Chapter Text
It takes time, getting used to this shift in their relationship.
Sometimes, Viktor instinctively pulls away from Jayce’s touches, as though still afraid of giving away his feelings. Sometimes, Jayce forgets that he can simply lean over and kiss Viktor when they are working in the lab or just standing in the kitchen together.
They take things slow, though, having initially agreed to not tell Mae right away. It’s too early for that, and she’d only go announce the news to everyone and their mother. So throughout the day, their relationship mainly takes place via stolen touches and long meaningful looks, heavy with promise. Then, in the evenings, when Mae has been bundled up in bed, Jayce pulls Viktor onto the couch, under the pretense of wanting to watch TV.
They work out the best ways in which to cuddle, how their bodies can fit together comfortably. Viktor’s head on Jayce’s shoulder, his legs thrown over Jayce’s lap, so it’s an easy thing to tilt up his chin and ask for a kiss. Or Jayce with his ear against Viktor’s chest, arms wrapped around each other, ready to fall asleep after a long day.
“I think it’s time we tell Mae,” Jayce says on one such evening, listening as Viktor’s heartbeat immediately speeds up.
“It is still early,” Viktor cautions, even as his arms tighten around Jayce.
It’s only been a month since they first kissed, but their relationship itself it so much older than that. This is just a new permutation.
“I know,” Jayce agrees. “But she kind of figured it out before I did, so I don’t think she’ll have problems accepting it.”
Viktor exhales quietly. Then, he buries his nose in Jayce’s hair.
“Tomorrow?” he asks, and Jayce nuzzles closer to him.
“Tomorrow,” he says and closes his eyes.
So they sit her down first thing in the morning, over banana pancakes with strawberries - one of Mae’s absolute favorites. They probably don’t need to butter her up, but it won’t hurt either.
“Mae, baby,” Jayce begins. To his own surprise, he feels absolutely wrecked with nerves and, when he glances over, Viktor looks equally pale. “There’s something Viktor and I wanted to talk to you about.”
Mae, who has managed to stuff half a pancake into her mouth, looks at them with big eyes, like a cow slowly chewing on some grass.
“Do you remember after Christmas, when you asked Viktor if he wanted to be your daddy?”
Somehow, Mae manages to actually swallow her mouthful.
“Yes?” she asks uncertainly, as though she were perhaps expecting a scolding, so Jayce hurries to assuage her worries.
“Well,” Jayce says. “Viktor and I talked about it. And it turns out you were right: we actually are in love with each other. And he would very much like to be your daddy, too.”
No sooner has he finished speaking, that Mae’s lower lip wobbles and her eyes grow damp. Her little hands come up to squish at her cheeks.
“Um,” she says, clearly overwhelmed, looking between Jayce and Viktor. When she opens her mouth again, however, she just bursts out into loud hiccuping sobs, tears spilling over.
“Oh no, it’s okay, baby,” Jayce soothes, jumping up to round the table and pulling her into his arms. Mae’s cries only get louder, even as she buries her damp face against his chest.
When Jayce looks over, he sees Viktor’s panicked expression, but just gives him an encouraging smile. Because here is what Jayce instinctively understands: Mae isn’t upset about the shift in their dynamic. She is upset because she has wanted it for so long and had previously been told no. She must feel much like Jayce had, between New Year’s Eve and their first kiss - first utterly desolate and then overjoyed beyond words.
So Jayce rubs a comforting palm over her small back, the other reaching out for Viktor. Viktor lets himself be pulled from his chair and toward them, his fingertips hovering for a moment, before they begin to gently stroke Mae’s hair.
Mae lifts her head, still a blubbering mess, and then twists away from Jayce, stretching her arms out in an obvious plea. Viktor hesitates for nary a second, hooking his hands under her armpits to lift her onto his hip.
“Daddy,” she says, almost petulantly, wiping her snot against his shoulder.
Viktor’s mouth falls open and, for a moment, it looks like he might shuffle and stammer. But then he just smiles softly.
“Yes,” he says, hugging her close. “For as long as you’ll have me.”
“Forever and ever,” Mae says, as though there were no conceivable alternative. Perhaps there isn’t.
“Although,” Viktor says, darting a quick glance up at Jayce. “I think it might be a little bit confusing, if you call both of us daddy. How will we know which one you mean?”
Mae frowns at him, seeming to contemplate that.
“Daddy Viktor?” she tries, just like she had the day after Christmas. And it’s cute, but Jayce agrees that it might not be the best solution.
