legs up to rest her head against her knees, grumbling a little bit when Jayce rapped his knuckles against her head.

Jayce seemed to laugh at her grumbling, “Well, there’s something about you that makes her jealous when I don’t take her here to see you.” he stated causally, grinning when Caitlyn lifted her big blue eyes to look at him hopefully, “So maybe there’s a lot of worth here in this empty skull of yours.” he added on, giving a few more knocks to her head before she bubbled out a laugh and pushed his hand away.

“Shut up, fine, fine. I’ll go if Powder goes.” Caitlyn giggled out as she grinned at the taller man, “Happy?”

“Not really,” Jayce teased, tightening his hold around Caitlyn’s shoulders and using his fist to rub at the top of the girl’s head, “One more of these should do it!”

Caitlyn erupted in a shrill series of giggles, kicking her legs to wrestle out of Jayce’s grip as she rasped out, “Jayce! Please!” she begged, her fists pounding on Jayce’s arm as she tried to fight back, “Wait! I concede! I have something!”

With the declaration of surrender, Jayce released his prisoner and laughed when Caitlyn gave him one last punch before launching from the bed, “What is it?”

“Hold on,” Caitlyn addressed as she walked back into the closet to start digging through the plethora of clothes hanging, “It’s more of a hand-me-down but since it’s getting colder I think she’ll like it!”

Jayce shrugged as he leaned back, watching heaps of clothes carelessly being thrown to the floor as Caitlyn scoured, “She’s no stranger to hand-me-downs, Mom made sure of that.” he reflected with a sigh as he made a mental note to speak to his mother sometime soon.

Almost haphazardly, a box was deposited in Jayce’s lap. With Caitlyn triumphantly standing with her hands to her hips and she gestured for Jayce to open it. Carefully Jayce pulled the top off, waiting to see something gaudy and unfashionable but was mildly surprised by the dark thick fabric folded neatly in the box. Hesitantly he pulled the garment out, getting a good look at it as he raised an eyebrow.

“A hoodie?” he inquired, turning the fabric around in his hands and noticing the crossed drawstrings that made it look artfully in the shape of an ‘X’, he chuckled as he shook the garments in Caitlyn’s direction, “It’s already rather big for you, this is going to engulf her.”

Caitlyn chuckled as she shrugged, “She’ll grow into it, it’s really loose but it keeps you warm.”

“I’ll be sure to give it to her then.” Jayce muttered, folding the jacket back up and placing it back into its rightful place, “She’ll love it.”

“I know she will.” Caitlyn said with confidence, nodding to herself as Jayce laughed and stood up.

“Okay, smartass.” Jayce teased, ruffling Caitlyn’s poor abused head as he passed by her, “I should get going, finalize business with your mom and head home. Will you start packing for your vacation now?” he inquired, watching Caitlyn hum in thought before nodding.

“I’ll pack only my socks until I get confirmation.” she threatened lightly, causing Jayce to shake his head before he made it to the doorway and looked back to the mischievous girl with a grin.

“Deal.”

.

“How did you rope me into this?” Viktor muttered darkly.

Powder giggled as she continued her work, “It’s my wit and charm, now do you want any sparkles?”

With a sigh, Viktor shook his head and looked up to the ceiling in dismay, “No thank you. I would rather get back to work.”

Work was what they were supposed to be doing, but Powder always had other plans. It started off a simple bet, with Viktor placing the wager of Power successfully melding the joints together with no imperfections. Powder said she would clean her room if he won, and if he lost…well.

“Too bad.” Powder mused as she finished the last finger and gave it a securing blow before making Viktor raise his arm in the air, “Keep your hand in the air, it needs to dry.”

Decorating his right hand was the standoff and bright color of a neon pink on his fingernails. Viktor sighed as he leaned back on the couch, his bad leg was stretched out while his other leg was curled up so Powder could be as close as she needed to be to reach for his other hand and reapply her paint to her brush.

“This is too much work.” Viktor commented, sighing as he couldn’t even reach for his book anymore as Powder held his fingers in a vice grip as she painted.

“Say the man who thinks reading the periodic table is a fun pastime.” Powder teased as she placed her focus on an even coat of paint, giving a soft blow to the first nail and moving onto the rest.

“Because it is.” Viktor defended.

Powder pursed her lips as she let air escape her lips as she shook her head, “You are somehow the most erratic and most boring person I have ever met.”

Viktor rolled his eyes as he gently nudged her with his foot to purposely mess up her painting, “Now you’re being contradictory.”

“For that I’m painting little red hearts.” Powder stated, as she fished through her nail polish box for a deep red bottle to plant next to her other bottle, “Keep it up and I’ll add flowers.”

With a huff, Viktor conceded and let Powder continue her art project. With a careful hand and a moment of silence, Powder finished the last of the painting and motioned for Viktor to let his other hand hang in the air to dry. Once he did, Powder retrieved the other hand, inspecting her work before glancing up to her guardian as he lazily watched her make his life a living hell.

“So have you and Jay kissed yet?” she blurted out, watching her guardian flinch and widen his eyes as the faintest dusting of pink dressed over his cheeks.

“E-Excuse me?” Viktor stuttered, narrowing his eyes as the girl just laughed at him, “Should a little girl be meddling in business like this?”

“You’re my guardians! It’s kind of hard not to meddle!” Powder giggled out, her eyes elated to see such a reaction for her usually stoic guardian as she pressed on, “So have you?”

Viktor was quiet for a long moment, struggling to keep his facial expression in check as he forced himself to look away in order to not look at Powder’s cheeky face, “...No, we have not.” he answered eventually.

“Why not?” Powder inquired, leaning forward and turning in her seated position so Viktor couldn’t escape her sights, “You both look at each other like you want to kiss.” she mused, taking delight as Viktor’s dusted pink turned darker, his eyes frantic as he looked anywhere else.

“It’s…complicated, Powder.” he excused, gently pushing the girl back and patting her shoulder in hopes of satisfying her need to question, “Can we change the subject?” he pleaded, feeling even more embarassed when Powder just giggled more.

“No way!” Powder resisted, her grin too wide for her one good as she gently shook Viktor’s hand in excitement, “I’ve never seen you this red! Do you really like Jay? Like, like-like him?”

Viktor groaned as he lolled his head to the side to rest against his shoulder, he didn’t want to talk about this. Especially with Powder of all people.

The subject of Jayce Talis was…complicated. To say the least.

“I can’t say…” he answered quietly, “He is a very smart man with his goals set. It’s admirable.”

But Powder wasn’t convinced with just that answer, pressing furthermore as she tried to get the answer she wanted out of her guardian, “But do you want to kiss him?”

Viktor sighed, glancing at Powder briefly before letting his eyes fall to the mirror next to Jayce’s bedroom door. It was decorated with a small shelf that Jayce keeps his spare pomade, his spare cologne, a comb, and useless pins with the Talis symbol in plain sight, “Powder, listen, even if I wanted to kiss him, he’s unreachable.” he responded slowly, a knot in his stomach forming as he recalled the conversation the both of them shared a few weeks back.

They were just partners.

“What do you mean?” Powder asked, unknowing of Viktor’s discomfort as she continued, “You’re literally five inches shorter than him, just pull him do-”

“No, Powder I mean…” Viktor interrupted, pausing to think of how to explain before sighing, “The people of Piltover are turning their heads in his direction, once Hextech is finally realized, he’ll no longer need an Undercity man in his shadow.” he remarked gently, pleased as the conversation seemed to die down for just a moment.

But Powder didn’t like that answer, her fists clenching around Viktor’s hand as she furrowed her brows in disappointment over her guardian’s disregard to his own feelings.

“Bullshit.” she muttered, tugging at Viktor’s hand to make him look back to her as she glared at him, “Vik! Jay needs you! He needs both of us! There’s no way he’ll forget us! Ever!” she exclaimed, her smile a bit desperate as she held onto her Viktor like it was her last lifeline.

She couldn’t think of a day that would separate them now, not ever. It was always going to be Jayce, Viktor and her working on Hextech. Making the world a better place for everyone. Making everyone happy.

So why couldn’t Viktor accept being happy with them?

Powder watched as Viktor sighed and looked away again, silent as not to argue against the other but his face still revealed he was dubious of what his ward said. Powder chewed at her bottom lip, anxiety rising as she searched her brain for any ideas.

“How about this?” Powder asked hurriedly, her gaze hopeful as Viktor shifted his amber gaze over to her, “If you tell Jay your feelings…I’ll go to therapy. No more fights about it.”

Viktor seemed doubtful, but by the way his eyebrow raised, Powder could tell he was interested, “You’ll actually go?” he asked skeptically, doubting the girl since from day one she’s fought for any type of professional help.

She was sure she didn’t need it, but if it was to make sure her guardians were happy.

Powder was sure she’d take a bullet if it meant to make her guardians happy.

“Cross my heart and hope to die.”

Viktor seemed unsure, his posture steady as he sat up and regarded Powder carefully, scanning over her person for any crossed fingers before finally sighing, “I’ll…think about it, alright?”

“Fine.” Powder huffed, a smile on her face as she was satisfied with what Viktor said and took a moment to look over the hand she had her grip on. With a devious grin, Powder reached over for the red nail polish, “Keep your hands still, it’s time for the hearts.”

The both of them fell quiet once again as Powder worked, and even afterwards when the girl was done. Instead of working, Powder kept Viktor in his place by basically laying against him as he read his textbook, a simple book on physics that didn’t interest Powder too much as she read with him. But it was peaceful to feel Viktor’s fingers mindlessly carding through her bangs as he regarded towards his book with interest.

The only thing that pulled Powder to sit up was the sound of the door opening from the lower floor, and Jayce’s booming voice echoing throughout the workshop.

“I’m home!” he called out, grinning as he saw Powder running up to lean against the railing to wave to her guardian as he headed up to the stairs.

“Welcome back.” Viktor muttered softly as he didn’t move from his spot, only glancing from the stairway as Powder rushed to Jayce’s side and threw her arms around him. With a chuckle Jayce brought his free arm around his ward’s middle and spun her around, much to her glee as she laughed in delight.

Keeping her hanging from his arm, Jayce slowly passed by the half completed project on Viktor’s desk to regard the man lounging on the couch “What are you doing?” he asked, narrowing his eyes slightly and leaning forward to notice the bright colors on his partner’s hands, “What happened to your hands?”

Viktor rolled his eyes as he made a pointed nod to the little girl he was carrying, her grin mischievous as she giggled, “Got a manicure against my will, what does it look like?” he challenged lightly before huffing as he watched Jayce lean closer to inspect his brightly colored nails.

“Hm,” Jayce hummed loudly as he grinned at Viktor before teasingly complimented, “Nice hearts.”

“Bah.” Viktor scoffed as he rolled his eyes.

Powder laughed as she squirmed out of Jayce’s hold, smiling confidently as she jabbed her thumb into her chest to take the credit for Viktor’s artwork, “Thank you, I made Vik’s hands look very pretty.” she commented, laughing a bit when she heard Viktor grumbling.

“So did Mrs.Kiramman approve of the loan?” Viktor asked, hoping to steer the conversation away from his newly colored nails to the situation at hand.

Jayce seemed quick to catch on as he cleared his throat and nodded, “Yeah, yeah she did.” he answered before turning to Powder, “And she invited you to go to Kiramman's vacation home for the holidays.”

“Vacation home?” the girl questioned, her face confused as she looked between her guardians, “Like going out of town? What about you guys?”

Viktor sighed as he reached over to mess up Powder’s hair, “We can suffice, Powder. You should spend your holidays taking a break and having fun.” he offered, watching the pre-teen pout. She looked ready to refuse the offer, but Jayce was quick to jump in.

“Caitlyn really wants you to go with her, so you wouldn’t be lonely for the holidays.” he added hastily, jumping a bit in surprise as he took the box from under his arm and handed it over to his charge, “She got you a present too.”

Powder widened her eyes at the box handed to her, and hastily she opened the box and let it fall as she held out the jacket in her hands. Now completely laid out, the jacket was definitely larger than Powder. A deep dark gray that almost rivaled being black, with a simple hood and the drawstrings crossed with brass colored eyelets. It wasn’t much to gawk at, if anything it was more surprising Caitlyn had anything like this in her closet.

“A jacket?” Powder asked gently as she thumbed the fabric and was already throwing the garment over her head, “I like the drawstrings.” she added, her voice muffled.

Jayce huffed a small laugh as the girl struggled to pull the jacket on, crossing his arms as he leaned against the back of the couch to watch his ward struggle, “I told her it was a bit big for you, but she says you’d like it.”

With a gasp, Powder pulled her head from the depths of her new jacket, taking her time to pull her sleeves up and give herself a turn around to make sure everything was straight before referring to her guardians for advice, “How do I look?”

Viktor gave a snort as he shook his head, amused as he commented, “Like a tiny child lost in their dad’s oversized clothes.”

Powder responded by sticking her tongue out before sighing heavily, “Good enough.” she muttered before looking back up to Jayce and nodding, “Okay, I’ll go. Just don’t miss me too much though, and make sure to stay on schedule.”

“Yes, because you definitely know how to keep us on track.” Viktor sarcastically muttered, sputtering a bit when Jayce tapped the top of his head to get him to shut up.

Jayce softened his gaze to Powder, reaching to pat her head gently as he stated softly, “We’ll make sure to be focused, Powder-keg.”

With a shine in her eye, Powder leaned into the pat on her head and sighed softly. This was what she was talking about, this was what she would sacrifice anything for. A peaceful bliss that came from a warm home with people that cared about her.

Gently Jayce nudged her, tilting his head to the stairs as he suggested, “Let's go out and buy you something to carry your stuff.”

Powder nodded excitedly, taking the first few steps to leave before noticing that Viktor had yet to leave from his spot. With a devious smile, Powder walked back over to her disgruntled guardian to start pulling him up to stand, “As long as Viktor comes with us!” she demanded. It was amusing watching Viktor narrow his eyes at her, trying to pry her off and refuse to be dragged around town. He was going to succeed at it too, but the sight of Powder and Jayce double teaming him with large pleading eyes…it was too much.

“I’m getting no work done today, aren’t I?” Viktor sighed in dismay, taking his cane and pulling himself up to stand as Powder cheered and started racing downstairs to beat her guardians to the door.

Jayce gave Viktor a sympathetic pat on the back, walking with him to the lift as he tried to lift the man’s spirits, “We can go to the new gelato place down the street from the Academy.”

But all that Jayce got in return was Viktor’s irritable glare that held no heat, “I’m taking that as a yes.”

Jayce could only offer and smile and a shrug before pressing the button to the lift to catch up with their excitable kid.

Chapter Text

Spending three weeks outside of Piltover was…strange.

Powder had never seen frost and snow like this before, not even from her time topside. With how the coast was, the sea breeze always came from the south, bringing its warm air from Shurima and turning any chances of snow into a heavy downpour.

But out here…just far enough inland to see Piltover on the horizon, the frost was everywhere. It was dazzling for the first few days out with the Kiramman family, wearing warm clothes and walking around the small town just a mile away from the vacation house. Caitlyn seemed to have a blast just showing Powder everything there was to offer, from baked goods in cozy shops to snowball fights out in the estate’s courtyard.

It was even more surprising to see how casual Caitlyn’s parents were in this environment. With only a few servants around, the Kirammans cooked their meals. Mrs. Kiramman playfully bickered with her husband as they spent their evenings sitting in a loveseat and enjoying wine. Powder actually got to see just how cool Caitlyn’s dad actually was. It was weird, watching the Kiramman family interact as a bystander.

She missed not having Jayce and Viktor around to experience this with her, but Caitlyn seemed hellbent on making her forget her homesickness to just have fun for once. Just as Viktor said before she left with the Kirammans, no tinkering, no explosives, no Hextech.

Just pure childish fun.

And it was just that. For a while.

Then the parties came.

There was at least one every day. Powder wasn’t expecting that she was going to be attending parties, so Mrs. Kiramman got her a nice dress for such events. It was usually full of adults all hanging around and talking about their business exploits or the latest animal they hunted. The usual drab topics that Powder stuck around Caitlyn for the majority of the event unless Caitlyn’s mother dragged her to speak with old men and women who wanted to know what the teen was doing.

This party was no different, Powder thought boredly when she blew the hair from her eyes, holding her bunny in her lap to lazily play with his ears as she waited for Caitlyn to escape her current conversation. It was a brunch event, overlooking the vineyards as mindless talk kept on around her. She was bored of this, desperate to go outside and play in the frost.

“Hey.” sighed out the already tired teen as she slid into the seat besides Powder, “Sorry, I was dragged off again.”

Powder sighed, “It’s fine.” she mumbled before looking around the party floor again, “When are we going to be done with all of this?”

“Who knows, I’m just as bored as you are.” Caitlyn huffs, crossing her arms over the table to rest her head. She seemed irritated, her brows furrowed, her large pout was evident as she grumbled, “They won’t stop asking me to join the Sharpshooter’s competition.”

With Powder’s curious look, Caitlyn elaborated with a sigh and a roll of her eyes, “It’s a yearly tournament in town, you shoot targets against an opponent. I won one of the competitions a couple years back.”

“And you don’t wanna win again?” Powder inquired, shrugging eventually as she looked down to her rabbit, “I think it’d be fun to win something like that.”

“I…” Caitlyn started, her gaze nervous as she briefly bit her lip before admitting, “I’m out of touch…I haven’t practiced since…” she didn’t dare complete her sentence, her lips tights as Powder watched her. Thankfully the younger girl understood when someone didn’t want to talk about their feelings, and unlike some she didn’t want to pry.

Powder hummed gently as she tried to distract Caitlyn from her slump, “Why don’t we practice then?” she offered, giving a small nervous smile as she meekly laughed, “I can shoot a gun…kinda.”

It seemed to amuse Caitlyn enough, her eyebrow raised as she gently huffed a laugh before looking at the girl, “Kinda?” she asked, obviously wanting more of an explanation for Powder’s sudden gun skills.

“I was really good at a shooting game when I was younger.” Powder informed with a small playful nudge at Caitlyn to cease her upcoming teasing, “I…think trying out the real thing would be cool though.” she admitted, giving a shrug as she looked back down to her bunny to hold him close.

“Hm,” Caitlyn pondered for several moments, the both of them silent besides the dull rumbling of chatter around them. Eventually Caitlyn sat up a bit straighter, her eyes shining in excitement as she began, “You know what? We’re here for two more weeks, let’s ask my Father to teach you how to handle a gun.”

With a tilt of her head, a hopeful smile on her face, Powder asked, “Really?”

“I don’t see why not,” Caitlyn responded with a shrug, before extending her hand out to point past the vineyard, into the gloomy morning fog in the horizon, “We can practice at the shooting range.”

With an unsure nod, Powder’s eyesight followed where Caitlyn was pointing, “That sounds like fun.” she mumbled before glancing back at Caitlyn, her features meek and her shoulders pulled closer as she mumbled out, “It wouldn’t be too much trouble?”

Caitlyn chuckled as she reached over to ruffle Powder’s hair, grinning when the younger girl pouted and tried to bat her hand away, “Nah, if anything Father will be ecstatic to teach someone new.”

Powder giggled as she pushed the offending hand away, her grin wide as she nodded confidently, “Okay. yeah, let’s do it.”

This vacation was about to get a lot more fun.

.

It was quiet.

Too quiet.

Powder slowly ran up to the nearby tree trunk, her harsh puffs of air visible as she quickly went to reload her pistol with a few swift movements. It was fluid, quickly done in a matter of less than a minute as Powder scanned the treeline for her opponent.

Caitlyn had the advantage, she had distance and the experience with the rifle compared to the simplicity of handling and the novicity that Powder’s pistol had. The older girl had the lead by one point, and if she got the final target she’d be a shoe in to win their little contest.

It took over a week for Powder to push herself to learn how to handle a gun properly, with the praise of Mr. Kiramman and Caitlyn’s encouragement she was able trudge forward to being a novice at best.

But she had very good aim.

Powder held her breath when she heard the soft sound of twigs snapping, keeping herself low as she scanned once more for her opponent. Just across the clearing, lining her shot, was Caitlyn, her hair tied back and her breath coming out evenly.

The sound of the green target springing up was quickly followed by the echo of Caitlyn’s shot.

“Green!” she called out, grinning and giving Powder a brief smirk before standing up straight and running.

Damn, now she was down by two.

Powder huffed before pushing on, her eyes set ahead as she remembered the path to take to meet all the targets. Now that she was allowed to handle a gun, Caitlyn always wanted to test their limits. The obstacle course in the Kiramman’s vast backyard was the best, with designated areas the targets would be for the girls to constantly go against each other in their competitions.

Caitlyn won most of them, she was just gloating now.

The sound of the target moving made Powder snap her pistol up, scanning over with her eyes briefly before shooting the second a flash of yellow was seen.

The bullet drilled through old wood, shattering it and leaving wood scraps to fall from its perch.

“Yellow!” Powder shouted.

Powder grinned when she heard Caitlyn’s loud groan and ran forward, now they were even. If she just keeps up, chooses the right targets, hopefully finds two more yellow targets to get ahead. The final target shouldn’t matter.

Another gunshot.

“Yellow!” she heard the distant should Caitlyn yelled.

Powder hissed as she quickened her sprint, “Fuck, fuck, fuck.” hearing the squeak of a target she shot again, making a sour face at the target's color before huffing out, “Green!”

Caitlyn's laugh was echoing throughout the forest, making Powder shake her head as she couldn’t help but laugh as well.

Who couldn’t? This was fun.

This was more fun than the arcade! There she was stationary, and there was no competition. This made her blood pump, her breath heave, and her heart race. Was this what living as a topsider was like?

”Watch where you aim that thing, Jinx.”

Powder stopped immediately in her tracks, her breath catching in her throat as the flash of blue and reds came back. They never spoke to her like that before. She let out a shuddering breath as she scanned the treeline, for Caitlyn, for whoever spoke to her, for anyone really.

”Don’t want another accident to happen.” taunted the voice. A familiar, cocky voice that Powder couldn’t forget even if she tried.

If she didn’t acknowledge it, it would go away. Surely it would go away if she just focused and stopped thinking.

The overwhelming presence behind her was too distracting, the ringing of her ears making her forget where she was. Not now. Not like this.

”Looking really fancy in the new get up, who knew killing us would give you such a good life?” it continued, the flash of spiky hair flashing at her peripheral. It wasn’t him. It couldn’t have been him.

“Shut up.” Powder whispered, her hands shaking as she raised her pistol up, “Please…just shut up.”

”Look at you! All big and tough now that you know how to shoot.” it seemed to continue despite Powder’s pleas, “I bet you wish you had these skills back then, you could have been worth taking out on to do jobs.”

“I said shut up!” Powder snarled, whipping around and aiming at Mylo as she shot. The loud sound of wood splintering snapped her back, the yellow target barely hanging on its perch.

“Y-Yellow!” Powder called out, her gaze wild as she spotted him everywhere. In the treeline, near the bushes, over the hill. Why was he here? Why was he torturing her?

Powder flinched at the sound of Caitlyn’s gun going off again, seconds later with Caitlyn yelling, “Yellow!”

His voice was overbearing, taunting, and annoying all at once. Powder gripped the sides of her head to get him to stop, running as far as she could to get away.

Why was she being happy? Her family was gone and she was here enjoying herself. She should be sad, they were dead, she was alive. Why did she live? To be tortured for the rest of her life by long dead ghosts that reminded her everyday of what she did?

”It’s all your fault, Jinx.” she heard Mylo yell, ”You should have stayed out of it!”

“No…no…” Powder whimpered, spotting the edge of the treeline and the opening of the field, the finish line, the last target.

”You can’t run away from this one! Not this time! Mylo called out, his voice starting from behind her and traveling forward, past her, out to the forest’s edge, “It’s bound to happen again! With Jayce, with Viktor! With your friends! They’ll all leave one day when they learn how much bad luck you bring!”

Powder screamed as she sprinted towards the light, past the shrubbery, into the cold expanse of a clear ice kissed field. Her gun extended as she glowered at the raising target, the red target flashing into the stupid illustration of Mylo, his lines boldly colored and ‘x’s over his eyes.

She grinned when she pulled the trigger.

Silence. Pure silence.

Powder kept staring at the shattered remains of the target, her breath heavy as the ringing stopped, Mylo’s presence no longer around. It was over. It was finally over. As a light rain started to blanket over the field, Powder sagged her shoulders and let her pistol hang from her hand.

“Red.”

She won by one point.

.

Both girls were silent as they sat beside each other and wiped their guns down in the safety of the gazebo. The chilling rain comes as a downpour and haulting both girls from running through it lest they catch a cold. Caitlyn was carefully disassembling her rifle, wiping the rain away as she glanced over at her shooting buddy. Ever since Powder’s victory, the girl hasn’t spoken, quiet in her ministrations of cleaning the pistol in her hand.

“We should do this next year.” Caitlyn began, breaking the silence and watching Powder turn her head towards the older girl, “It’s been fun…having you here.” she admitted.

Powder looked at Caitlyn for a long moment, her eyes holding a deep sadness as the smile she made never made it to her eyes, “It’s been fun being here,” she mumbled, “We could sign up for the competition next year.”

Caitlyn tried to ease the tension with a small laugh, “I don’t think that would be fair to the other competitors.” she joked, waiting for Powder to join her only to be responded with silence. Powder turned back to the gun in her lap, fiddling with the smaller pieces as she kept to herself. Hesitantly, Caitlyn scooted a bit closer, “Are you…okay, Powder?” she asked cautiously, her hand gentle on her friend’s arm as she just barely gave her a glance.

“I…” Powder began, sighing softly as she felt her shoulders sag, “Yeah, I’m okay.” she muttered, turning her head away to look out at the downpour, how the water fell in a steady stream from the gazebo’s roof. The chill of the wind passed by both of them, causing the smaller girl to shiver as she held herself close, “I'm just…homesick.” she finally confessed.

Gently, Caitlyn rubbed Powder arm to comfort her, “You’ll be back soon.” she encouraged with a soft smile, “It’s just a few more days now, and then you can tell Jayce and Viktor about everything we did over the holida-”

“No…not that home,” Powder interrupted, inhaling deeply as she wrapped around her legs to pull them closer, “I miss my old home. In the Lanes.” she corrected.

For a long moment, there was silence, Caitlyn pausing her comforting to chew at her lip anxiously as Powder rested her head against her knees, “Oh…” was all she could mutter out lamely.

Powder sighed, making her frame smaller as she fought off the chill, “I know, it’s dumb. But…I miss it.” she mumbled, her eyes shining with unshed tears, “I miss them.”

The silence carried on, with several minutes of Caitlyn watching her friend fight back the tears she so desperately wanted to cry. What could Caitlyn even say? She didn’t know how the Undercity was, she didn’t know anything about the world outside of the Bluewind Court. For years she was kept under the watchful gaze of her mother and those around her, always expecting the best from a councilor’s daughter. But what was the point of all of that?

Because of who she was, she didn’t have a real friend her age. They wanted to know her for her privileges, for parties and notoriety with other houses.

Powder was different. Even being so young, Caitlyn found more fun in hanging out with her and her friends immensely more than anything the kids around her age could offer. It was the same when she just had Jayce to hang out with, someone that wasn't her friend for her parent’s sponsorship, he already had that. He just befriended her cause he saw a lonely kid amongst a sea of adults and wanted her to laugh at his dumb jokes.

What would Jayce say in a situation like this?

Caitlyn took her time to think, brainstorming as she carefully brought her arm up, wrapping it around Powder’s shoulder and pulling her into an awkward one armed hug, “Tell me about it.” she softly said, looking down as Powder lifted her head up with a genuine confusion upon her features.

“What?” she rasped, her throat filled with emotion she tried so desperately to hold back.

“About your old home,” Caitlyn clarified, “What made it so special.”

It took a while for Powder to gather her thoughts, leaning against Caitlyn for comfort as she thought about her old home, “Well…it was under a tavern, my old man ran the bar while we all did our fair share.” she started, a ghost of a smile on her lips as she remembered the soft lights of their room, “It was…cozy. My sister and I shared a bunk bed.”

Another moment of silence went on, with Caitlyn giving an approving nod for Powder to continue. Hesitantly, Powder let in a shaky breath to calm her nerves.

“W-We played a lot in the streets, there was an arcade,” she muttered, giving a shrug as she glanced at her older friend, “I told you about that.”

Caitlyn nodded in affirmation, making a small laugh as she pressed, “Where you learned to shoot, I'm assuming?” she asked.

With a nod, Powder answered softly, “Yeah, I had the top score on it.” she smiled at the gentle memory of neon colors being taken out by rubber bullets, “I fixed it a lot too.” she added.

“It broke a lot? You didn’t have a guy to fix it?” Caitlyn asked, a curious brow lifted as Powder gave her an easy shrug.

“We don’t really have that luxury in the Lanes.” she replied casually, “I was usually the repair girl when it came to the machines in the arcade.”

Caitlyn hummed, having her head fall on top of Powder’s head, “Ah, the typical handyman.” she mused as they both pulled themselves closer together when another chill blew past them.

Powder gave a low huff, shaking her head gently, “A pretty useless skill.” she muttered out dully, “I wasn’t a fighter, like them. I just knew how to build useless gadgets and fix old machines.”

“I don’t think it’s a bad skill to have,” Caitlyn refuted lightly, “If you didn’t fix them, then there would be nothing to play. Then everything would have been more boring.” she tried to offer as a different matter of thinking, smiling a bit when Powder gave a small laugh at her optimism.

“Heh..I guess.” she mused thoughtfully, her eyes slowly traveling back to the rainfall. The horizon unseen by a sheet of water, nothing could be seen in the distance, not even Piltover’s massive towers. Powder vaguely wondered if it was raining this hard back at home, if her guardians were keeping warm.

She thought of the Undercity, her old home, if they were getting the rain as well. If citizens were getting their valuables on higher ground so they wouldn’t be washed away. If the Last Drop took care of the leaky ceiling problem it had. How many inches of flooding were the Lanes going to get this year. She tried to push the thoughts away, not think about her old home. Not to think of the days she missed in the old arcade, “M-My sister had this huge boxing machine, and she liked to practice on it. Her highest score- her highest score was…” she started, pausing as she remembered the lights, the dust, the shattered glass, the constant clicking of the scoreboard when a new record was placed.

“4,800 points.” she mumbled absently.

Caitlyn raised her brows in astonishment, “Wow, you really remember the score?” she asked, clearly impressed by the score itself and Powder’s ability to remember such a small detail. Powder affirmed with a small nod as she gave the older girl a nonchalant shrug.

“I always wanted to get to her score,” she admitted, sighing wistfully as she stared at into the rain, “But I never even got the top dozen.”

Silence. Once again the only sounds being the drowned out noises of rainfall as it eased on its intensity. Caitlyn studied Powder during that time, looking at the girl’s solemn expression as she was busy out looking at nothing.

“Powder, you…” Caitlyn started, clearing her throat in order to get her voice to sound softer, more quiet for a somber moment such as this, “You don’t talk about them much. I don’t even know any of their names.”

The smaller girl visibly swallowed as she tried to form the words from her mouth, “I…” she began, her tone turning hushed as she held herself tightly, “I think it might be for the better. For them to just be a memory.”

But the older girl seemed unconvinced, her mouth turning thin and her eyes filled with worry as she whispered, “Memories fade eventually, Powder.”

Did she want the memories to really fade? Would it be just better if she forgot them? Forgot about Vander, with his playful drinks that he made specifically for her. Forgot about Claggor, his insistent need for Powder to try every pastry he stole from topside before keeping the rest to himself. Forgot about Mylo, even with his cruel words towards her, was loyal to the family without a doubt. Forgot about Ekko, the games they made up in the streets when the older kids were doing their own thing.

Forgot Vi, the girl that was with her from the start. From Powder’s early days in the sumps till the very end. Her soft smile, her soft gaze, how she would caress her face when Powder felt doubt in her heart. The same Vi that made her stay behind, unknowing of the tragedy that would befall upon her. Upon all of them.

“Good.” Powder muttered quietly, slowly pulling herself up to stand and move away from Caitlyn as she tilted her head out to the gentle sprinkle outside, “The rain is letting up.” she stated, the finality of her words indicating that this conversation was over.

Caitlyn seemed to catch on, nodding gently as she pulled her rifle into its case and slung the strap over her shoulder. “It looks like it is, we should get back. Before the storm picks back up again.” she stated, grabbing Powder’s pistol before standing up and walking over to the smaller gun to hand it over. Powder gently held the gun in her hands, gently thumbing over the crafted metal before putting it away in her holster.

“Right.”

The two made the slow trek back to the estate, the rain coming down lightly as the winds died down. It was cold still, Caitlyn watching the puffs of air float away from her lips as she regarded Powder gently.

“Hey Powder.” she started, glancing over as the other girl kept her gaze downward, watching her boots stepping into small puddles as she walked on. When referred to, Powder didn’t look up, just tilted her head slightly to indicate she was listening.

“Yeah?” she asked softly, her gaze still forwards.

Caitlyn chewed on her lip for a moment before carefully saying, “I…I’m sorry…for what happened to them.” she started, watching Powder’s facial features change to something more solemn, “I should have said it sooner, much sooner. I feel like not many people in Piltover have said it enough.” she muttered, her shoulders sagging as she sighed, “I hope they’re in a better place.”

Both girls returned to their silence, Caitlyn fearing that she just screwed up her one and only friendship with whatever she stupid mouth came up with. But she watched as Powder sighed, her gaze sad as reached up to her face and gently tucked her wild bangs behind her ear.

“Yeah…” she mumbled absently, her gaze finally leaving the ground to look up at the cloudy gray sky, “Me too.”

Chapter Text

They had three weeks of unbothered research to attend to. Powder was pivotal to their progress at hand, but she was still a child that distracted them a bit more than Viktor wanted her too.

So with Powder out of the lab for the holidays, Viktor and Jayce worked on their refinement project without fear of their charge having an episode. With only two whole hex crystals left in their arsenal, every test counted for the sake of progress.

That was where they were now, with Jayce bent over his desk with small tools in his hands to get the inner workings of their capacitor in place. Viktor wasn’t too far away either, reviewing their notes and taking time with studying the shards of their dissected crystal for both men to work in peace.

It didn't mean everything was perfect.

Over the past week, since Powder’s departure, something was off. Viktor was more distant than he usually was, only asking for assistance when it was absolutely necessary. So as they both worked silently, Jayce couldn’t help having his eyes travel from his meticulous work to study his partner's form and Viktor’s face. He was obviously deep in thought, but not over the shards. His eyes were on his notebook but not once did his pupils scan over a page. Could he be stuck on something? Jayce vaguely wondered what was wrong with his partner before he winced at his own blunder.

Instead of focusing on his delicate work, his tools betrayed him and stabbed over his own finger. Slowly, Jayce pulled his hands away, setting his instruments down as he inspected the cut. A simple slice of his index finger. It wasn’t too bad, but enough of an injury to get a bandage.

Enough to find something else to distract himself with.

Maybe they did need Powder here after all.

Once Jayce took his time to retrieve his bandage and get himself to walk around the kitchen, he watched as Viktor didn’t even once acknowledge him. The slimmer man was still in his seat, his shoulders hunched and his fingers tapping at the notes in front of him. How his friend could stay in one spot for hours was beyond Jayce’s understanding.

Eventually he gathered the courage to walk up to Viktor’s desk, a mug of sweet milk in his free hand as he gently leaned over the other to place it at a safe distance. At the sight of his arm outstretched did Viktor finally move, startled by the surprise did he turn around to see Jayce standing over him.

He didn’t know how to react to Viktor’s sudden intense stare, how his eyes were wide with bewilderment as his brain was obviously working at a million miles a second, so Jayce tried the basics, “H-Hey, V.” he started, a nervous smile on his face and he gestured to the mug, “I got you something to drink…you haven't moved since this morning.”

It seemed to work well enough, as Viktor turned to look back to the mug before carefully reaching over to take it, “Thank you.” he quietly muttered out, taking the first sip and sighing a bit in relief before following up, “What time is it?”

Jayce gave a small shrug as he leaned his head back to glance at the clock they had in the kitchen, “Uh, looks to be after two. We’ve been at this since six this morning.” he explained, watching Viktor hum in acknowledgement and look back down to his notes, “I’m almost done with our capacitors, though the tools are proving to be a bit harder to use than what I’m used to-”

“Jayce…” Viktor interrupted, his head turning back and his brilliant eyes looking back at the taller man in the way that Jayce knew by now that he needed to shut up.

“Y-Yes?” he whispered.

Just like that, Viktor’s eye contact never lasted longer than a minute at most, he looked down at Jayce’s hand resting against the top of his desk. He seemed to be struggling to speak, with the way his Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed, but slowly he stated with a careful approach, “I think…we need to talk.”

It was Jayce’s turn to swallow this time, his anxieties firing off everything he did in the past couple of weeks that could have garnered Viktor needing to talk to him. Was it over the projects? The prototype they’ve decided to place to the side during the holidays to focus on refinement? Maybe the meeting he had with Mel, he just wanted to tell their most intrigued councilwoman about their discoveries. Viktor was always persnickety about releasing their research early, wanting to gather as much data as they could for the bi-annual reports they had to do.

Maybe it was something small, no need to get too worked up. Jayce made a quick glance to his desk, where his abandoned capacitor lay waiting to be completed.

That had to be it, Jayce turned his head back to lean closer to Viktor, asking hurriedly, “Was it the capacitors? If you think they should hold a higher voltage then I can work on making that happen, though if we want we can-”

Jayce felt a firm hand on his chest, keeping him from moving closer as Viktor stared up at him from his seat, “No, Jayce. It’s not about the capacitors.” he stated, looking at the small space between them as his face twitched in self consciousness, “It’s about…this.” he clarified, gesturing to the space between them.

“Oh…” Jayce lamely muttered, noticing the distance and feeling his face heat up as he stood back straight, “Sorry. D-Do you hate it? I’ll lay off, you’ve always been jumpy with the whole thing. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.” he apologized, already shifting to take a step back before Viktor halted his movements by gently taking hold of the hem of his work vest.

For a moment the both of them were silent, watching each other as tension filled the space between them. Daring them to make the first action, the first sentence.

Viktor seemed distraught, struggling to form his words as he looked at anything besides his lab partner. Was this finally it? Whatever they had between them, was something about to change? Jayce patiently waited for his partner to say his piece, watching every emotion travel across this paler man’s face before he finally gathered up the bravery to speak.

“I…” Jayce couldn’t help but watch Viktor briefly chew on his bottom lip as he paused from speaking, but slowly the man sighed and finally muttered out, “Powder thinks we have…feelings for each other.”

There was silence in the lab once more, with Viktor’s hand still holding onto Jayce’s vest like it was his last life line, with the taller man too stunned to speak as he tried to process what he was told.

Powder thought they were…a thing?

“Excuse me?” Was all that Jayce could breath out.

Viktor seemed to huff at his response, “Ever since you started…” his brow furrowed as he finally released Jayce to give him a slight push away, not even moving the other man as he expressed his frustration, “...showing your gratitude, Powder thinks our relationship as partners in Hextech has drastically changed.”

Jayce was still slow to understand, maybe from disbelief, maybe from shock, but gently mumbled out, “So she thinks we…like each other.” he tried to elaborate what he was trying to mean, but with how warm his face felt and how Viktor looked away from him, both of them got the point, “Like…that.”

Viktor didn’t even have the spirit to say anything back, his shoulders dropping as he nodded.

It didn’t help that Jayce was fumbling as well, “W-Well when she comes back from vacation we should set it to her straight. That we’re just partners,” Jayce struggled to say, his shoulders tense “I-I’ll start backing off, being less handsy. We don’t want her getting the wrong idea.”

What he didn’t expect was for Viktor to release a breath in dismay, his eyes looking troubled as he slowly murmured, “...That might be a problem, Jayce.”

“What kind of problem?” Jayce inquired, his brow furrowed as he watched Viktor’s face shift from shamefulness to sheepishness, “What aren’t you telling me?”

Viktor carefully turned his head away, coughing gently into his fist as he gently tried to explain, “Powder might’ve…eh, coerced me into telling you this.” he answered meekly with a small shrug, “She noticed our closeness, and made an ultimatum with me. We figure this whole mess between us out and…”

The taller man watched as Viktor inhaled, slowly releasing his breath afterwards before continuing, “She said that she wouldn’t fight about speaking to a professional.”

Jayce blinked in disbelief, “She actually conceded? I thought she was firm with her choice.” he breathed out as he made a glance towards his ward’s room. After the last couple of months living in the workshop, the girl personalized her door with loud and colorful drawings to distinguish her door from the rest. It was therapeutic for her, Viktor would answer as he would let her doodle on the door, but when it came to bringing up the ‘T’ word, Powder always argued, “Powder-keg really agreed to that?”

Viktor confirmed with a nod before stating gently, “I believe she knew that I wouldn’t give up the chance to get her the help she needs.”

Jayce clicked his tongue in annoyance, “...Fuck she’s too smart for our own good.” he muttered, giving Viktor a look as he lifted his hand up and poked the smaller man’s chest, “She got it from you.”

Viktor just rolled his eyes at him, a hint of amusement briefly in his eyes while Jayce refuted with huffing his breath, leaning against the desk and rubbing at his temples, “Okay, so what do you wish to do about this? We can still sit her down and tell her the truth.” he offered, watching Viktor taking his time to consider as Jayce continued, “That we’re partners and nothing more, though…if she’s this determined that she’s putting therapy on the line…it might not turn out well if she doesn’t get what she wants.”

“I…” Viktor started, his eyes focused on the space between them, “We can’t ignore this opportunity we have,” he briefly explained, “If we tell her the truth she might deny treatment, then we’re back at square one.”

Jayce blinked incredulously, looking down at Viktor like he grew a second head, “You can’t be seriously thinking we lie to her.” he accused, his brows furrowed once more as he hissed, “We’re better than that.”

His partner seemed to challenge him with his own harsh stare, “We’re doing it for her best interest, aren’t we? We want her to be happy so she can get the treatment she needs.” he stated before making a soft scoff and looking away, “We don’t have to do anything different, Jayce Talis. Nothing has to change between us.”

He absolutely hated it when Viktor referred to his full name like that. It made Viktor sound like he was referring to Jayce professionally, like what they went through together didn’t matter. But watching Viktor squirm under his gaze, his eyes still staring right back but the determination faltering as seconds ticked by.

“I…” Jayce began, the words dying in his throat the second he started to speak. There was so much to say, but it was never the right time, the right place. He didn’t know if Viktor actually did care about him like that, or that this was all truthfully for Powder’s sake. Gently he sighed, his shoulders dropping as he muttered out, “Alright, we keep the facade up until she goes to therapy. Then,” he warns with a shake of his finger to threaten Viktor with another jab, “Then we tell her the truth once she gets the treatment that is needed.”

Viktor seemed satisfied enough with that, nodding his head as he breathed out a sigh of relief, “Alright, we will. We’re doing this.” he mumbled, mostly to himself before looking at Jayce with uncertainty on his features, “...What do we do now?” he inquired hesitantly.

There was so much they could do now. Talk about boundaries, how far they were going to let this play out. Maybe actually state what they were feeling instead of this light tip toeing around each other like they were school children. They could be adults, if they were really willing to do this for Powder, then why not just make it official? It wasn’t like it was going to hurt anyone.

But that would be crossing a line partners in science shouldn’t cross. It would lead to more..distractions. Arguments over discovery could lead to tears in a relationship as delicate as this. There were so many variables at play that anything could destroy any attempts at something concrete. They were risk takers, but something like this was too risky.

So Jayce decided to go with a different option, “We get back to work, I assume?” he offered, giving Viktor a comforting smile as the man relaxed, possibly going through the same mental battle Jayce was going through.

This was better for Powder. This was better for Hextech.

Viktor gave a small smile, nodding as he looked back to his notes and sighed out in relief, “Great idea. Now about the capacitors…” he started, flipping the page to his notes, “I think-”

“You think you’re right in terms of increasing the voltage hold.” Jayce interrupted, laughing a bit when Viktor huffed at him with a playful smile.

Jayce relaxed, his shoulders finally releasing its tension as he leaned over Viktor to look at the revised notes Viktor was currently scribbling away at. The smaller man responded lightly, “Now that you made me think about it…yeah, I’m always right.”

The both of them genuinely laughed as it shockingly got comfortable again. The both of them falling back into work like nothing changed between them.

.

As night fell, Jayce traveled from his workbench to busy himself in the kitchen. The soft sounds of boiling water being silenced by a pot lid pulled Jayce from his focused cooking as he turned to watch his ever working partner that still remained at his desk.

“Dinner will be done soon, you should take a break.” Jayce offered, watching the man continue his work before Jayce loudly cleared his throat to garner Viktor's attention, “It wasn’t a suggestion, get up before I make you.”

Viktor made a huff as he slowly pulled himself from his seat, groaning from the use of stiff muscles, “...You still made dinner even when Powder isn’t here?” he inquired as he reached for his cane and steadily made his way to his partner to study how he flitted about the kitchen, “We could have just gotten take-out.” he muttered, watching Jayce finely cutting up cilantro.

“We could’ve, but then we’d have to leave to go pick it up, and we’d make a mess with all the take-out boxes.” Jayce explained, giving a shrug as he continued, “It’s fine, I like cooking.”

Viktor hummed as he watched the other man work away, “What are you making?” he asked lamely, seeing Jayce giving a small laugh as he finally turned in Viktor’s direction to give him a dubious look.

“I’ve had this barbacoa cooking all day, I’m surprised you didn’t smell it during work.” he teased, only laughing once more when Viktor rolled his eyes and huffed in annoyance.

“Apologies, the smell of burnt hair and melted metal sort of flooded my senses.”

Jayce chuckled as he shook his head, watching Viktor turn away and head for the couch as their conversation continued, “Sorry about that, by the way.” he apologized with a small shrug of his shoulders, “The embers flew farther than I expected.”

“Eh, it’s fine. I needed a haircut anyway.” Viktor reassured, bracing himself with his cane as he slowly moved into his usual spot on the couch. Jayce jumped a little bit when he saw Viktor visibly wincing once he sat down, stretching his bad leg out to get comfortable.

Slowly Jayce placed his cooking utensils down, making one last check before moving across the room to check on his partner, “Have you been okay? You’ve been flinching every time you sit down.”

“It’s nothing to worry about…” Viktor waved off, shifting to get himself comfortable and ease the pressure on his hip, “Just some back pain, we have been in one spot for several hours.” he admitted.

Jayce pursed his lips before navigating to sitting on the couch as well, giving Viktor a small look of confirmation before he assisted his partner in propping his legs up to lean back, “You don’t need to work yourself too hard, Viktor. We’ve made progress since the last report, our next meeting won’t be like the last one.” he assured, placing Viktor’s thin legs over his lap since there was no other place to set them.

“I sincerely hope so.” Viktor expressed as he let his head fall back to rest on the arm of the couch, “When is the next report?”

Jayce shrugged, leaning back as well as he pondered, “In four months, I think, we have plenty of time.” he assured with a gentle pat on his partner’s knee. With how tense Viktor’s better leg got in his lap, Jayce slowly slid his gaze to Viktor’s face to see his bewildered expression, carefully watching his taller partner’s hands resting gently on his legs. Right, fuck. Jayce made an awkward clearing of his throat as he pulled his hands back, “Sorry, I forgot about the handsy thing.”

Viktor pursed his lips together tightly, his eyes scanning the situation before him before he weakly muttered out, “I never said it was a bad thing.” the faintest hint of pink was rested on his cheeks as he averted his gaze, “Just…be mindful.” he warned.

This was an opening that was possibly never going to happen again. These types of touches, these moments of vulnerability. Jayce released a low breath as he brought his hands down onto his partner’s legs once more, actually making an effort to press through the dense fabric of slacks to feel solid muscle and bone underneath. There were small features Jayce took notice of as he flexed his fingers of slim muscles and worked the tension from them. How utterly thin Viktor’s right leg was the most obvious, with how often Viktor had to rely on a cane. It wasn’t a surprise his bad leg didn’t get as much exercise as his other leg, more toned, harder to work the tension from his calf as he continued his ministrations.

“Mmn,” he heard Viktor groan in discomfort, pulling his leg slightly away from the attention as he hissed under his breath, “Careful.”

“S-Sorry!” Jayce apologized, startling himself out of his haze as he looked over his partner in concern, “Did I press too hard?”

Viktor made a low grumble as he forced himself to sit up, his teeth gritting, “It’s fine.” he said shortly, his hard stare ending any other conversations of worry that Jayce wanted to say.

With a soft nod, his eyes looking back down to the legs on his lap, Jayce asked gently, “What…” he paused to think of how to articulate his words properly, “What happened for your leg to be like this?”

Good going, Jayce. He watched as Viktor raised a brow at him and gave a rather undignified snort at Jayce’s uneasiness, “Rather personal question, don’t you think?” he asked humorously. Jayce could only really try to make this as casual as possible, giving a small shrug as he pressed on.

“If we’re to be working together for the years to come, I might as well know.”

Viktor’s enthused face for teasing slowly morphed into one of genuine confusion, more shocked that someone actually wanted to know than anything else. But slowly his features grew more grim, his lips tight together as he muttered, “They don’t really know what happened.”

“They couldn’t diagnose it?” Jayce inquired as he looked at the leg in question, now more gentle in his touch as he pressed on wiry muscle.

Viktor made a small look of grimace, reaching over to pull Jayce away from his bad leg as he explained, “Doctors think it was the result of a viral infection when I was a toddler, or genetic muscular dystrophy. But since I don’t have my genetic history on file…well, it’s a mystery for the ages.”

Silence took over the room as Jayce nodded, his gaze looking at Viktor with uncertainty as he whispered out a question he already had the answer for, “Will it…ever get better?”

Viktor seemed to know it was a pointless question as well, but he played along, his lips pressed with a sympathetic smile as he shook his head, “Sorry.” he breathed out, his eyes filled with emotions that just wanted to break through.

"Hey,” Jayce started, now regretting turning the conversation this direction,“I didn't mean to turn it this way, don’t apologize for that.” he tried to reassure as his hands moved over Viktor’s knees while he felt his face grow hot with the next set of words that left his lips, “Y-You’re perfect.”

Viktor seemed dubious, snorting in amusement as he shook his head, “You don’t need to lie, Jayce.” he muttered softly, leaning a bit forward despite his body’s protest, “I’m far from perfect. Everyone knows that.”

"You might not be perfect for them...” Jayce argued, watching as Viktor moved further and further in his space. How delicately he placed a tender hand over Jayce’s, how his brilliant eyes reflected off the small bits of light in the workshop as he got closer. Jayce swallowed nervously as he mumbled out, “But to me I think you’re just right.”

“I…” Viktor started softly, his other hand gentle against Jayce’s jawline as he gently guided the other man closer.

With a gentle press of their foreheads together, Viktor moved his thumb delicately over Jayce's jaw, the rough surface of freshly shaven skin making the smaller man give a small huff of a laugh, "I think you're being a bit too grateful, don't you think? The balance is becoming uneven." he whispered, slowly tilting his head to have more than just their foreheads meeting.

Viktor’s lips were chapped, was the first thought Jayce was able to form when their lips pressed together awkwardly. Their noses bumped and Viktor's eyes were closed a bit too tightly to be remotely romantic, and Jayce didn't help with how he sat there frozen and watched. But despite it's off nature, the kiss was warm, soft, tender, and ended just as soon as it started. With Viktor’s trembling lips pulling back with a small release of his breath as he whispered out nervously, “I’ve been wanting to do that for some time now.”

Jayce couldn't say anything, his eyes blown out as he watched Viktor slowly pull back, ready to move away. He couldn’t let that go, not now. But was it right to do that? Was it right to be this vulnerable with each other?

He didn’t know as he reached over, gently taking Viktor’s arm to stop him from pulling away, “Wait-I…” he started, his mouth struggling to form any words before an anxious laugh left his lips, “I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t have to say anything.” Viktor assured, his smile strained as his shoulders pulled together meekly, “Not until you’re ready.”

Those words of encouragement gave Jayce some relief. There was no hurry to give whatever they had a name. For now, it was just the both of them being…them. That was enough for Viktor. That was enough for Jayce.

This was more comforting than anything concrete.

Jayce released a shaky breath as he nodded, sharing a gentle smile with his partner before gently setting his legs back down and removing himself from his seat, “The rice should be done.” he excused as he gave Viktor an awkward tilt of his head towards the kitchen, “I-I’ll get dinner together, you just sit tight.”

