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Chapter Text

The cold brick of the alleyway dug hard into Vi’s sore back where she had collapsed against it. Everything hurt. Her body, her head, her heart. The sobs wrenched from her lungs involuntarily— the air expelled before it could reach her oxygen starved muscles. Powder had— Powder had—  

No, she had. With her plan— with her failure—  with her anger. If she had just stayed home. If she had listened to Vander. If she had never planned the heist in the first place he wouldn’t be—  they wouldn’t be— 

Powder. 

She could still hear her wailing. Her desperate screams. She hadn’t meant to— She’d had to walk away or she would have— She didn’t want to hurt Powder. Anything but that. She was all she had left. She shoved her head into her arms, trying to smother the sorrow long enough to think— to be who she needed to be. She sank her teeth into her arm trying to add pain on top of pain to ground herself. She forced herself to breathe through the sobs. It worked— just a little. It’d have to be enough. She glanced back out of the alleyway, head heavy with exhaustion, pain, and sorrow.

A shadow. 

A knife.

Silco. 

Vi lurched to her feet Powder’s name on her lips. She reached out and felt the air shift behind her. On instinct she dropped to the left. Hands fumbled in the air where she had just been. She rolled and kicked behind her, stomping her boot into the knee of her attacker. She heard a howl of pain as he collapsed and looked back to see the shithead of an enforcer who’d barged his way into The Last Drop. The only one she’d seen walk away from the attack that killed Benzo. 

He looked at her— jaw clenched and clearly in pain. He had a cloth in one hand, a bottle of something else in the other. They glowered at each other, appraising and angry all at once before he relented. He reached out a hand, slow, as if his gentle affect might keep her from darting away. He ground out a whisper through his pained grimace, “Please. He’ll kill you if he hears you.”

Vi saw red. Kill her? Like she gave a shit about that when Powder was out there alone and it was her fault. If he wanted to kill Vi, fine. But he wouldn’t be laying a finger on Powder if she had anything to say about it. Vi pulled back her other boot and smashed it into the enforcer’s face before flipping herself and scrambling out of the alleyway. Silco still loomed over Powder and she could see the shadows of his other goons starting to appear in the shadows. She bolted forward, weaponless, and slammed into him from behind. 

The man buckled under the force of her tackle. She heard Powder scream her name both joyous and strangled but she didn’t have time to look at her. From atop Silco she raised her elbow and slammed it into the back of his head. She heard a nasty crack and groan come from him. She snarled and raised her arm again only for a hand to snatch her shirt from behind and drag her off. Vi reached behind her, grabbing the arms holding her and then put her feet to the ground and launched up. The top of her head collided with a chin and Vi saw stars but the hands loosened their hold. She fell back to the ground and scrambled to her knees. She looked up. Powder was there, just on the other side of Silco, collapsed on the ground where she’d left her. She sniffled, wide eyed, tears still streaming down her face. She clutched Vi’s rabbit to her chest. Vi wanted to apologize. She wanted to do a lot of things. She stood up, darting to the side again. A boot came down where she’d just been. Vi braced her shoulder and hurdled into a shadow to her left hitting the man squarely in the chest and knocking him back before darting away again. She backed herself towards Silco who was pushing himself from the ground. 

“Vi! Your left!” Powder’s voice. A strike from a heavily tattooed hand came down just as she ducked to the right. She spared a glance at the man, the huge one. He’d be the biggest threat here. She knew she had to get her and Powder out now. She was flagging— the adrenaline holding her together slowly leaching from her already exhausted body. She took a chance. Vi lunged out of the range of the tattooed man— rolling herself along the ground when she hit it. She rolled past Silco who was starting to stand and grabbed his knife as she scrambled past him to stand in front of Powder.  She positioned herself, fists lifted and knife brandished as Silco stepped back into the circle of people drawing closer to them. She felt her sister’s small fingers tangle themselves in the back of her shirt as soon as she was in range.

“You came back,” she whispered, probably more as a reassurance to herself than to Vi. “You came back.” 

“You’ve gotta get out of here, Pow,” Vi whispered back, watching as the four adults closed in. She could see another shadow laying limp at the end of the alley. Sevika. Traitor , Vi thought. She hoped she was dead. “I’m gonna take one out. Run past and don’t look back.” 

“Not without you,” Powder said, gripping her shirt harder and shoving her face to Vi’s back. “Not without you.” 

“I’ll follow you,” Vi lied. She knew she wouldn’t. “Go find Ekko. Hide. Be safe. I’ll find you.” 

She heard a muffled sob and felt Powder shake her head, arms circling Vi’s waist. 

“You’ll go,” Vi said. She shook Powder’s arms from her, stepping forward as the first of the adults, the woman with the dark hair, took an anticipatory step forward. “Promise me.” 

“I promise,” came the faint whisper of Powder. It would have to do. Vi darted forward, surprising the woman with her movement. She launched a swift punch to her head. The woman ducked into the second swing Vi had aimed at her stomach, this fist holding the knife. She felt the knife slide into the soft flesh of the woman’s gut. Warm blood covered her hand as the woman spat out her breath. The force of the strike curled her body in and Vi took the opportunity to send her sprawling with a punch to the back of the head. The knife fell with her but Vi was fine with the sacrifice. Hopefully removing it would buy her a couple of seconds. Vi jumped backwards, narrowly dodging a swing from the blonde man who had stepped in just to her right. Vi ducked down, swinging out with her leg and sweeping at the man's feet. To his credit, he managed to jump just in time to avoid the strike. A metal sphere graffitied in smileys nailed him in the face while he was in the air. The crack of his nose made Vi grin manically and she glanced back to see Powder just behind her, lips curled back in a snarl and her arm already reaching back for another of the grenades at her belt. They might not always work the way she intended, but Vi had always found a metal to the face to be a sufficient distraction. She launched herself up, knocking into the stunned man's stomach with her shoulder. His body flew backwards.

“Go!” she yelled. She felt Powder rush past her as she turned to face the huge tattooed man. Round 3. She started forward, ready to push him back and keep them busy the longest she could when she felt a hand wrap around her ankle. She stumbled into the strike she'd been preparing. It was more than enough of an opening. The giant struck her with a fist in the stomach. Vi flew back and slammed into the wall of the alley way. She saw stars. She couldn’t breathe. 

“Vi!” She turned her head sluggishly to Powder’s voice. Her sister had turned back to her, illuminated by the flames, looking at her in horror. She couldn’t see the shadow behind her. Sevika, stump pressed into the wall as she dragged herself forward. The arm she still had was raised. She had a knife. 

Vi launched herself from the wall, stumbling towards her sister. She took another blow to her back and screamed. But it launched her forward and she used the momentum to push herself forward, nearly flying the ten feet to Powder and knocking the girl to the ground as the knife swung down. Vi curled herself around her sister as she felt a hot searing pain in her left shoulder. She screamed again and heard Powder screaming too. She curled herself tighter. A kick came from the right. Another from behind. A rain of blows came down on her body and they didn’t stop. Again and again she felt boots and fists strike her back and head and shoulders. She collapsed on top of Powder, trying her best to keep her from taking any of the attacks. She could feel Powder screaming, distantly. There was so much pain and she thought she might be screaming too. It felt like it went on for an eternity before finally everything stopped. 

She realized after a moment or two that the blows had stopped even though her body was still wracked with pain. In a daze she could hear the muffled sound of Powders sobbing into her chest. She wanted to lift up. She was heavy. She was probably smothering her. She didn’t think she could move if she tried. 

She felt cold and calloused fingers slip under her chin, wrenching her head up. She screamed in agony at the movement as it lit the pain in her body back up. Through her swollen face— when had that happened?— she could see the slim form of Silco crouching down in front of her.

“Still alive I see. Impressive,” he drawled. Vi closed her mouth mid sob to spit blood towards him. Silco smiled, non pulsed.  “And still fighting. You were truly wasted on Vander.” Vi continued to try to curb her sobbing into something stronger, more dignified and failed. “It’s a shame you die here,” Silco said. “A shame about your sister too.” 

Vi sucked in a breath and in what felt like herculean effort stopped the sobs wracking her body. “Leave her alone,” she rasped. Her throat was tight and raw and she knew she must have been screaming because it felt like she'd torn it open. “Please— she’s just a kid. Please—” Vi could feel Powder still underneath her. Still breathing fast. She was just a little girl. She was the only thing Vi had left. Silco dropped her head and her face slammed into the dirt of the alleyway. She tasted dust and blood and felt the smoke in her lungs from the fire and still she spoke. “Anything but her. Please. Please—” she devolved then— babbling her pleas into the dirt, hoping, praying that Silco would kill her and let Powder go. The last thing she heard before she fell into the sweet relief of unconsciousness was Silco’s voice. 

“Take them both. We have work to do.” 

Vi drifted in and out of consciousness several times before she woke fully. She remembered snippets of voices— floating in a daze of exhaustion and pain. Powder was there once. She remembered a hand clutching hers— the soft calling of her name mixed with wrecked sobs. That was the closest she had come to truly waking. She’d tried to drag herself to the surface of consciousness— to tell Powder it was okay. She was here. She wasn’t going anywhere. She’d managed to squeeze her fingers before sinking back down beneath the heavy weight of slumber. 

When she fully woke, she wished she hadn’t. Her body still pulsed with pain deep into her bones. Every minute movement sparked a sob worthy spasm from her muscles. Still, she pulled herself to consciousness even as her body begged her for more rest. 

Powder. She latched on to the thought. I need to find Powder. 

Vi opened her eyes. It took longer than it should have and was more difficult— more painful— than she’d expected. Despite that, when her eyes focused she sucked in a breath and held hope for a second that everything was fine. It had all been a very bad dream. 

She was in Powder’s bed in The Last Drop. She could see her sister’s lights littering the yellow stained walls with diffused colors. She could smell the acrid stench of the undercity— hear the jingling of Powder’s gadgets on the bed frame. The sheets felt rough and worn as they always had. For a moment she convinced herself that she’d just fallen asleep in Powder’s bed— that Vander and Claggor and Mylo were all alive and any moment now one of them would come to check on her. But she knew it was a lie. She choked down the sob that threatened to tear from her swollen lips. She didn’t have time for that. She had to find Powder. 

She looked out at the rest of the room. There was something new— a small table sat next to the bed. On it was a glass of water and a cold bowl of soup. She ignored both for now despite how dry her mouth was. Between the state of her throat and the parching of her tongue she felt like she’d been eating sand for a week. She could see the door across the room. It didn’t look locked and if it was she thought she might be able to kick it off its hinges— or she would’ve been able to if she couldn’t feel every bone in her body aching, including her teeth. They had really beat the shit out of her. But she wasn’t dead. That was something. She remembered Powder calling for her. That was something too. Something to use against the pain. 

She pulled herself into a sitting position in the bed. Another good sign. Oh, it was agony, but she could do it. As much as she’d wished for the pain to stop, having it meant that her spine was in decent condition. She could still walk— hopefully. Moving to the edge of the bed and testing her legs took what felt like years. She was exhausted by the time she’d managed to pull herself to her feet. All she wanted to do was to lay back down and sleep again. 

Take care of Powder. Vanders voice. His last words. She pushed herself to the door. It wasn’t locked. Vi barely had the energy to be suspicious but the last time she’d waltzed through an entry that should have by all rights been locked, she’d gotten Mylo and Calgger killed. She felt a burning in her chest that had nothing to do with the beating she’d taken. Tears stung her swollen eyes but she brusquely wiped them away— using the pain of it to ground herself. Powder was all she had left now. Powder was her purpose. She opened the door and entered the elevator that would take her up. 

The elevator took a moment to reach the bar, but it was long enough for her to know something wasn’t right. The door pulled open with a soft scrape and Vi stepped out into the empty bar of The Last Drop. It should have been filled. She could see from the darkness of the windows that it was night. On any normal day there would have been no less than 20 people sitting at the tables— smoking, talking, gambling. There should have been noise. There should have been life. Instead, she walked her way across the silent bar to drag herself up the stairs to Vander’s study. She wasn’t sure why she chose that room first. Maybe it was because it didn’t feel real— it didn’t feel real that Vander had died. If she opened the door he’d be there— his hulking frame barely fitting in the chair at his desk. He’d be there— gentle, strong, invincible as always and everything would be fine. He’d make everything okay again. She paused at the door then reached out to open it. It swung wide before she could.

Sevika stood in the doorway with a look of surprise on her face. There was a moment where the two locked eyes. Vi drew herself up, preparing her broken, failing body for a fight. Sevika snorted in her face. She gestured over her shoulder with her arm. 

“I told him you’d be up soon. He’s waiting for you.”

Vi snarled at her. Sevika rolled her eyes. “There’s no point in fighting. You’d fall over if I flicked you right now. Just go. You want to know what happened to your sister, don’t you?” 

Vi snarled louder. “If anything happened to her—” 

“She’s fine— despite my best efforts. Go find out for yourself.” 

Vi bared her teeth at Sevika for a moment, waiting for the other shoe to drop— for the other woman to attack her. For something to happen. All that did was that Sevika moved out of the way to make it easier for Vi to pass through the door. She waited. She thought of Powder. She walked into the room. 

Vander’s study was unchanged from the last time she had seen it. There were books on the shelves— papers at the desk— illuminated by the soft yellow light of the sign. Vander’s chair faced the window. Vi entered the room cautiously as the chair swiveled in a slow, lazy movement— completing it’s arc to reveal Silco sitting where Vander should have been. Vi fought down the urge to snarl again and then, seeing no reason not to, stopped fighting herself.

“Where’s my sister?” Her voice was a dry and raspy growl. She wanted so badly for it to be something more. Something like Vander’s— booming. Authoritative. Anything to make her sound stronger than she felt. Silco barely gave her a glance from whatever paper he was reading at the desk. 

“Come have a seat, Vi.” Silco called to her. “We have much to discuss.” 

“I don’t want to discuss anything with you.” 

“Oh, I believe you do.”

Vi raised her fists, pulling her aching body to its full height. ‘Where. Is. My. Sister.” 

Silco glanced at her and sighed, setting down the paper. He leaned forward on his elbows and crossed her fingers in front of his face. He gave her an appraising stare before speaking. “She is safe. She is well. She will be taken care of.” A pause. “If, of course, you cooperate.” 

Vi felt her blood run cold. “What have you done with her?” 

“I have asked Sheriff Marcus— Oh,” Silco made a show of looking as if he’d forgotten something. “Did you know there’s a new sheriff? Such a tragedy what happened to the last.” A smile pulled at the corner of his lips. He waved his hand airily. “But he's earned his promotion, after all, he brought the criminals responsible for the slaughter of the enforcers to justice. Vander is dead of course, and so are his two sons, but his daughter he was able to capture and put away behind bars.” 

“She’s in prison,” Vi said to herself in dawning horror. Then she lurched forward, slamming a fist on the desk in front of Silco. “You said she was safe!” 

Silco seemed unaffected by her outburst. He leveled her with a serious look. “And she is. Sheriff Marcus is very aware that if anything were to befall her, well. He would not be sheriff for much longer.” 

Vi stepped back from the table. Powder in prison. Powder all by herself alone in a cell where Vi couldn’t reach her— couldn’t comfort her. She was just a kid- just a little girl. She didn’t deserve any of this. “Why?” Vi managed to choke out. 

Silco smiled at her— standing from his desk. He paced to the window— his back to Vi. “Vander had quite a hold on The Lanes— the loyalty of the people. He was always good at that.” He paused, the implication of their differences drawn in the silence. “I am sorry Vander had to die— that his other children had to die. But you—” He turned back to her, silhouetted against the window. “You do not have to die, Violet, neither does your Powder. You and I have goals that aren’t so different, after all.” 

“I don’t have shit in common with you,” Vi spat. Silco smiled at her again. 

“Ah, that anger. It reminds me of Vander when he was young— before he lost sight of the cause.” He paused again and then paced back to the desk. “I know that anger— that passion. You want freedom from topside. My goal is the Independence of the undercity, the independence of Zuan.” The words were said with such vehemence, such passion, that Vi took a step back from the man. He stared her down from across the wooden desk- hands pressed down against it crumpling the papers underneath. “I am not afraid to fight for those goals, even if it has to be against my own people. However, I would like to keep the violence to a minimum.” 

Vi scoffed. “You expect me to believe that after what you did to Vander? To Mylo and Claggor? After what you did to me?”

“I’d remind you,” Silco drawled, “that your sister was responsible for the deaths of your brothers. But still, a necessary sacrifice.” Vi flinched. Silco paused for a beat letting Vi draw in a shaky breath before continuing. “There were to be more. My original plan was to flood The Lanes and Vander’s supporters with this.” The man reached into the pocket of his vest. Vi tensed up— preparing. Silco slowed his movement, making sure she could see as he drew a vial of violently glowing pink liquid up for Vi to examine. She recognized it, the color at least. It had been in Vander’s veins and eyes just before he’d died— when he’d become a monster. 

“You recognize it, of course.” Silco said. “Shimmer, we call it. It’s highly addictive and you’ve seen what it does to people. The Lanes wouldn’t stand a chance.” He spun the vial between his fingers before clutching it in his fist. “But, perhaps it is not the only way.” He slipped the vial back into the pocket of his vest leveling Vi with a look she couldn’t decipher. “The people united under Vander. Perhaps they would unite under another, someone like him, someone close to him.”

The silence that followed was expectant and it took Vi a moment to realize the implication. “Me,” she said— shock coursing through her veins. “You want me to give you The Lanes.”

“No.” Silco shook his head. “I want you to lead The Lanes.” He laid a hand on Vander’s chair and pulled it back. He lowered himself to sit at the desk again, steepling his fingers. He waited a moment, perhaps expecting her to speak again but continued when she didn’t. 

“Do you remember begging for your sister's life?” Vi did. In the haze between the grief and pain she remembered groveling into the ground. She felt like she’d do it again now if she could just have Powder back— if she could reach out and scrabble any of her old life back together. Silco must have seen something on her face because he tilted his head. 

“I believe you said anything, wasn’t it?” He waved his hand in a gesture for her to sit. “I have a proposal for you.” He smiled. “You won’t refuse.” 

Vi stood for a moment— then her shoulders slumped and she took the seat knowing she wouldn’t. 

Powder wrapped her arms around her knees and rocked back and forth in her cell. She’d screamed herself hoarse before they’d even managed to throw her in here. No, she’d screamed from the second they’d dragged Vi’s limp body from where it was smothering her. She’d scratched and bit and kicked and tried to get them to let her go, to let her go to her sister. It was all in vain. They were bigger and stronger and Powder was tiny and frail and useless. Mylo’s voice. A favorite insult. She’d tried anyways. She’d kept trying even when they’d thrown her in a tiny shattered room in that cold, metal warehouse. She’d kicked and punched and pried at the door. She’d tried again when they’d pulled her out and thrown her in a sack and marched her back to The Last Drop. She’d screamed the loudest and kicked and scratched and struggled the hardest when a few days later they’d dragged her away from her bed where they’d put Vi’s bruised and bleeding body. That’s when her voice had really gone out— when she’d finally stopped screaming. 

It had been three days since they’d cuffed her and handed over to the enforcer. She was getting acquainted to rocking in the cold air of the jail— trying to stifle her own sniveling. It wasn’t fair for her to cry— not when it was all her fault. Not when she’d killed Mylo and Claggor and Vander. Not when she’d been the one to get Vi beaten to a pulp. She hoped she’d wake up. She hoped she was okay. She hoped she came for her even though Powder didn’t deserve it. She didn’t deserve for Vi to show up and spirit her away where they could be happy— not after what she’d done. She needed Vi. Vi was better off without her. But she knew that didn’t matter. Vi had come back for her. Vi would always come back for her even when she didn’t deserve it. Even when she was a Jinx. Mylos' voice echoed that back to her over and over and over again. Jinx.Jinx. Jinx. That’s all she was. 

She heard a light tapping at the bars of her cell. She didn’t look up. Whoever it was would just leave her food and water and leave anyways. There was no point. 

“Powder.” A man's voice. The Man’s voice. The one who’d ordered her taken away. The one with the eye. She scrambled up and threw her back against the wall of the cell. The stone ground into her skin through her thin uniform. 

The man stared at her— one eye wild and black. Powder didn’t know who he was. All she knew was that he’d been the one to take Vander. He’d been the one who was dangerous enough to make Vi leave her at home. He’d been the one she was aiming for with her monkey bomb. He was the one who’d made her kill her family. 

“That is a fair reaction I suppose,” he said. Then he lowered himself to the ground. “I’m sorry you must be here.” 

Powder didn’t say anything to that. She pulled back her lips and snarled. The corner of the man’s lips twitched up. 

“Your sister had a reaction that was much the same.” That got Powder’s attention. Vi. “Yes,” he continued. “She has woken up.” 

“Is she okay?” Powder asked despite herself. She pulled herself away from the wall and approached cautiously. She didn’t have anything with her. Everything had been taken before she’d entered the jail. She was defenseless but she moved forward anyways. 

“For now,” the man said. “She was worried about you but I assured her you were fine.” 

“I’m not fine,” Powder spat.

“You’re fine enough,” the man said.

“What do you want?” Powder asked. She missed Vi. She missed home. She hated this man. 

“I wanted to explain to you what this is,” the man said. He ran a hand through his hair, looking into the distance. “I am not a cruel man, Powder. I simply know what must be done and sometimes those are the hard things.” 

Powder curled her lip at him again but said nothing. 

“I know you do not understand this now, but I need your sister’s compliance and for that, I need you here. However,” He reached behind his back and drew out a bag, “just because I need you here now, does not mean that it is forever. I know you want to help your sister.” Powder watched as he opened the bag. Her eyes went wide as he pulled out the toy Vi had given her. The one that was her favorite. He proffered the bunny to her through the bars and Powder only hesitated a second before she darted forward and snatched it from his hands. She clutched the withered, dirty thing to her chest with all her might and tried to stifle the responding sob. She watched the man with wary eyes.

“My name is Silco,” the man said. “I do not believe we were ever properly introduced. Your sister will work for me as long as you are here. But there may come a day when you can leave this cage. I will strive to make it happen.” There was a conviction in his voice that Powder almost believed. His fists were clenched and there was a far away look in his eye. Then he softened— glancing back to her. “Or perhaps, you can help me make it happen. I know it would make your sister happy if you were to do so. All that would be required is that you help me.” He tapped his fingers along the bars of her cell. “Your sister assures me that you are very talented and I was impressed by what you did at my base.” Powder flinched. What she had done at the base was destroy her family forever. What did it matter that the monkey bomb worked when it had taken everything from her? 

The man seemed to notice her grief and smiled gently at her. “I know it was painful, but we must all suffer to be stronger. To know how and when to strike back. The consequences do not make you less brilliant.” With that, the man stood. He adjusted his coat and turned from her. “I will be back soon. Take care, Powder.” 

He turned from her, leaving her clutching the rabbit as his steps echoed down the hallway till the sound was gone. Powder was alone again. She screamed.

That night, she rocked and sobbed into her rabbit. The cell was cold, dark, and terribly hollow. But so was she. She knew It was her fault Claggor, Mylo, and Vander were dead. She knew that even if Silco had started it, she had ended it. And it was her fault Vi was working for him now. If she hadn’t been weak— if she had stayed home— if she wasn’t a horrible, petty, little Jinx- they’d all be alive. 

She was so tired of being nothing but dead weight to everyone she loved. She was so tired of hurting them— of being used against them. She just wanted to do good. She just wanted to help and over and over again no matter what she failed.

The sobbing motion of her back paused.

Maybe… Maybe that was it? Powder thought back on every plan she’d ever been a part of. From the heist to the last time Mylo had started a prank war with the local street kids. She’d ruined the set up of his paint bucket flash flood at the last second and scared them off. When Claggor had asked her help in reaching a tool he’d dropped in a vent, she’d pushed it deeper. When Vi was teaching her to shoot and they’d broken a vase in one of the shops and been chased all over till they made it home where Vander was waiting for them. Everyone in The Lanes knew who they were. There was never a chance of escaping that punishment. Vi took the fall. Like Mylo said, there was a book filled with things she didn’t do. Every plan she’d ever been a part of had fallen apart because of her. She was a Jinx.

And Silco was a man with a plan. 

She could tell just from the gentleness with which he approached her that he wanted something. Adults were always like that when they wanted her to do something. But Silco didn’t know what she was. She stifled her sniffling and wiped her tears with such force that the rough fabric of her uniform burned her face.She’d show him. She’d do whatever it took. She’d be the best jinx she could possibly be. 

And Silco would never see it coming.

Chapter Text

Powder finished grinding the bright purple flowers at her stone table. It was almost done. She’d had them drying for a few weeks, ever since Silco had brought them to her, and this was the final step before adding them to the flask. She gathered up the pieces and swept them into a cup that she kept at her bedside. She wasn’t allowed much in her cell, but it was far more than most Stillwater prisoners. She had privileges. She stared at the collection in the cup, trying to eye out the ratio and make sure it was right before she walked to the corner of her cell and dumped them into the body of one of her grenades– another gift from Silco. Maybe gift was a bit far– she’d asked for these things after all. But Silco thought they were being used to further his plans. He didn’t understand what he’d given her. But Powder did. Powder understood a lot of things now after being given access to Stillwater’s library. It was, apparently, reserved for the most privileged of Stillwater’s prisoners. Powder thought that meant the ones with lots of money that had families willing to pay for any comfort. Well, she didn’t have money, but Silco apparently had his way of getting her whatever she wanted– except her freedom.

But even that was on the table now– not that he knew it.

The library was a plethora of knowledge, certainly one larger than she’d ever had access to in the Lanes. The books there were on a variety of subjects and when she was allowed to go– when there were no other prisoners and a specific set of guards accompanied her– she was allowed to read whatever she liked. It had taken her a while to make a plan, she’d had to find the appropriate books, and longer to start procuring her supplies, but the time and patience she’d put into had paid out. Now she took her no longer empty grenade and shook the metal body to get the liquid and the powder mixed evenly. It wouldn’t do to have the ratios off in any part of the tincture– assuming the ratio was right at all. Powder wished she had a set of measuring cups or a scale or a burner or a flask or really a lab. A lab was what she needed. A prison cell and cup with scratches as even as she could make them on it were what she had. She hoped it would be enough.

The idea that it could be messed up made her sweat a little. If it all went right she’d be okay. If it was wrong– well. She’d be out of this prison one way or another. She’d like to live though. Violet would be furious if she died now. She set the flask aside and laid out on her cot. It’d be two hours for the flower petals to release the chemical she needed even ground up as they were. It’d be faster with heat– with a burner– but this would have to do. It would all have to do. She eyed a new set of flowers, the latest batch that Silco had brought her after the first had dried out. He didn’t know that the excuse she gave for wanting them was bullshit. Sure, she did miss the outside world. She did miss the Undercity. They did brighten up her cell and make her a little more happy. But she’d needed them for other reasons. Still, it was nice of him to bring them when he’d noticed the others wilting. She hated the fact that he was nice to her, that he liked her.

But she’d use it. Silco liked to bring her things. That was something Powder figured out early on in her stay in Stillwater.

He’d come back, as he’d promised, though the visits started slow. Powder didn’t have a calendar or a real way to measure time. She’d guess his early visits were weeks apart. But he made a point to come and speak to her, even when she didn’t speak back to him.

The first time he’d brought her something (she didn’t count the time with Vi’s rabbit) was when winter started moving in. Winter didn’t really exist in the Undercity. Sure, it got colder, but the ever present layer of smog and pollution kept the alleys and trenches blanketed in a hazy warmth. Powder had never felt the need for anything more than her patched up coat and a couple extra blankets on her bed at night. The same could not be said for her nights in Stillwater. The place was one huge draft. Apparently, without the smog to blanket it, Topside experienced the effects of winter more miserably than any trench did. It made her miss Vi with a force she hadn’t expected. She’d crawl under the thin sheets of the cot in her cell and shiver, thinking of the very coldest nights at The Last Drop when she would crawl into bed with Vi who always burned like a space heater. It made her heart ache. It was a couple of weeks into Powder shivering herself to sleep– feeling sorry for herself in her threadbare uniform– before Silco showed up. He’d caught her in the morning this time, freshly woken and shivering in the crisp chilled air. Harsh, quiet words were exchanged with the guard who’d escorted him and before long, he’d wordlessly extended his hand offering both an extra blanket and a warmer uniform.

Powder had barely repressed the thank you that almost slipped through her chattering teeth when she snatched them from him.

He brought her little things after that– items that made her stay in the prison more bearable– another blanket, a better toothbrush, a couple more of her toys, and once, notably, a book. She thought she might have grabbed that one a bit too eagerly by the way Silco’s eyes followed her, thoughtful and bright. She still wasn’t speaking to him in the early days. Though he often spoke to her.

Vander was a topic she heard about often. That she didn’t know him– that he hadn’t been the man she’d thought he was. That was fine. Silco could lie all he wanted. Vander hadn’t thrown her in a prison. Sometimes he spoke of Vi and she couldn’t help but listen then. He told her she was recovering well. Told her about the work she was doing in The Lanes– about whatever latest job she’d done for him. Often they were small things or bringing people into Silco’s inner circles. Sometimes it was taking out a rebel group. Apparently even with Vi’s help, there were still people who did not want to join under his flag. Powder hoped that even now they were fighting. Maybe when she escaped she could join one of those factions and then Vi could lead The Lanes to join her instead of having to work under Silco.

She couldn’t claim to understand all of what the man said, even now, but to her it sounded like things had run smoothly for him. She hated that, especially in the early days. She’d hoped her home would give him hell even if she loved the Lanes and didn’t want anyone hurt. She wanted them to fight. Instead, it looked like between him and Vi, it had fallen in line faster and tighter than it ever had under Vander. Silco assured her this was a good thing– that it meant that Powder might be able to leave sooner rather than later but Powder knew that was a lie. She knew that she was the only thing keeping Vi under his control. He couldn’t let her out, not now or ever because Vi would kill him the second he did.

If Powder didn’t get to him first, of course. She had plans for that too.

It had been hard to conceptualize Silco’s demise from the inside of her prison cell– especially when she couldn’t leave it. She wasn’t allowed in with the other residents– something about being too small and too important. Silco needed her alive and well and wasn’t willing to allow any harm to come to her– and if that meant that the only people she ever saw were the enforcers who brought her food and Silco, well, that just made it easier to make her feel like he cared. She had known what he was doing. She’d known. And yet as the nights grew colder and longer and then grew warmer and shorter again she’d found herself waiting for him– clinging to any piece of the outside world that he brought her.

She’d hated him, still did. She’d hated him so much for locking her away– for taking away her family. But mostly she’d hated herself for missing him.

She knew on some level that wasn’t her fault. He had made himself her world. He was the only person in her life now and he was above all else, nice to her. She knew it was a ploy. She knew he wanted something. And she knew that whatever she gave him she would inevitably screw up so it was okay to want to help him– to want to give in despite her best intentions. But it didn’t make it any easier to reconcile with herself.

Powder thought she’d probably talked herself in circles like that for months. It had been warm, then cold, then warm again, and Silco had brought her many useless, thoughtful things before she’d finally asked.

“What do you want from me?” Her voice had been raspy and hoarse and she didn’t know how long it had been since she’d last spoken to someone because she didn’t know how long she’d been in her cell and certainly she hadn’t had any conversations since then– she’d hummed to herself, sometimes singing words to songs she knew– but there was no talking. There was no one to talk to but Silco.

Silco had been silent for a moment– thoughtful on the other side of the bars. He’d cocked his head and said as if it was a favor, “I will not do you the disservice of lying to you.”

He’d reached into his ever present bag, the one he carried with him that often had the trinkets he gifted her with hidden away, and pulled from it a familiar container. Powder would have recgonized one of her smoke bombs anywhere. This one was a cat, it's silly whiskers drawn on in clumsy pink crayon. Silco had held it at the tips of his fingers, the touch delicate. Powder had snorted at him.

“You don’t have to be afraid of that one,” she’d said, wrapping her arms around her knees while she’d sat on the cold stone floor. “It doesn’t work.”

“Yes,” Silco had said. “But the last one did.”

Powder had wrapped her arms tighter and glared. She hadn’t needed his words to remember that.

“I want you to make another,” Silco had continued. “I know that you wish to be free of this place. I cannot let that happen yet. I know you understand why. But perhaps, if we had the kind of power that you displayed that day, we could move things along faster.”

“You want me to rebuild the bomb that killed my family?”

“Yes.”

Powder had spat at him. She was still proud of that.

“There is no need for this kind of vulgarity, Powder.”

Powder had stood and come to the edge of the bars. “Even if I knew how to do it, I wouldn’t. Not for you.”

“And for your sister?” Silco had asked. “You know, every battle she goes into, every punch she throws and takes, it's all for you. There is always the risk she won’t come home one day. Wouldn’t you like to help her before that happens?”

Powder had wavered in that moment.

“All I ask is that you consider it,” Silco had said, tucking away her smoke bomb. “I will take my leave for the day.” And he had, disappearing down the hallway. Powder had glared at his retreating back till he was out of sight and then punched the ground so hard she was relatively sure she’d fractured at least one knuckle. Her hand had swollen purple and bruised but by the next time Silco came she was calm.

“If you want me to make a bomb I need to know more than I do,” she’d said. And like that, the library doors of Stillwater had opened to her. Her smoke bombs, the cat and a couple others she’d requested, had been returned to her. Silco had gutted the chemicals for “her safety” under the excuse that even he couldn’t bring something as volatile as what she’d armed the flasks with into a prison. The wiring was still intact though and he’d brought her a few mundane tools to tinker with as well. Powder mourned the loss of her tinctures but she knew she could make this work.

The library had changed everything. Suddenly Powder had what felt like the world at her fingertips. She’d spent hours there pouring over books of all kinds. Mostly, she tried to stay contained to the textbooks– to things that would help with her tinkering. She’d read deep into anything that had to do with electronics, with mechanisms, and chemistry. She dabbled in biology and struck gold with, of all things, a historical account of some of the founders of Piltover– specifically the assassination of one by an undercity freedom fighter. Apparently even at the city’s founding tensions had been high. But what interested her wasn’t the politics, but the poison used. She found her next clue in a catalog of the herbs unique to the undercity and then a medical guide after that. Powder had chased this line of thought down the rabbit hole and out the otherside for at least another season, maybe more, until it sat fully formed as a tincture in the hollowed out cavity of a smoke bomb with crude bunny ears.

Powder had prepared for this day. She only had a few hours left before she put her plan into action. She tried to sleep but found herself too wired to do anything of the like. Instead she reached under her mattress and pulled out the copy of the book that had started it all. A History of Piltover’s Founders. The book effortlessly opened to the right page, the spine had cracked from holding that position for so long. The page of Ocelot Halalus– plagued by the poison that wracked his body with a fever no one could ever quite figure out how to break. Or at least, not in time to save him. Apparently they’d come up with an antidote later– it was finicky and had to be administered in doses. Powder already had that antidote. She’d drafted a dose of it– or her best shot at a dose of it (again she wished for measuring cups) weeks ago. She reached under the bed again and pulled out the first smoke bomb she’d gotten back from Silco, the one with the pink cat ears. She opened the cap and took in the sight of the disgusting brown sludge within. She debated for a moment, then downed the liquid the same way she’d seen people at The Last Drop do. She even followed suit by trying to cough up a lung. The antidote tasted acrid and earthy all at once, like licking a battery if the battery was made of mud. It was disgusting but she made sure she didn’t spill a drop. Once her coughing fit subsided she wiped her mouth on her sleeve and started to pace.

It felt like days later when she finally saw the guards rounding the corner to the hallway that led to her cell. Powder scrambled to her flask. She held it tight to her body. The moment had come. She stood in her empty, quiet stone cell, the one that had held her for months. Years? She wasn’t sure. She was taller. She’d outgrown her last uniform. She stood in her prison raised the flask and–

Hesitated.

She was scared.

She could feel her hands shaking against her chest while she tried not to drop the flask. She was scared her plan wouldn’t work, that she’d gotten the ratios wrong, either in the poison or in the antidote. She was scared that she was going to die before her plan even got off the ground. She was scared she was going to Jinx this. But what did it matter? If she died, Vi would be free.

It would matter to Vi. It was like she could hear her voice. Vi loved her. Vi didn’t want her to die. Vi didn’t think she would– she thought she was strong– that she was smart. Sometimes her brain did that to her in the quiet of her cell– making her think she could hear the voices of the people she loved. Vander and the boys were mean. She thought they deserved to be after what she’d done to them. They were loud and overwhelming and said all the horrible things she thought about herself. But Vi was always there when she needed her, pushing her forward. Telling her she was loved. That she mattered.

And that’s what this plan banked on. It relied on the fact that Powder mattered. Mattered to Vi– to Silco– to the guards that kept her safe. Because as long as she mattered they’d have to try to find a way to save her.

And they sure as shit couldn’t do that in here.

Powder downed the poison.

Chapter Text

Viktor did not consider himself a people person. He had earned a reputation around the academy for being as curt as he was clever during his time as Heimerdinger’s assistant and he knew there were whispers of his tempestuous nature— despite his best attempts at keeping himself reserved around the general populace of Piltover. He’d never been rude, never raised his voice, never played into the idea that people held of the undercity. He may have been short, but that was simply because he had no patience for small talk and the political undercurrent that lay beneath each simpering conversation between topsiders. He’d often excuse himself quickly from those kinds of ordeals— which while not exactly polite wasn’t as great a sin as his reputation made it out to be. He simply held fast to his own rules of engagement— either be honest or at least be interesting to talk to. All said and done, Viktor had not found many people worth his time so he’d trailed Heimerdinger like a faintly limping shadow, waiting for something interesting to come along.

And then it had— or he had.

He couldn’t say what exactly he was expecting of Jacye Talis— he’d heard plenty of Heimerdinger’s golden boy after all— but it was probably something more along the lines of what he expected from every other topsider. He’d expected him to be egotistical (which he was), over confident in his own abilities (Viktor secretly delighted in the gutted look Jayce leveled at his chalkboards whenever Viktor scrapped his equations in favor of his own correct ones), and annoyingly impatient (always on the move, hard to keep up with on a good day even when he slowed down for Viktor). He hadn’t disappointed. Jayce Talis was everything that Viktor had expected…

—and more.

Signing his name at the bottom of each page of his notes— egotistical but understandable considering the potential that Viktor could see in the discovery he was on the verge of. Over confident— yes. The passion with which he’d addressed the council and defended his work— the belief that he could sway the most powerful people in the city with just a few strong words despite the damning weight of a crumbling building dragging him down. He was delusional. And yet, it was breathtaking and foolish and—

—Honest.

That was a way in which Jayce had surprised him. Jayce swung away at every problem with the delicacy of a wrecking ball. He was all barely contained passion and force— a gale wind that swept you up and released you into the air of the night sky— holding you there to see all that could be. It was wonderful— intoxicating. Viktor was convinced the night he’d heard Jayce speak of his work, when he’d stopped him from jumping, when they’d floated across from each other nothing but a galaxy between them— he was convinced he’d never been alive till that moment. He’d known when he read his notes that the potential was there— that this passing star was what he was going to anchor himself to in hopes that it pulled him into something greater.

He’d thought it would take more work than a few simple equations (Jayce had been too cautious. If he’d been less concerned with muting the danger with a lower frequency and more interested in the simultaneous cancellation of opposite high frequencies he’d have figured it out on his own.) but Jayce had offered him his dream with a hand on his shoulder and a perfect white toothed grin as if it was the easiest thing in the world— like Viktor had somehow deserved it.

Kindness was another thing he had never expected of Jayce Talis.

And it was easy to track from there. In the year and a half they’d been working together, Viktor followed the lines of Jayce’s bleeding heart in all of their work, dotting every I and crossing every T with a stubborn, honest, want to do good. It’d be sickening if he wasn’t the exact same way— if he hadn’t been sitting, waiting in the shadows for the chance to stop asking permission and to start changing the world. And that’s what the two of them were going to do. They would make the world better— finishing each other’s sentences and desperately trying to out math each other in an effort to prove if more or less facets would improve the stability of the hexcrystals (Viktor’s math lent credence to the idea of more facets resulting in a equal distribution of power and therefore a less volatile crystal. Jayce’s math suggested the power of the crystal had fluid-like dynamics and put corners under pressure and made them more likely to break and therefore explode. The argument was entirely theoretical for now but frequent enough that they knew they would have to revisit it more seriously later). It was easy to be swept up in that passion— in that belief that they could do anything. But dreams took more work than fancy words and a single night's success. One man’s passion couldn’t solve for every equation no matter how stubbornly Jayce swung away at it with his startlingly brilliant mind. And he was brilliant. And strong, and charismatic, and currently, grinding on Viktor’s very last nerve.

“Maybe the math is wrong,” Jayce said, swiping away Viktor’s latest equation from the chalkboard with a snap of his wrist.

It’d been three days in the lab with very little sleep between them. It was not an all that uncommon occurrence (workaholics that they were) however, the pressure of a deadline was. Jayce had a meeting with several sponsors interested in their work in two day’s time. Technically the meeting was for both of them but— well, Viktor planned to have a flare up in his leg that day. He’d be ever so sorry he couldn’t make it. Jayce, as usual, would sigh and nod, having caught on to that particular trick after he had pulled it the first three times. He was too polite to confront him then, at the tentative beginning of their partnership, and too weary of the argument now to try to badger Viktor into tagging along.

“The math isn’t wrong,” Viktor said, keeping his voice even. “It’s incomplete.” Just as much as Jayce’s perseverance couldn’t solve every problem, neither could math— much as it pained him to admit. Jayce and Viktor’s experiments with the hexcrystals and their limits were thorough but there was only so much they could do. The physical properties they could study, theorize, test, understand— but there was a level of mysticism to harnessing the arcane that both had trouble wrapping their heads around. Jayce had been able to replicate the runes that the mage he had met as a child had used to channel their magic, but without understanding any of the theory, having access to any of the rules behind magic, the two of them struggled to replicate its effects.

Of course, they didn’t necessarily need to right now. Yes, having this information would be nice— very nice. Just a translation of the runes would put them ahead of Viktor's projected schedule by months, possibly years. But mages and all their knowledge had been eradicated from Piltover long ago. Unless there was a miracle and some kind of long forgotten grimoire appeared (Viktor kept an eye open at the second hand shops even if he’d ceased to believe in miracles long ago) they were simply going to have to figure it out themselves. Viktor didn’t see a problem with that. He had faith in his own abilities, not to mention Jayce’s. And when they’d first postulated the theory that they might be able to resonate two crystals at a certain frequency to link them and travel between, well, that alone would have had Viktor in the lab every hour of the day for the next year trying to map out the possibilities. But according to Jayce, they didn’t have a year. He needed it now.
People pleasing to his core was also something Viktor wouldn’t have expected of Jayce— it was one of his far more annoying qualities. Viktor couldn’t imagine caring enough to please strangers, but then again, he was just a trencher with a lame leg and the only people he’d ever pleased were his parents and apparently Hiemerdinger. That was enough for him. Jayce’s life sounded exhausting. Meeting with peers, sponsors, and grant donors— needing to please every single one? The stress alone made Jayce a terror to be around. But it was worse this time because both of them knew they were stuck.

Bonding two hexcrystals should have been, theoretically, easy. They were drawn to each other— smaller ones singing out and pulling to the larger ones. It should have, in theory, been possible to use a smaller core with the apparent teleportation spell runes to move to the larger one. But it wasn’t working, or at least, it wasn’t yet. And the longer they couldn’t figure it out, the more the council and their sponsors made Jayce sweat. The more impatient Jayce became, the more careless his work and his words and inevitably he was stepping all over Viktor’s metaphorical toes along with, once, the real ones on his bad leg. He’d swiped Jayce’s ankles so hard the bruise was still blooming into new colors a week later. He couldn’t feel those toes on a good day but it was the principle of the thing.

With the looming date of the sponsorship meeting drawing ever closer, Jayce was becoming more and more overbearing with the need to present something of their success. Their work they already had just didn’t seem to be enough for him (though it wasn’t insubstantial by any means). He wanted to impress them (IE. Provide them solid results they could see instead of the ground breaking theoreticals that any person with a background in crystallography and theoretical physics would have cried over). And really, that annoyed Viktor most of all. Jayce was pushing himself to the brink of carelessness because he wanted to please rich people who couldn’t fathom the importance of their work outside of how it could line their own pockets. Sure— their funding was important but they had plenty of sponsors. Viktor made more in a month than most undercity folk would have in a year— maybe two. It was certainly more money than he knew what to do with. Financially, they were fine and Viktor didn’t see the need for this kind of stress. If they were going to spend three days tirelessly in the lab trying to make the impossible possible, he at least wanted it to be because they were fueled by the manic obsession that gripped them whenever they were on the edge of a breakthrough— key word being they— like the the first night. Like the crystals themselves, they made miracles by matching each other's unstable high frequencies— and when they were off. Well—

Jayce’s fumbling and nitpicking distracted Viktor— which he considered a crime punishable by a pointed jab of his cane to the tender part of the rib cage. The constant interruption made it near impossible to think and if he could just get a thought down without Jayce redlining it before it was finished they might actually make progress.

Speaking of, Jayce had now erased the entire line of equations that Viktor had been working on moments ago (Which was fine. Jayce knew he’d remember them but still). Viktor had the sudden, intense wish that he’d been born a tad more able bodied so he could push the man out the window. This was why he hated group projects.

Murmuring to himself, Jayce began to scrawl his own line of equations on the board and Viktor gave him a moment before he snorted and knocked Jayce’s hand with the butt of his cane. Jayce let out a yelp, dropping his chalk, and then turned to glare at him.

“What the hell, Viktor?”

“Go home, Jayce.”

“You go home,” he responded petulantly. He glanced at the ground. “Look what you did to my chalk! It’s in pieces.”

“So is your damn equation,” Viktor replied. He tapped the chalk board with the butt of his cane. “Don’t you remember? You proposed that last week. It’s not possible without destabilizing the resonance of the crystal.”

“I—” Jayce looked at the board and Viktor knew he was remembering it now behind the fugue of exhaustion. Viktor also knew the moment Jayce’s expression shuttered into stubborn annoyance that it didn’t matter. “It could work. If we cooled the crystal, decrease the energy of the frequency—”

“We can’t cool the crystal without also cooling the rest of the mechanism which would be a moot point. The math leads elsewhere.”

Jayce ground his teeth. “And where exactly does it lead?”

Viktor shrugged. “Perhaps I’d know if I could think for more than 10 seconds without you interrupting me.”

“So it’s my fault?” Viktor tried to repress a snort at Jayce’s incredulousness but wasn’t entirely successful.

“Yes,” he replied.

Jayce glared at him. “You’re an asshole.”

Viktor sighed and tried to suppress his annoyance. Getting frustrated with Jayce in this state was easy, but unproductive. The more Viktor allowed his anger to drive the conversation, the more defensive Jayce would be. He softened his tone, trying for soothing but knowing that it would inevitably be lost in the dryness of his accent. Topsider’s had such trouble determining when he was trying to change his inflection. A pity. “You’re tired,” he appealed. “You’re stressed. You aren’t getting anything done here except distracting me.” He reached out with his cane again and lightly poked Jayce in his barrel sized chest. “Go. Home.”

Jauce snorted, knocking the tip of Viktor’s cane away. “That's rich coming from you. When was the last time you slept? You aren't running on any more sleep than I am.”

“Perhaps I am simply more accustomed to exhaustion than you are.” A good neutral (true) response. And then before he could think better of it he added, “It seems to interfere with your capacities far more than it does mine.”

Jayce was bristling again. “Oh it interferes with your capacities plenty.” He looked like he wanted to add something but then faltered. Viktor could only guess that he’d gone looking for an example and come up blank. He suppressed the responding smirk and the quip he wanted to throw back into Jayce’s face He breathed deep, squeezing the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger for a moment before releasing with a sigh.

“Fine,” he said. “Enjoy yourself. I refuse to work under these conditions.” He turned on his heel, cane clacking against the floor and headed towards the back of the lab. Jayce spluttered behind him.

“Where are you going?”

Viktor reached a series of pipes and jerked the cot that was fitted underneath them out into the open. He kept it tucked in the corner and flipped the sheets back with his cane.

“To bed,” he replied without turning.

“That’s my bed!”

Viktor set aside his cane. “You said you put it in the lab for both of us.”

“I— well, yeah— but you always pass out at your desk!”

“What can I say?” Viktor waved his hand airly. “I’m feeling refined tonight.”

He heard Jayce groan and could practically feel the man dragging his hands down his face. Viktor continued the process of getting into the cot. He hated this thing. It made his leg ache worse than when he passed out at his desk. But he had a point to make so he sat down on the edge of the ragtag sheets and manhandled his leg under the covers. It was quiet for a moment and Viktor knew Jayce was, finally, calming himself down. When he spoke, he was much more level, more pleading than anything else. “Can you please just help me with this?”

Perhaps pity might have moved Viktor ten minutes ago. “Sorry,” he said. “I can’t hear you. It appears my capacities are far more affected than I thought.” He rolled himself into the mattress to the sound of Jayce’s swearing.

The next hour or so was punctuated by Jayce’s frantic muttering. It started with, “I know you aren’t asleep,” and fell into incoherent mumbling with words like “ridiculous” and swearing and Viktor’s name. The commentary decreased in volume as time went on. Viktor moved through none of it— allowing himself to relax. He refused to even think about the equations while Jayce was still in the room. Eventually, Jayces muttering became a soothing white noise before finally—

“Fine. Fine!” Jayce said into the quiet of the room. “I’m going home.” He heard a rustling that he could only assume was Jayce gathering his things. The footsteps to the entrance seemed clipped, but defeated. He heard the door to the lab swing open and then a pause. “If you could just look at the equations one more time for me, that’s all I ask.” And then Jayce was gone.

Viktor let out an amused huff and thought about getting up. But perhaps he’d been a little too successful at relaxing. Even on the terrible cot with it’s worn sheets (that were still a higher thread count than anything Viktor owned) he could feel the tempting call of unconsciousness. He decided, without urgency, that he would do as Jayce asked later (he always did as Jayce asked eventually). The work would still be there when he awoke and maybe a few hours sleep would give him the perspective he needed. He was on the edge of a breakthrough. He just had to pull himself over it.

And with that thought, Viktor was asleep.

Chapter Text

 Awareness seeped back into Powder lazily– like it had better things to do. The first thing she felt was the pervasive cold– a deep and subtle heaviness she could feel in her bones. It made her want to be warm so badly she tried to wrap anything she could around herself. At first the action was purely mental, the kind of thought you have when you are too asleep to actually control your limbs. Then she pushed through that because she was really cold and it drove her to actually find a way to remedy the situation. That’s when the next level of awareness came to her– she noticed the pain. It was a deep throbbing ache all over and when she tried to ask her limbs to move she felt it spike into her chest with a clarity that brought her sobbing back to consciousness. The gasping breaths she took were distinctly unhelpful in soothing the burning ache in her lungs and she could feel her adrenaline spiking.

A series of coughs gripped her next– like her body was trying to physically expel the pain and she knew, even having just woken up, that if she didn’t want to draw the attention of whoever was looking after her she needed to stop panicking. Her fingers dug into the sheets of the bed she was in and she felt the fabric between her fingers. The sheets were nicer here than in her prison cell. She latched onto that. She pretended– just for a moment– that she was in her room at the Last Drop. She was in her bed. The sheets were just on the side of rough but they were comfortable. The mattress she was laid out on was too– eons better than her prison cell cot. She pretended through her hacking and her harsh breaths that the lights she could see swimming behind her eyes were the fairy lights of her bed frame– and that she could hear Vi turning over in the bed above hers. She gripped the sheets and grounded herself in home. She held her breath.

The pain began to ebb but Powder waited till her body was burning with more than just the cold ache. She waited till she could feel her muscles screaming for oxygen and then she slowly let out the breath she was holding. She kept her eyes shut and focused on that single, steady exhalation. She felt the air catch in her chest a few times– threatening to start another coughing fit, but the irritation seemed to dull with each long, easy breath she took. When her breathing was even, she turned her attention to the rest of her body.

She still felt raw and aching and cold– which she didn’t consider a good sign. But the irritation in her lungs was subsiding so she held hope that the situation was workable. Behind her eyelids, she could tell there was a faint light– though what time of day it was she didn’t know. The soft humming of a machine, pressure on her forearm, cold metal in her nose, and sweat soaking the sheets filtered in next. The sweat wasn’t helping keep her warm but she supposed it was like Vi told her when she was sick– she had to sweat it out. Sweat was a sign your body was fighting. She thought she had a lot of fighting left to do. 

Powder turned her face to the brightest spot she could see behind her eyelids and let her pupils adjust. She took her time opening her eyes, just to slivers at first to get the lay of the land. The light source she was looking at was a ceiling light. The room she was in was white– which was a marvel. Powder had never been in a white room before. Rooms– places in general in the Undercity– were never white. They were always stained yellow-gray from the smog. Nothing stayed clean down there. This place looked like it had been built yesterday. There was no one in the room with her as far as she could see so she opened her eyes to get a better look around. 

The room was a mostly empty box. Powder was laid out in a bed with sterile white sheets. She was dressed to match, a white knee length gown decorating her body. There was a window on the wall to her left, an open doorway that looked like it led to a bathroom near the head of her bed, and finally a solid metal door on the wall to the right. She noted it appeared to be night outside– convenient. She’d need to see what floor of this building she was on. The window was easily person sized though an adult might have trouble getting through it. Even if she had to break it, Powder knew she could easily slip out. Both that and the door might be viable escapes. An IV bag was set up next to her along with some kind of pump mechanism which was attached to the metal in her nose. She reached up with her arm (exhausting and painful) and tugged on it experimentally. It slid out easy enough. Good to know she wasn’t attached to the thing– though she left it in for now. It was easier to breathe with it in and if someone entered the room and she needed to pretend to be asleep again she didn’t want them to know she’d woken up. There were a few shelves in the room with hanging appliances on them– things like a stethoscope and other medical equipment she couldn’t name– things to poke and prod the body with. There were drawers too but she couldn’t see into those. Overall, it was tidy and boring and there wasn’t much for her to see. She was disappointed till she caught sight of a clipboard attached to the frame of the bed she was in. 

She moved carefully– testing her limits– as she crawled to the edge of bed and pulled it up so she could read it. Prisoner 516– that was her– and oh. She was in the Piltovian Academy Medical Ward. Great. She didn’t know where that was but it must be topside. A doctor's name. A nurse's name– yada yada yada. Some medical mumbo jumbo. The poison she’d dosed herself with. A treatment plan. Two doses of the treatment so far looking at a total of three before they expected her to wake up. That was great. That meant she’d woken up because her predose had worked. She grinned. Powder had done it – even without proper measuring cups and equipment and having to draft it all herself– she’d made the poison and the antidote and it had worked. And best of all– it meant they weren’t expecting her to be awake and functional yet. Not that she felt great or anything but she felt good enough and if she could make it out of this room she’d feel better than she had in years– she was sure of it. Triumph coursed through her veins. It was time to try standing. 

Getting out of her bed took more effort than she would have liked. She had to get out on the side the IV stand was on– she didn’t want to pull that out yet because 1) ow and 2) if she heard someone coming she wanted to be able to pretend she was still asleep. Or maybe unconscious? A coma. Had she technically been in a coma? Oh well. Didn’t matter. She wasn’t now. Still, she was able to get up and stand and walk a few paces even though it made her break out into even more of a sweat and pulled at the ache in her chest. She was shaky but she could walk. That was good because she was going to have to. Powder pulled on the IV stand to test the wheels at the bottom. They weren’t locked. She reached out and used the pole half to brace herself and half because it had to follow along with her as she approached the single door of the room. When she reached it, Powder planted her hands against the door and slid to the ground. She placed an eye level with the crack and looked out into the world beyond. There wasn’t much, but she could see a shadow lingering. It looked like feet. 

There was a guard, or at least someone, outside her door. That option was out for an escape route. It wasn’t her preferred one anyways considering she really didn’t know where she was and having to navigate a building like this with people on her tail would be– well. She’d do it if she had to. Powder dragged herself up with the help of the IV pole and moved to the window. It was a slower process than she would have liked and– annoyingly– she could feel that the short trip around the room was already causing her to flag. She pushed through anyways. The sight that greeted Powder was both disappointing and breathtaking in one. She was on the second floor of the building– which meant she was going to have to scale it with her shaky hands and legs to get down. But it was also night time topside and she had never seen that before. The buildings were tall with glowing lights that twinkled and glistened like the fine edges of jewel in the light. Gold and white and none of the undercity’s sickly green or grays or neon. The buildings shone in a way that reminded her of when the smog would sometimes clear enough that she could see the stars. That had been a rare sight in the Undercity and she’d only seen it the few times she’d traveled to the Promenade level– the Grey was too thick on the Entresol and Sump levels for it to be possible. Powder leaned against the window and tried to look up, but suddenly found the gleaming buildings in the way of the thing she wanted to see. Maybe if she made it out of the window and looked straight up, she’d finally see the stars again. Regardless, the city was beautiful. Powder remembered the last time she’d been topside– with the airship and the lab and her family that had been alive and well. That had been beautiful too. She focused. 

She glanced over the window and found it locked– well not locked– it was the kind of window that couldn’t open in the first place. Another problem. If she wanted out this way, she was going to have to break it and that was going to bring attention to her. Maybe she could find a way to get the guard to leave? Or maybe she should just make a run for it. No. She didn’t think she could make it that far– not with legs as shaky as hers. Though, with that thought, even if she managed to open the window somehow, she was going to have to trust her limbs to get her down the side of the building. It looked to be made of mortared white bricks (again with the white) with metal pipes and accents which would likely give her enough to grip and climb down. But still–two stories. If she fell, well, worst thing that could happen was she died. Second worst was wind up back in here. 

There was another option. She could wait till she felt better– but that ran the risk of losing the edge of her surprise. If they discovered she was awake they’d definitely put more than just one guard on the door. So, it was now or never. 

Powder decided to take stock of the room. She made her way around, investigating the cabinets and drawers, making as much effort as she could to keep quiet. It wouldn’t do to be caught now. She investigated the drawers and shelves of the main room first. She found several tools that she didn’t know what to do with and also her prisoner’s uniform. She debated for a moment then shivered. She was cold. She hated these clothes but it was better than just the thin layer of the gown. She slipped them on underneath and continued her search. 

 In the bathroom she found simple supplies. A toothbrush, toothpaste, and cleaning agents. Powder got on her knees in front of the cabinet when she saw those. She dug through them with wild abandon. They may not be the most elegant solution, but cleaning supplies were cheap chemicals. Some of her first chemical work had been with them after Vander had given her a lecture on which ones were dangerous to mix. It had been what had started her smoke bomb ideas. Unfortunately, the fumes you could make with cleaning supplies were at most a nuisance to people from the Undercity. They’d dealt with far worse coming up from the mines, factories, and the ends of enforcer’s teargas bombs for years. She’d quickly abandoned that line of thought there. But here? She grinned. There were cons to clean air. She pulled a bottle of bleach aside. Stupid to have left something that useful in her room. Their loss. Next, she raided the cabinets. She was hoping for vinegar or muriatic acid but settled for the bottle of rubbing alcohol she found next to the bandages. That’d do just as well.

She dumped a portion of the bleach and tossed the rubbing alcohol in before sealing the bottle. She’d open it when she needed the gas. She could stand it for a couple of minutes if she needed to– even with the pain in her chest that was ever growing– probably better than the guard outside could assuming he wasn’t wearing a mask. He probably wasn’t. Powder didn’t want to take that chance. She needed something else– something that would cause enough chaos that even if the guard called out things would take a while to get moving. She considered her options before turning to the tank connected to the tubes that had been up her nose. Powder hadn’t taken the time to consider it before, but now? Now she recognized it. Entresol had bigger industrial ones all over the place to give people a break from breathing the Gray. It was an oxygen tank. Powder’s laugh was small and shaky. She knew exactly what to do. 

Powder ripped the IV drip from her arm and felt almost immediately worse even though she knew that wasn’t possible. She rose from her bed with determination and examined her work. This was the final step before she broke the window and escaped to freedom. She took a deep breath. It hurt. Everything hurt and it was getting worse the more she stood and the more she worked and the more she plotted– but she didn’t have time to rest. She had to go. She reached out a hand and grabbed the hanging end of a bandage that floated just next to her bed. With a final deep breath, she tugged the bandage and watched as the heavy end of her IV pole went soaring on her makeshift (bandage, medical tool, motley) swing. The flimsy fixtures she’d planted into the fibrous ceiling tiles ripped away under the weight– but that was okay because Powder had known they would and made sure that even when they did it would hold just long enough to get the momentum going horizontal instead of vertical with far more force than she was capable of delivering with her hands so that– 

There was a crack as metal hit glass and Powder whooped with delight as the IV pole, wheels, needle and all went soaring through the now mostly empty window pane. Powder leapt from her bed and skidded across the floor in the socks she was wearing. This was probably going to hurt but what else was new? She clambered into the window frame, doing her best to avoid the pieces of glass still lingering on the sides and bottom. She looked about and found a grip on the cool white stone just below the window ledge. She was already lowering herself down with her aching arms when the next part of her plan took off. 

It had occurred to Powder that the person lingering outside her room might be a nurse or a doctor or someone innocent. It was almost a relief to see the uniform of an enforcer burst through the metal door. She had no qualms about what would happen next– nor did she plan to stick around to see it. She continued to finger and toe at the seams of the stone for the next best place to leverage herself. 

She heard the enforcer let out a surprised yelp that quickly turned into a cry of pain and coughing. Chloroform and chloroacetone would do that to you. The container must have fallen from her rig above the door and shattered against his head like she’d planned it. She hoped that the enforcer enjoyed the taste of teargas– though he probably wouldn’t be concerned with that for too much longer. She made it to another ledge and dropped down a little further making it just below the room she was in. Six feet down. Probably another 20 to go. If she could make it to ten she might be able to launch and roll. She was light. It’d hurt but it wouldn’t kill her. She heard the sound of the metal door slamming into the wall and prepared herself for the coming chaos of the second part of her plan.

Oxygen on it’s own wasn’t flammable. Anyone with a basic understanding of how air worked knew that– at least Powder thought they did. But Oxygen tanks? The compression was explosive and combine that amount of condensed oxygen with a spark and– well– she had considered unhooking the fire alarm she’d found in her room but ultimately hadn’t. She wasn’t a monster. That, of course, hadn’t stopped her from grabbing one of the electronic tools in the room and cutting the wire with a pair of scissor-like things she’d found. She’d pulled it down the split and tied the neutral end to the metal door knob. She made sure the other was hanging from the wall just right to touch it when the door swung open. She plugged it in and made sure she could hear the hiss of oxygen escaping when she untightened the valve on the tank she’d situated near the live wires. A tap was all it needed.

An echoing boom shook the walls of the hospital and Powder clutched her hand holds as she shut her eyes against the white hot light that poured from her room. It was loud– so loud– louder than she’d expected and she almost let go to cover her ears but –

Blue flashed behind her eyes. Her eyes were closed but she still saw the violent flare and the sound of a crackling explosion of energy and– 

"You’re going to fall", Mylo sneered. Powder almost let go in surprise. She scrambled at her hand holds and opened her eyes. Her vision swam with blue and pink and white– like her drawings. It was hard to see. Mylo scoffed. "Never could keep a grip to save your life." He was so loud over the ringing in her ears. There was an alarm sounding somewhere and she could barely hear that but he–

"You did it again," Calggor said to her left. He was softer, voice not quite accusing but not kind either. She clenched her teeth and she pushed away the pink lines that swirled in her vision. She blinked and realized everything was fuzzy and her cheeks were wet. She took another shaky step down. 

"Didn’t you learn anything from last time?" Vander said. The disappointment was worse than if he’d yelled. She hadn’t meant to– But this time she had? She– 

What was she doing? Where had the scaffolding gone? Silco’s lair. She remembered climbing it. This was harder. Had she fallen? Was that why everything hurt? She had to help Vi! She needed to– 

She needed to get down and get away from the hospital. She was at a hospital. Silco had put her in jail. She wasn’t in the Undercity anymore. The screaming she could hear wasn’t her family. It wasn’t even real . Maybe. It was harder to tell if that was in her head or if it was panicking strangers in the hospital. Her foot slipped on the next ledge and the weight of her body jerked against her arms but her fingers held fast– despite the sweat that coated them. Or was that– red? Blood? When had that happened? Was it– blood and ash. Purple veins. A fist. A crack in her bones and in her face and she’d felt it in her heart and head and soul and– Powder shook her head and bit down on her tongue to center herself. She slotted her foot back against the wall– damp sock covered toes pushing into the grain of the mortar. She took another agonizing step down. And another until all she could concentrate on was the burning of her muscles and the murmurs of her family faded to the back of her mind.

At ten feet from the ground, Powder couldn’t take it anymore and launched herself from the wall. She hit the cobblestone and rolled like Vi had taught her. 

"Twice the girl at half your age," Mylo mocked. "You aren’t–" Powder felt shards of glass and rock grind into the skin of her arm and–

("Keep going, Powder," Vi whispered. She was always so quiet when the others were loud. Powder had stopped straining to hear her long ago. It never got easier.) 

Powder spat dust and blood from her mouth and looked back up towards her room in the hospital. She saw flames licking the corners of the window and shadows moving within. It glowed against the darkness of the sky and she raised her head to look up. The stars were bright and beautiful and shone the same color as the white lights and the fire. She was falling. Still falling from the rooftop– She turned on her heel – Socks. Glass and gravel. Grain and grind– and took off into the dark.

The roads in this place were disturbingly well lit and difficult to hide in. Powder’s anxiety clawed at the back of her throat while she tried to stay close to the edges of the street lamps. She had started her journey convinced the good lighting was a fluke– not even topside could light every alley and back street, right?. She had traversed some kind of wide open rolling landscape. The place had been dotted with different buildings and assigned departments (she knew that because each had a sign lit up like it was day time to denote the purpose. Ridiculous. How was she supposed to sneak around like this?). She thought if she got off this Academy-Whatever she’d start to find alleys she could sneak into– places that she’d naturally start to blend in so she could figure out a plan– but as always, that hadn’t been her luck. The streets outside the Academy were just as brightly lit and safe as the ones inside it. 

Or she thought they were. Things were still jumbling up every now and again. The boys were still yelling and taking potshots at her every once in a while. The scribbles that filled her vision were subsiding but not completely gone. Really, she thought it had less to do with her calming down and more to do with the fact that she was completely exhausted. Her brain had trouble torturing her the longer she stood upright. She needed a place to take a break– sleep– plan. Anything other than being on her feet. She stumbled along the darkest edges she could find and hoped for something, anything, to direct her to where she needed to go. 

“Hey, did you hear that?” Mylo singsonged in her ear. “Looks like someone is about to get caught.” Powder froze in her tracks and listened. Footsteps. Lots of them. Boots. 

Enforcers. 

Mylo howled with laughter as she took off down the nearest turn and tried to keep to the shadows. It didn’t make sense. It was too soon– wasn’t it? How long had she been wandering the streets? It didn’t feel like that long but maybe– Powder thought she was losing time. Things felt fuzzy and the exhaustion – She was still barefoot in socks and in the awful hospital gown on top of her uniform. It was better than just the uniform itself since if she encountered anyone they wouldn’t know she was a criminal, but surely the enforcers knew who they were looking for. Powder tried to keep quiet as she kept a steady pace down the cobblestone road. 

“There.” Vi’s voice. Powder looked up. There was a building in front of her, smaller than the rest and away from the others. The lights were off and it was clearly industrial– not a home. There wasn’t likely to be anyone in it. If she could pick the lock and get inside– 

She reached the door, body aching. She glanced down at the handle– lock picking had never been her specialty. That had been–
“They’re coming!” Mylo whistled. Powder tried the door. Unlocked. She opened it and slipped into the dark inside as quickly as she could.

She rested with her back against the door for some time. The sound of boots had faded and Powder wondered if they were ever really there in the first place. Her brain was still playing tricks on her. She was so tired. She knew she needed to get further into the building– to find a hiding place– but moving was so difficult now that she’d stopped. Her body shivered constantly and she could feel the sweat beading on her forehead and dripping down– icy wet. She was so cold– colder than she had ever been. Her adrenaline was dropping again and her thoughts felt like they had a film over them– like the kind that coated the water of the Pilt– toxic and opaque and difficult to clear. She breathed in. She couldn’t stay here– not by the door at least. She needed to find a place to hide. Her eyes were adjusting to the dark of the room and Powder realized that it wasn’t as entirely dark as she thought it had been. 

She could see a soft blue glow emanating from further into the room. The source was blocked from her view by a hulking rectangular shadow. There were shadows all about– the room was filled with the outlines of tables and chalkboards and other looming shapes she couldn’t make out in the dim blue light. She took a deep breath and started to drag herself towards that glow. At least if she could make it there, she might be able to use it to find a good place to tuck herself away. Powder rounded the corner of the board in front of her– grasping the side when she nearly toppled over– tripping over nothing– her coordination was going– she looked up and

– Started to laugh. Hysterically. She couldn’t stop and she felt like crying. She probably was.

Sitting on the table was a box of glowing blue gems. They emanated a familiar soft blue light and powder could practically feel the energy coming off them as they quietly sang to each other. Powder stumbled forward again and made a grab for one. The stone was unbearably warm in her cold, clammy hand and she had the sudden urge to stick it in her mouth and bite down. She repressed that very stupid instinct despite how she thought it might warm her up. (Her brain was falling apart. She could feel it now. The scribbles were back.) Claggor mumbled gibberish into her ear and she wasn’t sure if it was him not making sense or if she just couldn’t understand spoken words anymore. But she didn’t need to understand the spoken word. She needed to protect herself. She needed to escape topside and go back to the Undercity and back to Vi and back to her home and tuck herself in her bed and sleep away all the bad things that had happened to her over the past weeks– months– years– decades– her old home was a lifetime away. 

She needed to kill Silco. 

And she knew how to do it. She started to snicker again and she wasn’t sure when she had stopped laughing in the first place. Silco had wanted to build a bomb. He’d wanted her to build the bomb that killed her family. Well, here she was holding the very thing that had done it. Silco wanted a bomb? Well, Powder would give it to him.

But first she’d give it to the enforcers. She knew how to use these. If she could set up a simple trap at the door– all it took was a little pressure and the front of the building would cave in. There were tools all over one of the tables further into the room. She could set up a lever on the door that would drop a hammer on it. She could get far enough back in the warehouse that even if the bomb went off, she’d be okay and have time to run. 

“You can’t run from the things you’ve done,” Vander said. Oh, she could still understand. It was just Claggor who was broken. That was nice to know. She made her way to the tool tables and grabbed an armful to carry back with the crystal. She’d rig something quick and then she’d go pass out in a corner. That was the only thing she could do and even that was getting further away the longer she spent struggling under the weight of the tools. How could a hammer be so heavy? She managed to drag it, some rope, a couple of clamps and the crystal back to the door. She was part way through getting the hammer levee system attached to the handle when– 

“That’s a load bearing wall, you know?” 

She froze.  

“If you take that out, the entire building is going to collapse on you," the voice continued, nonchalant. "I’d suggest moving it to the far corner to your left. The explosion would still take out whoever you’re expecting to come through that door, but you’re more likely to survive.” 

Powder unfroze. She whipped around (Dizzying. Mylo was laughing uproariously at her. She couldn’t think .) nearly dropping the hammer on the crystal in her effort to lift it in front of her. In the blue glow of the crystal she met amber eyes that flickered like gold.

Chapter Text

It was the laughing that woke Viktor. 

Viktor was not convinced he was awake when he first heard it. It was a kind of hysterical, sobbing, laughter that he hadn’t known existed until he’d startled awake. It sounded like a dream– a desperate scratchy noise that shouldn’t exist in real life. But he didn’t have sleep fog often and his dreams had never had the habit of following him into the waking world– he was either awake or not. And he felt like he was awake. He wasn’t often wrong about that even if the idea that he was still sleeping made the most amount of sense.

He’d turned on the cot in the night (Probably trying to get more comfortable. His leg hurt. ) and now that he was on his back, it didn’t take much effort to turn his head slightly to the side towards the source of the noise. The sight that greeted him would certainly have made more sense if he had still been dreaming. 

There was a small figure in his lab. It was slumped over Jayce’s abandoned work table– lit by the soft blue light of the hexcrystals (Jayce should know better. It was a testament to his tiredness that they’d been left out instead of locked away in the more secure part of the lab.). Viktor watched as the figure’s head tilted back and more of the scratchy, sob-laughing erupted from it’s lips– like they were being hooked in the back of the throat and torn from the body. Whoever it was was small and as Viktor’s eyes adjusted he could see that it looked to be a child– a girl perhaps from the hair. She looked more like a creature than anything else with her billowing white smock, her bedraggled hair, and the way she tore at her skin with her sleeves trying to wipe the tears that had gathered on her cheeks. She was a vision. If Viktor had believed in ghosts he might have thought her one. 

But he didn’t. Instead, he believed in things that he could prove– observe. So that’s what he did. He watched her cradle her head in her hands, muttering something under her breath until she started to laugh again, this time more quietly. Then he noticed she was holding one of the hexcrystals in the palm of her hand. He started– panic jolting down his spine. That was not good. The hexcrystals were dangerous even if they didn’t look it. If she hit it or worse if she dropped it– he wouldn’t be able to get to her in time let alone get himself out of the blast radius. He wanted to call out but he was afraid to startle her. So instead he waited, hoping she might set it back down. 

She didn’t. Instead she stumbled to another of Jayce’s nearby work tables. (Slovenly. He was going to kill Jayce if he managed to not get blown up. He was going to force Jayce to start actually following the lab safety clean up rules they’d both set and that only Viktor adhered to. Of course he rarely did since you didn’t have to clean up before going home if you slept in the lab. Jayce’s mistake to not clarify.) She began to rummage around the tools there– crystal still held gingerly in her hand. She seemed to be treating it with great reverence. She was muttering to herself again and shaking her head every once in a while like she was trying to knock something away. She pulled back with and armful of objects that Viktor couldn’t make out. She looked like she was struggling under the weight of them which– it was odd. Her hands were full but not that full. He saw her fumble with her armful and held his breath. A shape fell from her arms (a hammer, he thought.) and she almost reached out for it with the hand holding the crystal before she jerked it back, raising it high. The hammer (he was sure now) clattered to the floor. The girl let out a keening noise and a half sob before she slowly crouched down and picked it up. Viktor got the distinct impression that it caused her pain. When she rose, it was a slow motion and she was swaying back and forth on unbalanced feet. Viktor was honestly surprised she didn’t topple over. 

He watched her drag herself towards the door of the lab– ducking behind one of the chalkboards there and out of sight. Viktor felt his curiosity pique. He initially thought she might be running out the door with the hexcrystal. He was prepared to attempt to go after her if he thought it necessary, she seemed ill after all and even slow as his gait was, he thought he’d be able to at least keep up with her– but he didn’t hear the door open and he was beginning to think escape wasn’t her goal. After all, why would she take those tools instead of the small box of valuable (dangerous) looking gems if she was there to steal. Clearly, she had some other goal in mind. 

Viktor pulled himself up from the cot as quietly as he could. He supposed it wasn’t a surprise that he hadn’t been noticed tucked in the corner as he was and given that the room was only dimly lit by the hexcrystals. He grabbed his cane from the side of the bed and toed his shoes off so his socks would soften his footfalls (Jayce hated that he slept with his shoes on but, eh, it was convenient most of the time.). He began to slowly make his way towards the front of the lab. It took time, more time than he would have liked, but being quiet with a cane was difficult even if he’d practiced for much of his life in the Undercity. He eventually pulled himself to a halt at the chalkboard and peaked around it. 

The girl sat on the ground next to the door. She was muttering to herself again though Viktor couldn’t understand what she was saying. It was under her breath, like she was whispering a prayer– and maybe she was. However, the most fascinating thing about the scene was what she was doing with her hands. She looked to be in the process of piecing something together. Viktor watched her back in silence, observing her. She was shaking (shivering?). Her whole body was wracked with a subtle wobble but her hands were deft. She was putting something together in front of her. The hexcrystal had been set to the side to light whatever she was working on. Viktor saw her reach for the hammer and attach it to something in front of her. She reached out with another hand (this one held a piece of rope) and when she dropped it back to her side Viktor heard the sound of the hammer hitting the tiled floor of the lab. She pulled the contraption she had made (assembled from just the tools on Jayce’s desk? And so quickly? Impressive.) to the side and Viktor almost stumbled forward when she began to place the hammer over the hexcrystal– but she didn’t drop it. She seemed to be measuring it– once again muttering to herself. She pulled the contraption out of sight again and went back to work. He could only assume she was fine tuning it to the height she wanted it to be. He saw her toss a length of rope towards the door as well. 

Viktor had the sudden, harrowing realization that she knew what she was doing. The way she had held the crystal so carefully– how she had made sure to keep it out of the way when she’d fumbled her armful of tools– the mechanism being measured to drop a hammer on it. She knew, somehow, that the hexcrystal was dangerous. She was booby trapping the door to blow if someone tried to enter. It was an inelegant solution but an effective one. It was also impossible because he was almost sure that the only people in the world who knew the damage a hexcrystal could do were Jayce, the Council, and himself. But the more he watched, the less he could deny that this girl, whoever she was, most definitely knew that hitting the hexcrystal was at the very least, dangerous. 

