Work Text:
“Hey Viktor?”
“Hm?”
“Pick a card.”
“What-” Viktor glanced up from his nearly illegible blueprint to stare at Jayce, who was indeed holding out a feathered set of cards. It had been a long day filled with the two of them repeatedly banging their heads against the wall they've been stuck at for well over a week now. Neither of them have gotten much sleep in the past while, and morale was running desperately low.
“Eh… alright,” He drew from the deck; he took the ace of hearts.
“Okay, put it back in the deck anywhere you like. I won't peek.” Jayce turned his head away, the deck still outstretched to Viktor. He did as he was told, sliding the card back in on the opposite side that he pulled from.
Jayce pushed all of the cards back into a uniform deck; he split the deck and did a quick set of overhand shuffles. With a small, but notably arrogant quirk in his upper lip, Jayce rifled and bridged the cards with ease.
Viktor rested his chin on his fist, watching with amusement while Jayce shuffled up the deck. Jayce performed a flawless spring flourish between his palms, cards flowing seamlessly from one hand to the next before dramatically slamming the deck onto the table. He was so cocky, so confident in his abilities; it made Viktor sick with yearning.
He was almost willing to entertain the idea that Jayce shared a similar sentiment for him with the way he looked at Viktor; all affection, but with the hint of something else entirely. No… no certainly not.
Jayce split the deck into two piles and pulled the top card from the left-side deck. He presented the four of clubs to Viktor.
“Is this your card?” His confidence was palpable, and Viktor almost felt bad shutting him down, stifling a snort of laughter. Almost.
“I'm afraid not, Jayce.”
Jayce’s brows pinched together. He pulled the top card from the right-side deck, presenting the jack of spades. “How about this one?”
Viktor let one slip out, chuckling at the display, “Not even close.”
Jayce hummed thoughtfully, and examined the jack. He stared for a moment at the card, and he flipped it to stare at the back. He performs this a second time, however when the face is turned back to Viktor…
“Hold on, Jayce-”
Jayce turned the face of the card back to himself, and then back to Viktor with a cocky smile splitting his cheeks; he flashed the card back at Viktor with a dramatic, slow motion flourish.
“Is this your card?”
“I… yes. Yes it is.”
Jayce's face softened as he grabbed the card box from the table, and he placed the, now ace, back into the center of the deck. He tidied it into a uniform stack with deliberate care and slid them into the box that Viktor then noticed had ‘Jayce’s ONLY!!’ scribbled messily on the front of it, clearly written by a child. Cute.
“And Viktor…” Jayce started, deadly serious, “You ought to know that a magician can never reveal his secrets.”
The two stared at each other for a long moment, before Viktor cracked. He covered his mouth as laughter bubbled in his chest and spilt out with a loud hoot. Jayce followed suit, face splitting wide and exposing the gap in his front teeth that drove Viktor mad every time.
“Anyway,” Jayce continued, face slightly flushed and leaning against the table, “I uh… I was really into magic when I was a kid.”
“So this has always been an obsession of yours?” Viktor mused.
Jayce rubbed the back of his neck, “Oh yeah, big time. I was totally head over heels for it, and I always wanted to be able to do it myself.”
He gave an airy chuckle
“You can't even imagine how upset little-me was when he figured out the super cool close-up magic he saw in a street performance wasn't actually the real deal.”
Viktor exhaled a sharp chuckle through his nose, trying to picture sweet, baby Jayce pouting at the counter of a bookstore as he flipped through the how-to’s of sleight of hand tricks and other close-up wonders. He could see the clerks sympathetic, but ultimately rather annoyed face asking Jayce if he wanted the book or not as the line behind him grew.
“Even though I was disappointed,” Jayce recalled fondly, “My ma got me a book of basic tutorials to try out for Snowdown that year. Turns out I was pretty good at it.”
“So I have seen.” Viktor praised, ignoring the small hoard of butterflies released in his gut when Jayce’s face lit up at his words.
