Chapter Text
It was late at night, the sun had set long ago, and it was mere hours before it rose again. Jayce and Viktor were in the lab, as usual. It was nothing different from their typical routine, which consisted of waking up a little before midday, then working in the laboratory for as long as they could before they had to practically hold their eyelids open, and force their bodies to cooperate.
That day, though, Viktor had been feeling a little under the weather. His posture was more slumped, he was leaning onto his cane for support more than usual, and he was hacking up more phlegm than ever. And while he was trying not to make a big deal out of it, nothing went unnoticed by Jayce.
"Hey Viktor?" Jayce started. Viktor stopped writing down on his notebook, and turned to see what his partner was saying.
"I have a suggestion, what if, instead of using the usual base equation for this calculation we-" He said, before he cut himself off and stared at Viktor, with a strange look in his eyes.
Viktor looked at him, confused, "Yes Jayce? Would you please carry on?"
Jayce was a little bit zoned out, thinking about his partner. Viktor's voice, with a slight impatient tone, snapped him out of his thoughts. "Are you okay, man?" he finally ended up asking.
"Yes, yes I am fine," Viktor answered him.
"Are you sure? This question can wait 'til tomorrow, if you're not feeling up to it, we can call it a night and head back to bed earlier than we usually do," he suggested.
"It is nothing to worry about," Viktor assured him. "Now, what were you-"
"If you're feeling sick," he interrupted.
"Jayce."
"I can get you-"
"Jayce."
"-some painkillers, medicine,"
"Jayce!" Viktor snapped. "I told you, I am fine! I am in pain all the time, and while I do appreciate your concern, it is nothing to worry about. Can we please get this question over with now?"
"But you seem really exhausted, Viktor, and I don't want this to affect you, I care about you and your health, even if you don't prioritize it much, I care about it, and you, more than you think."
Viktor sighed.
"Can we atleast leave early today? It's half past four," Jayce asked.
"Fine," he said, sounding extremely annoyed.
Viktor got up, leaning onto his cane for support. Getting up after being seated had been hard for him the whole day. Jayce could not bear to ignore the sight of his partner struggling to do such a simple task, one that does not usually exhaust him like it was at that moment. Viktor noticed the look Jayce was giving him, and it made him roll his eyes once again. He did not like being looked at like this. What was that anyway? A look of sadness, pity, worry? Whatever it was, he did not like it.
He left the lab, heading out to his bedroom, which was not far. His cane was being hit aggressively on the floor, his thomps loud, in contrast to his usually light steps and the little taps the cane made while he walked.
Viktor finally reached the room, and with more difficulty than he would have liked, he changed into his pajamas and slumped onto his bed. It was around a quarter to 5 at that point, and it did not take him long to fall asleep.
Jayce was feeling worried about his partner, and a bit mad at him for rejecting his help. He had only been trying to make him feel more comfortable, because he cared about him, and he could not figure out why it made Viktor so mad to the point he snapped, because Viktor was a man who rarely lashed out at people and always kept his cool. He was also confused, as to why Viktor did not wait for him so they could leave together, since his room was on Jayce's way, he would drop him off at his door, and resume walking until he reached his own. That had been some sort of tradition, if you can call it that, they had been doing that for years, and Jayce has always found himself to appreciate the tired conversations they had on their way to their bedrooms.
He changed into his pajamas, and went to bed. In contrast to Viktor, it took him about an hour and a half to fall asleep, worried thoughts filled his head, and he lay in bed, wondering why his partner had been acting so strange that day. Eventually, he finally drifted off and let his sleepiness take over him.
-
The following morning, Viktor woke up feeling more tired than the day before. He glanced at the clock on his nightstand, and he realized that he had overslept. He was almost an hour late. He and Jayce never formally set a schedule, only doing what they felt like doing, but in his own standards, he was late. He had always been a rather punctual man, always on time, and never late to anything, that even in his academy days, before he had become a scientist, he never arrived after Heimerdinger had started talking, not to a single lecture.
He rushed out of bed, almost falling in the process, hastily grabbed his cane, and went into the kitchen. He turned the electric kettle on and prepped his preferred coffee mixture. He did not have time to sit down and enjoy himself a mug of black coffee while reading a book, so while the water was boiling, he quickly went into the shower.
He sat down in the shower, for he had no strength to stand up, did a quick round of shampooing for his hair, scrubbed his body with a loofah, and got out, just as quick as he got in. He did not feel like blowdrying his wet hair, especially that it was a time consuming task, styling and getting every strand in its designated place. So he just slid the brush across his hair, after quickly drying it with a towel, and combed through it.
He changed into his usual outfit consisting of black trousers, a brown, striped button up, and a white vest. He tied his brace to his knee, stood in front of the mirror, staring at his face, until he felt like he looked acceptable enough to leave. He went into the kitchen, poured the now boiled water into the white, 'man of progress' mug, with Jayce's face on it, and rushed out of his room.
By now Jayce had been getting worried. He was barely keeping himself from going into Viktor's room to check up on him. His concern had been there all night, it started increasing when he went into the lab and didn't see Viktor sitting down on the stool, experimenting, or standing near the chalkboard, writing down some equation. He tried to shrug it off, convincing himself that he was getting worked up over nothing, and that Viktor would show up soon. Well, he was wrong, because at that moment, he was pacing around the laboratory, 'what if' thoughts flooding his mind.