Viktor quickly took stock of things. A child who knew the power of the hexcrystal was in his lab booby trapping his door. Alright. Who was she? 

His initial assumption was scientific espionage– it wasn’t uncommon and there was talk around the Academy about their work being revolutionary– but it seemed she already knew at least one trait of the hexcrystals and she wasn’t trying to escape with it– she was trying to stop someone from coming in. She was also wearing some kind of smock– a hospital patient? He could see something else sticking out beneath the gown but nothing with clarity. Perhaps she was a runaway of some kind. It would make sense for her to boobytrap the door then. She had someone chasing her, though who exactly was a mystery. She apparently wanted away from them badly enough to blow up at least the front portion of his lab and likely whoever was on the other side of the door. Not good. Also, the door frame and wall were load bearing. Very not good. He needed to stop her. He needed answers before she collapsed the lab on top of them both.

Victor had never considered himself a people person. He also did not consider himself particularly good with children and he was under a great deal of stress at the moment which probably explained why instead of something disarming, or gentle, or charming (where was Jayce when he needed him? Why had he sent him home?) he said, “That’s a load bearing wall, you know?” 

The girl froze. The only movement of her body was the shivering. Viktor swallowed, keeping his eye on the crystal just to the side of the girl. His mouth was suddenly dry but he persisted. 

“If you take that out, the entire building is going to collapse on you. I’d suggest moving it to the far corner to your left. The explosion would still take out whoever you’re expecting to come through that door, but you’re more likely to survive.” 

The girl nearly fell to the ground from how quickly she whipped around. She was still on her knees precariously swaying but the hammer was lofted towards him in a clear threat. Viktor raised a hand as if in surrender and leaned into his cane. He slumped a little and tried to make himself smaller. It was a trick he’d perfected as a child– there was nothing as disarming as knowing your opponent couldn’t run. He’d banked on this time and time again. The girl continued to brandish the hammer– wary eyes locked on his. The tension in her shoulders didn’t ease as he tried to make himself less intimidating. Hmm. High strung. He couldn’t help it when his gaze drifted to the hexcrystal– if he could just knock the crystal away from her then maybe– 

The girl’s eye’s followed the movement and she scrambled to toss the hammer aside. Before Viktor could move she was clutching the crystal between red and swollen fingers– holding it aloft like a threat. She stood from the ground with a lurch (and a small whining sound he doubted she was aware she'd made at all)– falling back into the wall to steady herself and keep her balance.

Viktor suppressed a sigh. Nothing could be easy, could it? 

“There’s no need for that.” He waved his hand as if shooing away the idea of her threat. “I’m not interested in dying today and you could almost certainly overpower me.” That wasn’t true. She looked like she was an Undercity 12– so the size of a particularly sickly 10 year old topsider– and Viktor was “wicked” with his cane as Jayce had put it the few times the man had been on the receiving end. Still, he was more likely to cause her to drop the crystal than anything else. He’d have to wait for a particularly well timed grab or for her to put it down again if he wanted to disarm her. He kept his hand in the air. “Who are you?” he asked. He received no answer, just a further narrowing of the eyes. It was about what he expected. He sighed. 

The girl continued her standoff and Viktor took the time to observe her now that she was closer. She was gaunt, short, and frighteningly thin– something akin to himself. Her hair was in a loose braid down the back of her neck but it was matted and frazzled like it hadn’t been taken care of in some time. It offered her a feral look that matched the manic glint in her eye. It was hard to tell in the dim blue light of the crystal but he also thought she looked pale– more washed out than natural with freckles that dotted her skin in a way that made them look like scars. It made her appear sickly– which Viktor was now sure she was. The shivering had increased if anything and he could see sweat beading on her forehead and dripping down into her eyes. It was clearly taking great effort for her to stand. He felt a pang of empathy knock against his ribs and tried for the second time that night to gentle his tone. Where he failed with Jayce, perhaps he could still reach this child. 

“I am Viktor. Can I ask why you are in my lab?”

There was silence. Then–

“You’re from Entresol,” the girl said. It was raspy and almost accusatory. Viktor raised a brow. That was– she’d clocked his accent. He reevaluated and yes, he could see it now. He wasn’t sure why he hadn’t put it together before but the crouching, defensive movements– meant to keep her small but still look like a threat– the mania in the white of her eyes– the stink of desperation on her? It was Undercity, through and through. He leaned further on his cane and felt himself relax. 

“Yes,” he said, thickening his accent. If this girl was from the Undercity he knew he could reach her. Charm, gentleness, subtly? Those were strangers to him. But desperation and displacement he knew. He hoped she would latch onto the familiar like the peace offering that it was. He looked her over with a critical eye and made an educated guess based on her posturing and general desperation. There was only one place you learned to hold yourself like that. “Sump level. The Lanes?” 

The girl started as soon as it had left his lips. That was confirmation enough. He nodded. “Who is chasing you?” he asked. Straightforward was the way to go with this one. Softening your words was for topsiders. 

“How do you know I’m being chased?” Still wary. More tense.

“I assumed you weren’t trying to blow up my lab for fun,” Viktor replied dryly. “And what’s wrong with you? You look…” There were several words that came to describe the bedraggled, feral creature of a girl with her shiver wracked body and wary eyes. He settled for, “... ill.”

He waited for his answer– letting the girl stew in silence. The two of them stared each other down. He noticed the girl’s eyes flicking away from him every once in a while. She seemed to be following something he couldn’t see. He resisted the urge to turn around and look. There was nothing behind him and she was sickly, perhaps she was–

“He’s not saying that!” the girl snapped to her left. Viktor almost jumped. “He’s not–” She scrunched up her face and took a deep breath, rubbing her free hand over her eyes with a motion so vigorous it looked like it hurt. When she pulled away he could see the redness from the rough cloth blotching the skin on her face. “Do you work for Silco?” she asked. 

“No,” Viktor said honestly. “I don’t know who that is. I work here in this lab.” 

The girl's shoulders sagged and she fully put her weight against the wall. She lowered her head though her hand that held the crystal was still raised. That had, apparently, been the correct answer. He took a small step forward while she wasn’t looking and–

“He’s not lying!” the girl snarled, tensing up again. “He’s not cause if he was I’d be– he wouldn’t–” Her sentence ended in a sob and her free hand pulling at her hair. “Stop! Just stop and let me think! I need–” 

The sound of heavy booted steps interrupted whatever the girl had been about to say to her imaginary conversation partner (Hallucinations, Viktor thought. Not a good sign given how sick she was. The fever she was running must be high.) The girl’s head whipped towards the door and in her moment of panicked distraction Viktor lunged forward– crossing the distance between them and grabbing the crystal in a single quick motion. Her grip was loose and he ripped it away easily but felt her turn against him the second it was out of her hand. He pulled back and used his cane to fend off the oncoming punch– swiping her arm to the side and then letting his body fall forward. He pushed the cane across her midsection and pinned her arms and body to the wall with his weight– the other hand still holding the hexcrystal. She struggled against him but even as slight as he was, his weight was more than enough to hold her. She let out a growl so guttural Viktor almost took a step back but he continued to press her, slipping the hexcrystal into his pocket. His cane rocked with the force of her writhing and his grip loosened before he steadied himself.

“Stop fighting me,” he bit out. The answer was a snarl and her shoving her head towards him to snap her teeth. Viktor leaned in harder. “Who is chasing you?” He asked again. 

The girl spat at him. Literally. The glob had good aim and splattered across Viktor’s cheek bone. He didn’t flinch. “If you do not wish to be caught you need to be quiet,” he said. 

Another snarl. “What do you care you–” her reply was cut off by a sharp knock on the door to the lab. She quieted– the fight suddenly gone out of her. Viktor could see her shrinking in on herself as fear began to darken her eyes. 

Viktor pressed his advantage physically by leaning his entire weight into his cane. He hissed his own reply. “Let me help you! Who is chasing you?” he demanded, shoving with his cane again and waiting. The girl’s defiance drained swiftly and when she met his eyes, she looked small. Smaller than anyone he’d ever met. She was a kid– just a kid. 

“Enforcers,” she whispered. He nodded slowly, loosening his grip. 

“You will listen to me,” he said, tone booking no room for argument. “Get back. Crawl under the desk there and they won’t be able to see you from the door.” 

He waited for the girl to nod again before he released her. He was almost surprised when she scrambled away into the dark instead of ripping into his arm with her teeth. Another knock sounded at the door, this one more urgent. 

“Coming!” he said, letting irritation clip his words and accent. He made a show of knocking his cane against the floor a few times before he actually moved fully to the door and wrenched it open.

Chapter Text

Before Viktor stood an enforcer with several more behind him. The man was dressed in an unwrinkled, perfect uniform and had the beginnings of a mustache growing under his nose. Viktor immediately disliked him– but he immediately disliked all enforcers. He was from the Undercity after all. Still, it would pay to at least pretend to be polite. 

“May I help you, gentlemen?” 

The man seemed surprised that anyone had opened the door at all– which was odd considering he’d been how he’d been pounding away at it. They must have been doing the exact same at each of the buildings. And clearly Viktor wasn’t the only one with an inherent prejudice because at the lilt of his accent he saw the man’s eyes narrow and a nasty grimace bend the curve of his lip. His hand was still posed for another knock but he quickly recovered, dropping the hand and suppressing the facial expression into something much more professional. Viktor would have been impressed had he not had no respect for topside veneers. 

“Yes,” the enforcer said. “I am Sheriff Marcus.” He paused as if he expected some kind of reply or recognition. Viktor just hummed.

The sheriff cleared his throat and continued. “Tonight there was an explosion at the Piltovian Academy Medical Ward. We are searching for the suspected culprit who we believe to be a patient who was recently admitted there from Stillwater Hold.” 

Viktor nearly choked. Stillwater Hold? That child had been in Stillwater ? No wonder she looked so horrid. Viktor suppressed his mounting dismay and let the Sheriff continue.

“The suspect is a young girl. Pale complexion. She may be wearing a hospital gown or even a prison uniform. The last time she was seen, she had long blue hair tied up in a braid. I wouldn’t have put it past her to have changed it though. She is very intelligent and may be armed. She is incredibly dangerous.”

“Dangerous?” Viktor repeated. He couldn’t help himself. “How old did you say she was again, Sheriff?” 

“I didn’t,” the Sheriff said with no small amount of derision.

“I see. So I am to assume any young woman with blue hair might be your suspect?” 

The sheriff gritted his teeth then affected a smile. “She’s probably around 11 or 12.” 

“A dangerous 12 year old,”  Viktor mused, hiding his own derision behind the tilt of his head and flat delivery. “Interesting.” The sheriff bristled and Viktor wanted to say more about the enforcer’s apparent inability to keep track of a sickly child along with some commentary on the general morality of locking a 12 year old away with genuine hardened criminals– but he also didn’t want to start a fight he couldn’t win– not when said 12 year old was inside his lab and relying on him to get rid of her pursuers. 

“So,” he said, “I ask again. How can I help you?”

The Sheriff stood straighter– hackles smoothed by straight-laced professionalism. “Have you seen any person or persons matching the description in the area tonight?”.

“No.”

The Sheriff continued– eyes narrowed. “Have you seen anything suspicious? Heard any odd noises?”

“No,” Viktor lied. Then added, “I have been in the lab since early this morning. There have been no abnormalities.” 

The Sheriff nodded, considering. Viktor saw the moment he decided that it wasn’t enough. If he was being honest, he’d known from the start even if the realization made his heart sink. From the moment that he’d opened his mouth his accent, his origins, his mere existence had brought suspicion down on the lab. He’d have bet money that if he hadn’t opened the door, the enforcers would have moved on with their search. They didn’t seem to be breaking into any of the other buildings. 

The Sheriff waved a lazy hand– motioning to his lackeys and said, as if he had every right and it wasn’t even a question, “We are going to search the premises.” The man started to step forward and Viktor quickly put his cane out to halt the man in his tracks.

“No,” he said again.

The Sheriff stuttered to a halt. “Excuse me?” he said– an angry red flush crept up the side of his neck. He knocked Viktor’s cane to the side with his boton– the force almost ripped it from Viktor’s grip. 

Viktor stood his ground– drawing himself up to his full height– resting both hands on his cane. He did his best to look tall– dignified. Then in his best impression of Jayce (which was not very good but still he was trying for the authority, not the accent) said. “This is hextech laboratories. We deal with a great deal of dangerous, sensitive technology.” (The hexcrystal burned in his pocket.) “Not only would you be in danger if you were to enter without a proper understanding of the work, but you would also be violating several private research intelligence rights assured to all academy sponsored research work.” He paused. “Besides, I have been here all night. No one has entered this lab.” 

Sheriff Marcus stared at him. “Stand aside,” he snarled.  

Viktor rolled his eyes. Really, the audacity of Topsiders to think they could break any rule, even their own, and only get a slap on the wrist. He  took a step out of the doorframe. He smiled as he pulled himself to a halt just under the Sheriff’s nose. To his credit, which Viktor didn’t give him much of, he didn’t step back– just leaned away like Viktor smelled particularly foul. 

“Jayce Talis has the backing of not only the academy, but several clans including the Kirammans,” Viktor said as if it was a statement and not a clear act of intimidation. “He has not only Heimerdinger’s favor but also has connections within the council.”

The Sheriff stiffened. “Are you trying threaten me, trencher?”

Viktor nearly smiled at the familiar insult. There they were: Piltover’s finest.

“Of course not,” Viktor lied. “It is a warning. I am simply informing you of exactly who’s rights you are trying to violate in such a blatant manner. If you want to both waste your time and get in a great deal of trouble, well,” Viktor shrugged, lifting his cane. “It’s not like I could stop you.” 

“And who’s to say you didn’t let me in? Who's to say you didn’t set me up and then go cry wolf– you hate us, after all. You all do. But who would believe you over me?”

“I’d bet money on my partner but I’m sure we could find out if you’d like.” Viktor said pleasantly. “However, I think it’d take most of the night and probably tomorrow– and you seem like you’re in a hurry, Sheriff.” He smiled, more teeth than lips. “Are you sure that this is the hill you want to die on?” 

There was a moment of silence while they stared each other down. Viktor could almost hear the man's internal debate. It was a gamble to threaten the Sheriff, but he felt like he had a grasp of this man– all blustering talk but when it was time to bite the bullet, well, as he expected, the sheriff blinked first. The man took a quick step back and Viktor repressed a snort. He looked at the rest of the enforcers and then turned on his heel. He waved a hand in dismissal.

“Come back with a warrant,” he said, sweeping into the lab and closing the door behind him. 

He didn’t move till he heard the shuffling of steel-toed boots and the sound of Sheriff Marcus ordering his men away. It sounded like they were heading to the next sector to continue their sweep. Viktor’s shoulders slumped and it was his turn to lean against the wall for support. He looked to the corner that he’d sent the girl down and saw her head peeking out from under the desk– wild blue eyes watching him with an exhausted, puzzled look. He waved her over to him and saw her move– but once she’d crawled out from under the desk she got to the side and leaned her back against it– sitting on the cool metal tiles. Viktor sighed and made his way over to her instead. 

Once he arrived he slumped against the wall again and let himself slide to the floor near her- his legs were spread wide, cane resting on his right thigh. He lolled his head to the side to look at the girl. She had her knees pulled to her chest and her head pressed into her arms, peeking out the side and watching him with careful eyes that Viktor was sure were not as distrusting as before. They sat in silence for a moment, observing each other. 

“I am sorry for pinning you,” he said. The girl said nothing, just fiddled the edges of her smock between her fingers. Viktor waited.

“Why did you help me?” she asked, voice quiet and more calm than he’d heard her all night. 

Viktor shrugged. “You seemed like you needed it.” (Which was true. Viktor was not one to turn away someone in need. However, he also couldn’t deny that the fact that she knew about the hexcrystals intrigued him. He wanted answers. Altruism and self-interest didn’t always have to conflict.) “Besides, I do not believe in throwing children in prison, especially ones from the Undercity whose crimes are always nebulous and unproven.” He paused, then– “Did you really blow up a hospital room?”

The girl snorted and hesitated. Then she lifted her head and favored him with a nasty, conspiratorial grin. “Yeah.” 

“Why?” 

She didn’t answer him. Viktor sighed and then pressed his cane into the ground and pulled himself back up the wall. He walked to Jayce’s desk, placing the hexcrystal back in its box. He debated, then grabbed the whole thing and moved to the other door that led into the inner lab. Once he had them safely locked away, he returned his cot, toed on his shoes, and headed to the front of the lab.  He was back in sight of the child. He moved to a series of hooks drilled into the wall that had jackets and lab coats hanging from them. (Mostly lab coats but occasionally it got cold and both Viktor and Jayce hated that equally so to avoid a trip home there were always extras jackets on hand.) He could feel her eyes on him as he shuffled through the menagerie. 

“I will not be able to stop them if they come back with a warrant,” Viktor said loudly enough that he knew she’d hear. He pulled a jacket from the rack (one of his own. It was long and green and most importantly, had a hood.). He walked back to her, leaning more heavily on his cane. He didn’t have to pretend to be tired this time, the stress of the night along with his choice to sleep in that god's damned cot were catching up with him. Still, he hung the jacket across his cane arm and then offered a hand down to the girl.

“Can you walk?” he asked. She debated a moment, then took his hand and let him pull her up. She stumbled towards him on shaking legs but he steadied her and then proffered the jacket. “Put this on,” he ordered. 

The girl hesitated. “You’re still helping me?” Her voice was growing fainter. Viktor didn’t like that. 

“Yes,” Viktor said. “If you will let me.” 

The girl let out a disbelieving laugh. Viktor took that as an assent. He wrapped the coat around her shoulders and pulled the hood up to cover her face. It was much too long on her and baggy too–  but it was better than the damning white of the hospital gown. 

“We will need to move quickly,” he said and began pulling her along by the arm.

“Where are we going?”

“To my home,” he replied. He opened the door of the lab and peaked out. No enforcers. He moved them both out the door, locking it behind him (Jayce hadn’t done that when he’d left. Viktor was somehow both grateful and furious.). “It is not far.”

The girl nodded, leaning into the grip he had on her– then, quietly, so quietly it was not even a whisper, she asked, “Can I trust you?”

Viktor shrugged and hoped they encountered no trouble on the way home. 

“I suppose you will just have to find out.” 

Viktor hadn’t lied. The walk to his apartment was not far. It was seven minutes on an average day, 15 on a bad one, and right now was going on an excruciating 20. He couldn’t even say that they’d started strong– they’d both been limping along– the fading adrenaline leaving Viktor to remember his three (going on four) very near sleepless days– and the girl not faring much better. She’d been faltering from the moment Viktor had tugged her out of the lab. He’d pushed her along but there was only so much he could do. Eventually, he settled on letting her tuck herself into the shadows at his side, allowing her to wrap her hands around his cane to support herself. It was slow going. 

So far there hadn’t been trouble. The enforcers had cleared out and must be searching elsewhere. It was the early hours of the morning and Viktor knew there would not be many people awake at this time. There were few residential places in this neighborhood. It was mostly workshops and storage facilities. He had been lucky enough to secure one of the few, dingy, apartments nearby. It was small and probably hadn’t been updated in the last century, but it was still better than anything Viktor had occupied in the Undercity (or worse, the academy dorms). It suited his needs perfectly and he was close to work so his leg didn’t impede him as much as it could have– even on a bad day he could make it in. Still, there were a few people who either did live here or might be working late so he did his best to keep them on the edges of the street lamps. It wouldn’t do to be seen now. Neither had spoken on their journey. They were so close.

The girl stumbled next to him and he swore, pressing his cane into the ground to keep it from being swept out from underneath him. The girl’s shaking body heaved with a silent cough and she buckled to her knees, hitting the cobblestones with a painful crack. Viktor winced even as he rushed to offer her his hand. 

The girl’s head was down and when she looked up, Viktor could see tears gathering at the corners of her eyes. With a wet sniffle she shook her head. Viktor leaned further in, reaching.

“You must keep walking,” he said. “We are almost there.” 

The girl shook her head again. “I can’t,” she whispered and a hiccupping sob followed suit. 

“You have to,” Viktor pressed. He grabbed at the lapels of the jacket he’d put on her and tried to haul her up but it was no use. She was dead weight. Viktor gritted his teeth. “I cannot carry you.” 

The girl didn’t respond and Viktor pressed a gentle hand to her forehead. She leaned into his touch. She was burning up. “Please,” he said. “We are so close.”

“I’m sorry. I can’t. I can’t!” The girl started to cry harder and curled in on herself. Viktor was at a loss. He didn’t know if he could help her but he certainly couldn’t if they never made it to his apartment. He couldn’t carry her, he could barely carry himself most days.

He tried to be gentle, tried to coax her back to her feet– he murmured to her soft words of comfort and tugged at her shoulders and jacket– but it wasn’t working and Viktor could feel his frustration mounting. The enforcers might be back at any moment or they might be seen, collapsed in the middle of the cobblestone walkways as they were. The longer they spent here, the more chances there were for them to be caught. Gentleness had its uses. Honestly, Viktor would prefer it. Given the part of the Undercity she was from, there was a good chance she’d not experienced a great deal of kindness. He’d prefer to be an addition over another piece of the deficit but he couldn’t see another way to get her up and moving. There was one thing that all people from the Undercity understood– a thread that connected them all. Violence and desperation were a universal language and when it was spoken to you, you moved or you died. Viktor understood that as well as she surely did. He steeled himself.

“Get up,” he said, voice cold. He saw an immediate tensing of her shoulders at his change in tone. Still, she shook her head.

“You will,” he said and popped her in the ankle with his cane– hard. He winced as she let out a hiss of pain and then turned her face up to glare at him, eyes red and cheeks tear stained. He felt guilt bubble up in the back of his throat but he pushed it down. He didn’t want to hurt her. He wanted her to survive. He pointed the cane towards her.

“Walk,” he said, “or I will leave you here.” 

“I– I–” she stuttered and then glared again. 

“Are you angry?” he asked. He knew the answer was yes. “Use it.” 

He jabbed her in the chest with his cane. She winced under it but when he did it again she tried to grapple it from him. He let her and braced himself as she pushed against it and he pulled it. She made an effort to hold on but faltered.

“If you cannot stand I am going to walk away.” Viktor said. He heard the sharp intake of breath that she took. He made to turn and felt her scrabble for his cane that he had moved just out of reach. She was crawling. She latched onto the end and tried to pull herself up. 

“I can’t– please. Please don’t–” she babbled and Viktor clenched his teeth for fear that if he didn’t his traitorous mouth would slip out the words of comfort he so badly wanted to speak to her. 

“Please don’t go, Vi– I’m– I need you don’t–” 

She had a grip on his cane. He leant back. She levied herself up and Viktor quickly moved the top of his cane under her shaky hands again and moved behind her. He wrapped his other arm around her middle. 

“Move,” he ordered. The girl began her unsteady steps again, shaking with effort and the sobs he could still hear slipping from her mouth. She was still babbling. He couldn’t understand the words anymore. She was getting less and less coherent. 

It took another 5 minutes of the two of them walking at that agonizing pace to finally reach Viktor’s apartment. He let out a sigh of relief as he left her with the cane to brace himself against the door and unlock it. He immediately opened it and ushered her in. He could make his way around his apartment caneless. He’d littered it with chairs and shelves at just the right height so that he could use them to balance himself (sometimes using the cane too long caused blisters and pain. It was nice to take a break from it.) Once the girl had fully made it through the doorway, Viktor flicked on the lights and moved to lead her again. 

“There is a bed. You just have to–”

The girl was falling before he could finish the sentence.

Viktor recognized a full body collapse vs buckling at the knees (he was intimately familiar with the latter). Viktor ducked down, allowing his own legs to crumple and grabbed her round the shoulders and fell with her. He caught her before her face could hit the ground and he tilted her body back into his shoulder to get a better look. His leg screamed in pain but he gritted his teeth. He could bear it. He brushed the long bangs back from the girl’s face. Her eyes had rolled back into her head and he knew she was completely unconscious. He hadn’t even– damn it. He wished she could of at least made it to the couch. Dragging her there was going to be difficult. He pressed his hand to her head again and rocked back. She was burning with the heat of a furnace. 

Viktor wasn’t a medical doctor. Outside of his own pathologies, he knew the very basics. The Sheriff had said she’d been admitted to the hospital. He could only assume that whatever had been wrong with her had to be serious– considering she’d come all the way from Stillwater. The Academy’s medical facility was state of the art. She’d only be taken there for something very rare or something very serious. He grabbed his cane that had clattered to the ground nearby and used it to push himself up. 

He grabbed the girl by her arms, muttering an apology, and pulled with the weight of his body. She moaned as he dragged her to the center of his small living room– pushing books and papers and chairs out of the way as he went. (Maybe he didn’t have room to speak on Jayce’s clutter.) Once he got her near the horrible paisley rug under the couch (he didn’t care how his home looked as long as there was something to soften the floor and keep his feet warm and it was also cheap as dirt) he stopped dragging her. He moved quickly as he could and stripped the couch of it’s cushions. He knew he wouldn’t be able to lift her onto it but he could at least make the floor more comfortable. Once he had them lined up in a row he darted further into the room– grabbing some (equally ugly to the rug) quilts and started to build up the cushions to be more comfortable. He added a pillow and then turned back to the girl. Dragging her this time did not elicit any sound beyond a soft whine. That greatly concerned Viktor. He managed to roll her onto the makeshift bed and then he covered her in a blanket. She was shivering, but she had a fever. He didn’t want to overheat her. Was that how it worked? Viktor needed to do some reading immediately. Surely he had something of use in his house on the topic of medicine and care for an ill patient. 

Viktor pinched the bridge of his nose. He was out of his depths. He looked back to the girl on the floor. She was so small. He didn’t even know her name. He weighed his options, then made his way to the kitchen. He grabbed a glass of water and then went back to the cupboard and grabbed more ugly quilts. He set the water down on a book (one he’d already read and didn’t mind losing if it got wet) within reach of the girl. If she needed it, it’d be there– much like himself. He tucked the quilts into a small space next to her where he could lean up against the empty frame of the couch. (Terrible. He was going to hurt so much worse than he already did.) 

In a few hours when the sun rose he’d peruse his book collection and perhaps go out to purchase a new one if he didn’t find anything useful. In the meantime, he’d rest and hope that whatever was wrong with the girl, she could handle on her own. It was inadequate, but it was all he could offer. 

He had to hope it would be enough

Chapter Text

Jayce had fucked up royally.

He just didn’t know how. 

He’d avoided the lab the day after he’d left Viktor sleeping there. Though maybe avoided was a strong word. What he’d actually done was pass out. He’d been gone the second he’d angrily thrown himself into his bed (the only thing he’d removed were his shoes because he wasn’t a heathen unlike some people). Viktor had been right though. He’d needed the break and as soon as he took it things were better. When he’d woken up around one in the afternoon he’d felt like maybe, just maybe, everything would be okay. 

He’d taken the time to make himself breakfast and eat. He’d even read the newspaper (there’d been an explosion at Academy Medical. There were no details beyond an injury and death count which was surprisingly low given how busy the hospital was. No suspects had been released either.) He’d also looked over his own notes and just tried to relax. He’d felt a little guilty about that, considering that he knew Viktor was almost certainly still at the lab and probably in pain (he knew the cot made Viktor’s leg hurt. Jayce had stopped offering it to him when he noticed that on mornings following Viktor sleeping in it the man had a more pronounced limp and a tendency to be… short tempered.). But Viktor listened to no one but himself and if he was still at the lab and in pain then it was by his own choice. Jayce had resolved to avoid the lab entirely for the day and just… wait for the sponsor meeting tomorrow. Viktor was probably right– they’d be fine with just the results they had. Jayce was a smooth talker and he knew how to win people over. They’d be fine . 

He’d managed to convince himself of that until the next morning. Jayce had popped back into the lab before the meeting to collect the last of his notes (also hoping that maybe Viktor had had a breakthrough). He’d found the lab empty. His equations (the ones he’d asked Viktor to look over) had still been on the board untouched which was… He knew they were wrong. Viktor had been right after all– sleeplessness and stress were the only excuse Jayce had for his behavior and apparent lack of brain function. But the fact that they were still on the board… It meant Viktor hadn’t looked them over. That was extremely unusual. Viktor took great (sadistic) joy in eviscerating Jayce’s math. He wouldn’t have left them up there and he always, even if it was later than Jayce would have liked, did as Jayce asked and double checked his work. Jayce should have walked in the door to a completely new series of equations to look over himself. The fact that it hadn’t happened made him uneasy. 

Jayce had brushed it off. Viktor had probably just been tired and sore and had gone home like any reasonable person would. He kept repeating that to himself throughout his meeting with their sponsors even as his traitorous mind reminded him that Viktor was not a reasonable person . He was a twitchy bundle of academically driven energy locked in the body of a malnutritioned twig that was too stubborn to die– despite Viktor’s best efforts . He was pretty sure Viktor would have gone days without drinking or eating if Jayce hadn’t been there to remind him that he wasn’t an endless math making machine. He honestly didn’t know how Viktor had survived on his own. He was insane. Which meant he should have been at the lab.

The meeting couldn’t have ended soon enough and though it had gone well (better than Jayce had expected by a long shot) by the time it was finished the dread lacing up his spine was enough to send him running back to the lab to see if Viktor had returned. Or it would have been if Mel hadn’t cornered him first. 

He didn’t even know where she’d come from. She wasn’t a sponsor and yet as soon as he’d stepped out of the Academy meeting room with full intent to return to the lab, she’d swooped down on him– looping her arm through his and asserting a gentle pressure. He didn’t have time to object that he had somewhere to be as she started to lead him down the opposite hallway (away from the exit he’d have to use to leave the building and head back to the lab). Jayce accepted his fate with an internal sigh. He had no choice but to comply or else risk making fools of them both– which he was smart enough not to do. He let Mel pull him away from his ever growing anxiety and the sponsors who were trailing out of the room. He caught sight of Mrs. Kiramman who was looking around– probably for him. When she saw him already being herded away with Mel on his arm, she appeared exasperated. He tossed a her a helpless look over his shoulder and shrugged.

Mel was a curious woman– methodical, polite, and cautious to a fault– he’d never seen someone so careful with their words. At the same time, he knew she was willing to take risks if it meant she might gain something (as seen when she’d allowed Viktor and him to break into Heimerdinger’s lab). She was sharp as a knife and beautiful too. He would be lying if he said he wasn’t a little bit intimidated by her– even if she was an ally. He liked her, though. And sometimes he even thought she liked him. He had a sneaking suspicion that they might be friends.

When they had wandered out of earshot of any eavesdroppers, Mel spoke.

“What do you know of the explosion in the medical ward at the academy?” she asked without pretense. 

“I’m well, Mel. Thanks for asking.” 

She lightly pinched his arm and he flashed her his most charming grin. The look she gave him was withering. “The explosion, Mr. Talis.” 

“Why would I know anything about it?” he asked, genuinely puzzled. He paused. A thought occurred to him and he gave her a wary glance. “Do you think every explosion in this city is my fault?” 

His suspicion was greeted with a damning silence. Jayce pulled to a halt– stopping Mel with him. He turned to look at her worried that she might actually think that. Mel’s face was perfectly neutral and he felt himself start to sweat– he opened his mouth to defend himself before he saw the edges of her lips quirk up. That was– she was teasing him. She didn’t actually think he’d had anything to do with it. The look she leveled him with was amused as he breathed out. 

“Not nice,” he grumbled–rubbing at the back of his neck and trying not to let on how relieved he was. “It was only once.”

The small smile still hadn’t left Mel’s lips as she tugged his arm to move him forward again. “Forgive me but you have to admit, it was memorable.” 

“It wasn’t even my fault!” Jayce argued. “I was robbed.” 

Mel hummed for a moment like she still didn’t exactly believe he hadn’t been the one to take out half a building of academy housing. “I am not accusing you,” she said. “I am asking what you know.” 

“Nothing.”

Mel sent him a dubious look.

“Really!” Jayce said, laying his free hand over his heart. “Nothing outside of what was in the paper the other morning. I know it happened and that people were hurt and that’s it.” 

“Were you in the lab that night?”

“No. I went home early.” 

“That's unlike you.” 

“I needed to prepare for the sponsor meeting.” He didn’t add that Viktor had kicked him out. She didn’t need to know that. “Is there a point to this?” he asked.

Mel gave him another dry look. He raised a brow back. He knew there was– Mel always had a point– but he wasn’t much in the mood to talk around it today. Usually he’d let her take her time in leading him down the path of the conversation– really he respected her skill in it– but he had work to do and a strangely absent lab partner to worry over. Mel seemed to pick up on his mood and schooled her face into a serious look. 

“The Council was given a briefing on the details by the Sheriff the morning after the fact. He believes the perpetrator escaped towards the sector where your lab is located. I wanted to know if you’d heard anything.” 

Jayce let out a surprised huff. “They have a suspect? They didn’t put that in the paper.” 

“Yes. The Sheriff wanted to keep the possible panic to a minimum.” The way she said it was… off. Jayce got the distinct impression that she had more thoughts on that but– well. He wouldn’t press. If she wanted him to know, she would tell him. 

“So who was it?” he asked instead.

Mel was silent. They turned a corner. Jayce realized they were heading towards her office. 

“A child,” she said.

“A kid?” 

“A criminal from the Undercity.” The way she said it sounded as if she were repeating a direct quote. It was underlined with a hint of scorn. “She was apprehended in connection with a crime over a year and half ago and admitted to Stillwater.”

“What did she do?”

“I am not at liberty to say– outside of the crimes you are already aware of which resulted in numerous injuries in hospital staff and patients as well as the death of an enforcer.”

Jayce felt his heart sink. “How old is she?” 

“We were told she is around eleven or twelve.” Mel let that sit between them for a moment before adding. “They don’t have any records on her given where she grew up.”

“That’s…” Terrible. Jayce wanted to say. And it was– on all sides. Given her current age she’d have had to be no older than eleven at the time of her arrest. To be taken that young– what could she possibly have done? There was very little he could think of that would warrant that kind of punishment for such a young child. But then again, look at the carnage she’d just caused. An enforcer had died– numerous people were injured. She’d blown up a hospital room. 

“You can see why the Sheriff asked that we keep things quiet. The Council ruled in his favor.” 

“You as well?” 

“It would be difficult, even for me, to spin this in a positive light. The situation is delicate. The fact that the perpetrator is a child, even one from the undercity, lends her a certain amount of sympathy. Furthermore, if the nature of the crime she was arrested for were to come to light, I would have difficulty defending the decision. I agree that we should not cause unrest.” 

So the crime she’d been put away for was something Mel disapproved of. Something that would cause an uproar– most likely in the Undercity. Still, if Mel was reaching out to him, it meant that she thought it was serious. “You think she’s dangerous.” 

Mel cocked her head. “We know she is dangerous– that much has been made clear– though if her actions were motivated by desperation or malice I cannot say.” Mel seemed to think for a moment, debating, then added. “I think there is more going on here than meets the eye. There is something… odd about the situation. It’s why I wanted to know if you’d seen anything.” 

“I haven’t. But maybe I will– or maybe Viktor did. I think he was there that night. What does she look like?” 

“Scrawny, pale, and blue hair in a braid is what we were told. The Sheriff has increased patrols nearby but they’ve found nothing.” 

“I’ll keep an eye out,” Jayce said. “If she’s still in the area she’ll likely be less wary of people not dressed like enforcers.” They turned another corner. Mel’s office was in sight. He added, “Can I assume because you’re telling me all this, you want me to report to you first if I see anything?” 

Mel smiled at him. “I would consider it a debt repaid.” 

Jayce’s eyes widened. That was… it was that important to her? He reassessed. Mel was one of the most powerful people in Piltover. What could she possibly want with an escaped prisoner– a child no less? She hadn’t given him enough information to work out why someone like her would be so important to someone like Mel. That was probably on purpose. But to imply the erasure of his debt from when she’d turned a blind eye to his and Viktor’s breaking and entering into Heimerdinger's lab... That was…

“What will you do if you find her? What will happen to her?” 

“The Sheriff would throw her back into the prison.” 

“I wasn’t asking about the Sheriff.” 

“I cannot say. But In all likelihood it doesn’t matter. Since she’s evaded the enforcers the past two days, she’s almost certainly made her way back down to the Undercity and is in the wind. The chances of finding her are slim. You need not strain yourself.” 

“I’ll ask Viktor if he saw anything,” he said. 

“Thank you, Jayce.”

Mel smiled at him again and he could see a glint in her eye as they stopped at the door. She unwound her arm from his, reaching for the door handle to let herself in and said, “Have a good day, Mr. Talis. Your cooperation is appreciated.” The door closed in his face and Jayce was left standing outside. He shook his head. He had hoped, probably in vain, that speaking to Mel might soothe his anxiety. He should have known better. He turned on his heel to head back to the lab. There was work to be done.

When Jayce arrived, Viktor was still absent so he sat down and put himself to work. He started with correcting his own math (by erasing the whole thing because it was, as Viktor had said the first time he’d proposed it, completely wrong), looking over their shared notes (anything to inspire him towards their breakthrough), and vacillating wildly between convincing himself that Viktor was mad at him and actively trying to push thoughts of the girl out of his mind. He was partially successful in that his anxiety over Viktor won out over going over the insubstantial details of what Mel had said to him. There was nothing he could do about the girl. He didn’t know anything and until Viktor returned, he wouldn’t be able to ask about it. He successfully filed it away for later in order to fully concentrate on how he had clearly fucked up something in his sleep deprived state enough to direly offend his lab partner. 

When his attempts at pretending to reread himself into a breakthrough proved futile, he decided to scour the lab for any sign that Viktor had been in. He convinced himself this was not pathetic and was instead practical because if he was going to worry that he’d scared Viktor off he should at least have proof. Jayce, to his own dismay, found nothing definitive to show that Viktor had been in either yesterday or today. He had found a partially assembled pulley system with a hammer attached to it made out of his tools– which was weird. He had no idea what Viktor had been doing with that and it also wasn’t dated so it could have been made at any time. Jacye slumped back to his chair, options beyond sitting down to work exhausted. But of course, he was too distracted to work which meant now he was sitting at his desk moping instead.

He really must have pissed Viktor off this time. He racked his brain trying to think of what he had done in his sleep deprived state that had offended Viktor enough that he’d gone home and not come back. The anxiety he’d been feeling in his gut the last few days returned with full force. He couldn’t think of anything. He wasn’t– he hadn’t been anymore awful than he normally was when he got like this and Viktor had always been– well not fine but at the very least accepting of Jayce's gratuitous apologies. And Jayce had done what Viktor had asked of him eventually so it wasn’t like–

Jayce clamped down on his spiral with a groan. It was fine. So what if Viktor was mad at him? Obviously he needed a break and that's why he wasn’t here. Jayce should just get what work he could done. He’d always hated group projects anyways– the only person he’d ever enjoyed working with was Viktor. He should just let it be. He could do good work without him. He might even get more done. 

Okay. That wasn’t true. They did their best work circling each other with frantic energy and completing each other’s thoughts. Viktor was a bit like a hexcrystal himself– all fragile physicality and explosive brilliance. Jayce orbited him like the oscillator and as long at he kept up, as long as he was willing to throw himself in, they matched frequencies– they held the same erratic, manic passion–  and they did amazing things– which was probably why Viktor had been so frustrated with him the last few days. Jayce knew his own work and thoughts had been clouded by stress and expectations. It had probably frustrated Viktor who’s mind rarely dimmed even in exhaustion. He was focused and always ready to match Jayce or correct him or unapologetically crush his toes under the weight of his cane when Jayce complained about the ludicrous amount of math Viktor was proposing to disprove a theory that had been in place before Heimerdinger was born (Jayce was still not convinced of a naturally occurring 10 fold quasicrystal but the math did check out and so did the diffraction patterns.).

Jayce settled himself. Even if it wouldn’t be his best work, it was still worth doing. He’d spend a few hours working, keep an eye out for anything suspicious that might interest Mel on the way home, and then return ready to work in the morning– assuming Viktor had returned– which he would. Viktor wouldn’t stay mad forever. A day or two of rest would probably leave him antsy and eager– it was a longer break than either had allowed themselves in their time working together. He’d be back in the lab tomorrow and if he wasn’t, well, Jayce would figure something out. 

That something was, apparently, to show up on Viktor’s front doorstep early in the morning after walking into an empty lab again. 

Jayce fiddled with his sleeve. He hadn’t actually been here since the early days of their partnership when Viktor and he had stumbled back to his place to wait for the council meeting after Heimerdinger and Mel had discovered them. From what he remembered the place was dimly lit, smelled a bit like old clothing, and had several terrible, mismatched, paisley rugs under approximately 14 separate stools and an ugly gray couch long enough to sleep on (it was actually rather comfortable from what Jayce remembered. It was the only piece of furniture in the place Jayce approved of.) The walls were lined with bookshelves that had an eclectic assortment of topics in several different fields. Many of the books were displaced around the room and there were holes where rows had fallen because of the gaps in the shelves (that Viktor thought he had any room to comment on Jayce’s workspace was laughable). Jayce, for all his high upbringing, had thought it wonderful. But he’d also been sleep deprived, almost died two (probably three) times within a 48 hour period, and been saved in more ways than one by the owner. Viktor could probably have set Jayce up on a bed of knives and Jayce would still have thought he’d hung the moon and stars.

That said, it had been a while since he’d come here. Viktor had always been private with his space outside the lab. It had always felt important to Jayce to let him have it. 

Jayce hesitated before he knocked. He wasn’t even sure what he was going to say. Hi. Goodmorning. You haven’t been in the lab for a couple days so I thought I’d stop by to tell you that the sponsor meeting went well and I’m sorry for doing whatever I did to upset you. Please come back to the lab. I’m not getting any work done because I keep thinking you’re mad at me. I slept and woke up knowing I’m an idiot and I should have listened because you’ve never done math wrong in your life and–

The door opened a sliver and before Jayce could think better of it he stumbled out, “I’m sorry for implying that you need sleep to make your brain function.” 

Viktor leaned against the wall on the other side of the cracked door, only partially visible and looking very tired. 

“Jayce?” It wasn’t exactly a question. It was more wary surprise than anything else– as if he hadn’t expected it to be Jayce standing on his front porch at 8 in the morning– which, to be fair, he probably hadn’t. Jayce was also pretty sure he was looking more ruffled than he had after three days of no sleep and the pressure of a sponsor meeting. He hadn’t taken the time to do his daily routine this morning in his rush to see if Viktor had returned to the lab. Also he hadn’t slept well. Jayce pressed on. 

“I’m sorry for being pushy. Also, sorry for erasing your equations and replacing them with ones that were clearly wrong,” he said, then added, “and for whatever else I’ve done to offend you.” 

Viktor scrunched up his face, furrowing his brow. “Offend me?” he said in the dry inflection he used whenever Jayce had said something he couldn’t follow. (That didn’t happen often but Jayce’s thoughts moved down associations in a way that baffled most people. Viktor was usually an exception but even he needed Jayce to map things for him every once in a while.) Jayce took a moment to breathe and try to soothe his anxiety. Viktor didn’t seem angry– that was good. He was still standing mostly behind the door looking perplexed. The look he was giving Jayce was one he’d come to know as the ‘explain yourself now before I accidentally hit your ankle with my cane’. But Viktor should know why he was here. He’d thought he’d been pretty clear with his apologies. He’d covered the bases he knew and the ones he didn’t so– something was wrong here.

“You haven’t been at the lab in the last couple of days,” Jayce said slowly. 

Viktor hesitated like Jayce might be setting him up for a trap. “Yes?” 

“Because you are mad at me for being an ass before the sponsor meeting?” Jayce proposed this with less confidence than he’d felt moments ago. Viktor stared at him with narrow, amber eyes before Jayce saw a slight widening around the edges. Viktor’s mouth moved into a small “oh” before his lips twitched the barest amount upwards into an off kilter smirk. It was gone before Jayce could even register it had been there.

“Apology accepted,” he said. It was Jayce’s turn to narrow his eyes. The half amused, half smug tone was off. Viktor was always sincere in his acceptance of an apology to Jayce after they’d been short with each other. Which meant that, if he wasn’t accepting it with grace, he didn't think an apology was warranted which meant that–

“You aren’t mad at me.” The realization that Jayce really was an idiot dawned like a slap to the face– leaving him stunned. Viktor’s lips twitched again as he opened the door a little more and slipped out onto the stoop. He leaned up against the doorframe, caneless, and crossed his arms. The wry smile had returned.

“The apology is appreciated regardless.” 

“You!” Jayce said, turning from bewildered to indignant in an instant. He’d been– He’d been driving himself up the wall! He’d been thinking himself in circles. He hadn’t slept . “If you aren’t mad at me then why haven’t you been at the lab? I was–” Jayce let out a groan and pressed a hand to his forehead. He’d been worried sick for nothing .

He could hear Viktor smirking. “You were feeling very sorry, apparently.” He was oh so smug. Jayce hated him.

“I agonized over this!” 

“How terrible,” Viktor said without sympathy. “Perhaps if you had been less focused on pleasing others and more focused on the work you wouldn’t be in this situation.” 

“I thought I had really made you angry!” 

Viktor snorted. “Oh, you did. But the world does not revolve around you, Jayce Talis.” 

Jayce took a deep breath in and tried to center himself. He pulled at every fiber of his frayed patience and knitted it back together between the fingers pinching the bridge of his nose. He breathed out. “You’re an ass,” he grumbled without malice.

“I did not intend to make you worry. I apologize,” Viktor said with a grace that felt entirely spiteful.

“So where were you?” Jayce asked. He needed answers or he was going to lose it again. 

Viktor blinked at him. “I was here.” 

Jayce knew Viktor was being pedantic on purpose. He could feel Viktor’s amusement rolling off him in waves. Jayce looked to the sky and tried to count down from ten in freljordian in his head. It was the only calming technique from childhood that had continued to work into adulthood and it was infinitely more accessible than his other methods of going to his forge or drowning himself in theoretical physics. 

“I was feeling under the weather,” Viktor explained, taking pity on Jayce. He shrugged. “I’d have sent you a message but I didn’t want to leave the house. I thought you’d recover for a few days as well. I didn’t think you’d notice my absence.” 

“Of course I noticed your absence,” Jayce said bitterly.

“My apologies for worrying you.” This apology at least sounded more sincere– or maybe Jayce was just calming down and not reading Viktor’s tone with offense anymore. Viktor had been… Viktor had been sick. He latched onto that. Viktor had been sick and that was the reason he hadn’t come into the lab. He’d (probably) been sick because he was overworked and tired and stressed and that was Jayce’s fault. Really, if there was anyone to be mad at, it was himself. He’d put himself in this position and worse– he’d put Viktor in a position where he’d put his health at risk for Jayce. Because Jayce had been pressuring him. Jayce had yelled, was yelling, at him and Viktor had been sick. God Jayce was a shit lab partner not to mention friend.

“You–” he started, then paused and restarted. “You’re feeling better?” 

Viktor shifted on his feet. His smile disappeared quickly and Jayce noticed he folded in on himself a bit. Now that he was looking for it, the dark circles under Viktor’s eyes were more pronounced than usual and the man looked to be leaning heavily on the doorframe. Usually he could stand on his own, even when he didn’t have his cane. 

“Not all that well. I think I may need a few more days.” 

Jayce felt concern bubble in his chest. “A few more days. It’s that serious?” 

“I’m not exactly a healthy man.”

“Do you need help?” Viktor tensed when Jayce said this but Jayce stood his ground. Viktor was stubborn– private and proud. (Viktor had stumbled once and Jayce had tried to catch him. Viktor had caught himself and elbowed Jayce in the nose so hard that he’d nearly broken it. He had blamed it on “instinct” and apologized but Jayce got the impression he wasn’t very sorry. He’d rather have fallen than be carried.) He would turn down this offer but if Jayce was persistent enough, the pragmatic side of Viktor would take over. He wasn’t against letting Jayce help him when he needed it– not if it was serious. Not if Viktor had no one else. 

And Viktor looked thoughtful– which was the most concerning reaction he could have had. His initial reaction should have been to tell Jayce to go to hell and then they should have moved on from there. If he was considering it from the get go, then it was serious. Jayce resolved right then and there that no matter what Viktor said he was not leaving. 

Viktor opened his mouth to speak and Jayce was preparing to ignore every denial that fell from his lips when both were cut off by a soft cry. 

Viktor whipped his head to his still cracked open door and Jayce followed the movement. It had sounded like a person. A person inside of Viktor’s house. And whoever had cried out was in pain. He instinctively made to open the door and step through. 

Then, suddenly, Viktor was in his way. Jayce had to stumble back to avoid stepping into the man and knocking him over. He looked down at Viktor who looked as surprised by the action as Jayce was. They stared at each other.

“Viktor?”

There was a debate warring in the other man’s brain. Jayce could tell from the way his brow furrowed and how his eyes moved back and forth like the sides of an internal argument took up physical space and Viktor was giving each their time to make their case. Jayce waited him out– trying not to fidget too noticeably. After what seemed like an eternity, Viktor turned on his heel. 

“Well, come on then,” he said– opening the door and sliding into his apartment. It was as much of an invitation as Viktor ever gave. Jayce slipped in behind him. The light in the room was dim, as he remembered, and shelves were in even more of a disarray– like they’d recently been dug through. But the most important thing, the thing that drew Jayce’s attention as soon as he’d followed Viktor deep enough into the room to see it and drew him to a dead stop, was the child he had sleeping on his floor. A pale child whose blue, sweaty bangs were glued to her clammy forehead while the rest of her hair trailed behind her in a neat blue braid. She looked young– too young from what he’d been told. She was curled into a tight ball dwarfed on all sides by the plush gray cushions from Viktor’s couch. Jayce stared from where he was. He felt Viktor standing beside him.

“I don’t suppose you have any medical doctors that owe you favors, do you?” Viktor asked, breaking the silence.

Well. 

Shit.

Chapter Text

“Explain it again.”

Jayce watched Viktor roll his head back to stare at the ceiling and sigh. The man was slumped in a wooden chair– cane in hand– across from Jayce– who was pacing the length of the table that sat between them. 

“Can you tell me what you are hoping to glean from it?” The exasperated tone wore at Jayce’s already failing patience. He watched as Viktor let himself fall further into the chair– his legs splayed out under the table in a way that made Jayce think that Viktor was doing his best to stretch out some sort of kink in them. The mean, spiteful part of himself that he wasn’t very proud of hoped that it hurt.

“Where your common sense went to start.” He knew he sounded harsh. He was trying to keep himself in check– he really was. But it was becoming more and more difficult because Viktor was baiting him and prodding him and being generally, unfathomably, defensive over the fact that he’d actively hid a dangerous criminal from the enforcers and then had brought her home with him.

They were still in Viktor’s apartment but they’d moved out of the foyer/living room area and into the connected open dining room at Viktor’s request– Jayce had started getting loud. He had shushed him and drawn him away from the unconscious girl (not sleeping, Viktor had made sure he understood. She was unconscious and not waking up.) so as not to disturb her. He didn’t see much of a point as the dining room didn’t have any walls separating it from the living room but he supposed anything was better than nothing– and there was nowhere else they could have gone to have this discussion except for maybe Viktor’s room or study– which according to Viktor were small and would have been overly stuffy. 

The dining area was sparsely decorated and Jayce thought it probably didn’t see much use as everything in it was coated with a light layer of white dust– courtesy of the two chalkboards covered in half finished equations that Viktor had rolled away from his walls and used to block off the dining room area for at least some semblance of privacy. He didn’t think it necessary. Regardless, Viktor had made him help. Viktor had been cautious but seemingly cordial enough– even after Jayce got loud. But somewhere in the time in between explanations, hostility had moved in. Jayce wasn’t sure exactly which outburst of his had been the one to do it but the tension had been rising ever since and he wasn’t sure how long this conversation was going to continue without one of them taking a swing at the other.

“What would have had me do, Jayce?” Viktor asked, tone sharp. 

“Not threaten enforcers in my name for one.” 

“And you would have let them in?” The way he said it was accusatory– like Jayce would have been at some moral fault for acting like a responsible citizen. “I told them no lies about why they could not enter. I was following your topsider laws.” 

Jayce gritted his teeth. “They’re your laws too. You were protecting an undercity criminal.” 

Viktor’s lip curled as he scoffed at him and it was as close to a snarl as Jayce had ever seen on the man. The derision was clear. “I was protecting a child .”  

“She blew up a hospital room! People are injured! An enforcer is dead!” Jayce slammed his fist on the table. It shook with a force that rattled the cabinets and knocked more dust from the chalkboards. He saw Viktor flinch, sitting up and curling in on himself. Jayce took an immediate step back but the damage was done. Viktor’s expression shuttered.

“You didn’t see her,” Viktor said, voice dangerously low. “She was scared, ill, and hallucinating. What she did was an act of desperation. If you cannot sympathize with that I cannot help you.” 

“Is that what we’ll tell their family? That their loved one died because she was scared?”

“Do you wonder what they told hers?” Viktor retorted. “If she even has one. You said a year and half in Stillwater. She’d have been what, ten? Eleven? What could she possibly have done to deserve a punishment like that?”

Jayce breathed in and then out again. He rubbed at his eyes with the palms of his hands. He tried to breathe through the anger. What was done was done. Arguing about this wasn’t getting them anywhere. He just wanted to make sure he had the details straight. 

“I’ll go over it again. Just tell me if something is wrong,” Jayce said, trying to keep his voice even. “You woke up in the middle of the night to someone opening the door. You found her attempting to booby trap it and obviously ill. You restrained her till you discovered who was chasing her and then offered her your help. You then threatened the enforcers,” with my name , he wanted to add but didn’t because it would just start another fight. “You got them to clear out, and then brought her home to collapse on your floor.”

There was silence and Jayce thought maybe Viktor and he had reached a sensible middle ground where they could talk about this when Viktor replied, “You forgot the part where she waltzed through the door you left unlocked.”

“This is not my fault,” Jayce said through gritted teeth.

“I am just saying that, maybe, if you hadn’t left the door open–.”

“We are not having this argument right now. I–” Jayce dragged his hand down his face again supressing his rising temper with a groan. “Why are you doing that?” 

“Doing what?” 

“Attacking me!” Jayce ground out, throwing his hands in the air.

Viktor snorted. “I am not attacking you. If I was, you would know it.” 

“You are. You’ve been doing it this whole time! There’s no–” Jayce breathed in again. Deep breaths. Breathe through it. He lowered his voice. “We are adults Viktor. I am trying to understand. I really am and you’re–” 

“You walked in here already decided!” Viktor snapped. “You didn’t listen to me– just told me she was a criminal from the Undercity as if that means something! As if she must be guilty due to her heritage rather than the far more likely option that she has been dealt a punishment far more harsh than the act committed!”

Jayce stepped back like he’d been physically slapped. “I never said any of that!” And he hadn’t. Well, mostly. He had called her an Undercity criminal but she was.

“You didn’t have to!” And Jayce saw it then. This wasn’t about the girl– or it was, kind of, but also it wasn’t. 

“Viktor–”

“I am from the Undercity too!” Viktor said, cracking his cane on the ground. “Or have you forgotten?” Viktor was shaking and Jayce sucked in a breath and tried to hold back his instinctive response to escalate. He belatedly tried to see this from the other’s point of view. 

This was Viktor– Viktor who spoke and moved like an outsider but was whip sharp and never unaware of the game he wasn’t playing. It was Viktor who had reached out to him years ago with the worst bed side manner for a suicidal man he’d ever heard and pulled him back from an irreversible decision. It was Viktor who wanted to change the world– to better the place he’d grown up. It was Viktor who was always, without exception, motivated by a deep and innate desire to do good. 

And all that Viktor was had come from his upbringing. It had come from the Undercity. 

It wasn’t the child that Viktor thought Jayce was rejecting.

He breathed in– an apology on his lips when Viktor interrupted him with a hiss.

 “You told me that you wanted to help people– that you wanted to help the Undercity. Well here is your chance! And if you won’t take it then you will be turning us both in.” 

Jayce stifled his immediate need to shout at the man in front of him– because he wouldn’t– he would never – Viktor was his partner . He schooled his facial expression into neutrality. He let the hostility blow over him– ripple along his skin and then pass him by. Breathe in. Hold it. Breathe out. 

Viktor had invited him into his rundown apartment with mismatched furniture and his lilting accent– all of it remnants of his childhood. He’d brought Jayce into his home and offered him a secret, a kindness he’d done, and Jayce had rejected it. Viktor had opened a door and Jayce had, without meaning to, accidentally slammed it in his face by immediately condemning his home, who it had made him, and the kindness that he’d extended to someone he empathized with. Every word Jayce had used to accuse the girl was an insult to Viktor, to his friend– even if he hadn’t intended it to be. Because Viktor saw Jayce as a topsider, someone whose words were layered. Jayce closed his eyes. 

“That’s not– I didn’t say any of that. I don’t believe any of that.” 

“Funny way of showing it.” 

“Please stop,” Jayce begged, eyes still closed. A silence followed and Jayce allowed himself to breathe more evenly before he opened his eyes– his resolve firm. “You invited me in.” 

“I know,” Viktor said in a tone that clearly indicated that he regretted it.

Jayce pushed on. “Please believe me when I say I wasn’t thinking any of that.” 

Viktor was silent for a moment and Jayce could feel his anger receding into wary calm. “Then understand me when I say you don’t have to think it for it to affect your actions. If you were at least aware of it I could trust you not to act on it.” 

“You wouldn’t have brought me in if you didn’t think I would listen,” Jayce said. “You trusted me then. Trust me now.” He paced slowly to where Viktor was sitting. The man followed him with cautious eyes but didn’t flinch when Jayce laid a hand on his shoulder. “I’m not always the best at this but I– I want to do what's right. I trust you. I’m trying.” 

Jayce waited a moment, then felt Viktor’s shoulder relax a fraction as he let out a sigh. “I know,” he said. “I am trying too– but It isn’t easy. ” 

Jayce tried not to take offense to that. He reminded himself that Viktor was private and fiercely independent. He knew the only person besides Heimerdinger that Viktor had ever worked with was himself. Viktor had never seemed to need anyone else or to have anyone even if he did. With that in mind Jayce had a new found respect for the fact that Viktor had invited him in at all. He wanted to be worthy of it. “In the time we’ve worked together I ever given you a reason to mistrust me?” 

“No.” 

“Then work with me,” he said. “Let's figure this out together.” 

It was like the last of Viktor’s defenses evaporated. He sighed again, leaning into the hand that Jayce still had on his shoulder. He looked tired. 

“Does it make it better or worse that I didn’t know she’d killed a man?”

It was a sad sort of acquiesce. Jayce hummed. “Do you care?” he asked, then immediately regretted it when Viktor turned his glare on him. Jayce released his shoulder to put both hands in the air as a gesture of peace. 

Viktor huffed and fell back against the chair again. “Of course I do.”

“Would knowing have made a difference?”

Viktor’s silence was answer enough but he followed it up with a reluctant, “Probably not.”

They sat there for a while, Viktor turning his forlorn gaze up at the ceiling and Jayce trying to figure out what to do with his hands behind him. The thing was Jayce wasn’t very good with silences. He wasn’t good with stillness. He needed to move, to discover, and plan. But he knew Viktor needed the quiet moments between movements to reorient for whatever the next problem to tackle was. So Jayce waited as long as he could. Then he moved to the otherside of the table across from Viktor. He sat down this time, making himself level with his partner. 

Viktor had turned his attention to him as soon as he’d started moving. He raised a brow when Jayce sat down but a pleased smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. Jayce was reluctant to be the one to usher it away but he pressed on. 

“Mel is looking for her, you know?”  

Viktor raised his brow again. “Of course. The council is aware of what happened at the hospital.” 

“No, I mean–” Jayce stumbled. “She came and spoke to me. Asked if I knew anything about it. She’s looking into it herself .” 

That made Viktor pause. He looked incredulous. “What could Councilor Medarda possibly want with her?” 

“I don’t know. She wouldn’t tell me.” Jayce sighed. "What are you going to do with her?" 

Viktor snorted. "I am not going to do anything with her. She is a child, not a dog, Jayce"

"I know. That's why I'm asking. You can't just keep her. " 

Viktor’s voice was cold. "I am not returning her to the prison.” 

Jayce was nearing the point where he wanted nothing more than to hit his head on the table hard enough to knock himself out. He didn’t. He just groaned instead. "That's not what I'm saying." 

"Then what are you saying?" 

Jayce sighed, rubbing his temple. "I’m saying we don't know anything about her. I know you don’t want to hear it, but maybe she was there for a good reason." 

The  fact that she’d already killed at least one person to their knowledge loomed overhead. To Viktor’s credit, he didn’t immediately and violently shut the idea down. Instead, he looked like he was attempting to be thoughtful (though mostly he just looked like he’d taken a bite out of a lemon). “Did Councilor Medarda say as much?”

“No. It felt like the opposite really.” 

Viktor hummed– his expression lightening. “Then I doubt it."

"Okay, but what if she is? What if she did do something horrible?" He saw Viktor start to slide back into the defensive– tensing up again. Jayce held up his hand. "Don't do that. Don't dismiss this just because you think it's not true.” Viktor opened his mouth to respond but Jayce cut him off. “We're scientists. We consider all possibilities." 

Viktors jaw was clenched and Jayce thought he might be in for another verbal attack. Then he saw Viktors shoulders loosen just the tiniest bit. The argumentative look was replaced by a more thoughtful one. Viktor tapped his cane on the ground and then stood from his chair. Jayce watched, not sure what to make of it till Viktor pulled to a halt at one of the chalkboards. He studied it for a moment before grabbing the eraser and clearing it. He turned to Jayce, proffering a piece of chalk like an olive branch. "Then let us consider. What do we know?” 

 “You said she was apprehended a year and a half ago?” When Jayce nodded Viktor scribbled a phrase on their “Known” side of the chalkboard. The list was dishearteningly small next to the “Unknowns” category which was filled with the questions they couldn’t answer. So far they could say with confidence that the girl was– 

1. A patient. Her illness was the obvious reason she’d been in the hospital. 
2. Undercity. Viktor had confirmed that with her and Mel had indicated as much. 
3. Important.

Viktor had been the one to add that to the board. Jayce had initially been reluctant but Viktor was adamant.

“If she wasn’t important, they would not have brought her to the hospital,” he argued. “Stillwater has its own medical facility and furthermore, if she is as dangerous and clever as the Sheriff is to have us believe, it would be much safer to either treat her there or simply let her die.” 

“The enforcers wouldn’t just let a kid die, Viktor. I know you don’t have a great opinion of them but they’re still people.” 

Viktor dismissed this with a wave of his hand. “People who had no issue with locking her up in the first place. Regardless, the Academy’s medical facility is not a cheap option and certainly wouldn’t be the first choice on a government funded budget.” 

He had a point there. Important had gone on the board. It was followed by 

4. Blew up Hospital Room 
5. Escape

And now:

6. Year and a Half in Stillwater. 

It was insubstantial to say the least. Viktor drew a horizontal line to the unknown side like he had for the others. This list was much more complete but less organized. Each section was loosely connected to what they did know.

A Patient was connected to Illness? Which then led to Disease, Infection, Reaction . Infection was the least likely among the options. Viktor had said he’d looked her over and found no obvious injuries. Of course, there could be something internal that neither of them could see– but for now they placed it further down the priority list. Reaction and disease were as likely as the other. Reaction covered the illness as a response to something she was exposed to– an allergy or toxin. Jayce knew there were molds and funguses that could cause severe reactions. If the prison conditions were terrible enough, something like that could be the cause. It was also as invisible as a pathogen. 

Jayce couldn’t lie– a contagion was what concerned him the most. The girl was extremely ill and she’d been in Viktor’s home for days. If it was contagious, there was a good possibility that Viktor would get it– and as Viktor had said, even if it was a cover, he was not exactly a healthy man. Jayce did take comfort in the fact that they had no indication that the girl carried something unknown though. As far as Jayce was aware the girl was wanted for her crimes, not because she needed to be quarantined– and obviously the treatment at the hospital had been enough to get her back on her feet for a time. If they could identify what was wrong, they might be able to find a doctor willing to keep a secret or better yet, treat her themselves. 

Next to Undercity Viktor had written in Family? Visitors Logs?  The thought being that she might have someone who knew who she was and could get them more information. She might even have people to return to. Jayce had proposed they might be able to get their hands on the Stillwater visitor logs without too much hassle. Viktor had seemed dubious but had written it on the board anyways. 

Important led to Why? which Viktor had circled back around to family? ( Which he’d also circled around to escape ) He added Sheriff (corruption?) next to it. The second part Jayce thought was a bit of a leap but this board was for speculation anyways. He didn’t refute it under Viktor’s hard stare. Likewise, Viktor had not objected when he’d suggested Dangerous be added to that section and had circled it around to Blew up Hospital Room without prompting. He had also added Intent? Desperation, Revenge but it still felt like a truce. 

Now Viktor was drawing lines from Stillwater to Why . And Jayce could see that speculation was going to be the crux of their problem. 

“We don’t have enough information,” he said mournfully. Viktor stepped back and nodded– thoughtful.

“We need her records.”

“We don’t even have a name.” 

Viktor paused, a finger to his chin, then wrote: 7. 516 

“What’s that?” Jayce asked. 

“There was a number on her uniform. I had to cut them away to make sure she had no hidden wounds underneath,” Viktor said, nonchalant. 

“You undressed her?” 

“Her health took priority over her modesty– besides she still had the hospital undergarments on. I would have let someone else do it but,” Viktor shrugged. 

“You still have the uniform?” Jayce asked.

Viktor snorted. “I don’t keep evidence of my illegal activities sitting around my apartment.” Jayce could practically hear the unlike some people that Viktor wanted to tack on. 

Jayce let out a disbelieving laugh. “You literally have a wanted criminal on the floor of your living room.” 

Viktor waved a hand. “The girl isn’t incriminating unless you already know who she is.” He paused and sighed. “I’d move her if I could.” 

“Where?”

“I originally planned to put her in my bed. There would be less chances of her being seen that way.” 

Jayce thought on it for a moment– it was another invitation– a request wrapped up in an admission. For all that Viktor disparaged the circular ways topsiders spoke he rarely was straight forward himself. “I’ll move her.” He volunteered. Then– “Wait, where are you going to sleep?” 

“The couch,” Viktor said like it was obvious.

Jayce hesitated.

Viktor shook his head, already anticipating Jayce’s protests.“She needs it more.” He was staring at the board with a concentration Jayce had only seen him apply to the most complex of their problems. His brow was furrowed and he was twirling the chalk between his spindly fingers. He caught it with a snap of his wrist. “I am worried. To be unconscious for this long… I have not been able to get anything coherent out of her since she collapsed and even before that she was…” Viktor trailed off. 

Jayce sighed. “We could add maybe crazy to the board.” 

He expected at least a snort out of Viktor but the man seemed to sag a little bit. “I’d rather not.” 

That made Jayce pause. For Viktor to have that kind of reaction… “You think it's a possibility,” he said. Viktor didn’t respond but Jayce didn’t need him to. He continued. “What if she’s not motivated by desperation or revenge or whatever else? What if she’s just honestly sick and confused?” 

Viktor shrugged again. “It is possible. I do not want to add it to the board.” 

“It’s speculation.”

“If the girl wakes up– it is something I’d rather her not see– true or not.”  

Jayce nodded, staring at the board. With a sigh he slouched to the side and rested his face in the palm of his hand– leaning on the table. “What do we do?” 

“Find a doctor?” 

“We would need one we could trust.” 

He heard Viktor muttering something under his breath and saw him start to kneed his forehead in frustration. “How do neither of us know a doctor between us?” 

“I know plenty of Doctors. Just not the kind we need,” Jayce commiserated. “Maybe we could treat her if we knew what was wrong.” 

They sat in silence for a moment, both contemplating the board. Jayce drummed the tips of his fingers against the table and thought. The best solution he had was to take a risk on a private doctor or return her to the hospital. If the girl got sick enough, they may not have a choice. A new doctor would take time to diagnose her. Academy Medical already knew what was wrong. They’d be the best bet for her survival if it came down to a crunch. He knew Viktor would hate that and both of them would have a hell of a time explaining how they had discovered her– but she’d live– hopefully. Still, if Viktor had a better idea… He turned his attention from the board to his partner. Viktor was back to flipping the chalk between his fingers, brow furrowed and posture relaxed as he leant up against one his many stools that he’d dragged to the chalkboard. It went on like that for a few moments, Jayce watching Viktor watch the board– trying to think of a feasible solution that wouldn’t get any of them arrested. 

He saw the moment Viktor’s eyes lit up and watched him speed up in flipping the chalk. The man made a soft humming sound before turning to face Jayce. His fingers stuttered and he almost dropped the chalk with a curse when he found Jayce already staring at him. He recovered quickly– though Jayce grinned at him. 

Viktor gave him a dry look then said, “Maybe you could speak to the doctors at the hospital.” 

Jayce raised a brow. “Don’t you think that’d draw attention?”

“Mel asked you to look into it.” 

Jayce shook his head. “She told me specifically not to strain myself. Though–” Jayce paused, thinking for a moment. Mel had seemed inordinately interested in the girl– enough that she was willing to waive their debt to her. But Mel, ever the politician, loved to have people who owed her favors. Maybe… “What if I made Mel an offer?” 

“We aren’t telling her.” 

“No,” Jayce agreed, “but Mel wants the information as much as we do. I could say it caught my interest and that I wanted to do a more thorough investigation. I could ask if she’d give me clearance to speak with the doctors at the hospital– maybe I could even get into Stillwater and investigate the kid’s cell.” 

Viktor tapped a finger against his chin then shook his head. “It would be highly suspicious. She’ll see right through a deception as simple as you claiming to be interested. She’ll know something is up the moment you volunteer to spend time outside of the lab to look into it for her.” 

“Yeah, but Mel is smart.”

“That is the problem, yes,” Viktor said dryly. 

Jayce was starting to fidget excitedly, mind plotting a mile a minute. He managed to organize his thoughts long enough to give Viktor, “If I don’t propose that as my initial issue, I think I can get her to let me to do it as repayment.” 

“What do you mean?” 

Jayce grinned. “I’m going to ask her for a favor.” 

He felt that the bone deep wary look that Viktor greeted him with was unwarranted– even as he sighed and asked–

“What favor?”

The massive white doors to Mel’s office swung open as Elora pulled them wide and Jayce stepped through. His gaze set upon on his friend– ally– current mark.

“Jayce,” Mel greeted him, eyes alight with curiosity, her accents shining golden in the light of the mid morning sun. “What a pleasant surprise.” 

Jayce flashed her his most winning smile. “Hi Mel. Sorry to bother you,” he said– then subsided into an anxious grin that he barely had to fake.

“Not at all,” Mel waved away the inconvenience with grace. “What can I do for you?” 

Jayce took a deep breath and asked, “Do you happen to know any doctors that value discretion?”

Chapter Text

“A doctor?” Mel repeated back to him, surprised. She watched Jayce fidget at the edge of her desk. It was an unbecoming habit– one that she thought he’d be better off breaking– but it did make him easier to read. 

The request was unexpected. When he’d asked for an audience with her this morning she’d had hope that perhaps he’d bring her news of the escapee– he had said he’d speak to his partner about it. But Jayce had a habit of surprising her– one that she considered a curse and a blessing. It kept her life interesting at the very least. For all that she loved the game, politics could be dreadfully dull.

“Viktor is sick,” Jayce said by way of explanation. Mel noted the nervous edge to his smile. “He doesn’t–” He paused and reconsidered his words. “He’s very… stubborn,” he settled on. “He won’t go to a doctor and I’m worried about him.” 

Mel could see that. There was an edge of concern carved into Jayce’s furrowed brow and an air of nerves to his movements that undercut the false-confident squaring of his shoulders. Though to be honest, most of his tells weren’t terrible– she was just very good at reading people. She’d known he was worried from the moment he’d walked in the door. Still, to come all the way to her. She raised a brow. “There are many private doctors in the city, Jayce.” 

“I know. I just thought you’d have a better idea of which ones are… trustworthy.” 

Trustworthy. So this was more than Viktor just being sick. It was enough of a worry that Jayce didn’t want it getting out exactly how ill his partner was– or the man was simply so private he would turn anyone who couldn’t be vouched for away. It was hard for her to say which. She was leaning towards the latter. Jayce was an… emotional man. He was driven by passion and pathos. She doubted it had even occurred to him that an ill partner could cause anxiety among his sponsors and grant donors and eventually affect his funding. He didn’t tend to think that way– at least not with people he cared about. He was getting better at handling their sponsors though. He was just a bit unpolished– a diamond in the rough– which made guiding and moving him much easier for her. Viktor on the other hand… 

Mel had to admit, she didn’t know much of Jayce’s partner. She hadn’t paid him much mind when he was nothing more than Heimerdinger’s shadow and she couldn’t say she was overly concerned with him now that he was Jayce’s. From what she’d seen the feeling was mutual. He kept away from the politics of their funding even if she was sure that he was aware of the game that was being played. He was polite, if not a tad curt, when spoken to by anyone who wasn’t Jayce– too smart to outright refuse to conform but more than content to let Jayce be at the forefront of their operation. He seemed comfortable on the sidelines– which suited Mel’s needs as Jayce was a much easier creature to parade around. Not to mention he was easier to read, simple to bait, and eager to please. 

Viktor had always struck her as cautious and, of the two, the one who would be far more difficult to handle. So she didn’t. She handled Jayce and let him handle his partner. Sometimes it was easier to let other people do the work for you. 

Still, it would be nice to know exactly what Viktor was dealing with. That was probably why he was so adamantly refusing to go to a doctor. She imagined he was probably far more aware of how word of a prolonged illness could cause Hextech funding instability than Jayce was. He probably didn’t trust that the information would be kept secret– which was wise. Money could get you most things in Piltover and knowledge was power. Hextech had already pulled sponsors and funding out from underneath half the other inventors in the city. Their position was one of extreme scrutiny and jealousy. Viktor was certainly more aware of that than Jayce was– after all, Topsiders with less decorum than her would surely have no issue telling him exactly what they thought of his undercity origins and subsequent success. Sabotage was a very likely eventuality. 

“Mel?” 

Ahh. She’d been in thought a little too long. She tilted her head. “My apologies. I was considering. How serious is your partner’s illness?”

“Serious enough to warrant a doctor being called.”

“I suppose it would have to be,” she said– drumming her fingers lightly on her desk. “I did not see Viktor at your last sponsor meeting.” 

To her surprise Jayce snorted and Mel saw the furrow of his brow lighten for a moment. “He wouldn’t have come anyways,” Jayce said with a look that was as fond as it was exasperated. “He hates those things. Always says his leg is acting up and skips.” 

Mel let out a soft hum. “Probably for the best. Your partner would undoubtedly make the sponsors uncomfortable.” 

Confusion pulled at Jayce’s brow at that and Mel remembered that Jayce, for all his Piltovian upbringing, had trouble with the social divides of the city. Mel attributed it to a mix of kindness and ignorance– not the most productive combination but better than malice. Jayce didn’t correct people when they called Hextech his invention (she suspected he didn’t recognize it for the slight it was) but he did go out of his way to credit Viktor the moment someone made mention of his partner. Just as he did now. “Viktor is equally if not more than responsible for the advancements we’ve made in Hextech. He’s brilliant.”

Mel waved her hand. “I don’t doubt it,” she assured him. She didn’t. The man had been Heimerdinger’s assistant and the professor would never have settled. “I am simply saying that the clans and the council will always favor speaking to you over him. Regardless, that’s not what you’re here for.”  

“No,” Jayce agreed. He looked like he would have liked to continue down that line of thought but he allowed the conversation to return to its original subject. “I need someone I can be sure will keep their mouth shut. For the right price, of course.” He smiled. “Money isn’t an issue. I’ll take any name you give me.”

Mel folded her hands, resting her chin on them. “And what makes you think I’d have suggestions to make?” She already knew the answer but letting Jayce speak it aloud was important. It made their positions clear.

He didn’t disappoint. “You’re methodical. Any name you give me will be a person I can trust.” 

Mel nodded. “You want my recommendation because I’ve already done the work.” Another debt admitted. Jayce Talis and all his inventions a little more under her thumb. Of course, she wouldn’t hold something like this over Jayce’s head. If his partner needed a doctor good at keeping their mouth shut, Mel had no issues making recommendations. It would be a magnanimous gesture– one that would endear her to Jayce. Power was not only held in favors but also in regard. 

She was about to wave Elora over and begin a list when she noticed Jayce fidgeting again. He subtly picked at the nail beds of his fingers. It struck her as odd. Jayce was not a generally anxious man and although she often saw through the confident façade, his nerves were usually hidden better than this. It made her hesitate. There was something else he wanted to say. 

“It’s work I’m willing to pay for.” 