“I was thinking,” Viktor says, casually as though it had just occurred to him, but Jayce can tell that the idea must have been there for a while. “Perhaps you could call me tatí instead?”
“Tatí?” Mae echoes skeptically, and Viktor nods.
“It’s the Czech word for daddy,” he explains. “It’s what I call my father. So now I can be your tatí.”
“I think that’s a great idea,” Jayce says. He doesn’t realize until he speaks that he may also be close to crying.
And, just like that, a huge grin spreads across Mae’s face.
“Tatí!” she cheers, throwing her tiny arms around Viktor’s neck. “I have a mommy and a daddy and a tatí!”
“And I,” Viktor says carefully, tenderly, the reality of the situation finally seeming to sink in, “Have a daughter.”
Jayce loves them so much his heart could burst.
⬡
While they decide not to make a big deal out of the changes in their family dynamic, they still realize that they have to inform their loved ones rather sooner than later. For one, Mel deserves to know that Viktor has been upgraded to parent, which she accepts without even a word of concern - not surprising, perhaps, considering she had been the one to help Jayce fully understand his feelings in the first place.
There is also the aspect that Mae cannot be expected to keep any of this a secret. The first time she sees her grandma Ximena, she immediately informs her that Viktor is now her tatí. And while Ximena obviously does not speak any Czech, she sees the flustered smiles on Jayce and Viktor’s faces and understands at once.
To her credit - and Jayce’s chagrin - she is not at all caught off guard, but just pulls Viktor into a hug and says she is happy she finally gets to properly call him her son; Viktor’s ears turn so red, Jayce fears his head might explode.
Then there is Cait, who groans and pulls out her wallet, handing a cackling Vi a five dollar bill. Jayce is not sure whether he is more insulted that their friends bet on his eventual getting-together with Viktor, or that they only bothered to invest five dollars. Then again, with the wedding coming up, Cait and Vi would soon officially be sharing assets anyway, so it was likely just a symbolic gesture.
“It was like watching a nature documentary,” Vi says, throwing her arm around Jayce and giving him a bit of a noogie. “Only you skipped past the mating dance and jumped straight to the nesting.”
Jayce very much tries not to think of egg-stealing gay penguins, but it does occur to him that, while he and Viktor obviously have a lot of history, they do not have a history of dating, of courting.
Viktor, Jayce thinks, very much deserves to be courted.
So, when another weekend rolls around and it’s time for Mae to visit her mother, Jayce decides that they should have a bit of a date night. He doesn’t tell Viktor as much, because he is fairly certain that Viktor would consider it a waste of time. After all, they are already dating, so why would he need to be wined and dined?
He also does not fool himself into believing that Viktor would particularly enjoy being taken out to a fancy restaurant or to the movies. They have food at home, and a television, too. So Jayce makes do with what he has.
First, he goes to get groceries and then cleans up around the house. They are still figuring out their sleeping arrangements. Originally, giving Viktor the small bedroom on the lower level had made sense because he wouldn’t have to bother with the stairs. But it’s not like he didn’t come upstairs all the time anyway, though usually just for Mae’s sake.
He might as well move into Jayce’s bedroom now. Jayce would need to make his en-suite bathroom safer, install a handrail in the shower, maybe get a little stool for Viktor to sit on while he is getting ready in the morning. But all of that could wait till later.
For now, Jayce just airs out the room and vacuums and changes the linens, and puts the box of condoms and the bottle of lube he also just bought into his bedside table drawer. He doesn’t know for sure that their relationship will move into that direction tonight, but he’d rather be prepared for it if it does.
Then Jayce goes to take a long hot shower, hoping to rid himself of his nerves. It helps only a little, and he almost nicks his skin as he shaves himself because his hands are actually trembling. But he styles his hair and applies cologne, and then he spends fifteen minutes agonizing over what to put on. In the end, he settles on dark slacks with his burgundy cable knit sweater (the one Viktor had worn not long ago), and a black dress shirt underneath. He fiddles with the collar, until it sits the way he wants it to, and then puts on his favorite watch, which Viktor gifted him years ago, when they had first started making real money.
Then, he goes to search for Viktor.
‘Search’ is perhaps not the right word. He’s barely even seen Viktor for most of the day, but that usually just means that he is working in the lab. And, indeed, he is, bend over his computer station and furiously typing away, his face much too close to the screen.
“Viktor,” Jayce calls him from the threshold and, when Viktor doesn’t appear to hear, he raps his knuckles against the door frame. “Viktor!”
