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Omegas are odd little creatures. Well, the omega Viktor is thinking about is not quite little, but he is a peculiar thing.
Jayce Talis is an enigma of a wolf. Unlike the rest of the Piltovians, who claim pack must come above all else, Jayce runs alone. He seems to find joy in the beta Kiramman girl's presence and his mother—lovely omega woman, she is—but other than that, Jayce does not actively seek the company of other wolves.
Well, that is also not entirely true. He seeks Viktor's company. An inappropriate amount. But Viktor is not an alpha nor an omega, so the fact that his partner has taken to him is a bit odd.
At first, the beta thought it was the excitement of Hextech and all the possibilites at their fingertips. Viktor was excited, too! A fresh prospect of science and magic right at his fingertips and (almost) all the creative freedom he ever imagined having as a youngling, not to mention that they worked so well together, building a daily routine for themselves.
At 8:30 AM sharp, Jayce collects their coffees from the break room and makes sure they are extra hot. Viktor's must have exactly four spoons of sugar and extra cream with a bit of nutmeg sprinkled on top. The omega has never gotten his order wrong, not since Viktor scrunched his face in displeasure when he bought coffee from a bakery down the street instead of brewing it from their cheap, decade old coffee machine.
Then, while their drinks are kept warm by the Hextech crystals, which also must be warmed up via an incubator, Jayce will fetch Viktor from his apartment at 9 AM. The first few times Jayce had swung by to retrieve his partner, he was horrified to learn that Viktor was already awake, not because he was an early riser, but because the man had never gone to sleep in the first place!
"Progress, my Jayce, waits for no one," Viktor mumbled, bleary eyed and severely under-caffeinated.
Jayce’s face took on a bright red hue. Sleep-deprived Viktor had chalked it up to the morning heat. Omegas are known for overheating easily, are they not?
"Alright, hotshot." Jayce threw his arm around the beta, guiding him back to his room. "That was cute the first few times. You can't just skip sleep because you're constantly thinking of how the Arcane defies the Laws of Thermodynamics."
Viktor rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "It is not just that. Although, I do absolutely think that we should consider how the Arcane is able to manipulate energy and matter."
"Then what is it?"
"It does not…smell right in my apartment. I am used to the scent in the lab— jasmine and spiced honey, I think.” Viktor toed at his comforter, hoping that the drab scent in his bedroom would not chase the omega away. “My thoughts race when I am here, alone. The beta within—he is usually silent, sometimes nudging me one way or the other. But when I am at home, he prowls endlessly, like he is waiting for something.”
It must have been very warm in Viktor’s apartment that morning because the redness climbed Jayce’s cheeks to the tips of his ears and down past his shirt’s collar. The omega was probably overheating. Something had to be done to prevent Viktor’s partner from fainting!
“It may be wise to remove a few layers.”
If Viktor could, he would go back and strangle himself. What kind of coworker suggests for their omega partner to shed their clothes while in their territory? It is a miracle Jayce did not maul him for his inappropriate language.
“What?” Jayce squeaked. His arm tensed on Viktor’s shoulder. Consequently, it brought the beta closer into his embrace.
“Warm,” Viktor mumbled. Spiced honey floated into his senses. What a lovely scent, just what he had been looking for.
He chased after it, nose first, and landed in the scent glands adorning the omega’s wrist. Yes, Viktor thought. His inner beta curled into a ball, tail over snout, finally content. This is perfect.
Viktor had not remembered much of what happened afterwards. He woke up the next day with the same comforting scent surrounding him. Jayce had left his sweater vest tucked beside Viktor's pillow, and sometime during his hibernation, the beta must have wrapped around his shoulders like he would a comforter. Shame flooded through Viktor, and the embarrassment prevented him from ever returning the article of clothing.
However, if Viktor thinks about it chronologically, Jayce's odd behavior has extended past the initial "honeymoon phase" of their friendship. The proof is in the list! That he has gone over and re-analyzed many times in his head.
Firstly, the omega stares. All the time. It is more common to find Jayce already looking when Viktor dares to steal a glance to the other side of the lab, actually.
"What?" Viktor asks, mouthful of bread, meat, and the nutty cheese he likes from the local market.
No response. The sandwich in his hand remains firm, fighting against the force of gravity and the beta's anxious grip. Jayce's eyes flicker back and forth from Viktor's hand to his still-chewing mouth. Something hungry lurks in his gaze.
