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The open windows shuddered with every stray breeze that entered the lab. Viktor ignored the shiver down his spine as he kept his focus on the task in front of him. With every turn of the knobs, he squinted, moving closer towards the hexcore. He was so close to cracking the code, the right sequence, yet still so far away from fully understanding the machinery in front of him. The runes whirred, flipping round and round, as frustration built inside of Viktor. When he swapped one rune for another, the hexcore seemed to agree with the arrangement. The magic condensed inside, and Viktor grabbed his pencil to chart out the runic pattern. In the split second his eyes darted towards the page, the hexcore burst out with purple light, lashing and whipping about.
Viktor groaned out loud, dropping his head onto the table, as he took a labored breath. Sweat sheened over his forehead. His hair, frayed, fell over his eyes as he took off the protective goggles. Viktor furrowed his brows as a sharp pain knifed down his leg. Looking down, he can imagine his leg underneath the layer of clothing. The self-inflicted scars on the mangled limb, forever etched on his skin, mockingly laughed at him. Viktor’s eyes widened as he tunneled in on the memory of his first experiment on himself. The risk he took only to yield nothing in return. The pain he endured, and the blood he shed that led to the hexcore evolving into whatever oddity faced him today. He does not recall that day with any pleasantries. But Viktor was running out of time, and he was desperate. There were no means he wouldn’t take to push hextech to its limits. If it could heal him, what other good could it do for the world?
He thought back about Zaun. His life was far from easy, barely able to get by day to day as a crippled kid. He thought about the hunger-panged nights where he slept on cold floors. He thought about the blistering days where heat exhaustion took over him. He thought about the other sick children around him, and how he was considered lucky to get out of that alive, unlike many others. It wasn’t right. He had the power to change that with hextech, but the timer was running down.
With renewed energy, Viktor placed the goggles back over his face, and took a hold of the handles controlling the matrix. His movements were quicker, not wasting a second on chains he knew didn’t work. He had to find something new. He must find it. When the hexcore turned purple after fusing with his blood, Viktor had felt the light of hope. It can learn, and it can absorb matter around it. He just had to harness it, and control it.
He wrote down everything he observed. How the matrix moved when one rune fell into place, and how the light grew brighter with another. He could feel the energy, whenever the matrix got stronger and when it weakened. He just had to make sense of it all.
One strong flick of his wrist swapped the runes around, completely wiping the previous pattern clean. It gave a strong wave of energy off, nearly knocking Viktor off his seat. The inertia of the hit rattled his body. His heartbeat quickened, as every inch of his body told Viktor to take a break. His mind preserved, though, and he tightened his grip. When he turned the hexcore around, it gave off another strong blast. Viktor, enervated, finally let go. Trembling fingers took off the goggles, as a cough clawed its way out of Viktor’s throat. Unable to fight his infirmity, the goggles fall onto the floor as feeling in his hand gave out. One last heaving cough left Viktor slumped over the table. His eyes stare down the hexcore. It taunted him with its mysteries and complexities. It floated about with its purple tendrils, as if it enjoyed watching Viktor’s strife.
Why won’t it work? Why won’t it just work?
In a rage, Viktor propelled off the table. His chair rolled back, as he yelled weakly in exasperation. He slammed a fist down, rattling the pencil as it rolled off with a small clang. He grasped for his cane, pushing his body up and stumbling over the chalkboard. Tripping over his own feet, he barely stopped himself from falling by violently crashing into the board. His shoulders ached from the blow, and his hands tingled from overuse. Viktor pushed forward, taking the whittled down chalk in one hand, and an eraser with the other. With sweeping motions, he cleared the previous charts to draw his own. He graphed out his findings, drawing models of runes. Adding formulas in, and placing variables, he took a step back to piece it all together. His eyes roamed from one side to another, snapping from top to bottom, yet nothing made sense to him. More mathematics he used only led to newer questions. He could solve one equation, and it would always lead to another one. His head hurt from crunching numbers, and he could only hobble back into the nearest chair.
His head flopped back, and Viktor ran a hand down his face. Staring at the ceiling, Viktor can feel the effects of poor rest taking its toll on him. Every blink was heavier than the last, and he wondered if he was sleeping at the lab again, like how he did every day this past week.
As his eyes closed, Viktor tried his best to shut his brain up. The hexcore flitted across the black void, as lines and numbers followed by. He let out a deep sigh, and then the door creaked open.
Immediately taking hold of his cane, he swayed his head over to watch who entered. Though, he heard them before seeing them, as his vision blurred.
“Viktor?” Jayce called out as he noticed the man collapsed on the chair. He noticed how Viktor’s neck was situated uncomfortably on a wooden frame, and there was no cushion for the rest of his body. He had come into the lab to place papers, expecting no one else to be inside.
