Chapter Text
“Come on Viktor, I need you there” Jayce pleaded.
Viktor's hand stilled but he didn’t look up from his notes.
“Jayce, me and you both know that I would be useless. People, investors, don’t want to talk to a poor crippled assistant about the future of their city.” there was a lightness in Viktor's voice, even so his meaning rang clear.
Jayce was always confused when Viktor talked like this. In his eyes Viktor was the most valuable, the most important part of hextech. He just didn’t understand why Viktor always seemed to say otherwise.
“You’re wrong! You are, without a doubt, the best ambassador for hextech! You know exactly what you’re talking about, you always look intelligent and charming and you know exactly how to get people excited about something they know nothing about. Plus I’m only one half of hextech. People will know something is missing.”
Viktor sighed. As always Jayce made a compelling argument, or rather Viktor's brain made a compelling argument for him.
“Don’t you need to dance, and drink and make small talk at these kinds of things?”
Jayce jumped up, eager at the prospect that he might agree to the gala
“Yes but there’s a range of drinks at these events and I can make sure that they have what you want, you’re good at small talk as much as you dislike it and dancing is actually really-” he was cut off by the tapping of Viktor's cane and a raised eyebrow, reminding him of the physical limitations they faced.
Viktor thought for a moment.
“If you can teach me how to dance in a way that allows for my leg, then I will attend the gala.”
Jayce grinned happily. Dancing for men wasn’t especially hard, especially amongst the more wealthy families. It seemed the higher up the social ladder you climbed the more subdued the people became, and this was heavily reflected in their dancing.
“Alright, I hope you have an outfit picked out.”
It was the next day when Jayce demonstrated the boring dances that would be performed at the gala. He danced a few steps, stood, twirled an imaginary woman, danced a few more steps, passed the imaginary woman to his other hand, drew her close, stepped back, pretended to kiss her hand, then ended the whole thing in a little bow.
Viktor chuckled, trying to ignore the ridiculous feeling of resentment to the woman who didn’t even exist.
He had been right, the dance was muted in its movements and nothing like the twirling limbs that he’d seen on stage before.
“Now you try”.
Viktor looked up at the hand held out to him before he sighed and took it.
Jayce was happy that Viktor was trying something new, happy that he would have his partner with him at the gala (happy to have Viktor's hand in his own). He led the other man around the lab, teaching him the steps modified to have a cane included, watching the way Viktor's eyebrows would crease in concentration, how he would hum along to the music to keep track (how his hand gripped Jayce's).
“Alright, how did I do?”Viktor looked at him expectedly.
“Good, good, just remember to look at your partner or she’ll think that you hate her”
Viktor rolled his eyes but made a mental note anyway.
Viktor had said he would be here on time, he had said that he would be here by now. Jayce nervously paced the steps where they had agreed to meet. Where was he? He couldn’t do this alone. Not now, he needed his partner. Jayce was trying to think of a million different ways why Viktor was late.
“Jayce?” called out a familiar voice.
Jayce jumped both at the voice and at the calm hand on his shoulder. He turned around and breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of his partner. His partner who was dressed up. Dressed up and looking like the charming, subtly confident man that he was. Something sparked inside of him but before he could think about it Viktor's hand left his shoulder and beckoned him towards the ornate doors that lead to the gala. Jayce gladly followed the other man, thankful that he didn’t have to do this alone.
Everyone adored the two of them. Two bright young innovators bringing about the start of a new era. They stuck together for the majority of the night, really Jayce stuck with Viktor. he told himself it was to present a united front, a unified hextech but really he knew that he just needed the support that Viktor's presence brought. There were several times he had to stop himself from grabbing Viktor's hand throughout the evening, searching for the peace he found everytime they brushed hands when passing a spanner or when Viktor grabbed his arm to steady himself.
It was past midnight when Viktor lightly touched Jayce's arm (he wanted to keep his hand there) and murmured that he would probably head out in a few minutes.
“Wait, I'll come with you,” said Jayce. Viktor shook his head, there was no need for him to be escorted back to his apartment.
“Please, I think I need to get away from these… people "Jayce said quietly so that only Viktor could hear. This surprised Viktor, he thought that Jayce only ever felt guilty about leaving him alone, he had not particularly considered that Jayce didn't always enjoy the piles of attention he received. Maybe this was an obvious fact that he should've known earlier. maybe it wasn't. slowly, Viktor nodded and he could feel Jayce relax just a little bit. He imagined that they would discreetly say goodbye to the people they knew, make excuses to the people they didn’t and quietly leave everyone to the party. But no. The golden boy had a different plan.
“Thank you all for being here. I hope you enjoy the party but unfortunately me and my partner are going to have to leave you to it as we have much progress and work to complete. No rest for the wicked, hey?” Jayce announced with a dry chuckle.
The crowd murmured, some with laughter at the joke, some with disapproval at the sudden exit but most with confusion at the abrupt announcement. Before Viktor could apologise to the more influential people, his arm was linked with his partner’s and he was whisked out of the room.
“You could have been a little more subtle, you know.”
“Hmmm, yeah never my strong suit. Besides, they were there for the party. Not for me.” Jayce grabbed a bottle of champagne from the waiter’s station.
“And are we actually going to work or did you just want to leave?”
“I don’t know. Both? I do have a couple of thoughts I’d like to write down but it’s also late, and.. I don’t know.” Jayce sighed.
Viktor took a nervous breath, the lab partner in him had a logical idea, but the… other part of him said it was everything except logical. Maybe the fact that he’d indulged in a couple glasses of wine helped
“Well we’re headed in the direction of the lab, so we could stop by my place, grab the notes I’ve left there and figure out if we should go to the lab or not.” Viktor said this in a very calm voice, like he didn’t care at all about having a slightly tipsy Jayce in his room. Which he didn’t. Because he was a grown man. And his heart didn’t jump a little when Jayce beamed at him and told him what a good idea that was.
