Chapter Text
The tech fair was to be in Noxus. Of course, though it was an entry level fair, all of Runeterra expected “The Man of Progress” to show, and, being who he was, this “Man of Progress” was dragging Viktor along for the ride. Yes, they were partners, and yes, deep down, Viktor found it quite thoughtful of Jayce to bring him along. But Viktor’s body rejected public speaking as much as it would if he swallowed a piece of metal, and though some recognition for his role in Hextech would be nice, it also made him uncomfortable to imagine walking onto a stage in front of a crowd cheering for Jayce and Jayce alone. No matter, though, for forever the optimist, Jayce had smiled away Viktor’s concerns, a hand on his shoulder and a kind word of reassurance to sooth his nerves.
“You’re my partner, Viktor. You’re as important to Hextech as I am.”
Inside, Viktor had doubts. Sure, they’d worked together on everything. But to the public eye, Viktor was invisible. No matter how much Jayce had fought, the council simply didn’t want to have a Zaunite representing the future of Piltover. So he’d accepted it. He wasn’t a businessman, and he wasn’t someone people wanted to acknowledge. Weak, sick, unkempt. No matter how hard Viktor tried, the perception of him was never going to change. And he’d come to accept that.
Jayce was just… better. A better face for the company, for the future. And who was he to complain?
Now, Viktor was packing his bags. His apartment was small– vintage, almost. Dingy when he bought it. But in the past 11 or so years, he’d made a life for himself. He was proud. Sometimes, when he saw his home, he couldn’t help but imagine the boy he used to be. Imagine the wondrous look in his eyes if he were to see where he was today.
He strolled through his bedroom, limping past piles of textbooks and journals. Him and Jayce were to be taking a private airship to the fair, one designed for repeated Hexgate journeys. He couldn’t help but be a bit excited to travel in such luxury-- a private Council airship? He’d come so far.
He smiled to himself, swaying a bit to the street music drifting through his windows as he packed a multitude of extra, unneeded clothes. He justified them to himself with worries and wonderings, but he knew that he was just overthinking things. This is going to be fun, he told himself, hand on his chest to sooth his beating heart. A vacation with his partner to a part of Runeterra he’d never before visited; It’d be a perfect stress reliever. He heard Jayce’s voice in his mind: “You deserve a break. We both do.”
A break.
Right.
***
Ximena laughed when she pulled Jayce in for a hug. It was a relieving sound-- it calmed him. He’d never been to Noxus before. He’d hardly traveled, even now that he was successful enough to have the funds. He just hadn’t had the time.
“You and Viktor have fun, okay, Jayce?” Ximena said, holding him at arms’ distance, hands gripping his shoulders tight. “This may be a ‘work trip’ but it’s still a Fair, don’t stress too much.”
“Okay, mama,” he whispered, smiling guiltily. He was stressed. It’d become his nature. Being a public figure was demanding-- more than he’d ever had to worry about in the past.
“I’m so proud of you, my boy.” She kissed his forehead, and he grinned at her.
“Thank you. And I’ll have fun. I promise.”
“Good. Now, go tell Viktor the same. That boy stresses more than is good for him. Hug him for me, yes?”
“I was planning on it.” Jayce said, smiling at his mom as he slowly made his escape. It made him happy, the way Ximena and Viktor had connected. They’d met various times throughout the years, and each time, it seemed like they grew closer. He’d pondered, in the past, whether his mother’s care for Viktor was because she could sense the loneliness in his gaze, the uptight forced confidence in his posture. He thought, perhaps, that Ximena was like the mother Viktor has always needed.
Jayce walked leisurely towards the meeting place agreed upon by himself and Viktor. He was excited. Perhaps a bit more excited to see Viktor than to board the dauntingly grand airship, but he paid that no mind. He knew the man felt nervous, knew he felt out of place, and it hurt to see the anxious twitch in Viktor’s brow each time the “vacation” was mentioned.
As he walked up to the fountain framed in the center of the big public square, he spotted Viktor, leaned disinterestedly against his crutch. He picked up the pace to jog over to the man, tapping him on the shoulder to catch his attention. Viktor flinched and muttered something in Zaunite, but smiled when he turned.
“You scared me for a moment there, partner,” Viktor said, and Jayce chuckled.
“Scared you enough to cuss me out, I see.”
Viktor rolled his eyes, glaring up at Jayce. Sighs when a smile pulls at his cheeks. “Excited for our little excursion?” Viktor said expectantly, leaning to heave his seemingly hefty luggage with a grunt.
“Absolutely! This is huge for us- I mean, we were invited to another country to just stand on a stage! People like us that much!” He bounces on his toes excitedly, grinning back when he sees the way Viktor is smiling at him. A slight pause, and then Jayce leaned down and wrapped him in a hug. Viktor gasped a bit but Jayce felt him chuckle into his neck and hug back, if only for a second.