Mel felt her brow raise– interested despite herself. She leaned forward on her desk. “Oh?” she asked. She saw Jayce relax under her scrutiny and stop fidgeting entirely. Mel did not react. She was better than to let on that she knew a conversation lead when she saw one.

“I’ve been thinking about that girl,” he said. “I know you said you’d consider it a debt repaid but… I thought I might have a better solution.” He grew in confidence the longer he spoke– like he was remembering the conversation like a script. Mel watched. “You get to keep your debts and I’ll go poke around a little more. If you’ll give me permission, I’d like to speak to the doctor that was treating her and make a trip to her cell in Stillwater.” 

“You have been thinking about this,” Mel said in surprise. She hadn’t expected Jayce to take an actual interest in the topic.

“A little,” Jayce admitted with a sheepish grin.

“You think this will help find her?” Mel pressed.

“I was thinking she might have had people visiting her. Family– being that she’s so young. It’d give us a place to start looking. Since she’s escaped there’s a good chance she’s trying to go home.” He proposed this the way he talked about his work, with an underlying excitement that sent ripples out over the surface level calm– transformed from plastic confidence to real, palpable, substance.

“And speaking to her doctor?” Mel asked more to see how the momentum gripped Jayce than anything else.

“I want to know what was wrong with her,” Jayce said. “It might give us information on how far she could have gotten. I assume she was in the hospital for a real reason– if it hadn’t been serious she would have been treated at the inhouse facility. I want to know what to be on the lookout for.”

Mel hummed and folded back into herself while she considered it. The idea had merit but Jayce was far more interesting. She followed the now confident line of his shoulders and watched his hands for the lack of movement. He was shifting his weight from foot to foot but that wasn’t something Mel had cataloged into a nervous tic category and was, rather, a symptom of Jayce’s inability to be still. Something about this was odd. It felt scripted but in the way that Jayce knew what he wanted from the conversation and less like he was putting up the façade she saw him dawn with investors. It was just strange which parts of the conversation had which tones. She’d have expected the request for the doctor to be confident one if anything– after all, it was what he needed . Though maybe the nerves could be attributed to worry over his partner.

She pushed her speculation aside and focused on his offer. Using Jayce for this had potential. She had considered the possibilities he brought up herself a few times but didn’t have anyone she trusted enough that was unassociated with her to look into it. She was much too important to look like she had ties to this. Jayce was a mostly neutral party and furthermore, he could be trusted. It was still a risk, however. Mel drummed her fingers on her desk. A risk. Jayce had been worth the risks she’d taken on him so far. One more might be worth the cost. Mel reached under her desk into a drawer and retrieved two blank pieces of paper. She began to write. 

After a few moments of silence, Mel grabbed the seal she kept for official documents and pressed the ink into both papers. She held them both out to Jayce. “The first will get you into Stillwater,” she said by way of explanation as his calloused hands brushed the tips of her fingers while he took them from her. “For the second, ask after Dr. Krishnari at the hospital, flash him this seal and he will speak to you. He has been asked to keep quiet by both the council and the Sheriff but as long as you’re on official business he should be plenty willing to share.” 

Jayce looked at both papers in his hands and Mel saw a flash of something across his features. She zeroed in on it but couldn’t decipher it before it was gone. 

“Thank you,” he said, soft and sincere. Too sincere. Mel was too skilled to narrow her eyes in suspicion. Instead, she waved him away and watched with a keen eye.

“Come back and I will have a list of recommendations for you. And consider your debts repaid– all of them.” 

Jayce started in surprise and the flash of– upset? It was definitely some kind of distress– flitted over his face again. “I–”

“Your partner is ill,” Mel cut him off, being entirely truthful. “I have no interest in holding his health over your head. I’d have given them to you regardless of you volunteering your time.” 

“I– thank you, Mel,” Jayce said– still looking distraught.

“No, thank you. I appreciate the effort and thought you’ve put into a problem that wasn’t yours to deal with.” 

Jayce began fidgeting with his nailbeds again but he nodded and turned. He walked stiffly towards the door but then paused, shoulder’s hunching slightly before turning back to Mel. The look was back. Mel realized it was guilt. 

And then it made sense.

“I’m sorry.” 

Mel blinked, knowing better than to let on what she knew. “For what?” 

“For making it sound like I thought you were the kind of person who traded lives for favors,” Jayce stumbled out. 

Mel tilted her head. She debated her response and settled for honesty. “It’s not an entirely inaccurate assumption.”

“Yes it is,” Jayce insisted. He emphasized his words with his hands, bringing them down with force as if the more emphatic he was, the more true his words would be. “You’re a good person– A good…friend,” he added and it almost came out like a question. They locked eyes and Jayce’s arms fell back to his sides. They stared at each other and Mel felt like her next move would have great weight. She had wanted him to like her hadn’t she– wanted him to think her magnanimous? Well this was the consequence and really, there was only one response she could give to an overture like that.

“Thank you,” Mel said. Jayce lit up like a bulb understanding the lack of rejection for what it was. Mel smiled. “I appreciate your help in this matter, Mr. Talis.” 

Jayce waited for a moment before nodding. “Be seeing you, Councilor Medarda.” And with that he was out the door with it swinging closed behind him. 

Mel hummed again once Jayce was gone.

Guilt. That had been the thread that made things make sense. Or rather, it was what made it clear that what wasn’t making sense was real. The nerves she could chalk up to worry about his partner. The change in confidence she could attribute to genuine interest and a great deal of thought. The guilt? The guilt meant that Jayce felt bad about the interaction he’d just had with her. It couldn’t be just feeling sorry for the perceived offense he’d caused her– it had appeared before she’d admitted to intending to give him the information all along. 

And if he wasn’t guilty about that it meant he felt like he was using her, lying to her, or being dishonest– which he wouldn’t have felt if he’d been sincere. He was paying her back for something she’d have given for free. What did he have to be guilty about?

That was the question she couldn’t answer. But she thought she might know someone who could. It was an inessential and potentially unwise risk to take seeing the time she’d have to make for it– but Mel trusted her instincts even if she had every reason to attribute the strangeness of the conversation to ametur politics. And, after all, hadn’t she just thought that the risks she took on Jayce paid off? This was no different. She felt like it was important even if she couldn’t see the full picture of it yet. At the worst, she’d cancel a few meetings to find out that Jayce was telling the truth and Viktor was simply ill. In which case, she could help, her curiosity appeased, and the meetings could be penciled back in appropriately.

“Elora?”

“Yes, ma’am.” 

“Fetch Dr. Ralar for me, would you? And cancel my meeting with the textiles guild at noon.” 

Elora nodded writing something down on her clipboard. “Of course. Shall I send them an apology and reschedule?” 

“Yes. And let Dr. Ralar know that we will be making a house call.”

“Of course.”

It was time to pay Viktor a visit. She had promised Jayce a doctor, after all.

Chapter Text

The hospital was closer so Jayce figured he’d start there and hopefully figure out what to do with the guilt of using Mel along the way. 

The plan had been perfect in theory and, over all, successful in practice. Ask a favor from Mel that not only was feasible, but would be useful to them later. Offer in return to complete the task he’d wanted to do anyways. He’d gotten the permissions he needed. He would be able to get some useful information. 

He just felt like a bad friend. 

It probably would have been fine if Mel was just a little bit worse of a person. It was easy to make the plan, simple to follow through, and much harder to deal with after than he’d considered. The problem was that Mel trusted him . She’d all but acknowledged their friendship. She’d given him everything he’d wanted free of cost (even if one of those was a favor to her. She trusted him to follow through.) and he’d used her kindness to harbor the exact criminal she was looking for. This had been a terrible idea. He was an idiot. Why had Viktor let him go through with it?

Still, what was done was done. Viktor trusted him too (or had been willing to at least take the risk). He had his hesitations. (Jayce thought now it might have been desperation allowing him to push those aside instead of trust.) Regardless, he was relying on him to get what information he could in the least disruptive way possible. Jayce had apparently chosen his side without really intending to or even realizing there were sides. Mel didn’t need to know. She didn’t need to know he’d betrayed their tentative friendship moments before she’d allowed it to be acknowledged. Jayce would be the one to bear that burden. 

Well, assuming she hadn’t already figured him out. Jayce wasn’t stupid and Mel certainly wasn’t. He knew she could probably see something out of place with his actions and his words. He just had to hope that she’d attribute it to worry over Viktor’s fake illness and an over eagerness to try his hand at a trade. He knew he was clumsy at politics. Mel did too. An out right favor for favor offer like this was within the realm of ametuer moves that he could play into without arousing a great deal of suspicion. He had to hope that Mel would chalk it up to inexperience rather than a purposeful play on his own lack of ability. He took comfort in the fact that Mel was a very busy woman who probably wouldn’t have the time nor reason to investigate her suspicions if she had them– after all, Viktor being sick was well within the realm of feasible excuses for needing a doctor and his own eager interest in the situation could easily be passed off as a want to help. With that he sectioned away his guilt to be dealt with at another less important time as he made it to the waiting room of Academy Medical. 

The waiting room wasn’t much to look at. It was white. There were people scattered in the neatly separated seating around the room. Uniformed nurses and personnel busied about– calling names, leading patients, or releasing them. There was a buzz of uncertainty in the air that Jayce picked up on. Not all was forgotten with the recent explosion. In fact, he suspected there should have been far more patients than there were in the waiting room. It might take time before their clientele returned to what it had been. He walked to the front desk and spoke to one of the men behind the counter there. Jayce flashed him the seal Mel had given him and asked to speak to Dr. Krishnari. The man nodded, bustling away, and soon Jayce was led down a series of sterile looking hallways to an office.

The door to the office opened to reveal the doctor– a happy looking Ionian woman– short, stout, and a quick anxious energy that became apparent the moment Jayce entered and she shot out of her seat to take his hand in both of hers to shake it. Jayce smiled his most winning smile at her and it was barely fake. 

“Dr. Krishnari, I assume?” 

His statement was met with an emphatic nod. “Yes. A pleasure to meet you Mr…” 

“Talis. Jayce Talis.” 

“Oh, I know you!” The woman’s eyes lit up and she excitedly led him further into her office, pulling out a chair and gesturing for him to take a seat. “I’ve been following your work for some time. Not my field but fascinating stuff.” 

Jayce laughed, running a hand through the hair on the back of his head sheepishly. “Thank you. I appreciate the compliment. I wish I could say I’ve been branching out beyond my field.” 

“Well, you do seem rather busy.”

“I suppose I am. Your office is lovely, by the way.”

A room could tell you a lot about a person. The office was the same sterile white as all the rest of the building he’d been in so far, but the walls had been covered by several cork boards and a number of pictures and articles were pinned to it (one of them he recognized as an interview he’d done fairly recently about some of the more basic aspects of the research that Hextech was conducting. Nothing too outrageous or secret but enough that he was hoping to garner more interest from the public and potential sponsors). There was either little or no organization to how the items were pinned to the board. The papers (hand annotated academic printouts) were strewn throughout hand drawn pictures of flowers or people or animals– obviously done by children– several images of a family, single portraits, award ceremonies, and hand written notes. 

Jayce quickly came to several conclusions. Dr. Krishnari was a well read, family woman. The letters were from patients– likely a good doctor if she had handwritten thank-yous and clearly she cared as she had them pinned next to her family and work. The office’s warm air relaxed Jayce. It was good to know that at least when she had been here, the girl had been in gentle hands.

“Thank you,” the doctor said, lowering herself into an office chair opposite of him. “Now, Mr. Talis, what can I help you with today? You’ve caught me between patients but I’m afraid I don’t have much free time.” 

 Jayce smiled apologetically, also taking a seat. “To business then,” he said and pulled out Mel’s handwritten note with the Medarda seal. “I’ve volunteered some time to the council to help look into the matter of the explosion a patient of yours recently caused.” 

Doctor Krishnari’s smile fell almost instantly and it was with a subtle hesitation that she reached out and took the paper from him. She glanced it over and then back to Jayce. 

“I’m afraid I already told them what I know.” 

“I figured as much. However, I was only given the most basic details of the event. I’m looking for whatever you can share with me.”

Dr. Krishnari suddenly looked very tired. “Where do you want me to start?” 

“How about with when she was admitted?” 

“She was brought in around 10 at night. Sweating, convulsing, unconscious. Non-responsive to auditory stimuli but still responsive to some physical,” the doctor sounded like she was reciting from a book. Jayce figured she must have been through this several times already. 

“What was wrong with her?” 

The doctor stiffened and then adjusted her hands in her lap. She looked stern. “I already told the council and Sheriff Marcus that I can’t share the details of the patient’s diagnosis.” 

Jayce blinked. “You can’t? She’s a criminal.” 

“She still has rights,” the woman said in a tone that indicated she’d been over this multiple times to no avail. “The details of her condition and treatment are protected under doctor-patient confidentiality clauses.” 

“...Alright,” Jayce said hesitantly. So that was a bust unless he could somehow get his hands on her patient notes.

“And let the Sheriff know that no matter how many times he subpoenas the hospital, we are not legally required to share that information nor do we have written documentation anymore. As we have told him several times, the notes were destroyed during the explosion.” 

Well, there went that idea. So the only person who could tell him what was wrong with the girl was standing firm on not sharing. He could respect that even if it was deeply frustrating and potentially troubling. 

“I will let the council know to inform him,” Jayce agreed. He wanted to ease the tension between them. The less tense she was the less careful she would be with her words. He could only hope that she might slip on something. “How about the details of the explosion then? Do you know how she caused it?”

“Yes,” she said and seemed to relax a bit. “We are relatively sure that the explosion was caused by a spark being lit next to her open oxygen tank. There isn’t much left of the room but we can assume that she used some of the wiring from tools that were stored there to rig a trap that would go off when the door was opened.”

“Why were there tools left in with her at all? She was a known criminal, correct?” 

The doctor nodded. “Indeed. They were tools that are kept nearby in case of emergency. She was critical for a majority of her stay. They needed to be close in case we needed them.” 

Jayce’s brow furrowed. “She was critical when she caused the explosion?” 

The doctor hesitated. “She should have been. She shouldn’t even have been conscious.” 

“Then why was she?” 

“I’m not sure.” The doctor looked like she wanted to add something then stopped herself. “I can’t share the details with you, but it really shouldn’t have been possible.”

Jayce mulled that over. So the girl had been sick enough that they hadn’t thought her to be a threat. She’d miraculously recovered long enough to escape and then succumbed again. It was quite the coincidence assuming it was one. He wondered how bad off she was in comparison to when she’d been here. Neither Jayce or Viktor were doctors. He wasn’t sure what constituted someone in critical condition. Was she there now? Were they killing her by trying to keep her hidden? He needed to know more. 

“So the girl escaped,” he prompted Dr. Krishnari. The woman nodded, long black hair falling over her shoulders. 

“Out the window before the explosion.” 

“Do you think she’s alive?” asked Jayce.

The doctor looked surprised by the question. “Sorry?”

“You said she shouldn’t have been conscious,” Jayce explained. “She should have still been critical. Without treatment, is she going to survive?” The most important question he could ask without directly giving himself away. 

The doctor looked thoughtful, folding her hands in her lap. “I don’t know,” she offered after a moment of silence. “It depends on why she woke up. I can’t discuss in detail but I initially thought the dosage of the treatment we gave her might be wrong. If she was given too much at once then we risked harming her body further– it needed to be administered very specifically. It’s why we weren’t worried about her waking.” 

“And now?” 

“I’m not so sure. I’ve run the calculations several times and I administered the treatment myself. I was not wrong.” 

Jayce mulled that over. A treatment that had to be administered particularly to avoid damage to the body. The doctor seemed confident that she hadn’t been incorrect with the dosage but maybe things had gotten mixed up along the way by someone else. Maybe that was why the girl had woken up and was now on a downward slide. Maybe this was the damage the treatment had wrought on her body. But how could he be sure? 

“I have to admit, this is very difficult without knowing what the treatment was.” 

Dr. Krishnari snorted. With a wry look she said, “Trust me when I say it’s just as bad with the knowledge. As for if she’s alive…” Another thoughtful look. “Yes. I think she could still be alive, however, if the dosage was either too little or too much, even slightly, she could easily sink back down into being sick.” 

It was Jayce’s turn to hesitate. “Would you be able to help her again if she did?” The Doctor seemed kind. She seemed committed. If worst came to worst, he wanted to know he had options.

“I believe so. But without knowing where she is, I can’t. I can only hope that she’s doing well.” 

That fit in with what he could assume of Dr. Krishnari. It probably helped that the girl was so young. Jayce eyed the picture of the Doctor and her family before asking, “You don’t wish her ill will? She blew up your hospital room and killed a man.” He had to be sure.

“ Nearly killed a man,” Dr. Krishnari said and Jayce froze. She continued on but Jayce was barely listening. “I have a duty to my patients, even if I detest their actions. I–” 

Jayce interrupted, holding up a hand. “Sorry, what do you mean by nearly?” 

There was silence. The doctor hesitated again. She made a nervous gesture with her hands like she was afraid she had made a mistake. “Did the Sheriff and the council not inform you? The enforcer caught in the explosion that night was in critical condition, but we have since been able to stabilize him.” 

Jayce’s mouth was dry. “I was told he died.”

This changed everything. Or well, maybe not everything, but it mattered a lot to Jayce. The girl hadn’t killed a man. They weren’t harboring a (recent) murderer. Jayce had to actively prevent the relief from flooding his expression.

But that did bring up a new question. Why hadn’t Mel told him? She’d been the one to ask him to look into this. She’d been the one to say she was dangerous in the first place. Why lie? What was the point? 

Unless Mel didn’t know it was a lie. Jayce reconsidered. Mel wasn’t the type to lie about something like the death of an enforcer and if she had, she would have let Jayce know because in speaking to the Doctor he was inevitably going to find out. It would make more sense for Mel not to know– which would mean the council didn’t know– which was…

“Why did the newspaper report a death if he didn’t die?” Jayce asked.

The doctor shifted again. “The Sheriff told us to treat him privately and keep quiet on orders from the council. I assumed since they sent you that they must have told you.” 

That made sense– kind of. It at least made Dr. Krishnari’s nerves make sense. She obviously thought she had screwed up by informing him since as far as she knew, the council should have done so first. But the council didn’t know. Mel didn’t know that man was alive. The only person who did was the doctor, probably a few nurses, and, apparently, Sheriff Marcus. Something wasn’t right but he couldn’t let Dr. Krishnari know that. He smiled at her and relaxed his posture. In return, he saw her mimic the same movement of relaxing into her chair. He waved a hand lightly. 

“It must have been an oversight not to not inform me,” he reassured her. “Like I said, the details I was given were very brief. I’m sure they expected you to tell me– which you have now. I’m thankful.” Jayce let the sincerity bleed through his words. He was thankful. It felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Dr. Krishnari smiled at him.  

“I’m sorry about that then. But yes. The enforcer is alive. Severe chemical burns along with the ones caused by the explosion. Damage to the lungs as well. We believe the girl double downed and mixed some cleaning chemicals to create a gas and distract the man first during her escape.” 

“I see.” Clever but dangerous. He wondered if that was a running theme.

“Are you interested in seeing the remains of the room? There’s not anything usable left and the Enforcers have already investigated but you are welcome to see what you can see.” 

Jayce stood from the chair. “I will take you up on that. Anything could help.” 

Dr. Krishnari stood as well. Reaching out for a handshake. “Of course. I’ll have one of the aids take you.” 

Jayce shook her hand and with a very real warmth he said, “Thank you for your time Doctor.” 

“Of course, Mr. Talis. I wish you luck on your investigation and with your research. I hope that if we see each other again it will be under better circumstances.” 

Just because Jayce hadn’t gotten everything he needed from the hospital didn’t mean that he was giving up. Jayce had held hope through his search of the explosion site that he might find something the enforcers had missed– anything that might give him more information on the girl’s mysterious illness. Of course, there had been nothing. Well, nothing outside of the fact that she hadn’t killed that enforcer and the possibility that it was being hidden from the council. Jayce thought back to his and Viktor’s whiteboard and Viktor’s insistence on putting Corruption? next to Sheriff . He was going to be intolerably smug when Jayce gave him this tidbit of information (intolerable in that he would act humble and would say he hadn’t been expecting it while Jayce caught gleeful, mean spirited, grins out of the corner of his eye). Though, Jayce wasn’t fully convinced that it was malicious in nature. Perhaps there had been a miscommunication somewhere down the line. Or perhaps he was wrong about Mel not knowing and she had simply chosen not to inform him for her own reasons. It was possible. And while the information was simultaneously interesting and a relief, it didn’t give him much to work with in terms of his mission of finding out what was wrong with the girl. 

It worried Jayce. She sounded about as bad as when she had first been admitted to the hospital. Unresponsive to audio stimuli but still responsive to some physical. He’d seen that himself. He’d carried her to Viktor’s room like he’d said he would. He could almost still feel the sweat soaking through her clothes, the way her skin felt clammy and cold against his– how she was shivering under the blankets that Viktor had wrapped her in. She was such a tiny thing– he thought he could have held her with one arm. She’d whimpered when he’d picked her up and tried to thrash against him. It was a weak movement that mostly involved lolling her head back and forth and pushing against his arms with her hands for a few seconds. She’d subsided when Viktor had pressed a hand to her forehead, brushing back her hair in a soothing motion, murmuring something under his breath that Jayce couldn’t make out. But the girl’s mindless protests had stopped– her body falling still– feeling somehow heavier in Jayce’s arms. 

On the short walk to the bedroom, Jayce had tried to imagine her as a killer and found that he couldn’t. There was something fragile about her and even if he knew the truth, he hadn’t wanted to believe it. When he’d set her down into Viktor’s bed she’d let out another unintelligible mumble followed by, well, to Jayce it almost sounded like she was calling out for Viktor. Kind of. He heard the V and saw her throw her hand out to the side grasping at the air. He moved on instinct and grabbed it, tucking her tiny fist against his and easing it back to her body. He pressed his other hand against her forehead the same way Viktor had and brushed her back into silence. Viktor had watched from the doorway– a worried frown marring his face while he leaned on the frame. Jayce had met his eyes and whatever Viktor had seen there had caused the frown to relax a little. He’d given him a sharp nod and made his way into the room.

When he’d left, Viktor had been sitting on the edge of the bed with her and Jayce had been determined to bring back something – anything that would help. Now he wasn’t so sure he could.

He wouldn’t allow himself wallow in that though. Yes, the hospital would have been his best chance to get that kind of useful information and yes– if he failed here there was a good possibility that he would have no choice but to try to convince Viktor to return the girl to their care to save her life (he had the feeling that wasn’t going to go over well though he did feel slightly better about it now that he had met Dr. Krishnari). But he wasn’t done. He steeled himself against his disappointment as he left the hospital. He wouldn’t start down that line of thought till he had exhausted every possibility he could and there was still more to do.

That meant Stillwater was next– even if it was almost certainly fruitless in a search for the girl’s ailment. They hadn’t known what was wrong with her when she left, no doubt they wouldn’t be anymore knowledgeable now with how tight lipped Dr. Krishnari was being. Still, he had to try. 

The boat ride was easy (though it felt like it took forever) as was his quick discussion with the bored looking guard working intake (also somehow quicker and longer than he thought it’d be). The large rhinoceros of a man glanced over his papers, snorted, and pulled out a large book. Jayce had signed in as a visitor but not before asking, “Do you always run intake?” 

“Mostly,” the man grunted, hunched over his desk and pulling the sign-in book back towards himself.

“Do you have any visitation records for the prisoner who’s cell I’m investigating? 516?” 

Large shoulders shook while the guardsman snorted. He handed Jayce back his papers. “516 wasn’t allowed visitors. Nobody ever saw that girl or signed in for her.” With that, he waved Jayce through. 

Another man in guard uniform led him up the winding stairs of the building. Jayce was in good shape, he made sure of it despite how much desk work he did, but he was still out of breath at the top of the stairs where the girl’s holding cell was. It was isolated. In fact, he couldn’t see another cell in sight on this floor. When he asked the guard about it all he got was a grunt and “solitary confinement.” 

Solitary confinement. Why did they have a child in solitary confinement? 

“How long was she here?” Jayce asked, hoping without hope that this had been a recent development.

The guard shrugged like it didn’t matter. “As long as she’s been in the prison.” 

The cell wasn’t bare– that was the first thing that Jayce noticed. Just like with Dr. Krishnari, a lot could be said about how a person kept their room– and although it surprised Jayce, the girl’s cell was no exception. While the guard unlocked the barred door, Jayce took it in. 

There were drawings on the walls– which was more decoration than any of the cells he’d passed previously had. When the door swung open he stepped up to them and ran a finger over the bright pink lines of the crude figure of a mouse. Colored dust coated the pad of his pointer finger and Jayce realized it was chalk. He found the stick to back that up moments later on a small table at the head of an unmade bed.

He couldn’t say there was a lot in the cell. The brick was cold and dark even with the splashes of color from the drawings. In the corner he found a few cups as well as– actually, he wasn’t sure what they were. Jayce picked up the colorfully decorated hollow container with cat whiskers. He spun the thing in his hands for a better look. It had evidence of some kind of wiring on the inside and it was definitely meant to hold something. He just couldn’t say what. Definitely intriguing. He made sure to memorize what he could of the design. But that did bring up a new question– what were these doing in the prison in the first place? The drawings as well. There were quite a few of what Jayce would describe as personal effects laying around the cell. As far as he knew, that shouldn’t be allowed– even if the sight of some color in this place made him feel just the slightest bit better about how long the girl had been confined here. 

There was something else too. When he moved back to the night stand, he plucked some wilting flowers from another hollowed out metal container. There were water marks on the inside which meant that they had been in water at some point, likely when the girl had been here last, and that it had evaporated. The flowers were a pretty, iridescent purple– still alive, which meant that someone had brought them to her and it had been recent. 

So either the intake officer was lying or he was ignorant– not a good look either way. Jayce doubted he’d be allowed to see the visitation records even if he asked again, not if they said she wasn’t allowed visitors at all. Assuming the intake officer wasn’t lying, whoever had been bringing things likely wouldn’t be in that book– especially considering how much contraband had been delivered to her. If they didn’t have records, they could claim ignorance. But even without the records, Jayce, at least, could be sure that someone had been here recently. It was the only explanation for the flowers. 

He made his way back to the unmade cot (there really wasn’t much to see in the room) and decided to take a closer look. He knelt down and started to pull back the wrinkled sheets. There was a lump in the bed and when he managed to pull them completely away he was met with the button black eyes of a stuffed rabbit. It looked terrible. The thing was patched to hell and back. It was dirty, threadbare, and clearly well loved. He stared at it and then felt a pang of unexpected grief hit him in the chest. 

It was everything, he decided. The rabbit plush, the drawings on the walls, the unmade bed. It was something about the messy habits of childhood– the neglect of an untucked sheet and the love of a stuffed animal that really drove it home for him. That and the fact that he’d carried the kid. He could still almost feel how small she had been in his arms. That wasn’t– he was starting to think Viktor had done that on purpose. Was that what the nod had been about? Had Viktor been assessing him? Debating how making the girl real to Jayce might inspire his empathy? Well if Viktor had been looking for a sign that Jayce had cared, he’d clearly found it seeing as he’d let him go ahead with his plan. And now he knew Viktor was right. She was just a kid– a little girl. This was the room of a child. In a jail. In solitary confinement. 

Why? What had she done? There could be no good reason for this.

Jayce pushed past the wave of helpless anger that accompanied the grief. It wasn’t the time. It didn’t matter what the crime was– not now at least. He needed to find something, anything, that might reveal what the girl’s condition was. Despite how he’d started out, he wasn’t hopeful about it. If there was a mold or disease infestation from a pest, the chances of him finding evidence of such a thing was low. Finding evidence of a pathogen was none. The hospital had really been his only chance. Maybe he could talk to the medical staff in the in house facility here? He knew it was unlikely but maybe they could help. He’d take anything. He resolved to have the guard take him there next after he finished up searching the last of the room. He pressed on.

The sheets revealed nothing more but a hand under the bed did happen upon something hard. Jayce reached under and pulled a book from the deep crevices. He gave it an incredulous glance. What was something like this doing here? A book was somewhat unsurprising considering the amount of things she had in her room but the content was… What was she doing with A History of Piltover’s Founders ? It wasn’t the kind of reading he’d have picked for someone drawing on their walls with bright pink chalk. Still, he opened the book to thumb through it. 

The book fell open to a page– Jayce felt the seam in the spine and the strain of the binding keeping the book together. Clearly, this page had been opened to a great deal. Jayce stared at it. 

He read. 

He stopped. 

He read it again. 

Jayce looked up, shocked expression being threatened by a disbelieving grin. He pushed down on near hysterical laughter. This was impossible. What were the chances that– There were some implications here that Viktor and he would need to go over thoroughly later. For now though, he just needed to get back to Viktor’s as quickly as possible. They had some research they would need to complete before they planned their next move. He hastily made to stand but caught sight of the rabbit still on the bed. He hesitated for just a second before grabbing it by the grubby arm and pulling it up with him. He turned to the guard.

“I’m taking these as part of the investigation into prisoner 516. If you have an issue with it, please take it up with Mel Medarda.” And then he walked out of the prison cell with the guard scrambling and protesting behind. 

Jayce wouldn’t say he rushed back to Viktor’s– it was more of a slow build to avoid suspicion. He’d kept himself level all the way back from Stillwater and he’d done what he considered a commendable job of pretending to be calm all the way till he reached the sector where Viktor lived. He had fully intended to swing by Mel’s office before returning to report back to his partner so that he could at least keep up the pretense of working for her but– well, it could wait. As soon as he was within the sector, Jayce broke out into jittery, fast paced walk. He practically careened onto the landing of Viktor’s doorway and had the door open before he could consider that it might be locked. 

“Viktor, I found it!” he said as he threw open the door. “I know what’s–” Jayce cut off– freezing in the doorway.

“Jayce,” Viktor greeted him dryly. The man was perched on one of the many stools in his apartment at the coffee table in his living room. Across from him on the couch sat Mel Mederda and a woman Jayce didn’t recognize. Mel sipped from a delicate tea cup, completely unruffled by his sudden appearance. 

“We’ve been waiting for you,” she said with only the tiniest hint of a smirk. 

Jayce found himself cursing at the front door of Viktor’s apartment for the second time that day.

Chapter Text

It wasn’t all Jayce’s fault– or at least, that’s what Viktor told himself when he heard the knocking at his door. 

He’d been sitting on the edge of his bed with the girl hoping for some kind of miraculous recovery (which was much the same as the last few days) when he heard it. Jayce had been gone a few hours by then and Viktor had been left alone with his thoughts. 

The plan was stupid. He knew that. He just didn’t have any better ones. Viktor considered himself pragmatic beyond anything else but– well– he’d let Jayce in. There was a part of him that had an inexplicable, inexorable faith in the man who had been his partner for the last year. That part of him was apparently impulsive and had swung open the door and extended an invitation instead of fabricating a feasible lie (which he could and should have). Of course, once Jayce had been inside self-preservation had kicked into high gear and Viktor had made an ass of himself– not his best moment. Still, Jayce had been willing to help– to meet him halfway. That had to count for something. Viktor had agreed to the plan even if he knew it was a terrible idea. 

He was probably going to pay for that now. 

The knock at the door sounded sharp and loud again. Three taps in quick succession. He wondered if he could get away with continuing to sit at the foot of the bed– he was supposed to be sick after all. Maybe if he stayed where he was the person on the other side of the door (not Jayce he wouldn’t have bothered knocking) would go away. He doubted it. With his luck it was an enforcer following up on their conversation (thinly veiled verbal altercation) from the other night. If he didn’t answer they’d kick down his door and he’d have more problems than the repair bill to deal with. He stood, grabbing his cane, slowly making his way to the door. He did his best to curl in on himself and make his approach as loud and heavy as possible, as if it was a struggle to drag himself to the foyer (which it was but not for the reason he wanted them to suspect). He pulled open the door, dread pooling in his gut, fully expecting the worst. 

Somehow it still didn’t prepare him for the sight of Mel Medarda standing on the stoop of his porch– glowing in the sunlight and looking for all the world like she had nothing more important to do with her (incredibly valuable) time.

“Viktor,” the woman greeted– golden flecks of make-up glinting on her face in the light of the midday sun as her cheeks rose in a polite smile. He struggled with the urge to slam the door in her face and avoid the encounter all together.

“Councilor,” he answered back after a moment– doing his best to look as tired as he felt under her critical gaze. It wasn’t hard. 

“Jayce was right,” she said without pretense. “You look terrible.”

That startled a snort out of Viktor and he repressed an incredulous laugh. “Thank you, Councilor,” he said, trying to temper the acerbic tone that always threatened to sharpen his words. 

The woman waved her hand imperiously, like she could wipe away the insult with the pristine sweep of her white sleeve. “I am just stating the facts. You do not seem the kind to appreciate circuitousness.”

“Your consideration of my preference for candor is appreciated,” Viktor replied drily. “Can I ask what you’re doing here?” If she was going to be rude he could be too. He drew on the near constant irritation in his chest and let out a raspy cough– it was the kind he’d usually repress (once he started coughing the inflammation started and then he’d trigger a fit that could last hours or longer) but he needed to sell Jayce’s lie. It really shouldn’t be difficult considering the fact that he was running ragged both physically and emotionally after the past few days. For some unfathomable reason he still wasn’t sure he was going to be able to pass under the intense scrutiny of Mel Medarda– which was unfair. She wasn’t even a doctor. She shouldn’t be making him nervous.

The Councilor raised a brow at him and gestured behind her. “As per Jayce’s request, I’ve brought someone to take a look at you,” she said and for the first time Viktor noticed the woman standing behind her. She was short, stout, and brown– dressed in a white coat and carrying a tan leather briefcase with her. She had a soft face and sharp dark eyes that Viktor only belatedly noticed studying him. It was a sinking realization that it wasn’t just Mel Medarda he was going to have to fool. 

“I didn’t ask for a doctor,” Viktor replied. True. Also, their lie was that he was reticent due to being private. Jayce had asked for a list, not the Councilwoman and stranger knocking on his door. 

“No,” Councilor Medarda replied, nonplussed by Viktor’s shortness. “Jayce asked for recommendations but he’s doing me a rather large favor. I thought I’d return it in kind. Dr. Ralar is my personal physician and I can personally vouch for not only her skill, but her discretion.” 

Viktor stared at the two women and then nearly started swearing. So this was the Councilor’s play. Clearly something Jayce had said or done had aroused her suspicions and now she was here with her personal doctor who Viktor was sure reported to nobody– except, of course, the Councilor herself. If he accepted Dr. Ralar, she’d no doubt report back to Medarda. If he turned her away, he brought suspicions about how ill he really was. An excellent move. He hated this and decided he was taking back his earlier statement. He was fully laying the blame for this situation at Jayce’s feet. In the meantime, he responded in the only way he could.

“I do not want your doctor, Councilor. I mean no disrespect, but I have no desire for the ailments I have to be discussed between the two of you.” She wanted to accommodate his candor? Well, best let her know that he wasn’t willing to play these games. In fact, she should know he was specifically trying to avoid them since he’d requested someone who knew how to keep their mouth’s shut.

“Dr. Ralar is a professional, Viktor,” the woman said in a way that was both plactating a tad condescending, as if Viktor was at fault for speaking the truth. “I assure you that no details of your illness nor your treatment will be shared between us.” 

Viktor snorted. Liar. “I do not know how to politely say that I don’t believe you.” 

“I appreciate the honesty.” 

The neutrality with which she said it made Viktor sure that she didn’t. He carried on in vain. “Jayce was overexaggerating. He has been stressed and he became… enthusiastic in his attempts to help. You know how he is.” 

Feasible. Jayce was prone to dramatics– which she surely knew. He had already committed to the act of being ill but maybe he could play it off as not so ill that he needed medical attention. 

The Councilor nodded. “I do. That is why I am here. Jayce would not have come to me without good reason. He believes you need a doctor, Viktor. And if he believes it, so do I.” 

“Do I look ill?” Viktor knew the answer.

“You always look ill.” 

He nearly snorted again. “Any more than normal?” 

Councilor Medarda hesitated. “I cannot say. But Jayce certainly seems to think so. He seemed… concerned– perhaps overeager to offer a trade.”

Overeager. 

“Odd choice of words.” So that was where Jayce had gone wrong. He’d been too easy to please. 

Mel tilted her head. “It was an odd encounter.”

Viktor was sure it was if it meant that the Councilor had taken time out of her busy day to come visit him personally. He slouched onto his cane. 

He didn’t hate Mel Medarda. She was fine– conniving and ambiguous but fine. She at least didn’t allow the scorn she no doubt felt for him to show on her face– which was more than most people bothered to do. She’d allowed Jayce and himself their midnight break-in and the chance to prove themselves to the Council. However, he had no illusions about her intentions. She never did anything without some sort of self-interest which made their relationship essentially nonexistent. There was nothing a bond with Viktor could offer her and they both were well aware of that– which made it extremely clear that she wanted something from him.

Viktor wasn’t a fool. The only thing he had of value to her was the girl. She wouldn’t have come if she didn’t have at least a suspicion that he was hiding her or knew something– which meant that the ruse was a fruitless effort. Mel Medarda was going to get what she wanted regardless of whether or not he denied her. He could turn her and her doctor away, say screw propriety, and her suspicions would only increase. He didn’t know what the chances of her escalating were but even Jayce would not have the sway to stop her if she chose to make a hard move. She could do whatever she wanted to Viktor (Jayce too most likely) and she wouldn’t even get a slap on the wrist. If the Councilor was this invested, the girl’s discovery was a given– the only thing Viktor could do was affect how painful and delayed it was. 

– Which meant it was imperative that he know Councilor Medarda’s intentions. He needed to make a decision– quickly. He switched tactics.

“What do you want with the girl?”

The Councilor raised a brow but didn’t look particularly put-off when she asked, “Excuse me?” 

“The one from the Undercity. Why are you looking for her?” Viktor provided the explanation like she didn’t know exactly who he was talking about even though he was sure that she did. 

“Ahh– Jayce mentioned it to you?” 

“Yes.” 

“Why do you want to know?” 

“I have a passing interest.” 

“Fascinating,” Mel said airily. “Jayce had much the same.” 

There was silence for a moment before Viktor prompted her. “So?”

“My motives are my own.” The smile she leveled at him was infuriating.

The spike of irritation that shot through him did not help in his effort to keep his eyes from rolling. Why couldn’t she just answer the question– just give him what he needed? Why bother with this game? Why bother coming here and asking after him when she held all the power and clearly had some level of suspicion? He wished, not for the first time, that people topside would do away with the polite veneer. What was the point? Just act. Nobody was going to call them on acting with the violence they pretended didn’t seep into every action they took against the Undercity. Nobody would judge them for throwing him out into the streets. There was not a person in Piltover who would blink an eye if Councilor Medarda had shown up on his doorstep with half a dozen enforcers and not a single explanation. 

He almost wished she had. The intention of that visit would be infinitely more clear and far easier to react to. With the weight of polite society weighing down their conversation, they were rendered at a stand still– Viktor unwilling to give anything away for fear of the consequences and Councilor Medarda equally inscrutable for likely far less desperate reasons. He had no bargaining tools or bartering chips– he had a sick child criminal hallucinating and unconscious in his bed and a Councilor and doctor breathing down his neck clearly looking for any sign of weakness. It was an impossible situation for him. 

Give me a reason , he wanted to say in frustration. Give me something to work with so we can move forward– but Councilor Medarda was a stone wall. 

It was going to have to be him who made the decision. He would have to make a move. The safest choice would be to turn them away. The likelihood that there would be immediate consequences were low and if Jayce was successful then they could figure something out– move her elsewhere or find a place to hide her– ideally she would be well enough to hide herself. It would give her time…

But–

He was hesitating. He wasn’t sure why. He wasn’t keen to trust Mel Medarda. He wasn’t particularly keen to trust anyone – except Jayce. 

And Jayce trusted her. It wasn’t a good enough reason for him to do so. He wanted to anyways.

“Councilor, allow me to be frank.” 

Mel tilted her head. “I'd appreciate it.” 

“You are a smart woman. You know that and I know that. You have never had an interest in me. Had you intended to fulfill your side of the deal with Jayce– you would simply have let him complete the tasks you set him on and given him a list of names. You are not here because you are concerned for my well being. You are here because you are suspicious.”

“An interesting theory.” 

 “Jayce trusts you.” 

Mel blinked like this was the first surprise Viktor had thrown at her in this conversation. “Sorry?”

“Jayce enjoys your company. He trusts you– considers you a friend.” Viktor took a deep breath. He didn’t want to do this but he drew on the part of himself that trusted Jayce and let that comfort him. The chances he could talk his way out of this were slim– he might as well take another (terrible– terrifying) gamble. Mel Medarda would be an incredible boon if she was an ally. He just needed to make sure that she would be. Really this was him talking himself into it more than anything. “I have not known Jayce to be a bad judge of character. So I am asking again– before I let you into my house– just for my own peace of mind– what are your intentions with the girl?”

It was as close to an admission as he was willing to give. He could still turn her away. To his amazement, it worked.

Mel Medarda folded her hands together and looked to be deep in thought for a moment before speaking. “I am interested in talking to her. I believe from the circumstances of her arrest and her subsequent escape that she is… important. I think she may be able to shed some light on a situation that the other Council members and certainly Sheriff Marcus would be keen to shove under a rug.”

Keen to shove under a rug. Viktor thought about his suspicions around the enforcers and the reasons the girl might be in prison. He wasn’t sure why Mel Medarda would care about a wrongful prison sentence– surely none of the rest of the Council did. “And you care about that because?” 

“You of all people should know, Viktor. Knowledge is power.” Look at where it’s taken you was left unsaid. “I am on the edge of something and she knows what it is.”

So it was about something to hold over other people’s heads. That made sense. “And what will become of her once she answers your questions?” 

He had apparently reached the end of the Councilor’s good will. She folded her arms. “Do I need to call the enforcers?”

Viktor considered the threat and then called her bluff. “You won’t,” he said– crossing his own arms. “You want to speak to her alone. The enforcers will not let you do that.” 

“And you will?” 

“Will you turn her back over to them when you are done?”

“That depends on how she answers my questions.” She held a hand up when Viktor began to protest. “She killed a man.” Viktor shut his mouth. Mel gave him a sympathetic glance. “I know you are a good person, Viktor. You can understand my hesitance to give a judgment without understanding the situation.” 

“I only worry that your judgment might not be fair,” Viktor said sullenly. “What good is an explanation when you’ve already decided she’s guilty?”

“I am not Piltovian,” Mel said with confidence. She stepped closer to Viktor. “I did not grow up thinking the Undercity was a thing to detest. Give me credit where it is due.” 

Viktor took a step back. He should have nodded and moved on, instead, because he was tired and defensive, he said, “Forgive me if I do not find thinly veiled derision much better than exploitation– not that most people don’t do a fair bit of both. You are no exception.”

Mel blinked– not looking at all hurt by the words. “You’re bold today.” 

“It’s been a long week and you’re intruding.” If Viktor hadn’t been on the steps of his own home he never would have said those kinds of things. He did value his life and his standing. He knew it was tentative at best and that the Councilor could easily rip it away from him if she so chose. Still, it was his home to defend. Viktor pressed his fingers to his temple. He could still turn them away even if he’d all but admitted his guilt. He could bet on Mel Medarda’s self interest keeping her from turning him into the enforcers. He was fairly confident it would work– but (there was always a “but” recently) this was a good opportunity. Councilor Medarda as an ally instead of an unknown, or worse, an enemy. Not only that but it would have to be for an extended period of time considering the girl was unconscious and Mel wouldn’t be getting her answers today. She also had a doctor– one she insisted could be trusted. Bringing her in could not only give him a stronger bargaining chip but might save the girl’s life in more ways than one. He stood on his porch a moment longer before falling back to the door with a sigh. “Well, come in then. Bring your doctor. We will need her.” 

Sitting across from the pristinely dressed woman in his cluttered, dingy apartment did not make Viktor feel as nervous as it probably should have. Mel Medarda was quite the sight– a prim silhouette cut in sharp white. Surrounded by clashing paislies, second hand furniture, and dimly lit by the muted yellow glow of the windows she looked like she was from another world– which Viktor supposed she was. She sipped from a simple brown and white teacup. Viktor had pulled it from the dusty recess of his kitchen after he had offered them both a drink in a fit of nervous energy. He had needed to do something with his hands or he was going to rethink this offer and blow up the same way he had on Jayce. He had the feeling that Mel Medarda wouldn’t be as tolerant. 

He’d left Dr. Ralar to see to the child after she’d declined the tea. He’d hovered in the room for a time but she had ushered him away with a few encouraging words. He’d made sure the door was left open so he could lean over from his seat on the stool at the coffee table from time to time and peer in– just to appease his own worries. Though really he wasn’t sure what he was hoping to catch. It wasn’t his field so Dr. Ralar could do just about anything to her and he’d be none the wiser. He supervised regardless to make himself feel better. 

He also took the time to tell Mel the lightly altered version of events that he’d told Jayce. It wasn’t too far from the truth– not really. It was exactly the same except for one small detail. 

He hadn’t told Jayce about the hexcrystals. 

Not that he didn’t want to– in fact he thought it might be a cornerstone of the puzzle that was the girl’s imprisonment. It should have been up on the board (which Mel had seen but made no comment on. He was sure she’d recognized both his and Jayce’s work. If they were going down it would be together.) and it wasn’t that he didn’t want to tell the truth. It was just that– it was difficult for him. It was not in his nature (or maybe nurture? Would he have been more trusting if he’d grown up among the white towers of academia instead of the choking smog of Entresol? He couldn’t say.) to reveal every piece of information– not when the people you were telling it to could remove you from the board in one fell swoop (not that he thought Jayce would but old habits died hard).

 Not only that but he didn’t have a good explanation for why the girl knew about the hexcrystals and really that bothered him more than anything else. He’d latched onto the mystery of it and unfortunately for Jayce he hated group work. He wanted to figure it out himself or at least have a feasible theory before he brought it to his partner. It meant he’d likely have to wait till she woke but it should be fine. In the meantime, there was no need to reveal information that might turn Jayce and Councilor Medarda against her. They might see her knowledge as evidence of scientific subterfuge and that would make them more wary. The girl didn’t need any more against her than she already had. 

Ideally, he could think up an excuse that would protect her when the time came to come clean. It was a difficult situation, much like the one he’d had at the door. Viktor didn’t hold any power and, yes, he was used to that– he’d never held power in his life until he’d become Jayce’s partner and he’d only ever made use of it the other night to turn away the enforcers at his door. (Mel had raised a brow when he’d described that part of the encounter. If he was pressed to interpret the cool stare he would say she’d been mildly impressed.) but it still made him wary. Certainly he couldn’t use that same sway on Jayce himself and Councilor Medarda was far beyond what either of them could reach. He had to play it safe and keep what advantages he could– even if it meant omitting the truth for a while. 

And it wasn’t like Councilor Medarda was particularly forthcoming either. When Viktor had finished his explanation (with very little interruption) he’d waited for hers. 

“Best wait for Jayce,” she had said. 

“We don’t know when he’ll be back,” Viktor said, shifting on the stool. It was already late in the afternoon. The Councilor shook her head. 

“I’d rather explain once. It will minimize the questions.” 

Dr. Ralar returned to the living room soon after and was far more forthcoming but unfortunately less than helpful. 

“There are several potential causes,” she said by way of explanation. “I have to commend your care for her. I was expecting her to be far more dehydrated than she is but you’ve done well.” 

Viktor nodded, accepting the praise, while she took her seat next to other woman. 

“What are we looking at then?” he asked. 

“I’m not sure. I need to run a few tests. The results will hopefully be illuminating but I don’t know that she has the time to wait for them.” 

Viktor’s heart sank. “She’s that badly off?”

“And potentially getting worse,” she said. “You said she’s been like this for a few days? Have you noticed any improvement?” 

“No,” he admitted. “She’s become less verbal– but I don’t consider that a good sign.” 

“Neither do I.” 

“What do we do?” 

“I’ll run the tests tonight– I’ve already collected the samples I need. Perhaps your friend will return with something more concrete in the meantime. If not…” she trailed off, glancing to Medarda. “My recommendation is to return her to the hospital. I understand that this is not the preferred outcome for either of you, however, it may be what is required to save her life.” 

The Councilor nodded sharply followed by Viktor (far more reluctantly) a beat after. 

“That’s it then,” Medarda said. “We wait for Jayce.” 

The three looked to each other as an awkward silence settled. Viktor fidgeted under the weight of it. This was going to be miserable. He didn’t have a clue what to do in this situation. His willingness to abide by social niceties and, worse, his knowledge of them only extended so far. He didn’t have anything to offer in the way of conversation or in entertainment. 

Luckily, Mel Medarda had no such problems. She rose from the couch under Viktor’s watchful eye– gesturing for Dr. Ralar to join her. Viktor tilted his head in question. 

“Dr. Ralar, if you’d help me I’d like to move the boards from the kitchen into the living room.” 

Dr. Ralar nodded and Viktor moved to rise from his chair as well so that he could offer his own assistance. The Councilor waved a dismissive hand and Viktor tried very hard not to bristle. 

“We can handle it.” 

“I helped moved the boards the first time,” Viktor argued. He wouldn’t be made to feel an invalid in his own home. 

“You are our host,” Medarda said. “It wouldn’t be polite of me to ask for your assistance.” 

That sounded made up– which was what gave Viktor the most pause because all of the unspoken social rules of topside society sounded made up. He rose regardless and the Councilor sighed. 

“Sit down, Viktor,” she said. “You’ll be doing your part momentarily.” 

Viktor kept standing but allowed Dr. Ralar and Councilor Medarda to move the chalkboards from his dust covered kitchen into the living room. They were situated behind his chosen stool on his side of the coffee table. Medarda returned to the couch, quickly glanceing over their work, and then nodded in approval. Dr. Ralar joined her back in the seat a moment later.

“Well then,” Mel said, resting her hands primly in her lap while she looked over Jayce’s and his nonsense scribbles on the boards. “Explain.” 

So Viktor did. 

“Viktor, I found it!”

Viktor startled in his seat when Jayce threw open the door to his apartment. The force of the door slamming open sent a subtle vibration up the boards behind him, releasing a sprinkling of chalk dust (he really should clean those better). 

“I know what’s–” Jayce cut off and Viktor could only assume his brain had caught up with his body and he was processing the sight in front of him.

The three of them were in much the same position as before– though Mel had been leaning over in a way that clearly betrayed her interest in what Viktor was saying before Jayce had burst in. Now she sat straight laced and perfect– not a hair out of place.

“Jayce,” Viktor greeted him with as little enthusiasm as he could muster. 

“We’ve been waiting for you,” Medarda added, lifting her tea cup to her lips. Viktor nearly snorted. It was surely cold by now. What a useless pretense. 

Jayce was frozen in Viktor’s doorway. His eyes darted back and forth between the Councilor and Viktor, panicked. Viktor did snort at that. 

“Are you going to stand there all night?” he asked– because Jayce had caused this mess and he’d be damned if he was going to be nice about it. The look Jayce leveled him with was imploring and Viktor could almost hear him asking ‘ What the fuck?’  Viktor sighed– rolling his eyes. “At least shut the door behind you.” It was more of a question than an order but it was enough to break Jayce out of his stupor. The man turned and quickly closed the door before slinking to Viktor’s side, eyes on the Councilor and her esteemed companion the entire time. 

Medarda, for her part, met Viktor’s eyes and quirked her lips with a faint, glimmer of amusement. Viktor caught his own lips twitching slightly before he shut it down. He was not going to be sharing secret glances with Mel Medarda. That was not on his list of things he was willing to deal with the implications of today. Instead he gestured to a stool sitting in a far corner. 

“You’d best grab a seat,” he said to Jayce. 

The man nodded and went to fetch it. He brought it next to Viktor’s a moment later and sat down– the tense line of his back ramrod straight. He looked between the three of them before hesitantly speaking. 

“Anyone want to explain what’s going on right now?” 

Viktor couldn’t help but get the impression that Jayce was seeing them as professors and he their wayward pupil about to get the I’m not mad, just disappointed speech. Viktor thought that particular tactic was worse than a genuine punishment for Jayce— he hated to disappoint. That was, of course, what had gotten him into this mess in the first place (which Viktor should probably be grateful for because it most likely started with not wanting to disappoint Viktor by doing the reasonable thing of turning in a criminal ). Viktor found it hard to sympathize but he gave Jayce a slight, encouraging nod. Jayce relaxed slightly at that and some of the hesitance left his eyes. By the time he had turned back to Mel Medarda, he was almost back to his normal, confident self. She graced him with a smile. 

“Viktor has been explaining your chalkboard theories.” 

“... And that’s alright?” Jayce asked, looking as much to Viktor as to Medarda.

“We’ve come to an understanding,” Viktor said. “Although I was promised more of an explanation when you returned. So…” He looked to the Councilor. 

“Perhaps we should hear what Jayce has to say first?” She prompted and Jayce leapt from his stool– the thing clattering to the ground. 

“Shit! I can’t believe–” he reached around and for the first time Viktor noticed a small bag slung over his shoulder. “I was trying to say when I came in but I saw Mel and forgot– I–”

“Breathe.” Viktor noted and Jayce took a deep breath while he got the bag around and reached into it. Jayce looked to him, then to Mel, and Dr. Ralar. He paused on her and glanced to Viktor who tilted his head to let him know it was fine. He pulled a book from the inside. 

“I know what’s wrong with the girl,” he said– tossing the book to the middle of the coffee table and then thumbing it open to a page. “And I think she poisoned herself.” 

Dr. Ralar had gone home with the promise to return quickly. She and Jayce had spent a number of minutes excitedly pouring over the book he had found in the girl’s cell. (“I’ve never had a patient dosed with Halalus’s Sleep,” she’d said with a gleam in her eye that Viktor had found all too eager.) She hadn’t had the supplies that she needed in her case so she’d made a quick exit with the promise to be back as soon as possible to begin treatment. That left Jayce, Viktor, and Councilor Medarda alone in Viktor’s living room– surrounded by chalkboards. He considered the book between them all. 

“Where did she get this?” he asked. Jayce flipped the book open to reveal the inside of the front cover where Ex Libris Library of Stillwater Hold was printed in heavy ink. Viktor raised a brow. 

“Apparently Stillwater has a library,” Jayce said by way of explanation. “Only for the most well behaved prisoners, of course.” 

“So the ones with the families willing to give the most money for privileges,” Viktor translated. Jayce looked like he wanted to argue but Councilor Medarda nodded. She picked up the book and began to thumb through it– head tilted curiously to the side.

“How did she gain access to it?” she murmured, more to herself than to either Viktor or Jayce. 

“Maybe she found a way to steal it. I find it unlikely a child from the Undercity would have the type of resources needed to open those doors,” Viktor offered. 

“We can’t rule out her family,” Jayce said. 

The Councilor shook her head. “It wasn’t them.” 

Viktor did not like the confidence with which she stated that. “How do you know?” he asked.

The Councilor paused and then snapped the book closed. “I don’t believe she has any family left.” 

It was the answer he hadn’t wanted to hear. He pressed on, gesturing for her to sit while he returned to his stool next to the board. He pulled himself onto it nearest to the known category and plucked a piece of chalk from the lip underneath.

“You owe us an explanation,” he said. 

Medarda nodded and Jayce joined him, standing at his side next to the boards while the Councilor settled herself. Viktor had taken the time while Jayce and Dr. Ralar had been talking to make another batch of tea so at least this time when she raised the cup to her lips the stalling motion was natural. When she finished her sip, her expression was collected.

“A year and a half ago prisoner 516 was apprehended in connection with the previous Sheriff’s death– or at least, that is what the Council was told by Sheriff Marcus when he was summoned to explain himself.”

Viktor blinked. Jayce went still beside him and said, “The previous Sheriff?”

“Sheriff Greyson was leading an investigation in the Undercity when she was killed in the line of duty by a man named Vander. He was, apparently, a well known figure in the Undercity and was responsible for a violent uprising there years ago.” 

“I know Vander,” Viktor said. Both turned to look at him eyes alight, Medarda ravenously curious and Jayce troubled. “I know of Vander,” he corrected– immediately back tracking. It was true– you didn’t hail from the Undercity and not know of The Hound of the Underground. He’d spent his teenage years in the Undercity before he’d clawed his way into the position of Heimerdinger’s assistant. He’d been around when the rebellion had risen and subsequently fallen apart. He hadn’t been a part of it (how could he have been? He’d thought about it often down there. The rebellion didn’t have the resources to make his skillset useful.) and he’d been on his own at that point. It had still hurt to hear of the massacre. 

He’d heard Vander had retreated after his failed uprising but he’d still held the respect of the people. He’d made the Undercity a safer place. He’d been a peacekeeper. Killing enforcers didn’t adhere to his more recent reputation. It didn’t make sense. “You’re saying he killed Sheriff Greyson? Why?” 

“He was a rebel. Why wouldn’t he have?” Jayce asked. 

“Vander retired after the rebellion,” Viktor explained. “He was responsible for keeping the Lanes in line. He was well respected and had a fearsome reputation, but as far as I know he was an advocate of peace.” 

“According to Sheriff Marcus that changed.” 

“But why ?” Viktor felt like a child repeating himself. A man like Vander wouldn’t have killed the enforcers for no reason– not when he had the undercity to protect. There was no reason he could think of for Vander to have murdered Sheriff Greyson.

“I can’t say for sure, but the enforcers and council were putting a great deal of pressure on the Undercity and its people due to the… incident at the academy dorms.” She gave Jayce a wary glance.

Viktor felt the blood drain from his face. 

The theft.

The explosion.– a group of Undercity children fleeing the scene. 

No. It couldn’t be. Could it?

The girl knew about the hexcrystals.

It made an awful lot of sense.

“Vander was killed in the altercation with the enforcers after his attack that killed Sheriff Greyson– as were his other children.” 

This threw Viktor for another loop. “Vander is dead?” Viktor asked in disbelief at the same time as Jayce exclaimed “Other children?” The horror in both their voices demanded an answer. Councilor Medarda didn’t flinch.

“When Vander died his last remaining daughter was arrested and charged.” 

And then things clicked into place. Vander wouldn’t have risked his peace for anything but his children. Viktor knew she must have been one of the thieves. She had stolen the hexcrystals and discovered their explosive power. It had brought the full force of the enforcers down on herself and her family. None but her had survived. 

And, well not worse but perhaps more pressing at the moment, she had nearly gotten Jacye exiled– which had resulted in him nearly stepping off the ledge at the loss of his research. If Viktor hadn’t stopped him… If he had arrived just a moment later…

 Jayce was Viktor’s partner– he’d go so far as to call him his best friend– he loved him, he truly did. And despite that he had never been so glad to have kept his mouth shut about something in his life. Jayce couldn’t know. Jayce could never know. The girl had nearly  caused him to end his own life. Jayce would immediately turn on her and there would be no talking him down.

At the very least he’d turn her back into the enforcers to finish her time for. For what exactly? She’d been a child and they’d charged her with…

“She’s serving his sentence.” Jayce said at the same time Viktor realized it. “But that’s not fair! That shouldn’t have held up in a court of law. She’d have been, what? 10? 11? How could she be held responsible for the crimes her father committed?” 

Viktor could feel Jayce practically shaking with indignation next to him. He allowed that to bring some comfort to himself as his own anger reared its head. He tucked away the secret of the hexcrystals to the back of his mind. He would deal with it later. For now, Jayce was on his side.

“The Council wanted it dealt with. There was no trial. We were told the criminal had been apprehended and sentenced. That was that.” 

Viktor felt his blood run hot. “And you never questioned it?” 

“No,” Councilor Medarda replied with no hint of remorse. “I, like the other Council members, assumed it was properly dealt with. And at the time, we were distracted by certain… other discoveries.”

Viktor bristled at the implication– as if the negligence of the Council was somehow their fault and not the fault of their preordained apathy to anything that wasn’t self-interest. He opened his mouth to say something but the Councilor held up a hand. 

“Let me finish. The revelation of Hextech and its potential overshadowed the explosion both in and out of the public eye. Without the scrutiny of the city, there was never any need to look closer.” 

“Except there clearly was,” Viktor spat, refusing to stay silent. The excuse was horribly flimsy. She was lucky that was his only outburst because he was only just keeping from launching out of his seat. 

But then, Mel medarda surprised him. 

“Yes,” she said. “You’re right.” 

It was not the denial that Viktor had expected. He’d anticipated more excuses– anything to shift the blame– but Councilor Medarda sat on his gray, secondhand, couch and took another sip of tea while her brow furrowed.

“I am not flawless. I am not making excuses, Viktor. I am explaining,” Mel said. “I understand that what we did, what we actively chose to ignore and overlook, sentenced a child to a lifetime of undeserved suffering. Her crime was, at most, being under the influence of a bad man. It was the Council’s responsibility to look into what Sheriff Marcus had done and we were negligent. I was negligent. There is no making up for that.”

Viktor didn’t know what to say. He had angry triades and barbed accusations at the ready– a lifetime of preparation to counter the excuses of the Council. He wasn’t prepared for an acquiesce. He wasn’t prepared for grace in the face of justified anger. It just made him more furious. How easy it was to admit to being wrong when Mel Medarda and the rest of the Council would never feel the consequences of their actions. How easy it was to say there was no making up for it when if they’d done their jobs as they should have, there’d have been nothing to make up for in the first place. 

But she was right. What was there to do? What was done was done. He could feel himself shaking and then a hand on his shoulder. He looked to Jayce. He looked as blindingly furious as Viktor did– dark eyes alight with grief and anger. It was that more than anything that allowed Viktor to center himself. They couldn’t both be like this– though he thought he had more right to it than Jayce did. He allowed himself to subside– just slightly. 

“So what now?” he asked, tone sharp but careful not to let it get away from him.

“The Council would prefer to sweep this under the rug. When the Sheriff requested we keep this quiet. the Council ruled in his favor.” 

Jayce squeezed his shoulder. “You as well?” 

Viktor found himself oddly proud of the ice that laced Jayce’s words. 

Councilor Medarda appeared unperturbed. “It would be difficult, even for me, to spin this in a positive light. A child whose only crime was to be related to someone accused of the crime she was locked away for. We don’t even have evidence– just a single eye witness. The populace would have our heads.” 

“The Undercity would riot,” Viktor said.

“And they would deserve to,” Mel agreed.

“So why are you here?” Viktor asked, leaning back into Jayce’s hand. Mel raised a brow at him, prompting him to explain. Viktor obliged. “What you’ve said doesn’t surprise me– not really. Everything you’ve said about the circumstances of her arrest and the subsequent cover up makes sense except this. The Council swept it under the rug. There are no consequences to be faced by any of you. What is the point of your search?” 

“Is it not obvious?” 

“No.” 

Councilor Medarda folded her hands. “The Sheriff was the one to push for silence. The Council may have agreed but they were not the initial cause. It also took Sheriff Marcus a great deal of time before he appeared before the Council after his summons. He claimed he was out looking for the girl– which was true according to you. However, when asked the Sheriff could not provide immediate documentation on prisoner 516. Not only that, but there are no reports available from the time of her arrest due to the mess the enforcers were in after the death of Sheriff Greyson– as well as the other half dozen officers that were lost in the conflict. All we have is his word.”

“And you don’t trust it,” Viktor concluded. Mel nodded her head.

“Not anymore. Any documentation he brings me could have been easily forged in the time between the request and the presentation. The things we’ve discussed tonight clearly indicate to me that my suspicions about the Sheriff’s loyalties are substantiated. If there is corruption in the force I intend to weed it out.”

“Why?” Viktor asked. “There has always been corruption.” It had never mattered before. Or perhaps it had. Of all the things he’d said that night. This was the thing that caused Councilor Medarda’s gaze to sharpen. She turned her narrow eyes on Viktor.

“Because this is my city,” she said. “I have failed in many ways. I will continue to fail in many ways.” (At least she was willing to admit it. That was more than the rest of the Council.) “There is no right answer, only actions that we can take to make things better and try not to let tragedies repeat themselves.” 

Viktor shook his head. “A pretty answer but you had your chance. Don’t pretend this is about the girl. There are thousands of tragedies like hers. You have never cared before.” 

Mel nodded. “It isn't it. I have a responsibility to the whole, not the individual. That doesn’t mean I don’t wish things hadn’t been different for her though.” 

“You and the Council could have made a difference. You could have vetoed the Sheriff after he revealed to you what she was put away for. Instead, you’re allowing him to continue his search. You do not, as you say, put the money where your mouth is.” 

“It would have been a fruitless effort. The Council was hesitant to go along with Marcus’s plan at first too but with the death of the enforcer in the hospital, even those who were sympathetic couldn’t argue that the girl was guiltless.” 

“Except the enforcer isn’t dead,” Jayce said quietly. Viktor whipped his head round to look at him.

“I spoke to Dr. Krishnari,” he continued. “She said the enforcer isn’t dead.” 

A shocked silence filled the room and Viktor found himself very grateful he was sitting down. It was somehow both a relief and a disappointment that the enforcer wasn’t dead. He wasn’t harboring a murderer (as far as he knew at least) which was good. When he’d been defending the girl to Jayce he’d been arguing almost on principal– not because he didn’t care. He had– he’d just cared about the girl more than the crime she’d commited. He’d been happy to see Jayce act the same. It would do his partner good to find empathy for the nuance that the inherent violence of life in the Undercity resulted in. It would better him– make him more trustworthy. It was almost a disappointment to have the complication of the situation pulled out from under him– to let Jayce return to a world where she was a perfect victim and not the violent, sharp edged creature pushed to violence by cruelty and circumstance. Viktor knew her to be both but Jayce would not see it now that an enforcer’s death was not a crime he could attribute to her. He let the silence reign before Medarda broke it. 

“That’s impossible.” 

Jayce shrugged. “She said that Sheriff Marcus came to her on orders from the Council and asked her to keep quiet about his survival. I thought you might know and had decided to keep it from me or that the information had gotten mixed up somewhere down the line but…” 

Another silence filled the room– this one more contemplative. Viktor didn’t see what there was to scrutinize. The sheriff was corrupt– plain and simple. He spun in his seat and found Sheriff (corruption?). He triumphantly circled the word and erased the question mark. He heard Jayce make a choked noise like he was trying to hold back an exasperated laugh. He turned back– pointing at it with a lazy motion.  “Does this really come as a surprise to you two? After everything we’ve just discussed?” 

Mel tilted her head. “Lying to the Council so blatantly is incredibly brazen. He was Sheriff Greyson’s deputy. According to all sources he was a trustworthy, intelligent, and enthusiastic candidate.” 

Viktor snorted. “Well he certainly seemed enthusiastic in his interaction with me the other night.” 

Mel nodded. “I only expected him to be wiser. Covering his tracks like this– it’s incredibly clumsy.” Councilor Medarda folded her hands and considered the board. “Perhaps you two of you are onto something.” 

Viktor felt Jayce shift behind him to look at the board himself. “What do you mean?” he asked.

“When Viktor was explaining it to me he said he had argued with you that it would have been easier to let the girl die in prison instead of treating her. I’m inclined to agree.” 

“So what?” Jayce asked but Viktor was starting to see where this was going. 

Mel continued. “If Sheriff Marcus is a smart man. Why put himself in this much danger to have a reason to keep the girl locked up?” 

Viktor pointed to the word important. “He’s hiding something and she knows what it is.” 

Jayce seemed to catch on, but his brow furrowed. “If that was the case he… could have let her die.” The hesitence was there but less pronounced. Viktor could see Jayce coming around to the idea that the lawmen weren’t infallible. It was heartening.

“So there’s someone out there who needs her alive,” Mel concluded. She focused her gaze on Jayce. “You claimed she’d poisoned herself. Why?” 

“It’s the only thing that makes sense. She could have been poisoned by someone else but then why leave the book behind to be discovered? Most likely she was the one to administer the poison to herself.”

“It was an escape plan,” Viktor murmured. “She must have known they’d take her to a hospital." 

Jayce hesitated again and then said, "I hate to bring this up but there’s a possibility we’re forgetting.” 

Viktor tilted his head for Jayce to continue. Jayce hesitated again before saying, in a tentative voice, “She could have meant to kill herself." 

Viktor hummed. It was hard for him to imagine the girl willing to blow up the enforcers chasing her so that she could survive had been trying to end her own life. It was possible but… "There are easier ways to kill yourself in a place like Stillwater. A guard would have happily done it for her if she'd caused enough trouble." 

Mel nodded. “She knew the enforcers would save her life.” 

Jayce acquiesced with a slouching of his shoulders. “She would have had to be very confident or very desperate.” 

Desperation was the more likely of the two given how Viktor found her. "How did she get the poison?" Viktor asked. 

"I saw signs that someone had been bringing her things.”

“Who?” 

“Don’t know. Weren’t in the visitor’s logs. They said she hadn’t been allowed visitors at all. She was in solitary.” 

Viktor made a noise of disgust. 

Mel looked thoughtful. “So you think someone brought it to her?" 

“I think she made it.” 

“How?” Viktor demanded.

“She had some cups. There were things she could have used and there were these flowers.”

Mel blinked at him. “Flowers?” 

Jayce nodded. “Dr. Ralar pointed out to me that purple flowers from the undercity are one of the main components to the poison that we think is in her system. There were some in her room– had to have been brought pretty recently. She–” Jayce stopped talking, froze, then turned to the white board and started writing at a frantic pace.

“Jayce?” Viktor prompted. 

 Jayce waved a hand airily while the other added several scribbles to the board. “Dr. Krishnari told me she woke up earlier than the hospital anticipated. I think– I think the kid made the poison and a dose of the antidote with what she had and took it before she collapsed so that she’d be coherent earlier than they expected her to be.” 

“Then why did she go back under?” Mel asked.

“If she drafted it herself then there was likely some error, either in the poison or the antidote. She’s just a kid and it wasn’t like she had tools.” Jayce finished writing but moved to another line and Viktor was going to have to rewrite it later because he couldn’t make sense of Jayce’s scribbles at the best of times. 

He proposed the next question. “Why let her draft it herself at all. Why not go all the way and slip her the poison already drafted?” 

Jayce continued writing. “Maybe they didn’t know what she was planning.” 

Mel stood and moved to the board. She hooked her hand under a stool on the way (Viktor really did have a ridiculous amount of them) and pulled herself up next to the two of them to get a closer look. “So she didn’t want anyone to know she was planning to escape.” 

Viktor nodded hoping that whatever unintelligible scribble Jayce was noting on the board was related to this conversation. “And she had enough faith that the enforcers wouldn’t let her die there. Maybe it was Marcus?” 

Jayce whipped a line from his writing to Sheriff. “Could be. That’d explain the library too. She had special privileges. And why the guards didn’t confiscate the things that were in her cell.” 

“But it doesn’t explain why he’d do such a thing,” Mel said. “There’s an outside force pressuring him. He has to keep her alive but he can’t let her escape. That’s why he’s taking so many risks with the Council. He’s slipping on both sides.” 

“Did Sheriff Marcus have his eye on the position of Sheriff before Greyson died?” Viktor asked. Jayce paused in his writing, glancing back at the two of them. Mel made an impressed noise. 

“Assassination is a bold accusation.” Mel made a motion and Jayce made another illegible note to the board. 

“So it’s possible.” Viktor said. He turned back to Jayce. “The Sheriff is lying about what happened in the Undercity and somebody down there has something on him.” 

 Jayce made to make another note and Viktor snatched the chalk from his hand. He looked up with a scowl but Viktor slipped it into his coat pocket. 

Jayce deflated. “So what do we do?” he asked. 

Mel made a considering noise. “I suppose we wait for her to wake up and get the information from her.” 

Viktor pressed. “No matter what, it sounds like the Sheriff is guilty of something. What will you do?” 

Mel gave a rather relaxed shrug. “Nothing.” 

Jayce spluttered. “Nothing? But all the evidence–” 

“Is hearsay,” she said. And Viktor, though it pained him, was inclined to agree. “The girl’s word won’t be enough. As far as the city is concerned, she is a criminal.” Mel’s tone lightened after that though. “If the Sheriff is corrupt I will need to keep a close eye on him and catch him myself. The girl can advise me when she wakes and then I will do what I can.” 

Jayce sighed and his face contorted into the petulant, stubborn expression that Viktor was so familiar with. “It seems unfair.” 

“The world is unfair,” Mel replied.

“But at least she’s going to live,” Viktor added. The three looked at each other, huddled close next to the chalkboards. None of them backed down.

“We’re not giving her back to the Sheriff, right?” Jayce said, breaking the silence.

“No.” Viktor said at the same time that Mel replied, “I don’t believe it would be wise.” 

Jayce let out another put upon sigh. “That we can all agree on.” Viktor nodded, then pulled back from the circle of co-conspirators, sliding the chalk back into his hand. He looked over the scribbles, squinting. 

“You’re going to read this to me and I’m going to rewrite it.” 

Jayce looked on morosely and said, “I think you’re going to have to rewrite the whole thing. This board isn't big enough.”

Chapter Text

When Powder woke she didn’t immediately wish she hadn’t– which was good. On the other hand, she had no idea where she was– which was less than ideal. 

The room she opened her eyes to (nearly painless! A marked improvement) was small. It wasn’t the hospital room for sure. The walls here were an off white and the yellow lighting pouring from the window would have been more at home in the undercity than in topside’s pristine buildings. It made her nervous. She didn’t remember making it all the way down to the Undercity. She didn’t remember much at all. She reached back in her mind past the fog. 

She remembered the explosion and the confusing blur of the voices hounding her more doggedly than the enforcers. The journey was a tangle of pain, fear, and nonsensical images. She had a memory of pulling at a door she’d thought wouldn’t open (the cold was her grounding point in the memory) and there’d been… blue light. Those crystals. There’d been more of them and then there’d been…

A man. A man from Entresol. The man who had stolen the crystal from her and protected her from the enforcers. She tried to remember if he’d ever introduced himself. She wasn’t sure he had. Between the voices and the panic and the fever it was a tangle of impressions and emotions. She thought that this might be his home– she thought she remembered something about him dragging her back… She remembered tripping (her hands were scabbed)– mostly the pain. Voices soft and hard and indistinguishable from each other.

Powder looked around the room again– this time trying to find evidence of ownership and also keeping an eye out for escape routes. The room was lined with metal shelving (also would have been more at home in the Undercity) with books amassed on every surface. She noted the bed was more comfortable than the hospital one– which made it far more luxurious than her prison cot– perhaps even better than her bed back home. It was Topside. There was a desk beneath the window (not big enough for her to climb through this time. She’d need another way out) and a closet in the corner. There were a few stools strewn about as well– one placed next to her bed and a glass of water perched on a bedside table. Powder saw it and suddenly realized how thirsty she was. She grabbed it and gulped it down in record time. The liquid hit her stomach with a cool shock that made it churn but she was able to keep it down. Even with the threatening nausea she realized she was hungry as well. Not starving, not yet– more the pang of hunger after waking up from a long flu– the body realizing it needed energy again.

It was way better than she’d felt after the hospital. She wasn’t sure what had happened there. She was loath to admit it but the chances were she’d been ill because she’d screwed up the antidote (she’d blame that on her makeshift measuring cups). She’d gotten it just right enough to wake her up and let her escape. Maybe moving so quick had done damage too. Vi had done that sometimes– moving before she was healed from an injury and making it worse. It was probably like that. But Powder hadn’t had a choice. She’d needed to run. 

She wondered if she’d need to again. She wasn’t going to celebrate her freedom preemptively even if the thought was tempting. Her first priority was planning an escape route. Her second could be determining if sticking around was safe. She remembered her impression of the man had been… conflicting. There was wariness with a flash of anger and confusion. There was gratitude mixed with frustration and pain. It was difficult to untangle. She knew he’d hid her. He’d turned away the enforcers. But he also hadn’t known who she was. She didn’t know how long she’d been asleep but he’d certainly have had time to find out. Maybe she’d walk out of this room and into the loving arms of the enforcers– hopefully down one after the explosion in her hospital room. It wouldn’t make a difference but it would make her feel better. 

There was only one way out of the room she was in and it was an innocuous wooden door. It was closed which offered Powder some privacy as she started to test the limits of her body. Her legs felt– well, not strong but definitely better than they had last time. She tiptoed to the door and peered under it. There was nothing on the other side that she could see. No shadows. No guards. It was also quiet in the room beyond when she pressed her ear against the frame. Powder eased the handle down as silently as she could. It opened slowly but fluidly– there was no telltale squeak of rust on the hinges like there would have been in the Undercity. This place was like a weird mix of the two– topside architecture and maintenance with Undercity decoration. The impression was only reinforced by the living room beyond. 

The book shelves continued into this room though she thought these seemed more disorganized. There were shelves with lines that had gone sideways from the missing books. In the middle of the room was a gray couch that looked to have been done up as a bed. There were also three chalkboards across from it with stools at each. Powder began to pad forward soft as she could on the rugs that lined the walkways (different ones with clashing patterns laid on tile flooring). There didn’t appear to be anyone in the room. She crouched warily and pulled to a stop in front of the chalkboards. 

They were covered in nonsense.