“Yes?” Viktor quietly replied, voice hoarse. Jayce walked closer, getting a good look at the state Viktor was in. Sweat covered his body, and he looked like he hadn’t showered in days. His hair was unwieldy, tufts curling in random ways, and the bags under his eyes deepened, raw and red from the lack of sleep.
“How long have you been here?” Jayce questioned, as he saw how scarily hollowed Viktor’s cheeks had become.
Viktor flickered his eyes back to the ceiling as he tried to count the hours. He couldn’t tell Jayce that he had barely left the lab, only leaving when taking necessary bathroom breaks, or when the hunger was too much for him to think about anything else. “Not sure,” Viktor stated. In an effort to redirect Jayce’s worry, he batted back, “Where have you been?”
Jayce awkwardly chuckled as Viktor gave him a judging stare. He couldn’t possibly be mad at Jayce for taking a step back in the lab? Being a councilor came with more responsibility that Jayce was forced to juggle with. He trusted Viktor had understood that Jayce couldn’t physically be here with him every night.
“I had to talk to the councilors, but I was here to drop off some papers I thought would be conducive to our research,” Jayce answered, miserably failing at hiding the hurt behind his voice. He placed the file onto the desk, as he went back to Viktor’s side. “Have you been here all day?” Jayce continued to prod at Viktor, needing to know if he had pushed himself too far again.
“More like all week,” Viktor lazily scoffs. While Jayce may have stopped him from falling asleep where he sat, it did not reverse how tired he was. He blinked, slowly, as he made a move for his cane. He faltered trying to stand up, and Jayce was quick to hold Viktor up.
“All week?” Jayce exclaimed, eyes widened as the grip under Viktor’s shoulders softened, treating him as if he were fragile glass.
“Yes, all week,” Viktor gruffed, trying to shake Jayce off of him, but Jayce did not let him go. “You don’t need to act like I am going to keel over at any time,” he snapped, though the faux hostility fell flat as he could barely stop himself from slurring over his words.
Jayce hesitantly let go, allowing Viktor to support himself. He hovered around the man in case anything were to happen again. Both hands gripping his cane, Viktor stumbled towards the chalkboard.
“This is everything I’ve done today, yet I don’t feel we are any closer to understanding the hexcore,” Viktor sighed out, as his forehead slanted on to the board. Jayce followed, laying a warm hand on the small of Viktor’s back.
“I can already tell it looks promising,” Jayce reassured, as he smiled at Viktor. The other man was still resting upright, and a strand of hair slid out of place. He gently tucked the hair behind Viktor’s ear, prompting Viktor to pivot his head towards Jayce. He mustered an insipid smile in return. “We can work on this together, tomorrow,” Jayce offered. Viktor gave a slight nod in agreement.
Jayce’s hand moved up from his back to wrap around Viktor’s shoulders, “But right now, I am getting you to bed.”
Viktor leaned into the touch, appreciating the warmth Jayce provided. “That sounds good,” Viktor meekly responded. Jayce hooked a finger underneath Viktor’s chin, moving so they faced each other. He bent down to place a fleeting kiss on Viktor’s lips, letting the sentiment dissipate in the tranquility around them. With only the moon and the flickering glow of a candle to light the lab, Jayce mapped out the planes of Viktor’s face in his mind. He had to keep Viktor safe. More selfishly, Jayce did not want to let go of the man in front of him. He had to find a way to save him.
It was Viktor who ended the dream.
Jayce should have pieced it together. The evolution of hexcore, the disappearance of Sky, and how easily Viktor gave up. Jayce had never imagined Viktor to give up. He had never seen that man be so dejected before, that when Viktor begged Jayce to destroy the hexcore, he could not believe it. The man he called his partner had changed so quickly. Jayce kept the hexcore, in hopes that it would provide the solution to fix the man beside him. In hindsight, Jayce should have known. What they had created became much bigger than the two. It was an untameable force.
He could have prevented everything.
Now, he stood in front of Viktor, heaving as he lifted his hammer. A part of him fought back, like barbed chains digging into the ground. Though, he saw it all. Jayce knew what would happen if he let Viktor continue on like this. The anamorphic beings that morphed into more grotesque creatures as the seconds passed. Their humanity having died long ago, only replaced by a fake soul controlled by the machine that stood in the middle of it all. Something that had no resemblance to the man before. So perfect to the apex of hextech and magic that no traces of the past human could be found. Viktor stopped being Viktor. He stopped being his partner. The man who had stars in his eyes when they floated in mid-air. He stopped being his best friend. The man who tacitly understood Jayce, so effortlessly, it was like they had known each other their whole lives. He stopped being his lover . The man who brought his only solace in the chaotic world crumbling around them.