Viktor seemed to understand, nodding softly as he leaned back on the couch, covering his hot face with his arm as he couldn’t help but chuckle at their awkwardness as well, “I thought you hated it when Powder and I ate on the couch.” he mused gently, feeling more at ease when Jayce huffs a small laugh and busied himself with cooking.

“I do,” Jayce stated bluntly as he scrounged the kitchen for a pair of dishes and very tall wine glasses, “But Powder’s not here for you to influence your bad behavior on.”

The man across the room snorted as he tilted his head towards Jayce's direction, “So what caused the change of heart?” he inquired playfully.

Jayce gave a small roll of his eyes, giving a pointed look to his partner while lifting his fork up to aim it at Viktor as a small threat, “You’re influencing your bad behavior onto me.”

Viktor just smiled at him, his hands going up in surrender as they both fell into a comfortable silence until Jayce finished dinner.

Incredible, was what both men thought to themselves.

Their hearts never pounded so heavily before.

.

Soon enough the holidays were over, the chill was still in the air as Piltover kept themselves mildly warm for the winter. Jayce always said that this cold was nothing compared to what he went through as a child, but he still kept himself dressed warmly as he and Viktor made their way to the Kiramman’s estate to pick up their kid.

Their kid?

It sounded so much better than ward honestly.

Viktor kept up the pace, watching Jayce briefly as he inquired, “We’re still going through with it, correct?”

His taller partner nodded firmly, “We stick to the plan, V.” he assured as he gave a shaky sigh, grimacing at the sight of his breath in his face, “It’s for her best interest.”

Both men paused when they saw the manor up the roadway, the carriage already stopped at the home with servants gathering suitcases and bags to bring inside. Waiting at the gates stood Powder, her hair pulled up messily into a ponytail as she held onto Mister Bunny and scanned for her guardians.

Jayce gave a smile at the sight of her, relieved to see her once again before giving Viktor one last glance. As soon as he got the nod, Jayce excitedly whistled out, causing servants and the Kirammans alike to turn their heads towards the direction of the noise.

Once Powder turned her head, her curious expression turned all out elated as she bursted into a sprint towards her guardians.

“Jay! Vik!” she exclaimed as she collided into both of them, pulling them together for one big hug with her gangly arms, “I missed you!”

Jayce couldn’t help chuckling as he ruffled the girl’s hair out of habit, “We missed you too, Powder-keg.” he assured, “You behaved for the Kirammans I hope?”

“She in fact, didn’t behave.” Caitlyn answered as she rushed up to the three of them, her grin teasing as Powder turned around to stick her tongue out.

“Don’t believe her! She’s a bad influence!”

Caitlyn laughed as she crossed her arms, “I’m only joking Powder!”

The pre-teen pouted as she released her guardians in favor of challenging Caitlyn, “If anyone didn’t behave it was Caitlyn.”

Jayce sighed as he ruffled Powder’s hair before moving over to mess with Caitlyn’s, “You’re both bad children,” he finalized before smiling down at Caitlyn with a more gentle expression, “You did okay out there?”

The teen paused from fighting off the offending hand, looking up to Jayce with a nod, “Having Powder around helped, do you think she can come with us next year?”

With a chuckle Jayce pointed his head back to the manor, “We’ll see how your mom feels about it.” he stated before turning his head back to his partner and ward to call out, “I’m going to grab Powder’s bags and we’ll make it back to the workshop. Powder, go find a bench to sit at.”

“Okay!” Powder called back, taking Viktor’s arm as she walked with him to find a nice place to wait. Once sitting down though, Viktor could see Powder’s grinning growing wider and more excited, nearly bouncing in her seat as she waited for Viktor to get comfortable before immediately asking, “Well, did you do it?”

Viktor seemed hesitant to answer, looking from across the street to watch Jayce talking with the Kiramman family with large suitcases at his sides, if he remembered correctly they only gave Powder one,“I…” he started, watching Jayce fumble with the luggage and drop a suitcase. It caused Caitlyn to point and laugh at him before Mrs. Kiramman gave her a gentle nudge on the shoulder to quit, Viktor couldn’t help but smile for a brief moment and mutter out, “We did.”

With a squeal of excitement, Powder sat on her knees as she turned to look directly at her now flustered guardian, “You’re red! You’re red again!” she states before moving forward to hug Viktor tightly, “I’m so happy for you two!”

Viktor grumbled at his ward’s overenthusiastic glee, bringing his arm up and around her as he gave her a pointed look while she manically grinned at him, “Now you keep your end of the bargain.”

Instantly, Powder’s grin turned into a deep pout, “I was hoping you’d forgotten in your love haze.” she confessed in disappointment as Viktor shook his head.

“I already sent out applications to a few professionals for review.” he informed her, “If they don’t accept you I already have a back-up in mind.”

“Damn.”

Viktor gave an undignified snort as he ruffled the top of her head before inspecting the messy ponytail briefly and asking, “Did you do this to your hair?”

“I woke up late this morning so I had no time to braid it.” Powder admitted as she reached up to take the hair tie out and hand it over to her guardian, “Fix it for me?” she asked sheepishly, earning an eye roll from her guardian as he turned her head away to gather bits of her hair to braid properly.

“How was it? Spending time with the Kirammans?” Viktor inquired as he busied himself with fixing the girl’s hair.

Powder gave a shrug, watching the Kiramman family interacting with each other from across the street before Viktor turned her head to look back straight, “Weird, actually. You’d think they’d have servants taking care of everything but out in the countryside…they did a lot of stuff on their own.”

Viktor gave a small hum as he continued, “You didn’t feel out of place?”

“Oh, I did,” Powder answered with a small laugh, “I had to go to a lot of parties, Mrs. Kiramman got me a dress.”

“How generous of her.” Viktor mumbled absently, “Hopefully not too bogged down with parties?” he asked, his brow raised when Powder made a gentle shake of the head before stopping herself.

“Nah, Caitlyn and I found time to play.” she huffed a small laugh, her smile wistful as she breathed out, “It was fun.”

Viktor sighed a soft breath as he smiled, “Good.”

It didn’t take too long for Jayce to return, huffing a small breath with Powder’s luggage in his arms as he motions for the girl to take at least one of her suitcases so he wasn’t overwhelmed.

Powder huffed a small laugh as she did as she was asked, taking the backpack she started out with and grinning up to her guardian as he looked to the both of them, “Alright, we're ready to go?”

“Yeah! I gotta tell you about everything we did during the holidays!”

Jayce grinned at Powder’s enthusiasm, waiting for Viktor to stand before the three of them began to make the trek back to the Academy, “You didn’t just eat fancy cheese and throw snowballs at people?” he teased as it was followed by Viktor's short laugh at Powder’s expense.

“No!” Powder laughed, moving to place herself in between her guardians as she reached up and took both their free hands, “We did way more than that! Like when we first got there, it was snowing and Cait and I got to go play in it after we unpacked our stuff. Then…”

The both of them let Powder ramble about her time outside Piltover, excited to talk about the small businesses and the new environment she got to experience. Viktor gave a small grief about Powder learning how to use a gun, but it didn’t take long for Powder to tell her slimmer guardian all about her training she did before she even got to shoot one.

Jayce couldn’t help but zone out from listening to his ward speak as he looked around him, noticing the few people watching them as they wandered the streets. Anxiety was quick to crawl up his throat like a caged animal wishing to leave his body, his hand slowly pulling away from Powder’s grasp and making up an excuse as he shifted the luggage he carried. His ward looked up at him curiously, but continued her experiences as they walked on.

But Viktor was different, as Jayce took a quick glance at his partner. Viktor gave him a look of concern and inquiry, but Jayce just silently shook his head to indicate that Viktor didn't need to worry. That they were fine.

He was the problem here.

Chapter Text

The summers in Piltover were the absolute worst. With the sweltering heat and unbearable humidity, the only way to even survive in the workshop was to keep the garage doors open and work sparingly.

But knowing Powder and the creators of Hextech, there was only one solution that was regularly used.

“Uggghhh….” came the mournful groan of a distraught blonde boy as he lounged on the couch, “It’s so hot, I’m going to die. My beautiful mug, covered in sweat during my last moments in life. How cruel this world must be for such a beautiful specimen to suffer such as I.”

His companion rolled her eyes from her position on the floor, her face pressed up against cool stone to feel some relief as she listened to the constant tinging sounds of Jayce working away at the forge.

“It’s too hot to listen to you complain.” she mused before pulling herself up to look at Ezreal’s miserable face, “If you’re suffering so much, why even come here? Your house is much cooler than our workshop.”

Now that she thought about it, any time that it was guaranteed she wasn’t learning anything that day, Ezreal invited himself over to the workshop. Sometimes Seraphine came along, sometimes she had to get back to her parent’s shop and help them out. Sometimes Caitlyn was already here hanging out with Jayce and waiting for them, sometimes the older girl was attending her extracurricular classes to prepare for her final year of schooling. But who was always a constant was Ezreal, no matter who was or wasn’t here. He always stuck around until the late afternoon forced him to leave right after having dinner with the three of them.

It wasn’t like Jayce and Viktor had a problem with it either. Since the whole teleportation incident, they’ve been curious about what spurred the blue markings on Ezreal’s cheeks. So having the boy over to test how the crystals reacted to him—with Professor Lymere’s approval, of course—proved to be beneficial to the research.

“Eh,” Ezreal excused as he turned to look at Powder with a bored sigh, “Uncle Lymere’s cleaning the house up for my parents. He said I was more useful out of the way than helping.”

With a wince, Powder gave her friend a look of pity despite his nonchalant shrug, “That’s harsh.”

For a kid as young as him, he took his uncle’s harshness rather well, “He means well, it’s not like he signed up to be my guardian when my parents became adventurers.” he said simply while lazily watching Powder stand up from her spot on the floor.

She instantly regretted it as a wave of heat washed over her, filling the workshop uncomfortably as she checked downstairs once again for a savior of the cold breeze to come through. Nothing. Damn.

“Still.” Powder continued as she looked down to the boy once again, “Are you excited to see your parents?”

“Of course!” Ezreal suddenly exclaimed, instantly sitting up while his scowl was apparent on his face as he gestured wildly, “If I wasn’t melting on the spot I’d be jumping for joy!”

Cautiously Powder raised a brow, not quite understanding her best friend’s sudden mood when it came to his parents, “But…?” she pressed, wanting to know why Ezreal wasn’t exuding happiness from every pore.

He loved his parents to his very core. There wasn’t a day Powder could go by without hearing about something cool that Ezreals’ parents did. So why was he hesitant with his happiness over their return?

Ezreal seemed to deflate, sighing deeply for a twelve year old boy, “But…I won’t hold my breath till the fat lady sings.” he admitted, giving a small shrug as he averted his gaze from the girl, “Till I actually see my parents at the house, they sometimes get caught up in another adventure before they make it to me.”

This revelation made Powder cringe slightly. To think that even after years of not seeing their son, his parents would still take an adventure and leave without seeing him. Jobs required dedication, she knew that well enough with how devoted her own guardians were with the Hextech project.

But they still made time for her. Jayce took time to cook dinner. Viktor took time to braid her hair. They both took time to teach her how to properly hold a hex crystal.

She didn't know just how good she had it till now.

With hesitant steps, Powder moved to sit next to her friend as she watched his shoulder slump, “Hey, you know if it’s ever lonely at your place you can come here right?” she tried to uplift with a small smile, giving a pat to the padded couch they sat at and joked, “The couch is always here for you.”

Ezreal snorted, a small grin on his face that didn’t quite make it to his eyes, “I’ll keep that in mind.” As he glanced over, the boy gave a shrug as he offered, “You should come over when they get here.”

“When your parents get here?”

He nodded firmly, his grin finally reaching his eyes as he confirmed, “Yeah, I want you to meet them. See how cool they are and where I get my insatiable wit and good looks.”

Powder laughed as she rolled her eyes, the tension leaving her shoulders, “Oh, I’m going to tell them so many embarrassing stories.” she teased, her grin even wider as she was shoved.

“Oh, come on!”

The both of them continued to argue for several minutes, completely forgetting the tense conversation they had in the summer heat. As Jayce hammered away at his work downstairs until the gentle clacking of Viktor’s cane spurred him to pause his work. Wiping away the sweat of his brow with his tank top, Jayce moved away from his forge to take the paper cup offered to him by his partner.

“You’re the best, V. I think we’re all dying here.” Jayce huffed, turning his head to whistle in order to get the attention of the occupants upstairs, “Hey kids! Viktor’s back with the gelato!”

Both kids yelled with joy and scrambled for the stairs, both men watching with amused expressions as both youngsters harshly bumped into each other while they descended. Viktor took his moment to look back at his partner, slowly reaching up to wipe away the soot on Jayce’s cheek as he inquired, “How’s the framework turning out?”

Without even knowing his own actions Jayce was leaning into the touch, his eyes excited as he looked over to the forge, “It’s coming along, this type of metal is a bit difficult to shape correctly but it should be done by the end of the day.” he stated before turning as both kids nearly crashed into them.

“Good.” Viktor mumbled before distributing paper cups filled with their frozen treats, “Alright, Chocolate Chip for you, and Chocolate Peanut Butter for you.” he stated as he passed both cups to each kid respectively.

As their only line of defense against the heat, both kids immediately dug into their frozen treats. With Ezreal instantly wincing at a brain freeze and Powder sighing in relief as she regarded her guardians warmly with a sincere, “Thank you, Vik.” before she quickly added, “Hey, can I go hang with Ezreal to meet his parents?”

Jayce and Viktor glanced at each other briefly, silently conversing with eyesight alone before Jayce answered, “I don’t see why not.”

Viktor seemed a bit more inquisitive as he looked to Ezreal as the boy started to recover, “I’m assuming your parents were in the expedition with Clan Ferros?” he asked, watching the boy give a curious look as he nodded.

“They went with them, yeah.” he responded cautiously, “Why? What’s up?”

Viktor didn’t answer Ezreal right away, turning to look at Jayce with a slight concern over his features as he muttered out, “They might have come back with more of them.”

His partner was quick to catch on, his brows furrowing as he inquired, “Should I ask Mel to make a meeting with the council to buy them out?”

“Buy what out?” Powder pressed, now joining Ezreal’s curiosity of the sudden interest in his parent’s returning.

Both men seemed hesitant on answering, their mouths pursed thin as Viktor stiffly answered, “The hex crystals that they could have gotten.”

That was news to Powder, she knew the hex crystals had to come from somewhere but to think that the feared Clan Ferros could have such volatile material was…concerning to say the least.

Ezreal seemed just as surprised, “You mean to say that Clan Ferros might have the same crystals that threaten to demolish buildings?” he asked incredulously, almost gawking at Hextech’s creators as they exchanged glances once more.

“They could,” Jayce eventually answered, “hence why we need to know if they retrieved any more.”

With a nonchalant shrug as he ate his gelato, Ezreal offered, “I could ask my folks if they come home.”

“It’s fine, you don’t need to be involved in th-” Jayce started before Viktor was quick to cut him off.

“I would greatly appreciate it, thank you.” Viktor cut in as he looked to Powder with a set stare. Her eyes wide as he cautioned her, “Be on your best behavior when you meet them, Powder. Be sure to tell us what they say about the crystals if they saw any.”

Powder couldn't help herself from grinning, feeling like she was tasked with an important task that only she could do, “I wont let you down!”

.

It wasn’t like the teacher’s district of the Academy was lost to her, she came here several times with Viktor and Jayce when they needed to refer to Professor Heimerdinger about passing regulations for more risky testing. It was fun to look over the yordle's gadgets and play with his Poro as her guardians discussed business and testing, usually spending most of the day with their Professor to argue for the ability to conduct more tests than they were currently allowed.

It was just odd for her to go alone though.

But Viktor said she knew the campus grounds like it was the back of her hand, which he was right, but it didn’t mean she liked going alone. Walking home wasn’t a problem, she had Ezreal a majority of the walk since they lived on Academy grounds. He would go right to the teacher’s district and she would go left to the engineering building.

So of course she brought Mister Bunny, having him safely in her backpack as she wandered the white marble and crafted stone streets of the Academy grounds. Looking for the tell-tale sign that Ezreal told her that she couldn't miss-

Oh.

Yeah, there was no way she would have missed that.

The moment she saw the giant lawn ornament, Powder rushed to the door to give a knock to large mahogany doors. Not even a moment later, the door was tossed open.

“Powder!” Ezreal exclaimed, his smile absolutely elated and his eyes giddy as he kept turning his head back into the home.

It felt…weird seeing Ezreal so…happy? Sure they boy wasn’t a let down, but his smiles always had a bit of mischief behind them, his eyes having a bit of daring glossed over shining blue eyes when he challenged anyone to outdo him. But this was pure, unbridled, joy.

“Hey Ez.” Powder greeted awkwardly, rubbing at her arm as she tried giving a bit of a joking smile as she tilted her head behind her, “I didn’t know what you meant when you said your place would be obvious to find but…”

“The big globe kinda gave it away?” Ezreal joked as he leaned against the door frame, as behind Powder was a giant metal globe that spun lazily in front of Professor Lymere’s abode. It was probably geographically accurate too, every Professor in this Academy was a giant nerd like that.

Powder breathed out a chuckle as she nodded her head, “Yeah…” she mused before swiveling her head around Ezreal to get a good look inside, “Are they here?”

With an impossibly wide grin, Ezreal reached and took Powder’s arm to drag her inside and lead her down the complicated pristine hallways of Professor Lymere’s home, “Mom! Dad! Uncle Lymere! Come meet my friend Powder!” he called out, turning one more corner to a sunroom where all three adults residing.

“So you're the pupil of Professor Heimerdinger’s proteges. We’ve heard quite a bit about you.” regarded the eldest of the three of them, who she could already identify as Professor Lymere with his stiff coat and full beard. The other two adults were a bit younger, their skin sun kissed and desert attire still worn as they watched both her and Ezreal curiously. The woman was matching Ezreal’s grin, the man was huffing a laugh from Ezreal bouncing around where he stood.

Powder pulled her shoulders closer, suddenly aware of the attention brought to her as she awkwardly laughed to ease her own tension, “Ah, yeah…you know, the kid that blew up the Kiramman’s workshop, the kid that set off a glitter bomb in the Council’s chambers, the kid that-”

“That’s our son’s best friend.” The man she supposed was Ezreal’s father interrupted, causing the girl to blink owlishly as the woman slowly got up to stand in front of her son and his friend. Her touch was gentle, on Powder’s head, just like a mother to be so soft as she smiled down to her.

Her eyes were soft, her smile genuine. With a warm tone she gently said to Powder, “Thank you for being there for him, I think all he ever needed was a friend.”

Then her soft brown hair turned darker for just a second, her eyes turning dark blue and kind as the image of her own mother, long gone, flashed before her eyes. Powder made a small intake of her breath before she shied away from the touch, awkwardly nodding as she cleared her throat to excuse her inappropriate action.

“U-Uh…n-no problem…” she managed out, her smile tight as the older woman watched her curiously.

Thank the gods Ezreal was smart enough to catch on in his stupor, taking hold of Powder's arm once again and dragging his mother back so they could all sit down.

“Mom!” He alerted once his mother sat down,”Start from the beginning with your adventure! The one in Kalamanda!” he encouraged as he shook Powder, “You’ll like this one, they rode a skallashi across the desert!”

Ezreal’s enthusiasm seemed to brighten the room, causing his mother to laugh as she leaned back and recalled her tale once more, “Alright, where to begin…oh! Right! So it was several weeks after we left the Expedition Dig Site…”

Powder listened for the next several hours about the death defying adventures Ezreal’s parents got to experience, her eyes wide with wonder. There was so little that she actually knew outside of Piltover, her only sources of learning through schooling and Viktor’s own studies. But to hear about ancient civilizations, deadly enemies, old magic hidden away in dusty temples…

It was no wonder Ezreal looked up to his parents so much. Why he gleamed with pride as his parents told their tales, his eyes utterly mystified with the stories of adventure.

This was awesome to just hear about it, thinking what it was like to actually do it was mind blowing to a pair of twelve year olds. Powder’s chest swelled at the thought of one day having her own adventure, maybe outside of Piltover to experience the world offered.

If only Vi was here to listen to this.

.

The weekend was over, and apparently so was the break for Ezreal’s parents before going to their next expedition. Powder watched with a small frown at the boy across the classroom, his arms crossed over his desk as he rested his head and stared at nothing in front of him. His hair covered his expression, but with how Seraphine bounded up to her with just as concerned an expression as Powder did. It must have been obvious of the boy’s downcast mood.

“How long has he been like that?” Powder asked, her eyes still on the boy as Seraphine wrung her hands beside her.

“S-Since he came to school this morning.” she answered meekly, watching Ezreal as well as she whispered to Powder, “He’s really, really sad.”

Powder made a small hum of acknowledgement as she finally turned her head away, “Yeah…his parents left again.” she informed, feeling her chest pang with a familiar feeling. The memories of Vi’s rough hand on her face and telling her to stay trickled in, making Powder grimace as she gripped the straps of her school uniform, “I know how he feels.”

The younger girl looked worriedly between her two friends, already sensing their similar melancholy feelings as she mumbled out, “W-What should we do?”

Both girls took their time to think, with Powder searching through her backpack for anything that could give her an idea. Books, paper assignments, some scrap metal, her sketchbook, some colorful chalk-

That’s it.

Powder hastily whispered for Seraphine to cover her as she diligently worked, hunched over her backpack as she crushed bits of chalk and stuffed them into small pellet sized compression pods out of scrap metal. After several minutes of crafting on the fly, Powder turned up to look at Seraphine with a mischievous grin and chalk smudges.

“...I have an idea.” she informed the smaller girl as she stood up and threw her backpack over her shoulder, “Follow my lead.”

It felt like a weird sort of déjà vu, with Powder scraping a chair across the classroom and gaining the attention of her classmates before planting herself across her dower friend, “Hey, Blondie.” she spoke up, grabbing his attention as he tilted her head towards the door, “Come with us.”

Ezreal didn’t seem keen on following along, his sigh deep as he shook his head, “No thanks.” he muttered tiredly, “I’m not in the mood.”

Powder simply huffed as she stood up, taking hold of the boy’s jacket as she dragged him along, “It wasn’t a suggestion, now come on. C’mon Sera.”

Seraphine gave a brief look of worry before following along as Ezreal tried fighting from being pulled around.

“Hey! Watch the jacket.” Ezreal warned, a clear scowl on his face as Powder didn’t listen and continued to lead the three of them out of the classroom and down the winding hallways of their school.

Powder grinned as she briefly turned her head back to look at her friends, “You’ll be needing to do more than watching that jacket for what we’re about to do.”

“And what are we about to do, hm?” Ezreal challenged, finally snatching his jacket away from Powder’s grasp and glaring at her. He was in a sour mood, with how his face twisted into a scowl.

Powder paused her walking when Ezreal pulled himself back, with a slow breath did Powder finally speak, “Don’t you ever just want to get back at people for hurting you without knowing?” she inquired, watching Ezreal flinch as he remembered asking her a similar question over a year ago when they met, “Like you love them, and you care about them, but you know they hurt you?” she continued without fear of watching her best friend shrink his shoulders.

“I…” Ezreal started, licking his lips nervously as he spared a glance at his two friends. Words died in his throat, cause what could one even say to that? That he wasn’t hurt from his parent’s sudden absence? That no matter how badly he wanted to join them, or have them over for longer than a week, that he would never get to have that time with his parents that he really desired.

He couldn’t think of what to say, so he just kept his mouth shut.

Powder waited for an extended amount of time before she walked to her friend, digging into her bag just to take his hand and deposit several colorful pellet sized gadgets. They were shoddy, like one wrong tap and the whole thing would explode with color. Ezreal glanced back up at Powder curiously as she handed a couple to Seraphine as well as the younger girl curiously held them in her hand and inspected each one.

“Let’s throw chalk bombs at Stanwick Pididly’s statue on the school courtyard.” she finally stated, her smile joyous as she brandished her own creation to Ezreal, “Then when Jay and Vik come pick us up after we get in trouble, let’s all get gelato.” It was an innocent scheme, definitely something more fun than cooking in a crowded classroom.

“Wait wha-” Seprahine started, pausing her concerns when Powder offered her free hand for Ezreal to take. The boy just stared for a long time, at Powder’s chalk covered hand, at Seraphine's nervous but supportive smile as they waited for him to react. To think that even during the shittiest time in his life, that his friends still wanted to bring him along for chaos. It was a heartwarming scene and Ezreal couldn’t help but eventually huff a laugh as he took Powder’s hand, giving a firm shake to it and letting his own hand cover itself in colorful chalk.

“...Let's go fuck up Pididly.”

Chapter Text

Their fourth progress was eventually reported and finally things were looking positive. The prototype was a roaring success with the Council and they immediately wanted to upsize in order to make their airships travel across the continent. Of course it would take time, lots of work, and even more funds than the Council was willing to give. But it didn’t stop Jayce from his positive attitude, instantly sweeping Viktor up into an embrace when the meeting was over with and the pair were alone in the hallways.

“Finally,” Jayce breathed in relief, setting his partner down as he beamed, “Two years of breaking our backs to make this work, now they’re finally wanting Hextech.”

Viktor was elated as well, his own smile not nearly as manic as he looked to Jayce with soft eyes, “You’ve done a great job.” he congratulated, startling a little bit when Jayce cupped his face just to give him a more serious look despite his smile.

They’ve had this strange something for over six months now, neither man daring to give this an actual name. It was safer not to name it, just enjoy it for the time being.

But Jayce was pushing it with the PDA, as he leaned dangerously close with a grin splitting his cheeks,“We’ve done a great job.” he corrected, about to lean even closer for a kiss until the small taps of footfalls behind them interrupted their moment of vulnerability.

“There you boys are!” Heimerdinger shouted, overjoyed to see his old students as they jumped in place and stood up straight at the sight of the old councilor.

“P-Professor Heimerdinger! W-What brings you here?” Jayce choked out, clearing his throat as Viktor straightened his vest behind his taller partner, “I didn’t think the Council’s meeting would end so quickly after our departure.” Jayce tried to excuse, making a small strained laugh in order to ease any suspicion.

But Heimerdinger either didn’t seem to notice or kept it to himself, chuckling gleefully as he clapped his hands, “The congregation is still ongoing, my boy. But before the both of you departed I wanted to tell you some riveting news. Oh-ho!”

With how Heimerdinger was nearly jumping for joy, Viiktor just had to add something to make himself a smartass, “Is the Council going to give us complete authority to test without restrictions?” he inquired dully, only smirking slightly when Jayce gave him a swift elbow in the gut.

“You humor me, Viktor.” Heimerdigner muttered with an amused stare as he gave a small laugh and he shook his head, “I have signed both of you up for the Distinguished Innovator’s competition this year!” he announced joyfully.

Instead of yells of praise or celebration, both men looked at their old mentor with raised brows. Befuddled as to why they were having to attend other events when Hextech was taking up all of their time.

“The Distinguished Innovator’s Competition?” Jayce asked, perplexed as he glanced at Viktor briefly before looking back to the yordle, “I remember attending that during undergrads, that’s at the end of the year.”

“Which is less than three months away.” Viktor added, his face turning serious as he chastised, “We have no time to showcase anything, Professor. Why would you sign us up to that?”

The older councilor hummed in thought as he combed through his mustache, “Considering the circumstances of the Council’s demands and your limited funding, I’m sure that you boys could win the competition and earn the prize money for your research.” he stated, nodding to himself as if that was an obvious fact.

“...How much are we talking about?” Jayce quickly inquired, ignoring Viktor’s frustrated face as he looked at Heimerdinger curiously.

“Jayce, we don’t have any time to-” Viktor began with his brows furrowed at the thought of having to focus on another project that they would have to take time working on.

“The grant prize is up to 50,000 gol-”

“We’re in.” Both men suddenly butted in, their faces serious as Heimerdinger chuckled to himself.

“That’s the spirit! I can’t wait to see what you have to offer! I’m sure both of you will do spectacularly!” He encouraged as he excused himself so he could return to the Council chambers, “Until then my boys!”

Then just like that, with the small sounds of tiny footfalls fading, both inventors were left to their own devices once more. After a beat of silence, Jayce winced when he felt Viktor smack his shin with the cane.

“Jayce, what the fuck do you have in mind to build in three months?” his smaller partner hissed out as he narrowed his eyes, Jayce sighed as he rubbed his face to calm himself.

“I don’t know!” he retorted, turning to his partner so he could take slim shoulders and give a gentle shake, “But that 50,000 gold on the line! That could give us the jumpstart we need for the Hexgates!”

Viktor’s eyes narrowed even harder as he tried to shrug out of his partner’s hold, “It will also delay our research for the next three months.” he groused, finally reaching up to take one of Jayce’s hands to peel him away, “Can we in good conscience do that?”

“In order to get the materials we need without having to eat at Mom’s everyday?” Jayce joked lightly, “Yes.”

“Your mother is a wonderful cook.” Viktor inferred, a small frown on his face.

Jayce sighed, eventually nodding in agreement, “She is, but I’m tired of mooching from her cause we can’t afford to fill out our pantries.” he finally admitted.

“I don’t think she minds. It’s an excuse for her to see you and Powder.”

“And you.” Jayce added fondly, before confessing again, “Besides, I miss using my kitchen.”

Viktor gently rolled his eyes as the real reason for Jayce’s intentions came to light, “Alright,” he finally sighed out, “I have some blueprint designs for some projects I wanted to do on the side. We can review them and pick one.”

With a wide grin forming, Jayce pulled his partner into another tight embrace, “I knew you had something up your sleeve.” he teased lightly, keeping the embrace for a moment before the ringing of the bell tower rang throughout the building. Jayce jumped slightly as he pulled back, swiveling his head to check the window outside where the clock tower stood in the horizon, “Shit, we need to pick Powder-keg up from Dr. Tessa.”

Viktor gently pushed the taller man away as he straightened his vest once more, “You go and get her, I’ll meet with you back at the workshop with the blueprints.” he stated, already ushering for his partner to go ahead since they were on a tight schedule.

Jayce couldn’t help but grin at Viktor’s flustered face, giving one last pat on the shoulder, “You’re the best, V.” he charmed, already turning and starting to jog out of the building to make it to their kid on time.

Well. Jayce forgot one last thing.

Quickly he ran back to Viktor’s side, surprising the befuddled man with a swift kiss and a silly lovestruck grin, “Been meaning to do that.” he teased, making a small laugh when his partner’s wide bewildered eyes quickly narrowed as fast as his face broke out into a flush.

With a heavy roll of the eyes and a playful shove, Viktor grumbled, “Go, before I change my mind.”

.

The office had some type of charm to it, with calming blue walls and several plants in various places. She didn’t know why Dr. Tessa liked plants so much, but it was a good distraction for the lady when Powder inquired what type of plant she had this time.

Today wasn’t one of those days to distract her, by the way Powder rubbed at her itchy eyes from all the crying she did before, tightly gripping to Mister Bunny for support. But calmly her ever stoic therapist sat at her seat and reviewed her notes, “So,” she began softly, giving her patient a glance as the girl huffed and crossed her arms, “Before we end our session today.”

“Oh, c’mon Doc!” Powder yelled, her face turned sour as she just wanted to leave and recover from thinking about old wounds, “I’ve poured my heart out to you and you still want more?” she hackled, trying to get a rise out of the woman but only groaning in frustration when she didn’t react, “You’re killing me!”

Her doctor just sighed gently as she adjusted her glasses, “I know, I know. But it’s one last question and then something I want you to try out outside of our meetings.” she informed, watching how the girl would react as she added, “If you don’t think you can answer, you don’t have to.”

“Might as well.” Powder muttered boredly, leaning back on the couch she was lounging on, watching the door for the tell tale knock that would end her suffering.

“Good.” Dr.Tessa mused as she reviewed her notes once more, “You spoke about hearing voices, Powder. I just want to know…are these auditory hallucinations inside your head or outside?”

With tight lips Powder felt like she was being scrutinized, which she probably was but it didn’t feel good to openly be watched like this.

“I…I don’t know…they’re typically…everywhere.” she answered lamely, gesturing to all around her before her limbs fell back down, “Some of them are positive, a lot of them are negative though.”

The worst part was that she didn’t even express to Powder’s answer, just nodding and writing a few things in her notes as she mumbled, “I see…” carefully she looked back up to the girl, a small smile finally appearing on her face as her eyes turned soft, “We might need to have a talk about that later, Powder. But I want you to try something for me, alright?”

Powder grumbled as she rolled her eyes, “Do I need to talk back to the voices? Tell them they're hurting my feelings?” she mocked, huffing again while her therapist gently shook her head.

“I want you to try to keep your bunny at home when you go out.” she finally stated, causing Powder to raise her brows and sit up.

“But I do when I’m at-” Powder started but was quickly cut off by the other.

“When you are at school, I understand. But it’s because you fear that you’ll lose him at school. Am I correct?” Dr.Tessa interjected, watching Powder pout and shrink her shoulders.

After a moment of eye contact, Powder averted her gaze back to the door.

With a sigh, Dr. Tessa urged on, “He is one of the last things you have of your family, and it will be hard to keep him in one spot. But having him in a safe place for you to retreat to will be better in the end.” she stated, watching the girl’s expression fall before the woman added, “You don’t have to do it, but I want you to try.”

Powder kept her silence for an extended amount of time, her feelings torn as she gripped her bunny close. She didn’t know if she had the strength to do it, with Mister Bunny being the last connection to her sister. It hurts just to think about leaving him behind, but Powder knew her therapist wouldn’t be satisfied if she outright refused, “...I’ll try.” she eventually muttered, pulling herself and her stuffed animal close.

“Good.” Dr. Tessa praised, her smile soft and about to continue talking before the door to her office rang out with several knocks, “It seems your guardians are right on time.” she mused, slowly raising from her seat and walking across the room to answer her office door. At the sight of just one guardian, the doctor seemed a bit more surprised, “Oh, Mr. Talis. I didn’t think it would just be you.” she hummed gently.

Jayce just made a small anxious laugh to excuse himself, “Sorry, Viktor made it back to the workshop while I came here to get-oof!” he huffed out as Powder rushed past her therapist and hurdled herself into her unsuspecting guardian. With a short chuckle, Jayce reached down to pat his ward’s head, “Hey, kiddo.”

Powder was instant with the questions, looking up to Jayce with inquiries running from her mouth like a sputtering engine, “How was the meeting? Did they like the report? Are we getting a bigger budget?” she continued to ask, only pausing when Jayce rubbed her head.

“I’ll tell you on the way back.” he informed, looking back up to the good doctor with an award winning smile, “Thank you again, Dr. Tessa.”

The woman rolled her eyes as she stalked back into her office, going through her various bookshelves, as she told the man, “It’s my job, so no need to thank me for that.” She carefully carded through various books before finding the one she needed, pulling it back she turned to look at the inventor with an amused expression, “What you can do is thank me for these parenting books I keep finding for you two.” she jested, walking back to hand the book over, “Latest issue, I expect it back next session.”

Jayce gave a thankful nod as he accepted the book and tucked it under his arm, “Of course. Until then.” Slowly he looked back to Powder, grinning as he knelt down and offered his back to the kid, “Hop on.”

Powder’s grin grew impossibly wide as she jumped onto her guardian despite his groan in protest, “Bye Doc!” she giggled out as Jayce stood up and purposely bounced her to adjust before giving the doctor his regards and eventually leaving with his cargo in tow.

As soon as they were out of the business building, Powder released a heavy sigh of relief as she tightened her hold on her guardian, “Phew, now we can get to business.” she began, grinning and screeching in joy when Jayce hurried down the steps just to jostle her.

“Right, business.” Jayce muttered humorously as he turned down the street to start his way back to the Academy, “The council liked the prototype.” he began.

“That’s great!”

“They want to upgrade to the Hexgate project immediately and have it functioning in the next two years.”

“That's bad!”

“You can say that again.” Jayce laughed before sighing deeply, “We also got signed up for the Distinguished Innovator’s Competition. So that’s three more months taken from our time.”

“Couldn’t you just say-”

“50,000 gold is the prize money.”

“Makes sense.” Powder immediately consoled, patting her guardian’s shoulder in understanding before perking up, “But it should be easy to win! You just bring out the Hextech and they’ll just throw the prize at you!”

Jayce hummed as he shrugged, “We still have to design, prototype, and finalize a project in that amount of time.” he proposed, turning his head slightly to give his charge a smirk, “So expect to pull your weight around the workshop.”

To be trusted in the workshop was more rewarding than anything that could have been given to her. Powder’s grin was absolutely uncontained as she bobbed her head, “I will!” she said excitedly, kicking her legs around excitedly as she could barely hold herself back from the thought of all three of them working together, “Can we get pastries at the bake shop? As a celebration?” she added, hopeful until Jayce snorted and shook his head.

“Are you buying?” he inquired lightly, before giving an apologetic shrug, “Sorry kiddo, you know we’re on a budget since we bought out the hex crystals.”

Powder made a small groan as she slumped against her guardian, quietly asking, “So we’re still eating at your mom’s again tonight?”

Jayce sighed softly as he nodded pitifully, “Probably till next year, but hey, we get to spend time with her. I don’t think she has a problem with that.”

“Do you think she can fix Mister Bunny? He got a few stitches loose.” Powder mumbled, pulling her rabbit forward to show Jayce the damage. He hummed thoughtfully inspecting the loose threading before giving a small smile.

“Of course she can, we’ll ask her when we head over tonight.” he informed, turning the corner to see the Academy in the distance and quickening his step. Powder nodded with a small smile, pulling her stuffed animal close as she rested against her guardian’s broad shoulders.

“Good.”

.

After less than three months, two failed prototypes, and one wave of the illness the air purifier was up and ready for the event. A state of the art device that would clear out polluted factory warehouses up to sixteen thousand square feet, something that would keep metals and toxic chemicals out of blue collar lungs as they worked. Sure, it wasn’t Hextech —Heimerdinger and the Council agreed that Hextech wasn’t ready for the public quite yet— but it was still a piece of engineering genius on all their parts. It took blood, sweat, and tears to pull it off, but it was done.

Well, they thought it was done.

“Tell Vik that belt is torn!” yelled a young and panicked voice from the carriage over.

In the other carriage, Caitlyn nodded from where she sat next to the open window and turned back to the man currently curled on the other side of the seat, “Viktor, Powder says the belt is torn.” she informed, grimacing when Viktor looked in her direction with bleary eyes.

“Urgh,” he struggled, a hand over his mouth as he mumbled slowly, “A replacement is tucked under the capacitor, tell her to replace it.” he informed, turning his head back to press his hot forehead against the cool metal of the carriage.

Caitlyn gave a sympathetic nod to Viktor before leaning back out the window to shout, “Powder! Viktor says to check the capacitor! There’s a replacement underneath it!”

From the other carriage, Powder huffed as she wiped away the smudges from her face, “Got it!!” she yelled out, already searching the large piece of machinery they stuffed into the vehicle for where the capacitor resided, “Fuck, why does it have to mess up on the way to the event?” she complained before opening her hand out to Ezreal, “Screwdriver, please.”

“Don’t ask me that.” Jayce groused, practically laying down to get the right angle on the piece he was repairing, “I’m currently trying to keep this thing from falling apart.”

Ezreal rolled his eyes, going through the hefty tool box before fishing the screwdriver Powder demanded, “How did you miss all of this?” he asked, hanging the tool over and bracing himself when the carriage jostled them and the purifier, “That cog’s going to take someone’s eye out.”

“Shut up Ez.” both of them responded as they continued their work.

The boy just threw his hands up in mock surrender, “My bad, just trying to help out here.” he joked lightly before Jayce was holding his hand out for another tool.

“Just pass the combination wrench please.”

“Got it chief.”

Powder sighed as she pulled the panel back, grinning when she did find the spare belt hidden away, “Ok, this should be fine. We’ll be fine.” she assured herself, tilting her head back towards the window to yell out, “Cait! Sera! How’s Vik?”

Caitlyn made a small look of concern when she looked back over to the man in the carriage, coughing into his handkerchief like a choking dog. Serpahine wrung her hands together before she reached to give Viktor a comforting pat as he suffered, “How are you Viktor?” Caitlyn asked gently, her face strained as Viktor shook his head and tucked his handkerchief away.

“The roadway is not doing well for my stomach, I can tell you that.” Viktor admitted, leaning back again to catch his breath.

Seraphine hummed in worry, digging through her small bag to hand Viktor another one of her handkerchiefs just in case, “D-Do we need to pull over?” she asked gently.

“It’s fine, just…” Viktor paused as he held back the wave of nausea that overcame him, taking a moment to collect himself before continuing, “Don’t be surprised if I fling myself out from the carriage.”

“What got you so sick?” the young girl inquired as she shifted in her seat to give the man his space.

Viktor gave a small shrug as he turned his head away, “I just think I haven’t fully recovered from the cold we all had,” he answered honestly, shooing the girls away, “Keep your distance, girls. Just in case.” he warned.

Caitlyn didn’t seem quite convinced as she hummed in worry, “You three all got sick at the same time-”

“I’m sure we got it from that party a couple weeks ago at your abode, Miss Kiramman.” Viktor pointed out, stifling another cough that wracked through his body.

The teen clicked her tongue as she narrowed her eyes, “Most likely, I think Councilor Hoskel was keeping his illness under wraps.” she muttered darkly before looking back to Viktor, “But it still doesn’t make sense for you to still be sick. Powder and Jayce jumped right back after a week of rest.”

“They are both admittedly a lot healthier than I.” Viktor confessed, already wanting to steer the conversation away from his health he quicked asked, “How much longer till we get to the presentation hall?”

Seraphine quickly sprung up, “I’ll ask!” she inferred, wishing to give Caitlyn a break as she leaned out the window to shout, “Powder! Ask Jayce when we’ll be at the presentation hall!”

“Why don’t you ask the cabby?!”

“...Nevermind!”

Powder rolled her eyes as she laughed softly, hearing the embarrassment in Seraphine’s voice as she turned back to aligning. With a small flourish, she wiped the sweat from her brow and leaned back, “Belts done, how's the loose cog?”

“Just about…” Jayce paused as he focused, holding his breath until a click was heard and the man was letting his head fall back in relief, “Done! Phew!”

Powder and Ezreal gave a small cheer, relieved that the emergency was averted and they weren’t going to blow up in a fiery explosion.

“Looks like we made it just in time too.” Ezreal added as he gestured outside to the sight of the presentation hall they were pulling into. With booths and citizens all around, looking over projects and new ideas that could compare to a Progress Day celebration. Both carriages slowed to a stop, with both parties stepping out and gathering in the center as Jayce made a headcount.

“Alright, we’re all accounted for?” he mused, counting one more time— just in case— before nodding to himself and looking to his miserable partner, “Good, Viktor, go sign us in. Powder-keg, Cait, help me carry this thing.” he indicated as he opened the doors to their carriage, “Sera, spot us. Ez, clear the way.”

Ezreal's grin got impossibly wide as he mock saluted, “Got it!” he chirped before his grin grew devious and he started just shouting into the crowds to scare them, “HEY GET OUT OF THE WAY!”

“Maybe you should have told him after you got the purifier out.” Viktor muttered humorously, watching the boy gleefully terrifying participants as he made a path for them.

Jayce chuckled as he shrugged and turned to focusing on getting their project out, “Nah, let him enjoy himself.” he mused, hearing Viktor hum tiredly before heading out to get their submission signed in.

With the combined efforts of Jayce, Powder and Caitlyn’s strength being put to the test, the air purifier was slowly placed at its destination. Both girls leaned on each other heavily, complaining about their sore arms as Jayce laughed at them. For the jabs at his age by all these kids, it was amusing to have the tables turn. Sure he was laughing at kids, but they deserved it by now.

It wasn’t too long after depositing their project that Viktor returned, papers tucked under his arm as he leaned heavily on his cane for support. Hesitantly Jayce hurried forward, taking the papers and guiding his partner to find a place to rest.

“There you are.” he muttered softly, taking a quick glance at the papers as he inquired, “What place are we in?”

Viktor didn’t protest as he was guided around, his vision swimming briefly, “Our presentation is in forty minutes.” he informed, leaning against the show table while Jayce nodded and glanced back at the pack of rugrats they were watching over.

“You heard him, be back in thirty-five.” Jayce stated firmly, sighing a bit in relief when Caitlyn led the charge and pointed out the food stalls for them to have lunch at. Finally alone, Jayce looked back to his partner, his eyes filled with concern as he moved over to the other man, “Are you sure you’re okay to do this? We can cancel this, you just have to give the word.” he whispered, placing his hand over Viktor’s cheek to only grimace at how hot his partner felt.

Viktor made a small disgruntled hum as he pulled his face away, trying to push Jayce back as he rasped, “I’m alright, we need that prize.”

“You’re clammy, and feverish.” Jayce stated bluntly, sighing at Viktor’s sour face and his stubbornness before trying again, “At least sit down for me? I can get you something to drink, or-”

“Just…” Viktor interrupted, finally pulling himself away as he walked around their project to keep his distance, “I want to make sure everything works for the presentation. Please?” he practically begged Jayce, not wanting to go further concern about his condition when too much was on the line.

Jayce wanted to throttle his partner, to tell him that prize money wasn’t going to matter if Viktor keeled over during the presentation. If anything they should ditch the whole event and rush Viktor to the nearest doctor. But of course Viktor would refuse, would fight against it until he got his way or blacked out from trying.

Jayced eventually sighed in defeat, tilting his head towards the purifier as he pointed out, “Powder-keg and I got most of the emergency repairs taken care of, so we just need to make sure everything is in working order.” he informed, his shoulders sagging when Viktor relaxed from changing the conversation to something else.

Their brief discussion didn’t last too long, with the kids eventually returning with lunch and all of them waiting patiently for their turn for the judges to check their project. Jayce could feel his anxiety rising the closer they got to their turn, his fingers twitching and his bottom lip chewed nearly raw before he excused himself to take a walk.

Why was he nervous about this? They’ve done presentations before, this wasn’t any different than the long discussions they had with the Council over Hextech. This shouldn’t be any different than that.

…Only that their last big presentation in front of the public resulted in a catastrophe of anti-gravity and glitter.

Jayce and Viktor’s very titles as scientists were already on the brink, after two years of prestige and praise by Heimerdinger, both men have tucked away any chances at their respectable careers for something as astounding as Hextech. It was academic suicide, by all accounts. The public thought of them as mad scientists that harbored a terrorist from the Undercity. Why was he here? He should be back at the lab, perfecting Hextech, getting the Hexgates realized so they could finally live up to the dreams that were made for-

All his intrusive thoughts were interrupted by a gentle tap at his shoulder.

When he turned back around he stared into a beautiful pair of golden irises.

Not amber. gold

“Jayce Talis.” Mel greeted softly as she pulled her hand back, “Heimerdinger told me about your submission to the competition, I was curious about what you would be showing to the public.”

Jayce fumbled as he tried to regain his composure, “M-Mel.” he began, clearing his throat, “Sorry, I was in thought. Uh, yeah, Viktor and I couldn’t show Hextech quite yet. But we had some backup projects that we found out we could finish in such a short amount of time.”

Mel was studying him, her curious eyes raking over Jayce’s anxiety filled frame as she inquired, “And both of you are presenting it?”

“Y-yeah?”

Quickly her eyes turned soft, her smile calculated as she reached forward to fix Jayce’s loose tie, “Then you’re a guaranteed winner for the grand prize,” she encouraged, giving the man a soft pat to his chest as she assured him, “I’ve seen how you captivate people in a crowd, Jayce. You have nothing to worry about.”

“I…just don’t want it to turn out like the last public event.” Jayce slowly admitted, nervously fixing the cuffs of his shirt to make himself presentable.

“Well, do the little ones have glitter bombs?”

“No, they don’t.” Jayce answered, his face grimacing a little bit cause he wasn’t too sure, “Hopefully.”

Mel laughed softly as she nodded, “Then you will be fine.” she assured once more, making one last straightening of Jayce’s vest as she reminded, “Remember, you are Jayce Talis, creator of Hextech, the man of tomorrow. Think of yourself highly and people will think of you highly.”

Jayce took his moment to watch Mel, taking a deep breath before exhaling and giving a short nod before smiling, “Yeah…I will.” he muttered out, “Thanks…Mel.”

The woman paused her ministrations, looking up at Jayce momentarily before giving a soft coy smile and pulling back, “I wouldn’t be saying these facts if they were not true.” she stated, “So don’t prove me wrong. Understand?”

With a nod Jayce was about to open his mouth to speak, but instead of the sound of his voice, the shrill sound of Caitlyn calling to him came first. Bringing both adults to her attention as she ran up to them with panic in her eyes as she grabbed onto Jayce’s arm.

“Viktor collapsed.” she stated, spurring Jayce to turn away to fully focus on the teen as he saw Seraphine and Ezreal catching up to her.

“What?” he breathed out, unable to form anything else as his mind was already racing.

Caitlyn seemed to catch on, giving the man a shake as she tried to keep him from spiraling, “He threw up and collapsed. Medics are taking him to the hospital, Powder went with them.” she informed firmly, “Powder said you need to stick around and do the presentation.”

“B-But what about-”

Mel was already back to Jayce’s side, her hand comforting on his shoulder as she regarded the situation more calmly than Jayce and Caitlyn were, “You need to do this presentation, Jayce. They will be fine.” she calmed as Jayce looked at Caitlyn as the teen nodded firmly.

“I can take Seraphine and Ezreal home, but none of us know the air purifier as well as you do.” she stated, “Powder and Viktor are relying on you, Jayce. Don’t let them down.”

He didn’t ask for this. He wanted to present their project as a team. He wouldn’t have even made this without Viktor’s original blueprints, without Powder’s knack for finding the right piece of scrap. But here he was, facing this hurdle alone in the face of dozens.

Quietly, Jayce swallowed his reservations as he nodded, “Okay…I’ll do it.”

He’d present the air purifier with as much charisma as he would for Hextech. With smiles and inspiring words of helping the very people that keep Piltover afloat. He’d enjoy the applause, the cheer, and the approving looks of the public as they praised him for his work. With hesitance, he shakes hands with the board head of the competition, accepting the grand prize for his future projects and invitations to local fundraising events in hopes of raising funds for Hextech.

Then after all was said and done.

He ran to the hospital like there was a fire on his heels.

.

“Pneumonia.”

Jayce seethed as he paced the hospital room, running his hands through his hair as he looked to his bedridden partner. He looked better than he did before, now that the fluid was out of his lungs, now that he was on antibiotics. But it still didn’t ease Jayce’s concern over Viktor’s health.

He could have died.

Viktor just seemed to shrug, well, barely shrug because Powder was leaning heavily on his shoulder, her legs curled up as she held onto herself like that was the only thing she could control, “A mild case, yes.” he answered simply, ignoring Jayce’s heated stare as he continued, “I only made it worse because I overexerted myself. The antibiotics should clear everything up.”

“Viktor, you can’t be serious right now.” Jayce chastised as he walked to Viktor’s bedside, “I knew something was wrong when you didn’t improve well after Powder and I got over our colds, I should have made you go to the doctor right then and there.”

With a bit of a colder stare, Viktor retorted, “Everything was fine until this morning, how was the presentation? Did we win?” he asked, making Jayce’s face flare quickly with anger.

“Viktor! We are not doing this!” he hissed out, pointing a finger into his partner’s chest as he let out his frustrations, “You are not steering this conversation away from the fact you disregarded your own health for a stupid competition!” Jayce paused to take a breath, glancing at Powder shrinking herself closer before huffing and going back to pacing the room, “You scared the shit out of us.” he lamented as he scrubbed his face to relieve the pressure behind his eyes.

At this point, Viktor finally expressed a look of guilt as he averted his gaze. He didn’t speak, but he did pull his arm around Powder as she instantly curled up to his side.

Powder struggled not to sob, but it was a fruitless effort as she buried her face into her guardian’s hospital gown to choke out, “Don’t leave me. Please don’t…”

Viktor sighed gently as he held the girl close and brushed the stray strands of hair from her face, “I’m sorry.” he whispered, gently kissing her forehead before he regarded the girl quietly, “Where is your rabbit?” Knowing how the stuffed animal was a comfort for Powder, he was curious as to why she didn’t have it with her.

“I left him at home…” Powder mumbled out, “I thought that…I thought that I could go a day without him, and that I could be just fine on my own.” she gritted her teeth as she shook her head, “But I just jinxed it, I was so worried about the competition that I didn’t even notice something was wrong until...this happened.” she gestured to the room they were in, “Now you’re fighting and I don’t know what to do.”

As swiftly as a panicked man could move, Jayce moved to Powder’s side as she began to sob, giving Viktor a small nod in thanks as the sickly man moved over to give Jayce the room to sit so Powder was between them. Carefully Jayce wrapped the both of them up in his arms, Viktor resting his head against his shoulder with Powder tucked between them as she struggled to calm down.

