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It was always their separation that got Jinx worked up, Viktor had noticed. He occasionally left for a few days at a time—gathering supplies for his augmentations and other experiments with Singed in farther flung parts of Zaun, sometimes in different parts of Runeterra altogether.
Viktor missed his chaotic, enigmatic partner on those nights, curled up in some unfamiliar bed trying to sleep. Even if he did have all the blankets to himself without her, nothing compared to hearing the soft sounds of Jinx’s breathing next to him, of being able to roll over and wrap his arms around her waist, loose strands of blue hair tickling his face.
However, his absences took a very strong toll on Jinx, as much as she thrashed against that part of herself, a constant war of inner turmoil and ghosts Viktor couldn’t see.
He knew that she wanted to be considered independent, unbothered by the coming and goings of those she cared for. Being split between that idealized version of herself and the deep scars of loss after loss, the abandonment of her sister and the death of Silco, her own body betrayed her, getting physically ill the first time Viktor left for one of these trips.
He didn’t find out until later, of course. Jinx keeping this from him stung, naturally, an invisible wound that slashed across his heart, but his own pain was overridden by worry for her. Seeing the fresh scars on her legs, the dark circles around her eyes from lack of sleep. Tremors in her hands that traveled throughout her body. It had taken a week for her nightmares to stop waking them both in the middle of the night with her piercing screams.
Viktor was a man of solutions. He couldn’t change Jinx’s past, couldn’t magically erase the pain that warped her mind and ran through her body, wrecking havoc. Still, at the very least, he could puzzle out an answer to make her present more bearable—if he could reduce her suffering in any way he would be satisfied, as nothing hurt more than seeing her cheeks streaked with pink shimmer tears.
Sitting in his favorite thinking spot, his mind wandered to the many hours he had spent here when he lived in Piltover. How he could never shed his Zaunite roots, nor did he ever want. Something he thought Jayce and the Professor had accepted about him. How terribly mistaken he had been.
The sound of the water and the mechanical gears were the most soothing Viktor knew, an antidote to the lingering bitterness of the thoughts of his former colleagues.
A dark part of him had wished he hadn’t kept his cutting remarks to himself that day Heimerdinger tried to comfort him. Frankly the yordle had deserved more than a tongue lashing for his thoughtless words. The poro could stay—
The poro!
Viktor staggered to his feet. He knew precisely what he must do.
“Jinx?”
Viktor carried the wiggling, snow-white bundle in his arms as he entered the small space they called home, but received no answer. The sound of her gramophone indicated he wasn’t alone, and he followed the sound of the music.
Jinx sat at her workbench, goggles precariously perched on her head as she hummed in time to the music, small multi-tool in one hand as she tinkered with a piece, lower lip stuck out in concentration.
Though the creature in his arms was desperate to escape, Viktor crossed the room and carefully lowered the volume on the music. Never enough to startle her.
“Jinx.”
Now she heard him, and turned around, placing her tools on her desk. “Hmm?”
Jinx stood up, and Viktor found himself as entranced as he always was by her. The swing of her hips as she walked towards him, those wide magenta eyes he adored, long blue braids bouncing. He wanted nothing more than to pull her into his arms and—
White fluff in his arms squeaked in indignation and Jinx looked down. “Bring home a stray, Vik?”
“For you, actually.”
“What?” Jinx looked down at the bundle, furrowed her brows.
Viktor cleared his throat, his heart hammering. “I’ve, erhm, noticed how you seem to be a little…well….I brought you a poro. To keep you company when I travel with Singed.”
Truth be told, Viktor hadn’t been entirely certain how Jinx would react to having a pet of sorts. He couldn’t imagine she had one in her upbringing, and Silco didn’t strike him as an animal lover.
So, when Jinx’s eyes lit up with a childlike wonder upon Viktor’s words, he couldn’t help but let out the breath he had been holding.
“Can I hold it?”
“Her. You can hold her.” Viktor handed the poro to Jinx, and the small creature made a chirping sound that seemed to be one of contentment, settling into Jinx’s arms right away.
Jinx ran her mismatched nails through the poro’s white fur. “I’ve never….”
She trailed off as the poro turned over in her arms, putting its paws in the air for a belly rub. Jinx obliged, and Viktor wanted to keep the image of his lover’s joy in his mind forever as she looked down at the small animal. In these moments he could see a glimpse of Powder within her; a tender, vulnerable side that few knew even existed.
“Viktor…” Jinx turned his attention to him. “What if I fuck it up?” Her lower lip trembled. “I ruin everything I touch.”
He placed two fingers under her chin, tilting it up towards him. “You haven’t ruined me. You’re one of the best things that’s happened to me, Jinx.” He leaned in, pressing a light kiss to her lips. “I have complete faith in you.”
Jinx nodded as the poro yawned, wiggling and falling asleep in her arms. She looked down at the small animal, and smiled.
“Thank you, Vik.”
He tucked a few strands of blue hair behind her ears. “I promise you’ll never have to be alone again.”
That night, as the poro snoozed at the foot of the bed and Jinx dozed in his arms, Viktor knew he would do everything in his power to live up to his promise. Continue with his augmentations. Try to find a cure for his illness. Bring that to the suffering and ill of the Undercity. Jinx had given him new purpose, pushed him beyond the limits of his own capabilities, expanded his heart.
If only she could see herself the way he saw her.