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Viktor hated assisting the ridiculous fancy galas that they were constantly invited to. 

Often enough he ended up sending Jayce alone, after all, he was the charmer out of the two of them, and all they needed was to get the investors at those parties in their pockets, so who better than Jayce to do it? 

Viktor always went unnoticed at those events either way, even if Jayce constantly made an effort to purposefully introduce him as his partner in the very few events Viktor did attend at the start. 

It was always like that, the investors focused on Jayce because he was the charming one, the Golden boy of Piltover, the so-called ‘man of progress’. They often forgot Hextech was the work of two inventors and not just one. 

They underestimated him, of course. It wasn't a secret he was from Zaun, his accent alone gave it away, so to most people, he was either Jayce's assistant, or just some stray he'd picked up out of pity (even if it had been Viktor who made it to Piltover and the Academy on his very own). 

But that was fine, Viktor couldn't care less about what those annoying rich Piltovians could think about him. Because he knew his worth, and he wouldn't have gotten to where he was today if he stopped and brooded over every single demeaning comment made about him. 

All that mattered was that Jayce got those dumb rich investors to put their money into Hextech. 

But Jayce was also a whiny little baby who started complaining about Viktor missing the events. 

“Viktor…”

“I told you I'm not going.” Viktor interrupted him, without even looking up from the slightly busted control board they had gotten after haggling for materials in the Undercity. “ Someone has to keep working around here, either way.”

Jayce knew better than to take the jab personally, but did recognize by Viktor's tone that he was annoyed by his constant pleading. 

“It's boring without you, none of the investors even really understand what I'm talking about.” Jayce insisted anyway, rolling his chair over to hover by Viktor, noticing how he looked at him out of the corner of his eye briefly as he did. 

“Besides…” Jayce paused, going to wave the invitation in front of Viktor. “The invitation is addressed to the both of us.”

“That's merely a formality, and you know it.” Viktor said, slapping his hand away to continue working on repairing the control board. “My name isn't even properly on the invitation.”

“So you did look at it!” Jayce said, triumphantly. “And alright, maybe it doesn't say your name, but it also doesn't say my name. It says ‘esteemed creators of Hextech’ on it.”

“That is a very roundabout way to avoid inviting me specifically while still inviting you.”

Jayce gave him a look. 

“Vik…”

Viktor finally did look up from what he was working on, annoyed. 

“Will you let me work if I say yes?”

Jayce grinned, knowing he had actually won by using his best weapon: pestering Viktor so much he was effectively distracting him from work. 

“Of course,” Jayce said, and he meant it. 

Viktor gave him a glare, like he knew exactly what Jayce had just pulled, and that if he still said no, Jayce was absolutely going to make it a nightmare for him to keep working right now. 

“Fine.”

Jayce cracked a smile, trying not to look too triumphant, but judging by Viktor's glare, he was failing. For the safety of his shins not being hit with Viktor's cane, he wisely decided to say nothing else and kept his promise, moving his chair back over to his workbench and leaving Viktor alone, the next time he spoke to him being about something actually related to work. 

So Viktor had decided to make it everyone's problem that he was being required to assist this gods-awful gala.

They could do without these investors, and if they couldn't, then Jayce could just smooth talk them back into their pockets either way. 

But if it was up to Viktor, he was about to make it so he would never, ever be invited to any of these events ever again. 

If they wanted to judge him because he was from Zaun, then Viktor was going to show them just how much of a Zaunite he actually was. 

The day of the gala eventually came, and Jayce was waiting for Viktor to be ready so they could arrive together at the gala. Viktor had still seemed incredibly annoyed at the idea of being forced to go instead of staying at the lab to work, but by this point knew that if he tried to do something like pretend his leg was bothering him more than usual, Jayce would relent on letting him miss it, but not before giving Viktor those big, sad puppy eyes of his that made Viktor felt bad about lying to him.

And yes, he knew because he had, in fact, done it in the past. He almost backtracked when he saw the concern and sadness in Jayce’s eyes, but he had made his bed, so he laid on it.

Besides, he had the chance to actually manage to get himself banned from these events forever now, which was something he was not going to miss for the world . 

He wouldn't have to lie to Jayce to avoid going anymore if he wasn't even invited in the first place, right?

So, Viktor’s plan to get himself banned from galas went as follows:

-Wear the most revealing, most scandalous outfit he could. Some people had accused him of getting to where he was by sleeping around, and although Viktor was no saint and had, in fact, sneaked a guy or two into his dorm at the Academy, he was also no town bicycle. But if the people were convinced he was one, then fine, he was going to dress the part, because he was nothing if not petty.

-Wear the most makeup he could apply to himself without messing up. Men in Piltover didn’t really wear makeup, but in Zaun it was normal enough, so if they wanted to single him out for being from Zaun, he might as well make it easier by doing something that men around Zaun were known for (besides sleeping around, of course, since Piltovians seemed to think all Zaunites were just poor, whores, thiefs, and stupid).

-Be as rude and sarcastic as he could possibly be. Piltovians claimed that the people from Zaun had no manners, so he was going to behave exactly like that and show them exactly how sharp the tongue of a Zaunite could be if that’s what they wanted.

This plan was sure to get him banned from galas forever, Viktor was convinced of it. And sure, maybe he also felt at least a tiny bit bad for making Jayce clean up his mess afterwards, but he had insisted Viktor go to this gala, so if anything, he was partly to blame for this. He should have known Viktor would only agree to go under his own conditions.

So, here Jayce was now, waiting for Viktor to be ready as he idly went over some of his notes on their latest project. It was partly why he had asked Viktor to come with too, they were supposed to pitch this idea and get some investors on board, and Jayce hated having to go through that process alone, especially when he knew none of the people he was talking to into giving him money had the slightest idea of what he was talking about.

At least with Viktor there he could have someone that knew what he was talking about, plus that could follow along and cut in if he was forgetting anything. Jayce did think it was always better when the both of them could explain their ideas to someone else, they always noticed when they missed something and basically completed each other’s sentences.

“Vik, we’re going to be…” Jayce started to say, being interrupted by the sound of the door opening. He looked up, the rest of his sentence immediately dying in his throat at the sight of Viktor.

