Work Text:
1
Viktor was staring at the blackboard for what seemed like an eternity. His hands were dirty with chalk, and his patience was running low. If they could pin down the formula they need, everything would fall into place, but no matter how many times he checked and rerun his numbers, it would be off by just a tiny bit.
He was about to start all over again when he heard the door loudly open and shut. Startled, he turned around only to find a shirtless Jayce, sweating and frantic. “Viktor! I was down in the forge, and I think I know what our problem is. We’ve been thinking about this all wrong!”
Viktor thinks that Jayce continued talking, but he can’t be quite sure. The sight in front of him was definitely something to… behold. Jayce, shirt completely forgotten and talking animatedly. A shine is visible from the exertion he built up working in the forge, highlighting even more his toned body. Seeing him like this seemed to open new opportunities in Viktor’s mind. It wasn’t a surprise to anyone that Jayce was attractive, but he really hadn’t taken the time to realize how much. All of a sudden, the only thing his mind could focus on was walking over and touching him, kissing him, licking him…
“Vik? Are you alright?”
“Huh?” Snapping out of it, he looks back to Jayce, who is starting to worry. He can feel the flush that's coloring his face and quickly turns around to try to hide it as much as possible. The sleepless nights definitely aren’t helping his wandering mind.
“Sorry, I... dose off a bit there, can you repeat that, Jayce?” He tries to focus on the blackboard and the blackboard only, starting to copy what Jayce is telling him. His body is already working automatically, but he is so tempted to turn around.
2
Piltover has been suffering from a heat wave this week, and warmth has been suffocating. Already the fifth day in a row of sky-high temperatures, the air conditioning units have begun to fail. Viktor is surprised that even he is affected, usually running cold and the heat being a welcoming comfort. Jayce, on the other hand, could be described as a walking furnace. During summer, it’s normal to find him whining more than usual and with a handkerchief always on hand to wipe the sweat off his brow.
The day had been the same suffocating warm as the past few days, but it is starting to become more irritating the longer the heat wave lasts. Either way, Professor Heimerdinger had dropped by yesterday and left a new set of issues that needed fixing, so this heat was the least of his worries until he opened the lab doors.
Jayce was sitting in his chair, riffling through some of his notes, his feet propped on his desk, and was shirtless.
Shirtless, again, in the lab.
Viktor stood in the doorway for a moment, getting his bearings in order, trying not to stare too much. He composed himself and calmly walked in, uttering a passing hello to Jayce, not looking at him. Everything was going perfectly fine until Jayce stood up from his chair and grabbed Viktor’s shoulder to stop him. “Hey, I wanted you to take a look at this, couldn't this help us stabilize the hexcrystals much better?”
Jayce was acting as if nothing was out of the ordinary. Viktor was staring firmly at where his hand was making contact with his arm. He loses all sense of control over his eyes, and they continue to stare, traveling up Jayce’s muscular arm, then to his shoulders and neck, admiring the soft glow Jayce seemed to emanate. “I wasn’t aware of the new fashion trends in Piltover.”
He runs his eyes through Jayce’s toned chest and abdomen, so firm and so close, he could easily reach out and feel for himself. He finally looks at Jayce in the eyes, who looks confused but seems to connect the dots the moment they lock eyes. He laughs, and a small flush begins to form on his cheeks. “Oh! Yeah, it’s way to hot, V. I don’t know how you’re coping with so many layers, I can’t even think through the heat.”
Viktor was wearing a lightweight button-down shirt and a simple vest and was perfectly comfortable. He sighs, aware of Jayce’s dramatism with things that bother him. “Let me look at this.” He grabs the notes Jayce was holding on his other hand and goes to turn when Jayce pipes up again.
“Hope it doesn’t bother you.” He says it as a question, unsure of himself.
"No, it’s fine. I’ll just have to make an effort to focus on my work.” He turns around and sits at his desk, already lost in his notes. Jayce takes a moment to sit back down again, left standing, trying to understand what Viktor just said.
