Work Text:
Work-study was a blessing and a curse. It was a blessing because it allowed Viktor to actually attend Plitover college. The curse was the fact that he had to actually work for those dollars. And no amount of scholarships or “accommodations” the college tried to provide could alleviate that. He got the least physically stressful jobs out there, even if they were in high demand. He was the face at the front desk at every building that had one, he cleaned the equipment from the biology labs, and he was an assistant in the library. All between a full course load. For most of them, he was able to sit for long periods of time so it wasn’t awful. But it was still time he could be spending doing other things, like socializing or rushing or reading a book that’s not academic.
He’d hate every minute of it but they seemed entertaining from the confines of the front desk of the rec center. Viktor watched from his rollie chair as people sunbathed and tossed frisbees back and forth. He’d do any and all school work at the desk between greeting people.
“My head is going to explode,” Sky said into her textbook. Viktor was rocking back and forth in his chair, watching the door instead of reading his own book. “Does anyone actually know how organic chemistry works? Or should I change my major?”
Viktor picked himself up and pushed his chair over to look over Sky’s shoulder at the lists of reactions and chemicals. “I’m sorry, I don’t speak Greek,” He said. Sky groaned and let her head drop to the pages.
“I don’t want to be a medical engineer anymore,” She said. “Fuck it. I’m quitting school and learning to knit and I’m going to sell sweaters for cats.”
“Why would cats need sweaters? They have fur?”
“For the little hairless ones.”
“I’d buy one,” Sky shot straight up and Viktor turned towards the door. His heart stopped at the sight of a regular of the rec center. Jayce Talis was an Arts major with a concentration in sculpting. They had a large studio in the back with everything from easels to blowtorches. Viktor wasn’t sure what Jayce did, but he bet it was spectacular, just like him. “I don’t have a hairless cat but I’m sure my mom’s cat won’t mind a shave.”
Viktor chuckled and pulled himself up to the computer that keeps track of everyone’s activity in the center, holding his hand out to Jayce for his swipe. “The studio again? At this point, I’m certain you’re the only one who goes in there.”
Jayce laughed and put his swipe and lanyard in his hand. “I’m normally alone in there, yeah. No one likes to keep me company while I work. Gets too hot.”
Viktor laid the swipe on the scanner, clicking a few buttons. He reevaluated Jayce’s appearance. He stood tall in a paint-stained white tank top and grey sweatpants. His ratty sneakers topped it off. A casual artist. The hottest artist he had ever seen.
“I’m sure it does,” Viktor said, dangling the lanyard in front of his face. “Let me guess, stained glass? Blown glass? Or do you just work out there instead?”
Jayce raised an eyebrow at him and smirked. “None of the above,” He took his swipe from Viktor’s hands, untangling it from his fingers. “I work with steel.”
“Impressive,” Viktor said, looking at his hands now, big and calloused. He would have never guessed. “I’ll have to see it sometime.”
“When something of note is ready, you’ll be the first to know,” Jayce raised his swipe as a goodbye. “See you later.” And he was off down the hall.
Sky watched him disappear behind a wall and immediately rolled over to Viktor. “So do you flirt with him every time he comes in? Or do you let someone else have a turn?”
Viktor felt his face burn but refused to be embarrassed. “No. Sometimes he flirts with me .”
“Whoopie,” Sky flipped to the next page to make a point. “Let me know when you pull him so me and everyone else attracted to men can weep.”
Viktor scoffed and watched the door to the studio change color on the map, Jayce's name populating inside. "It's just flirting," he wondered if Jayce was actually flirting with him or if it was just projection. "And who knows if he's even interested in me. He liked your cat sweaters."
Sky rolled her eyes. "If you don't shoot your shot, I'm going to tell him how straight you are."
"You're a monster."
"And you're going to die of regret if you miss this opportunity."
The fear of missing out never plagued him before this particular predicament. In high school, where nothing really mattered, he was recklessly impulsive. Viktor went to parties and got his kicks because he knew he'd make it out. By any means necessary. He didn't care what the people back home thought of him. But fomo was pervasive when you have to be on your best behavior. Viktor couldn't risk losing any of his work-study.
