Chapter Text
It’s no surprise that Jayce Talis—star pupil of Dr. Heimerdinger, scientific prodigy, inventor extraordinaire, and current favorite for an upcoming council position—has been invited to attend yet another party at the Piltover Science Center and discuss his latest inventions.
There’s been a lot of parties throughout the years. Some disguised as fundraisers, some opportunities to present his work to the masses, some merely just an excuse for people with a lot of money to get drunk and throw it at projects they barely understand in an attempt to make themselves feel like they’re doing something good with their cash.
So no, parties aren’t new to Jayce. But that doesn’t mean he likes them. As personable as he is he actually hates these things. He hates how people’s eyes glaze over when he starts getting into the schematics of things, and how people use these kinds of events as an excuse to treat him like Piltover’s most eligible bachelor.
He knows that jobs like these come with a side of networking, but at events like this, surrounded by people with the kind of money to really fund the kind of things he dreams about, he needs to be able to focus on pitching his ideas and securing said money. He can’t be distracted by advances that he could care less about.
Most of the time he takes Cait as his plus one. Her mother funds his research and she’s like a sister to him, but most people don’t know this and assume they are a couple when she shows up on his arm. As if either of them were anywhere close to each others’ type. But alas, Cait isn’t available this weekend.
She’d offered to set him up with Vi instead, which was sweet, but Jayce knows Vi well enough at this point to know that she’s more likely to try and go along with setting him up with some wealthy politician’s insufferable daughter just for the laugh of it. Cait had seemed offended when he initially rejected her offer, Vi had laughed and admitted that that was exactly something she would do.
Instead, she hands him a business card. It isn’t flashy, but he supposes discretion is in Babette’s Escort Services’ best interest. He’s heard of Babette, Vi has mentioned her in passing enough that he’s familiar with her line of work.
“Look guys, I’m happy that Babette’s was an integral part of your relationship but I’m not really looking for a hookup right now.”
Vi levels him with a glare.
“That’s her other business, dumbass. This one’s all above board, exactly what it says on the card. Perfect for people like you who want to make it through a night seeming like you’re not as pathetic as you are and then they go their separate ways. And you come out unsullied by the hands of high society!” She looks him up and down, considering. “Well, more than you already are at least.”
“Hey, your girlfriend is more high society than I am!”
Vi shrugs.
“It’s a work in progress.”
Jayce isn’t sure he wants to know what she means by that.
The card burns a hole in his pocket as the evening of the party draws closer.
He pays a visit to his mother to see if she would like to accompany him, and her eyes light up. He’s just about to take the first deep breath he’s been able to in weeks, but then she’s grabbing at his cheeks and talking about what a sight her handsome boy will be, sharing his brilliance with the world. He imagines her at his side when yet another potential partner is mentioned and can picture all too clearly her reaction to that as well.
He awkwardly retracts the invitation.
He considers feigning an illness, telling Heimerdinger that he just can’t make it. He knows that he would be able to give the presentation on his air purifiers just as well as Jayce could. But he’s also been going on about some prodigy he wants Jayce to meet for the last few weeks; has told him all about this brilliant mind that he found by chance and how well he thinks he and Jayce would get on. The last thing he wants to do is disappoint the man that’s had so much faith in him and has given him so many opportunities over the years.
And so two days before the event Jayce finds himself once again thumbing the edge of the worn paper card in his pocket. He is, unfortunately, desperate. He makes the call.
“Babette’s escort services, how can I help you?”
“Um, hello. I’d like to… hire an escort? I guess? I need a plus one for a fancy party. Just someone who can make the rounds with me. Nothing, uh, else.”
“Well that’s perfect because our services do not include anything else, sir.” Her tone is pleasant but it’s clear that he has misstepped.
Jayce gulps.
“I didn’t mean to offend!” He says hastily. Great. This is already going so well.“What is the date and time of your event?”
Jayce parrots the information back to her easily, the one part of this conversation that he is sure of.
She takes the information and promises to pass it along to their available escorts for that evening. He is assured that he’ll receive a message soon from whichever of them is available and willing to work with him.
Jayce hangs up the phone and promptly moves to sit on the floor. It feels like a new low for him, but people must do this all the time if there’s a whole business model, right?