“Hey,” Jayce spoke softly, trying to comfort the girl as he ran his fingers through her hair to soothe her, “We’re not fighting, alright? I was…concerned. And Viktor’s as stubborn as a mule.” he stated, huffing a small laugh when Viktor gave him a look but he continued on, “You never have to worry about us, alright? We can figure our stuff out, you just need to worry about you.”

Powder seemed comforted by the closeness of her guardians holding her close, nodding gently as she mumbled out, “So you don’t hate each other?”

Viktor huffed a tired laugh as he shook his head, “I don’t think a fight like this would constitute us hating each other.” he muttered while leaning his head back to give Jayce a side eyed glance, “Maybe a week’s worth of the silent treatment at worst.” he teased lightly, earning a snort from the larger man as he sighed and leaned over to kiss at his partner’s temple.

“The only thing you’re getting a week’s worth of is rest,” he chastised before adding, “And the silent treatment.”

“Oh no, I'll go a whole week without hearing the ramblings of Jayce Talis? Whatever shall I do?” Viktor teased sarcastically, making a small grin when Powder giggled at the expense of Jayces ego.

Jayce couldn’t help rolling his eyes and grinning, glad that he could still spend another day with these two in his life.

Even as the clock began to tick away for one of them.

Chapter Text

You know, he honestly should have expected it.

Jayce Talis would like to consider himself a morning person, being awake before the rest of the world was refreshing. He could make breakfast, drink a cup of coffee, and get everything in order for the day ahead of him.

Viktor was always the wild card.

Some days, Viktor was awake before him. Other days, Viktor sleeps in until after Powder heads to school. Then there was always the rare occasion that Viktor just never slept at all.

It seemed like it was the case this morning, as Jayce emerged from his room with his hair unkept and ready for his coffee. The second he looked around their workshop, their home, he saw his partner shuffling around the open room. Viktor didn’t even seem to notice his arrival as he fiddled with the small device in his deft hands, gently turning knobs as a pair of spinning rings danced around a singular sphere.

Thinking about how to garner his partner’s attention, a devious grin settled on Jayce’s face as he slowly stalked behind the obviously distracted man. With his arms stretched out, Jayce quickly gathered Viktor up in his arms, pulling him close and settling his head on top of curly brunette hair.

Viktor didn’t react much, just holding his device tighter in order not to drop it as he mumbled absently, “Good morning.”

Jayce huffed as he didn’t get the reaction he wanted, “You didn’t go to sleep at all, did you?” he asked bluntly, already knowing the answer.

With his only answer being the feeling of Viktor shaking his head under Jayce’s chin, the taller man sighed heavily at his partner’s dedication, “Did you at least make any headway on the positioning system?” he inquired, raising his brow when Viktor raised his arms up and the rings spun a little faster.

“The system should be able to determine coordinates by latitude, longitude, and altitude. Which would get our dear Council satisfied to go wherever they want with the correct coordinates.” Viktor informed, clicking his tongue a bit as he lowered his arms and the rings slowed their spinning, “Now I just need a signal.”

Jayce humorously watched Viktor try to wrap his head around the problem at hand, from his position behind the smaller man he could watch how Viktor’s skilled fingers turn dials with the delicacy of an artist. How chipped black fingernail polish fell from his nails and decorated the positioning device with little black specks of dried paint. How bony knuckles wrapped around the body of the device and gave a gentle shake before-

Thwump.

Yeah, he should have expected that to happen. Sputtering as Jayce was basically smacked with a hunk of metal, he released his partner to rub his sore nose as Viktor outstretched his arms once again to attempt to get a signal.

“Apologies.” Viktor muttered in a very unapologetic tone as he returned to shuffling around the room, careful with his steps without his cane as he cursed gently, “The signal gets stronger when it’s higher.”

Jayce huffed as he briefly walked to his mirror to check his face, “What kind of signal are you trying to get?” he inquired as he went to fix his hair since he was already at his mirror. From the reflection he watched Viktor stretch as far as his body would allow him, making Viktor twist his face in annoyance as he watched the rings slow down once more when he lowered his arms.

“A hex crystal is inside, the signal is trying to pick up residual concentrated magic in the area to manifest the power that will be needed to transport something as large as an airship.” he explained, his tone making it sound like a toddler would understand and Jayce was just too dumb to comprehend. Viktor did tend to get irritable when he didn’t sleep, which was usually about half of Viktor’s personality alongside sardonic and antisocial.

“Jayce, pick me up.”

Did he forget to mention bossy?

“Excuse me?”

He wasn’t even properly dressed for the morning, no coffee brewing, no breakfast being made, and here Viktor stood in his crumpled Academy uniform that he didn’t have to wear anymore demanding that Jayce get on the ball and start working. Even at his question Viktor rolled his eyes as he messed with the dials once more in impatience for Jayce to hurry.

With a sigh in defeat, Jayce slowly trekked over to his partner, stretching his arms as he flexed his fingers with a few small pops coming from the joints, “You’re very demanding when you're tired.” he complained lightly as he leaned down enough to grip his partner’s waist, “Ready?”

Viktor gave a definitive nod as he commented, “At least I’m not high maintenance.”

Jayce huffed a low breath, hoisting Viktor up and laughing a bit from the surprised yelp he earned from the suddenness, “No, but you’re sure as hell a pain in my ass.”

The small sound of rings whooshing kept Viktor distracted, adjusting his dials as he watched the light flicker with attention to catching something, “Higher.” he stated, staring at the device as it was beginning to function for its intended purpose.

“No way.” Jayce refuted, “I’d have to hold your legs, and I don’t intend to put you through that kind of pain.”

“How sweet.” Viktor muttered sarcastically, “Then find a way to get us higher, there’s a stronger sign of a signal up here.”

Jayce released a frustrated breath as he looked around for them to get higher in some way, a stool or a box of some kind? Something sturdy so they wouldn’t fall would be preferable. His eyes lingered at his chair next to his workbench, which was relatively clear of junk for once. Jayce clicked his tongue cause he knew he was about to do something stupid for science, again. “Shit.”

Powder knew the lengths Jayce and Viktor would go for science, but when she opened the door from her bedroom to see her moronic guardians balancing on a workbench and stacked on top of each other, she pondered if she should just go back to sleep.

“What are you doing?” she opted to ask instead, walking to look up at them in her very pastel pink pajamas and bunny slippers.

Both men paused their balancing act, looking down to their ward awkwardly as Jayce hummed a low, “Uhh…science?”

“Uh huh.” Powder deadpanned as she looked up high to Viktor as he returned to tinkering around with his invention, “You don’t normally do stupid things like this, did you sleep?” she asked, already knowing of Viktor’s poor decision habits when he was exhausted.

Viktor answered with a hum before answering, “Sometimes you need to go the extra mile for progress.” he explained, stretching his arms out once more and quirking his lip up when the light flickered more often and the rings started spinning wildly, “I need to get higher, Powder?”

“Hell no,” Powder refused at first, her eyes hard as she shook her head, “I’ll break my neck up there! I wouldn’t be able to make it to school if-” she paused, thinking hard before a mischievous smile fell onto her lips and she started to climb up to the workbench, “I’m in.”

Jayce sighed in dismay, lowering Viktor down momentarily so he could hand her the positioning system and gather her up in his arms, “Hold it as high as you can, we’re looking for the light to stay on consistently.” he instructed before lifting her up with a pained grunt, “You’ve gotten bigger.”

“I blame Jay's arepas con queso.” Powder argued, laughing a little bit as Jayce huffed and moved, shuffling his feet for a better footing to grab Viktor's waist once more.

Viktor breathed a small laugh himself as he was lifted once more, adjusting his hold on Powder so she could start searching for a signal, “They are rather good.”

“You know I can still hear you down here, right?” Jayce notified as he looked up to see Powder stretching out as far as she could in Viktor’s hold, the device in her hands flickering its light even more often while the rings around the sphere spun at a speed that almost encased it, “Any luck?”

“Turn the dial by four degrees.” Viktor instructed, letting the girl carefully do as she was told and watching the rings continue to spin, “Close, but not enough.” he muttered.

“Damn.” Powder cursed, bringing the positioning system down as Viktor pulled her back down, “It was so close.”

“We just can’t get the height we need.” Viktor informed as he patted at Jayce’s arm to be set down. Once his feet were securely set to the workbench, Viktor moved to gently setting Powder back down, “We could try finding a taller building? Maybe the astronomy department’s observatory?”

Jayce hummed quietly, already shuffling around the two to get himself down first before assisting the other two off his workbench as he brainstormed.

“I might have an idea.”

.

“Woah.” Powder gasped as she stood at the docks so high up in the air, overlooking the entirety of Piltover and the expanse of the sea to the east, “This is unreal.”

Viktor hummed in agreement as he ran a hair through his hair to block from the wind, “You’ve never been this high up before, have you?” he inquired and smiled slightly when Powder shook her head, “I remember being as astounded as you were when I first got on an airship.”

“We’re actually getting on one?” Powder breathed out, astounded and excited when Viktor nodded and tilted his head towards Jayce at the end of the docks, having a joyful conversation with a stout man.

“Apparently his mother’s neighbor owns a delivery company,” he explained with a small shrug, “Since we caught him early enough in the morning and they’re schedule isn’t tight, he’s going to let us ride around for the day.”

Powder squealed in excitement, jumping in place as she celebrated to herself, “I always wanted to ride one and see how they work. Would it be too much trouble to ask for a tour?”

Glancing back to his partner to see Jayce giving them the go ahead, Viktor nudged Powder towards the loading platform so they could prepare to set off, “I will leave that up between you and the Captain. Don’t pester him too much for a tour, alright?” he stated and huffed an amused breath when Powder nodded hurriedly and rushed to meet the Captain, introducing herself enthusiastically and immediately asking about the inner workings of the airship.

“She works fast.” Jayce commented as Viktor came to his side, already messing with the positioning system to turn it on.

The device flared to life with the rings spinning in their set pattern, encasing the center sphere behind its movements. The light flashed on, only lasting a few seconds and flashing off again before repeating the process again. Viktor stared at the device as they climbed onto the airship’s deck, finding a place to sit until lift off.

“You know Powder,” Viktor mumbled, “If she wants something, she’ll get her way eventually.”

There was a truth to it, Jayce thought humorously as he could already see Powder at the control panel with the Captain, her wide eyes being shown how the airship was steered and operated as he knew she was listening to every detail intently.

As Jayce watched, his eyes grew sofft, a bit solemn as he muttered, “You said she’s gotten bigger this morning.”

Viktor nodded as he continued tinkering, “I did, I believe she hit a growth spurt this year.” he assessed, “We’re going to have to expect more of them now, possibly get her new clothes or ask your mother for more hand-me-downs.”

“How old is she now?” Jayce inquired, blinking a little bit in surprise as he remembers that they never celebrated her birthday, “Fuck, I don’t even know when her birthday it.”

“You shouldn’t worry about it.” Viktor muttered, “We don’t really celebrate birthdays in the Undercity, we tend to just celebrate another year in life when the new year begins.” seeing how Jayce wasn’t quite satisfied with his answer, Viktor gently added, “She’s thirteen, and her birthday is around a month before Progress Day.”

Jayce gave a nod in thanks as he leaned back in his seat, “So you don’t know the exact date either.” Viktor was about to repeat his statement, but Jayce was quick to butt in, “What about you? Being up here for so long, you must have a birthday to set as a celebration.”

Viktor gave a small snort as he shook his head, “I do not have an exact date. I just know my date of birth is closer to the end of the year.”

“Fuck,” Jayce cursed as he ran a hand over his face, “I’ve really been so caught up in everything, that I have never asked for your birthdays. I…I don’t think I’ve even celebrated mine lately.”

“Progress waits for no one.” Viktor offered with a small shrug, “Don’t be too distraught over it, time has passed fast.”

Jayce gave a small hum, the both of them falling into a gentle silence as the crew busied themselves with unlatching their lines from pilings and having the airship rev up. With a slight joustle and a small surge the airship lifted off, rising higher and higher in the air. Viktor held his breath as the light lingered on longer, but the rings continued to spin even as they evened out and began floating through air. They could hear Powder yelling in excitement inside the ship, making the both of them pause any attempts of relaxing as they glanced back to see their kid taking hold of the wheel with the Captain directing her.

Viktor waited a beat, to see if their flight was steady before pulling himself up to stand, “I still don’t have a signal yet.” he muttered, taking hold of his cane as he slowly started maneuvering around the ship’s deck to attempt to gain a signal, “We’re so close, I can feel it.”

Eventually Jayce pulled himself up to stand as well, walking to Viktor’s side to see the positioning system struggling to get its signal. He made a quick glance back to Powder steering the ship, asking the Captain to raise the altitude would result in blockading air traffic. His lips pursed as he glanced back down to Viktor once more as he stared at his device with furrowed brows.

“We have one more thing we can do to get the signal.” he offered, his eyes determined as he knelt down in front of his partner, “Climb on my shoulders.”

With a raised brow, Viktor delicately shook his head, “This isn’t our workshop, Jayce.” he informed before gesturing around them, “We’re kind of several hundred meters off the ground.”

“When has that ever stopped progress?” Jayce challenged, his face breaking out into a grin when Viktor didn’t immediately respond, so he continued, reassuring Viktor’s worries, “If we fall off an airship for Hextech, we sure as hell will be remembered for the next couple of generations.”

Viktor snorted humorously as he carefully moved around Jayce, awkwardly standing as he didn’t know what he was even supposed to do, “We’ll be remembered as fools.”

Jayce barked a laugh as he surged forward, carefully taking Viktor’s legs and hoisting him up in one fell swoop, “Aren’t we already fools!” he exclaimed excitedly as Viktor yelped and held onto his partner for dear life. It took him a few seconds to collect himself, realize the sheer absurdity of the actions Jayce and Viktor will fully making, and cursing gently as he fiddled with a wildly spinning device in his hands.

“I hate this!” Viktor stated, his thighs pressing harshly to Jayce’s head as he tried to control his breathing at this altitude, “I very much hate this, Jayce Talis!”

“Then get the signal!” Jayce yelled back as he widened his stance to hold Viktor more securely, “We’ve come so far for this Viktor! We’re at the precipice of change!”

Viktor swallowed the lump in his throat as he carefully extended his arm up, the positioning system going haywire in his hand as he outstretched further and further out towards a bright blue sky.

He saw a murder of crows fly by, traveling past them in a blur of black. As he stretched and strained his body to its farthest extents, Viktor pondered if the crows were here for him, to guide them both to their death should they fall.

But Jayce stood up on his tiptoes and the world was silent.

Viktor stared in awe as the positioning system froze, the rings at an unnatural cycle surrounding the sphere, the light brighter than he’s ever seen it all day. With a resounding series of ticks…

The device started to calculate coordinates.

“I-Incredible.” Viktor whispered.

This was magic.

It was real, it was tangible. Not just something that existed in small volatile crystals and old history books. It wasn’t just something you were born with. It was real and it was being used by their technology.

“I-It’s working!” Jayce yelled from below, laughing a bit in disbelief as they struggled momentarily to keep their height, “It’s actually working!”

Viktor couldn’t help but join in laughing, utterly mystified as magic was working its way through the positioning system, “J-Just try to keep this height a little longer Jayce!” Viktor encouraged as he stretched out even more, feeling the pain in his back as he knew he would feel this later today.

They didn’t even pay attention to the world around them, so engrossed in the wonders of magic that when Powder ran and gripped the back of Jayce’s shirt he nearly fell forward.

“You two are morons!” Powder chastised as she looked up at the spinning device, her eyes wide before she started laughing as well, “Absolutely stupid, genius morons!”

After a few moments for the positioning system to synchronize properly, Jayce slowly placed Viktor back down and gathered his people in for a tight hug as Powder berated them for being so reckless. He didn’t even care about the crew mates watching them in confusion as Jayce grabbed Viktor’s face and kissed him silly.

Viktor let himself be kissed, too caught up in the discovery to be self conscious enough to push Jayce away. Once they pulled back Viktor grinned as he gently reached up to pat Jayce’s cheek, “We’re one step closer to your Hextech dream.” he mused softly.

With a wide grin on his face, Jayce pulled his partner in for another kiss, this one much deeper, more passionate than any kiss they shared before. Eventually Jayce pulled back from a breathless scientist as he warmly muttered out.

“Our Hextech dream.”

.

After a severe tongue lashing from the Captain about ignoring safety protocols, Jayce and Viktor were forced to stay seated for the remainder of the flight for the rest of the day. Lucky for them it was still a nice afternoon view of Piltover, and Powder was still able to get the tour she wanted as well as a go at steering the airship.

“It’s all so small from up here.” Jayce mentioned gently as he felt Viktor’s head on his shoulder, looking over to see the man still working on the positioning system.

Now that it was synchronized, they could gather data. Gather coordinates for different waypoints with a few sensors that could send their information back to the device and make a realistic estimate of where these airships would teleport to. All that was needed now was crafting sensors and sending them in airships to travel across the world for a year, while that was being done they could set to making the actual Hexgate, getting enough energy to actually power the system to send an airship across the continent.

But that was another day. What they did today was enough.

“Just think,” Jayce continued, “The bonds that can be forged with this new mode of travel. Piltovan kids getting to know Noxian kids. Ionians get to see a world beyond their small land mass.” he whispered wistfully.

Viktor finally paused from playing around with his device, giving Jayce a quick glance before having his eyes travel across the expanse of Piltover. He thought deeply, his eyes gentle as he muttered, “Maybe peace could be made one day, where Piltover is a place of neutral ground where Demancians, Noxians, and Ionians alike can work out their political disputes.” he gently breathed out, “Maybe one day we are no longer held back by our hatred for each other, and all of humanity functions as one.”

Taking his moment to digest Viktor’s words, Jayce felt his smile widen as he looked back to his partner, “And we are the ones to have achieved it, Viktor. We set all of this into motion.”

“We only placed the stepping stones for change.” Viktor pointed out bluntly, “It’s up to the world on whether it is ready for change or not.”

The two fell into their typical silence afterwards, enjoying the deep orange skies as they slowly turned deeper and darker. It was peaceful, and momentarily Jayce looked down to their hands that settled nicely in between them, inches apart but neither daring to make the first move.

They were too far in, Jayce realized, to make this sound casual. Like it was just the both of them being close because work forced them to be close. He couldn’t confidently say that anymore, as he felt his fingers twitch as they inched closer and closer to interlock his calloused tanned fingers with delicate porcelain white digits.

Viktor didn’t react.

Fuck.

Jayce had it bad and he was terrified.

Terrified of what exactly? He couldn't place his finger on it, a whirlwind of worries washing over the man as he thought of all the consequences of actually pursuing Viktor's affections. People talked, and worst of all they whispered behind the backs of those that would seek their good will. What would they say about Viktor, the very man that saved his life and believed in him enough to let Jayce give himself a second chance. Would they finally treat him with respect? Look his way and refer to him like he belonged in the world he fought his way to? Or would they scorn him? Blatantly treat him as even more of an outsider now that he had the attention turned his way? Jayce didn't want to do that to him, Viktor deserved to be recognized as his own person. A respectful scientist that revolutionized the world for the better, not solely as the man Jayce had romantic relations with.

Maybe one day...but not right now.

He didn't have the time to properly sort his thoughts out as he felt a pressure on his other side, looking away from his entangled fingers to see a familiar head of blue hair leaning on him.

Powder looked happily exhausted, a smile on her face as she looked up to her guardian, “Cap said we’re going to be docking soon.” she told him before leaning forward slightly to catch sight of her other guardian, “Are you going to wake Vik up?”

That explained a lot, Jayce pondered as he turned his head slightly to see that Powder was right. Viktor snored softly against his shoulder, his body lax and his expression soft as the positioning system was safely tucked under his other arm. With a small amused huff, Jayce shook his head and looked back to his ward.

“Nah, I’ll carry him back home.”

The girl snorted softly as she returned to leaning back on Jayce as she remarked, “He’s going to be pissed if you do that.”

“He’s strained himself enough today, he deserves the rest.”

Powder hummed gently as she nodded, “You’re both still morons.” she muttered.

“I know.” Jayce responded softly, chuckling a little bit when Powder shoved him gently.

“Seriously, I don’t know where you’d be without me.” she joked, “Probably thrashing your heads against a wall trying to make magic work.”

Jayce laughed once more, low enough not to wake Viktor as he raised a curious eyebrow at his ward, “Really now?” he mused, shaking his head when Powder nodded in confidence as she crossed her arms.

“Duh!” Powder stated obviously, “Piltover should be grateful that I’m up here, making sure you two change the world.”

She was right though, despite the heartache, Powder was paramount to Jayce and Viktor’s relationship, professional or not. How such a little girl that caused so much chaos over two years ago and become the young lady that Powder is today astounded Jayce to no end. A pride swelled in his heart knowing that he was a part of this kid’s life, and she looked up to the both of them for letting her explore a talent that the Undercity would have never been able to foster to bloom.

“I’m glad you’re here,” Jayce finally muttered after a long moment of peaceful quiet, “With us. Making a better tomorrow.”

Powder stared up at her guardian, her eyes wide as she felt a pressure behind them. She didn’t cry though, but she did give Jayce a large smile before lurching forward to wrap her arms around the man and hide her face in his chest. She wasn’t going to cry, but she was pretty damn close.

“You’re really sappy.”

Jayce huffed a small laugh as he reached up to ruffle her head, “I know.” he mused gently, holding her in place as he felt wet tears soaking his shirt. Curiously, he glanced over to Viktor’s sleeping form, humorously thinking of what sarcastic comment Viktor would be making right now.

But the man still slept, his face peaceful as the afternoon sun finally settled lower on the horizon, washing the sky with a dark sky filled with shining natural lights.

He tightened his hold on Viktor’s fingers.

Still terrified.

Chapter Text

Ezreal wasn’t the only person affected by Powder’s invention, Seraphine realized. Though now it was way too late in her young life.

She always had a weird sixth sense of other people’s feelings around her, the best way to describe how others felt were through a cacophony of abstract songs that only she could hear. Maybe it was because she was surrounded by music all her life, her parents spending their hardworking days away repairing rusty phonographs and fractured instruments alike. She learned every instrument that went through her parents' shop doors, figuring out their intricacies and how each one ticked and built upon each other to craft a harmony that was delightful to the ears for everyone to enjoy.

Humorously enough, she compared how she handled the complexities of musical theory to the difficulties of engineering, much to Powder’s disagreements.

“What does that guy sound like?” Powder asked casually as she pointed to the man her guardians were discussing with at one of the garage openings, leaning heavily on that railings to try to hear what the conversation entailed.

With a small hum and a few seconds of listening, Seraphine hummed a small little melody and tapped at the railings in a steady rhythm with her fingertips, “Happy, sounds like a flute.” she answered.

Ever since the incident, the songs that Seraphine described as a person’s emotions were manifesting into actual melodies that Seraphine could replicate down to the very chord being played.

“Woah.” Powder awed, chuckling a bit as she watched, “That’s really cool.”

At least someone thought her new ability was cool.

It was just the both of them hanging out today for their summer break. With Caitlyn taking extra classes to recover her failing grades and keep the facade that she was the prodigy of the Kiramman family. Then there was also Ezreal, out with his uncle at a historical expo that neither Seraphine nor Powder had any intention to go to.

So they decided to hang out at the workshop, supervised by Jayce and Viktor as they began to gather the materials needed for the Hexgate project. They gave the girls their time to chit chat, and Seraphine couldn’t be more thankful that they weren't listening to them. As much as Powder trusted her guardians, she didn't want to be poked and prodded like Ezreal let himself be.

“Y-You think so?” Seraphine asked, shrinking her shoulders as she stared at the floor in front of her, “Sorry I didn’t say anything sooner…I thought…” she paused to breath before continuing, “I thought it would go away soon, but it never did.”

Powder hummed in thought as she took hold of a biscuit that rested on Jayce’s workbench and waved it in front of the younger girl, “So everyone has a song going on? Like how mine was a precussing-”

“Percussion.”

“Right, that.” Powder corrected as she took a bite of her treat before mumbling with a full mouth, “So what does Vik sound like?”

Seraphine stopped to turn back to look at Powder’s guardians once more, in the middle of bickering about the proportions of their designs. Despite the disagreement, the young girl couldn’t help but raise a brow at the strange duet the pair played.

“Viktor sounds like…the violin I believe?” she answered slowly as she focused on Viktor’s sound alone, “Graceful, but powerful.” she commented, “It’s an odd E-flat Major piece, and it works strangely well with Jayce’s song.”

Powder lifted her brows now in confusion, making an amused smirk when she witnessed Viktor smack Jayce with his cane, “So what? Like a piano or something? You’ve mentioned they go well together before.”

With a gentle shake of the head, Seraphine turned back and moved to sit on the couch as she hummed a small tune in conjunction with what she heard before finally answering, “The horn, actually. Very loud and low frequency so the sound can be carried out further and cut through the noises. You’d think with something as delicate as the violin that the violin would be drowned out, but…they challenge each other, give each other turns to shine, it’s oddly complimentary.” she explained, blinking curiously when Powder traveled her eyes back over to the younger girl, a small quirk on her lips.

“That’s the most I’ve ever heard you talk,” Powder commented, “Like ever.”

Seraphine flushed a bit at that, looking down to her abandoned tea cup of the coffee table as she busied herself with stirring the contents, “I-I…” she mumbled lamely, shrinking her shoulders close once again, “I really like music, I must have gotten carried away…sorry. I know we were talking about magic and stuff.”

How foolish she was, getting carried away like that. Powder wouldn’t want to hear about music, she was a girl of science. The older girl liked to cause havoc and make gadgets, the complexity of machines was the instrument Powder played and Seraphine was only a spectator in that type of world. Powder was everything Seraphine wanted to be, strong, loud, confident and a genius to boot. Even if the girl didn’t recognize it, she captivated a room with her madness, her creativity.

Maybe that was why Seraphine looked up to her so much.

Powder shook her head as she leaned back over to take another biscuit, “Nah, I like it when you talk about music. I’m learning something new.” she muttered, giving up from trying to listen to her guardians’ conversation and planting herself on the couch.

“Even if you don’t understand anything I’m saying?” Seraphine asked, nervously wringing her hands together as the blue haired girl hummed in thought as she ate.

“I kinda get what you’re saying. The M-flats and the bassinet though? Have no clue.”

“...I think you put a bassoon and clarinet together.”

“There’s no instrument called a bassinet?”

“That’s a bed for babies.”

“...I knew that.”

Seraphine couldn’t help but giggle, eventually followed by Powder as she rubbed the back of her neck, “See? I’m still learning.”

With a shrug Seraphine turned back to her forgotten tea, taking a few sips and wrinkling her nose at how cold it became. Powder occasionally asked about various instruments, which Seraphine answered to the best of her abilities.

For a moment the both of them stayed quiet, the sounds of machinery clacking away downstairs distracting for any chances of a conversation. But it was fine, Seraphine preferred the silence sometimes. There was a peace in silence, where for a moment her heart and mind were calmed and she could think for herself without the various beats and rhythms ringing through her skull.

But once the machinery died down, Seraphine’s sensitive ears picked up another sound from her friend as she absentmindedly hummed a small melody. It was too familiar, something that Seraphine couldn’t quite name but felt like she always knew of it.

“That tune…” Seraphine started, garnering Powder’s attention as she looked in her direction, “Where did you hear that before?”

Powder blinked a few times as she shrunk her shoulders, “Um…it’s an old nursery rhyme.” she explained lamely, “I learned it when I was really little.”

“In the Undercity?” Seraphine asked quietly, releasing a small breath when Powder hesitantly nodded, “I…the tone is familiar, but I don’t ever remember hearing the full song.”

After thinking for a moment, Powder sat up from the couch, crossing her legs as she tilted her head, “I…sorta remember it.” she mumbled sheepishly, “It just brings up…bad memories.”

Seraphine could feel Powder folding into herself, her usually upbeat rhythm slowing and quieting as her face contorted into something more solemn. With a gentle pat on the older girl’s arm, Seraphine offered a small smile.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you remember.” she mumbled, pulling her legs up to wrap around them as she sighed, “I just…I’m only nine years old and I’m…forgetting what it was like living in the Undercity.” she confessed.

Powder raised her brows as she leaned a bit forward, “Forgetting? Like growing up down there?”

The younger girl shrugged, “I-I can’t really explain it…My parents lived in the Promenade and they didn’t want me going too far from home. So…” she began before shrinking her shoulders, “A lot of the stuff you and Viktor talk about, like the Lanes, the Fissures, the Sumps…I don’t know any of that.”

With a small hum in thought, Powder leaned back against the couch, “I don’t really think that’s a bad thing…you did have a better life in the Undercity compared to Vik and I. Hell, I was orphaned and lived under a tavern. Vik doesn’t even talk about how he grew up, and I don’t think he ever will.” she admitted, “As shocking as it sounds, some people can have a normal life on the other side of the river.”

“I know.” Seraphine sighed, tightening the hold on her knees as she looked at the grainy textures of the coffee table, “But sometimes, it makes me think.”

“Think how?”

With another sigh, Seraphine clarified, “That eventually, I will have spent more time topside than I did in the Undercity. When that happens, am I…am I really still considered as one of them? As a kid of the Undercity?” she asked softly.

Powder blinked a little in surprise as Seraphine’s deep question, “Of course…” she answered, her tone uncertain as she chewed on her lip, “You can take the girls out of the Undercity, but you can’t take the Undercity out of the girls.” she tried to joke, her smile faltering when Seraphine didn’t give a smile back.

“Was there ever an Undercity to begin with for me?”

With a tight lip and several moments of silence, Powder really spent her time thinking. Was Seraphine right in her words? A kid so young mentioning something so deep was already something strange but there was a truth to her words. One day, Powder will have lived in Piltover just as long as she did in the Lanes, and possibly more years afterwards.

There was no plan to return back to her old home. There was nothing left there to go back to.

But could she really leave a home behind like that? Could she even consider herself a Undercity kid anymore now that she got the privilege of living up here?

Slowly Powder climbed off of the couch, looking around the sitting area she and Seraphine hung out in. With rays of sunlight coming through the balcony door, a kitchen full of food, separate bedrooms…

It was nothing like her old home.

A pull came from her chest, a deep homesickness that demanded to be quelled.

“Hey.” Powder began, swallowing the lump in her throat as she looked down to her younger friend, “Wanna go walk around? It’s getting stuffy here.”

Seraphine carefully looked up from her place on the couch, studying her friend and trying to understand how the beat of her drums played out in a careful thrum of anticipation. Gently the smaller girl untangled herself, getting herself to stand as she took in a deep breath and nodded.

“S-Sure.”

.

Powder wasn’t sure what dragged her out here, as the wind wildly blew her and Seraphine’s hair around.

It was like a compulsion, a need.

Maybe because it was always home.

The sounds of gulls screaming in the distance distracted Powder enough as the both of them walked, passing by busy people that paid two girls no mind. The smell of a salty sea breeze made Powder wrinkle her nose as she looked over the railings of the bridge, watching the waters churn and move under them.

She remembered running across this bridge, avoiding enforcers as the center split in two.

She remembered having her first Jubilee on this bridge, dropping a bouquet of flowers for all the people lost to her.

She remembered Jayce carrying her back across this bridge, both chilled to the bone from freezing autumn showers.

She remembered running across this bridge, desperate and pleading with any divine entity that enforcers were wrong and that her family wasn’t dead.

But they didn’t lie. She was alone.

That was the last time she ever stepped foot on the other side of the river, there was never any reason to go back to a place that had bad memories.

Until now.

Powder kept her gaze forward, her breath hasty as she walked with Seraphine. The younger girl seemed confused, looking between Powder and back to Piltover as her anxieties rose. Once Powder’s foot made contact with the bridge’s split, Seraphine took hold of her arm.

“W-Wait.” Seraphine objected as she stopped the girl in her tracks, “W-We shouldn’t go any farther.”

Powder didn’t turn around, her eyes set to the other side, “Why not?” she asked, “It’s our home too, we lived there, we know how it works over there.”

Seraphine inhaled sharply as she felt Powder pulling, the older girl clearly stronger than her. But as she was slowly getting dragged, Seraphine was quick to squeak out, “It’s different, Powder.”

“Different how?” Powder asked, snapping her head around, “You left not that long after I left, how much different could it be? That’s our old home, Sera.” she stated, with a bit of desperation in her voice as she pulled a bit, “We can go play on the rooftops, eat at Jericho’s stall, see if the Last Drop is still standing…”

“Powder,” Seraphine tried to hold her back, struggling to keep Powder in place, “T-The Undercity changed, so much.” she explained, tears in her eyes, “People lost their jobs, these people called the chem barons started popping up and offering employment for protection and dirty work to be done. There’s some kinda drug, I-I don’t know what it’s called but my mom said that everyone was getting addicted to it, i-it’s flooding the streets!”

“How’s that any different from what we already went through?” Powder challenged, huffing a bit as she felt a stinging in her eyes, “Every big bad guy had goons, there were always drugs on the streets!”

“Because they use kids like us Powder!” Seraphine finally snapped, her breath ragged as she used her small body to finally jerk Powder back, just in time for the bridge to split and pull back, sending both girls to slide backwards onto the concrete below.

But Seraphine didn’t care about the scrapes she acquired, sitting up to rub at the tears on her face as she was overcome with emotions. Her emotions? Other people’s emotions? She couldn’t separate what emotions were hers, and that was the worst part about this power, “Why my mothers took me topside! They said that chem barons were using kids to work in their factories! Kids younger than I was! I was seven.” she cried out, holding herself close, “Who does that? What kind of monsters hurt children like that?”

Powder sat up, rubbing the scrape on her elbow as she watched Seraphine struggle with her emotions. Monsters. That was something eerily familiar.

Vi mentioned monsters.

Monsters that killed enforcers. That killed Benzo.

Monsters that took Vander away and made Vi leave her behind.

Suddenly Powder knew why Jayce forbade her from going past the bridge, why he would chastise Viktor if he even mentioned going to the Undercity for materials.

Because there were monsters.

Powder shivered for a moment, looking back over to her weeping friend as she broke down, her hands pressed harshly to her ears as she tried to calm down. A twinge of guilt formed itself in Powder’s gut as she carefully moved to Seraphine’s side, guiding the little girl up to move over to the sidewalk to sit. She tried to replicate what Jayce and Viktor would do for her when she had moments like this, rubbing her back, pulling hair away from her face, trying to hush her. But nothing worked.

Powder pursed her lips as she took the smaller girl and held her close, racking her brain on what to do to calm the girl down.

This bridge did nothing but cause pain to everyone around it. Marking itself as a pillar and a reminder that the Undercity and Piltover are entirely separate places.

There was nothing good that came from this bridge.

“Dear friend across the river…”

“My hands are cold and bare…”

She didn’t know why she sang. But as she quietly whispered out the small lullaby that was seared inside her head, Seraphine’s small sobs quieted down.

”Dear friend across the river…”

”I'll take what you can spare…”

Powder felt Seraphine slowly pull back, her eyes wide as she watched Powder’s face turn solemn. By the next verse, Powder could distinctly hear the other girl joining in, her voice mystified that she could remember a song she rarely heard.

”I ask of you a penny…”

”My fortune it will be…”

She watched as Seraphine tilted her head around, looking around in wonder as she stood up and walked to the railings. Overlooking the channel, the scenery of both cities were in clear view. With Piltover’s city of iron and glass. With the Undercity’s partial city of steel and smog. How the very center of the channel churned and mixed the dark recesses of the Undercity’s pollution with Piltover’s bright blue water.

”I ask you without envy…”

”We raise no mighty towers… “

Seraphine’s eyes were wide, her fingers drumming against the railing in an unfamiliar pattern. Replicating a song that Powder couldn’t hear. Slowly, Powder got herself up and joined Seraphine on the railing, searching the landscape for what the girl could have seen to leave her in such a shock.

”Our homes are built of stone…”

”So come across the river…”

”And find…”

The last part of the song was always lost to Powder, her young mind always fell asleep before the last line of the lullaby was sung. It was usually Vi that knew the whole song, and always finished it.

But Vi isn't here now. Was she?

Powder leaned on the railing, her eyes sad as she looked down to the sloshing waters below her. A song forever lost, it felt like her really. A song that would never have all its pieces, forgotten and one day fading from obscurity.

“...A world below…” Seraphine whispered out, pulling Powder from her stupor as she stood up straight, “The cities…” she mumbled out, turning her head to look at her older companion with wide eyes. In turn, Powder widened her eyes as well.

As right under Seraphine’s left eye, was a bright little green star.

“Sera…” Powder whispered, “You’re face.”

Quickly Seraphine reached to touch her face, her finger running over her new mark and feeling a spark of something that she never felt before, “The cities sang, Powder.” she mumbled once more, “It was…perfect. Complimentary. Like…like…” she tried to rummage through her frazzled brain for a comparison, “Like Jayce and Viktor’s song.”

Powder looked at Seraphine in confusion, “What do you mean?” she asked, watching Seraphine going back to tapping her fingers on the railing once more, trying to replicate the harmony with taps and hums but by the way Seraphine’s face twisted in frustration, Power could only assume it wasn’t quite right.

“It was like both cities were…in harmony.” she tried to explain, “Just for a moment, when we sang. But…” her face dropped, looking back out into the horizon as she mumbled sadly, “It’s gone.”

The older girl still didn’t understand Seraphine’s sudden need to replicate the song, how she was mumbling scores and chords under her breath and tapping her fingers in erratic spasms, with a raised brow Powder gently reached for her friend’s shoulder as she inquired, “W-Why is it important?”

Slowly Seraphine looked back to her friend, her eyes wide and searching as she breathed out.

“I want to hear it again.”

Chapter Text

Time was ticking away, a whole year had already sped past in the blink of an eye. The three of them were spending every waking moment working themselves to the bone to reach deadlines. With construction working on the building itself and its inner workings, all Jayce and Viktor needed to do was what they did best.

So today, during the cool end of the winter season, Jayce kept himself occupied in his family’s forge. His own forge back at the workshop couldn’t handle the sheer size of the Hexgate project, so with a little negotiation with his mother, the components for the machine itself was up to Jayce to forge, design, and ship out to the construction crew to the northeast of the city.

It also helped that he had Powder out with him today.

“To your left!” Powder yelled out, holding the forceps carefully with heavily protected gloves as it delicately held onto the red hot burning hunk of metal she was bringing over.

Because of how swamped they were, Jayce spent the colder half of the year teaching Powder how to forge. At least the basics so she wouldn’t burn herself and actually be helpful when Jayce had to watch her on certain days. Ever the quick learner, Powder picked up fast, not quite a master like Jayce was, but skilled enough to be trusted around molten metal.

If all of this didn’t work out, she’d be a great apprentice for the Talis company.

Several months ago, Jayce was worried that Powder wouldn’t be able to help at all. With Dr. Tessa’s recommendation, Powder was placed on medication to ease her traumatic responses. It left the girl drowsy and dizzy most of the time, but Dr. Tessa assured that Powder would bounce back after adjusting. Luckily for all of them, Powder did just that after several weeks of suffering.

Jayce jumped from being nudged over so Powder could place the metal down on the anvil, taking himself out from his thoughts as the girl wiped the sweat from her brow, “So this is for the placement discs, right?” Powder asked, her voice a bit higher with the sounds of ringing coming from the company’s employees working away.

“Yeah…” her guardian answered, already taking his tongs to move the metal around and extending his hand out, “Hammer.”

Powder jumped into action immediately, going through Jayce’s various array of tools before finding the desired object. With a dramatic spin, Powder took the hammer and jumped back over to Jayce’s side to plant the tool in his palm, “Hey, Jay.” Powder notified, watching Jayce bounce the hammer in his hand for a second before bringing his arm down onto the heated metal with a resounding clang.

“Yeah?” Jayce inquired, more focused on hammering out the metal as Powder watched his careful forging.

She kept quiet for a moment, letting Jayce hammer out the tougher parts before he was delicately working on details, once the ringing of metal was quieted to Jayce’s detail work, Powder finally asked away, “What’s that cookie thing called? The one your mom made that she said took a week to prepare?”

“Alfajores?” Jayce inquired, raising an eyebrow curiously.

Powder bobbed her head as she grinned, “Yeah! Those! Do you know how to make them?”

“Well…yeah? Do you want me to make them for you?”

With a shake of the head, Powder maneuvered around her guardian to watch what he was doing, “Could you make the filling for me though?” she suddenly asked, “The dulsi de leechie.”

Jayce couldn’t help but laugh at his ward’s mispronunciation, shaking his head as he moved his work into the water basin to hiss with a steamy sizzle, “Dulce de leche?” he corrected

“Yeah!” Powder exclaimed, her grin apparent as she ran to grab a towel for Jayce to wipe sweat from his brow, “Could you make it for me? Pleeeease?”

With a small huff, Jayce stretched his sore muscles while he answered, “It might take a few days, Powder-keg. If you’re willing to wait.”

“Yeah! Yeah!” Powder exclaimed, pumping her fists in celebration before launching herself to hug her guardian, “Thank you Jay!”

Jayce chuckled as he bent down to hug his ward, uncaring of the soot and sweat that smeared on their clothes before he slowly pulled back, “Alright, break’s over.” he excused as he ruffled his ward’s hair, “Go find the casting molds. We have seven more placement discs to make.”

The girl rolled her eyes as she turned away, groaning loudly in complaint, “Uggh. We’d get done faster if you let me help you!” she began to argue as she walked to the archway, leaning on it to watch Jayce chuckle as he pulled his work from the water.

“You are helping.” he counterpointed, making Powder roll her eyes once more.

“You know what I mean,” she contended as she brandished her thick forge gloves, courtesy of the forge masters in the company when she started learning with Jayce, “I know how to forge stuff now, I can make them too!”

With a gentle shake of the head, Jayce moved around his space to place the placement disc with the rest of the materials he crafted, “You’ve only been learning how to forge for six months now,” he stated as he busied himself, “I want you to keep practicing before you do any big projects.”

“Don’t you think I've practiced enough?”

“How’s your wiring again?” Jayce challenged, smirking when he saw Powder’s astonished and offended expression.

Powder huffed and crossed her arms while she pouted, “Fine.” she grumbled, blowing at her bangs before shrugging, “I’m getting better at it. By the way.”

“I’ll believe it when I see it.” Jayce teased, watching Powder bristle and narrow her eyes as she let out a sigh in frustration.

“Okay, funny man. I’ll remember this when you retire.” she threatened, pointing an accusatory finger at her guardian as he grinned deviously at her.

“I’ll remember to tell Viktor all the puns I came up with.”

Powder couldn’t keep up the threat too long, snorting loudly and shaking her head, “No! Don't!” she giggled out before rubbing at her face, “Ugh you two are so embarrassing!” she bemoaned, already turning heel and walking away to get the casting molds she was supposed to find.

“Where are you hexagoing?” Jayce began, grinning when he heard his ward groan loudly in dismay.

“Away from you!” she yelled out, laughing a bit from being so over dramatic for Jayce’s amusement. Honestly the man needed a break every once in a while, and if he got enjoyment out of saying stupid puns then let him. Powder was just going to make sure to leave afterwards, determined to distance herself when her guardians decided to purposefully embarrass her for their own amusement.

With a laugh Jayce heard Powder stomping off and turned back to his work after yelling, “Now you’re hexagon!” his laughs even harder when he heard Powder’s distant groan of disapproval as she ran down the steps.

“Goodbye!”

.

The building itself was previously made for trading companies to be in one place, to have their own space to discuss their business decisions over a beautiful view of the eastern sea.

And with Viktor and Jayce’s efforts, the building was getting a much needed makeover and reconstruction to reach the very heavens. It had to be tall to work, to not cause too much of a fuss with air traffic. The sensors were placed in different international airships to travel across the world for the next couple of years and once they came back Viktor would soon began the long process of converting coordinates into crunched numbers and into even more difficult runes.

The sphere of the positioning system was a heavy upscale of its previous design, with the added flare of being designed like the world itself. Wherever the sphere turned in conjunction with its rings, the destination would meet at the cross hairs and activate, sending something as large as an airship to the furthest reaches of the continent.

In theory.

Every test stated precisely what was described. But their biggest problem was that it was harder to test something so large. They had to make a building taller, direct a clueless construction crew to place parts in just the right way to avoid anything going wrong, and work themselves ragged just to make sure everything was in working order from start to finish.

That was where Viktor kept himself during the most days for the past six months, at the top of a constructed stand for their Hexgate, the workbench scattered with schematics and plans for the construction crew to follow. The gentle breeze of the sea from outside flowed through the shell of the building, always keeping everything cool as Viktor tinkered away at his entirely too big positioning system.

Powder sat at one of the windowsills, looking over an expansive sea of blues and shining whites that was reflected by the sun.

“I still can’t believe we’re so high up.” she commented softly, her eyes always mystified when she was this far from the ground.

Viktor hummed in agreement as he pulled his welding mask back, turning his head to glance at his ward as he took his pliers, “We have to have the Hexgate this high up to match the altitude.” he explained simply, using his tools to bend away stray pieces of metal from the finished product.

Powder made a noise of agreement, continuing to look out with a far off look over her features. Viktor paused his work when he didn’t hear Powder continuing the conversation, looking back over to her to see the girl’s troubled expression.

Eventually the girl spoke, her hands gently running over her rabbit’s ears, “After we finish this…what are we doing next?” she muttered, glancing at Viktor’s confused face before she clarified, “With Hextech, I mean.”

With a soft sigh, Viktor slowly placed his tools down, grabbing his cane to heave himself back up to stand and approach his ward, “Eh, we have a few ideas on which direction we want to go.” he disclosed as he moved toward the windowsill, leaning against it with a strained hiss before mumbling out, “Jayce wants to move towards tools for the everyday person.”

Powder looked at her guardian in concern, “Would it be safe? To have hex crystals all over Piltover?” she asked, scooting over so Viktor could sit down properly and rest his overworked body.

The man took a few moments to get himself comfortable, stretching his leg out and sitting just so his hip wouldn’t have too much pressure on it. Soon enough he found some form of comfort and leaned back, sighing softly before he responded to his charge, “Not the ones we currently have, no. But that’s another project of ours.” With a curious brow raised, Viktor lifted his arm as the girl instantly leaned into his side, “Why so curious all of a sudden?”

Powder just answers with a small little shrug as she looks back over to the sea once more, “I’m skipping a few grades in school now, going to be four levels ahead of Seraphine and Ezreal.” she mumbled.

“I believe you told us that already.” Viktor mused, turning his head slightly to see the torn features of the girl as she stared out the distant horizon. As he looked out as well, he could see the expanse of blues blending with each other and the looming cloud of dark gray in the distance. Hesitantly, Viktor muttered out, “Are you nervous?”

“I…It’s weird.” Powder muttered slowly, holding her rabbit closer and pressing more into Viktor's side as if to shield herself away from the world, “We’re still going to be in the same school but…I’m going to graduate a lot sooner than my friends.”

“And you’re worried?” Viktor tried to piece together, feeling Powder nodding against him.

“I just don’t want to leave them behind honestly.” She admitted quietly, “We won’t be able to hang out during class, or sneak out from class to pull pranks on people…I feel like…I’m just going to be lonely. Again.” she mumbled, her voice lowering at the last part of her statement before hiding her face into her plush rabbit.

After a few beats of silence, Viktor pulled his other arm up to envelop his kid into a hug, “Powder,” he began, petting her hair gently, releasing a small breath when Powder leaned into the touch, “Just because you are going to be in separate classes doesn’t mean you won’t be friends with them anymore. You’ll always find time to hang out, they’re always welcome to the workshop, and you are their dearest friend.” he assured, huffing a small laugh at the thought of Powder trying to lose her crew.

She was a magnet for the people around her, bringing a joy and fascination that captivated everyone that had the courtesy of knowing her. The thought of her friends, the very kids that’s lives were changed because of her, leaving so suddenly wasn’t even a consideration. Who would want to hurt such a sweet soul such as this?

“I don’t think they’re going to let you go that easily.” Viktor stated confidently.

They stayed together for another moment, with Powder collecting herself afterwards to pull away and look at her guardian with an unsure glance as she mumbled out.

“Are you two going to still be with me when I go to the Academy?”

With a small amused huff, Viktor carefully placed his hand on his ward’s cheek, “Of course.” he stated firmly, bringing his other hand up to squish Powder’s face and humorously add, “Who else is going to embarrass you during lectures?”

Powder giggled as she pulled her face away, pushing at Viktor, “Ugh, please don’t.” she huffed, rolling her eyes as Viktor shrugged but kept his smirk apparent.

“Jayce will bring you a bagged lunch, every day. With little hex crystal shaped candies.”

“But that sounds cool!” Powder argued, moving to the other side of the windowsill to cross her legs. She grinned while leaning back, pulling her arms behind her head to seem more macho, “To have one of the creators of Hextech bringing me lunch.”

Viktor raised his brow, taking on the challenge as he declared, “Then I'll be sure to attend your classes just to tell stories of the numerical amount of times you set fire to our lab.”

With a pout, Powder turned her head away, “Now you’re just wanting to slander my good name.” she grumbled, crossing her arms as Viktor reached over to poke at her sides, causing the teen to giggle and jump off the windowsill to avoid her attacker.

“With how much trouble you get into, I think my stories will be but a drop in the pool.” Viktor teased, taking a moment to shuffle out of his seating position and pull himself back up to stand. Once he retrieved his cane from leaning against the wall, Viktor slowly stepped past Powder to head to the workbench that was long abandoned, “Now come on, we need to finish these schematics for the construction crew.”

Taking her time to walk the same pace as her guardian, Powder looked over the simplified schematics once they made it over, “Can we get lunch afterwards?” she quickly asked, looking up to Viktor and taking a moment to inhale before swiftly adding, “Do you like cookies, Vik?”

“I don’t think I’ve ever met someone who didn’t like cookies.” Viktor answered with a brief shrug as he looked over his papers, “Why? Do you want to pick up some for lunch?” he inquired, raising a brow when Powder’s grin grew wider as she vigorously shook her head.

“Nah, I’m just wondering.”

.

How did it turn to this?

“Mmn, not too hard.” Viktor breathed, just barely turning his head away from the pillow to glare at the man on top of him.

“Sorry,” Jayce apologized, shifting slightly as a strong calloused hand moved over his delicate alabaster skin, “Better?”

With a small, strained breath, Viktor nodded, “Right there,” he choked out, gasping a bit before burying his head back into the pillow to groan out, “Fuck.”

Jayce, the ever charming one, shushed him softly as he continued his ministrations, “You’re doing great. Just a little bit more.” he praised, furrowing his brows before grimacing slightly, “Fuck, ease up V. You’re killing me here.”

Once more Viktor turned his head, giving Jayce a scathing glare as he hissed out, “How can I ‘ease up’ when you’re doing this to me?”

“You wanted this!”

“Because you wouldn’t stop begging.” Viktor groused, irritably turning away from Jayce’s huff of frustration and pitiful pout.

But Jayce didn’t stop there, his smirk devious for a moment as he shifted once more, “You know what?” he muttered, surging forward, “For that-”

“Ah!” Viktor yelped, digging his hands into his pillow at the sudden pressure. This was too much, they shouldn’t have done this. He was going to die-

An audible crack resonated throughout Viktor’s room, quickly followed by the scientist’s groan as he fell limp in his bed.

“You’ve killed me.” Viktor complained, muffled by the pillow as Jayce laughed at him, “You’ve actually killed me.”

With a gentle shake of his head, Jayce patted Viktor’s bare shoulder before climbing out of bed to find a shirt for his partner, “You’re being dramatic.” he stated humorously, pushing piles of laundry aside before finding a suitable button down for his friend and returning, “How’s your back feeling now?”

After a long moment of silence, Viktor’s face covered by his plush pillow, Jayce strained to hear the muffled, “...Better.” That was soon followed by an even softer, “Thank you.”

Jauce huffed a small laugh as he sat down at the edge of the bed, “No problem.” he hummed softly, his eyes traveling to the jutting bones of Viktor’s back and feeling his face pull into a grimace once more, “Your back has been giving you a lot of problems lately. Now that I’ve had a good look, I can at least confirm it.”

“My posture is compared to a twisted pretzel?”

“My thoughts exactly.” Jayce concurred, looking back down to Viktor as he finally turned his head towards the larger man, “You might need to go to a doctor about this V.”

As expected, Viktor’s face turned sour as he fully turned away, putting forth all his effort in pulling himself to sit up as he grumbled, “I don’t see why I have to.”