Flirting with Jayce wasn't going to get his work-study revoked, neither would dating or fucking him. Viktor had just been working for five years straight, miserable and alone. Then Jayce came along, smiley and perfect and so nice to look at. He couldn't ruin that with feelings. He couldn't ruin that for a quickie in the rec center bathroom. He couldn't risk it all for a relationship that probably wouldn't last past graduation.
Viktor was resigned to staring and fantasizing about it until he was eligible for a paid internship. Until he was indispensable, he was an altar boy. Not like the ones he made out with behind the church back home. Jayce didn't make it easy, with his perfect lopsided smile or his muscles that always seemed to be constrained by whatever article of clothing he had on.
It had to be on purpose. Jayce was engineered in a lab to distract Viktor from his goals. Jayce would be the reason he flunked out. And Jayce, so remorseful that he caused such distress, would offer up his baren apartment made for college students. Viktor would move in and spruce up the place while Jayce worked to support them. He'd come home every day to Viktor cleaning or cooking and he'd be so happy to see him after a long day.
At least in his dreams. Or nightmares, depending on how independent Viktor was feeling that day.
The last class that used the biology labs was over by 8:00 so Viktor was there at 8:15 to clean everything up. He gathered beakers and scalpels and everything else reusable onto a cart to wheel to the autoclave. Most of this job was delegated to that sterilization process. He'd sort what was left in the machine as the cycle went on, then sat until that was over so he could do a second load he would leave overnight.
It was the downtime that always got to Viktor. He'd bring whatever he could to occupy his time but there was only so much homework and readings a person could do before they went insane. Instead, he'd just stare out the window of the autoclave's closet and try to rest himself. Viktor heard all his life that he'd rest when he was dead. He just wished death would come later than sooner.
Viktor's boredom was interrupted by someone moving past the window. He kept track of who he could, seeing the same faces day in and day out. But this face was out of place in the biology department.
Jayce had wandered past his view. Viktor felt his face burn. It was like a fish out of water, a teacher outside of school, a dog walking on its hind legs. Jayce Talis out of the art studio.
He thought he'd get away with just seeing Jayce a second time that day, a little treat to take the edge off his monotony. So of course he was thrown to a completely different edge. Jayce had passed the window, seemingly unaware. Then, he jerked himself back to lean into the frame, looking into the little window.
Right at Viktor. And his face lit up like a house in December, bright and twinkling. Viktor couldn't help but wonder if he was smiling like that because of Viktor.
Suddenly the door opened and Jayce was grinning at him without a barrier between them. "You're not in the rec center!"
Viktor raised an eyebrow. "Of course, I don't live there."
"All the years and all the gen ed classes this is the first I'm seeing you out of your natural habitat," Jayce said. He was smiling so wide, Viktor could barely remember his own name. "I didn't think you'd be a bio major. Doesn’t seem very you."
"I'm not," Viktor said. "This is just another one of my many jobs." Whatever way he said it, he was going to be pathetic. It didn't matter that he was going to graduate debt-free. All that mattered was that all of his time was accounted for.
Jayce blinked for a moment. "Oh! Work-study is cool!" He said. "I always thought they let you have one at a time."
Viktor let out a laugh, something loud and a little bitter. "No, they let you have as many as you're willing to shoulder if they pity you," he nodded over to his cane for emphasis.
" Oh shit," it was probably the first time Jayce had ever seen his cane. Every other time it was hidden behind the front desk. Now it laid lazily against the cart he used to bring all the glassware in. "I never knew you used a cane," there was a pause. " What for, if you don't mind me asking?"
Viktor sighed and kissed all his prospects goodbye. "My leg is a bit underdeveloped. The muscles don't work as they're supposed to and I have chronic pain." He said as if he was reading off of his medical records. "The cane helps me walk and alleviates some pain."
"Damn," Jayce said, casually, like Viktor did something impressive. It shocked Viktor. Most told him I'm sorry . Most people informed him how much they pitied him. Not Jayce it seemed. "And you have two jobs on top of a course load? That's-"
"Three," Viktor corrected him. "I have three jobs on top of my course load."
