Chapter Text
It had been a simple day for Jayce.
Wake up, eat something, tinkle, tinker. Easy does it. Without the crystal to study, he would just work with metal instead.
He completely ignored the fact that just a few days ago he had joined the ranks of Piltovian heroes.
He'd shook hands with the mayor.
He'd been handed a large golden medal and a larger bag of money.
Caitlyn (the sheriff of Piltover herself!) had thanked him kindly for his contributions to the city's defense, and Vi (the enforcer of the police force!) and Ezreal (the prodigal explorer!) had both warmly met him.
He had to give a huge speech he didn't prepare for at all and with a thorough amount of charm and use of his handsome face (he knew it came with some uses) he managed to bullshit his way through that whole event, promising to meet up with Vi, Caitlyn, and Ezreal some time.
“I am a defender of a brighter tomorrow,” he'd said.
In quite the contrast, he hadn't left the house in three days and had hardly seen a ray of sunlight.
Regardless, he sat down at his worktable, pulled up a few stray pieces of metal, and tried to piece something together.
As he worked, his mind wandered and he began to loose track of time.
It wasn't until a small, “Ahem,” sounded from the doorway that he stopped working.
Alarmed, Jayce looked up, screwdriver in hand, ready to defend the small metal dog-copter thing he'd made.
Ezreal stood in the door way, a worried expression on his pretty-boy face. He wore loose shorts, a looser tank-top, running shoes, and a backpack. A ball cap sat on his head, his hair tucked under the edges and pulled into a small ponytail.
“Oh. It's you. G'morning,” Jayce greeted.
Ezreal's brow furrowed. “It's three in the afternoon.”
Oh. Shit.
“Uh.” Jayce glanced at his workshop clock before remembering it was broken (he had put off fixing it for two months now), and patted his pockets for his phone to check; alas, he was wearing only boxers, and didn't have it.
Then he paused. “Wait. What are you doing here? How did you even get in here?”
“It's called breaking and entering, and you haven't answered your phone in five days.”
“You're damn right it's breaking and ent– wait, five days?”
Shit. Shit, shit, shit.
Jayce pushed himself off his stool and brushed past Ezreal into his living room. His phone sat on his kitchen counter, still plugged into the charger.
He picked it up, and lo and behold –- it had been five days since he met Piltover's Finest and the Grandmaster Explorer. It was also 3:12 in the afternoon, and he had 49 missed messages.
“Man, when's the last time you did the dishes?” Ezreal said, peering into the kitchen, and Jayce damn near screamed.
Ezreal was seeing what a slob he was.
Fuck. They were barely friends and he was gonna fuck it up.
“That's... never mind. What did you come here for?”
“To make sure you were alive, mostly.”
“That's... nice?”
“If you want it to be. Get in the shower. We gotta go.”
Jayce snorted. “I don't need a shower–”
“When's the last time you showered?”
Half an hour before he had to give his speech those five days ago -– not that he would admit it.
Ezreal's lips thinned and his eyes brows rose. “Judging by your silence, it's been a while. Get in the fucking shower.”
The brunet couldn't argue with that sort of tone.
Jayce was fresh in ten minutes. Ezreal seemed to be in a bit of hurry and they needed to get somewhere quick.
“So, uh, where are we going?” he asked as he smoothed back his hair. He contemplated grabbing a jacket, but it was the middle of summer – no need.
“You'll see,” the prodigy responded, leading the way out of Jayce's apartment and down the street.
They arrived at Liddell station, and Jayce was gently reminded of why he lived in the area -- he shared the same name as the station, mainly because it was named after his sister. Housing was cheap and easy and he wasn't about to spend money on a penthouse apartment he didn't need.
He was a charmer, yeah, but normally he would spend a night with a lady in a hotel room and they would probably not meet again.
His house was a mess anyways. They didn't wanna see that pigsty.
It wasn't until Jayce was getting onto the subway that he realized Ezreal had paid for his ticket.
“You didn't have to pay for my ticket, you know,” he said to the shorter male, who smirked in reply and shrugged.
“You seem out of it. I have the money. No big deal.”
The subway shuddered into movement and they were on their way, quiet chatter surrounding them.
“So, you gonna tell me where we're going?”
“Janessa's.”
Jayce frowned. “I've never heard of a Janessa.”
“Then you are missing out, my friend.”
Friend? “Missing what?”
“Only the best ice cream Piltover has to offer.”
Ice cream? “You're dragging me away from my work to get ice cream?”