3
A whistle from pressure being released like a tea kettle is heard before a loud, booming sound fills the quiet of the lab. Jayce falls to the floor, losing his balance along with various other tools and objects that clatter on the ground. Viktor quickly goes to Jayce, who is soiled with soot, his face dirty with ash, and his shirt completely ruined. “Jayce! What happened?”
“I was tinkering with the prototype for the hammer, thought I could increase some of its pressure so it works faster, but, uh, it backfired.”
Viktor assesses his desk. The head of the prototype hammer is still there but is slightly smoking, a small flame burning at the center of it. He helps Jayce up, who is still a bit dazed. “Are you alright?”
Examining him closer, he can see that his eyebrows are slightly singed, but apart from that, he doesn’t seem to have any injuries. “I’m ok, V. I better get cleaned up, I’ll probably have to throw this shirt away.” He chuckles and walks towards the bathroom.
Viktor inspects the prototype, already cool but still smoking. There’s not much to do to it, even less not knowing exactly what Jayce was changing. He opens a window to let the smoke out before the alarms start blaring and starts picking up the tools that fell along with Jayce. “That’s what I miscalculated!” Viktor looks up from the floor and sees Jayce running from the bathroom towards his desk and starts to write things down in his notebook.
His face is slightly less ashy, and his shirt is missing. This time, Jayce’s back is towards him. The muscles flex and tense as he looks for his notes and blueprints. He gives himself a minute to admire what’s in front of him. He can imagine easily how it would be to have him in a different situation. Face down on a bed, and how he would touch everywhere if he could. Simply impeccable, beautiful.
“Why do you seem to have the brightest ideas when you are without clothes?”
“Huh?” Jayce is broken out of his trance by Viktor’s question and turns around. Viktor chuckles. He walks closer to Jayce’s desk to leave the fallen things. As Viktor walks away, he pats his chest, not being able to control his impulse to touch, so he lets himself have this brief moment. Firm and solid and so warm, if only he could stay and do so much more. Viktor continues walking and sits back down at his desk, crisis averted.
4
Viktor was going down the steps of the Talis forge. He barely came here, only having passed quickly a few times. But Jayce hasn’t come into the lab yet today, and although he wouldn’t want to bother him, Viktor needs his input to continue.
The heat rises as he nears the furnace, where he can hear a hammer being hit against metal. A steady rhythm that fills his ears and blocks out any other sound. The smell of smoke and fire engulfs him and becomes ever more powerful the closer he is. When he turns and walks inside, what he sees makes him stop abruptly.
Jayce shirtless and with his work pants on, hitting metal against an anvil mercilessly. He can’t say he didn’t expect it, with Jayce’s track record against the heat, he guessed that he wouldn’t work with a shirt on, but seeing it once again in person knocks the air out of his lungs. Jayce hasn’t seen him yet as he is standing with his back against the doorway, so Viktor takes this moment to truly drink in the image of his partner. His muscles tense and contract, working with a genuine passion and expertise. He’s sweating profusely, but it only makes his body even more eyecatching, shining against the light of the fire. His hair is wild, and his breaths come quick. If he could, he would stand watching for hours on end, but his work is waiting for him, and he needs to continue, that’s why he’s in this situation in the first place.
He clears his throat, and Jayce suddenly stops, startled. He turns around and is surprised to see Viktor. “Vik, hey! Didn’t hear you come in, is everything okay?”
As Jayce turns around, Viktor now sees another angle that he couldn’t appreciate before. His eyes quickly pass and sees his puffing chest move up and down, but he needs to concentrate. "Yes, sorry to disturb you, but I need you on the lab to review one of the projects before submitting.”
“Ah right! I forgot about that, time passed me by. I’ll finish here, and I’ll go. Wait for me, and we’ll go together?” Viktor nods his head and sits down on a nearby bench while Jayce turns around to close down the forge. He hopes Jayce doesn’t feel him staring.
5
Viktor was going to tonight’s gala, and Jayce insisted that they go together. That’s why he was now sitting on Jayce’s couch, waiting for him to finish changing. He was fiddling with his crutch, thinking about work, when Jayce emerged from the bedroom holding two shirts, one white, the other dark grey. “Help me pick, I can’t decide.”