Jayce's eyes went wide and awe melted over his face. "Shit, you really are amazing,"
Viktor felt himself catch on fire. Every part of him was hot and tingling and screaming for something . "I-I don't think all that counts as amazing," he said. " I'm just doing what I can to attend college."
"Yeah but most people get a loan and worry about it later," Jayce said, leaning against the door frame. “You’re going to leave this place free as a bird,” Jayce laughed under his breath, mostly to himself. “I’m leaving here with enough loans to sink me to the bottom of the ocean,”
“You’re not part of the league of rich kids who paid their way in?” Viktor asked, only half-joking. “Isn’t there a wing named after you somewhere?”
Jayce blew a breath between his lips. “Yeah right. It was just me and my mom growing up,” He shrugged and crossed his arms over his chest. “She did what she could but I didn’t really have a college fund after a few years of late-night pizzeria shifts. Just a few thousand saved up. Enough to make Wells Fargo lend me an amount of money I’ll never be able to pay off in full. For an arts degree.”
Viktor and Jayce laughed at the same time. Viktor’s degree was considered useful while Jayce's was a burning pit you threw money into. Viktor would have a nice job that allowed him to sit for most of the day while he designed and constructed the next Macbook or cellphone or sliced bread. Jayce would struggle and starve until someone came along to purchase one of his works, making his career take off. Viktor imagined what that waiting period would be like, how Jayce would survive until he got his big break. Viktor will probably earn enough to support the both of them. So Jayce could stay home and create and get really into cooking so Viktor had a hot meal when he came home. Jayce would be in a dirty apron and kiss him as he came through the door.
You’re not even dating him for fucks sake! Viktor screamed at himself. It didn’t matter how good Jayce would look in an apron. Or how nice it would be to have him to come home to. They weren’t dating. And at this rate, Jayce probably had no interest in dating him.
“You’ll pay it all off when you sell something,” Viktor said.
Jayce scoffed. “You have to say something to sell anything in this market,” He said. “And I’m not sure I have anything new to say. Everyone else has said it first or better,” Jayce looked down at his feet. “I’ve probably had it better than most in my situation… I don’t really have anything meaningful to say.”
“That’s bullshit,” Viktor said immediately. Fake sympathy wouldn’t get him where he wanted to be, so he threw pleasantries to the wind. Jayce looked up at him, shocked. “Anything you have to say about your experience is unique to you. Even if the narrative has been written hundreds of times over. It was never written by you. Your story is yours, Jayce. No one else is going to tell it.”
They were quiet for a moment, Jayce was gathering something to say and Viktor couldn’t think of anything else. He tried to be succinct with his speech because he knew he’d ramble if he was allotted the time and Viktor was already pushing Jayce away. He didn’t want to make it worse.
“Thanks….” Jayce said softly. “That… Means a lot.”
Viktor shrugged. “No need to thank me. Just dedicate a piece to me. Then we’ll call it even.”
Jayce grinned at him. “Deal.”
Before their conversation could continue, the autoclave’s timer went off, screaming and pulling them out of whatever small space they had created for themselves. Viktor pulled himself up with the help of the table and opened the door, letting the steam pour out. He started to unload it when he heard Jayce.
“It’s getting pretty dark out there. Do you want me to walk you back to your dorm?” He asked.
Viktor raised an eyebrow. “I have to finish with this glorified dishwasher first. It’s only gonna get later. Don’t you have better things to do than hang out in a bio lab watching someone else work?”
“No, not really,” Jayce said with another bright grin. “If I went back to my dorm right now I’d sit and watch The Good Place for the third time in a row.”
“Third time?”
“The actual number is much more embarrassing,”
Jayce waited for Viktor to unload and reload the autoclave before setting it to another cycle. He'd unload it again tomorrow when he got back. He reached for his cane and turned on his heels. "Ready."
The sun might have disappeared early, but the weather wasn't cold yet. The air was light and clear with the absence of the sun. There was no humidity to strangle them. Just the open sky, the moon, and them. The stars were too shy against the light pollution. There was something dreamy about a nighttime stroll. Viktor thought it was just another part of his fantasy.