He had expected to see him as he always was when he did bother to attend some gala, with his hair as messy as always and wearing a suit that he clearly was uncomfortable with just because of how much it cost. 

Instead, he saw something he had never, ever expected to see. 

Viktor was wearing the most beautiful outfit Jayce had ever seen him in, and as he turned, Jayce could see an intricate series of golden details in the shape of little cogs that went all the way down his back and over his spine, leaving bits and pieces of his back exposed, the littlest hint of more of the moles doting Viktor’s face trailing down his back too being barely visible. His arms were mostly uncovered too, the moles creeping down his arms as well, making Jayce idly wish he could count how many of them Viktor had all over his body. 

The golden details were clearly very delicately made, and Jayce gulped as he realized the cogs had little red accents, and the piece as a whole had golden and red, the colors of the Talis House. 

There was light, flowy fabric coming down from Viktor’s shoulders, also covered in gold and red shoulder detailing, the fabric being a soft navy blue color and going down all the way to the ground, at one point getting lost in the fabric covering Viktor from the waist down, which was the same shade of blue, delicately wrapped around him and making him look like he was some sort of beautiful sea creature emerging from the deep dark sea. 

He turned again, adjusting his outfit. The fabric down his waist seemed to loop around and up the front of his torso, hanging from his right shoulder, and teasingly blocking the view just so, since half of it seemed to be completely exposed save from the golden bands that went around him like ribs.

Most of his chest and back were exposed to some degree, not to mention his waist, and what wasn’t was covered with gold, like some elegant gift to be unwrapped.

Jayce’s eyes trailed upwards to Viktor’s face, and–Oh, oh my, he was wearing makeup. A shade of blue like his outfit, delicately outlining his eyes, and his hair was even combed back slightly, a few strands falling over his forehead. Jayce almost wanted to reach out and put them back in place.

Viktor seemed to not be paying much attention to him, frowning to himself as he adjusted the fabric in the front of his chest just so, making Jayce realize that there was also a tiny, elegant cut into the front, just over his heart, showing off some more of his skin, the rich colors making it seem even more pale than it already was.

Jayce may have made a sound. He isn’t sure, but Viktor’s eyes snapped to him, his brows still furrowed, and damn, did that blue make his eyes pop even more.

“My apologies, Jayce, I was having a little trouble…” Viktor paused as he saw his face, his frown deepening. “Jayce?”

Jayce gulped, forcing himself to get back to reality. He looked away from Viktor, idly pulling on the neck of his collared shirt, feeling a bit too hot and stuffy all of a sudden, even if the first few buttons were undone.

“Vik– I– what-?” Jayce cut himself off, ignoring the heat on his cheeks and trying to form a coherent sentence. “I- you’re- is that what you’re wearing?” he finally managed to blurt out.

Viktor raised an eyebrow, apparently a little amused at Jayce’s reaction.

“Of course it is, why? Is there something wrong with my outfit?”

“No!” Jayce immediately said, turning to face him, feeling his face grow hotter at Viktor’s amused glance. Jayce cleared his throat. “No. No, it’s just, it’s a bit… Revealing, don’t you think?”

Viktor tilted his head to the side, still giving Jayce that same look.

“Ah, do you think so?”

“Where did you even get that?” Jayce asked, ignoring Viktor’s question because yes, he very much thought so. But at the same time, Viktor looked absolutely divine in that outfit, like he was some sort of deity.

“Miss Young was a great help creatively, but I mostly put it together myself, although I had to melt some of the golden accessories Miss Medarda so kindly gifted us when we started working on Hextech to repurpose them.”

“You made that?!” Jayce said, honestly impressed. He would have guessed it was a very expensive item of clothing made by some Piltovian designer, not that Viktor had made it himself with the help of Sky.

“Well, I know my way around metal.” Viktor said, still amused. “And I know how to sew. Every kid in the undercity knows how to, after all, new clothes are hard to get, you mostly have to fix yours all the time. And even with the money we make working on Hextech now, I couldn't possibly spend so much into a single outfit for tonight, so I made one instead.”

So, the amount of exposed skin was very much intentional, then. And so were the colors, the gold and red of the Talis House.

Although maybe it was merely a coincidence, Viktor did say he used the golden accessories Mel had gifted them both, and red did go well with gold, didn’t it?

Yeah, it was most likely a stylistic choice. He didn’t have to think so hard about it. They went with his cane either way, the one Jayce had made for him as an apology for breaking his last one, so that was probably it. 

“Shall we go, then?” Viktor said, making Jayce return to reality. 

“Uh—yeah, let's go, we don't want to be late.” Jayce replied, still feeling his face heat up any time he looked at Viktor for too long, noticing the enticing way the fabric of his shoulders moved as he went to start walking, or the smooth skin being shown essentially all over. 

Jayce gulped, suddenly coming to regret his decision of making Viktor come with him tonight. He would be lucky if he managed to go all night without saying something stupid to Viktor about how good he looked. 

“Jayce?” Viktor called over his shoulder, arching an eyebrow as he noticed Jayce had stayed behind. 

“Y-Yeah, coming!” Jayce hurriedly replied, going to catch up to Viktor. 

He was so screwed tonight. 

Viktor caused pretty much every single person to turn and stare as soon as they made it into the elegant place the gala was being held in. 

It made something in Jayce's stomach turn, some ugly feeling screaming at him to take a jacket and drape it over Viktor's shoulders so no one else could stare at him besides him, but Jayce buried that feeling deep inside. 

“I'll get us some drinks.” Jayce hurriedly said, needing to be away from Viktor for a minute in order to actually function normally again. 

He usually did have a glass or two of wine at these events, never enough to get properly drunk because he didn't like getting wasted in front of so many people he didn't know, but enough to at least get him through the night. Tonight, he was almost scared to have a single drop though, fearing the alcohol would loosen his tongue a bit too much and he would make a fool of himself in front of Viktor, so it was completely an excuse to get away. 

