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"...I'll keep the mint and black tea ones, but most of them will definitely go to mom. And Caitlyn." Jayce sighed, going through the lettering of the bottles, one in each hand. He squinted at the left purple one. "Violets and- gunpowder. Definitely Caitlyn."
He and Viktor were, a little helplessly, standing above a ridiculous amount of bathroom products, which also contained many shower and bathing creams and solutions. They (mostly Jayce) have recieved generous, avantgard and peculiar gifts from their sponsors on some tech-themed beneficial ball just a few days ago (it has been nearly two weeks), and finally decided to go through the pile of giftbags taking up the already limited space in the laboratory. The plan was to divide them into things they might use themselves, things that will make their beloved ones happy on upcoming Christmas days, things they will discreetly donate and things they will cautiously dispose of, because a pair of revolutionary technicians can never be too careful.
Viktor was holding two bottles with a rather disinterested look, practically hanging on his cane. Unlike Jayce, he hadn't been blessed with a 7-hour sleep last night and wasn't very content with wasting his cognitive functions on different shampoo aromas. "I think I'll let Sky take my pile." he said after a while of Jayce's further rummaging, deadpan.
At the same time, Jayce took a significantly less sophisticated looking bottle out of the next basket, with a little cartoon bear holding red, yellow and green balloons. "A bubble bath! Thank god, some people still have taste."
"A- a bubble bath?" Viktor's eyebrows shot slightly upwards. Jayce noticed his attention shift.
"Yea, do you want it? I loved that stuff as a kid. Made the baths unbelievably more enjoyable." he smiled fondly at the cartoon bear before offering the bottle to Viktor.
Viktor frowned slightly and turned his eyes to the bear. One of its pupils was bigger than the other. He was sure the design hasn't changed- ever, as it often goes with kids products. He made an unclear, yet audible sound.
Jayce shot him a look, probably expecting a thrilling discussion about the best bubble inducing methods. Viktor, realizing his eyes were squinted, thinned his lips at the misunderstanding and briefly waved his hand. "No, nothing. Take the bubble- thing."
"No no, you clearly like it, take it." Jayce smiled again and turned the bottle upside down in his hand, the bear now facing Viktor.
Viktor remained silent, blankly staring at Jayce for a few seconds. One second too long, so Jayce's smile fell abruptly.
"Wait, I'm stupid, you probably didn't have, uh, bath stuff like this in the Undercity-"
Viktor cut him off, now properly embarrassed. "No, this is not about Zaun, I- It's... It's really nothing important."
They stared at each other for a bit, before Viktor broke the eye-contact again.
"Or, I mean, it is more of a... me problem."
"Viktor." Jayce looked firmly, but apologetically. Viktor frowned at the first hint of guilt that necessarily crept into his lab partner's face.
He decided to be defensively honest.
„It's not a Zaun thing, mostly, I just…" He was already regretting the confession.
"I have never had a bath. The... little pool style one, that is.“ he winced slightly at his imperfect explanation. Jayce gaped in surprise, ready to discuss the matter further or god forbid apologise, so Viktor cut him off again.
„I meant, I simply- cannot take one…" Viktor briefly frowned and bit the inside of his cheek. "Unsupervised. The technicalities, er, temperature changes…“ he vaguely gestured in the air.
"Oh! Right. Right, hot bath, that's like, maybe worse than a forge." Ideal for passing out, hanged the unsaid in between them.
"Exactly."
Jayce looked relieved more than anything, which was enough for Viktor, who silently congratulated himself for getting out of the awkward I-don't-want-to-make-my-partner-pity-me-because-of-our-upbringing-situations moment.
Which was probably why he turned back to the pile of goodies and let his guard slip immediately.
"Though I suppose bathing must be a very nice experience. With, er, the bubble thing as well." he propped one of the gift baskets with his cane and smiled at the thought.
"Maybe I could be a supervisor."
Now was Viktor's turn to gape a little. He looked at Jayce, who pretty quickly understood the implications.