At the very worst he hates the person that shows up, suffers through the night annoyed yet untouched by the people he’s trying to avoid, and never has to see them again. He tries to think about if that would be worse than just facing the party alone and recalls the last time he went to one of these things solo. The prominent memory that resurfaces is councilor Hoskel’s wife attempting to familiarize herself with his backside while he explained his latest invention to her husband. He decides that the risk is more than worth it if he does not have to endure that again.
Later that evening his phone pings with a new email from an escort agency address. It is brief, mostly just a confirmation that he’ll be waiting for him outside of the science center on the night of the party and that he should be looking for a man wearing a red cravat.
Well that isn’t horribly descriptive. Jayce wonders if the description he provided of himself will be sufficient enough for this man to recognize him. He hopes it will be, if all he has to go on to find his date for the evening is ‘man with red cravat.’ Perhaps the woman on the phone connected the dots and knows exactly who he is. And wouldn’t that be embarrassing?
He scrubs a hand over his face and puts the phone down after typing out a quick confirmation and filling out the attached contract that detailed the ‘no kissing, no sex’ policies Babette had made clear over the phone. Eventually he decides that going back to his work is about the only way he’s going to be able to distract himself from this and heads towards the lab.
The day of the party comes and Jayce’s already sour mood deepens. Cait comes to visit him in the morning before betraying him for whatever other important thing she has to do that night.
“It’s not too late to just take Vi,” she suggests again.
“Cait, I love Vi, but she would be an absolutely terrible date for this kind of thing. You and I both know it and so does she. I cannot think of a time in recent memory when the two of us have spent time together alone that hasn’t ended in a spectacular hangover, bruised knuckles, or something on fire.”
“Ah, I suppose you’re right.” Caitlyn concedes with a nod. “The last time was all three of those things.”
“I’m just glad my eyebrows grew back in time for tonight.”
Caitlyn raises one of her own perfectly manicured brows and eyes him with scrutiny.
“Did they?”
She laughs as Jayce runs to double check in the mirror.
“You’ll be fine, Jayce. I know these sorts of parties aren’t your thing but you just have to show up, present your newest life-changing invention, shake a few hands and flash that smile. The rest will work itself out. And besides, hopefully your new friend will be someone interesting that can help distract you.”
“Yeah, and I’ve already paid him kind of an exorbitant amount so as far as my wallet is concerned it is indeed too late to back out.”
Cait rolls her eyes and thumbs through his closet.
“You’re wearing the red and white vest again?” She says in a tone that implies please actually don’t wear that again.
“It’s my signature outfit!”
“Wear this one instead.” She tosses a dark shirt with red and gold shoulder accents at him. “It shows off your muscles more.”
“I’m trying to avoid feeling like a piece of meat tonight, Cait.”
“And I’m trying to propose soon, so if you could get more money from other stuck up rich folks and free up some of my parents’ cash for a wedding that would be lovely. Plus, what if your date turns out to be exceedingly handsome? You can’t be upstaged Jayce. It’s not dignified.”
Jayce finds himself standing beneath the steps of the Piltover Science Center and fiddling nervously with his bracelet; a nervous habit most days but especially so tonight. It’s been long enough now that he had hoped his date would’ve found him. He’s been standing exactly where he said he would. He hopes the outfit change hasn’t thrown a wrench in the plans, he did email the escort service after all. Maybe they didn’t relay it to his date in time?
He’s interrupted from his thoughts by a tapping sound growing incrementally louder and looks up to find a man with a cane approaching. He stops a few meters short of Jayce and looks around nervously. He meets his eye and gives him a once-over, and Jayce can’t help but notice the red cravat peeking out from his jacket.
Cait’s exceedingly handsome crack from earlier rings in his ears and suddenly he is extremely glad that he took her suggestion. Not because he doesn’t want to be upstaged, but because this man is objectively beautiful and he can’t help but want to impress.
Jayce takes a steadying breath before walking over to him with a hand outstretched.
“Hi. I’m Jayce,” he says. “What should I call you?”
The man tilts his head, scrutinizing him. Jayce finds it a little adorable.
“My name, I suppose.” He takes Jayce’s hand and shakes it. “It’s Viktor.”
Jayce lets his hand linger for a moment before pulling back sharply and offering the crook of his arm instead. It is not lost on him that this man is being paid for this. This is his job, and Jayce will not put him in the same uncomfortable position that he himself is trying to avoid at his own job tonight. Viktor is a professional, and he will be also.
“Would you like to go inside?”