"Would you like a bite as well?" Viktor asks. His cheeks flush. How rude of him not to offer the first bite to the person who had gotten him the meal in the first place!
But Jayce shakes his head adamantly. "No, 'm not hungry," he says. From the other side of the table, where he was fiddling with a wrapped package in his hands, he pushes the box over to Viktor's side. His eyes dart from the red bow to Viktor and back to the bow again.
"What's this?"
"For you."
"Oh," Viktor says softly. No one has ever given him a gift before.
He brushes his fingers against the crisp, folded edges, fighting the urge to rip the thing into shreds to reveal his prize inside. Carefully tearing the paper at the seams, Viktor is faced with a suede box.
Now that is has been freed from its decorated confines, Viktor realizes that the box is saturated with Jayce's scent. If he were an alpha, it would have sent him straight into a rut. As a beta, it only makes him want to rub his cheek against the soft material to soak up some of the pheromones for himself.
If Viktor does happen to swipe his wrist across the luxurious material a few times to transfer the scent onto his person until he can find private time to rub his face into it like he wishes, then that is his business and his business alone.
"I like it a lot," Viktor says, too earnest for his own good.
"You haven't opened it yet." Jayce sounds satisfied with the response nonetheless.
Inside the box is a leather bracelet, similar to the one Jayce never takes off. The band is thinner, but the blue shard is bigger, eclipsing almost the entire width of the bracelet. It glows with the same acceleration rune adorning Jayce's wrist. The one that has stayed with him since he was a pup, his source of comfort, Viktor's mind unhelpfully supplies.
"Can you tie it on me?" Viktor raises his wrist for the omega. "I want the knots to be tight, so there is no chance of it slipping off."
Wordlessly, Jayce fumbles with the strings and clasp. The beta pretends he doesn't see the shininess glimmering in Jayce's eyes. Despite the omega defying almost every societal expectation set forth for omegas, he has always been emotional. Years ago, when they first cracked Hextech, Jayce had tears streaming down his face— little Hextech shards in his own skin. He was beautiful then, and he is even more so, now.
"There."
It fits perfectly. Warmth pulses through his wrist and radiates to the rest of his body, but that could be due to the energy of the crystal. The shard is just as large if not larger than the one on Jayce's wrist, after all. "Thank you. I hope you know I am quite fond of the design. There may never be a moment where you do not see it on my wrist, even if we are conducting our more volatile experiments."
Viktor doesn't know why he has to tell Jayce this information, but it feels like it will rip itself through his chest otherwise.
Luckily, Jayce does not look peeved by this statement at all. "I'm glad you like it, V. Hextech blue looks great on you."
The omega stares at Viktor for the rest of the afternoon, and Viktor glances back from the corner of his eyes, unfocused on the task at hand.
No work had gotten done that day.
Everyday afterwards, Jayce begins staring at Viktor from the moment the beta's apartment door opens all the way until he finishes his morning coffee. There is a few hours of break in between where the omega's eyes fixate on his own calculations and prototypes, but he then he starts again once Viktor takes the first bite of his lunch. Even when Jayce would, share lunch with the beta or bring his own, his eyes are always fixated on the bottom half of Viktor's face.
Viktor feels the weight of Jayce's gaze on his body as he steps through his threshold and closes the door softly with a click. It stays on him all night as he rests next to the sweater vest he never returned— a comforting presence.
This, of course, could mean nothing…
Oh, who is Viktor kidding? That thought is very unlikely, as the rest of the list supports his vague hypothesis.
The second habit worth noting is Jayce's inability to keep his hands to himself.
When they broke into the Academy, Jayce's front was plastered to Viktor's back. The beta figured it was nerves, the rush of not only proving himself, but also risking a second council judgement.
It was only after Heimerdinger's flustered cough and stuttering where he said, "Please continue the rest of your, ehm, experiments within the safety of your actual rooms, my boys," that Viktor realized how much he smelled like the omega.
Now, yes, Viktor is not as easily affected by pheromones because of his beta status. However, that does not mean he is unable to detect scents at all.
One sniff was all it took to smell the excitement-delight-fondness of Jayce's warm scent. Viktor, oblivious to the true meaning of the professor's words, simply shrugged and replied with, "I intend to. Let us go home, Jayce. You may take as much of the bed as you like; I am not picky."
To be fair, the man's apartment had just been blown to smithereens, and he had just testified in front of the council. Viktor was simply being corteous, offering his place without hesitation in front of his old boss, the enforcers, and Councilwoman Medarda. Zaunites always had the backs of those they cared for, and Jayce was quickly becoming someone Viktor felt the urge to provide support. They would be future lab partners, too. That was also a reason. No need to look into that instance any farther.
