Work Text:
A distinct ticking sound echoed through the room, vibrantly hopping off of each empty wall space, each piece of machinery which harboured hours upon hours of their work, creating that oh so familiar sound that served as a reminder of the lonely emptiness which can only Imitate from the monotone reverberating reminder of the size of one's environment.
If it was a comfortingly grounding sound a few hours ago, he wouldn't know it, as now he could only focus on barely holding himself from tossing the nearby screwdriver at the source of his annoyance. What previously only served as an equivalent of someone constantly tapping his shoulder to inform him of how miserably he'll feel in the morning, has now become closer to someone yelling in his face about the consequences of his disregard for himself for the near future.
An exasperated groan filled the room followed by a toe curling sound of several joints cracking. Viktor tried to ignore the little familiar voice in the back of his head that winced to the sound of bones falling into place, closing his tired eyes to focus on the slight relief that washed over him, as the pain and stiffness he hadn't noticed till now slowly escaped from his joints. Closing his eyes only seemed to serve his recollection of Jayce's concerned and quite appalled reaction to his body's notorious cracking sounds.
At the memory of his partner’s uncomfortable face he huffed an amused breath out, letting himself indulge in a bit of schadenfreude he felt every time he made Jayce physically cringe and the ridiculously squished face he would make. The amusement didn't last long, as soon the relief was replaced by the never stopping pain he felt in his lower back and leg.
How long has he been sitting hunched over? Did it matter? He only got to open his eyes for a second, taking in the darkness of the room, only disturbed by the sharp light positioned in front of the new prototype he's been tinkering with for the past hours, before instinctively closing his eyes together as he twisted his back slightly. The uncomfortable dull pain resulting from his improper positioning has made itself known and it seemed to fight with every fibre of its being to not let him go. As he twisted his lower back ever so slightly more, he felt the pressure build up but, seemingly so close to relief yet so far from it.
"do prdele-"
The pop was loud and despite his active fight for it, unexpected. An audible sigh of relief washed over him, as he let himself slip back into a somewhat proper position in his seat. Opening his eyes, he suddenly noticed how heavy his eyelids felt, how dry his eyes seemed to be and how his entire body seemed to be yelling at him to rest.
He wanted to rest, wanted to give into the temptation of blissful sleep, those few hours where he felt the slightest comfort from the never ending throbbing pain of his aching leg, those few hours his mind was blissfully blank and quiet, engulfed in a dark void of nothingness that so effortlessly consumed his entire being. How easy would it be to let yourself fall into the depths of unconsciousness, accepting her chaste kisses as she pulls you down, letting you sink in her depths, surrounding you, filling your lungs till you drown in her embrace. And who would blame him? He's been overworking himself to a point its a miracle he's alive, chasing after time while he sees it slipping through his fingers, harsh in its nature, unbending in its truth, but is that reason enough to work yourself to death?
He let his tired hand rub soothing circles on his nose bridge, breathing as deeply as his lungs would allow him to, trying with all his remaining energy to concentrate at the task before him.
The water filtration system he and Jayce had been working on should have been an easy task with the biggest issue presenting itself being the installation of the machinery in the Undercity without starting a territory dispute out of a misunderstanding of their intentions. The idea of a group of enforcers forcefully removing people from the fishers in order to install a filtration system most likely neither party saw a point in was an uncomfortably probable reality that made him squirm internally. But at this point and time he would be almost grateful to deal with that issue (well mostly Jayce would deal with it with his position on the council), as long as it meant that they'd figure out a construct that would filter not one but each and every water supply in his home. As they found out, the issue itself was much deeper rooted and complicated then they previously assumed - depending on the origin of the water, it would present itself with entirely different compounds, making their work so much more difficult than planned. As he moved his hand, which was slowly becoming tired from the circling motions of his fingers, to his eyes, he let his thoughts run free, too tired to fight his mind's inner workings.
Sky had helped them immensely with this project, it was in her field after all, excitedly discussing her findings about the biochemical nature of water samples she's been collecting for their research. He felt himself smile fondly at the recollection of her meeting with them a day prior, she was truly in her element, so different to the normally shy and timid person she made herself out to be. They've gotten closer as colleagues in the past weeks, with Sky seemingly getting ever so slightly more comfortable in his presence. When he first met her she seemed to avoid him, never looking him in the eyes, which being who he was in Piltover he has grown to expect. Yet her reservations about him seemed illogical or at the very least unreasonable to him. He knew she also grew up in the Undercity, near his own home no less. He would have expected a common ground with her, seeing as they both came from similar backgrounds and followed a similar path in life, yet the young woman always seemed to stumble with her words around him, fidgeting with her books or notes, always holding them up high to her chest as if to create a barrier between them, avoiding almost all eye contact to a point of almost coming of as impolite (not that Viktor would be hurt by such gestures).