Viktor looks confused. Perhaps Jayce has asked a redundant question. He did, after all, have a detailed itinerary sent his way of the evening’s plans.
He threads his arm through Jayce’s anyway with the one not holding his cane. Jayce looks from the cane to the looming set of steps in front of them and makes a decision.
“C’mon, let's go this way. I have keys to the side entrance. No stairs.”
“I’m perfectly capable of taking the stairs even with my disability,” Viktor says icily.
“Oh, no, I didn’t - I’m sure you are! I just thought… wouldn’t it be better if you didn’t have to? It’ll be a lot of standing and walking tonight as it is.”
Viktor looks at him again like he’s trying to figure out a puzzle that he doesn’t have all the pieces for. After a few too-long, awkward seconds he sighs.
“Fine. Lead the way.”
Jayce had been worried about boring his escort with the events of the night, but Viktor proved quickly that he’d had nothing to worry about in that department. He seemed to have a mind for science himself and was more than happy to investigate each display.
He’s in the middle of thoroughly critiquing someone’s water cooling system - are there not more important things to worry about , he had said - when Councilor Hoskel and his wife approach them.
The first obstacle of the night comes in the form of Jayce not knowing how to introduce Viktor. It hadn’t been discussed in the email and he wasn’t sure how much was too much to say. Calling Viktor his boyfriend didn’t seem quite right, he didn’t think he’d be able to pull it off. They’d only just met.
When Jayce falters after “this is my…” Viktor just fills in Viktor , shakes hands, and that’s enough. Enough to both satisfy their curiosity and, more importantly, keep Hoskel’s wife away from him. It’s almost startling how easy it is. He sticks with just ‘this is Viktor’ after that.
The first time Jayce puts a hand on the small of Viktor’s back he can feel the man tense under his fingers. He has about half a second to think maybe this was a step too far before he relaxes and almost leans into the touch. Okay, casual touch not off limits. This was good. Jayce was not under any sort of delusions that he was good about keeping his hands to himself.
Things mostly go smoothly after that. Jayce easily flits between politicians and peers with Viktor at his side and no one dares to bring up dates or eligibility or anyone he would ‘just love.’
And Viktor, well, Viktor is brilliant in a way that Jayce hadn’t expected. He hadn’t been so obtuse to think being a hired escort was his only job, but he found that he was evenly matched in conversation if not outwitted. Viktor had even corrected his math as he was detailing his struggles to a fellow scientist, effectively solving a problem that Jayce had been stuck on for weeks.
“This is your work?” Viktor asks as they come to stand in front of a scale model of one of the air purifiers Jayce has been working on. Viktor reads the plaque in front of it, taps on the body of the machine to get a feel for the materials, turns the dials that aren’t connected to anything, not yet.
“It is.”
“To benefit… the undercity?”
Jayce nods. Viktor hums in what appears to be approval.
“There are not many Piltover elite that are concerned with the wellbeing of Zaun,” he says quietly.
“I’m hardly Piltover elite,” Jayce scoffs. “And besides, it’s our fault that the air is so toxic down there in the first place. It’s causing all sorts of health problems. My friend Cait, her girlfriend is a Zaunite and she was telling me-” he cuts himself off at the look Viktor is giving him. “Ah, that’s your home too, isn’t it. I don’t need to be telling you this. Sorry.”
Viktor gives him a half smile.
“You may yet be as smart as they say.”
The thing Jayce has quickly realized about Viktor is that he isn’t awed by Jayce’s many titles that Piltover has thrust upon him. The Golden Boy, the Prodigy, the Face of Piltovian Innovation . None of that means anything to Viktor, if he’s even aware of it. People who know his work treat him a bit like he’s this untouchable presence. Viktor isn’t afraid to call him out on things that need improving.
Which is exactly what he’s doing now—suggesting ways to make it more sustainable, doing calculations in his mind to maximize efficiency, telling him exact locations in the undercity that would benefit from it the most—and it hits Jayce what tonight’s problem is.
Because it’s true that seeing someone on his arm means that people have left him alone tonight. The new problem is that Jayce is starting to fall for the one person in this room that’s completely off limits to him. And that’s the biggest issue, that even though he knows he can’t he would very much like to kiss Viktor.
It’s ridiculous, he knows. And totally unprofessional. The man is working. This is his job. And Jayce hired him for the sole purpose of not avoiding romantic advances at his own job. It’s Jayce’s own problem that he can’t handle how good Viktor is at his job.