Jayce rolled his eyes as he looked focused on Viktor’s back, how pale skin stretched over jagged bones as shoulder blades rolled to ease out any tension left over. How Jayce could count exactly five moles on Viktor’s back, vaguely wondering what kind of shape would be made if he drew them connecting to each other. He paused to shake his head, huffing before continuing, “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe because you’re struggling to get up right now?”

Viktor huffed, “I think best when I’m laying down.” he tried to excuse, holding his hand out for his shirt as Jayce sighed before handing it over.

“Viktor.” he stated softly, taking note of how Viktor flinched with how gently he spoke. Hesitantly he reached out, wanting to touch his partner once more, to comfort him with whatever insecurities he had. But at the last second Jayce stopped himself, pulling his hand back as he chose to release a breath instead, “Please.”

For a while the both of them kept silent, with Viktor carefully undoing the buttons to his shirt and Jayce holding his breath, ready for an argument. But a snarky reply never came, just Viktor slowly pulling his arm through his sleeve as he slowly muttered out.

“...I’ll think about it.”

Jayce was happy with at least that, releasing his breath and falling into the bed to give Viktor his time. From the angle he was at, he could watch Viktor’s deft fingers work the buttons up his shirt, currently working on covering a beauty mark on his neck. Jayce could feel his fingertips twitch, wishing to count each and every beauty mark this man had on his body. To hold and kiss each piece of skin that marked itself different from porcelain white beauty.

But that would cross a line, wouldn’t it? How many more lines were they willing to cross before this was finally enough?

Jayce briefly licked his lips before chewing at his bottom lip, shaking his head to purge such thoughts away as he muttered out, “I don’t think we’ll be done with this in two years.”

“Are you going to ask for an extension?” asked Viktor as he straightened his collar, turning his head over to Jayce’s direction once he made himself decent.

“The Council would be pissed if we do that.” Jayce laughed with no humor in his tone as his grim face stared up at the ceiling, “I’ll ask Mel, she’ll know what to do.”

Viktor hesitantly shifted to lean against the headboard, glancing down at Jayce as he pointed out, “Councilor Medarda has saved us several times already, your list of favors for her are going to add up soon.”

Jayce just answered with a shrug, “I’ll take whatever consequences needed to get Hextech going.”

That didn’t seem like enough to convince Viktor as he pressed his lips tightly, forming a thin line as he looked away, running fingers through his hair in a vain attempt to fix his messed up hair, “Just…be careful about that.” he warned gently, “It is never the way it seems in the beginning, before things go bad. Not until you are well down the mountain, much too far to pull yourself easily back up to the top.”

The warning seemed oddly ominous, with how grim Viktor looked as he kept his eyes focused on a discarded mug at his bedside. Jayce wanted to press further, try to understand. But as he sat up, reaching for Viktor’s shoulder, his fingers paused once more. Not from hesitation, but from an odd smell entering his nostrils.

“Do you smell burning?” Jayce asked, as he turned his head around the room. Just in case some project Viktor kept in his room caught fire. Viktor did the same as he wrinkled his nose from the scent, turning his gaze back to Jayce when there was nothing setting the room ablaze.

“...What was Powder doing when we left her?” Jayce suddenly inquired, his eyes wide as Viktor was already reaching for his cane as it was placed at the bedside table.

“Homework.”

After a beat of silence, both men were scrambling for the door. Jayce was quicker though, grabbing the door handle and yanking the door wide open as he swiveled his head around to see what was on fire.

Luckily, or unluckily, for him, the only sign of burning was from the oven in the kitchen, a plume of smoke wafting through as they heard Powder cursing. Once she emerged from the smoke, her oven mitts holding a tray of scorched baked goods at arm’s length, Jayce released a large sigh of relief as he moved forward.

“Powder-keg!”

“Fuck! Wait!” Powder cursed, jumping in surprise and dropping her tray with a loud metallic clang. With a frustrated huff, Powder blew the hair from her forehead as she gave a little stomp of her foot, “Dammit, I was making a surprise for you guys!”

Jayce sighed a bit in frustration as well, looking around the complete disaster of his kitchen, “What is…” he asked, about to berate his ward before his eyes focused on the open jar of dulce de leche on the counter, the bags of sugar and flour scattered about the kitchen, the small tray of shredded coconut sitting innocently amongst the mess, “Were you trying to make alfajores?” he asked instead, looking down to his sheepish kid as she pulled her shoulders close.

“Uh…” Powder started, her eyes flickering around to think of some kind of excuse before sighing a bit deeply, “Yeah…” she mumbled, keeping her gaze down as Jayce reached out to her.

She flinched when he touched her face, wiping away the excess flour from her cheeks as he inquired, “Why?” With a huff he moved closer to her to start brushing flour off, “I could’ve helped.”

Powder huffed as she kept her gaze downward, “I wanted to make something for you guys though.” she argued, shrugging gently as she explained herself, “You two have been working so hard over the past few months and no one has taken a break. I…I thought cookies were easy.”

“Apparently wires aren’t the only thing you’re bad at.” Viktor commented bluntly as he trudged his way into the kitchen, running his finger over the counter just to be met with soot and baking ingredients, “You put way too much sugar in it. I’m not even a cook and I could have told you that.”

With a deep withering sigh, Jayce pointed at Viktor, “Alright, you. Shut up.” he ordered and turned his gaze to Powder as she was in the midst of sticking her tongue out at her other guardian, “And you, help me clean up this mess you made.”

“B-But the cookies-”

Powder didn’t have time to continue when Jayce spun her around and nudged her back into the kitchen, “We’re going to clean up and make a fresh batch.” he stated, giving a small shrug as he handed the girl a broom and dustpan, “Might as well since the dulce de leche is out.”

As the pair worked on cleaning the kitchen, Viktor slowly made his way to sit at the end of the countertop and inspected the jar in front of him. With careful fingers he took one of the sugar covered spoons, taking a fair amount of the sweet substance to bring it to his mouth to taste.

With a surprised hum Viktor muttered out, “Hm, this is good.” Dipping his spoon back for another spoonful, he commented, “Did you use my sweetmilk for this?”

Jayce was too preoccupied with waving the smoke away as he muttered absently, “The best way to make it honestly,” But after a moment of watching Viktor eat away at their filling, Jayce quickly protested, “W-Wait! Don’t just eat the dulce de leche on its own!” he chastised, having Powder look up from her sweeping and gasp as she also looked to Viktor with an accusatory stare.

Viktor raised his hands up in defense, suddenly feeling targeted as he meekly pulled his shoulder close, “Why not?” he asked, watching humorously as Powder placed her broom down and marched up to Viktor to give him a warning jab to his side.

“You’re supposed to have it with cookies!” she heatedly explained before snatching up the jar from Viktor’s clutches, “Gimme that!”

Watching the both of them complain about Viktor’s poor table side manner made the man roll his eyes, leaning on the counter to watch Jayce show Powder how to properly make the correct dough for the alfajores. The girl was always a quick learner, but always so hasty as Jayce chastised her for stirring too hard.

Placing his elbows on the counter and interlocking his fingers to cover part of his face, Viktor hid the soft smile he had from watching these two bicker back and forth without a care in the world. They were in real trouble now, this closeness. What started out as a simple partnership with the addition of teaching a young pupil the purposes of Hextech was turning into something more comfortable than it should have been. Three years didn’t seem like a long time to develop something like this, but perhaps with how they were forced to be together so often sped up the pace of how the three of them bonded so quickly. Viktor didn’t think he had the heart to say it out loud, but this peaceful scene. With himself leaning on the countertop with two very special people in his life working together to make something nice for all of them to enjoy.

They really did act like a family. Didn’t they?

Chapter Text

Parties were never Jayce’s forte of expertise, if he had any better option he would rather fling himself out a window then attend anymore events where his presence was needed. They could do just fine sending him a letter for any inquiries about Hextech, he was a busy man just trying to make the world a better place.

But Mel finally decided to cash in one of her many favors owed to her.

So Jayce sat in the carriage, dressed in the finest set of threads gifted by Councilor Medarda. Viktor sat to his left, dressed just as finely while grimacing at the product in his hair. Powder sat to his right, her dress sparkling every time she squirmed and tried blowing her curled bangs from her face as she tinkered with a gadget she’d been working on for the past few weeks.

Across from the three of them, Mel looked possibly more regal than she already did. The gold accents of her ivory dress meshed beautifully with her rich golden brown skin as she regarded Hextech's inventors with a well crafted smile towards the centerpiece.

“This is the first trade discussion we’ve had with Demacia for the past twenty-five years.” she began softly, “Until the topic is brought up, I want you to refrain from speaking about Hextech.”

Jayce sat up a bit straighter, his jaw set as he ground out, “So why have us attending in the first place? Don’t you want to strengthen ties with Demacia before you bring up the whole magic thing?”

But Mel, as always, kept her cool as she remarked, “Because if we wish to have strong ties to the kingdom, we need not lie by omission. Not for this.”

Viktor shifted to sit up a bit better, gritting his teeth for a split second before his face returned to its neutral state as he commented bluntly, “You want us to try convincing Demacian officials to accept Hextech for trading deals.” After a few seconds of silence, Viktor tightened his grip on his cane as he added, “You want us to stick our necks out, so if they deny us you can write it up as us just proposing a crazy scheme.”

Careful golden eyes slowly shifted to Viktor for just a second, the woman making the smallest gesture of a smile before returning her focus to Jayce, “Think of Demacia as a country full of Councilor Heimerdingers.”

Jayce gently shook his head, hearing Powder’s indignant snort before he muttered, “So this is a fruitless mission?”

“I would like to think of it as…practice.” Mel corrected, “For any future events you will have to attend when your project gets its recognition.”

Jayce was still unsure about all of this, risking the Hextech reputation to appeal to magic fearing isolationists. Even if this was all practice, what benefits would there be if they failed? Hextech would be ridiculed, called an insane scheme that two struggling scientists tried to worm their way into the privileges of Piltover’s elite.

Mel must’ve seen Jayce’s reservations, her lips pursed and her eyebrow delicately raised as she studied him, “If you do well…we can discuss with the Council about increasing your budget for the Hexgates.”

It was a tempting offer, Jayce pondered, but not the one they needed at the moment. With a deep sigh, Jayce looked to Mel with as calm and cool of an expression that she garnered, in an attempt to copy her resolve, “I have a better proposal.” he insisted, causing the councilwoman to raise both her brows in mild astonishment, “You speak with the Council about extending our deadline by two more years.”

“You don’t think you can finish it by next year?” Mel challenged his ego, his sureness that they could do the job. Jayce felt his jaw set once more, his eyes twitched just the slightest.

But he felt Viktor’s hand moving against his left hand, tucked between their pressed thighs as a sign of comfort. Gently Jayce sighed once more and responded, “We can, but if you want the work to be perfected then waiting will be best. We can do proper testing and have the first launch by the time of Powder's seventeenth birthday.”

Powder seemed amused by that, looking up from the small gadget she was working on to mutter, “That would be one hell of a birthday present.”

Jayce gave a small chuckle before reaching over to fix her hair, pulling stray strands behind her ear, “Better than a gun.” he teased, earning a huff from his ward before Mel cleared her throat to gather Jayce’s attention once more.

“We will discuss negotiations when the banquet is over.”

Eventually, after several more minutes of travel. The carriage slowed to a stop, all passengers shifting to file out from the vehicle to join the masses for the event.

Powder was about to be first out, but Jayce was quick to stop her, taking hold of her gadget, “Hey!” she complained, reaching for her invention to just be held back by her guardian.

“You heard Mel, we can’t have Hextech out.” Jayce chastised, inspecting the rod for a few moments and clicking his tongue as he saw the hex shard lodged inside, “Hide it, Powder-keg.”

Powder just huffed as Jayce pulled himself out from the carriage, assisting Mel out first before extending his hand out for his partner. She rolled her eyes as she complained, “How else am I going to keep myself entertained during this boring event? Cait’s not going to be here.”

Much to Powder’s dismay, with Caitlyn’s graduation around the corner the noble girl was trapped in her home to study for the final exams. No time for parties or hanging out. It left a sour taste in Powder’s mouth knowing that there weren’t going to be any kids around her age to play around with.

After making sure Viktor was out, Jayce offered Powder’s gadget back, “You’ll find something to do, just don’t go running off?” he pleaded, sighing a bit when Powder took her rod back and allowed herself to be led out from the carriage.

The entirety of the entrance way was covered from head to toe in deep blues and silvers, glistening against the manufactured lights of Piltover and bright against the dark night skies. Powder marveled in the sights for an extended amount of time, looking over the visitors of Piltover dressed to the nines in their extravagant dresses and suits. She wasn’t even paying attention until she was gently nudged, snapping her head back to attention to see Viktor’s pained face looking back at her.

“We should get inside.” he muttered quietly, tilting his head towards the direction Jayce and Mel were heading, her arms interlocked with his as they walked down the royal blue carpets, “You heard what Jayce told us, right?”

Powder felt her brows furrow as Jayce left them in the dust, a little put off that he was quick to leave them as she moved over to Viktor’s side to walk with him, “Huh?” she asked, both in confusion for Jayce’s absence and what he must’ve said while she wasn’t listening.

Viktor didn’t seem bothered to repeat his partner’s words as he recited, “We stick close, make nice with the Demacians. If either of us get fed up with it we all meet at the banquet hall.”

It still didn’t settle well with Powder as they traveled up the steps, still trailing after Jayce’s form as Mel pulled him aside to greet a few Demacian nobles. He looked sheepish as he introduced himself, but Mel did most of the talking. Her arm was still comfortably on his bicep as she didn’t think anything of it.

Something flipped in Powder’s stomach as she grumbled, “But why did she have to come with us?”

Viktor struggled to shrug as he explained gently, “Councilor Medarda is our greatest supporter out of the entire Council, if we didn’t have her, then you wouldn’t be with us today.”

Powder still grumbled, crossing her arms as the both of them caught up to Jayce and Mel’s conversation with a Demacian noble.

“Ah, here they are.” Jayce beamed as he moved from Mel’s grasp to stand with his partner and ward, “This is my partner in my project, Viktor.”

Viktor did the best greeting he could, bowing his head just enough to not disrupt his balance.

“And my pupil, Powder.”

Blinking a bit in surprise at not hearing her usual nickname leaving Jayce’s mouth, Powder awkwardly raised her hand and did a small wave, flinching a little bit when Mel looked towards her with a bit of a cold stare.

But the noblewoman didn’t seem to notice the swift exchange, bowing her own head to greet the both of them as she introduced herself, “Lady Tianna Crownguard, High Marshal of the Crown.”

“A pleasure to make your acquaintance.” Viktor hummed before shifting where he stood once more, his shoulders tense.

“These two are working on a new trading project that could benefit everyone along the continent, with high hopes we are all excited for when the project will be released.” Mel said softly, gathering the attention of the High Marshal once more for a conversation as Jayce leaned a bit over to his shorter partner to whisper.

“Is it your back?” he inquired, making a small sigh when Viktor only replied with a nod as his face flashed with pain briefly.

“I forgot to take my pain medication before we left.”

Jayce clicked his tongue in annoyance as he hissed, “Stop doping yourself on pain meds and go to a doctor.” he purposely kept his voice low, gently nudging Powder to look up to him before he muttered out, “Get Viktor somewhere to sit, I can handle talking for a while.”

Powder looked between her guardians briefly before moving to take Viktor’s free hand into hers, “Come on Vik, let’s find a place to relax.” she muttered, pressed her lips together to see Viktor’s reluctance as he looked at Jayce with a pained expression.

“Are you sure?” he asked quietly, watching Jayce give him a small smile and gently take his shoulder to give a reassuring squeeze.

“I got this, I know you’re here if I really need you.” he whispered, giving a brief forehead bump to his partner, “That’s all the support I need.”

Viktor released a small sigh and nodded, turning his heel and finally walking with Powder to find a place to rest. The girl looked back to watch Jayce give her a small wave before turning his attention to speaking with Mel and the High Marshal. His smile was charming as ever as he dazzled just about anyone around him.

Powder tightened her grip on Viktor’s hand before she turned away.

.

Demacians talked. A lot.

Jayce felt it hard to wrap his brain around which discussion to pay attention to, surrounded by lords and ladies alike talking about matters he didn’t even care about. If he had the choice he’d return to his partner, keep himself away from the public to think of work.

But Mel kept him close, guiding him to various politicians and tradesmen alike. Introducing him with a carefully crafted charm that she took years to master. She gave him pointers every now and then throughout their meandering through crowds, how to speak, how to act around a different culture all together, how to hold his head out higher so he could look more confident.

He had to be honest. It was nice to be looked upon with respect, no longer the scorn and caution he garnered for the past few years with the Hextech he and Viktor dreamed of. They spoke to him like a true genius, not a madman. And by the looks of it, Mel’s carefully crafted expressions grew more relaxed, her smile more gentle as the both of them exchanged with Demacians.

Between conversations, the both of them stood at the balcony, champagne in hand as they took a break.

“I swear, even in their vain attempts at making connections for trade, Demacians are still, to their core, a very insular and isolationist kingdom of men.” Mel ranted gently as she took a sip of her drink, “We remain allies but in all sense of the word we are political rivals.”

Jayce huffed a small laugh at Mel’s annoyed features, swishing the liquid in his glass as he remarked, “Sounds to me like you don’t care about Demacia at all.”

“You could say that. The Noxian in me is fighting to oppose them at all cost.”

At that statement Jayce raised a curious eyebrow, “”You’re Noxian?”

Mel gave a small shrug as she straightened her dress, “Only by blood alone.” she informed coldly as she looked out to the stars above them, “Thankfully, by blood alone.”

“I didn’t know that about you.”

“There’s not a lot you know about me, Jayce Talis.”

Jayce hummed in thought, feeling a strange sense of déjà vu as he muttered lowly, “I guess I don’t.”

The both of them kept a soft silence between them, finishing up their glasses before Jayce tried to change the conversation to something more delightful.

“Lady Crownguard talked about having her niece at the party, said she’s about Powder-keg’s age.”

It didn’t seem like enough to fully catch Mel’s attention, but she kept up the conversation anyhow.

“Really now?” she inquired casually, “Hopefully meeting the girl will keep her entertained enough for the remainder of the night.”

Jayce gave a bit of a small laugh as he leaned against the balcony’s railing, “Knowing her, she’ll find some way to charm herself into being friends with the kid.”

“She takes after you.” Mel commented, earning Jayce to flinch a bit as he strained out another laugh.

“Me?” he jested as he stood up straight, his face a bit flushed. From alcohol? Yeah, that’s got to be it. “Nah, she’s always had it. From the moment we saw her, Powder-keg has a way of captivating a crowd.” he excused, his eyes quickly glancing at Mel’s doubtful expression before looking away.

She didn’t seem convinced, leaning on the railing as she muttered softly, “I think she had that innate talent, as do you.” Brilliant golden eyes looked at the Medarda crest on her ring finger, her lips set in a fine line before she looked back to Jayce, “You both just need some…refinement.”

“Refinement?”

Mel nodded softly as she stood back straight once more, carefully moving around Jayce, her fingers just barely brushing over his shoulders, “You are already one of the smartest men in Piltover, you can learn anything. Learning how to speak with nobility and politicians alike would help you in your efforts for your Hextech dream.” She regarded carefully, “Let me help you with that, and no one will be able to argue with you again.”

She knew all the right words to say, Jayce pondering for a moment as he truly thought it out. As the future continued on, they would need to know how to speak properly to other people, wealthier people. They’ve been scrambling for months with Mrs. Kiramman’s parties and the small fundraiser events but this time, with Mel’s help, they could perfect themselves in the art of communication.

Jayce nodded softly, a smile on his face as he agreed, “Of course, Mel. I think it would be really good for Viktor and Powde-”

“No, no.” Mel mused, pointing a gentle manicured finger on the scientist’s chest, “Just you, Jayce Talis.”

“W-What?”

The councilwoman slowly pulled back, crossing an arm as she held her glass delicately, “I believe it would be better for everyone if only you learned.” she elaborated, “Your partner is suffering from constant pain to attend these events, and your ward is still just a child. You wouldn’t want to put them through the intricacies of politics, would you?”

Would he? She was right with her statements. Viktor could barely function with his pain now, even with how much he bore through it. Powder, even being the charmer she is, was still just a kid. Did they really need to practice this art for respect if they were so vulnerable to the world around them?

A protective flare surged through Jayce’s bones, knowing that even if they refused to be seen like how Mel portrayed them, it was true. He wanted to protect them from that, not until Viktor’s pain had subsided, not until Powder got to live out her childhood. He could carry that burden, until the variables were solved.

What did he have to lose besides a new skill?

“Besides,” Mel continued as she strode past Jayce to return to the door’s archway, back to the party as hand, “This should be easy for you, Jayce Talis. Don’t you think so?”

She always had a way of challenging him, surging something that made Jayce want to prove her right. He was capable of learning, of overcoming these hurdles to make his dream come true.

“...You’re right.” Jayce muttered out, turning to look at Mel’s coy gaze as he smiled, “I got this, teach away, teacher.” he offered as he joined her side at the doorway, ushering for her to move first before swiftly following after her for another round of exchanges.

He really hoped Vikor and Powder were enjoying themselves. Knowing the both of them, Viktor found a quiet place to relax and work while Powder was probably, hopefully, not causing any trouble.

Hopefully.

.

It was official, this banquet was boring.

Powder sat with her guardian at one of the many tables screen about the main hall, her tongue sticking out as she fiddled with her invention. She was close to finishing it, and it honestly would have been so much more fun if she had Caitlyn here to make jokes with.

“Powder.” Viktor stated, leaning closer to the girl as he gave her a pointed look, “Put the rod away.”

The teen groaned as she stuffed her gadget back into her dress pocket, conveniently puffy enough to hide Mister Bunny as well as she placed the rod right next to him, “This is so boring Vik! I haven’t seen Jay in hours.”

Viktor slowly pulled away, gritting his teeth as he adjusted his sitting position before a look of guilt fell upon his features, “I’m sorry.” he muttered gently, “If you wish to go find him, I will be fine on my own.”

Shit. Now Powder felt bad. It wasn’t Viktor’s fault his body was fighting him today and Powder just implied he was the problem. With a few scrapes of the floor, Powder scooted her chair over to Viktor’s side with a few jerks before trying to apologize.

“Vik, I…didn’t mean it like that.” she began, pulling her shoulders close as Viktor just seemed to look at the crowds with a reserved look, “This whole party blows, I have nothing to do without Cait here.”

Viktor made a low sigh, but gave a gentle nod as he contemplated, “I understand, Powder. I’m sorry, things aren’t turning out the way I hope tonight.”

“I get that.” Powder muttered as she placed her elbows on the table to lean into her hands, “How are you feeling?”

“Like needles are digging into my leg.”

Powder made a small hiss at the imagery, “Doesn’t sound fun.”

“It never is.” Viktor mused before his eyes narrowed while looking into the crowd, after a beat of silence he gently spoke out, “You might not be the only kid at the party.”

At that Powder perked up, looking towards the place Viktor was looking to try finding someone her size, “Really?”

Viktor just gave a small nod before pointing to one of the restricted hallways on the other side of the main hall, “She just tucked away in that direction.” he informed, making a quick glance at his ward as she shot up out of her seat and looked at her guardian for approval to pursuit. With a small sigh, Viktor gave the girl a ghost of a smile and tilted his head towards the direction the kid went, “Go have fun. Don’t cause too much trouble?”

Powder grinned as she moved around the table, only pausing to come back and take Viktor’s hand to give it a shake opposed to her typical hugs since he was in so much pain, “No promises.” she said mischievously before leaving her guardian in hopes of finding someone her age to hang out with.

She had to maneuver around a lot of people, flashes of deep blues and brilliant reds, of shining silvers and glistening gold passing by her eyes before she was at the other side of the masses.

The hallways were restricted by a velvet rope, a ‘do not go beyond this point’ sign written right in the center, taunting Powder as she scoffed at it and ripped it away before ducking under the barrier and continuing down the hallway.

It was a blessing that it was empty here, the only eyes on her were the crafted ones of painted portraits of elder nobles long gone. She paid them no heed as she kept wandering, taking notice of the lights being shut off after she turned the corner, the only source of light being the thick beams of moonlight cascading through the windows.

She made a few hesitant steps into the dark before Powder saw her. A girl about her age, in a soft blue dress as she walked ahead to peer at old paintings with a genuine curiosity. Her hair was bright blonde that almost rivaled a graceful white by the moonlight reflecting off of her, done in a neat bun with accented silver beads. Powder must’ve stepped too hard, or breathed a bit too loud, as the girl tucked her hands behind her back and turned around too quickly to see her sudden witness.

Dark blue met bright blue.

And Powder thought she was beautiful.

“H-Hi…” Lamely muttered the teen as she gave the mysterious girl an awkward wave.

Said mysterious girl looked just as awkward, giving a small nervous nod as she carefully moved her hands behind her back, “H-Hello…”

Well. Shit. Powder didn’t think she’d get this far. It wasn’t like Ezreal who just sorta barreled his way into a conversation. It wasn’t like Caitlyn who was hiding under a table and giving her an ultimatum. It wasn’t Seraphine who was caught witnessing something she shouldn’t have, it was much the opposite in this situation.

“H-Hi…” Powder muttered again, quickly furrowing her brows and softly cursing at acting so stupid.

But this girl seemed just as confused, raising a brow as she also repeated, “Hello?”

For a moment Powder scrambled to think of what to say, her mouth opening and closing to form words before she weakly muttered out, “I…didn’t think there were other kids at this party.”

The mystery girl tilted her head in curiosity, slowly pulling her hands back forward to reveal the gloves she wore, “Y-You’re not supposed to be out here.” she stated awkwardly, “This hallway is a restricted area.”

Powder took her own turn to raise her brows, astonished that this girl was really pulling a card like this out, “Really?” she laughed in disbelief, shaking her head before crossing her arms, “Then why are you here?”

Powder watched the mystery girl as she furrowed her eyebrows, obviously trying to come up with an excuse before Powder cut back in, “That’s what I thought.” she mused gently before taking a few tentative steps, “We’ll get in trouble if we're over here, away from the party.”

“I know, I just…” the girl turned her head back to the painting she was looking at before, her shoulders sagging as she sighed out, “I needed some space.”

With a small hum in understanding Powder moved to lean against the wall, “You don’t like parties either?” she mused humorously, watching the girl huff a small laugh as she nodded.

“Yeah…” she muttered lamely before copying Powder and leaning against the wall herself, “They’re kinda boring. I could be doing something worth my time, you know?”

Powder huffed an amused breath as she slid down, pulling her legs up as she stared at nothing in front of her, “Heh, you have no idea.” she huffed softly, clicking her tongue as she mused, “I would still be in my workshop if my guardians didn’t need to be here.”

“I would still be at home in Demacia if my family wasn’t tasked to protect the tradesmen.” the girl mumbled, also sliding down and pulling her legs up, wrapping her arms around them. Powder blinked a few times, processing what was said to her.

“You’re a Demacian?” she bluntly stated, flushing a bit at how surprised she sounded as the blonde pulled her shoulders in closer to herself.

“O-Oh, uh…” her eyes looked unsure as she shrugged sheepishly, “Surprise?”

Powder brought her hand up to palm her face in embarrassment, “N-No I didn’t mean it like that.” she muttered lamely, taking a moment to catch her breath and gather her thoughts, “Sorry, I’m usually better at this whole talking bit.”

Honestly, she sounded worse than Jayce did when he was all awkward around Viktor during their earlier years. At least Viktor was dense enough not to notice how Jayce flitted around him during their work with Hextech. But this wasn’t Viktor, this was a really pretty Demacian girl that was sitting not three feet from her and-

Wait, did Powder just think she was pretty?

The mystery girl just leaned her cheek against one of her knees as she watched Powder struggle, “I think you’re doing okay.” she assured before an entertaining smile spread across her cheeks, “So if I’m Demacian, I’m assuming you’re Piltovan?”

“Uh…” Powder was short circuiting, unable to process anything as she impotently tried to form her words to sound smart, “...Yeah, I guess I am.”

Good going.

Curiously the blonde girl turned her head to look back at the painting lining the walls, “So you know all these guys in the paintings?” she inquired innocently.

Powder glanced up to the painting before giving a small laugh, “Psh, a bunch of schmucks if you ask me.” she muttered before raising a brow when the girl looked a bit disappointed at Powder’s answer, “Why are you interested in that?”

With a simple shrug the mystery girl simply explained, “I wanted to learn a little bit about Piltover. I haven’t really got the chance to learn anything about it since setting foot here.”

Spending a few moments studying the blonde as she clicked her shoes together in boredom, Powder tilted her head to look out the window and witness the twinkling stars the moon stood out with in the night sky. The clouds passed by gracefully in small tufts to look familiar to a painting with it all.

“From what you’ve already seen…” Powder started letting out a small breath as she glanced back to the other girl, “Do you like it?”

It took several more moments for the girl to eventually answer, a small smile on her face as she praised Powder’s city, “I think it’s beautiful. I’ve never seen buildings so colorful.”

Powder gave a short nod and offered with a nervous smile, “Do you wanna know why we have a lot of colorful buildings?”

“There’s a reason?”

Powder gave a small grin before nodding, starting to talk with this mysterious girl about everything she knew about Piltover. About it’s color coordination and how different colored roofs absorbed different degrees of heat for the building itself. About the channel that splits the seas apart. About how Progress Day, the Jubilee, Snowdown, every holiday was celebrated.

And the girl listened intently, her eyes wide and in awe for every word that fell from Powder’s mouth.

They —and by they, it was mostly Powder talking— spoke for what felt like hours. With the blonde’s mystified expression never leaving until the moonlight outside began to fade by thick clouds, leaving both girls in complete darkness.

Powder heard the other girl squeak and shift to sit on her hands, looking around as she mumbled helplessly, “It’s really dark, I can’t see anything.”

For a moment Powder hummed in thought before digging into her dress pocket, making a loud ‘aha!’ and pulling out her latest invention as she aimlessly fiddled with the controls in the dark, “Hold on, I have something.” she began, having her small deft fingers take the dial and give it a small turn for her rod to glare to life, “I call it a Dancing Light.” she muttered, pulling the trigger as small little orbs of bright light started to float above them.

She heard the girl beside her gasp in awe, and Powder couldn’t help but do the same as she kept fiddling with the trigger to form more orbs to float around them. It was absolutely magnificent how they produced their own light illuminating the hallway around them in a gentle blue glow.

“H-How did you do that?” the girl questioned, turning to watch Powder messing with her invention before continuing, “Are you a mage?”

Powder gave a small shake of her head as she muttered, “Nah, just a tinkerer with magic.”

“So a mage?” she stated bluntly, her eyes a bit nervous for a moment before they widened in horror as the soft blue glow of Powder’s dancing lights were not the only things illuminating the hallway now.

“Oh no,” the girl whispered in fear as she tried to tuck her hands under her in a vain attempt to snuff out the light, “No, no, no, no, no.”

Powder sat up quickly in worry, looking as the girl panicking as she tried to shift her hands around and cover them up, “What’s wron-”

The mystery girl pulled her hands away for just a moment, but Powder could plainly see the strong glow coming through silk gloves.

“Y-Your hand.”

They were glowing.

This girl was a mage.

“Stop, stop, stop, please.” she desperately whispered as she figured out she was caught, tears gathering in her eyes as she tried to hide her hands away.

A terrified Demancian mage.

A yell was heard echoing through the hallway, followed by a loud proclamation that made Powder freeze in fear.

“Magic!”

.

Jayce made a deep sigh as he finally found Viktor casually sitting at one of the many tables, boredly writing on a few discarded napkins by his lonesome self. With a gentle regard to Mel that he was going to take a break, Jayce left the business of the crowds to pull up a chair next to his partner.

“Hey.” he muttered out gently as he pulled his chair closer to see Viktor’s notes, “Ask about petricite?” he read, giving the man a glance as he nodded his head towards a crowd of Demacians.

“They speak of it so casually, apparently it’s great for nullifying magic.” he explained and gave a small shrug, “I would love a sample of it, see how it would react to the hex crystals.”

Jayce gave an appreciative hum as he nodded in agreement, “That would be something interesting to try to get.” he mused gently before chestnut eyes scanned around the table, then quickly checked under it to only be greeted by Viktor’s outstretched leg, “Where’s Powder-keg?” he curiously asked.

Viktor’s eyes were filled with a bit of mirth as he casually spoke, “She’s being Powder. Found another kid at the party.”

With an astonished raising of his brow, Jayce couldn’t help but laugh in disbelief, “That’s the High Marshall’s niece we’re talking about, leave it to Powder-keg to find the strangest companions.”

“It shouldn’t be too bad, should it?”

Jayce shook his head as he crossed his arms over the table to let his head rest for a moment, “As long as she doesn’t get in trouble, no.” he answered gently before his eyes looked back over his partner with concern, “How’s your back? Feeling any better?”

“I found a seating position that puts less pressure on my hip, so I’m surviving for now.” Viktor muttered softly, taking a moment to pull a few strands of hair behind his ear before asking, “How was talking around with Councilor Medarda?”

Jayce took note of how Viktor averted his gaze, focusing on his crumpled note filled napkin, before answering, “It was interesting enough,” followed by a deep sigh as he added, “Demacians sure do know how to talk about absolutely nothing.”

Viktor made a small amused huff as he wrote down another note, “Well, take comfort that we will be able to leave soon. It’s getting late and Powder does have school tomorrow.” he assured, his lips forming a gentle quirk as he saw Jayce sit up suddenly.

“Shit, I forgot all about it.” Jayce bemoaned, rubbing his face as he grimaced, “I need to make her lunch for tomorrow.”

“You could use the leftovers from last night.”

“That’s too heavy for her to have for lunch, I’ll get a message from her teacher about Powder-keg sleeping in class. Again.”

“I don’t know what you want me to do, just throw her in some cookies and she’ll be-”

“Magic!”

Both men jumped at the yell that echoed throughout the room, followed by concerned gasps and chatter as everyone looked towards the hallway Viktor knew Powder sneaked away into.

Gently floating out of the hallway and into the main room were small little orbs of blue light.

Magical floating orbs of blue light.

Jayce and Viktor were quick to stand up, Jayce moving over to his partner’s side to help as best he could so the both of them could get through the crowd that was forming at the entrance of the hallway.

They pressed through the crowds, but Jayce shouldered through a few people to make sure Viktor wasn’t hurt as they moved past the velvet rope, instantly meeting Mel’s worried gaze as she looked over the both of them.

“Where’s your girl?” she instantly inquired, watching the High Marshal push past the crowd as well and stride past the three of them to get to where the orbs were coming from.

Viktor swallowed the lump in his throat as he kept moving, not even bothering to answer Mel’s question as they kept moving down the hallway.

As they turned the corner with several others, both men sucked in their breath at the scene in front of them.

Powder was standing in front of a Demacian girl as she was shaken with tears trailing down her face, their blue haired prodigy holding a rod in her hand being the culprit behind the dancing lights.

Lady Tianna gave a scathing glare toward Mel and both inventors as she hissed out, “You didn’t say you had mages in your city-state.”

Jayce furrowed his eyebrows as he started to huff out, “Powder-keg isn’t a mag-”

He didn’t notice Powder’s brief look of panic before she started flailing her arms around, pulling the trigger to her rod a few more times to form more blue light much to the fear of the Demacian nobility.

“Yeah! It’s magic! Cause I’m a mage ooooooo!” she tried to intimidate, waving her gadget around as the girl behind her stared at Powder with wide eyes, “I casted a spell on this weak little girl and now her hands glow! Ooooo!”

The High Marshal gritted her teeth before yelling out, “Luxanna! Get away from her! Now!”

‘Luxanna’ swiftly stood up and skirted around Powder, not before briefly looking at the other girl and mouthing a small ‘thank you’, to make it to her aunt’s side, her hands a dull glow as she weakly whispered out, “I’m sorry, aunt Tianna. I-I didn’t know she-”

The taller woman comforted the child as she looked back to Powder waving her invention around, “Oooooo look at my scary magic wand!” only flinching when Jayce yelled her name out to her.

“Powder!”

Swiftly Jayce moved to Powder side, snatching the rod out from her hand and clearing his throat to attempt to diffuse the situation.

“S-Sorry for all of that.” he began, his smile forced as he moved Powder behind him to hide her away from scornful eyes, “While, yes, what my pupil performed was indeed magic, she is no mage.”

Whispers echoed through the hallway as people looked at Jayce and his ward with cautious and hateful stares. Anxiety flared up through Jayce’s core as his eyes scanned over his sudden audience before falling onto Mel and Viktor watching him. His partner was tense, his lips set in a fine line and holding the aching behind his neutral face as he was ready to step in. Mel had her arms crossed, watching Jayce with an expected stare as she gave him a gentle nod, urging him that now was a better time than ever.

So Jayce inhaled with a shaky breath, taking his moment to collect his thoughts before turning the switch to Powder’s gadget and letting it flare back to life.

“Let me introduce you to Hextech.”

They were, politely, escorted from the party that night. The Demacian trade deal revoked and Hextech’s name once again dragged through the mud.

Chapter Text

The next several weeks after the Demacia incident were…rough to say the least.

Mel gave them their extension, not because of a job well done. But because Hextech was currently under scrutiny once more, leaving Jayce and Viktor struggling to keep the Hexgate project afloat with their measly budget alone. Neither of her guardians said it was directly her fault…but she knew it was.

So she just worked harder to prove herself to them that she was helpful. That she wasn’t a nuisance.

That’s why she was working during her class, her older classmates chatting amongst one another as their study break was supposed to be a moment of silence. Powder huffed quietly as she worked on the equation at hand, something their team was stuck on over the temperature distribution of the reactor. This was more important than whatever schoolwork she had, finally in the level she was supposed to be in and it was still too easy for her.

Too focused on her work, she didn’t see the load of Ezreal’s school junk depositing itself on her desk.

“Hey!” Powder snapped, bringing her head up to see her friends lounging against her desk and acting like they didn’t just disrupt her work, “Aren’t you two suppose to be in class?” she questioned.

“Study hour is for the whole school, and we finished our work early.” Ezreal explained, taking two chairs so he and Seraphine had a place to sit as they leaned on Powder’s desk, “You’ve been avoiding us.” Ezreal said with a matter-of-fact tone, watching Powder flinch as she pulled her shoulders close.

“That was mean, Ez.” Seraphine chastised as she reached over to pat Power’s arm, “What he meant to say was…you’ve been overworking yourself lately. We haven’t hung out in a few weeks.”

Powder felt a guilt pool in her stomach, looking at her friends with an apologetic expression as she mumbled, “Sorry guys…Stuff has been…” she paused to sigh deeply and turn her gaze back to her equation, “Tough…at home.”

Seraphine gave a genuine nod in understanding, opening her mouth to comfort her friend.

“Is it cause you fucked up the whole Demacian trade deal for that girl?” Ezreal blurted out bluntly, causing Powder to tense and Seraphine to scoff before shoving the boy.

“Ezreal!”

The blonde just scoffed as he gave the younger girl a look, “Powder’s a big girl now, she can take the heat.” he stated, turning his gaze back at Powder’s hunched form before continuing, “I know you, Pow-Pow. You know you fucked it up, so you’re working yourself to the bone to make up for it.”

Powder kept her silence, but the pout she formed revealed to Ezreal that he was right.

With a smirk, Ezreal leaned forward and pulled Powder’s equation from under the pile to give it a look over, “And now you’re trying to solve a thermophysics equation when you have no idea what you’re doing.”

“I do too!” Powder argued, snatching her paper back with a huff, “What do you know? You’re still in the same class level as Sera!” Uncaring of Seraphine’s indignant ‘hey!’ as she pouted.

Ezreal smirked as he leaned back now, pulling his feet up on the desk as he casually stated, “You think I want to have more work put on me? I’ve been offered the same advancement as you, I just refused.” he muttered, watching Powder fiddle with her equation once more and sighing deeply, “You really need to take it easy, let’s go get Cait after school and we can all hang out.”

“Yeah!” Seraphine interjected, a shine in her eyes, “I found this really nice place we can all go! Please Powder?”

Could she really go when there was still so much to do? Her guardians were wearing themselves thin with fundraising events and working till the wee hours of the night to make deadlines. She wanted to help them, she wanted to be useful.

Powder twitched briefly as a ringing went off in her ear, the sound vaguely mimicking Mylo before she shook her head. His presence was few and far between, but he had his moments.

So did everyone else in her head.

With a small click of her tongue, Powder slumped her shoulders as she conceded, “Fine, we can go. But, on one condition.” she proposed, giving her best friend a look as he raised a curious brow behind his quickly growing blonde locks of hair.

“I have a bad feeling about this.”

Powder grew a mischievous smirk as she pointed her finger towards the boy, “We come over to your place, I know your uncle has old books on ancient history.”

“You hate history.” Ezreal challenged, “You gag every time I talk about the ancient civilizations of Shurima and its very expanse cult-”

With a gagging noise, Powder quickly interrupted, “I want to read up on the Rune Wars. Vik can only get so much information from the Academy’s libraries. Your uncle’s a history professor, isn’t he?”

“I’ve never been to your house before!” Seraphine chirped, quickly excited to go to a house Ezreal didn’t even invite them to yet.

But the boy seemed reluctant, his lips pressed into a thin line as he looked at the pleading gazes that his friends gave him. After a few moments of begging did the boy finally give up, heaving a deep sigh as he gave a brief pout.

“Fine, you guys better not poke your noses into anything you shouldn’t though.”

Powder and Seraphine grinned at each other.

Oh they were definitely going to do that.

.

Caitlyn luckily had all the free time in the world now that she graduated. Giving the kids ample time to snatch their favorite rich girl away from her home and into the streets of Piltover.

She had one last growth spurt this year, becoming impossibly taller than the three of them as she towered over them with a mischievous grin on her face.

“Now where have my kidnappers decided to take me?” she inquired innocently as she trailed behind her younger friend group.

Powder huffed a small laugh as she shrugged, watching as Seraphine led them down the street.

The pink haired girl turned her head, pausing her humming as she gave her friends a cheerful grin, “It’s right down the road! I promise you’ll love it!” she chirped, a skip in her step as Ezreal snorted and turned his head to look at the other two girls.

“Who wants to bet it’s a record store? Anyone?” Ezreal jested, not even noticing Seraphine slowed down just so she could give him a slight push and a huff.

“It’s not! I promise!”

Caitlyn and Powder laughed as Ezreal stumbled from the push. After finding his footing the boy blew the hair from his face before giving a slight shrug, turning around to walk backwards as he thought it was the perfect time to grill his best friend.

“So…” he began, a devious smirk on his features, “The girl you caused an international incident over. Was she hot?”

Powder instantly felt her face flush, her mouth agape as she glared at the boy, “Ezreal! Really?”

The boy just pulled his hands up in mock surrender, “What? I’m curious!”

Caitlyn huffed out a small laugh as she gave a casual shrug and added, “I’m sorta of curious as well.”

“Caitlyn!”

Seraphine paused, turning around briefly to grin as she chipped in, “Me too!”

“Ugh!” Powder groaned as she tried to rub at her red face, “You guys are so nosey!”

The three of them laughed at her embarrassment. Caitlyn reached over to ruffle Powder’s hair as she remarked, “Is it truly a crime to know about the girl that you got in so much trouble over?”

“Yes.” Powder stated, “The law just passed yesterday, being nosey is illegal.”

Caitlyn rolled her eyes as she scoffed, “Okay, smartass.”

Powder huffed as she hoped the conversation could end at just that, but after a moment of watching Ezreal’s expected look at her the teen slowly sighed as she muttered, “She was pretty, okay? She looked like Ezreal if he was prettier, smarter, nicer, fancier, and cared about everything.” she finally answered before quickly adding, “And a girl.”

“Ouch.” Ezreal muttered, holding his chest in faux pain, “There’s a lot for me to unpack here that I don’t know where to start.”

“It’s not like I’m going to see her ever again.” Powder muttered bitterly with a shrug, “So why does it matter?”

Caitlyn gave her friend a gentle smile as she gently patted her shoulder, “Piltover might have lost Demacia as a trading route, but my mother did mention that Council was trying to make ties with Alderburg.”

“Where’s Alderburg?”

“It’s one of the neighboring countries near Demacia, much smaller but important all the same.” Caitlyn answered, smiling when Powder released a small breath and nodded, possibly relieved that there were still discussions of trade with the Hexgates still going on.

“See?” Ezreal encouraged, a grin on his face, “Just a hop, skip, and a jump away. Gives you more incentive to finish those Hexgates, huh?”

Seraphine squeaked as she skipped around, “It’d be like those fairy tale stories! Where the long lost lovers meet after years of being apart!”

Powder groaned in frustration as Caitlyn held back her laughter.

“You guys are worse than Jay and Vik!” Powder complained as she crossed her arms, “At least they don’t press on asking me about personal things!”

“That’s because they respect you.” Caitlyn counterpointed with a pesky grin, “We’ve been your friends long enough to waive that excuse.”

“Here! We’re here!” Seraphine cheered as she started running towards the small building tucked away between an antique store and a tattoo shop. Powder blinked in confusion at the small lights that flickered inside the glass front window.

“Sera…where have you taken us?” Ezreal asked cautiously as Seraphine was opening the door for them to come in.

Seraphine timidly rubbed her arm as she glanced inside, a shy smile on her face as she mumbled, “I remember Powder talking about playing in an arcade…so I sorta maybe found one.”

Powder gawked as she slowly walked into the arcade, the design nothing like the one back at home, but the games more plentiful in variety. There was a shooting game, something she noticed Caitlyn instantly perk up at with her twitching fingers. Something that looked like a dancing game if the way Seraphine was mumbling to herself about berating her own score proved anything. Hell, there was even a dungeon crawler game, Ezreal’s brow raising curiously as he kept his eye on it.

But none of those games are what attracted Powder’s eyes.

The largest game in the corner of the arcade, with a top twelve scoreboard with the highest being 2100…

Was a boxing machine, just as bulky as the one Vi always used.

“W-Well?” Seraphine asked as she walked deeper into the building with her arms outstretched, “How is this for summer fun?”

Powder kept her eyes on her prize, moving past Seraphine to get a better look at the scoreboard, seeing all the entries for the top twelve and scoffing a bit when the lowest score was a 780.

“Even Claggor could make a better score than that.” Powder muttered quietly to herself, feeling emotions welling up as she saw the machine taunting her. Egging her on to try to beat these scores in the dust.

4800.

Beat Vi’s score.

Powder held her breath for just a moment, her eyes hardening as she tightened her fists.

“I’m going to beat your score, sis.”

.

“That was the most fun I’ve ever had!” Ezreal exclaimed, moving over to Seraphine to give her a noogie as she laughed quietly, “Good on you for finding that place Pinkie!”

After an eventful several hours of playing in the arcade, Caitlyn guided them to the nearest ice cream shop to fight away the afternoon heat.

But now the deep orange glow of the afternoon loomed, and the kids were walking through the streets of Piltover with three heads held high.

Seraphine giggled as she pulled herself from Ezreal’s grasp, moving to fix her hair as she smiled sweetly, “Heh…I-It’s nothing. I know we usually hang out at Powder’s place so…” the smaller girl gave a gentle shrug and timidly turned her head away from her friends, “I-I thought we should find somewhere since her guardians are so busy lately.”

“Well I think it was a brilliant idea, Sera.” Caitlyn stated, looking ahead to their quiet blue haired friend as she tried to get the girl to talk, “Don’t you think Powder?”

Said blue haired friend walked a few steps ahead of them, her arms crossed and her eyes set to the sidewalk as she sulked.

1,001

Pitiful.

“Yeah…” she muttered, her features gloomy as she kicked a small rock off the sidewalk. With her mood clearly sour, neither girl dared to try to pry, not until Powder got some time to cool off. But for one very blunt egomaniac…

He simply moved up next to his bitter friend, throwing an arm around her shoulders with a grin on his face as he tried to uplift her spirits, ”Hey now Pow-Pow, don’t be all grumpy! You got in the top twelve on the scoreboard!”

Much to Caitlyn’s astonishment, Powder didn’t close herself off. Instead huffed as she relaxed under his hold, groaning loudly in complaint as she ranted.

“Yeah! As number ten!” she fussed, rubbing her face in frustration as she sighed deeply, “Ugh, I’ve been up here so long I’ve gotten rusty! I used to know how to punch so much better!”

Ezreal raised a playful eyebrow as he questioned, “You haven’t really needed to punch anyone since you’ve been up here. Why are you so caught up on it now?”

“You wouldn’t get it.” Powder muttered a bit darkly, taking a second to sigh before glancing to her friend, “You still owe us a visit to your house, Ez.”

With a small inhale through his teeth, Ezreal averted his gaze, “Yesh, I thought you would forget about that in your funk.” he muttered, grunting when Powder elbowed him.

“Fine! We’re already almost in the Academy grounds so I guess we can stop by.”

That seemed to be enough to pull Powder from her mood, giving her friend a grin and cheering as she pulled away from him to lead the charge to his house.

Ezreal watched as Seraphine passed him to catch up, but when he was about to catch up as well, Caitlyn’s voice stopped him from moving forward.

“She usually doesn’t like talking much when she gets in those moods.” she commented, looking down to the boy as he watched Seraphine and Powder start a race to his house. Almost immediately Seraphine tripped, falling down on her face and insisting she was okay when Powder ran to help her.

The boy simply gave a shrug as he crossed his arms behind his head, “We help each other get out of our funks. Sometimes I’m missing my folks and sometimes she’s remembering a bad memory.” he muttered casually, “We distract each other, I think. From all the shit in our lives.”

Caitlyn hummed as she watched Powder pull Seraphine up, inspecting her scraped knee before offering her back to ride on. She’s gotten stronger, Caitlyn thought fondly, able to hold Seraphine as she holds onto her role model and squeaks when the blue haired girl started to run. It left the older girl to make a small smile, glancing over to Ezreal once more.

“Take care of them, alright?” she asked softly, “I’m going to have to find something to do now that I’m technically a grown up now. So I don’t think I can hang out with you guys as much anymore.”

Ezreal glanced up at her, his brow raised before he huffed and lightly elbowed the taller girl, “You’re still one of us. Don’t think that you’re all high and mighty cause you got a growth spurt.” he commented as a grin spread across his features, “Just think when I get taller, I’m going to be the most handsome man in Piltove-”

He was quickly interrupted by Caitlyn ruffling his hair, making the boy sputter at his ruined locks of hair as Caitlyn laughed at him, “You don’t have much time left to grow up, short stack.”

“I’m a late bloomer!” Ezreal excused, grumbling as he tried to fix his hair, “Just you wait.”

Caitlyn couldn’t help but huff in amusement, looking up from her conversation to hear Powder and Seraphine yelling as they walked up the path of a very strange abode. With a flourish and flare Ezreal moved to the front of the house to give a graceful bow.

“Welcome to my home!”

Caitlyn looked around awkwardly, her eyes stuck on the glaring lawn ornament as she muttered, “The giant globe is a bit of an overkill, don’t you think?”

“You can tell my uncle that.” Ezreal muttered, clearly in agreement as he turned to unlock his front door, “I’ve done it plenty.”

With a resounding click of the door, Ezreal opened his door to allow his friends in. Giving Seraphine and Caitlyn time to marvel at the marble floors and faith smell of old parchment, Ezreal turned to give Powder a small glance as he closed the door.

“So why the Rune Wars?” he asked tentatively, watching his friends in front of him as Powder walked beside him, fidgeting as she tried to explain.

“Cause I feel like something’s missing.” she finally admitted, her eyes set to the end of the hallway, “Heimerdinger keeps talking about all these ‘catastrophes’ from them but never went into detail about what exactly it was.” she huffed, crossing her arms as Ezreal carefully watched her.

The boy took his time to think, his mind moving quicker than his mouth did, “I don’t personally know Heimerdinger as well as you and your folks know him…but if it was so bad do you think he really wants to remember it?” he inquired as he watched Powder flinch, “It’d be like asking you questions about your life before you came to Piltover.”

Powder kept quiet for a few moments, her pout apparent before she hissed out, “...I hate when you have a point.”

Ezreal simply answered with a smirk as he whistled for his other friends to follow him to the library, reaching large dark oak doors as he pushed them open with a flourish, “This is everything my uncle has collected over the years, added on with books my parents left for him to translate.”

The room itself was vast, shelves lining the walls with two separate floors full of books. There was one large desk in the center of it all, covered in dusty ancient tomes and artifacts galore. The most magnificent piece was the full skeleton of an aquatic beast hanging from the ceiling like a chandelier.

“Woah…” all three girls marveled, eyes wide as Ezreal nodded his head in pride.