Jayce watched Viktor open the door to what he had always imagined as a place full of intelligent books and beautiful furniture, a place that would’ve suitably housed Viktor and all his beauty. Instead the living room had a barely used couch he recognised from academy students’ common rooms, a desk with a pile of papers on top, armchair and a small table with just one dining chair around it. It all felt empty and he couldn’t help but feel like Viktor deserved better. Maybe he should start making the lab feel more like a home, after all they both spent most of their time there it wouldn’t hurt to make life a bit more comfortable. Maybe a sofa-bed similar to the armchair in Viktor's living room? It was definitely food for thought.
He sat at the desk and set the bottle of champagne down, next to a stack of papers. The paper on top was a diagram but not for hextech. It looked like some kind of brace.
“Hm” Viktor's hand gently brushed over the diagram
“What is it for?”
“It’s a prototype, to stop my body from deteriorating as quickly. I hope.” Viktor sighed “it supports my spine which supposedly takes pressure of off my leg, or at least that’s the idea”
Jayce looked thoughtfully for a moment
“Can I have a look? Maybe we could workshop the design?” Jayce looked so earnest, so anxious to help, so filled with care that it broke something inside of Viktor just a little bit.
“sure. only problem is I’m currently wearing the brace”
Jayce smiled, maybe he had more to drink than previously thought.
“That's ok. In fact it might help because then I can see exactly how it fits your body”.
Viktor laughed nervously, when he suggested stopping by his place he wasn't exactly planning to undress in front of Jayce.
something seemed to click in Jayce's head.
“of course, I mean only if you're comfortable with that of course” he said hurriedly
“No, it's fine. you're right anyway, it would be more useful to see the brace on me.” Viktor wondered if Jayce could hear the nervousness in his voice. If he saw the shakiness in his fingers as he undid the buttons of his dress shirt and let it hang open to reveal the metal frame underneath. Jayce's breath caught a little as Viktor turned around because if he was honest with himself it wasn't the brace he was looking at. He made his eyes focus on the joints and seams of the brace, he made the scientist part of his brain take charge. This joint poked into Viktor's skin, the metal would rub after more than 5 minutes of wear and the fabric that was used was not any better than the material a councilor would blow their nose on.
“I think the first course of action would be to make sure the whole thing is comfortable” Jayce's finger gently ran along the parts that seemed to rub the most. “Then I think we should add more adjustable straps to make sure that it fits well at every point, otherwise it won't be as effective” he said all of this whilst firmly keeping his eyes on the brace and avoiding any possible eye contact.
Viktor felt like he couldn't breath, at some point he had been drawn to stand between Jayce's legs so that the other man could examine the brace better. He hoped that Jayce couldn't feel his pulse racing. or his words tangle as he struggled to form a coherent, and appropriate, response to Jayce's comments.
“y-yes, i can definitely um. find some softer fabric to line it with.” this was a suitable answer, he was sure. if only Jayce would look at him but he seemed completely absorbed in the intricacies of the brace.
I suppose that's to expect, after all Jayce is and always will be my lab partner, nothing more. Viktor's thoughts were interrupted with another comment from Jayce
“The principle of the design is fantastic. you could patent this for other similar ailments. the way it fits together to create the structure of support is almost beautiful ” then quieter almost shyly Jayce mumbled “you're beautiful” Viktor tried so hard not to react, he tried so hard to ignore the comment but he just couldn't
“says who?” he whispered back, careful to maintain a neutral tone.
“everybody”
“I doubt it. what would they be talking about?” Viktor was desperately trying to maintain his composure
“I don't know. your hair maybe, its very soft and always falls just so. or maybe your eyes. especially when you're excited because then they almost seem to glow. or maybe your hands. or perhaps your skin. or your lips. I don't know though that's just what people say” Jayce still stubbornly kept his gaze on the brace, refusing to even look up whilst he spoke.
“And who are these people? I have never heard them speak of what you're saying.” Viktor gently, oh so gently, touched Jayce's chin and tipped his face upwards to force him to look at Viktor.
“Well some of them don't always say it. sometimes it remains in thoughts” Jayce's voice was so quiet that Viktor would not have heard him were they not practically pressed up against one another.
“and you have suddenly developed mind reading capabilities?”
“something like that”
Each breath, each word, seemed suspended in the air, trapped between the two of them. Neither man is willing to move away but both are too afraid to move any closer.
“if i say something. if i do something, and you don't like it. Do you promise to forget it ever happened?" Viktor asked.
“And what if I do like it? If I don't want to forget?”
“Just promise me Jayce, promise we'll still be friends” Viktor hoped it didn't sound too much like begging.
“I promise”
As soon as the words left Jayce's mouth he found Viktor's lips (so perfectly shaped) upon his own. Jayce moved his hand from the brace to Viktor's waist. The sound of Viktor's crutch falling to the ground barely registered as both hands came to cradle Jayce's face.
oh god, oh holy fucking shitbags. Viktor was kissing him. Viktor, lab partner Viktor, beautiful, intelligent Viktor was kissing him.
Jayce wrapped his arms around Viktor's waist and drew him in so that both their bodies were pressed against one another. He wanted to hold onto him forever, hold onto this moment forever.
Viktor took hold of Jayce’s tie, guided him up off of the desk chair.
Jayce smirked, “where are you taking me?”
“To my room. Unless you have a problem with that?”
Jayce shook his head violently.