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There is something in the lab.
Viktor does not notice it at first. He’s so caught up in his blueprints and theories that a hurricane could blow off the roof and he’d be none the wiser to it. He thinks he hears noises out of the corner of his ear at times, enough to make him look up for a millisecond. But, as he usually does, he shrugs it off and continues his work.
Jayce is a bit more receptive to the noise. He could have sworn something rustled outside the lab.
“Did you hear that?” He asks, breaking the relative silence between the two.
Viktor frowns, only mildly annoyed at being distracted from his work. Jayce is the only one to get this work interrupting pass.
“Hear what?”
“That-” Jayce does a terrible impression of a rustling noise with his mouth. “You know.”
Viktor’s eyebrows disappear into his hair. “No, I do not know.”
“I could’ve sworn I heard something.”
Viktor could agree with Jayce, because it is possible that he heard it as well. However, it’s so much more fun to mess with him. Viktor does his best to hide his smirk behind his notes.
“Jayce, have you been sleeping alright?”
“What, I-” Jayce frowns. “You’re one to talk.”
“This isn’t about me,” Viktor deflects.
“Whatever,” Jayce huffs. “It was probably the wind.”
And that is the last they speak on it. For the next two days.
Two days pass, and Viktor is alone in the lab. This happens on occasion. Jayce is out being the public face of Hextech, so Viktor sits idly by with his nose buried in notes. Some ask, is it infuriating, to constantly be under Jayce’s shadow? As invasive as the question is, Viktor never understood it. A good show does not a master scientist make. Jayce may have the charisma, but they are equals. That was something they always understood about each other. Two souls, bonded with the power of magic and science. Hextech.
Viktor always knew that was what bonded them, but he never thought it would be anything more. There were his feelings for Jayce, and they ran deep, but he would not let them get in the way of his goals. He and Jayce were partners, and if that was all they’d ever be, Viktor would be content. And then there was that fateful day…
It was a long night in the lab. Viktor and Jayce had gone beyond burning the midnight oil and had moved on to burning the damn lamp. Scattered cups of coffee lay empty across the floor, and the two of them were running on caffeine and adrenaline. They were so close. Close enough that sleep would be useless.
And then it all came together.
Jayce collapsed to the ground in relief. Viktor slumped against the nearest table and placed a hand on his beating heart. He watched the scene of science and magic before him, melded into something real, something of his and Jayce’s creation. He looked over at Jayce, his eyes reflecting the blue light of their success, their Hextech. Jayce caught his eyes…and smiled.
“We did it!” he exclaimed. He grabbed the lapels of Viktor’s jacket, and Viktor could not help but stiffen at the touch. “This is a major breakthrough!”
Viktor felt Jayce’s lips on his.
Jayce kissed him, hard. Viktor returned the kiss eagerly, wrapping his arms around Jayce’s waist, and pulling him close. They couldn’t get enough of each other, each touch followed by another swallowing kiss. Viktor wanted to drown in the feeling, to close his eyes and feel nothing but Jayce’s lips, his touch. When they finally broke apart, they were panting.
Jayce swallowed, still holding onto Viktor’s shoulders. “I-got ahead of myself there. I’m sorry, I-”
Viktor placed a finger on Jayce’s lips. “Sorry for what? I’ve wanted this, Jayce. Wanted this for a long time.”
That was the beginning, the day their bond became something more, partners, not just in science, but in life. They’ve been steadily dating for some time now, keeping it under wraps for publicity’s sake.
So yes, no matter what the public may say, there is no inequality in Viktor and Jayce’s relationship. They are a balance.
Viktor hums. The thought of Jayce had distracted him from his work. His mind was drifting off. He turns his attention back to his notes, trying to get them to look like words rather than scribbles on paper.
Then he hears a rustling.
Viktor looks up from his notes. Just like the poorly imitated rustle from Jayce. So either both of them are mad, or what they’re hearing is definitively real. Viktor stands up, taking a cautious hold of his cane as he steps forward to investigate the noise. He scans the lab before peeking his head out the door. A flash of black appears before his eyes before disappearing behind a wall. Viktor blinks.