"Which hall are you in?" Jayce asked as they passed the cheap, haunted dorms Viktor stayed in his freshman year.
He knows all about your work-study , Viktor thought. Having the budget dorms elicit that question out of Jayce was mortifying. "I'm in Heimerdinger," Viktor said. Heimerdinger Hall was built, or at least renovated, by the oldest professor on staff at Piltover college. He only agreed to donate the money if the dorms would be distributed to students on academic scholarships. It ended up being the affordable housing dorms for upperclassmen.
"I heard those are really nice on the inside," Jayce said, a strange lilt to his voice.
Viktor's neck felt hot and he was sure his face was glowing red. If he didn't know any better, he'd say that was a ploy to be invited up.
"My roommate has a.m. classes," he said casually. Viktor didn't have a roommate. He had a single. With a sad, XL twin bed and sad bare walls of someone who didn't spend enough time in their sad little dorm. He just couldn't handle Jayce Talis being in his room alone with him at night. That would have been too much.
Jayce pulled the edges of his mouth down sharply in a grimace. "Yeesh. That's a bummer. I'll have to come up another time. Sometime when you're off?"
Oh my god. "If I get a day off, you'll be the first to know," Viktor said.
Jayce nodded his head and pulled out his phone. He scrolled for a second then flipped it to face Viktor. It was open to a blank contact.
"Send yourself a text so you have my number too," he said, offering up the phone to him again.
Viktor took it and started typing, a pro at texting with one hand. He sent a simple Hey. to himself before handing back the phone. A moment later his leg buzzed with a new message. Jayce looked down at the thread.
"Just Viktor?" He asked, eyebrows raised.
He shrugged. "For now," What in the hell was he implying? "I'll see you eventually. Probably at the rec center."
Jayce held up his phone. "Hopefully not," he wiggled it into his palm as he turned his back to Viktor. "Good night!"
"Good night," Viktor said back.
Jayce disappeared into the darkness, heading to the other side of campus. Viktor pulled out his phone and read the unknown number attached to the Hey. . He tapped on the number and replaced the cluster with simply Jayce Talis .
The library shift was normally easy on Viktor. He’d stay in his seat by the front and direct students in whatever direction they needed. There were the days where he was alone on duty, even if they were few and far between. Sometimes his coworkers would have class or take a mental health day in the middle of the week. Those days always seemed to be littered with returns that Viktor would have to shelve. He always contemplated how many books he could leave out without getting fired.
He organized his cart by sections so he wouldn't have to go back and forth, alleviating as much stress on his legs as possible. The book cart made for an excellent walker. Viktor went from end to end so he’d end up in the middle with an empty cart. Whoever came to the desk in the meantime would just have to wait.
Viktor tried to avoid moving through rows with seating nestled in between or the tables for study groups. The fewer people to find him out in the wild, the less he had to be on his feet. He ducked quickly behind shelves and made sure to look as busy as possible.
Sometimes he didn’t look before he turned into rows. So he crashed into unsuspecting students. Viktor smacked hard into a wall of a person. They didn’t seem to move so any and all inertia bounced back and through Viktor, knocking him to the ground. He felt the familiar clashing of teeth and whiplash in his neck as he hit the carpet.
“Shit, I’m sorry!” The person called. Viktor’s head was spinning. He was so delusional, he thought he heard Jayce’s voice. And saw Jayce’s face. And felt Jayce’s hands helping him up. “Christ, Viktor, are you okay?!”
The panic in Jayce’s voice almost made Viktor want to panic. To stay calm, he just focused on Jayce’s hands on his wrist and ribs. He was so gentle despite his size. “Yeah…” Viktor muttered. “I’m fine.” Viktor could feel himself be led to one of the nearby armchairs. Jayce set him down gently. “I just need a second.”
“I’ve never seen a real-life person see stars like you just did,” Jayce said, his voice still tightly strung with anxiety. “You can’t possibly be fine.”
Viktor laughed lightly and rubbed his temples, willing his headache to go away. “They were birds not stars,”
“Very funny Roger Rabbit,” Jayce said. “Is there anything I can do to help you?”
He snorted, feeling it in his eyes. “You could finish shelving the books for me.”