As for Viktor, he had a surprisingly high tolerance to alcohol, and could probably out-drink anyone in the gala and still be only slightly tipsy. Not that he liked being drunk either, mostly because he didn't like the feeling of losing his ability to think rationally, but a few glasses of wine would literally do nothing for him. 

So he nodded at Jayce's words, his eyes scanning the room and making eye contact with multiple people looking at him, sending them each a glare, daring them to say something or approach him. 

Of course, none did, and instead they all wilted and looked away uncomfortably, while some had the decency to look ashamed at staring so intently. 

Jayce took the chance that Viktor was busy with that to slip away, only feeling like he could properly breathe again once he was far from Viktor, snatching a couple of wine glasses from a service table and taking a moment to regain his composure. 

“That is certainly one way to make an entrance.” A melodic voice said, appearing suddenly next to Jayce. 

He turned, finding none other than Mel standing by his side, looking as radiant and gorgeous as always, in a dress that almost made her look like she was draped in liquid gold, her hair half falling down her shoulders in an elegant half up-half down style.

She looked like the most gorgeous woman in the entire gala.

And yet, the sight of her didn’t make Jayce lose his breath and the ability to think rationally like Viktor had.

He tried to ignore that thought as he focused back on Mel.

“I can’t say I expected him to wear that either.”

Mel gave him an amused glance at that, like she knew something Jayce didn’t. She approached him, placing a hand on his arm, a hint of complicity to her smile, although she still didn't let Jayce in on whatever she was thinking.

“I think this will be quite the eventful evening. I will see you later, Jayce. I think you better return to Viktor’s side already.” Mel tilted her head in Viktor’s direction, and Jayce’s heart leaped as he realized one very bold person was approaching him.

He had a bad feeling about this.

Jayce didn’t even say goodbye to Mel and simply bolted, wine in hand, and made a beeline towards Viktor.

He made it just in time, cursing to himself as he realized exactly who had approached Viktor. It was one of the investors they were supposed to convince tonight. And Viktor was looking at the man with the most disgust and disinterest possible as he tried to introduce himself.

“Ah, Mr…” Jayce started to say, but before he could, Viktor just had to go ahead and turn his back on the man and walk away.

As if this wasn’t one of the most important people they had to make a good impression on tonight.

Jayce almost choked, managing to only let out an awkward cough and try to give the man a weak smile.

“Excuse my partner, he’s just not feeling well. As a matter of fact, I better go check on him.”

Jayce didn’t wait for an answer and turned, only to realize that he had, in fact, lost Viktor already.

How had he gotten away so fast? 

And most importantly, what was he even thinking?

First he shows up wearing that , and then he goes and pulls that on one of the investors they were supposed to convince into giving them money tonight?

Just what was Viktor playing at?

Jayce feared he might be close to finding his answer when he overheard something nearby that caught his attention.

“Ah, you’re the assistant to the Talis boy, aren’t you?”

Fuck.

Jayce whirled around again, managing to spot Viktor now, surrounded by a few people.

Viktor was giving the man who asked that the most unimpressed glare ever known to man. Jayce felt genuine fear as Viktor opened his mouth to reply.

Most people assumed Viktor was the most quiet, reserved, and overall the one with manners between the two of them. Those people, clearly, did not know Viktor at all. 

Oh, Viktor only had manners when it was convenient for him to have them, he was only quiet when he was focused on a project, and even then, he would often mumble to himself.

No, Jayce was the better behaved out of the two of them, starting by the fact he was the one who did worry about proper lab regulations while Viktor loved to ignore them.

Viktor had fully mocked him once when Jayce was about to jump off a ledge, so yes, Jayce had learned to not trust that innocent aura of his, because he definitely had the tongue of a Zaunite. Hell, Jayce knew for a fact Viktor insulted people to their faces often, he just did so in Zaunite so they could not understand him, Jayce himself had only found out what he was saying not because Viktor told him, but because Jayce did his research, and Viktor did in fact have the mouth of a sailor when it came down to it.

“And I suppose you are the one who has not stepped away from the service table since the event started 30 minutes ago? Is your appetite as deep as your pockets?”

Jayce did choke this time, and he wasn’t the only one. The man coughed, taken back, and okay, maybe he was a bit round, but Jayce did not expect Viktor to drop that on him.

“I beg your pardon-?”

Another man stepped in, and by this moment, Jayce realized that most of the people around Viktor were, in fact, some of the investors they were pitching their idea to tonight. Including the man Viktor had oh-so-subtly called fat.

“That is no way to speak to someone higher up on the social ladder than you, boy.”

“With all due respect, which for the record, is none…” Viktor started. “He might be richer, but he sure is not smarter.”

Another man stepped forward, since the first two were stuck just staring at Viktor now, the expressions on their faces somewhere between disbelief and anger.

“Are you calling him dumb?”

“I am calling him stupid, yes.”

“Okay!” Jayce said, finally finding the will to move and grab Viktor by the arm, giving a strained smile to the men around, speaking to Viktor out of the corner of his mouth. “Viktor, what are you doing?”

The first man, the fat one, spoke again, letting out a huff.

“You should keep that Zaunite dog of yours on a tighter leash, boy.”

Jayce was always the first one to defend Viktor any time someone dared to imply he was something less than his lab partner, but this time, Viktor himself beat him to it.

“I could be reborn into an actual dog and still be smarter than all of you put together.”

“So Viktor and I have this idea to propose to you!” Jayce said, almost hysterically, desperately trying to change the subject. “You see, we have plans of using Hextech in order to power a…”

“Don’t bother, Jayce.” Viktor cut him off. “They are as smart as a pile of rocks, they will not understand a single thing you say. Might as well just ask these idiots whether they want to give us money or not and call it a day.” Viktor said, throwing in the insult in Zaunite just for good measure.

Jayce was sure he was hallucinating now, not only because of Viktor’s attitude, but because it actually should be a crime for him to talk to people like that when dressed in that outfit, it was actually killing him.

“So?” Viktor said, a bit impatiently. “Will you?”

He received no answer from any of the men, who seemed stunned into silence, and after a moment Viktor just huffed and turned around, the fabric of his outfit fluttering beautifully behind him.