But… the second biggest problem is that Viktor keeps looking at him like he’d very much like to kiss him back. He watches intently as Jayce brings his wine glass to his lips, tracks the movement of his Adam's apple as he swallows and doesn't look away when he sees Jayce watching him. Jayce turns scarlet and excuses himself to the bathroom before he does something stupid.
When he emerges, it’s to find Viktor deep in conversation with Heimerdinger of all people. He supposes he’s not surprised, the Yordle does have a penchant for sniffing out the smartest people and recruiting them to work for him. It’s exactly how he’d found Jayce years ago.
Heimerdinger’s eyes light up as Jayce comes to stand next to Viktor.
“Jayce, Viktor here was just telling me all about his proposed improvements to your filters! What a brilliant mind!”
Viktor smiles, a little shy. Perhaps he’s not used to the praise, perhaps he’s not used to Heimerdinger’s brand of enthusiasm, perhaps he’s embarrassed to be caught talking about making changes to Jayce’s project behind his back.
Jayce rests a hand on his shoulder as he agrees with Heimerdinger, and watches as the professor tracks the motion.
“Oh, I see!” he exclaims. “Well don’t you two get along splendidly!” It strikes Jayce as a somewhat odd comment to make, but the Yordle was full of nonsense disguised as wisdom. It wasn’t even the strangest thing he’d said to him this week. And to Viktor’s credit he didn’t seem phased by it either.
Heimerdinger leaves them not long after that, and Jayce suggests another drink. The Vastaya working the bar hands over two glasses of something definitely stronger than the wine they’d been served earlier and Jayce hands one to Viktor. He hasn’t had enough to drink yet to miss the way Viktor’s fingers brush against his, linger just a fraction of a second too long as he takes it.
It’s becoming harder and harder not to say fuck the contract he signed, but there’s still the lingering doubt that it’s possible that Viktor is just an incredibly good actor who is a paid escort for a reason. Perhaps all of his clients get this kind of treatment. He should have done more research.
He stands with his back to the bar and tries to hype himself up to get back out there.
“Do you have to?”
Jayce hadn’t realized he’d said that part out loud.
“Probably. Why, got a better idea?”
“We walked past a courtyard on our way here. I think they wouldn’t miss you for a little while, if you need to take a break.”
Jayce is torn between his duties and spending one on one time with Viktor.
“My leg could also use a rest from all of this standing…”
The decision becomes an easy one then, and the cool breeze of the courtyard is welcome to his burning skin. These kinds of things always make him itchy with the need to please, to present himself as important and worthy of their time and investment. The noise of the party fades to a dull hum as the door closes behind them.
Jayce takes a seat on a stone bench hidden from the large glass windows of the ballroom and makes space for Viktor to sit next to him. He clinks their glasses together in a private toast.
“To a moment of peace and quiet,” Jayce says.
“Tell me something about you,” Viktor inquires. Jayce sits up straighter, looking a bit surprised.
“What would you like to know? I feel like I’ve already shown most of my cards tonight. You know my name, my profession, the things that are important to me. What else?”
“Tell me something about the version of you that these people don’t see. I suspect this is merely a facade to sell yourself to these people. I can see the mask slip occasionally.”
“Perceptive,” Jayce hums as he takes a long drink. He looks up at the sky and contemplates how much to let spill. At best, he tells Viktor his deepest dream, he understands, and he can somehow befriend him for real after this night is over and the contract is up. He thinks it’s not the farthest thing from a possibility. At worst he spills his secrets and gets laughed at like the rest of them have done. Somehow even only knowing him for a few hours he doesn't think that Viktor is the type.
“I’m trying to create magic,” he says finally. He looks up at the sky, searching for constellations in the stars so he doesn’t have to meet Viktor’s eyes. He’s afraid of what he’ll see there, hoping it isn’t the same mix of laughter and disbelief he usually finds. “In my spare time when it’s just me I’ve been trying to harness the power of the arcane to make magic accessible to everyone. I just think… I think there’s potential there to do a lot of good.”
He finally looks down to find Viktor’s golden eyes watching him intently without a hint of skepticism, only genuine curiosity.
“And you’ve made it work, this magic?”
“Well… no. No, not yet.” Jayce sighs deeply. “But I’ve seen it. I know it can be done. I just have to get it right.”
Viktor is quiet for a moment, then places a hand on Jayce’s arm.