The languid motion of the flourish of cards replayed in Viktor's mind as he stared at the blueprint with a refreshed set of eyes; Viktor tugged over his blueprint of accompanying equations, brain suddenly alight with inspiration. If there was a way he could rapidly flip through the repeated rune in a similarly uniform fashion… His eyes widened, and he snapped his head to Jayce.
“Get me some scrap paper, I think I have figured something out.”
***
It was a long, warm, and sunny day out; the two greatest innovators of Piltover were getting absolutely nothing done. They had been drifting in and out of consciousness at the lab for days, and their appetites had gone distinctly ignored. They were wearing themselves dangerously thin and they both knew it.
Viktor yawned, stretching his arms out like a cat; he appreciated the satisfying pop of his shoulders and elbows as he did so. He rested himself back down into the crook of his crossed arms against the table, faced toward Jayce. The man was spinning a silver cog on the desktop, eyes hardly focused on the activity in front of him and cheek pressed to the cool surface.
“Maybe we should take a break, V.” Jayce mumbled into the desk without taking his eyes off of the spinning piece of metal.
“Mm… I am but one coherent thought away from something big.” Viktor contested drowsily, though the half-lidded nature of his eyes likely didn't help his case.
Jayce begrudgingly hauled himself to his feet and made his way toward him, resting a hand on Viktor’s shoulder. “Let's go grab a bite to eat at least. There's that bodega–” He paused to yawn, “–downtown we like, and I really want a sandwich.”
Viktor grunted, “It is not necessary-” However, the deep growl in his stomach begged to differ. He signed, “Alright, have it your way.”
Soon enough, Viktor found himself dressed half-way decent, making his way down the street with Jayce at his side. Over time, Viktor had come to accept the fact that Jayce was a very touchy-feely sort of guy, so Jayce’s hand coming down to rest in the small of his back as they walked was more commonplace than Viktor would have once been comfortable with. In recent months it had even started to fluster him, though he kept that well under wraps externally.
The little shop they liked to frequent was a very rare delicacy indeed; it was a hole-in-the-wall bodega run by one particularly lucky man from Zaun who managed to take root in the less-kept lower districts of Piltover. His sandwiches were like no other, and the Zaunite street food was always something Viktor looked forward to. It took an eccentric pallet for a Piltie to enjoy such treats, but it seemed to have a large enough market to keep the man afloat.
After giving their orders at the counter and getting settled in their seats, with Viktor extending his leg to the chair next to Jayce across the table with a small wince, Jayce took a small sip of the water in his recently bestowed glass. He seemed rather deep in thought for a few beats before he tilted the cup back and chugged down the contents with wild abandon.
“Thirsty?” Viktor teased, though his tone read more concerned than he intended it to come out.
“Something like that,” Jayce said after a beat of quiet, staring at the empty glass cup before a small smirk passed across his face, “Hey Viktor… you've got a little something on your…”
Jayce extended his hand out to Viktor’s face, who found himself holding his breath. He could feel heat creeping up his neck, and he could hardly stomach that fluttery feeling that came back everytime Jayce got close in such an abnormal way. The occasional hand on Viktor's shoulder, or a steadying support on his lower back was normal; sometimes, however, Jayce would do something out of the ordinary. Something like this. Jayce’s hand ghosted Viktor’s heated cheek, tickling at the lightly colored peach fuzz before it retracted entirely.
Between his thumb and forefinger, Jayce held a silver cog. In fact, it looked to be the same cog he had been fiddling with just a short while ago. Viktor huffed a laugh, unfortunately very charmed by the display.
“The cog behind the ear trick is a little corny, no?”
“Oh, I’m not quite done yet.” Jayce passed him the cog along with a marker he dug out of his pocket, “Sign this for me.”
Viktor took the marker, more than happy to indulge in Jayce’s shenanigans, and jotted his shorthand signature on the cog. He liked to write it in his mother-tongue. He wished to keep that piece of himself very close, something distinctly his to hold on to.