“I know, kind of a big deal.” he gloated, sighing in contempt as he looked over the library once more with a look of joy, “My favorite place to be, honestly.”

Powder shook herself from her awe as she moved into the room, already finding herself a place to study at the center desk, “Alright, Ez.” she began, careful in moving a few extra pieces of junk around to make space, “How do I find specific books? You know what I’m looking for.”

“Right…Rune Wars.” Ezreal muttered, clicking his tongue in thought before he was wandering to one side of his library, “I might know where a few issues are.”

“The Rune Wars?” Caitlyn interrupted, looking between the boy shifting through several books and Powder setting up a space to study, “Powder, why are you so interested in that? You hate history.” she inquired, her eyebrows raised in concern as Powder didn’t quite answer her pressing questions.

“Here we go!” Ezreal announced, returning to his friend’s side with several books in his hands, “Every book about the Rune Wars, both copies from the Academy and those that aren’t.” he proclaimed proudly as he dumped the stack on the desk space Powder cleared.

“Great, thank you.” Powder mumbled, already cracking open a book and scanning its pages for the key words she needed, “Sorry, I know you guys wanted to hang out at Ezreal’s…you guys can still do that while I’m here.”

Caitlyn sighed as she strides over to Powder’s side, looking over her shoulder as she watched the girl scanning through pages of text, “As interesting as exploring Ezreal’s house would be,” she began, raising a brow when Powder paused to read a paragraph and scoff before turning pages again, “I want to know your thought process right now, why are you looking at the Rune Wars?”

Powder hesitated to answer, her face reserved as she slowly mumbled out, “I think there might be missing runes in the texts Vik has,” she admitted, “Runes that could solve all our problems with Hextech, make this easier.” she muttered before turning her head back to bury her face in a book, “I know it sounds boring, but you don’t have to be here. I can do this on my own.”

She kept her eyes glued to the book in front of her, expecting for them to all sigh and eventually leave her side. It wouldn’t be a surprise, really. With how much she’s pushed and pulled them along, one day they would be sick of it.

Much to her surprise though, she heard the scraping of multiple chairs and the pile of books in front of her shrink as each of her friends took a book.

“You really think I’m going to let you discover new runes and take all the credit?” Ezreal mused, already opening up his book as Powder looked over to both girls flipping through their own books.

“You guys are really staying?”

Caitlyn paused her reading, glancing up to the young girl as she gave a small shrug, “If you really think there’s something here that can help Hextech, you’ve never scared us wrong before.”

“Well, there was the whole thing with the glove and then there was the-”

“What she means.” Seraphine interrupted, her smile wide as she looked to Powder with a soft gaze, “Is that we’re here for you, and we want to help.”

To think she had friends such as these. People that actually cared about what she strives for, that encouraged her strange approaches to a situation. A surge of warmth blossomed in Powder’s chest as she grinned, nodding softly as she looked back down to the text below as she mumbled out a very warm, “Thanks you guys.”

The three of them studied until Ezreal had to turn on the lights to illuminate the room, the looming dark of night crawling along the windows before Seraphine piped up.

“Hold up, I think I found something.” she muttered, leaning over the desk to place her open book out for everyone to see.

Powder huffed as she scanned over the page, “All these texts just say the same thing, blah blah civilizations lost, blah blah mages fighting each other, blah blah blah.” she scoffed before her eyes furrowed back down, “But look here, it was bookmarked.”

“Bookmarked?” Ezreal breathed, leaning to turn the page and find the very bookmark Powder was talking about, “Wait, that’s my mom’s handwriting.” he muttered, his eyebrows furrowed as he tried to read the contents written on the bookmark.

“So she knows what a…’World Rune Archive’ is?” Caitlyn asked, her eyes narrowed as she looked at the section that was saved.

Ezreal made a low hum, turning the paper in his hand before jumping out from his chair, “Maybe…but look, she wrote coordinates. If my geography lessons prove me right, which I always am…” he stated as he walked over to the globe on the other side of the desk, gently turning it before pointing to an area on the continent, “That’s in between eastern Shurima and the Great Sai.”

Caitlyn made a low hum as she reached over to point to the paragraph she was reading over, “Look underneath the bookmark. There’s a sentence about a World Rune.” she muttered before narrowing her eyes to read the small print better, “Right here, it says ‘World Runes were fragments of the raw magic that once shaped the world from complete nothingness and will one day be unshaped back into complete nothingness.’”

“That’s k-kinda creepy…” Seraphine mumbled, shivering a bit as she moved closer to Powder’s side. But the girl was entirely too focused on reading the sentence over and over, her brain scrambling to understand what any of this meant before looking back over to the boy staring at the globe with a set expression on his face.

“Did your parents make their next trip to this place, Ez?” she asked carefully, watching Ezreal shake his head and eventually turn back to join them at the desk, sliding another book their way as he pointed to the page his parents left open.

With a gentle shake of the head, Ezreal muttered, “My folks were really interested in the history behind this guy.” he noted, pointing to the paragraph that took up over half the page, “Ne’Zuk, a Shuriman tyrant who was said to be able to jump instantly from one place to another.”

Powder blinked in surprise, instantly intrigued, “Like teleporting?”

With a small shrug, Ezreal muttered, “Maybe. They don’t know what he did.” while looking down at the section he pointed out too with a solemn expression on his features, “But they were studying a lot about him, their next expedition was involving something with him.” he sighed out tiredly.

Hesitantly, Powder decided to bite the bullet and ask, “How long ago did they leave for that mission?”

Ezreal gave a hallowed laugh as he looked to his friend with an obviously distraught expression, “Remember when you met them?”

Met them? That was when she was twelve…

Powder held a look of grimace as she hissed, “...Fuck they’ve been gone that long?” shaking her head in disbelief and not even wanting to know how Ezreal felt, “You can’t be serious, are they usually gone this long?”

But Ezreal’s face spelt it all out, how he averted his gaze, his strained smile, the obvious hurt in his eyes, “Eh, next month will constitute this trip setting a record.” He tried to sound optimistic, like he didn’t miss his parents terribly.

A pit grew in Powder’s stomach, watching her friend close himself off. She tried to reach out to him, to tell him that his parents were fine and they were due back any day now.

“I…” she started, swallowing the lump in her throat when Ezreal turned his head away, walking back to the globe to just stare at it for an extended amount of time before gently whispering out.

“Don’t worry about it.”

.

They finished the night off, everyone walking Seraphine home first before Caitlyn split with them as soon as they stepped foot in the Academy grounds.

The pair walked in silence, the discoveries they uncovered not making enough sense for Powder to use any of that information to help with Hextech. But it seemed to have dredged something else up entirely as Ezreal had a faraway look upon his features as he looked up towards the stars.

Powder chose to keep herself quiet, feeling guilty for even bringing up the entire thing to upset her best friend.

After a long pregnant silence, Ezreal eventually spoke out through the white noise, “Hey.”

“Hey.” Powder mumbled, glancing over to the boy as he kept his stare up to the stars.

He seemed hesitant to speak, licking his dry lips before muttering, “Your folks…even though you fucked up. They’re still letting you work on Hextech with them?” he inquired gently.

Powder tried to get a gauge on the boy, to understand what he was going through, “Yeah…” she eventually answered, taking a moment to collect her thoughts and turn her head away to confess, “Don’t tell anyone else, but I heard Jay and Vik arguing the night after the incident.”

That caused the blonde to finally turn his head towards her, his eyebrows raised in concern as he whispered, “Shit…about you?”

She just nodded “More at Vik for letting me run off.” she answered quietly, her shoulders close to herself as she pulled her hands gripped onto her jacket, wishing she had her bunny close to hold onto him instead, “I-I didn’t-couldn’t tell them the real reason I acted like that.”

“You weren’t just trying to show off to a pretty girl with magic tricks?” Ezreal tried to joke with no humor in his voice.

Powder gave a small shrug, “Kinda…” she confessed before inhaling, taking a moment to collect herself before blurting out, “Ez, she was a mage.”

“A mage? A Demacian mage?” Ezreal inquired, his eyes wide and his breath taken, “No way, they arrest them in that kingdom.”

But Powder just nodded nervously as she pointed to Ezreal’s face, “It’s true…her hands glowed, just like yours and Sera’s faces.” she stated, sighing as she looked up at the sky with her brows furrowed, “She was so scared, terrified really. I just…acted fast before anyone saw her.”

The two continued to walk for a few moments longer, getting to their usual break off point so Powder could get back to the workshop and Ezreal could return back to his uncle’s home. But as they stood there, in their silence, Ezreal made a tired sigh as he reached over to gripped Powder’s arms to gain her attention.

“You did good, Pow-Pow.” he stated, watching as the girl’s eyes welled up with tears as she let out a shaky breath.

“Did I?” she shakily asked, already sniffling, “I fucked up Hextech, again. How many more times will I fuck it up before they decide I’m too much of a liability? How many more times do I need to nearly blow up something? How…” she paused to let out a small sob, tears finally trailing down her cheeks as she weakly whispered.

“How many more people will die because of me?”

Ezreal huffed a small breath, unsure how to deal with this sudden vulnerability his best friend displayed to him. They distracted each other from the pain, they were each other’s rocks and delusions of the shitty lives they lived. They could do anything cause they were both fuck ups, both too smart for their own good, both clever and charming in their own special way.

And so, so incredibly lonely.

Gently Ezreal pulled the girl into an awkward hug, now noticing he was rapidly rivaling her in height as he tried to comfort her, “You’re not a fuck up, Pow-Pow.” he muttered softly as he patted her shoulder, “And if anyone thinks you are…then…”

He released a shaky breath before tightening his hold on her.

“Fuck them. You’re fine just the way you are.”

Chapter Text

For the past several weeks, all hands were on deck.

They haven’t had threats against Hextech since Powder was twelve, but all it took was one incident to place their project on the chopping block once more. Their budget was cut again, but their extension was increased to having their first airship launch in the next two years. So now everything was pitted against them, and Jayce could feel himself slipping.

It didn’t matter about who’s fault it was or what exactly happened, that bridge was already crossed and he needed to focus on the now.

So that entailed Jayce attending more fundraising events, usually taking Viktor with him and having Powder stay with his mother on school days. The girl wasn’t too happy with the circumstances, but she never protested about it.

They couldn’t ask for any more loans from the Kirammans, they couldn’t beg the Council to increase their budget, so all that was left was appealing to Piltover’s elite to donate for the cause. All was going well too, with Mel coming along and showing him the ropes on speaking with more confidence, to use that natural charm he had, it didn’t take much to have the wealthy men and women of Piltover eating right out of his hand with the promises that Hextech could provide.

But then Viktor got sick. And Jayce dropped everything for his partner.

It must’ve been someone at one of the parties having the flu or something akin to that. But with how easily Viktor fell into the illness and could barely pick himself up only strengthen Jayce’s worry and opinion that maybe Mel was right. Maybe it really did need to be just him doing this.

So this very morning, Jayce stared absently at the rolling boil of his soup in thought as he heard the door quickly open from Powder’s room as she scrambled to collect everything for school.

“Morning!” the teen greeted as she ran for the counter and snatched up the small wrap waiting for her, “A chicken wrap? Not your most creative dish, Jay.”

“Hm.” was all her guardian answered as he absentmindedly added a few more ingredients to his dish before setting the heat to a low simmer. Powder raised a brow in confusion as she moved to her guardian’s side, watching him stare at his own cooking with a set frown on his features.

With a bit of a reserved look, Powder also looked down at Jayce's cooking, “Is it because of me?” she quietly asked, causing Jayce to flinch and immediately pull his kid into a tight hug to make her think otherwise.

“No, of course not.” Jayce tried to excuse, ruffling her hair before pulling her back, “I’ve been…worried about Viktor. I don’t want his flu turning into pneumonia…again.”

Powder nodded in understanding, a small sigh of relief leaving her lips as she reached up to pat her guardian’s hand, “He’ll get better.” she assured, “It’s Vik we’re talking about.”

“That’s precisely why I’m worried.” Jayce muttered softly, slumping his shoulders, “Luckily we caught it early enough for the doctors to medicate him.”

Powder snorted as she remembered helping Jayce drag their very stubborn scientist to the doctor’s office, “I just had to pretend to be sick as well.” she commented, grinning when Jayce gave a bit of a chuckle and shook his head.

“Your contributions will be remembered, now shouldn’t you be getting to school?”

With her eyes wide and cursing loudly, the teen pulled herself away from her guardian to run for the stairs, “I’m going to be late! Bye! Love you! Get better Viktor!” she yelled out, increasing her volume so her other guardian could hear her before she was bolting for the door.

Jayce could only shake his head, huffing in amusement before turning back to stirring the contents of his soup. At least with cooking, it felt like he had control of something that would form itself into what he wanted. There was no caution tape, no fundraising events, no politics behind cooking. The simplicity of the art gave Jayce a much needed break from thinking too hard.

Or really paying attention to his surroundings as a metallic clack of Viktor’s cane rattled next to him before the slimmer man spoke.

“It smells good, whatever it is.” quietly rasped the sickly man, causing Jayce to jump and spin around in his spot.

Viktor looked…horrible to say the least, the bruises under his eyes deep and his skin clammy from his fever. He leaned too heavily on his cane, using his other hand on the counter for support as glassy amber eyes looked up to their disheveled partner.

“What are you doing out of bed?” Jayce hissed quietly as he moved around his partner to grab him a chair to sit on. With a huff, Viktor slowly lowered himself to sit down, giving Jayce a look of annoyance as he placed a few papers on the counter.

“I finished the schematics for the tools you wanted to start working on.” he stated innocently, as if it was an obvious fact, “You don’t really think I’m going to lay in bed all day when we’re so far behind on everything.”

Jayce let out a small sigh in frustration as he scanned the schematics while chastising his partner, “I know everything is not going our way right now, Viktor. But soon-”

“Soon?” Viktor quickly challenged, his face twisting in annoyance as he gestures to the very paper Jayce was holding, “We can be working on Hextech now, despite everything. We don’t need the Council's budget to pay for these projects, if they want to delay the Hexgates by punishing us, then let them.”

It was always about getting deadlines and inventions worked on immediately. If there was no progress to be made then what was the point in anything that they were doing? Jayce slowly exhaled through his nose, reaching up to rub his temples before replying as gently as he could, “We’re not going to make any advancements if you go to the hospital again.”

Viktor just scoffed and rolled his eyes, “I’m not going to the hospital, this is mild.”

“You said the same thing about your pneumonia too.” Jayce reminded before giving his partner a pleading look, “Can you at least stomach a bowl of soup and work in bed? As soon as your fever breaks then I’ll stop fussing over you so much.”

Watching his partner hesitantly ponder for several moments, Jayce knew it was time to bring out the cavalry. Slowly he got down to his knees next to Viktor’s seated position, placing his hands on boney knees as he tried to pull out the Talis charm with an award winning smile. He noticed Viktor flinching and trying to avert his gaze as Jayce tried again, “Please Vik, I’ll do anything to get you back in bed.”

Viktor quickly raised his brows up in surprise, about to open his mouth to say something witty before Jayce caught on and shut him up, “Not like that, you know what I mean.” he groused, his cheeks warming up as Viktor wheezed out a small laugh.

“I know, but it’s entertaining to watch you fumble.” Viktor mused quietly, his eyes falling to the sun-kissed hands on his knees before tentatively settling his hand close to one, their fingertips just barely touching as he rasped out, “Now that you mention it…I do have something you can do.”

It was a trick of some kind, Jayce knew it. But with the worn out mirth that was on Viktor’s face, how his fingertips were just barely intertwining with Jayce’s own. Fuck, he was just putty in this thin scientist’s hands.

“Anything.”

.

When he told Viktor that he could work in bed, he should have been more specific.

“Screwdriver please.”

Jayce gave an exasperated huff as he dug through the tool box to procure the tool and hand it over to his sickly partner as Viktor fiddled with the stone carving prototype he made several months back.

“When I said you could bring your work to bed,” Jayce groused as he gestured to the complex machinery and its parts strewn across the mattress, “I didn’t literally mean it. Don’t you have paperwork to do?”

Viktor answered with a weak shrug, turning a few screws until they were tight enough. Once it was an effective tightness he just placed it on his bedside table next to his empty bowl, “Paperwork doesn’t garner results, Jayce Talis.” he mused quietly, bringing his hand up to cover the cough racking his body.

Jayce was quick to reach over, patting his partner’s back as he reached for a tissue so Viktor had something to cough into, “Your death won’t garner results either.” Jayce informed as he waited for Viktor to finish his coughing fit with a sickening sound of phlegm leaving his system.

With a nonchalant wave, Viktor balled up the tissue in his hand and tossed it aside much to Jayce’s vocal disgust, “I’m fine.” he simply rasped out, wiping the sweat from his brow before looking back over his work, “I need the open end spanner.”

“Alright, I’ve had enough of this.” Jayce huffed before moving the toolbox off the bed and taking hold of one of his partner’s shoulders, “V, lie down.”

But the slimmer man was defiant, shrugging him away and giving Jayce a scathing glare as he kept moving closer and closer to Viktor’s side of the bed, “I said I’m fine, don’t-!”

Swiftly Jayce wrapped his arms around the man, keeping him in a hold while Viktor weakly struggled and cursed as Jayce pulled the both of them to lie down on a firm mattress.

“Jayce Talis!” Viktor snapped against his partner’s broad chest, huffing tiredly as he tried to weakly wriggle free from Jayce’s tight hold, “Let me go this instant!”

“Ten minutes.” Jayce pleaded, bringing his hand up to cup Viktor’s sharp jawline and make him look up into desperate chestnut eyes, “Just lay down for ten minutes with me, this is all I’m asking for.”

The both of them fell into a silence as Viktor just stared at him, his face frustrated but his eyes softening at how genuine Jayce sounded with his pleas. He didn’t dare let out a breath as he waited for Viktor to fight again, to pull away, anything that would indicate that he truly hated being held like this. With Jayce’s arm around his waist and shoulders to just…keep him close.

After much too long Viktor huffed a small breath in defeat, bringing himself back down to rest his head against Jayce’s shoulder. The soft curls of thick brunette hair tickling the underside of a scruffy jawline as Jayce turned his head to settle on top of Viktor’s as he breathed a sigh of relief.

The minutes were counted, and Jayce prayed to any god that would listen that Viktor couldn’t hear how heavy his heart was thrumming against his rib cage. Nothing was dared to be said between them in this moment of intimacy, as if saying anything would break the spell they were under. It wasn’t a soft or sweet embrace, no, Viktor’s limbs were awkward and an elbow was uncomfortably jabbed into his ribcage, Jayce knew his grip was a bit too tight. But it was their moment, as soft and as sweet as they could possibly be.

Jayce thought it was time to break the spell as the counted ten minutes were slowly dwindling away, “Hey V…”

“Hm…” murmured his partner, his voice heavy, struggling to form even a sound as a deep breath left his lips and blew right onto Jayce’s collarbone.

With a shiver, Jayce swallowed before he continued, “Listen, I’m…sorry for how I’ve been the past few weeks.” he muttered quietly between them, “Losing a good part of our budget, your health, it’s all been catching up to me.” he admitted, loosening his hold and being mildly surprised when Viktor made no motion to move away, if anything he shifted himself to fit better against Jayce’s side.

It took a moment for Viktor to respond, Jayce wondering briefly if he fell asleep before the smaller man mumbled against his shoulder, “It’s fine…I admit I’ve been…” he heard the man inhale a bit sharply and hold back a cough before rasping out, “...irritable about our circumstances as well.”

“We really took a blow from the whole Demacia incident.” Jayce quietly sighed out, closing his eyes briefly so he wouldn’t have to face his own problems, “I thought that going to all these events could make up for the funds we lost. You don’t have to go to them anymore, I can take up the mantle so you don’t have to get sick anymore.”

He couldn’t see Viktor’s expression when he confessed that, but after another moment of silence he could feel Viktor’s cold hand reaching up to cup his cheek, “You’re spreading yourself too thin, Jayce.” Viktor softly warned, forcing Jayce to shift and open his eyes to look down at tired, mesmerizing amber as his partner looked to him with a genuine concern, “If you keep doing this there will be nothing of you left.”

Jayce hated it when Viktor was always right, about everything. With a small huff he gently covered the hand on his cheek, “I should be saying that to you.” he muttered humorously with an amused smile, “Didn’t the doctors say you were overworking yourself?”

Viktor returned the smile with his own, his thumb gently gliding over a sun-kissed cheekbone, “If I listened to every piece of advice my doctors ever told me then I would have never left the Undercity.” he teased flatly, earning a soft chuckle from his partner as Jayce leaned into the touch.

Being together like this, so carefully close with gentle touches and soft exchanges. It couldn’t be explained what they had between them, to let themselves be so vulnerable like this. This was something beyond a partnership, friendship, or even a romance. Nothing could explain the complexities of two people that just silently got each other, inside and out. There was no need for loving words, no need for intense displays of affection, no need for carnal pleasures. This was both simple and complicated on its own, but in this very moment of quiet.

Jayce felt peace.

“I just want you to take care of yourself, V.” he finally muttered between them, taking hold of his partner’s hand against his face to look at the man with a gentle, affectionate gaze, “For me? For Powder-keg?”

Viktor looked hesitant, his expression unsure as his lips pressed into a fine line. Slowly his eyes finally looked away, staring at the space between them as Viktor gently mumbled out, “...I’ll try.”

“That’s all I want to hear.” Jayce huffed out, his smile wide as he leaned closer to Viktor’s face only to be stopped by the hand he held against his lips.

He was given a scolding look by his ill partner, Viktor furrowing his eyebrow as he plainly warned, “You’re going to get sick if you do that.”

Jayce just huffed a small laugh as he pulled Viktor’s hand away, “My immune system is a lot stronger than yours, I’m sure I’ll be fine.” he assured before finally leaning in close enough for lips to brush together, tentatively, like they always belong pressed against each other. He heard Viktor struggle to catch his breath, desperate to keep the contact before a racking cough ripped him away to cover his mouth properly and clear his lungs.

Viktor must have thought he ruined the moment, flopping back down to Jayce’s shoulder with a look of disappointment on his features as he weakly rasped out, “How much longer do I have?”

With a small amused laugh, Jayce shifted to wrap his arm back around Viktor’s waist as he settled his head down, “Hm, ten more minutes.” he informed simply, grinning a bit when Viktor wheezed out a small laugh and settled back down with him.

“Right…ten more minutes.”

Several hours later, the downstairs door to the workshop was slammed open as a worn out teenager stomped her way up the stairs.

“Vik! Jay! I’m home!” Powder called out, raising a curious brow when neither guardian answered her. Scanning the upstairs living area only made Powder more suspicious as there was no sign of them working, arguing, cooking, anything.

“Jay?” she called out cautiously, walking to check his room first and huffing a bit when it was empty except for the small piles of clothes and leftover piles of paperwork. Viktor’s influence was contagious, it seemed.

Powder rolled her eyes as she moved to Viktor’s room last, taking a breath and placing her ear against the door to listen for anything she wasn’t supposed to walk in on. Upon hearing complete silence, the teen hesitantly reached for the doorknob.

“Hey Jay are you-” Powder began, covering her eyes as she opened the door just enough to peek her head inside. When there was no answer, the girl carefully pulled her hand away to blink at the sight before her.

Laying down in their work attire, legs tangled and bodies pressed were her guardians. Viktor was firmly pressed to Jayce’s side, his arm tossed over the other as harsh wheezes left his lips. Jayce was strictly on his back, one arm around his partner’s shoulders with his other hand softly holding a stark white hand against his chest.

Powder stood at the doorway in stunned silence, feeling like she was looking at something she shouldn’t have ever witnessed. With a small sigh, she smiled, taking the doorknob once again and stepping out from the room with a bit of warmth in her heart.

“You know what, I’ll just leave you two in here…” she mused quietly, shutting the door with a gentle click.

.

The morning after, Powder luckily woke up early enough to get herself ready for school without being in a rush. Her hair braided and tied in place as she smoothed down her school uniform. With one last look to the mirror, the teen nodded to herself before opening the door to her room to see Viktor mulling around the kitchen for once.

“Morning Vik!” Powder greeted, slowly walking over to the counter to see a simple breakfast of eggs and toast waiting for her, “Wow, I’ve never seen you cook breakfast before.” she mused humorously, taking her fork to poke at her eggs just in case her guardian lied about his finesse in the kitchen.

Viktor shrugged as he leaned against the counter, plating up another set of eggs as he muttered, “I’m not as great of a chef as Jayce, but I can suffice with simple meals.”

Powder hummed as she took a tentative bite, sighing in relief before digging into her breakfast, “Where's Jay?” she quickly asked, her mouth full as she spoke.

Viktor was about to answer her, but the loud sound of Jayce sneezing from Viktor’s room gave Powder all the answers she needed, giving her guardian an all knowing smirk as he sighed like he knew he was caught.

“Jayce caught the flu.” Viktor stated bluntly, rolling his eyes as he dully muttered, “You’ll never guess how.”

With a small laugh, Powder shook her head as she finished up the last of her meal, “I can make a good assumption.” she teased, only laughing more when Viktor gently grumbled to himself as he plated up a meal for Jayce and turned back around to give his kid a pointed look.

“Eat your breakfast and go to school. As soon as Jayce gets better we’re going to be…eh, ‘kicking it into gear’ as Jayce would say.” Viktor informed, watching Powder perk up and stuff the last of her toast in her mouth before jumping out of her seat.

“Finally!” she muffled out, coming around the counter to give Viktor a tight hug around his middle before already bolting down the stairs, “Bye! Love you! Get better Jay!” she called out before she was gone with the slam of the workshop’s door.

The kid was way too energetic for her own good, Viktor mused with a gentle shake of his head as he moved to clean up his mess in the kitchen. As he delicately worked around the kitchen, his cane settled next to the counter as he slowly shuffled around and leaned against hardwood, Viktor paused to cough into the crook of his elbow. Just because his fever broke and he felt a lot better, didn’t mean he was quite better yet. Pulling his arm back, Viktor briefly mulled over if he should consider taking it easy today for Jayce’s sake, only to stare at the odd colors that speckled the white fabric of his sleeve.

It was only a few, Viktor carefully counted four of varying sizes, but a deep uneasiness settled in his stomach at the sight of the dots staining his shirt.

To think that four, measly little red specks of blood would fill Viktor with so much worry.

It was obviously from running his throat raw from coughing all day, wasn’t it?

Wasn’t it?

Chapter Text

A birthday was always something Powder didn’t quite understand growing up in Piltover. Jayce and Caitlyn explained it enough times for the girl to get that birthdays commemorate the origin of a person in the world, and that they should be celebrated.

But she just didn’t know why there was such a big deal about them.

Jayce had his simple birthdays, usually he wanted to work like his partner did but his mother would always come by with a delicious cake and a special gift specifically for her son. There was always a lot of hugging from the both of them, and humorously Viktor and Powder joined in on pushing Jayce’s face into his cake after he took the first bite.

Caitlyn had more complicated parties, her mother typically inviting every noble and their family in the Bluewind Court to celebrate the birthday of her only daughter. It was always crowded, too many people took up Caitlyn’s time, and by the end of the day the older girl just wanted to be left alone.

So much complexity over the celebration of one’s birth was…weird.

Viktor never cared about his birthday, and neither did Powder by association. Jayce tried to get them to celebrate, generally finding a time frame of their vague memories of early childhood to pinpoint a date and attempt to celebrate. But neither of them really took the bait. Viktor groused about how he was turning thirty soon and he didn’t want to think about it. About the time Powder knew she was either approaching fifteen or already fifteen, she had enough of Jayce hounding her to have a big celebration about it.

‘But turning fifteen is important!’ Jayce would say to her, ‘You’re becoming a young woman! Capable of independence in that she can make her own decisions! Don’t you want to celebrate that?’

No, honestly. Powder didn’t even know if she could trust herself to make her own decisions. So the teen always chose to deny her guardian’s insistence and keep to the Undercity tradition of celebrating another year in this life with Viktor at the beginning of the year.

But then Jayce got his mother involved, and Powder compared her bombardment to throwing a party like walking through burning hot coals.

“And then! They wanted to get me fitted for a dress!” Powder complained, gesturing her arms wildly as she stared up at a soft silken canopy of her friend’s bed.

“Oh the humanity.” Caitlyn sarcastically consoled, standing at her vanity to brush her hair, rolling her eyes when Powder scoffed and kicked her legs in the air in frustration.

“Exactly! I only wear dresses if I absolutely have to, and the one Ximena showed me was so impossibly big and puffy!” Powder huffed as she let her limbs fall limp as she lamented, “They never had a problem with my past birthdays not being a big deal, I don’t know why they’re so dead set on making this one matter!”

Caitlyn hummed gently as she placed her brush down and pulled her hair back, “I mean…” she began, pulling her hair into a ponytail as she glanced to the younger girl, “Jayce wants to make it known your day of birth is special to him…ever thought of it like that?” she offered.

With a roll of her eyes, Powder huffed as she crossed her arms, “I didn’t know I was talking to Dr. Tessa.” she grumbled out, pouting when she heard Caitlyn scoff at her.

“Then why are you in my room complaining about it to me instead of going to her?” she inquired, a hand on her hip as she watched the flicker of worry pass through Powder’s eyes, the way she nervously tapped at her forearms before she hesitantly answered.

“Cause Doc’s in the Undercity right now.” Powder muttered, her eyes shifting away from Caitlyn’s form to look out the window instead, sighing a little bit when a butterfly fluttered its way to the windowsill. After another moment of watching delicate wings flap, Powder opened her mouth as soon as the insect flew away, “She said something was going on with her partner down there and she’d be back after things were taken care of.” she gently explained.

Caitlyn blinked in mild confusion, tilting her head gently as she regarded her friend with a hint of concern. She knew how long Powder had been with Dr. Tessa, working with the girl over her traumas and knowing more about Powder than possibly anyone else topside. “When did she say she would be back?” she asked cautiously, concerned for her friend’s mental health with the absence of her doctor around.

But Powder only answered with a shrug, “She just said to stay on my medication and do our exercises until she comes back, and if I can’t wait that long to find another therapist.” she huffed, making a frustrated wiggle in Caitlyn’s bed before kicking her feet again, “But I don’t want another therapist! She already knows everything!”

Something was off about Powder, Caitlyn mulled over, watching the girl writhe and squirm with frustrated huffs and puffs. It was too subtle to call the girl out on it, but she was getting frustrated a lot easier, usually escaping to Caitlyn’s room every time her guardians made her angry. It must’ve been hormones, or a dissatisfaction of not seeing Jayce around as often as she was used to. Caitlyn couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but the best she could do at this very moment is walk to the side of her bed and slowly sit at its edge to glance down to her friend.

“Well, what do you want me to do?” Caitlyn offered, giving a small shrug as she leaned back to fall on the bed, “I don’t know what to say to make you feel better, Powder.”

She watched from her peripheral as Powder mulled over what she said, her eyes sad for the moment she saw them before the teen was pressing the heels of her hands at them, “Tell me I’m not crazy for not wanting to celebrate my birthday.” she finally muttered, her voice quiet and desperate for a validation that she wasn’t overreacting.

Caitlyn quietly breathed through her nose, bringing her arm over to gently jab the younger girl and force a huffed laugh out of her, “You’re not crazy, will you stop calling yourself that?” she chastised, “It’s perfectly fine to want to celebrate your birthday however you want.”

“I just feel like an asshole!” Powder blurted out, gesturing her arms outward before letting them flop back onto the mattress, “Ugh, I just want the year to be over already!”

With a small amused laugh, Caitlyn shook her head as she pulled herself to sit up, “You have a few more months till then…” she informed before a mischievous smirk fell upon her lips as she feigned innocence with a simple shrug, “Oh well, I guess I have to send your birthday present back.”

“Wait-” Powder started as she shot up to look at her older friend, “You got me a birthday present?”

Caitlyn couldn’t help herself from grinning, “I did.” she stated, looking away innocently as she hummed to herself, “Considering this is the first time in four years that any of you have given me a timeframe of when your birthday was. I might’ve gotten you something.”

“What is it?” Powder hurriedly asked, shifting around the bed to bounce in excitement as Caitlyn laughed.

“Oh, now you’re suddenly interested?” she teased lightly as she stood up, hands on her hips, “What happened to you not caring about anything happening for your birthday?”

Powder just scoffed and rolled her eyes, “I don’t care about the celebrations and cake and all of that.” she clarified before reaching her arms out to wiggle her fingers and grab at the air, “But presents on the other hand…”

The older girl just rolled her own eyes, amused by the sudden mood change before she moved to her closet to retrieve the sizable box hidden away, “Don’t show this to Jayce or Viktor, they’ll have my head.” she stated, depositing the box into the teenager’s lap.

Powder couldn’t contain her excitement as she ripped away wrapping paper and bows, her eagerness to know what was given to her before the top of the box was pulled up and Powder froze.

Shaky and delicate hands slowly caressed cool brass metal, admiring the craftsmanship of every groove and nick that this piece of art held. Hesitantly Powder took hold of it, feeling the hefty weight of metal fitting into her palm like it belonged there.

“Is this…” Powder breathed out, turning the device in her hand as she admired it with wide eyes as she whispered, as if this was a forbidden thing she was holding, “...a 370 millimeter blunderbuss?”

The subject of owning a gun was always a controversial subject at home. Neither Jayce or viktor wanted her to have one despite her constant pleas to have one, they weren't even that happy that she learned how to handle a gun in the first place. While Jayce just saw it as an unnecessary weapon that a girl like her should never need to learn to use, Viktor thought much differently. Viktor stated that if Powder had a gun, choices she made in the future could change drastically just with what she had on her person. He feared that if a weapon was in Powder’s possession, that it was a fact that it would be used one day.

So typically the talk of weapons in the home was avoided.

But now, with a blunderbuss fitted into her hand. It felt like it always belonged there.

“The one and only.” Caitlyn hummed as she sat back down next to Powder, “You use the one at the vacation home so much I thought it was time to get you one of your own.”

“I…” she awed, extending her arm out to aim around the room momentarily before a grin spread across her face, “Wow…it’s so cool.”

“I knew you’d like it.” Caitlyn chimed happily as she pointed to the small package at the bottom of the box, “I also got you some ammo for it, but you’ll have to use it sparingly.”

Powder gawked at the very package at the base of the box, looking over the line of cartridges before her wide eyes traveled over to Caitlyn, watching the older girl twitch and wait patiently to gauge her friend’s reaction, “I-I…” Powder tried to start, giving up on words to pull her friend into a tight one armed hug.

With wide eyes, Caitlyn took a few seconds to process what was happening before her shoulders relaxed and brought her arms up to wrap around the smaller girl, “Happy birthday Powder.” she whispered, “I hope this suffices for all the missed birthdays.”

“It does…” Powder mumbled, slowly pulling back to look at her gun once more. Her hands gently glided over brass metal and continued admiring before the teen looked up once more, her eyes bright as she turned to look at the older girl, “Though…there might be one more thing I want for my birthday.” she started, a devious smile on her face.

With a gentle curious brow raised, Caitlyn blinked when Powder asked her, “You said you can forge Jayce’s signature to a ‘T’?”

“...Yeah?”

Powder’s grin only grew wider as she twiddled her fingers over her new weapon, “I have a place I want to go, but I need you to go with me.”

Caitlyn held back a laugh as she shook her head, “I feel like this is going to get me in trouble…” she mused, moving to stand up and walk a few steps towards the door before turning to look at her shorter accomplice, “I’m in.”

.

“We’re so dead.”

Caitlyn hunched over the bench next to their typical arcade, her face in her hands as Powder stood in front of her, humming a lovely little tune as she carefully pulled her jacket back on with only the smallest sign of a wince.

Once she pulled her jacket down, Powder grinned at her friend as she pulled her sleeve up so she could see the clear wrapping around her arm, protecting the images of blue clouds on her forearm, “I don’t know about you, but I like them.” she mused softly as she admired the artwork with a wistful smile.

Caitlyn just huffed as she narrowed her eyes to the younger girl, “Powder! I thought you just wanted one cloud on your shoulder! It’s all the way down your side!” she chastised, gesturing to Powder’s entire right side before falling into her hands again.

“I thought it’d look cooler.” Powder simply said, shrugging innocently as she pointed to Caitlyn’s thigh, “You say nothing about mine and I won’t say anything about yours.”

“Mine’s easier to hide, Powder.” Caitlyn hissed out, groaning in dismay as she mumbled, “Jayce is going to kill me. Then he’s going to tell my mother…and then she’ll kill me too.”

Powder frowned when seeing her friend worry over such small things, especially when it came to her mother. Cassandra Kiramman was a kind woman indeed, but not without its repercussions. If it wasn’t for her, Hextech would have never made the progress it needed to make at its most vulnerable state. She invited Powder over for the holidays every year, intentionally to make Caitlyn go as well but now it was just family tradition. A chance for Jayce and Viktor to have time off with each other and Powder the time to relax and just be a kid.

But of course, Caitlyn wasn’t a teen anymore. As much as Powder wanted her to be. She was grown, tall and fitting into a more feminine figure. Caitlyn graduated school and still didn’t reveal to anyone what she wanted to do as an adult. Even Powder of all people could feel the pressure Caitlyn was having placed on her by her mother, and that only made the teen even more protective over her friend.

Slowly she moved over to Caitlyn’s side, placing a hand on her shoulder as she muttered gently, “Cait, you’re nineteen. You don’t have to worry about what she says anymore.”

But Caitlyn in her frazzled state scoffed and shrugged her hand away, not noticing the hurt look Powder flashed briefly as she yelled, “You don’t get it, Powder!”

With a hesitant step back, Powder watched as Caitlyn ran her hand over her face as she ranted on, “All my life, my mother wanted to make me just another sophisticated noble woman like she was. Everything I did was a reflection of her and the council as her daughter. And-”

The silence between them was deafening, Powder watching her dear friend struggle not to break down. Her hand was barely outstretched anymore, wanting to be there for the girl but unable to really do anything. She was just a kid, and this was the societal pressure of the upper class that was crushing her dearest friend into the dirt.

She hated feeling so powerless

With sad eyes, Powder looked at Caitlyn as she softly mumbled out, “And what, Cait.”

Caitlyn sniffed as she harshly rubbed her eyes to stop the pressure of tears wishing to emerge, “I’m so…sick of it.” she finally confessed, letting out a shaky breath as she leaned back on the bench to look up at the afternoon sky, “I want to grow up, Powder. I want to be my own person. I want to see everything beyond Piltover.”

The subject of growing up. A topic that Powder didn’t know if she was ready to really tackle. To accept the fact that you were getting older, that things you used to love as a child was something you couldn’t enjoy when you got bigger. With a new line of freedoms came just as many responsibilities and truths that changed who you really once were as a child.

Vi had to grow up really quick after the death of their parents. Changing from the girl that would make up monsters with her to leading their small gang just to live in the harsh world of the Undercity.

Maybe that was why Powder didn’t like talking about it, why she pushed Jayce’s proposal of having an actual celebration to commemorate that Powder was becoming a young woman.

Powder didn’t want to grow up.

She didn’t want anyone to grow up.

But that wasn’t what Caitlyn wanted to hear right now. She wanted comfort from the weight on her shoulders set on her. She wanted to be given confirmation that with growing up, she could find a newfound freedom with herself.

Caitlyn had to grow up.

And Powder had to let her.

“Then do it.”

The taller woman flinched as she looked up to the teen in front of her, watching Powder’s torn expression as Caitlyn blinked away the haziness of tears, “Wha-?”

Powder made a few steps back forward to take Caitlyn’s hands, pulling the woman up to stand as she continued with a sad smile on her face, “Cait! You have your whole life ahead of you!” she encouraged, “Everyone has been trying to pull you into different directions and make you want they want you to be.”

The teen watched Caitlyn look at her with wide teary eyes, unable to speak as Powder pulled her along as she gestured to the entirety of the street around them as she tried to cheer her friend up, “You don’t have to be any of that! Not for them! Not for anyone!”

The rays of deep orange light filtered through the towering structures of Piltover, making deep shadows in the street they were in as Powder pulled them along.

As they passed the threshold of shadows, basking in the deep glow of afternoon sunlight, Powder grinned up to her much older friend as asked, “What does Caitlyn Kiramman want to do?”

“I….”

Caitlyn was speechless, watching as Powder was the one giving Caitlyn the option to choose what she wanted to do. The small shy girl that was so desperate to get away from parties, and who clung to Jayce’s side when they first met. To become this kindhearted and dear friend that Caitlyn didn’t even know if she deserved such a deep bond with.

Even if Powder never wanted to admit it, with how she turned to Caitlyn for so many things in her lifetime up in Piltover. How she followed her every step during parties and sharpshooting competitions. The shine in Powder’s eye when they got to talk about the silliest of things.

Caitlyn saw this girl like a little sister.

And she prayed to Powder’s older sister that maybe, just maybe, she would accept Caitlyn wanting to be Powder’s big sister too.

“What do you want to do, Cait?” Powder asked again, her eyes shining as she urged for Caitlyn to answer.

“I want…”

What did she want to do? Live up to her mother’s expectations? Join the Academy and be a scientist like Jayce?

Racking through her brain in hopes of an answer that she needed, the faded memory of a crisp winter day, the sounds of merriment behind her as wind blew past her cheeks as she overlooked the horizon to see the entirety of Piltover standing tall in the distance. The gentle clinking of a champagne glass meeting crafted stone as a tall imposing woman looked out into the distance with her.

"Begs the question, young Kiramman".

"What are you shooting for?"

Caitlyn released the small breath from her lips as she whispered out, “I…want to help people…to protect them.”

The joy that blossomed in her chest from seeing Powder smile up at her, patting her hands as the girl mumbled out.

“That’s my Cait.”

Caitlyn huffed a small breath as she leaned down and grabbed the smaller girl into a tight hug. Powder laughed as she squirmed against the woman’s hold, making small winces as she patted Caitlyn’s back to comfort her.

“Owowowowow on the new tattoos, on the new tattoos!” Powder whined before she giggled when Caitlyn jumped back and held her at arm’s length, looking over the girl to see how much pain she was in and if she was alright.

“Oops! Sorry!”

With a laugh Powder shook her head, pulling Caitlyn back into a hug as the woman laughed in contempt.

As Caitlyn held her smaller friend in relief and joy over feeling a newfound freedom in her friend’s words, Powder felt a small frown settle on her lips.

.

Jayce was due to meet Mel at another fundraising event in the afternoon, dressed as finely as he could be as he groomed himself at the mirror beside his bedroom door. He wanted to wait until Powder was safely home before he went, but as the minutes ticked by Jayce could feel his anxiety rising as the seconds passed by.

“Where is she?” Jayce muttered in slight concern as he glanced back down to the workshop’s entryway, “She said she’d be home before dark.”

Viktor was working at his workbench as usual, his goggles fastened to his face as he worked on rune sequences to test for any effects, “Powder typically can handle wandering around Piltover on her own, this isn’t the first time she’s been late before.”

Jayce huffed as he smoothed his hair back with pomade, “I’ve talked with her enough that if we give her this type of freedom the least she could do is make it home on time.”

“It can’t be helped sometimes.” Viktor mused with a small shrug, “She was spending time with Caitlyn today, so maybe they lost track of time?”

Slowly Jayce moved away from his mirror, smoothing the lapels of his jacket as he leaned on Viktor’s desk with a gentle scoff, “I think she’s avoiding me.”

“You think so?” Viktor dully drawled out, not even turning towards his partner as he worked, “You’ve been on her case for the last week about a party she doesn’t even want.”

“It’s an important time in her life!” Jayce argued back, gesturing with his arms, “She’s fifteen! It’s a big deal!”

“To you, perhaps.” Viktor pointed out, delicately working on pulling the rune covered plates together as he muttered, “But forcing Powder to adhere to your societal expectations of her will only cause her to push you away.”

Jayce stood up a bit straighter at Viktor’s comment, “I don’t-”

Before Jayce could finish his sentence, the door downstairs was cracked open with the very teen they were talking about humming a small tune as she walked in, her baggy jacket still not quite fitting into her as she swayed around and spun on her heel to look up at her guardians.

“Hey!” she greeted in a singsong voice, already skipping to the stairs to meet Jayce halfway as he crossed his arms at the top..

“Where were you?” Jayce inquired, his eyebrow raised as Powder swiveled around him to haphazardly jump to sit on Viktor’s desk, just causing the man to grumble as his work was mildly disrupted before he returned to his sequences.

Powder innocently enough tilted her head in confusion, “You said be home before it got dark,” she stated, pointing to the balcony window and it’s deep orange glow as it was quickly disappearing, “See?”

But Powder watched her taller guardian sigh, rubbing his temples as he ground out, “When I said that I didn’t mean for you to be home seconds before nightfall.” As he glanced over to the clock on the wall, Jayce just heaved a heavy sigh as he rolled his eyes, “Great, I’m going to be late meeting Mel.”

The frown on Powder’s face grew as she averted her gaze from Jayce to look at the work Viktor was working on, only breathing a small breath when Viktor reached over and gently took her hand for support, “Well sorry, I didn't know your schedule was so tight.” she grumbled out, suddenly grinning as she nudged Viktor to look at her as she started to pull her sleeve up, “Look! Look! Cait and I got inked today!”

Jayce kept his silence as Viktor leaned to look over Powder’s blue clouds, making a small comment of how well designed they were before the taller man finally uttered a small dangerous sound.

“Wait,what.” he asked heatedly, marching forward to take Powder’s wrist and inspect the drawing on her arm, “Did you draw on yourself again Powder-keg? We’ve talked about this.” he chastised, trying to disbelieve the clear wrapping around his kid’s arm as she looked at him with wide eyes.

“Uh…” she started, looking between Viktor’s raised eyebrows to Jayce’s thunderous expression, “It’s not…a marker.” she muttered out lamely, watching Jayce inhale deeply before pulling her arm out and pulling her sleeve back even more to reveal more clouds.

Jayce kept his eyes wide as he saw the markings, his mouth agape as he saw even more designs going past what he pulled back, “Wait…this…Powder-keg! This goes up your arm!” he gasped in horror as his eyes fell back to Powder’s astonished eyes, “What is this?”

“A…tattoo?” she asked, uncertainty in her tone as she tried to pull her arm back, struggling against Jayce’s grip and feeling panic rise up in her.

“A tat-” Jayce started, briefly tightening his grip before hastily letting go before he hurt his child, “A tattoo? How’d you get one of these? Where did you get one of these?” he started to question, pacing around at his messed up his carefully crafted hair as panic rose up in him as well.

Viktor slowly pulled his goggles away, taking his cane and pulling himself up to stand in order to diffuse the situation, glancing as Powder pulled her body close to herself as she tried to form a sentence.

“I-I got it for my birthda-”

“You got tattoos for your birthday instead of a party?” Jayce swiftly interrupted, looking at the tattoo once more before his eyes narrowed in anger, “Did Caitlyn set you up for this?”

“N-No! It was all my idea!” Powder yelped, her hands up defensively in order to defend Caitlyn’s name.

Jayce paused his pacing, looking at the girl with an aggravated expression, “And you didn’t tell me?” he inquired, not caring that Powder flinched as he pressed on, “I thought you respected us enough to at least ask if you could-”

“Why does it matter-” Viktor interrupted, carefully moving in front of Powder to keep her mostly out of Jayce’s heated gaze as the man seethed.

“It does matter! She just permanently marked her body for the rest of her life! Do you have any idea what this will do to you? To your academic career?” Jayce snapped out, swiveling his head around to look directly at Powder’s torn expression before making another aggravated sigh as he rubbed his face in frustration, “We’re so close to Progress Day too!”

“Why does having a tattoo matter for Progress Day?” Powder asked, pulling her hands into fists as she tried to quell the churning in her chest that screamed with too many emotions. Her ears were ringing with too many sounds that sounded like familiar people.

But Jayce paid no heed, pulling his hand up his face and struggling to fix his hair as he stated, “You have to wear formal attire, Powder-keg!” As he looked over to his child once more, he gestured to her right side as he explained, “You have dresses to wear, how are people going to react when they see my kid with tattoos up her arm?”

Viktor knew when enough was enough, stepping in as he stepped towards his partner as he tried to calm himself down from an obvious panic attack, “Jayce, you’re overreacting.” he stated gently, “She wanted this, and she’s happy with it.”

He noticed from his peripheral that Powder relaxed just the slightest, taking comfort that someone was on her side as Jayce focused his vindictive sights on Viktor’s slowly approaching form.

“Do you have any idea what people will think if they see her like this?” he hotly inquired, making a gesture towards Powder as he towered over his partner. Viktor just stared back at him, his eyes icy as his lips set into a fine line.

“Like what, Jayce?” he challenged, watching Jayce turn his head and rub his temple in frustration since his own partner wasn’t backing him up. The pressure of it all, the consequences of Powder’s choices hanging heavy on his shoulders. What people would think of her, what people would think of him for letting her do that. What could affect Hextech’s reputation because of one small decision that his kid made without even a shred of Jayce’s input.

He was hurt, he was scared. For Powder, for Viktor, for Hextech.

But mostly for himself.

“Like a criminal!” he finally blurted out, looking right back into Viktor’s eyes to see how they stared back at him, the coldness behind his eyes momentarily flaring up as his lips set to a dissatisfied frown.

“I have tattoos, Jayce Talis.” Viktor stated coldly, making a step forward as Jayce took a step back, his eyes wide at what he blatantly said in front of the two people he cared about the most, “Does that make me a criminal? Someone unworthy of academic success?” Viktor coldly inquired, his eyes setting back to their cold state before he turned around to walk back to Powder’s side.

“I…” Jayce started, reaching out of Viktor’s retreating shoulder before he let his hand drop, swallowing the lump in his throat as he watched his partner console their kid as she pulled herself into his chest to hide, “Viktor I didn’t mean…”

“I think you’re going to be late for the fundraiser, Jayce Talis.” Viktor stated, not even bothering to turn his head around as he ran his hand over Powder’s head to calm her down, “You do not want to keep Councilor Medarda waiting.”

He was right. Viktor was always right. Jayce sucked in a shaky breath as he silently walked back to the mirror to fix himself once more, noticing how red his eyes became and how disheveled his hair was from his constant abuse. He swiftly fixed himself up, dabbing at his eyes with his cuff and smoothing his hair down. The silence in the room deafening as he glanced over to his partner and child so close together, with Viktor holding Powder close as she gripped onto him like a lifeline.

The weight in his stomach wanted to pull him down, consume him and have Jayce go to his family to apologize for what he said in the heat of the moment.

But his duty to his cause was much stronger, more important. Because if they didn’t have Hextech, then what would they be? So silently, Jayce made his quiet goodnight, walking past the both of them as he traveled down the stairs and walked to the door to leave.

The moment he closed the door behind him, Jayce tightened his fists when he heard Powder wailing behind it. A sad broken cry that he caused.

With a shaky breath, Jayce stepped forward with heavy footfalls.

Chapter Text

Once again the dance of greasing palms and innovation had brought Hextech back.

Hextech was finally getting the recognition it deserved. After years of trials and tribulations, after having its name dredged through the muck and every hurdle thrown its way, Hextech was finally a realized creation that was due to become a part of Piltover in the next coming years.

It left Powder both excited and terrified of the future ahead of them.

The hot air of the summer night made sweat stick to Powder’s light jacket, a deal breaker now if she wanted to attend any event with her guardians now. She stood awkwardly with Viktor by her side, watching the elite of Piltover tap their glasses and chatter about the event without a care in the world.

The both of them kept away from the thick of it, deciding to lean against the balcony overlooking the party. Viktor wore the finest suit he had, the same one gifted to him by Councilor Medarda during the Demacian trade agreement. His eyes were tired and all he could do was place all his body weight against the railing as he mindlessly swished the champagne in his hand.

“You know, Jay could’ve told us this opera event was going to be another one of his fancy noble parties.” Powder grumbled with a pout, fiddling with the cuff of her jacket as she sighed, “I thought it was just going to be the three of us.”

All Viktor could really give his kid was a simple shrug, “Jayce just wanted us to come along for once, he has been taking the brunt of Piltover’s wealthiest to pay for the Hexgate’s production for some time now.”

Powder just pouted even more as she crossed her arms, “I liked it better when we were going to parties once a month.” she muttered out, glancing over to Viktor’s hunched form as he paused to drink from his glass.

“That was before the Hexgates were being realized, Powder.” Viktor pointed out, “We’ve gone through quite a lot since then.”

“Yeah…” Powder sighed out, resting her head on the railing to look over the lavish people of Piltover once more, “Do you think Jay is still upset about the tattoo thing?” she asked, pulling her sleeve back just enough to see the bright blue clouds adorning her wrist.