Well, not really. They were covered in words and phrases that had lines drawn between them to connect them. It was an intricate web. She saw her prisoner number, 516, on the board and followed it. So he had figured out who she was. At least her name wasn’t on the board. She wouldn’t be surprised if Marcus had never known it. Her prison number linked to Stillwater (which had phrases underneath like min and max prison sentences, her floor number, security details, ect. It looked like he’d done research into more than just what was relevant to her). It was hard to parse. There was a lot of information– but at least it was neatly written. Really though, all she needed to know was that he knew who she was. She saw the hospital on there as well. He’d know that she’d blown up that room. Who knew how willing he’d be to harbor her after that. She needed to find an exit route. She should just leave before it became a problem. She turned from the chalkboards and–

“The front door is over there if you are looking to take your chances outside. I would not recommend it. The enforcers are still looking for you. They are watching the bridge rather closely,” a voice echoed from across the room.

Powder nearly jumped out of her skin. She spun to look over the couch in the direction the voice had come from. 

The man was there. There was a dining room just beyond the living area that she was in. It was open to where she was. She hadn’t seen it when she’d left the room due to another chalkboard partially covering it from her line of sight. Sloppy. The only thing marking it as a different area of the house was the dining table and a different tiling pattern where the floor was visible under the rugs. The man was sitting at the table sipping from a ceramic mug with one hand while he wrote in a notebook with the other. He was dressed in a red button down shirt and brown pants. His amber gaze was focused on her– but not in a way that Powder felt was hostile. He looked more curious than anything. It still made her wary. 

“You are welcome to come over here if you would like,” he said and gestured to the empty chair across from him. Powder stayed tucked in near the boards, sullen and silent. She wasn’t going anywhere. Not until she figured out if he was a threat.

When she didn’t answer him, the man played a frankly unfair card in Powder’s opinion. “I have food,” he said.

Powder felt a spike of indignation. The man was from the Undercity he knew an offer like that would draw her out. Nobody passed up free food. She wanted to stay put out of spite. Instead, her stomach growled and she started slinking towards him along the wall. She kept her steps cautious, ready to duck and run at any moment. The door the man had pointed at was just on the other side of the living room. She could reach it before he could if she needed to. The man waited till she’d gotten close and then reached for something at his side. Powder flinched but his hands wrapped around the head of a cane resting against his thigh. She’d forgotten that. There was something wrong with the man’s leg. She remembered him hunched over, hand in the air while he leaned on it. She also remembered it digging into her ribs when he’d pinned her. He wasn’t as helpless as he would have her believe. She refused to make the mistake of underestimating him again. 

The man hauled himself to his feet and walked into a room just beyond the one they were in. This one at least had walls separating it from the living room though only a countertop separated it from the dining room. Powder saw him reach into a fridge and pull out some sandwiches. He brought the plate of them back and set them at the farside of the dining table opposite of where he had been sitting. Then he returned to his seat. It wasn’t till he’d completely settled in and started writing again that Powder darted to the table to grab at the sandwiches. She didn’t sit but she did stay perched at the far end across from the man. He looked for all the world like he didn’t care. 

“I kept those made for you. We have been expecting you to wake up now for sometime. How are you feeling?”

Powder didn’t answer but she did notice the use of we . Her eyes narrowed and she paused shoving an entire half a sandwich into her mouth. The man must have noticed her suspicion. What surprised her was when he correctly deduced the cause of it.

“It is just me in the house currently,” the man assured her. “Also, take smaller bites. You will shock your body and make yourself sick at that rate.”

Powder was of the opinion that if he wanted her to take smaller bites he should have cut the sandwiches smaller– also maybe not have given her so much. The plate was stacked high with sandwiches made with soft, doughy bread, sharp cheese, savory meat, and an assortment of fresh vegetables. It was the vegetables she had missed the most in Stillwater. Everything she’d been brought had been stale or wilted– nothing had ever been fresh and it had all been bland. She wasn’t going to pass up on eating something more than decent now while she had the chance. She stuffed her mouth with the sandwich and took her time chewing– savoring the flavors.  

The food hit her stomach like a brick and she could barely care (even though she did think he had a point. If she threw it up it would be a waste). The next one went down slower, with more tentative bites. The man nodded his approval when he saw her heed his suggestion. 

He started to speak again. “My partner will likely be back shortly. If you are going to leave, I would suggest do so before that.” Powder tilted her head. Leave? Was he kicking her out? He didn’t look like he was. But maybe this food was meant to be a final kindness before turning her out on her own again. That would make sense. Or maybe he wanted her to go because his partner was dangerous– after all, her leaving was contingent on his absence. 

“I am not kicking you out,” the man said and Powder started. He continued. “He will not hurt you. He would only wish to retain you till you recover fully.” 

Powder did not like how easily this man could read her. It made her feel exposed. Silco hadn’t been able to understand her like this. If he had, she wouldn’t be here. Regardless of her comfort, the man pressed on.

“Currently, you may be feeling better but the treatment you are undergoing is not yet finished. There was a great deal of damage to your body caused by an improper dosage of the antidote and incomplete care. You will survive without it but you will be miserable for a long while. I will not stop you though– when you leave, it will be much easier to convince Jayce that I was unable to keep you here rather than trying to go once he has returned.” 

He said it so matter of factly. It was like he resigned to the idea that Powder was going to walk out his door at any moment– which very well could be true but it was also in the middle of the day. If he wasn’t lying the enforcers were still out there. They’d be looking for her. It would be harder to escape down to the Undercity in the light. It’d be hard to escape down to the Undercity at all since she didn’t know what she was going to do when she got down there. For all her bravado, all her planning, all her burning, desperate need for revenge– she hadn’t considered what she’d do when she escaped. It hadn’t been a possibility in her mind. She’d never thought she’d actually manage step one let alone conceive of the steps that would lead her home. No, they’d just been ideas– could have beens if she’d been smarter or stronger. But now she was here. She was smarter. She was stronger. And she still had no idea what to do.   

She knew from Silco’s incessant talking that most people were under his thumb now– especially in the Lanes. It would be difficult to determine who was trustworthy. She wasn’t like Vi– she didn’t know the people in the Lanes. She was just her little sister– just Vander’s youngest kid. Nobody had respected her like they’d respected Vi for her ability to knock a full grown man’s lights out. The people who she had absolute faith in were dead– Vander and Benzo– or trapped with Silco – Vi– or, she hadn’t considered this, unknown. Ekko would help her if she could find him. Or if she could just find a way to get Vi alone. Everyone else was a potential threat. Talking to anyone she couldn’t be sure of was a risk she couldn’t take. Traveling so deep into the Undercity without revealing herself would be difficult. 

Luckily, Silco probably wasn’t looking for her yet. That would make her trip safer. The sheriff probably hadn’t told him she’d escaped. He was almost certainly trying to cover his own ass. Powder’s grin was nasty when she took another self satisfied bite of her sandwich. She hoped Silco killed him. Actually, she hoped they killed each other. Well, maybe. She wanted the satisfaction of doing Silco in herself. She’d take an easier route though. If it came down to a choice between escaping somewhere with Vi (and Ekko if she could find him) and killing Silco she’d run. She hated him but she could always come back.

That did remind her, though. The crystals. The man had a bunch of them in the building she’d broken into (so far as you could call opening an unlocked door breaking in). She had a vague recollection of an unhinged, immaterial plan to use them to kill Silco. It wasn’t a terrible idea. It would be ironic– using the bombs he’d been trying to con her into making for him to kill him (she refused to think about the last time she’d tried to do the same. Now wasn’t the time.) It was also likely the only way she would have the power to do something like that. She wasn’t very physically intimidating. If she could get her hands on those crystals maybe she could wing it down to the Undercity till she found him and then take care of all her problems in one fell swoop. 

Which might be easier said than done given how closely the man was watching her. Powder realized she had been lost in own head and had, somehow, relaxed enough in his presence to stop paying attention to him. He made no comment on what she had been thinking so she crossed mindreader off the list of potential threats he posed against her.

“How much do you remember from the other evening?” he asked when he saw her paying attention again. “You were quite ill. I was not sure you’d know who I was.” 

Powder didn’t reply. She shoved another bite of sandwich in her mouth. Now that she had an escape route and a potential plan– it was time to determine if staying was feasible. Not that she wanted to but if she was going to get those crystals she’d have to get back to that building. She didn’t know where it was. This guy was her best chance at it. She also did like the sound of continuing to feel better. She didn’t want to be sick anymore. She had enough problems to deal with and having to recover on her own while sneaking into the Undercity sounded miserable.

When he didn’t receive an answer the man said, “I am Viktor– if you do not remember. You never gave me your name.”

Powder did not answer the implied question and continued to eat. She hadn’t had to introduce herself since she’d been in prison. She didn’t want to give her real name. Her real name could be tracked. She distinctly remembered him saying he wasn’t working for Silco. She believed him. If he had she’d be back in Stillwater. Still, it would be better not to give herself away– not when she was wanted on all fronts. She chose to continue her silence. 

Viktor let out a sigh and leaned back in his chair. “This conversation is enlightening,” he said wryly. Powder snorted. 

She debated. She supposed the man, Viktor, wasn’t so bad. He had helped her. He was feeding her and he wasn’t kicking her out despite clearly knowing where she’d come from– which made her inclined to give him a little leeway. He also was giving her the option to leave. That was appreciated. She liked the freedom. She liked knowing that if she wanted to go, he wouldn’t stop her. It might be worth a small bit of trust– especially if it got her more food, a couple more nights rest, and back to where those crystals were.

It also helped that he was from the Undercity. Maybe it made it easier for him read her but it also meant that he understood. He wasn’t some topsider giving her charity. He wasn’t someone who was born lucky (a whisper of Mylo’s voice sounded behind her and she shook it away). He was someone like her and if he was offering shelter to her it was because of that likeness. It was like when Vander had run the lanes– people had stuck together. There was violence, infighting, and sometimes stealing but, ultimately, they helped their own.

Her main point of contention was why he was topside. It would have made sense if he was some sort of contact for the Sheriff and Silco. They could have maneuvered him into the position of being allowed topside between the two of them. So if it wasn’t due to Silco’s influence why was he here? She decided to ask.

“What is someone from Entresol doing here?” 

Viktor blinked at her– golden eyes piercing. His expression was unreadable but the way he leaned over the table towards her clearly betrayed his interest. Instead of answering, he fired back his own question. 

“What is a child from the Lanes doing here?”

Powder wrinkled her nose. “I asked first.” 

“Currently, I am sitting in the dining room of my home, which you are currently in.” 

Needlessly pedantic. “I mean topside.” 

“I work here,” he said– like that explained anything. 

“You work topside?” Powder asked. “I didn’t know that was possible for trenchers.” Her impression was that the second you revealed you were from the Undercity the enforcers came and escorted you out– after blaming you for something you didn’t do so that the rest of society didn’t have to dirty their eyes by looking at the dust you might have tracked in. 

“Yes,” the man replied. “You chose to hide out in my lab. Interestingly enough, you seemed familiar with our work. Which, actually, I need to speak to you about.” 

Powder hesitated, tensing up again. She wanted to hear more about the lab (being honest the word filled her with a childish excitement. She’d always wanted a lab) but… “Your work?”

The man nodded, folding his hands on the table. “Jayce will be back soon. There are some things I need to say before he returns if you are choosing to stay. Are you?” 

This play at disinterest was not as convincing as the last. Powder debated. 

“I’ll stay till I’m well,” she decided. She could always reverse it and run out the door if she needed to after he told her whatever it was that needed to be said. Staying a few days wouldn’t be so bad. It gave her more time to steal the crystals– more time to make real plans for going down the Undercity. Hopefully the Sheriff would be dodgy enough to keep Silco from finding out about her escape for a while longer. She doubted he was looking forward to that conversation. 

Viktor smiled– it wasn’t a pretty thing. His lips were chapped and thin and it stretched across his face in an uneven, jagged way. Powder liked it. It was very Undercity– guarded and ugly but offered without pretense. He began to speak. “First, I want you to know that you are welcome here. I am aware that you have been imprisoned at Stillwater Hold. I will harbor you as long as you’d like.” 

Powder nodded. 

“There are certain people, powerful people, who know of your presence here. One is a councilor. Mel Medarda wants something from you. She believes you have knowledge that would benefit her. I am not in a position to protect you from her though I believe she does not mean to harm you– she did, after all, provide her personal Doctor for your care. She will likely be coming round to speak to you as soon as she hears you have woken up.” 

Powder didn’t really know what the Counsel was. She knew that they were the supposed leaders of Piltover but she didn’t know what they did . She didn’t like that someone with power was interested in her. It made her nervous. She had enough problems. 

“The other person is my partner, Jayce. He is a good man.”

Powder’s eyes narrowed and something clicked into place. A powerful partner. That made sense. It must be his influence that let Viktor stay topside. He must be pretty serious about Viktor if he was willing to move him all the way up from Entresol– that or traveling to the Undercity was too much of a hassle to deal with. Viktor probably thought it was the latter– which of course he did. He was his partner. Powder would take his words about Jayce with a healthy grain of salt. Viktor was probably blind to his faults. 

 “He has helped you with very little persuasion on my end. He simply wants to do what is right. But that goodness may be a hindrance to you.”

Or maybe not. Powder tilted her head in question. 

“Jayce is empathetic. He knows when things are unfair. He fights for the underdog. What he does not always understand is that people who are victims of the unfair do not always act within the moral range of what he has deemed good .” 

Powder could read between the lines. “He has an issue with the enforcer I blew up.” 

“Almost blew up. The man lived.” 

Something dark and violent rose from her chest to constrict her throat. The enforcer was one of Marcus’s. He wouldn’t have put him on her room if he wasn’t. He was responsible for keeping her locked away. He’d deserved what she’d tried to do to him. 

“I wish he hadn’t,” she said with a strangled, bitter honesty.  

Viktor didn’t react in the face of her anger. He didn’t seem appalled or horrified (Vander would have been. Her brothers would have balked. She liked to think Vi would have been proud. She’d always wanted to fight). He accepted it with a nod. “Do not say that to Jayce. He has Topsider sensibilities.” 

Powder snorted but felt the rage subside. She could do that. She could pretend. She’d been doing lots of pretending in the prison– maybe not hiding her anger but at least in acting innocent. If it would keep Viktor’s powerful partner on her side, she would do it– at least till she got better. She nodded. 

Viktor opened his mouth to say something then shut it. His thin lips pressed into a line– draining the already little color from them. He seemed to be debating something. When he spoke again he asked a question Powder hadn’t been expecting. 

“How did you know what the hexcrystals do?” 

“Hexcrystals?” she asked even though she had a pretty good idea of what they might be. 

“The blue crystals. You picked one up and were using to booby trap the door the night you broke into the lab. You threatened me with it.” 

“The door was unlocked. I didn’t break in.” Powder argued her innocence on instinct. 

Viktor pressed on. “How did you know what they do?” 

Powder didn’t like this line of questioning. She wasn’t stupid. Knowing that the lab she’d broken into was partially Viktor’s– it was easy to conclude that he must have been involved with them for some time. He was working topside in a lab with those crystals. The chances that he knew about the explosion were high. Hell, that could have been his room. 

Maybe she’d been wrong. Maybe he wasn’t as trustworthy as she thought. Maybe this had all been a ploy to get her close and to make her confess and then to– to what? Turn her into the enforcers probably. Another crime to pin on her head (of course she was guilty of this one but what did that matter?). Powder prepared to run. She tensed up, inching back towards the doorway and–

“Viktor!” A man’s voice boomed from the direction of the front door. Powder started so badly she fell over. Viktor swore softly as he began to rise from his chair. 

The voice sounded again. “Viktor, I need you to open the door! My hands are full.” 

Powder scrambled back when Viktor, instead of heading for the door towards the voice as she’d hoped he would (she had tentative plans to break the kitchen window with a book and clamber through it) he approached her. He crouched down and extended a hand. She hesitated. It could still be a trap. But then why wait? If he was going to do something he could have done so while she was unconscious. She was already trapped anyways with whoever it was at the door (unless she broke the window).

“Have I not proven worthy of your trust so far?” the man asked softly when he saw her hesitance. 

Powder wasn’t sure. He had turned away the enforcers, offered her his home, and helped her while she was sick. He had fed her and offered to let her go. He had done everything right. Was that not innately suspicious? Nothing ever went right for her. There was a catch somewhere that she just couldn’t see. Still, with the hand extended she knew she had a choice to make– one would be more of a struggle than the other. She chose the path of least resistance and took his proffered hand (she had a sensation of deja vu and felt the ghosting sensation of gravel in her palms. They’d been here before). His grasp was firm and she let him guide her back to her feet and quickly let go– shaking away the warmth of his hand. He whispered to her. 

“The room that exploded was not mine. It was Jayce's and he– He is a good man but the explosion put him in a very hard position. He would not react well to finding out who put him there. I do not know what he would do. If it is how I think it is, and you do not have to tell me if it is, do not say anything. He does not need to know.” He then stood straight up and began to walk towards the door, speaking in a tone that indicated to Powder that this was a frequent point of contention, “Just because you have a voice loud enough to wake the dead does not mean you need to use it. It is my leg that is disabled, not my ears. I can hear you just fine.” His cane clacked against the floor and Powder prepared herself as he made it to the door and threw it open. 

“After all,” he added, “She is already awake.” 

The first thing that Powder noticed about the man in the doorway was that he was tall. Viktor was tall too but with his stooped posture and use of the cane, he wasn’t as intimidating. Powder was pretty sure that this man would put most of the enforcer’s to shame in size and it was only because she had grown up with both Vander and Benzo’s hulking frames that she didn’t rethink her plan to break the kitchen window and flee. 

There was an olive tone to his skin, nicely contrasted by the red of his shirt and the off white of his vest. Powder noticed his teeth were crooked when his mouth gaped open. It made him look more human. Though, even with the slight imperfection he looked like some kind of guileless, piltovian, fop. (She’d never seen a man so clearly topside in her life. No wonder Ekko had followed him. The man couldn’t have been more obvious if he’d written the word mark on his forehead.) He was also carrying two brown paper bags which he almost dropped (“Don’t waste the food,” Viktor chided before the man had even started to fumble.) when he saw Powder at the head of the table. He grappled with the bags before shoving them into a very disgruntled looking Viktor’s arms. 

“You’re awake!” 

Powder froze in panic as the man beelined for her– but then something miraculous happened. She moved. It was like a switch flipped in her brain and all the anger that she’d just stuffed away returned with a vengeance. Her lips pulled back into a snarl and she ducked down– preparing for a fight. She wasn’t the little girl who cowered when someone threw a punch– she couldn’t be that Powder anymore. That Powder had hesitated. That Powder had gotten Vi captured. That Powder had killed her family. She was someone else. 

His hand was in range. Powder lunged snapping at his hand with her teeth. It was the man who flinched, not her. He pulled away violently when she threw herself forward, his movement aborted in a stuttering halt. He pulled just out of her reach and Powder landed just a bit in front of him ready to continue with her attack. She kicked out with her leg directly into the soft bone of his shin. 

“Whoa! Hey! Ouch!” the man exclaimed– hand still awkwardly hanging between them. Powder pulled back for another kick and the man scrambled out of range.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry. You don’t have to–” The man continued to pull back completely, raising his hands in the air. Powder glared at him, breathing hard and shaking. She didn’t follow. She stood her ground as the man slunk away before she started to edge back around the table. Maybe it was over. Maybe she’d scared him off. She wasn’t going to leave herself open to a charge if she was wrong. She kept her eyes trained on him, still crouching, ready on the balls of her feet if he came back in for another round. 

She heard Viktor let out a deeply put upon sigh from across the room. 

“Jayce, leave the girl alone. She has only just woken up. You are scaring her.” 

“Scaring her? She attacked me!”

“Yes. Because you ran at her and she does not know who you are.” 

“I was just checking on her! I wanted to make sure she was okay.” 

Viktor let out another sigh. “Take these bags back. I can not carry them both and use my cane,” he ordered. The man, Jayce, looked like he wanted to argue but then subsided and slipped back to Viktor’s side, taking the bags. He kept a wary eye trained on Powder. That was fine with her. She was doing much the same. 

With his hands free, Viktor gestured to the man. “This is my partner, Jayce. You will have to excuse him– being so big has let him forget what it is like to be small.”

Jayce grumbled a bit and Viktor’s cane pressed into his ankle. It didn’t look very hard to Powder but Jayce still turned to glare at Viktor who muttered something under his breath. Jayce looked petulant but then subsided. 

After a moment of silence he said, “Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.” 

Powder glared. “I’m not scared.” 

“Right,” Jayce said, turning his displeased gaze back to Viktor, who shrugged. 

“Carry those to the kitchen,” he ordered. “And just be glad she did not bite you.”

Jayce looked warily at Powder who had now moved so that the table would be between them as he took the bags to the kitchen. The reluctance that laced his steps as he passed her on his way was palpable. Powder felt the same reluctance to turn her back to him.

Something about the experience left her raw and shaking. She wasn’t scared– she wasn’t. Being scared made her freeze and run and do all the stupid things she’d ever done. She wasn't allowed to be scared anymore. She couldn’t be weak. She had been angry and now she was coming down. It was just adrenaline making her feel like she had touched a live wire.

At least he behaved while he brought the bags to the kitchen. He kept glancing over his shoulder at her to make sure she wasn’t sneaking up on him. Powder, for her part, circled the table and tucked herself away in the corner of the living room closest to the door. She wasn’t sure she’d need to make a run for it but on the chance she did, she wanted to be prepared. Viktor let Jayce handle the groceries and came to sit on the couch with a huff. He brought the notebook he’d been writing in earlier as well. He laid it out on the coffee table and appeared to go back to work. Powder continued to crouch in her corner, watching the both of them. 

Jayce had set up at the dining room table. It had been a couple of hours and he still seemed hesitant to enter the same room as Powder. She thought of this as a victory. Her attacks had worked. It was good to know someone was scared of her for a change. Viktor seemed unphased by her presence which left her a little miffed. If Jayce, who was taller and stronger than the both of them, was wary Viktor should be as well. Instead he invited her to the couch occasionally while he worked. He threw her a cushion when she refused the first time so that she’d have a comfortable place to sit while she “remained stubborn.” 

He offered her things– he’d even made Jayce bring the plate of sandwiches over. Jayce had plucked one and shoved it in his mouth before handing it to Viktor which made Powder think it might be worth fighting him again. She didn’t. She had some sense and right now she was trying to use it. A couple hours worth of observation had revealed a little bit about the two to Powder. 

Both were working on the same project. Occasionally, one would call out to the other and approach with a notebook in hand and murmured questions. It was usually Jayce who came to Viktor– not because he was in need of more help (which Powder initially believed) but as a courtesy. He seemed reluctant to make Viktor get up and walk to him which Viktor did frequently anyways. Powder suspected that it was an act of pride. 

Viktor seemed content to crouch over his work and pay her no mind till he was summoned by Jayce or disturbed by his own need for input. He was bent over at an uncomfortable angle and Powder wasn’t sure how he maintained it for so long without at least stretching. She’d been in a cramped jail cell and she had better posture than he did. He was still too. The only thing that moved was his hand on the paper. 

Jayce seemed to be the opposite. The man was fidgety. She thought that it might be related to his anxiety over her presence but eventually came to the conclusion that he was just like that. Once he had started to get into whatever he was working on he’d stopped sending her nervous glances. He hadn’t stopped moving though. He was either tapping his foot, tapping his fingers, running his hands through his (foppish and perfect) hair, or even running his thumbnail over his bottom lip in thought. He was focused. He just didn’t know how to sit still. 

The two also seemed to bicker a great deal and Powder eventually came to the conclusion that it was good natured. They seemed to have a rapport that came easily and despite the spirited debate about things she didn’t understand (something about vibrations and waves?) they would retreat back to their respective work spaces and continue on with their backs turned to each other and no tension in their shoulders or faces. At first, Powder had been wary of the seemingly sharp words that had been exchanged (she suddenly remembered after attacking Jayce that he was Viktor’s powerful partner and she’d already started to screw up the plan she’d had to keep him on her side so she could stay). Infighting meant instability and instability might affect her. It had taken her moment to work out the dynamic but that worry was now appeased. In fact, most of her worries were now gone. Jayce kept to himself at the dining area, the offer to let her stay seemed genuine, the food was good, and Powder barely felt bad sitting on her couch cushion pushed up against the corner of the wall and the bookshelves. Her arms were crossed over her knees while she watched. She wasn’t even tired. Really, the most immediate threat was that she was bored.

She wasn’t a stranger to having very little to do– she’d been alone in her cell after all– but boredom was a luxury she could seldom afford. She’d had plans to work on (also pink chalk for whenever she’d get tired of making impossible escape fantasies). Powder didn’t have anything to plan currently. There was nothing pressing that needed her attention. Now that the pressure of escape was off there was an odd hollow feeling carved out where desperation had been.  

She had considered pulling a book off the shelf and trying to read but she was still wary of the idea of being distracted around the two men. She’d rather be able to keep an eye out for now. So instead, she just watched and felt the restlessness seep in. 

Eventually, she let her curiosity get the better of her. She approached Viktor, keeping a wary eye trained on the dining room– hoping that the move wouldn’t draw Jayce’s attention. She stood over him in his crouched position at the coffee table. She waited for his acknowledgment and when it didn’t come she peered curiously down at the notebook he was writing in.

 The page didn’t look like anything to her. Powder could do math– she’d done lots of math. She was good at math. She’d never seen anything like this. The page was covered in long, drawn out equations (the writing she recognized from the boards) that took over the pages. A diagram was drawn on the page too and labeled with symbols she didn’t recognize. She pulled in closer to try to make sense of it. 

“Can I help you?” 

Powder started at Viktor’s voice. He hadn’t even looked up. She debated retreating to her corner again but decided that boredom outweighed her nerves. Viktor was nice (so far). Also, she was confident she could outrun him.

“What are you doing?” she asked. 

“Work,” Viktor said vaguely. He shuffled the notebook closer to her and she took the chance to really look at it and try to comprehend. It didn’t help. Viktor even flipped through a few of the pages for her. She narrowed her eyes. He must be confident that she couldn’t understand it if he was so lax about showing it to her. She made a grab for the notebook. Viktor allowed her to draw it towards her but patted the cushion next to him. The implicit message was clear– she could look as long as she was nearby. She hesitated. The cushion he’d thrown her had come from the couch so the only places to sit were closer than she would have liked to be. Still, she wanted to see. She slipped into the spot he had made for her and kept her eyes down on the book. 

Viktor began shifting himself towards the far end of the couch for her when she sat down. She was thankful for it. Even if she was trying to put all of her attention on the notebook– it was unnerving to be near someone, to almost touch something living after so long by herself. Aside from the hand up that Viktor had offered her earlier (and a vague flash of contact from the fog of her memories from their trip here) the last person to touch her had been one of the enforcers who had dragged her to Stillwater and tossed her into her cage. The subtle warmth in the air between them felt like hot coals. Other people burned.

It occurred to her that this could all be a dream– a fever induced hallucination like Vander and Mylo and Claggor. Was any of this even real? How could it be? When had she ever succeeded like this? When had she ever been this lucky? Her mind was playing a cruel trick on her– making her believe that she’d escaped and was safe and that there were people. She was suddenly very sure that she was going to wake up and be alone in her cell or at the hospital again. The doubt was overwhelming and Powder took a deep breath in. It felt like fear. She refused it. She reached out and wrapped a hand around Viktor’s arm. Viktor stilled and that was lucky because if he had moved Powder thought she might have shot across the room. It was so bizarre to feel the warmth of skin under fabric– to feel the protrusion of bone under flesh– it was so real . It had to be real. She wasn’t imagining things. This wasn’t a hallucination. She wasn’t in her cell. She lingered, just for a second, before she pulled her hand back. 

“It’s fine,” she said, forcing her eyes back to the notebook. “You can’t explain from all the way over there.” 

She could feel Viktor’s own hesitation now but the cushion dipped and he was back to being near her again. Not too close– there was just enough space between them. He reached for the book like he was approaching a wild animal (which Powder was beginning to feel like she was). His movements were slow and pronounced like he was scared of spooking her. He wrapped his hands around the notebook and guided it so that it was between the two of them. 

“What would you like to know?”

Powder didn’t even know where to start. This was a stupid idea. But the notebook was obviously work and Viktor said work was the hexcrystals. If this had something to do with them, it would be helpful to know what it was. Powder needed all the knowledge she could get. Also she didn’t want to give up the reassuring proximity of another person just yet.

“What's this?” she said– flipping to a page with a drawing at random. It was easy. It was pasted in and the other pages didn’t lay flat against it. She might as well start somewhere. 

“It is an oscillator,” he replied. “The symbols are runes meant to channel the power that it conducts.” 

“What about down here?” she said, pointing at the line of glyphs beneath the diagram. 

“That is a description of how the symbols are to be ordered to activate the desired effect.” 

Powder squinted. “I thought that was more runes. I’m supposed to be able to read that?” 

Viktor snorted. “It is Jayce’s,” he said with an air of exasperation. “How he can draw so well but have such illegible handwriting, I will never know.”

That almost made Powder smile. The handwriting was truly atrocious. She lowered her head further to try to decipher the scribbles.

There was a silence while she managed to work out the description before Viktor said, “You should apologize to him.” 

Powder paused. 

“I didn’t do anything wrong. He came at me.” 

“I know. But you still hurt him. He apologized to you.” 

An apology that had sucked. “I wasn’t scared,” Powder said, trying  and failing not to sound petulant.

“But you scared him,” Viktor said in a plactating tone. Damn right she had scared him. She had fought. The old Powder wouldn’t have done that. But that wasn’t what Viktor had meant. 

“He was very worried about you,” Viktor continued. “He carried you to my room after you collapsed. He was the one who was able to arrange the doctor for you.”

Powder hesitated. “I thought that was the councilor.” 

“She would not have helped without Jayce’s involvement. He was the one who spoke to the doctor who treated you and discovered the poison you’d been dosed with. If he hadn’t, we would have had to turn you over to the hospital to save your life. He was truly concerned when he approached you. Even if it was unwise, his intent was kind.”

Powder sulked. Viktor had good points. If what he said was true Jayce’s role in her recovery was not insignificant. Also the fact that Viktor was willing to argue for him didn’t pass her by. Viktor seemed reasonable. He’d given her fair warning of what not to do around Jayce to keep on his good side– attacking him as she did had not been on that list and he hadn’t insisted on her being thrown out. That was a little surprising. She had spent the first 20 minutes in her corner planning for that alternative. But Jayce said nothing after his initial complaints. He had let her stay. Viktor hadn’t even had to argue with him. It was like it hadn’t been a possibility.

Maybe Viktor was right in saying he was a good man. Viktor hadn’t been acting starstruck by him so far– he’d even gone so far as to warn her about him. Maybe his judgment could be believed– especially since he’d seemingly chosen her protection over Jayce’s trust.

She was not unaware of the position Viktor had put himself in for her. He had lied to him– he must have if Jayce didn’t know that she knew about the hexcrystals. He had protected her, betrayed his partner before he even knew who she was. He had given her warning of how not to cross him. The least she could do was play nice. 

She could do that for Viktor. He’d been kind. Also, she was going to be stealing from him so she should stay on his good side too.

“I’m sorry,” she said, quietly, kind of hoping that Viktor would just let it be. He didn’t, of course. He nudged the book closed and looked at her. She ground her teeth. She scrambled up on the couch to stand and face behind her. Viktor grabbed at the notebook that fell towards her weight with a soft explicative but she was focused on Jayce who had looked up from his notes at the sudden movement.

“I’m sorry,” she said, glaring at him. 

He blinked at her. She glared harder. He looked her up and down then slowly nodded his head.

Satisfied that her apology had been accepted, Powder spun back around and plopped down on the couch again. She glared into the corner. She wanted to go back. She’d done what Viktor had asked and she couldn’t understand the stupid notebook anyways. Maybe she should just read a book and– 

Something on top of the bookshelf caught her eye. Her ire immediately died. She lurched her feet. 

“Where did you get that?”

Vi’s rabbit sat atop the bookshelf, slouching over in the corner. His beat up, thread bare legs dangled over the side, suspended in the air and looking for all the world like he belonged there. Nobody answered her question. Powder started to shake. 

She’d had accepted when she’d determined she was going to poison herself, that she was going to lose everything. She’d said goodbye to her grenade companions. She’d pressed her fingers to the chalk that covered the cell walls. She’d even made sure the flowers Silco had brought her had water. The hardest thing she’d done (outside of downing the poison) was kiss Vi’s rabbit on the the forehead and say goodbye. She hadn’t cried– she hadn’t done that since the start of her stay at Stillwater she wasn’t going to start the day before her escape– but she’d held him all night. She’d clung to him in her cot and wished she could take him with her. It was the only piece of her home that she had. She had been willing to give it up for a chance to go back. 

But now he was here in the house that she was so sure wasn’t a hallucination. Except that maybe it was. How else could he be here?

“I brought him from Stillwater,” Jayce’s voice rang out much closer than she had expected it to be. She realized she’d been staring at the rabbit and in that time, he had come to stand behind the couch. He crossed the room and plucked him from his spot. He was tall enough to do so without effort. Jayce looked to Powder and she wasn’t sure what he was seeing but he proffered it to her in a slow, careful way– like wasn’t sure it was what he was supposed to do. 

The noise Powder made was half accusatory and half a sob. She jerked forward. She wrapped her arms around the rabbit and if the man got caught in the embrace it wasn’t her fault. He was in the way. She didn’t take comfort in feeling a real, solid body near hers or in the soft, worn fur of her sister’s plush, or in the way large hands hesitantly landed on her shoulders after she didn’t pull away. She didn’t feel the start of tears stinging her eyes and she didn’t press harder into the embrace to try to push them down. She wasn’t going to cry. She didn’t cry. Not anymore. 

The old Powder cried. The old Powder was useless and weak. She froze and failed and never did a single good thing for anyone she loved even when she tried to. She was someone else– someone who fought and won. She had escaped. She had outsmarted Silco and the Sheriff. She’d even gotten to bring Vi’s rabbit with her. It was real. It was all real. She knew– she could feel soft comforting circles being rubbed into her back. There was heat radiating from the body surrounding her. There were voices talking at her. She didn’t care what they said– just that it was real and tangible and she’d made it out . She’d made the poison and the antidote and a plan that had worked and she was alive .

And more she was going to keep going . Elation filled her and she pushed down a hysterical laugh. She was going to get better. She was going to get smarter. The first part of her impossible plan was accomplished– what could possibly keep her from the second? She was going to steal the hexcrystals. She was going to learn as much as she could about them and then she was going to go back to Silco and kill him. She was going to make the bomb he wanted so bad and she was going to blow him and all his cronies up. She was going to ruin his plans. He’d put her in the perfect position to jinx him– she already had. She just had to do it again. She gripped Vi’s rabbit like a vice. She was going to do it. She was going to save Vi. She wasn’t going to be Powder anymore. She was going to do what she did best.

She could hear a murmured conversation happening around her. She tuned back in and noticed the comforting circles on her back hadn’t stopped. Jayce was stooped low over her, talking softly.

“Did she ever give you a name?” he was saying. They were talking like she wasn’t even there. They must have started when she hadn’t responded to them. She thought about it. She hadn’t given them a name. They’d need something to call her since she was going to stay long enough to steal the crystals from them. But Powder was dangerous and dead. She was someone else now.

“Jinx,” she rasped out. She felt the man’s hands still on her back. 

“Sorry, what did you say?” he asked, voice gentle like he cared for some reason. She pulled back, breaking away from him and taking the rabbit with her. She clung to it, pulling it tight to her chest. She knew what she was.

“Jinx. My name is Jinx.” 

It was a promise.

Chapter Text

Jinx was awake. She had the feeling she wasn’t supposed to be but she was. It was the early hours of the morning (4 AM by the time on the clock next to her bed) and she’d been woken up by the sounds of a hushed conversation. 

She had passed out in bed early the night before. She’d been exhausted though from what she couldn’t say. She’d calmed down after the rabbit and the embrace and had frankly been embarrassed about the whole thing. She was a little bit angry that Viktor and Jayce had been there to see it. It felt like a violation to have strangers see– the revelation of self and christening had been deeply private– but at the same time if they hadn’t been there she wouldn’t have anyone to bear witness. She wanted other people to know even if they didn’t understand. Powder was dead. Jinx was alive. Jinx was also tired and angry and had almost immediately shut herself away in the room Viktor had given her (which neither adult seemed to mind much to both her relief and chagrin). The only disturbance she’d suffered was when Viktor had knocked to offer her food. She hadn’t answered but later when she’d thought she’d heard the front door opening and closing she’d snuck out and grabbed the plate (left just outside her door). No one had been visible to her. She’d been begrudgingly thankful. 

After the food she’d fallen asleep quickly. She blamed it on a full stomach and the warmth and the fact that she was probably still sort of sick. She hadn’t let the descent back into unconsciousness bother her. She wasn’t in danger. She was safer than she’d been in a long time. 

Or so she thought. Jinx shuffled out of bed and to the door of her room to get a better grasp on the voices. They were muffled and unclear even with the thinness of the door. She carefully pressed the handle down to crack it open and peeked out.

Standing in the doorway of Viktor’s apartment, bathed in the light of a lamp by the door was the most beautiful woman she’d ever seen. Tall, regal, and glowing gold in the dim yellow light, she wore a pristine white gown and a full face of makeup. She couldn’t say this was the sight Jinx expected to see before the crack of dawn. When she could finally draw her eyes away from the lady, she noticed the other woman. She was short, stubby, and similar in skin tone. She stood just behind her in a white lab coat but somehow even that color seemed washed out next to her companion. Viktor was standing in front of both of them with his back turned to Jinx. She could see tension in his shoulders and his words were clipped. 

“She is sleeping,” he said.

“She’s been sleeping for days,” the woman said– waving a hand. “Surely we can afford to wake her for a bit now that she’s functional. Besides, Dr. Ralar is going to wake her by treating her anyways.” 

Viktor looked like he was rubbing his temples. “It is 4:30 in the morning. You and Dr. Ralar can come back at a reasonable hour,” he said. 

“I’m busy,” the woman said. “I cannot afford to rearrange or miss another meeting, Viktor. It will start to look suspicious. It is the only time I have.” 

“Who in their right mind would be suspicious of you, Councilor?” 

“You would.” 

Viktor shook his head. “Yes but I’m from Undercity and unless the other council members are hiding something–” 

“Semantics.” 

“This is ridiculous.”

“Quite.” 

The two looked like they were going to continue their argument and Jinx watched from behind the door. Viktor looked tense but mostly tired and exasperated by the slump of his shoulders. His hair was ruffled like he’d just rolled out of bed. The pretty lady (Councilor, Viktor had said. This must be the one) for her part looked completely relaxed– she seemed at ease with the situation which Jinx thought probably pissed Viktor off since he looked like he’d just woken up. The woman in the lab coat was– 

Was staring– right at her. Jinx drew back when the woman gave a friendly, small wave– catching the attention of both Viktor and the Councilor. Viktor turned to look over his shoulder and Jinx knew there wasn’t any point in hiding. She stepped out from the door cautiously, keeping an eye on the newcomers. 

“See? That wasn’t so hard,” the Councilor said. Viktor sighed. He walked to Jinx, gesturing for the other two to stay where they were. 

“Alright?” he asked quietly. Jinx nodded. 

“They want to speak with you, which I’m sure you’ve gathered already,” he said. He lowered his voice even more. “I warned you of the Councilor, Mel Medarda. She is the pushy one.” 

“She’s pretty,” Jinx said– because she was.

Viktor’s brow furrowed like he’d somehow never considered that. He brushed the comment away with his own. “She’s very clever. Be careful.” 

“And the other?” 

“Dr. Ralar. She has been the one treating you. She has come to check on you and give you another dose of whatever treatment it is she has devised.” Viktor had a look of consternation when he said, “ She can explain it far better than I could. Do you want to speak to them?”

Jinx blinked. “I have a choice?” 

Viktor nodded. “I will send them away if you don’t want to.” 

“I thought you said you couldn’t protect me from her.” 

“I can’t but I am stubborn. If you don’t want to speak now I will argue until her time is up and she is forced to leave.” 

Jinx considered it. Viktor was giving her the choice again. It was nice but it made her suspicious. Last time she’d done what he’d wanted– she’d stayed. Would he be as accommodating if she denied him? Was it a trick? Things still felt shaky and she wasn’t sure she wanted to talk to the Councilor yet– if at all. 

“I don’t want to talk to her right now.” 

Viktor nodded. “Do you want to see Dr. Ralar? She can come back at a more reasonable time if you don’t.” 

Jinx hesitated. “Am I going to get worse if I say no?” 

“I do not believe so.” 

Jinx wanted to push her denial– to see if it mattered at all to him. “I want her to come back in the daytime.” 

Viktor gave another brisk nod. “It is settled then.” He squared his shoulders and gestured for her to return to her room. “Go back to bed. Continue to rest. I will see you at a more reasonable hour.”

 And with that he turned on his heel and stalked back to the Councilor and the Doctor– cane clicking sharply all the way. Jinx hesitated, rocking on the balls of her feet for a moment– there didn’t seem to be any consequences yet. She decided to duck back into her room just in case. The sound of a far more sharp whispered conversation followed her as she shut the door behind her and slipped back into bed. 

Dr. Ralar came back at the promised reasonable time. 

Jinx was up and moving by the time she arrived in the mid afternoon. Jayce was also up  (she wasn’t sure if he had spent the night here. She wasn’t sure where he would if he did– the couch seemed too small for both him and Viktor.) and didn’t seem to know what to do with her whenever she came into the room. Jinx also didn’t know what to do with him and the lingering embarrassment of yesterday and the daunting task of interacting with him had her laying about in the bedroom to avoid it. She’d nicked some books from Viktor’s shelves to read. She picked ones she thought looked promising for helping her decipher what he’d written in the notebook but they were unbearably dull. She’d settled for a book all about wiring and electricity. She wanted to be able to build her bomb right this time. She’d need something better than a mechanical monkey. 

When Dr. Ralar knocked, Viktor answered the door and let her in without any of the tension she’d seen in him in the early hours of the morning. She could see them if she peeked around the open door and looked out towards the foyer. The two approached and Dr. Ralar knocked on the door frame and waited for Jinx’s permission to enter the room before she came in. Viktor made himself comfortable leaning up against the doorframe and keeping a watchful eye on the two of them. 

“Hello, Jinx. I don’t know if Viktor has told you but my name is Dr. Ralar and I’ll be treating you today.” 

It was weird to hear that name. It was weird to have it said in such a gentle tone rather than hurled as an insult. She would get used to it. “You’re with the Councilor,” she said. 

“I am a doctor. I like to consider myself a neutral party.” 

Jinx looked over the doctor’s shoulder to Viktor. He grimaced and made a quick so-so gesture but when the doctor turned to look at him his hand was back by his side and he said, “She has been trustworthy so far.” 

So Jinx could trust her to a degree. Viktor at least trusted her to treat her– even if he was supervising. That was something. She just wouldn’t say anything more than she needed to. No doubt it would get back to the Councilor if she did. 

“Okay,” she said. 

Dr. Ralar smiled and nodded approvingly. She opened up the leather case she was carrying with her and began to pull out a few vials. “The treatment you need is very particular. I’m sure you know, considering how you became ill in the first place.” 

Jinx’s mood immediately soured. “What’s that supposed to mean?” 

Dr. Ralar appeared unruffled. “I was told you had drafted the poison yourself as well as a first dose of the antidote. It’s quite impressive and the faith you had in your abilities was admirable.” 

“I didn’t need faith. It worked.” For the most part. 

“Indeed. But the methods for treating this poison have advanced in recent years. A prolonged treatment has been determined to be more effective and safe. Perhaps if the academy hospital had been aware of what exactly you’d done with your fist dose the damage your body underwent wouldn’t be so extensive.” 

“How extensive is it?” 

“The poison targets the respiratory and circulatory systems, as I'm sure you know, but an overdose of the antidote can cause just as much damage– which I believe was the case with you.” She grabbed two of the vials  of clear liquid and popped the lids off both, pouring the smaller of the two into the other slowly. “It caused a case of acute hypoxemia– a lack of oxygen in the blood– which progressively got worse as time went on without proper balance between the treatment and the poison.” She began to shake the liquids together and the mixture went from clear to purple. “So that brings us to now. How are you feeling?” 

“I feel good.” 

“Good. You should. I’ve balanced the level of toxin and treatment in your body now. With that, your blood should continue to absorb oxygen at a higher level and mitigate most of the symptoms.” Another vial was popped out of the case and added to the purple mixture. She continued vigorously shaking it. “However, please do not strain yourself. While you may feel better, the damage is still there and you aren’t actually absorbing oxygen at your normal rate yet. You won’t until the poison is gone.” 

Jinx hesitated. “How long is that going to be?” 

“The half-life is about seven days. You’re looking at a little over a month before the toxin is completely gone and we can stop counteracting it.” 

“A month? I don’t have a month!” Silco would definitely try to come visit her before the month was out. The sheriff couldn’t possibly keep him away for that long. As soon as Silco discovered her escape the Undercity wouldn’t be safe for her anymore. He’d hide Vi away somehow and she’d never make it down to the Lanes. 

The doctor paused in shaking the vial, the liquid was now a milky white. Jinx felt her interest sharpen even if she didn’t show any outward reaction. “I was under the impression you didn’t have anywhere pressing to be.” 

Jinx opened her mouth to reply but was cut off by the sharp tap of Viktor’s cane on the ground. Her mouth snapped shut. The doctor turned to give Viktor a look but his only reply was a shrug and, “She has only recently woken and you and I both know where she came from. I’m sure she has a home she would like to get back to or at the very least check up on.” 

When the doctor turned back to Jinx she had filed whatever look she had given to Viktor away and instead looked contemplative. She pulled yet another vial from her case (bigger than the rest and a transparent baby blue) and poured the cloudy mixture into it. The mixture shot cloudy purple then clear. She set it down capped in the case.  “You would survive without the treatment now. Your first week has passed. You have 50% of what was in the initial dose in your body. It won’t kill you but the symptoms will return.” 

Jinx tried not to sound desperate when she asked, “What symptoms?” What were the chances that they were things that she could deal with? Hindrance from her own body might be easier to deal with than Silco’s preparation.

“Lightheadedness, confusion, hallucinations, shortness of breath, coughing, sweating, wheezing, changes in the color of your skin.” 

Those didn’t sound like symptoms that would be easy to deal with. Jinx’s shoulders slumped. “Are you sure it’s going to be a month?” 

Dr. Ralar gave her a sympathetic look. “If you take proper rest and are careful, it may be less. But yes. I’m sorry.” She grabbed up the vial again and passed it to Jinx. “Here, take this.” 

Jinx wanted to smash the vial on the ground but controlled herself. She popped the cap and downed the vial. It didn’t have a taste at all. She considered smashing it on the ground again but just handed it back to the woman. She took it from her and loaded all the vials back into her case. She locked it up with a quick movement and stood.

“I’ll take my leave now. I’ll see you again in a couple of days for another dose. It was good to meet you, Jinx.”

Jinx wished it had been good to meet her. She watched the doctor leave out the door past Viktor who didn’t move. He gave Jinx an unreadable glance then followed Dr. Ralar to let her out of his home.

Jinx flopped back into the bed. A month. She didn’t want to be here a month . She’d thought a week– two at most, before she could steal the crystals and head down to the Undercity. Even two weeks was pushing it. Maybe by then the amount of poison in her body would be just a slight hindrance instead of completely debilitating. She had picked a long acting poison because she wanted there to be time for the enforcers to get her to the hospital. She hadn’t expected there to be lingering side effects. This was awful. She wanted to shoot something. She heard Viktor return and pause at the door frame. She didn’t want to talk to him. She didn’t want to talk to anybody anymore. She grabbed a pillow and shoved it over her head.

“I’m sorry it is not the news you wanted to hear,” Viktor said. She heard him– muffled as it was through the pillow. She pulled the pillow tighter around her head before she sat bolt up and hurled it at him. It collided with his chest with a soft thump and the bewildered expression on his face made her feel the tiniest bit better when she threw herself back down on the bed. 

“Would you like another one to throw?” he asked. Jinx glared up at the ceiling. He was being too nice. The tone was too understanding, too empathetic. It only served to rile her up even more. She wished he’d say something awful so she’d have an excuse to throw a book or something more satisfying.

 Instead she said, “Were you really going to let me go even though you knew all that?” 

“I would not have been able to stop you– but I wanted you to stay.” 

“You said I’d be miserable if I left. Well, I’m going to be just as miserable here as I would be without the treatment.” 

There was a hesitation before Viktor replied. “You think so?” 

“Yes.” 

“Why?”

Jinx didn’t answer. She knew better. She heard the clinking of Viktor’s cane on the ground and then the door shutting. She saw him approach from the corner of her eye. She didn’t move and met his gaze when he stood above her. They stared each other down then he handed the pillow back to her. Jinx took it. He sat down on the edge of the bed. 

“Is there someone I can call on for you?” 

Jinx furrowed her brow. “What do you mean?”

“You said you don’t have a month. I assume you have people or someone waiting for you in the Undercity. Can I deliver a message? Tell them that you are safe and that you will be coming home?”

Jinx thought about it. She could send Viktor down. He wouldn’t draw attention if Silco had been alerted to her absence. But how would he find Vi? Things must have changed in the time she was imprisoned. If she sent him down there and he started asking questions he’d draw attention to himself and then he’d be in trouble. She wanted to steal from him not get him killed. She shook her head. 

“I don’t think I have anyone down there anymore– not that you could find.” 

Viktor inclined his head. “I am persistent.” 

“Everyone's dead or missing,” Jinx said and she saw Viktor blanch. “I don’t know where they are.” 

“Then why are you returning?” 

Because she could save what was left. She wanted revenge. She had to have it– to make up for what she’d done. “There’s something I have to do.” 

“I see,” Viktor said and they lapsed into silence. He tapped his fingers along the head of his cane thoughtfully. “And you need to do it within the month?”

“It’ll be harder if I don’t.”

“It might be harder anyways if you find yourself lost to confusion.” 

Jinx felt the frustration rise in her chest again. “I don’t want to stay.” 

Viktor nodded and looked truly apologetic. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault,” she said bitterly. 

“And yet, I am still sorry for it. The best I can offer is a satisfactory place to recover for the time being. Jayce and I will take care of you for as long as you stay.”

Jinx snorted. “Did you run that by him?” 

“I do not need to.” 

“He doesn’t seem happy to have me here.” 

“This is not his home. And he is pleased that you have woken up– you have just made him wary.” 

“I made him wary,” Jinx deadpanned. “He’s eight feet tall and built like a brick house.” 

Viktor looked amused. “Be that as it may, you intimidated him.” 

“But he’s huge,” Jinx argued.

“And soft,” Viktor said with a laugh. “I told you already, Jayce is a good man. You do not need to be intimidated by him– which I’m sure you aren’t.” He added quickly at her glare. “But if you want to ease your time here, appease him. You are from the Undercity, no? I know you know what to do. Look small. Look pitiful. Throw a little begging on top and he’ll be the one pleading with you– especially if it makes him feel smart” 

 “You think?” Jinx did know how to do that. She knew how to be small and pleading. She knew how to make people think that she had what they wanted. Vi had taught her how. She hadn’t had to do it in a long time but she thought she still could. 

Viktor inclined his head. “Of course.”

“Sounds like you speak from experience.” 

Viktor snorted. “I have never needed to beg– not with Jayce. Remember, I said he is a good man. But with others in this city…” Viktor trailed off. “People tend to overlook you or pity you when you look like me. I would be a fool not to take advantage of that and I did so often and with contempt when I was younger.” 

Jinx understood. Just because Jayce was willing to vouch for him didn’t mean the rest of Topside was willing to overlook where he’d come from. She could barely deal with Mylo looking down on her– she couldn’t imagine having an entire city of strangers doing so. “How can you stand it up here?”

“You learn to live with it. And Jayce is not so bad. I think sometimes he is even angry on my behalf.”

That startled a laugh out of Jinx. “A topsider angry at a trencher’s mistreatment?” Unexpected even if they were partners. Jayce was so very topside– he must love Viktor a lot to be willing to pull his head out of his ass long enough to get angry for him. 

“It’s novel, I’ll admit,” Viktor said with a small smile.

Jinx found herself almost jealous. It must be nice to live here, to be protected even if there was always some level of disdain. She found herself chafing against Viktor’s advice. She could do what he wanted. She could play into their pity like Viktor did. She could but…

“I never had to beg,” she said, staring up at the ceiling. “I never had to plead or let anybody mistreat me. I have– I had people who protected me.” 

“I’m glad.” 

So was Jinx. She’d had people who were willing to do anything for her, or for Powder– Vi, Vander, Ekko, Claggor, and even Mylo despite his numerous complaints and protests. They had loved her. She had failed them, betrayed them, killed them. And yet still the Undercity in her recoiled at the idea of begging– of pity. She didn't want to play their game. She found that age old, angry, desperate need for respect clawing it's way to the front of her throat. 

“I don’t want to beg,” she said, like she had any right to it at all. “I’m worth more than their scraps.” 

“You are,” he agreed. “ We are.” 

And if she didn't tell him, how could he know that he was wrong? 

Chapter Text

It took Jinx some time to work up to talking to Jayce. Viktor was gone early the next morning when she pulled herself out of bed. She wasn’t sure where he’d gone. All she knew was that he’d abandoned her with the man sat at the dining room table where he seemed to be making a new work space. 

She debated talking to him at all. Viktor was right, easing things over with his partner would make her time here easier. Also, she could only assume the project the two were working on together was the work from the lab. If she wanted better chances of getting in there, Jayce would need to be on her side. It made sense. It might even be helpful. She loathed the idea. 

She wasn’t going to beg. She’d known that the moment Viktor had suggested it. She couldn’t stand the thought of playing the part of the small, pitiful girl. But there were other ways to endear someone like Jayce to her. She’d never used this particular tactic before– it was rare to find even adults who were as versed with tinkering as she was. She wished it hadn’t been so rare– then maybe something would have come from her inventions other than tragedy. But now was as good a time as any to learn and if Viktor thought that making Jayce feel smart might make him like her, well, it was better than begging. 

She nabbed some blank paper and a pencil she’d found out on one of the bookshelves. (She was only mildly suspicious that the things that she wanted were left unattended and in grabbing distance.) and began to sketch in bed. She had a couple of the books she’d been reading open but it quickly became too little space and the way she was curled up over the drawing made her back ache. She exited the room and set up at the coffee table. She sat on the floor instead of the couch, making sure that her back wasn’t to Jayce while he worked away in the dining room. Aside from the cursory glance and awkward wave he gave her, he didn’t acknowledge her– which made her feel a tad bit more relaxed. She focused on her blueprint. 

The books she’d grabbed from Viktor’s shelves were dense and formal– but ultimately more helpful than what she’d had access to in the Undercity. She’d had a long time sitting in her cell to go over the things that had gone wrong in her designs. There was no way to test the new variations she’d come up with but now… 

She sketched out the original blue print from memory– just the circuitry. Then she drew the new ones on separate sheets. She was fairly sure she had addressed the problems that had caused the malfunctions in the first place. She was almost completely confident that these would work. Almost. Maybe she was going to make Jayce feel smart but she sure as hell wasn’t going to let him make her feel stupid. Whatever she gleaned from this interaction, it would hopefully be problems she’d already solved. She grabbed the old blueprint and took a deep breath. She stood up, tucking it behind her back and made her way to Jayce's work table. 

He noticed her approach fairly quickly and froze– or at least stopped writing. His foot still tapped on the ground though whether from nerves or general fidgeting Jinx couldn’t say. She stood with her hands tucked tight around the blueprint behind her while he stared her down across his work. 

There was a beat of silence. 

“What are you working on?” Jinx blurted out, breaking first under the awkward impasse. This was going just great so far. She tried not to glare at the floor. 

Jayce for his part didn’t seem much better. He fumbled his words. “Sorry?” 

“What are you working on?” Jinx repeated but slower and more emphatically– like she thought he was dumb– which wasn’t she wanted but oh well. It was out of her hands. 

Jayce seemed to think on the question for a moment before he leaned back in his chair– still seeming not to know what to do. “I’m doing some calculations for work. It’s all, umm, theoretical.” 

“Oh.” Jinx said. Awkward silence reigned again and she forced herself to push through.  “Can you explain it to me?” 

“Uhh… no?” 

“Oh.” 

“Not because I don’t think you’d understand it!” Jayce rushed to fill the silence himself this time and sooth any offense Jinx might have taken. She hadn’t thought to be offended yet but Jayce assured her, “It’s supposed to be secret and– well– I’m not very good at explaining things sometimes.” 

Jinx deflated a little bit. “Oh.” 

Silence again while Jayce drummed his fingers on the table– which Jinx was now sure were nerves and not a tic. He looked genuinely bewildered by the conversation and Jinx turned to make a tactical retreat. She could call this a failure. There would be more days to come to try to bridge this very awkward gap. She heard a scraping sound behind her and saw Jayce pushing back in his chair motioning for her to wait. She paused. 

He didn’t seem to know what to do when she listened. He brought his reaching hand back to his side and then seemed to make a decision. He folded his notes shut. “Maybe I could explain something else? I saw you working on something over there.” 

That was as good an opening as she was ever going to get. She debated her retreat but then pushed down on the part of her that wanted to flee and squared her shoulders. She marched back to the table and slammed the old blueprint down in front of him. “Can you tell me what’s wrong with this?” 

Jayce blinked and then leaned over the paper, brow furrowing. “A circuit board?” 

“I was designing it before I– before. It never worked. I don’t know why.” She ground out the last part. She at least had a better idea now. 

Jayce shuffled the paper towards him and leaned over it further, scanning it. His face flitted through several emotions– apprehension, confusion, curiosity, and finally settled on being impressed. Jinx tried not to let that make her too happy. He traced some of the lines she’d drawn and squinted through her notes. 

“What did it do?” he finally asked. 

“What’s wrong with it?” Jinx pressed. She had the feeling he wouldn’t be too happy with the answer.

Jayce’s brow furrowed. “Without knowing the purpose I don’t know if I can–”

Jinx snatched the paper from his hands. “It’s fine. Forget I asked.” She turned on her heel again. 

“No! Don’t–” Jayce interrupted, standing from his seat. Jinx froze– she turned back to him and hunched in on herself, ready for whatever his next move was. He didn’t approach– just raised his hands as a peace offering. “Let me help.” he said– though it was more of a request than an order. 

Jinx rocked on her heels before she remembered that she was trying to be nice. She was trying to play to his ego. She could do this. She couldn’t let Viktor or, more importantly, herself down. She proffered the blueprint back to Jayce, holding it as far as she could from herself. 

He approached carefully, broadcasting his motions in a way that was clearly meant to put her at ease. He took the paper from her again and returned to his seat, leaning over it. He pulled out the chair next to him and motioned her over. He waited while she cautiously took her seat before he started in. 

“Okay. It’s hard to say without the full mechanism but–” 

Much to Jinx’s chagrin Jayce was smart– helpful even. Over the next couple of hours he identified at least two more problem areas in her blue print that she didn’t catch. He was overly gentle with his critique in the beginning but as soon as Jinx had started prodding him and correcting the drawing before he could finish his sentences he had stopped coddling her. Really, his critique became more guiding than anything else and as soon as he would point out an area that he thought might be an issue Jinx would start scribbling with the pencil she’d nicked from his notebook– noting down potential solutions and talking through the process. It was– loathe as she was to admit it– exciting and Jayce was far from bad at explaining things as he’d claimed. Not that he needed to explain much. Jinx took great pride in each impressed look or noise that Jayce made when she made a correction. She didn’t need explanations and Jayce was quick to catch on that if he prompted her she would easily figure out the solution herself. 

At one point they’d gotten so into the project that Jinx had thrown herself over the couch to grab her new and improved designs. She’d scrambled back to him, excited and trying not to grin. He had pointed out a few of the problem areas she had identified and she didn’t want the corrections she’d made to either cause more problems or to spend too much time on a problem that a correction might have bypassed completely. The two bent over the blueprint between them– Jinx scribbling in notes and correction while Jayce pointed out areas he thought could be optimized.

That was how Viktor found them when he returned to the apartment. 

“Well, don’t you two look cozy,” he said when he walked in the door. Jinx had the awareness to immediately pull away from where she and Jayce were practically touching heads from leaning over the blueprint. She glared at Viktor when a pleased smile spread across his face. It quickly turned to a rakish grin that Jinx didn’t appreciate at all . She glared and he huffed out a small laugh before tossing a paper bag onto the couch. “For you,” was all he said. 

Jinx felt an immediate spike of curiosity but held back. It wouldn’t do to seem too eager. Jayce made an odd noise beside her. The man, who probably hadn’t looked up from the blueprints in over an hour, raised his head he and met Viktor’s gaze with his own slightly manic one. 

“Did you know?” he asked and Jinx frowned with confusion while Viktor raised a brow. 

“Know what?” he asked. 

“Did you know she was brilliant when you picked her up?” 

Viktor looked taken aback. He glanced between Jinx and Jayce before turning his attention on her fully. 

“What did you do to him?”

Jayce gestured excitedly for him to come over. “I’m serious, Viktor. Come look at this.” 

Viktor trudged over to the table and Jayce shoved the diagrams towards him. Viktor picked them up and began to examine them himself. She saw the shift in his demeanor when he started to process what he was looking at. Jinx tensed up. What Viktor thought of her work didn’t matter to her. It didn’t. But… He shuffled through and spent time looking at each page. His face was unreadable but when he finished he laid the blueprints down and looked at her. 

“You made these?” he asked. 

Jinx nodded, shoulders tense and face apprehensive. 

“Impressive.” 

Jinx felt satisfaction wash over her. Her shoulders relaxed and she tried not to let the pride show on her face. 

Jayce on the other hand, beamed. “So is everyone in the Undercity a secret genius or is it just the two of you?” 

“I can not say,” Viktor said, “but the Undercity breeds ingenuity. Given half the resources topside has, they’d do twice as much.” 

Jayce gave a short laugh and shook his head in disbelief, as if he had no choice but to believe Viktor’s words. (Which he should. They were true.) He then motioned for the blueprints which Viktor surrendered to him. 

“These really are good,” he said, looking over them once again. He handed them back to Jinx and she took them without flinching. She realized that somewhere in the last couple of hours, she’d grown used to him being in her space. “If you give me a list of what you need I’ll grab you supplies from the lab tomorrow.” 

Jinx’s eyes blew wide. “Really?” she asked, trying not to sound too excited. It had been a long time since she’d had proper tools– really she’d never had them at all. But the chance to tinker again and the offer was so– it was too good. Too generous. There was no way. Why would he bother with something like that?

“Of course!” Jayce said, excitedly. “How else am I supposed to know what it does?”

“It’s nothing dangerous?” Viktor cut in– giving Jinx a scrutinizing look. She shook her head and quickly started to recalculate. It didn’t have to be. She could just leave it at as a smoke bomb for now– get that part functioning and keep the shrapnel compartment empty. The basic layout would be the same and it would be a cinch to finish it when she needed to.

Satisfied with her answer, Viktor gave a short nod. He then turned back to Jayce. “I don’t suppose you got your own work done?” 

Jayce blinked and then pulled his notebook back across the table. “Some?” he offered with a sheepish shrug of his shoulders. Viktor shook his head and reached into his pocket, pulling out his own notebook. 

“The day’s data has been recorded. Nothing abnormal from what I saw but perhaps you’ll see something I won’t.”

Jayce took the notebook and flipped it open. He gave Jinx a warm smile and settled back into his own chair. Jinx for her part decided to find another piece of paper that she could write down her list of materials on as well as grab the bag Viktor had said was for her. She made to scamper off to Viktor’s room but a hand ghosted her shoulder. She looked up to meet Viktor’s gaze. 

“Good job,” he said, voice low. Jinx favored him with a smug grin before she shrugged him off and started towards the room. The smile on her face didn’t leave as she felt a surge of pride. Viktor's advice had been wrong. She hadn’t needed to beg. She hadn’t needed to be pitiful. She hadn’t even needed to play dumb. The key to worming her way into Jayce’s good graces had not been making him feel smart. No, she thought he probably got told he was smart everyday. He had lots of people to tell him that. What she’d done was different. She hadn’t needed him but she’d asked for his help. She’d piqued his curiosity. She’d breached the distance between them not by being lesser, but equal. He didn’t need to be told he was smart. The key had been proving that she was. 

The bag Viktor had brought was not nearly as exciting as the prospect of what Jayce had promised, but it was appreciated. It was clothes. Jinx had been wearing the hospital gown for far too long and nothing Viktor had would fit her. The clothes that he’d brought her hadn’t all fit (The two pairs of pants had been a miss. The skirts and the leggings had been workable) but they were nicer than anything she’d ever worn before. Viktor had said they were secondhand but there were no obvious rips or stains in them. Either Viktor was lying (unlikely. Why lie about something like this?) or secondhand topside was nicer than new in the Undercity. Jinx smoothed the white (there was that color again) button up she was wearing down along with the blue vest that sat on top. She had eschewed the bow meant to close the collar for a rumpled open button that she kept fidgeting with– which wasn’t an impatient movement. It was a normal thing to do while she watched the minutes on the clock tick by. Slowly. Agonizingly slowly.

Jinx was sure she was waiting patiently for Jayce’s return. He’d left the night before with Jinx’s list in hand and a promise to return with the items as soon as he could– which would mean after his own shift at the lab. Jinx was not vibrating with excitement. She did not stay up half the night in anticipation. She was not now sitting on the couch because she was hoping to catch Jayce the second he came in. She was anxious because she’d had trouble sleeping and she was working at the coffee table because there was more room. It was perfectly reasonable for her to be there and if Jayce happened to knock she’d happen to be the first one to the door then so be it. 

When the knock came, she was on her feet and to the door in record time. Viktor let out a noise of protest from his spot in the dining room but Jinx paid him no mind as she threw open the door. 

She kind of wished she had. 

The Councilor was more beautiful in the daylight. The pristine white of her dress glowed in the afternoon sun and the glinting gold flicked light around her in spots. Jinx immediately retreated. 

“Viktor!” she called warily and he was behind her faster than she thought possible. He must have started moving when she’d gone to the door.

“Councilor,” he greeted the woman, a hand on Jinx’s shoulder as she backed into him– wide eyed. Councilor Medarda eyed the two of them with a cool gaze before she stepped fully into the room, shutting the door behind her like she lived there. 

“Bold to be letting her answer the door,” she said. 

“I’ll be speaking to her about it.” The way Viktor’s grip tightened noticeably on her shoulder forewarned her that it was probably going to be more in line with a scolding which– well. Fair. It had maybe not been her best idea.

“What are you doing here?” Viktor asked. 

“Isn’t it obvious? You’ve won, Viktor.” She let out an airy sigh. “I’ve canceled another meeting.”

“I didn’t know we were in competition, Councilor.” 

“I wouldn’t have known from the way you were arguing with me the other night.” 

“I would not have had to argue if you had simply listened.” 

They were bickering again. Without her. Loudly. It was like she wasn’t even there. Jinx was more awake now than she had been the other night when she’d witnessed the two of them in the dim lamp light. Now she was more invested in the ongoing argument she was watching. 

Viktor and the Councilor did not seem particularly cordial. The Councilor for her part, appeared slightly annoyed but mostly composed as she rebuffed Viktor’s barbed words. Viktor seemed to be perfectly comfortable responding to the councilor in kind– giving as good as he got. But on the other hand she could tell from the shift of Viktor’s stance and the alternating loose and tight grip on her shoulder that she made him nervous. That made sense. She held all the power after all. Viktor had told Jinx he couldn’t protect her from the Councilor. That was fine. She could protect herself. She interjected, pulling away from Viktor’s grip. 

“I’ll talk to her now.” 

Viktor broke off mid-sentence and looked down at her. Whatever he saw must have shown him she was serious. He looked unhappy but gave a short nod. “Alright.” 

“Wonderful,” the Councilor was saying. “Now perhaps we can speak in the room you’ve been staying in. I think privacy–” 

Viktor was stepping back. Jinx’s hand shot out involuntarily, catching his sleeve. He stopped short of pulling away. She hesitated. Then said, “Viktor’s coming.” 

Viktor blinked but stepped back up behind her. He looked between herself and the Councilor, who had a smile on her face to cover the scowl Jinx was sure she was hiding. 

“Perhaps the couch?” he offered after a beat. 

And that was how she ended up side by side with him on the couch again while Mel Medarda sat primly on a stool across the coffee table.

It was with a small shock that Jinx realized she wasn’t uncomfortable with him being close to her anymore. After nearly bumping heads with Jayce yesterday she supposed the few inches between them were more like a chasm. It was almost nice. Except that, of course, she was under intense scrutiny from Councilor Medarda. 

Jinx would not play into pity. Not ever again. But it didn’t mean she was above playing innocent. She shifted towards Viktor like she would if she were scared and needing protection. She grabbed his arm and looked up at the Councilor, eyes wide as guileless as she could make them. 

The look the Councilor favored her with was unimpressed. She turned to Viktor who had a hand pressed to his mouth, trying unsuccessfully to smother a laugh. Jinx felt a spike of annoyance and pinched his arm– hard. Viktor jerked back. 

“Ow,” he said with a scowl.

“You are ruining this.” 

Viktor didn’t look at all apologetic. “It isn’t going to work anyways. Medarda is smarter than that.” 

“Thank you, Viktor,” the Councilor said while Jinx scowled.

It would have been nice to have known that earlier. She wished Viktor had taken a moment to tell her how to play the Councilor. He’d been off with Jayce but not by much. She could have at least used a warning. Viktor just shrugged under her glare and did the thing where he almost read her mind again. 

“There is no way to play Mel Medarda. There is nothing I could have told you that would prepare you for this beyond what I have said. She always gets what she wants.” 

Medarda let out a long suffering sigh. “Viktor, you are scaring the girl.” 

“Good. She needs to be scared of you.” 

“How many times do I have to tell you that I want to help?” 

Viktor scoffed. “The sheriff is not yet in jail yet so you may keep trying.” 

“You’re trying to put the sheriff in jail?” Jinx said, leaning forward with interest. Medarda’s sharp eyes turned back to her. 

“I’m looking for a reason to.” 

“What do you need from me?” 

“I need the truth.”

The truth. The Councilor asked for a lot. Jinx shrunk back unintentionally this time. 

“I don’t need everything,” the Councilor said. “But I need some questions answered.” 

The silence that fell was heavy and expectant. She felt Viktor bump his arm to hers– a motion of solidarity. He would be with her whatever she decided. She knew that. It’s why she’d made him stay. But still she wanted to answer. The thought of the Sheriff in jail was tempting.

But the truth was dangerous. Not only that but it was hers. She was one of the only people left alive who knew the true events of Silco’s coup. She was the only one who understood the scope of the corruption. She was likely the only one it mattered to– her and Vi. She didn’t want to talk about it– didn’t want Viktor’s pity or anyone else’s. She wanted revenge. 

But the sheriff out of the way would be helpful. And what were the chances that the Councilor would care about bloody power plays in the Undercity at all? They’d never cared before. She made up her mind. It was worth the risk. It was worth the pain of spilling secrets. She opened her mouth to speak and–

The door opened. All three turned to look. Jayce stood in the doorway– looking between them all, a few bags in hand. 

There was an awkward silence. Before he said, “I’d really like to stop meeting like this.”

Chapter Text

When Jayce had returned to find them all staring at him and muttering about deja vu under his breath, Mel thought the seating would go one of two ways. 

One: he could take a seat on the couch next to Viktor, putting the man in the middle and the girl, Jinx she’d learned, on the outs. There could be a number of reasons for this– the most likely being that he was closest to Viktor and felt more comfortable sitting next to him– or perhaps the girl had an aversion to being blocked in. It would be convenient for Mel if that were the case. Viktor’s attitude would be tempered by Jayce, who considered her a friend. He would play mediator between them without prompting. 

Option two was to put Jinx in the middle. It would fit Viktor’s overprotective nature to situate her between the two of them– a united front acting as bodyguards for the girl in the middle. The girl’s demeanor would be Mel’s gauge for the dynamic then. If she seemed nervous, she didn’t trust them– most likely Jayce since she’d been the one to pull Viktor into the conversation in the first place. If Jinx was comfortable between them then there’d been common ground found– which Mel was beginning to suspect was the case as the girl continuously eyed the bags that Jayce had brought in with a hunger she wasn’t completely unfamiliar with. 

The seating arrangement would say a lot about what kind of dynamic Mel was stepping into and how she would need to play it. If Jinx was confident between the two, she’d be more likely to speak but also to hide when she felt uncomfortable. That would be easier to work with. The parts she was quiet over would be obvious and clearly where the secrets lay. Viktor would be a problem if she fell back on him to keep her from having to talk– Jayce too if the girl had played her cards right– but Mel could work with that. If she got a majority of the information she wanted painlessly, she’d take it. However, if the girl was on the outs, confidence may never surface and she may be entirely reluctant to speak, which would make it harder to tell what parts of her story may have merit investigating. That would require careful pushing and baiting. Which, of course, would send Viktor into a venomous fit and she would need to rely on Jayce to step in while she soothed what information she could out of the girl.

She did firmly believe that the girl had information she needed. The conspiracy that Jayce, Viktor, and her had proposed felt right. The Sheriff would never be so sloppy if he wasn’t under someone’s power. And while Viktor would be satisfied with the Sheriff’s corruption revealed and punished,  Mel was not interested in making such hasty moves– not when there was potential elsewhere. 

The Undercity had been a problem long before she had arrived in Piltover– though perhaps problem was not the right word. Mel, as an outsider, saw the Undercity for what it was. Exploited. At every turn, progress had left people behind and let them fall through the cracks– almost literally considering the number of deaths in the mines. They were the price of the city’s success, beauty, and academia. And they did not want to be. Who could blame them? But generations of brutal exploitation, poison, and poverty had left them with few weapons to fight their own oppression with. It was almost like an entirely separate city at this point– an isolated people. There was little that the Council could know, let alone conceive of, of life in the Undercity. It had its own politics, its own machinations, its own culture.

And while the rest of them were content with their ignorance– to let the Undercity go unnoticed and unacknowledged– Mel was different. Mel knew better. She’d been raised on lethal politics. She knew a dangerous shift when she felt one. If the Undercity was unbalanced, if there were new players in the field, that could be dangerous to everyone– especially if they were able to sway the Sheriff. And this was Mel’s city. She was magnanimous. She was merciful. She was empathetic to their struggles. She had no desire to fight the people of the Undercity. In fact, if there was one thing Viktor and her could agree on, it was that they both wanted to help. But sometimes help was unwelcome and intervention was still needed. She needed information. If this was going to be a problem, it would be best to cut it off at the head instead of letting it fester. The Sheriff, who was untrustworthy at best and deplorable at worst, might make a good information fount. 

Mel had the feeling Viktor and Jinx would not like this alternative. They would not like the fact that she was not planning to punish the Sheriff– to not let him know that she suspected him at all. So she would simply not tell them unless they asked. There was no need to. Sheriff Marcus could lead her to his betters best if he didn’t know that’s what he was doing. There would be retribution but it would take time. 

But all of the information she was going to get today would depend on the seating arrangement. She watched with anticipation while Jayce rocked on the balls of his feet in debate. Perhaps, with all her thoughts of the differences between Topside and the Undercity, she should have predicted the next few minutes. 

Jayce approached the couch and looked to the girl for direction (which made Mel raise an eyebrow. It was an unexpected courtesy.) Jinx seemed to debate for a moment before hopping the back of the couch, grabbing a stool and pulling it up for him to the side, halfway between the couch and Mel. When she was done, she did the same to another stool opposite Jayce and nudged Viktor towards it– who obliged without argument. Then she perched herself on the back of the couch so that she was as tall as the three adults in the room. Mel admired the boldness. It was nothing like what she had expected. She found herself oddly charmed by it.

She took a moment to really look at the girl now. She had seen her when she was ill– pale and sweat stained– her eyes squinted shut against the light and a furrow to her brow. She was clearly better now, though still pale. Her freckles looked more like skin and less like scars littered across paper. Her hair was braided back neatly with a few metal clips to keep the long bangs out of her eyes. Someone had gone out and gotten her new clothes too. They were presentable and fit nicely. She looked well (if not a bit on the small side). Mel was glad to see it. She had been worried– for both the girl’s health and her own plans. It was good to see her healthy. If she hadn’t known better, she would have thought her any other young girl from Topside. Really, the only tell were her eyes. They were a stormy blue with an intense scrutiny and inherent wariness that was currently trained on Mel. 

The girl pointed to her with a long bony finger (Mel excused the lack of manners as Undercity upbringing). “What do you want to know?” 

Mel folded her arms and let her face fall into an open, but serious expression. 

“What happened the night of your arrest and the events leading up to it?” 

Jinx flinched but remained steady and balanced on the back of the couch. She made to answer but Viktor interrupted. 

“You said you didn’t need everything. Be more specific.” 