“Okay,” Jayce took the coin and laid it flat in his palm, “I'm going to make this cog move through the glass and into the cup.”
Viktor’s seen this trick before. It's always so obvious when the occasional street performer in Zaun would very quickly flip the cog, washer, or hex up their palm and down into the cup. They never had much grace, but they were just pulling anything out of their asses to at least try to get enough money to get by. He decided to act surprised even when Jayce’s performance inevitably fell short due to that same problem.
Jayce tapped the bottom of the glass against the cog once, and then twice; he winked, and then on the third… There it was, sitting in the cup, signature side up. Viktor’s lips twitched up at the corners, it hardly looked like Jayce had lifted his hand.
Jayce dumped the cog, along with several drops of water into his hand. He looked at Viktor with little stars in his eyes, innocent excitement bubbling just under the surface. It was painfully endearing and downright blinding to a man who was once so used to darkness.
“You have an awfully fast hand, Jayce. Very well done.” Viktor said genuinely, gaze lingering just a tad too long on Jayce’s blacksmith hands. He briefly allowed himself to wonder how well Jayce’s fingers would slot between his own.
One of the cooks dropped by to set down their food; Jayce ordered a full roast beef sub, and Viktor opted for a half chicken sub along with what looked to Jayce like very large and very live locusts with their legs and wings clipped. Viktor appreciated Jayce trying his best to not look outright disgusted at them, although he would be lying if he said he didn't find his partner's squeamish expression rather amusing.
Jayce downed his entire sub in the time it took for Viktor to finish his appetizer, which he ate like someone would eat a crawfish. Viktor wondered to himself if the man even took a breath scarfing down the sandwich like that.
After wiping a napkin across his lips, Jayce casually ‘coin rolled’ the cog into his non-dominant hand. He eyed it for a long moment, glancing at Viktor for a beat, grinning like he knew a scandalous secret, and then looked back to the cog. Viktor took a bite of his sub, watching the cog roll over Jayce’s experienced fingers. It definitely didn't give Viktor a small, swooping feeling in his gut. It definitely didn't have his undivided attention.
“Did you have an entire performance planned out–” Viktor began to tease after swallowing down a mouthful before Jayce… took a bite out of the cog.
Viktor snapped his jaw shut and fixed his gaze on the half-cog between Jayce’s fingers. He did a jazz hand with his free one, “Ta-da…” He looked at the bitten cog in his hand, and he frowned.
“Ah… whoops, I was gonna tip with that.” He shot Viktor with a devilish look, who had long since stopped trusting Jayce’s words as truth in this setting. Viktor watched, enraptured by the charm in Jayce’s performance, and Jayce proceeded to seemingly spit the other half of the cog back on. Viktor found it to be actually very convincing despite knowing that it was a trick cog used for this exact stunt.
Jayce held the, now whole, cog to Viktor with a mock bow from his seated position. He looked so pleased with himself; Viktor wondered if anybody before him had humored Jayce in his magic aside from his own mother. Caitlyn, perhaps? But, that would have been a long time ago.
He made a show of doing a slow clap, “Bravo, Jayce. Bravo.”
Jayce chuckled, “When I was little I used a washer, but the cup trick was always a showstopper for me.”
“I am rather critical of sleight of hand tricks such as this, but I must admit… that was very good.”
Jayce’s face split into a genuine smile and put the cog in his breast pocket, “Y’know Vik, I have plenty more to show you… if you want.” He seemed kind of shy about it, and it was god damned adorable.
“Of course I do, Jayce. It is very entertaining.” Viktor assured.
Jayce did end up tipping handsomely, but it was with some real currency.
***
Jayce had finally convinced Viktor to come to one of the elbow-rubbing galas he so desperately avoided. After enough begging, Viktor relented when Jayce admitted he always thought about how much more fun he’d be having if Viktor was there with him. Really, how could he say no to that face after so much prodding and so many uses of his infamous puppy dog eyes.
