Work Text:
"Mrs Talis, are your fingers bothering you?"
The words were out of Viktor’s mouth before he could stop them. A semi-regular guest at the Talis’ house now and still he didn’t master the fine art of Piltovan tactfulness (not that he tried that hard but).
Jayce invited him, said that his mother insisted on having him. At the moment Ximena busied herself with all the post-meal coffee & coffee-related stuff.
"I don’t mean to intrude but I can’t help but notice... your right hand looking a bit stiff here?"
(Jayce didn’t notice and felt a pang of guilt--he’d watch over his mother’s well-being but... still didn’t like to look at her mechanical fingers. Years later, it still hurt.)
Ximena tried to brush it off.
"Oh it’s nothing, really. You know how they’re mechanical, they can’t be as good as real ones."
"They look very real to me. Just because they’re not flesh doesn’t make them not real. But. They could--they should be as good as, or least work as well as flesh ones."
(Of course Viktor would notice. All guilt forgotten, Jayce watched now in amusement.)
"...Maybe you should think about making an appointment with your mechanist?"
"Viktor, dear, it’s very sweet of you but I don’t want to be a bother. My fingers are fine as they are, don’t you worry."
(But he did. Worry.)
"It’s just that... Here, I know a thing or two about prosthesis, I used to tinker with artificial limbs back in the Undercity, before I left for the Academy."
(And he still tinkered with orthesis.)
"So I... OK I’m not a professional but I dare say I still know when something is not right."
(Of course Viktor would insist on fixing an engineering problem, right there right then.)
"Say what; let me have a quick look? If nothing is out of order I’ll let you be; if I notice something I still won’t pick at it without your express permission but refer you to your mechanist. Deal?"
Ximena looked all flustered.
"Oh realy, Viktor. I just... I don’t want to impose."
Only then did Viktor backtrack.
"...am I imposing then? I don’t want to make you uncomfortable."
"Nah. You’re just that passionate about mechanical limbs," Jayce chipped in from behind a pastry.
(Could you blame him?)
He just had to kept teasing;
"You’ve been ogling my Ma’s fingers from the first day. Looking for an excuse to touch them?"
Viktor had the good grace of playing along
"Oh you wound me! as if... I would just ask."
"Sure."
"I’m asking now."
So Ximena agreed:
"If that means you stop worrying."
"Sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you. It’s probably not much indeed."
"But better safe than sorry, right?"
Coffee drunk too fast, pastries forgotten, business took precedence.
"So Jayce, I trust you have precision tools I can borrow? clockwork grade."
"’course we do! The best ever."
"Of course you do. Now I need a clean space to work on, free of dust."
"More lighting?" Jayce volunterred.
"If you please."
Viktor took his time to wash his hands thoroughly then rubbed them hard to make up for his rubbish circulation and bring some heat in anyway;
"Tell me if my own hands are too cold; if it’s uncomfortable in any way. I’ll stop. Nothing should ever hurt, of course."
The whole operation was to take place on the kitchen’s carefully wiped down oilcloth tabletop. Jayce set up an additional desk lamp along the aforementioned precision tools. He felt more than a sliver of pride at the sight of the Talis Toolset (TM) put to good use in competent hands
(elegant, clever hands)
--this was why they made them. To create. To fix. To make things better.
But... it was his mother’s amputated and replaced fingers that got remade here and pride wouldn’t erase a growing uneasiness.
"Maybe I should leave? You know, not to interfer with... cleanliness, and privacy?
"Well it’s not an operation that requires sterility but..."
"And it’s not that private. I don’t want to boot you out. I don’t mind if Viktor doesn’t."
"Yeah... No pressure, right?"
(Not sure about which of them Viktor muttered that for, though.)
Maybe focusing on Viktor’s face instead of their hands would help. Sure enough, the way he got entranced in his work was awe-inspiring.
While he wielded the tiniest scredriver, pliers of all sorts, and a little brush to clean the parts to do away with any foreign particle threatening to get into the delicate gears, Viktor marvelled at the prostheses' intricate inner workings.
"Do you want me to explain what everything is and does as I go along?"
"You could, dear, and I would love to hear you, and while I’d think I’d understand while you explained, sadly I’m afraid I wouldn’t actually remember any of it once you’re done."
...
"Well. It looks like normal wear-and-tear. Some gears should get replaced soon. It’s not urgent! they’re not in danger of breaking down in the next days or even weeks. I’ll oil the mechanisms anew if you agree and you can keep going but it will grow uncomfortable and affect precision within the next months. You could say it’s the equivalent to arthrosis and this one’s easily treatable?"
"That’s certainly a relief."
"So, please do contact your mechanist whenever is convenient for you?"
Ximena hesitated just a moment;
"Would you do it yourself? if I asked?"
"Oh. I’m... honoured you’d trust me but. I can’t. Work ethics have it that a customer can become a friend, but friends and family should not be customers. Or patients."
Jayce would awww at the mention of friends and family but, he knows what hangs unsaid after these words:
’unless there’s really an life-threatening emergency and none other available’
and he knew it happened in Zaun more often than not. That clean, pretty work ethics were only for Piltover.
So instead he decided that maybe, a second round of coffee was in order and he should be the one to prepare it to spare his mother’s hand, thank Viktor, and,
whatever. He just had to busy himself and change the subject while Viktor packed the tools back.
Maybe he also needed something, anything, to busy his handsome hands again.
...
The following work day at the lab Viktor made sure to thank Jayce again for the invitation over their morning caffeination ritual;
"I had a lovely time at your mother’s."
"You know she loves you very much."
Coffee was very different here--not bad but heh, clearly not as good, and the engineering problems had a different dimension.
"You know the whole thing got me thinking; maybe I should try and design a new artificial hand, maybe a whole arm."
"Yeah?"
"There are many good prosthesists out there already but... I believe that Hextech could give prostesis more precision, and strength, so it could be worth a try to give that a look?"
"Now you got me interested too. Let me just wrap that up and let’s see what you have in mind."