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Victor Gideon always loved it when Zeno came to nag at him. Frankly he loved it when Zeno was around in general, the man was laughably easy to irritate, and he got so delightfully flushed when he was frustrated and yelling.
At the very start of their partnership, Victor was surprised and a little bit pissed off that he had some lesser clone of a previous co-worker overseeing his funding and association with the Connections, but after getting to know the man a bit more, he saw the differences between Zeno and his predecessor more than he saw the similarities.
The doctor only worked adjacent to Albert Wesker for a few years while working on the T-virus, and his arrogance and barely hidden distaste for Lord Spencer immediately put Victor off the blonde virologist. However, as a man who could felt he kept his ego in check, Victor could appreciate the passion the other put into his work. Not to mention the looks. Bred to be superior in every way, Victor found himself looking every so often.
Zeno, in contrast, has all the flaws; an insatiable lust for power, arrogance that put Narcissus to shame, a dislike of Lord Spencer, and none of the strengths; a passion for virology, patience, that drive to be more than just someone’s puppet. Hell, Zeno had never known anything other than being the Connections minion.
And yet. And yet. Victor felt himself drawn to Zeno far more than he was ever drawn to Albert Wesker.
Perhaps it was the forced proximity, but Victor doubted it; he had his suspicions as to why he was drawn to the imitation.
--
Victor leaned back in his office chair, hands intwined across his stomach, with a smug smile on his face. Zeno had stormed into the care centre around half an hour ago, yelling something about deadlines and funding and the Connections being done with him, just really hitting all the marks for a typical Zeno visit. The only thing not mentioned yet is their little off the books side project to help Zeno deal with his T-virus side effects.
Despite all of this, Victor had stayed calm, he knew that the man was simply spewing empty threats in order to get attention from the doctor. That was one huge difference between Zeno and Wesker. Zeno was brought up as a political progeny, spoiled rotten then promptly forgotten about by any important figure in his life, perfectly groomed into power, while Wesker commanded authority by simply being in a room. The by-product meant that Zeno occasionally acted out like a child to get Victor’s notice, and Victor couldn’t be happier about it.
Whether or not Zeno was head over heels or completely enraged at the mere existence of Victor Gideon did not affect the doctor in the slightest. He just wanted Zeno’s sole focus on him as often as possible. It pulled Victor’s stomach in all the right ways, making situations like this, where he was getting chewed out by a shadow of Lord Spencer’s favourite child, much more bearable.
“Honestly Victor. I cannot believe this, I cannot believe you, how much of both of our time have we poured into this project? And truly what have you got to show for it? This is just like Elpis, you are too slow for this new world.”
Ah, there it was. Victor crossed off the last box in his imaginary bingo card, one side of his lips lifted ever so slightly, exposing a sliver of gold canine, unnoticeable to everyone but the man so intent on getting a reaction out of him.
“What? Something you find funny Gideon? Take this seriously. Have you even been listening?”
Victor hummed.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake.” Zeno rolled his eyes beneath his sunglasses and began pulling out a cigarette. Victor’s nose wrinkled.
“Ah-ah, not in here, please.”
“So you are conscious. I had thought for a second that your snake-y qualities had extended to sleeping with your eyes open as well.” He huffed. Exactly like a toddler.
Victor waved his hand around indifferently.
“Stop your tantrum Zeno. We are making good progress on every front, thanks to you, and the Connections, we will see the beginning of a new dawn. One that Lord Spencer would be proud of.”
Zeno rolled his eyes once more.
“I care not for your petty sycophancy Victor.” He sounded petulant. Like he didn’t want to share his favourite toy.
“Careful Zeno, you almost sound jealous.”
“As if. Your love of that old man is frankly embarrassing. Letting yourself be controlled like that, who would choose such a fate.”
Victor let his gaze, eyes half-lidded, run down Zeno’s sculpted body. Perfect. He could see the man's biceps through his shirt. Built to start a new race of humanity, but so psychologically weak from poor handling. Victor knew he could have handled Zeno if he had been given to him.
“Who indeed.”
Zeno bristled at that. Drawing his shoulders around himself like a protective shell. His coat, of course, had been promptly taken off after arrival.
“Victor. I don’t know what kind of game you are playing here, but rest assured, I will come out victorious.”
This time it was Victor who rolled his eyes. He finally stood up, towering over Zeno as he swept around his desk, standing in behind the other man, pressing his front into the wood, hands resting on the surface as he lent on it. Zeno twisted faster than Victor could see to face him. The doctor tilted his head to the side, smiling with his teeth now.
Moving slowly, Victor brought his hand up to Zeno’s face and casually took off the other man’s glasses, placing them on the table.
“What are you doing, Gideon?” Zeno said, indignant. There was a slight quiver in his voice. Victor didn’t respond.
In lieu of a response, Victor drew his scaly hand up to Zeno’s neck, slowly, slowly dragging it across the black webbed infection and up to his left eye, Victor savoured the sensation, the feeling of the texture on his cracking skin was soothing.