What if something happened to Viktor? What if he had passed out? What if this happened? What if-
After what felt like eternity, Jayce's train of thoughts was interrupted by Viktor opening the laboratory door.
"Good morning, Jayce," he greeted, a little dryly. "My apologies for being late."
"Oh, no worries Viktor!" Jayce answered. "Why were you late, if you don't mind me asking?"
"I got caught up with some... stuff."
Jayce did not have to know that he failed to hear his alarm going off.
"And here I was starting to get worried, haha," Jayce said.
Viktor felt a pang of guilt in his chest, but brushed it off.
"Oh, my bad, Jayce," he replied, his tone slightly sarcastic, not on purpose. "I told you not to worry about me, though. I am fine."
"If you say so," Jayce said, unconvinced.
The following hours passed like a blur for the both of them, with the occasional snarky remark here and there from Viktor. Jayce was getting more and more irritated with Viktor's remarks, it was not his fault any of his was happening, and he knew it. He just did not know why he was being treated like he did something so wrong, so unholy.
It was early in the evening, and there was an extremely loud silence between both of them. None of them had dared to break it. Each worked in solitude, which felt a little off-putting for the both. Jayce had finally broken the silence.
"What's up with you, Viktor? And don't even start with the 'i'm fine' bullshit, because we both clearly know that you're not. Your eyebags are even more evident than they'd been yesterday, your posture even worse, back more dented. There's more things I noticed about you, but I won't be mentioning every single one of them. Man, I'm always here for you, and you know it. I don't know why you're pushing me away, and I don't know why you're treating me like I did something wrong to you, I'm just trying to help," Jayce quickly blurted out. He had not realized that in the spur of the moment, he stood up, and started dramatically flailing his arms.
To be on Jayce's level of sight, Viktor got up from his stool, groaning in pain.
"Jayce, I do not need you worrying about me. I am not a baby, and I do not wish to be treated like so. I am perfectly capable of taking care of my own needs," Viktor said calmly, though he was starting to lose his temper, and it showed.
Jayce stared at him, with a look he could not make out, the same look he was giving him yesterday.
"Vik," Jayce started, and before he could continue, Viktor interrupted him.
"Stop giving me that look," he said sternly.
"What look?" Jayce inquired.
"Stop looking at me like you pity me," Viktor said the last part in a whisper.
"I don't pity you Viktor, not in the slightest. It makes me sad seeing you like this, going through it all alone, without asking for help. I don't pity you Viktor, I never did."
"You... don't?"
"No, not at all."
"Oh."
Viktor sighed and sat back down on the stool. He was getting another one of those dizzy spells. He put his hands between his temples, squeezing the area, in a way to make the spell pass faster.
"You good?" Jayce asked.
"Just a dizzy spell," Viktor mumbled.
Jayce brought his own stool and sat next to his partner.
"Okay," started Viktor, after the spell had passed. "I, uhm, I am sorry."
"I'm glad you apologised to me, Viktor. Do you wanna tell me what's happened now, or what?"
"Yes, I think I will."
"Uh huh, I'm listening, V."
"I guess I was just feeling a little bit frustrated? My whole body fucking hurts, and I do not like the extra attention brought onto me when I am feeling like this. I appreciate your concern, Jayce, but I do not appreciate the way you did not leave me alone, even though I know you're doing it from a place of love, it just, bothered me, alot. And the fact that it felt like you pitied me did not help. Again, I am sorry. For losing my temper, and for pushing you away."
"I'm glad you talked to me about it. You know I never pitied you, not for anything. I'm sorry you felt like this, and from now on, I will make sure to stop prying into your business, and yes, I did it from a place of love, but now I understand how it could have bothered you and made you feel. But for God's sake man, you need to be honest with me more often, too! Pushing me away will not help. And I know work is important for you, but sometimes we have to prioritise our health over work, even though it feels like it's the most important thing at the moment."
"Thanks, Jayce." Viktor whispered. "I will try to tell you more, but no promises."
Viktor said the last part as a joke.
Jayce snickered. "No promises, huh?" he still proposed the idea at him, "Sooo, uhm, you still wanna call it a day I know you're not a big fan, but-"
"You know what, sure."
"Oh and by the way, you look like a wet cat. I'm pretty sure you were not 'busy with stuff' you just slept in a little late."
"Oh, shut it, Talis."
Viktor rolled his eyes, playfully this time.
"Come on, let's leave. Let's just chill down in my room, and get some well needed rest," Jayce suggested.
"Alright," Viktor agreed.
And with that, they left the laboratory, and hung out with eachother the whole night. They enjoyed eachothers' company alot, and while they were hanging out, Jayce suggested that Viktor should take a few more days off to regain his energy and get back to his healthy state. With much difficulty, Viktor finally agreed to Jayce's suggestion. Little by little, his eyebags lessened and his posture straightened, his back was no longer slumped, and he was not leaning on his cane as much. Jayce, of course, spent those days with him, never leaving his side. He tried to display his affection subtly, in ways that Viktor appreciated and did not find invasive, such as patting his shoulder and sitting close to him. After Viktor had made a full recovery, they returned to their usual work and routines, with Jayce being extra cautious of his partner's health, careful to avoid a situation like this happening again.