Ezreal looked up at him, an incredulous look lighting his face under his hat. “Your work is making helicopter dogs?”
Jayce's lips thinned. “You got me there.”
The blond chuckled and elbowed him lightly. “C'mon. It'll only be a little while, and if you're not enjoying yourself, I won't come by again.”
“Fair enough,” the inventor agreed, and the two were left in awkward silence for the rest of the ride.
When they finally arrived at Fowler Station, Ezreal beckoned for Jayce to follow him.
Jayce had never really explored this part of town before, so this was all a bit new to him.
The buildings looked a little older, a little shorter. The stone paths were cut differently and the trees were different. Traffic was minimal. The breeze on his face felt nice.
Ezreal turned onto a small avenue leading uphill, and as Jayce looked up at the sky, the sunlight outlined his blond... friend.
The silence had gone from awkward to companionable and Jayce was no longer focusing on what to say but the way Ezreal's small blond ponytail, poking through the small hole in the back of his hat, bobbed with his movements.
Jayce wanted to say something, but he worried he would ruin the moment.
At the top of the hill was a small little shop, the awning striped in pastel yellow and white. 'JANESSA'S ICE CREAM PARLOR' was painted onto a sign in the window, and small neon 'OPEN' sign was lit up next to it.
“Here we are,” Ezreal said, and he happily bounded to the door and opened it for Jayce, who nodded his thanks as he went in.
It was empty inside, save a small young woman behind the counter, perched on a stool and chewing some gum as she read a magazine.
She looked indifferent, but Ezreal greeted her familiarly.
“Hey there, Janessa.”
“Sup.” She blew a bubble from her gum and it popped softly.
“Just dragging this nerd out.”
She looked up at Jayce, and he could feel her silently judging him.
He wasn't wearing his best shirt and hadn't shaved in a while. Honestly, if it weren't for the shower Ezreal had forced him to take, he would've looked like complete shit. Hot shit, but still kind of slobbish.
Janessa tilted her head. “You're that Jayce guy, aren't you?”
“Huh? Oh, yeah.”
Shit, he was out of it. He hadn't properly talked to anyone in a while.
Her expression remained neutral, but she got up and dusted off her apron. The magazine dropped to the floor without a care.
“What'll it be then, boys?” she asked as she wielded an ice cream scoop and gestured to the flavors.
“Just a scoop of blueberry for me,” Ezreal said quickly.
“Cone?”
“You know me too well.”
She instantly set about making the perfect scoop for the blond, and Jayce peered into the glass display at the flavors.
He hadn't had ice cream in a while.
That was a lie, he had ice cream for dinner two days ago. Arguably, that was a while ago.
Janessa handed Ezreal his ice cream and turned to Jayce.
“Could I get a scoop of red velvet cake? Also on a cone, please.”
She nodded and soon enough, Jayce had an ice cream cone.
Now that was something he hadn't had in a while. Ice cream in a cone. It looked almost adorable in his somewhat large hands.
“So, you paying separate or what?”
While Ezreal pulled out a ten and quickly paid for his ice cream, Jayce's spare hand flew to his pockets and he pulled out his keys, a mint, and a small pack of tissues.
No wallet, though.
He sighed, turned expectantly toward the blond, and Ezreal pulled out another ten.
Now he definitely screwed up. Making Ezreal pay for his fucking ice cream cone.
He followed the explorer out of the small shop, and they sat down on a bench just outside of it, shaded by the awning.
The ice cream was very delicious, Jayce had to admit, but after a few licks he paused.
“Sorry for making you pay for...” He trailed off, slightly uncomfortable on the wooden bench. He turned his head away from Ezreal and watched a few children on bikes down the street.
He could feel Ezreal shrug next to him. “Like I said before. I have the money. No big deal.”
“Well, I mean, we're barely friends and yet you're already paying for my shit. I feel kind of bad.”
“Jayce.” The brunet looked back at his new friend, who gave him a soft smile.
“Yeah?”
“It's not that big a deal. If you really want to, you can pay me back some time, but I'm fine with paying for shit. Between the four of us, I'm the richest.”
Four?
Vi and Caitlyn. Right.
Jayce thought back to the large amount of money he had been paid for studying the arcane crystal, the royalties he had gotten for creating his hammer, and the large bag of money he had received for saving the city. That was a considerable amount of money right there.
Then again, historical artifacts (with additional information about them) paid out a lot, and all the books about the Prodigal Explorer were highly popular and probably made him even richer.
The guy had been in the business for... nine years? He was seventeen. At least, Jayce thought he was.