“Let’s go, Jayce.” Viktor called over his shoulder. “Let’s find someone more worthy of our time.”

Jayce numbly went to follow after Viktor, mouth hanging open slightly, barely noticing the looks and whispers that followed them.

Inexplicably, more and more people approached Viktor and him after that, and Viktor just continued to be absolutely rude and out-of-pocket with his insults.

In the span of 15 minutes, he somehow:

-Insulted about 6 different people on their outfits, saying out loud how “Pilties have the worst sense of fashion, you could sell them animal guts at a ridiculous price and they would wear it if you call it a scarf”.

-Actually insulted someone to their face in Zaunite. Was asked to repeat it, he did, this time in Piltover’s common language. The person was another one in the list of possible investors to impress tonight.

-Call more people stupid to their faces, proceeded to list the basic components to consider when trying to get a machine to work to prove he was smarter.

-Call any and all possible investors a variation of “imbecile, idiot, deep-pocketed and small-brained asshole”. 

-Was called a night worker because of his outfit, replied by saying “why, yes, your wife is my number one client, Mr.”, which made Jayce choke again and said wife blush furiously and giggle a little at Viktor. 

(That did not, in fact, make Jayce's stomach churn uncomfortably again). 

Jayce made eye contact with Mel across the room, and she still looked incredibly amused by the situation. Somehow, that was Jayce's breaking point, and he took a breath, grabbing Viktor by the arm and dragging him out of the place. 

Viktor went willingly, looking a bit too smug. 

“We're leaving.” Jayce declared, leaving no room for argument, although he sort of doubted there would be an argument. 

“Mm, it took longer than expected.” Viktor replied, amused. “I thought you would get me out of there as soon as I started insulting the people who could found our next project.”

Jayce turned to face him as soon as they were outside, his tone almost hysterical. 

“I would have, had I not been completely in disbelief about you. What was all that!?”

Viktor shrugged, still looking a bit too amused for Jayce's poor mental state. He offered no other reply, which made Jayce feel even worse. And that's when it clicked. 

“Viktor,” Jayce said, his tone both disbelieving and hysterical. “Viktor, please tell me you didn't do this just to make sure you're never invited to these galas again.”

“Whatever gave you that impression?” Viktor replied, feigning innocence, and that was all the reply Jayce needed. 

“Viktor!” Jayce said, because he could not believe him—no, actually, he definitely could. 

“Please, we both know you can charm those rich Pilties back into our pockets.” Viktor replied, already walking away from the place, seemingly ready to go home. That outfit might look good on him, but it was certainly uncomfortable, and Viktor couldn't wait to get out of it. 

“That's not—” Jayce took a breath, taking a moment before he followed Viktor. “If you didn't want to come, you could have just said so.”

“You would have kept insisting.” Viktor replied. “Besides, this way I am sure to stop receiving invitations to these things.”

Jayce was stuck between thinking Viktor was a genius, and somehow wanting to strangle him. He decided to take a breath again. 

And the way Viktor looked equally as ethereal under the streetlights as he did under the well-lit ballroom did not contribute to make Jayce any less frustrated with him, of course not. 

The next day, there were a few letters waiting for them as they arrived at their lab to start working. 

Viktor paid no mind to them, letting Jayce to deal with it as he went straight to his workbench, being away from work for a whole evening already being way too long for him. 

Jayce let him work as he went over the letters, fully expecting to see at least a few angry ones saying they would never work with them thanks to the stunt Viktor pulled last night, but as he skimmed through them, Jayce felt that same disbelieving hysteria grip him. 

Viktor jumped a bit as Jayce suddenly dropped a bunch of papers on his workbench, frowning and looking up at him, thrown back for a moment once he saw the look on Jayce's eyes. 

“Half are invitations to galas next month,” Jayce explained, a vacant look in his eyes. “With your name explicitly on them. The other half are from some of the investors from last night, saying they will be delighted to help us with our next project.”

Viktor stared at him.

“What?”

“You're personally invited to every gala and party for the next few months,” Jayce said, that same look still in his eyes. “And you somehow got us investors for this project.”

Viktor stared at him for a long moment before he snatched some of the papers off the workbench, examining them for himself. 

He skimmed through them, realizing that yes, while often the invitations they got were addressed to the both of them, yet somehow made it look like Viktor was invited more as a formality than anything, these ones were 100% addressed to Viktor directly. 

That, and the letters did also state they would be glad to provide some funds for them for their next step in Hextech. And Viktor was almost sure one of the letters was from the man he had ridiculed by calling fat and stupid. 

What even was wrong with rich people? Did they get off of being insulted by someone so down in the social ladder compared to them? 

How had his plan managed to backfire like this? He was supposed to be banned from these events, not get invited to every single one now. 

Viktor threw the papers down back in front of him, a mix of disbelief and annoyance on his face.

“I will never understand Pilties.”

By the sound Jayce made, he agreed. 

Viktor proceeded to ignore the letters after that, deciding he wasn't going to any more of those pompous events, personal invitation or not. He was no dancing monkey to entertain the Pilties with his insults and attitude, which they apparently found oddly entertaining. 

Jayce still looked to be in disbelief, but in the end, that stunt did get them the funds they needed, so he would let it slide for now. 

They slipped back into work after that, deciding tonight would be one of those nights where they would stay in the lab after hours. 

It was Jayce's turn for a coffee run (it actually always was, since he knew how Viktor got once you interrupted him when he was close to a breakthrough) and he left the lab hurriedly, knowing the café down the block would be closing soon. 

He made it just in time, the woman who ran the place recognizing him and turning to get his order ready without him even asking. He sent her a grateful look and idly waited for his coffee while looking around, thinking about the prototype Viktor and him were working on tonight.

That is when a very interesting piece of conversation drew his attention, coming from two ladies sipping on their own coffees.

“... I heard he is a very handsome young man. Quite rebellious too, which is refreshing. He was wearing the most outrageous outfit, too, and had this very appealing accent.”

“Oh, how I regret not accompanying my brother last night.” The other woman lamented. “This Zaunite lad sounds like quite a catch.”

Jayce blinked. They couldn’t possibly be talking about Viktor, could they?

