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Care was not a word Viktor was familiar with. Pity, sure. The long, sorrowed glances he received from the Pilties he crossed as he walked to streets of their shining city were enough evidence to that claim. False projection was a common one as well. Viktor couldn’t even begin to stress the amount of times in which an overly-confident stranger would approach him and attempt to relate to him about his disability, using a sick family member or parent as their excuse. However, coddling was the most irritating one by far; when a naive, yet well-meaning citizen would rush up to Viktor and attempt to help him across the road, or assist him with his groceries, it only filled him with a boiling rage. He knew that if not for his cane, if not for the limp that plagued his gait, he would not be treated with such sympathy.
At least that was how he thought, until he met Jayce Talis.
Unfortunately for Viktor, care was a word physically ingrained into Jayce’s very being. It didn’t matter who he was with — strangers, friends, lovers, enemies — Jayce was a man who could never bring himself to not care, even for his own sake. Jayce was the type of man to prioritize anything and everything over his own needs. Though Viktor would never do it, he swore on his own soul that even if he were to treat Jayce with nothing but scorn and toxicity, Jayce would come crawling back like a kicked puppy, all apologies and wet, sad eyes. A people pleaser, as the people of Piltover would call him. Viktor’s fellow Zaunites would call him spineless.
Jayce was anything but spineless.
He was soft, yes. Kind to a fault. But Viktor knew that behind that gentle exterior, Jayce would do anything to realize his dreams. It was that very quality that drew Viktor to him like a magnet, pulled by an incomprehensible force of fate, a force that many would call love.
Viktor personally hated that word. To call Viktor’s bond to Jayce “love” was the understatement of the century. Love was a word you used to describe a passionate affection, but for Viktor, Jayce was not merely someone he held a deep affection for, but someone he knew, in all senses of the word. He knew Jayce’s shoe size, his order from his favorite restaurant, he knew that he liked his coffee slow-roasted with just a splash of almond milk, because lactose always upset his stomach.
But more than that, Viktor knew Jayce’s soul. He knew that Jayce’s constant pandering and people pleasing behavior was deeply rooted in him through his struggle to be accepted into Piltover’s society. He knew the deep-seeded fear that crushed his soul whenever the snow began to fall. Most of all, Viktor knew Jayce’s hatred for the cold, sterile detachment of everything to do with hospitals. Especially needles. That last bit was what made their current situation so odd, in Viktor’s book.
Viktor sat in the bathroom of his academy-provided dorm, sitting on the closed toilet seat with his hands clasped between his knees. His eyes stalked Jayce as he carefully guided the needle of the syringe he held into the small vial of solute, the label reading “Xyosted”, Viktor’s testosterone injection of choice. He watched intently as Jayce slowly drew up the fluid into the syringe, tapping the air bubbles out to make sure he got just the right dose. As Jayce gently wiped down Viktor’s injection site for the third time, just to be sure, and poised the tip of the needle above the injection site. Viktor’s breath caught in his throat when Jayce looked up at him with those soft hazel eyes, his gaze loaded with mild concern for his beloved’s well-being.
See, Viktor had a horrible habit. He would work himself to the point of exhaustion, collapse, and then become so fatigued and flared-up that he could barely take care of himself. And with finals season coming around, as well as his undergraduate thesis due soon, Viktor’s habit had been amplified to the max. Prior to Jayce, Viktor’s self-destructive habits were the type that nearly cost him his job on several different occasions, not to mention the detrimental effects that days of rotting in bed without eating had on his health.
But now that Jayce was around, things were different.
Viktor was startled out of his thoughts by the prick of the needle piercing his skin. He looked down to watch Jayce carefully inject Viktor’s dosage into his skin, pressing a little wad of toilet paper over the injection site and pressing down with a firm pressure as he pulled the needle out with swift precision. Jayce gently stroked Viktor’s hand, attempting to soothe him with soft words of reassurance.
“Hey, V. You coming back to reality now?” Jayce asked, lifting his hand up to cup Viktor’s cheek and caress it lovingly with his thumb. Viktor let out a soft hum of approval at the feeling of warmth against his chilled skin. Jayce always radiated warmth like a human heater, and due to Viktor’s inability to regulate his own temperature, that came as both a blessing and a curse.
In this moment though, Viktor leaned into the grounding warmth of Jayce’s palm. He could feel the calluses built up from his time in the forge against his high cheekbones, each little caress bringing to light the gentle scratching sensation of rough skin against skin. Viktor nodded his head silently, leaning into the touch as Jayce gently placed a bandage over his injection site, pressing a gentle kiss over the bandage afterwards.
Viktor’s face cracked into a soft smile and pressed a kiss to his lover’s palm, before speaking in a hushed tone. “You do not have to take care of me, Jayce. I know you have an important council meeting tomorrow morning, and you need to rest accordingly. I am more than capable of getting myself ready for bed on my own.” Viktor rationalized, staring down at his beloved partner.
Jayce was in his pajamas already, a loose white tank top and matching red-heart patterned shorts that had been given to him as a gag gift by his younger sister Caitlyn. His hair was still damp from his own shower, an aggressive mint on his breath from brushing his teeth. Viktor himself could never stand the violent flavor of mint toothpaste, much preferring to simply brush with water, whereas Jayce himself swore by mint, refusing to risk bad breath.
