Work Text:
Viktor stretches and blearily looks out of the window wall across from his bench. It's late enough that he can see the faint rays of dawn breaking out across the horizon and it makes him yawn so hard his eyes water. He turns to look at Jayce, who has his head leaning heavily in one hand. His eyes are closed and his mouth lax and Viktor can already see faint marks across his cheek where his face has been scrunched.
He reaches out and gently shoves Jayce. The other man's face slips from his hand and he jerks up and awake with a raspy "huh?" before he blinks and glances around, wiping his eyes and yawning. Viktor rests his own chin on his hand and watches him.
"Gods above, what time is it?" Jayce asks, running his hand over his face and through his ruffled hair. Viktor's eyes dart back out to the window.
"So late I think we would class it as early now."
Jayce groans, leaning back in his chair and stretching. Viktor's eyes track down his chest and up again absently. Jayce had removed his jacket a few hours ago and loosened his cravat enough that Viktor can see a v shape of olive skin framed by the collar of his shirt.
"Well there's no point in going home now. I'm going to lie down."
Jayce pushes himself up and staggers over to the small bed, tucked away in the furthest corner of the lab. It had been dragged in after too many late nights and runover brainstorming sessions and Viktor does have to admit it is more comfortable than sleeping at his desk.
"Coming?"
Jayce turns back to look over his shoulder with unfocussed eyes and Viktor blinks, slightly taken aback at the offer. Usually they take turns in napping on the bed, trading off through the long nights in short shifts when they're both too exhausted to leave. Jayce seems supremely unbothered about the prospect of sharing though and something in Viktor's chest twinges a little.
"Ehm, maybe in a moment. I want to finish this off."
Jayce just nods absently, stripping off his waistcoat and shirt, tossing them over the back of another chair. He falls into the bed face first and is snoring within seconds.
Viktor turns back to his notebook and picks up his pen. There is one last calculation he wants to finish before he loses the thread of his thought process completely. He scrawls it in chicken scratch penmanship, made even harsher by how tired he is. Jayce's soft snores echo up from the corner of the room and mixed with the sounds of his pen against the paper, it lulls Viktor into a sort of subspace. He writes on autopilot, finishing the page with a small V in the corner (something he only does now because he know it's make Jayce embarrassed every time) and closing the notebook with a soft finality.
Sliding from his stool, he considers trying to tidy some of the chaos on the workbench before realising he doesn't really care enough; it will still be there in a few hours anyway. He stretches, feeling his spine pop as the vertebrae re-align and limps over to the bed. He pauses for a brief moment to stare down at Jayce, who is starfishing across the mattress in just his vest and trousers.
Leaning his cane against the chair holding Jayce's cast off clothing, Viktor removes his own waistcoat and loosens the buttons at his collar and wrists. He considers removing his braces, before realising he truly cannot be bothered with the labour. It isn't the first time he's slept with them and it surely won't be the last.
Picking up his cane again, he reaches out to poke Jayce's side with it. The other man groans and flaps a hand at him dismissively, but Viktor is relentless and eventually Jayce rolls over with a grumble, nudging up against the wall. Viktor lowers himself onto the edge of the bed, rubbing sleepily at his face and carefully manoeuvres himself flat onto the edge of the bed. Jayce is a furnace and the bed is really too small for the pair of them, especially with Jayce's ridiculous shoulder span, but he's too tired to care. He thinks perhaps there should be more fanfare; this is the first time they've lain together after all, but he's far too exhausted to feel worried about it. He absently wonders if Jayce will be embarrassed about it tomorrow.
He lies back, shuffling slightly, and closes his eyes. There's a creaking as the bed shifts and he feels Jayce roll over. One arm snakes out across the limited space between them and wraps tightly around Viktor's waist, tugging him closer from the edge of the bed. It's heavy and warm, though even in his sleep Jayce has been considerate enough to avoid his back brace, fingers softly moulding around his hip instead.
He briefly considers complaining but Jayce tucks his head into Viktor's neck and snores softly. Viktor lets his eyes fall closed, tilting his head slightly until his nose gently brushes Jayce's hair.
~
A sharp stab of light falls across his eyes and Viktor blinks awake, wincing at the brightness. The sun is properly up now, but the sounds of the city below them are quiet enough that he thinks it's still early.
Jayce is still curled around him, one arm tight round his middle and their feet tangled together. He turns his head ever so slightly so he can see Jayce's face, squashed tightly into the pillow. Viktor lies there a for a moment, cataloguing the aches in his hip, knee and spine, though he's pleasantly surprised that they're not as sore as he had expected. Jayce's warmth radiates through him, relaxing tense muscles and soothing tired limbs and he feels something start to stir low in his gut. Regretfully, he starts to try and shift before any embarrassing reactions can make themselves known.