Counting the amount of times the omega reaches for Viktor, including at the lab, Jayce's unbridled physical contact occurs most often at galas.
When they enter the candlelit ballrooms together, the omega will either lock his arms with Viktor's, or, most recently, he has been intertwining their wrists. The beta has been telling himself that this is a way for Jayce to ease his nerves as much as it is an excuse for them not to be separated.
It is unfortunate that not everyone had gotten the memo, however.
"Ah, the esteemed Jayce Talis and his—" The man, who had so rudely stepped into their path and through their interlocked arms stops himself. Alpha, Viktor sniffs. He should have known from the way the man carried himself, like he deserved everyone's attention. "—lovely assistant."
"My partner, actually," Jayce scoffs. He glares at the space where they were once connected.
Viktor has no energy for banter with their intruder. He has no business talking to this man, who is not an investor nor his colleague. Side stepping the alpha, Viktor attaches himself back to his—sorry, the—omega.
There, that makes this encounter a little more bearable. Only a smidge.
"Well, are you going to introduce us?" The alpha asks, looking only at Viktor.
Jayce tenses. He takes a deep breath inwards, a technique Viktor recognizes as an attempt to regulate himself before his annoyance gets the better part of him.
Taking a page out of the omega's book, Viktor subtly rubs their wrists together. A subtle scenting for close friends. (Viktor does not actually know if this is what close friends do as he has never had a close friend before Jayce).
The omega's shoulders fall, his eyes threatening to flutter shut. Mission accomplished. Hm, perhaps he should try this with his other acquaintances when they are feeling stressed.
On second thought, the idea of rubbing wrists with anyone else nauseates Viktor. He will stick to his—the—omega.
"This is my brilliant partner, Viktor. He's the whole reason Hextech came into fruition." It may have been the dim lighting, but recounting that night, Viktor thinks he saw Jayce's chest puff out at the end of the sentence.
"Nonsense," Viktor snorts. He turns to face his partner, crooked smile adorning his face. "Half, at most."
"Seventy-five percent," Jayce retaliates.
"Forty."
"Ninety-eight. Final deal."
The alpha clears his throat. "Well, Viktor is quite the exotic name, beautiful for the most gorgeous omega in this room. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Dmitri, of House Ferros."
Viktor's nerves have now been severely grated. His statement is extremely insulting to Jayce, who is easily the most attractive omega in any room he walks into. The beta scrunches his nose and prepares to berate this man in professional language, a skill he has sharpened under his time as the Dean's Assistant.
Jayce, on the same page, beats him to it. "He's the most beautiful beta in this room, in all of damn Piltover if you want to get technical about it."
Well, not quite how Viktor would have approached it, but it seems to have worked if Dmitri's fallen expression is anything to go by.
"Oh…" Dmitri falters. "Well, you are in luck, Viktor, because something as simple as secondary gender will not deter me from pursuing you."
"How noble of you," Viktor says dryly. "However, I am off the market."
"Oh?" Dmitri raises his eyebrow, looking back and forth at where the Hextech founders are connected. They must have migrated closer during the interaction because Viktor becomes acutely aware of how Jayce's slacks feel in the spaces between his leg brace. "Well, lookie here. Jayce Talis, you dog. I never thought you would've had it in you."
"Please refrain from referring to my partner as a canine," Viktor bristles. Instinctively, he tugs the omega to his body, hugging his arm.
Dmitri throws his hands up in mock surrender and slowly backs away from them. "I meant no harm by that statement." A mischievous glint flickers in his eyes. Before he steps out of arm's length, he quickly lifts Viktor's free hand and presses his lips to the back. "Well, I am a busy man and must take my leave. It was very nice to meet you, Viktor."
The sound that leaves Jayce's throat is nothing short of a growl, but Dmitri is already retreating, whistling an annoyingly catchy tune as he skips away. "Please don't tell me that worked on you."
Incredible. It is absolutely incredible how silly the omega sounds right now.
Viktor smiles, a soft thing. "Of course not, my Jayce. Do not fret. I am not easily swayed, as you have seen in our conversations with our dear mentor, Doctor Heimerdinger. Especially not by an alpha."
"You're not into alphas?"
"Absolutely not. Have never been and will never be. They are…brute things. Fickle in nature, too."