He discreetly leaned in closer to hear more, pretending to be leaning against the bar as he waited for his order.

“I hear he’s single! I’m telling you, if I wasn’t married…” the first woman sighed wistfully, causing the other one to playfully gasp.

“Dalia!.. But I will say, he sounds like such a handsome man. A smart one, too. A smart, handsome Zaunie, can you believe it? That is a rare find!”

“If he is from Zaun, do you think he offers that kind of services…? You know, since most Zaunites do.” 

The other woman gasped at that, a bit scandalized again.

“Are you suggesting you would like to hire him if he does?”

“Please, every Piltovian man does it with the Zaunite women. Why can’t I?”

Both women giggled at that, and Jayce took his coffees and ran out of there. 

Why , in the gods' names, were rich Piltovian ladies gossiping about Viktor? Worse, why were they implying they hoped he offered sexual services so they could hire him?

For his own mental health, and Viktor not hitting him over the head for thinking he was joking, he decided to forget it and not mention it to him. 

Surely, it would soon blow over. 

…

Except it didn’t. If anything, it gradually got worse and worse. Viktor became a celebrity of sorts, and the worst part is, he himself did not realize it, seeing as he spent most of his time inside the lab.

Jayce himself could barely go anywhere now without hearing whispers of the handsome Zaunite boy that went to that gala. Hell, Jayce was starting to be surprised there weren’t people trying to hang portraits of Viktor all over the city, like they did to him when he first introduced Hextech and became Piltover’s ‘man of progress’.

It pissed Jayce off a little, to be honest. How Viktor was just ‘the handsome Zaunite’, or ‘the smart Zaunite boy’. Most didn’t even know his name, or could not be bothered to use it if they did. They objectified him more often than not, boiled him down to some twisted form of a sex symbol from Zaun to scratch that itch most Piltovians had to screw a good-looking, smart Zaunite. It had happened a little to Jayce too, once the people of Piltover found out he was originally from Ixtal, and some rich folks did find that incredibly appealing, even if Jayce himself could not even remember much of his place of origin beyond a few phrases in Ixtali and a few traditions that his mother had made sure he grew up with. 

But for some reason, it pissed him off more when they did it to Viktor.

He had not assisted another party ever since that last fateful one, partly because he did fear he would end up punching the first person he heard making disgusting comments on Viktor, but that did not mean they stopped getting invitations to more and more parties, now properly addressed to the both of them instead of using some roundabout way to invite Jayce and make it look like they wanted Viktor there too when they didn’t.

Viktor was happy to ignore them too, deciding he was done with those events, but sadly, Mel had other ideas.

“There will be important people at this party. Important enough that their opinion could sway the final decision on whether Hexgates and Hextech as whole will expand across Runeterra.”

Viktor and Jayce exchanged looks. Viktor arched an eyebrow at him, clearly saying ‘you deal with it’. Jayce sighed but complied, seeing as he was the one out of the two of them with the closest relationship to Mel, meaning he could speak his mind somewhat freely. 

“With all due respect, isn't that more of a political endeavor?”

“It is, which is why I'm going.” Mel agreed. “But I cannot sell something if the people I'm offering it to don't even know what it does. I need you there for that part.” Mel paused, turning to look at Viktor, who was busy fiddling with some cables on a metal board. “Both of you.”

Viktor paused at that, looking up. Jayce almost wanted to laugh at his expression. 

“... I really don't think my presence there will be necessary, Miss Medarda. Jayce is perfectly capable of-”

“Actually, I agree.” Jayce cut him off, resisting the urge to smirk at the look Viktor sent him. 

He had been mortified as he followed Viktor along all night with that stunt he pulled, and now it seemed he was a celebrity among the Piltovian high society and he didn't even know it. So call it his revenge for making him miserable that night: forcing him to go to another event he hated, and potentially learn how much of a celebrity among rich topsider women he was now. 

“Do you?” Viktor said, and by his tone, Jayce knew he had made a mistake. Viktor was 100% going to make him regret this. He pushed his chair back, going to stand, grabbing his cane from where it was leaning against his workbench. 

“In that case, I better go find an appropriate outfit, then.”

Jayce knew he had dug his own grave the moment Viktor left. 

Jayce did, in fact, dig his own grave. At least Viktor wasn't wearing an outfit as outrageously revealing and extravagant now, but he had stuck with the open back theme, and it honestly drove Jayce a little crazy. 

(He wanted to run his hands through that smooth back, count the beauty marks on it and mark it up by himself, put scratches all over it-... Okay, he was getting distracted). 

This time, he was wearing a lose white shirt, but the back was open, and a few delicate chains and jewels draped over the opening, in a gold color again. The shirt was tucked into a red corset, lined with some of those same chains and dipping with some of those same jewels. Again, mainly he was in red and gold, Jayce's House colors, which made him a little dizzy, but he still decided it was probably a coincidence. 

His eyes were lined with red this time, contrasting beautifully with his melted gold orbs, and although he looked a bit more dressed down than last time, Jayce still thought he looked breathtakingly gorgeous, and he still had to look away to compose himself after a moment when he first laid eyes on Viktor. 

Viktor looked a bit too smug again, which definitely gave Jayce a little bit of a bad feeling, but again he had made his bed, so he might as well lay in it. 

At least he'd get a kick out of Viktor probably being swarmed by rich ladies the moment he stepped into the party. 

(It was a 50/50 between thinking it was hilarious, and having his stomach churn when he thought about them probably getting too touchy with Viktor). 

That's what motivated him to try and look alive as they entered the stuffed gala, already feeling his energy getting drained. And he hadn't even talked to any uptight rich folks yet. 

Mel approached them almost as soon as they arrived, a couple of men already behind her. 

“Please don't do anything crazy tonight,” Jayce hurriedly said to Viktor, but by Viktor's smirk, he was definitely up to something. Then Mel approached them, introducing them to some politician or other, Jayce wasn't really listening, too focused watching Viktor out of the corner of his eye. 

And as soon as the men left, he was, in fact, almost swarmed by a bunch of rich Piltovian ladies. 