So, much to Viktor’s dismay, there he stood next to one of the few tables scattered sparsely off to the side of the room waiting for Jayce to return with two flutes of overwhelmingly expensive champagne. His gaze drew toward some of the more flamboyant displays of fashion; they were hardly practical. It would be one thing if the practicality was outweighed by the style… but Viktor didn't find any of the looks particularly impressive. They were far too gaudy for his taste.
Viktor opted for sleek and simple: a black button down, white and gold corset vest for fashionable support, and a blood red tie. It wasn't too far off from his daily attire… just a little bit fancier. He did also privately acknowledge his compliance with the House Talis colors, and Jayce’s matching ensemble of reds, whites, blacks, and golds proved it so. He chose not to mention it after he had put on the outfit Jayce quickly tossed at him before running to the shower before they left; they had been running very late.
He thoughtfully pondered the dust of pink on Jayce’s cheeks when he had asked for assistance lacing himself up. He thought about the way Jayce’s breath hitched when he told Jayce that he ‘did not have to be gentle, I am not some fragile doll.’ Jayce had been deadly silent through the process of tugging the laces tighter and tighter, breathing ragged breaths as Viktor grunted from the force and when he sighed when the corset laced tight enough to hold his back as straight as it could get.
He huffed to himself and leaned heavier onto his crutch. Jayce was taking a millennia; Viktor scanned the crowd to find him, and when he did he just about lost it. Jayce Talis was standing at a table on the opposite side of the room… performing a card trick. Viktor could hardly believe his eyes. Jayce Talis left him high and dry just to show some rich pilties a sleight of hand trick. He was going to give Jayce shit for this.
Pinching his brows together, he made his way across the room to the table, keeping his eyes set forward to avoid any inviting eye contact with an unwanted guest. Jayce had just finished whatever trick he had performed, and was regarded with gentle golf-clapping from the small audience he gathered. As they dispersed, Jayce caught sight of Viktor, and he adopted a sheepish quirk of his lip.
“You leave me alone with these animals,” Viktor scolds with no real malice in his voice, “To perform a card trick I have not yet seen?” Viktor could smell the lighthearted guilt radiating off of Jayce.
“Ah– I’m sorry V, I got caught up in conversation… we were talking about magic and well,” he rubbed the back of his slowly reddening neck, “I guess I just wanted to… show off?” He was so cute, Viktor almost wanted to slap him silly for it.
Viktor sighed and gave Jayce his award winning smirk, “Well? Show me your trick.”
Jayce lit up, handing a flute of champagne from the table to Viktor, “Okay! Okay so,” He pulls the deck of cards he had just pocketed out of the box, “Pick a card.” He had not presented the cards to Viktor yet.
He raised a brow, “How am I supposed to draw a card with no deck?”
Jayce almost giggled, “No, I asked you to pick a card, not draw one.” He had this impish glint in his eye that Viktor found himself head over heels for every time he performed a little trick like this.
“Just think of a card, and tell me which one you pick.”
“Mm… how about the king of hearts.” Viktor declared, taking a sip of champagne… damn it was good.
Jayce nodded with a smile, “Alright, when I fan out the deck there will be one card face down, and it will be the king of hearts.”
Viktor scoffed playfully, “I would be inclined to… how do you say… call your bluff had I not just witnessed that overwhelming standing ovation for you.” He hadn't ever heard of a trick deck that could pull such a miracle, but he was sure Jayce had whichever one that did.
Jayce laughed a deep, belly laugh, “Yeah… the golf clapping was– eh– disappointing. I’m more of a stadium clap kind of guy.”
Viktor chuckled, “With the speeches you give I cannot say that your words surprise me, man of progress.” That earned him a snarky eye roll from Jayce, along with a mutter that sounded like ‘men of progress;’ he turned his attention back to the deck.
Jayce quietly thumbed through the cards, slowly fanning the deck out to a full spread. His fingers were careful and well-trained. Roughly half-way through, the red backside of a card caught Viktor’s eye.
