Chapter Text
6 pm. It was the first time in months he went home this early. After all, now that the Arcane was gone, what exactly was there left for him to work on?
That crucial night, when Sky found him in his underwear touching the hexcore, practically getting sucked in by its essence, it was the most embarrassing moment of his life. Thankfully, the assistant had managed to rip him off the dangerous object. She had gotten hurt in the process. Her soft skin wore an intimidating laceration that went from her chest to her chin and a few other scratches. Other than that, she was alive and well. Viktor remembers how she had scolded him, after saving his life, for being so reckless. For playing with fire by toying with that thing for weeks now. The worst had been Jayce’s reaction. When he learned about what happened, he panicked. The councilor swore to destroy the hexcore and get rid of the Arcane.
“ Professor Heimerdinger was right… Magic is too unpredictable to be tempered with. It was hurting you Viktor, and manipulating you in ways you can't imagine! ”
The scientist chuckled at the idea. He didn't believe his partner would be able to do such a thing. It became less funny when Jayce disappeared for 3 weeks. No one had any ideas of where he could be. Everyone was so worried, they looked for him everywhere. After days of research, Viktor started trying to accept that his best friend was gone. Then one night, a wave of raw energy fell upon the land. Everyone had felt it, a sudden surge of magic and then, nothing. After that, he headed to the hexgates to investigate and there he was, Jayce was back.
His beard and hair had grown out, which is surprising because he wasn’t gone for that long. But when he started explaining what happened, how he got sucked in a wild rune and landed in an apocalyptic future alternative universe of Piltover, where everyone turned into statues and everything was ravaged, Viktor shivered. He continued by telling how he fell in a cavern, broke his leg, managed to get out of it and fought his way to the very top of the city. Then, he found a statue holding a hammer similar to his own, and made a promise to an…entity? To be honest, he was clearly hiding a lot of details in his story for some reason. The identity of the entity, or what it was exactly, remained a mystery. He concluded his story by claiming that he managed to destroy the Arcane. He didn’t give any details on how, pleading his friend to just trust him. Viktor rightfully doubted it and he would've chuckled again, if it wasn't for the fact that the hexcore disintegrated hours after his return. Worse, his once healed leg had gone back to normal; “broken”.
At first he was mad at Jayce, incredibly. How could he take away years of their work like that? Without even asking his opinion, his authorization? And now, he was left back with his disability and his entire life's work was ruined! Weirdly, even though he regained his old body, his health seemed to have stabilized. To him, death should've been inevitable since he also used the hexcore to heal his fatal disease. However, he seemed to be doing better for now. Another mystery was the fact that every machine built with magic was still functioning. The hexgates and the weapons were working perfectly fine. It's just that now, they didn't have any more resources to supply the hexgates and keep them running for much longer. All the orbs and hex stones had disintegrated too.
So far, it seemed like everything organic the Arcane had transformed went back to its original state. Also, the pure materials of magic had turned to dust. On the other hand, every machine built with it had persisted through time. The reason why is still unknown, and that's what Viktor and Jayce spent most of their days doing research on now.
He was packing his stuff in the lab. The only people left in the building were him and Sky.
Oh... Sky.
What could he even say? Since she saved his life, her attitude towards him had changed. Of course, she was still sweet and polite with him, but she distanced herself from him. The truth was that he freaked her out. Seeing just how much the rune had consumed his mind, how much it obsessed him to the point of becoming dangerous completely terrified her. She still admired his work and mind as a scientist, but Viktor accidentally putting her life in danger made her realize that a man that dedicated to his craft was a lost cause. No matter how much she loved him, he would never truly see her the way she wanted to, because he was already married to his work. Sky didn’t know if she could ever stop her feelings towards him, they were stronger than her own will and logic. Sadly, the assistant knew she had to try at least, for her own well being. After all, he never reciprocated anything. A man that smart could not be blind to her obvious love for him.
He must not feel the same way. It's that simple and I need to accept that, she would resonate.
He exited the lab and she popped out of the corner while he was walking down the hallway.
“ Ah, Miss Young. ” He offered a friendly grin.
“ Viktor. I was going to check if the lab was empty so I could lock it. ”
“ Yes, I'm going home on time today. I locked everything on my way out. ” An awkward moment of silence followed his statement.
“ Oh, well… Thank you! I will head home now. ” She turned her heels.
“ Wait! Sky, could I finally take your offer to walk home together today? ”
He hated how much longer it took him to reach his apartment on foot, now that he was walking with his cane again. Having someone to talk to would pass the time and he wouldn’t even realize how long the walk had been. Especially if that someone was Sky, everything she said always intrigued him.
“ You…you really want to? ” He must not feel the same way, it's that simple.
“ I would have loved to, but I need to make a stop before going home. We are not heading in the same direction. ” She said, taking a few steps back.
“ I see. Maybe next time then? ” He proposed.
“ Yes, I won’t reject the next opportunity! ” She chuckled uneasily.
“ Good night Viktor, see you tomorrow. ” She hurried out of the hallway, disappearing from his sight.