Mel didn’t struggle not to roll her eyes– she was better than that– but she did the emotional equivalent of it. She didn’t acknowledge him beyond a tilt of her head– not breaking eye contact with the girl. She waited for her answer. Unfortunately, Jinx nodded along with Viktor’s suggestion. It had been a long shot anyways but there was no harm in asking– or there wouldn’t have been if Viktor could keep quiet. 

“Who killed Sheriff Greyson?” 

The girl’s brow furrowed. “Who?” 

“The Sheriff that came before Sheriff Marcus. He was elected to the position after the previous Sheriff was killed in action in the Undercity the night of your arrest.” 

The girl squinted like she was trying to recall something. “I… don’t know. The last Sheriff had some kind of deal with–” she cut off. A deal with Vander Mel supplied. Interesting. “I wasn’t there when the Sheriff died but I know a bunch of people were killed when the coup started.” 

“The coup?” 

“There was a coup against… the old leader of the Lanes in the Undercity. They thought he was too complacent– that he wasn’t committed to the cause .” 

The way she said it was so sarcastic, bitter, angry. It was as if she’d heard it 100 times. 

“So they killed him?” Mel asked. 

A hesitation. It was the first Mel had seen in Jinx since the door. She seemed to fold in on herself all alone on the back of the couch. Mel was under the impression that if she could have, she would have pulled her knees to her chin. 

Viktor stepped in again much to Mel’s chagrin. “We already know Vander is dead. What does it matter who killed him?” 

The girl’s head whipped to Viktor. “You know about Vander?” she said sharply, eyes narrow.

Mel felt a flash of frustration. She was going to work her way up to that. Part of determining what was truth and lie and how much she could get out of the girl depended on what she would reveal without as much prompting. Mel wanted to tilt her hand at her own rate and Viktor was knocking it to the ground. She breathed in and changed tactics.

“We know something about Vander,” she admitted. “Do you know why you were arrested?” 

“Yes,” the girl bit out and the folding all but vanished in the anger that Mel saw overcome her. She did not elaborate. 

“Do you know the reason the Sheriff says you were arrested?” Mel asked. This might be the better question to lead the conversation.

“No.” 

“According to the Sheriff,” Mel said, distancing herself from him. Make the girl see her as an entity against him and maybe she’d see Mel as an ally. “Vander killed Sheriff Greyson and was then killed in the fallout along with his children. All except his daughter who was brought in to serve his sentence.” Mel expected several reactions. Outrage, anger, hurt. A denial. And she saw all those things. But none of them were in the answer she gave. 

“You know who I am?”

Fascinating. That was the part she’d clued in on. She didn’t want to be known. 

“Only that you are Vander’s daughter– if the Sheriff wasn’t lying. Was he?” Mel gave her the chance to lie, just to see if she would.

“Vander’s children died with him.” It was a lie. Or it was meant to be. The way it was phrased felt intentional to Mel. It was a claim that she wasn’t Vander’s daughter. But it might not be an outright lie. Mel couldn’t imagine much of the girl she’d been before had survived the death of her family and then the stay in her prison cell. Jinx continued. “Vander didn’t kill her and neither did I.”

Mel believed her. “Then who killed Vander?” The girl clammed up again, shrinking down. Where was that anger now? Where did the fury that lingered under her skin and the storm-cloud eyes go when she needed it? The death of her father should enrage her. Maybe the hurt was still too much. Maybe she’d been pretending her father was still alive out there and Mel and Viktor had popped that bubble. Maybe what she needed now was gentle. She softened her face and her voice. Play to her wants. “I need to know,” she pleaded. “If the enforcers did not kill Vander in response to Sheriff Greyson's death I need to know who killed her. You want to be free, don’t you?” 

There was a loud, disbelieving guffaw to her side. She didn’t look to Viktor but it didn’t stop him. “Funny how you didn’t care about her freedom until it became convenient to you.”

Three times was enough for Mel. She turned to him, finally. Giving him what he wanted. “Do we have a problem, Viktor?” she asked delicately.

“Of course not, Councilor,” he said–though his narrowed eyes and iron grasp on the head of his cane said otherwise.

“I think you do. I am trying to talk to her and you keep interrupting.” 

Another snort, this one almost a bitter, strangled laugh. “I would hate to inconvenience you while you try to manipulate a child.” 

“And I would hate for you to make a fool of yourself simply because you cannot accept that I want to help.” 

Viktor’s glare was immediate. He stood from his chair, pointing his cane at Mel. “People like you do not help. You never have. You never will.” 

“Viktor.” Jayce was out of his chair now. Mel sat coolly between the two of them. “Mel has been good to us. You don’t need to treat her like this.” 

Viktor’s ire turned on Jayce. “I am not treating anyone like anything less than they deserve to be treated,” he said heatedly. 

“She’s my friend.”

“ I am your friend,” Viktor argued.

“Please.”

It was like a switch had been flipped. This was what Mel relied on Jayce for in these interactions. She watched Viktor bristle and then subside at Jayce’s plea– turning on a dime from angry to sullen. He rubbed the bridge of his nose between his fingers. Then pointed his cane at Jinx.

“You don’t have to answer her if you don’t want to. She won’t give you back to the enforcers– no matter what she says.” 

“I am not planning to threaten her,” Mel said mildly. Viktor turned on her again but Jinx interrupted.

“I can take care of myself,” she said. She was glaring at Viktor. Mel tilted her head. She was stubborn, independent. She obviously trusted Viktor but had no desire to feel weak. Playing to her comfort might not have been the right play after all. Mel contemplated that while Viktor met Jinx’s gaze for a moment before nodding and stiffly turning.

“I am going to make some tea.” Which Mel interpreted as I don’t know what to do with myself so I am leaving– which was something he seemed to do quite often. “I will still be here,” he assured Jinx even under her hard gaze. It was a kind thing to say and the right one, she thought. Jinx may have not wanted his help, but she’d asked for his presence. He could excuse himself from the situation but not abandon her. From the kitchen he’d still be able to hear but hopefully Jayce and Jinx’s admonishment would keep him from cutting in again. Jayce was rocking on the balls of his feet watching Viktor go. He turned to Mel with an apologetic expression.

“Sorry about him Mel. He’s–” 

Mel waved him away. “It’s fine.” 

She couldn’t blame Viktor entirely for how he reacted to her. They both were aware of the power imbalance in their interactions. If Viktor responded with barely contained vitriol, well, at least he contained it. Mel couldn’t imagine she would enjoy his position much either– though she would also never allow herself the indignity of not having at least one bargaining chip. Viktor was willing to play to pity– though it clearly made him angry to do so– but Mel would not. She did, of course, respect it as a means to an end– the same way she respected his straight-forward nature. Respect was not the issue between them, despite what Viktor might think. So as long as Viktor wasn’t completely out of line she was willing to allow him to vent his frustrations with the situation at her expense. After all, allowing him grace would only further ingratiate her with Jayce– who surely understood both sides of the situation as well. It was just this time his expression had been undermining her and she couldn’t have that. Luckily it had mostly handled itself.

“If we could return to the matter at hand?” she prompted. “You were telling us who killed Vander.” 

Jinx snorted. “No I wasn’t.”

Mel shrugged lightly. “It was the last question I asked.” 

“Isn’t it enough that I didn’t do it?” she asked– a mixture of anger and frustration. “I’m innocent and he locked me up.” 

“No, unfortunately,” Mel replied honestly. “If it was just me you had to contend with, yes. But there’s an entire council to argue with and I need more than you simply saying you didn’t do it.” 

“Then what’s the point of the questions?” Jinx ran her fingers through her sidelocks hard, pulling and snagging little tangles up in her fists and not finching.  “You can’t lock the Sheriff up. You can’t clear my name. You can’t protect me. Nothing changes. Why should I bother?” 

Viktor had done his damage to the little rapport she’d felt like she was building. Mel considered. Gentle had not been the way to go. Another tactic. She’d been angry to be made out to be weak. She was frustrated and disillusioned. Freedom might not be as valuable to her– not with no one to return to. No. Freedom was a means to an end. 

“You want him to pay, yes?” Mel said. She watched as the idea made its way across the girl's face. Triumph mixed with anger and glee– all well disguised. All less than a fraction of a second but there in the way the girl nodded too emphatically. “Make them pay,” Mel said quickly and though the girl didn’t nod, she quickly repressed a smile that snarled at the edges, showing her canines. Mel leaned back in satisfaction. It was more than one person. It was about retaliation. She could understand. “Help me,” she said simply. 

Jinx seemed to think it over for less than a fraction of a second. Too impulsive by Mel’s standards but she at least gave it some thought. “Vander died in the coup. They were after him and his children. Sheriff Greyson was probably just in the way.” 

“Who does Sheriff Marcus work for?” 

The girl stiffened. “What do you mean?”

“Sheriff Marcus is colluding with someone in the Undercity. I want to know who.” 

“Ask him. I don’t know.” A clear and hollow lie. Even Jayce’s brows shot up at this one.

“I think you do,” Mel called her on it. 

“I don’t.” This was more convincing but it was too late for that. 

Why lie about this? What could she gain from protecting whoever had the Sheriff in their pocket. Clearly she held the Sheriff no good will. Why not feed him to the dogs?

“Who are you protecting?” She asked. Jinx flinched. She was on the right track. She tried again. “Why bother protecting the person who killed your family?” Another flinch and an angry look. So it was the person responsible for the coup. The Undercity was under new management and had the Sheriff of Piltover in hand. But why not say it? Why not answer? Unless.. “You aren’t protecting them. Are you sure all of Vander’s children died?” 

Jinx glared and she looked halfway between crouching so low she was out of sight and leaping across the coffee table at her. “Stop,” she said– voice shaky.

“Who do they have?” Mel asked. She didn’t stop– wouldn’t stop. The girl had proved herself to be stubborn and strong. A good player on all accounts, her expressions and hesitations were minute, but she was dealing with someone far more experienced in reading and baiting people than her. Mel was so close to seeing her. She was almost there. “And why were you important?” She pressed. “The Sheriff put himself in several bad situations to keep you alive. You’re his hostage. You’re–”

“Enough!” Jinx leapt from the couch and Mel didn’t flinch away from the girl as her foot slammed on the coffee table. She stood at her full height, fists clenched at her sides and a snarl on her face. “I’m not. I’m not his hostage. I got out!” She let out a laugh so strangled it was almost a sob. “ I was stronger and smarter than all of them ! I’m not weak .” She spat the last word like Mel had been the one to say it. 

Mel watched in admiration. There you are, she thought. She saw it again then, that fire. The rage but this time she understood it. It wasn’t righteousness or justice or sorrow– it was spite. She had escaped to spite her captors and to prove that she was better. She was protecting the person who had the sibling she loved not because she didn’t want them punished, but because she wanted to do it herself. This girl wasn’t a child looking to others for a helping hand– she was looking for her own means to an end. She’d been banished from her home– her family destroyed– and now she was out for her own revenge. 

Mel couldn’t help but think of herself. Of her own banishment and rage. Her own channeled spite that she wielded like a weapon with her tongue while she led an entire city with no violence except the passive, quiet kind that permeated the Undercity because of lack of action from above. But she was working on that. She was making things better. She was going to show her family the same way this little girl wanted to show her own captors. 

The girl stood shaking in front of her, fists still clenched and breathing heavy, glaring at Mel from her stance on the table. Jayce was out of his seat, looking torn between intervening and not touching her. Mel could see Viktor leaning against the wall in the dining room, with tea in hand. He made eye contact with Mel over the girl’s shoulder and lazily made his way to the coffee table. He tapped the girl's foot with his cane and she nearly jumped. 

“No feet on the coffee table,” he said, setting the pot down. He then made his way back to the kitchen and returned with four cups expertly juggled in his hand. He set them down and filled each in the ensuing silence. Nobody moved except him. He lifted a cup and offered it to Mel. It was the same as the one she’d used last time. She took it. 

The girl had given her plenty to think about and maybe even more leads to follow. All she needed now was an in with the Sheriff. She could see how far the corruption of the force went– track down the meeting places of him and his benefactor. Maybe she might even find Vander’s other child along the way and offer some assistance. If Jinx was being held to keep them in line, there was no doubt that dropping the information that she was free in the right ears might loosen their chains. Really, the girl had been more helpful than Mel had possibly imagined. She lifted the cup to her lips. 

“No further questions,” she said.

Chapter Text

Jayce was maybe a little tired of being told what to do. After Mel had left the girl had retreated to Viktor’s room looking extremely upset. Jayce had wanted to intervene then– she hadn’t even taken the bag of supplies he’d brought her– but Viktor had grabbed his wrist and shaken his head when Jayce started heading towards the door. 

“Give her time,” he’d said. So Jayce had heeded his words for all of two days. The girl had barely appeared during that time and whenever she did she was subdued and immediately retreated as soon as she had whatever food or drink it was that she’d emerged to retrieve. 

“She will come around on her own. Leave her alone,” Viktor told him again when he broached the subject of trying to coax her out after another visit from Dr. Ralar during which the girl had remained completely silent and confined to her room.

The problem was that Jayce was not very good at leaving things alone– even if he should. It wasn’t that he didn’t respect Viktor’s advice or think it was wise. It certainly was and Jayce was sure that Viktor’s background gave him better insight as to how to approach the girl and gain her trust– it had worked so far. She clearly favored him. But what the girl needed from Viktor and what she needed from Jayce might be two different things. Viktor was slow and steady– patient and understanding. Jayce was not most of those things and pretending that he was wouldn’t do any good. He was willing to admit he was impatient. He felt like he and Jinx had been making progress the day he’d helped her with the blue prints. She was as excited as he was– even if she’d been trying not to show it. It had surprised him how quick of a study she was and how little it took to guide her. He had seen flashes of her– the real her underneath all the suspicion and anger. It felt like a loss to have to let that go.

Jayce liked children. He had always liked children. It was why he was so quick to enlist Cait's help the moment she'd shown interest in his work when he'd first met her. Jinx reminded him of her a little bit. They were both stubborn and bright. Jinx may have taken more coaxing but once she had let herself go, she'd proved to be just as passionate and quick witted. He thought the two might get along well if he ever got the chance to introduce them– not that he was counting on that ever happening. It certainly wouldn't if Jinx never spoke to them again. 

He was sure Viktor was right on that front– she just needed time. Mel had obviously done some damage. Viktor had perhaps been right to try to run interference even if all he'd really done was wound the girl's pride and make her an easier target. Mel was quick to pounce on her once she was alone and Jayce could do nothing but watch while Jinx struggled to keep her secrets under the watchful eye of the councilor. Mel's attention was, as always, discerning and intense– even if she had ended up cracking a bit at the end Jayce was impressed with how tightly Jinx had held her own. The tentative revelations were interesting but Jayce did his best not to think too hard about them. It was clear the girl hadn’t wanted to share what she had and the information was not actionable to Jayce. It felt wrong to know it so he tried not to dwell. If she was going to share her secrets with him, he wanted her to want to do that– not be ousted in front of him by someone who she had no real chance against. It wasn't fair that her opponent was Mel Medarda. 

He felt bad about it. And it had also clearly upset Viktor too who was more waspish than usual– though frustration with work and a week or so of sleeping on the couch probably exacerbated it. Jayce could tell that even as comfortable as the couch was, Viktor was still sore and stiff in the mornings– which made him less than pleasant to be around despite his protests to the contrary.

Jayce planned to kill two birds with one stone today. It was Viktor’s day in the lab which meant he couldn't object– which he certainly would if he were there. But Jayce was also fairly sure that if it worked Viktor would be forced to keep his grumbling to a minimum. If it didn’t, well. Viktor would probably only be a little more sharp around the edges than he already was. 

Not only did Jayce like children, but he considered himself good with them. And no matter how guarded and sullen Jinx was, she was ultimately just a kid. He could reach her. All he had to do was draw her out–  which wouldn’t be so difficult considering the curiosity he’d already seen in her. She was inquisitive. Smart too. Jayce’s favorite kind of kid. 

When Viktor had left for the lab, Jayce took a small risk and ducked out of the apartment to go pick up what he’d bought the night before. Finagling the pieces through the door on his own was a little tricky but he managed to do so without dragging a dent into the wall so he called it a win. Dropping the metal pieces onto the ground, he shoved the coffee table towards a corner of Viktor’s living room and set his tool box beside it. He got to work. He lined up the metal sections, fitting the pieces together and then hammering the metal to pop the locks and joints into place. He didn’t want to do too much of this– he still needed to fit the pieces through one last door after all– but he did want to make a raucous– which he was being very successful at. The noise was staggering in Viktor’s small place– even with all the carpets to soak it up. Jayce was once again glad that the apartment was located in a sparsely populated section of the city. There were no neighbors to bother– only one little girl. And with all the noise, it didn’t take long for the door to Viktor’s room to crack open. 

Jinx’s wary, blue eyes alighted on Jayce from the open sliver of the doorway. Bags had formed under her eyes but she looked alright otherwise. Jacye decided that this was the bit that warranted patience. He kept his eyes on the task at hand, hammering the frame together. 

Eventually the girl emerged completely, dressed in some of her new clothes, making her way to the kitchen and returning with a sandwich cut into quarters on a plate. She then perched herself on the back of the couch and watched him. Neither of them said anything and Jayce continued to work the metal fixtures into place. 

“What are you doing?” she asked after a few minutes of watching him. Jayce let a smile slip onto his face but answered without looking. 

“Building something,” he said. He could feel the girl’s eyes narrow at his non answer and he kept his head down to hide the growing grin. 

“What is it?”

“Something for you,” he said. 

She made a noise of interest. When he said nothing to follow that up she pressed, “Are you going to tell me what it is?”

“No.” 

“Why?” This was more than she’d spoken in the last two days. 

“It’s a surprise.” He glanced to her. 

The frown that marred her face was as true a pout as he had ever seen. The complaint that followed was just on the edge of a whine. “I want to know what it is.”

He couldn’t ask for a better set up. “Want to help me build it and find out?” 

The girl looked conflicted. This was the deciding moment of his plan. If Jinx accepted, he’d have succeeded. But there was certainly a chance she’d turn back to the solitude of her room– in which case he would have to move quickly to erase the evidence of his failed attempt at reconciliation or else contend with Viktor’s considerable ire. 

The girl thought for a long moment, then shrugged with forced nonchalance. “Sure.” 

Jayce tried not to feel smug. He’d known she wouldn’t be able to resist that. She was too clever and eager to work. Mix that in with a little mystery and a reward for her at the end and he had her. Pride that it was him and not Viktor who had lured the girl out of her sulk flooded his chest. Time was for the patient. He had things to do.

“Okay, good,” he said. “I’m almost done with this section. The next part’s going to be the hard part.” 

The next part, as it turned out, was also the one that he thought Viktor might be the most miffed about. He led the girl to a door to the side of the kitchen. He opened it and let her through into Viktor’s study. 

The room was a little smaller than his bedroom and was decorated in much the same fashion as the rest of the house. The walls were lined with dusty book shelves and there was a rather lovely but old writing desk in the middle of the room. The books were also completely disorganized and were littered in piles off the shelves with notes and papers. Plenty had dust and were clearly projects long abandoned.  

Jinx wrinkled her nose. “What does this have to do with what you’re making?” 

“It’s going in here,” he said. “I need you to help me make room for it so that we can finish putting it together.”

Jinx gave him another wary look but did cross the threshold into the room. Jayce watched her do a slow spin, assessing each nook and cranny. Caitlyn at her age would have walked into the room like she owned it– never having the need for scrutiny or insecurity– but Jinx was always nervous– looking like she was about to bolt at any sudden sound or movement. Unless of course she wanted something or you suggested she might be nervous– then she was all teeth and false confidence. 

“This sounds boring,” she said. And Jacye blinked at her. 

“Yeah, a little bit,” he admitted. “But it won’t be so bad. I just need you to help me clear one of the bookshelves and then I can move it out. Then we can shove the desk under the window and move the frame in.” 

“What’s it a frame for?” the girl asked– zoning in on Jayce’s slip. 

He waved her off. “Help me get these books and you’ll find out.” 

Clearing the books took a little more time than he would have liked but Jayce didn’t exactly consider that a bad thing. Viktor’s collection was extensive and Jayce would have liked to borrow a few of the books for himself at some point, but currently he had a task. He did his utmost best to stay on it. The looming threat of Viktor’s return motivated him more than anything else. Jinx, on other hand, was easily distracted. By the end of the hour she was perched on the edge of Viktor’s desk, legs swinging in the air while she flipped through one of the many books Viktor had. Jayce had essentially cleared the shelf himself and then hauled it out to the living room while the girl amassed a reading list. 

So maybe she wasn’t helping but she was at least enjoying herself. Every once in a while she would toss Jayce a question or pull him over to look at something in a book. Jayce was happy to oblige and answer or give a quick comment. Jinx had pointed at one of the layout exercises and informed Jayce that the answer was wrong and that she could do it better. He somehow didn’t doubt it. 

“That’s not the point of that exercise though,” he’d said. 

Jinx had furrowed her brow. “What do you mean? I can do it better. There’s an easier way to do it.” 

“Sure,” Jayce said. “But that technique is useful for other, larger projects. The answer isn’t to do it better, but to learn the basic mechanic so that you can use it later.” 

Jinx looked down at the book, considering, then ear tabbed the page. Jayce winced. He would need to get her some sticky notes or bookmarks or something to keep her from damaging Viktor’s library. 

“Are we almost done?” Jinx asked. Jayce nodded and gestured her off the desk. She hopped down, moving her pile of books to the floor and then moved to lean her weight against the desk as if to push it. Jayce wanted to object but couldn’t find a way to do so in a way that wouldn’t hurt her pride and make her want to do it all by herself so instead he took up a position on the opposite end and the two of them dragged the desk into place under the window. 

Jayce made a note that the window was dusty and would need to be cleaned. Another task. But the frame could move in next. He figured the girl would quickly grow bored of the more mundane parts of this. If he didn’t want her to retreat to her room to read, he needed to keep her entertained. 

“Want to start moving those pieces in?” he asked. 

“Do I get to put them together?” Jinx fired off in return. 

Jayce nodded. “You even get to use the hammer.” 

The glee in Jinx’s face as she scrambled out of the room made him laugh. He began loading the other books that were haphazardly scattered about back onto the shelves. He left once to grab a couple of cloths and some cleaning agent so he could at least get the dust off the shelves and windows. By the time the girl had dragged all the pieces in (which were heavy and bulky. He was pleased by her tenacity.) he had gotten the room looking halfway decent– livable even. 

She didn’t need much direction with fitting the pieces into place. Jayce supervised, only ever checking the pieces to make sure that she had properly slotted them and finished the hammering job when he thought they might need a few extra swings. He didn’t need to often. She took to hammering with an enthusiasm that slightly concerned him but overall, she was doing a good job. He continued to slot books back into their places and collect wayward papers that he would sort to give back to Viktor in apology for messing up his study without permission. 

When Jinx was finished she stood in the middle of a metal rectangle with wheels on each end looking perplexed. 

“What is this?” she asked and Jayce moved to stand on the outside of it. He gestured for her to exit the metal and she obliged. He moved the finished frame to the section of wall they had cleared and then went to collect the finishing pieces. Jinx followed him but stopped before the threshold of the door that led to the porch. Jayce walked out, grabbed a bag from the porch and tossed it to her inside. She grabbed it out of the air, only fumbling a little bit in surprise. Then he pulled the mattress he’d leaned it against the wall of the front porch and began to drag it through the door frame. 

Understanding dawned on Jinx’s face. Then her eyes narrowed. 

“I was right,” she said. “It is boring.” 

Jayce laughed. 

“I get you a whole new bed and you think it’s boring?” 

“I already have a bed.” 

“No, you have Viktor’s bed. This is one for you. It’s yours for as long as you stay.” 

“Oh.” 

“The bag has sheets and other stuff. Oh, and the bag full of the supplies you asked for is still sitting in the kitchen. You can grab that too.” 

The girl didn’t move. Jayce hauled the mattress to Viktor’s study, laying it out on the assembled bed frame easily. Jinx trailed him silently watching from the doorframe. When he turned back to her she looked…solemn, almost confused. He waited for her. She looked around the room and at the bed and at the bag she was gripping to her chest with clenched, pale fists. 

“Is this mine?” she finally said.  

“Kind of,” Jayce said– unsure of how to answer. He wasn’t even sure what the question was directed at. “Anything I’ve brought for you is yours. You’re free to take it with you or do whatever with it when you leave. The room is…” He wanted to say it was hers. He hadn’t exactly asked Viktor– which might have made this a little easier. But Viktor would have railed against it at the implications of his own weakness despite the unsustainability of the situation. He didn’t think Viktor would mind, not when he saw the wary, hope gleaming in Jinx’s eyes. “I think you’ll need to ask Viktor to be sure but I know he won’t mind at least lending you the room while you’re here,” he finished.

Jinx was quiet. Jayce filled the silence for lack of better things to do.

“There’s some colored pencils and notebooks in the bag for you too. I remembered you had some pink chalk in your cell. I tried my best to match it. I cleared the desk for you so you should be able to use it now no problem.” 

Jinx looked overwhelmed by this so Jayce decided to let her acclimate and left her for a moment. He ducked into the kitchen and grabbed the bag full of supplies that he’d brought her. When he came back she was running a finger over the pink and blue sheets she’d pulled out the bag. 

“I can get different colors if you don’t like them,” he said. The girl shook her head. 

“They’re nice,” she said quietly. Jayce let her lapse back into silence while he unloaded the supplies on her desk. She might need more room for the things he’d brought her. He could probably clear another book shelf. When Viktor returned he’d offer to store what he’d displaced at his own apartment as an apology. 

“Why are you doing this?” Jinx blurted out from behind him. 

“Sorry?” he turned. She’d finished putting the sheets on. She was standing behind him, shoulders squared and chin raised defiantly. She looked like she was preparing for a fight. 

“Why are you being so nice to me?” she said. 

“Why wouldn’t I be?” he asked, genuinely perplexed. 

“You and Viktor are– I don’t want your pity,” she spat. “I don’t want your charity. I don’t need it.”

Jayce considered his words carefully. “I know,” he eventually settled on. “I’m not doing it because I pity you or I think you can’t take care of yourself. You got out on your own. You’re strong. You’re brave. You’re intelligent.” She subsided a little bit but kept her wary eyes trained on him– her arms crossed. “I’m nice,” he said, “because it is the right thing to do. Don’t you agree?” 

“No,” she said, sounding certain. “People don’t do nice things just because. They do it because they want something.” 

“What could I want from you?” Jayce asked. 

“I don’t know.” 

And Jayce realized she was scared. She was scared to take the things Jayce and Viktor were offering here because she thought they came with strings and she didn’t have anything to offer. Jayce thought of the things in her cell– the contraband that she shouldn’t have had and realized what they were. Bribes. Whoever had kept her there had wanted something from her, complacency maybe, and offered nothing without strings. He wondered if it went back even further than that. Had every kindness she’d experienced come with consequences? Had she ever just been allowed to be kind and have kindness given to her or was the Undercity too unforgiving for that?

If she had had it, would she even recognize it now? What could he say that would put her at ease? 

He supposed there was nothing. All he could do was show her and let her be suspicious. Maybe she would wear herself out. Maybe she wouldn’t. Maybe when she left she’d remember this as a time she couldn’t explain– a kindness without debts.

“I don’t want anything from you,” he said. “And maybe you think that’s naive of me but it’s true. This is yours for as long as you want it. Nothing you need to do. Except maybe make sure Viktor knows that you appreciate it so that he doesn’t yell at me too much.” 

Jinx looked confused. “Why would he yell at you?” 

“I kind of didn’t tell him we were going to do this. He’s not going to like that I touched his stuff without permission.”

“Then why did you do it?” 

“Because he needs his bed back and you need your own space.”

Jinx looked wary. “Is he going to be mad at me?” 

“Not a chance,” Jayce said without hesitation. “As long as it makes you happy he’s not going to care.” 

She seemed to consider that. “So what’s stopping me from pretending I didn’t enjoy it so that he’s mad at you?” 

Jayce blinked. “Kindness?” he tried, hesitantly. 

The girl let out a snort and then smirked. It was a better expression than the haunted, wary look from before but Jayce had a feeling it didn’t bode well for him. He could allow it though. Let the girl claw at whatever power she could to make herself comfortable. If it made Jayce look like a fool, well, occasionally he was one.

“A shame you moved me out of your room just to get kicked out by Viktor when I don’t protect you from him,” she said. 

Jayce choked. “Sorry?” he asked. What was she talking about?

The girl looked entirely too smug. “You got me a whole new bed and room so you and Viktor can move back into that one. There’s not enough room for you both on the couch.” 

Both on the couch? “I’m not following,” Jayce said though he thought he was starting to. 

“Come on. It’s obvious. You just wanted the room back so you could spend the night here again.” 

“Why do you think I spent the night here?” 

“The beds big enough for you both. You’re partners.” 

Partners. Oh. Oh no. “You’ve got it wrong,” he said

Jinx had her arms crossed again. “What does that mean?” 

“Viktor and I are not–. We don’t— we’re not living together,” Jayce sputtered.

“Why not? It seems like it would make things easier. 

“We’re lab partners. Not partners partners,” he said like the sentence made sense. 

“Liar,” she said. “Why are you lying to me?” 

“I– why would I lie about this?” 

“That’s what I’m saying!” 

“I’m not lying!” 

Jinx hummed and leveled him with an entirely disbelieving stare. He felt the blood rushing to his ears. 

“You can ask Viktor yourself when he gets back if you don’t believe me.” 

“I will.” 

Jayce was certain with that tone of voice that she would. He tried to put it aside– rubbing his temples between his fingers. “Help me clear another bookshelf so we can put more of your stuff in here?” he said as a peace offering. 

The girl looked like she wanted to continue to argue but nodded. The two went back to work in an uneasy truce– Jinx falling back to the books and occasionally glaring at him while Jayce did all the real work. But unease couldn’t hold back Jinx back for long. She recovered quickly, offering her own peace with questions about the material she was reading. Jayce answered readily and the easy feeling between them returned.

“Why are my bookshelves in the living room?” Viktor’s voice called out as Jayce heard the scraping of the front door as it swung inward. He tried to gauge how Viktor was feeling about that mess from the tone of his voice. It was difficult. Viktor always sounded acerbic even when he didn’t mean to. 

“Jayce!” Oh. The way he called his name was definitely at the very least annoyed. Jayce poked his head out of the study. 

“I’m sorry?” he offered without explanation. Viktor looked like he was about to say something nasty but Jinx poked her head around the door too– a book in hand. 

“Hi Viktor,” she said. Viktor immediately faltered looking between the two of them. 

“Hello, Jinx,” he said in a tone that spoke to confusion. Jayce grinned. All according to plan. 

“Jayce gave me your study because he thinks you’re grumpy,” Jinx said. Jayce blanched. He would have swatted at her with his hand if he trusted her not to try to jump him for it. 

Viktor’s face went through several expressions that Jayce watched closely. Annoyed? Most definitely. Indignant? Also there. Long suffering? Always. But they subsided to a neutral expression which Jayce thought was a good sign. 

“Do you like it?” Viktor asked Jinx. She tilted her head considering. Jayce felt the conversation they’d had before echo in his mind. She wasn’t going to betray him like this, was she? After all they’d been through? He glanced back to her. When he met her eye she smirked– a mean look coming over her before she turned back to Viktor and nodded. Jayce did not sigh in relief but he did stop sweating. He felt a small wave of fondness. Vindictive and a little mean but still oddly charming. Viktor gave his own short nod in return. 

“Then it’s fine,” he said. Jayce mentally cheered. Viktor’s eyes, no longer stormy, turned on him. 

“I wouldn’t have thought you’d be able to get her out of the room without her biting you,” Viktor said. 

Jayce laughed. “You wouldn’t bite me, would you?” he said and risked an affectionate ruffle to Jinx’s head. She ducked away looking murderous and snapped her teeth at him. Jayce wanted to laugh at her but was afraid she might take it as a challenge. Instead he just grinned. 

She glared at him, sulking, and then whirled to Viktor– a malicious look in her eye. 

"Did you know your partner tells people he isn't your partner?"

Viktor blinked. "Sorry?" 

Jayce groaned, all fondness disappearing. She was a little shit. "She thinks we're dating."

Viktor blinked and looked between them. Then he barked out a laugh that just kept going. Jayce felt like maybe that was a little much. The idea wasn’t that ridiculous. 

"It's not that funny,” he said– trying not to sound miffed.

"Sorry," Viktor said in a tone which meant he wasn't sorry at all. Jayce tried and failed not to be offended.

"Why is the idea of dating me so funny?"  Jayce knew that he occasionally could be arrogant, but he didn’t think he was wrong in his assessment of himself. He was intelligent, attractive, and overall considered himself a good person. There wasn’t anything to laugh about in regards to his eligibility as a partner. 

Viktor tilted his head.  "Why are you upset about this?" 

Jayce blanked. It didn’t matter. Not really. They weren’t together and never would be. He hadn’t even considered the possibility– especially with the chances that it would mess things up on a professional level. The two of them worked well together and Jayce would be a fool to risk something like that. Not that he wanted to because his sore spot wasn’t anything more than a little bit of hurt pride. He crossed his arms. 

Viktor laughed at him again which didn’t help. He gave Jayce the most disingenuous sympathetic look he’d ever seen. "Poor Jayce Talis,” he said. “Today Piltover's Golden Boy finds out that not everyone is enamored with him on sight." 

Jayce rose to the bait before he could stop himself. "That's not! Viktor–" 

"Yes?" Viktor asked, looking deeply amused.

Jayce realized there was no graceful way out of this. Viktor was baiting him to make a fool of himself. So instead he took a breath and decided to do what he did what he did best. He played into it. 

"So rippling muscles aren't your type?" 

Viktor looked momentarily disappointed but then let out another snicker. "I prefer brains over brawn myself."

"I'm one of the smartest men in Piltover,” Jayce pointed out. The smartest aside from maybe Viktor but he thought he’d at least have a little humility.

"And so modest about it too,” Viktor said drily. "Luckily for you despite your terrible looks I do quite enjoy your brain so I suppose I'll at least stick around for that." 

"Thank you so much,” Jayce said with as little enthusiasm as he could muster. Viktor was grinning again. 

Jinx let out a sigh. Jayce almost jumped. He’d nearly forgotten she was there. She looked all together unimpressed. "Was all that supposed to convince me you aren't dating? Cause it didn't." 

Viktor laughed again and this time Jayce let it roll off his shoulders. 

“Yes I suppose I can see where that might have been confusing,” Viktor said. "Rest assured, we are not romantically involved.” 

Jinx didn’t look like she believed that but Viktor didn’t seem concerned with convincing her at all. Instead, he turned back to the bookshelf and assorted books piled in his living room where his coffee table used to be. “Back to the matter at hand, where are you planning to store my library now that you’ve displaced it?” 

Chapter Text

“We aren’t getting anything done,” Jayce said. 

Things had gotten better over the last couple days. Jinx seemed to be adjusting to her room well and Viktor was in a better temper than he had been before. Now that things had settled down and he had time to think though he found himself restless. Jinx’s arrival and the events that followed had been a welcome distraction from his and Viktor’s work but now that things were almost quiet, Jayce felt the itch to get back to the lab. Or more accurately, he wanted them both back in the lab– preferably at the same time. Jayce felt Viktor’s absence keenly when he wasn’t there. All they could do separately was collect data and run it through useless equations that the two of them spun over and over again till they spat it out a tangled garbled mess with no progress. It was frustrating.

Jayce would have welcomed another distraction but Jinx was being cagey around her project. She kept shooing him away from the design she was working on despite his offers to look it over with her and make sure she was on the right track. Without that to preoccupy him, he found himself growing frustrated. 

“It is difficult like this,” Viktor conceded. 

Jayce blinked at the response. He’d almost forgotten he’d said anything. “We need to get back to the lab,” Jayce ventured– feeling Viktor out. He was expecting an objection. 

Instead Viktor nodded. “Jinx is much better,” he said. “I do not see a problem with returning to the lab.”

“Really?” 

“Yes.” Viktor said. “Is that a surprise?” 

“Kind of,” Jayce admitted. “But a welcome one. Tomorrow morning then?” 

Viktor nodded and went back to writing in the notebook he was scribbling in. Jayce smiled. 

Jayce’s morning at the lab started earlier than Viktor’s and he looked out at the progress he had made. 

He’d cleared two work tables. He figured Jinx would likely either bring along her work or at least a book. He made sure she’d have ample space and tools if she decided to bring along whatever her little project was. He’d also made sure there wasn’t anything too dangerous out and about. The inner lab was where he and Viktor would be working and where the real danger lay. Hopefully she wouldn’t be able to get into too much trouble at the work benches. 

It would be a good spot for her. Jayce thought she would enjoy it. He heard the door open and turned to find Viktor wrapped in a long coat (it had been a bit chilly this morning). The door pulled closed and Jayce’s brow furrowed. There was no sign of a small figure trailing behind him. 

“Morning,” Jayce said, peering around in case he had missed her slip in. She was small and quiet. Maybe she had come in first and he hadn’t noticed. 

“Morning,” Viktor greeted him– hanging his coat on the hooks near the door.

“Where’s Jinx?” 

Viktor slowed hanging his jacket. He turned to look at Jayce– a brow raised. “At my home?” 

They stared at each other and Jayce felt like there might have been a miscommunication somewhere. “Are you going back to get her?” he asked.

“Why would I do that?” 

Instead of answering, Jayce asked another question. “You’re leaving her at home alone?”

“She is well,” Viktor said– a warning tap of his cane on the ground at Jayce’s implication. “She’s old enough to be left by herself. I was on my own at a much younger age.” 

Jayce sputtered. “I– that’s– Viktor!”

“What?”

“She’s a kid.” He should ask her how old she was at some point. At most 12 or 13 he thought. 

Viktor’s brow furrowed. “A preteen I think.” 

“That’s not normal.” 

“Being a preteen is difficult,” Viktor replied ever the pendant– returning to hanging his coat up and then walking towards the inner lab.

“That’s not what I meant and you know it.” 

“Then say what you mean.” 

Jayce sighed– following. “Bring her to the lab.” 

“I fail to see how bringing a child to the lab where she will be unsupervised and around our very dangerous technology is any better than leaving her at home.” 

“Viktor.” Jayce’s tone was both a warning and a reprimand. 

“There is work to be done.” Viktor said– opening the door to the inner lab. “I will offer it to her tomorrow. Walking there and back and then back home again will not be happening today.” He tapped his cane against his leg and Jayce tried to determine if it was genuine pain or the kind that mysteriously arose on days he didn’t want to go to sponsor meetings. 

“I could go get her,” Jayce offered. It didn’t matter in the end if Viktor’s pain was real or a phantom. It might become real if he spent too much time on his feet and Jayce was more than willing to go retrieve her. 

Viktor paused. Then said, “You were the one who wanted to come to the lab. If she is here distracting you, will you even get any work done?” 

Jayce rolled his eyes. “She’s just going to sit in the showroom area. She won’t be a distraction. It will just keep her close in case she needs us.” 

“If you wish, then. I am going to work.” 

Jayce beamed. “Great. Be back in a bit then.” 

And so began Jinx’s days at the lab. 

Jayce had offered her a hat that she used to tuck her braid into and then wrapped her in a coat big enough to obscure most of her features. The enforcers hadn’t been a problem so far but Jayce figured better safe than sorry. The blue puffy jacket and purple hat became a staple for her travel to the lab– which she did about as often as they did– so everyday. 

She seemed tentative at first– wary of a new place– especially after traveling in the daylight. The first day she tucked herself into the farthest desk and a couple of times when Jayce had emerged from the inner lab he saw her duck beneath–ready to tuck herself away into hiding if need be. He made it a point not to comment on it. On the second day she was better. By the third she was whining. 

“Why can’t I go in there?” Jinx asked– peering around Jayce’s frame through the open door of the inner lab when he came out to retrieve lunch. Jayce smiled. 

“It could be dangerous,” he said, nudging the door closed with his foot. Jinx narrowed her eyes. 

“I’m okay with danger.” 

“I’m not,” Jayce said. Viktor was still in the depths of another data collection. Not dangerous in a general sense but could become so if someone who didn’t know the proper safety procedures was around.

“I want to see,” Jinx said petulantly. Jayce made a note to remember to lock the door from the inside whenever they weren’t paying attention. Jinx was smart and he didn’t trust her not to slip in while the two of them were working. It might be worth showing her the inner lab just so the mystery of it was gone. She might be less inclined to sneak in then and she’d leave Viktor and himself to work in peace. 

“Tell you what,” he said. Jinx perked up– blue eyes looking up at him hopefully. “Finish your project and I’ll show you ours.” 

Jinx’s eyes widened. “Really?” she asked. 

“Promise,” he said.

“Will you explain it?”

“In layman's terms,” Jayce said. “To the best of my ability.” 

Jinx seemed to consider for a moment, head cocked to the side. Then she darted back to the desk she had her tools laid out at and started to mutter to herself. Jayce grinned again, a wave of fondness for the girl over taking him. That would probably give Viktor and himself a few more days. 

It did not.

“This is not what you were building,” Jayce said, amused and annoyed at the trinket that Jinx had tossed at him the second he and Viktor had opened the door to leave for the day. He spun the cube in his hand and examined it.

“How do you know that?” Jinx asked, arms crossed and standing on top of one of the work tables. 

“It doesn’t have any of what we worked on together in it,” Jayce said. 

Jinx huffed but there was a challenge in her eyes. 

“Maybe I changed my mind. Maybe those were multiple projects.” 

Jayce turned it over– considering– then tossed it back to her. She fumbled with it in the air but managed to catch it. 

“Try again,” he said. 

So she did. Practically every time Jayce left the lab Jinx tossed him something new. Sometimes it was just a shell. Sometimes it had wiring. More often then not it wasn’t anything that worked. She also seemed to like to toss them from weird places. She climbed shelves, squeezed between beams and benches– at one point she had even managed to make her up the rafters (Neither Viktor nor Jayce had liked that or had any idea how she’d gotten up there to begin with). Sometimes the only warning Jayce had before something was lobbed at him was a slight snicker and more frequently there was no warning at all. It was kind of like a game he decided. Jinx enjoyed seeing if she could find something more simple than what she was working on to fool him with and she had fun surprising him. If anything he at least appreciated her dedication even if emerging from the inner lab to a seemingly abandoned foyer with the quiet cackles of a child ringing through it did unnerve him. However she seemed to be having some sort of fun and it did allow him to get a closer look at her work. It was… inspired. There was certainly knowledge and skill, but the technique and aesthetics were crude. Still– if she could eventually get her prototypes to work they could talk about design later. 

“It would probably take less time if you just worked on the project you actually intended to do,” Jayce mused a few days later when Jinx launched another empty cylinder at him from the rafters. This one actually was quite impressive. The visible wiring was certainly akin to what they’d already talked about even though it wasn’t exact. If he hadn’t been aware of the game they were playing he might have believed it an actual viable prototype. 

“I’m working on it,” Jinx grumbled and Jayce waited till she’d hopped down from the beams, to the shelves, to the floor before he tossed it back to her. She caught it this time without fumbling. She was used to tossing it back and forth now. 

“Is there a problem?” Jayce asked, closing the door to the inner lab behind him and locking it with his key. 

“You won’t let me into the lab is the problem.” 

“Is there a problem with your project,” Jayce clarified. “Do you need more supplies? Any questions?” 

Jinx was silent for a moment then started scribbling something down on a piece of paper. “Can you get this stuff for me?” She passed him the paper and Jayce did a quick once over. He raised a brow. 

“You want chemicals?” he asked. Those hadn’t been on the supplies list before. Jinx nodded. 

“I had an idea,” she said by way of explanation. “An improvement to the original design. I don’t know if it’ll work. The books I’ve been reading say I’m right but…” she shrugged looking a little self conscious before she squared her shoulders and glared. Always on the defense this one. Jayce looked over the chemicals again.

Viktor had come up behind him staying quiet through their conversation but watching with careful eyes. Jayce passed him the list– tilting his head. Viktor picked up on the question Jayce was asking and began to read it for himself. 

“Seems mostly harmless,” Viktor confirmed. “Nothing I can see that would be cause for extreme concern even in the case of an accident.” 

“What do you think it’s for?” Jayce asked. Jinx made an angry noise. 

“Cheater!” she said, pointing a finger and then scrambling to pull the list from Viktor’s hands. “It’s a secret!” she said. Viktor quickly passed the note back to Jayce and Jinx redirected her ire towards him. She glared up at him and he offered the note back to her before she could do something like kick him in the shins. She snatched it from his fingers looking murderous. 

“I’m going to need that if you want me to get that stuff for you,” he said. Jinx sniffed and turned on her heel. 

“I don’t trust you,” she said. “Or Viktor.”

“So you don’t want them?” Jayce asked. Viktor began to walk towards the coat rack, cane tapping against the ground as he did so.

Jinx hesitated then said, “I’ll find someone else.” She glared at him. 

“We are literally the only people you know,” Jayce argued.

“I’ll ask Dr. Ralar.” 

“I’ll just ask her for it back.” 

Jinx glowered up at him. Jayce grinned. Jinx reared back to kick him in the shin with her boot but Jayce was ready for it and hopped back out of range. Jinx looked like she might give chase him and Jayce prepared to run before–

“Children,” Viktor interrupted. “If you could at least avoid physical squabbles in the lab.” He had his coat pulled on and was looking at the two of them with an expression of disgruntled exasperation that Jayce had seen on his own mother’s face many times during his childhood– also his adulthood but at least those were less frequent. 

Jinx subsided at his words though she still looked petulant. Jayce frowned. He didn't think Viktor had room to judge him. It wasn't below his notice that the flying canisters were always aimed at himself and never the other man. If Viktor walked out of the inner lab on his own Jayce would hear Jinx chirp a greeting at him and pleasant conversation. He didn't have to deal with the constant assaults of their game. Jayce folded his arms trying not to look as sulky as Jinx.

To his surprise she folded her arms too which probably made them look like a properly chastened pair of children. Jinx seemed to brood for a moment before she turned to Jayce and said, “I’ll ask Councilor Medarda and tell her not to tell you anything. She wants to be on my good side.” The tone was smug. Jayce felt himself rise to it.  

“You won’t,” he said without thinking. Jinx glared at him and Jayce felt Viktor’s reproachful stare on his back as well. He shrugged it off. It wasn’t his fault Jinx had a chip on her shoulder. She didn’t have anything to prove to the two of them but if she was going to take everything he said as a dare he couldn’t stop her. 

Jinx turned from him.  “Viktor, how do I find Councilor Medarda?”

Viktor let out a deeply put upon sigh. Jayce would probably be hearing about this tomorrow in the privacy of the inner lab where Jinx wouldn’t hear and take offense. 

“Chances are she’ll show up at my doorstep again at some point this week,” Viktor said.

“You think so?” Jayce asked, surprised.

“I don’t feel like she was done,” Viktor said regretfully. 

“Seemed pretty definitive to me.” 

“Yes. Well– you are who you are.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Viktor looked like he was about to say something mean but Jinx interrupted them. She had wandered away during their exchange to collect her things at one of the work tables. 

“If you let me in the lab I’ll tell you what I’m making,” she called– shoving some of her things into the large bag that Jayce had bought her so that she could transport her tools and creations more easily. 

“We already have a deal,” Jayce reminded her. 

“It's taking too long,” Jinx said. “It’s been like 2 weeks since I woke up. I want to know now.” 

Jayce realized with surprise that it had been almost two weeks that she’d been with them. But– assuming she stayed with Viktor for her full recovery period– she’d be here likely another two weeks before she was cleared by Dr. Ralar. He’d only offered her lab access a few days ago. She could wait a little longer. They had a deal. 

“You don’t need to know.” 

“Yes I do!”

“Jinx,” he said– trying to reason with her and knowing it wouldn’t work. “You are just a kid. I can’t just let you back there yet. It’s dangerous.”

“I’m not a kid! I’m– I’m–” Jinx faltered.

“You’re what?”

“I don’t know! I don’t know how long I was in prison for,” Jinx snapped. 

That shut Jayce up and made him feel bad. Had they never told her how much time had passed since her arrest? How had it not come up?

“A year and a half,” Viktor said from across the room. It was so matter of fact. Jayce didn’t think he would have been able to say it in a way that didn’t make his own anger on the matter clear.

“I want in ,” she said, shifting from angry to kicked puppy in seconds. “Please Jayce? I lost– I lost so much time in there not knowing anything. I just want to know.” Her eyes were wide and pleading and Jayce tried very hard to remind himself that Jinx was a street urchin who was likely trying to play to his sympathy after reminding him she’d been locked up to get what she wanted. He stayed firm. 

“Then finish your project,” Jayce said. “And give me that list.” 

Jinx’s act dropped in seconds and she managed to land a kick to his shin that left Jayce swearing. She did not give him the list.

“I don’t know what half of these are,” Mel said– handing him the crumpled piece of paper. 

Elora had flagged Jayce down when he’d left to get lunch for himself, Viktor, and Jinx. How she had known what restaurant he was picking his order up at Jayce would never know and preferred to keep it that way. He took the proffered paper from Mel and recognized Jinx’s blue pen scribbles. 

“How did you get this?” he asked. They’d had their argument the night before last. The kid worked fast.

“Dr. Ralar said she asked to see me. I happened to have a spare moment so I stopped by last night.” 

“That’s a surprise.” He wasn’t sure what surprised him more– that Mel had been able to see her so quickly or the fact that Jinx was willing to speak to her again at all.

“I can’t say that I was expecting it,” Mel said, voice thoughtful. The fact that she was willing to admit it surprised her was a win in Jayce’s book. 

“She trusted you with this. Why give it to me?” 

Mel cocked her head. “I know where to pick my battles. These names mean nothing to me. You are an expert. Bring me the supplies and I will deliver them to her.” 

“I could just take them home,” Jayce offered. It seemed silly to make this so roundabout.

“Then she will know I gave you the list,” Mel said. “It is my duty. If you do not wish to help me discreetly I will find someone else.” The warning was clear in her tone. 

Jayce smiled. “No. It’s fine. I will.” He held out an arm. “Come with me?” he asked.

“I am a busy woman, Jayce.” 

“It won’t take long.” 

“Somehow I doubt that,” she said but laced her arm in his anyways with a sigh. “You are in luck. I have an hour.” 

“Good. That’s about the lunch break I was planning to take before you interrupted me.” 

The two walked arm and arm as Jayce led her away– Jinx’s shopping list in hand.

“It just doesn’t make sense! What are we missing?” Jayce said in frustration, running a hand through his hair and tugging. He really had thought being back in the lab after a small break would make a difference. Unfortunately they were still just as stuck as they had ever been. He threw open the door to the workshop area with what was probably more force than necessary.

“We just need patience,” Viktor said for probably the hundredth time. “More data. More understanding. The groundwork is good. What we are missing will eventually become clear.” 

Jayce began to stomp out of the room. “I’m tired of patience! Patience isn’t working! We need to–” Jayce cut off as he caught a flash of movement out of the corner of his eyes and his hand came up to keep a metal cylinder from colliding with his face. His annoyance got the better of him. “Not the time, Jinx!” he said, sharper than he intended. 

“Jayce!” Viktor hissed and Jayce heard the rustle of fabric somewhere in the room and then silence. He looked up and out in the direction the projectile had been hurtled from. He didn’t see her. He ran his hand through his hair again and let out a deep sigh. 

“Sorry,” he called out into the room, pushing through the door frame. “I didn’t mean to snap at you.” 

There was no reply beyond the clipped sound of Viktor’s cane hitting the floor as he followed him out of the inner lab. How he managed to make it sound judgmental Jayce would never know. When Jinx still didn’t appear Jayce began to spin the the cylinder in his hands. It was beginning to look like the empty husks of the containers he’d seen in her prison cell– if not a little more refined. The wiring was looking solid and he was starting to see where the design was going. Some kind of canister that had a delayed function based on when a button was pressed on it’s side and a pin pulled. He had the sneaking suspicion that it was some sort of grenade but Jinx had said it wasn’t dangerous so he let it go for now. Both he and Viktor had gone over the supplies again before they had allowed Mel to deliver them. There wasn’t anything dangerous that could be made with just the objects she had. He had to trust that she wasn’t lying and didn’t have something else up her sleeve. 

“This is good work,” Jayce admitted to the air, loudly enough that he knew she’d hear. “Is it almost done?” 

There was silence then the rustling of fabric again as Jinx slowly rose from behind one of the desks. “Yeah,” she said shortly. Jayce felt bad. He hadn’t meant to scare her and he hadn’t seen hesitance like this in her movements for some time now. Jayce extended his hand, slow. He didn’t toss it back to her in case it spooked her. There was a moment of silence before she approached and took it back from him– accepting the peace offering. She still eyed them both warily. “What’s with you two?” 

“Issues with our project,” Jayce said and saw Viktor come around him nodding. 

All three were silent for a time before Jinx ventured, “Tell me about it?” 

Jayce felt another spike of annoyance but repressed it. He wasn’t mad at her. He was mad at himself and his work. This was just part of the game the two of them were playing and he didn’t want to discourage her. He'd already snapped at her. That was more than enough.  “We had a deal–” he began.

“I’m almost done,” Jinx protested. It wasn’t quite a whine. She still looked tense but Jayce could see the confidence coming back. “You can just tell me this,” she reasoned. 

“I don’t–” 

“We can run through it again,” Viktor said. Jayce turned to him. He was approaching one of the white boards with a thoughtful expression. “Write it out on the boards one last time. Maybe we will see something by explaining it.” 

Jayce hesitated. 

“We talk through things all the time, Jayce. It’s worked before. And we have a very interested audience.” 

“Okay,” Jayce said. “Okay. But you still don’t get into the lab till you finish your project. You get an explanation just this once until then.” Jinx nodded vigorously and Jayce walked to the chalkboard to help Viktor finish erasing the remnants of half-thoughts and scrapped equations. 

Viktor was right. Jinx was an attentive audience. She listened to the two of them explain the very basics of the hexcrystals and what they had discovered. The standard properties and what they were trying to achieve. The singing. The almost magical magnetic draws to each other. The resonance. The magnetic readings. Everything. Every once in a while she would ask a question but not many. Jayce was under the impression that she was worried that if she brought too much attention to herself the two of them would remember that she wasn’t supposed to be privy to some of this information and would stop. He couldn’t blame her for that. It was probably true. 

“Have you tried just telling it where to go?” Jinx asked while Jayce was in the middle of explaining the arcane symbols meant to focus the energy into movement. He came up short. 

“What do you mean?” he asked. 

“Well, I mean– it's magic right?” she said. Viktor had turned to face her too– considering. “It's all about feeling and things just happening or whatever.” She waved a hand in the air like she might be able to just blow away the very long equations they’d been writing on the boards for the last hour or so. “I’m just saying,” she continued awkwardly, “The mage probably didn’t know things like coordinates or magnetisms and they didn’t have two crystals synching or whatever. So maybe its just like, you want to go there, you make the symbols with a place in mind, and boom. You move.” 

“I–” Jayce was at a loss. He looked at Viktor. There was something positively manic in the other man’s eyes. 

“It’s children’s logic,” Viktor said. He grabbed the eraser and swiped through the board of their equations. “Of course the mage wouldn’t know something like magentisms or resonance. They are channels of the arcane.” Viktor was practically vibrating with excitement and Jayce couldn’t help but be infected by it. “We’ve been too focused on the math,” Viktor said in a rare admission of the short comings of numbers. “It’s too technical. If Jinx’s theory is right, this is less about calculations and more about intent.” 

“Then why did the other spells work?” Jayce said, leaning into the theory. “We were able to float.” 

“You knew what it was supposed to do,” Viktor said. “Not only that but negating the effects of gravity are not as complex as movement from one place to another. It’s why we were having so much trouble in the first place. There were more factors, more safety hazards involved. We wanted to work it out before moving forward with a practical experiment. Maybe we need the results and data from those results instead of theory.” 

“How do we test it?” Jayce asked excitedly. 

“Use the resonance machine,” Viktor replied. “We enter the symbols via that mechanism to form the spell with a destination in mind.” 

Jayce breathed out. “This is madness, you understand?” 

Viktor grinned. “Of course.” 

“I’m going to try it.” Jayce moved towards the door to the inner lab again– head buzzing with possibilities. If this worked . If this was about visualization– maybe just across the room? Use the resonance machine for input and be looking at where he wanted to be. Maybe there would be something to be discovered in the readings after. Would he need another crystal? Should he hold one just in case? They hadn’t determined how much power might be needed for a trip like this. Maybe holding a crystal was better safe than sorry–

“Is it safe?”

Jayce paused. Jinx. He’d nearly forgotten about her. He started walking again when he heard Viktor reply, “Probably not.” and snorted. 

Jinx spoke again from behind him. “Aren’t you going to stop him?”

“Your theory is a good one,” Viktor said– praise evident in his voice. “We were too focused on the science of it. This is the arcane. It is about intent.” 

Jayce fumbled with the key to the door in his excitement. 

“What if it goes wrong?” Jinx asked quietly. Jayce opened the door.

“There is no one with as much intent as Jayce,” he heard Viktor reply. 

There was a warmth in his chest in the face of Viktor’s faith. “Innovation always requires risk,” he called back over his shoulder, about to head in.

“No!” Jinx yelled at the same time as something hit him in the back– Hard. Jayce let out a yelp and turned around as the metal casing Jinx had been working on fell to the ground. 

“No!” she said again, scrambling to stand on top of one of the work tables, shoulders shaking and arm still loosed in her throwing position. Viktor and Jayce both froze. 

Her fists were clenched to her sides and Jayce could see the rise and fall of her shoulders with her erratic breathing. It was her facial expression that struck him though– anger and determination with a writhing panic just beneath. Her eyes shone with a manic, desperate light.  He made eye contact with Viktor from where he stood across the room from him. Viktor gave a subtle shrug but Jinx caught the movement. She whirled to Jayce and pointed. “You can’t!” she said. “You can’t you can’t you can’t–” 

“Jinx–” Jayce started, hands raised in a placating gesture.

“You can’t die because of me!” She cried, head falling into her hands. Jayce was bewildered. 

“I’m not going to die–” 

“Shut up!” she exclaimed and Jayce thought at first it was directed at him but she wasn’t looking at him. She was looking off to the side as if focused on something he couldn’t see. He looked to Viktor again who was glancing at where Jinx was focused with growing apprehension. Jinx shook her head violently and Jayce continued his slow steps back towards the table where she was standing. 

“It’s okay,” he said, softly– trying to calm the girl down from, well, whatever this was. “I’m going to be fine.” 

Jinx shook her head so violently some of the hair in her braid came loose– lending her a wild look. “You don’t understand!” she said. 

“Then explain it to us,” Viktor said. Jayce noticed him approaching with the same careful steps Jayce was. “Tell us what is wrong,” he said. 

There was an almost sob almost whine from Jinx– standing on her table shaking and wild. Jayce was within reach. He extended a hand up to her. 

“It’s okay,” he said again even if he didn’t know what was wrong. “We’re here.” He left his hand in the air, hanging, letting Jinx make whatever move she wanted. Another wrenching noise from her and he had a face pressed into his shoulder and arms around his neck. Jayce let out a grunt at the sudden weight but brought his hands up to hoist her. “Okay, he said. “Okay, this is fine.” He sent Viktor a bewildered glance. Viktor quickened his pace. 

“Nothing ever works,” Jinx said, face pressed into his shoulder. “And everyone always– everyone– They all–” She cut off. Jinx pressed into his shoulder harder and he felt her nails dig into his back. “You can’t leave,” she whispered. “It can’t be my fault.” 

“Nothing is your fault,” Jayce said automatically. “And I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere.”

“You can’t try it,” Jinx said, a sudden vehemence in her voice. Her grip tightened even more. “You can’t.” 

“I won’t,” Jayce said. 

“Promise.” 

“Promise,” Jayce said looking at Viktor who had made it over. Viktor laid a hand on Jinx’s back and she relaxed into his shoulder again, fingers loosening. 

“I think you should get her home,” Viktor said, softly. Jayce was nodding before his brain caught up with his body.

“Just me?” he questioned.

Viktor nodded. “I would slow you down.” He tapped his leg with his cane. “I think it would be beneficial to move quickly.” 

Jayce hesitated then nodded his ascent. “Alright then. Let's get you home.” 

About halfway through the journey to Viktor’s apartment Jinx started walking on her own. She still clung to him, pressed into his side and wrapped in the blue coat Jayce had gotten for her, but she was at least walking. She was quiet on the way back and when they opened the door she remained stitched to his side while he took her to her room. She seemed more calm now but still upset. 

“Hungry?” he asked because he didn’t know what else to say. Jinx shook her head and just kept clinging to him. He sighed internally. “Well I am,” he said. “I’m going to get us both something.” He managed to get her to let him go and when he returned with a plate of sandwiches to share she had sat down on her bed and wrapped her covers around her with only her head peaking out. When he put the sandwiches down beside her she took one. The silence continued and Jayce let it. Eventually though, he stood. Jinx started.

“Where are you going?” she asked. 

“Viktor isn’t back yet,” Jayce replied. “I’m just gonna go get him. It’s dark.” 

Jinx glared suspiciously. 

“You made a promise,” she said. 

“I know,” he said.

“Fine.” Jinx pulled the blankets tighter around her head. 

Jayce risked a light pat to where her head was under the blankets and knew that Jinx must really be feeling bad when she didn’t snap her teeth at the offending gesture. 

“Be right back,” he said and headed out the door to the living room. 

“Viktor,” he called into the darkness of the lab. The workshop area was dimly lit but he could see light peaking under the door of the inner lab. Jayce sighed and approached the door with trepidation. He had the feeling that this wasn’t going to be good. 

He opened the door and found Viktor fiddling with the resonance machine and muttering to himself, hair wild and goggles over his eyes to shield them from the bright blue light of the hexcrystals. When Jayce opened the door he looked up.

“You’re back.” 

“And you’re still here,” Jayce said, closing the door behind him.

“Yes.” 

“I thought you said you’d be following.”

“I said you should take Jinx home and that I would slow you down if I joined you,” Viktor corrected him, looking back down at the mechanism. He hit the dial and the rings fired up and began to spin. 

“I assumed that meant you’d be along later,” Jayce said, watching the crystal rise in its place at the center. He couldn’t say he wasn’t tempted. It would be easy to try. He felt the tips of his fingers tingle.

“Your assumptions are on you,” Viktor said. The dial cranked more and light began to flash from the crystal. Jayce walked towards it.

“It could be dangerous,” Jayce said in what he knew was the least convincing argument of all time. The light of the crystal bathed Viktor in blue and Jayce was suddenly back to the night they’d met. The elation and beauty of a dream realized and the man who’d made it possible floating beside him. 

Viktor didn’t even bother to respond to him. He only gave him a withering look. 

“Jinx will be angry if we get hurt. We promised,” Jayce tried again. He walked up to the other side of the resonance machine, watching Viktor through it’s near invisible rotating circles. It was really more about convincing himself than anything else. He’d made the promise without thinking. It was infuriating to have a possible solution to their problem sitting in front of him and be unable to act on it. He skimmed his fingers along the bottom of the resonance machine longingly. 

Viktor barked out a laugh, pulling the goggles from his face. “If I remember right,” he said. “You promised. I made no such claims.” The grin that split his face was wide and crooked and sent Jayce’s heart straight to his throat because– he realized the split second before it happened– Jinx’s worries suddenly felt a lot more relevant when it was Viktor taking the risk and not Jayce. 

He swore. They both moved at the same time but Viktor was there, rune dial in hand and Jayce was precious seconds away from being able to reach him. “Wait! Viktor–” 

There was a flash of blue light so bright and familiar that Jayce automatically threw up his arms to cover his eyes. Dread pooled in his stomach.

“It is rich hearing you preach patience, Talis,” Viktor’s voice rang out from the far side of the lab. Jayce uncovered his eyes to see Viktor standing, cane in hand and the smuggest Jayce had ever seen him, twenty feet across the room from the resonance machine. Residual energy in the form of electric blue light crackled down his skin and clothes and leapt from his frame in tiny arcs– deepening the angles of his face and adding a vicious beauty the cheshire grin he was wearing. He brushed down his vest and his grin broke from smug to unrestrained glee at the look on Jayce’s face.

Jayce was fairly sure he was losing his mind because it was objectively one of the most beautiful things he had ever seen. “You almost gave me a heart attack,” he said, trying not to sound as breathless as he felt. 

“Innovation requires risk,” Viktor echoed his own words with a tap of his cane on the ground. 

Jayce rubbed at his eyes with his hands. This couldn’t be real. He walked to Viktor to make sure it was. He put a hand on his shoulder and glanced him over with half-worry half-wonder. Viktor was still grinning like a loon. Jayce narrowed his eyes suspiciously. 

“Was that your first time testing it?”

“No,” Viktor said and Jayce wanted to punch him and hug him all at once.

“What if something had gone wrong?” he said, rubbing the bridge of his nose between his fingers. 

“I trust you would have taken care of Jinx,” Viktor said like that was the only thing that mattered. “You did well with her today,” he added.

Jayce groaned. “That is not the point of this.” 

“Yes. The point is that it worked.” 

It had worked. Months of theory and late nights rendered obsolete at the words of a child. Jayce could hardly believe it. They done it again– bathed in blue light and energy sparks and impossible magic. 

This was the future. This was progress. They were going to change lives.

“What are we going to tell her?” he asked.

Viktor waved a hand. “Make something up. Tell her we proved it and then we will show her. She doesn’t have to know we tried it first and as clever as she is, she’s a child. She won’t know.” 

Jayce sighed. “You’re insane.” 

Viktor snorted. “You would have done it if your nobility hadn’t gotten in the way,” Viktor quipped. “Of course, now that we know it works and is safe…” Viktor trailed off reaching into his pocket and retrieving a glowing hexcrystal. He held it up near his face and Jayce was mesmerized by the blue reflecting in the gold of his irises. “It is not like she would know.” The arch of the eyebrow felt like a challenge and Jayce was a weak man. He swiped the crystal from Viktor’s fingers brushing the tips with his own. 

“Once,” he swore. “And then we go home. I promised her we’d be back quickly.”

Chapter Text

Thirty one days. Thirty one days it had been since Jayce had deigned to see her. A full, Jayce Talis-less month where she had been forced to keep the company of only her parents and the occasional stranger at the shooting range. Caitlyn was frankly going insane. She knew that Jayce would be busy the weeks leading up to the sponsor meeting– he’d told her as much– but according to her mother (after Caitlyn’s subtle prodding) the meeting had gone swimmingly and Jayce had left on the arm of Councilor Medarda. 

So what had he been doing in the meantime? He knew that her final written examination and practical had been the week before last. She couldn’t say she wasn’t hurt when he hadn’t even bothered to stop by to see how it went let alone that he hadn’t bothered to check in the day he knew the results were supposed to be posted. She’d watched him write down the dates and circle them in his calendar while he swore up and down that he’d be waiting with baited breath for proof of her top marks– even if he was completely sure she’d place first and this was just a formality. She’d been happy at the time but now the memory was tinged with disappointment. She’d waited for him for a while and had even stopped by his apartment a couple of times to see if she could catch him. He never seemed to be home– even after his work day was supposed to have ended. It was suspicious and it only fed her annoyance. He couldn’t be bothered to come visit her– couldn’t be bothered to be home when she came to find him– couldn’t be bothered to even drop her a note as to why. He was supposed to be her friend.

So maybe she was a little bitter about it. But he was the only person who understood (as much as he could) and the only one who had supported her in her pursuit of being an enforcer. So where was he when she needed him? Busy apparently– ignoring her for something else. 

But not for long.  

Caitlyn stood outside the lab of the one person in the world she considered her friend and very impolitely threw open the door.

“Jayce?” she called– voice a bit shaper than she intended it to be. She glanced around the room and saw a flurry of movement and blue disappear under one of the work tables. 

Caitlyn paused, brow furrowing. “Hello?” she called. There was no answer. She carefully shut the door behind her and started to make her way into the room. 

The work table that she’d seen the motion at was covered in some kind of project– mechanical parts littered the surface with tools strewn about and a blue stain on the metal. A chair was pulled up the desk and Caitlyn raised an eyebrow as she saw it inch in slightly like it was being pulled from beneath. Approaching the desk with caution, she peaked down to get a look. 

An icy blue glare met her and Caitlyn saw a girl clutching something to her chest. She was dressed in a fine blue shirt with a black skirt and a bow that was askew around her neck. Her bright blue hair was tied in a braid and the loose parts surrounding her face were pulled back by metal hair clips and the band of the work goggles she had perched on top of her head. The metal canister and the wrench she was holding were the things that interested Caitlyn the most though. She looked like she was preparing to nail Caitlyn with them at any moment.

Caitlyn blinked and did a quick assessment of the situation. The girl wasn’t anyone she knew. Clearly the work desk was in use. The tools that were littered over it indicated that it had been occupied for sometime– so either this girl had been here a while or Jayce and Viktor had been at work on it. She had the wrench in hand along with whatever device she was holding– it could be hers. It could also be stolen. She could have broken in and gone to hide when Caitlyn caught her in the act. But there had been no sign of a forced entry as far as Caitlyn could see– the windows were intact and there were no other ways in aside from the door. The door which, of course, was unlocked seeing as she’d just come in it. The girl could easily have done so as well. 

But ducking out of sight wasn’t inherently suspicious. Caitlyn could have just scared her and she’d panicked. She found it hard to believe that Viktor and Jayce would be so careless as to leave important work out unattended or that a kid would even bother with a place like this. She glanced at the desk again. There were papers she could see scribbled on with doodles and diagrams in pink and blue pen. Those weren’t Jayce or Viktor’s. So she had to belong here. But who was she? Caitlyn had a sneaking suspicion she knew why Jayce had been so absent lately now. 

She crouched down. 

“Hello,” she tried again– this time less sharp, more calm. The girl continued to regard her from under the desk. “Who are you?” she asked– straight to the point when the girl didn’t greet her. 

“Who are you?” the girl fired back– venom in her voice. 

“I’m Caitlyn,” she said. No need to add on her last name. Though the girl might be more willing to talk to her knowing she was a Kiramman, she was trying to distance herself from using it to get what she wanted. She extended a hand a bit, inviting the girl in for a handshake. The child simply glared at the offered appendage like she was considering smacking it with the wrench. When she did not reach out to take it, Caitlyn let her hand drop back to her side. 

There was an awkward pause where Caitlyn wasn’t sure what to do next. The girl kept glaring from her hide away and Caitlyn was hesitant to simply disengage and walk away. Yet the girl wasn’t responding to her so…

“What are you doing here?” the girl asked.  

“I’m looking for Jayce,” Caitlyn answered. “What about you?” 

“They’re busy,” the girl said without answering her question. Caitlyn was under the impression that maybe cornering the girl like this wasn’t doing her any favors. She backed off and stood up. 

“I suppose I’ll have to go interrupt them then,” she said, starting to walk away from the girl. She heard scrambling on the metal flooring behind her. 

“Wait!” the girl called and Caitlyn stopped to turn around. “You can’t do that!” she said, brandishing the wrench towards her like a baton.

“Why not?”

“They said that they’re doing something important today and not to knock unless it’s an emergency.” 

So the girl was definitely with them. What was this child doing in their lab? How did she know them? 

“Do you know when they’ll be done?” Caitlyn asked. 

The girl seemed to pause to think. “Jayce usually takes lunch soon,” she conceded.

Caitlyn snorted. “Lunch?” she said incredulously. 

The girl's shoulders raised up and she glared. “Yeah.” 

“Jayce doesn’t take lunch.” 

“Yes he does.” 

“He forgets to eat. Unless he’s feeding Viktor or someone reminds him,” Caitlyn said. 

“He goes out and brings back food for me and Viktor.” 

“When did he start doing that?” Caitlyn asked. The girl shrugged. 

“He does it whenever I’m here.” 

“And how long have you been here?” 

“You can’t go in,” the girl said, ignoring the question and pointing to a chair at one of the desks across the room. “Wait over there.”

Caitlyn thought about it. On one hand, she would like to see Jayce as soon as possible. On the other, if the girl was right she wouldn’t want to interrupt their work at a critical, possibly dangerous moment. Assuming the girl was right and Jayce really had started to take lunches, Caitlyn didn’t see the harm in waiting. She walked to the chair to take a seat. Once she had, the girl seemed to relax a little bit. She kept the chair she was in turned out to sort of face Caitlyn. The girl perched in it, not sitting, but squatting with both knees up to her chest and began to take the wrench back to whatever device she was working on without letting Caitlyn out of her sight. 

Caitlyn considered her the same way she knew the girl was considering her. No questions answered but many more to ask after that conversation. Jayce taking breaks was new. He and Viktor had rarely taken those in the time she’d known them. Jayce had frequently shown up late to lunch plans with Caitlyn after saying time had gotten away from him– that he was willing to stop at all for the girl was a miracle let alone the fact that Viktor was apparently taking breaks as well. Caitlyn once again had to ask, who was this kid? She matched the girls animosity with an equal amount of curiosity. 

After a few minutes she decided she wasn’t going to sit around and do nothing while waiting for Jayce to take this yet to be seen lunch break. 

“What are you working on?” she asked. 

The girl didn’t answer, just kept messing with her wrench. 

“You never did give me your name,” Caitlyn tried again. 

The girl stopped. “How do you know Jayce?” she asked– hesitant.

“He’s my friend,” Caitlyn said. Explaining her family's position to Jayce seemed long winded when the reason she was here was because of one thing and one thing alone, she missed him. Well, that and she was mad at him. 

“You don’t look old enough to be his friend,” the girl replied. “Does he always make friends with children?” 

“I’m almost 18!” Caitlyn said. “He’s a family friend. Does that mean you're his friend?” 

“No,” she said. The first straight answer she’d gotten from the blue haired girl. 

“Then who–” 

“Shhh.” The girl suddenly crouched and Caitlyn tensed, training taking over and ears perking up. She heard footsteps coming from behind the door to the inner lab. She stood but the girl was faster. In seconds she was up on top of her work table and after that on top of a book shelf. She climbed like a spider– all gangly limbs and awkward movements– carrying her device with her. There was a devilish look in her eye that made Caitlyn hesitate where she stood.

The door to the inner lab opened with a single swift movement and as Jayce’s dark hair appeared he glanced out into the room, eyes sweeping until they landed on Caitlyn. 

“Cait?” he asked, sounding like he couldn’t believe she was here. “What are you–” he broke off and Caitlyn could see the gears in his head ticking. “Shit,” he said. “Your exam! Caitlyn I’m so–” his sentence cut off as Caitlyn saw a soaring metal object beeline straight for his head from the direction where the girl had clambered onto the bookshelf. Jayce swore as he managed to catch it in the air. Caitlyn was about to say something when suddenly a click sounded from the canister and everything went blue. 

Caitlyn coughed as a plume of smoke went up and she could hear that she wasn’t the only one. Where the smoke near her faded quickly the canister was still dolling out blue smog all over Jayce– who Caitlyn could only see the figure of in the shadow of the smoke. She heard a delighted cackle from above and Jayce swearing through his coughing. She saw his silhouette do something complicated with his hands and the device in them and suddenly the smoke seemed to die a litte, still seeping out along the floor like a creeping fog but at least not burying Jayce anymore. When the smoke began to clear he was standing, coughing slightly still in his uniform that was covered in a blue film. The girl was full on laughing from above now. 

She dropped down from wherever she’d hidden away up there, a wide grin on her face. 

“I did it!” she crowed– dashing towards Jayce. “I did it!” 

Jayce looked bewildered by the device in his hand, the child all but bouncing towards him. 

“The changes worked!” she continued excitedly. “It exploded! It’s never done that before! Jayce did you see? I–” she cut off, stopping in front of his looming figure. She suddenly seemed to remember that she’d set off a smoke bomb on the man. Caitlyn watched her freeze and looked up at him hesitantly. She needn't have worried. Jayce had his arms around her and she let out an undignified squawk as he lifted her into the air and spun her around. 

“You did it!” he said, grinning ear to ear and spinning. “That was amazing, Jinx! I knew you could do it!” The girl seemed to struggle for a moment before giving in and relaxing and let out a high pitched laugh as Jayce swung her round again, her feet flying out with the centripetal force. Between Jayce’s crowing and the girl’s laughter it was hard to hear the sounds of muffled coughing still coming from the inner lab. Jayce seemed distracted and Caitlyn had many questions but this was a bit more concerning to her. She slipped by Jayce and the girl and in through the door to the inner lab. She found Viktor leaning against a wall shoving his face into his sleeve. 

“Alright?” she asked and he looked up long enough to give her a nod and miserable smile before devolving back into a coughing fit. Caitlyn frowned. She stood next to him, not sure what to do before she asked, “Would water help?” Viktor nodded and pointed to a table sitting right outside the door. Caitlyn grabbed a bottle sitting on it and offered it to him. He grabbed it from her and tried to take small sips between coughs. It didn’t seem to be working very well or helping much. 

“I could call a doctor?” she offered. Viktor shook his head vehemently. 

“You’ll ruin their fun,” he rasped out, gesturing to where Jayce and, Jinx, Caitlyn had heard him call her, were now standing and gesturing excitedly to one another. 