“No way.”
“Yeah way,” Jayce’s face was as bright as the sun, beaming rays of pure joy that flushed Viktor’s skin a wine red from nape to nose. He wondered if he could get burnt from it. “Care to do the honors?”
Viktor gingerly plucked the card from the deck, and it was exactly what he expected from Jayce at this point: the king of hearts. He racked his brain trying to figure out exactly how Jayce had made this trick happen. It made no sense and it almost certainly seemed impossible.
“You have exceeded my expectations by leaps and bounds,” Viktor handed the card back to Jayce, the brush of their fingers sending a jolt of electricity up Viktor's arm, “I will struggle to solve the puzzle that is how this particular trick works.” Viktor had long since abandoned his questions to Jayce, who would always refuse to ‘reveal his magician secrets.’
Jayce smiled bashfully at Viktor, sporting what Viktor could not deny to be a blush, and he offered a smaller one back in return. The two spent much longer than a single moment quietly admiring one another. Jayce had such lovely eyes, green or yellow given the lighting. Right now, however, under the dim light casted by Edison bulbs hidden in crystal chandeliers, they were this raw-honey amber that Viktor found himself getting infinitely lost in the warmth of. Jayce’s lip twitched, and Viktor swore he saw Jayce glance down to his own before looking back to his eyes.
Jayce’s throat bobbed, and he quickly looked both ways only to find at least a dozen pairs of hungry eyes staring daggers at the two of them; he frowned deeply and cleared his throat, creasing his brow in irritation. Viktor suddenly felt very exposed, like he was a carcass to be picked apart by the vultures that made up Piltover’s elite class. The room suddenly felt very, very suffocating.
“Jayce… I–”
“Way ahead of you.” Jayce nodded before rather shyly offering his arm to him. Viktor’s face twisted up with a few different emotions: ecstatic, hesitant, anxious, and deliriously giddy. Ultimately, he quickly drank through the rest of his champagne and hooked his arm into the space made by the crook of Jayce’s elbow.
The two made a stealthy exit, leaving the stuffy party and its guest list of hungry beasts behind and giggling insults about the partygoers to one another.
***
Viktor’s favorite trick that Jayce performed for him took place on a brisk autumn afternoon. The pair had agreed to take a quick walk to stretch their legs. Viktor, as much as it pained him, appreciated the suggestion as he didn't particularly want to give himself atrophy in his leg from sitting in one place for so long.
Jayce had fussed over Viktor’s admittedly thin attire for the cold weather, and he insisted Viktor wear one of his spare waistcoats. Viktor had pretended to put up a fight, knowing fully well that he would concede in the end; sometimes being difficult with Jayce was half of the fun.
Viktor could admit that sometimes the doting can get a little overwhelming. He was so used to pity that he hardly allowed anybody to assist him at all, but with Jayce… Jayce did things just because it was in his nature to do so. He held the door open for strangers, he helped children reach the ball they lost in a tree too high for them to reach, he paid it forward at the cash register too many times for Viktor to keep track of. He knew that Jayce never meant any false intentions behind his kindness, yet it still remained so foreign to Viktor.
So, with Viktor bundled in a sweater, a scarf, and Jayce’s coat, the two made their way down the city blocks in the midst of the lively streets of Piltover, yet they bored no life, not the important kind anyway. No greens, or browns, or beautiful flowers. Just people and business and trade and side glances. Viktor held on to his crutch a little tighter than before.
Jayce had this wound-up energy about him, he was fidgeting with his hands, picking at the skin around his fingernails. Viktor, in all of his boldness, reached out to touch Jayce’s shoulder. Jayce jumped ever so slightly, looking at Viktor with a nervous lick of his lips.
“Are you quite alright?” Viktor scanned over Jayce’s face, trying to solve the riddle that was his emotions. Jayce’s brows were creased, and his skin had a hardly visible sheen of dew despite the chilled air around them. He was undeniably stressed about something, Viktor could definitively conclude that much.