Viktor's face as it happened almost made Jayce burst out laughing, his eyes going wide and blinking a couple of times, as if trying to gauge whether what he was seeing was actually real or not. 

Some of the women looked quite young, possibly around their 20’s, but some others definitely looked like they had a husband somewhere around the gala waiting for them. 

Those were the boldest ones, one of them stepping forward and placing her hand on Viktor's shoulder. Viktor looked ready to bolt, but didn't move, possibly because Jayce was standing behind him, blocking his escape route. 

“There you are! We have all been wondering where you've been, you have missed quite a few galas, dear.”

Viktor blinked, again taken back by the woman's boldness, acting like she knew him. 

“I…” 

“Your name is Viktor, right?” One of the younger ones said, a pretty brunette with blue eyes. “My sister told me about you, said you were quite handsome, but her description might not do you any justice.”

“Will you dance with me?” Another one asked, a bright eyed blonde woman. Some of the other women around frowned, clearly mad she stole the opportunity of having the first dance with him. 

“Me next!” One of the young women said. 

“And me after!”

“Girls!” The first woman cut in. “Behave like ladies.” A murmur of apologies was heard, and the woman continued, turning back to Viktor. “You must dance with my daughter, too. I'll fetch her immediately!”

Viktor took a step back, almost stepping on Jayce's foot. He definitely looked ready to run off now. Clearly, he wasn't expecting this, and Jayce was at least a little glad he hadn't warned him about it, if anything because his reaction to finding out he was somehow the heartthrob of Piltover now was too hilarious. 

“I… beg your pardon?” Viktor finally managed to say, and apparently the women found that hilarious, some giggling. One elbowed another one, mumbling something about Viktor's accent. 

“Oh, of course every girl here wants to dance with you, dear.” another one of the older ones said, with a dress in a hideous shade of green that made her look like a lizard. “You are, after all, the most coveted bachelor in Piltover.”

From where he was standing, Jayce could see Viktor's eyebrow twitch slightly, and that was the thing that did make him let out a small laugh, but he quickly covered his mouth and looked away. 

And perhaps it was that laugh that sealed his fate too, because one moment, the cogs in Viktor's brain were turning, and the next, he was talking, that devilish glint to his eyes.

“Is that so?” Viktor took another step back, this time deliberately stepping on Jayce's foot, shoving him slightly and grabbing his arm with a vice grip, ensuring he couldn't get away. “Ah, I'm truly sorry, then, but there's been a misunderstanding. I'm not single, Jayce here is my partner. ”

Viktor put special emphasis on the last word, a word Jayce had used to refer to Viktor many times before, but clearly, he didn't mean it in a ‘lab-partner’ kind of way now, more so in a ‘romantic-partner’ one. 

(In the way Jayce had wanted to use it for a while now). 

A wave of disappointment and defeat went over the small crowd gathered around them. 

“Wh-...” Jayce started to say, but the first woman from before cut him off. 

“I see. We apologize, then, we didn't know you two were a couple.”

“That's right.” Viktor said, grinning a little too much as he used his hand to pat Jayce's chest. “We've been together for years now. We're not exactly all that vocal about it, though. We like our privacy, don't we, Jayce?”

Viktor nudged him with his elbow, and Jayce almost choked as he went to reply. 

“Uh-yes, we-we have-”

“Now, if you excuse us.” Viktor said, pulling Jayce away. “My partner owes me a dance.”

Viktor dragged Jayce away, but instead of actually dragging him off somewhere out of view of the small group, he did pull him over to the dance floor, making Jayce almost choke again. 

He sputtered, although not really trying to break free of Viktor's grasp. 

“Viktor, what-”

Viktor turned to look at him, an amused glint to his eyes. Oh, so this was his revenge on Jayce for not telling him before about his apparent fame now, and for agreeing with Mel when she said he should come tonight too. 

Still, he didn't back down, hooking his cane on his elbow as he went to grasp one of Jayce's hands firmly, his other hand taking Jayce's and guiding it to rest at his hip. Jayce was suddenly hyper aware of how close his hand was to the slit on the back of Viktor's shirt. 

Viktor placed his other hand on Jayce's shoulder, and Jayce was also suddenly aware of how right it felt to have Viktor's hand clasped with his, how warm his other hand felt on his shoulder, even through the fabric of Jayce's shirt. 

Viktor was never much of a dancer, but he was nothing if not stubborn, and he was determined to make Jayce as mortified as he could, so he was committed to this dance too, starting to sway a bit from side to side to the soft music playing. 

Jayce had no choice but to follow suit. 

“Why would you tell them that?” Jayce asked, sure his face was at least a little pink, if Viktor's amused face was anything to go by. 

“Can't you do your partner a favor, Jayce? I would be stuck dancing with those women all night otherwise.” Viktor replied, feigning innocence. 

Jayce gave him a half-hearted glare. 

“I hate you.”

“You clearly don't if you're dancing with me, partner.” Viktor replied, which made Jayce huff. 

They did, however, keep swaying to the music in silence for a moment. 

It was Jayce who eventually broke the silence. 

“I am glad you came, you know. These events are always more fun with you here, it's why I always insisted you come, I have a way better time when you're here to gossip about rich people with me.”

Viktor did chuckle lightly at that, the sound rich with how close Jayce was to Viktor now. 

“These events are not my thing, you know that. You always looked more comfortable in them than me, so I didn't feel as bad letting you deal with the rich investors.”

“Please, I hate them too. It's not my thing either. The House Talis is not close to being a wealthy one, I feel as out of place as you here.”

“I thought you at least enjoyed Miss Medarda’s company at these events.”

“Well, it is better than the alternatives…” Jayce paused as they glided across the room, not noticing a few stares on them. They were focused on each other, the ambient growing a bit more intimate under the soft music and the warm lights. Maybe it was that that gave Jayce the courage to say his next words. “I don't think her company can compare to yours, though.”

Viktor stared at him for a moment, and Jayce hoped he got the message hidden between the lines: he valued each moment spent by Viktor, even if it was while they were working, a lot more than he valued his moments with Mel. 

