Chapter Text
A: Awkward
“What’s she doing now?” Jayce whispered, his back pressed up against the pillar while his hands gripped the shopping cart as though his life depended on it.
“She’s looking at the frozens.” you whispered back, carefully peeking around the aisle, “She’s getting a bag of peas and corn and putting it in her basket.”
“Can we please just go pay?” Viktor sighed, the thinness of his patience evident in his voice.
“Are you crazy? What if she sees us?” Jayce hissed, “Don’t you remember the last time you spoke to her?”
“Vividly.” answered the leaner of your boyfriends, “But I also recall securing the victory in that altercation.”
“You told her she turned me gay.” Jayce reminded him drily.
Before you could stop yourself, you let out a snort, slapping a hand over your mouth to stop the rest of your cackles from pouring out of you.
“Eh… yes, well, I was drunk at the time. Obviously she must have understood that I-”
“Hello, Jayce.” a woman’s voice came out of nowhere, startling all three of you.
“H-Hey Mel!” Jayce straightened up, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the grocery cart even tighter than before, “How have you been? Great? Probably, yeah. Great. I mean, you look great! Fantastic, even.” he rambled, his voice growing louder with each non-sequitur.
“Thanks… I think.” his ex-girlfriend replied, her tone cordial but with an unmistakable venom coursing beneath it, “And hello, Viktor.”
“Hello.” he nodded with a polite smile, “I hope things are going well for you, Ms. Medarda.”
“Somewhat better than they’ve been going for you.” she smiled in return, “I saw the interview you did to clear your name. Congratulations on managing to set the record… straight.” her eyes flitted between the two men with a silent insinuation.
Your heart thumped in your chest.
If she had seen the interview, then it meant she already knew tha-
“And you must be their girlfriend.” the beautiful woman confidently extended a hand towards you, “I suppose that means Jayce isn’t totally gay despite my time with him after all, then?”
“Mel,” Viktor cleared his throat, “I would like to formally apologize for my remark, I assure you that I didn’t-”
“What’s the matter, Viktor?” she raised an eyebrow, “Don’t tell me that that comment was also taken out of context. There’s only so many times you can use that excuse, you know.”
Narrowing his eyes at her, he elbowed your larger boyfriend in the side, “Jayce, hold my cane before I accidentally hit her shins with it.”
“Eager to get canceled again, professor?” Mel retorted, nodding to the store’s CCTV cameras above.
“I could ask the same of you.” Viktor huffed, crossing his arms, “It would be interesting to see the renowned Dr. Medarda on the news for punching a person with a disability.”
“Oh, he’s just teasing.” Jayce let out a forced laugh as he placed a firm hand on Viktor’s shoulder to pull him backwards.
But the other man didn’t budge, almost as though he was glued to this specific tile of the supermarket.
“Feeding time!” you chimed in, your tone betraying that you had just remembered this—flimsy—excuse, “Now that we have Purr-fessor’s cat food, we need to get home as soon as possible.”
“That’s right.” Jayce nodded, “The poor thing’s probably starving, right, V?”
Viktor looked Mel up and down one last time before finally backing down.
“Until next time, Dr. Medarda.”
“Likewise, Professor.”
As the three of you walked towards the cashier, you shook your head at Jayce as you muttered under your breath, “You’ll be the end of us all, pretty boy.”
“What was that, querida?”
“Nothing, honey.”
B: Barbecue
“Here. We skewered the vegetables for you.” Viktor smiled, passing the platter to Jayce.
“Nice! Thanks, V.” you heard Jayce exclaim as you brushed past them on your way to the shed, growing ever more appreciative of the sports cap that protected your scalp from the beating sun.
Jayce, on the other hand, didn’t seem to mind the heat at all when he declared that today—of all days—was the perfect chance for a barbecue. So he scrounged together whatever cuts and ribs were in your freezer and threw them on the grill.
Viktor, however, seemed to curse the heat, having grown up in a much more frigid climate himself.
Personally, you weren’t a fan of this weather either, but you simply could not take another second of staring at this unmowed backyard.
With all three of your schedules packed so tight, open weekends like this one were few and far between.
You pried the shed door open and dragged the heavy lawn mower onto the dirt path.