Viktor made a small snort as he turned to glance at the girl with a raised brow, “Considering you have to wear a jacket to events now…take a wild guess.” he drawled sarcastically, making a sigh before taking a sip of his glass, “But truly, I don’t think so, it’s been six months, he apologized for what he said. I can see where he was coming from with his argument.”

It took a long time of Jayce sucking up to the both of them to make up for what he said. Weeks of artistically crafted meals and complicated presents before Viktor even looked his way again.

Powder was quicker to forgive, she didn’t know if she had the heart to be truly angry at her guardian despite his imperfections. It was still her Jayce, as overly anxious and caring he always was.

“Did you show him your tattoo?” Powder teased lightly, a grin on her face as Viktor tried to suppress his own smile as he shook his head at her silliness.

“...After several weeks of watching Jayce grovel…maybe I did.” he stated softly, unable to stop his lips from turning up at the sound of the girl’s laughter

“Is it a diiiiirty tattoo?” she continued to tease, prodding at her guardian as he tried to wave her finger away.

“You’ll never know.” Viktor muttered lightly, turning his head to look back out to the party for a familiar man amongst the crowd, “Now, where is Jayce?”

Powder gave a small huff as she looked over the crowds as well, her sharp blue eyes catching the all telling flash of white and red before she pointed to the other side of the main hall.

“I see him,” she called out, shifting slightly as Viktor leaned to her to see where she was pointing, “He’s over there talking to the Tarisot family.” she indicated, watching said man laughing at some joke told by the Tarisot’s patriarch. He talked fluidly, with his head held high and his eyes bright. He looked like he belonged in that crowd, talking about anything and everything that Powder would consider completely boring.

It made Powder frown to see how comfortable he was down there.

“Hm, he’s gotten rather good at speaking to others.” Viktor commented gently, making a momentary glance at Powder’s solemn expression before trying to uplift her mood, “I don’t even see him sweating.” he teased, hoping to get a laugh out of her once again.

But Powder didn’t laugh, she didn’t even quirk her lip as she watched her guardian across the room. She licked her chapped lips before she whispered out to her smaller guardian, ”Do you think…we’ve changed, Vik?” she asked hesitantly, her hand messing with the cuff of her jacket once more.

Viktor kept his eyes on Powder for a moment, his mind taking its time to formulate a proper response before answering, “Everyone changes over time, Powder.” he finally stated, reaching over to pat Powder’s hand in a shoddy attempt at comfort, “It’s a part of life.”

It didn’t seem to do the trick, only making Powder turn her gaze away from watching Jayce be the center of attention. Her bottom lip set itself to a small frown as she looked down to her shoes, as polished and shiny as any other noble here, she…didn’t feel right in these clothes all of a sudden. Too much fabric, too tight, too fancy for her liking, “I don’t like it.” she admitted, her eyebrows furrowing as she took the bottom of her jacket to start unbuttoning it.

“I know.” Viktor sighed, reaching over to stop the girl from fully pulling her jacket away, “But sometimes, change is good, even if it doesn’t seem like it at first.”

Powder did pause her undressing, letting her jacket hang open and expose the clouds around her collarbone. She watched Viktor for a moment as she caught her breath, a newfound relief of cool air kissing her heated and sweaty skin. Powder watched as her guardian nodded to her in appreciation for not making too big of a scene, shifting how to stand and having his face flash with momentary pain as he turned back to leaning on the balcony’s railing.

“How are you feeling?” Powder quickly asked, leaning more on the railing to gauge her guardian’s face, ignoring how he gripped the back of her jacket so she wouldn’t fall over, “You probably need to be down there with Jay to talk up the crowd.” she tried to offer, nonchalantly watching Viktor’s face twist into an expression of grimace.

He sighed out gently as he turned his head away, knowing he was caught by Powder’s sharp eye, “I’ll be honest, I took my pain medication before the party and I’m still hurting.” he admitted, rolling his shoulders and shifting how he stood once again now that he didn’t need to hide it. But soon enough he took his cane and forced himself to stand up straight as he muttered out, “I’m going to go see if we can leave early.”

With a nod Powder moved to walk with her guardian, to join him in talking with Jayce. But a gentle hand on her arm paused her from moving as Viktor gave her a small firm shake of his head before he pulled back. As he turned around to walk himself to the stairs, Powder gripped the sleeves of her jacket as she stood in place before calling out to him.

“Can we…get gelato on the way home?” she asked sheepishly, her shoulders together as she looked at her guardian with a shred of hope in her eyes. A hope that even if everything was changing around them, some things could still stay the same.

That they…would stay the same.

Viktor turned his head just enough to look at his kid for a moment, his eyes softening as he nodded to her request.

Powder smiled softly as she watched Viktor turn back around and continue walking away from her.

.

To say Viktor loved the crowds of Piltover would have been a complete and total lie. He was never a fan of these types of events, the only reason he ever went during the fledgling stages of their Hextech project was because he remembered how nervous Jayce got around a crowd.

Viktor rarely did any speaking himself, but he could conclude that just being within Jayce’s circle gave him the confidence he needed to speak about Hextech with no anxieties. They were a team in tackling crowds, with Viktor speaking about the sciences and Jayce bringing the charm. It worked well enough for the few events they went to during the beginning.

But now things were different, as Jayce went to a party at least twice a week. He spoke with more purpose, with more knowledge on the craft he was perfecting. He got the jokes, and the compliments. So deep down, while he knew Jayce hated events like this just as much as Viktor did.

Viktor knew Jayce liked the attention, the flattery, the prestige of being called the smartest man in Piltover as well.

As Viktor moved through the crowds downstairs, he gripped his cane just as tightly as a vine wrapped around a branch. Unknowing people were clumsy, and while some canes being knocked away would be okay for some men, Viktor knew if his cane got knocked away he’d fall face first onto the marble floors below him.

The very man he was trying to approach was surrounded, his eyes shining and his smile wide as he talked about his passion and the progress Hextech has accomplished. He had a bounce to his step, his gestures were fluid and freeing as he went on and on about what Hextech could provide for the years to come.

He was never going to admit it out loud, but Viktor was absolutely enamored with this man.

Jayce spoke with such a hopeful tone for a better tomorrow, the pride in his work driving him to continue forward despite all of their hiccups. Viktor was used to seeing a spark like that die by an Academy student’s third year in schooling, but Jayce kept his wide eyed optimism and fascination for science well into his late twenties.

His energy gave Viktor the drive to continue with him, to see this project through to the very end and make a better tomorrow for everyone.

If he could get Jayce’s attention first.

He tried to swivel his head around to catch Jayce’s eye, too many people blocking his way and refusing to move so Viktor could get to his partner’s side. But Jayce was entirely too focused on every other individual with their shining jewelry and powdered faces.

So Viktor tried to call out for Jayce, but his voice didn’t even pierce the cacophony of murmuring around him.

He was ready to give up, to wait patiently for Jayce to work his way out from the crowds. But someone else had a different idea than Viktor’s own.

A sharp whistle resounded through the main hall, making Jayce and Viktor flinch as they looked up to see their kid, her jacket tied around her waist and tattoos shown in all their glory as she stood on the balcony’s railings.

“Jay!” Powder called out to him, Viktor could see the red on Jayce’s cheeks as he tried to gesture for Powder to get down, to stop acting out, anything besides the embarrassment he was going through. But Powder barely gave him any heed, grinning as she was pointing down to Viktor not more than fifteen feet away from him as she yelled out, “Vik needs you! I’ll be waiting outside!”

And just like the strange girl she was, she jumped off the railing and disappeared into the balcony, most likely staying true to her word and going outside for some much needed air. Viktor could only make a small worn out smile at his kid’s antics, unknowing of Jayce coming up to him and gently taking hold of his arm.

“Powder-keg’s grounded when I get home.” he stated bluntly, rubbing his temples from his upcoming headache. Viktor could only really offer a pat on the hand and tilt his head to a quieter corner of the party so Jayce could decompress, hoping Jayce would comply.

“She was only trying to help me, don’t let her get in trouble over that.” Viktor mused softly, making a sigh as Jayce seemed to follow him as he guided the larger man over to the corner and away from prying eyes for just a moment.

But even in a secluded corner, Jayce continued to look distracted as he kept peering out into the crowds. Watching people pass by, talk with themselves, and now that Viktor could watch Jayce up close.

Maybe he wasn't as well adjusted as Viktor originally thought, just by seeing the trail of sweat travel down Jayce’s neck and soaking into his shirt collar.

“So many people saw her though, they’re going to think she’s reckless.” Jayce started, unconsciously moving forward and having Viktor press himself into a wall in order to give themselves an appropriate amount of space between them, “There are scholarship holders at this party, what if they deny her any help in attending the Academy because of her behavior during parties?”

“Jayce, I don’t think they’ll-”

“She had her jacket off too, her tattoos are too bright to say it was a trick of the light. What are people going to think? She’s just fiftee-”

“Jayce-”

“What if she fell off the railings? Then she would have broken something and we’d have to take her to the hospital and Mel would have to cover for me and-”

“Jayce, I want you to take me to the restrooms and fuck me senseless.”

“I just can’t- Excuse me?” Jayce quickly switched up, his eyes snapping forward to look at how close he had Viktor pressed against a wall. Viktor had to roll his eyes in amusement at how red Jayce’s face became, struggling to process what was said to him before Viktor decided to give the man a break for once.

“I’m kidding.” Viktor excused, reaching up to pat Jayce’s cheek, “I needed to get your attention, seems to have worked well enough.”

Jayce could only huff in brief amusement as he reached up to poke at Viktor’s chest, “Yeah, you have my attention in more ways than one.” he drawled, leaning over his partner more as he lowly muttered, “You’re a major distraction when you want to be.”

With a shrug Viktor gently placed his hand in between them to push Jayce back enough so there wouldn’t be any misconceptions about what they were, “One of my many talents I have.” he mused humorously before patting Jayce’s broad chest, “Powder and I are ready to go home, my back is acting up and Powder’s complaining about being sweaty.”

“I…” Jayce paused to look back into the bustling party, his face torn momentarily as he took a moment to think. Viktor waited with him, his brow raised curiously with his partner’s hesitancy. Jayce always dropped everything for them, from meetings with Powder’s teachers to Viktor catching something. So why was he hesitant now?

“...Go on ahead, Viktor.” Jayce finally muttered out, releasing a small sigh as he looked to his friend with an apologetic stare, “I can’t quite leave just yet, but I won’t hold you back.”

It was bound to happen one day. Viktor knew that. The societal pressure to make appearances for the sake of progress was always demanded.

It just hurt that it had to happen to Jayce of all people.

“Right…” Viktor muttered, pulling himself up to stand back up with a small hiss, “Right, you have work to do.”

Jayce still kept his shoulders small, taking the smaller man’s shoulder to give a gentle squeeze as he tried to excuse, “I promised Mel that I would stay the whole time, talk to investors. You know, the usual.” he began, his smile sheepish as he searched for validation in Viktor’s eyes, “I’ll be home tonight?”

Silently Viktor nodded, stepping away from Jayce’s looming presence as he made a few steps away from their crevice, “Of course, I’ll see you back at the workshop, then.” he stated, about to turn away and make his departure before pausing to turn his head once more to regard Jayce, “Jayce?”

“Y-Yeah?” Jayce asked, his eyes wide as he began to take a step forward, ready to help Viktor in whatever he needed as an apology for not joining him on their journey home.

But Viktor stopped him with a simple hand gesture, shaking his head before he turned his head away from him, speaking low enough for only Jayce to hear.

“Next time…we’re not going to come along to any more events besides Progress Day.” With that, Viktor took a few steps forward to walk away, “Goodnight, Jayce.”

He didn’t need to turn around to see Jayce’s hurt expression, he could practically feel it drilling into his aching back as he traveled to the front entrance.

Powder was sitting at the front steps, enjoying the night air before Viktor’s cane gave him away. The girl shot up from her seat, a wide smile on her face for her guardians before it quickly fell when only Viktor stood before her, his shoulder’s hunched and his eyes tired as she tried to look behind him just in case.

“Where’s Jay?” she asked, quiet as Viktor passed by her and continued to move down the steps carefully to meet solid ground once more.

“He’s not going to make it.” Viktor mumbled, his voice heavy as he turned to look at Powder once more, a sad smile on his face as he tilted his head towards the dark streets of Piltover as he offered, “We can still go get gelato, though.”

Powder stood at the top of the steps for several moments, her eyes sad as she glanced back towards the party inside one last time. They still were laughing, enjoying themselves as they drank their fancy drinks and snacked on their hors d'oeuvres. It didn’t make a difference if the both of them were there or not.

It was Jayce they truly wanted, and it was Jayce that they got.

Slowly Powder walked down the steps, joining her guardian by taking hold on the sleeve of his suit jacket and walking with him through the streets to grab their dessert and make it back home.

“Yeah…gelato sounds good right now.”

.

The night went on, Viktor and Powder got to solemnly enjoy their gelato before walking back home before it got too late. As Powder went to take a shower to wash off the summer sweat, Viktor decided to retire early to hopefully forget about tonight’s events.

Perhaps actually sleeping would mend all of this, cure the heaviness in Viktor’s chest as he toed off his shoes and worked at unbuttoning everything. Each layer of clothing was being shed off like an overbearing skin on his shoulders, relieving some of the pressure but it just didn’t seem like it was enough. Keeping on the button up and undergarments was sufficient enough to sleep in, Viktor finalized as he placed his cane in its usual spot and sat at the edge of his bed to rub the soreness away from his shoulders.

What was he supposed to do about this? These…feelings were too much for Viktor to handle. As he rubbed at his shoulders, Viktor couldn’t stop his thoughts from traveling to imaginary scenarios of Jayce rubbing the pain from his body. With strong calloused hands rubbing at wiry muscle down to the very prominent bones that Viktor sported, to being a much needed cushion for him to rest against so he could sleep peacefully with the sound of soft breaths and occasional snores.

But that’s exactly what they were…imaginary. Or better yet, a thing of the past.

With a deep sigh, Viktor turned his light off and pulled himself under his covers to attempt to sleep. But sleep was a fleeting thing for someone in constant pain.

Viktor still wasn’t asleep after several hours of laying down, the ache in his bones demanding he move, or place himself under hot water, or something. But all his body could muster was turning on his side and struggling to get comfortable once more.

But then his door was opened, the sounds of footfalls behind him keeping Viktor’s eyes open.

“Powder…?” he whispered out.

It was common for Jayce and Viktor to keep their doors unlocked, just in case Powder had a nightmare that needed immediate comfort. Sure she was fifteen now, but it was a force of habit now to keep doors unlocked for the one day the teen had a bad night.

But the weight that weighed down the other side of the bed was much too heavy to be Powder’s. The heavy smell of cologne and expensive wine was too strong for Powder to wear. And the large encircling sun kissed arms wrapping around his midsection were definitely not Powder’s arms.

Viktor shifted as Jayce’s arm pressed into his side, only having his body go stiff with how the larger man moved to fully press his chest against Viktor’s back. The smell of alcohol became stronger as Jayce buried his face in his partner’s hair, making small breaths as he tried to form a coherent thought.

“Mhm…” Was all that was managed to leave wine soaked lips as his hands spread over Viktor’s stomach and fiddled with shirt buttons.

Viktor felt his body tense when warm fingers grazed briefly over his skin, making the man quickly take hold of a wandering hand and hold it tightly against his chest.

“...Jayce?” Viktor breathed out, his eyes wide and expression flabbergasted as he tried to squirm away from the other hand undoing his shirt buttons, “What are you doing?”

“…Couldn’t stop thinking about you.” his drunken partner simply answered against his hair, pressing lips against his scalp before trailing further and further down with small kisses before reaching his ear to bite at its outer shell.

“Jayce,” Viktor stated firmly, swatting Jayce away from his ear despite his flushed face as he tried to take hold of Jayce’s other hand, “Jayce, you’re drunk. Your room is next door.”

This had to be a mistake, a drunken mistake that Jayce would wander into his room and hold him like this. This wasn’t holding Viktor down when he was sick, this wasn’t pressing fingers down to relieve pain, this wasn’t soft kisses that didn’t require much thought.

This was too much. This was crossing another line that shouldn’t have ever been crossed.

“No…” Jayce whispered out, lazily bringing his face back down to press a kiss against Viktor’s clothed shoulder. His hands, tightly held in a vice grip by Viktor’s much slimmer hands, continued to move over him and eventually tease at the waistband of his undergarments, “Intentional.” he breathed, burying his face into Viktor’s neck and kissing at pale skin as Viktor writhed under him.

This couldn’t go any further. Jayce was making a huge mistake. There couldn’t be any desire there, this was all just a facade the both of them had. They were comforts for each other, soft exchanges and kisses to keep themselves calm and keep Powder happy.

Jayce couldn’t actually like him like that.

Could he?

“J-Jayce…” Viktor struggled, taking Jayce’s hands and pulling them back up before finally putting an end to all of this nonsense. Turning around in his spot he looked into Jayce’s bewildered intoxicated face as he gave Jayce the most stern stare he could muster with a flushed face and mussed hair, “Don’t-”

What he didn’t expect was seeing just how utterly destroyed Jayce looked, his face distraught and his eyes shining as he desperately asked, “Why not?” Slowly he was struggling to breathe properly, his inhale wobbly as he shakily mumbled out, “Don’t you like me? Don't we like each other?”

Viktor was reeling, trying to control his rough breaths and keep Jayce’s hands strictly to his chest as he watched the man struggle in front of him. Of fucking course he liked this brilliant man. If it was any other way, Jayce would be beaten down with a metal cane compared to this.

But Viktor couldn’t say that, not when Jayce was obviously on the edge of breaking down. So Viktor opted to sigh in frustration as he muttered gently, “I’m not going to have us do anything when you’re under the influence like this.”

“Is it because you hate me?” Jayce spouted, his eyes shining even more with unbridled tears as he weakly started whispering, “Listen, I’m sorry. For everything. For being a dick to you and Powder-keg, for thinking too much about Hexte-”

“Shh, Jayce.” Viktor hushed, pulling his hands free to wrap around Jayce this time, pulling his head down against Viktor’s slimmer chest as he tried to calm the distraught man down, “I don’t hate you, neither does Powder.” he assured, pulling his fingers through pomade slick hair as Jayce wrapped his broad arms around his torso and held Viktor in a vice grip.

“Why does it feel like it then?” Jayce mumbled out, his breath shaky as Viktor felt his shirt growing wet with tears, “My chest…it hurts so much, V.”

Jayce rarely had breakdowns like this. The few times Jayce was on the edge of having one during their line of work, Viktor was there to bring him down and settle everything as logically as possible. For a man with so much, he let the world hang on his shoulders so heavily. Like everything was a life or death situation in Jayce’s eyes, there was no in between.

But Viktor was out of his element here.

Hesitantly Viktor pulled Jayce closer to him, uncaring of the hair product uncomfortably rubbing against his cheek as he tried to shush the weeping man that he was holding.

“I know…” he tried to calm, pulling Jayce’s chin up so Viktor could press a kiss against his forehead, “I know Jayce.”

Both men kept their silence as Viktor waited for Jayce to calm down, silently listening to the sound of Jayce’s harsh breaths and sniffles as he tried to collect himself. Viktor kept his ministrations of threading his fingers through Jayce’s hair, letting his blunt painted nails scrape against the large man’s scalp to keep himself distracted from thinking any more of this than a drunk friend falling into the wrong bed.

It had to be that. Nothing more.

Viktor’s poor heart couldn’t handle anything more than that.

“Vik…Vik- I lo-”

Swiftly Viktor covered Jayce’s mouth with the palm of his hand before he could let anything else fall from his lips. Releasing a breath he didn’t know he had, Viktor looked into bewildered chestnut eyes with his own fear stricken amber.

“Don’t.” Viktor whispered, swallowing the lump in his throat as he shook his head, “Don’t…say things you’ll regret, Jayce.”

A brief flash of hurt passed over Jayce’s features before he gently nodded, tucking his head back down to hide in his partner’s chest to keep his sadness away from Viktor’s eyesight. Gently Viktor moved back to holding Jayce, running his hands back over slick hair as Jayce gently mumbled out against his chest.

“You’re right…sorry.”

Viktor let out a soft sigh, feeling his heated body cooling as he quickly felt exhaustion take over. With a soft thump against the pillow under him, Viktor closed his eyes to hopefully have sleep take over the both of them.

“We can stay like this…just for tonight.” Viktor mumbled tiredly, feeling Jayce tightening his hold around him before nodding against him. They kept silent for the remainder of the night, letting sleep overcome them as the sweet summer night carried on. Viktor’s last thought before sleep finally came to him…

Was hoping that Jayce wasn’t in his bed when he woke up.

His heart couldn’t handle it.

Chapter Text

“Sera’s being pulled from classes to be homeschooled.” was the first thing that left Ezreal’s mouth as he came into Powder’s classroom, worry deeply set onto his features.

Powder didn’t want to believe what she was hearing, looking up from her work she furrowed her brows in confusion and leaned slightly forward as Ezreal walked towards her desk.

“What?” she asked in disbelief, silently cursing to herself for not being in their class anymore to hear about any news going on.

But the boy didn’t answer immediately, pulling up a chair to sit across from his friend and blowing the hair from his eyes as he tried to elaborate.

“You know how she’s been missing school for the last three weeks?”

Powder gave a little bit of a nod, confusion still on her features as she recalled the event before their friend went missing.

Prior to her absence, Seraphine was talking about having headaches when they walked through Piltover’s streets. Whether it was to get to the workshop or to the arcade, the young girl was always nursing her temples by the end of the day. Their friend group was sure she was ill, and Caitlyn did the responsible thing and told Seraphine’s parents what was going on.

That was three weeks ago, with complete silence from Seraphine’s end.

“I thought she was just sick.” Powder muttered out, her eyes flashing with worry as Ezreal shook his head.

“I thought so too, but the teacher just made the announcement in class this morning.” the boy explained, crossing his arms over the desk, “Have you heard anything from her? She practically tells you everything.”

With a small shake of the head Powder chewed on her lip, “She hasn’t.”

That was the concerning part, because Seraphine did tell her everything. From what was going on in her parent’s repair shop to any new songs she learned to play. There wasn’t anything Powder didn’t know that was going on with the little girl that looked up to her so much. So just to be left out in the dark like this was already setting off alarms in the teen’s head.

Ezreal made a low hissed as he chewed lip, “Shit, you don’t think it’s something serious, do you?”

All Powder could really answer with was a shake of the head, staring down at her paperwork as she mumbled, “She would have told us. Sera tells us everything.”

“Maybe it was something important?” Ezreal tried to offer, swallowing the lump in his throat as he didn’t want to bring up the other option, “Or maybe…it was too bad for us to-”

“Don’t.” Powder warned, a dangerous tone in her voice as she narrowed her eyes at her friend, “She’s fine, Ez.”

Offering his hands up in surrender, Ezreal backed down, “Okay, okay…she has to be fine.” he repeated, “Cool your jets there hothead.”

With a sigh, Powder deflated into her chair, arms crossed as she furrowed her eyebrows in thought, “We can go by her place after school, ask her parents what’s up with her.”

It was the only option on the table. Powder rarely went to Seraphine’s home, the excuse being that her parents were always busy and needed to concentrate on their craft. But the home itself was on top of the repair shop, their store covered from head to toe in broken instruments and phonographs while the home was more cozy with a soft warmth to it. It’s only downside was that their home was in the busiest parts of Piltover, the buzz of people passing by during the day always heard through thin walls.

Seraphine said she liked her home where it was, that she liked to watch the people of Piltover live their lives from her window. To think something happened to someone so bright and joyous that they found happiness in other people’s moments of jubilation.

That was downright unfair.

Ezreal sighed as he shook his head, “I can’t come along.” he regretfully muttered.

Powder blinked in surprise as she snapped her head up to look at her friend, “Why not?” she asked, confused as to why Ezreal couldn’t come along when Seraphine obviously needed to be checked on.

“Conference with Uncle Lymere and the Explorer’s Guild.” Ezreal explained with a nonchalant shrug, he looked absolutely bored as he fixed the sleeves of his jacket before continuing, “My parents haven’t reported back in some time now.”

Great, another problem amongst their friend group. With Seraphine’s disappearance, Caitlyn’s pressure to find a career, Powder’s struggle to make deadlines, and now this. Things were supposed to be easier when they got older.

“...Shit.” Powder cursed as she ran a hand over her face before searching her friend’s face for any signs of worry on his features, “Are you alright?”

But Ezreal waved his hand like it was nothing, blowing air from his lips as he smirked, “Psh, I’m fine. My parents are busy people!” he exclaimed, crossing his arms behind his head to grin at the girl, “They’re too busy being awesome in Shurima to be bothered with giving the Guild constant check ins.”

Powder wasn’t too convinced, feeling her lips draw into a thin line, “...If you say so.” she muttered doubtfully, “Just…tell me if anything goes on, okay?”

“It’ll be fine, it always happens.” Ezreal excused, making an easygoing shrug as he explained, “They go silent for six months, the Guild gives them nine months before declaring them officially MIA. They’ll call back two months after the warning.”

“Every time?” Powder inquired, watching Ezreal nod confidently as he responded.

“Every time.” he repeated, a cocky grin on his face, “It’s basically clockwork now. So no need for any of us to worry.”

There was plenty to worry about, the fact being that Ezreal’s parents haven’t even bothered to see Ezreal for the past four years being the most glaring problem there was. But Powder would have to hold her tongue, making a small nod instead as she carefully watched her friend.

“Alright, then tell your uncle I said hi.”

“As long as you tell Sera I said hi back.”

With a roll of her eyes Powder scoffed, “Obviously, I’ll make sure to give her a kick in the butt too for worrying us.”

“Pfft, her great role model kicking her ass?” Ezreal snorted, a haughty grin on his face as he sarcastically lamented, “She’ll be so distraught.”

“Please. I’m not her role model.” Powder groused, shaking her head as the boy just laughed at her and flicked at her forehead.

“Oh come on Pow-Pow!” he argued, shaking his head in disbelief as he pointed out the obvious, “She worships the very ground you walk on! Even when she’s trying to stop you from causing mayhem.”

“I don’t see it.” Powder tried to diffuse, crossing her arms in hopes of ending the conversation. Sure, she could admit to Seraphine looking up to her, but to the extent Ezreal was describing? No way. She wasn’t that important to the girl, no matter how much Ezreal tried to hype that up.

“It’s because you got too much going on in that head of yours.” Ezreal mused as she reached back over to rap his knuckles against her head, “Too busy thinking about everyone and everything that you can’t focus on one thing.”

Powder huffed a small laugh as she shooed the offending hand away, “Shut up.” she groused, smirking at her partner in crime before tilting her head towards the door, “Don’t you have class to go back to?”

Ezreal returned to smirk tenfold, leaning back in his seat to hike his feet up on her desk as he mused, “Well, soon enough this will be my class.”

“You’re thinking of going up your grade level now?” Powder inquired, a curious brow on her features and the slightest bit of excitement in her tone of voice.

The boy just answered with a shrug, his face carefree as he stated simply, “Without Sera to keep my company, I realize just how easy everything is.” Then with a bit of a smirk, he added “And I might be missing my time bothering you in class.”

“Oh, what joy.” Powder drawled, rolling her eyes in amusement as Ezreal laughed.

.

The shop was on one of the busiest parts of Sidereal Avenue, shockingly not that far from the old workshop if Powder remembered correctly. If she truly wanted to, she could just wander a few streets down and find the old building tucked away with ease.

Drawing a small breath, Powder gripped her school bag before gently reaching for the handle to the repair shop, instantly smelling the scent of wood polish and copper when she pulled.

It was just like it always was, the line of broken string instruments on one side and busted phonographs on the other. As Powder walked through the store itself, she kept her eyes peeled for a familiar head of bright pink hair.

Only to be met with a soft spoken brunette woman as she walked from the back to see their new arrival.

“Oh, Powder.” the woman said as she offered a small smile, her eyes a shining and familiar blue as she leaned against the store’s counter, “Here to see Sera, I presume?”

With a hesitant nod, Powder moved up to the counter to greet Seraphine’s mother respectfully, “Afternoon, I wanted to ask you something before I went to see her.”

Her friend’s mother gave a small nod as her lips set into a fine line, “You want to know why we pulled Sera from her classes.” she stated softly, making a small sigh when Powder hesitantly nodded with an unsure expression on her features, “Something’s…happened.” she began.

“Seraphine’s always been able to gauge how someone is feeling, and being the impressionable girl she is she usually reflects that feeling upon herself.” her mother explained, “But lately she says that…the feelings are louder for her, more conglomerated…that she can barely hear herself think unless it’s late at night.”

Powder chewed on her bottom lip, remembering how Seraphine played around with her new gift to turn people’s thoughts and feelings into soft little tunes, “I-Is she alright now?”

With a soft sigh and a shake of the head, Seraphine’s mother spoke as if she didn’t want to do what she did, “She’s suffering, Powder. She can barely leave her room now without being in distress.”

“Can I see her?” Powder inquired quietly, wringing her hands around the strap of her school bag as she felt the ringing in her ears coming up. Voices yelling that this was her fault, that she caused this.

Luckily the older woman didn’t know of the storm brewing in Powder’s head, giving a small nod as he gestured to the small set of stairs that would lead up to their home, “She’s in her room, perhaps her mood will improve when she sees you’re here.”

With a small tight nod, Powder made her way up the stairs, struggling to not give the apparitions of her dead family any attention as she marched on.

“S-Shut up..” she whispered harshly, looking around the small home to find the door with a large assortment of pink and glitter littered on it.

Slowly Powder approached the door, already hearing the soft sobs of her young friend from the other side. The sobs were weak, broken, like a helpless child unable to do anything in the situation that she was in.

Which, now that Powder thought about it, was exactly what Seraphine was at that moment.

She was twelve now. The same age Powder was when things were finally starting to look up for Powder as she lived in Piltover. The same year she met Seraphine in the alleyways of Piltovan workshops to find scrap for her projects.

She must’ve been eight or nine when Powder bullied her, when she got blasted by unknown arcane magic because of Powder’s blunder.

With a quick inhale, Powder gently reached for the doorknob and turned it, pushing the door open to be filled into a dark, lonely bedroom.

“Sera..?” Powder gently called for, blinking to have her eyes adjusting to the room’s sudden darkness as she scanned for a sign of bright pink hair.

“P-Powder?” weakly whispered a small voice from in between the far wall and a very bright pink bed, Powder jumped into action at the voice already taking several steps into the room before the girl made a sharp pained noise, “A-Ah…please…don’t come closer.” she begged.

From where Powder stood, she saw how distraught her younger friend was. Tightly curled up on the floor of her room, Seraphine shivered with her hands over her ears, tears streaming down her face as her face constantly twitches in pain.

Powder released the breath she was holding, her shoulders going slack as she tried to make a tentative step forward only to be halted by Seraphine's cry of pain.

“Sera, what’s wrong?” Powder tried, leaning to try to gauge why her friend was in so much pain as she chewed on her lip, already knowing what was the cause of all of this.

This was Powder’s fault.

Seraphine hiccuped as she pressed her hands harder to her ears, whispering fervently, “Everyone…every woman, man and child outside…I can hear them.” she whimpered as she curled into herself more, having her forehead meet her knees as she shivered, “They’re too personal, I shouldn’t be hearing this…there’s so much love…so much cruelty.”

“I don’t-” Powder started, racking her brain to try to understand the younger girl before Seraphine interrupted with a shrill cry of dismay.

“There’s too much!” she weeped, her breathing ragged as she shook her head and gripped at her hair, her voice wavered as she hurriedly murmured, “Too many instruments, none of them are harmonizing...It’s too loud. I can’t…”

Powder couldn’t see Seraphine like this, to suffer like this was too much for Powder to bear. She took a few steps forward, her arm outstretched to comfort her friend, maybe trying to figure something out so she wouldn't have to see Seraphine like this. There had to be something Powder could do, something to fix this, “Maybe I can help-”

“DON’T.” the young girl screamed, stopping Powder from her advancement as Seraphine struggled to speak, “Y-your drums…they’re too loud. I can’t follow it. Why did you do this to me?” she hissed the last part out, her eyes finally looking up to Powder with a pleading gaze for an answer.

Those wet blue eyes that searched for an any answer. Why? Why did this have to happen to her? Powder had the sudden realization why she felt that flare of anger when she first met Seraphine. Not because her hair was pink and she looked so much like Vi. No…

Her eyes were so bright, so wide like Powder’s own when she was so young.

Powder twitched when her eyes flashed briefly of blues and reds, her shoulders pulled closer as she heard the insistent voices pressing into her very temples.

“All your fault, Jinx!”

“All. Your. Fault.”

“You. Jinxed. It."

“I-I didn’t mean to-” Powder weakly mumbled out, pulling her hands over her own ears now to stop hearing the assault of her own psyche. Was she saying this to them or to Seraphine? Dr. Tessa said to never refer to the voices if they spoke to her. To practice the exercises if it ever got too bad.

But she couldn’t, not with Seraphine here as she held herself and wailed.

“I was fine! I was fine with just feeling feelings! Not this! This is torture!” she howled, holding her head tightly as she felt the storm from her friend, felt the pain Powder was going through, felt the insistent drums beating irregularly in her head as Powder battled with herself, “Every thought, every feeling, every song by so many people. I can hear it all, I don’t know what emotions are mine anymore!”

Powder whimpered as she felt the pressure behind her eyes threatening to spill over, taking a few tentative steps to get closer to Seraphine despite her protests, “I-I can fix this, just give me-”

“Powder! Please! J-Just leave me alone!” Seraphine screamed, shaking her head as she sobbed, “I-If I didn’t go with you that day, if I left when you told me too…this wouldn’t have happened to me!”

It felt like Powder’s breath was taken from her very lungs, her eyes wide and hurt as Seraphine sobbed into her knees and held herself close.

Was that how she truly felt?

“I could have blended in just fine…”

Slowly Powder finally took several steps back, the floodgates finally breaking as the teen felt her face grow hot with tears. She struggled to gather her breath as she huffed out through sniffles, “Fine…fine, I’m…sorry.” she weakly muttered out, shaking her head as she looked to her distraught friend once last time before whispering, “I’m so sorry for doing this to you Sera.”

Then just like that, she turned away towards the door.

Seraphine’s eyes widened as she realized her mistake, jolting forward as she tried to move stiff muscles, “W-Wait…” she called out weakly, her voice sounding so little and vulnerable as it regretted everything it said previously, “N-No…I-”

“Bye, Sera.” Powder muttered finally, wiping the tears from her face as she walked out the door and planned on walking out of Seraphine’s life. If she was away, then Seraphine could at least suffer a little less with her presence.

“N-No wait! I’m sorry! Please!” Seraphine desperately called out, jumping from her spot and collapsing onto the floor in the center of her room. She cried out as she pulled her hands from her ears, trying to reach for her role model as she pleaded for her to come back, “Powder don’t go! I’m sorry I said tha-ah! Please! I-I need you!” she cried out, watching her friend’s back disappear as she turned the corner and down the stairs out of her sight.

Seraphine felt her breath hitch, the emotions of herself and so many swell with a sorrow no child like her should have experienced. With a ragged inhalation of breath, Seraphine screamed.

“Powder!”

.

Everything hurt as Powder stalked the afternoon streets of Piltover. The voices haunting her coming back tenfold now that the streets were quieting.

She was supposed to be getting better. Everything was supposed to be better.

But now Seraphine was lost. Then voices and the flashes were back despite everything Powder tried to quell their fury.

Dr. Tessa lied.

There was no getting better. Not for her.

She didn’t deserve to be happy. Not for what she’s done.

“I just wanted to be something.” she whispered to herself, holding her own arms close as she tried to keep herself together, “I wanted to prove that I was worth something. Now look where it got me…” she huffed, feeling a flare of anger as she harshly kicked a rock into the nearby alleyway.
Feeling the wind blowing in her face, pushing her hair around, Powder looked up to stare at the bridge that kept two worlds apart. Her old home and her new home.

What once was and what is now.

Powder shook her head as she walked on the bridge, her hands tight around herself as she stared at her old home. The same place Seraphine warned her about monsters. The same place Jayce forbad her from returning to.

The same place she lived with Vi, with Mylo, with Claggor, with Vander.

“What do I want?” Powder hissed in frustration, reaching up to hold her temples as she tried to will the voices away, “Do I want to change? To forget about them?” she asked herself, her face twisted in pain as she glanced back to Piltover’s shining streets.

The same place where she lived with Viktor and Jayce, where she had her best friends.

“I-I can’t...” Powder weakly whispered out, collapsing herself next to the sidewalk to tuck her head between her knees, “I can’t do it…I just wanted to help…”

But who could she help now? The Hexgates were at a stage where she couldn’t be much help. Jayce and Viktor didn’t need her anymore. Caitlyn was focused on getting ready for a new career she told no one about. Ezreal was hiding his worries from her. And Seraphine-

Seraphine couldn’t hear herself think.

There had to be something she could do. Something that could help.

She didn’t want to be useless. Never again.

Powder breathed out a huff of frustration, pulling her school bag away just to throw it as far away as she could across the bridge, “What's the fucking point! I can’t do anything right!”

As the school bag fell back to the ground, the latch fell loose and all of Powder’s schoolwork, schematics and tools spilled from the bag itself. As Powder lamented and rubbed at her temples to will away her sudden dismay, sharp blue eyes caught something out of the ordinary from the usual contents of her bag.

She brought them today because of recent construction work around the school. It was meant to keep her focused without the bustle of heavy machinery distracting her. As Powder crawled over to her things, gently taking the construction muffs from the pile itself. She stared at the accessory for a few moments, pressing her fingers against the foam in thought before her eyes widened in inspiration.

“I can help her.” she whispered, gripping the earmuffs tightly in her hand as she scrambled to shoving everything back into her bag.

Once she was sure everything was secured, Powder stood back up straight while mumbling calculations to herself and turning back towards Piltover to hurry home and begin her project.

With one last look to the other side of the bridge, Powder muttered out one sentence under her breath before turning back and starting her run back home.

“I’ll help all of us.”

Chapter Text

Why wouldn’t it work.

Powder sighed in frustration as she picked apart her invention for the sixteenth time to find what was wrong. Working for the past month on her dampeners proved to give her the motivation she needed when her guardians were busy, but to be working on a project on her own proved to be difficult.

Her glove took months to do the math for, learn the runes, and take a whole afternoon to find the right materials. It took the help of her friends and so many shortcuts to craft it in less than a day, and it still failed.

At least that helped in Hextech’s progress. Even if it was a jury rigged piece of crafting genius.

These dampeners were purely for Seraphine, and Powder wasn’t going to see the girl again until this device worked perfectly.

Which might take longer than Powder anticipated.

With a frustrated grunt, Powder threw her tiny tools against Jayce’s workbench as she yelled out, “It’s not working! This is stupid!”

From the workbench over, both her guardians looked over to their disgruntled teen with raised brows. It wasn’t new for Powder to have her outbursts now and then, pouring everything she had into a project that she didn't want to tell either of her guardians for the sake of proving herself. It still raised concern though, as Viktor briefly glanced up to the man looming over him just to jerk his head in Powder’s direction. Jayce could only sigh before pulling himself away from their work, fixing his tie briefly before walking back over to his workstation to gently place a hand on Powder’s shoulder.

“What seems to be the problem?” Jayce inquired, shaking his head when the girl looked up at him suspiciously before adding, “I won’t pry about what it is, I’m here to help.”

Sighing deeply, Powder reached over to the exposed innards of her invention to mutter, “I can’t figure out why it won’t block out the sound waves administered. I’ve applied more cushioning, air tight edges, but the sound waves still come through despite it.”

Jayce nodded in understanding, moving over his ward to gently pull pieces apart to take notice of the intricacies of machinery Powder was trying to fit into something so small, “You used silver for the inner framework?” he inquired, turning the item in his hand to notice the familiar shine that polished silver usually emitted.

“It’s malleable enough so I can shape it small enough without the threat of fracture.” Powder explained as she momentarily paused to blow the hair from her face, “And it’s reflective to light, so I thought it would do the same for sound waves. Ya know, cause light and sound are so similar to each other.”

With a small shrug Jayce hummed in agreement, “But silver is also a very nonreactive metal, so whatever results you’re trying to achieve aren’t going to happen cause silver’s just not going to work.” Jayce pointed out, reaching out for a spool of metal on his desk and placing it in front of his ward, “Try copper, it’s better for amplification and sound waves. Or if you want more sound absorption, use steel.”

Powder huffed as she crossed her arm over the workbench and picked up her screwdriver to prod at her work, “When did you become the master of metals?” she teased bitterly, making a small laugh when Jayce rubbed his hand on the top of her head to mess her hair up.

“You’re talking to a forge master, kiddo.” Jayce stated, “I’ve played with about every metal you can imagine. With silver, I’ve had a number of experiments blow up in my face. So trust me on this.” he informed, taking another moment to inspect Powder’s device over.

Taking her hands to smooth down her hair, Powder groaned in dismay as she drawled out, “I’m stuck, I can’t get this to work.”

“You’re still learning, Powder-keg.” Jayce reminded, “Inventing is a multi-step process, you can’t expect everything to work immediately.”

“Why do you think it’s taken so long to make the Hexgates work?” Viktor added, glancing over at the other two as he pulled himself up to stand, “As much as I want things to be done quickly, I know that rushing inventions turn into poor final products.”

Powder felt her pout forming as she narrowed her eyes at the remnants of her project, “I’m not rushing.” she mumbled sourly, “I just want to know that I’m making progress on it.”

With a deep sigh, Jayce moved his ward’s work aside, “Alright, you know what? It’s Progress Day and we’re all cooped up here. Let’s go out and get some Progress Day pastries.” he offered, grinning when Powder perked up with a look of confusion to her guardian.

“Don’t you have parties to go to today?”

Jayce grinned wider as he shook his head, “Told Professor Heimerdinger and Mel that we’re going to be busy today.” he explained, “So for the whole day, I’m a free man.”

Viktor and Powder both raised their brows in astonishment, astounded that Jayce of all people would cancel his plans to just relax over a holiday. He talked for the past month about the events he was invited to, how many people wanted to speak to him. For him to just blow those potentially wealthy people off was…odd to say the least.

“Why?” Viktor asked first, shuffling over to join the both of them with suspicion in his tone of voice, “Today is the perfect day to be speaking with our investors.” he pointed out, watching Jayce’s smile turn sheepish.

“Well, I…uh,” he began, making a small nervous laugh, “I thought we could spend some time together, maybe Powder-keg could get some inspiration from all the gadgets being presented today.”

Vitkor pursed his lips in thought, his eyes narrowing to watch Jayce flinch in front of him before muttering, “We shouldn’t be delaying our work, Jayce. We only have one year until launch, and we’re too far behind to take a day off.”

Powder raised her brows as she nodded with what Viktor said, her shoulders shrugging as she was about to return to her work before Jayce reached forward and took Viktor’s hand. She watched in mild fascination as Jayce lifted his partner’s hand and placed it on his broad chest. How Viktor’s fingers twitched and his expression seemed to falter just slightly as he watched Jayce’s hand covering his own.

“Please.” Jayce pleaded, his smiling charming as ever as he looked at Viktor's breaking facade. Usually at this point, Powder was used to watching Viktor scoff, pulling his hand away and leaving the situation as fast as he could.

But he didn’t. He briefly glanced up to Jayce’s face before turning his head away, making a withering sigh as he gently muttered out, “We don’t stay out too long. Understand?”

Powder felt like she was watching something she shouldn’t have witnessed, Jayce’s eyes turning so soft and affectionate as he pulled his partner’s hand up to kiss at his knuckles with a delicacy that he only used when taking care of fragile materials. This was too much, Powder thought as she quickly tried to distract them. She instantly cleared her throat to remind them that she was still there, her eyes wide as she watched the both of them back away from each other like they were burned by hot soldering tools.

“You two seriously need to talk this out.” she stated simply.

.

Progress Day was typically a holiday that Powder spent with her friends, when Jayce and Viktor were too busy to go out with her and when she had to be home before nightfall to attend the Progress Day speech with her guardians. It was always like that, and Powder had no problem with it before.

But now Seraphine was probably holed up in her room struggling to drown out the noise, Ezreal was spending the day looking at inventions to assist in archaeological digs, and Cait…well Caitlyn was still studying for entrance exams. So none of them were available to hang out today.

Having Jayce and Viktor walking with her through the bustling crowds of Piltover, looking through tents and stalls alike. It was…weird.

She felt like how Caitlyn felt when she had to attend public events with her parents at her sides. Having to hold her tongue from speaking how she usually spoke around friends and watch Viktor pause at every stall to inspect every new gadget being showcased this year. Powder waited outside the stall with her arms crossed as her guardians were looking over a glass carving device, asking questions to the prideful inventor as they were more intrigued in this matter than she was.

These gadgets we’re boring it was nothing compared to Hextech. She’s seen the wonders it could do, how it could make the impossible probable. This was all child’s play, and she could just see it in her guardians’ expressions that they were thinking the same thing.

Just wait, Piltover. Next year was bound to knock their fancy little socks off.

“I don’t know, I don’t think metal would be a good option.” She heard Viktor mention when the both of them were leaving the stall.

“You don’t think? We could possibly pull it off if we have a blade sharp enough. Jayce responded, making a pause to make sure Viktor stepped over the wrinkled piece of rug before following after, looking up to smile at his ward, “You should’ve seen it, they were able to carve out an asymmetrical shape.”

“I think we should stick to the light aspect, our beam will be stronger than any blade offered to us.” Viktor pointed out, glancing at Powder’s bored expression before nudging Jayce to keep moving, “I can see you’re growing bored, Powder.”

The teen shrugged as she moved with her guardians through the streets, running a hand through her hair as she sighed, “These just look like a bunch of parlor tricks, this is nothing compared to what Hextech is going to do.”

Viktor made a low snort, glancing over to Jayce’s embarrassed expression as he commented, “You’re sounding a lot like Jayce right now.”

Powder just barked out a laugh as she turned around and started walking backwards to look at both her guardians, “Next you’re going to tell me I sign all my work with a ‘P’.” she mused, amusement on her face as Jayce sighed at being teased at.

“Alright, I get it. Jayce wants to make sure his work is credited correctly so we make fun of him.” Jayce mused before moving a few steps forward to ruffle his ward’s hair, “Very funny, I’m practically dying of laughter.” he stated sarcastically, chuckling when Powder laughed loudly and tried to push Jayce’s offending hand away.

“Stop! You’re ruining Vik’s hard work!” Powder giggled out, her grin growing wider when Jayce glanced back to Viktor trailing behind them, watching the man give a nonchalant shrug.

“Eh, it’s not like Jayce is new to doing that.” he mused softly, his smile small while Jayce struggled to form an excuse as he looked between his ward and partner. With a huff Jayce shook his head and walked ahead of them, his grin wide despite his dramatic departure as Powder moved to walk with Viktor instead.

Viktor shook his head in amusement watching Jayce walk ahead of them, talking about ordering pastries and meeting them momentarily before he was lost to the crowd. As soon as the head of dark hair was no longer seen, Viktor looked to his ward as he muttered just above the buzz of the crowd, “You’re not frustrated about just the invention, are you?”

Powder felt her smile fall once Jayce was gone, her eyes traveling downwards as Viktor called her out, “I can’t even begin at where I’m frustrated at.” she groused, running a hand through her messed up hair as she sighed, “And I can’t even go to the Doc cause she’s been missing.”

“She still hasn't returned from the Undercity?” Viktor asked, concern was in his voice as Powder shrugged.

“She said that if she didn’t return soon to find another therapist.” she mumbled before crossing her arms and huffing, “But she was the only therapist to accept me, no one’s going to want a nutjob like me-ouch!”

Powder grimaced as she reached down to nurse her shin, making a small glare at Viktor’s cane before looking up to his stern face as he coldly muttered out, “Don’t call yourself that.”

With a huff the teen pulled herself up to stand, rolling her eyes as Viktor bopped her once more before she hissed, “Fine, fine, I’m not a nutjob.”

Luckily for Powder, the conversation soon ended with Jayce’s return. Juggling three small pastries in his hands, Jayce handed his ward the small chocolate delicacy before moving to hand Viktor over his. With a grin on his face, Jayce tilted his head from the direction he came from, “You’re going to want to see what I found, Powder-keg.”

With curious brows and puzzled expressions, Viktor and Powder let themselves be led through the busy crowds of Piltover's festivities towards a small stall tucked near the thunderous array of musicians playing in the streets. No one was within sight of the stall, all besides a spindly inventor that moved around like the deafening noises near him didn’t bother him at the slightest.

Viktor made a face of discomfort as he paused any further advancements, “I’ll wait back at the glass carving stall, this is a bit too loud for my taste.” he excused, giving a small wave before turning around and leaving Jayce and Powder to their own devices as they continued to the stall in front of them.

The constant thrum of heavy beats rang through Powder’s eardrums, making her pass her pastry over to Jayce so she could hold her hands against her ears as she looked at the sign presented at the front of the stall.

“Noise cancelers?” She attempted to yell above the noise, already knowing she was being drowned out by the hubbub while the man paid her no heed as he kept polishing his craft. Jayce began to cover his ears as well, trying to seem more nonchalant as he moved closer and tapped at the table to garner the inventor’s attention.

It took a moment of Jayce’s insistent tapping for the other man to notice, his expression curious while he looked at the Powder and Jayce momentarily, his smile turned giddy as he reached for his papers to hand the fliers to his visitors. The teen could only watch on in confusion before looking over the paperwork, more of an ad for the invention itself since she could assume this man couldn’t explain the mechanics of his invention from the area his project sat at.

It was a simple, creative design, a sound proof box with padding inside and microphones on the outside. Powder raised a curious brow when the man gestured for her to enter his stall, to walk into his box and experience it herself. With an unsure look toward her guardian, she saw Jayce give her a smile and tilt his head towards the box to go on ahead.

With a nervous swallow, Powder nodded as she walked forward, hesitantly watching when the inventor motioned for her to enter carefully and hold herself close as he helped her inside and closed the door on her.

The boom of the music outside still hammered on, the beat still jostling her very core to to point of discomfort before…it faded. More and more the music faded away and Powder was faced with another type of sound that she absolutely hated.

Silence. Complete and utter silence.

Silence like this, there was no distraction. Nothing to keep her mind occupied besides her own thoughts, and her own thoughts were sometimes too much for her to handle on her own.

“Fuck…” she muttered out to herself, “How’d he do that? I can’t hear anything.”

Carefully she looked over the paper once more, looking over the brief explanation of what the device was doing to create such an effect. The entire invention was placed around the principle of phase cancellation. Sounds waves that were up to 180 degrees out of phase would cancel out when summed together. It was like simple math with negative numbers: if there was a positive number added with a negative number of the same amount, it would equal zero. The idea for the noise canceller was to record the outside noises, invert the signal to create “anti-noise,” and boom. Silence. The anti-noise signal would cancel out the actual background noise at the point it would reach your ear.

But that left the recipient completely deaf to the world around them, which she guessed was the point. This was supposed to be a design for laboratories that were conducting delicate research that didn’t need outside variables for disturbances. For the purpose of that, it was a genius invention for future researchers.

“Impressive.” Powder commented to herself, furrowing her eyebrows as she thought to herself in her own silence.

If it was this easy to invert signals like this to cancel them out, could an output signal be placed after the cancellation in order to hear what individuals needed to be heard? Could Powder create a processor to map out what someone will actually hear, a self correcting mechanism that could cancel out ambient noise and perform sound isolation.

Wait.

A hex crystal could do that.

She could help Seraphine.

Powder widened her eyes as she looked over the paper once more, muttering to herself multiple possible equations and new ideas that could set her on the right path. When the door to the box was opened, Jayce stood at the doorway with an all knowing grin on his face and the teen's pastry in his hand as Powder looked at him in astonishment. This absolute bastard.

He already figured it out before she did.

Jayce wanted her to figure it out on her own.

With a wide grin reflected back to Jayce, the teen launched herself out from the box to wrap her arms around her guardian’s neck, laughing to herself when Jayce grabbed her and spun her around like she was a little kid again greeting him when she came back from school.

It was still her Jay. Despite everything.

.

“So Rosa took the newbie in and started showing him the basics of melting metal properly.” Jayce continued with a booming laugh, “Right in front of the whole assembly line! The kid was so embarrassed!”

Viktor shook his head in amusement, “Your forge chief puts up with too much, you should consider giving her a raise.” he pointed out, “She’s been with your company long enough as it is, you wouldn’t want to lose an asset like her.”

