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Hoping that Jayce would arrive on time these days was like praying for a miracle, his excuse always being his “man of progress duties” even if Viktor had clearly seen him strolling around the city with whatever important figure he had decided to hook to their project.
Usually it would infuriate Viktor, being left for hours on end with no one to shoot ideas or theories at. However, it was weirdly relaxing at that moment. They were just about to present the design for the Hexgates, so not the work laid on Jayce to attend the speeches, galas and whatever not.
It would have been the perfect morning to take a step back and look at the project's progress, come up with new uses for Hextech or refine the old ones. It would have been if the doors to the lab hadn't swung open and had Jayce not burst in, walking in quickly to where they kept their blueprints and cleaned up designs and started rummaging through them. Viktor, obviously, expected an explanation for that behaviour, looking at him where he was previously writing on their chalkboard, but it was obvious it would not come.
“A ‘good morning’ would have been nice.” He approached Jayce, looking at the table for whatever he was looking for, unfurling and leaving to the side whatever it was he didn't need.
“Ah, yes, good morning, Viktor.” Jayce rushed out, not even looking at him. That was strange. “I am leaving again, just searching for something. I will be back in a minute."
“Where are you going?”
“They made a mistake in the pamphlets for the exhibition and left your name out.” There was a bit of worry in Jayce's demeanour, his hands struggling more than once to unwrap the papers they had lying around. They should start labelling them, probably. “Don't worry, I just need to show them the blueprints again and they will correct it”
"Jayce.”
"It was just an honest mistake, they will fix it by the time we present it to the public.” The man unfurled the blueprints to the Hexgate, where at the top both of their names were signed. His excitement grew at the sight of it, finally finding what he was searching for
"Jayce."
“It will be just a moment, I swear. When I get back we can prepare the speech and see what else we may need."
“Jayce, listen to me.” Before Jayce could furl back the blueprints, Viktor put his hand in the middle of it, getting the attention from his partner. He looked up at him, his eyes tired but having all of his attention. As Viktor looked at them, he doubted his attention, hesitating on how to say the next part.
“Yes, Viktor?”
“I told them to keep my name out of the pamphlets.”
“I’m sorry?” Before Viktor could answer, Jayce continued. “It's your design too, we worked together for so long.”
"My name would make people distrustful of our project” Viktor tried so hard to keep looking at Jayce, a look of disbelief on his face. “The public would not trust someone from Zaun with a project like this, much less any investors or other scientists.”
“They wouldn't know from just your name, the name Viktor isn't that strange. It's foreign but that normal on Piltover"
"I don't have a last name. People from Zaun don't, people from Piltover do, choose one.” His mother had explained to him once that it was because people in Zaun value the individual more than the family, in most cases at least. It was a way for a person to redeem themselves without being tied down or ruin themselves, without plunging their family's reputation. You only had a last name if your family was already settled.
"Then we will write down my last name as yours too.”
It was said in such a factual manner that Viktor needed some time to recover. Jayce would just lend him his last name so freely? To him? He was just fine being confined in his lab without attributing projects to him and Jayce would not only not let him but also show such genuine trust on him that he lends him his family name. Not to talk about the connotations such an act has on Piltover, the thought of it making him swallow and tighten his fingers on his crutch.
“Shouldn't you ask your mother first?” An excuse.
“Probably, but I don't think she would mind. She has been meaning to meet you anyway.”
"You can't just trust me with your family's name like that.”
"Of course I can.” Jayce reached out a hand, planting it firmly on Viktor's shoulder. "I trust you, Viktor, and I want us to both be recognized for our inventions. Even if you don't want to show your face or give speeches, you are still my partner. You have saved my life so many times, a last name is the last thing I can give you.”
Viktor tried to find any doubt in his eyes, but there was none, just a gentle, reassuring gaze promising him that it was fine. Viktor swallowed and nodded slightly, which brightened Jayce’s smile. Maybe it was fine, Viktor had no intentions of doing anything bad or betraying Jayce. Perhaps the reason Jayce trusted him was fundamented in truth. So, giving in, Viktor let him rework the pamphlets
He saw them once the exhibition came, reading their names, together, over and over until the ink of the pamphlet was worn down so much it had stained his finger. When he got back home, he hung it on his board between all the blueprints and reminders he had up, staring at it just a couple of seconds every morning before going out.
Years later, when both of them were gone, the Hexgates design would be attributed to Jayce Talis.