Beads of sweat were already beginning to form on your forehead and you hadn’t even started yet. A part of you regretted sleeping in and allowing the sun to get this high before remembering this tedious chore.
Wanting nothing more than to get back inside as quickly as possible, you started your task right away.
But the sun remained unrelenting and you found your shirt sticking to your skin less than 10 minutes after you’d fired up the motor.
After pushing through a few more minutes of the tactile torture, you remembered that you were wearing a sports bra underneath.
Switching the lawn mower off temporarily, you tugged your soaking wet shirt over your head, sighing in relief as the air rushed over your newly exposed skin.
“Ouch!” you heard Jayce yelp.
You slung the shirt onto your shoulder as you squinted in the sunlight, “Honey?” you called out, “You okay?”
Even from this distance, you could see Viktor’s shoulders shake with laughter.
“I’m fine!” he called back, shaking out his left hand.
As if anticipating your next question, Viktor piped up with a grin as he pointed to his own left hand, “He leaned on the bars of the grill!” he explained.
“Jayce!” you exclaimed, horrified, “Be careful!”
“I am!” your boyfriend shot back, “I just um, got distracted is all.”
He shifted his gaze down onto the ground, a blush already creeping onto his cheeks.
Only then did it click for you.
You looked down at your exposed chest and stomach, glistening in the sunlight.
It's no wonder Jayce favors the heat.
C: Conference
“You’re being so obstinate for no reason!” Jayce’s thick eyebrows creased together, a leg bouncing as he sat on the edge of the hotel bed.
“Jayce… we’ve been having this conversation since even before we flew here.” you met his eyes through the dresser’s mirror, “The answer is still no.”
He let out an exasperated exhale and allowed himself to fall back onto the bed.
Viktor clicked his tongue in annoyance as the sudden movement disturbed the half-full coffee cup precariously perched on the tray table he was using, “Jayce! I’m not looking to replace my laptop just yet.”
“Maybe you should think about it, V.” you called out with a chuckle, slipping on your earrings, “If I’m not mistaken, you’ve had old faithful over there since grad school, right?”
“Actually… Gizela has been a steady companion since I was just an undergrad.” he smiled, raising his coffee to his lips with one hand as he patted the laptop with the other, “A handful of times over the years, I worried that she wouldn’t make it. But as long as she doesn’t give up on me, I won’t give up on her.”
“What a softie.” you teased, straightening your skirt as you rose from the chair, “So… what do you think?”
“Stunning.” Viktor cooed, “But one can’t help but wonder exactly how much information your audience will be able to retain when you look like that.”
A part of you could still hardly believe this was actually happening. Being invited to join a panel at the European Network for Academic Integrity’s (ENAI) Annual Conference this early in your career was a pretty big break.
“You’re always too much, Viktor.” you flashed him a sheepish smile, “And Jayce? Any notes?”
But the larger of your boyfriends kept his head turned away from you, heavy arms crossed on his chest, heavy torso rising and falling on the mattress while his feet remained firmly planted on the floor.
“Jayce?” you asked again, taking a step towards him.
His arms tightened as he screwed his eyes shut.
“Are you ignoring me or pretending to be asleep?” you chuckled, nudging his foot with your own.
No response.
“Either way…” a smile tugged on the corners of your lips as you drew closer, fingers edging closer to his sides, “it’s unfortunate that you’ve left your most ticklish spot unguarde-”
A strong hand flew up to grab your right wrist, “Don’t!” he growled, finally looking at you.
“So grumpy.” you pouted, “I just wanted your feedback on my panel outfit.”
His eyes—which looked hazel in the light of the Grecian morning sun that streamed in from the balcony—travelled down your form before returning to your face again.
“It’s good.” he grunted.
“That’s it?” you raised a disappointed eyebrow—you didn’t normally fish for compliments, but a part of you had grown used to the way Jayce offered them without hesitation.
“What else should I say?” he mumbled, releasing your hand as he shifted his upper body away from you, “You won’t even let us be there for you.”
“As the junior-most member of the panel, I probably won’t get to speak as much.” you reminded him, reaching a hand to stroke the back of his scalp, “Besides, the entire conference is being recorded, so we can watch it back togeth-”
“That’s not the point.” he grumbled, his eyebrows furrowed even deeper—but at least he wasn’t resisting your touch, “We’re partners, aren’t we?”