“ Bye Miss Young. ” He resumed slowly making his way out of the building.
“ Do we have any new statistics? ”
“ Yes. So we lost an additional 13% of the hexgates, they ran out of power. ” Viktor and Sky were back in the lab the following day. They were sitting at his desk, reviewing the new loss.
“ Jayce examined the installations earlier. Everything works fine, we just need to find a new source of power. ” She added. His eyebrows furrowed, the same way they did when he was trying to think.
“ It's practically impossible to find an energy as strong as the Arcane. We really need to figure out what is the element that kept the machinery working, as opposed to everything else organic that had been altered by magic. ” He glanced at his leg. His assistant noticed and shifted in her chair.
“ Well hum… I have a hypothesis on that. ” His eyes slightly lit up and he turned his whole body to face her.
“ Really? Of course, one of your domains is biology. Please share what you think. ” He was staring so intensely into her eyes. It made her nervous and she avoided his gaze, trying to maintain her composure.
It's going to be very hard to stop loving this man.
“ It’s probably because of the T cells and antibodies of the organism. They might start attacking any traces of magic left in the body, now seeing it as an antigen. You know, I-I was thinking… ” She glanced furtively at his face to find his eyes still on her. He was practically hanging onto each of her words.
“ If you would let us examine your leg, just take a sample like dead skin or something. We could verify that. ” His eyes widened.
“ But of course only if you want to! I don't want to make you feel like a lab rat. ” She scrambled as his surprised face morphed into a confused one.
“ Nevermind, it was a dumb idea. There must be another way to verify that hypothesis… ” She lowered her gaze on the desk, completely avoiding his eyes now. He let out an amused scoff.
“ It's a brilliant idea, Miss Young. It's just that… I prefer to explore other options for now. I'm not very comfortable with your idea just yet, but it could be a last resort. ” He scratched the mole on his upper lip, a habit he had whenever conversations became heavy.
“ Of course. Haha… ” She nervously ran her fingers over her head, sensing she created discomfort.
Then, she undid her bun because it was starting to feel like it was too tight. For a moment, her beautiful curls bounced to fall on her shoulders.
Sky was objectively a beautiful woman. No one could deny that, not even Viktor. If it wasn't for her nerdy side and her shyness, many more men would hit on her. That being said, she already received a good amount of attention from them. Viktor tried to be discreet, not to make her uncomfortable, but he couldn't help but eye her. She carefully gathered all the hair strands into her hands and tied it back into a looser bun. His eyes meticulously followed the movements of her fingers. He didn't even remember when was the last time he saw her with her hair down. All he knows is that she should let them down more often, she was captivating. She looked at him for a second and caught him eyeing her. The man slightly jumped in his seat and looked away. He cleared his throat, trying to refocus on the report on the desk in front of him. He opened his mouth, ready to compliment her appearance, when Jayce entered the lab behind them.
“ Sky, would you like to take your lunch break? I can replace you and help Viktor out. ” They both turned to look at him.
“ Hum yes, sure. Thank you Jayce. See you later Viktor. ” She walked past the councilor and exited the lab.
Jayce walked up to Viktor who was now laser focused on that report. He pulled the chair beside him and sat down. The man stared at his partner suspiciously.
“ What? ” He finally asked.
“ You know I saw that, right? ” Viktor sighed and put the sheet of paper away. Clearly, today he won't be able to properly focus on work.
“ What are you talking about? ” He shot him a warning look.
“ The way you were looking at Sky. She’s a beautiful woman, you know? ” He rolled his eyes.
“ Obviously, I know that. I'm not blind… ” His friend kept looking at him, clearly not done with his questioning.
“ And you don't look that bad yourself. If you were to ask her out, I doubt she would decline. ”
Here we go…
“ I know that you are aware that Sky likes you, romantically I mean. You keep denying it, but I can’t help but notice that you feel some way about her too. ” He teased, nudging his arm.
“ It doesn't matter what I feel. ” Now it was Jayce's turn to roll his eyes
“ It actually does, a lot! I don't know why you keep denying yourself the chance to fall in love with that lovely lady. Viktor, Sky is made for you. You guys share the same passions, you've known each other since childhood and she admires you! What more do you need? ”
“ Nonsense. ” The scientist softly laughed and waved him away.
Despite his words, the pink shade that was spreading across his cheeks told otherwise. He kept quiet for a bit. Jayce turned around, thinking that’s all he was going to be able to get out of him.
“ It's just that… ” Seems like someone needs to vent.
“ I don't know yet if my illness is going to come back. I don't want to engage in something I'm not sure I will be able to honor. I cannot satisfy her, Jayce. ” He kept his eyes on the wooden desk while speaking, too embarrassed by his own confession.
“ You always have an excuse. Before, you were too obsessed with work and decoding the hexcore. Now that you are finally starting to have a healthy work-life balance, you worry about your health even though you've never felt better! ” Viktor gripped the edge of the desk.
“ My leg went back to its original state! It wasn't instantaneous and it took a few days. The sickness that was killing me might just take longer before making its return! ” A few seconds passed where nobody moved.