As Victor’s hand drew close to his eye, and the fibre-like strands in his skin, Zeno’s eye closed slightly. The doctor found this endlessly endearing, Zeno in this moment-- and many others-- reminded Victor of a cat. Vicious and angry, but desperately contact starved, and if you got him at the right moment, he would simply just... melt into your hands.
Victor felt a slight weight difference in his palm as Zeno leaned in just slightly. “What are you doing?” He asked again, this time whispering.
Victor just shushed him gently, eyes boring into the black scars on his face
“Very pretty.”
Zeno tsked.
“I am well aware.” He rolled his head out of Victor’s grasp.
Victor frowned and slid his hand down to Zeno’s chin gripping it more forcibly. Staring into his bare eyes, not an unusual sight in Victor’s office, but right now, pinned under the larger man, Victor noticed that they were glowing a much brighter yellow. Fascinating. He would have to study that later.
But as of right then, Victor was focused on the task at hand, attempting to get Zeno to realise how much he enjoyed someone else having control.
They both knew that if he wanted, Zeno could get out of any situation Victor put him in, but that was the beauty of it. Despite his resistance, Zeno was choosing to let Victor to pin him to a desk. The thought made him smirk.
“I was referring to your virus stains, Zeno.”
His face fell and he flushed, obvious against the fair colour of his skin. Just as Victor had suspected. The doctor found it heady, that currently, his words and actions were the thing that Zeno was chasing. Not some misguided power trip, or the orders of some faceless suit, but Victor. The reliance Zeno had on the doctor was satisfying, not just for moments like this, where Victor was the closest thing Zeno had ever had to a friend or lover, but he also relied on Victor the 'ultimate power' of Elpis, or his cure for the Raccoon City Syndrome.
“Whatever, Gideon. They’d be prettier if they stopped causing me so much grief. Feel free to help with that, when its convenient for you.”
“Oh, cease your incessant whining, Zeno. It is unbecoming. You know that I am working on it.” Victor chafed.
“Stop treating me like a child, Victor! You and I both know that this is incredibly important.”
“Yes, it is Zeno. But not right now. Relax, for once in your pitiful little life.” Victor stroked his thumb across Zeno’s chin where he had him gripped, tilting his head to the side to see the man's necks virus mark better.
Zeno sneered. “Pitiful? If there’s a pitiful creature here it's not m-”
A split second of impulse led Victor to lean down and start suckling on the side of Zeno’s neck. Right on his, rather sensitive, T-virus stains. Zeno himself only just managed to cut off the sound that forced itself out of his throat, leaving a loud half-moan in the air.
“What the fuck, Victor? What the fuck! Get the fuck off me!” Zeno gave a half attempt at escape, pulling away only to be stopped by Victor digging his teeth in, pinprick fangs sinking into his throat, causing Zeno to hiss in pain. “Holy shit, A-ah!”
Zeno wretched himself away, tearing the area that Victor had in his mouth before Victor could unclamp his jaw. He reflexively put his hand over the wound before his enhanced healing could mend it, pulling away once fixed to reveal a small bloodstain on his hand.
Victor tilted his head smugly and before Zeno could start yelling, the doctor had snatched his wrist and started lapping up the blood. Zeno squirmed in his hold. He snatched his hand back, and using his speed, broke out of the pin, rounding Victor’s desk. He was breathing heavily and adjusting his trousers, that had affected him, hadn’t it?
Victor licked his lips, cleaning off the blood and smiled, showing off the small snake-like fangs protruding from his mouth, Zeno watched as they slowly sunk back into his gums, still sharp.
“What on earth was that, Gideon? You bit me? Me?” Zeno’s eyes narrow, Victor could tell that he was unhappy, perhaps he had pushed too far...
Victor sighed, Zeno reaching out and putting his silly glasses back on only confirmed it, the doctor had indeed violated Zeno’s boundaries too much for one day. He mourned the closeness for a second but quickly gathered himself back up. Perhaps Victor was just as touch starved as the other.
“Nothing to say? Nothing? You are unbelievable Victor.” Zeno scoffed and turned, reaching into his coat pocket, plucking out his Parliaments, and sliding one between his lips. At the same time, Victor slides behind his desk and beside Zeno, getting the crystal ashtray from his desk and placing it on the table. Zeno side-eyed him.
Victor watches from behind the man's shoulder as he lights the smoke and take a deep inhale. The stick being tenderly taken out of his mouth as he exhaled. Victor found himself feeling stupidly jealous of the cigarette.
Watching the smoke curl out of his mouth and towards the ceiling made Victor feel slightly disgusted that he was weak enough to allow this man to smoke inside a hospital. He brushed the feeling off, he was, at the end of the day, still only human. Neurons that he thought were long ago re-routed still firing, baiting him into the social behaviours homo sapiens find themselves falling back on. Rather unbecoming of a nemesis such as himself.
“I apologize, Zeno, I wasn’t aware that would cross a line. It won’t happen again.” Victor knew the only way to get back into his good books would be to repent, perhaps by next visit he will have calmed down again.
“You respecting boundaries? Victor, we both know you don’t mean it.” Zeno tossed his head, then took a drag of his cigarette. Petulant as always.
