Work Text:
Viktor had not grown up in a very loving environment. It was clear by his demeanor, the way he preferred to keep to himself, and the assurances to himself that all he had up to that point were his brain and ambition to create.
After all, Zaun was not the warm and loving place that nurtured minds but one that tore them down at the first sign of weakness. There was no one to coddle him when he felt sad, no one to wipe away tears and kiss scraped knees better, no one to hug him when he did a good job or tell them how proud they were of him and his bright mind. His introverted tendencies might have been attributed to such facts, Jayce sure liked to think so.
Compared to Viktor, Jayce had grown up with both his mother and his father, and while his father might have passed away when he was young, he still maintained a motherly figure well into his adult life. Casual touch, like kisses on the cheek or the forehead or temple and hugs, was something that the Talis household was no stranger to. Jayce was a very touchy person and it was clear to see.
Large and scarred hands resting upon frail and thin shoulders, elbows and arms atop of heads, knees touching knees, and broad fingers resting on the small of his back were only some of the examples Viktor could think of from the top of his head.
This touchy feely-ness of Jayce's only appeared to worsen (or get better depending on who one asked) when they began dating. Before, Viktor had chalked it up to another one of Jayce's personality traits, that need to touch of his.
He tried to not think much of it, dismissing it as a friendly gesture. He had seen other people do the same after all. Friendly touches were all. Yet, Viktor couldn't help the way his cheeks would fill up with heat or how he would fumble with his words far more when Jayce had a hand on him. Those touches carried another connotation now, one that Viktor had been too dense to see before.
Now, it looked like he couldn't get away (not that he wanted to in the first place). While he had grown used to Jayce's friendly touches, he felt like all the buildup had not properly prepared him enough. He had only figured out a step when there was still a whole equation to solve.
"Here, tell me what you think of this."
"Are you still stuck on it?"
Jayce made his way over to the chalkboard that Viktor stood in front of, eyes moving back and forth between the paper in his hand and the writing on the board in a futile attempt to figure out where he had gone wrong. "Let me see that."
Viktor gladly passed the scratch paper over, thankful to give his mind a bit of a break from trying to pry it open to get an answer. Jayce did not have the same mercy. Warm fingers tangled with his always cold ones (the weather didn't matter, Viktor ran cold), and Jayce continued to glaze over the paper as if the simple action had never happened.
He had always been a bit of an overthinker, considering every possible outcome was just something Viktor did, almost like second nature. Yet, he had failed to consider this possibility. Amber eyes moved between his and Jayce's hands, face flushing up to the tip of his ears while Jayce calmly explained the fault in this equation.
"That should do it. Try again." Jayce offered him a warm smile, gesturing to the board with the hand that held the paper.
"Thank you. I'm afraid I will need my hand for that, though."
Jayce, who, unlike Viktor, remained unfazed at the wild act of holding hands, simply glanced down and let out a laugh.
"Right! I completely forgot." Before he let go, he brought up Viktor's hand, raising it to his lips, where he planted a kiss on his knuckles, winking. "Keep up the good work, partner."
Viktor almost passed out from overheating.
This barrage of affection did not stop and it did not seem anywhere close to stopping. Jayce seemed to get more comfortable and Viktor became more of a blushing and fumbling mess.
It happened when Viktor was less expecting it; while working on another sketch, Jayce would come down and press a kiss to the side of his head, and when Viktor would turn to look, he was long on his way.
His grip, which seemed hesitant before, had become more confident. He had to have a hand on Viktor at all times. When explaining something, even if Viktor didn’t need it, Jayce’s hand would somehow find a way to his shoulders, or back, or waist, anywhere and everywhere he could touch.
It wasn't like Viktor could confide in anyone else who wasn’t Jayce about his newly found 'problem'. He wasn’t even sure if he could call it that, and he was hardly unsure of anything.
In the beginning, Viktor would recoil from Jayce’s touch, not out of fear or anything of the sort. The touch was simply unfamiliar. Strange to someone who had not grown up with it ingrained since childhood. At times, Jayce would notice the flinches or startled looks that Viktor would give him, and his expression would twist into one of worry and uncertainty, hand drawing back as if afraid he had hurt him.
"You don't like it do you?"
Jayce's voice had burst the quietness of the lab. The sky above them had become a flurry of purples and blues, stars and the moon providing adequate lighting for those still outside.
Neither of them had paid much attention to the passing of time. They always opted to stay in much later than necessary to accomplish their dream, working day in and night out. Despite them being the only two inside the lab, Viktor barely glanced up from the paper he was writing on.
"What was that?"
"When I to--" He heard Jayce sigh, large hands dragging his face down. He shook his head, a smile coming up to line his handsome face. "Nothing. Sky made coffee before she left. There should be enough for a mug or two." Jayce turned back around, returning to his work.