Ah, there it is. Jayce's tooth gap appears in Viktor's vision, framed by the rest of his captivating smile. He untangles himself from the beta to throw an arm over his shoulder instead. "So, betas and omegas, then?"
Viktor leans into the half embrace. Jayce is warm and smells happy. Sue him. "Just omegas."
Jayce giggles, dragging Viktor to the nearest dessert table to collect one of each cake. "Just omegas, he says!"
"Is that a problem?" Viktor asks.
"No, V. Not at all."
Jayce spent the rest of the night with his foot hooked around Viktor's ankle, whispering gossip into his ear about passing socialites as they shared bites of decadent pastries.
From then on, Jayce evolves from linking their wrists and scenting each other at galas to incorporating it into their daily routine. It becomes their greeting, the first thing they do in the morning before setting off for work, and it is their farewell, a gesture that means see you later, not goodbye.
And the more Viktor reflects on these moments, the more he realizes how Jayce's habits have woven their way into his life.
There has never been a moment where Jayce's touch has been overbearing. When Viktor is frustrated, overstimulated with his own thoughts and tangible failures, his partner will simply lay a hand over his until Viktor calms. The weight is grounding, and the warmth is a nice contrast to his usually cold extremeties.
Viktor has come to appreciate this gesture. Does not mind it one bit.
…Moving on.
The third, and final, habit Viktor has noticed, and the current cause of his distress, is the nest sitting on their lab couch. From the entrance, the beta can smell Jayce's scent. His calm-pleased-resting floral notes float through the room like an air freshener or one of those expensive candles.
If he sniffs a little harder, though, the beta can smell notes of his own scent radiating from their futon. He is not so obtuse as to enter the nest without Jayce's explicit permission, which he would never ask for, but through the entrance, the beta sees all of his missing cravats, socks, his favorite jacket, and little trinkets that he gave to Jayce.
Viktor knows that this is not normal behavior, even for an eccentric omega like Jayce Talis.
"Jayce?"
The omega pops his head out of the nest. Viktor ignores the way his heart palpitates at the sight of his messy curls sticking to his forehead. Not many people know that Jayce Talis has tiny curls at the bottom of his locks because he likes to keep his hair short, but when the omega returns from the forge, dripping with sweat and satisfied from his energy release, Viktor seeks them out.
"Yes, V? Would you like to come in?"
"Janna, yes. Wait—" Viktor stops himself at the edge of the cashmere blanket. "Jayce, what is your nest doing in the lab? Not that I am shaming you for your, err, biological needs, but it is quite…intimate, is it not?"
"Um, yeah, V. That's kind of the point."
Jayce looks at him like the beta has suffered a particularly traumatic brain injury. Oh, good heavens! Viktor is not the crazy one in this scenario.
It is also not what Viktor was expecting to hear because he was not expecting Jayce to outright admit that he purposefully built a comfortable fortress of fabrics and precious items in their lab. But he is a scientist, and he must get to the bottom of this anomaly.
"Elaborate. I am not understanding why you would want to be intimate with me." Viktor points at himself for dramatic effect. He is but a beta with a limp and lung problems. Not exactly the most eligible bachelor in Piltover. Definitely not the expected mate for an omega such as Jayce.
Jayce crawls out of the nest, so they're standing face to face. His eyes are a honey brown, not a hazel like the Piltover Gazette claims. Viktor wonders if anybody else realizes that, appreciates the fact.
The omega tilts his head, and Viktor can almost hear the thoughts circulating around that large head of his. What is causing his mate discomfort? Are the pillows not soft enough, the blankets not warm enough? Is his nest not up to the beta's standards?
"What reason do I need for wanting my mate in my nest?" Jayce asks.
Viktor's cheeks redden. "That is exactly it! I am not your mate, Jayce! I am not a burly, knot-bearing alpha who you provide you a litter. Create a life with." His hands wave around exuberantly. The beta looks quite silly flopping his arms around in such a way, but he cannot stop himself. "You deserve someone who you can show off to the world without shame or fear of being judged. I cannot even offer you a courting gift, much less a knot, Jayce. What do I have to offer you?" Viktor stops his flailing, opting to hug himself instead. He feels smaller. Sad.
Ah. There it is— the answer to his question. Throughout the duration of their partnership, Viktor has been willfully ignorant to Jayce's advances and blatant affections. Yes, the omega's behavior has been odd, but only if he did not intend for his actions to come across as courting gestures.
Why? Why does Jayce continue to court the beta when he is not adequate, cannot provide even the simplest of things to align with the omega's biology?