But... Victor could see behind it. If he was truly offended or uncomfortable, then he would have left, then accepted his apology several days later. But... he seems to be fine with what Victor did, perhaps a little surprised, but he not broken any of Victor’s fingers or stormed out.
Which is hardly consent, but it is an out of character move unless he was interested, and Victor can build on that.
The doctor stepped closer and drew up his hand to flick Zeno’s little earring, causing his head to snap to the perpetrating hand, then back to Victor, face angrily scrunched in a frankly pathetic and adorable way. Yes, okay, Victor was prepared to admit that he wanted the little clone.
“Can you refrain from being irritating for ten minutes? Christ, Gideon.”
Victor just hmm-ed in Zeno’s ear. As Zeno was looking into his eyes, he crept his hand back up Zeno’s back, just ever so lightly. Zeno’s eyes shutter, confirming Victor’s hypothesis.
Victor gripped the back of Zeno’s neck, not pulling him closer or letting him pull away out of instinct. Zeno looked up at him. As Victor tilted his head, Zeno seemed about three seconds away from complete submission, those big eyes gazing up at him.
Victor leans in, barely brushing lips with Zeno. Teasing.
“Do you want this?” Victor knew he was being mean; this man was insanely emotionally constipated, his range was either aloof or rage. Affection or arousal had never been taught to him. Zeno just nodded.
“I want you to say it. Out loud.” Victor wanted Zeno to admit it. Admit that he wanted to give himself over to another. Zeno’s brows furrowed.
“Gideon.”
“Zeno?”
“Can you... goddammit. Will you please... Just...Do something...?” Zeno attempted to pull back in embarrassment, the blush once again covering his pale skin, but Victor’s hand stopped him, effectively trapping him in close quarters.
“Hm, almost.”
“Kiss me.” Zeno practically gritted out.
“Not so hard, is it? Just asking.” Victor smiled, brushing just slightly closer together before retracting to their original position.
“Fuck off.” Zeno turned his head, Victor tsk-ed at the juvenile behaviour.
“You are just so testy today, Zeno. So demanding. Come come, look at me.”
Zeno slowly looked at the doctor.
“There we go”
Victor leaned in, finally pressing their lips together. Zeno exhaled, like he had been waiting for this for much longer than a night. Victor used his height to continue pushing down on Zeno almost bending him backwards.
After a few seconds of their faced pressed together, Victor decided that Zeno’s glasses were getting too much in the way, sliding them off his face without breaking contact and placing them on the desk next to the two of them. Zeno blinked confused, again resembling a cat, Victor smiled into the kiss.
After getting his bearings back, Zeno started pushing back against the pressure, deepening the kiss. He tried to stay as silent as he could, but it was increasingly obvious that he had never kissed anyone before and that this was an entirely new experience for him, little groans and muffled whines kept slipping out as much as he tried to mute himself. Victor found it endlessly endearing.
At one point, Zeno gasped slightly into Victor’s mouth, allowing him to slip in his forked tongue into Zeno’s mouth. Then as fast as Victor could, he swiped one of his now unsheathed fangs into Zeno’s lip, causing the kiss to get increasingly bloody before the wound healed itself and Victor had licked up all the liquid.
“Gah-- fuck, Victor,” Zeno had leaned away breaking the contact and heaving, still trapped between Victor and the desk, with Gideon’s large hand still covering his neck, hell the hand was big enough that the doctor could almost touch his fingers, middle to thumb, together. Just a few inches space between them.
This time, Zeno was the one to initiate, licking along Victor’s teeth and into his gums, attempting to taste what was left of the blood. Zeno trailed his hand up the gap in Victor’s leather waist coat, right along the crack of skin. Gideon groaned, clutching tighter to Zeno’s neck while moving his other hand, which until that point had been bracing Zeno to the desk, to the others waist, squeezing with such force it would have cracked any human's bones, Zeno was glad for his more sturdy frame in that moment.
However, just as Victor started getting back into the flow of the kiss, his pager started vibrating, someone was calling for him. Right at that moment. It was most likely a patient. They could wait.
He quickly, while still not breaking the kiss, set it on the table, but before he could get back to the task at hand, Zeno had pulled away.
“It appears someone wants you.”
“Yes. It does.” Victor leaned back in, but Zeno put his hand on Victor’s chest.
“You should deal with that,” he checked his watch, “The Connections are expecting me back anyway.”
Petulant little shit.
“Of course,” Victor smiled, forced, “you couldn’t disappoint them after all. What would they do without their darling lapdog.” He was sure Zeno could tell, how strained he was, but the words did as they were supposed to.
“Asshole.” Zeno turned, picked up his stupid glasses and coat and swept out the room.
Not the happy ending Victor was hoping for, but he had got much further than he ever thought he would. So even if Zeno was acting like an infant with a toy, Victor was satisfied for the moment.
He collapsed in his chair, finally checking his pager. It was about a new patient. He was to introduce himself. He rolled his eyes, a stupid reason to page him. Disruptive and unnecessary.