“And that is my problem.” you grinned, “How am I supposed to focus on the evolving ethics regarding the use of artificial intelligence within academic research when I’m staring at my handsome boyfriends’ lips the entire time?”
You had been sure your reply would have been enough to get him to sit up and envelop you in a hug of forgiveness.
But to your surprise, he remained turned away from you as he grumbled, “I was more than happy to have you and Viktor join me for the ICBES conference last year.”
“If you keep this up, you’re going to be late, darling.” Viktor chimed in, nodding to the alarm clock on the bedside stand.
“Shoot!” you gasped, rushing to the study desk to grab your book bag and purse—thankfully, you had already packed and triple checked everything last night.
You grabbed your things and clumsily leaned onto the mattress to give Viktor a quick goodbye kiss.
“You’ve got this.” he breathed against your lips.
You whispered a heartfelt thanks as you pulled away and returned to the foot of the bed.
Jayce didn’t sit up, so you had to lean down to kiss his forehead. He didn’t resist, but he still said and did nothing in return.
You grimaced as you walked towards the door to slip into your heels, “Jayce… I don’t want to leave with you still mad at me, honey.”
Still no response.
“Don’t mind him.” Viktor winked, “All will be forgiven by lunch.”
The three of you had agreed last night that you’d meet at a restaurant near the hotel for lunch during the conference’s intermission. Now Viktor was assuring you that those plans were still on—despite the ball of muscle angrily curled up on the edge of the bed.
The unwavering confidence in his tone was contagious and you suddenly had full faith that yes, Jayce would indeed no longer be angry at you by lunch.
Hand on the doorknob, you turned around to give them both one last look.
“Go on, darling.” Viktor smiled, swallowing the last of his coffee, “Send us photos, and be sure to call us if you need anything.”
Reluctantly, you closed the door on the domestic scene and put on your brave face, psyching yourself up to face the day ahead.
Focus, focus, focus. you repeated to yourself inwardly.
Perhaps it was because of the disagreement with Jayce, but you relied on your simple mantra even more than usual today.
Even when you met up with Dr. Müller and the other panel members, even as you shook off the jitters as you thumbed through the conference’s printed schedule, when you looked through the potential questions and talking points you’d saved on your phone, and even as you followed the other panelists backstage, you begged yourself to remain focused.
At last, the moment you had been both eagerly awaiting and dreading arrived.
Despite knowing what a big name Dr. Müller was in the academic community, your breath still hitched in your throat when you saw the size of the crowd.
As you lowered yourself onto the cushioned chair, you dropped your bottom lip slightly so you could subtly suck in a deep breath to steel yourself.
Focus.
You inhaled… then exhaled.
Focus, focus, focu-
Your eyes caught on two figures in the sixth row of the audience: both of them were wearing face masks and sunglasses, but you’d recognize those soft brown waves—as well as the spiky dark hair sitting next to them—anywhere.
You pinched the bridge of your nose in a futile attempt to maintain your composure.
For crying out loud.
The figures appeared to notice your movement and lowered their heads—but it was too late.
You stole a glance at your fellow panelists out of the corner of your left eye, grateful that you were seated at the end of the panel table.
Pulling out your phone but making sure to keep it under the table, you swiped to your phone log and tapped the missed call you received from Jayce yesterday.
A few seconds later, the unmistakable sound of his ringtone came from the audience.
You watched in amusement as the two figures you had suspected scrambled to silence the device, before looking back up at you.
Even with their stupid sunglasses and face masks, you could picture the faces they were making at you.
A few minutes later, your phone buzzed in your pocket.
“I know we told you to call if you needed anything. But we didn’t think you’d do so during the panel.” Viktor’s text read in your group chat.
“This was what you meant when you said you’d have things sorted by lunch?” you fired back.
“You can’t be mad.” Jayce chimed in, “We even went through the trouble of covering our lips to avoid distracting you.”
You resisted the urge to drag your hand across your face, remembering there were well over 200 other people present.
“Next trip, I’m not even letting you two on the plane with me.” you warned, slipping your phone back in your pocket.
The device continued to buzz in your pocket, but you resisted the urge to check it.
If I have to suffer throughout this panel, so will they.