Jayce pondered it while he and Ezreal ate their ice cream.
Then he decided he might as well ask.
“You're seventeen, right?”
“Hm?” Ezreal looked up from his ice cream –- or, well, now it was just the cone –- and quirked an eyebrow. “No, I'm twenty. Why do you ask?”
“Oh! I... I thought you were younger.” So Ezreal was legally able to drink! Jayce didn't know that. The blond had been doing this celebrity thing for twelve years. Money stacked up over time. Made sense he was the richest.
Ezreal chuckled and bit into the cone. “Everyone does. Luckily, the news always gets it right.”
Jayce nodded and continued to eat.
The July heat beat down on the sidewalk in front of them and the air looked like a mirage in the distance.
“You know how hot it's supposed to be today?” the brunet asked, and Ezreal quickly checked his phone – something else Jayce forgot at home. Fuck.
“Highs are in the nineties,” Ezreal replied as he finished the cone.
Jayce nodded. It was gonna be fucking hot today. Gods, he couldn't wait to get home to his AC. His ice cream was melting and he just wanted to tinker.
Ezreal folded his hands in his lap and sighed.
A small breeze floated by, and Jayce's one stray bit of hair dangled into front of him as he lazily finished the cone.
Ezreal sighed again – a pretty sound, really – and turned to Jayce. “You gonna support one of the upcoming mayors?”
Jayce shrugged. “I'm not a political person.”
“Ah. My father wants me to get more political, so I've been looking into it. Wroselle seems good. Koppenhein has some good ideas, but his ideas towards relationships with other city-states are rather aggressive. Piltover is suppose to promote peace, but he seems to forget it.”
“I have no idea who either of those are,” Jayce admitted. He licked some stray ice cream off his hand and wiped his hand on his pants.
"You really don't get out much, huh?"
The inventor shrugged. “I'm fine just doing my thing.”
"If you say so."
They sat there, quietly watching the sun crawl down the sky. The breeze died down and Jayce felt strange. Surreal. He hadn't gone out for ice cream in... since before he graduated Myrick's. He went with his sister for her graduation.
Now she was on the High Council, working alongside people like Ezreal's father.
"I guess we should get going, huh?" Jayce suggested.
Ezreal stood up and stretched his arms over his head, then nodded and began to lead the way back to Fowler Station.
Once there, Ezreal, once again, paid for Jayce's ticket, but got on a different train, heading Hosen instead.
"If you want to do that again," Ezreal told him before leaving, "you do have my number."
Jayce nodded. "I'll be sure to remember my wallet next time."
The blond chuckled and waved goodbye as he boarded his train.
Ten minutes later, Jayce was unlocking his front door and slamming it shut behind him.
He flopped onto his couch and frowned.
That hadn't been bad. Ezreal didn't seem to think any less of him for his slobbish tendencies. Didn't poke fun at him.
It was nice.
As he thought back on the day, he grabbed his remote and turned on the TV -- something he hadn't done in a long while.
Wroselle and Koppenhein were on screen, arguing about foreign policies, and Jayce kicked of his pants, rolled over on the couch, and fell asleep.
The sound of knocking on his door shook the brunet awake.
Jayce jumped up from the couch. Scratch that, he'd rolled off it and onto the floor. As he got up he bumped his knee against his coffee table and swore loudly.
"Damn, man, you okay?" came a muffled voice from behind his front door, and Jayce staggered over, unlocked the door, and opened it.
Vi stood there, a box of something in her hands and a worried expression on her face.
"Hi," he greeted awkwardly. Then, upon realizing he was wearing only a shirt and his underwear (his common attire these days), he slammed the door shut, quickly ran back into the living room, pulled on his pants from the day before, and went back to the door and opened it.
"Okay. Hi," he said again, to an astounded Vi.
"You look like shit," she said, and Jayce had to agree. He didn't need to look in a mirror to know he looked bad -- he felt like shit. He should not have slept on that damn couch. His hair was a mess, he still hadn't shaved, and he'd just woken up. He was also out of coffee, which meant he would have to go out for some.
"Thanks," he replied. "I-I mean, yeah. I... yeah. I look like shit. D-D'ya need something?"
Vi quirked an eyebrow. "I'm here on Caitlyn's orders. Ezreal said he came to check up on you yesterday, got you out of the house and stuff, but Cait just wanted me to make sure you were really okay."
"Oh." Fuck, why were they being so nice? "Thanks, a lot. I'm fine. Just. A bit of a slob. I'm kind of bad at keeping track of time and stuff. I clean up really well when I need to but... yeah. I also just woke up, so... yeah."