“Who is she?” Caitlyn asked. 

Viktor was taken by another coughing fit. She let him recover. It took him a beat to catch his breath when he did. 

“My cousin, distant,” Viktor said with a rattle in his chest. He paused, holding his breath for a moment before he let it out slow. He seemed to get it a little more under control. “From the Undercity. Her family and herself have gone through a–,” another fit of coughing, “--difficult time recently. I am surprised you were able to come into the lab without her doing something unwise.” 

“She did threaten me with a wrench,” Caitlyn mused. 

Viktor let out a wheezing laugh that devolved again. Caitlyn awkwardly patted him on the back and decided that if this kept up she was going to fetch a doctor no matter Viktor’s protestations. Luckily this one was shorter. At the end of it Viktor said, “I would expect nothing less. I apologize for it.” He did not sound sorry at all. 

Caitlyn felt a smile tug the edges of her lips. “It’s fine.” 

“Good,” he said, taking another small sip of the water. “Can I ask what are you doing here Ms. Kirramen?”

“Oh,” Caitlyn said. “I almost forgot.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. “I need to yell at Jayce first for forgetting but this is an invite for you.” 

Viktor’s pause was not punctuated by a coughing fit this time to Caitlyn’s relief. “For me?” 

“It’s to a party,” she said and appreciated the pained grimace that Viktor made as he accepted the paper from her. “Mother has seen fit to throw one to celebrate my acceptance into enforcer training.” 

There was a pause and Viktor let out a grunt that Caitlyn couldn’t quite decipher. “I see,” he said. It was a neutral response but Caitlyn was good at reading people. It was part of what made her sure she could do her job. He wasn’t pleased. She did her best not to take offense to it. 

“You don’t have to come,” she said. “I’d like you to. You and Jayce together. But you don’t have to.” Really, inviting Viktor was more of a formality than anything else. Viktor rarely went to parties and when he did he disappeared quickly. Caitlyn liked the man fine though the two of them rarely talked and Caitlyn was under the impression that he found her choice in career regrettable. With opinions like that he’d fit right in though. He could join the club seeing as her mother had founded it. Caitlyn was sure he wouldn’t make an appearance but inviting Jayce and not his partner would have been extremely rude and despite their conflicts, Caitlyn’s mother had raised her better than that. 

“I will consider it,” he said in a tone of voice that made Caitlyn sure he had already decided. “A favor before you present Jayce with his invite?” he asked and then let out a rather pitiful cough that Caitlyn was suspicious was being played up for her sympathy. She tilted her head. 

“Don’t mention what you are training for in front of Jinx,” he said. “The struggles she’s been through have been… trying as many are in the Undercity. I’m afraid to know what line of work you are pursuing would greatly upset her– undeservedly,” he tacked on for what Caitlyn was sure was her benefit and not his true feelings on the matter. 

Caitlyn tried not to bristle. “I’m not going to hide who I am.” 

“I’m not asking you to,” Viktor backtracked, raising his hands in a gesture of peace. “I would simply rather avoid upsetting her. You may tell Jayce– though I’m sure he can figure it out on his own. I just ask that you avoid speaking about it in front of her.” 

“That sounds a lot like hiding to me.” 

“Please,” Viktor said. It was delivered less like a plea and more like a resigned statement. Another coughing fit followed and the pitifulness of this one made Caitlyn sure he was using it to get her to say yes. She tried to soothe her own hackles. It was just one kid. Viktor didn’t want to upset her though Caitlyn didn’t see why she’d have a reason to be upset with her. The girl didn’t even know Caitlyn. Still, she accepted it. 

“Fine,” she said. Viktor’s shoulders slumped in relief and he gave her a thankful smile between coughs. Caitlyn turned back to the door and briskly exited to talk to Jayce– maybe she could pull him away for lunch or something since he was apparently taking them now. She found him with Jinx. 

“Alright?” he was saying. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to grab you–”

The girl shook her head as if waving Jayce’s worries off. “It worked,” she said again– dazed with an edge to her voice that Caitlyn couldn’t identify. “It worked.” She looked for a moment like she was going to cry but the expression was gone when she shoved her face into Jayce’s stomach, arms wrapped around him in an embrace. Jayce let out a noise of surprise but then awkwardly placed his hands on her shoulders. He glanced back towards her and then to the inner lab to Viktor, probably hoping for a rescue. 

Viktor seemed to be repressing another coughing fit through sheer will power as he grabbed his cane and made his way out of the lab to the two of them. When he arrived Jayce lifted his hands in an unsure gesture towards the girl. Viktor grinned at him. He laid a hand on the girl’s shoulder. 

“The engineering was inspired. I am not surprised at all that it worked. You are quite skilled,” he said. He sounded almost normal though Caitlyn could still hear the rasp in his voice. Jayce clearly could to and made a concerned face. Viktor waved him off and gestured to Caitlyn. Jayce looked to her and then smiled his thanks. He then looked back down at the girl locked around his waist. After a moment he seemed to make a decision. There was another squawk as he scooped her up in one arm and wrestled her wiggling form till she was sitting on his shoulders with a deeply put upon face. 

“Put me down,” she said, teeth gritted. 

“You sure?” Jayce said. “You didn’t seem to want to let go.” 

Jinx’s eyes narrowed and there was a tinge of red in her ears and cheeks. She grabbed and fistful of his hair and Jayce let out a yelp. Caitlyn almost laughed. Viktor looked amused too. But when she looked like she was about to repeat the action he reached up and put a hand on her arm. 

“Gentle,” he said.

The girl paused. Jayce rubbed at the part of his head she had assaulted.

“You are a terror,” he said, deadpan. “A menace. I’m covered in blue because of you and this is how you repay me?” 

Jinx rolled her eyes, letting her elbows come to rest on top of his head. “I want to see the inner lab now,” she said. “You promised.” 

“I was going to get us lunch,” Jayce argued. 

“We can eat later,” she said. Viktor nodded his approval while Jayce still looked petulant. Caitlyn marveled at how refusing to eat in favor of work must run in Viktor’s family. 

“I need to talk to Caitlyn,” Jayce said. “Oh, umm.” He turned to look at Caitlyn, bringing Jinx with him. “Cait, this is Jinx. She’s–” he stumbled for a second, looking to Viktor. Caitlyn narrowed her eyes. 

“My cousin,” Viktor supplied. “I already told her. Visiting from the Undercity due to family issues.” 

“Oh. Right,” Jayce said in a way that clearly told Caitlyn that there was more to the story than that. Jinx was looking at Viktor with wide eyes. 

“Put me down,” she said to Jayce again. This time he obliged and once he did Jinx sidled up to Viktor– wrapping a tiny arm around his waist and leaning in. Viktor looked momentarily surprised by this but then settled his free hand on her shoulder. 

“This is Caitlyn Kiramman,” Viktor said to Jinx– gesturing to her. “She probably already gave you her name. She is a good friend of Jayce’s.” 

Jinx wrinkled her nose. “But she’s only a few years older than me.” 

“And probably an equal amount of years younger than Jayce and I,” Viktor replied easily. “Her family is very involved in our research. They are very important sponsors. They have known each other for years.” 

“Huh,” Jinx said, giving Caitlyn a newly appraising look. 

Jayce now that he was free was at Caitlyn’s side. “I am so sorry,” he said. Caitlyn huffed at him. She’d almost forgotten she was mad. 

“I went looking for you at your house when the results came out,” she said. “You weren’t home.” 

“So so so sorry?” Jayce tried again. “I was busy with work and well–” Jayce gestured to Viktor and Jinx and Jinx let out an offended squawk. “We had a lot going on,” he said. “It’s not an excuse I should have been there for you but…” 

Caitlyn sighed. “It’s okay,” she said and Jayce’s sad expression brightened immediately. There was no point in trying to stay mad at him. He never would have missed it on purpose– she knew that. There was no maliciousness. Jayce was just a mess of things he hadn’t meant to do. 

“So how did the exams go?” he asked looking all too eager. “I know you passed. You had to have but–”

“Top of the examinees,” Caitlyn said. “A perfect score.” 

Jayce whooped. “I knew it!” he said grabbing her by the shoulders and pulling her into a hug. She let him and wrapped her arms around him in return while she grinned into his shoulder. “That’s amazing Caitlyn!” he said. He pulled back to look her in the eyes. “You’re truly incredible.” 

Caitlyn tried not to tear up. She thought she was mostly succeeding. In the face of Jayce’s genuine, unabashed pride in her it was difficult. Her mother had scoffed. Her father had offered reluctant congratulations. Everyone in the class thought she had paid her way to the top. Jayce was the only one who saw – who appreciated – who knew how hard she had worked for this. He was the only one who had believed in her and had been there. He was the only one besides herself who was proud. 

“Thank you,” she said trying not to sound too choked up. She pulled back from him, subtly wiping her eyes on her sleeves while she reached into her pocket and pulled out the invitation. “Mom’s throwing a party to celebrate,” she said. “Please be there.” 

“Of course,” Jayce said– nodding emphatically. “Wouldn’t miss it for the world.” 

“That’s what you said last time,” she couldn’t help but say. Jayce flinched and rubbed awkwardly at the back of his neck. 

“Sorry,” he said. “I really am. I know the exams were difficult and the competition was stiff. Being top scores on the Enforcer training entrance exam is–” 

“You’re an enforcer?” Jinx said at the same time that Viktor let out a hiss of warning. Jayce immediately pulled up short. He looked back to them with a glint of apprehension growing in his eyes. 

“Not yet,” Caitlyn said. Cat was out of the bag. Viktor glared at her but he would simply have to deal with it. 

“You’re friends with an enforcer?” Jinx said, hunching into Viktor’s side and glaring at Jayce. 

“I’m not– she’s not–” Jayce looked desperately between them. “She’s like my little sister,” he finally settled on. 

Jinx bristled and opened her mouth to say something but Caitlyn cut her off.

“What’s so bad about being an enforcer?” she asked. Jinx’s glare turned on her. 

“So do they teach you to kill us in training or does that come later?” she asked, pressing into Viktor’s side. Caitlyn bristled and looked at Viktor who just tightened his grip on the girl's shoulder and said nothing. He wouldn’t look her in the eye. 

“We don’t kill people,” Caitlyn said. “We’re protectors. We–” 

“Enforcers killed my parents,” Jinx said. That brought Caitlyn up short. It seemed to do the same to everyone else. “I saw them after what you did to them,” she said, pressing further into Viktor’s side. “My sister and me on the bridge.” 

Caitlyn wanted to ask what they’d done. What had her parents done to get themselves killed? That wasn’t what enforcers did– not unless they had to. But she knew the question wouldn’t be appreciated– not with how Viktor was holding the girl to his side and glaring at the ground. She was his cousin. They were his family too somehow. He probably knew them.

“That’s not what we’re meant to do,” Caitlyn said. “We’re not supposed to hurt people.” 

“Perhaps Topside that is true,” Viktor said. It was quiet and honestly surprised Caitlyn. He wasn’t one to speak out much– especially not around herself. She’d always gotten the impression he disapproved but he’d never said anything out right.

“Enforcers capture criminals. We don’t–”

“You would be hard pressed to find a single citizen of the Undercity that the enforcers don’t consider criminal enough to harass,” Viktor said. He still wouldn’t meet her eye. He tapped his cane against his leg. “I have been this way since I was a child and even I was not exempt from their… antics.” 

“They were wrong,” Caitlyn said. “There are bad enforcers, I’m sure, but not–” 

“I think you need to leave,” Viktor said softly.

Caitlyn turned to Jayce who looked torn. 

“You can go with her,” Jinx spat and the hurt that flashed across Jayce’s face made her stomach churn. 

She didn’t want to tell him to stay. She wanted him to pick her side in this argument that had oh so quickly gotten out of hand. But she didn’t want to make him choose, not when he had people on both sides and the girl and Viktor seemed… hostile. Caitlyn was used to ridicule for her decision– maybe not this kind but she knew Jayce was there for her in this. It was okay to let him go easy this time. 

“Stay,” she said and did her best to make sure her expression carried no malice. Jayce nodded thankfully. 

“Sticking around because she gave you permission,” the girl said in a nasty tone. Caitlyn turned her attention to her. 

“You are all invited,” she said as neutrally as she could. “I will let my mother know that there is a possibility of an extra guest.” The girl was positively snarling now. 

“Why would I want to go to your enforcer party?” she asked. 

“Look,” Caitlyn said, trying to be mature. “What was done to you wasn’t fair or good. And I know you’re scared–” 

Both Jayce and Viktor made simultaneous sounds of warning and the girl ripped from Viktor’s side and came barreling towards her. Caitlyn’s instincts took over and she was prepared to knock the girl to the floor before Jayce caught her in a hold. 

“Hey, hey, hey,” he was saying. “Jinx, calm down, please.” She was struggling in his arms and Jayce was very carefully trying to keep a grip on her while his eyes pleaded with Caitlyn to go.

“I’m not fucking scared of you,” Jinx snarled and then genuinely spat towards her when she couldn’t break Jayce’s grip. 

“Sure,” Caitlyn said and the girl’s struggles strengthened at the dismissal. Viktor was now glaring at her while Jayce tried to keep the girl from getting her mouth too close to his fingers. Caitlyn decided it was time to make a tactical retreat. “See you at the party,” she said to Jayce before turning and walking to the door of the lab and taking her leave– Jinx’s snarls echoing behind her all the way.

Chapter Text

“So you see, the copper spins and creates a higher resonance which activates the energy. This actually stabilizes the crystal and–” 

Jinx had a question. She did not ask it. Jayce continued only occasionally stumbling over his words when he paused for a potential comment. She didn’t acknowledge them– just stood with her arms crossed in the inner lab while the man tried his best to explain his work. 

She knew what he was doing. She could see it in the desperate glances he gave her each time he explained a new concept and she didn’t engage with him. She hadn’t spoken with him since yesterday after his enforcer friend left. She’d still come to the lab– he had a promise to fulfill and she had use for the knowledge. She wouldn’t back out of that simply because she was angry with him. She needed it. But she wasn’t going to speak to him– to pretend it was all fine.

Jayce paused in his speech. “Questions?” he prompted her. When she stayed silent he sighed. “Jinx,” he pleaded and she tried not to let it make her angry. 

What right did he have to plead with her? He was a liar . A traitor . She’d tolerated him to steal his work. Asked questions– let him teach her– played games with him and might even have had fun . She’d let him pick her up and hold her in a way she hadn’t since Vander had been alive. She’d let him think they were friends .  

And it shouldn’t matter that he’d made a fool of her. It shouldn’t matter that he’d been dealing with the enforcers the entire time because none of it was real in the first place but for some reason it still hurt. It didn’t feel fair that she had let all that happen, even if she didn’t really  like him or trust him or care about him. She didn’t. She didn’t care if he got hurt or blown up by his Hexcrystals and whatever he was going to do to try to use them. She hadn’t been concerned for him . She just hadn’t wanted to lose his knowledge before she could steal it. That’s what she’d told herself that night after he’d left and she’d huddled under the too soft blankets in her room. She didn’t care. It was all an act. But it still made her angry and she wanted to throw something at him for real this time– in a way she was sure he wouldn’t be able to catch. She only refrained because Viktor had asked her not to. 

Jayce sighed at her brooding silence. He turned back to the board and moved on with his lecture. 

It was fine. It was all fine. This was her plan anyways. She was getting an explanation. She was in the lab. She was almost finished with her treatment. In a few days she’d come and steal the crystals and then none of it would even matter anymore. Viktor and Jayce would be out of her life and she’d have Vi back. Hopefully Ekko too. That was all she needed. She didn’t need Jayce and his excitement and wonder. She didn’t need his help with anything. She didn’t need Viktor with his crooked smile and his gentle hands. She didn’t need his sincere praise and the pride they made her feel. What she needed was to get out of here and kill Silco and never look back. What she needed to do was to stop hesitating. 

It was harder than she thought it’d be. 

She’d kept making excuses. Last week should have been when she’d left– she knew that. Two weeks the Sheriff would have had to keep Silco away from the prison. Any day now he’d demand to visit her and he’d know if he didn’t already. She was losing her chances of a surprise attack. She was losing her advantage. 

And yet she was still here. At first it was easy to excuse. She didn’t want to wander the Undercity and enact her plan before she knew she was healthy enough for it. Confusion sounded like a good way to get killed before she could even reach wherever Silco was. Two weeks would probably have been enough to keep anything too bad from happening though– especially if she left just after a treatment. But then Jayce had helped her with the blueprint for her smoke bomb and she’d just needed to finish that. Then he’d promised her knowledge about the crystals if she could get a working prototype and that had really– how could she say no? Not understanding it before had caused all this mess. She’d needed to know and she was making the smoke bomb anyways. She even had a new improvement that Jayce didn’t know about. 

She’d had to stay longer. It didn’t have anything to do with the soft bed or all the books. Nothing to do with how Viktor and Jayce made sure she was fed– or how Viktor would stand nearby looking distinctly displeased and protective when Mel Medarda came calling– or when Jayce brought her new clothes and helped her pick the ones she liked– or when he’d made sure she had more of her favorite colored chalk and pens to write in– it didn’t have anything to do with feeling safe and fed and cared for because she’d had all of that before and she’d ruined it . 

But she hadn’t this time. This was Jayce’s fault and that was perfect because it made things easier. Not that it was hard (because none of it mattered) but it made him feel guilty and now he’d do anything to make her happy. So if she had questions she should ask them because he’d answer for sure. Except she didn’t want to because she wasn’t talking to him because she was angry. The more she listened and stewed in silence the angrier she got and the harder it got to focus on what Jayce was saying about the crystals which just served to heighten her frustration. 

She took a deep breath and let it out slow. She needed to listen. If she didn’t, it would all be for nothing. Let him hand her the keys to her freedom. She didn’t have a reason to be angry. It was all part of the plan. It didn’t matter. None of it mattered. 

Well maybe some of it mattered. 

“What do you want?” she asked the only person she thought might be an actual threat to her plans. Mel Medarda favored her with a rather lovely smile that Jinx didn’t trust at all . 

“Just checking in. I heard there was a commotion yesterday,” Mel said as she entered the foyer of the lab through the door. Jinx had been keeping it locked since the enforcer girl had come. She’d had to check to make sure it was someone worth letting in. She’d debated pretending nobody was there but knew it wouldn’t keep the Councilor at bay and would only cause more problems. She’d resigned to open the door and wondered if this trepidation was the kind Viktor felt every time he heard a knock. 

So she’d heard about the spat with the enforcer girl. Figured.

“How do you know everything?” she asked, trying not to sound bitter. It wasn’t fair. Jinx wished she knew everything.

“I am very good at what I do,” the Councilor said with another smile. “That and Jayce is quite upset about it.” 

Jinx very vehemently did not care that Jayce was upset about it. In fact she was rather glad he was. He deserved to be. She wouldn’t say that though– not to Councilor Medarda. She had more important things to address. 

“How do you do it?” Jinx asked.

Councilor Medarda inclined her head. “Be more specific.” 

Jinx tried to figure out how to word her question. Jinx didn’t like Councilor Medarda, not after their first meeting. It didn’t mean she wouldn’t use her, as she’d proven to Jayce and Viktor. Mel Medarda had pull and Jinx wanted that but she didn’t want to rely on someone– anyone besides herself. She wanted what she had. 

“How do you become powerful?” she asked. That’s what Mel was. She scared Viktor– controlled Jayce. Nothing was ever a threat to her. If someone like Caitlyn Kiramman came for Mel, she’d turn them away. She’d pried answers from Jinx within moments of meeting her. “You know things. People listen to you. I want that.”

“Hmm.” Mel seemed to consider her for a moment, then she went and regally perched at one of the work benches. She gestured for Jinx to follow. She did and sat herself opposite. Mel never even spared a glance to the door to the inner lab. Jinx got the feeling that perhaps the check up had been meant for her. Mel tapped her fingers against her arm and spoke. “You are smart, Jinx– Jayce and Viktor have relayed as much. You are observant, if not impulsive. You are easy to anger.” 

Jinx scowled. “I didn’t ask that.” 

“No. You asked how to be powerful. But powerful people, or the ones who hold it most are smart and careful.” 

Jinx made to protest. She was careful. Always. She checked in the corners of rooms. She made sure she could always see anyone in the room with her. She watched entrances and windows and–

Mel shook her head to shush her before she could begin. “Not in the way you think,” she said. “You must be less… explosive. Reign in your temper– even when it is deserved. Throwing a punch or an insult may be easy and satisfying but it rarely gets you what you want, especially when you lack the power to back it up. Take Viktor for example.” She waved her hand in the direction of the inner lab. “Time and time again you’ve seen him treat me with hostility. He makes threats and moves what small pieces he has but his anger, his insults, mean little to me. He has nothing to back them up and we both know that.” 

“Then why don’t you tell him to stop?” 

“I will if he goes too far– but they make him feel more in control. He lashes out only because he knows there is little he can do and that I am, to a degree, safe to do so with.” 

Jinx considered this. “So his insults don’t bother you because you can’t be hurt by them.” 

“Not only that but it benefits me to let him exercise those frustrations on myself. There is a debt my magnanimity puts on him. He will be more likely to heed me when I ask him to.” 

That could make sense. Except that Viktor was from the Undercity. “He doesn’t play by your rules,” Jinx protested. Viktor wouldn’t care about a debt he couldn’t see accumulate. That was topsider logic.

“Ahh but he does– barely but he does,” Mel said. “He wants to continue to be here. He understands the importance of conformity to his goals– if he didn’t I think his reputation here would be far worse than it currently is.” 

Jinx scowled. She didn’t know anything about Viktor’s reputation. She didn’t even know why she wanted to defend him– to prove his freedom from whatever imagined debt the Councilor had put on him. It didn’t matter really. She couldn’t do anything about it. That was Viktor’s problem. “Fine. You have power over Viktor. So what? You already said he’s powerless here.” 

“Perhaps. But he is more valuable than I previously thought. And the point is that understanding people, their motivations, their place– those are all factors to power. Force can only get you so far and you must be patient, willing to change your approach– you cannot let people under your skin.” She gave Jinx a pointed look. Jinx felt herself bristle in offense. Mel shook her head and Jinx knew that she was missing the point but she couldn’t help it. It was instinctual. When someone insulted you, you gave as good as you got. If you didn’t, you got picked on. Those were the rules. They applied to everyone and it didn’t matter how powerful you were– Jinx knew it had to be true. 

“You are very angry,” Mel said. Jinx did not feel any judgment in her tone. “I understand it but if you wish to gain power you cannot let that anger control you. Mastery of others comes from mastery of the self first and foremost.” 

Jinx crossed her arms. “And how do I do that?” 

“Practice.” 

“How?” 

“Apologize to the Kiramman girl.” Jinx snarled and Mel held up her hand to prevent her from leaping up. “Settle yourself. Now.” 

Jinx did not want to settle herself. She wanted to yell. But Mel’s tone booked no room for argument so instead Jinx glared fiercely and tried to pretend that if she stared hard enough she could light her on fire. Mel sighed. “The girl is not your enemy,” she said. “She is not even an enforcer yet. She is the heiress to one of the most powerful clans in this city. She would benefit you far more as a friend than she would an adversary.” 

Jinx did not like this line of reasoning– mostly because it wasn’t true. Caitlyn Kiramman was going to be an enforcer and was going to be her enemy. It didn’t matter what Jinx did or what Caitlyn thought of her– as soon as she was one of them she was going to be just as bad. She probably already was. Jinx could no more befriend Caitlyn than she could the enforcer who’d killed her parents. They were the same, Caitlyn just hadn’t had the time to commit her crimes yet. Jinx wasn’t going to let herself be the first victim. She was smarter than that.

 Mel waited for a response and when Jinx didn’t give one she folded her hands in her lap. There was another moment of silence where Jinx stewed and the Councilor looked thoughtful when she said, “Would you like to know what I think of Sheriff Marcus?” 

No. Maybe. “Only if it's bad.” 

Mel smiled. The venom in her next words shocked Jinx a little bit. “He is spineless,” she said. “A traitor– corrupt. He is playing both fields and neither of them very well. He is not smart enough to keep from digging too deep and soon he will be completely unable to untangle himself from the mess he’s created if he hasn’t gotten there already.” 

Jinx couldn’t say the amount of bite with which the Councilor delivered her speech was expected– though maybe it was just for her benefit. Regardless, it intrigued her. “So what are you going to do with him?”

“Nothing,” she said like she hadn’t just admitted her hatred for a man who she could likely deal with in an instant. “I will watch and wait and use him to get what information I can to keep this city safe from people like himself and the man he works for. Hand a man a rope and he’ll hang himself with it.” 

“And what about the people he hurts in the meantime?” 

“What about the potential victims of his master that might be saved if I can out maneuver him?” the Councilor shot back. “And make no mistake, the Sheriff is under the scrutiny of the Council now. I do not plan to let him go unleashed to do whatever he wishes.” 

Jinx tried to calm herself. She wanted to shout. She wanted to demand justice here and now. But Mel Medarda was right, kind of. She could see that. Using the Sheriff like she planned would probably work given enough time and she might even be able to track down Silco and do something about him. But of course, she wouldn’t actually be able to do that because Jinx was going to get to him first. She’d make it easy for the Councilor. Once Silco was gone she would have no need for a corrupt Sheriff and she could leave him to rot in jail where he belonged. 

Mel was watching her with calculating eyes and Jinx tried not to let that unnerve her. The Councilor didn’t know her plans– all she could do was guess at them. Still, it felt like Mel knew. 

“Part of power is knowing when it is the right time to act,” she said– hands folded demurely in her lap. Jinx tried to review the conversations they’d had to see if she’d ever accidentally revealed when she meant to enact her plan. How could the Councilor know ?

“You asked me how to gain power. You need patience and sacrifice. You must keep your friends close and your enemies closer. The Sheriff, no matter how much I detest him, will be no different.”

Oh. This wasn’t about her plan. Jinx saw what this was now. She scowled. 

“Use Kiramman,” Mel urged her. “She can offer you protection from the other enforcers if you are in favor with her when she becomes one. There is power for you to gain and if you will take my advice. I believe you are capable of grasping it and protecting yourself.” 

“That’s not an option,” Jinx said.

“It is if you will let it be.” 

“I won’t.” 

“You trust Jayce,” Mel said. Jinx let out a noise of protest but stopped when Mel’s sharp eyes narrowed. “You do. It’s why you are angry at all.” Jinx wanted to deny that. It was all part of the plan, she knew– but she couldn’t do so without arousing Mel’s suspicions. The woman continued regardless. “Even if you are not willing to accept it, Caitlyn Kiramman has Jayce’s trust and she has not earned it falsely. She is a good person. She is someone who will listen– especially to a friend. If you ingratiate yourself with her, you will have another guard dog– one with far more influence than either of your current ones. Even if you regard her as an enemy she can be useful.”

“I don’t want to,” Jinx said petulantly.

Mel tilted her head. “And I would prefer not to associate with our esteemed Sheriff. Yet here we are.” 

Here they were indeed. Jinx wasn’t sure it was possible for her to dislike Mel more than she already did and yet– there she was. Encouraging her to falsely befriend enforcer girls and making arguments that Jinx had increasing trouble fighting against. She hated this. 

“Your advice sucks.” 

“You asked for it,” she said mildly.

“I’m not going to say thank you. I don’t owe you anything for your answers.” 

“Naturally,” Mel replied smoothly. Then a regretful smile found it’s way to her lips. “It is a shame you won’t stay longer.” 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Jinx asked, slightly panicked. She didn’t know. 

Mel tilted her head. “I know the look of someone on a mission,” she said simply. “I do regret it though. I would have enjoyed seeing you keep playing them.” 

Jinx tried to keep her voice level. “What are you talking about?” 

“Viktor and Jayce of course.” 

More panic. “I– I’m not–” 

“Oh, so now you deny it? I thought you didn’t trust Jayce?”

Jinx bit her tongue before her traitor mouth could protest that she’d never said that . She didn’t trust him but it was part of the plan to make it seem like she did but Mel wasn’t supposed to know about the plan. But then, if she had trusted him, which she didn’t, wouldn’t she be mad anyways at his betrayal? So maybe she could protest like she wanted to for some reason. But why did she want to? Why bother? She wasn’t really mad because it hadn’t mattered and– 

This was so complicated. She wanted to scream. Why had she let Mel in? She made everything worse. She and her constant watching. Did she enjoy watching Jinx spiral in angry, violent circles?  Did she enjoy holding the knowledge of Jinx’s plans hostage? Letting Jinx squirm under the weight of not knowing what she’d gleaned and what she hadn’t? Did she–

“Don’t think about it too hard,” Mel said. Jinx’s eyes snapped up again. “I have no plans to interfere with whatever it is you intend to do. My only request is that whatever your plans are, you try not hurt them.” 

Them. Jayce and Viktor. Jinx was mad but she wasn’t that mad. She was going to steal her hexcrystals and go. That was it. “I wasn’t going to.” 

“And yet you will regardless,” Mel replied immediately like Jinx’s assurance hadn’t actually mattered.

“I’m not going to hurt them!” 

The pity in Mel’s gaze was rage inducing and only served to confuse Jinx further. “They are quite fond of you, you know?” she said.

Jinx didn’t know. She didn’t know what Mel was on about or what this conversation had devolved into. All she knew was she was angry and confused and she really, really wished Jayce wasn’t friends with that enforcer girl because she’d somehow ruined everything even if there wasn’t anything to ruin. 

Mel sighed again. “Well then, I suppose I will take my leave.” 

Viktor was getting tired of people showing up on his doorstep.

“Ms. Kiramman,” he greeted– warily stepping out the door and closing it behind him before Jinx could take notice of their visitor. She’d confined herself to her room when they’d returned from the lab today again. He was happy to let her have her space but he had the feeling things would go very badly if she got curious. 

“Viktor,” Catilyn Kiramman greeted him looking only slightly trepidatious. He supposed that was alright– better than the lingering hostility he expected. Not that he’d been expecting to see her at all after the fiasco at the lab. He hadn’t thought he’d see her again (as he definitely was not going to that party) for a long while and never alone. Jayce had always been there in his predictions playing mediator. The conversation would be stilted, awkward, and Jayce would carry it to its conclusion where he and Ms. Kiramman inevitably left together. 

Clearly Ms. Kiramman had not gotten the memo. Why she would seek him out he had very little idea but he doubted it was good. Then again, she wasn’t hostile. Maybe he should put his expectations aside where they involved Ms. Kiramman. She didn’t seem interested in living up to them.

Or at least any except the lingering awkwardness that he had anticipated. They stood on his front porch in the settling twilight and Viktor tried very hard not to think about how rude he had been to several people of import lately. It made him incredibly apprehensive. Consequences would come– they always did– he should at least try to lessen them where he could. At least he currently had a good excuse for his rudeness.  

“I would invite you in but I’m afraid it would upset Jinx.” 

“Oh,” Ms. Kiramman said. She looked suddenly more awkward. “About that, I–”

Viktor held up a hand and the girl halted her stumbling sentence. “Please, a moment,” he requested. Ms. Kiramman nodded at him and Viktor let out a sigh before squaring his shoulders and letting both his hands come to rest on his cane. “I would like to apologize,” he said.

“Apologize?” 

“For my actions and lack there of the other day at the lab.” He let the sincerity bleed into his words. This was partially about damage control but not fully. He found he did mean it. Ms. Kiramman was a nice young woman– a good heart– a dear friend to Jayce. She hadn’t done anything to deserve Jinx’s vitriol nor Viktor’s inaction in the face of it. It had not been his most mature moment nor his most graceful. His own biases should not have gotten in the way of keeping the situation from escalating– even if he found it hard to disagree with Jinx’s anger.

He tapped his cane on the ground again in a way he hoped didn’t betray his nerves. “You have worked hard for your position and I understand you have faced hardships in your own way to obtain it. I cannot say that I will ever favor the enforcers and the force that they are in the Undercity but you are Jayce’s friend and I have always found you to be a good person. If this path is how you pursue that goodness, I hope only that it will capture the attention of others and give them something to hold themselves to.” 

Ms. Kiramman was staring at him with a look of shock. “Oh,” she replied elegantly as her face shifted from bewildered to wary appreciation. Viktor felt a smile tug at the corner of his lips. Just like Jayce this one– always rendered quiet in the face of a true compliment. He hoped that she, unlike Jayce, would be less beholden to the opinions of her peers. He hoped that she did make a change.  

 He continued on. “I should have insisted that you leave with Jayce to minimize the chances of Jinx overhearing. When I asked you to leave, please understand it was not out of malice. I was trying to minimize the damage that the argument was going to do. I should have acted earlier so that the mess could have been avoided entirely.” 

Ms. Kiramman seemed vie between wanting to argue (though Viktor didn’t know what) and looking grateful. Eventually she settled for gratitude. “Thank you,” she said. “I– well. I actually came here to apologize as well.” 

Viktor blinked, taken aback. “You did?” 

“Yes.” She seemed to come to some conclusion in her head. She stood taller, straightening her skirt and standing at attention in a way that had Viktor repressing an Undercity’s life-long urge to flinch. “I am sorry for what I said too. You asked me not to mention it and I know that I, on a technicality, did not. But I should have known you wouldn’t ask that of me without a good reason. I should have been the one to drag Jayce off before I brought up the invites.” 

Viktor was oddly touched by that. He hadn’t known she’d held him in high enough regard to have cared about his request.

Ms. Kiramman shuffled for a moment, her attention and perfect posture breaking. She looked nervous but determined. “I know that you said she’s a distant cousin but can I– can I ask what happened to her parents?” 

Ahh. Viktor leaned up against the wall of his porch. He let his cane rest against it as well and then folded his arms. The problem with that question was that he didn’t know the answer. He’d thought about it since Jinx had said it and come to a few conclusions. 

As far as he knew, Vander had only been out of the position of rebel leader for a few years– not near as long as Jinx was old– and while the cover story said that Vander had been killed by enforcers, Mel Medarda seemed to think otherwise. He was inclined to agree with her if only because she seemed to have an innate grasp of the situation. Likely, Vander had been Jinx’s adopted father. 

As for her biological parents he could make guesses, but they’d only be that. It wouldn’t take much to put a hole in his story and Ms. Kiramman was more than capable. But then again, why should he feel the need to answer? In theory it was his tragedy– she was not entitled to it. 

“Why do you wish to know?” he asked.

Ms. Kiramman remained nervous but she also looked thoughtful– apologetic even. “You are one of the smartest people in Piltover,” she said. (Off to a good start but he was not Jayce. Flattery would not soften him.) “And despite that you’re quiet– you’re humble– if not for Jayce I might not know anything about you at all.” 

The young woman paused here, considering her next words. It was surprising that she even knew as much as she did. Did Jayce really talk about him that much? He’d always assumed it was simply correcting sponsors at parties who called hextech a Talis invention. Viktor was not often there for that but Jayce would come back from some meeting or the other ranting about it. It never really bothered Viktor but it was nice of Jayce to care. Viktor would never have spoken up to say anything. He tilted his head, prompting her to keep going.

She seemed to steal herself then– shifting from apprehension to certainty. She took a deep breath. “The other night, you spoke up against me– directly after explaining the importance of my family to your work to Jinx. You feel strongly about this and I know that you must have good reasons. If I want to see the world, make things better in a way that's different from my parents, I need to know what's wrong with it first. Listening to you and Jinx seems the best way to find out.” 

It was delivered with such confidence– as if she was ready and willing to let Viktor dig his teeth into the dream she’d dedicated her life to– as if she really, truly meant that she would let him speak and that she would listen . She would hear him. She’d come all this way because she’d been thinking about what he’d said the other night. She wanted know .

“Are you sure?” he asked. 

“Yes.” 

And then Viktor choked out a laugh–  a disbelieving, slightly manic cackle.

“Viktor?” her voice was concerned but Viktor waved her off– trying to stifle another fit of madness. Caitlyn Kiramman, one of the most powerful people in the city, wanted Viktor to explain to her why the force she had spent her life trying to be a part of was an oppressive tool of the state wielded against its most unfortunate citizens. And she truly wanted to know. She thought she could change it. And maybe she could with her power, her influence, her money– maybe Ms. Kiramman had never encountered a wrong she couldn’t right and maybe that was a good thing– a force to be directed– if she believed him at all. Which– 

He looked at her. She looked concerned, apprehensive, and not at all offended by him laughing in her face. He shook his head. 

“Why is it that Jayce can never just be wrong?” he lamented. 

“Sorry?” 

Viktor grinned viciously and Ms. Kiramman looked taken aback. “He thinks so highly of you and you just have to prove him right.” 

“I’m not sure if I should apologize.” 

“Don’t,” he said, still chuckling. “It is a good thing. I appreciate that you are willing to listen.” He really, truly did. Maybe she would believe him. Maybe she wouldn’t. It was enough for him that she was willing to hear him. Maybe it would matter. It was worth it to try at the very least. “I do not know the full story of Jinx’s parents. It has not been relayed to me in detail.” Not a lie– Ms. Kiramman would pick up on that– but not quite the truth either. “I do not know that she would be willing to tell it to you. I have other thoughts though, if you would hear them.” 

Ms. Kiramman nodded. “I would.” 

Viktor sighed. If they were going to have this conversation he would prefer to be at least comfortable. It would take a long time. He wished he could invite her in. 

“Problem?” 

“I wish we had a more comfortable place to sit down,” he said, rubbing at his leg. “Or at least somewhere more private.” 

“We could go to my home?” Ms. Kiramman tried.

“Too far,” Viktor said. “It would be a pain. Besides, I would rather not leave Jinx for that long.” 

“You can go if you want,” an acidic voice said from behind the door. Viktor started. Caitlyn and he made eye contact and Viktor grimaced. When neither responded, the door slowly cracked open revealing a sullen, wary looking Jinx.

She looked small, which wasn’t what he’d been expecting. He’d been expecting anger– her usual bristling– maybe a sharp word or two for himself. Instead, she looked between them, arms crossed and looking like half the child she usually was.

 “I heard you talking,” she said.

There was another moment of silence where none of them seemed to know what to do. Jinx’s eyes turned to Ms. Kiramman and some of the fire returned, though at least for now it seemed controlled. 

“The enforcers killed my parents at the massacre on the bridge.” 

Ahh. Perhaps Viktor should have expected that. 

“Sorry,” said Ms. Kiramman looking to Viktor. “I don’t know what that was?” 

Jinx bristled but Viktor cut her off before she could say something unnecessary. “Unsurprising. They do not talk about the push for Undercity independence Topside. It would make them look bad.” 

Ms. Kiramman blinked. “Independence?” 

“It is complicated and long. You will not enjoy hearing it. It will be a part of our discussion.” 

Her brow furrowed like she was still trying to process that. “Why would they want independence?” 

“My parents wanted to be able to afford to feed me,” Jinx muttered. Then she looked to Viktor and seemed to debate for a second before swinging the door open and turning on her heel. “You can bring her in.” 

Viktor couldn’t say he was often shocked by Jinx’s actions but… “Are you sure?” 

“Yeah. It’s fine.” 

Caitlyn looked to Viktor who slowly shrugged. It was unexpected to say the least. He wasn’t sure what game she was playing or what exactly had gotten into her. Ms. Kiramman took a careful step forward– keeping an eye on Viktor in case he objected– and called out to Jinx. 

“Before we go in, I wanted it say something.” 

Jinx turned to give her a wary glance. 

“I’m sorry,” Ms. Kiramman said. “I didn’t mean to upset you the other night. I was insensitive– callous. I regret that our first meeting went like that. I wish it hadn’t.” 

Diplomatic. Viktor also wished it had gone differently. Ms. Kiramman kept her eyes on Jinx waiting for an answer. Once again, to Viktor’s surprise, she gave one. 

“I have something I want to say too.” She stood up straight, flattened down her skirt, and squared her shoulders. Viktor couldn’t help but think it was almost exactly the same gesture that the older girl had made earlier. “I’m sorry. Sorry for yelling at you and umm–” she stumbled a bit, “trying to bite you. And also sorry that I failed to bite you because I think you deserved it. But mostly I want you to know that I’m not scared of you and I’m coming to your stupid enforcer party.” She turned on her heel again and stalked off to her room, slamming the door with enough force that the bang was audible even from outside. Ms. Kiramman looked to Viktor, bewildered. 

Oh no, Viktor thought. Absolutely not.

“I’m going.”

“Yes,” Jayce said at the same time that Viktor cracked his cane on the ground with a resounding, “No.”

“I’ll take care of her,” Jayce said again, rehashing the argument they’d been having in Viktor’s living room for the past twenty minutes. 

“Do not argue for her just to try to get back into her good graces.” 

“That’s not what I’m doing.” 

“Then you are simply stupid enough to believe this kind of needless risk is warranted? May I remind you both that she is a wanted criminal. ” 

Jayce faltered for a second, looking to Jinx who gave him a wide eyed, imploring stare– which well– maybe Viktor had a little bit of a point. It was the only positive interaction they’d had since Cailtyn came to visit. But that wasn’t his only reason! He understood where Viktor was coming from and his adamant refusal to even consider the idea. But…

He thought it might be good for Jinx. She was all cooped up in Viktor’s apartment or the lab and from what he’d heard from both Viktor and Caitlyn she’d actually apologized and had a conversation with Cait without snapping at her. Cait and Viktor had apparently been having some kind of heart to heart though neither had been specific about what. All he could do was sigh in relief. It had been rough the past few days for him. He hadn’t wanted to push Viktor or Jinx to make up with Caitlyn but he also had felt guilty for being the one to put her in that situation. Jinx’s attitude he could understand but Caitlyn had worked hard and no one had appreciated the efforts she went through. She hadn’t deserved that. She was a good kid. 

But now things seemed to be winding down and well, if Jinx wanted to go, he felt like he should encourage her. She could get out of her confines for a couple hours somewhere safe. He’d be there. It wasn’t like anyone would look at her twice considering nobody even knew about her escape. Nobody would suspect a girl that Jayce vouched for– even Mrs. Kiramman who did theoretically know about Jinx. Mel had said the council was sweeping it under the rug which likely meant most of them had forgotten the blip her escape had made by now.  

Jayce opened his mouth to make his case but Viktor cut him off.

“Absolutely not.” 

Jinx whined, “Viktor.” 

He turned to her and away from Jayce, anger sharpening the lines of his face. “If you want someone to look down on you for the crime of existing, I know several professors at the academy who will at least make it an educational experience.”

Jayce scoffed. Dramatic. “The parties aren’t that bad.”

Viktor tossed Jayce a withering glare. “You could not pay me to attend those parties,” he said pointedly.

“Yeah. I’ve noticed. Considering the only reason we get paid is because I go to them.”

“You don’t even like them. Why bring her?”

Jayce shrugged. “She wants to go. It’ll be good for her to get out of the house. Besides, this isn’t a sponsor party. It's for a friend.”

Viktor turned back to Jinx with a sigh. His shoulders dropped and for a second Jayce felt bad. Viktor looked… upset– a mixture of worry and frustration laced the angles of his face and his golden eyes looked tired. He stared down at Jinx where she was sitting next to one of his book shelves then he walked to the back of the couch and patted it, gesturing for her. 

Jinx gave Jayce a quizzical look (she was talking to him again! Vast improvement) and he shrugged in response. Jinx took a few seconds to stand then scramble up the back of the couch, perching on it and letting her legs swing above the floor while she faced Viktor. It made her almost as tall as him. He used it to meet her eyes. 

“The parties are terrible.” Jayce snorted. “They are filled with people who say things they do not mean for favors they intend to cash at your latest inconvenience. The people are rude behind a polite veneer and they hate us,” he said seriously.

Jayce rolled his eyes. “They don’t hate you.”

Viktor tossed him a look over his shoulder. “No. They don’t hate you. ”

It was just so dramatic. Jayce didn’t understand. Viktor couldn’t really think that, could he? It was unreasonable. Sure maybe some people were pricks but most of them didn’t care. Besides, this was a party for Caitlyn, not some sponsor party where they needed to schmooze up to people for as much funding as they could get. This was between friends. 

“You really think that?” he asked. “Is that why you won’t ever come with me?”

“I don’t think, I know.”

Jayce sighed, rubbing his temples. “Viktor…”

Viktor ignored him. He turned back to Jinx. “They will want you to disparage your home,” he said and Jayce’s brow furrowed. “They will want you to coo and coddle them and tell you how lucky you are to have escaped the Undercity. And you will have to agree with them– they will hear no defense.”

That wasn’t– They hadn’t– Viktor hadn’t attended enough sponsor parties for things like that to have happened. Had he? There were only a couple that Jayce could name that he’d deigned to make an appearance at and as far as Jayce knew, he hadn’t talked to anyone. So what was he talking about? Usually he would let it roll off his shoulders like he had with the rest of the conversation but… 

Viktor was serious– too serious to be lying. These weren’t dramatics. Jayce quieted himself and watched. 

“They do not care if there are people– good people in the Undercity. They do not care if you have loved ones there. They will want you to tell them how much better they are than the people who matter to you– speak to them of every horrible thing that ever happened to you even if those things are the ones you know are their fault.” 

Viktor shifted his weight away from his bad leg. The way he said it was so bitter. Jayce was beginning to feel a bit like a voyeur. The way Viktor averted his eyes now from Jinx, glancing to the side– as if this level of transparency pained him… Jayce was sure he’d been forgotten for the moment. He wanted to say something but he didn’t. It wasn’t often that Viktor forgot he was in the room and honestly? He’d never seen the man this quietly vehement about something. He’d never seen this level of truth about– well– whatever this was. His experience.

Viktor was a deeply private man– one Jayce was sure he would only ever have a surface understanding of. He’d avoided questions about himself– his upbringing. Jayce knew who he was beautifully sharp tongued, empathetic, and ambitious– but he didn’t know why. And he was sure he was never meant to find out. He was never meant to see this . It was as fascinating as it was upsetting. Jayce felt the soft twinge of guilt.

“They will ask you to condemn those who only need your help. And they will expect you to be grateful for the opportunity to do so. They will expect you to grovel– to speak of their kindness for raising you up. They will always look at you as a project– not a person. You will be Jayce’s creature–” Viktor said his name so caustically that Jayce flinched,  “– a marvel and a monster made human all in one. You will never be a person to them.” He emphasized this with a crack of his cane on the ground. His eyes returned to hers and she met his gaze coolly though Jayce could see her fingers digging into the couch frame from how hard she was gripping it. “Are you sure you want to go?” he asked. 

“Yes.”

Jayce expected to see frustration. Instead Viktor fired off a rapid, “Why?’

Jinx glowered. “They can’t make me say any of that and if they want me to I’ll prove they’re wrong.”

Viktor nodded then spun to face Jayce, fire in his eyes. He lifted his cane and pointed it to Jinx’s chest. “And that’s why she shouldn’t go. Not if you do not wish to ruin young Ms. Kiramman’s party.”

“Viktor!” Jinx objected but Jayce wasn’t listening to her. His eyes were locked with Viktor’s. 

“Is that really how you feel?” he asked. 

This seemed to startle Viktor who looked off balance. “Sorry?”

“Viktor I’m serious,” Jayce said, stepping into his space. He wanted to lay a hand on his shoulder– maybe grab for his hands to hold them for a moment– he wanted something tactile– grounding. Something that would make the feelings he had have real weight– more than simple words could provide them. But he didn’t think Viktor would be open to a touch right now. He still looked raw. “Is that– Have I ever made you feel that way?”

Viktor’s brow furrowed. “That is not the point.”

 It was not the denial he wanted. “And you – you just let me do that to you?”

“Am I supposed to do something else?” Viktor defended. 

There was no stopping Jayce’s hands this time. They landed firmly on Viktor’s shoulders and he barely restrained the urge to shake the man. Why? Why would Viktor let him make him feel that way. They were partners! They were supposed to be friends . He wasn’t Jayce’s pet project or some creature or anything of the like and Jayce was going to demand a list of names at the end of this conversation of people he was going to have some very serious words with. 

“Yeah!” he said, “I’m your friend I’m not supposed to– Why haven’t you said anything?”

“Why should I have to?” Viktor shot back. “You are my friend, are you not? Why haven’t you noticed?”

The words were biting and Jayce flinched. He released Viktor’s shoulders and saw the shorter man relax the tiniest bit. “That's…” Jayce started then faltered. He didn’t know what to say. “I’m sorry.”

He was sure he must have looked miserable because Viktor sighed, shoulders falling completely. He looked off to the side, unable to meet Jayce’s gaze. “No. I am. I am being harsh with you. It is not fair.” And then Viktor did something that was so rare Jayce thought he might be imagining it. Viktor reached out with his free hand and gripped Jayce’s arm, giving it a slight squeeze. “You are a good man, a better one than many of the people I have met both here and in the Undercity. I should not fault you when I choose to say nothing. You are trying.”

“I shouldn’t need to be told,” Jayce muttered. “You– Both of you deserve more than that! You are my partner! My equal! And–” Jayce faltered again.

“I know,” Viktor assured him quietly. “Jinx knows too. None of you are better than us. But neither of us will lie and that will only cause trouble. We should not go.”

“I can do it,” Jinx objected from her spot on the couch. She was watching with narrowed eyes but hadn’t moved or interjected yet. Viktor let out another deep sigh and released Jayce’s arm. Jayce tried not to mourn the loss of contact. 

“I cannot find a diplomatic way to say that I don’t believe you.” 

Jinx kicked against the back of the couch. “I talked to Caitlyn! I didn’t even yell!” 

“And I was deeply impressed by it,” Viktor said, lip twitching up. 

Jinx glowered. “I hate you,” she said.

“As long as it keeps you out of trouble that is fine.” Viktor did seem satisfied with that. Jayce was going to say something, bring him back to the topic from before where Jayce was going to drag a list of names of people who had pulled that bullshit on Viktor out of him for personal reasons but Jinx interjected again.

“You can’t stop me,” she said smugly. “Mel is going to take me shopping for an outfit.” 

Jayce looked at her. She smiled maliciously. He felt apprehension replace the guilt in his gut. Viktor looked at him. Jayce shrugged very slightly and it turned into a glare. 

“You can’t be serious,” Viktor said. 

“She wants me to go to the party,” Jinx said, satisfaction self-evident. “I already asked Dr. Ralar to take her a message.” 

For some reason Viktor turned to him. “Jayce,” he said, like this was somehow his fault.

“I didn’t know!” he protested. Jinx’s malicious grin grew even wider. He looked between them both in dawning horror and acceptance. “If Mel wants her to go we can’t stop her.” 

“You can’t be serious,” Viktor said again. He turned from Jayce who he must have decided would be no help. “You are going to get recognized and rearrested. A petty feud with Ms. Kiramman is not worth the risk,” he hissed.

Jinx smirked. “I think I’ll look nice in pink.” 

Viktor glared at the ceiling, then Jayce, then turned on his heel and began to walk away. “I am not going.” 

Jayce sighed. “Don’t be like that Viktor.” He understood– or at least had a better understanding of it now– but– “She might need you.” 

Viktor snorted. “Then she can stay here. You may go if you want. I will not be part of this. It is idiotic.” 

When he paused at the door to his room Jayce saw his shoulders drop so he made sure that what he said to Jinx next was loud enough for him to overhear. 

“Don’t worry about it,” he assured her. Though if he was being honest, she didn’t need his assurances. Viktor on the other hand– 

“I’ll keep you safe,” Jayce swore. “Promise.” 

The door did not slam behind Viktor and Jayce considered that one of the better outcomes.

Chapter Text

Jinx had a plan and everything was going to go perfectly. First though, she had to get a dress. 

“Why is it all red?” she complained as she thumbed through the options that Mel had lined up in one of the sitting rooms of her frankly offensively huge mansion. 

“You need to match Jayce’s colors,” she said mildly– picking up a red dress shirt and sniffing. She replaced it on the rack with disdain. 

Mel had appeared early the day of the party and whisked Jinx away without so much as a protest from Viktor. He had been sulky the last couple of days. He hadn’t been talking to Jayce at all and while he was still cordial with Jinx– he seemed tense. That was a him problem though. Jinx had other things to worry about. 

Mel had dragged her out of Viktor’s apartment with a bewildered Jayce (who was on thin ice but had been tentatively forgiven after siding with her on the topic of the party) trailing behind and escorted the two of them to her home– a building so large and pristine white that Jinx thought it could only be an official building of some kind but no. It was just a home for one woman with what was starting to look like an equal amount of money to her influence. Jinx made a note to remember the layout. Maybe one day she might come back here and nick a few things to take back down the Undercity once she’d taken care of Silco. Mel might not even mind. She probably expected it. 

“My colors?” Jayce asked from the other side of a clothes rack. 

Mel had brought them into a sitting room and explained that she’d selected a number of options for Jinx to choose from since Jinx couldn’t go out into the public markets or shops yet. She’d hand picked them. 

“It’s your cravat,” Mel replied. “It’s how you’ve chosen to differentiate yourself from your academy peers.”

“I didn’t realize that.” 

“I don’t like red,” Jinx said. She’d wanted pink if she was being honest and Viktor’s words about being Jayce’s creature rang a small alarm bell in her head.

Jayce, fortunately, backed her up. “Let her wear what she likes, Mel.” 

The woman shook her head. “You need consistency. If she is going she needs to belong.” 

Jinx bristled. “I don’t belong to anyone.” 

Mel shook her head but this was more resignation than anything else. “Have you found something yet?” she asked. 

“Is there anything with stripes?”

“Out of fashion.” 

Jinx narrowed her eyes. “That wasn't an answer.” 

A slight quirking of her lips. “Yes. I thought you might ask for them.” 

Jinx’s eyes narrowed. Stripes were nice– vertical ones at least. They reminded her of home. And she was going to need things that wouldn’t bring attention to her in the Undercity soon. She could always rough up the nice clothes before she escaped. Mel must have predicted that. “Thanks,” she said begrudgingly. 

For some reason this made Jayce beam at her over the top of the racks and amusement danced in Mel’s eyes. Jinx huffed and went back to browsing. 

What she had ended up with was acceptable to her. There was a red underskirt and a cream colored blouse with tiny gray pinstripes. Mel suggested a layer atop the base so most of it was covered by a two toned gray vest and over skirt– There were lengths of black belts and pins that almost have the impression of stripes and appeased the part of Jinx that thought it was too little. Not perfect, but much better. She could make this work in the undercity later. It would just need a little more layering and a lot more dirt. A red bow was tied around her neck matching Jayce’s cravat and when Mel pulled away after laying it perfectly across her collarbones Jinx glared at the man who looked very hard like he was trying not to smile. He lost. 

“It’s cute?” he offered. She glared harder. “It really is!” he exclaimed, hands raised. “The red is subtle too.” 

Mel circled Jinx and Jinx tried not to fidget under her critical eye. She seemed to be assessing something. Finally, she stopped. “It will suffice,” she said. “It is a good disguise.” 

“Disguise?” Jayce asked.

“Hold yourself with enough grace and dress like one of us and the Councilors who are in attendance will never put two and two together.” 

Jinx felt a knot in her stomach. “Other councilors are coming?” 

“Of course. I have gone over the guest list as much as I can. I have not seen any dangers. Dressed like that, you will be as safe as you can be.” 

She then moved to the back of the room. She considered a few brown paper packages there and selected one from the bunch. She handed it to Jayce. 

“For Viktor,” she said simply. “It will match.” 

Jayce blinked at her and opened his mouth but Jinx cut in. “He’s not going,” she said. 

Mel tilted her head with a smile. “We’ll see,” she said and Jinx was getting tired of her cryptic bullshit. She turned and grabbed her other clothes to change back into and headed to the curtained off corner to get out of the dress and avoid the eyes of both adults on her back. 

Jinx was the one to give the package to Viktor. 

Whether or not he came to the party, her plans didn’t change. She was going in. She was listening to what Mel had said. Mel was smart and right and powerful. She told Jinx to play nice with the enforcer girl so she would and then when the party was busy she was going to slip away from Jayce and go to the lab. He would be distracted with people and Viktor would be at home– or if he came to the party he’d be distracted there. No one would catch her when she broke into the safe where they kept the hexcrystals. She’d seen Jayce open it. She’d memorized the lock code without anyone being the wiser. The crystals would be easy to grab and then she’d go. Maybe later on down the line the enforcer girl would remember Jinx when she needed her to and she would hesitate before doing something that might be trouble. That would be worth the party along with the perfect distraction for her escape. 

She pranced to the door to Viktor’s room and knocked. She heard the dragging of feet and the click of the cane when his door opened. She smiled up at him, dressed for the evening already. 

“You seem to be in good spirits,” he said. 

She nodded, proffering the package to him. “From Mel,” she said. Viktor glanced at it and snorted. 

“Did you tell her I’m not going?” 

“Yes.” 

“And she gave me this regardless.” Despite his complaining he took the package. “Stubborn.” 

“You could come,” Jinx tried. Then she could know for sure he wouldn’t sneak back to the lab while she and Jayce were at the party. That was the only variable in her plan.

“I have already told you I will not,” Viktor said– tucking the package under his arm. “You can still back out. You do not have to go.” 

“I’m going.” 

He nodded. “Thank Mel for the package. I will give it a place of honor in the dustiest corner of my closet.” 

He turned and headed back into his room walking to the closet door and opening it. Jinx hesitated in his doorway. 

She was leaving tonight. He didn’t know it. If he stayed in here this would be the last time she would see him. It wasn’t that it made her sad but… 

Viktor had been kind at every step of the way. He had kept her fed– given her a place to rest and recover– defended her even when he hadn’t needed to. He’d kept her safe. All without question or complaint.

 He was going to keep doing that when she took his crystals and went down to the Undercity. She almost felt like if she asked right now he would give them to her and send her on her way. He had been true to his word. Kind to the last. Trustworthy. 

It wasn’t worth the risk but it was worth something. 

“Hey Viktor?”

He turned from where he was making good on his word to stuff the package in the farthest corner of his closet– eyebrow raised in question. Jinx hesitated only for a second before the words came rushing out. “Thank you.” 

Viktor’s movements slowed and he looked wary. “For what?” 

“Everything.” She fidgeted in the doorway looking down at the ground. All the food and the rest and the knowledge. The gentle touches– the laughs– the safety– the room to just… be herself for a time without the pressure of who she was and what she’d done sitting heavy on her shoulders. It was all a kindness that Viktor would never understand. He’d been under no obligation to provide it. “You didn’t have to…” 

Viktor cut her off. “I did.” He waved his hand in a gesture for her to come near him. She stepped tentatively through the door and to his side. Viktor looked down at her, brow furrowed and golden eyes sharp. She could see his hand flexing the grip on his cane. His free hand came to rest on her shoulder and she felt the gentle pressure of his fingers as he squeezed. 

It amazed her sometimes how she didn’t flinch from his touches– or Jayce’s for that matter. The weight of the hand reminded her of Vi and she was sure that was the reason she leaned into it.

Another squeeze from Viktor. “You are always welcome here,” he said quietly and Jinx didn’t mean to throw her arms around him but when her forehead was pressed into his bony waist his hand ran in comforting circles on her back. She almost believed him– for a second considered a world in which she killed Silco with Viktor’s crystals and rescued Vi and then– and then came back to him and Jayce and they forgave her and Vi forgave her and there was food and clothes and safety .  

It was a nice daydream. Filled with all the best parts of her life from the last month and the one before Silco had taken everything. She wasn’t hungry. She wasn’t desperate. She wasn’t in danger. She could just tinker all day, making her creations and having them actually work and there were people there to tell her how smart and wonderful she was. She had nice clothes and a soft bed and more books than she’d ever know what to do with. Vi was there and Vi forgave her. Vi loved her. It was perfect. 

She didn’t think she would survive it very long before she brought it crashing down around her. That couldn’t be her life. She didn’t deserve it. She didn’t know how to live in it without destroying it.

She squeezed her arms tighter around Viktor’s waist. 

His hand was in her hair now and he brushed through her bangs. 

“Are you going to wear your hair like this?” he asked– unaware of the thoughts that Jinx was having. 

“Is it not good enough?” she replied. Mel hadn’t said anything about it. 

“It is fine,” he replied. “But if you would prefer something more I can help you.”

Jinx nodded into his waist– loathe to give up the contact. He led her across the room and sat her on his bed. He perched next to her– pulling the tie from her single braid and brushing his hands through it to release the gentle waves. 

“What would you like?” he asked. 

“How do you know how to do this?” 

Viktor kept running his fingers through her hair. “I used to braid my mother’s hair before she would go to work at the chemplant. She always said I had clever hands.” 

“Oh.” 

“Loose hair is a liability. Now, what do you want?” 

Jinx hesitated. “I like the braid.” 

Viktor’s fingers split her hair down the middle– tossing two sections over her shoulders. “Perhaps two then? You have enough hair to do so.”

Jinx looked down at it. “That’s fine.”

Viktor hummed and acquiesced and her hair was pulled back over her shoulders. The two sat in comfortable silence till Viktor said, “Do you want me to come?” 

“You don’t have to.” 

“That was not the question.” 

“I don’t care.” Her plan would happen either way. 

Viktor hummed again and she felt him wrap something around the end of her hair. 

“Done,” he said. “Go look.” 

Jinx hopped up from the bed and went to the bathroom where there was a mirror. Her bangs fell loosely, parted down the middle and the two braids trailed down her back. Viktor had tied them off with two pieces of string. Jinx wasn’t sure Mel would approve. She liked it. Admiring his work in the mirror she heard the front door open with such force that she could only assume Jayce was here. 

“Jinx!” his voice called out. Jinx grinned, turning on her heel and reentering Viktor’s room. He had an amused half smile on his face.

“It seems your escort has arrived.” 

“Going to keep hiding in your room?” she asked, flipping one of the braids around her finger. 

“I am not hiding.” 

“Uh-huh.” She grinned at him and made sure it flashed her canines. 

He let out a snort. “You are a menace. Do you like your hair?” She nodded and he waved her out the door to his room. “Good. Best be going then.”  

Jinx smiled, pausing at the door and reminding herself that this would be the last time she was here. She wouldn’t see Viktor again. He was going to save her life in more ways than one.  She charged back to him and grabbed him around the middle– squeezing as hard as she could– and then darted back out of the room slamming the door behind her. She hoped he would know later after he realized she was just using him, that she’d been thankful.

Jayce stood in the living room looking at Viktor’s now closed door. 

“Everything alright?” he asked warily.

Jinx nodded. “Fine,” she said. Jayce glanced towards the door again. 

“He change his mind?”

“No.” 

“Figures.” Jayce muttered something under his breath but the only word that Jinx could make out was stubborn. He turned his attention to her. “What about you?” 

Jinx stood as tall as she could. “I’m going.” 

Jayce grinned. “Glad to hear it!” He came over and clapped her on the back and Jinx stumbled forward glaring up at him. She considered the pros of biting his hand off. Jayce didn’t seem to notice. 

“It’ll be fun!” he assured her unnecessarily. “Also, I like your hair.” 

The party was not fun. The party was boring. Jinx came to that conclusion within moments of arriving and was more sure of it by the time an hour had passed. She couldn’t say that it surprised her. She smoothed down her skirt while Jayce talked with some person that she didn’t know and hadn’t bothered to introduce herself to. 

Everything in the room was perfect. The decorations were a beautiful navy blue and white. There were tables lined with finger foods that Jayce had warded her away from because of something about “manners” but had promised that the two of them would collect some snacks to stuff their faces with in an unseen corner later. 

Without much else to do Jinx found herself people watching. There weren’t that many in the crowd. Probably 30 or so perfectly coiffed people in clothes nicer than Jinx had ever seen before. They probably cost more than feeding herself did in a month– maybe two. They were glamorous and Jinx couldn’t help but feel the tiniest bit of awe despite firmly planting her feelings in aloof resentment. 

At some point one of these people would distract Jayce enough that he wouldn’t notice her slip out. He was easily distractible and with a couple of drinks she was sure he wouldn’t notice her slip away. She just had to wait for the right time and the right person. With how closely she was watching the crowd it was easy to see when the enforcer girl appeared in the and pushed her way through a group of guests trying to greet her to approach the two of them. Jinx tried not to wince. 

“Jayce!” the black-haired woman called out. Jinx pressed up to Jayce’s side as he excused himself from the conversation he was having. 

“Cait,” he greeted warmly– grabbing her hands and pulling her into a hug when she reached them. Caitlyn laughed and Jinx tried not to sulk. She didn’t have anything to sulk about besides the presence of Caitlyn at her own party. It didn’t have anything to do with how Jayce’s hand lifted from her shoulder when he pulled her in. When they were done sharing their happy little moment the enforcer girl’s blue eyes keyed in on Jinx’s presence and a brilliant smile overtook her face. 

“Jinx! You came!” she said. Jinx didn’t greet her, just narrowed her eyes and nodded. She felt like Mel couldn’t fault her for this. It was nicer than biting. Caitlyn just smiled and luckily didn’t try to pull Jinx into any kind of physical greeting. She was smart enough to not do that at least. The enforcer girl glanced around. “Is Viktor here?” 

Jayce’s smile slipped momentarily but he recovered quickly. “He decided not to come. His leg was acting up and–” 

Caitlyn snorted. “Isn’t it always?” 

“I– well–” 

“You don’t have to make excuses for him Jayce,” she said. “I understand if he didn’t want come. Besides, we did talk.” 

Her voice held no malice. Jinx thought she might be being honest. 

Jayce sighed. “What did you two talk about?” 

“Politics.”

Jayce grimaced while the enforcer girl laughed. Jinx tried to tell herself it was a fine, normal, people laugh that wasn’t grating and shouldn’t be something to insult her over. She caught a glimpse of white and gold across the room. Mel was here. She’d be watching. She straightened herself and tried to smile through the conversation.

“It was very informative. I’m not sure that I agree with everything he’s saying but some of it… has merit. It’s at least intriguing and worth investigating.” 

A fond smile overtook Jayce’s face and he reached out and knocked her shoulder with his hand. “There she is. My little detective.” 

Caitlyn’s nose wrinkled in distaste and she shared a surprising conspiratorial eyeroll with Jinx– who was also rolling her eyes (but not in solidarity!) and didn’t appreciate how Caitlyn had made it a thing . 

“Not yet,” the enforcer girl said humbly. 

“Soon. With those scores you’ll be out of training and fully fledged in no time.” 

Jinx couldn’t decide if that would be better or worse for her so she didn’t say anything. Cailtyn’s attention turned back to her and Jinx tried to inconspicuously press into Jayce’s side. She wished she’d stop doing that. 

“Are you enjoying the party, Jinx?” 

No. “It’s fine.” 

Caitlyn's eyes sparkled. “Stuffy isn’t it?” 

That had to be a trick question. Jinx looked to Jayce for an answer. He gave a conspiratorial grin and nodded. 

“The price tag on the decorations alone could feed me for a year.” 

“Probably,” Caitlyn said without shame. Jinx felt her lip curl but kept herself in check. “The food is good though,” she said. “The two of you should go get some.” 

“We were going to grab some and sneak off later,” Jayce said despite Jinx’s hopeful glance. 

Caitlyn shrugged. “Suit yourself.” She let out a deep sigh. “I’ve got other guests to greet before I can sneak away.” 

“I’ll save some for you,” Jayce said. “An hour– the usual spot?” he asked. Caitlyn lit up and nodded before she turned with a wave and walked away back into the crowd. Jinx felt herself relax before another voice called over the din. 

“Jayce! Lovely to see you! And who is this?” An older woman bustled out of the crowd and Jinx felt Jayce straighten up next to her– standing at his full height. 

“Councilor Kiramman! Lovely to see you as well,” he said and made a slight bow to the woman. So this was Caitlyn’s mother and a Councilor. Jinx tried not to tense up. This woman knew about her escape– knew about her imprisonment. She had a chance of recognizing her. 

Carry yourself with grace , Mel had said. Jinx straightened herself. She wasn’t going to flinch away from this. She’d already pressed into Jayce’s side as far as she could go with Caitlyn. This woman wouldn’t scare her. She was better than that. 

Maybe Caitlyn had power but it was all derivative. It all came from the woman dressed in a puffy, silk maroon gown. Jinx felt like she’d done a fair job with Caitlyn. She could do better with her mother.

But then Jayce had a hand on her shoulder and pushed her in front of him . She tried not to squawk when he did so. She glared up and he just sent her a wink. “This is Jinx. She’s a young cousin of Viktor’s. She’s visiting from the Undercity.” 

The Councilwoman blinked. Then her focus narrowed on Jinx who did not fidget under her gaze. Belong , Mel had said. She could do that. She purposefully released her tension and greeted the Councilwoman’s eyes with a cool gaze of her own. Mrs. Kiramman cocked her head. “The Undercity you say?” 

“Yes.” 

“It’s nice to meet you ma’am,” Jinx said in her best imitation of Mel’s airy warmth. Jayce’s hand on her shoulder tightened and she had the feeling she’d surprised him. Well, if he was going to shove her into the spotlight she was going to play along. Just because he’d never seen it didn’t mean she didn’t know how to play polite. He’d missed when she’d tried it the first time with Mel. She liked to think she’d gotten better since then. She let her eyes widen and her smile unfurl like it had the first time she’d seen Piltover’s casual decadence as she looked up at the Councilor and mimicked Jayce’s slight bow. 

“Oh. Aren’t you darling?” the Councilwoman cooed. “It’s nice to meet you too, Jinx. You have a lovely dress! And the way you and Jayce are matching! Adorable.” 

Jinx did a small curtsey and heard Jayce choke on a laugh behind her. “Thank you ma’am.” 

“And manners too!” The councilwoman laid a hand on Jayce’s arm. “I knew your Viktor must come from good stock.” 

Jayce’s voice sounded strained and Jinx decided that if he laughed she could not be held responsible for her actions. She wished she could kick him. “I, well. Yes. Yes he does.” 

“Did he come along?” 

“No ma’am. He wasn’t feeling very good.” 

“Such a shame. Such a shame,” she twittered. “Oh! Professor Heimerdinger! A moment!” 

Jinx saw a fuzzy figure shorter than herself and dressed in a blue and gold suit wander over from the crowd. “Mrs. Kiramman! And Jayce my boy! How wonderful to see you this fine evening! And…” 

His blue eyes landed on her and she saw his eyebrows draw together. Jayce’s hand tensed on her shoulder in a way it hadn’t with Councilor Kiramman. That was a warning. Jinx’s interest sharpened. The yordle could be like Mel then– harder to fool. She would have to be careful. Luckily Mrs. Kiramman stepped in for the introduction.

“Jinx! Viktor’s cousin from the Undercity! Isn’t she darling?” 

“She is…” he trailed off still eyeing her. Jinx got the feeling that it wasn’t meant to be an agreement but instead his words had failed. She didn’t shift under his gaze– especially when she saw it follow the line of one of her shockingly blue braids. Instead she stepped away from Jayce, her best impression of Mel’s smile on her face.

“It’s nice to meet you,” she said offering her hand.

The yordle looked taken by surprise for a moment but then relaxed. He took her hand and shook it firmly. “It’s wonderful to meet you Ms. Jinx. It’s funny,” he added casually as he let go. “Viktor has never mentioned having family to me. He told me his parents were dead.” 

Jinx could tell he was looking for a reaction but she just blinked down at him. “So are mine,” she said.

Heimerdinger immediately withdrew and Jinx felt Jayce step up beside her again. 

“I am sorry to hear that,” the yordle said and Jinx thought that was probably true. Whatever test he might have been giving her she thought she’d passed it. She leaned back into Jayce’s side. Perhaps they could retreat from this conversation now that Heimerdinger had clearly put his foot in his mouth.

Jayce seemed to have other ideas.

“That's why she’s currently staying with us,” he said in a hurried explanation. “Professor Heimerdinger, you would love Jinx! She’s brilliant!” 

“Jayce!” Jinx hissed. He ignored her.

“I don’t want to give too much away but there's been a recent… development with hextech.” 

That seemed to grab both councilors' attention. 

“Oh?” Councilor Kiramman prompted. 

“It’s all thanks to her. She gave Viktor and I the push we needed to get through it. She’s amazing.” 

Heimerdinger gave her a considering look. “That’s quite impressive. Will she be attending the next sponsor meeting? I would love to hear more about her contributions.” 

“I– umm.” Jayce stuttered. “We don’t know yet. She may be going home. We don’t know how long she’s going to need to stay with us.” 

The yordle shook his head with a disappointed smile. “Well that’s a shame. I hope to see you there, Ms. Jinx.” 

Jinx just nodded at him while Mrs. Kiramman pulled in closer to Jayce. “You said you don’t want to say too much but surely you could give us a small peek into your discovery,” she said and with that Jayce pulled the two into a conversation. 

Jinx could see what he was doing now. He was solidifying her place. His praise of her intelligence and her own play at niceties had been enough to firmly separate her from whatever suspicions they’d had about the girl from the Undercity who’d escaped from the prison. Not only that but the boldness with which he’d displayed her would probably be unexpected if they thought he knew she was a criminal. Even if Heimerdinger had seemed initially suspicious Jayce had played their cards right. They had fooled them. 

Jayce allowed Jinx fall behind him after a few moments while their attention was on him. Out of the scrutiny of the Councilor’s she was able to breath and take a step back. Jayce laced his hands behind his back like he was standing at attention but Jinx caught the waving gesture he made at her with his hand. He was pointing her in the direction of the snack tables and Jinxed paused.

She knew this was it. This was the time. Jayce was properly distracted and engrossed in the conversation. He was sending her off probably expecting to meet up with her once he’d properly dealt with the Councilors. If there was ever a time to go, it was now. She looked up at him. 

She hesitated. 

The Councilors would surely be suspicious if she excused herself from the conversation without saying goodbye. She was at the party with Jayce they probably wouldn’t expect her to sneak off. That would be incriminating. It was not an excuse, she told herself as she wrapped her arms as far as she could around his waist in a quick hug. She heard him stutter mid-sentence before she darted away towards the snack tables. When she looked back, he was throwing her the occasional concerned glance but was clearly trapped in the conversation. He couldn’t escape the hungry talons of the councilors. Jinx just waved at him from the tables until he stopped being able to look at her and fully embedded himself in the conversation again. 

It was not a goodbye because a goodbye would mean that she cared and she didn’t. Still she felt a wave of something wash over her and she used it to harden her resolve. She moved quietly and quickly. She snatched a couple of cakes from the table for good measure and pressed herself along the shadows of the back walls. She shoved one into her mouth while made her way to the exit.

The foyer of the Kiramman mansion was large and sparsely populated when Jinx stepped out into it. The nice thing about being a kid that nobody knew was that no one was paying attention to her. She popped the other cake into her mouth and wiped her fingers on her dress. Nobody was there to see the break in decorum. She slipped out the door and onto the stairs. All that was left was to pass through the gates.

She paused for a moment at the top step taking a deep breath. This was it. This was the end. She–

A rough hand landed on her shoulder jerking her to an abrupt halt.

Jayce, she thought. He’d caught up with her somehow.

The fingernails dug into her flesh painfully. She tensed.

Not Jayce.  

A wave a panic overtook her as she tried instinctively to wrench away but the grip was tight.

“You.”

She knew that voice. She froze and for a second she was being dragged from her room in the Last Drop scrambling and screaming for the limp form of her sister on the bed. The motion and the terror was real as Sheriff Marcus heaved her to his side.

 “You’re coming with me,” he hissed.

That snapped Jinx out of it. No she wasn’t. She wasn’t that helpless little girl anymore. She lurched in his grip trying desperately to break it. 

“Don’t touch me,” she snarled. She stomped backwards with her heel and drove the point of it into the man’s fine dress shoes. There was a bout of barely quieted swearing and she continued to struggle against his grip but he held fast. She’d almost managed to pry his fingers off when she felt her feet lift from the ground with the force of a push. He dragged her to the wall near the front door and slammed her against it. 

Jinx’s breath left her and she slouched in his hold. Then with a quick breath she went completely limp. When she did the man suddenly had to compensate and put both hands on her but she bolted up and twisted so at least now she was facing him. 

It was him. In a suit and dress shoes and the shadow of a scraggly mustache. There were dark circles under his eyes which looked equal parts murderous and triumphant. Rage coursed through her. That wouldn’t do. She strained her neck and bit the Sheriff’s arm with as much force as she could muster. She didn’t draw blood through the thick fabric but it was a close thing. He let out another muffled scream as he jerked the arm away and Jinx suddenly realized that he was trying to be quiet. Jayce’s name was on her lips as she opened her mouth to scream but a hand slammed over it. She immediately tried to dig her teeth in but he’d apparently learned his lesson and cupped his fingers to keep them out of reach.

“You have caused so much trouble,” he hissed against her writhing form. “You are going to get us both killed. Shut up. Stay silent and–”

“Am I interrupting?” 

There was a crack and Sheriff Marcus went stumbling back away from Jinx who immediately turned and planted a kick to his stomach. The man wheezed alternating between clutching his stomach and the back of his head. Jinx scrambled away to her savior. To–

Viktor. 

He stood on the top step cane raised from where he’d struck the Sheriff. He was dressed in the matching finery that Mel had given him– a striped red and black undershirt with a two-toned grey vest– and he looked positively murderous . His lips were pulled back into a snarl and if Jinx hadn’t immediately thrown herself into his arms he probably would have gone for another swing. Instead, he wrapped his free hand around the back of Jinx’s head and pulled her close. He grounded the cane and started pulling her towards the door. 