"I mean, not that- that sounds strange. I meant that academy flats have baths and you live in one- uh-" Jayce rubbed his forehead before continuing. "...I meant that I could just sit there next to- uh- the sink and like, watch out for you? So you don't pass out there- at least not alone?"
Viktor blinked.
"Okay, I know the prospect- Look, I just think you could use a hot bath, definitely actually, you're cold all the time, it'd be a great treatment, too, and you seem to like the idea of it, so-"
Viktor slowly turned, made two steps to their coffee table and held up his tea mug. Jayce wanted to curse himself for being an indecent creep, until Viktor turned again, slightly, without looking at him.
"That... that would be very kind. Are you free tonight?"
He sipped his tea.
---
The awkwardness didn't last long. It never does.
"Make yourself at home. Just take off your shoes please."
"My shoes, right."
"If you don't mind. I really never understood why are Piltoverans fond of spreading dirt in others' houses."
Jayce snickered at this remark, kicking the boots off. "I mean, it's true it's rather unsanitary." he mimicked Viktor's accent ever so slightly. He very well remembered this was not the first time Viktor has mentioned his disapproval of wearing shoes at home.
"Thank you!" Viktor huffed with such seriousness it made Jayce laugh even louder this time.
"Purée is definitely a proper soup though." Jayce added under his breath.
"No." Viktor whispered back while taking off his own shoes and then mockingly shivered at the thought. "Teplá, slaná přesnídávka? Come on Jayce, that is simply ridiculous."
"Right, that's just unfair, you know I didn't understand a word-"
"You don't need to understand my language to know that purée is not a proper soup."
"Okay Mr. Only broth counts. Keep your rigid views."
"Where is the point if there is no broth?"
After working together for a few years, they learned to talk and argue about anything other than technology in their no-work time. Oftentimes, the theme touched their cultural differences one way or another. And while they mostly came to a compromise during the years of strong friendship, some discussions, such as "Is purée a proper soup?" have stayed stubbornly unresolved.
They ended up in the kitchen slash living room, gulping down hot, honeyed herbal tea to shake off December's coldness, still piercing through their fingers. Viktor eventually sat down in his armchair, while Jayce slouched over the kitchen counter, sometimes walking back and forth from the counter to Viktor.
After yet another cultural bicker and a lot of unnecessary blueprint analyzing later (they notoriously violated their no-work time rules), Jayce's face lit up suddenly, mid-conversation. He half ran towards the door, without explanation, before returning with a yellow bottle in his hand, the bear stupidly smiling in Viktor's face again. Viktor looked up at Jayce with a little theatrical tick in his eye.
"I almost forgot." Jayce showed a toothy grin.
"What a nightmare that would be."
"First bath, come on, you have to have the whole package."
Viktor looked at the clock hanging on the wall across and so did Jayce. They looked back at eachother, awkwardness back in the air. When the silence became unbearable, Viktor decided to leave his armchair (run). He went to his bedroom, closed the door, rummaged for an eternity, then came out with some clothing, a suspiciously calm expression and positioned himself next to the bathroom door.
"I will get changed into a swimming attire. Then I'll call you. You may take the pillow-" He pointed towards the sofa. "-and come in." He opened the door, stopping at Jayce's question.
"With the bubbles?"
Deadpan, anxiety-killing silence.
"...yes, you can take the bubbles."
Viktor closed the door, but his annoyed eyeroll managed to lift Jayce's spirits before that.
---
Jayce entered the bathroom with a pillow clutched to his chest approximately seven minutes afterwards.
Viktor wasn't looking at him when he opened the door. He wasn't saying anything, or depicting any particular emotion either. He was standing in a beige, floppy, mildly oversized and by itself not very flattering bathing suit, available to all residents of the academy flats, clutching his cane with a worrying grip strength, his lips a thin line. He let Jayce in.