It was to be expected that she'd be more comfortable around Jayce, he did have an extreme charm about him, commanding respect in the room while also maintaining an approachable and friendly persona. Viktor sometimes wondered why that was. Was it his looks? His voice? His patron? Viktor wasn't jealous by any means, he was immensely thankful Jayce overtook the political and PR aspect of their innovations, but sometimes, on nights like these where he was working alone to the monotone echo of a clock, he couldn't help but feel..
doubts
Sky's behaviour seemed off specifically towards Viktor. Did she hear some sort of false rumour about him? Was that it?
He noticed that he'd become tense again, furrowing his eyebrows and feeling his jaw tense, the circling motion of his hand seemingly subconsciously stopping a while ago.
Viktor shook his head slightly, deciding that there was no point in thinking about it too much. Sky seemed to have opened up in the past weeks for which he was grateful for - he found himself enjoying her company so was there a point in focusing on the details?
As he opened his eyes and found his attention drawn to the bright light emitting from the window to his left, he found himself stunned. The light shining threw the window frame casted an uneven strip of golden sun rays across the wall, which cascaded down onto a segment of his work desk, engulfing all it touched in a soothing golden light, warm and tender, spreading itself on the flat surface like honey, ever so slowly creeping into his direction. Small dust particles revealed in the golden rays were lazily floating around in their almost unnoticeable yet coordinated dance, nearly still in their place yet dancing before his eyes.
Following the golden sunrays he looked out the window observing in bewilderment as the red-golden sun slowly rose from the horizon, submerging the shining prestigious roofs of Piltover finest in its liquid gold. Hovering aircrafts floated lazily between rouge and golden clouds, their distant whirl of machinery heard between the ever monotone ticking, which by now became its soothing and calming self yet again. Stretching out a hand in front of him, Viktor let his hand under the stream of light, observing in silence how his pale skin dotted in moles seemed to reflect the light just enough to not appear reflective but rather almost ethereal.
When did the hours pass? Was it 5am already? The sudden loud bell ringing echoing off the room's walls confirmed his suspicions. With another sigh that night (or rather morning) he let his hand down, looking yet again at the window.
For a minute he hoped to enjoy this peace, this calm moment of nothingness, not a thought, not a sound. As much as he tried to enjoy it, to experience it, feel the nothingness of a morning in a peaceful place where he doesn't have to worry about being attacked, about someone disturbing it and threatening his life because he wasn't careful enough, because he allowed to let his defences down, he couldn't. There was the pain of his body, a constant reminder of his fatigue and with it the ever so deeply engraved paranoia in the back of his mind. The small voice in his head that ensured his cane was nearby, near enough to reach without completely overstretching his hand as to not let his chest open and vulnerable, enough to have it in both hands in an instant shielding himself with the force to push back, the flash in his mind of how he's to defend himself, how to shift his weight, the already prepared plan to fight if he had to. The instinct of survival. Unable to relax, always in the back of his mind and in the years he's given up on understanding whether he was thankful for it or not.
Viktor tried to take in a deep calming breath and immediately regretted it - he instantly felt the strain in his lungs, the choking on air, the burn in his throat that seemed to get tighter and tighter and then the inevitable pain that came with his violent cough, his gasping for air hunched over as he felt his lungs burning in fire, melting into a mess in his body, a mess he cannot saviour, a mess he wants to choke out, to throw it up, anything to get rid of it.
As he coughed he could feel it in his chest before it reached his mouth, the pain that came with it, the metallic taste of it, the chocked wet gasp, agony consuming his every sense, it's intensity shaking him, sending spasms threw his body leaving him convulsing and heaving.
It stopped as soon as it came.
There he sat, heaving for air, trying to catch his breath. Cold drops of sweat felt heavy on his skin. He could feel the sweat slowly gathering on his forehead, a ghost of a touch as a drop slid down his face, till it finally dropped into the pool of blood underneath him.
A ringing in his ears muted the birds singing, the echo of a ticking sound, the sound of his own wet breath trailed with a silent plea for relief. Viktor sat there, slowly steadying his breathing, raspy breaths breaking the monotone sounds of the lab.
"Měl bych odpočívat.."