“Inside. Now,” he said and Jinx hurried along with him as the Sheriff started to recover. 

“You–” the man wheezed. 

“You’ll keep your hands off her,” Viktor said, voice menacing but still retreating to the door. 

“How dare you. She is–” 

“My ward. My cousin from the Undercity and you are unlawfully laying hands on her.” 

The Sheriff rose. “You had her. You had her this whole time,” he said in realization– taking a step towards them. “I’m going to–” 

“Jinx!” And suddenly Jayce was there– the front door thrown wide as he stepped out onto the veranda. He almost stumbled when he saw the two of them. “Viktor?” he said in surprise. Then he took in the sheriff standing off to the side and the protective arm Viktor had around Jinx and his expression darkened. He still wore a smile but danger lurked beneath the expression. Jinx had never felt so relieved. He jerked his head towards the door though his eyes didn’t leave the Sheriff who was frozen under his stare. 

Viktor and Jinx needed no encouragement. They were back inside the sparsely populated foyer now and Jinx clutched Viktor’s coat tails in her shaking fists while Jayce followed just a step behind a hand on Viktor’s shoulder.. 

“Wait,” snarled the Sheriff and Jinx flinched further into Viktor’s arms. 

 Jayce immediately turned on his heel putting himself firmly between them but keeping his hand on Viktor. “Is there a problem here?” he asked, smile on his face and fury dancing in his eyes.

Viktor laid a hand on Jayce’s bicep when Jinx thought it looked like he might punch the man. Jinx tried not to resent him for it. 

“No,” he said to Jayce even though the question was not directed at him. Not here. Jinx translated. It was more a warning rather than an answer. “Sheriff Marcus was just introducing himself to Jinx.” 

“Oh.” Jayce’s smile somehow grew more brittle. “For a moment it looked like something else might be going on.” He turned his icy, faux friendly gaze on the Sheriff– who had made his way in now and was looking around nervously at the people in the foyer whose attention had been drawn by Jayce. Jayce for his part ignored the attention. “I don’t think I’ve had the pleasure. Caitlyn! ” he called out towards the main hall. Jinx didn’t think that was going to work but to her surprise Caitlyn popped her head round the door and saw the three of them, Jinx clutching Viktor’s side and the two firmly situated behind Jayce in a stand off with Sheriff Marcus. Her eyes widened with alarm but she recovered quickly hurried towards Jayce who said in his most fake cheery voice, “Come introduce us!

“Sheriff Marcus! I didn’t know you’d be attending,” she said. 

The Sheriff looked like he wanted to say something else but was obligated to respond to her unstated question thanks to social niceties. “Yes,” he gritted out. “Your mother invited me last minute. I didn’t think I’d be able to attend but I found myself with time to make an appearance.” 

Caitlyn’s eyes narrowed. “I see,” she said. She hadn’t been the one to invite him. Jinx thought this was probably some kind of bribe on Mrs. Kiramman’s part. Caitlyn didn’t seem to appreciate that he was here. Finally, something she and Jinx could agree on.  

Caitlyn seemed to pull out of her thoughts and she slipped back into a neutral smile. She extended a hand to the man which he took and shook despite his eyes never leaving Jinx. “Sheriff Marcus, I’m delighted that you could make it even if it was last minute. Mother did keep saying she’d invited a special guest for me. I see that you are already mingling. This is Jayce Talis, his partner Viktor, and Viktor’s young cousin Jinx.” 

The scowl on his face grew in proportion to Jayce’s grin. Jayce stood tall, chest out and approached the man like a barrel chested force of nature. He stuck out his hand. “A pleasure,” he said with cheery menace, dwarfing the man in front of him.

The Sheriff reached out and shook it and winced at the force that Jayce applied to the handshake. Jinx almost cheered but instead she kept her face pressed into Viktor’s side. She didn’t want to move her hands away.

“Likewise,” the Sheriff said with an equal amount of venom. He released Jayce’s hand and the two of them stood eyeing each other up for a moment. Caitlyn seemed to be looking between them trying to figure out what was going on. Viktor had relaxed slightly in Jinx’s hold.

Jayce turned from the Sheriff then and was at Jinx’s side. He looked down at her and whatever he saw when he met her eye made his expression break from icy to gentle with a side of stormy. He reached down and hoisted her up without preamble, swinging her onto his shoulders. She let him. He grabbed her still shaking hands in his. “Looking a bit pale there, kiddo,” he said. “Party getting a bit much for you?” 

The out was clear. But Sheriff Marcus was right there . Panic welled in Jinx’s chest. He would see and he’d follow them home and then– and then–

“Jayce,” a velvet voice spoke up from the door to the main room. Jayce twisted to see and Jinx had to admit that she had never been so relieved at the sight of Mel Medarda. 

“Mel!” he called– letting go of one of Jinx’s hands to send her a friendly wave. Jinx looked to Sheriff Marcus who was looking between Councilor Medarda and Jayce in panic. He dared a look to her. All at once Jinx felt the fear and the grief and the anguish well up in her. Then she breathed in and turned it into rage. Gone was the urge to flinch and never had the shaking of her hands been anything other than barely contained, incandescent fury. How dare he make her feel like this. She squeezed Jayce’s hand and gave the Sheriff a grin that was all teeth.

“Just the man I was looking to find,” Mel said as she approached. “Oh. Viktor and Jinx as well. What a lovely surprise to see you here.” The smile she graced them with was friendly and fond like she truly was pleased to see them there. It spoke to a closeness that Jinx knew was feigned as did the light touch she laid on Viktor’s arm. It was overly familiar and more than she had ever done before. She was staking her claim on them. She redirected the bubble of offense that the gesture caused her back to the Sheriff. He’d put her in this position.

 Viktor nodded at her and responded with a quiet, “Indeed.” 

Mel turned to look up at her next. “Jinx, darling, how are you?” she asked like she hadn’t seen her a literal five hours ago.

Of course she’d also been better five hours ago. “Fine, Councilor,” she gritted out. Mel gave her a simpering smile but Jinx recognized the way she narrowed her eyes and tilted her head. Control, she could almost hear Mel say. Jinx breathed in and then back out. She loosened her vice like grip on Jayce’s hand. The anger remained but the fire had been quelled.

Mel’s smile grew. “Good,” she said then took a step back. She looked towards the Sheriff, consideringly, then said. “I finished up your transfer of guardianship this morning, you’ll be happy to hear.” 

Jinx blinked.

 “What?” Jayce blurted out at the same time the Sheriff let out a loud “What!” from behind her.

The Councilor gave the Sheriff a raised brow and he quieted under her curious stare. Jinx could tell he was seething just beneath the surface but he wasn’t fool enough to draw too much attention to himself. 

“Yes,” Mel replied, turning back to them. “Viktor, the paperwork you were able to provide for proof of citizenship and her records from the Undercity were surprisingly thorough given the area the two of you are from. It made the process much quicker.” 

Viktor looked surprised but quickly covered it up and his own awkward, faux smile rose to his face.

“I am glad to hear it, Councilor.” 

“I have told you to call me Mel, Viktor. No need to be so formal. We are all friends here.” 

“Apologies, Mel,” Viktor corrected– the only tell of his displeasure was the tightening of his grip on his cane. Jinx almost laughed at him. Mel looked downright smug.

“Her paperwork?” Caitlyn pressed curiously. Mel tossed her a look like she’d forgotten she was there– which Jinx was sure she hadn’t. This was a show and Mel looked like was having fun.

“Yes,” Mel replied. “Viktor and Jayce requested a favor from me. I personally reviewed her paperwork and expedited her legal guardianship to her nearest relatives.” 

“Then she is legally my ward,” Viktor stated. 

“And Jayce's. Jinx,” Councilor Medarda said, turning to look up at her again. “I thought I’d ask. Do you want your last name to be Talis on the paperwork? I know surnames are uncommon in the Undercity but I do think Jinx Talis has a wonderful ring to it.” 

Jayce choked and Jinx had almost forgotten she was on his shoulders. Caitlyn interrupted. “But Jayce isn’t related to Jinx. You said nearest relatives–”

“Yes. Well. Legally, him and Viktor are–” Mel cut off abruptly and suddenly glanced nervously between the two men. She raised a hand to her lips as if she had let something slip out that she hadn’t meant to. She straightened herself and gave Viktor and Jayce an apologetic look. 

It was a wonderful show. Jinx was almost jealous but she felt Jayce’s shoulder’s go taunt underneath her. When she looked to Viktor he looked equal parts shocked and indignant. 

“Perhaps I’ve said too much,” Mel said quietly. “Your private lives are your own to share, of course. I apologize for overstepping.” 

There was silence for a moment before Caitlyn muttered a sharp and dangerously low, “Jayce?” 

Jinx thrust her hands down and wound them in Jayce’s lapels when he started. The man was going to throw her off . 

“Caitlyn,” he replied warily.

“Jayce!” Caitlyn hissed charging up to him. Jayce took a step back and Jinx ducked under a party streamer that almost hit her in the head from the movement. 

“Caitlyn I can explain,” he said hands up. 

“Can you?” Viktor asked dryly and when Jinx looked at him the look he was leveling the Councilor with was absolutely scathing. Mel didn’t even have the decency to look ashamed.

“I leave you alone for a month –” Caitlyn said. 

“Cait you are making this out to be bigger than it is,” Jayce said letting go of Jinx to raise his hands in a plea. “This is your party. I don’t want to steal your thunder.” 

Caitlyn looked downright murderous. “By announcing your engagement? Or are you already married? Jayce Talis, are you married? I swear–” 

Viktor grabbed Jayce’s arm before he took another step back and rammed Jinx into another party decoration. He stilled under his touch and so did Caitlyn who eyed the contact with surprise even if the indignation never left her face. 

“Pass her to me,” Viktor said.

Jayce turned from Caitlyn. “You can’t even carry her,” he protested.

Viktor gave him a withering look and Jayce sighed, lifting Jinx from his shoulders and letting her attach herself to Viktor’s waist again. As soon as she was down, Caitlyn was back to hounding him and Jayce was trying to interject with something about taxes and shared expenses. Jinx looked away from them to see that the Sheriff had retreated. He was still staring at them and clearly fuming but she would bet money that he valued his life more than enough to avoid crossing Mel Medarda. 

Viktor pulled her to a nearby wall and leaned against it, letting himself slide down on his good leg while he extended out the bad one. The awkward squat didn’t look entirely comfortable to Jinx. He did something surprising then and pulled her into a gentle hug. Jinx tensed at the unexpected touch for a second before throwing her own arms around his shoulders. 

“Alright?” he asked quietly. Of course. This was just a way for them to have a quiet conversation that wouldn’t draw suspicion.

She could still feel the eyes of Sheriff Marcus on her. He’d almost had her. He knew where she was– who she’d been with– everyone was in danger and it was her fault. The rage still burned in her chest and made her eyes water. Her hands were still shaking. 

“Yes,” she lied. 

Viktor squeezed her tighter. “It will be alright.” 

It wouldn’t be. “He knows,” she whispered. 

“But nobody else does.” Viktor pulled back, giving her a gentle pat on the cheek. “Confidence. Where is your bite?” he asked and Jinx looked at him.

“Used it earlier,” she said. “Don’t think it broke the skin but it’ll definitely bruise.” 

Viktor grinned– sharp and lopsided. “That’a girl,” he said. Then louder, in the direction of Jayce and Caitlyn. “You are making a scene.” He rose from the wall. 

“Yes, exactly, which I keep telling you I was trying to avoid,” Jayce said hurriedly to the enforcer girl. “We can talk about it later Caitlyn.” 

She looked like she was going to start another tirade but Councilor Medarda intervened. 

“I believe the three of you were on your way out?” she asked. “I thought I heard Jayce say that Jinx was growing overwhelmed by the party. I was about to take my leave as well. Would you mind if I walked with you?” 

Jayce gave a quick nod– grabbing her offer like a lifeline. Caitlyn looked petulant and Jinx could see a sliver of hurt in her eyes but she did back off. Viktor laid his hand on Jinx’s shoulder and guided her towards the door. 

“Keep up,” he called over his shoulder and Jinx heard Jayce snort. 

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him pause in his hurry to catch up to them. The smile he gave the Sheriff was one that bared his teeth and looked more snarl than anything else. It was hers. She was almost proud when she heard him say, “Sheriff, it was a pleasure to meet you.” 

“ What was that?” Jayce blurted out moments later when they’d gotten far enough away from the party. 

“That was me saving your lives,” Mel replied mildly. “I’ll have the paperwork for you all by morning.” 

“And what paperwork is that exactly?” Viktor asked acerbically at the same time that Jayce let out a scandalized, “Mel!” 

Jinx pressed closer into Viktor’s side, glancing behind them to make sure that they weren’t being followed. Mel had assured them that the Sheriff would never and had only just arrived at the party and so was obligated to stay for a time. But Viktor had also just arrived at the party and had left so Jinx was not convinced. 

“Your marriage certificate for one. Would you prefer civil or common law?” 

Jayce let out and indecipherable noise. “I–” 

“Common law.”

“Viktor!” 

Mel nodded. “I do love it when you’re reasonable. The guardianship paperwork will be presented tomorrow as well.” 

There was another reigning silence. Jinx could hear footsteps behind them but they were accompanied by the occasional giggle of Mylo or Claggor. She didn’t think they were real. It was hard to tell for sure. She hoped the adults weren’t so distracted that they weren’t also paying attention. Regardless, they didn’t react so she had to assume it was her mind playing tricks on her.

“Why?” Jayce finally asked. 

Mel had apparently been waiting for that. “Because things are a mess now. I have personally vouched for you and your now daughter. The Sheriff cannot bring that into question without undeniable proof or he has put himself directly against me– which even our esteemed sheriff would be smart enough to avoid.” 

Jayce shook his head. “Yeah, got that. But why married? ” 

Mel sighed. “Viktor has the most claim to the Jinx through your own fabrication. If you had claimed her as a relative it may not have been necessary but as it is, he has no power. Friendship will not protect him. Your name will and, likewise, it will protect Jinx.” 

That seemed to shut Jayce up for a bit. He stewed. Viktor’s grip around her shoulders tightened minutely and Jinx looked up at him. He looked resigned. 

“And when she leaves?” he asked, quietly. 

Jinx felt her stomach twist. In the commotion she’d almost forgotten. She was supposed to be leaving tonight. Her plan… Panic rose in her. The Sheriff knew. He knew . He couldn’t do anything to her but he knew where she was and who she was with and tonight would be the last chance she’d have at a surprise attack because he was going to tell Silco after this and then it would all be over.

Unaware of Jinx’s panic, Mel continued on. “You are her legal guardians. Perhaps she is spending time with your other family in the Undercity. It’s not like anyone will look close enough at her to care. The Sheriff has no proof to the contrary.” 

“And we do?” Viktor asked.

“Why do you think I’m escorting you home? We have work to do. It will be a long night to get the information I need to forge the documents.” 

“Do I get a say in this?” Jinx blurted out. Maybe she could stop this from happening. If Viktor and Jayce attached their names to Jinx when she disappeared and did what she had to do they were going to get in trouble. What if after she left the Sheriff came knocking and hurt them? Not that she cared about that. She didn’t. She couldn’t. But there was some small part of her that wanted to rip the Sheriff’s eyes out at the thought. 

She couldn’t stand any more grief in her name. Hadn’t she done enough? Hadn’t she hurt enough people? It didn’t matter who they were or if she cared (which she didn’t she insisted while she clung to Viktor’s coat tails). All that mattered was that it was her fault. Another addendum to the list of things she didn’t do . That’s why the thought made her want to curl up and die– why it stoked her rage with frustration and something like heartbreak. It was what made her cling to Viktor’s side and press her nose into his waist so hard she felt him shift slightly away. 

She didn’t want them to get hurt or in trouble. It couldn’t be her fault.

“No,” Mel replied and Jinx curled in on herself. Of course not. 

Mel seemed to pick up on Jinx’s turmoil. The words she offered were not comforting but they were as gentle as Jinx had ever heard her. “It is what has to happen to protect all parties involved, including myself.”

Viktor’s arm tightened again. “The sheriff will likely know that you know now,” he said to Mel. 

“Yes. Unfortunately.” 

“Your plan to have him lead you to his benefactor will be harder.” 

“Yes,” Mel replied.

Another squeeze. “You could have let us drown.” 

“Yes.” 

There was a bout of silence before Viktor uttered a soft, “Thank you.” 

Mel nodded. Viktor subsided. Jinx stewed and Jayce– 

Jayce blurted out, “Do we need rings?” 

Jinx sat on her desk and stared out the window into the dimly lit streets of Piltover. Everything was vaguely lit here even at night. There was no true darkness like there was in the Undercity. She’d had her fingers on the sill for the past half hour. 

She was stalling. That was the truth of it. She could hear the adults in the living room speaking in hushed voices as they did their best to make a new life for her that she didn’t want– or, well she did want it. She wanted it very badly if she allowed herself to think about it too much. If she returned to the daydream of earlier today she could lay down to sleep. In the morning she would legally belong with Jayce and Viktor. The Sheriff wouldn’t be able to hurt her anymore and she could keep going to the lab, keep learning, keep letting Jayce swing her around in excited circles when she solved a problem. Keep letting Viktor comfort her in his quiet, stilted words. Keep fooling them into thinking she was someone worth the effort.

Tomorrow morning she could have that and it was a shock how much she wanted it– how much a month had softened her resolve. 

But letting her stay wouldn’t turn out well. It never did. They just didn’t know that yet. 

If she stayed she’d destroy this somehow. She didn’t know what or how but it would happen. Hell, she’d apparently already almost done it to Jayce without even knowing. She’d blown up his room and almost gotten him exiled right before everything had come crashing down around her. Maybe this was fate. She was a Jinx. It had brought her back to finish the job. Well she wasn’t going to let that happen. She couldn’t take another ghost haunting her. The only person in the world who knew – who understood – was still out there, protecting her. Vi had chosen her. Jinx didn’t know why but she had.

And tonight was her only chance. She adjusted the bag she had on her back. It was the one that Jayce had given her and it was filled with more of the smoke grenades he’d helped her build plus the one she’d modified herself that he hadn’t seen yet. Vi’s rabbit stuck out the top like a silent sentinel. It made her feel a bit better to know he was there. 

She didn’t have time to go to the lab. Going there would increase the chances that the Sheriff left the party and headed down to the Undercity to tell Silco she was coming for him. She wasn’t sure he hadn’t already but this was her best chance– the only time she was going to have. 

Still she hesitated. It was awful how much she didn’t want to go. She let the resentment bubble in her chest. She didn’t care. That was that. She was going to save the one thing that mattered. She still hadn’t opened the window. 

Jinx squeezed her eyes shut and didn’t sob. It wasn’t a choice. Vi had come back for her– saved her after everything. What kind of sister would Jinx be if she didn’t do the same? It didn’t matter that the voice in her head telling her to stay sounded a lot like Vi. It didn’t matter that she was telling her it was okay . She couldn’t.  

She threw open the window and slipped out into the night. 

Chapter Text

“How are you fine with this?” Jayce asked him while the two of them took a break in the kitchen away from Mel’s prying eyes. 

It had been a few hours since they’d returned home. Mel had immediately started interrogating Viktor on details of the life that they were building for Jinx and, consequently, himself. She was his cousin on his mother’s side. Her parents had died at the massacre on the bridge (best to stick to the truth where he could). She had been staying with a family friend until her recent passing leaving Viktor as her only blood relative and option for guardian since his own parents were gone as well. 

It was operable. Solid even. There was no one to contradict a story like that and it was common enough in the Undercity. Birth places, previous addresses, hospital visits, education records– they would be easy enough to forge. It wasn’t like the Undercity was exceptionally thorough about those things. Really Mel mostly needed to know so she could match stationary for the documents she’d have forged later as proof of the ones she would provide in the morning. It was easy. 

What was less than easy was Jayce’s silence while the two of them talked. It wasn’t natural. Jayce wasn’t a silent person. Viktor could feel his eyes on his back for the entirety of the interrogation. Eventually it had gotten to be too much and Viktor had excused himself to the kitchen under the pretense of making tea. He found himself doing that more and more often lately. He didn’t even drink tea– before Jinx had come into their lives his kitchen had been almost entirely unused. 

Jayce had stood and followed him a heartbeat after which Viktor had expected but had almost hoped he wouldn’t. He wasn’t exactly looking forward to this conversation.

“Do I have a choice but to be?” Viktor asked, setting the kettle on the heat of the stove. It would take a few moments for the water to boil. He wasn’t sure if he wanted it to go faster or slower. At least when Mel was speaking they had been able to avoid this.

“Of course you do.” 

He would think that wouldn’t he? Jayce always thought they had a choice in the matter. They might have if they hadn’t gone to the party– if the Sheriff hadn’t attended– if Mel Medarda hadn’t vouched for them. 

Jayce still might have a choice but Viktor was no fool. Mel Medarda knew what she had done and he knew that he owed her for it. He could not put her in a position where she might be made to look an iota less than trustworthy. He didn’t have a choice but to play along. 

“Then I choose to be at peace with it.” 

“Viktor…” It was that warning tone again– like the one he’d used when he’d left Jinx the day they’d gone back to the lab– a gentle chastisement. Viktor felt like it was deeply unfair. He’d warned them. He’d told them both not to go.

“We do not have a choice but to go along with what Councilor Medarda is planning,” he said. “If we do not have a choice in that then I see no point in being upset about it.”

“We have a choice. We can tell her no,” Jayce said stubbornly. 

“Will you?” 

“Will you ?” Jayce returned like a child.

Viktor paused– discomfort worming in his stomach. He leaned up against the countertop near the stove, crossing his arms. “Do you want me to?” 

Viktor had accepted his fate. Already he’d been compartmentalizing his feelings on the subject. He had been focused on what this would mean for himself and for Jinx– he had brought that to the forefront and put all other thoughts– the ones that he arguably shouldn’t have been having about his friend– his partner– away. 

He had gutted the fool part of himself that shivered at the thought of what Mel was proposing– that sent his heartbeat racing. He’d dissected and dismantled the feelings that reared their stubborn, ugly heads– the ones responsible for the surge of warmth and affection he felt when Jayce smiled just on the side of too bright and too manic– the ones responsible for how his skin burned like a brand whenever Jayce laid a gentle, heavy hand on his shoulder or his arm– the ones that dragged out the memories of Jayce’s face brilliant and euphoric in the light of the hexcrystal– the ones that reveled in the exasperation and affection etched into the worry lines of his brow and enticed Viktor to do something foolish in the din of the lab where arcane energy arched between them snapping and sparking like bridges across the chasm of space between them– where he felt almost equal. 

He knew what they were. He would have to be stupid not to. But above all he knew they were silly things– impossibilities. Not to mention a risk he couldn’t take– the blowback from something like that if things went badly– he’d risk losing everything– he couldn’t. He’d laughed in Jinx’s face when she’d called them partners. He’d good naturedly ribbed Jayce and reminded himself that any blustering or arguing on the other man’s part was simply his hurt pride and not a thing that should inspire the fluttering of hope in his stomach. The idea was absurd. 

He’d shoved all of it to the corner of his mind where he put the things he found no purpose in dwelling on– like dead parents and a lifetime of injustices. He’d been doing it since they’d first met. He was well practiced in separating his feelings from the subject of Jayce Talis and considering the proper, logical conclusions of their interactions. Which was why he was sure they were not affecting his decision to accept this– besides, he would never want to force Jayce’s hand– not like this. This was a purely unpleasant business decision that had to be made.

But he’d forgotten that Jayce might not be on the same page. What was easy for him might not be for Jayce. For the first time since they’d left Ms. Kiramman’s party, Viktor looked at him– really looked at him. 

The first thing he noticed was the uncharacteristic slump to his shoulders. He was unsure and Jayce was never unsure about anything. Not a good sign. The man was undoubtedly still reeling. The next was the downward turn of his lips and the tension he carried in his jaw. He must have been gritting his teeth– an obvious sign of displeasure. He was pacing too– tapping away with his fingers on his crossed arms and occasionally running a hand through his hair. Viktor thought guilt was probably as unproductive as the rest of his feelings on the matter but it was one that was much harder to shove away. 

Of course Jayce wouldn’t be fine with this. For Viktor– whose prospects were small– who had nothing to lose and only stability to gain it was easy. But for Jayce it would be a step down– a concession. He would be giving up the possibility of a future with another– with someone he actually wanted– to protect a child he’d known for a month and a friend– a work friend at that. It made perfect sense that he was chafing against the idea. 

“I don’t know,” Jayce said after a moment of silence interrupted only by the sound of his pacing. 

“You could walk away. I would not blame you for it,” Viktor offered softly. He wasn’t sure what he would do if he did. Surely he and Councilor Medarda could figure something out though. Perhaps they could–

Jayce interrupted his thoughts. “You know I can’t do that.” 

“No. You won’t do that.” There was a difference. Jayce could walk away. He simply wouldn’t. Because he was one of the best men Viktor had ever known and Viktor knew he was asking too much. 

“We really don’t have a choice, do we?” 

“... I will tell her that I am not fine with it.” It was the resignation in Jayce’s voice more than anything. It was Viktor’s fault– he should never have dragged Jayce into this in the first place. He hadn’t meant to.

“No– that’s not what I–” Jayce protested. Viktor held up a hand and Jayce silenced himself. It was always a wonder to him when Jayce did that– that he was unwilling to speak over him.

“You are clearly uncomfortable with it. This will not work unless you are. We can find another way.” 

“No,” Jayce said– a familiar mulishness returning to the set of his shoulders. Viktor repressed a sigh at the thought of having to fight Jayce on this of all things. “It’s okay. I just–” Jayce ran another frustrated hand through his hair and Viktor steadfastly did not think about how he would have liked to do it for him. He admitted to himself that compartmentalization might have been a little harder than initially expected due to the nature of the conversation. 

Jayce sighed and stopped pacing. He seemed to come to a conclusion and he stubbornly slotted himself in next to Viktor leaning up against the kitchen counter. Viktor raised a brow but didn’t move. He waited for Jayce who let out another sigh. 

“It’s just not what I was expecting,” he said with a rueful shake of his head.

“And what were you expecting?” Viktor asked. He might as well find out now. It wasn’t like it he wouldn’t be torturing himself with the whole ordeal later. Maybe there was a way to still give Jayce what he wanted.

“I suppose I assumed that one day I’d meet someone and just, you know…” Viktor didn’t know– not really– but he didn’t press. Jayce turned to him. “What about you?” 

Viktor paused. Dangerous question. He could answer it honestly though. “The work has always been good enough for me. I don’t have time for something like that. Nor do I think anyone would want me. I understand why you would be hesitant though. It’s not as if you would have that problem.” 

“That’s not true!” Jayce immediately protested. Viktor had a quip at the ready– lips already twitching at the thought of ribbing Jayce about his apparent self perceived lack of eligibility but Jayce didn’t let him get a word in edgewise. He didn’t even fumble– just met Viktor’s gaze with his own fiery one. “Anyone could want you,” he said vehemently. “They’d be fools not to.” 

Viktor froze, trying not to read too much into that . Jayce suddenly seemed to realize the  fact that he was standing shoulder to shoulder with Viktor, staring into his eyes, and giving an extremely suspect compliment to him with the passion that he brought to everything that he did. He shifted away slightly, looking bashful, ears reddening– but still stubbornly by Viktor’s side. 

Viktor took a deep breath, held it, and then blew it out through his nose. “This conversation is bizarre,” he said slowly. 

Jayce immediately nodded. “It really is,” he said. Then he asked, “Is she even staying?”

Viktor assumed he meant Jinx. He shifted slightly. “I don’t know.” 

A month had been the time they’d been given for her recovery– though he’d been half expecting to wake to find her gone without a word through most of it. But a month had basically come and gone and he hadn’t seen any sign that Jinx was planning to leave. Of course that didn’t mean she wasn’t but– 

But he thought sometimes, when she forgot to be made of needles and pins– when she let her guard down and just was – he thought he could see… something . Hunger for knowledge always. Surprise and delight– guarded but there. But the important parts– the happiness– the comfort– maybe even affection – were hidden in the moments between when she forgot to be nothing but a child. He remembered the hug from earlier in the evening– tiny frail arms wrapped fully around his waist. It felt like so long ago now. 

“As long as she wants to, she can,” he finished. 

It was Jayce’s turn to take a slow breath. “That’s a big commitment.” 

“Yes but…” Viktor thought about all the girl had said. Her family was gone. All that she had left were ghosts to chase and something she had to do. But maybe– maybe when she was done– maybe she’d come back. Maybe they had done enough– those glimpses of affection were real– he knew they were– maybe when she was done and finished and if she had nowhere left to go she’d return. Maybe she’d never leave at all. He did not want to allow himself to hope for it but he did all the same. “She has nowhere to go. And I have a plethora of money and space that I simply don’t know what to do with so…” he trailed off. 

He was met with silence before Jayce knocked his shoulder into his. “It’s good of you.” He sounded rueful. It made Viktor’s stomach churn. He pulled away from the contact and wouldn’t meet his eyes.

“I know all of this ,” Viktor gestured wildly to nothing hoping to encapsulate the enormity of the situation, “none of this, is what you signed up for.”

“Well, yes, but–”

 “It’s unprecedented,” Viktor cut him off– swallowing hard. “I understand if you want no part in it– this sham of a marriage– of a life. I understand if you want to…” he hesitated. It was so hard to force the words out. “--dissolve our partnership.” 

“Excuse me?” 

“Even if this works,” Viktor said, trying not to think about what he was actually suggesting, “there is danger. It is not the life you planned nor is it necessarily the one you want. And this is something I know will draw me away– it already has– for both of us.”

“Viktor–” Jayce tried to interrupt. He did not let him.

“The work will suffer for it. It’s not something you have to tolerate. I am sure Heimerdinger would be amenable to my return to the position of his assistant so you don’t need to feel obligated–”

“Viktor!” 

Viktor shut his mouth when Jayce’s hand landed firmly on his arm. He felt the gentle pressure of his fingertips through his suit coat (heat rising to his skin beneath the fabric– compartmentalized). He blearily remembered they were matching (also compartmentalized). “Stop. Viktor, do you really think that I’d dissolve our partnership because of… of this? Because Jinx needed your help? What kind of monster do you think I am?”

“The work is important,” Viktor protested. “It’s your dream.” 

“It’s our dream,” Jayce said with a firm squeeze to his arm. “And we’re doing it to help people like Jinx. Giving up either of you would be antithetical to what we believe in. I’m not leaving. I’m…” Jayce trailed off. He hesitated for just a second before he removed his hand from Viktor's arm and instead slipped it around his hand. “I’m all in.” 

Viktor stared down at their joined hands. He did not know how to compartmentalize this so he gave up on trying. “Thank you,” he said after a moment.

“It is literally the least I could do.”

“No it’s…” It really wasn’t. Somehow he knew he wouldn’t be able to convince Jayce of that. “Thank you. You always exceed my expectations in every way, Jayce Talis.”

As soon as he said it he could feel the tips of his ears burning but at least he wasn’t the only one. When he gathered the courage to glance at the other man’s face he could see a deep flush to his cheeks. He would have laughed except that Jayce decided to break his staring contest with the floor to meet his eyes and it was Viktor’s turn to look away. The kettle was taking far too long to boil, he decided. 

There was an awkward chuckle from Jayce but the squeeze around his hand made him think it was probably not at his expense. 

“Keep saying things like that and you’ll have no problem convincing people we’re married,” Jayce said and even though Viktor couldn’t see the wry smile he knew it was there. He didn’t know where to begin with a statement like that. 

“It doesn’t have to mean anything,” he assured Jayce with his own squeeze to their locked fingers. “It is nothing more than a piece of paper. Whatever value it holds is determined by us.” 

Jayce hummed consideringly. “What does it mean to you?” 

“Safety,” Viktor replied immediately. “For all of us. For Jinx, for me, even Councilor Medarda to a degree.” 

“And me?” 

“I don’t know. What do you want from it?” 

Jayce seemed to pause to consider for a moment. “Mom will be happy. She’s always wanted me to settle down.” 

Viktor snorted. “Somehow I doubt Ximena will be ecstatic to hear your choice of partner.” 

He expected a laugh in return. When it didn’t come he finally looked to Jayce again. The man had a look of deep consternation on his face and Viktor thought for a moment he had forgotten Viktor was there at all. The only indication that he hadn’t was the movement of his thumb running over Viktor’s knuckles absently while he thought. Eventually he said, “For all the talk you do about you and Jinx being equal to everyone here, you never seem to believe it– about yourself.” 

Viktor bristled. “It is others who look down–” 

Another squeeze to his hand and Viktor stuttered to a stop. 

“No– I mean sometimes it is others but… You’re so hard on yourself, Viktor. I don’t know how to tell you you’re worthy of this, whatever this is.” 

It was Viktor’s turn to stare at the ground. He didn’t– What– How was it that Jayce could just say these things? “Keep talking like that,” he said faintly, “and you’ll have no trouble convincing people we’re married.” 

“I think I’m fine with that,” Jayce replied quietly. Which was– 

“You should be sure,” Viktor said. “It will not exactly be easy to reverse after the decision is made.” 

“You were already my partner. We do this together.” 

The kettle blew a loud whistle and Viktor and Jayce jumped apart from each other in surprise– Viktor only keeping himself from falling over by leaning his weight on the counter. Jayce looked embarrassed and Viktor decided that enough was enough. He turned from the man, fiddling with the kettle and adding the hot water to a teapot already prepped with loose-leaf. He steadfastly did not look at Jayce. 

Or he tried not to. 

“I was serious about those rings.” 

Viktor choked for a second glancing back at him incredulously. Then he waved his hand in the air with his back still to Jayce. “Make them yourself.” 

A considering hum. “That’s not a bad idea.” 

“We were married earlier in the year.” It was Jayce’s turn to choke. Viktor felt his lip quirk up. If they were going to do this they were going to need a story. At least if he could focus on that he could feel a little more in control while the situation spiraled and left him wildly out of his depths. “We simply don’t have the rings yet because you are taking your time to perfect them. You haven’t been happy with anything you’ve made.” 

“I wish that was going to be less true but I think I’m probably going to run into that problem.” 

“Something simple will work. Remember, it doesn’t mean anything.” 

“But it needs to seem like it does,” Jayce said. Which was fair. He paused for a moment and Viktor took his place back against the counter. Might as well at least wait for the tea to stew and finish the conversation. Jayce looked thoughtful. “We put the ceremony off because we wanted the benefits and are waiting on the rings,” he said. “That’s why we haven’t told anyone or had anything official.” 

Viktor blinked. “You want a ceremony?” 

“Caitlyn and Mom will literally wring my neck if I don’t have one and they aren’t involved in it.” 

Viktor wrinkled his nose. He hadn’t considered– it was like rubbing salt in the wound. “I am having second thoughts.” 

“It’ll be small,” Jayce assured him. “It’s fine. No crowds. Just a few people for each of us.” 

Viktor nodded hesitantly. “I don’t have anyone to invite.” 

“That’s…” Jayce looked so sad for a moment that Viktor felt bad for being honest. Then he made very serious eye contact and said “I am going to hug you,” like Viktor had no say in the matter. He guessed he didn’t because seconds later he was enveloped in Jayce’s arm. He squirmed against them. 

“Yes alright, alright,” he said. “I am a sad orphan with no friends. It is all very tragic. Leave me be and stop pitying me.” He emphasized this with a light pinch to Jayce’s arm who, mercifully, took a step away. Viktor cleared his throat. 

“Back to the topic at hand, if you make this seem real it’s not… They won’t believe we just did it for the benefits. There won’t be freedom.” 

“Well maybe we have an agreement worked out,” Jayce huffed. “They don’t know. That’s our business.” 

Viktor considered this. If Jayce was committing well– he should probably know. 

“I am not interested in intercourse,” he said and watched Jayce’s face– which turned a funny shade of red before falling into careful neutrality. “I never have been,” Viktor continued, undeterred. “But I am also not jealous. You have my permission to seek it out where you want as I understand it is a need I cannot fill.” 

“Is that an excuse or is it true?” 

“Does it matter?” he asked watching Jayce for a reaction.

“If it’s true I want you to know it’s okay.” 

“I do not need your assurance over it,” he said though he did feel some of the tension leave his shoulders. “It is a convenient truth. Still, marriage will make you less eligible for that kind of relationship. Are you certain?” 

“Stop trying to talk me out of it,” Jayce said. Then paused. “Unless you don’t want it. Are you trying to talk me out of this because you don’t want it and feel like you can’t say no?” 

Viktor did not outright dismiss it as he was initially tempted to. He thought about it instead. Certainly he had his own hesitations about the situation. If Jayce were the one to object Councilor Medarda would have to take his concerns seriously unlike Viktor. But really Viktor’s only hesitation was personal. “It is dangerous,” he said. “But I will live.” 

Jayce looked puzzled. “What do you mean?”

“Nothing,” he dismissed. “I am fine with this.” He would be fine with whatever Jayce would give him.

“I’d rather you be more than fine with it.” 

“Content, then.” 

Jayce sighed. “Good enough. Come on.” He extended a hand to Viktor– who raised his brow. “We’ve got to tell Mel. That’s gonna be the next part of her forgeries anyways. She’s going to want to know the details.” 

“I suppose she will– assuming she did not overhear the entire conversation. There is not exactly a door.” Viktor looked at Jayce’s hand for a moment like it might bite him but eventually threw caution to the wind and put his hand in the other man’s. There was an immediate heat and Viktor repressed a shudder as Jayce began to nonchalantly run his thumb over Viktor’s bony knuckles again. “Do you think she planned this?” 

Jayce snorted. “Wouldn’t put it past her.” 

Jayce tugged on his hand and Viktor felt the urge to protest on principal. This wasn’t necessary, no matter how nice it was. “If you hold my hand I won’t be able to carry the teapot.” 

“I’ve got it then.” 

Viktor tried again. “We do not need to pretend in front of Councilor Medarda.” 

“It’s to present a united front,” Jayce argued. “As partners.”

As partners. Viktor sighed. “Fine then.” He grabbed his cane. “But you’ll have to come back for the cups.” 

He allowed himself to be led from the room with only a slight amount of embarrassment. If Mel had overheard their conversation or noticed the hand holding she at least had the decency to pretend she hadn’t. Still– Viktor couldn’t help but think she looked smug.

It was late into the night when Mel and Jayce excused themselves. Viktor would have offered to let them stay but he didn’t have the room and he didn’t think either would take him up on it– maybe Jayce but with how quiet the man had been after their conversation he thought he probably would appreciate the space a good nights sleep in his own apartment would bring. That left Viktor laying on the couch in his living room staring at the ceiling. 

It felt surreal if he was being honest. This didn’t feel like it could be his life. So much had changed. Tomorrow he would be married and Jinx’s legal guardian. 

He wondered if she’d been listening to the conversation. She’d been fairly shaken up after her brush with the Sheriff. It worried him but she’d retreated to her room and Viktor’s attention had been demanded by Councilor Medarda, Mel, she had made him call her. She apparently expected that habit to continue. He was half tempted to keep calling her Councilor out of spite. 

He directed his thoughts back to Jinx. Had she been listening? He should probably check on her– just to make sure. Worst that could happen is that she told him to keep out. He pulled himself from the comfort of the couch to her door and tapped it lightly.

“Jinx?” he called softly. 

There was no response. He stepped back. She was probably asleep. It was late. He started to turn but–

Something felt off. He wasn’t sure what it was. A cold draft curled over his toes from under the door. He considered it. It was probably nothing. 

He knocked again anyways. And again. 

No response.

Worry furled in his gut. He creaked the door open. Just a peak– just to be sure. 

The sight of the open window greeted him and despite his frantic glances around the room– the girl was nowhere to be seen. 

Viktor sat on the edge of her bed. She was gone. He knew she was. He’d thoroughly investigated the room. All of her things were packed and her most prized possessions– the smoke bombs and her rabbit– were not here. She had finally left– perhaps scared away by the Sheriff. 

It was probably a good thing. Tomorrow morning he would inform Mel and Jayce. They would have no need of the paperwork– no need to live a lie. They could make their excuses to Ms. Kiramman and explain that there’d been a misunderstanding. They could quell the undoubtedly numerous rumors that would have start from the scene that had been made at the party– it would be fine. They were scientists. They could afford to be a bit eccentric. Things would eventually quiet down. Things would go back to normal. It would be better that way. 

But– 

But his apartment was so quiet now that he knew that it was empty. He’d grown so used to company– to knowing that someone else was there. Without Jinx or Jayce or even Mel it felt– 

He rose from the bed. 

She must have returned to the Undercity to do whatever it was she thought needed to be done. He’d seen the designs on those smoke bombs. He couldn’t imagine it was anything good. What was so important that she’d had to leave? Unbidden Mel’s theory of another living child of Vander came to mind. If she was looking for her sibling– if she was going to save them– she would be confronting the person who had done this to her– who had led the coop. What if she was in danger? Jinx was brilliant and savage but she was still just a child.

He should let her go. He’d promised he would. He’d done what he could. He’d made this place safe– made it a home– helped her recover. She might decide to come back at the end of it. She might realize she was safe. He could wait for her. 

He walked to his room and exchanged his suit for more casual clothes. His jacket hung by the door. He donned it easily. 

He could wait for her. 

He just needed to know– just needed to make sure that she was alright– that she wasn’t going to do something stupid. He could lie to himself if he wanted to– say that if she got caught all of this would blow up in their faces as well. But that didn’t matter to him– not really. If it had he never would have taken her home with him in the first place. He was going to go after her. He was going to make sure she was alright. And hopefully– at the end of it– he could bring her home.

It was late into the night. The streets were as dark as they ever got topside. The cable cars wouldn’t be running this time of night. It would be a long walk. Viktor went anyways. It was only an hour walk for him to the bridge.

He knew it was a silly thing to do. He didn’t know where she’d gone– not really. He knew she was from the Lanes but who was to say that was her destination? Still he had to try. 

It was a few hours later when he was making his way to the elevators that would take him down past Entresol when he saw it. At first– he had simply thought it was the normal smog that came with the production level of the Undercity. But even if he had not been there in a long time– it was home. He knew it well and the tinge of acrid black to the smog was not normal. Viktor found an abandoned overlook as soon as he was able. 

The Lanes lit up beneath the shadows of Entresol. That was not unusual in itself but those were not the normal lights of the dens that lined its streets. The glows were bright and orange and interchanged with a smattering of bright white sparks. The familiar sound of distant fighting reached his ears. He looked down in horror, then shook himself and started to hurry away. He wanted to believe that Jinx had not gone there but he knew– somehow– that she had. She had gone to the Lanes– which appeared to be for all intents and purposes to be a warzone.

Chapter Text

The first thing that Jinx noticed when she got to the lanes was that they were quiet. She was scuttling out of the lift before it touched down to the ground and pushing her way into the shadows of an alleyway before she really had time to process the emptiness of the streets. Pulling her makeshift hood down low, she peaked out into the abandoned alleys lit with the sickly green of the neon lights. 

She’d abandoned her longer skirts back at Viktor’s place and traded them for a shorter skirt and leggings that she’d promptly torn and stomped on. She’d pulled a dark oversized hoodie from the closet and cut it unevenly along the middle. She’d flung it on over the pinstripe shirt and roughed them up as well–they had been too nice– too likely to get her noticed. But now that everything was covered in dust and some oil stains from the river pilt she felt like she’d fit right in. If of course, there’d been anyone to fit in with. 

She eyed the empty street warily. This wasn’t normal– at least as far as she knew. There were always people in the Undercity– always people taking part in the various “businesses” that made up the Lanes. She had never seen it so deserted. 

Was it a trap of some kind? Had the Sheriff made it here before her? Perhaps Silco had known all along. 

But if he had he wouldn’t really know when she was coming. There’d be guards most likely– ones that would try to spot her out and mingle among the people. He wouldn’t shut down everything just for her– or at least she didn't think he would. 

Jinx resolved to stay in the shadows. There would be no walking the empty streets tonight. She wasn’t stupid. Hopefully if she laid low her luck would hold. 

She really should have known better.

She was halfway to the Last Drop when she saw them. Ducked low into the alleyway the group couldn’t have been more clearly trouble. Jinx ducked lower and tried to keep scrambling through the shadows to move past them but she knew at the sound of a low hiss she’d been seen.

“Hey! Kid!”

Jinx didn’t stick around long enough to hear what else the man might have said. She moved to duck into the next alley but there was another group of men there tucked into the shadows. She darted to the next one to see the same thing. Jinx started to panic. There wasn’t anywhere to go. She could hear the sound of stomping feet behind her. She looked around and decided that the only place to go was out into the street. She moved before she could let herself think about it. She just had to make it to the other side. If she could make it to the alleyways across the deserted corridor then maybe they would be empty and she could disappear into them before anything came of it. 

A hand wrapped around her arm and yanked her back. She let the momentum carry her and pulled the same move she had earlier in the night. She stumbled back and put as much force into stomping on the person’s toes behind her as she could. There was a thump as the heel of her boot hit a steel toe and she felt her heart sink– better defended than the Sheriff. The person behind her let out a grunt and started to drag her back towards the alleyway. 

“You should have stayed home, kid,” a man’s voice hissed from behind her. “It’s dangerous out here tonight. Don’t you–” He cut off and Jinx saw something silver and metal catch the green of the neon as it came soaring towards them from a rooftop. The metal took the man in the shoulder and he cursed– falling back with force as his hand released Jinx. Jinx didn’t take the time to look and immediately threw herself away from him.

The flashbang that followed wasn’t blue but it was loud and by the time Jinx’s ears recovered Mylo’s laugh was just a one sound in a cacophony of violence.

Shadows were leaping down from the roofs and pouring out of the alleyways. Jinx kept rolling till she hit a crate and scampered behind it, heart hammering. It was chaos. People were crowding the streets armed to the teeth and throwing punches before they had even reached an enemy. Jinx ducked lower behind her crates. What was happening? The man who had grabbed her earlier had was up and wailing away with a spiked bat at a taller person in dark clothes . Jinx felt her stomach churn when he made contact with a low, dull thump and turned before she could see him rip it away. She dodged another pair who were grappling with each other in the mouth of the alley and slipped into the shadows behind them.

Jinx didn’t know what was going on but she needed to find Vi– preferably as soon as possible because as long as this night had already been, it still only felt like the beginning.

Jinx was happy she was small. Nobody seemed to notice her much as she ducked and weaved her way through the streets– through the fighting. Nobody paid her any mind as long as she stayed far enough away and she was quick when they did approach– multiple times ducking out of the way of a rolling body that had been pushed her way. She didn’t take the time to see if they were alright– she just scurried along and did her best to keep out of the light. 

Should have stayed home the man had said. That had never been an option. This was Jinx’s home and she knew every last corner of it– or she used to. 

The trouble was that the further and further she got towards the Last Drop– the more intense the fighting seemed. She’d tried climbing– taking back alleys– any approach she could remember to get there and she’d found them all barricaded with multiple fights breaking out. It was hard to slip past. She just needed to get to the Last Drop. That was where she knew Silco would be and Vi too most likely. 

It didn’t help that Mylo and Claggor were following her now too. Ever since the explosion they’d been hounding her, distracting her, calling her names. They darted in and out of sight– sometimes causing her to flinch when she thought someone was coming at her again. They would roll away laughing– their foot falls echoing in the din and becoming almost indistinguishable from the clash of metal on metal and bodies. It wasn’t fair. Why now ? Why them ? She didn’t have time for this. She needed to be aware and she needed to be able to think but it felt like every time she was on the verge of a breakthrough one of the boys was there, laughing or saying things that weren’t– They weren’t true! She needed Vi. Vi had always known how to make them shut up . She needed Vi so badly and– No. Vi needed her. Vi was trapped because of her and Jinx was going to rescue her and things would be okay and Vi would make everything stop . She just had to get there. She just had to find her. 

She slipped away from another alley filled with shouts and silhouettes. There was another spot she hadn’t tried yet. She just had to keep trying. 

The next two alleys were filled with the sounds of a brawl but a couple blocks down Jinx stopped. Peering down a dimly lit alley she saw bodies laying against the concrete walls and a broken barricade. Jinx caught a whisper of motion as a figure passed through the hole that had been put into the piles of metal and wire creating it. Jinx thought about it only for a moment before one of the bodies groaned and she took off following the shadow. 

There were five shadows actually. Two men and three women. Jinx stayed far enough back that she could only make out the barest details of their clothing and snippets of their conversation– and even that was an accident. She had been careful with her tailing. She waited a few seconds after letting them turn corners before she would carefully make her way up to peak around and watch them take the next turn. At one she had come just a little too close. She had worried they might be back tracking and her heart had leapt into her throat at the sound of a far too distinct conversation. 

As nerve racking as the situation had been she had learned something. The five people were allies– to a degree. They were part of some faction still warring with Silco that hadn’t been quelled yet– maybe even the last. The battle Jinx had walked herself into was a turf war which was just her luck. On any other day she would have offered the group her help– it had been one of her fantasies in her prison cell. One day she would escape and join one of the resistances against Silco and Vi would join her and together the two of them would take him down. If it had been any other night she’d have done it– but she was on a mission. She stayed quietly trailing them and hoping the footsteps she occasionally heard darting around behind her were just her mind playing tricks on her like always. 

They took another corner. Jinx waited. A moment passed and Jinx darted out again, passing into the next shadow. She tiptoed her way to the corner and waited again. She heard nothing. Another moment passed and she peaked her head around– 

She ducked back as a body came flying down the alleyway and slammed against the wall opposite her. Jinx froze as shouting picked up in street beyond but her eyes remained fixed on the man in front of her. He lifted his head, dark eyes meeting hers for a just a moment before he slumped over and and the studded bat he held in his hands rolled free. Jinx let out a sigh of relief. 

The sounds of fighting grew down the way she could not see. Shouts and thuds echoed to her and Jinx began frantically thinking. There was no way out of the tiny corridor they had taken. She would have to back track if she wanted to move forward and that wasn’t an option– not when she was so close. And she was close now. She knew where she was– she knew this alleyway. In a few more turns they’d be at the last drop and then she could– she would– 

She needed to keep moving forward. That was the only option. Jinx peered around the corner again. Figures were moving in the dim light of the alley circling something she couldn’t see or maybe waiting for something. The shouts were quieter now but Jinx could tell from the tension in the air that the fight wasn’t over. That didn’t matter to her though because she could see it– her escape. On the other side of the fighting there was a dingy, rusted ladder against the far wall. If she could sneak by– make a break for it she might be able to– 

One of the resistors yelled and threw something in her hand. A spout of flame went up as a silhouette burst from the shadows of the alley– leaping forward at the woman closest to her and sending her flying with a solid punch to the face. Jinx’s breath caught at the glint of fire light on copper gauntlets and the glow of pink hair. 

Vi. 

As the woman went down and her sister turned on the other fighters, Jinx breathed for the first time in what felt like years.

Viktor was never very good at fighting. His leg had hindered him as much as his personality– he’d simply never been inclined to violence. Quiet retreat had always been his preferred method of dealing with altercations in the undercity– not that he’d been in many. Even the most desperate thought twice before assaulting someone who was obviously physically impaired– it of course wouldn’t stop everyone and likely tonight nobody would notice before they were already throwing a punch. 

Viktor ducked around the brawls happening in the streets and stuck to the unoccupied shadows as best he could. He kept his cane in front of him instead of to the side. He alternated between trying to keep it quiet and letting it clack as loudly as he could manage whenever someone took notice of him. So far, nobody had bothered with him. 

This was stupid. It was entirely, completely, and unequivocally stupid. He had wandered into the Lanes in the middle of what appeared to be a turf war with very little means of defending himself. If he was as smart as he had always been he’d turn around now and at the very least fetch Jayce. Instead he kept moving.

Jinx was here somewhere. He knew she was. The Lanes were her home and she was desperate to return. She had people here. He just had to find her. 

The Last Drop was where he set his destination. He knew the name as the place Vander had retreated to all those years ago. He’d never been but he had a general idea of where it was. If he had any luck at all– that was where she had gone. Or maybe not seeing as every time he thought he could get closer to the place the fighting got worse and the barricades got taller. The roofs were not an option for him– not that he thought those would be particularly safe either. 

Still he moved forward. He would find her. Somehow. Or in the morning he would go back to Jayce and drag him down to help him look. He’d come this far already– he wasn’t giving up.

Vi. 

Jinx mouthed her sister's name but couldn’t seem to make the word come out. She was here not twenty feet from Jinx. 

She was here. Her copper gauntlets flashing in the dim green light and trying to take three people who had her surrounded. Four actually– Jinx could see the woman who had taken the hit to her face slowly rising now that her friends had moved in front of her. Vi flung herself into the fight again in a flurry of fists and snarls. Fury and determination were etched into the lines of her face as they came at her– metal bars and knuckles grazing her as she weaved around them knocking them to the ground. Jinx watched frozen before she started to move. Vi was a good fighter– she always had been– but four was too many. She fumbled with her bag on her back and drew one of her smoke grenades. 

She could help. She could– 

The fire flashed and Jinx saw a structure on one of the buildings catch. It distracted one of Vi’s assailants as well and when Jinx looked up there was a body behind Vi– massive and limp. Jinx froze, making a whining noise. Mylo laughed somewhere in the background. 

Vander. 

That wasn’t. It wasn’t– 

Vander was dead. Mylo and Claggor were dead. She’d only wanted to help. She only ever wanted to help. 

Vi’s mouth was open in a scream and the punches came over and over again and Jinx felt the ghost of every blow. The fire climbed higher casting deep shadows in the angles of her sister's face. The tears on her cheek were hot like blood and she–

Why did you do this? Vi asked. But Jinx hadn’t meant to. She’d just–

Jinx shook her head. It wasn’t Vander this wasn’t– 

A man went down to Vi’s fists. One of the women stepped up to take his place. Vi screamed again. 

She wasn’t– she was just trying to help. Jinx tried to step forward. Claggor’s goggles were bloodied and broken on the ground. She couldn’t. The four were back up. The body was still laying massive and hulking in the light of the fire

The blow that Vi took to the head looked worse than it sounded. The dull thump as one of the brass knuckles finally connected with its target was sickening and Jinx started as Vi stumbled backwards clutching her head and only just avoiding falling to the ground in a heap. 

It was enough to snap Jinx out of it. She snarled. That was her sister. She wasn’t Powder anymore. She was Jinx. Jinx could fight. She didn’t freeze. She wasn’t useless. She was going to help. She could. She would. She was going to save her. 

She darted forward, dodging Claggor’s goggles and keeping her eyes fixed on her target as she launched the grenade at the woman standing over Vi. 

It was a direct hit. The metal made a sickening noise as it collided with the woman’s skull and she screamed. The others whirled to see Jinx but blue smoke and shrapnel exploded into the air and it was filled with cries of agony and confusion. Jinx started into the smoke– if she was quiet she could get to where Vi had been and they could get out together. She just had to– 

A hand grabbed her shoulder and suddenly Jinx was slammed against a wall, her head cracking against the concrete and she saw stars. For a second her world was black but then she couldn’t breath and she could feel hands around her neck choking her. She scrabbled at them with her nails– finally getting enough of her vision back to see the man who had been unconscious behind her. He was breathing hard and blood ran down his face as he squeezed tighter. Jinx tried not to panic but her vision was fading and she couldn’t breath and everything hurt. 

Vi. 

Vi needed her. She let herself fall limp like she had when the sheriff had grabbed her and when his grip loosened she surged up with her knee and slammed it into his groin. He swore but it was enough for her to scramble away– dots of light dancing behind her eyes, horribly dizzy, and gasping for air. Blackness still clung to the corners of her vision and it wasn’t going away. If anything it was getting worse along with the pain on the back of her head. She knew the smoke was too far now and the man was recovering. He’d chase her and– 

Metal glinted in the fire light. She grabbed the bat on the ground that had rolled out of the man’s hands. The studded metal on the tips was smooth under her fingers as she pulled it to her and grasped the handle. When she looked up the man’s dark eyes were on her and she raised the bat just in time to swing it against his head with a vicious gurgling scream. He went down. She hit him again– the bat cracking against his skull. She stood over him, bat lowered and heaving breaths wracking her body before she collapsed against the concrete wall of alleyway. She tried to call Vi’s name but her throat felt bruised and raw and the only thing that came out was a whispered gurgle. She sobbed then as the darkness at the corners of her vision grew and blackness and bile consumed her. 

The alleyway that Viktor found was suspiciously empty. It was small and dingy and the footing was terrible. The bodies slumped on the ground made it clear that there had been some kind of struggle here but there was a path through the barricade beyond. He debated it for only a moment– looking back over his shoulder and then turning to walk grimly down the path.

When Jinx woke up it was to horrible pain in the back of her head and around her throat. The man’s body still laid beside her and Jinx couldn’t tell if he was breathing. She decided she didn’t care. She stumbled to her feet. In the alley beyond the blue of her smoke bomb had dissipated though the fire was still growing. Jinx stumbled in as quickly as she could. 

Vi. She had to be there. She couldn’t have been out long. She had to– she’d been so close! There were slumped figures lit by the fire and she made her way to each one both dread and hope curling in her gut. But there was no telltale sign of spiky pink hair. Vi was not among them. Jinx ran down the alley peering around each corner and looking for some kind of sign. But there was nothing. Vi was gone. 

“No,” she said. She ran to where she had been. She had just– Vi had just been there. There were groaning bodies still on the ground. She couldn’t– She couldn’t have gone far– She had to be– 

“Vi!” Jinx yelled though it was still hoarse and made her vocal cords scream. “Vi!” When there was no response but the continued distant sound of fighting she screamed– screamed in a way she hadn’t since they’d dragged her from Vi’s side and thrown her into a prison cell. It was piercing and grating and when she was done her throat felt like sandpaper and she realized that she was on the ground and beating a bloody fist into the loose gravel of the road. 

She couldn’t– She hadn’t– 

She had to get back up. Jinx gritted her teeth. She wasn’t done. She couldn’t have gone far. She had to be near. She just had to find her. Jinx rolled to her feet and desperately looked around. There were places she could see that had roof access. The ladder at the end of the alley. She ran to it– leaping for the rusted out rungs. The first time her fingers scraped the metal above. Jinx gritted her teeth and dropped her bag to the ground. She fastened a lone grenade to her belt and tried again. This time two fingers of one hand managed to curl around the lowest bar– the rust digging into the crevices of her joints. She gritted her teeth and swung up and tightened her other hand around it. Her feet scrabbled against the brick of the building and she managed to pull herself up to a better hand hold and scale the ladder. If she could just– if she could just get high enough– 

She couldn’t see Vi from the roof the building. But she could see the Last Drop. The familiar sign rose above the din, glowing, but not with the gentle, warm light she knew. It had been profaned by sickly green neon in the shape of an eye. Jinx’s lip curled in disgust. She wanted to tear the whole thing down. But she had other goals. Silco was secondary. She looked around at the scenery surrounding her. There was no flash of pink– no glint of copper. 

Higher. She needed to be higher. Jinx spun in circles– if she could just find somewhere to look down– to really see– 

There. There was an old sign stand of some kind rising above the carnage. That could be it. That could be tall enough she’d be able to see down and– 

Vi would look up. She’d see. 

Jinx ran to the edge of the building she was on and leaped to the next without looking down. She had to get there. 

The sign stand was creaky and shifted slightly as Jinx scaled the stairs and scaffolding that led up to it. She'd had to climb down from the roof first to get to the rusted out first steps but now she kept an eye out on the maze of alleys and corridors she could see down into. There was fighting, lots of fighting. It looked like some of the barricades had been breached but not nearly enough. The resistance was being pushed back and away from the Last Drop. She didn’t have time to mourn that revelation. Perhaps things would have gone differently if the team she’d followed had made it in. She wished that she could have helped them instead of the way it had turned out. If she’d just been faster– if she hadn’t frozen– if she hadn’t been useless she could have revealed herself to Vi and stopped the fighting and then they could have gone on and she wouldn’t have had to– 

The man she had hit had tried to kill her first– or at least choke her out. She wouldn’t feel guilty about what she had done. She’d had to do it. She’d had to survive. There were so many things she’d had to do to survive. 

Jinx hit the top of the sign platform. This was it. There was still no sign of Vi. But that was okay. She didn’t need to be able to see her. Vi needed to be able to see Jinx. She pulled the single grenade from her belt loop. 

It was the one she’d modified. The one she hadn’t shown to Jayce. The other grenades exploded outwards and eventually burned out but this one… 

Jinx popped the lever and pulled the pin on the grenade. She held it gingerly between her hands and waited. For a second she thought it wasn’t going to work but then a small spark lit the top of the canister. Bright blue smoke began to plume out in soft billows. They moved upwards– lightly illuminated by the glow of the grenade. Blue lit up the sky and joined the smoke of the burning buildings of the lanes. Jinx held it aloft and watched. 

She had lost the flare Vi had given her long ago. It had been left behind when Powder had made her decision to go after her family and failed them so horribly. But tonight– tonight she wouldn’t fail. Jinx had worked hard. She’d gotten the blue as close as she could to the original flare and this grenade was better than that. It would burn for hours thanks to her modifications. Vi would see it. She would know that Jinx was looking for her. Vi would come for her– she’d promised.

Jinx kept looking out. Vi would be there. She would see. 

“Look up,” she whispered– like a prayer– like a plea. She squeezed her eyes shut and for the first time since the flash bomb had gone off, Claggor and Mylo were silent. Her arm was shaking from the effort of holding the grenade so high and so tightly. 

“Please,” she said. “Please Vi.” And then she folded to her knees. She wanted to keep standing. Jinx was strong, smart, and sharp. Jinx was determined and she was going to succeed. When Vi found her she wanted her to see her standing against the sky back straight and proud. But even as she thought it she was pressing her forehead to the mesh of the scaffolding and squeezing her eyes shut. Because Jinx and all her rage and pride were gone– abandoned. It was Jinx who was tough and fought back. But it was Powder Vi had made a promise to. And it was Powder whose shaking hands held fast around her smoke bomb. It was Powder who breathed hard and heavy and refused to let the tears fall again. It was Powder who started to beg quietly under her breath. Vi would notice. She had to. She was coming. She’d promised. 

Powder didn’t think of the things Vi had said that night. She didn’t think of being a jinx or Jinx and she didn’t listen to Mylo when he whispered that nobody was coming for her. It wasn’t true. Vi had come back for her. Vi had always come back to her. Vi would be here. 

She had to.

Viktor gently rubbed the stuffed rabbit’s bedraggled fur between his thumb and forefinger. He’d found Jinx’s bag abandoned beneath a ladder down the winding turns of the alley he had started down. It was hard to say how long it had been since she’d been here last but the discarded canister of hers that he’d found amidst the beaten groaning bodies of fighters worried him. Had she run because she was hurt? Surely she wouldn’t have left this behind for any reason but the most desperate ones.

He sighed. 

He could not follow her up the ladder. Ladders were nearly impossible for him in the first place and without someone to toss his cane to him at the top it would be useless. Not only that, but he had no idea where she would have gone after. Clearly the Last Drop was well guarded. If he continued on this way he thought it likely that he’d eventually run into someone who wouldn’t much care that he appeared to be disabled and walking in the middle of a city wide warzone. 

He slumped against the concrete wall and watched the fire behind him in the alley lick away at the flammable structures of the nearest building. He wasn’t sure what the pieces had been before they were burned out but at least the building was still sound. There wasn’t much left that fire could touch between the metal and the concrete. 

He let out another sigh. Following the smoke into the sky. What was he doing here? What had he been realistically hoping to achieve? A dead end had always seemed like the reasonable outcome. Still– he had owed it to Jinx to try. To Jayce and himself too. 

His golden eyes followed the the billowing plume that made it’s way to join the other multitude of plumes that lit the night sky. It was almost beautiful even as it whirled together to join the smog of entresol. There were so many separate pillars tonight– each a dark gray that trailed up into–

Viktor’s breath caught. There was a plume among the many pillars of smoke. It was small in comparison but it was lit up and distinctly blue. A blue that he recognized. He stared at it for a moment then let out a short, disbelieving laugh. He scrambled away from the wall and began to search for the path that would bring him closest to the direction he wanted to go. He fervently hoped that wherever it was that Jinx had found herself, it had stairs. 

Mylo and Calggor were back. Powder ignored their jeers. She already knew she was weak. She knew she was pathetic and that she never could have saved Vi. She knew that she was just laying there hoping– begging– that her sister would come find her and make everything okay again. Nothing had changed. She hadn’t changed. She was going to wait here till Vi came or she died.

Vander sat next to her sometimes– bloodied and hulking. His silence was worse than the boy’s taunts. She tried to bite back tears even if there was no point. She’d already cried. Why stop again now? She squeezed her eyes shut regardless. 

The hand on her back was warm and made everything worse somehow. It was too heavy, too comforting, too real. How was it that this hallucination being kind somehow hurt more than any cruelty that Mylo and Claggor had ever thrown at her? 

“Jinx?” a soft voice asked. Powder flinched violently and nearly let go of the smoke grenade. She wasn’t a jinx and that wasn’t– it wasn’t–

It wasn’t Vander. It wasn’t the boys. She looked up. 

Viktor crouched next to her, cane in hand and looking as concerned as ever. His hand hung in the air between them– not quite touching her anymore. Well. This was new. Did this mean she had killed Viktor too? And Jayce? She hadn’t meant to. She had left to protect them. She had left to make sure she wouldn’t and– panic seized her. Her breaths came shallow and rapid. No no no. She hadn’t meant to. She’d just needed Vi she didn’t want– 

The hand that hung between them moved then– reaching out and gripping long, bony finger’s around her arm. The touch felt hot and real and not a bit comforting to her. Still, she drew a breath that felt almost normal. 

The hand gently squeezed. Powder looked up at him again. 

“Are you real?” she whispered. Her voice was still cracked and rough– though if it was from the choking or the strain she wasn’t sure. Viktor nodded and squeezed her arm again. 

He felt real. He had to be. She didn’t know how or why but he was real and he was here. 

“I saw her. I saw her, Viktor,” she babbled, looking down into the streets. If Viktor had come that meant– she had to be able to see. Vi would see it. 

“She’s coming,” Powder said. “She will.” Her voice cracked at the end but she didn’t care. Her eyes were locked on the streets below. 

“Okay,” was all that Viktor said as sat down beside her. His hand pulled back from her arm but Jinx could still feel him close and she let him put an arm over her back and shift her into his side. “We will wait for her then.” 

Powder only sniveled a little bit at that, pressing her face back down to the mesh. The arm around her burned like a brand but it was far better than just the company of her ghosts. She waited once again in near silence as the pillar of blue unfurled. 

Vi watched the blue smoke plume drift into the smog of entresol and hazily wondered why she felt like she was forgetting something. From her spot leaned up against one of the walls of the alleyways behind the Last Drop, she looked up into the sky unable to quite will herself to move. 

Her head hurt. She had barely managed to stumble away from the fight in the confusion the miraculous smoke grenade had given her. She hadn’t even gotten to see who had thrown it in her daze but she knew she’d made good use of it to escape. She thought she had gotten a few more good punches in too but things were hazy and her head hurt the more she tried to concentrate on it. Those brass knuckles had really done a number on her. 

Headwound. Can’t fall asleep , she thought dimly as she pressed her fingers to the bleeding welt that was her forehead. She had tilted her head back again before the pressure could even really be applied. 

At least the smoke was pretty. She woozily hoped that the building she was leaning against wasn’t on fire. She didn’t think the blue smoke was coming from her building but it looked close. It looked familiar. 

Blue. Like Powder’s hair , she thought. Her eyes slipped closed. She wasn’t sleeping. Won’t wake up if I do. Need to get up and go–

Go where? Where was she supposed to go? The blue lit up the sky behind her eyelids even as she was fading out of consciousness. It made her already aching head hurt and yet, some part of her, the part that tugged at a memory felt comforted. It ached in a way that was so familiar. I’m coming for you, she thought though she didn’t know who exactly it was directed at. I promise. 

Her slip into incoherence was gentle and ephemeral. Vi fought it every step of the way even if she didn’t know why. She would close her eyes and open them and find the sky spinning differently than it had before. Time had passed. She didn’t know how much. She grappled with consciousness. It was nauseating and coherency wasn’t something she could achieve but sometimes if she focused hard enough on the pillar of blue the urge to vomit subsided. It at the very least kept her mostly awake or on the verge of it. Even when her eyes unwillingly slipped closed eyes she could see the light of it rising above. She clung to it like a lifeline. 

It could have been minutes, hours, or days for all Vi knew, but when the blue line of smoke finally slipped away in the dimly lightening sky there was nothing left to cling to. Vi felt herself going too but–

“Vi?” a voice asked. A shadow came into view and suddenly there was a person crouching over her and brushing her hair back from her face. It took a few moments for her to bring his name to the forefront of her muddled thoughts. 

“Little Man,” she whispered. 

“Yeah. I’m here. I’m here,“ he said while frantically brushing the his fingers over her forehead and quietly swearing. “This is bad, Vi. How did–” he spoke so fast that Vi could barely follow it. He seemed to see her lack of attention as her eyes started to drift close and he grabbed her chin, forcing her head up. “Don’t sleep,” he said. “I don’t know how you managed to not so far but don’t start now.” He leaned down and tossed one of Vi’s arms over his shoulder, struggling to haul her to her feet. Vi grunted but helped as best she could. She couldn’t– Ekko couldn’t carry her. He was her responsibility. He was small– like Powder– even if when they straightened his shoulders fit taller to her side than they should have been. When had that happened? He’d barely come up to her chest yesterday at Enzo’s. She’d need to make a new mark on the door to their room. Powder would be mad when she saw he was catching up to her. She–

Powder.

“Did you see it?” she slurred, as Ekko got her standing and then started to slowly drag her down the alleyway. 

“See what?” Ekko asked. See what? Vi couldn’t quite remember. She just pointed to the sky.

“I saw it,” she said. “I need to go.” But go where? Her head throbbed but she held fast. Maybe Ekko could put it together. Maybe be could–

“The only place you need to go is to the doctor. Someone needs to look at your head. Seriously, how are you alive?” He shifted and Vi realized she’d stopped walking. “Come on, Vi. Please.” 

Vi’s thoughts were sluggish and she couldn’t keep them straight. Frustration reared its ugly head but the anger was baseless and aimless. She slumped onto Ekko’s shoulders trying to concentrate on the worry on his face. That was her fault. She’d put that there. She was a bad sister. 

“Yeah,” she said, “Sorry.” She wasn’t sure what she was apologizing for and she allowed him to tug her away. 

Chapter Text

Dawn rolled in dim and gray through the thicker than normal smog. Viktor watched the pillars of smoke from the fires that still burned and tried not to jostle Jinx when he stifled a cough. Her own plume of bright blue smoke had trailed off and evaporated a few hours ago now but he was loathe to be the one to move them from where they waited on the sign stand. 

Going now would be the smart thing to do. While Jinx had pressed her face to the metal in some kind of prayer, he had watched the streets. She was waiting for someone to come but there was always the chance that she’d draw more than just the attention she wanted. But no one had come, not the person Jinx was waiting for and no brawlers from the streets. He watched the stragglers when dawn broke gathering the injured (and likely worse but he couldn’t say from so far above). Now the streets were empty in a quiet, anticipatory way– as if those who lived here would not emerge till they were sure the fighting would not break out again. Viktor didn’t know the sides and he didn’t know who had declared victory. He didn’t think anyone won in a situation like this. Regardless, Viktor thought if they moved now they could pick their way through the ruins and emerge unaccosted. 

And yet he stayed quiet. The metal was cold and brutal against his bad leg even through the fabric of his clothes. He was sore from sitting in one position for too long and he knew that when they did eventually leave, his limp was going to be more pronounced for at least a day or two. But his physical ailments came second. Jinx’s were more concerning.

When in her folded position the dried blood that ran down the back of her neck was clear and he could see it had made a caked mess of her hair. The bruises around her neck had not escaped his notice either. He was sure there were more bruises– possibly other wounds that he couldn’t see under her clothes. When they went home he would need to send for Dr. Ralar. 

He worried over the head wound. Jinx hadn’t acted like she was tired or groggy the way he would expect with a concussion– but when he had found her she had been frantic and babbling. She’d continued that long into the morning– sniffling and groveling and whispering words he knew weren’t meant for him under her breath. She had eventually subsided into silence, letting Viktor pull her up from her position with her face against the ground. Now they rested against each other– Viktor with his legs splayed out and Jinx cross-legged with her head leaned against his chest and his arm around her shoulders– the empty smoke bomb cradled limp in her hands. 

She had a listless look about her that Viktor didn’t like. It was the reason he hadn’t suggested moving on yet. Every time he thought about it and went to speak he saw the numb look in her eyes and subsided. A little more time. Just a little more time and maybe whoever she was waiting for would come. But she hadn’t and looking at the empty streets, Viktor didn’t think she was going to. He unconsciously pulled her tighter against his side with the arm around her shoulder. 

Jinx stirred– resisting the touch ever so slightly before falling back into it and pulling her knees to her chin. Viktor looked at the lightning sky again and the barren streets and said nothing. 

“She’s not coming, is she?” Jinx asked quietly. Her voice was raspy and he thought perhaps making a house call to Dr. Ralar instead of going home first might be the right decision. 

“It was a bad night,” he replied, instead of telling her no. She knew the answer. “With all the smoke in the sky it is not unreasonable to think that she couldn’t see your signal. Or perhaps she was unable to reach us due to the fighting.” 

Jinx nodded slowly, eyes downcast. “I saw her,” she said, numb. “I was so close. She was so close.” Her fingers were sheet white from how hard she was griping the smoke bomb. 

“We will try again,” he assured her. “The timing wasn’t right, but another day–” 

“The Sheriff knows your face,” Jinx interrupted. “Silco will know who you are. Jayce too. Probably anyone who knows us.” The spark of anger that usually accompanied her whenever she mentioned the Sheriff was not there. Instead she was morose. Accepting. Sad. Viktor was at a loss so he just pulled her in a little tighter. “We can’t come back,” she continued. “This is– This was my last chance.” 

“We will figure something out.” For all that Jinx’s spark had been doused, Viktor was feeling twice as stubborn. They would find a way. Jayce and himself had already worked wonders– Jinx was a spiteful, haunted, brilliant addition to the equation. He firmly believed that there was nothing they couldn’t solve. “Another day. Another time. She would be here if she could.”

Jinx didn’t say anything to that. Just looked off to the side, eyes focused on something he couldn’t see– something Jinx did that he was growing increasingly, worriedly, familiar with. Frustration rose in him. He didn’t know the right thing to say. He was sure he had less than half the context and no understanding of how to utilize what he did know. He felt like a child floundering in the dark. All he could do was fumble out a few words and hope they were the right ones.

“I know why she didn’t come,” she whispered. “I wouldn’t come for me either.” 

“Do not say that,” he said. When Jinx didn’t respond he pushed her away slightly. She let out a small whine but Viktor twisted, placing his hands on her shoulders. “Do you trust her?” he asked.

“She said horrible things to me,” Jinx started to babble immediately. “She hit me and said horrible things that were true .It was my fault. I only wanted to help but I messed up everything and I– It was all my fault– I ruin everything. I killed them. I didn’t mean to but I did and I– I’m just a–” 

Viktor shushed her. He almost faltered for a second– there were pieces of that guilt ridden spew that he desperately wanted context for but that was for another time– another place. After some sleep and food and after her neck wasn’t the color of a plumb and he was sure she wasn’t suffering a concussion. 

He pressed on. “That did not answer my question.” 

Jinx opened her mouth, looking ready to argue but Viktor squeezed her shoulders and her jaw snapped shut. She looked petulant which, as annoying as it was with the subject at hand, was still a relief to see. Then the petulance crumbled and the misery returned. At least this time though, there was a spark– a miniscule, desperate glimmer of hope in her eyes.

“She came back for me,” Jinx whispered. “I didn’t deserve it but she came back for me.” 

 “And you came all this way looking for her,” he said. “Do you trust her?” 

This time Jinx looked at him, face a tear stained, dirt covered mess and nodded so hard it made his head hurt. He pulled her in by the shoulders and wrapped her in a hug. She didn’t resist. Her wire thin arms wrapped around his middle and she shoved her face into his shoulder.

“Then trust that tonight, she was waylaid– that it was not that she did not want to, but that she could not reach you. She made you a promise. Trust that she did her best to keep it. You are worth that.” 

He felt her nod into his shoulder and pretended not to feel the wetness soaking his shirt or hear the muffled sobs. Not once had he seen her cry until tonight. It was probably long overdue. He rubbed her back and held her. A few more minutes spent up here wouldn’t hurt. 

It was a long time before he felt her subside– going quiet against his shoulder. It was always hard to tell the time in the Undercity– the smog kept the sun from view– but Viktor was willing to bet that Jayce would have arrived at his home by now– possibly accompanied by Councilor Medarda (Mel, he reminded himself) to find them missing. He let out a weary sigh– patting Jinx on the back.