The bathroom was simple, with the sense of emptiness only a proper eligible bachelor can create at each corner. It was also clean, cold in a pleasant way and lacked a specific smell of humidity that Jayce fought a losing battle with in his own bathroom. The bathtub curtain, rug and towels almost matched in a deep blue color and a lightbulb illuminated the place with a warm, yellowish light that Viktor preferred on his ever so tired eyes. It made the white tiles possible to look at. He realized a faint sound of running water, the source being bronze bathtub taps. Underneath he saw a small wooden stool.
Jayce didn't say anything either while taking in the bathroom's interior. He knew Viktor wasn't embarrassed. No, he was only silently furious with himself.
Jayce lowered the pillow until Viktor's gaze trailed to the stack of blueprints, notes and limited drawing equipment underneath. Visible relief immediately crossed his face, alongside a nose huff sounding like a textbook definition of a pleasant surprise to Jayce.
Jayce knew Viktor has spent the past few minutes regretting his decision to agree to the bath mission, probably motionlessly looking at himself in the mirror, because Jayce's just as dramatic. He knew his mind was swimming against a self-directed swirl of anger, anxiety, annoyance, fear, feelings of uselessness, of being a burden. He wasn't cocky enough to think he could follow Viktor's shame spiral precisely, but he did think of the possibility of him eventually panicking over Jayce's presence in the name of helpful companionship being a "waste of time" for him.
Which was of course a very ridiculous point of view to Jayce, but he knew he would probably have his own mind crossed with such thoughts, being in Viktor's position.
They looked at each other. Viktor knew. And Jayce knew Viktor knew. They smiled silently.
A new emotion crossed Viktor's face. Determination.
"I thought of the process." he turned to the tub. "I started filling the tub with only slightly warm water. That way I will be able to adjust and add warmer water in bearable doses."
"Right, that's smart." Jayce joined in with his own doing-science voice. He looked upwards. "I was thinking of the heating, we should adjust it to be slightly warmer, but not too different from the living room temperature."
"As a transition."
"Precisely."
After a few other adjustments, containing Jayce adding the bubble bath solution and Viktor's slightly offended rejection of Jayce's idea of a warmed towel after the bath ("I'm a grown man, Jayce." "Yes-" "No." "Okay."), they decided to start the operation.
Or more like, Viktor tucked his cane in the corner next to the taps and started getting into the bathtub without a warning. Jayce, stopping his motherly hen yapping, merely lifted his hand before Viktor's own threatened to bat it away if it got close enough. Viktor sat down, adjusted his leg, positioned himself with his hands in his lap and looked around, the water barely reaching his ribcage.
Jayce, already sitting on the small pillowed stool, scooted over, his breath suddenly caught. Viktor's eyes trailed to the water's surface, widened.
They sat in silence for a while, interrupted only by running water. Filling another centimeter or two, Viktor slowly reached for the tap, closing them in turn. He then, even slower, took a handful of warm bubbles, golden, yellow, blue and glowing in the dim light. He played with its viscosity, testing it, before letting the foam fall into his other palm, closer to Jayce, with a smile that instantly cured his lab partner's beginning cold.
He flicked a few bubbles into his face. Jayce gave an offended spitting sound.
"You did not just-"
"Who's delusional now."
"That was about soup!"
"About purée."
"You're unbelievable."
"A ty jsi idiot."
"I know what idiot means, idiot."
"Knowing thyself-"
"Takes one to know one-"
The awkwardness never lasts long. And so does not wholesomeness.
---
Viktor just finished adding a second layer of warmer water to his bubble pool. Jayce was tapping his pencil on his latest sketch, made almost solely with Viktor's instructions. They have been discussing a new hextech alloy combination, trying to use it for creating more efficient tools, as they seemed to break their trusted ordinary equipment on a regular basis now.
Jayce looked up, seeing Viktor shifting in the water so he could stretch (and prod the mountains of bubbly foam more efficiently).
"Actually, I brought something extra."
"Is the bubble not enough-"
"Don't go doubtful on me now, you love the bubbles."
"...I admit they're rather agreeable."
"I'll take that."
Viktor pursed his lips in what could only be described as bored anticipation.