"I don't want an alpha, V." Jayce strides forward and takes him into his arms. The beta does not miss the fact that he fits perfectly under his partner's chin, a mere head tilt away from burying himself in the omega's scent glands. Viktor tenses like he is planning on pulling away, but after a moment, he relents and burrows himself into Jayce's chest. It is okay if he indulges himself just this once, right? "I don't care if you can have kids. They flock to you like a fairytale's princess, anways. We're sure to find one who tolerates us enough to let us be their parents." Jayce strokes the beta's hair, careful not to disrupt Viktor's natural hair pattern. He must know it peeves the beta so. "And what do you offer? Viktor, you made Hextech. I never would've figured it out if it weren't for you. This project, this dream, it's ours. Has been since the day you put me in cuffs and the day you broke into the Academy with me."
Viktor sniffles. Immediately, Jayce presses a small kiss into his cheek and then another one to each of his eyelids. The beta thinks his heart may explode from the impacts.
"And yet, you have not made it known that you would like to be courted by me, have not even mentioned word of your intentions."
"Yes," Jayce sighs. "I suppose that's my fault. In my haste to mate you, I forgot that betas are much more overt in their affections."
He steps back, taking Viktor with him. Oh, the ground is soft. What a prepared omega, thinking to line the floor with plush materials. This is certainly a nest to be proud of, one that Viktor would gladly call his if the omega is serious.
For right now, however, the beta steps away, out of the nest completely. It is too big of a temptation in his current state of mind.
"Evidence!" Viktor exclaims.
"Would you like it in order of most importance or chronologically?"
"Relevance."
"You bring my house colors wherever you go."
"Coincidence," Viktor scoffs. He hides the Talis-crafted cane behind his back. "You owed me after destroying my old walking aid."
"I bring you food for every meal."
"…exaggeration."
"No, Viktor." Jayce shows Viktor a picture of his fridge, revealing his countless pre-portioned containers of food and sweetmilk, all labeled with the beta's name and day of the week. Then, in a binder stored conveniently beside the nest, he flips open to pages of recipes and a planner with a detailed breakdown of their day. Down to the very hour. "I have literally made or bought all of your meals for the past six months."
The beta has no response. He crosses his arms indignantly. It is a weak stance considering he scoots himself closer to the edge of the nest where Jayce is.
It cannot be this simple. Viktor huffs, which Jayce takes as an invitation to speak.
"Viktor, you reek of me."
That seems to be what does the trick.
"I do not!"
"How would you know that?"
Jayce crosses his arms, not before inching closer to his mate, of course.
"You never scent mark me!"
The omega's jaw drops.
"Blasphemy! I scent you everyday, sometimes multiple times a day with my wrists. You know that, and you scent me back sometimes! I drape my jacket over you whenever you are cold, which occurs five out of the seven days we are together. Baby, Councillor Heimerdinger and Mel looked at me in horror and disgust the last time they entered the lab because you smelt of me and only me. They couldn't smell your natural scent."
Viktor opens his mouth to argue. No words come out. He knows he has been bested, and Jayce knows it, too. No matter, the beta will not provide a verbal admission, refuses to admit defeat. Instead, he hmphs and reaches a hand out for Jayce to take, letting himself be led back into the nest.
"I wanted to court you, too," the beta grumbles.
"You already have."
"Oh, no you don't, Jayce Talis! You cannot court me without my explicit knowledge and then imply that I have already courted you as well! That was not one hundred percent of my capabilities. I can prove myself, thank you very much."
"Oh, come on, Vik, my love, sweetheart—"
"No! I have many tricks up my sleeve that you have not seen yet. Just you wait, Mr. Talis. I will sweep you off your feet, and then you will have no choice but to claim me as your mate."
Jayce's lips twitch, fighting back a smile. Viktor supposes it is difficult to maintain his composure when the beta is climbing him like a tree, rubbing his wrists and neck to any area he can reach.
The omega clears his throat. "Well, Mr. Viktor. Although you have proven your worthiness plenty with your contributions to Hextech, mutual scenting, and general presence, I suppose I am looking forward to your intentional romantic advances." The beta nods once in agreement. That's right! Laying down the law. "However, I do have one request."
"Yes?" As if Viktor would deny his mate anything. Hah, mate. The word sends tingles down his spine.
"Kiss me?"
And so, Viktor does. He lays his lips upon Jayce's, his forever partner, and attempts to show him just how much adoration he can hold in the beta body of his.