“We should go,” he said. “I am sure you are as tired as I am and in quite a bit more pain. How is your head? Any dizziness? I will call for Dr. Ralar as soon as we are home.” 

Jinx squeezed against him tighter for a moment before her grip relaxed. He allowed her to extricate herself and did her the dignity of not commenting on her puffy eyes as he pulled himself to his feet with the help of his cane. She declined to answer any of his questions– instead attaching herself to his side again as soon as he was up. He made sure to shoulder her bag securely onto his back as they began to make their way down the rickety scaffolding to the alleyways below. At the bottom, just before they stepped completely off, Jinx paused. Viktor had no choice but to turn to look at her with how she had attached herself to his arm on his good side. 

He stood for a moment, waiting for her to speak. 

“Viktor?” she finally asked– like he wasn’t right there. 

“Yes?” 

Jinx averted her eyes, looking to the ground and mumbled something under her breath. When Viktor tilted his head in question, she said louder. “Thank you for coming for me.” 

Viktor looked at her, just looked at her, then smiled. “Of course,” he replied, tugging her  from the bottom step of the scaffolding. “Now, let's get you home.” 

Viktor was right to assume that Jayce was fretting. When he and Jinx had arrived home after an agonizingly long journey from the depths of the Undercity, he found Jayce pacing on the front porch of his apartment. As soon as he caught sight of them he lurched forward. 

“Where were you?” he asked in a rush as he reached them. There was accusation in his voice. “I got here and you were gone. Why–” he cut off, catching sight of Jinx’s neck. “What is that ?” he asked, leaning down to her. For a second she flinched and Viktor saw Jayce immediately soft. The anger that clipped his movements disappeared in an instant and he waited till she was looking at him before he slowly reached for her face. She didn’t resist as he tilted her head to the side taking in the ring of purple bruises– just let him maneuver her to get a good luck. He was quiet for a moment then looked to Viktor. 

“She took an impromptu trip to the Undercity,” he supplied. “There were… complications.” 

"And you just let her go? Or did you take her?" The accusation was back.

Viktor snorted. "Clearly not. She left through the window. I simply followed and we should all be glad I did." 

Jayce looked like he was going to respond with another angry retort that Viktor didn't have the energy for (he understood. He really did. Jayce was only worried.) but Jinx spoke up before he could. 

"Sorry," she whispered. "I didn't mean to." 

Mean to what was an unanswered question that neither of them would ask. Jayce once again softened but this time he remained that way. He looked to Viktor again, nodded, and then scooped Jinx up. Uncharacteristically, she didn’t object when he did so. She let her face fall to the crook of his neck and stayed quiet. Jayce looked surprised for a moment, then angry, then sad as he tightened his arms around her. 

“Lets get her inside. Mel’s in there too.” 

Viktor nodded in agreement and they made their way in.

They weren't even all the way through the door when Councilor Medarda took one scathing look at their ragtag appearance and sighed. Viktor thought he would have been offended had he not been so tired.

“I suppose I’ll send for Dr. Ralar," Mel said as moved from her lofty seat on Viktor’s couch and was out the door before either of them could get a word in edgewise. Viktor blinked at the quickness of the action but then felt a begrudging appreciation. Let her pretend if she wanted to, Viktor would not comment on her unusual haste. He would only tuck it away for later when he would need to remind himself that Mel Medarda, despite all appearances, was not as heartless as she'd prefer him to think. 

Jayce carried Jinx to the couch and plopped himself down on it with her at his side. Viktor, not exactly thrilled at the prospect of sitting down again after a night spent on cold metal, visited the kitchen instead. He didn’t spend long there, only fetching himself and Jinx some lukewarm water and a wet rag before he too made his way to the couch and sat himself on Jinx’s other side. She shifted between them, leaning back into Viktor now that he was there and silently taking the water at his muttered insistence. He took the rag and began to wipe down the matted mess of hair and blood on the back of her head. 

Jayce continued to fret on her other side, trying his best to coax Jinx into telling him where she was hurt and quizzing her on seemingly anything and everything he could think of. Viktor could only assume that he was assessing the chances of a concussion– which Viktor appreciated. Any and everything that they could give to Dr. Ralar would make things easier and get Jinx into bed quicker. Jinx for her part started quiet but by the time Jayce was starting to subside he could feel the spark of annoyance returning to her even under her bone deep exhaustion. He smiled when she snapped at Jayce after he started giving her math problems. 

“I’m not stupid. I know what two plus two is. I could answer that even if I had brain damage.” 

Jayce looked relieved at the return of her spark and Viktor smiled when she subsided into sulky, smarmy answers while Jayce pushed her. Whenever she began to flag he picked a new topic to annoy her with and the familiar banter began to relax Viktor as he worked through her hair. Whenever he saw Jinx’s shoulders fall he remembered his own exhaustion but made sure to rally whenever Jayce would toss him a concerned look. Today would be about Jinx. Today they would coddle her as much as she would allow and tomorrow, when she was back to her spiteful, sharp, self, he would let her pretend that she had never had a choice but to lean into their touches and reach quietly for their affections. Today, he would make sure she knew she was wanted.

Jayce sat across from Viktor on the couch in much the same position he’d been in since they’d first come back into the apartment. Dr. Ralar had come and gone, giving Jinx the best assessment she could as she’d refused to leave her spot on the couch between them. Jayce agreed with her diagnosis of a very minor concussion and used the excuse of keeping an eye on it to insist that Jinx continue to settle in between them. She’d given Viktor a salve to apply to the wound he had successfully cleaned and prescribed rest and time for the bruises around her throat– which still inspired a slow burning fury in his stomach whenever he saw it. If he ever found the bastard responsible there would be hell to pay– but for now he set aside his anger in favor of warm concern. 

Jinx was curled between them now, on the edge of sleep. Viktor continued to  card his fingers through her hair though he himself looked on the verge of collapse. He was languid on the couch, his upper body pressed into the pillow back and his head resting on his arm. Mel had returned too, quietly lingering at the coffee table and working on some of the paperwork she had brought along. He wasn’t sure what to make of that– she was a busy woman. The fact that she had remained after Dr. Ralar had gone was a surprise but not an unwelcome one. He smiled a little bit. She was not as hard as she’d have anyone believe. It was part of why he liked her. Sharp and pragmatic, but never uncaring. She was just as worried about Jinx as he and Viktor were.

Turning from Mel, Jayce focused his attention back to the two bodies on the couch next to him and tried to sort out the tangle of emotions that had been running through him since he’d discovered them gone this morning. Both of them disappeared without a trace. Jayce had been convinced something bad had happened– that the Sheriff had come back and arrested them in the night. 

It would have been his fault, of course. He should have stayed. If he had been there he could have prevented it and in the morning when Mel brought the paperwork, the proof they needed, he could have turned the Sheriff away. Instead he’d abandoned them to what? Go sleep? And now Jinx would be locked back up in a cell. Her brilliant, shattered glass mind wasted and haunted in the solitary room she had in Stillwater. Her gentleness that he could see just beneath the surface, just starting to emerge from under layers of anger and defensiveness buried again by pain and anger and the unfairness of it all. And Viktor too. Viktor, his friend, his partner. The only man he’d ever met who made him feel like he wasn’t the smartest one in the room. His match. His equal. His husband, as of this morning, if only on paper. Gone. The only panic that had ever rivaled this was when he’d thought his research would be destroyed and himself expelled–  and even that somehow paled in comparison. 

Luckily Mel had been there and  kept him from running off to try to do something stupid– forcing him into the apartment and preaching patience while he paced. 

She had been right, of course. When wasn’t she? He had been so relieved to see the two of them hobbling back to the apartment that he’d forgotten to be angry at the worry they’d caused. He still had, redirecting it vaguely at whoever it had been that had hurt her and pushing it away to be dealt with at a later date. Instead he basked in the relief that they were relatively okay, minus a few glaring injuries, and that Jinx had started rallying back to her normal self under his careful, prodding questions. There would be time for real explanations later. He let Viktor turn away his more direct questions with a stare or a quiet word and focused on being comfortable. Which he was, with Jinx settled between them, safe from the Sheriff for now, and Viktor across, looking like he’d like to sleep for a year. 

He worried most for Viktor. Jinx he knew would be alright, Viktor would never have looked so relaxed if he thought she wouldn’t be and Dr. Ralar had assured them of her recovery as well. Viktor had refused to be looked over despite Jayce’s pleas. It would be like Viktor, he thought, to hide an injury in favor of letting Jinx be the center of their attention. He was occasionally unreasonable and self destructive like that. He would forgo sleeping or eating in favor of a theorem or forget to stretch his leg. He would let his brain wrap itself up in such tiny knots he’d be intolerable for days. Jayce never thought he would miss something like that, until this morning when he thought he might not ever see it again. 

He didn’t realize he was starring until Viktor caught his eye. He lifted his head in a languid motion– his slender neck sloping upwards as he quirked his brow in a query. Always a question. Insatiably curious. A match for Jayce in every way. Jayce shook his head in what he hoped was an assuring answer and felt his palms prickle at the drowsy smile that graced Viktor’s face before he laid his head back down again. 

He heard a snort on the other end of the coffee table and he jolted. Looking up, he met Mel’s imperious gaze and when she quirked a brow at him, a subtle smile on her lips, Jayce did his best not to flush. He broke eye contact first and averted his eyes to the floor. He didn’t hear another laugh, but the next fluttering of paper felt oddly judgmental. 

He felt eyes on him and when he glanced at Viktor he found himself pinned under his amber gaze. Jayce averted his eyes from that too– for some reason embarrassed with the whole ordeal. It was only when Viktor’s golden eyes closed and breathing evened out that Jayce felt a wild fluttering in his chest come to rest that he admitted to himself, for the first time, that this might be dangerous. 

Jinx had given up on laying in her bed. It was night now and while she was still tired (despite sleeping almost half the day away on the couch) she was more embarrassed than anything else. She almost had to physically chase Viktor and Jayce out when they’d tried to follow her to her room– asking smothering questions like if she was alright and if she was in pain. She wasn’t a child. She didn’t need their concern– not after she’d already spent most of the day huddled between them and an embarrassingly long time last night pressed into Viktor’s shoulder. Her cheeks burned when she thought about it. She wasn’t a child. She didn’t need that. They were taking advantage of her vulnerability– plying her with affection in hopes that she would– that she would what? She didn’t know. It didn’t make much sense to her. But she had mustered what was left of her tattered dignity and used it to shoo them away.

It helped that Viktor had also been tired and sore. At least she could hold on to that. She wasn’t the only one left raw by the night before. She wished she was as filled with the contempt she wanted to feel when she saw and extra stiffness to his steps. She wished it was satisfaction and not concern that fringed the corner of her thoughts. She shook it off. It was a silly thought– leftovers from her horrific night. 

But there was a small part of her that she begrudgingly acknowledged was grateful to him. She had meant it when she’d thanked him for coming for her. She was glad that someone had. She tried to believe that he was right– that Vi had been waylaid by the fighting– that she hadn’t been able to come. She would have been there if she could. She clutched that like a lifeline. Vi would have come– but Jinx had been too weak– had acted too late. 

She was still Powder– still afraid. Frozen. Waiting– just waiting for Vi to come to her because she still couldn’t do anything. Still waiting for Vi to save her. It didn’t matter that she’d escaped on her own. It didn’t matter that she’d changed– chosen a new name. She still wasn’t good enough. But Jinx– well, she wasn’t okay with it per se, but she could reconcile it. Her last good chance was gone. The Sheriff would tell Silco everything and it wouldn’t be safe for any of them in the Undercity anymore– at least, not for a long time. 

But time was the key. Eventually, Silco would forget. He’d get less vigilant. If she waited long enough– he’d probably think she was never coming at all. And that would be the moment to strike– when his guard was down and she had a plan– a real one this time. Not one cobbled together from pipe dreams and desperation. This one would be good. This one would work. 

Jinx took a seat at her desk and pulled out one of the notebooks that Viktor and Jayce had brought her. This one was new– a leatherbound blank slate. 

Change took time but she would do it. She would be strong enough. This time, Vi would come to her. She was sure of it. When she had more than just smoke bombs, more than a bare hexcrystal– when she had a true weapon and a real plan. She would have both. She had time now and resources. Viktor and Jayce couldn’t know what she was going to do, but they would help her. If they kept teaching her she would figure out how to build what she needed on her own. This time, it would work.  Vi would just have to wait a little longer. 

“I’m coming for you,” she whispered. “I promise.” 

She began to write.

Chapter Text

For as long as Jayce had known Viktor, he had always understood him to be an intensely private man. And yet, it seemed he’d learned more about Viktor in the last few months than he had in the past two years– which given that they were now married (even if it was a move made out of necessity) seemed a bit backwards. 

Sometimes he wondered if he would ever have learned anything at all if Jinx had never entered their lives. If Viktor had never felt the need to defend her or deflect– to toss himself onto the rails of a train he wasn’t sure was coming– would Jayce have ever known him? Would he have had the chance to read into his every sentence– to treasure what little he could glean at each implication because even when he was talking about himself through Jinx he was somehow frustratingly ambiguous.

“Let her keep the snacks in her room,” Viktor had said when Jayce had commented on Jinx’s tendency to squirrel away piles of nonperishables. “Give her time to become confident that she won’t go hungry and she will subside a bit.” 

How do you know that? Jayce had wanted to ask. But it was obvious. The answers for How many night did you go hungry? and You said subside a bit. If I went in your room, would there still be some there? Less so.

Another time: “It is a good thing for her to tell you she is angry with you,” Viktor had said. Jinx’s tantrum when Jayce had refused to allow her to work with them in the lab had been loud and dramatic– the slammed door and icy I hate you deeply disheartening. “It means she is comfortable. It means she feels safe. You are doing well.” 

In his gloom, Jayce could not recall their first argument– the first time Viktor had lost patience with Jayce after they had begun to work together. He knew it had happened but what was it over? He couldn’t say but the wary way Viktor had held himself after (as if expecting retaliation) was noted that time and others. Jayce remembered barreling past those instances, too enthralled by the idea of having someone who understood and could keep up to dedicate time to them until they stopped happening altogether. And now it certainly felt like Viktor said whatever he wanted to Jayce– regardless of its acidity. When did you realize I was safe? He wanted to ask. What did I do right? What made you think you needed to be wary in the first place? Not that he didn’t have some idea but it was different than truly knowing. 

And part of the problem was that if he asked, Viktor would probably tell him. Stilted and awkward, he’d answer if Jayce pushed. But he didn’t want to push. He wanted Viktor to tell him and barring that, he wanted to figure it out himself. It was a bit like a puzzle– but a person– one he cared about deeply. It was all too alluring to never go through the agonizing intimacy of asking and instead to glean what he could through conversation and off color comments. After all, Jayce had always loved puzzles.

Which was the excuse that Jayce made to himself as he watched Viktor fiddle with a new mock up a tad too closely while he himself tried to organize his own workspace into some semblance of tidy. It was early in the evening and Jayce knew that according to their new and improved (slightly less manic but ever more chaotic) schedules that it would be time to begin returning home soon. Jinx would need dinner so their day would be drawing to a close as soon as Viktor could pull himself and Jinx away from the current project. 

Jayce had taken up walking home with them and taking on the shared task of dinner at Viktor’s apartment. It made the most sense, seeing as how they were supposed to be keeping up the illusion of genuine, if not eccentric, domesticity. It was nice. Occasionally, Mel would even show up– which was strange but she and Viktor looked to be settling into something akin to peace. Food seemed to be helping with that– or maybe it was the fact that with their mouths full they couldn’t snipe at each other across the table.

He had discovered that Viktor was something of a practical cook– his meals trending towards utilitarian and simple, though still good. Jayce’s nights were a bit more elaborate. He even let Jinx help though he’d occasionally catch her with a container of conflicting seasoning and a mischievous look. She hadn’t ruined anything yet so he let it slide as long as she was properly sneaky. 

It was becoming a game to see if he could catch her– unspoken but just as tangible as the silent competition between he and Viktor to see who’s cooking Jinx would eat more of. She was still whip thin but looking healthier by far than when she’d first come under their care. For that matter, he thought he was seeing a difference in Viktor as well– he was still scraggly but Jayce could see it in the angles of his cheekbones that seemed the tiniest bit less sallowed. 

He wouldn’t admit it aloud, but there was a small sense of satisfaction every time he opened Viktor’s fridge to see it well stocked with groceries. Especially considering the barren state it had been in before Jinx’s arrival. Now it was filled with snacks and leftovers and on Jayce’s nights when cooking took longer, Jinx would arrive home and scurry to it with the same vigor that Jayce would have when he’d return home from school as a child. 

He wondered if that was something she’d ever experienced. Or Viktor for that matter.

“Do you have school in the Undercity?” he asked, stuffing the last of his tools into one of the drawers of his desk. 

The question was directed at Jinx who was standing on a workbench, leaning over Viktor’s shoulder to get a look at the piece that he was soldering wires to. Identical pairs of dark, slitted goggles turned to look at him in an eerie fashion– though Viktor quickly turned back to his work.

“Only if you’re very, very lucky,” he answered instead. “Most children are working by the time they’re old enough to go to school.” 

“And were you lucky?” he asked Jinx. 

She shook her head as Viktor mumbled, “Not many are.” Which Jayce took as the admission it was. 

The conversation fell silent but Jayce was still spinning the topic in his brain, examining it from all sides. He could let the topic die but…

“Can you read?” he asked Jinx and then locked in his poker face. There was a pause in Viktor’s soldering and Jinx turned to look at him again, pulling her goggles up and giving him her most unimpressed stare. Jayce kept his face blank as Jinx scowled harder. 

“You know I can read. I’ve been reading in front of you for months.” 

Jayce shrugged– all forced nonchalance. “Maybe you were faking it.” 

“How could I fake reading?” 

“I don’t know. Seems like something you’d be able to figure out how to do though.” 

Jinx looked like she was caught between the need to keep scowling and the desire to preen under the compliment. She did love being told she was smart, but the thread of offense and Jayce’s teasing kept her from fully giving into it. It was adorable.

“I hate you,” she said and Jayce took no offense to the words– just cracked a grin and winked. She firmly settled into scowling and Jayce couldn’t resist the urge to reach out and ruffle her hair which, as always, earned him an immediate annoyed squawk. 

“So you can read,” Jayce said as he pulled back his hand before Jinx could start to scrabble at it with her nails, “but you didn’t learn it in school.” 

Jinx crossed her arms, flustered, but didn’t pursue him as he drew back– progress!

“My sister taught me.” 

“Hmm,” Jayce hummed. He wasn’t sure what answer he’d expected for his unasked question. Perhaps Vander? An adult in her life at least. “Where did she learn?” he asked. 

“I don’t know.” 

“School?”

Jinx opened her mouth to respond when Viktor interrupted as he often did when he thought Jayce might be pushing too hard. “Any particular point to this line of questioning?” he asked, still focused on the tools in his hand.

“No,” Jayce lied– which Viktor somehow immediately picked up on.

“Liar,” he replied without malice. He put down the soldering gun and turned to flip his goggles up. “What are you thinking?” 

Jayce paused, trying to organize the different lines of his thoughts before he turned to Jinx again. “Would you like to go?” 

Jinx furrowed her brow, looking wary. “Where?” 

“To school.” 

There was an immediate line of tension in Viktor’s shoulders at the question but Jinx for her part moved from wary to thoughtful almost immediately. He watched the tension drain from her posture and the hungry glint she got in her eye ( the one from whenever she peaked at lab work she wasn’t supposed to) appeared. He clearly had her interest. 

It was still Jinx though. It could never be easy. 

“Why should I want to?” she asked.

“A school could even out your education,” he replied and then immediately continued before Jinx could take it as an insult to her intelligence. “You’ve got natural talent, but a solid understanding of the basics would go a long way in allowing you to do more complicated technical work. And while your engineering is inspired, there’s other subjects you might be interested in if you got the chance to study them.” 

“She could do all that with us,” Viktor countered immediately. Jayce had barely finished speaking before Viktor was lowering the soldering iron and clearing the desk in the clipped manner– one that Jayce had come to know as a warning. 

“Sure,” Jayce said. “If we had time to dedicate to it– which we don’t. And I don’t know about you but I’m not a teacher. I don’t know anything about building a curriculum or where we would need to start. She’d benefit from a professional– from a real classroom setting.” 

Viktor snorted. “Classrooms stifle creativity. She would find herself bored.” 

“I thought you never went to school?” 

“I attended a few times. Just not for very long. I found the lessons trite. My teachers didn’t know what to do with me.”

Jayce smiled. He could imagine that. He didn’t know what to do with adult Viktor on most days– he couldn’t fathom him as a child. He was certain trite was code for Viktor had been smarter than his teachers and didn’t know what to do with me meant he was too polite to say anything about it. Perhaps if Viktor had asked, his teachers would have been able to accommodate him– or maybe not. But teachers topside, especially ones at private institutions, would be more than pleased to have a mind like Jinx’s to challenge– and he was certain that with a little sweet talking towards the Kirammans and some prep work on an entrance exam, Jinx would be able to attain an exceptional scholar fund. After all, if he had done it, he didn’t see why Jinx couldn’t. He pressed on.

“We have better options.” Insensitive? Maybe, but the truth. “She’d excel in an honors program.” 

“Could you two stop talking about me like I’m not here?” Jinx asked with a huff, crossing her arms again. Jayce barely stopped himself from ruffling her hair.

Viktor, surprisingly, matched Jinx’s scowl and crossed his own arms. Jayce raised a brow while Jinx stepped up onto the table behind the bench she was standing on to dwarf them both. Jayce smothered a smile and decidedly did not laugh at her because it would only be counterproductive if she thought he wasn’t taking her seriously. 

From her perch she glared imperiously down at Viktor who stared back evenly– without even the slightest hint of backing down. Jayce watched, fascinated. What did it mean that Viktor was willing to take a hard stance against this? Especially when Jinx had shown clear interest. He had never turned her down on an academic venture before.

“Do you want to go?” Viktor asked– still facing off with her. 

 “Why shouldn’t I?” she replied immediately.

“I went minimally and I turned out fine.” 

Jinx seemed to consider this than nodded her head at the argument while Jayce covered his involuntary snort with a cough. He could feel Viktor’s eyes on him but elected not to meet them nor utter the words confirmation bias . 

“Jayce thinks I’m stupid and that I should go.” 

Jayce’s choked noise was real this time as he spluttered, “I never said that!” and was promptly ignored. 

“There are holes in your knowledge,” Viktor admitted and waved away Jinx’s immediate bristle. “It is not the same. Ignorance is easily fixed– especially for people like us. A tutor would suffice– someone to make up for the deficits in your education.” 

Jinx seemed to consider this for a moment, letting the almost insult pass her over in a way she would never allow Jayce to get away with. She turned to him. “And you. What's your argument?”

“That’s not the only thing you learn in school,” he said.

“What else is there?” 

“You could make friends.” Not that he had ever made friends but he had been busy trying to discover magic and already too paranoid to share about the topic that dominated his life to really connect. But Jinx was different– she could be charming when she wanted to be. Stability and opportunity could make a world of difference to her development and the chance to have peers was undoubtedly something that would benefit her. “You could talk to people your own age. A tutor can’t give you that and neither can we.” 

Surprisingly, that argument seemed to make Jinx uncertain. He could see her chewing her lip as she considered the idea in her glittering glass shard mind. “Persuasive,” she finally said. “Viktor. Counter?”

His answer was slow in coming but confident. “A tutor with private lessons and group activities if you must have a social aspect. Putting you in a Piltover school puts you under the public eye. It may not be safe.” 

“That’s expensive,” Jayce immediately protested.

“The personal tailoring you are suggesting for her education would require a private school at minimum,” Viktor said as he finally stood, cane in hand and project as neatly tucked away as it could be without damage. "Besides, my salary is more than sufficient.” 

“Your salary is only sufficient because you insist on living on the bare minimum,” Jayce argued. “With a real school there are grants and exceptional scholar funds. With a little prep work, she’d practically be able to fund herself.” 

“And you think they’d give her these grants? When the documentation we have on her origins is minimal without delving into what little we have on her education.” 

“Yes. That’s what they're for,” he replied dryly. “And worst comes to worst, Mel would help. She wouldn’t mind.” 

“And when the other students found out?” 

Jayce blinked. “You’re worried about bullying?” It was an aspect he hadn’t considered– perhaps because it was difficult to imagine Jinx letting anyone speak down to her.

“Oh, no,” Viktor said with wry smile. “I’m worried about them. What will the other parents say when she inevitably bites someone?” 

Jayce’s heart skipped a beat– not at the thought of Jinx biting someone (which was something he could unfortunately see) but– well– maybe he was reading into it a bit too much– but the use of other parents implied that in Viktor’s mind, that was a role that Jayce was included in– that Viktor thought he was his equal in. He hoped Viktor would chalk his chocked silence up to consideration even though he had been so thoroughly derailed he almost missed Jinx’s “Hey! I can be nice.” 

“I’m sure you can,” Viktor said placating, “– to a point. But I would much rather you use your teeth and I don’t wish to put you in a position in which you felt the need to.” 

Jinx’s eyes narrowed. “That sounds like a challenge.” 

“Trust me when I say that it isn’t.” 

Jinx was quiet for a moment and Jayce finally got his breath back. There was a frustrated twist to her brow and Jayce refocused on that. Focused on he way she looked simultaneously mutinous and on the edge of crying. She had such sad eyes– the saddest he had ever seen when she forgot to build up the walls of anger behind them. He watched her– waiting. Then, her clenched fists relaxed as she let a deep breath out. “I want to learn,” she said. “I want it so badly.” Her jaw snapped closed like she hadn’t meant to say that part and Jayce thought it was as close as he’d ever seen her to begging. 

When he turned back to Viktor, he knew what he would find. 

“I suppose the idea isn’t entirely without merit,” he said begrudgingly. “I still think the tutor is the way to go.” 

“I’ll help with fees,” Jayce agreed.

“I can do it by myself.” 

“I’m sure you could.” Always prickly about money. But… Jayce tested the new waters he found himself in. “She’s our responsibility.” 

Ours. The two of them together. Partners. Equals. 

“I suppose so,” Viktor said like the concession wasn’t rocking Jayce’s world. “Acceptable?” 

Jinx nodded, satisfied. “Just the tutor. I don’t need friends. I have you two and Mel,” she said as she hopped down from her perch.

Jayce gave Viktor a pointed look at that and Viktor rolled his eyes skywards. “Alright. Perhaps you have a point.” 

Jinx was instantly bristling but Jayce could hear the sliver of hurt when she said, “What? You two aren’t my friends?” 

Viktor tapped his fingers along the grip of his cane, giving the question its due consideration. Jayce was just glad the question hadn’t been directed at him. He wasn’t sure what his answer would have been let alone what the right one was.

Viktor eventually settled on, “As your legal guardian, I’m not sure that is a title I can claim.”

Jinx looked petulant. She whirled to Jayce who had been hoping fervently for an escape. “And you? Are you my friend?” 

“I’m… your sponsor?” Jayce tried– which got a snort from Viktor and a wrinkling of the nose from Jinx.

“My sponsor,” Jinx repeated back drily. As good as she was at hiding it, Jayce could see the disappointment that lingered in the line of her lips. 

“Oh don’t look like that,” he said and decided that as per usual, action was better than sticking his own foot in his mouth. Jinx squawked as Jayce scooped her up, instinctively throwing her arms around his neck. He used the momentum to hike her up onto his shoulders where she dug her nails into the skin of his neck and he grinned.

“Put me down! I don’t want you to be my anything!” Jayce did not put her down. Instead he started walking to the door of the lab. Her voice only grew more shrill as he did so though he noticed the pressure of her nails didn’t increase nor had they been anything but firm since the initial surprise. She wasn’t hurting him. “Viktor! Help me!” 

“Sponsorship is supposed to elevate you,” Viktor said drily and Jayce laughed. He could hear the fond smile in Viktor’s voice as he followed them– cane clicking against the tile floors as they approached the door.  “I suppose we will need to start looking. Perhaps the Kirammans will have a suggestion. Caitlyn is a well educated young woman– she might even be inclined to help herself. Then you might have a real friend.” 

There was a horrible groan from Jinx as Jayce felt her slump and let herself fall backwards. He scrambled for a second he was able to adjust his grip so she didn’t slide right off his back and fall on her head. (“Trust.” Viktor had said. “She trusts you.” We trust you, Jayce had translated which had done something horrible to his heart that caused it to malfunction for several seconds.) He heard Viktor let out a genuine laugh this time. 

“I hate you,” was all Jinx had to say. “I hate you both.” 

(He was starting suspect that maybe she didn’t)

Chapter Text

Caitlyn wasn’t sure how she had gotten into this situation. 

She knew what to do with a gun. She could assemble and load her rifle in under 30 seconds blind folded. She had top scores in the practicals and obstacle courses that came with her training– meaning she could run, dodge, crawl, and roll with the best of them. She knew what to do with just about any physical obstacle that came her way. She knew people too– could read them– their body language– the hidden meanings in their words. 

What she didn’t know was what to do with a child– especially one that hated her. 

She was still trying to figure out what exactly had resulted in her babysitting. Some kind of conference– a big one according to Jayce, where both he and Viktor’s attendance was mandatory. The Counselors would also be in attendance which ruled out Mel. The fact that Mel Medarda was even in the running to do something as mundane as babysitting was absurd to Caitlyn but she didn’t have time to question it before he had profusely thanked her and a surly preteen had been standing on her doorstep– glaring and alone. 

Caitlyn had plans for the day– she would have protested had Jayce let her get a word in edgewise. She had been neglecting her practice at the shooting range in favor of the other duties her training required of her. It was her off day and she was going to make up for it. But Jayce was gone and so she found herself walking side by side with a silent Jinx. 

Her plans for the day remained the same. She wasn’t going to give up on them just because Jayce had abandoned him with his child. His child. That was still difficult to wrap her head around. Legally his– and Viktor's. She was still bitter that he hadn’t told her that development. But she had been invited to the small, private ceremony that was supposed to be happening sometime in the near future. He’d asked her to be his best man which, admittedly, had charmed Caitlyn into lending him some grace. 

Still, it would have been nice to have some warning that she’d have company- no matter if that company was sulking along beside her, arms crossed and a stubborn frown on her face. Caitlyn was loath to break the silence seeing as the few interactions she had had with Jinx were not exactly pleasant. Still, she thought she should try– for Jayce’s sake at least. And she didn’t hold the girl any ill will. What she’d been through had clearly been terrible and Caitlyn’s own discussions with Viktor had been… enlightening. She wasn’t sure she believed it all or agreed with the conclusions he’d drawn, but she was willing to listen and much of the objective facts he’d revealed to her had been substantiated by her own research. 

Viktor was quite passionate when you got him going on a tangent. Perhaps a bit callous, he certainly hadn’t shielded Caitlyn from any of his own scathing opinions, but honest and thoughtful. He was quick to answer questions too or to consider a counter argument and refute it. Much of what they’d spoken on (and they’d now spoken on it a handful of occasions) was debatable and debate they did. Caitlyn would venture to say that Viktor seemed to like the arguments and even enjoyed having an audience– peculiar for a man who seemed so desperate to stay out of the spotlight that Jayce shone on their lives with their research. It wasn’t what Caitlyn had expected of him. She couldn’t say she didn’t like it. 

Jinx remained aloof though– always making herself scarce when Caitlyn was around. She did watch though and while she stayed quiet, she didn’t come at her with the anger she had in their first encounter– for which Caitlyn could only be thankful. 

But it didn’t exactly make them friends. 

“We’re here,” Caitlyn said, shifting the bag on her back. The shooting range was a quiet spot, private by appointment, which Caitlyn always made sure to schedule. Running through the woods shooting was only fun if you could guarantee others weren’t shooting at you. 

Jinx didn’t respond beyond a sullen nod. Caitlyn tried to think of something to say but eventually just led her to the check in and course start. It was an easy process– one she’d done for herself a hundred times before. Jinx had her own paperwork to fill out. Caitlyn handed it to her, then paused. 

“Do you need any help with that?” she asked. 

Jinx gave her a dry look. “What is it with you people and thinking I’m illiterate?” 

“I never said that,” Caitlyn protested but Jinx was already burying her nose in the papers and signing away her name. It was scratchy and jumbled but the name Jinx Talis was unmistakable. 

Caitlyn waited awkwardly until Jinx had finished and then took the papers, turning them in and leading them to the course.

“You can just wait here,” Cait said. “I’m going to do some warm up and then a couple of runs through the course.” 

Jinx gave her another scathing look and then plopped down in the grass– watching her with wary blue eyes. Cait sighed and then dropped her bag on a stand and began assembling her rifle. She’d take a few shots at the standing targets and then do her runs. It shouldn’t take more than a couple of hours. And then she could drag Jinx home and let her loose on the Kiramman library. That would surely keep her interest and more importantly, keep them from having to talk too much.

Caitlyn finished assembling and then a standard maintenance check on her rifle before she stepped up to the place marker and began lining up her shots. She picked a few of the closer targets, ones that wouldn’t take particularly good concentration but would let her know if something was off. She lined up and took her shots. Both bullseyes. 

Satisfied she moved on to the next ones– and then the next ones– and before she knew it, there were holes in all the visible targets. 

“Can I try?” Jinx’s voice came from too close behind her. It took all of Caitlyn’s training not to jump.

“Don’t approach someone with a loaded gun from behind, please,” Caitlyn said in what she hoped was diplomatic tone and not the sharp one she was trying to repress. Jinx didn’t respond to anger well but surprising anyone with a gun was not the smartest move she could think of. Anger was instinct. Calm was her training. 

“Your empty, I counted.” 

She was right but Caitlyn didn’t think it was prudent to tell her so. “Always treat a gun like it's loaded,” she said instead. 

“Can I shoot it or not?” Jinx asked, crossing her arms. 

Caitlyn considered her. 

“Have you ever shot a gun before?” she asked. 

“Not a real one,” Jinx said.

Caitlyn thought about it. Jayce probably wouldn’t like it– Viktor either. But they’d both left Jinx with her with no notice and honestly? Caitlyn wasn’t feeling particularly charitable towards them because of it. 

“You’ll have to listen to me,” she said. “I can run you through the basics and I’ll want you to repeat them back to me before I let you touch it.” 

Jinx’s eyes lit up as she nodded.

“You’re a pretty good shot,” Caitlyn said as she watched Jinx blow through most of the mid targets with decent accuracy. Jinx had taken direction well, surprisingly. She’d repeated Caitlyn’s safety spiel back to her almost word for word after Caitlyn had insisted she stop with the initial blasé summary. Jinx scowled at the compliment, lowering the barrel and switching on the safety.

“I’d be better with something smaller,” she said. Cait raised a brow. She wasn’t doing badly with the rifle at all in her opinion.

“Want to prove that?” she asked. Jinx looked over her shoulder at her while Cait reached into her case and pulled her enforcer grade pistol. If Cait had thought her eyes had lit up before, now they were positively gleeful. Still, Jinx was careful with the rifle she was holding and Caitlyn watched her methodically open the lever, remove the cartridge, and repeat till she was done. Caitlyn nodded at her and Jinx brought the rifle back to her before grabbing for the pistol. Caitlyn lifted it out of range. 

“New rules,” she said. “Similar but important.” Jinx scowled, rocking back and forth while Caitlyn explained the safeties again. She repeated it back with pinpoint accuracy and Caitlyn loaded it herself while Jinx watched with a careful eye. Once done, she let Jinx take the gun and was only slightly concerned with the level of giddiness she displayed. 

Jinx took her spot at the marker and lined up her first shot. 

By the second, Caitlyn understood why she’d been so excited. 

By the final she was trying to school her face into something that didn’t betray her awe. When Jinx had emptied the rounds, clicked on the safety, and turned back to Caitlyn with a wild grin, she failed entirely and matched it with her own. 

“That was amazing,” she said and Jinx preened under the compliment. 

“Thanks,” she replied and the smug smile that graced her lips was a welcome sight. 

“I mean it,” Caitlyn said. “The only other person I know who could shoot like that at your age was me.” 

“Arrogant,” was the reply, but Caitlyn noticed it held none of the usual contempt.

“Self aware,” Caitlyn retorted. “I was good. And so are you. Where did you learn?” 

Jinx narrowed her eyes for a second before she directed her attention to the gun in her hand. “In the Undercity,” she said. “There was this hideout we used to go to. It counted the numbers and hits for you.” 

“Like an arcade,” Caitlyn said. 

“Sure? I don’t know what that is.” 

“It’s a place where you can shoot guns like games– its–” she stopped short.

“It’s what?” 

“Honestly? I don’t know. I’ve never been to one.” 

“Oh.” Jinx said and they lapsed into silence. Caitlyn mourned. The tension was slowly seeping back in the longer they stayed quiet. She hated it. For a few moments, they had almost gotten along– almost been enjoying themselves– almost having fun. 

But it didn’t have to end. Not if Caitlyn had anything to say about it. 

“What are you doing?” Jinx asked as Caitlyn began to disassemble her rifle.

“I’m putting away the guns.” 

A wary moment of silence. Then,  “I thought you were gonna do the course.” 

Caitlyn snapped her guns into place in the bag and zipped it closed with finality. 

“I’ve decided we’re both going to do something new today.” 

The arcade wasn’t exactly difficult to find. Caitlyn had passed it a number of times before but never had a real reason to go in. She’d always been busy with her studies and it wasn’t like she had friends to go with. But the way Jinx bounced on the balls of her feet when the colorful building came into sight made her feel a slight regret that she had never familiarized herself with it. It might have been nice to be able to lead Jinx. Though when she found it being the other way around, she didn’t complain. 

“I know this one,” Jinx said and she grabbed her hand and pulled her through the small crowd of other patrons. There weren’t too many since it was a school day but enough that Jinx still felt the need to shove through them and drag Caitlyn along for the ride. She marveled at the fact that a mere hour ago, Jinx had been refusing to speak to her at all. Now she was babbling about the rules to one of the shooting games as she pulled Caitlyn up to the attached gun station. 

“Can we both play?” Caitlyn asked as she handed the attendant a few coins. He nodded at her and passed them both a plastic gun. Caitlyn weighed it in her hand as she took in the shooting gallery. It was a nice one, plenty of targets that moved on some sort of conveyor belt. Jinx was practically bouncing at the sight. Caitlyn passed over the gun and Jinx waited till the attendant started up the belts and a metallic countdown began to sound. They both took aim and the game began.

Caitlyn fired shot after shot. She wasn’t paying attention to Jinx for the most part, enraptured in the game herself. The gun was a bit off balance and not what she was used to but her accuracy was decent. She could see a counter of some kind twirling the numbers away as it counted up their scores. It wasn’t till the timer started a final five countdown that she actually looked at the numbers. She and Jinx were close– with Jinx trailing just a bit behind. Caitlyn took aim and took another shot as Jinx did the same, the guns going off at the same time. Both lined up again and Caitlyn hesitated for a second. 

She should be nice. She should let Jinx win.

They’d been having a good time and Jinx didn’t strike her as a graceful loser. She’d probably be upset to lose. Things would go back to how they had been– Jinx in her cold hostility and Caitlyn trying to keep the peace. Jayce would be disappointed when he asked Jinx how her day had gone and she told him that she hated Caitlyn. That Caitlyn had made a fool of her even when their competition was so close. She could see it– feel the hurt that Jayce would try to hide as two of the most important people in his life continued to despise each other. 

She should let her win. 

Except… 

Except …

She took two shots. 

When the numbers finished spinning she came out just a few points ahead of Jinx. She took a deep breath. What was done was done. She looked at her, waiting for whatever reaction there might be. 

To her surprise there was no anger on Jinx’s face as she watched the numbers resolve, just a hungry, wistful expression. She looked at her score, tightened her fists, and then relaxed them. 

“Lets play again,” she said and Caitlyn nodded, tossing the attendant a few extra coins while he took the guns back and loaded them up again. 

“You really are a good shot,” Caitlyn said as they approached the front of the arcade. They had closed the place down– moving from shooting game to shooting game– then on to the others when she’d seen Jinx’s frustration rearing its head after losing one too many times. The other games were more evenly matched. Caitlyn discovered she was not so good at ski ball or pins. Jinx seemed to be more than practiced with both. The smaller mechanical games were quite fun but Jinx soundly whooped her at them. Caitlyn won a few of the puzzle games by just a few points which leveled them out again. Eventually, they’d been the only two left and although Caitlyn had considered a bribe to keep the place open for just an hour or two longer, it was dark out. If Jacye hadn’t already come to collect Jinx to find them absent, he probably would soon. It was time to head home. 

“You’re not bad,” Jinx said as if she hadn’t lost every round. She was carrying a mass of tickets from their collective winnings in her hands. Caitlyn grinned and was relieved to see Jinx match it before she smothered it down. She dumped them on the table in front of the wide-eyed teenage employee behind the desk. 

“What’ll this get us?” Caitlyn asked. The young man stared at the pile. Caitlyn had no idea if what they had accumulated was a large amount but it must have been by his startled response. 

“What do you want?” he asked, gesturing to the mass of prizes behind him. 

Caitlyn turned to Jinx who shuffled under her gaze. 

“You pick,” Jinx said. “I don’t need toys.” 

Caitlyn thought about it. She wasn’t particularly inclined towards toys either though she thought her disinterest was more sincere than Jinx’s. She could see the way she was eyeing the brightly colored prizes behind the counter– her gaze lingering occasionally on a bright blue stuffed bunny with a bow around its neck in the corner. 

Caitlyn had seen Jinx’s stuffed rabbit in passing. She frequently carried the ragged doll with her wherever she went. She made a quick decision. 

“That one,” she said, pointing to the bunny. “We’ll take that one.”

Once she had it hand she shoved it into a protesting Jinx’s arms. 

“I said I didn’t need toys!” she said, though her hands wrapped tightly around the plush fabric. The rabbit was almost half her size. “I’m not a baby!”

“It's not for you,” Caitlyn appeased. “It's for the one you already have. He seems lonely and everybody needs a friend sometimes.”

Jinx fell silent after that and was quiet as Caitlyn led her out the doors and into the night.

The silence they found themselves in was comfortable this time. Caitlyn didn’t feel the normal tension that sat between them. Instead she felt something thoughtful and calm. Jinx was quiet, walking close by, clutching her new rabbit in her arms. Caitlyn picked a meandering pace– pleased with the success of the day and almost sad to see it come to an end.

“You didn’t pull your last shot,” Jinx said out of the blue. It was the first time she’d spoken since they’d left the arcade. “On the first game. I saw you think about it before you beat me.” 

Caitlyn considered her response then nodded. “I did,” she admitted.

“Why didn’t you?” 

 “I didn’t think you’d like that,” Caitlyn said– because it was true. Jinx didn’t strike her as someone who would want to win by anything other than her own skills– even at the cost of losing to someone like Caitlyn. “If you beat me, you’d want it to be fair and square, not because I let you. I was like that too.” She remembered that feeling. Remembered the doubt that crept in about herself whenever she won– the lingering fear that she’d been allowed to win because of her name and her status. She hated it. Jinx would too if her pride was anything to go by. Caitlyn suddenly realized that she was walking by herself and that Jinx had stopped somewhere behind her. She turned to look.

Jinx stood haloed in the light of the lamps that lit the streets– her fingers wrapped like a vice around the rabbit. The scowl she wore cast dark shadows on her face.

“I don’t get it.” 

“Get what?”

“Why do you have to be one of them?” She asked, though it felt less like a question and more like a plea. “You’re so nice and this was…” she trailed off, then stomped the ground in frustration. “Jayce likes you. Viktor likes you too. He said you listen. But if you listen then why are you still doing… this?”

“Enforcer training,” Caitlyn guessed. The root of the problem. The thing they’d been managing to avoid talking about all day. The thing they’d almost managed to forget in the midst of the fun. What could she say? She’d already given the explanations she could. All she could do was try again. “I want to help people. This seemed like a good way to do it.” 

“It’s not.” 

“Maybe.”

“Mel wants us to be friends,” Jinx said. Caitlyn really needed to find out why she was interacting with Counselor Medarda at all. “Jayce wants that too.” 

“Is that why he dropped you off with me today?” 

“I don’t need to be babysat. Viktor said so too. Jayce wouldn’t listen.” 

“I think it would be nice to be friends,” Caitlyn said but backtracked a bit as she watched Jinx’s grip on the rabbit tighten. “Or maybe just cordial. Jayce likes us both. I wouldn’t want to make him sad by not getting along.” 

“I don’t care if he’s sad. He can suck it up.” 

“Do you want to be friends?” 

“I don’t need friends.” The especially enforcer friends was left unsaid. Caitlyn heard it anyways.

“I think that’s a shame.” she said and found she truly meant it. Jinx seemed fun when she forgot to be mean. She seemed like a good kid. Caitlyn thought about it.  “What if we don’t start out as friends,” she suggested. “I go to the range most of my free days. You can come with me.” Jinx was quiet, so she continued. “I think you’d like the course. Its a bit like the arcade games. We could do it together and compete.” 

“Why?” 

“Because I think you’re good at it and you had fun. It’s hard for me to find people to practice with and…” Caitlyn trailed off. She started to walk again. “I want to see if you can beat me.” 

It was quiet for a moment behind her and then there were hurried footsteps. Jinx was at her side again. “What happens when I do?”

Not if, when. She was considering it then. Caitlyn let herself have a small smile. “What do you want?” 

“I want you to stop being an enforcer.” 

Because you like me? Caitlyn almost said. All it had taken was a few compliments, a day of fun, and a gift and suddenly Caitlyn wasn’t a monster anymore. How easy it was to shatter the image Jinx had of her. Caitlyn knew what lonely looked like– knew how desperate it made you. She wished she didn’t see it echoed in the lost look that Jinx was leveling her with.

“Well, I’m not one yet. But how about something more realistic? And in the meantime maybe you can convince me to do something else– assuming you still want to come?” 

Jinx looked sullen for a moment before she straightened herself. “I want a lab.”

“A lab?” 

“Your mom can sponsor Jayce and Viktor and you can sponsor me,” she said. “I want a lab and my own supplies.” 

“Okay. You come to the range with me, you beat me in a competition– or we set benchmark goals. I’ll find a way to get you your own work space.”

“A lab.” 

“A workroom of your own at the very least,” Caitlyn said. She didn’t think she’d be able to convince her mother into a personal lab– but maybe she could talk her into donating a bit more so that Jayce and Viktor could upgrade to something with more space.

“Deal.”

“Deal,” she agreed. “Now lets get you home. I bet Jayce is panicking and thinking we’ve killed each other.” 

“Good,” Jinx said. “He deserves it.” Then a smile lit up her face. “I can’t wait to tell him you let me use a real gun. He’s gonna hate that.” 

He did, in fact, hate it.

“But Jayce, Caitlyn promised!” Jinx whined when he immediately shot down the idea of going to the range with her again. “And she won me this rabbit and we had so much fun .” She pressed into Caitlyn’s side and Caitlyn didn’t jump in surprise when she did so. She watched as expertly placed puppy eyes rendered Jayce a mushy pile of stern and pleased. 

“She’s about as old as I was when I started,” Caitlyn said and added, “She’s very talented.” Jinx looked up at her when Caitlyn gave her shoulder a quick squeeze and shot her a frankly malicious grin that Cait couldn’t help but return.

“That's not– The arcades fine but the range–” 

Two sets of blue eyes turned on Jayce with varying levels of pleading. Jayce rubbed at his temples. 

There was a deep sigh. “You’re telling Viktor,” he said morosely. 

Jinx cheered.

Chapter Text

Jayce gazed at his reflection trying to find a way to make himself look not as nervous as he felt. He swept his hair back from his face again– making sure that the small strand that fell on his forehead was intentionally swept and perfectly positioned. He’d already done that at least 3 times but there was always the chance that maybe he’d do it better this time. He checked his suit again– looking for any stray dust or maybe hairs that had fallen from his attempts at perfection. It was a nice suit– pristine as it was moments ago when he’d last checked– mostly white with detailing in gold and a pair of comfortable black dress shoes. He looked good– great even. He should not be nervous. It was just that– well– 

He hadn’t really ever considered what he’d wear when he got married. 

He’d imagined it on occasion– that one day his work would settle down enough that he’d find someone he’d want to bring into his life. It had never seemed like a real possibility– nothing more than a day dream. He was too busy and too dedicated to the craft he’d yet to perfect to have time for a relationship. 

Except he had built one. Just not one he’d expected to become this. He couldn’t say he wasn’t pleased that it had or that he wouldn’t happily take the chance to check this little mark off on the list of things he’d do that would be normal and make his mother happy. If anything, he had to look nice for her . So really it was okay to be obsessing over his hair and his outfit. It was natural. 

Nervousness was natural too. Even if the marriage was already filed– their paperwork finished months ago and even if it was also kind of not real. A marriage of convenience and protection. A marriage that bound him to the little family he had somehow found himself a part of– that bound him to his partner– his best friend. That was what marriage was supposed to be about anyways right? A pledge to spend the rest of your life with your best friend. That was all he was doing– with the added bonus that there were no complicated feelings on the matter. It should be easy. He shouldn’t be nervous at all. 

Jayce straightened his tie again and then made a frustrated noise. 

This was stupid. 

Why did it feel so important that it was perfect? It was nothing– a performance. A marriage to convince people that this was real so that nobody would be able to come for Jinx. It was a show– and he’d never had trouble performing before. Why now?

Maybe he was just scared it wouldn’t be believable– that he wouldn’t look natural on the altar and someone would burst in yelling You’re a fake! And we’re taking away the child! Which wasn’t a thing that would ever happen but he was still irrationally worried that it would. Much more likely was an alternative version of those events. His closest friends and family would be coming to the ceremony. It would be small and private and they would all be able to see his face. These were people who loved him, who had known him for years. What would happen if they took one look at him and realized that this was all a sham. His mother would cry. Caitlyn would have impossible questions. It would be awful. 

“I think if you touch your hair again you’re going to ruin it.” 

Jayce nearly jumped out of his skin when Caitlyn’s voice rang out from behind him. He pressed a hand to his chest to calm his frantic heart. 

“You nearly gave me a heart attack,” he said. 

Caitlyn snorted. “I think you’re a little young for that. And too fit.” She eyed him up and down. “You look good.” 

He smiled at her and tried not to let the nerves edge in. “Thanks. You’re not so bad yourself.” 

Caitlyn had chosen a pretty blue knee length dress for the occasion. It was matched with a pair of heels that gave her the height to make up the difference between them and look him in the eye. It made it very easy to see when the mischievous smile spread across her lips and very difficult to hide his wince at the sight of it. 

“Nervous?” she asked.

It would be natural, if this was real, to be nervous. “No,” he lied.

Caitlyn patted him on the shoulder. 

“It’ll be a nice ceremony,” she said. “Everyone's here. It’s almost time.” 

“We should have eloped,” muttered Jayce. Then they wouldn’t have to do this– there’d be no ceremony. There’d be no nervousness. No chances of being brought face to face with Viktor on the altar and everyone close to them realizing that something weird was going on. No chance of questions that might put the little life they’d built together in danger. It’d be so much easier. 

“You could have if you wanted Xemina and I to hunt you down and skin you,” Caitlyn said cheerily. “Come on, it's not that bad. You’re just getting married .” 

He managed to take a deep breath and calm his jittery hands. It was fine. She was right. He could handle this.

“To Viktor ,” she finished. 

And there went his nerves again. Caitlyn had the gall to laugh at him. He glared. 

“You are the worst best man,” he muttered. 

“You won’t be saying that when you see the suit I got your husband-to-be,” she said. “I’m so glad he asked for my opinion. You’re going to love it.” She grabbed him by the shoulder and began pushing him towards the door. “Now, come on. We’re gonna be late.” 

“We can run away if you want,” Jinx said as she helped Viktor straighten his tie. “I can cause a distraction and you can sneak out.” 

“Now why would I do that?” he asked. She was standing on a stool so that she was taller than him and he had to look up to meet her eyes. She was always doing that, moving up, trying to be taller than everyone else.

“You look like you don’t want to be here,” she said, finishing it off in a flourish. 

“I assure you that I do. I am just nervous.” Nervous enough to actually bother with the mirror in front of him. With his tie fixed, the most glaringly obvious thing wrong was no longer apparent but he felt the need to scrutinize his appearance as best he could. 

He had to admit, the suit Ms. Kiramman had picked out for him was lovely– certainly not something he’d ever have worn by his own choice but if they were going to do this– he was going to look the part. 

He found his reflection to be almost a stranger. The white of the suit jacket was off putting– he was used to only the off white of the academy vest and that was already too much in his opinion. This was full sterility. There was not a hint of the human hands that had made and handled it– nothing to distract from the untarnished white except for the red shoulder panels. It wasn’t the maroon red of the academy, either, but the bright, garish scarlet that Jayce seemed to prefer. It bled down his chest to the embroidered scarlet vest that laced up the front. It was layered neatly on top of black dress pants, a black shirt and a golden tie. Viktor was not sure of the purpose of the golden tie– it didn’t seem to match the rest of the ensemble but Caitlyn had been insistent and he really had no valuable input so he let it rest.

There was one final piece of the ensemble to don now. He’d managed to convince her out of getting a matching cane for the occasion– citing sentimental value on the one he currently had– which left him with a pair of scarlet, leather gloves. 

He had to admit, he didn’t know the purpose of these to the outfit either. He supposed they looked nice but they seemed inconvenient. Regardless, he was not the one in charge here so he passed them to Jinx and let her help him press his hands into them. 

“Aren’t you supposed to be littering those flower petals around the premises?” he asked. Jinx shrugged– frilly shoulders of her dress bobbing up and down while her neglected basket of said flower petals lay lopsided and spilling on the ground.

“There were too many people I didn’t know out there,” she said. “Jayce’s mom keeps trying to talk to me.” 

“She just wants to get to know you. You are her family now.” 

“That's weird. She’s a stranger.” 

“You may hide back here. But you will need to be polite when we return. Try to talk to her. She is quite nice.” 

“She’s the one who sent me back here. She said you didn’t have anyone in here with you.” 

Then Xemina had noticed Jinx’s nervousness out in the midst. It was astute of her to give her the task of helping Viktor– a way to let her escape without implying she needed it. He would have to thank her later.

It was also true that he didn’t have anyone with him. When Jayce had asked who he would pick for his best man, Viktor had come up blank. Jayce would have been Viktor’s choice for best man. Seeing as he wasn’t available for the position, Viktor had said he would handle the preparations for the ceremony himself. Jayce had hemmed and hawed but eventually let up when Viktor seemed genuinely stumped on who else he might trust the task to. 

He had been similarly silent when he had asked Viktor about who he might want to invite to the wedding and Viktor, who knew Professor Heimerdinger had already been issued an invitation from Jayce, drew another blank. There was no one else. Viktor had himself, Jayce, and Jinx. That was fine with him. That was really all he needed. 

He had had to physically stop Jayce from then sending an invitation out to everyone and anyone Viktor had ever mentioned to have met in passing. 

It was ridiculous and touching. It was nice that Jayce cared– that he felt guilty bringing his own guests where Viktor had none. It was unnecessary though. The most important people in Viktor’s life were already in attendance. He had told Jayce as much and that seemed to settle him a bit. 

Viktor had then insisted on getting ready on his own– though Jinx slipping in to help had made the process considerably easier. 

He checked his pocket watch– it was almost time. 

He looked at himself in the mirror again. 

“You look fine,” Jinx muttered. “You don’t have to keep checking.” 

“I am simply making sure.” 

“I don’t get why you’re nervous.” 

Viktor didn’t have a reply for that. The neat corner in his head where he kept the big feelings he didn’t particularly want to think about seemed filled to bursting today– which was causing quite a few issues. 

He had expected to feel nervous. That was not a surprise. He was marrying Jayce– his best friend– his partner. It was momentous– even if it was forced. He expected to feel guilty– which he did. How could he not? He had accidentally backed Jayce into a corner where he’d felt like he didn’t have a choice– or at least not one that wasn’t cruel and he didn’t see as an abandonment of Viktor and Jinx. Jayce was doing them a kindness that could ruin potential future relationships– that would make a lie out of his life. Yes, the guilt was heavy– as it should be. 

What he hadn’t expected was to feel sad. A senseless, keening amount of sad. The kind of sad he hadn’t felt since he was a child. And it was entirely nonsensical. 

If it had been a by-product of the guilt, he could have accepted it– that at least would have made sense. Or perhaps a grief for his own future– whatever it may be– that he was sacrificing for safety. But no. That would be reasonable. That would be normal. Instead his sadness took the form of a deep, aching loneliness filled to the brim with moroseness, a heavy dose of self loathing, and entirely misplaced sense of longing. 

What a senseless thing to feel. Who was he to mourn a missed opportunity? Who was his heart to stupidly, hopefully, woefully want this to be real? Could he not be happy with what he had? It wasn’t like it had ever been a real possibility to begin with. This was a move made out of necessity– to appease the people in their lives who would look too closely. It was nothing more than that and it made him want to rip his heart out and eat it still beating and bloody and really, that wouldn’t be good for anyone. He’d stain the suit. 

He stared glumly into the mirror again. 

“Okay, that’s enough of that,” Jinx muttered under her breath. She hopped down from the stool and grabbed the lopsided basket, dashing a flare of bright blue petals across the ground. “Lets go. Try to look like you want to be here please.” 

Viktor snorted– shaking his head and trying to loose the longing that strangled his limbs. “I will do my best,” he said. “And I do want to be here.” 

“Could have fooled me,” she said as she began pushing him towards the door. 

If Jayce and Viktor could agree on one thing (it was not just one thing. They agreed on many things) it was that the wedding needed to be held somewhere small. They both had balked at the idea of a dining hall or one of the many party hall venues that Jayce was spending more and more time in these days. Caitlyn had made many suggestions, all of which they had been turned down for either being too formal or too big or simply not feeling right. It was Mel who had approached them with what ended up being their final decision. 

There was a small, elegant observatory built on the Medarda manor grounds. The structure was made of white marble– a circle tower with a dome at the top. The surface was lined with arched windows filled with old stained glass. 

It was elegant. It was small. It was private. It hit all the marks. It had rooms too. Two small library wings to either side of the ground level. It was from one of these libraries turned changing rooms that Viktor planned to exit into the warm golden glow of the main hall. Jinx had held him at the door, sneaking it open to sign to someone, probably Caitlyn, who must be on the other side. Viktor suspected that they were plotting something. 

His plan was just to exit and meet Jayce somewhere in the middle, wait for him if he hadn’t come out yet or walk to him if he was already there. Instead Jinx batted him away from the door until suddenly, she darted out it and closed it behind. 

“Wait behind the door,” she said from the other side. Viktor, vaguely amused, obliged her.

When the door opened it was with a gentle swoosh that he knew ruffled his open suit jacket. The first thing he saw was the motion of Jinx’s braids as she tossed it open with a flourish. The next thing he saw was Jayce. 

He was standing in the door of the opposite library, backlit by the light of the room– immaculate in white and gold (the tie made sense now). His hair was perfectly (pretentiously) coiffed and the cut of the suit was a perfect fit across his wide chest. He glowed in the golden light that filtered in the stained glass windows of the main hall– somehow simultaneously matching and outshining the white marble walls. 

His expression was unreadable for a second– wide eyed and statuesque as their eyes met– then a grin split across his face. It perfectly showed the gap in his teeth and made him look entirely too human again.

It really was unfair how beautiful he was. 

Viktor did not resent him for that even if it did make his life harder. No, he would never resent Jayce for that. He would only look– only watch– only want– and that only on days like these were everything was just a little too much and the daydream took hold.

Viktor shook his head and began the walk to the middle of the room where the staircase began. Jayce matched him step for step. 

The next parts should go quickly, he reminded himself. They were easy. The two of them would climb the stairs (not ideal but preferable to standing so close to the audience). At the top they would quietly say their vows to each other with the privacy distance afforded them. Not that they really needed that seeing as there wouldn’t be vows to make. Still, they were putting on a show and Viktor would be damned if he wouldn’t play his part. 

So they would climb the stairs and say things to each other that their audience wasn’t meant to hear. They would pretend and when they were done, or maybe even during, they would exchange rings and their families and friends would witness it. When both rings were donned, they would be bound to each other. Then their guests would lavish praises and congratulations on them until they could escape and go home and be done with the entire ordeal. 

It will be easy, he repeated to himself in his mind as he and Jayce reached the center of the stairs. He noticed Caitlyn trailing just a step behind Jayce (he wasn’t sure how he hadn’t noticed before) and when she saw him looking she wiggled her eyebrows. He snorted, turning his attention back to Jayce. Jayce’s attention seemed to be on Jinx behind him and he was doing something odd with his face. Viktor did not turn around. He did not want to know. 

A rain of blue petals suddenly showered down around them and Viktor couldn’t repress the laugh that escaped him. He felt a quick press of Jinx’s body into his side as some kind of side hug before she and Caitlyn both stepped out of their line and into the small crowd of people watching. 

Jayce extended his arm and Viktor considered it. He knew it was likely just a gesture to help him up the stairs and he had no business being prideful about something like that on today of all days. He folded his arm over Jayce’s and allowed himself the tiny indulgence of letting Jayce walk him arm and arm up the stairs. 

Jinx let out an embarrassing whoop from below and he heard Caitlyn shush her and then the sounds of a quiet squabble. He refused to look back. If the worst came to worst, Mel could handle it. This was her fault after all. 

When they reached the top of the stairs and stood on the dais, they turned to each other, hands joined between them. The light of the setting sun was pouring in through the stained glass windows, dappling them with shards of warm color. He looked to Jayce. 

Jayce was quiet looking back at him– his smile gone. He seemed to just be staring.

He was probably as lost as Viktor. He hoped that this wouldn’t be awkward. He leaned in and spoke softly to break the silence, “I think letting Jinx spend time with Caitlyn was a bad idea. They have been having all too much fun scheming.” 

Jayce blinked at him then let out a small laugh. “Who would have known? They’re awful, aren’t they?” 

“Entirely,” Viktor agreed, feeling the beginnings of a smile on his lips. “I suppose we will just gossip up here until we have pretended enough time has passed to have reasonably whispered our sweet nothings.” 

Jayce snorted. “You couldn’t see it but Jinx was making kissy faces behind you.” 

“Good for the ploy. Bad that she appears to still be holding fast to her preconceived notions of our relationship.” 

“Getting married probably isn’t helping.” 

“It never does.”

Jayce was smiling now and Viktor felt his shoulders relax. It wasn’t awkward. It wasn’t weird. It was just Jayce and himself working as seamlessly as they always had. It was under the intense scrutiny of the audience below but Viktor had accepted when he’d become Jayce’s partner that there would always be a spotlight of some kind. It was the nature of their work and more importantly, where Jayce shined. 

Jayce was glancing towards the audience. He leaned in close to Viktor. “My mother is crying,” he noted with a pleased smile.

“Over your choice in partner I’m sure.” 

Jayce snorted. “She likes you.” 

“I can not imagine why.” He meant it as a joke but the smile dropped from Jayce’s face. It made Viktor slightly nervous.

Jayce’s eyes focused on their joined hands. He was quiet for a moment before he said. “Because you make me happy.” 

Viktor did not let that comment go any deeper than his skin. “This is gossip, not a confession,” he replied– trying to veer the tone back towards something that didn’t make him want to self-immolate. 

“Would you listen if I did confess something?” Jayce pressed on regardless of the feelings Viktor had not expressed and never would.

“Depends on what it is.”

“Well it's going to be relevant in the next couple of minutes so I’d suggest paying attention.” 

“Go on.”

There was a pause and then Jayce said in a sheepish voice, “So I should have brought this up beforehand. The only reason I didn’t was because I didn’t want to ruin the surprise. But I was– it was hard to make a decision on my own and I didn’t want to ask so–”

Viktor wrinkled his nose. “What did you do?”

“I made four rings,” Jayce whispered. 

Viktor blinked. “Odd choice,” he murmured back. “Two is traditional.” 

“I know it's just– umm. I couldn’t pick. Might be better if I show you.” 

One of Jayce’s hands dropped away and Viktor did not mourn the loss of contact. He fumbled around in the pocket of his suit till he pulled forward a black velvet box. When he flipped it open one handed, it revealed four folded golden rings.

“I set the first ones like this.” Jayce said and tapped one of the sets with the tip of his thumb. Viktor looked closer. The ring itself was two gold bands woven through each other with a flat connecting band on the outside of both. Within the weave small scarlet stones, rubies Viktor guessed, were set. At the top of the ring a larger ruby than the rest was laid into place. It glittered in the dimming light and Viktor knew why Jayce had chosen them. 

Jayce elaborated anyways. “Red felt like the natural choice.” 

“Of course it did,” he said. It was, after all, Jayce’s signature color. “They’re lovely. Your work is beautiful.” 

And it was. Viktor had no issues seeing the craftsmanship and delicacy that Jayce had applied to the creation of the rings– nor would anyone else. It would make sense that their ceremony had been so delayed if these were the rings that Jayce had been working on.

“Oh,” he mumbled– like he hadn’t expected the compliment. “Thank you.” 

Viktor smiled. “Why four?” He pressed, turning his attention to the other rings in the box. 

“Oh because– just look.” Viktor was looking. He was looking at a bright blue stone that, if it had been glowing, he could have taken for a shard of hexcrystal. 

The rings were almost the same, the woven sections and basic design remained but here instead of rubies, were another gem of bright, eye catching blue. Viktor looked closer. They could not be hexcrystal shards. They couldn’t be split without damage. They looked it though.

“Why?” he asked– puzzled. The red was just as fine– just as pretty– and while Viktor found himself drawn the blue, he knew which Jayce would prefer. If he hadn’t offered, Viktor would never have been the wiser.

“You don’t remember?” 

“Please be more specific.” 

Jayce fidgeted for a second. “It was before Caitlyn’s party,” he said shifting his weight. “You were talking to Jinx and you talked about being… being seen as my creature.”

Viktor did remember that now but it didn’t help make sense of why Jayce had made four rings. 

“I don’t own you,” Jayce said, “and I don’t want you to feel like I do or ever could. If the red is me and mine, then the red rings are…you know, a symbol of that. And this is already– I don’t want you to feel like I own you or that you owe me. I would never want that so I made another set.” He brushed the blue stones with his thumb. “I know it’s not quite the right blue but it's close and– it felt more like it was ours. There is no claim. There's just us.”

Viktor stared at him. 

“I didn’t want to assume anything,” Jayce stumbled on. “I thought– I thought I’d let you pick but I wanted– I wanted to remind you that we’re in this together.” 

He was greeted with silence. 

Viktor, for his part, was stunned. Just– 

Jayce. Oh, Jayce. What in the world? He had put more thought into this than Viktor would ever have. It was over analyzed to the point of foolishness. It was a notion motivated by anxiety, public perception, and more than a bit of putting too much stock in Viktor’s thoughtless words. Only Jayce could cling so hard to a conversation that Viktor only vaguely recalled and base what must have been days, if not weeks, worth of work around it.

Not to mention if he had just asked Viktor could have easily given him an answer. But he was so determined to keep the damn things a secret— to make it a real surprise. It was foolish. Nonsensical.  Ridiculous. 

It was unbelievably, unequivocally kind. It was terribly Jayce.

It simply wasn’t fair, Viktor thought. Why couldn’t he be just a little less perfect? 

Jayce shifted while Viktor processed and Viktor remembered that he should say something– have some kind of response. He wouldn’t want Jayce to think he had misstepped when he’d done the complete opposite. 

But what could he say to something like that?

Viktor let out a quiet, disbelieving laugh and decided, just for today, he would be a little selfish. 

After all, with all his kindness, he knew that Jayce would undoubtedly forgive him for it. 

Jayce waited for Viktor to respond. He was trying not to let his anxiety show through in case anyone below might pick up on it. It was just– It was nerve wracking. It was as nerve wracking as when he’d finished the first set of rings and suddenly recalled Viktor’s words to Jinx that day. 

His creature. He hated that phrase. It was gross. Dehumanizing. An extreme disservice to any person, not just Viktor but especially to him. He was Jayce’s partner. He wanted to prove that– not just to the world– but to Viktor who sometimes seemed like he didn’t believe it himself. 

Jayce wanted him to believe. 

He just hoped that this hadn’t been a misstep. Viktor was touchy sometimes and hard to read. The way his expression had shut down worried Jayce but he had faith that even if he had done something wrong, Viktor would hold harsh words till the wedding was over. He wouldn’t put their plot at risk for something like that. But Jayce wanted very badly to not have stumbled. He wanted this to be good. He wanted to remember this day without any kind of guilt. 

Well, he was probably still going to feel guilty but that had nothing to do with what Viktor thought of the rings and everything to do with how he had unabashedly stared at Viktor when the doors had swung open to reveal him dressed in Jayce’s signature scarlet. 

Damn Caitlyn. She really was the best worst best man.  

It was just that, the suit was very well tailored and Viktor so rarely dressed up. And then there was the fact  that seeing him there in the golden light wearing Jayce’s colors had done something to him that he was trying very hard not to think about. 

It was somewhat what he’d been trying to avoid with the rings except that this wasn’t around anyone else. This was meant to be seen only by people he trusted. He trusted them to see Viktor for what he was– not an extension of Jayce. Which meant that the red wasn’t a signal to them– but a signal to him. They were two halves of a matching set. 

Also the gloves were– 

He shut that thought down immediately. 

Damn Caitlyn. He hated her so much. 

He was not having these thoughts. Not here– preferably not ever but he knew that was a lost cause. This was not the first time his mind had betrayed him like this.

He knew what it meant. Despite all indications, Jayce wasn’t stupid. But to try to deal with the revelation here– at his wedding– with his friends and family watching– as he was waiting for the man who he had very complicated feelings about to decide if he was offended by Jayce’s attempts to equalize them was not the move. There was a time and place. Maybe. Maybe if he ignored his little crush it would go away and leave him to breathe in peace. Probably not though. Probably he was going to suffer forever. 

Viktor chose that time to finally move. Jayce was ripped away from his thoughts by a quiet, breathy chuckle. He refocused his attention on Viktor who was minutely shaking his head and looking at the ground with a smile. Jayce wasn’t sure what that meant. 

Then Viktor’s grip tightened on the hand he still has clasped between his. He pulled it upwards and lent over and pressed a kiss to Jayce’s knuckles. 

Jayce immediately short circuited. Unfortunately, he didn’t have time to recover as Viktor leaned forward, bringing his (somewhat chapped but still soft) lips to Jayce’s ear. He could feel his hot breath as Viktor murmured, “It is very sweet of you.” 

Wonderful. Viktor wasn’t angry with him. If anything, he sounded more happy than Jayce had ever heard him. When he pulled back, Jayce saw a bright and blinding grin on his face. Jayce went immediately back into short circuiting. 

Viktor so rarely smiled like that– and more often than not as of late it was directed in Jinx’s direction rather than his. He was winded by the force of it. 

There was no time to recover between the sickeningly sweet assaults. Viktor pulled his gloved hands away from clasping Jayce’s and Jayce didn’t embarrass himself by whining but it was a close thing. Viktor’s nimble fingers slipped the box from his hand. Then Jayce watched, mesmerized, as he plucked one of the rings, the one in red, the one that was Jayce’s color but Viktor’s size, from the box and pressed it into Jayce’s palm.

Jayce managed to recover his voice to croak out a “Viktor?” 

Viktor closed Jayce’s fist around the ring. His hand remained on Jayce’s. He was quiet for a moment before he said, “I find I do not mind so much the idea of wearing your colors.” 

Jayce’s heart did something funny in his chest and he was glad their audience was so far away because he was sure his face was doing something just as ridiculous. Luckily, Viktor couldn’t notice, as his attention was focused on their joined hands. He pulled back a bit, proffering his left hand to Jayce. “I would be yours, Jayce Talis, if you would have me.” 

Jayce, at long last, pulled himself together just in time to not make a fool of himself. “Yes,” he said perhaps a tad too quickly. “I would have you.” 

Viktor nodded and Jayce reached out to his gloved hand and took it. Viktor looked up and met his eyes. Jayce peeled away the glove and steadfastly did not think about pulling it off with his teeth. 

Damn it, Caitlyn. 

He slipped the ring onto Viktor’s finger, who smiled and wasted no time in retrieving the next ring. This time one in Jayce’s size. 

But it was the one embellished in blue.

“You don’t want to match?” Jayce asked, surprised.

Viktor held the ring up to the light, letting it glint off the bright blue faces of the gems. Then he brought it down with a rakish grin and a tilt of his head. 

“I would rather you be wearing our colors.” 

Jayce immediately felt heat rise to his face. He knew his face was probably the color of the gems in Viktor’s ring now. This was awful. How was he supposed to deal with a statement like that? Viktor had no idea what he was doing to him. He was just saying shit and Jayce was going to die . 

“Then you would have me?” he managed to ask.

There was a small smile on Viktors face as he replied, “Always.” And then Viktor slipped the ring onto Jayce’s finger, the blue stone glinting in the light of the observatory. Viktor had brushed his lips to the ring and across Jayce’s knuckles again before Jayce had time to react. Jayce’s skin burned where contact had been made and his breath caught in his throat. This time he was more prepared though. He could recover quicker. He just needed to start breathing again. Viktor didn’t give him the chance. He stood to his full height with his cane pressed into the ground and up on his toes. His hand was on Jayce’s shoulder and before Jayce could think better of it, his hand was on Viktor’s waist, stabilizing him and their faces were inches apart. Jayce saw the curve of Viktor’s smile tilt up into something sardonic before he pressed a chaste kiss to his lips. 

It was just a peck– something that was over in the few seconds it took Jayce’s proximity dazed brain to realize it was happening. Viktor was gone again before Jayce had the chance to react, let alone respond. All he could do was feel himself suddenly fall to pieces as he watched Viktor lower himself back down. Unconsciously he pressed his fingers to his lips.

He stared at Viktor– who looked back at him– suddenly appearing unsure. Jayce opened his mouth to say something, floundered, closed it, opened it again and–

Before he could say anything (like profess his undying love) or do something (that would surely be stupid) a cheer erupted from below. Jayce turned to look, stunned, having nearly forgotten about their audience. 

The small crowd of people were alternating between polite clapping and loud whooping (courtesy of Jinx) and a wolf whistle which he was sure originated from Caitlyn (best worst best man). 

Viktor slipped his hand into Jayce’s who immediately took hold. Viktor gave their hands a light squeeze. 

“Alright?” he whispered– turning to also look at their audience. 

Jayce nodded, then realized Viktor wasn’t looking, and managed an unsteady, “Yes.” 

Viktor turned back to him, with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes– one so entirely different than the one Jayce had been leveled by moments ago. He squeezed Jayce’s hand again. “Remember,” he said. “It doesn’t have to mean anything.” 

Jayce felt the wind go out of his sails. He knew. He knew it didn’t mean anything. Viktor had been extraordinarily clear from the get go. It was Jayce who was realizing that he wanted something he couldn’t have. But it was too late to back out now and far too late to mention something about it and potentially make things awkward. He was in it for the long haul. Forever if he played his cards right– which he would for all their sakes. 

Jayce nodded and Viktor gave his hand another comforting squeeze. Jayce put on his best smile and turned back to their audience below. His mom was sobbing into a handkerchief now and it looked like Jinx was very awkwardly trying to say something to the woman. That might be good but with her, who really knew? He forced a smile. 

“Let’s go put on a show,” he said and felt Viktor slide his arm over his as they began their descent down the stairs. 

It was a few hours later that Jayce found himself with the time to sulk alone in a corner. Several of the guests had left already which meant that it would be time to go soon. They had excused themselves politely and now it was just Jinx, Mel, Heimerdinger, and Jayce’s mother who lingered behind. He watched from where he was leaning up against one of the walls as Viktor led a conversation with Jinx and his Mother. Heimerdinger watched on and seemed to be adding something every now and again but it seemed like Jinx was the star– speaking loudly while his mother cooed and encouraged. 

He smiled a bit. He liked that they were getting along. He hoped they would continue to. He knew it would be important to his mother to get to know them both better now. His eyes stuck on Viktor, who was facilitating, but only very rarely. After a few moments of staring, Viktor must have felt something off. He shifted and looked up and around. 

His golden eyes caught Jayce’s and then a languid smile appeared on his face. Jinx grabbed his hand and yanked once, pulling him back into the conversation with an amused huff. Jayce watched it all. 

He was so fucked. 

“It was a lovely ceremony,” Mel’s voice rang out to his left. Jayce only flinched a little bit. 

“It was, wasn’t it?” Jayce said. Mel leaned up against the wall next to him, a drink in her hand. 

“I can’t say I was entirely convinced you two would be able to pull it off,” she said, swirling her glass of wine before taking a delicate sip. She then added, dryly, “Apparently, I needn’t have been worried.” 

Jayce tried very hard to play it cool and pretend he didn’t know what she was talking about. Maybe that would make it true. 

“Was it convincing?” he asked and tried not to sound miserable about it. Mel snorted. 

“Yes, Jayce. It was very convincing.” 

The look she gave him was equal parts sardonic and sympathetic. Jayce made sure no one else was looking and then buried his face in his hands. This was going to kill him.