Jayce dramatically reached into his trouser pocket, pausing just long enough for Viktor to shoot him a narrow-eyed look, placing his hand over the edge and pulling himself slightly closer to see better.
He's been storing the thing for ages in the lab, a joke gift from Cait. Now, it's time to shine has finally come, an unbelievably fitting opportunity.
He pulled out a rubber duck.
Viktor lifted his eyes to pierce him with the most prominent poker-face of the evening yet.
"I told you." Jayce delicately put the duck right in front of Viktor, now following Jayce's hand with a killer gaze. "The whole experience."
They watched the duck float until it did a full spin.
"It's holding a screw key."
"I'm so glad you noticed. He also has an apron and his name is Vik junior-"
"Don't you dare leave it here."
---
Another twenty minutes have passed. They had three more sketches, overfilling with notes.
Jayce was just theorizing over the use of golden layers for better conductivity when Viktor leaned on his own arm, stretched over the tub rim, with a grunt. Jayce looked up to see his face properly. His eyes were closed, but opened slightly at Jayce's shift.
"Alright there? Is it too hot?" He lifted his hand again to which Viktor backed away a little, reflexively. Really need to stop doing that, Jayce thought to himself. He knew he should've learned to respect Viktor's unwavering desire for independence, but he also knew he was only going to try to regulate the speed of his helping instincts.
"I'm fine. I might have tad overdone it with the third dose. It doesn't warn you in all its comfort." Accent thick with sleepiness, Viktor pulled out his other arm, positioning the palm under his chin. His usually spiky hair was now more so limply hanging downwards, thick with warm humidity. He offered a close-lipped smile as a form of reassurance, a bit of annoyance seeping through yet making Jayce's frown dissolve slightly. "So... when are you supposed to call it a day in the art of bathtubbing?"
Jayce put the drawing equipment on a cabinet under the sink with an amused huff. "Whenever. Now if you want. Do you?"
Viktor looked around himself, stopping at the place where the water surface shined through the vaporizing foam, blinking slow, once or twice. "It looks wasteful, seeing it all in one place. Polluted, just to wash once in grand fashion. Doesn't it."
Jayce followed his gaze to Vik junior floating on a gold tinted surface. He saw the bubbles slowly popping around, each one filling his thoughts with the streets of Zaun.
Viktor noticed, straightened and cleared his throat.
"Yes. I'm ready to go."
Jayce snapped back.
"Oh, okay, so- so... what do you want me to do?"
Viktor broke the eye contact first to check on his cane. He looked back at now standing Jayce, then at his hands, pursing his lips, nose scrunching at a fleeting thought. He sat straight in the tub, pulling his legs closer, looking at his cane again. Looking at Jayce.
He stretched his hand.
Jayce took it wordlessly.
Viktor pulled himself up.
---
"Well. That was a success!"
Viktor shooed Jayce away almost ten minutes ago so he could change, but now was his companion standing next to the draining tub again, attempting to fold their messy drawings back onto the pillow with one hand, sometimes watching Vik junior as he swirled with the vanishing mass of water and remaining foam.
Viktor turned to face Jayce with a tired, half-amused, half-annoyed look. He was leaning on the sink with a mirror in front of him, now dressed in a gray sleeping attire with a bathing robe over, trying to flatten his hair with his right hand and water, which, despite their greatest saving attempts containing a towel and a carry-around heater, decided to stick in all directions while maintaining visible patches of limp strands. He fully turned around, rested half his body weight on his cane with a bitter huff, picturing his appearances violating the Academy's policy the next day.
"Well." He mocked. "I'm glad you see it that way."
"Come on, now. You didn't pass out, for one."
"I'll put that next to my diploma."
Jayce ignored the remark.
"It did your body good. You mentioned relieving joint cracks and muscle tension melting like butter." Viktor rolled his eyes for that was indeed the wording he used in those times of vulnerability.
"But really, you're relaxed, right?"
Pause, then a short hum of agreement.
Jayce smugly inhaled before continuing.