He smoothed back his hair awkwardly and looked to the side.
Vi shrugged and gestured to the box in her hands. "Well, Cait just wanted me to bring you these as a bit of a 'pick-you-up' in case you were sick or something, since you hadn't responded to any of our messages. We were kind of planning on asking you to lunch two days ago, but with no response, Ezreal went to different measures. I see he managed to bring you out of your shell."
Jayce laughed. "Yeah! Yesterday was pretty great, actually. A little awkward in terms of conversation, but otherwise it was good. He took me out for ice cream and he made me... take a shower." Admitting that made him sound kind of gross, but fuck it, it was already said.
"Oh, did Hardass Ezreal make you do it?"
"I don't know? He had this kind of 'no-nonsense' tone in his voice."
"Oh yeah, that's Hardass Ezreal alright." Vi chuckled. "He's gotten so many people to do things with that. I actually got paperwork done because of him. Cait was very proud. That night was lovely."
"Why's that?"
"I got laid."
Jayce's brow furrowed. "Wait. Are you and Caitlyn together?"
"Two years and going strong."
"Ah. That makes sense." Vi nodded and smirked.
"On a different note, you said Caitlyn told you to bring you 'these.'" Jayce gestured to the box. "What are 'these'?"
Vi handed him the box with a smirk. "Find out for yourself."
Jayce opened the box to find twelve pristine and beautifully made cupcakes in rows of four.
"Oh. Wow. Haven't had cupcakes in a while."
He plucked a cupcake from it's spot and with some difficulty as he only had one free hand, he managed to get some of the paper lining down and took a bite.
it was delicious.
"Mm," he managed through the bite, and Vi laughed.
"You've got icing on your nose, ya dork."
Jayce wiped it off with his spare pinky and glared playfully.
She laughed again. "Alright, big guy, I gotta go. Patrol's in an hour and if I finish my paperwork sooner than later, I get laid. Bye!"
With that, Vi left, and Jayce waved after the police car speeding away, then closed the door.
He brought the cupcakes in and set them on the counter before delicately unwrapping the rest of the lining from his half-eaten cupcake and stuffed the rest of the thing into his mouth.
Fuck, that was good. He had sweets often (probably too often), but these he could tell were homemade as opposed to the store-bought stuff.
Who knew the sheriff liked baking?
Jayce certainly hadn't expected it.
Then he noticed a small note taped to the lid of the box.
He reached for another cupcake and read the note.
'Jayce Liddell,
I have no idea what's happened to you for you to ignore our messages, so I'm going to assume you got sick or hurt. If you wish us to stop messaging you, that is fine and we will respect your wishes.
I've sent these cupcakes to you through Vi, and they should arrive some time after Ezreal checks up on you.
I hope you're doing well. We haven't gotten the chance to be friends just yet, Defender, but I certainly hope we manage to.
Regards,
Sheriff Caitlyn Pleasance'
Formal as always.
Jayce ate the second cupcake just as quickly as the first and almost grabbed a third, but decided against it. He'd had nothing but sweets for the past several hours and needed some proper food.
He knew what he was eating later, though.
His phones -- still plugged into the charger -- vibrated to signal a message, and Jayce decided he might as well look through the messages.
Most of them were from Caitlyn, gently asking him if he wanted to go to lunch. There were a few from Ezreal, asking the same thing, and Vi texted him later on, jokingly asking if he was alive, then turning a bit worried when he didnt reply.
He'd hardly interacted with any of them, but they seemed to be very close knit to all be worried about him, and they wanted to pull him into the fold.
The latest message was from Caitlyn.
[Sheriff]: Did you get the cupckaes?
[Sheriff]: *cupcakes
[Jayce]: yes, thank u
[Sheriff]: No problem. I hope you're doing fine?
[Jayce]: yes, im good.
[Jayce]: ezreal dragged me out yesterday
[Jayce]: that and the cupcakes are a good pick-me-up
[Sheriff]: If you want some more, just send me a message, I'll probably have some all ready to go. Gods know Vi eats too many of them.
[Jayce]: thanks! :)
[Sheriff]: I have paperwork to do, so we'll have to talk later. Have a nice night, Jayce.
[Jayce]: u too, sheriff
Jayce pocketed his phone and fished around for his wallet (it was on the bathroom counter, somehow) and headed out for a cafe to eat at, feeling lighter and better than he had in a while.
Who knew a few friends was all he needed?