Viktor considers for a moment. “The dark grey.” He doesn’t offer much explanation. The truth was that he thought it was much more attractive, but he couldn’t really explain that.
Seemingly hit with worry, Jayce drapes the shirts onto a nearby chair and goes to the open kitchen.“Oh! I haven’t offered you anything to drink, want anything? You still have to wait for me a bit, so its no problem.” This is when Viktor realizes that Jayce is once again shirtless. He can’t really understand his carelessness, but he can’t complain, and it amuses Viktor.
“A water would be fine, thank you.”
“You got it.”
He goes about riffling the cabinets, finding small biscuits for Viktor even if he didn’t ask for them. The whole thing was probably less than five minutes, but for Viktor it was endless. He followed Jayce with his eyes the whole time. Some might call it ogling, but Viktor was far too gone to care. The amount of times he has seen him partially naked has been more than he expected, but every time he is caught off guard. He holds his breath and is sucked into a vortex that is hard to get out of. His mind fills with images that are completely unprofessional.
“Here you go. Whatever you need, just give me a call, alright?” Viktor nods, and Jayce goes back to his bedroom, grabbing the shirts on the way. Who knows what he has to do in there? From what he’s seen, there’s way too many mousses and gels, colognes and creams that Viktor can’t really grap around his head. How much time passes, he loses track, lost in his mind completely. It’s a sharp contrast between his work and Jayce, Jayce and work. It doesn’t help that it’s so closely related. He’s inside one of these fantasies, Jayce in the lab shirtless and ceaselessly working on something while Viktor watches, when the real Jayce appears from his bedroom once again, this time fully clothed and ready to go.
In his formal attire, Jayce seems to glow. The sharp edges of the suit fit him perfectly, extenuating his natural shape. He gives himself a second to look unabashed. Going to these events seems to have more benefits than he thought.
“Ready to go?”
“Yes, and I was right about the shirt.”
Does everything affect me now? Clothes or not?
+1
The gala was still full of energy. Live music was playing, drinks were being served, and the guests were tipsy enough that conversation was flowing naturally. Viktor found himself on one of the several balconies, staring at the stars shine through the clouds while drinking a too expensive wine. The door behind him opens, “Viktor! There you are, I’ve been looking for you everywhere.”
Jayce had a wide smile on his face, something that made Viktor’s heart twist and whine. He gets closer to him and drapes an arm over Viktor’s shoulder, staying close. “I needed some air, there’s way too many people in there.” He stares upwards with him.
"Hey, I was thinking, remember that formula we couldn’t quite pin down? I was talking with Professor Heimerdinger, and he gave me a good idea on how to work around it.”
"Ah, that’s good, it was starting to become annoying. We’ll try it out when we get to the lab.”
“Let’s go then.”
“What, now?”
“Yes, c’mon.”
“But don’t you ha-”
“Don’t care, let’s go.”
That shut him up. Giggling, they scurry out of the bustling party, away from prying eyes, and make their way to the comfort of the lab.
What they didn’t realize is that their enibriated state would impede them from actually making any significant progress. They both had been drinking languidly tonight, not considering a break through any time soon. Now, as they look at the blackboard, any form of calculation makes their brain feel sluggish. Jayce throws himself on the sofa and groans. He already had unmade his cravat and has discarded his jacket. “I think I had a drink too many.”
“Me too, but it was a nice evening.” Viktor lays on the other side of the sofa. There’s not much room, but they make it work, legs tangling to save space, not caring enough as to not touch.
"Yes, it wasn’t too bad. God, this vest is annoying.” He sits up and starts unbotting the rest of the vest, throwing it on the floor without much care.
Viktor laughs to himself and says, “Take your shirt off too, while you’re at it.”
What he forgot to add, thanks to his tired brain, was that it’s because Jayce seemed to work better without clothes and that it was a joke. Jayce looks at him seriously, not sobering up but trying to make sense of the situation. Without breaking eye contact, he goes and starts unbuttoning his shirt, slowly and precisely so as to not miss any of the buttons.