Though none of them could utter words around it, Jayce and Viktor knew that they pushed the boundaries of mere labmates. It was more than just friends. When Jayce held Viktor at night, softly smoothing a hand down exposed skin, or when Viktor had let Jayce trailed kisses down his thigh, they had definitely gone past the point of no return. Although, they never dared to talk about what was between them. The nights Jayce spent with Mel, leaving Viktor alone in the lab, or times when Viktor seemingly disappeared for days on end only to reappear with new scars; it was a wind sail heading towards a tumultuous storm. There was no way they could survive, and Jayce finally understood that.
From the look in Viktor’s eyes, he knew Viktor understood it as well.
He watched as Viktor’s face shifted from placidity to confusion to panic. The arcane, melded onto Jayce’s wrist, glowed brightly with blue light. As he readied the hammer, the hexcore inside welded with wild colors, coalescing surrounding energy. Viktor could not take his eyes away from the magnificent scene in front of him. It had ignited charges in him, so similar to human emotions, yet still so far removed. Thoughts about this being the end whizzed through his mind, as charts and graphs darted alongside. The strangeness of it all, Viktor could not stop himself from being stunned. Calculations fell down his eyes, as did past feelings. It boiled inside of him like lava in a volcano. The beauty Jayce held in his arms, alongside the despair behind his eyes, overwhelmed Viktor. It was as if Viktor had hit maximum load, and the machine that he was could not take another volt.
Jayce yelled, guttural and pained. He fought back the instinct inside every inch of his body to not shoot the man in front of him. Voices of the past, present, and future flooded his mind. The screams of children in Zaun, to the wails of the void-like creatures, all touched by Viktor’s hand. He heard himself in the cacophony. His past failures that led him to where he was now. He had to do this. He had to fulfill his promise to Viktor, the Viktor he loved when he was still human. He had to make it up to him, wherever he was. Finalizing the blast, Jayce shot the concentrated ball of energy.
Viktor’s eyes widened, before immediately dropping to the ground. His body flew back from the impact. Jayce threw his hammer to the side, running towards Viktor.
He was not mad. He hoped Jayce knew that he could never be mad at him. Weak rapid breaths left his body, as he used the rest of his strength to steal one last look at Jayce. He hoped Jayce knew he loved him too.
Viktor’s eyes rolled back into his head as his hand fell to the floor. A cog slipped out, running onto the ground. Jayce dropped to his knees, teary-eyed as he grabbed a hold of the cold, metallic hand. The last of its light shimmered away, and Jayce took Viktor into his arms and sobbed.
There was no one who could ever fill Viktor’s shoes. No one could keep him on track, nor tether him to reality. Jayce had died with Viktor, yet he was the only one left standing, breathing, living.
They had a late night out celebrating the Distinguished Innovators’ Competition. Despite not even placing for a medal, Jayce had felt like he was on top of the moon. Viktor was right, he didn’t throw up. That was a cause for a win, right? Jayce had taken Viktor to a local Piltovan bar he enjoyed. They were never big on drinking, or partying, but Jayce wanted to make this day special.
As Jayce opened the door, they were greeted by a rambunctious group of Enforcers shouting at each other near the entrance. The bartender, polishing a glass, gave the two a quick wave before talking to the man across from him. It was a refined bar, as expected from Piltover, but there was a grunginess that made it feel all the more real. The building represented the advancements of architecture and technology, yet it was the humans who frequented the place that added color to the area.
Guiding Viktor with a hand on his back, they squeezed past people until eventually finding two seats at the end of the bar. Waving the bartender down, Jayce ordered them both a drink.
“This one’s on me,” Jayce smiled, leaning closer so he could be heard in the boisterous room.
Viktor stabbed his shoulder into Jayce before saying, “We didn’t even win.”
“Doesn’t matter! We got up there, on stage, and presented something new to the world!” Jayce exclaimed, getting closer to Viktor despite the other man’s pushes. “Just imagine, give us one more year, and we will be that much closer to harnessing the hexcore’s power!”
Viktor relented, the ever beam of positivity that Jayce exuded had weakened his walls. It was not everytime that Jayce could be so cheerful. Viktor half-expected Jayce to be completely immobile by the shock of failure, so he indulged this Jayce whenever he could. “You’re right, we do deserve this drink then,” and as Viktor finished his statement, the bartender returned with their glasses.
“Cheers! To hextech!” Jayce raised his glass up high, waiting for Viktor to return the gesture.
Viktor grimaced for a second, before realizing Jayce was quickly losing his gusto if he did not reciprocate the same energy. So, quietly, Viktor muttered, “Cheers, to hextech.”