They swayed closer to the center of the dance floor as Viktor considered him, a look Jayce couldn't quite decipher crossing his eyes. His cane swayed a little from where it was hanging from Viktor's elbow, almost knocking on his knee. 

Finally, he spoke, deciding to change the subject for now. 

“I suppose you were aware of my newfound… Popularity?”

“You're the new heartthrob of Piltover, congratulations.”

Viktor huffed at his reply, a little amused. 

“I thought that title was yours, though?”

“Not anymore. Come on, Vik, don't tell me that having all those ladies fawning over you did not stroke your ego even a little bit.” Jayce teased. 

Once again, Viktor gave him an odd look, considering him for a moment before replying. 

“Maybe. But none of them are who my sight is set on, either way.”

Jayce was about to ask what he meant when Mel approached them, a knowing look in her eyes.

“Gentlemen, I hope I'm not interrupting.” Jayce wanted to say she was, but bit his tongue, knowing it would be out of line. “I have some people I need to introduce you to.”

She led them away from the dance floor, and much to Jayce's surprise, Viktor did behave this time and didn't insult any of the people Mel wanted to introduce to them. 

Actually, he spent most of the night by Jayce’s side, idly adding on things about their research but letting Jayce do most of the talking to all those rich people that probably didn't even understand what they were talking about, but Mel seemed pleased that they were doing their part. 

She told Jayce as much as she walked away with the last bunch of important people she had them talk to, going to do her part now.

And in the brief moments that it took for her to do that, Viktor was somehow gone already. 

Jayce immediately looked around, spotting his silhouette slipping outside. 

For someone who used a cane to move around, he could both be incredibly sneaky sometimes and move incredibly fast.

By the time Jayce crossed the packed room and excited through the same door he saw him leave through, Viktor was again nowhere to be seen.

The party was being hosted at some extravagant place with a big garden, so after a bit of wandering around though the garden, he finally found Viktor, sitting down at one of the benches littering the garden, his cane on his lap as Viktor idly fidgeted with the handle, looking up at the sky with a bit of a pensive look on his eyes.

His back was towards Jayce, and again he had to focus and avert his gaze from the way the chains and gems down Viktor’s back glinted with the dim light and contrasted with his pale skin.

“Hey,” Jayce greeted softly, approaching him. Viktor’s eyes snapped to him. “You disappeared. Everything alright?”

Viktor gestured for him to sit, and Jayce complied, going to sit next to him.

“I needed a break.” Viktor replied finally, eyes back to looking up. “I was getting a headache there. Plus, too many eyes on us.”

“Oh, so now you care about being the center of attention?” Jayce teased, turning to look at the night sky too. This part of the garden wasn’t as well lit, but they still weren’t in complete darkness. 

Viktor rolled his eyes at that.

“I do when it is all those ladies from before that kept looking at us from afar and gossiping.”

“Did they?” Jayce said, tilting his head. “I didn’t notice.”

Viktor hummed. “Of course not, you were too busy being the ‘Man of Progress’ in front of those people.”

Jayce playfully knocked his shoulder against Viktor’s, not really offended by the friendly jab.

“Do you think they understood anything about what I said?”

“I think you would have better luck trying to get a dog to understand how a circuit board works.”

Jayce barked out a laugh at that, turning to see Viktor again.

“Well, I think we did enough for tonight, Mel looked like she was willing to let us off the hook for now. We should get out of here before she changes her mind.”

Jayce stood up, turning and offering his hand to Viktor to help him get up. He had the tendency to do that, and usually, Viktor either ignored him or slapped his hand away half-heartedly, and after years of the same routine, Jayce almost expected either of those outcomes, but still always offered either way.

Not because he thought Viktor needed help, but because he genuinely always felt the need to do things for Viktor, just because he could and he wanted to, and never because he thought Viktor couldn’t do them himself.

So this time, he expected Viktor’s usual reaction. Instead, Viktor looked at him, and after a moment, he accepted the offered hand. Jayce was surprised, but did help him get up, Viktor letting go of his hand after a moment once he was standing.

They said nothing else as they walked away from the place, both content to walk in silence.

Jayce and Viktor didn’t bother much with the newspapers nowadays. Viktor in general never did read it much, except for he parts about scientific advancements and discoveries, and Jayce had stopped wanting to read it as much once he became Piltover’s golden boy, and every other week the papers had a new story on him. Someone who claimed to date him or sleep with him in the past, someone else who claimed to date him now, or some other baseless gossip about him. 

So this time, it had been Sky who walked in with a newspaper, looking every bit like she was resisting the urge to laugh, and wordlessly handed it to Jayce.

He raised an eyebrow at her, but took it, only to do a double take at the title on the front page:

‘Jayce Talis, the Man of Progress, romancing his own business partner?’

He groaned, rubbing a hand down his face. It hadn’t even been 24 hours since Viktor made up that lie to get himself out of having to dance all night with a bunch of rich women, and it somehow made it to the papers. Why wasn't he surprised?

(Deep down, he really wished that title could be the truth).

Jayce made his way over to Viktor’s workbench and let himself fall on the stool next to it, putting down the paper in front of him. He tapped it to get Viktor’s attention, who as always was working on something. 

“You doomed us.” Jayce commented flatly.

Viktor looked over, goggles over his eyes, and didn’t even bother pushing them up as he leaned over, his eyebrows raising as he read the title before he went to sit straight again.

He shrugged, going back to what he was doing. 

“It’s not that bad.”

Jayce gave him a flat look.

“All of Piltover will think we are together by the end of the day. I don’t think we’ll be able to leave the lab at all today without hearing people talk about us.”

Viktor shrugged again.

“Good, I didn’t plan on leaving until late today.”

Jayce groaned again, but knew that was as much of a reaction about this as he was going to get out of Viktor now, so he begrudgingly got up to get back to work too. 

By the evening, he had forgotten all about that, too busy working with Viktor. It was one of those days where they got a little too into their theories and spent hours just bouncing around ideas, toying with prototypes, and sketching diagrams and equations on the blackboard they had at the back of the lab. 

So Jayce, very stupidly, left on a coffee run again once he realized they would be staying late at the lab today, completely forgetting all about the newspaper from earlier. 