“Okay,”
Viktor laughed again, but when he heard the wheels of the cart squeak, his eyes shot open. “Jayce, you don’t-” He was already gone, Viktor didn’t even know what direction he went. Do arts majors even know the Library of Congress Classification System? “Fucking idiot.” He said to himself as he leaned back and closed his eyes.
Consciousness got away from him for a moment. Viktor dipped into a lulled version of awareness where he could hear the whispers and page flipping. He could listen out for the screeching wheels of his cart and the heavy footsteps behind it. The nap was welcomed. Normally he couldn't get enough sleep at night. By the time he wound down, ate, showered, Viktor only had about four hours of actual rest.
There was a knocking against his leg and the bottom of the chair. Viktor stirred, switching the side he was leaning on and peeking through slitted eyes. He could see the rough outline of Jayce's head. Viktor's hand reached out, without a thought from his mind. He twisted his fingers around the soft, floppy locks that sat on top of his head. Viktor would worry about the consequences later, he was too tired.
"That wasn't necessary," He said to Jayce. "I would have been fine."
Viktor could have sworn he felt Jayce lean into his touch. "You work too hard. Thought I might help you out,"
"I appreciate it," Viktor pulled gently at his hair. " Did you put everything away correctly?"
"Y-Yeah," Jayce stuttered. "I think so."
"Good." He said softly.
"You know I really was hoping to hear from you," Jayce said. "Not running into you at another one of your jobs."
Viktor sat up and opened his eyes. It was still too bright but he wanted to look at Jayce. He wanted to make sure he was telling the truth. Jayce laid his head back to look up at him. "I told you. It's not often I have free time."
Jayce smiled lightly. "I was hoping that was hyperbole,” He said “Seriously, though, when's the next time you’re off?”
Viktor sighed and leaned his head against the back of the chair. “When’s the next bank holiday?”
“Uuuuh Indigenous peoples day?” Jayce said it like it was a question. He probably didn’t know it himself.
“Then indigenous peoples day is my next day off,” Viktor said with much more confidence in his voice. “All the buildings will be closed and there’s no classes,” His eyes wandered around the room for a moment. “Even the library’s not open.”
Jayce watched Viktor for a moment. “I call it then.”
“What?”
“I call your Indigenous Peoples' day,” Jayce said. “You were free, but now you’re not. You’ve got plans.”
Viktor pulled his hands out of his hair and sat up completely. "Who said I was free?” He asked with a smile.
Jayce shrugged and grinned back. “If not, you’ve got to reschedule your previous plans.”
"Fine," Viktor said. "I'm all yours."
Suddenly, Jayce was on his feet and holding out his hand to Viktor. " Good. Now let's get you back to work."
Viktor reached for his hand. Jayce pulled him upright like he weighed nothing at all. They were suddenly close, extremely close. Viktor could feel the heat coming off of Jayce. It was blistering, he wanted to melt under it.
"Why the hell are your hands so cold?" Jayce asked him.
Viktor shrugged. "Poor circulation."
They had to wait three weeks for Indigenous Peoples' day. In the meantime, they got on with their normal schedule of daily conversations in the rec center and chance meetings at one of Viktor's other jobs. He was excited about their plans. It was going to be the first sociable thing he's done since undergrad. He was so elated, he managed to casually tell Sky about the plan.
"So you've got a date with him?" She asked.
"What?!" Viktor was blindsided. He'd hardly categorize hanging out, just the two of them, made well in advance-. Oh my god. "If it was a date he would have said something."
Sky rolled her eyes at him. "Some people actually know how to read social cues. So, no, he probably would not have."
Viktor's mind buzzed with every tiny point of that conversation. He thought he was good at people. Or at least good at recognizing subtlety. He's made lists of them! "I don't think it's a date."
Not that he would be against it being a date. He'd love for it to be a date. Viktor wouldn't have to go crazy with his weird domestic fantasies, he'd have access to the real thing. Maybe he could even get laid for the first time in ages. He could touch Jayce whenever he wanted. He could text him back quickly without feeling desperate or creepy.
Maybe he should ask Jayce if it's a date.