He clears his throat. “Hello?”
Nothing.
Then, a scurrying on the floor. Something like the padding of feet. Small feet. Paws.
A slight smile dances on Viktor’s lips. There’s an animal around the lab! He was so sure all the explosions and general noise from the place would keep every living creature besides him and Jayce away. Who would have imagined? Viktor heads back inside the lab. He does not know what type of animal this is, so he hasn’t a clue what to feed it. Meat, perhaps? But what if it’s an herbivore?
Well, all he has is yesterday’s chicken. It’ll do.
Viktor pours the leftover chicken into a metal bowl and places it outside the lab. He steps back.
“Well,” he says, feeling silly talking to no one. “I’m going to leave this delicious chicken here. It would be a shame if anyone were to eat it. It’d better be here tomorrow.”
He returns to his work with a lightness in his heart and step.
By some miracle, Jayce and Viktor head to bed at the same time, at a time that is reasonable. They take the time to savor this rare moment, talking about their day in between kisses. The publicity for Hextech is going well, with the general public mostly on their side.
“And for the people against us, we’ll just have to change their minds,” Jayce says, confident in a way that only he can be.
Viktor plants a kiss on his cheek. “And I believe we can. By the way, you’ll never believe what I saw in the lab today.”
“Must have been something good if it got you to bed this early,” Jayce teases.
“Hush now. I believe there’s an animal of sorts wandering around the lab. Isn’t that something?”
“So the rustling I heard…”
“Was real, yes.”
“I knew I wasn’t crazy,” says Jayce triumphantly. “So did you see what it was?”
“Only a flash of fur. I left some chicken out for it, so we can take a look in the morning.”
“Sounds good. Morning,” Jayce muses. “That’s so far away, for the first time in forever. Lot of time to use.”
Jayce runs his hand down Viktor’s arm, then wraps it around his waist, pulling him closer to him on the bed. He raises his eyebrows, looking into Viktor’s eyes meaningfully. Viktor rolls his own.
“You’re insatiable,” he tells him.
“We don’t have to if you don’t want to.”
“Did I say that? Come here. We do have time to spend.”
The chicken is gone the next morning.
“I’ll be damned,” Jayce says, looking down at the empty bowl. “There really is something.”
“We shouldn’t discount stray birds,” Viktor points out.
“Eating chicken? That’s basically cannibalism, Viktor.”
“I…don’t think they’re aware that it’s a bird? I have no idea.”
“These are the real questions we should be researching.”
Viktor walks back to the food supply and fills the bowl up once more, placing it in the same area.
“We have to focus on our work,” Viktor begins.
“Our work, yes.”
“But if we happen to see this animal…”
“Well, it would be wrong not to keep an eye out…”
“Or at least mention it…”
“Right,” Jayce says, “If we see something, say something. Got it.”
“Exactly.”
Time passes slowly, as it often does when the two of them work. Despite what the public believes, their research is not filled with life-changing discoveries every second of every day. It’s mostly tedious work, slowly but surely pushing themselves to the next goal.
However focused the two men are on their work, it completely changes at the first sign of movement. A bowl clatters just outside the lab’s door. Viktor and Jayce shoot up from their seats and make a beeline to the lab’s exit
Sure enough, sitting by the bowl with its head in a mountain of chicken, is a thin kitten with a mass of tangled black fur. Its whiskers droop sickly, and it slouches as it eats.
“Don’t move,” Viktor mouths. “Be very still.”
Jayce nods slowly. Viktor’s eyes widen as he watches him take one, small step.
The cat sprints off. It tears down the alleyway and through the corner in a blaze of black. Viktor turns to Jayce, shooting him a piercing look.
“Jayce,” he says through gritted teeth. “What did I just say?”
Jayce throws his hands up defensively. “You’re supposed to approach them slowly! That’s how you get cats used to you.”
“The cat needs to be used to us before we approach her! You can’t do that on the first meeting.”
“It’s so she knows we’re not a threat-”
“Now she absolutely thinks we’re a threat-”
“Vitya-”
“Jayce-”
“Gentlemen?”