“ Sky Young is the most incredible woman I have ever met, Jayce. She is smart, has such amazing dreams and ambitions and for some reason, she chose to love me. I've… I've only had flings, never a serious relationship. I wouldn't know how to love and care for her, I never did. I was always too focused elsewhere. Either with work or obsessing over my health. She deserves someone who will know how to put her first, no matter what. Sadly, I haven't learned how to do that yet. ” His hold on the desk tightened, turning his knuckles white. Jayce placed his hand on the defeated man's shoulder.
“ It's for her to decide if you know how to put her first. But you will never know unless you give yourself the opportunity to try. ” He gave a friendly squeeze to his shoulder.
“ Still! Even if we were to work out together. If my illness comes back, am I just supposed to die and leave her behind? ” His voice was subtly shaking.
“ If that were the case, I'm sure Sky would appreciate the fact she got the chance to be loved by you, even for just a moment. Hell, what are you supposed to do? Die miserable and without ever knowing love? Suit yourself. ” His tone was still understanding but a bit more harsh.
Jayce had seen just how much things were tense between Viktor and Sky for the past years. It frustrated him seeing his best friend clearly crushing on her without ever doing anything about it. He just wanted to see him happy.
“ Fine! I… will think about it. ” He surrendered.
“ Hooray! I can be the witness at your wedding. ” Jayce mocked.
“ Shut up. ” They bursted into laughter after exchanging looks.
Another day passed without much progress. Viktor was walking out of the lab, on his way home. As usual, he was the last person leaving the lab. He tried to look for Sky, since he hadn't seen her after her lunch break. She must've been busy elsewhere during the day and maybe she left without notice. Still, he would've liked to say goodbye to her.
He was walking down the street peacefully, when all of sudden, a figure passing by caught his attention. The person was walking fast and he wasn't able to see their face. However, even from behind, he could recognize this posture and way of carrying themselves anywhere. Was that Sky?
Surely not. Viktor knew the way to her house and she was heading in the opposite direction. Maybe she needed to make a stop?
Again? Today too?..
He can't shake off the feeling that something was off. Firstly, she was dressed unusually. She wore a long trench coat, like she was trying to pass incognito. Well, in any case, it was truly none of his business. Sky is a grown woman, she can do whatever she wants and go wherever she desires. He doesn't really have the right to ask about her whereabouts. Who is he to do that? It's not like he was her boyfriend anyway. He turned around, facing the path to his home. However, he couldn't take a step forward. A feeling he had tried to ignore for a while now was stirring inside him, so intensely to the point of freezing him in place.
“ Dammit! ” He cursed, as he turned his heels once more and started walking the other way, following behind his assistant.
Viktor followed Sky discreetly. He made sure to hide behind a wall everytime she looked back. She was clearly trying to make sure that she wasn't followed, which strengthened his hypothesis that what she was doing was supposed to be kept a secret. The scientist tried to convince himself that he was doing this for her safety, to make sure nothing happened to her. He would never recognize that it was an act of pure selfishness that showed that he was quite possessive over her, more than he liked to admit.
They walked for a very long time, all the way down to the undercity. Even though they are both from Zaun, he was surprised to learn that she still comes down here, even when she has an apartment in Piltover. Especially at this time, it was so late, almost night. He cautiously followed her until she stopped in front of an establishment. He hid in a hallway when she seemed to be looking around for someone. His discomfort was strong when he realized the nature of the location, it was clearly a brothel. Sky, that he naively thought so pure and innocent, was standing in front of a brothel. Once again, he scolded himself for not minding his business. He can't judge her for the services she seeks, every adult has needs after all.
All of sudden, a skinny man got out of the brothel and approached her. When the woman saw him, her eyes lit up and she smiled. The stranger seemed to be very happy to see her too. Viktor was on edge. The man was… handsome? He can't tell why it was the first thing he noticed and why it bothered him so much. When he thought he couldn't get more surprised, the stranger guided Sky inside, hand placed on the middle of her back. The last thing he heard was her lively laugh as she disappeared inside, and out of his sight.
“ What the- ” A million thoughts barged into his mind, but two in particular were louder than the others.
Firstly, it was clear that whatever kind of relationship the two had was more than friendly. He had never seen Sky laugh like that, it was almost like she was flirting. Plus, the worker had touched her without hesitation and she didn’t seem uncomfortable with his touch. Not even a little bit. Secondly, the face of the stranger seemed familiar to him. As Viktor was walking back home, shoulders dropped and staring directly at the floor, the memory came back to him. He knew this man, not by name but his distinct face was so recognizable. He had seen him before. He was the same man that had been following around Ambessa, Mel Medarda's mother and the ruler of Noxus, who came to visit Piltover. He had seen the two wandering around town many times. In an inappropriately intimate manner, he would massage her shoulders, feed her grapes and answer every single one of her demands. It was clear that it was the same person, and it was also clear that he knew exactly who to ask for more information about him.
“ I'm just making sure that he is not shady. I wouldn't want Sky hanging out with criminals or anything… ” He reassured himself.