“Y-yeah!,” Jayce replied, overcompensating with dramatized enthusiasm; he visibly cringed to himself, but committed to the mask, “What could– what could possibly be wrong?”
“I was hoping you could tell me.” Viktor responded.
Jayce pulled his lower lip between his teeth to anxiously chew on it. “It's not super important yet.”
Yet.
Hm.
“If you say so.” Viktor shrugged, rescinding his hand from Jayce’s shoulder, who seemed to lean into the empty space; it was nearly imperceptible, but Viktor was a stickler for detail. He would be a liar if he were to say that he hadn't noticed Jayce straying further and further from a platonic energy when it came to him. Touches lingered, glances led to flushed faces, fingers brushed, eye contact smoldered. Viktor simply didn't know what to do with that information just yet. It felt odd to think that maybe Jayce really did feel that way. He's so magnificent and Viktor… Viktor viewed himself as nothing but (hardly) alive.
The two walked in relative silence for a while, Jayce having taken the lead a couple streets ago. Viktor was about to ask just where they were going, but it quickly made itself known as they approached their destination– it was one of the few public parks in the midst of Piltover’s so-called ‘progress,’ and the trees had finally begun turning from green to red to yellow to brown. Scattered dead leaves crunched under their feet as they made their way into the tiny paradise of now decaying life. Viktor shoved the thought of himself being much like these trees away before he got too angsty and ruined a perfectly lovely moment for himself.
Spotting a bench, Viktor tapped Jayce and nodded toward it. Jayce followed Viktor, who sat down with a huff and a wince. Jayce sat beside him, letting their thighs ghost against one another. That stain of red on Jayce’s cheeks had returned, and the anxiety came along with it in what looked to Viktor to be tenfold. Jayce had been looking down to his hands, which had once again started picking and tugging on little fly-aways of bitten skin.
Viktor’s words puffed out a little cloud of steam, “Jayce, tell me what you are thinking about, I can smell your distress from here.”
Jayce gulped and laced his fingers together, throat tightening in thought, “I– I wanted to show you another trick.”
Viktor chortled, the laugh rolling easily from his lips, “This was about a magic trick? Goodness, Jayce.” He took a breath to center himself, “You were worrying me for a moment there.”
Jayce rubbed at his nape, “Ah sorry… I just– I’ve never performed this one before,” he paused, “Well– I have but… uh… it didn't go too well is all.”
“Show me, I’m sure you will do just fine,” Viktor reassured Jayce, subtly pressing their thighs together. Jayce noticed, staring for a brief moment before nodding.
Jayce tugged a piece of… tissue paper out of the breast pocket of his coat. Viktor quirked a brow. Jayce had stuck to primarily card tricks, given that he was incredibly good at them. He would toss in an occasional coin trick, or one time he even brought in a set of metal rings that he maneuvered into and out of one another; he even made a few of them ‘vanish’ into thin air and then reappear with a flourish. The tissue paper was new, and it was foreign to Viktor’s admittedly limited knowledge of sleight of hand shenanigans.
Jayce handed the tissue paper to Viktor, “Take a good look at it.” Viktor examined it closely, flipping it back and forth. Yep. It was indeed a standard piece of white tissue paper. He glanced at Jayce, searching the man’s face for any hint of this being a joke, who just breathed a sharp laugh through his nose. “Just had to prove that this isn't trick-paper or anything.”
Viktor chuckled along, “Very well, I can confirm that this is an ordinary piece of paper.” He gingerly handed it back to Jayce so as to not accidentally tear the delicate thing. Jayce snagged the tissue back from Viktor, and he began to roll it gently between his fingers.
“I miss doing things like this, tricks like these,” Jayce spoke softly with a gentle affection to his voice, “I never had anybody other than my Ma’ and Caitlyn to perform for… not anyone that was interested anyway.”