Viktor and Jayce turn their heads up at the sound. Heirmerdinger has invited himself into the lab, his hands behind his back and his eyes searching. He looks between the two of them with a piercing gaze. Viktor’s suddenly very grateful that the cat ran away. Heimerdinger is so particular about a lab that is not even his. He struts in between them and clears his throat, his fur as puffed up as his posture.
“Everything alright, boys?” He asks, eyebrows raised.
Viktor flashes Jayce a look, practically begging him not to talk. “Everything is fine, Professor,” he assures him. “We were just discussing the best temperature for the crystal. Things got a bit heated.”
“I see…” Heimerdinger replies slowly. “It would be a shame for you two to get into bits about something like that.”
“It would be,” Jayce blurts. “But, we’ve got it figured out, and we’re going to be hard back at work. So…”
He’s basically pushing Heimerdinger out of the room, shuffling to the door and almost kicking him underfoot. Heimerdinger jumps to avoid his feet. Viktor can barely look at the carnage.
“Alright!” Heimerdinger yelps. “I’ll leave you to it! Have a good day, boys-!”
With that, he shuts the door behind him. Viktor slumps against the nearest table in relief.
“We have to be careful,” he says.
“He’s going to find the cat if we keep feeding it,” Jayce points out.
“Not if we’re smart about it,” Viktor replies. Jayce looks towards him. “We keep the cat contained to outside the lab, and we cover the bowl at night so it cannot be seen by anyone but the cat. Also, we should name the cat.”
“Katya,” Jayce says immediately.
“Did you just say that because it sounds like ‘cat’?”
“No.” A pause. “Sort of. Also…Vitya. Katya. It matches. It’s…pretty.”
Viktor feels a sudden rush of affection for the man before him. There’s no one else he’d rather hide a cat in a lab in with. He picks the empty bowl up from outside and writes Katya in dark ink before filling it up and placing it back outside.
“We’ll try again tomorrow,” Viktor says, “And we’ll get Katya to like us.”
It’s been three days, and Katya still does not like them.
It is not for lack of trying. She eats the food they leave out, leaving the bowl empty every morning. She slinks around the outside of the lab, rubbing her fur on the door corners. But everytime either of them try to take even a step towards her, she hisses and bolts away.
It’s another late night in the lab. Viktor looks over his notes, reading the words on the page, but not absorbing them. His eyes droop down every few moments, and he startles himself awake when his head falls. Jayce is hunched over his workdesk, practically swaying on his feet. Viktor wants to suggest he gets some sleep, but he knows he would be a hypocrite. So he keeps his mouth shut.
“This would be so much better if we had a cat in the lab,” Jayce says after a long moment of silence.
“Don’t remind me,” Viktor laments.
“Do you think we’re just not cat people?”
The thought had crossed Viktor’s mind. Perhaps there was just something about them that drew Katya away, and there was nothing to rectify that. They’d continue to feed her, but that would be all.
“Jayce,” Viktor says instead, “Can you be a dear and pour us some coffee?”
Viktor hears his lover’s bones crack as he stands. “On it,” he says.
Jayce arrives by Viktor’s side moments later with two steaming mugs in his hands. Viktor takes one and inhales the scent, feeling the heaviness in his head lighten already. His tongue scorches at the first sip, but it does the job.
“I have considered,” Viktor finally says, “What it would be like if we were to have children.”
“Children?” Jayce repeats.
“Don’t pretend you haven’t thought of it,” Viktor says. “I don’t think it would ever be possible for us.”
“We gave that chance away when we decided to create Hextech,” Jayce says. He lies down on the floor, gesturing for Viktor to join him. Viktor places his cup down and settles himself into Jayce’s arms, feeling the steadying beat of his chest. “That’s our baby, so to speak.”
“The world we live in is too unstable,” Viktor rumbles into Jayce’s chest. “I’d feel guilty, bringing a child into our chaotic lives. And who knows how long I have?”
“Vitya…”
“It is the truth, Jayce. My long livelihood is not a guarantee.”
Jayce hates to hear it, and Viktor hates to think about it. Some can live their lives knowing they’ll die peacefully in their sleep one day. Viktor has never been one of those people.