“Feeling cuddly?” Viktor quipped sarcastically, though Jayce noted with a quirk of a brow that he wasn’t resisting.
“My mom told me to give you a hug for her,” he explained. The man softens in his arms at that.
“That is very kind,” he replied before pulling back. “She is a lovely woman.”
As they began to walk, Jayce offered, “Perhaps you could join us for dinner some time when we return from the fair?”
“I would be happy to. Thank you.”
Jayce smiled and nudged him with his shoulder, wordlessly taking Viktor’s large, heavier bag from his hand and replacing it with Jayce’s smaller one. “Trade,” is all he said before moving on.
“I’ve heard Noxus is known for its metalworking. I’d be curious to see the variety. I’m sure their forges are much more efficient than the work I do.”
“Indeed,” Viktor started, “I’m sure we’ll have some time to investigate. Perhaps you will learn a few things from them.”
“I hope! And Viktor, I’ve heard stories about their vast libraries, and how the historical accounts differ so consistently because of their political differences. It sounds so interesting! Like, these vastly different stories told about the same event!”
Viktor perked up at that, beginning to rattle off the facts he knew on Noxii history. As they walked, Jayce couldn’t help but smile to himself. This was nice.
They boarded their airship with time to spare, which they spent exploring and marveling at the decoration. They walked to the cargo hold to check that the larger parts of their presentation were present and accounted for, placing their personal bags down with heavy sighs of relief.
“How’d you manage to make your luggage so heavy?” Jayce said, panting.
“How is yours so light?” Viktor returned, puzzling.
The two laughed and continued their way around the vast airship, conversation flowing in and out in the fluid way it always did. They were introduced to the various workers, pilots, and repairmen present for their journey, and soon enough, the captain was telling them to take their seats.
The walk to the airship’s cabin was familiar enough, now, and the two wordlessly sat side by side. Jayce smiled sweetly when he saw Viktor’s knee bouncing in subconscious nerves.
He patted it, trying more to show Viktor some calming affection than to make him stop. No matter the intent, Viktor’s knee fell still and his gaze remained firm.
“Vacation. Remember.” Jayce said, thumb brushing across Viktor’s bony knee cap.
“Yes.” A forced smile. A deep breath.
He was trying, Jayce could tell. He drummed a little rhythm into Viktor’s knee with his fingers absentmindedly, focused intently on the sound of Viktor’s breathing. Truth be told, he was nervous too. About traveling, about presenting, everything. But he chose to be strong for Viktor - who tried so hard to hide any flash of fear - because he deserved to have someone looking out for him. He nudged him with his shoulder, and Viktor turned his head to look up at him.
“Hey,” Jayce said, smiling.
“Hello,” Viktor nodded.
“This is gonna be fun.”
“Yes.”
“Don’t stress too much,” he said, quoting his mother. “We’re gonna be, like, celebrities there. The council told me we would get our own little suite.”
“Ok.”
Jayce frowned at him, jostling a bit as the airship’s engines roared to life. “Viktor,” he said, tilting his head to meet Viktor’s gaze. All too soon, however, the rest of his words were drowned in the revving of a massive engine, and he leaned back into his seat with an exasperated sigh. He kept his hand on Viktor’s wobbly knee.
The airship began to rise into the skies of Piltover, maneuvering with grace to line up with the fast approaching Hexgate. Jayce watched from a window as the city below sped by.
It felt like gravity was sucking them forwards, and the closer to the gate they flew, the stronger it got.
“Ready?” He said to Viktor, who nodded confidently, not meeting his eyes.
“Ready.”
Time and space felt like it was warping, the air growing cold and burning hot all at once. It felt like they were being stretched, pulled so strongly by the magic of the Hexgates that before he knew it, the skies of Piltover were swirling and mashing together. It was beautiful, terrifying. His stomach dropped out and suddenly, he felt Viktor’s hand grasp his— nails digging into skin. The world was stretching, swirling, grinding, mashing, slowing, and all of a sudden it was cold.
So cold. Jayce winced. This wasn’t supposed to happen.
His stomach churned and the sounds of the Hexgate swallowing the airship overtook his ears. So loud. His head pounded from noise and his hand stung from the nails digging into it and everything was everywhere and time was all happening at once and it was so much, too much, and the Hexgates weren’t supposed to hurt like this.
A strange, pulsing orb appeared before Jayce’s eyes, wrapping itself around him and Viktor, like space and time had dropped out from beneath them, and then it surrounded them and it was crushing them and Viktor gasped in pain and then…
Nothing.
Nothing except the freezing cold and the sharpness of hail battering Jayce as he collapsed into the snow.