"Whatever you say, Viktor," Sky said, scooping up her bag. "But I want all the details on your not date the shift after. You got that?" She stood up and left the circle of the desk.
"Where are you going?" Viktor asked.
"I'm going to the bagel place across campus. You want anything?"
Viktor hated being left alone but he did like free food. "Get me an everything with lox and a hazelnut iced coffee."
Sky nodded and typed it into her phone. "Call me if anything goes wrong."
He raised a hand in acknowledgment. “Will do.”
The day was already slow, no one really came in the evenings, let alone a tuesday. He was just counting down the hours before he could clock out and go back to his dorm. He watched the sun as it set and doodled repeating designs in his notebook.
"I was hoping on catching you tonight," Jayce was bathed in the amber light, the sun peeking out around him. Why does he always look so goddamn hot?! "I can never keep track of where you are."
Viktor swallowed his awe and pulled on his best smirk. "You need studio access?" Holding his hand out to him.
"And what if I said I came here just to see you?" Jayce asked, holding out his swipe.
"I'd call you a liar," Viktor said, plucking the swipe from him and laying it on the scanner. "You've got deadlines to make."
Jayce laughed and took the swipe from the scanner, leaning over the desk as he did. "I might have a thesis and a few papers due," Jayce shrugged. "That doesn't mean I can't take a break."
Viktor raised an eyebrow. "I think that's exactly what it means. You've got work to do."
"Fine," he said, wrapping his lanyard around his hand. "When I'm done you're still slotted to see them first."
Viktor caught himself smiling at him. "Get something done so I have something to see."
Jayce was still smiling as he left the front desk and went towards the art studio. Viktor deflated quickly, trying to get his heart to calm down. With recent events, all the time he's spent with Jayce, the possible date, Viktor had been getting away from himself. His chest would be filled with burning cotton and his stomach packed with butterflies. The one thing he didn't want to happen was coming to fruition. Viktor could feel himself slipping and falling for Jayce. There was no foothold for him. He slipped somewhere and now he hurtled towards the ground. He was just waiting for his teeth to knock together and his head to be spiked with a migraine.
"Hey, Vitya," Viktor's spine went up in flames, he shot up straight and shuddered violently as he turned to Jayce who was poking his head around the corner. "My swipes not working? I can't get into the studio."
"What?" Viktor asked, shaking his head to recalibrate himself. "It's never not worked before."
Jayce rubbed the back of his neck. "I-I know, that's why I'm confused."
Viktor groaned. "I have the key. I’ll just come and open it.” He opened the drawer with the master key and scooped up his cane. Viktor pushed himself up and made his way over to Jayce. He was a head taller than Viktor, and Viktor would fit perfectly tucked right under his chin. "You coming?"
"Y-Yeah," Jayce said, following right behind him. "I'm coming."
The door to the studio was a rolling door that opened from right to left. It reminded Viktor of the gates he’d roll out in front of the shop of his first job at the mall. It was a tricky door that needed to be wiggled and pulled at it to get it open. But this was the first time in all of Jayce’s visits that he couldn’t get the door to budge. If Viktor thought about it enough, he would deem it suspicious. He pulled the door forward with the key inside and was able to turn the lock. Viktor pulled it open a little bit by the key’s teeth, making a horrid gnashing sound.
Viktor flinched as he pulled the key out. “There,” He said, taking a step backward. “You’re all set.”
“Thanks,” Jayce said, hanging in the doorway. He paused before closing the door behind him. Then he turned back to Viktor. “Do you… want to come in?” He asked. “Maybe take a look at my work?”
Viktor’s heart stopped beating suddenly, the breath he was taking caught in his throat, his heartfelt like they were on fire. “You actually have something done? I don’t think I believe you.”
Jayce shrugged. “I guess you’ll just have to see for yourself.” He ducked into the studio, leaving the door open for him. Viktor waited for a moment. He tried to think, of anything really, but not a single thought went through his head. He just walked forward into the studio with his mind clear.