They do not know how much they had to drink. Finally leaving the bar, the sun had set, and the moon took over the sky. Jayce paid for the tab, and needed Viktor’s help to sign the receipt as the pen kept slipping out of his hand. With loud laughter, they stepped outside with Jayce’s arm wrapped around Viktor’s shoulders, pulling him in with every guffaw. Viktor fought hard to keep his balance, with Jayce’s jostling and the alcohol, he nearly tripped on a bump in the street.
It was not long before they sought refuge in a nearby park. Effectively agreeing that either of them were too drunk to navigate home, they decided to rest underneath a large oak tree. With a steady arm, Jayce guided Viktor down, and plunked his own against the trunk. Viktor slumped, resting his head onto Jayce’s shoulders. They reeked of alcohol, and Jayce wondered how stained his white button down had been from all the dripping whiskey and beers.
Jayce spoked up first, “Tonight was really fun.”
“Yeah,” Viktor mumbled, “I don’t think I’ve ever drank this much in my life.”
“You don’t seem like the kind of guy to drink alcohol.”
“You don’t either, but then you chugged three beers back to back, and then I changed my mind.”
Jayce laughed at that, and Viktor scowled, grabbing his shoulder to steady him.
“Stop moving,” Viktor complained, and whether he realized it or not, he leaned closer to Jayce. The warmth was nice. Piltover was not particularly cold during this time of year, but a stray breeze made Viktor shiver. Jayce functioned as a portable space heater, so when Viktor scooched over, thighs touching, he rationalized it on cool air. He quieted the back of his mind that told him he was lying to himself. Jayce’s arm moved to cushion Viktor’s neck from the tree, and that side of his brain vanished.
“I’m glad we’re partners,” Jayce started, as he gazed into the stars above them. “I don’t know where I would be without you,” the honesty in Jayce’s words rattled Viktor’s bones.
Though, he couldn't help himself when he remarked, “Dead, probably.”
Jayce smiled, before digging knuckles into Viktor’s head. Viktor batted his hand away, but he kept his arm around him.
“I just can’t ever see myself achieving all of this without you. I was going to be exiled in prison, losing hextech forever but you saved it,” Jayce paused before continuing, “And you saved me.”
Viktor’s breath caught in his throat at Jayce’s words. A pang in his heart followed soon after, and a cage of butterflies opened in his stomach. The alcohol in his system did not help, and the cocktail of emotions had Viktor swallowing back bile.
“Yeah,” Viktor whispered, shakily. His tongue felt like lead in his mouth, yet every confession Viktor dreamt about threatened to escape his throat. He chewed on the inside of his cheek before reaching an acceptable response, “I’m glad.”
Viktor does not realize it, but Jayce’s attention had swapped from the night’s stars down to Viktor’s face. The slope of his nose, the sharp line of his jaw, the locks of hair that curled at the ends, all of it was mesmerizing to Jayce. He could not take his eyes off Viktor, not even when Viktor finally looked up at the silent man. They met each other’s gaze, basking in the moment. The moon’s light shone in rays, as it filtered past the tree’s leaves. Their breaths touched their faces, mingling with the air in between. Somehow, within all of this, Jayce moved to free both of his arms. His hands moved up, grasping both sides of Viktor’s cheeks. There was a look of uncertainty in Jayce, and Viktor tilted chest to chest with him. Facing each other head on, their eyes shone with the prospect of what’s to come. Viktor rested a palm on Jayce’s knee, and Jayce brought Viktor’s face closer.
“Is this okay?”
“Yes.”
Jayce closed the distance, bringing their lips together. The gentle touch had Viktor tightening his grip. The smell of the fading cologne mixed with the taste of faint whiskey intoxicated him. It left him wanting more. Viktor deepened the kiss, uncomfortably stretching his spine to feel the press of Jayce against him. Jayce supported Viktor’s back, sitting him upright and inadvertently pulling Viktor into his lap. The remaining hand on his cheek moved to comb through his hair. A light touch over the curve of his ear left Viktor gasping.
They broke the kiss, sharply inhaling to regain air. Composing themselves, Viktor slid off Jayce. Jayce straightened his tie. The night hid their flushed cheeks and heaving chests. It was as if there was an electrical charge between them, bouncing off the two bodies. Their lips glinted with the sheen of each other’s spit. Viktor’s hair looked especially tousseled. Jayce was the first to move, standing up, and taking Viktor’s hand to help him. Viktor patted the grass off his pants before grabbing his cane.
“Ready to go home?” Jayce asked, still keeping his hand clasped with Viktor’s.
“Yes, I am,” Viktor gave a tender smile, intertwining their fingers together as they walked the streets.