“I believe if it can be done that you will certainly find a way to do it.”
Viktor might as well have told him that he personally hung the stars in the sky just for him. Jayce’s heart swelled with the power of someone really, actually believing in him. And not in the way that Cait or his mother supported him, all forced smiles and well-meaning but thinly veiled pity disguised as encouragement.
“Thank you, Viktor.”
“For what?”
“For believing in me. For… everything. I think tonight has been the most fun I’ve ever had at one of these things. Actually, can I ask you a personal question?”
Viktor eyes him skeptically.
“You can ask,” he says. The ‘ I may not answer’ is left unspoken.
“Forgive me if I’m overstepping but Viktor, you're brilliant. Your mind is incredible and I know that you know that. I believe you could do so much good, meaningful work here at the Science Center. How come you were out there and not in here with the rest of the showcased inventors?”
Viktor thinks for a moment before responding.
“I was eh, waiting for you, I suppose.”
The quiet way he says it as almost an admission sets Jayce’s nerves on fire. He wants to ask what he means by that. He wants to do a whole lot more than that, actually. He wants to kiss this man so badly he’s on fire with it. He’s ready to say to hell with the contract and deal with the consequences later with the way Viktor is looking at him right now. He leans in, hears Viktor’s breath hitch, and then -
He doesn’t get a chance to do any of that before someone opens the door and calls out for him, wondering where he’s been hiding. It’s his turn to present his purifiers and they’ve already skipped him twice.
He closes his eyes, inhales, exhales, and stands. He holds out a hand to Viktor—not because he thinks he needs the assistance but because he’s craving the contact—and they make their way back inside.
It’s not his best presentation. He gets his points across, explains the thing well enough, and the audience claps and cheers, but his focus is elsewhere. Elsewhere being, of course, Viktor. The amount of times that he seeks him out in the crowd just to find him already watching is far from zero.
The party winds down with the conclusion of his speech and he’s herded from group to group for congratulatory praise before he can find his way back to Viktor. He finally finds him right where he left him, leaning up against the back wall and waiting for him.
“I was worried you had left.”
“What, and miss your brilliant speech? You misexplained ionizers and electrostatic precipitators, by the way. You had their functions reversed.”
“Did I? I suppose I have been rather distracted tonight.”
“I don’t think anyone noticed, except perhaps Dr. Heimerdinger. And certainly no one else who would say anything to you about it. I think most people were just enjoying the view.”
“But you noticed.”
“I am capable of multitasking.”
They make their way outside to where drunken party goers await their rides home. It’s a shock to Jayce’s system. Inside the party was a pretty, perfect illusion. Out here he needs to figure out how to say goodnight to Viktor without fucking everything up. There are a million things Jayce wants to do instead of ending the night here, but he’s made it through the night without any transgressions and it seems like a waste of a contract breach to do it now.
He brings his fingers up to lightly trace the creases in the red cravat. “It’s late, I should let you get home.”
Viktor looks a little confused and a little like he wants to protest, but says nothing.
If he sends Viktor home then he can send him an email confessing his true feelings and leave the ball in his court. If he’s truly uncomfortable with the advance then he can ignore the message. If he’s open to it, well, they can go from there.
Jayce hails a cab.
“I wish you could come with me to all of these things. You have been incredible company.”
“Are we-” Viktor starts to ask, but Jayce cuts him off. He’s made it this far without anyone finding out that he paid someone to be his date and he’s not ready to shatter the illusion now, even if he himself would love to pretend that this wasn’t how they met.
“We’re all set,” he says hurriedly. He opens the cab door for him and waits for Viktor to say something else, a payment confirmation or a thank you for his patronage, something to confirm that this was all purely transactional.
He doesn’t, just gives him a long, indecipherable look before climbing into the cab, muttering a goodbye, and shutting the door before Jayce can say anything else. Probably the right move. Jayce was about to do something stupid.
He watches the car go and pulls out his phone to let Cait know he’d survived. There’s an email notification from hours ago that he’d missed.
From: [email protected]
Subject: Your Escort Tonight
Mr Talis, I regret to inform you that your scheduled escort has come down with a grave illness and will be unavailable tonight. Unfortunately all of our other escorts have prior engagements and cannot take his place. Please expect a refund in your account by tomorrow afternoon and do call if you have any further questions or complaints. I apologize profusely for this inconvenience.