He attempts to push himself up but Jayce just makes a sleepy murmur and holds him tighter.
"Jayce."
Viktor whispers it, not wanting to startle the other man awake but Jayce just frowns a little and buries his face deeper into the pillow. Viktor sighs and wiggles an arm free to he can poke Jayce's shoulder.
"Jayce, wake up."
He jabs his fingers lightly into the muscle of Jayce's shoulder and the other man twitches and rears back a little.
"Wassthat?"
He opens his eyes, startlingly close, and Viktor watches as the sleepy confusion falls away slowly from Jayce's gaze. His eyes widen a little as he realises it's Viktor in front of him and his tongue darts out to lick his lower lip. Viktor's gaze drops to follow it and then drags slowly back up again. The stirring in his gut gets a little stronger and he sucks in a soft breath.
Jayce shifts slightly, the arm across Viktor's waist lifting so he can reach out and drag a thumb across Viktor's cheek. Viktor's mouth opens a little unconsciously and Jayce blinks again. He pulls his thumb gently down then away and then holds it up just in front of Viktor's face.
"Eyelash," he says, his voice rough and cracked with sleep. Viktor hums a soft assenting sound and blows the eyelash from Jayce's thumb tip. Jayce shivers almost imperceptibly and drops his arm back across Viktor.
"Morning."
Viktor raises an eyebrow and offers a small smile.
"Good Morning. Do you suppose you could let me up now?"
Jayce's brow furrows in confusion for a moment and then he seems to realise he's pressed up against Viktor's side, wrapped around the other man like an octopus. He laughs a little bashfully and disentangles himself.
"Sorry," he murmurs, rolling onto his back as Viktor pushes himself upright.
"How long did we sleep for?"
Viktor glances up at the clock on the wall and does a quick calculation.
"Not long, a couple of hours of so." He grabs his cane and heaves himself to his feet, wincing at the cracks as his bones settle into place. Jayce makes a soft agreeable sound and sits up, bringing his knees up so he can rest his forearms on them and cup the back of his neck. He yawns, loudly, and then pushes himself to the edge of the bed. Viktor braces his cane and offers him a hand. Jayce gratefully takes it and stands.
His cheeks flush ever so slightly as he looks down at their joined hands and then back up to Viktor's face. He smiles, a soft expression and Viktor echoes it. Jayce squeezes Viktor's fingers once, before dropping his hand and reaching up to stretch. His vest lifts and Viktor doesn't even try to stop from glancing at the soft patch of skin revealed. Instead, he reaches up absently to scratch his jaw and darts his tongue out to wet his dry lips.
Jayce reaches down to pick up his shirt, shrugging it on carelessly and turning to move towards the small stove hob they've set up on one of the benches.
"Well, I suppose progress waits for no man, no matter how tired he might be. Drink?"
Viktor nods and leans on his cane, watching Jayce walk away and start to grab their mugs. The domesticity in the way he moves, absently humming something to himself as he rinses the mugs and grabs the milk and spices from the coolbox, wraps around Viktor like an old blanket. For this moment, the outside world is so far removed. The money, the time constraints, the politics, it all falls away and it's just the two of them, cocooned in their own crystalline bubble.
It's a simple façade, Viktor knows that, and he's not looking to escape their reality. What they're doing, it means so much to him, to Jayce, to everyone out there beyond their laboratory. The improvements they can make, the chasms they are going to bridge, the difference their work will have for people from both the undercity and Piltover is immeasurable. He doesn't begrudge the work; instead he thrives off it, off having a purpose greater than himself. It is just that there are times where he wishes he could strip away all of the unnecessary chaff. Take away the weight of a broken body, the restrictions of lungs that don't work as they should, the tiring trial of dealing with emotions like anger, or boredom or lust that seek to overwhelm him with their trivial humanity. It is in moments like this where he feels as though it has all been lifted from him. He is solely existing here, with Jayce, in this space. There are no expectations from himself or anyone else. There is only them.
Jayce turns and catches him staring. He smiles and holds out a cup of brewed sweetmilk that steams gently, curls of smoke wafting up like wisps of cloud.
"V?" he says, head tilting a little to the side.
Viktor blinks and the world comes seeping back, slowly like oil in water. They are here, yes, but there is still so much more to be done.
He walks over to Jayce and takes the proffered mug, turning to smile at Jayce over the rim. They're going to change the world, and for that, the rest is worth it.