Viktor, surprised, just looks at him, his mouth opens in surprise, and a blush starts to spread from his cheeks to his ears and neck, but he doesn’t stop him. Jayce finishes opening the shirt and discards it with the vest, laying back down. Viktor can’t not stare, can’t possibly stop himself. He takes everything in, drinking in the sight in front of him with hunger in his eyes. Jayce’s chest rises and falls, an arm drapes on the back of the sofa, the other hangs down towards the floor. His legs continued tangled with Viktor's, and their bodies are so close.
The same temptation comes back with a vengeance, redobled because of the wine flowing through his blood. He wants to touch and kiss and lick and bite. He wants to see how Jayce taste, if he tastes of smoke and ash like his forge. He licks his lips unconsciously. Jayce is seemingly frozen in place. He stares at Viktor with hooded eyes but doesn’t utter a sound. And Viktor can’t help himself, he’s been holding himself back for so long, and he longs to feel.
Tentibly, he reaches out. His hand so slowly moves towards Jayce’s torso. He finally reaches his abdomen and presses against the taught muscle. Jayce’s skin is warm to the touch and much softer than he expected. Jayce takes in a breath and makes a noise akin to a whine. Viktor moves so he’s sitting, so he can see everything and not miss a single second of what he is doing. He continues to explore Jayce’s body now with both hands. He presses and caresses his body with a mix of curiosity and adoration. With reverence.
Their breaths are quicker. Viktor grabs one of Jayce’s arms and explores the worked muscle. He can feel his strength, how his labor has brought him this body. He touches his shoulder, the curves, and how it flexes under Viktor’s touch. His neck is tense, and as he passes his hands over it, Jayce makes another sound, and Viktor looks up. They lock eyes, and as if this unfreezes Jayce, he quickly grabs onto Viktor’s upper arm, brings him closer, and kisses him.
He does taste like the forge, but also coffee and wine. The taste is addicting, and Viktor needs more desperately. He deepens the kiss, pressing himself against Jayce and tangling his hands in his hair. Jayce moans.
“Viktor I-” He starts, but he quickly shushes him with another kiss, not wanting to separate long enough. He grinds against Jayce, and his hips buck upwards. He grabs onto Viktor’s waist to keep him right where he is.
The kiss is messy and open, lips moving against one another, searching for more. And he can’t help himself. He moves and kisses his neck, smelling him with so much want, nothing being enough. He bites where his shoulder meets his neck, and Jayce makes a noise Viktor wants him to make again and again. He goes down his arm, doing everything he imagined and taking his fill. He nips and kisses and explores this body that was untouchable for so long. He looks with awe.
“I noticed you staring.” Jayce says through labored breath. Viktor knows he wasn't exactly subtle, so he isn’t exactly surprised.
"Well, you made it quite difficult not to.” He goes to his chest and licks a stripe. Jayce shivers.
“Always coming to the lab half-naked." He clicks his tongue in disapproval, “I need to concentrate, Jayce, and you make it so very hard to.”
Viktor looks up, and Jayce is a mess. His breath is ragged, and he has a deep blush that colors his face and neck. He’s looking at Viktor like he can’t believe his eyes, huge and blown out, not moving even an inch from his face. Viktor can’t handle the sight. He goes back for more, searches for his lips, and kisses him roughly. Grabbing his cheeks, his hair, anything and everything he can get his hands on. And Jayce can’t hold back either, grabbing at Viktor’s waist and hair with desperation.
They go on like this tugging and giving in to each other until they have to stop, the exhaustion of the day catching up to them. They lay together, catching their breath. They’re both a complete mess. Their hair is all over the place, and their lips are red. They look up at the ceiling, trying to make sense of their scrambling brains, when Viktor breaks the silence.
“I might make you work shirtless more often now.”
Jayce laughs and teases, “Thought you said you couldn’t concentrate.”
“Eh, I can make an effort. And, you always seem to have the most brilliant breakthroughs without clothes on, might have to experiment with this hidden ability.”
Jayce laughs even harder. “You just might.”