The first thing that caught his eye was a twisting metal tree, ropes braided together in a sweeping curve upward to construct a trunk at least eight feet in the air. The metal unfurled from the trunk in looser twists to create branches. They tapered outward into points where flattened sheets were attached as leaves. But the tree wasn't fully fleshed out. It wasn't a complete 360. The right half was melted into a withered and dripping avalanche, a striking biopsy.
"Wow," Viktor said softly, under his breath, like a gasp, something involuntary. He inched his way over to it to place his hand on the cold steel. "How do you get it to bend so… Naturally ?" Viktor expected a heart beat out of it, he thought the leaves might rustle in the wind.
"Years of practice," Jayce said, his voice sounding sage, like the air between the leaves. "It's how I started out. Only felt right."
"What does it mean?" He asked.
Jayce rocked back on his heels, taking in his whole work. "When my father died, that side of my family just kind of… fell away." He said.
Viktor winced. "Oh…"
"It's a bit literal when you know, right?" He asked, baring his teeth in a grimace that blew out into a smile. "I told you, I wasn't very good at this."
"No," Viktor said, short, intending to cut him off. "This is amazing. I think it's a brilliant way to get that message across."
Jayce's grin was tight and pulled back like he didn't want to let Viktor see it. "Thanks. It's- well- Thank you." He swallowed whatever come back he was going to give. Instead, he turned to the next piece.
There was a table set, the legs the normal darkened steel but the still metal table cloth that flowed like it was stuck in the middle of a breeze, was a light cornflower blue, vibrant and striking. Viktor wondered how he got that color. It didn’t look stained or painted. Spread out in the middle there were traditional Mexican dishes, all made out of sculpted metal. Tinga de Pollo sat nestled in a bowl with a rich copper color resembling the actual dish if it had been polished. Next to it, a napkin surrounding a stack of corn tortillas in a pale alloy yellow to keep them warm and a pyramid of light brass tamales.
"Titanium exposed to electricity causes it to change colors," Jayce said. "All of this is a chemical reaction."
There were only two chairs, one at the head of the table and one to the left-hand side, not facing each other. Emptiness heavy on the right side.
The dishes were crowded between two place settings, two large plates sat in front of the chairs, only a knife to accompany them. The plates were decorated carefully with a pop of magenta flowers around the outer edge. There were little details scratched into the plates. Since everything else was spotless, Viktor could only assume they were purposeful.
Viktor noticed, as his eyes moved further down the piece, the blue faded from the tablecloth, leaving the cold black of the metal to sharpen the end. The final detail was a tiny baklava at the end of the table. Thin sheets of blackened metal were folded meticulously in on each other to replicate the pastry. The only thing with color on that entire end was the tiny, stinging pistachio bits on top.
"My mom made me these dishes throughout my childhood," Jayce said as Viktor's finger brushed against the pastry. "She didn't know any Lebanese dishes and my father…"
Jayce smiled to himself, he circled the circumference, where the baklava met the table, with his own fingers. Their skin touched lightly, Viktor couldn't breathe, their digits danced around each other.
"I have this memory of him… one of my clearest… we made baklava together," Jayce's pointer slipped under Viktor's middle and he fought the urge to curl into him. He didn't dare look up because if he did, the spell might be broken. "I remember rolling out the filo so thin and just layering it over and over again and drenching it in so much honey." Viktor felt Jayce deliberately rub the tip of his ring finger, a precursor. "My fingers were so sticky.."
Jayce started pulling at his fingers, trying to pull Viktor close. He finally looked up at Jayce. They were face to face, he could feel the faint tickle of Jayce's breath on his nose. They were so close, the magmatism of attraction pulled at them. Viktor used everything he had to keep the distance between them even. He didn't know if it was out of self-preservation or if he just liked the feeling of Jayce trying to kiss him.
"Do you have any other pieces?" Viktor asked in that space between them. He heard Jayce sigh. The struggle a creative has between showing off his work and primal urges.
Their noses touched, Jayce purposefully knocked his against Viktor's, asking for something. "Yeah, I've got one I think you'll like."
Jayce stepped backward and looked at Viktor through heavy eyes. He moved quickly to a work desk, snatching up a tarnished chunk of metal. "It's not finished but…"
He took Viktor's hands outright and placed the piece in his hand, curling his fingers over the cool metal. Jayce replaced himself inside Viktor's personal space. There was no turning back.