Jayce gave a small shrug as he leaned back on his hands, looking over the skyline of Piltover as he hummed, “She definitely does need one, she’s taken my old position and ran with it.”

“She’s done a better job running your forge than you could have ever imagined,” Powder mused with a teasing grin, “She’s one of those ladies that doesn’t take anyone else’s crap.”

The three of them sat at the viewing edge of the Hexgate tower, the view unrivaled by any possible balcony with the height they achieved. The night waned on, with the shining light from the stadium lighting up the center of Piltover as the low thrum of Heimerdinger’s speech was even able to reach the three of them so high up in the air.

Jayce huffed a small laugh as he nodded in agreement, “She’s one of a kind.” he noted lightly, pausing momentarily before reaching into his jacket to mutter out, “Speaking of one of a kind, I got something for our one of a kind.” he announced, pulling out a small box and offering it to the teen.

Powder stared at the box in mild confusion, looking over Jayce’s form to see Viktor giving her a smile as he urged her to take the box and start pulling at the bow wrapped on top, “You got me something?” she asked softly, looking down at the box’s cream colored outer shell, the large purple bow unfurling to leave the top of the box loose for her to pull it up.

“Consider it a belated birthday present.” Jayce informed, grinning nervously as he made a quick glance back to Viktor, “We argued about whether you should have one or not, but we came to an agreement that you can have it solely for self defense.”

“Only for self defense.” Viktor stressed, his finger held up in warning as Powder kept her fingers on the top of the box, twitching in anticipation to open its contents, “If I hear you’re using it for other means, I’m throwing it into the forge, no excuses.”

It must’ve been serious for Viktor to make such threats, Powder thought with a giddy smile as she pulled the top open to stare at the present before her, her face faltering at the shining metal reflecting her face right back to her.

“You can’t be serious.” Powder breathed, her eyes wide as she hesitantly took the weapon in her hand and made sure to point it away from her guardians, “A…blunderbuss?” she asked doubtfully, swallowing the lump in her throat as a weight sunk into the depths of her gut.

“Cait said that was the weapon you preferred during your sharpshooting tournaments, so…” Jayce started as he rubbed the back of his head, “We thought that since I was so shitty during your last birthday…that I’d get you this.”

Shit.

Ever since the whole tattoo incident, Powder kept the blunderbuss Caitlyn gave her deep under her bed. Because if Jayce was that upset about her body art, then imagine how livid the both of them would be if she had a weapon that they clearly didn’t want her having. The gift was a sweet gesture, but the feeling that Powder had to hide her old gun and keep it a secret from the two people that she trusted most in this world made the center of her gut twist uncomfortably at the thought of lying to her guardians.

She didn't want to do that. But the fear of having Jayce yell at her again was too great to spill out the truth.

“I…” Powder mumbled, turning the weapon around and pausing when she spotted a small engraving at the base of the gun’s barrel.

It was so small that no one would be able to see unless they knew what they were looking for, or if they were dangerously close enough to see. But decorated in a fancy font, engraved over shining metal that glistened from the bright fireworks that exploded in the distance and filled the sky with a blazing flurry of colors that demanded to take her attention.

Was the initials ‘PT’.

Powder looked back over to see Jayce’s face filled with sheer anxiousness, uncaring of the fireworks being set off as he watched Powder for any sign that he missed the mark with this one. That maybe this wasn’t what Powder wanted after all.

But with a small watery smile, Powder lurched forward and barreled herself into her guardian’s arms. Holding him tightly and unknowing of Viktor’s sheepish face as he gently turned the gun to point away from his face, she weakly mumbled out a small and shaky, “I love it, thank you Jay.”

Jayce carefully moved so he wouldn’t risk falling from the ledge with his ward closely pressed to him, releasing a small breath as he whispered out, “Good…good.” Turning his head to look as Viktor watched the both of them, an easy going smile on his face before Jayce was quick to disrupt it as he pulled the slimmer man closer, “Don’t think you can get away from this.”

With a huff, Viktor tried and failed to pull away, his eyes rolling when Jayce made an audible and obnoxious kissing sound on his temple while Powder laughed at them.

“Gross! Go get a room!” the teen teased, only shrieking in amusement when Jayce pulled her up and kissed the top of her head with the same obnoxious noise he put Viktor through, “Jay! Stop!”

Jayce grinned as he finally pulled back, accepting Powder’s rough hits to his chest as he chuckled, “Sorry, couldn’t help annoying you.” he laughed out, pulling Viktor closer as he added, “And making you flustered.”

With an annoyed groan, Viktor turned his head away to hide his features in the shadows of night, failing fantastically as the bright glow of fireworks illuminated his warmed cheeks, “Shut up.”

Powder made a soft gagging noise as she pushed herself away, her teasing grin wide as she leaned back against the ledge to watch the last of the fireworks being sent to the air. The flashes of bright reds and blues made her twitch slightly, her face faltering for the moment of silence they had before she needed to break it.

“You guys should come with us for the holidays.” she pointed out, extending her gun out into the dark night and closing her eye to focus on the stars above, “Come watch the sharpshooter’s tournament, I bet I can win with this gun.”

Viktor seemed more the type to protest, his face turned into a frown as he looked at his ward despite being held down by Jayce’s well toned arm, “You know only have a year until the first launch, I don’t know if we could take four weeks off just to-”

“We can.” Jayce interrupted, his eyes optimistic as he looked to Viktor while taking hold of one of his partner’s hands, “It’ll be fine, we’ll work overtime to make up the lost time.” he tried, his smile wide as he implored for Viktor to agree.

The teen made a small noise in the back of her throat, watching how Viktor fumbled to form the right words as he moved his eyes anywhere besides Jayce’s face. This tender moment, a moment she felt like an outsider witnessing, was too much for Powder to watch. She gently gripped her gun a bit tighter as she chewed on her lip, trying to will away the false images of parents long dead taking over her guardians’ places. How she and Vi would make the same loud gagging noises when they were being tender with each other.

But that wasn’t what made her still, immediately looking away with an anxious jolt even when Viktor agreed to the planned vacation to the Kiramman’s vacation house.

It was the fact the images of her parents didn’t have faces.

Chapter Text

Caitlyn wasn’t looking forward to what she was about to announce to her family. But it was bound to happen anyway.

The holidays out in the countryside were a peaceful respite from the chaos of everyday life. With a gentle frost blanketing the fields and townsfolk as sweet as they could be, this was a true moment of peace that Caitlyn took comfort in for the upcoming days of her inevitable argument with her mother.

To prepare for dinner this evening, Caitlyn and Powder hung out at their usual bakery in the center of town. With warm baked goods and even warmer cups of hot chocolate, Caitlyn was hoping that she could break the news to the younger girl first before everyone else.

“You have everything together for the tournament tomorrow?” Caitlyn inquired as she leaned on their small table only to raise a brow at Powder’s confident grin.

“Now that Vik and Jay are here to cheer me on, I’m going to win without a doubt.” Powder boasted, her chest puffed up in pride, “Your win streak is going to be no more.”

Caitlyn couldn’t help huffing an amused breath, entertained at the thought of Powder bringing her A-game once again to their sharpshooting competition. The younger girl was growing more and more skilled with a blunderbuss, and for the last two years Powder had already climbed the ranks to make second place last year. If she used a longer ranged weapon, she would have beaten Caitlyn, no doubt about it.

But the rifle was no match against a blunderbuss.

“Oh really now?” Caitlyn mused, her teasing smile apparent as she reached over to snag a piece of Powder’s pastry and toss it into her mouth, “Are you sure you’ll be able to get Jayce out of the house?” she joked, laughing with Powder over Jayce’s intrinsic hatred for the cold.

A vacation without Hextech was both a blessing and a curse for both workaholics, without the pressure of making deadlines and meeting investors there was nothing for Jayce and Viktor to do besides…relax.

Which was harder than it seemed.

Jayce hated the cold countryside, his attitude near irritable as he mostly kept himself inside near the fireplace. The few times he went outside, forced to join snowball fights and effectively losing when even the slightest chunk of ice went down his shirt, usually ended rather quickly.

Surprisingly, Viktor was well adjusted to the cold. Despite his hands feeling like ice, Viktor didn’t complain much about the vacation itself. But there were several times Powder had to snatch discarded papers filled with numerous equations from her guardian’s hands, insistent that if she couldn’t work on Hextech, then neither could Viktor.

It’s been an interesting several weeks with the new additions to their vacation, to say the least.

Powder giggled a bit at Jayce’s expense, laying her head against the cool metal of the table as her fingers tiptoed across her line of sight, “He’ll do it for me, and if not I’m sure Vik’s going to drag him out anyway.” she answered genuinely, her smile soft, “I’ll be sure to use the gun they got me.”

Caitlyn felt her smile grow a bit more strained, a flare of envy surging through her momentarily. Why couldn’t she have that? Parents that just wanted to support her, uncaring if she wasn’t the best at everything. It was always a comparison when it came to her mother.

‘Why are your grades so low? The Tarisot’s boy made seven points over your results on his exam.’

‘You haven’t accepted any of the scholarships from the Academy? Caitlyn, you’re so behind, Powder already has seven full ride offers. Why can’t you be like your little friend?’

‘Your actions reflect upon the entirety of Piltover, Caitlyn. You are a councilor’s daughter. Act like one.’

She just wished to prove herself to everyone, that she didn’t have to abide by their carefully laid out plans for her and that she could forge her own path. If things went well tonight, then she would start that journey for herself, “We’ll have both our parents watching us for this competition.” she offhandedly commented, making a small sigh as she gently added, “This might be my last one for a while.”

“You think so?” Powder inquired lightly, turning her head up to look at her friend. Her face quickly formed into a teasing grin, sitting up and reaching across the table to give the older women a soft punch to the arm, “Then I better make it count, can’t let you think you’re the best before you head off to your fancy school.”

Caitlyn opened her mouth, ready to tell Powder that no, she wasn’t going to a school. But her nerves made her body lock up, stiffly nodding as she mumbled out, “I’m telling mother and father tonight about the new job. I want it to be a surprise for everyone.”

She didn't have the heart to tell Powder, not yet.

It would be like a big bandage being ripped off for everyone. Surely they would all understand…eventually.

“I can’t wait to hear what you’re going to do.” Powder mused, a smile on her face as she reached over to pat her friend’s arm, “You’ve studied your butt off for the past year getting ready for it! You’ll be perfect for it!”

Caitlyn responded with a small nod and reached over to pat Powder’s hand, “It’s…strange. This new chapter in my life,” she admitted, smiling doubtfully as she looked towards the town’s snow covered streets, “But it feels right, like I’m finally making my own choice for the first time.”

The teen listened, nodding softly as she followed Caitlyn’s gaze out to the streets, “Ya know, even if this is your last tournament. Let’s make sure it’s memorable.” she muttered, a soft solemn look on her features as she squeezed Caitlyn’s arm.

Despite everything, Caitlyn still had Powder when she needed her most. This same teen that pushed her to think for herself, the rebel against everything placed onto her.

She was a misfit. And Caitlyn was too.

Hell, all of them were misfits. All of them against the very world they lived in.

She wanted to protect those misfits, all of them. Even if it meant making them angry at her.

She sincerely hoped she still had Powder after today.

.

After several weeks of attending parties, to have dinner with just the six of them was a blessing in Caitlyn’s eyes. A moment of privacy with no outside listeners for what Caitlyn could feel was going to be a rough time for herself. With a bated breath she watched her family from both sides of the dinner table.

From her right side, her parents were speaking with Jayce and Viktor about the development of the Hexgates, what was to be a hopeful time period for them to actually be completed and preparations for some type of event to celebrate its completion.

To her left, Jayce spoke animatedly for both himself and his partner. His gestures wide and excitable as they were getting the last developments of the Hexgates done as they spoke. Beside them, Powder was prodding at her meal in complete boredom, probably already aware of the details and letting the adults speak for the time being as she kept her mind elsewhere.

After a moment of quiet, a moment of contemplation, Caitlyn slowly released her breath and closed her eyes.

No better time than now.

“I’m becoming an enforcer.”

She expected the silence. Opening her eyes to see five pairs of eyes focused on her, Caitlyn squared her shoulders as her mother narrowed her eyes in her direction.

“Excuse me?” she asked carefully, clearing her throat before intertwining her fingers together, “Could you repeat that, Caitlyn? I’m afraid I didn’t hear you.”

“I-I…” Caitlyn paused to take a deep breath, calming her nerves before looking at her mother once more, “I’m becoming an enforcer, I’ll be joining their academy once we return to Piltover.”

Silence filled the room once more, with how harshly Mrs.Kiramman stared at her daughter and how Powder stared at Caitlyn with wide, almost betrayed eyes. Mr.Kiramman had the right idea, clearing his throat as he scooted back in his chair and slowly moved it to stand up.

“I think I’ll let you take care of this conversation, darling.” he motioned softly to the other pair of them in the room to follow urgently, “Jayce, Viktor, have I shown you my collection? I don't think I’ve shown you the collection. You two might be very interested in it.”

Jayce knew when to not get involved in a conversation, and by the way Caitlyn and Mrs.Kiramman were staring at each other, this was something that didn’t need to involve the opinions of a man. With a gentle nudge to Viktor, Jayce pulled himself up and helped his partner to stand, “Of course, Mr.Kiramman, we would love to see it. Wouldn’t we Vik?” he asked, his smile strained as his partner looked at him curiously.

“I thought you would want to stay here and tell Caitlyn how much of a bad decision she’s-” he was quickly stopped with Jayce covering his mouth, nearly dragging him away before he paused to take Powder’s shoulder. Much to Jayce’s surprise, Powder shrugged her guardian away, her stare still set to Caitlyn's tense form.

“Powder-keg, let’s-”

“No.” she stated through gritted teeth, “Go on without me.”

That made Caitlyn look away for just a moment, her eyes meeting Powder’s to blink in surprise at how they were filled with a liquid fury. She sucked in her breath, not expecting to be facing not one, but two pillars of opposition.

At least Jayce understood, reaching over to pat Caitlyn’s shoulder and mumbling a small ‘good luck’ to her before dragging himself and Viktor out of the dining room to leave the women to talk this issue over. A wise choice, Caitlyn thought, considering the two pairs of angry eyes glowering down at her.

The moment the door was clicked closed behind her, Caitlyn tightened her fists.

“What are you thinking?” her mother began, “An enforcer? Are you looking to tarnish our family name?”

Caitlyn opened her mouth to begin to explain, but was quickly cut off with Powder swiftly standing up.

“You really want to join those…bastards?” Powder hissed out, her eyes blazing as she gestured wildly, “After what Sera and I told you about them, and you still want to work with them?”

With a steady breath, Caitlyn stood up, thankful she could tower over the both of them as she spoke, “I want to help people feel safe and secure in Piltover, I’d be doing better work out there then in a politician's office.”

“Oh don’t give me that,” Mrs.Kiramman reprimanded as she was the last to stand, “You’d be placing yourself on the line of danger, do you know how much the enforcers have to go through? Why, criminals in the Undercity are a constant threat-”

“Criminals?” Powder yelled, bristling in anger as her focus moved onto Caitlyn’s mother momentarily, “They’re trying to survive down there, it’s the enforcers that-”

“Like you were trying to survive after blowing up a building?” Mrs.Kiramman stated, “Don’t think I have forgotten, thief.”

Powder stared at the older woman in silent fury as Caitlyn stepped forward, slamming her hand onto the table to garner attention once more, “Being an enforcer means protecting people! I have the capabilities to do that, mother.” she stated, “I’ve won the sharpshooting competition for the past four years, my skills are unchallenged. Chief Grayson said that-”

Caitlyn’s mother scoffed as she reached to rub her temple, “Of course, Chief Grayson inspired you to do this.” she muttered to herself, giving her daughter a hard stare, “And what happened to Chief Grayson? She died to Undercity thugs hopped-up on substances, I don’t want to place my own daughter in a casket!”

“Why can’t you just believe in-”

“You think being good at shooting a gun is going to make you a good enforcer?” Powder barked out, shaking her head as she narrowed her eyes to her friend, “I’m good at shooting a gun, you don’t see me planning on being one of those assholes!”

Caitlyn knew this was a bad situation. Being double themed like this. The jab at Chief Grayson hurt and she couldn’t help narrowing her eyes in Powder’s direction to coldly state, “If you’re so good, then why haven’t you beaten me yet?”

That was perhaps a bit too far, with how Powder stared at her momentarily hurt before her eyes quickly went back to pure anger as she spat out, “Don’t do this, Cait.” she warned heatedly, her voice shaky, “Becoming an enforcer is the worst choice you could make.”

With a disbelieving laugh, Caitlyn looked between her mother and the girl she thought was her little sister as she took a step back, “So what? I’ve never had a choice before?” she asked harshly, “Either I live up to the expectations of a mother who only cares about her image,” she gestured toward her mother, then slowly turned her head to focus on Powder’s glowering form, “Or I listen to my friend’s advice of making my own choices, but just choices that make her happy.” she hissed out, her eyes narrowed as she looked back over the both of them, “You’re both hypocrites! You gave me the illusion of choosing my own life, just to be mad when I don’t abide by what you want of me!”

Mrs.Kiramman widened her eyes in astonishment at her own daughter biting back, “Don’t you bring that tone with me young lad-”

“I’m not a child anymore!” Caitlyn fought back, “I’ve made my choice, and you’re going to have to live with it!”

She saw her mother pull her lips into a thin frown, her eyes glowering as she watched Caitlyn stand to her full height, her head tall as she battled the both of them.

But Powder didn’t let up, moving to Caitlyn’s side and roughly pulling her shoulder so she was staring at the shorter girl, “If you do this, you’re going to regret it.” she warned, her eyes blazing but pleading with her older friend to back down from this decision she made.

Perhaps Caitlyn was more hurt than she let on, hearing Powder yell at her and invalidate her choice. She tightened her fists as she stared the younger teen down as she muttered out with the most venomous tone she could muster.

“I don’t listen to second place losers.”

The brief look of hurt flashed over Powder’s face once more, her eyes wide and pleading for a moment. Begging for Caitlyn to understand, to give up on her desire to join the enforcers for her sake. To be her sister again.

But in that split second of all those emotions, the fury returned, and Powder snagged to front of Caitlyn’s shirt to pull her down, two pairs of deep blue eyes burning into each other as Powder hissed out.

“Then you’ll listen to the girl who’s going to beat you tomorrow.”

.

The morning fog of the competition grounds left an blanket of eeriness in the air as Caitlyn lined up her shot, taking in a breath before she slowly released it and took her shots at the targets that sprung up.

The barrage of gunfire in the distance was heard as she focused on her own aiming, Powder was angry, her very emotions playing over how she erratically fired her rounds.

She had to prove it to herself. She had to prove it to her mother.

She had to prove to Powder that she was free to make her own choices.

Caitlyn pulled herself to her feet and ran to the next area the targets would be, only briefly glancing to the edges of the forest at the sounds of branches being snapped and loud thunderous blunderbuss shots being fired.

Powder was right on her tail, even with her wild firing, the teen was still making every shot. Caitlyn knew she was skilled, Caitlyn knew that if Powder really ever tried that she could win.

But she couldn’t win this year. Caitlyn couldn’t let her be right.

So Caitlyn quickened her pace, almost slamming herself into the tree trunk as she got down to briskly reload and line up her shot. With a steady breath, Caitlyn waited for the targets to spring up.

Green, green, green, yellow, green.

The real prize was the final target, the red three-pointer. Caitlyn knew that if she got it, then she was definitely going to win. That she could finally prove to Powder that she was capable of being a good enforcer like Chief Grayson.

Someone humble and compassionate who protected the weak and the powerless and needed very little in the end.

She wanted to protect people.

She wanted to protect Powder.

The targets sprung up and Caitlyn shot, the forest exploding in sounds as she heard crows cawing over her, away from the chaos.

As she moved to stand, her head snapped over to the side at the sound of several shots that were not her own.

Standing on the ledge, her blunderbuss extended out and smoking, Powder briefly turned her head in Caitlyn’s direction. Her eyes were wild, wide and dangerous as she jumped forward to sprint ahead.

Caitlyn quickly scrambled to a run, her breath heaving as she moved through the trail to keep up.

Her mother was supposed to be the only one that was mad at her. She was ready to argue and battle with her mother over becoming an enforcer. She never wanted this, she didn’t want to go against Powder like this.

What was she doing? Powder was her friend. She was fighting with her friend, the same little girl that followed her around during parties. The same moody pre-teen that challenged Caitlyn to break the rules every time they hung out.

The same teen that was fighting tooth and nail to show Caitlyn that she was wrong.

Caitlyn sucked in her breath at the sight of the treeline’s edge in front of her, the bright white of winter shining into her eyes as she broke past the brush just to see Powder’s back running towards the target area.

Powder had to get closer to be able to hit the target properly.

If only she had a rifle.

Moving back down to kneel, Caitlyn positioned her gun towards where the target would be. Four years of the same trial, of the same positions, of the same timing. She sucked in her breath just to release it just as quickly.

This was for everything. Not just to win. To show that she was worth something. That she was more than a councilor’s daughter, she was more than a rich girl from the streets of the Bluewind Court, more than the misfit of Piltover that hung out with kids.

She was Caitlyn Kiramman.

And she pulled the trigger.

Two shots rang through the field, echoing over the distance as birds flew away.

The splinters of the red target lay still, shattered and pulverized.

With a steady breath, Caitlyn looked over to Powder’s form in the field, her shoulders rising and sagging as she heaved out breaths just as harshly as her opponent did, the pistol falling from her hand as she fell to her knees.

“Red.” Caitlyn whispered, feeling her own arms go limp as she felt the pit in her stomach grow with an uncomfortable weight.

She won by one point.

.

Her golden reflection stares right back at her, reminding her of the rightful place she earned after years of training.

Why didn’t it feel like she deserved it still?

Caitlyn sighed as the sounds of merriment went on in the gazebo behind her, the party reigning on as she sat outside to sulk. It felt familiar, like several feet away from her she’d see a long dead ghost looking over the horizon to Piltover’s distant buildings.

But there was no ghost. Just Caitlyn by her lonesome.

She felt sick.

Behind her she heard one of the doors open up, the sound of people louder for just a moment before it closed again and someone moved to sit beside her. Just the sight of his fancy white suit already distinguished who it was, and Caitlyn didn’t know if she was really ready to see him right now.

“Hey.” Jayce started softly, leaning back on the stairs they were sitting on to sigh, “Congrats on winning.”

Cailtyn shook her head as she placed her trophy down, “I don’t feel like I won.” she admitted, her smile bitter, “I feel like I lost more than I bargained for.”

She felt Jayce throw his heavy arm over her shoulder, pulling her into a one armed hug as he whispered out, “She won’t stay mad at you forever, Cait.”

“Do you really think that?” she asked harshly, reaching up to rub at her eyes as she shook her head, “I finally get the freedom I want, the choice I was able to make for myself. Then Powder…the same Powder that encouraged me to do it…” she feels her words die in her throat as she sucks in her breath.

Jayce tried to comfort her, rubbing his hand over her shoulder as he struggled. He was torn between the girl he raised and the girl he thought of like a sister, Caitlyn couldn’t blame him on his hesitancy. But Jayce shook his head, “I don’t think any of us expected you to go this direction with your life.” he finally admitted, a hollow smile on his face, “An enforcer is a serious job.”

“You don't think I can do it?” Caitlyn challenged, her shoulders stiff as she prepared herself to defend her decision, only to relax when Jayce gave her an encouraging smile instead.

“I know you can do it, do a hell of a job too.” he stated, gently shaking her shoulders as he looked at her with a soft gaze and a sure smile, “Make sure that the things that happened to Powder-keg never happen to another kid again. Promise me that and I’ll support you the entire way.”

To hear Jayce be the one to give her those words, words she expected and wanted to hear from Powder, Caitlyn huffed a small laugh as she shook her head.

Of course she got it from him.

“I will…” she muttered, making a small nod to herself as she looked back to Jayce to confirm, “You know I will.”

“Good.” Jayce hummed giving one more tight hug to her before finally letting go, almost reluctantly he moved away from her, walking to the ledge to look over the deep foggy horizon, “We’re leaving early in the morning. I don’t think Powder-keg wants to stay here any longer.” he stated softly, glancing back at Caitlyn as she stood up to stand with him.

She nodded softly, her face set to a small frown as she looked down at the trophy in her hands, “I understand…just…” she began, feeling her mouth go dry as she ducked her head down to swallow the lump in her throat, “Tell her I’m sorry, for what I said, for what I did…”

“Of course.” Jayce affirmed gently, taking a moment for the both of them to stand in the silence. Letting the birds chirp and the buzz of talk continue on before Jayce eventually spoke once more, “But be sure to find time during your enforcer training to tell her yourself, alright?” he asked, his eyes hopeful that the friendship both girls had wouldn’t be broken over this.

But Caitlyn knew better, her mouth setting into a fine line as she looked out into the horizon, towards the city she was soon going to be protecting. The sacrifices she made just to be able to.

“I’ll try.” she muttered out.

If Powder would bother to listen to her ever again.

Chapter Text

At least she had Ezreal.

Stupid, egotistical, bratty Ezreal.

The new influx of magic surging through him wasn’t making him writhe in pain and he wasn’t interested in pursuing a career in oppression.

Instead he still found joy in annoying the shit out of Powder, though now with the intention of distracting her from her own troubled life.

“Will you stop?” Powder groused as she turned her head to the boy sitting at his desk next to her, his chair leaned back with his feet on the desk as he was in the middle of balling up another paper to toss at her. At being caught, the blonde boy froze as he gave his friend a cheeky grin, making Powder roll her eyes as she looked back down to her work, “Shouldn’t you be reviewing for the exam?”

Ezreal simply shrugged as he clicked his tongue, “Already did, I’m going to ace it anyway.” he muttered casually bringing his arms behind his head, “You’re going to ace it too, so why are you even bothering?” he inquired, his brow raised when he caught sight of exactly what Powder was doing at her desk, “Ah, cause you’re not studying…still working on that thing for Sera?”

The teen girl scoffed as she let her face rest against her hand, “Stupid thing’s too bulky to be place on the head, so it’s back to the drawing board for me.” she sighed mournfully as her pencil tapped against her equations, “It has to be light enough for travel but safe enough for a hex crystal to be transported safely.”

“Or her head blows up?”

“Or her head blows up.” Powder muttered before having her head hit the desk, “You haven’t told her about this, have you?”

Ezreal frowned at his best friend as he shook his head, “No, she still thinks you hate her, no matter how many times I tell her you’re avoiding her for her sake.” he stated, worry in his voice as he added, “You should really go talk to her, you guys haven’t talked for, like, six months now. She misses you.”

Of course she did. The amount of messages Powder received were starting to flood her desk back at home. She didn’t open any of them, not wanting to look at the flowery handwriting or see how many more tear stains were on the letter itself compared to the envelope.

She wanted to see her younger friend again, the days passing by with the need to see Seraphine’s bubbly personality again. Powder really needed that optimism these days now.

But remembering Seraphine’s pained face as she cried out. As she shivered and whimpered in the corner of her dark room.

It was like a burnt image forever ingrained in Powder’s brain, right next to the fearsome morphed faces of her old families and Caitlyn’s cartoonishly evil grin when she stated Powder’s worst fear.

“I…” Powder started, the words stuck in her throat before she closed her mouth, shaking her head as the teen took a moment to collect herself, “I can’t, Ez. Not when I did this.”

She turned her head away from watching her friend raise a curious brow in her direction, studying Powder a few seconds before he opened his mouth.

“You can’t avoid her forever.” he stated bluntly, tilting his head toward her as he pressed on, “You can’t be mad at Cait forever either.”

At that Powder scoffed, feeling the flare of anger surge through her. Why bring her up? It wasn’t like Ezreal and Cait ever got along anyway, they butted heads quite often. Thinking of their betrayer made the teen cross her arms as she laid her head down on her desk.

“Fucking watch me.”

But that response didn’t seem to cut in, making Ezreal scoff as well before leaning towards his friend, “You want to know your problem, Pow-Pow?” he bluntly remarked, pointing his finger towards her, “You overreact to everything that happens around you. I know it’s, like, a fear response and shit. But when you lash out, you hurt people around you.”

Ezreal was always the one to call her out on her shit, did it ever mean she appreciated it? Sometimes she did, it kept her humble. But other times…

“When the fuck did you become a therapist?” she hissed out, clenching her fists as she turned her head towards him to muster up the most scathing glare she could give the boy.

Ezreal rolled his eyes as he took his pencil and started scribbling on his schoolwork, “Since right now,” he pointed out smugly, pulling his paper up to show his crude handwriting, “See? Doctorate and everything.” But when his sarcastic joke didn’t land, Ezreal just opted to sigh and rub at his temple, “Listen…I heard this saying once, and it stuck with me for a while.”

“Did you get it from the back of a cereal box?” Powder mused harshly, her mood immediately sour.

“Haha.” Ezreal sarcastically huffed out, shaking his head before his tone turned serious, “No, you dingus. ‘Hurt people can only hurt people’. When all you’ve dealt with all your life is being hurt, you don’t know how not to hurt.”

“You think I’ve been hurting people around me?” Powder accused, snapping her head up to hold the side of her head and run her fingers through her hair, “Ez, I’ve done everything I could not to do that again. It’s not me that’s doing this.”

“Maybe you jinxed yourself.” Ezreal offered, shrugging nonchalantly as Powder froze in front of him, “In your efforts in trying not to, you do it anyway.”

In the end, she still jinxed it. No matter how hard she tried not to, she still did it. Was it subconscious? That she couldn’t just be happy with what she had already. The back of her head still wishing to prove herself to Vi, to prove her wrong in leaving her behind?

The hopeful, shred of fanatical optimism that one day, one day Vi would come back from the dead and say how proud she was to have a little sister like Powder.

Did she jinx herself, in the end?

Powder didn’t want to think about it.

Her face twisting into a frown, Powder turned her head downcast, “...Can we change the subject?” she asked shakily, her voice small as she practically begged to the last friend she had around, “Please, Ez?”

From her peripheral, she saw Ezreal’s face soften as he slumped his shoulders, “Alright…want to come over for dinner tonight? Since your folks have been working non-stop, I doubt you’ve had time to just sit down and chill out.” he suggested, leaning back in his chair to watch Powder sigh at him.

“...Sure, why not.” she muttered with a shrug, taking a moment to inhale before looking back over to her friend with as casual of a smile she could muster, “What’s being cooked up chief?”

Ezreal huffed a laugh as he shrugged too, “Whatever the hell we want, you think Uncle Lymere knows how to cook?” he inquired humorously.

“Hasn’t he watched over you for years now?”

“Yeah, and I lived off a diet of potlucks and take-out until I figured out how to cook for myself.”

“You know what?” Powder mused as she held her hand up, to stop Ezreal from explaining his sad childhood, “I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that part.”

.

Usually after school, Powder would remember the days of them heading walking around the streets of Piltover to find something to do. Usually it was to grab food or go to the arcade, just a moment in time for the four of them to just be kids.

Now it was just her and Ezreal, walking through the streets in their uniforms with cups of cold gelato in hand. They talked about life, mostly about school gossip since talking about their home life was becoming more and more taboo. Ezreal didn’t want to talk about his growing worry about his missing parents. Powder didn’t want to talk about Jayce’s absence from the lab to talk with investors. It was fine for them to avoid it. Like they always did.

She still had him. That was all that mattered.

As they walked the streets, window shopping through the merchant’s district, Powder couldn’t help noticing something catch her eyes as she placed her arm out to stop the blabbering blonde.

“Hold on, wait.” Powder directed as she swerved the both of them to look into the window of a toy shop, “Check these out.”

The teen boy huffed as he leaned closer to the glass to read the purple box that his friend pointed out to him, “Make your own bracelet kit?” he asked doubtfully as he turned his head to watch Powder’s grin start to grow, “Pow-Pow, we’re too old for this junk.”

“Shut up, I want it.”

“Ugh, you’re wasting your money.” Ezreal groaned, rubbing his face as he mournfully watched Powder move around him to get to the shop’s door, “Why do you want to make bracelets?”

“It’s going to be my new talent, along with everything else I can do.” Powder teased, looking pleased with herself despite Ezreal’s heavy eye roll.

“Ah, I see. Powder Talis, genius engineer of Hextech, master baker of cookies, expert demolitionist, the finest shot in the streets of Piltover…” he started to present, gesturing with a flare for the dramatics before having his hand shake in a so-so fashion, “And…pretty okay bracelet crafter.”

“Shut up,” Powder snorted, reaching over to shove the boy and give him a pointed look, “For that you’re my first test subject.”

“Wait, what?”

“You heard me!” Powder exclaimed as she swung the door open and waltzed in with a purpose, “We’re making friendship bracelets buddy!”
As the door to the toy shop closed and Ezreal watched his best friend stick her tongue out at him as she snatched the box from the display, all he could do was slump his shoulders and run his long bangs back to sigh in dismay.

“Oh…joy.”

It didn’t take too long for Powder to return, her new box set in hand as they both sat at a nearby bench. Ezreal leaned as far back as he could and stared at the sky above him as Powder sat next to him with her legs crossed and reading directions as she fumbled with bits of string.

“It says in the directions that charms and stuff are good things to add.” Powder mumbled as she moved her hand through the box, huffing as Ezreal took the box from her to assist in her search, “Where are they though?”

Her friend just huffed as he looked at the bottom of the box, “Here, it says, charms and accessories are sold separately.” he pointed out, handing the box back over with a shrug as he stated, “You got scammed Pow-Pow.”

Powder couldn’t help clicking her tongue in annoyance, looking over the small print once again then glancing over to Ezreal just to see his smirk in her direction, “Fuck you,” she forced out, pulling her schoolbag up and digging through it, “I got some washers and lug nuts at the bottom of my school bag, we can improvise.”

Ezreal let out a long annoyed groan as he slumped more into his seat, “I’m going to be a walking tool box, cause that’s what I want our friendship to represent.” he groused, huffing a small laugh when Powder shoved him and snatched up his wrist to start the process.

Both teens stayed quiet during the crafting process, with Powder entirely too focused with her tongue out and Ezreal curiously watching her braid in various metals into his bracelet. He took notice of how much their hands differed now, with how wide his wrist was compared to her slender, double-jointed fingers, how her chipped fingernail polish grazed over his dusty, dirt ridden hands.

For two people that spent so much time together, their hands differed so much.

Ezreal vaguely wondered if he got taller.

After what felt like an eternity, Powder tied off the last bits of string to pull back and inspect her work, her face full of pride as Ezreal shook his wrist to the sound of metal clicking together.

“I feel like I’ll never be able to sneak around again.” Ezreal pointed out as he looked over the ‘charms’ on his wrist, “Let’s see, a couple washers, a t-slot nut, a t-slot valve, a few lug nuts, two wing nuts, and…a hex nut?” he listed off, his eyebrow raised as Powder clapped in excitement.

“Yeah! Yeah! You got them all!” she cheered before shoving the remaining pieces of junk into her friend’s hand, “Do me! Do me next!” she excitedly encouraged as she jumped in her set, her wrist held out for him to start.

But Ezreal looked between the string, the pile of mechanical parts in his hand, and Powder’s unbridled excitement before he moved to stand up, “Wait a minute.” he informed, keeping his hand up to keep Powder from following as he walked back to the toy store.

It took several minutes, with Powder feeling her fingers twitching and her breath catching at the thought of Ezreal ditching her over this. He wouldn’t…would he?

No, no of course he wouldn’t. He wasn’t superficial like that…was he?

Powder clicked her tongue in annoyance as she shook her head, “No, no he wouldn’t do that.” she mumbled to herself, making a bit of a strained laugh as she held herself close, “He’s not like them. This is Ez we’re talking about. H-He wouldn’t…”

At the sound of a bell ringing, Powder snapped her head back towards the toy shop, watching Ezreal pacing back to the bench with a small bag in his hand. As he deposited himself back in his spot, he offered his hand out.

“Give me your wrist.”

With a curious glance to the small bag Ezreal held, Powder offered her hand. Ezreal was gentle, if not a little clumsy, taking the strings from the package and weaving a bracelet together like the directions ordered. She watched as he fussed and cursed as he tried to thread small strings with various nuts and washers, eventually reaching into his bag to pull out small little metal ornaments to add on since there weren't enough washers and nuts for the both of them.

They were…charms?

A cat charm, a monkey charm, a fish charm, and a cupcake charm.

Powder widened her eyes at the artistic mix of little charms and junk weaved into her bracelet with loose and frayed strings, controlled chaos by Ezreal’s hand as he took his time and grumbled about how he didn’t have the fine art skill to do this right. But by the end of it, her bracelet was just as loud as the bracelet she made for her friend.

Ezreal smirked as he tied off the last knot, inspecting his work as he lifted his wrist to look at his, “Now neither of us can sneak away from each other.” he humorously commented, holding his wrist out, “Chaos kids till the end.”

Powder looked over her own bracelet, her smile growing soft as she pushed her wrist out to bump against her best friend’s bracelet, “Chaos kids till the end.”

.

They jingled when they walked now, making Powder laugh as she skipped around her friend and made as much racket as she could. It was late afternoon by the time they got to Ezreal’s place, with the blonde boy taking his time opening his door and shoving Powder from pushing her wrist in his face.

“Can you quit?” Ezreal huffed, shouldering the door open as Powder tried to bull rush though him, “You literally got ten times more annoying the minute you got that bracelet.”

Powder giggled as she pushed past anyway, shaking her wrist as she teased, “I know what you are, but what am I?” she snorted when Ezreal flipped her off and closed the door behind him, about to make a snarky retort before his eyes looked past his friend to stare out in confusion.

When Powder turned around, she saw Professor Lymere standing at the end of the foyer’s hallway. His look was more serious than usual, looking over both teens carefully as Ezreal cleared his throat and threw his arm around his friend’s shoulder.

“Hey Uncle!” he called out, his grin strained as he tried to lighten the dower mood his uncle seemed to be radiating, “Powder’s staying over for dinner!” For an added effort, Powder smiled as well, waving to the older man to just watch his eyes focus on the blonde.

“Ezreal…may I speak with you for a moment?” he inquired, tilting his head towards their library, watching the teens move together, he quickly added, “Privately.”

The seriousness in his tone made both teens look at each other in confusion, Ezreal slowly releasing his friend as he made a few steps forward, only turning his head towards Powder momentarily as he walked backwards, “Uh, sure. Go ahead and get comfortable, I’ll be right back.” he told her, turning back around and following his uncle to the sanctity of their library for a private conversation.

Leaving Powder alone in the foyer.

Not for long though, as Powder waited a few moments before pulling her wrist close to her person, moving to the doors of the library to press her ear against the thick wood doors.

The conversation was muffled, and the teen clicked her tongue as she moved her head around, trying to find a good place to listen. It wasn’t until her ear met cool brass that the words were as clear as a bell.

“Ezreal, I got a message from the Explorer's Guild. It’s about your parents.” She heard Ezreal’s uncle inform, his voice strained as he was obviously shifting how he stood while the chair was scraping across the floor as Ezreal planted himself into it.

The blonde himself barked out a haughty laugh as the strain on the chair indicated he leaned it back by force, “Ha! Told you they’d call before the deadline, I expect a written apology from them by tomorro-”

“No. Ezreal. The deadline was last week.” his uncle cut in, “They never checked in.”

The silence was deafening, every participant and listener holding their breath in shock as the chair clicked back forward, Ezreal leaning forward with his eyes wide.

“W-What?” he rasped out in disbelief, his tone shaky.

But Professor Lymere kept his tone professional, like he was talking about a report instead of the state of his sibling and their spouse, “They’ve been declared missing in action officially…presumed dead, my boy.” Just then his voice wavered, his breath exhaled as he muttered out a small, “I’m sorry.”

Powder could hear Ezreal shakily inhale, his voice near panicked as he spoke, “N-No…no fucking way!” he finally yelled, the chair screeching quickly followed with his hands slapping the table, “They’re too smart to die, there’s no way they can be dead.”

He sounded like she did. When she was pulling at jagged slabs of rubble in a futile attempt to find her family, alive and well. Screaming to the sky in hopes that maybe, just maybe someone was wrong.

“It’s the only feasible option, Ezreal. Do you really think they wouldn’t have left a message for you for that long?” Professor Lymere informed as calmly as he could, his reasoning logical as he was clearly watching his nephew struggle with his grief.

“T-they’re busy…they’re in the middle of a big discovery, a big adventure…” Ezreal tried to explain, whether it was more to himself or his uncle, Powder couldn’t tell. She heard her friend’s breath hitch, “They’re not…”

“Ezreal…”

“They can’t be…they promised.” he stressed, slamming his hand against the table once more, “The Explorer’s Guild didn’t look well enough, they’re wrong.”

“You can believe what you want, boy.” Professor Lymere stated, his tone as cold as ever as he tried to make his nephew think critically, “But their funeral is being set in the next two weeks, they had a will set out for you if this ever-”

“I don’t fucking want whatever they gave me.” Ezreal hissed, his voice strained and filled with anger as he muttered, “Cause they’re not fucking dead, they’re…”

Powder could hear the gentle click of footsteps, Professor Lymere gently saying, “I’ll give you some space to process this news.” His tone turned softer as he added, “If you need to talk, just know I am here.”

The echoing sound of leather being strained and hands being slapped made Powder jump as she heard Ezreal dangerously muttered, “Just leave me the fuck alone.”

There was a beat of silence, but slowly the footsteps sounded clearer and louder, moving back towards the door before the mechanisms of the door clicking open forced Powder to stand up straight and look directly in the face of the aging man. They shared a long look, Powder more anxious as Professor Lymere just looked…tired.

With a tilt of his head behind him, he gently murmured out, “Speak to him, you’ll get to him better than I will.”

Just like that, with the permission needed Powder pushed past the professor and moved to look at her friend, nearly hunched over the table and holding back the flurry of emotions he was going through.

The moment their eyes exchanged, a clash of blues searching for something neither of them had. Ezreal let the floodgates go, and Powder did what she did when Vi broke down over their parents’ deaths.

She rushed to hug him, as tightly as she could.

As she held her best friend in a fierce vice grip, afraid he was going to disappear right before her eyes if she let him go, she noticed how Ezreal leaned over her. How his head bent down to rest on her shoulder as he struggled not to sob, not to scream, not to wail over the loss of his parents.

He got taller than her.

And Powder realized with a bitter taste in her mouth as she patted the now fitted leather jacket her friend filled into perfectly.

They couldn’t stop from changing, no matter how much she tried.

Chapter Text

It all started with Powder breaking her arm, in a futile attempt to lift a heavy piece of machinery, it resulted in the rope snapping and a rough landing on her, causing the teen to immediately be sent to the hospital with worried parents in tow.

Now Powder had to sit in a doctor’s office, pouting as her arm was being wrapped up in an array of blue and pink castings by her request.

“How’s it look?” Jayce asked worriedly, looking between his ward and the doctor as he simply worked on the disgruntled girl.

“It’s a major fracture on the ulna. We’re going to wrap it up and she should be fine in a few weeks.” her doctor answered, cutting the blue casting with on last pat to the arm as he referred to the girl, “Don’t let it get wet, wrap it in a bag if you have to.”

But Jayce didn’t let up, stepping forward as he took Powder’s face and double checked that each injury she had was wrapped up, “A few weeks? Like how many?” he inquired, making a small click with his tongue at the bandage around Powder neck, showing the dark purple bruise she sported and working to fix the wrapping until he was interrupted with Viktor hitting him with his cane.

“8-12 weeks.” the doctor answered easily, not even reacting when Powder jumped and scrambled around Jayce to get a better look at the doctor.

“Three months!?” she exclaimed, panic painting her features as she stared at her cast, “We don’t have that sort of time, I-I won’t be able to help if my arm’s in a cast.” she huffed, her breaths coming out panicked. This couldn’t be happening, not when they were months away from Progress Day. How would they get the last parts of the gates together? How would they do testing without her pulling the levers? How are they going to-

“Powder-keg…” Jayce tried to calm, his hands still on his ward’s face as he made her look at him, getting her to copy his deep breaths to calm her down as he tried to assure her, “It’ll be okay, I can take on fewer fundraising events to help out in the workshop.” he informed calmly as he pulled her into careful hug.

But the teen huffed as she turned her head, looking at Viktor for assistance as he could only give her a shrug from the wall he heavily leaned against. In their rush to get her to the hospital, Viktor didn’t take his pain medication, and knowing how sickly he was starting to look, Powder could only guess his pain was getting worse.

But Viktor never went to a doctor, not unless he passed out in the middle of a public event. Not unless he was literally unable to get out of bed. Not unless…Powder was in the hospital as well.

Viktor saw her mischievous grin grow slowly on her face while in Jayce’s embrace, his eyebrows shooting up as he quickly remembered where he was at and trying to pull himself up to stand straight.

“Hey Jay…” Powder mumbled weakly, feigning her pain as she pulled back from her guardian to look back at him with big wet eyes, “I-I know we’re in here cause I-I hurt myself.” she mumbled, her voice wobbling and looking away to kick her feet gently. She caught Viktor glaring at her, warning her not to do what she was about to do. But Powder tried to suppress her grin, biting on her lip as she continued, “But I’m worried about Vik…he came all the way here without his pain medicine.”

Jayce, the utter bastard, gently tutted her as he smoothed her hair down and looked over to Viktor’s tense form, “You forgot to take your medicine?”

“I, eh, uh…we kind of had to rush to get Powder here and-” Viktor fumbled, his shoulders shrinking from Jayce’s intense gaze before he watched his partner turn towards the doctor.

“Hey Doc?” Jayce began, unknowing of Powder sticking her tongue out at Viktor and his partner returning the gesture with a heavy roll of the eyes, “Could you set up a checkup for my partner here too? He’s had some back pain for a while now and this is the first time in a while that he's been to the hospital.”

The stare Viktor had on Powder quickly focused on Jayce now, his eyes intense as he had to hold his tongue in front of a medical professional.

“I don’t see why not.” the doctor offered with a shrug, taking his clipboard and moving to the door as he spoke, “I’ll get one of the nurses to see if one of our orthopedic physicians is on site. Until then wait for a nurse to escort you out.”

Jayce sighed a small breath of relief as he nodded, “Thank you.” he muttered out, sagging his shoulders the moment the door clicked close and Viktor’s frustrated huff was more audible for him to hear.

“You did not have to speak for me, Jayce.” Viktor grumbled out, giving a pointed look toward Powder as he added, “And I did not need you egging him on.”

The injured teen just responded with a small laugh at Viktor’s expense as Jayce sighed, “Listen, you’ve put off visiting a doctor for too long now.” he explained as his stare turned stern, “Is your pain medication even working anymore?”

Viktor kept his silence as his face flashed with stubbornness, refusing to acknowledge his predicament and looking away as Powder pointed at him with her newly wrapped up arm.

“It’s not working!” she exclaimed, her stare accusatory as her face turned serious, “How long have you kept this from us Vik?”

But Viktor continued his silence, keeping his head firmly to the side so as to not look at the other two in the room. Almost as if the weight of the truth coming forward was a sign of relief, he moved to lean back against the wall in a desperate attempt to relieve pressure from his hip.

Jayce clicked his tongue in worry, finally moving away from his ward to stand before his partner and gently outstretched his hand, “You said you were going to take care of yourself V.” Jayce muttered softly as he slowly placed his hand on his shorter partner’s shoulder, “We're worried about you.”

The softness of Jayce’s tone pulled Viktor to finally look back, his face pensive as he carefully stated, “I was going to do it after the launch, we’re too close to being finished for us to worry about my health.”

“To shit with the launch,” Jayce hissed out, taking the sides of his partner’s face into his hands as wide, bewildered amber eyes looked up to him, “Your health matters more than that, Viktor. Just…take the appointment, please.”

Jayce could tell Viktor wanted to talk back, insisting he was fine and that the launch mattered more. Viktor’s eyes flickered towards Powder’s direction, briefly, before returning to look back up to Jayce with his shoulders slumping, placing his hand up to cover Jayce’s own

“...Fine.” Viktor muttered quietly, slowly pulling Jayce’s hand away as he averted his gaze once again, “But you’re not going to like the results.”

Jayce blinked momentarily, confusion settled on his features even when a nurse came in to escort Viktor to an orthopedic doctor with an open schedule and guide Jayce and Powder back out to the waiting room. Powder was taking him by the arm as he watched Viktor limp his way through the hospital halls, his shoulders tense as Jayce couldn’t see what his partner was expressing as he and Powder walked away.

“You think he’s going to be okay?” Jayce breathed out, his features painted with worry as he signed paperwork to check Powder out from the hospital. The teen was standing next to him, fiddling with a loose thread on her cast as she glanced up to her guardian with a cheeky grin as she patted his back.

“Of course! This is Vik we’re talking about!” she obviously pointed out as she giggled in amusement, “Knowing him, he’s probably going to give that doctor a good tongue lashing.”

Jayce couldn’t help but snort in amusement before flicking his ward’s forehead, “I’ll give you a good tongue lashing if you ever try using a pulley system for a half ton piece of equipment again.” he gently scolded, reaching over to mess up Powder’s hair when she rightfully stuck her tongue out at him.

Of course Viktor was going to be fine.

He had to be fine.

.

It wasn’t until five days later, when Powder was at school when a thick packet of paper was dropped on his workbench like an anchor landing at the bottom of a river.

‘Lumbar Fusion Pre and Post-Operative Instructions’ was in thick, bold print across the front page, glaring up at him as Jayce felt his throat tighten.

“I have surgery in one week.” Viktor stated as he stood next to Jayce’s workbench, his face expressionless and his tone even as if he was discussing an equation of thermodynamics.

The silence was thick, like overcooked dulce de leche as Jayce tried to swallow the swell of anxiousness that flooded his chest.

“S-Surgery?” Was what he managed to choke out, turning his eyes away from the glaring text to look up to his partner. How could he not have noticed? How Viktor tilted himself to relieve pressure from an aching lower spine. How one slim shoulder seemed to keep itself higher than the other as he relied on his cane more and more. How gaunt his face became, his appetite gone from being in excruciating pain. Jayce felt stupid for asking a question he already knew, “I-It’s that bad?”

But Viktor didn’t seem as worried, giving his partner an easy one shoulder shrug as he informed, “I’m having my spine realigned, plates, screws, and titanium rods included.”

The air rushed from Jayce’s chest, like a clamp was tightened around his lungs with a hurried hand. He moved to stand, gently moving into Viktor’s space with flexing fingers hovering, reaching to hold the smaller man as close as he could. But Jayce quickly regained his breath, keeping himself still from listening to impulse.

For now.

Instead, he chose to look at his partner with a pleading intensity, his eyes searching his sickly partner’s face for any sign of an answer to all this, a comfort to the news that was given to him,“Vik…” he breathed out, nearly begging for more than the sympathetic pat on the shoulder Viktor gave him.

“I’ll be unable to do any hard labor for around 4 to 6 weeks afterwards, and it might take over a year for me to return to my normal tasks.” he said to him, as professionally as Viktor could be before a hollow smile fell to his lips as he titled his head, “The funny thing is, doctors are worried about the upper spine as well, it is not needed right now but I might need another surgery in a few years.”

Viktor always displayed comfort in strange and curious ways, but when it came to anything about himself, there was none to be given. It was like Viktor expected people not to be distraught over him, to care about him.

Jayce breathed deeply through his nose, finally making the plunge and dropping his head on Viktor’s shoulder, “Fuck, Vik…” he hissed out with a shaky breath, his hands continuing to hover as if he was going to hurt Viktor by just touching him, “How’d you get it to be this bad?”

Viktor huffed quietly, “It’s not like I’ve had much of a choice in walking with a cane.” he bluntly remarked, making some form of comfort after a moment of silence by hesitantly bringing his hand up to run his fingers through Jayce’s hair, “I’ll need a crutch after the surgery.” he tried to say lightly, an ill attempt to pick up the mood as he thoughtfully added, “And braces for my leg and back. I'll slowly become a man of metal.”

It didn’t work.

Instead Jayce pulled back, his face twisted in frustration as he stepped back to rub at his temple, “This is serious Viktor!” he scolded, “You’re about to have major surgery done, being altered for the rest of your life and you just…joke?”

Viktor blinked a bit in surprise at first, momentarily astonished before his lips set into a small frown, “You speak as if I’m going to be a different man once I have this procedure done.” he say, his tone tight as he continued, “It can’t be helped, Jayce.”

“But it could’ve!” Jayce protested, “If you just…paid more attention, if I made you go to the doctor when you started feeling this pain, if we just…”

Jayce didn’t let himself continue, letting his mouth click shut as Viktor narrowed his eyes towards him. Bringing Hextech into this, into a conversation about Viktor’s health was not the way to go.