That was his mistake. 

First, it was actually the nice lady who ran the café. She giggled as she saw him, but said nothing and turned to get his order ready. One with insane amounts of sugar, as that was the only way Viktor had his coffee, hating the taste of straight black coffee (he actually didn't like coffee in general, only had it when he needed to stay awake, but he much rather have tea instead), while Jayce's own coffee only had a regular amount of sugar on it. 

And, of course, it was there that he happened to hear his own name thrown around. 

“... About that handsome scientist, Jayce Talis?” one girl was saying. “It's a shame he's taken.”

“Did you see his husband, though? I don't know which one I'm more jealous of. They looked so cute together, though. My aunt said she saw them holding hands in the garden before they left, and everyone saw them dancing-”

Jayce stopped listening then, his brain shutting off for a moment and heat rising to his cheeks. 

Husband. Husband. They didn't assume him and Viktor were dating, for whatever damn reason, the public was assuming they were married. 

Viktor did only say ‘partner’ when referring to Jayce, he hadn't said boyfriend or husband, and said they had been together for years, but he supposed he had left it up for interpretation enough to cause that to happen. 

Still, husband? They jumped straight to that? 

Did they even act like they were married? 

Sure, maybe he happened to know a ridiculous amount of things about Viktor that no one else really knew, but did that warrant them jumping straight to the ‘husband’ title? 

Jayce was mortified. And a little too heated after turning the words ‘husband’ and ‘Viktor’ together on his head for long enough to feel like his heart was about to jump out of his chest. 

He took his order once it was ready and bolted out of there, hyper aware of the looks and whispers that followed him as he made his way back to the lab. 

He managed to keep his mouth shut about it for exactly an hour, once Viktor got fed up with him being clearly distracted and messing up simple things. 

“What is the matter with you?” Viktor finally asked, frowning. 

“Everyone thinks we're married,” Jayce blurted out. 

Viktor stared at him, processing the words Jayce had said. 

“... Okay?”

Jayce waited for a beat, but Viktor didn't say anything else, so Jayce did.

“I just—what even gave everyone that idea? You just said partner, you didn't say husband, why would they think that?”

Viktor gave him a flat look. 

“I didn't know that people thinking you are married to me would be so bad for you.” He dryly said. There was a hint of something else in his tone, something Jayce couldn't quite make out. “If that's everything, can we get back to work? I think I figured out why the power won't-”

“I don't mind that people think I'm married to you, Vik.” Jayce cut him off, unable to let him finish once he identified what that had been in Viktor's voice. It was a bit of self-deprecation. “I thought you would mind, though.”

Well, that wasn't totally true. He didn't totally mind that people thought that, but it didn't mean that the idea didn't make his head spin and made him feel all tingly because he kind of wanted it to be true one day. 

Now it was Viktor the one who looked confused at him, raising an eyebrow. 

“... Why?”

“Well, you…” Jayce paused, not knowing how to continue his sentence without also sounding self-deprecating. ‘Because you could do better than me’?, ‘Because of course you're not interested’? 

A brief silence took over them, and Viktor put down the piece of chalk he was holding, sure he wasn't going to be returning to work anytime soon now. 

Neither seemed to know what to say now, stuck in a silence that felt more awkward than usual, until Viktor broke the silence. 

“I don't mind if people think I'm married to you either, Jayce.”

Jayce opened his mouth to reply, but found he didn't really know what to say to that. 

Viktor looked at him for a moment, apparently mulling something over, and then he took a step towards Jayce. 

Jayce always thought Viktor was fearless. It was one of the things he admired about him, how he seemed to laugh in the face of danger sometimes, uncaring if an experiment blew up in his face, because it was for the sake of progress in the end, and there was something to be learned even after an experiment failed. 

Some would call that reckless and idiotic, but Jayce thought it was brave, mainly because Viktor wasn't afraid to fail either. He expected it, even. But never let that set him back for long. 

Viktor was fearless because he had climbed his way up to Piltover on his own, proved to everyone who doubted him wrong, and did it all on his own. 

He was fearless because he insulted possible rich investors to their faces, uncaring of the consequences. 

He was fearless because it was him the one who took the risk, taking another step forward, and then another, until he was crowding Jayce's space. 

Jayce felt his heartbeat on his throat, but didn't pull away, just looking at Viktor's eyes, as vibrant as the gold he had previously draped himself with, making him look like a god. 

Viktor was fearless because it was him the one who kissed him first. 

Jayce felt like he was dreaming. 

Viktor's kiss was light, and a bit hesitant. It was over before Jayce could react, but by the time he did, Viktor was pulling away already. Jayce immediately chased after him, this time going to be the one to kiss him. 

This kiss was less experimental, it was more heat and more repressed emotions they had been dealing with for years. It was yearning, it was happiness that it was finally happening. 

It was everything Jayce ever dreamed kissing Viktor would feel like. 

Again, he pulled away first. Jayce tried to chase after him again, but Viktor placed his hand on Jayce's chest, stopping him softly. 

He had this amused look on his face, and a light pink was dusting his cheeks, plus he looked a bit out of breath. 

He looked stunning. 

“I don't know about husband… yet,” Jayce perked up slightly at that. “But I think I could do with calling you partner in more ways than just coworkers for now.”

“What about ‘boyfriend’?” Jayce asked, and it made Viktor laugh a little at how eager he sounded. Jayce felt like he was addicted to that sound. 

“I suppose that could do too, yes.”

This time, they both leaned in at the same time for a kiss. They did stay up late in the lab that night, but they definitely did not get any more work done. 

The next time that they got invited to one of those fancy galas, they showed up hand in hand, Viktor in an exquisite outfit in red and gold again, his back exposed, and now Jayce knew he had the privilege of leaving marks all over that back once the night was over. 

They didn't give much thought to the people all staring and whispering either, but from what little Jayce did hear, apparently they were the hottest couple in Piltover now, and it was all the papers could talk about. 

Later that night, Viktor huffed out a laugh as he heard that, and decided to shut up Jayce by pulling him in for a kiss by the collar of his shirt. 

Jayce, as always, went willingly.