Viktor looked down at it as Jayce watched him. It was hard to study it when he could feel his eyes, he could feel his breath on his neck. It was a silver and raw cylinder with nesting gears on one side. He pulled them apart, stretching out the spyglass to its full length. It was a delicate thing, it wasn't finished, if he tugged too hard it'd fall apart. There were the beginnings of engraving down the body of it.
"It's beautiful," Viktor said. He wasn't quite sure why Jayce chose this as his show stopper, why he was convinced Viktor would like it. "It's… different."
"Look through it," Jayce said, pushing his hands upward.
Viktor brought the lens up to his eye and pointed it towards the soft light of the studio. The back lens was made up of stained glass, a small detailed cartoon. With just a glance, he recognized the silhouette. Viktor stood with the curve in his spine evident and a heavy lean on his cane. This depiction of him had him reading a book with one hand. His likeness was meticulously painted on with vitreous paint so he was illuminated with the rest of the glass. He was surrounded by a dreamy pink and a faint halo surrounded his head. He was astonished by the detail and the dynamic colors Jayce was able to create.
Viktor let a gasp escape from his mouth.
“I made it ‘cause I couldn’t get you out of my head,” Jayce said, putting his hands over Viktor’s. “A spyglass because you’ve always felt so far away from me,” He pushed Viktor’s hands back down so Jayce could look him in the eye. “I always felt a million worlds apart… I needed this,” Jayce took the spyglass from him and folded it up. “So I could catch a glance of you.”
It took everything in Viktor not to look away. It was so hard to look at Jayce while he was looking back. It was so hard to look at him as he recited his inspiration for his work. Viktor’s heart thundered in his ears, almost deafening him. He couldn’t handle the implications. The fact that Jayce thought of him at all was enough to make him collapse. He haunted Jayce enough to drive him to create. Jayce made something beautiful in Viktor’s image out of molten glass and precious metals because he just couldn’t help it, there was nothing else for him to do. He had to capture Viktor somehow.
“ Jayce, ” Viktor said, reaching up and pulling him back down by the neck. The need to kiss him was unbearable, Viktor got on his toes to meet him even quicker. Jayce was hot against his lips and frantic with his hands. Jayce took to his hips without hesitation and Viktor ran his fingers through the scarce hair at the back of his head.
Jayce pushed himself flush against Viktor and Viktor in turn into the table behind him. He couldn’t control his hand, sliding them from Viktor’s hips, up to his torso, back down to search for the hem of a shirt or pair of pants. He exercised a small amount of restraint by taking hold of his thighs and keeping them there for a time. And when Viktor pressed himself against Jayce, he lifted him onto the table. Jayce took hold of either knee and spread them as far as he could so he could slip between them.
Suddenly, Viktor’s entire fist was in his hair and Viktor was pulling away. “I don’t have a roommate.” He said quickly.
Jayce blinked at him. “What?”
“Before… when you wanted to go up to my room. I lied and said I had a roommate,” Viktor continued. “I don’t know why. I got nervous.”
Jayce shook his head, trying to clear it, but he could only really think about getting his mouth back on Viktor’s skin. “Are you inviting me back to your room right now?” He could deal with the interruption for that.
“N-Not yet,” Viktor said, turning even redder than he already was. The embarrassment flushed his chest. All Jayce wanted to do was bite it. “Maybe kiss me more and I’ll invite you back when I’m off the clock.”
Jayce smiled and leaned back in, placing a soft kiss against Viktor’s lips. “I can definitely do that.” It was hard to kiss while maintaining a self-congratulatory grin, but Jayce managed and Viktor would be lying if he didn’t find it hot.
A moment later Jayce was the one to pull away, eliciting a small groan from Viktor. “Does this mean indigenous people’s day is a date?”
Viktor couldn’t help himself, he disintegrated into cackling laughter. His hands slid to the sides of Jayce’s face, rubbing his cheeks with his thumb. There was a panicked look on his face. Maybe Viktor should have tried to contain his laughter. Instead, he gave Jayce his own tender kiss to reassure him.
“It’s a date.”