Viktor cared about Hextech too much to let his health get in the way, and for him to think that Hextech was slowed down because of him? Jayce knew Viktor well enough now to know that was worse than death in his partner’s eyes.

To Viktor, the project mattered more than himself.

“If we…what Jayce?” Viktor challenged, his eyes set with a calm coldness as he referred to the taller man, “My health shouldn’t be your concern, Jayce Talis.”

Jayce winced from hearing his full name, feeling like a scolded child and tightening his fists as Viktor continued with a harsh tone, “Worry about the launch, worry about the gala events, worry about keeping Powder from injuring herself more than she already has.”

“But I-”

“Don’t.” Viktor tersely interrupted, his face strained and tired as he let a soft breath pass his lips before he looked away, “Just. Don’t.”

Jayce wanted to talk about it, about how Viktor disregarded his own safety and health for their dream. He wanted to throttle Viktor’s thin frame and make his partner know how important he was, not just for Hextech. But for the small family they jury rigged together. There was so much to say and no time to say it.

“If anything were to happen to you…”

“I’ll stay with you as long as you want me to…”

“You never cease to amaze me with your brilliance…”

“Please let me in…I want to know what you’re feeling.”

“I lo-”

“Okay.” Jayce breathed out quietly, nodding tightly as he moved back to his workbench, “We’ll figure it out, we won’t delay the launch.”

Viktor seemed pleased enough, moving over to his own workbench to turn his journal open where he last left off and slowly settled to his seat, “Truly?” he inquired, his tone hopeful as he took his pencil to write down with deft fingers gliding over the page.

There was nothing that could be said to change this, to change Viktor’s mind. So Jayce held his breath as he nodded, looking back down to his work at hand as he blinked away the pressure behind his eyes.

“Truly.”

.

When Viktor woke. He didn’t expect to see a familiar head of dark hair to his right, and a head of blue hair to his left.

“Jayce?” he rasped out, momentarily blinking away the fog in his eyes and slowly traveling over to the other side of his hospital bed, “Powder?”

He heard the both of them sigh in relief, Jayce reaching over to pat his partner’s shoulder with a gentle tenderness, “Sorry, I know you wanted to do this alone.” he apologized softly, his smile sweet laced with a bit of excitement, “But when you left this morning Powder-keg and I made you something and we had to show you when you woke up.”

Viktor’s anesthesia mustn’t have worn off quite yet, leaving him dazed and confused as he stared at the both of them in pure befuddlement.

So obviously he tried to inquire, to figure out what these two were doing here and what was possibly made for him over the course of his surgery, “Wha-?” he gracefully spilled out from his lips instead.

Powder could barely contain her excitement, bouncing in place with an audible jingle of her accessories.

“I can’t wait!” she suddenly squealed out, dropping down to the floor and out of Viktor’s sight as she shouted, “Hold on, hold on!”

That only raised more concern, Viktor sliding his eyes to Jayce, who was trying to suppress his own excited grin behind his hand, “Should I be worried?”

Jayce only responded with a gentle laugh as he shook his head, “Nah,” he mused quietly as the sounds of metal clanking on the ground resonated through the hospital room, “Let’s just say it’s something long overdue.” There was one more loud sound of metal followed by Powder cursing, making Jayce bite his lip to hide his amusement as he looked to his exhausted partner, “I did say I was going to replace the cane you broke for me.”

Viktor furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as he muttered out, “But you got me-”

“Tada~!” was quickly cut in as Powder sprang up from the floor, a large decorated expanse of metal in her hands as she stepped back to brandish it, “A state of the art, sturdy but flexible, textured grip crutch!” she advertised, spinning the crutch around in its place to show just how well crafted it was.

Much to Viktor’s astonishment, the crutch itself had such a similar design to his old cane, but definitely had the Talis charm added to it. With deep dyed red leather grips and shining gold accented pieces at the ends and joints, it looked…remarkable. A true piece of metal working art. Powder grinned as Viktor wordlessly appreciated the work they did, holding it up and turning it in place to show every fine detail done to it, “We have it all! A cushion for the armpit, a handle in the same position as your old cane, adjustable height for those bad back days, aaaaand my favorite part!” she squealed in excitement as she took the handle, turned the grip, and popped it right out, “A secret compartment!” she cheered, blowing into the grip piece to make a small echoing sound from it.

Viktor kept his face curiously amused, glancing back at Jayce as he gestured towards their teen, “Why is there a secret compartment?” he asked quietly, only seeing Jayce smiling at him as he shrugged.

“Powder-keg insisted.”

Said teen humorously scoffed as she twirled the grip in her uninjured hand, “Duh! To store the drugs!” she said obviously as she clicked the handle back into place and waltzed her way back to Viktor’s side to sit on his bed, “Or the shiv. Or the taser. Or the remote detonator. The world is your oyster Vik!” she proudly boasted as she laid the crutch over his lap to inspect himself.

Now that it was in his hands, the slick cool metal against his blunt fingertips made Viktor take his time appreciating the work that was placed in its creation.

“Steel-reinforced aluminum?” he asked offhandedly, making a small noise in the back of his throat as he experimentally lifted the crutch up to take note of its weight, “Weight distribution is even throughout. The grip looks textured enough to be non-slip…”

Powder huffed as she rolled her eyes and began to pout, “You really gotta be so meticulous about this?”

“He’s always like this with new canes.” Jayce excused as he kept his gaze on Viktor’s inspection, feeling the sweat gather at the nape of his neck as Viktor looked at every fine detail, “How is it V?”

Viktor didn’t quite answer immediately, running his fingers over smooth metal surfaces before pausing at the smallest indent at the base of the arm rest. With a curious brow raised, he turned to crutch in his lap, his thumb running over the precise and sharp engraving that was entirely too small to notice unless you had the scrupulous attention to detail like he did.

Finely engraved into his own crutch, hidden away from the world, were two simple letters.

‘V.T’

How two simple letters could enact such a raw emotion to expand in Viktor’s chest was beyond his understanding, looking between his ward and his partner to determine which one of them actually did it. Jayce seemed more nervous by the silence Viktor gave him, and Powder was absolutely bouncing next to him as she implored his expression for an answer.

“I…” Viktor felt the words die in his throat the moment he opened his mouth. Both needing and dreading to know who did this, scared to know who did this. For years they silently agreed that they were something beyond a simple partnership, a simple stewardship. Partners didn’t kiss. Teachers didn’t braid their student’s hair. People that focused on pure intellectual discovery didn’t spend their nights sharing a dinner together.

Viktor couldn’t vocalize it, couldn’t take the plunge.

If his attachment to his family was solidified, if it was made real. Then that meant it could be taken away just as quickly as it was defined.

His heart could not handle it.

So he swallowed the lump in his throat, nodding to himself as he finally, tiredly, croaked out, “It will work.”

Jayce seemed satisfied enough, releasing a deep sigh as he grinned, “Good. Glad you like it.” he muttered softly, hesitantly glancing over to the clock on the far wall before a reserved expression passed over his features, “Shit, I’m going to be late.”

“For what?” Viktor asked, his brows knitted in curiosity as Jayce carefully placed his hand on the back of his partner’s head and leaned forward to press his lips against Viktor’s sweaty forehead.

“Gala event.” Jayce simply answered, copying the same motion with Powder despite her amused scoff as he pulled back and fixed his sleeves, “I’ll see you tomorrow. Powder-keg, be sure to head straight home after visiting hours are over.”

Powder gave a small huff as she shuffled to lay next to her guardian, crossing her arms as she sighed, “Fine.”

His footsteps were slow, methodical, careful as he moved to the door. As he placed his hand on the knob he made one last look. Jayce smiled, slightly strained, at the both of them and left. Left to join his people. His party. His luxury as a healthy Piltovan man with the future of the world on his shoulders. In his absence, the quiet returned. The silence in the hospital room grew before Powder finally spoke up, disappointment laced in her voice as she took Mister Bunny from her bag and held him close.

“Jay promised he wasn’t going to go to that stupid event.” she mumbled quietly, fiddling with her rabbit’s ears as she looked at her multicolored cast in contemplation.

Viktor hummed in thought, shifting slightly with a wince to give Powder the room she wanted as he muttered, “Maybe it was more important that he thought.”

“Or maybe.” Powder counteracted, her eyes sliding over to her guardian as she seemed to be searching for something on his features. But whatever she was looking for seemed to have not been there, causing the teen to sigh as she looked back down to her cast once more.

“He was waiting for you to tell him to stay.”

The silence returned once again.

Viktor tightened his grip on his new crutch and swallowed the insistent lump in his throat.

His silence was more damning than anything he could ever say.

Chapter Text

It was the big day, and everything was on the line.

Six long gruesome years of developing Hextech to make an airship travel across the continent, to improve trade and bring different cultures closer than ever. It took a substantial amount of blood, sweat, and tears to get to this point…

And Powder wasn’t sure if she was ready for the next chapter.

When she came from her room dressed in the similar fashion of what her guardians usually wore, she looked upon the both of them as they busied themselves across the workshop for last minute tasks.

Jayce was running between his workbench and his mirror, checking the equations and fixing his hair back and forth like a fidgety mouse as he mumbled to himself about the details of the Hexgates he was going to have to advertise.

Luckily for her, Viktor was calm and collected, stacking papers and packing away emergency tools just in case. When he heard the door to Powder’s room click open he looked away from his work to give his kid a once over and clicked his tongue.

“Your cravat is tied wrong,” he stated, ushering his hand for the teen to come closer in order to redo Powder’s work, “You have everything for today?” he inquired gently.

With an excited nod Powder grinned, “All in my bag.” she answered, glancing over to Jayce’s pacing form as he raised his voice loud enough to curse while he scoured his desk for a missing paper, the teen couldn’t help but huff a small laugh as she raised her brow, “Is he going to be okay?”

Viktor made one glance back to his partner, noticing his frantic searching before calling out, “What are you searching for?”

“The reactor blueprints.”

“Have them here.” Viktor stated as he tapped the stack of papers and returned to finishing up on Powder’s tie, “We’ll make it through, we always do.”

Jayce heaved a sigh in relief, pulling himself up straight to move to his partner’s side and look over the professional appearance his ward sported,”Looking sharp there kiddo.” he complimented, raising his brow to see his teen’s long braid tied up into a bun, “Really sharp, it’s strange to not see your braid swinging everywhere.”

Powder huffed a small laugh as she recited, “As a precautionary measure long hair should be tied back when working in a laboratory.” just to laugh even more when Jayce reached up to ruffle her hair.

“Oh now we’re adhering to lab safety protocols?” Jayce joked as he chuckled, shaking his head as he took his ward’s arm and gave her a questioning look, “That’s rich coming from you of all people.” he told her, making a small sigh in relief when Powder assured his worries by flicking her wrist around in different angles.

With a gentle roll of tired eyes, Viktor turned back to the paperwork on his desk, “We have all the paperwork for the details we need to publish. Did Councilor Medarda tell you when we are doing the launch?”

Letting his ward go, Jayce answered with a nod as he moved to lean against Viktor’s desk, “She said in the afternoon. Heimerdinger’s setting the Progress Day speech earlier than usual so he can do the address right after my presentation.” he explained, watching Viktor delicately straighten out the papers before handing them over.

“Alright then, Powder and I will be at the Hexgates to make sure everything goes smoothly.” Viktor stated, turning back to make sure his set of tools were packed away and unknowing of Jayce and Powder’s exchanged look of befuddlement.

“Wha-?” Powder started, quickly cut off by Jayce butting in.

“Are you sure about that V?” Jayce asked, leaning in just slightly so he could catch Viktor’s eyes as he gave his partner an encouraging smile, “We did this together, I want you both up there with me.”

Viktor only kept eye contact for a brief second, turning his head away as he struggled to form the right sentence to say, “It’s fine...I- there’s too many people…” he began, his lips pursed as he packed the last of this equipment away with a final click, “I want someone on sight to make sure the launch is successful.”

There was usually no arguing with Viktor when it came to this, no matter how many times Jayce offered Viktor the spotlight. Viktor always denied being pushed upon the stage, in front of the crowds, it was almost like he relied on Jayce to take on that role of public speaking. It was better that way, Jayce could guess. So with a soft look of understanding, Jayce sighed and made a small nod, “Alright, suit yourself.” he mused quietly as he reached up to tuck a few stray hairs away from his partner’s face, “Don’t think I’m not going to be praising your name on that stage though.”

His partner just scoffed as he gently shook his head, his tone amused as he spoke, “Focus on talking about Hextech.”

Jayce chuckled as he carefully stood back up straight, making a glance at the clock as he spoke, “Alright, well, I need to get to the Kiramman’s tent.” he softly announced as he fixed his tie and gave both his partner and ward a pat on the shoulder, “If something happens, don’t hesitate to find me.”

With one last comforting pat to Viktor’s shoulder, Jayce was already moving to the stairs. Powder looked between both her guardians, confusion in her eyes as Jayce continued his trek out of the lab and Viktor stayed where he stood, closing his work journal and packing away a few pencils like nothing was happening.

“Y-Yeah…bye Jay.” Powder mumbled out, giving her taller guardian a wave once he reached the door and was out of sight for the both of them. The workshop felt colder without him, like the energy was sucked out of the room. She glanced back to her other guardian as he didn’t even look in her direction, his shoulders tense and his brace creaking as he shifted his footing.

After several moments of silence, Viktor breathed a small breath before he softly regarded her, “You’re wondering why I declined going on stage with Jayce.”

“Yeah, kinda.” Powder gently muttered, moving to lean against Viktor’s desk to get a better angle on his facial features, “We all did our parts for Hextech, they’re going to think-”

“They’re going to think Jayce is the sole reason for Hextech’s development, yes.”

“And you don’t care?” Powder questioned, her brows furrowing as she gestured her arms outward, “Just think how many of those bozos would be stunned to see the both of us at Jay’s side, his co-creators. We’d never have to defend our names aga-!”

“I don’t care about my name.” Viktor interrupted, his tone briefly cold before a cough interrupted him. What was one cough turned into several, the next on harsher than the last, his shoulders seizing and tensing to the point Powder looked at her guardian with full concern as she began to reach out to him. But he resisted, putting his hand up to stop her as he choked out with a deep breath, “I care about making a difference, and I want to make sure this goes flawlessly.”

Powder couldn’t help but huff in frustration over her guardian’s stubbornness, “It will! We’ve perfected everything! We’ve ran the tests, crunched the numbers, made everything with our own two hands!” she stressed, leaning just slightly enough to catch Viktor’s watery amber gaze to her own desperate blue, “Don’t you want to be there? To see everyone look at us with the same reverence they give Jay?” she asked, pleading with Viktor to agree, to have the both of them share the light with Jayce. To be known as the smartest family in Piltover, the true sign of progress.

But Viktor didn’t see it like that.

“Powder…” he began, his eyes tired as he wheezed a long drawn out breath, “Piltover will never see us that way. No matter how hard we try.”

He had to look away, ignoring Powder’s flash of hurt, of anger, of desperation as she tried and tried again to get Viktor to look at her again with no avail.

“But-”

“To them…” Viktor continued, his hand tightening around the handle of his crutch, “We’re still fissure folk in their eyes.” he finally confessed, taking his equipment bag and pulling the strap over his shoulder. After taking a moment to breathe, Viktor did eventually look back to Powder once more, his face serious as he stated, “And I don’t wish for them to erase that part of ourselves.”

Them. It was always them, Powder thought bitterly. They are the reasons Hextech was nearly halted at every turn. They are the reason Jayce spent his precious time away from Viktor and Powder in order to appease them.

Piltover might’ve saved her from the cruel reality of the Undercity, but that didn’t make Piltover the good guys.

They were never the good guys.

Powder deeply inhaled through her nose, this time being the one unable to hold her guardian’s gaze as she looked away, her fists tight as she muttered quietly between them, “Even if…we might lose Jay to them?”

She heard Viktor sigh quietly, “Powder…” he whispered out, reaching to cup her cheek and pull her face to look back at him. “Jayce will never turn away from us, he’d tear the world down before he ever would think of that.” he assured, smiling softly as Powder searched his face for the honesty in his statement before her shoulders relaxed, her head tilting gently into his hand as she sighed softly.

“Okay…” she huffed gently, her smile strained as she assured herself with another nod, “Okay.”

Viktor seemed pleased enough, backing away and adjusting his equipment bag to tilt his head towards the staircase, “I’m going ahead to the Hexgates to prepare then. You should go enjoy the festival before this afternoon.”

With a nod, Powder moved to stand back up and throw an arm around her guardian, “I’ll be over there before the sun starts to settle.” she guaranteed, making a small grin as she stepped back and made a little spin in her step, “I’ll tell Ez you said hi.”

Seeing how his ward perked up, Viktor gave the girl a soft nod as he walked with her to the lift, “I’ll see you to that.”

-

For months now, Ezreal was entirely focused on his studies to make time for Powder. Try as she might, every time she suggested they hang out for homework or to just relax the boy simply apologized and said he had something he needed to do. It annoyed her to no end, wanting to spend time with her only friend.

But she understood the hurt he was going through, isolating himself to get through the grief of his parents. The experience was painful, and she never saw Ezreal look so distraught before in her life of knowing him. So she did the best she could, giving him the space he wanted and a supportive shoulder to lean on when he needed her.

So of course when Ezreal suggested they hang out for Progress Day, Powder readily agreed with the hopeful notion that Ezreal was on the right track to getting better.

They walked along the streets, observing new gadgets and trinkets with awe and wonder. They ate street food and made fun of Jayce’s dismay when they passed by the Kiramman’s tent. Powder couldn’t keep the grin on her face as she gestured wildly with her arms out as she spoke to her best friend beside her.

“So with the suspensions broken, the gauntlets just completely fell apart and one of the fingers fell on Jay’s toe.” Powder retold with a bit of an amused tone as she laughed out, “We thought it was broken! But it just turned out Jay was a big baby cause it didn’t even dent his steel-toed boots.”

Powder heard Ezreal huff a laugh, his amusement apparent, but the smile he had never quite reached his eyes as he kept his sights to the sky, “You think he’s going to do well on his speech?”

She paused when their conversation switched from her fun tales, her head tilted gently in genuine thought as she subtly chewed on her bottom lip, “Jay’s good in front of people, he doesn’t admit it but…” she paused to look up at the sky as well, trying to find at whatever Ezreal was looking at only to see soft white clouds floating overhead, “I think he likes the attention, the pizazz of recognition.” she mumbled quietly, her voice solemn.

A butterfly passed over her, its wings bright and shimmering like gold.

Ezreal shrugged as he nudged his shorter friend, “Anyone would like it. Everyone wants to be seen, whether it’s by a few or many.” he stated simply, “It just depends on how you want to be seen.”

With a small roll of her eyes, Powder entertained Ezreal’s thoughts, “What do you want to be seen as?” she mused, glancing over to her taller friend to see the sincere look of contemplation upon his features as he took his time to think.

“I…want to be seen as an explorer.” he gently answered, his hand reaching out to the sky as he bent his fingers to form a gun, “The best explorer known to man, I want everyone to know my name.” he muttered, making a small ‘pew’ sound as he made the motion of his hand experiencing a gun’s recoil.

Powder took a moment to stare up at her friend, the sad determination on his features as he clenched his fist and swung his arm back down from the skies above. His shoulders slumped, his breath blowing messy bangs away from his face as he took a moment to anchor himself back to reality.

Once his composure was regained, his smile back on his face as he glanced back over to the other teen, Powder huffed a small breath as she nodded in understanding.

“Yeah…I think I get ya.” she muttered softly, her eyes sincere as she so desperately wanted to wipe away the sadness from her best friend’s eyes.

“What about you?” Ezreal inquired, looking back over the buzz and merriment of the Progress Day festival as he spoke casually, “What do you want people to see you as?”

The question itself made Powder think.

What did she want people to see her as?

She was a good friend.

She was a playful daughter.

She was a genius student.

She was a compassionate role model.

She was a…bad sister.

But did she want to be seen as such? As a conglomeration of titles to form one person? If she had to choose which aspect was noticed, which would she choose? The small kid from the Undercity that blew up a building? The steward of the founding fathers of Hextech? What was she now?

“...I…” Powder began, her mouth open to continue, to answer Ezreal’s question before anything she planned to say curled up and died in her throat, replaced by the pressure of air that pressed against her very brain to just breathe. What was she? Who was she? Eventually her need to release her breath was more important than thought, and with the quick escape of breath, followed the words, “I...don’t know.”

Ezreal either didn’t notice or chose to ignore Powder's struggle, reaching over to give his friend a pat on the back,“It’s alright.” he encouraged, his smile soft and for once a smile reaching his eyes, “You’ll figure it out one day.”

“Maybe.” Powder huffed, making a small smile back as she let her gaze travel up to the sky above them once more, “Maybe when we graduate from the Academy, I can go be the best explorer with you.”

An entertaining thought, traveling across the countryside with her best friend. Going on distant adventures in new lands. Hell, they could go to Demacia, try to find that girl Powder sometimes wondered about during the darkest of nights, letting the Dancing Lights float above her as sleep escaped her.

It sounded like a fun life.

Ezreal huffed a small laugh, shaking his head as he gave his friend a playful shove, “Heh, you wouldn’t last a day.” he teased lightly, earning a small amused scoff from his shorter friend as she shoved him back.

“Bet.” she challenged, sticking her tongue out as she counterpointed, “I’ve done more exploring than you’ve ever done.”

With an annoyed huff, Ezreal reached over to purposely mess up Powder’s hair much to her discontent, “Going through sewers doesn’t count.” he pointed out, smirking when Powder pouted as he pointed to his own bun and long bangs, “And you don’t think I can hold up a bet? Have you seen our hair?”

“You’ll cut it off one day.” Powder inferred, crossing her arms as she grinned smugly at him as she spun on her feet to walk backwards, “And when you do I will laugh til the sun comes down.”

The teen boy snorted as he shook his head, “You mean when you cut your hair I will laugh til the sun comes down?” he corrected, laughing when Powder stopped in her tracks just to give her friend a push as she joined in on the laughter.

“You’re so stupid!”

.

As the horizon bled a healthy deep orange, Powder looked over the entirety of Piltover from her perch. Even from way up here, she could hear Piltover’s buzzing, the distant sounds of Jayce’s voice echoing throughout the streets as his words were drowned out by the whistling of wind.

There was always a weird feeling Powder felt when so far above the ground, to be over Piltover, the Undercity, every little person that either wished to build or destroy her.

It made her feel so much more powerful.

Like she was above it all, that the trifles of politics and communication was a trivial matter. From this height Powder didn’t have to see what atrocities were going on in the streets, just to know that down below people were celebrating. Everything was a broad stroke, one collective feeling that she didn’t have to think of the smaller details. The smaller details of sadness and despair, of dead kids and drug riddled streets.

It was freeing. To feel that way.

“Are we ready to begin?” Viktor interrupted her thoughts, raising his brow when his ward was startled and snapped her head around to look at him.

“Uh, y-yeah…yeah.” Powder muttered, making one last look out to the horizon before jumping from her perch to walk to her guardian’s side, “What do I need to do?”

Viktor hummed in thought as he moved around, moving by the desk to take his equipment bag and taking a few needed tools to splay across, “Just stay and watch the positioning system, look for loose cogs and make sure the coordinates stay on the destination.” he informed, pointing to the colossal sphere above them as its rings gently moved around it, “I’ll be downstairs, watching the thermals and looking for any signs of a meltdown.”

It sounded easy enough, Powder nodded as she slowly exhaled, “Alright…” she mumbled, flexing her fingers and wincing when her joints audibly popped with how hard she gripped, “Okay, we can do this.”

Viktor raised a curious brow as he looked at his ward, watching her pace and muttering to herself about exactly what she needed to do. With a bit of an amused huff, Viktor inquired, “Nervous?”

“No kidding.” Powder sighed out, running a hand through her bangs before narrowing her eyes at her guardian’s oddly calm demeanor, “How are you not?” she asked harshly, a pout on her face as Viktor merely chuckled at her with a one armed shrug.

“Trust me, I'm just as anxious as you are.” Viktor answered, his smile wobbly as Powder noticed the finite details that Viktor just couldn’t hide now that she watched him carefully. The slight tremble to his wrist, his feet constantly shuffling and the creaking of his brace following his movement, “I find myself lucky for not eating lunch earlier today.” he excused, grinning mischievously when Powder grimaced with an over exaggerated gag.

“Ew, gross.” Powder mumbled, followed by a gentle laugh as she looked up to their work, their Hextech dream. With a nod to herself, her grin grew as she clapped her hands and shouted, “Let's get this show on the road!”

Viktor must have shared her enthusiasm, grinning as he nodded to her request and turned for the lift, “Very well,” he mused gently as he stepped onto the lift’s platform and pulled the lever to begin his descent, with one last look to his ward, Viktor gave Powder a genuine look of pride on his features, like everything they have worked for had led up to this. Powder could only smile back as Viktor muttered out, “Let’s change the world, Powder.”

With an easygoing release of breath, Powder got to work.

They’ve gone over the procedures more times than Powder could count. The tests were immaculate enough that even a toddler could set up these coordinates. As her deft and slender fingers worked on setting up the coordinates, Powder looked over her chipped fingernail polish and prided herself with how much work must have been done for them to turn out like this.

She would have to repaint them again, possibly Viktor’s as well.

With a final lever pulled, Powder hummed to herself as she took her clipboard and wandered over to the loading dock, watching as the crew started filing into the airship with their small bags of goods in tow.

It must’ve been luck for the very first airship to travel across the continent was the same one that helped them activate the positioning system. The very same Captain that showed Powder how they made an airship fly stood at the edge of the loading dock, making sure everything was in order before lift off.

With a skip in her step, Powder grinned when she walked over to hand the paperwork to the older man, “Alright Captain, everything’s in order. Light’s are green,” she stated as the teen turned her head to look at the massive ship as crew members went to their stations, “I wish you guys the best in Shurima.”

The Captain seemed satisfied enough with the paperwork, double checking the coordinates and travel time as he replied casually, “We wish you the best with your Hextech. This is really going to make the difference.”

Powder beamed in pride as she nodded, “That’s all we ever wanted.” she mumbled, “To help people.”

“And helping people is what you’re doing.” replied the older man, his smile wide behind his beard, “A lot of my men are going to be able to spend time with their families with the travel time basically cut in half.”

“That’s good to hear,” Powder sighed out, her smile easy as she gave a salute, “Safe travels, Captain.”

Entertaining her with a salute of his own, Powder watched the airship’s captain board his ship, making orders to start the engines and begin lift off.

As she watched the airship begin to rise higher and higher, setting itself into position to be sent to the other side of the continent, Powder felt pride.

This was everything they worked towards, what Jayce and Viktor dreamed of becoming a reality. As the soft thrum of magic rang in her ears, Powder vaguely wondered if it sounded like the singing Jayce heard. As the blue glow of magic permeated through the air, and set everything in a ghostly blue wash, Powder wondered if she would be just as amazed as Viktor was when he saw the miracle of magic.

But her heart didn’t accelerate, her mouth didn’t gape open in wonderment at her surroundings, she didn’t feel happy because Hextech was working.

She was happy to know that Jayce and Viktor’s hard work was finally paying off.

And that was when Powder realized.

She could give a shit about Hextech.

What mattered was her guardians being happy.

It was never about Hextech, about the benefits it could provide. It was about the two people that had the dream of a better tomorrow, over half a decade having a family that relied on her. That embraced her talents and understood what she liked to do.

Piltover wasn’t her home. It never would be.

But Jayce and Viktor, their workshop tucked away in the depths of the Academy school grounds.

That was home.

She watched the rings, shining by the blue glow of magic and the orange recess of the sun as they turned. The airship positioned at the front of the sphere as it the runes began to glow, ready to set voyage on a new age.

Once the rings slowed to a stop, the thrum growing louder and louder, Powder released her breath finally. Taking a moment to look at the desk across from her to admire all the hard work left behind by all three of them.

The open journals, all with distinct forms of handwriting. Discarded tools and balled up schematics strewn across the desk and Powder moved over to it and started to close all of their journals.

Everything would need to be cleaned up, taken back to the workshop to begin the next set of projects. Now that Hextech was becoming a realized creation, they could begin to work on more inventions, more tools to help the city.

More-

Powder paused as she inspected the folded paper under one of her journals, the parchment was yellowed in color and neatly folded in half unlike the rest of the hastily folded notes or balled up scrap paper. This wasn’t hers.

Hesitantly, her hand was hovering over the paper as if it would bite her, harm her, maim her. Powder felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand as the voices in the back of her mind started to mix with the dull thrum of magic, her shaky fingers taking hold of the paper and slowly unfolding to see what contents this paper held.

“No…” Powder whispered, her eyes wide as she dropped the note and immediately looked up to the airship, to the bright blue runes lighting the sky. Her throat tightened as she scrambled into a run, “No, no, no, nonononononono!”

Written in a familiar crude cursive handwriting, three simple words were written with all the context Powder needed to know what was going on.

‘Be Back Soon’

Hastily and haphazardly pulling at levers and buttons, Powder whispered to herself as she tried to stop the launch, “I can’t, I can’t lose you too.”

With a frustrated grunt she kicked the walls, punching buttons in the process, “Ez, please. Don’t leave me like this.” she begged, staring up at the airship with large wet eyes as the thrum grew louder and louder, the voices and images flashing before her eyes.

She did it again.

She jinxed herself.

“EZREAL!” she screamed, throwing her bag open and digging inside for its contents, “Take me with you! You don’t have to do this alone!”

The voices were screaming.

The images of everyone, living and dead, haunted her.

Claggor’s tired stare.

Seraphine’s hands gripped to the side of her head.

Mylo’s detested eye roll.

Caitlyn’s tall form standing over her with a cold stare.

Vander’s large callous hand on her head.

Jayce’s strong hand on her shoulder.

Viktor’s delicate touch in her hair.

Vi’s dirty, bloodied hand against her cheek.

Powder felt the hot streaks of tears burning her cheeks, her breaths rushed and small as she pulled her pistol out. Her eyes darted to everyone, everything, around her.

She had to stop the launch.

She had to keep Ezreal around.

She couldn’t live with ghosts.

With a scream, Powder aimed at every ghost, every source of power for the Hexgates. And she shot like her life depended on it. Because her life did depend on it.

The sounds of gunshots, the electrical buzz of damaged wiring and technology around her, the creaking and banging of metal as her bullets ricocheted around her. The chaos was comfortable, in its loudness, there was peace.

Powder didn’t hear the voices, over her screaming and wild firing. She didn’t see the images of ghosts with the flashes of gunpowder and electrical sparks. For once in a very long time...

She found true serenity in pandemonium.

But peace wasn’t her goal, the smile on her face quickly being wiped away as the loud harmonic thrum exploded in her ears. Looking up, she could only watch in captured horror as the airship that floated outside merely seconds before.

Was gone in a stream of bright white light.

Powder fell to her knees, crumpling to land harshly on her elbows.

And released an agonizing scream from the bottom of her chest.

She didn’t even notice the spindly arms tightly wrapping around her as she wailed.

Chapter Text

Things changed.

With the launch becoming a complete success, Hextech was what everyone in Piltover talked about. The benefits it would provide, the difference it could make. It was everything a pair of scientists and their ward could ever dream of.

But with the feverous acceptance of Hextech, it forced Jayce away from working more and more everyday. He had to attend press conferences, interviews, gala events, anything and everything in between to the point he could only get a few hours of work done in the middle of the night.

And worst of all, Jayce missed too many important events.

He was sprinting through Piltover as the summer sun beat down on him, the sweat on his brow constantly being wiped off for the brief second he stopped to make a turn.

Everything was supposed to get easier after the Hexgates were brought online.

But just like the night of Progress Day, when Jayce rushed to the hub’s tower to find his ward an inconsolable mess and his partner’s arm grazed by a stray bullet. His heart leapt to his throat when he stopped at his ward’s school gates to see graduates talking with their families, their diplomas in their hands and bouquets in their arms as they took photos with their family.

He missed it.

He missed Powder’s graduation.

With the pit of his stomach growing, Jayce paced around the school grounds to find his kid. His face tight as he watched parents with their children, pride on their faces as they told their kids that they’ve done a job well done.

It should have been that easy, to be supportive like that. It felt like it was that easy. But the more he tried to uplift his ward’s attitude, the more she pushed back. It was starting to become…difficult to know what to say to Powder now, the broken promise that her friend would return when the ship came back only caused more of a fracture in their relationship.

He felt just as estranged as he did when he first met the girl, alone and scared as she held herself in a thin layer of soot.

It hurt to know that.

Making one more scan over the crowds, he paused at the sight of blue hair, tied beautifully as she sat on the stairs with his mother and Viktor at her sides. Jayce sighed in relief, already rushing forward to attempt to repair the damage he caused.

“Hey!” He called out, his breath heavy as the three of them looked up towards his slumped form as he kept his hands on his knees, “Sorry for being so late…the conference was longer than I foresaw.” he tried to excuse, searching his family’s faces for their reactions, to the softening of their faces to know that he was forgiven.

His mother stood up first, Powder’s bouquet and a wrapped box in her arms as she moved to her son’s side to gently pat his back, “It’s alright sweetheart, as long as you’re here is all that matters.” she softly said.

With a slow pained grunt and Powder rushing to help Viktor stand back up, his partner pulled his crutch under his arm as he tried to give Jayce an easygoing smile followed by a causal shrug, “I was late as well, it’d be hypocritical of me to be angry at you when I did the same thing.”

Jayce sighed a bit in relief hearing that, the tension slightly from his shoulders as he looked down to the star of the hour, her arms around her legs as she refused to look up in Jayce’s direction to instead focus on the pebble she kept nudging down the stairs.

“...Powder-keg?”

Powder casually blew the stray hairs from her face, “...It’s fine.” she mumbled, her voice tired as she rested her cheek against her knee as she added, “Not like this graduation mattered or anything.”

Jayce couldn’t help but wince slightly at the offhand comment, glancing briefly to his mother and partner as they shrugged at him. Seemed like he was the only one she made that comment to, which honestly hurt to know.

“Well…after we have a celebratory lunch.” Jayce started, hoping to uplift the spirits of his dower ward with an avalanche of presents, “Vik and I have something to show you. A surprise.”

That seemed enough to perk the teen right up, her eyes wide and curious as she finally looked up to Jayce as she tilted her head at him, “A surprise?” she huffed out in amusement, “I’m not twelve anymore, Jay.”

Ximena gently laughed as she shook her head, moving back to Powder’s side as she hummed, “You’re not, but…who can say no to surprises.” she mused gently as she shifted the box she held into the girl’s hands, “Like this one.”

Powder blinked momentarily at the box now settled in her lap, her hands hesitant and her eyes searching Ximena for approval to unwrap the present before one was given. The teen made quick work of the packaging, pulling the box away and lifting the top of the box just to be met with an ‘X’ shaped drawstring in the center of dark fabric.

“M-My old jacket.”

“I know you intended to throw it away, “ Ximena spoke softly as Powder slowly pulled the garment from its confinements, the amount of fabric cut in half and stitched to be more showy than something to actually fight off the cold, “But I know that jacket meant a lot to you, so I repurposed it. Something a little more fashionable for girls your age.”

Jayce watched as Powder pulled the jacket out to spread it out, almost balking at where the fabric was cut before making the comment, “Mom, that shows off her entire midriff. What are people going to think if she-ow!” he winced as he snapped his head towards Viktor’s pointed look, the smaller man’s lips set thin as he urged for Jayce to not make a statement like that for right now.

“I like it.” Powder muttered, pulling the jacket close to herself before giving her adoptive grandmother a tight hug, “Thank you, for being here.”

Carefully Jayce cleared his throat to garner his mother and ward’s attention, tilting his head towards the school gates as he suggested, “We should head out before our reservations expire.”

.

It wasn’t until after lunch and walking his mother home when Jayce took his two most important people to the next destination for the day, excitement on his features as Powder curiously watched as they got closer and closer to the building the Councilor Chambers resided in.

“Do we have a meeting with the Council or something?” Powder inquired, her arms crossed as they were maneuvering the winding hallways of blues and golds, occasionally she paused to look at the stray painting that plastered itself on the walls.

“On the contrary,” Viktor muttered as he fished out a ring of keys from his pocket and began to unlock the large door in front of them, “The Council wants to have us closer so anything we invent can be approved faster than traveling between the Academy and here.” he explained before Jayce opened the door for the both of them.

Jayce smiled as the both of them walked in, Powder’s face wide and her mouth agape in awe as she looked around the large expanse of the laboratory provided for them. With equipment that Powder couldn’t dream of them having in their workshop back at the Academy. Jayce slowly moved behind his ward as he quietly regarded her, “Welcome to the new lab.”

“Woah…” Powder breathed as she walked around the deep expanse of room, her hands gently running over dense metal surfaces as she looked back over to her guardians, “What about the workshop in the Academy?”

Jayce gave a carefree smile and a shrug, "That? I'm going to turn it into a storage unit for our equipment.” he stated casually, ignorant to Powder’s eyes widening and Viktor’s brows furrowing in confusion as he turned to look at his taller companion.

“Storage unit?” Viktor repeated, his voice tight as his lips turned downwards, “You said you wanted to keep our prototypes there so we could work on final products here.”

“Exactly, that’s what a storage unit is-”

The soft sound of someone clearing their throat cut the brewing argument short, causing the three of them to look towards one of the lab’s doorways. Standing awkwardly was a woman dressed similarly to Jayce and Viktor, her hair pulled into a fluffy bun and her soft hands reaching up to adjust her glasses as she struggled to smile to the three of them.

“A-am I interrupting something?” she asked cautiously, her eyes darting between the three of them and only lingering at Viktor for a few seconds longer. Powder furrowed her brows in confusion, looking between this mysterious woman and her guardians for an answer of who she was.

Jayce caught on rather quickly, straightening his posture to move across the room and placed a hand on the shorter woman’s shoulder, “Powder-keg, this is Sky. Our new assistant for Hextech.”

Sky gave a small nod as she moved towards the teen to offer her hand, “Sky Young, it’s nice to finally meet you.”

Powder expressed even more confusion, absently shaking hands with Sky and muttering, “Nice to meet you too.” Before looking between her guardians once more as she inquired, “I-I don’t mean to be rude to the new girl but…do we need an assistant? We already get a lot done with just the three of us.”

Viktor chose to answer, carefully maneuvering around the expanse of the lab to reach his new desk, “Don’t you think more would get done with an extra hand to help out?” he asked, slowly pulling the chair back to plant himself on it with a sigh, “Besides, you’ll be in the Academy for the next few years. We don’t want you to be distracted from your studies.”

For a moment Powder took her time to digest what Viktor told her, the voices of Jayce and Viktor talking about the new adjustments for the futures falling to her deaf ears as the buzzing, the scratching, the whispers resounded through her as she watched Sky join in their conversation. Her mouth moving but Powder being unable to hear her words as the hissing imaginary words in her ear were burning into her very brain.

You’re being replaced

After all this time, was she replaceable? Just like that, when Powder was entering a new part of her life where she could be more helpful to her guardians and they just…find someone new like that?

Her hands balled up into fists as she inhaled deeply, closing her eyes to focus on ignoring the noise around her. To pull herself back into reality as she looked to her guardians with a slightly desperate stare.

“I-I can still help out though, right?” she asked—no pleaded with both men as she chewed on her lip, “The Atlas Gauntlets…the Hexclaw, I-I can still help with them…right?”

Noticing his kid’s distress, Jayce nodded as he moved to Powder’s side, “Of course, just because we’ve moving labs doesn’t mean you’re kicked off the project.” he assured, reaching to pull her into a hug as he patted her back.

She took consolation with that, her shoulders slumping slight relief as she leaned into the embrace. At the sounds of Viktor’s low mumbling, Powder broke out of it, her head turning to watch Viktor speaking quietly with Sky as he looked over some paperwork before handing it to her. She watched as Sky fumble with her words, her face heating up and her eyes darting from the paper in her hands to Viktor’s face as he turned to look over a few other written notes. Powder watched as Sky’s gaze lingered on Viktor for a moment too long than the teen was comfortable with.

She flexed her fingers slightly before turning her hand back into Jayce’s hold, “I don’t like it.” she mumbled.

Jayce didn’t know exactly what she didn’t like, but he tried to assure her as he slowly pulled her away and fixed the stray pieces of hair away from her face, “You’ll get used to it, just like we did with the old lab.”

He didn’t get it, did he? Powder hummed quietly as she leaned into his touch, her face torn between being happy for the upgrades their work was getting and despair for the fact that this was no longer their project alone.

“It’ll be a pain in the ass to get back to the old workshop from here.” she weakly tried to excuse, only raising her brow curiously when Jayce smiled as he tilted his head back out to the hallway outside.

“We have one more place to go to, your last surprise.” he stated.

“You have another one?” Viktor inquired, his face also turned into a confused expression as Jayce’s smile widened.

“A surprise for the both of you.”

.

Jayce could barely keep his excitement as the three of them went up to the top floor on the lift, both Viktor and Powder watching him curiously as he led them through an extravagant building of white and gold. Each door on the hallways was far inbetween, just as white and pristine as unmarked porcelain against the shining sun.

Once they stopped at one door, Jayce worked on going through his keys.

“Since the old workshop is a bit of a walk away…” Jayce began as he moved to unlock the door, “I got us a new place, a million times better than what we had.” he stated as he pushed the door open to blind all of them in deep afternoon light.

It was a spacious loft apartment, the living area’s entire wall a large pane of glass overlooking the horizon of Piltover, the shadows of the city overcast as the sun was setting. Everything was new, from the flawless deep red couches to superficial paintings of landscapes. He prided himself at his design choices, watching his partner and ward wander into the depths of the apartment to stare at everything in awe.

“It’s only a ten minute walk from the new lab, a fifteen minute walk to the Academy as well.” he continued, walking around the expanse of the apartment as he moved the the red brick archway, “A fresh kitchen, too, long gone are the days we have an ozone aftertaste to our meals.”

“I liked our kitchen.” Powder muttered offhandedly, her face making a small frown as she ran her hand over the back of the couch, making a small look of a grimace as she pulled away, “Is the couch leather?”

“It is,” Jayce answered, his smile a bit strained from Powder’s comment as he tried to advertise the new living space, “They last a lot longer than fabric couches, considering the state of our old couch.”

The teen didn’t talk back, but her face said it all. How her lips pursed as she looked back down to the couch momentarily before moving away to look at everything else. Powder paused when she saw the four different doorways, hesitantly walking to one of them to open it and see the pristine bathroom hidden behind it.

Jayce instantly perked up, moving back over to Powder’s side as he spoke, “We have three bathrooms now, the one in the hallway then-” he paused to step back a few steps, opening the door across the hallways to show his kid the bright magenta room, “Your own personal bathroom and bedroom! You don’t have to share one with us anymore, isn’t that great?”

Powder must have been able to tell how he was straining to hype this place up, her face straining to smile as she sidestepped around him to get a better look around her ‘new’ bedroom, “It’s…nice, Jay.” she mumbled, looking around as she pressed her hand into the thick comforter on her ‘new’ bed. Slowly she looked over to her guardian, her expression troubled as she muttered, “I’m…going to take a shower in the new bathroom, if you don’t mind.”

She sounded hesitant, wary of the new space around her. She just needed time to adjust, Jayce thought as he nodded, “Of course, I’ll let you get comfortable. There’s new clothes in the dresser for you too.”

“...Thanks.” Powder struggled to say, turning her head away before Jayce closed the door on her, letting her have her space before he walked back into the main living space to check on his partner.

Viktor moved to be near the window, overlooking Piltover as their manufactured streetlights began to illuminate the city when the sun began to fail doing so. Jayce slowly moved to his partner’s side, placing a hand on his thin shoulder as he looked over the horizon with Viktor.

“We’ve excelled in strides since the launch.” Jayce muttered softly between them, the colors of early night washing the apartment in a gentle shadow, “I can’t believe it’s all finally paying off.”

Viktor made a small hum before he shrugged Jayce’s hand away, turning towards his partner as reflective amber looked right into Jayce's very own soul, “You might be moving too fast, Jayce.” he counterpointed, “What about our rooms in the old workshop?”

It was already discussed, Jayce thought as he shrugged his shoulder, "That? I'm going to turn it into a storage unit for our equipment. You were into it, remember?” he asked as he gave his partner a simple smile and leaned a bit closer, "I got a plan, V." he said softly, moving in for a kiss before Viktor turned his head away, lips pressing against a sharp cheekbone instead. Jayce furrowed his brows in concern as he pulled back, watching Viktor’s facial features turn hard.

“I meant that the old workshop could be storage for the equipment, not a replacement of where we lived.” he argued, moving back slightly as he gestured to the room around them, “This is too much, Jayce. Our workshop in the Academy was home enough, Powder doesn’t like it and I sure as hell don’t like it.”

The comment made Jayce clench his jaw, feeling the blow to his very ego as Viktor bluntly stated his dislike of what Jayce made for them. After so long of living in dorms and sharing living spaces with his mother, of small drafty rooms with only one single bathroom for two grown men and a little girl, why turn away from having it all? Private rooms with insulation and soundproof walls, private bathrooms that Jayce specifically commissioned to be accessible in consideration for Viktor’s condition. A wide living space that didn’t need to be riddled with gadgets and junk so that they could be normal in a space that didn’t need to have their job ingrain with how they lived.

“Vik, I bent backwards to get this place.” Jayce pressed, “We finally have money to call our own from the Hexgates and I planned for us to have a nice place to li-”

"I don't care about what you did to acquire this apartment.” Viktor interrupted coldly, “The gesture was considerate, but you know this is over the top for us. We could be using our newly acquired funds to work on Hextech more, to improve the lives of those around us.”

It was always about Hextech, about what they could be doing. Why not, just for a moment, that Viktor could think about himself for once? It was always something Jayce did wrong, always something that Jayce just didn’t understand. No matter how many times he wanted to understand, Viktor wouldn’t give him a straight answer.

“You really hate it, don't you?” Jayce quietly muttered, watching as Viktor paused his passionate gesturing, looking at Jayce as his limbs fell limp. His shining amber eyes narrowed momentarily as he saw the resigned anger on Jayce’s face.

The silence didn’t help, making Jayce clench his fists as he waited for Viktor to answer, but never did.

Jayce inhaled sharply, turning his head to rub at his temple, "How about, ‘way to go, partner’, or how about ‘I believe in you’? Is that so fucking hard?" he harshly inquired as his eyes snapped over to Viktor’s hunched frame, “It’s always fucking something with you, you can’t just accept a nice thing, can you?”

Watching Viktor tense, his lips turning downward, Jayce felt a small surge of pride course through him at being right for once, "You're making a huge mistake." Viktor stated, already starting to move past him to make it to the exit door.

"How huge?" Jayce asked as Viktor moved past him, watching his partner’s curls bouncing with every step, "Huh?" he tried again, a bit louder as he felt his ego being bruised once more with Viktor ignoring him, "Like letting our kid go and causing an international incident?" he pressed, watching Viktor still in his movements and pulling his shoulders stiff. Jayce felt a brief satisfaction at watching Viktor being the one in trouble for once, how he turned around and watched Jayce with wide astonished eyes, "That huge?"

“You said-” Viktor started, his voice small as Jayce continued despite himself.

“How’s your arm, by the way? Was that a huge mistake too? To let Powder have her gun on her when she was operating sensitive equipment?” he pressed, watching Viktor bring his hand up to cover the area he was shot at, “You can’t sit here and say that giving us a proper home is a bigger mistake than what you’ve done. All of that, ignoring your illnesses? Including your reckless pursuits for the sake of progress? You’re a hypocrite to think you’re any better than I am!”

The silence that followed after was nearly deafening, Jayce’s ears ringing as he recalled what he just said to his partner. Viktor stared at him for a long time, his eyes wide and hurt, wanting to look betrayed but never able to muster up the courage to get that far. Despite everything that Jayce could have done, Viktor never would think that Jayce turned on him. Even over something as stupid as this. To think that he caused this intense fracture to this whatever they had over something as minute as living conditions made his chest wrench in pain.

It wasn’t wasn’t supposed to go that far. He wasn’t supposed to dredge up all that past anger and frustration that he kept locked away just to dish it out at Viktor over this.

Cause nothing is louder than the silence between two people who fell in and out of love because one of them couldn’t get their priorities straight.

Jayce felt like an utter, absolute fool.

He struggled to open his mouth, to apologize immediately. Because Viktor finally slumped his shoulders, his expression tired as he averted his gaze away and turned around so Jayce couldn’t see his face.

“Jayce…I think we need to end this.” Viktor finally spoke, breaking the silence.

It felt like a punch to the gut, Jayce breath falling from his lips as he took a small step forward, his eyes bewildered as he whispered out, “E-end what?” he asked, his body tense from already knowing the answer.

“This.” Viktor muttered as his arm gestured between the both of them, “This thing between us…”

“W-Wha-”

“I think we’ve gone far enough, Powder’s grown and we can go back to being professional once more.” Viktor continued, his voice even and calm as his shoulders squared, “It’s better for Hextech’s development if there are no…connections to set us back.”

“B-But Vik…” Jayce started, his tone shaky as he took the needed steps forward to stand closer to his partner, “How could you say that? After everything we’ve been through, after all of that!” he exclaimed, his hands shaking as he reached out before quickly stopping himself, pulling them close and having his fingers tangle with themselves, to comfort themselves instead of gripping onto the thin shoulder in front of him, “And you just want to cut it off right here? Right now?”

“It’s for the best.” Viktor muttered quietly, his head lowering. Jayce so desperately wanted to know the expression Viktor hid away from him. Was it a relief? Was Viktor feeling solemn? Heartbreak like the very same pain Jayce felt in his own chest?

“No, it’s not.” Jayce hissed out, his jaw clenched as his hands moved erratically, shaking as he gestured, reaching out to his partner as he heavily stressed, “Viktor, I fucking adore you, I’d kiss the fucking ground you walk on if you’d let me.” he pleaded, finally letting his hands do what they wanted and taking Viktor by the shoulders to turn him around, “Please, don’t just let it go just like that over one argument.” he practically begged, the pressure behind his eyes making his head hurt as he felt their forbidden words begin to bubble in his throat, “I-”

Viktor’s overly pale hand was over his mouth the instant Jayce uttered the first syllable, “Don’t.” he stated heatedly, his eyes wild, fearful, “Don’t you dare say it.”

But Jayce fought back, grabbing Viktor’s wrist to yank it away from his mouth as he huffed a haughty bitter laugh, “What? Too scared to hear it? Too scared that if I say it that you can’t hide away from your own feelings?” he accused, “Why don’t you want me to say it? To say that I like you like that?”

His partner struggled to pull away, stepping back as he kept trying to recover his wrist from Jayce’s grasp. Viktor didn’t answer, his face troubled and desperate to get away as Jayce pressed on, “Say it, Viktor.”

With one final wretch to get his hand free, Viktor adjusted himself back on his crutch to move back. Out of the space between them, away from Jayce’s intense and hurt expression, “Because you don’t know what you want, and you're not ready to say it.” he said finally, turning away as he took steps towards the door, “I should go. Goodnight, Jayce Talis.”

And Jayce just let him go, speechless and shaking as Viktor opened the door and slid out like he wasn’t welcome. Like this apartment wasn’t meant for him, for Powder, for all of them.

Like Jayce didn’t try to make this a home like Viktor did once before.

Once the door to the front clicked shut, the door to Powder’s room clicked open as she slowly walked in, her face unreadable in the dark shadow of the hallway. Jayce didn’t have the courage to look at her as he wandered over to collapse onto the couch. The headache behind his eyes only worsened, forcing Jayce to hold his head as he listened to Powder slowly paced towards the edge of the couch.

“Sorry, did you hear all of that?” Jayce asked softly, taking time to look up to the teen as she squirmed in place, “I-I didn’t mean any of that, Powder-keg.”

“I…” Powder started, messing with the threads of her new jacket to avoid looking at her guardian, “I think I’m going to go back home, with Vik.” she mumbled, making a cautious step back before eventually turning around to walk to the door.

Jayce let out a soft breath, shaky and weak as he rubbed at his temples, “Get there safe.” he commented, not even bothering to look up as the girl opened the front door and left him in the eerie darkness of his new apartment. No low thrum of heavy machinery, no gentle clinks of hanging utensils clanking together from the soft wind going through the rafters, no lingering smells of copper mixed with flavorful leftovers from the night before, and no views of a deep sunset in the distance.

Instead, the soft glow of the full moon rose in the horizon, washing Jayce in pale blue moonlight as he sat alone, in a much too empty apartment for his liking.