"So relaxed, warmed up, basically no hiccups. And! We- uh- well it was- very. Fun!"
Viktor raised his eyebrows more at the execution of the statement. He will never cease to wonder how can someone be so inconsistently confident, yet clumsy in their speech.
"I mean, you had fun. I had fun too, we both had fun- Can you not stare like that."
With a growing smirk of the left lip corner, Viktor took a few steps to the door and pushed them fully open. They were already positioned with a gap, letting the warm humidity of the bathroom mix with colder, dry living room air. A transition.
"Viktorrr."
"It will be even a grander success if I don't boil in here. More tea?" He shuffled beside the door to make room for Jayce to follow, now a half-lidded, full smile across his face, lacking any irony whatsoever.
That was enough reassurance for Jayce. He grabbed the pillow and supplies.
---
They worked their way through two thrids of the tea jug, a packet of biscuits, painfully plain cheese sandwiches and an elventh sketch before Viktor decided to check the clock again. His face fell in surprise. He cut off Jayce mid-speech.
"We have a meeting with professor Heim tomorrow."
"I like how you still insist on using his title but you're too lazy to finish the name."
Viktor bit down a smile.
"You're changing the subject."
"I'm making a good point."
"So am I. We need the sleep."
A staring battle. Viktor, usually the one initiating an all-nighter, was surprisingly vehement this time. He still broke the eye-contact a few seconds in, looking to the side with thinned lips. Ah, Jayce realized, guilt.
Jayce took another few seconds to fight a surprisingly tough battle of wants and needs. In the end, he chose the needs. For once. Well, it's Viktor's needs, so of course he would, eventually.
He didn't resist making it a bit of a show though.
He got up energetically, startling his lab partner in the process. He took one last gulp of tea, grimaced, repressed the need to cough after a few drops got into his breathing pipes with tears welling in his eyes, hummed in a pretend pout while stretching, then moved around the kitchen counter with false resignation, hands in the air.
"Okay fair, you're the responsible one tonight, I suppose I'll thank you tomorrow morning. Can't pretend I'm not sad you're kicking me out though."
Viktor squinted his eyes, well aware of the act yet uncomfortable with the tiniest possibility of impoliteness from his side, after Jayce basically sacrificed an evening for him. He got up from his armchair, walking towards the hall with Jayce. "You know I really... um-"
He stopped for a moment, something at the kitchen counter catching his attention. The poker-face was back.
He walked there, then back to the hall, his partner now sitting on a shoe bench, putting his boots on.
Jayce looked up to see Viktor's evil smile above him. He was holding Vik junior.
"You thought."
"You're heartless, he needs a home."
"He has a home with you, last time I checked you were the primary caretaker."
"Are you saying you're the secondary?"
Viktor's eyes widened briefly. The vulnerability was back. He moved his look sideways, suddenly interested in the coat hanger. Despite all the smirking, Jayce was getting a little embarrassed again. He stood up, but Viktor didn't back off.
"You're welcome to sleep here anytime you want- or need. Simply bring your things and- er-" he limply threw his hand towards the sofa. "We'll manage."
Jayce was positively flustered now.
"I- Yeah, if I need- Sure-"
"I wanted to say before..." Viktor cut him off again, still studying the coats, scratching his neck with his index absentmindedly. "...I'm really grateful. It was my... most- er, pleasant evening in a while. And probably the most I managed to do for my... health, in a long while, as well." He dropped his hand, clenching it in a fist for a fleeting moment.
He managed to look at Jayce. "Děkuju. Vážně."
He moved his hand, poking Jayce's own slightly.
"Nevím čím jsem si... partnera, jako ty... zasloužil."
Jayce took Viktor's hand, squeezing it before beaming at him through half-lidded eyes.
Viktor smiled back, shyness and awkwardness staining his closed-lip smile.
The time seemed to move in a weird fashion, the need to move with it disappearing for a while.
"Okay I would really like to know what that means, I caught the word partner-"
Viktor laughed.
---
They were both very sleep deprived the next day.