Chapter Text
The last place Viktor wanted to spend his summer was a retail pharmacy, but this was the only internship he could land as a first-year pharmacy student. He was hoping for an internship that would challenge his mind, not his will to live. It seemed to him that two skills were necessary to excel in customer service; smiling pointlessly and pretending to care. These were two skills that he lacked. His very first job had been as a cashier at sixteen, and one thing he’d learned from it was this: no one left the store happy when he was in the building. He tried to look on the bright side--a task he always struggled with, but one that was especially daunting now, in a grocery store parking lot--he’d only be here for a few months. It shouldn’t be too hard to look competent enough to get a good letter of recommendation from the pharmacist here.
He allowed himself one last sigh, then entered the store and made his way to the pharmacy. These chain supermarkets were all eerily similar on the inside, but this one’s pharmacy was larger than he was expecting. The store opened a few hours before the pharmacy, so the windows over the counters were still shuttered. He knocked on the door labeled Pharmacy Staff Only and leaned his weight on his cane while he waited.
The door was opened by a stout older man with a white lab coat and an impressive moustache. He must be the pharmacist, Viktor thought. Before Viktor could say anything, the man starts, “and here he is now, I presume! You must be Viktor, our other intern.”
Other? The man moves back from the doorway, holding it open for Viktor, then catches sight of Viktor’s cane and forces the door open even more, the hinges creaking in protest. As Viktor walks through, the man continues, “as I was just explaining to this young man, we’re short on pharmacy technicians, so we’ve requested two interns for the summer.”
Viktor wanted to groan in frustration; he hadn’t expected to have competition. He followed the stout man’s gaze to the other pharmacy intern, and his heart, which had already sank to his stomach, fell into his ass. Why did the other intern have to be Jayce Talis, of all people?
They’d had a few classes together, including one where they’d been partnered to peer-review each other’s research papers. To Viktor, Jayce seemed intelligent, but short-sighted; he didn’t give enough thought to ethical implications, something Viktor mercilessly critiqued in his review of Jayce’s paper.
But Jayce being competent, maybe even smart, wasn’t the issue. No, Viktor’s issue with working next to Jayce for the next three months was the fact that Jayce was drop-dead gorgeous. Jayce was built like an amateur bodybuilder, not an aspiring pharmacist. He had a handsome face; glowing skin, thick brows, a sculpted jaw, and kind eyes. It had been hard enough for Viktor to focus while paired with him for one assignment, but working next to him for three months without Viktor embarrassing himself might be impossible.
To Viktor’s confusion, Jayce’s face lit up at the sight of him. “Viktor! Hey, do you remember me? Jayce Talis! We reviewed each other’s research papers last semester for Dr. Lincoln’s course?”
Does Viktor remember him? What a ridiculous question. Working closely with Jayce for that short period of time had forced Viktor to realize that he wasn’t too old to have a crush. For some reason, maybe out of spite for Jayce clearly being God’s favorite, Viktor didn’t want to give him the satisfaction. The fact that Jayce had remembered him, though, made something flutter in his stomach.
Viktor stared at him blankly, even squinting and tilting his head to give the impression that he was really thinking about it, before saying, “no, I don’t remember you.”
Jayce’s smile changed to a more sheepish one. “Maybe that’s a good thing. Your critique was really harsh, I was convinced you thought I was an idiot.”
Viktor wanted to smirk, but knew that doing so would reveal his lie. Luckily, the pharmacist chimed in, “I’m sure you’ll become acquainted in due time... or re-acquainted! So, as I was saying...”