Viktor eyed the way Jayce's fingers curled around the roll of paper, his large and well worn fingers molding the ball; suddenly, it took shape. It looked quite a bit like a tulip, Viktor noted to himself. Jayce laughed a little, “To be fair I don’t really think Caitlyn was ever all that interested either. But… she put up with me anyway.”
Jayce rolled it a final time between the heels of his hands, and as he separated his hands, the tulip rose from his bottom palm but it didn't reach the lifted one. It was suspended between them with a gentle bobbing motion.
Viktor's mouth opened, but quickly snapped shut as Jayce continued talking.
“That is–” The tulip rolled up one arm, back down, up the other, and then back down to the tips of his joined fingers, finger pads pressed delicately together. “–Until you decided to humor me.” The tulip balanced precariously on the very tip of Jayce’s middle finger after he pulled his fingertips away from each other. Jayce wasn't even looking at it anymore; his gaze was fixed on Viktor’s eyes, who couldn't help but feel a flush creeping up his collar.
“Jayce…”
Jayce removed his hands from the paper entirely, and the tulip sat midair in front of Jayce’s sternum. It bobbled ever so slightly. Viktor gaped at it, and he couldn't help but think that it really did look like magic this time, not just an over the counter card trick. Jayce reached out and clasped one of Viktor's hands between his own, “You’re my favorite audience to perform for.”
Jayce's hands were so warm in comparison to the stilled, crisp air; they were like a blazing campfire saving Viktor from the harsh cold of the metaphorical wilderness he had been lost in for so long. Viktor had to consciously control his breathing to avoid it ceasing entirely. Jayce, with the tulip still temporarily ignored in front of him, rubbed his thumb over Viktor’s knuckles. Viktor swallowed thickly. Jayce took one hand away at first, letting the second one tickle Viktor's palm on its way back to the abandoned magic trick.
He plucked the tulip from the air, “You've always humored my ideas,” He continued as he unfolded the tulip back to a standard white square of tissue, “Even from the very start.”
Whatever nervousness in Jayce had eroded into a palpable, yet reserved fondness, building his confidence as he focused more on his words than the trick. Jayce pondered the tissue for a moment and shifted where he was sitting to push their shoulders together too. Viktor leaned into him without hesitation.
“You saved me, Viktor,” Jayce was rolling up the paper between his palms again, his voice soft, “In more ways than one.”
“You say such sweet things, Jayce.” Viktor stated, voice quiet and unsure.
Jayce smiled, “I would shout it all from the rooftops if I wasn’t afraid of getting fined for 'disturbing the peace.’” The shape of the tissue so far was just a tube with a puff of unshaped tissue at the top of it.
“Hm… what would you proclaim standing all of the way up there?” Viktor asked, knowing damn well that he was fishing. This conversation was steering in a direction that Viktor very much wanted to stoke the flames of.
Jayce sighed, “Gods Vik, I wouldn't know where to start.”
“Try.”
Jayce laughed at Viktor’s unintentionally demanding tone, “Well… you're the most brilliant person I’ve ever met.”
“That is too easy.”
“Fair,” Jayce admitted, “I would tell the world… that you're the most important person on this planet to me.”
Viktor’s face got warmer, “What about your mother?”
“Doesn’t count.”
Viktor laughed, “What else?”
Jayce's face flashed with a look of recognition before he spoke again; Viktor had a feeling Jayce caught wind of brash fish for compliments, “I would tell them how pretty you are.”
Oh, Viktor wasn’t expecting that one. He suddenly became very aware of how close their faces were.
“Pretty?”
“So pretty.”
“Hah.” Viktor couldn't help but struggle to believe him. Jayce said it with such a warm tone that Viktor thought he would go into heat stroke; maybe Jayce was telling the truth.
Jayce plucked a stray corner of paper away from the tube of it, shaping it into what looked like a teardrop. His fingers delicately shifted the shape into place, and it suddenly looked much more like… like a leaf. Viktor tilted his head.
“I would say that you look your best in House Talis colors.”