Viktor could see the faint shine of Jayce’s t-gel drying on his arm as he gently placed an ice-pack over the bandaid on Viktor’s thigh, moving his hand to press over it as he reached for the second injection of the night; Enbrel, a drug used to keep the inflammation levels of Viktor’s rheumatoid arthritis at manageable levels. Jayce picked up the enbrel pen and rolled it between his hands, warming it up to body temperature before repeating the earlier process of cleaning Viktor’s injection site, this time on the other leg.
Jayce looked up as he iced the skin of Viktor’s thin, bony thighs, giving Viktor a sad smile. “Vik, I want to take care of you. I could care less about the council and what they want or expect of me. I just want to make sure you’re okay.” Jayce hummed, kissing Viktor’s knee as the words got stuck in his throat. No matter how many times Jayce expressed his adoration, Viktor would never truly be able to accept that Jayce’s care didn’t come with any undertones of pity or coddling, it was simply.. care. Raw and plain as can be.
Viktor gave a noncommittal nod, fighting back the urge to argue with Jayce. He knew his words of denial wouldn’t do anything this late into their relationship, having learned that the hard way during the earlier days of their partnership. Arguing with Jayce about the intensity of his devotion only made him double down. So, Viktor leaned back against the toilet and allowed Jayce to press the enbrel pen to his chilled thigh, pressing the dark blue button at the tip and murmuring soft, comforting words to Viktor as the pen drained the dosage of medicine into his lithe body.
Viktor didn’t need the comfort, as he’d taken his injections insurmountable amounts of times, but he supposed that the comfort was more for Jayce himself than it was for Viktor.
As Jayce laid a matching band aid on the other side, he pressed a kiss over the bandage and then moved to stand. Viktor watched as Jayce’s large fingers gripped clumsily for Viktor’s cane, handing it to him and helping Vik to stand. Viktor fought back the instinct to swat Jayce away, instead making his way over to the sink as Jayce directed him. Viktor reached for his toothbrush, only for Jayce to snatch it up before Viktor could. As he went to complain, Jayce wet Viktor’s toothbrush for him and applied a light layer of toothpaste from a tube he had never seen before.
At Viktor’s raised eyebrow, Jayce cracked a smile and handed the tube to Viktor. “I know how much you hate mint, so I got you a different flavor to try. I heard about this brand from Caitlyn’s girlfriend Vi. Apparently they use it because Vi’s little sister Powder refuses to brush her teeth, so the sweetness helps.” Jayce explained, before realizing that he just unintentionally compared his boyfriend to a twelve-year-old girl. “Not- Not that you’re anything like her, though-! I just- I just thought since you like sweets so much, maybe a sweet toothpaste would help make it more sensory friendly..?” Jayce sputtered as he awkwardly tapped his foot, a frequent stim of his when the words just kept tumbling out of his mouth in a nervous wreck.
Viktor gently cupped Jayce’s face, squishing his cheeks to silence him. Jayce’s eyebrows shot up in silent confusion, receiving an amusing chuckle . “Jayce, you are fine. I know you did not intend to offend me.” Viktor explained softly, his voice a little hoarse from the few days he had been in an episode of autistic mutism earlier in the week. “Now, what flavor is this.. ehh.. toothpaste that you bought?” Viktor questioned, allowing Jayce to redirect his thoughts to something new.
“Oh! It’s, uhm,” Jayce paused to read the label on the tube of toothpaste, “It’s just vanilla. I saw on the website that they had licorice flavor, but I wasn’t sure how strong it would be and if it would be anything like your usual sweetmilk, so I thought I should hold off on buying it. Though I’m not sure they sell samples, but maybe if you email the site-“ Jayce rambled on as he picked up Viktor’s toothbrush and casually guided it into his mouth.
Viktor hummed in approval as Jayce wrapped an arm around his hips from behind and took his wrist, guiding him through the motion of brushing his teeth. Viktor would’ve felt coddled by the behavior, if not for the taste of sugary, artificial vanilla melting on his tongue as Jayce worked the harsh bristles of the toothbrush over his back teeth. He let out a hum of content, leaning back against Jayce further and nodding his approval of the toothpaste’s unique flavor.
Jayce smiled faintly as he maneuvered the bristles of the toothbrush in small circles over Viktor’s front teeth, scrubbing away the plaque built up from the week Viktor spent rotting in bed and recovering from his severe burnout. As a little drip of foamy toothpaste froth dripped from the corner of his lip, Jayce wiped it up with his thumb and popped said thumb into his mouth, licking it clean. Viktor wrinkled his nose, speaking slightly slurred past the toothbrush in his mouth. “Jayce, that is disgusting.” Jayce chuckled and pressed a kiss to Viktor’s cheek, lips warm and wet with spit. “It’s not gross when it’s you, V.”
“Bacteria argues otherwise.”
Jayce snorted a laugh and guided Viktor to wash out his mouth with a sip of water, wiping his mouth when he was done and giving him a short peck. “All clean. I’m so proud of you.” Viktor cracked a short smile and shook his head in amusement at Jayce’s incessant praise, simply reaching for his cane and letting Jayce guide him back to their bedroom and into their bed, burying him under piles and piles of covers and blankets.
Jayce settled in beside Viktor, curling up against him and allowing Viktor to warm his cold feet between his scalding hot calves. Jayce ran his hands through Viktor’s oily hair, making a silent note that tomorrow, he’d have to help Viktor wash his hair. But tonight, all that mattered was the two of them, curled up in their bed, sharing warmth and breathing in the comforting scent of their humanity.