But his words made Viktor perk up, and for the first time in a few hours, he stood up, bones popping as he stood.
The coffee machine (one Jayce had spent hours trying to improve) wasn't a far walk away. Viktor decided against using his cane for the short trek over. To his surprise, the coffee was still warm and the condiments had been laid out neatly on the table before him. And as he prepared his coffee and made his way back to his workstation, he let his mind wander.
He thought of Jayce then. His wonderful, intelligent, and stubborn Jayce. He thought of warm and expressive hazel eyes, ones that only appeared to look at him with love and admiration. The scar on his right brow that Viktor had traced over countless of times, careful to not let cold fingers linger for too long. He thought of Jayce and his ambitions, how he could always find a way around a particularly difficult problem, and of strong arms that could pick him up just as easily.
It clicked then, what Jayce had been trying to ask earlier. He didn't mind, did he? Whenever Jayce touched him?
He had to think about that too, and he found that no, he never really minded in the first place.
He liked when Jayce touched him. All those times he had shied away from his touch were merely out of embarrassment. Because how could Viktor — A Zaunite who had climbed his way to the top by his own volition, who had been devoid of physical affection his whole life up to that point — be so reliant and comforted at the touch of someone else?
He had pride in himself and his accomplishments, and there was little that Viktor was a stranger to yet this was completely out of his level of expertise and he simply didn't know how to deal with it.
He did it the only way he knew how. By deflecting.
Only now could he see the effect it had taken on poor Jayce. He wasn't even sure if Viktor liked the casual intimacy, and while Jayce was usually quick to speak his mind, he was always careful with him.
He didn't want to ruin what they had with such a silly question. Viktor had been so tentative over even beginning a relationship that the conversation didn't even seem worth it. If he had a problem, he would very obviously tell Jayce.
He wanted to show Jayce that he liked the touches, the warm press of his fingers against his always too cold body.
But how?
The question seemed like a daunting one to figure out, and he wrecked his already exhausted brain to come up with an answer he liked.
The sweetness of the warm coffee against his lips brought him back, finding that his eyes had trained on the wide back of the person running around his mind twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Suddenly the coffee tasted like liquid courage and the wanted answer lit up like a lightbulb.
He haphazardly set his mug down, the dish teetering on the edge of the desk for dear life, but in that very moment, Viktor could have cared less.
He moved towards Jayce, who still had his head buried on some paperwork Heimerdinger expected by the end of the week and was too busy to notice the figure approaching him.
All the better for Viktor, if Jayce turned around now it meant doom.
With all the courage he could muster, Viktor leaned down, placing a gentle kiss on Jayce's cheek. It couldn't have lasted more than a few seconds but with the way, Jayce reacted it almost looked like Viktor had given him the moon and the stars.
For Jayce, it was even better than if the moon and the stars and the sun and the whole solar system had been wrapped up and left on his desk. It was very very rare for Viktor to show physical affection and even rarer for him to initiate it. It almost felt like a gift from those above, benevolent beings Jayce would have to praise later for such a delicacy.
He gasped, loud and shocked, face turning a shade Viktor had never seen before on him. He had not been expecting it, and for a split second, Viktor felt unsure if it had been the right move or not.
Not that he stayed to figure it out, dashing away the moment that Jayce stood from his seat; his face still beet red and jaw just as wide open as when he had first kissed him. Viktor's own face a similar shade of red, just not as noticeable as he was turned around and hobbling away as fast as he could out of the room to save himself the embarrassment that was sure to come.
"Viktor!" In his pursuit of freedom, Viktor had overlooked a very crucial ally that would have allowed him to exit the room faster.
His cane (another one of Jayce's inventions designed specifically for him) was being held prisoner in Jayce's very strong and capable hands. "I think you're forgetting something." A triumphant smile reigned over Jayce's handsome features, knowing he had one-upped his beloved this time.
Viktor stood on the other side of the lab, hands gripping the table before him for extra support, eyeing the cane wearily. Caught in his own trap.
"Come here," Jayce said, voice so stupidly soft it made Viktor weak at the knee.
He did so, their eyes never leaving each other. He felt exposed at that very moment, having to crane his neck to look at the hulking figure that was his Jayce. He was handed his cane back, fingers brushing against each other without even meaning to. Viktor wanted more.
He reached for the hand he had shrunk away from so many times, the warmness a comforting familiarity he hadn't even realized he missed until that very instant. He pressed it against his cheek, eyes fluttering shut in a signal: I trust you. I would trust you with my life if it ever came to it. Just don't stop touching me, please.
Jayce's other hand followed suit, taking his whole world in his hands, and placing a kiss on the crown. Sweet, tender, and so full of love that Viktor nearly cried. A response of his own: Never.