“Now is that so?” Viktor regained enough composure to tease him despite the all of the blood rushing to his cheeks and ears.
“I wouldn't let you wear anything else if I had the choice.” His voice almost sounded possessive for a short moment. Viktor would be hard-pressed to doubt that statement. “I like showing people that you're…”
“That I’m what?” Mine? Viktor would melt into a puddle.
“... That you're… mine..” Well, there goes Viktor’s beating heart. Jayce looked like he wasn't sure if he should have said that part, uncertainty creeping into his voice. Viktor moved his palm to Jayce’s knee, rubbing a small circle next to it. Jayce’s shoulders relaxed a bit.
Jayce moved to the top of the shape, gently folding the splayed corners into each other before pressing it between his palms just before letting Viktor parse the shape of it. When he pulled his palms away, it lifted, untouched, into an upright position; it was a rose. Viktor would laugh at how corny the display was if it was anybody but Jayce.
“I would tell them…” Jayce reached into his pocket and tugged a small, flat piece of cardboard from its depths. “I would tell them just how much I care about you.”
Viktor could hardly believe his ears, how did he get here so suddenly? He didn't know, and frankly, he didn't care. All he could think about was this very moment, the heat of Jayce’s shoulder, the twitch of muscle above his knee.
“And just how much is that, Jayce?” Jayce’s name rolled off his lips with a tone he tried desperately to keep level, but the slight tremor in it was noticeable to a keen ear.
Jayce struck a match from what Viktor could now see clearly to be a miniature matchbook. He plucked the rose from the air, just below the flower.
“Viktor…” He set the rose ablaze starting at the bottom of the stem. It puffed up more smoke than Viktor was expecting, and when it cleared… Jayce was holding a real, live rose to Viktor. “I would tell the entire universe that I love you.”
Time stood still for a moment; Viktor felt like he couldn't breathe.
“I–”, he swallowed a dry mouthful of air, “I cannot believe… surely you must know of my love for you. Otherwise I do not think you would have done this at all.” Viktor tenderly plucked the rose from Jayce’s fingers, fiddling with the leaf on the stem; he lifted the rose to his nose to enjoy the sweet scent of it. He could see Jayce watching him with a knowing nod in his periphery.
Jayce rested his hand on the inside of Viktor’s elbow before pushing it down to Viktor’s lap. With his other hand, He reached out and cupped Viktor’s jaw, smiling like Viktor had personally hung the stars just for him. For the record, he would do that for Jayce if it were possible. Before Viktor knew it, his lips had been stolen into a kiss by Jayce Talis.
It was chaste, the two of them parting in just a few moments to look into eachothers’ eyes. Viktor, at least, needed to make sure this was still real. Within seconds, after confirming that this was reality, Viktor used his free hand to grip Jayce’s tie to pull him into another. This one lasted longer, it was soft and slow and perfect. They breathed steadily together in and out of their noses to avoid breaking contact for as long as they could. When they parted, Jayce held the back of Viktor’s head, fingers running through the mess of his hair; he pressed their foreheads together, and Viktor fluttered his eyes shut.
Viktor felt Jayce move, and before he could open his eyes he felt the brief press of lips to the bridge of his nose, then his temple, the mole under his eye, the tip of his nose, the mole above his lip, two on his jaw, and finally one more quick peck to his lips.
“Jayce?” Viktor started, eyes opening to look at Jayce's face once again. The pupils of Jayce’s eyes just about swallowed the lovely green they shifted to in the cloudy day’s dim light.
“Hm?”
“What… what happened the first time you performed that trick?”
Jayce laughed hard and loud, pulling his hands away to wrap one around his stomach, and to press the other to his forehead.
“I- I almost," he choked out between giggles, "I almost burnt down my Ma’s kitchen…”
Viktor just laughed and laughed and laughed. It was all too fitting, and Viktor found himself gaining a true affection for the less literal forms of magic he had been shown. Only because it was Jayce who showed them to him.