Jayce runs his fingers through Viktor’s hair, smoothing out the tangles that came from days of unkemptness. He does this methodically, lulling Viktor into a dazed trance. Quiet moments are so rare between the two of them, their lives filled with movement, crowds, and the next goal. They savor this time, in its fleetingness.
“I’m not giving up on Katya,” Jayce whispers.
I’m not giving up on you.
Viktor allows his heavy eyes to shut, melting into the warmth of Jayce’s chest and hands in his hair. It’s not sleep, he tells himself. Just a short rest in the arms of his love.
He does not remember how much time passed. It could be hours or minutes. What he remembers is the feeling of wetness on his nose, and the way his eyes snap open. Viktor stares into wide amber eyes and sucks in a breath. Stay completely still. Jayce is still fast asleep. Katya’s whiskers brush the tip of Viktor’s nose before she rubs her furry face on his cheek.
She’s purring.
“Jayce,” Viktor whispers. “Jayce!”
Jayce snorts, blinking awake. He opens his mouth to speak, but Viktor points before he can speak. Jayce’s expression lights up, a pure warmth behind his eyes that Viktor had not seen in some time. He moves his hand forward to pet Katya, and Viktor freezes up. No-
Katya leans up into his touch, rubbing his hand and purring. Once she’s decided she’s done with Jayce, she sits herself down on Viktor’s back and closes her eyes. Her ribs are no longer visible, and Viktor feels her plumper stomach on him. Jayce scratches behind her ears.
“Hey, Katya.”
The goal of hiding Katya from everyone else proves more perilous than their Hextech dream. Katya is all over the lab now, jumping up on tables and winding herself between Viktor and Jayce’s legs while they work. She sits expectantly while they eat, and brings in dead animals when she suspects they aren’t eating enough. She may hinder their speed, but she makes up for it with how damn cute she is. Most people are smart enough to knock before entering the lab, which gives them ample time to shoo Katya outside or shove her behind a shelf and pray that she stays put.
Katya’s sitting up on Viktor’s shoulder while he’s hunched over his notes again. She alternates between licking his ear and staring down at the notes.
“What do you think, Katya?” Viktor asks. “Good notes?”
Katya meows.
“I thought so.”
He’s so focused on Katya that he does not notice the click of the door as it opens. He does not notice anyone enter at all until he hears Mel clear her throat behind them. Viktor stiffens before he picks Katya off his shoulder and shoos her out the door, but it’s too late. Mel’s gaze follows Katya as she scurries out the door, then returns back to the two of them.
“I hope the cat isn’t part of your experiments,” she says.
Viktor and Jayce immediately jump over each other to get words in.
“She was malnourished, and-”
“It would be wrong not to feed her!”
“She warmed up to us, and we weren’t going to ignore her-”
“She needs to eat, we can’t leave Katya alone-”
“Katya?” Mel asks. “She has a name?”
And they talk again.
“Jayce named her-”
“What were we supposed to call her? Cat?”
“Yes, you’re not supposed to name them, or you get attached, but-”
“Gentlemen!” Mel interrupts.
They shut their mouths.
“I’m not Heimerdinger. If you insist on housing a cat, then you should not confine her to the lab…”
A smile graces Mel’s features. It’s warm, seeped with understanding. She’s more than a council member. At that moment, she’s a friend.
“...Let her move in.”
Viktor and Jayce are in bed tonight, and it’s all Katya’s fault. She was far too cute and cuddly to avoid just scooping her up and carrying her back to their bedroom. She’s sleeping in between them now, curled up and peaceful.
“If Hextech fails,” Viktor tells her, “It’s your fault.”
Katya continues to sleep, unaware of her father’s strife.
“It’s her fault for being so cute,” Jayce says. “But if it means I get to spend more nights with you…”
“You sap,” Viktor teases before he softens. He leans forward and plants a kiss on the top of Jayce’s forehead. “This is nice.”
“Told you.”
“What do you want, a point?”
“Exactly.”
“Fine,” Viktor sighs. “Ten points to Jayce.”
“Ten? So generous.”
“Good night, Jayce.”
“Good night, Viktor.”
They fall asleep, safe and together.