“What,” Viktor says, keeping his eyes on the screen. When Jayce doesn’t deign to reply to that, though, he finally looks up.
“Oh,” he says, mildly surprised. His gaze darts away but then, as if remembering that it is allowed now, returns to roam over all over Jayce, taking him in. Jayce feels a rush of pleasure, because this is exactly the kind of reaction he had hoped for. Viktor, though, seems to draw the wrong conclusion.
“Are you going out?” he asks, sounding slightly befuddled. Usually, they kept each other up to date on all their plans, to coordinate who would be looking after Mae when. Then again, with Mae out of the house today, Viktor perhaps thought that Jayce was leaving spontaneously.
“No,” Jayce says. “Just wanted to let you know I’ll be starting on dinner soon. I’m making steak, if that’s alright.”
“Steak,” Viktor echoes. There’s a small frown on his face now. “That sounds… special?”
Jayce shrugs, as though it were no big deal. “Thought we could have a bit of a grown-up dinner, instead of Spaghettios and chicken nuggets.”
“Yes,” Viktor says slowly. “Do you require assistance?”
“No, no,” Jayce waves him off. “Just wanted to let you know. It’ll probably be ready in an hour or so.”
“Yes,” Viktor says again. “Thank you. I will… see you then.”
Jayce nods, biting his lower lip to curb his excited smile, and then leaves Viktor to it.
He makes his way into the kitchen, setting out everything he needs. He’s just started washing the lettuce, when he hears the door to the lab open and close again, followed by the rhythmic thud of Viktor’s cane, and then the door to Viktor’s room opening and closing as well. This time, Jayce grins so broadly it makes his cheeks hurt.
An hour later, when Jayce has set the table, lit some candles and put on a romantic playlist courtesy of Spotify, because no one around him appreciated his avant-garde taste in music, Viktor finally emerges from his bedroom.
As Jayce had suspected, Viktor had clearly used the opportunity to get ready as well. When he steps into the dining room, he is wearing gray slacks and a black turtleneck sweater, both nicely accentuating his slim figure. His hair looks freshly washed and blow-dried, and his eyes restlessly roam over everything Jayce has prepared.
“Hey,” Jayce says, leaning in to kiss Viktor’s cheek. There’s some perfume there, earthen and mossy, and Jayce’s lets the tip of his nose linger on Viktor’s skin for a moment. “Almost done. Why don’t you open the wine and pour us some?”
Viktor just nods mutely, perhaps a little overwhelmed by what he must realize is Jayce’s idea of a surprise date night, so Jayce leaves him to it because the timer on his phone goes off, reminding him to flip the steaks. As he waits for the other side to cook, he clears away some of the worst of the clutter and then thoroughly washes his hands, hoping to get rid of the smell of onions and garlic.
When he starts bringing out the food, Viktor watches with wide eyes, which is cute because this is far from the first time Jayce has ever cooked for him. But, of course, the intent behind it is rather different today.
“Rib-eye with pastrami sauce, with garlic bread, potato gratin and a mixed salad on the side,” Jayce announces proudly, setting their plates down.
“Thank you,” Viktor says. He still sounds a little unsure. One of his hands is still on the wine bottle, the nail of his thumb worrying at the label, peeling off the corner.
Suddenly, Jayce feels a stab of doubt.
“Too much?” he asks. He probably should have asked Viktor if he even wanted this. If he was deeply absorbed by his work, then it would have been a dick move for Jayce to coerce him out of the lab. Or maybe he should have planned something more special after all, Viktor deserved special and-
“No,” Viktor says. His eyes restlessly roam over the food and the candles and then finally rise to Jayce face. “It’s perfect. You are… very kind to go through all this trouble.”
“It’s no trouble at all,” Jayce hurries to says, even as warmth flutters in his stomach at the compliment. “I wanted to do something nice for you.”
Viktor frowns.
“You’re always doing something nice,” he says, as though perhaps fearing that Jayce might not be aware. “You’re very… attentive to my needs.”
Jayce stares for a moment, the words having caused a short-circuit in his brain. Viktor does this sometimes, phrasing things in such a blunt manner that they catch Jayce off guard. He used to think it was a cultural difference, a discrepancy between what Viktor wanted to express in Czech but had to say in English. Perhaps, though, it is simply a Viktor thing, or rather a Viktor-speaking-to-Jayce thing.
And it’s… nice. Jayce is used to being the more invested one in a relationship, the one who is a little too earnest, too honest. His biggest conflict with Mel had always been that she seemed to always be calculating not just her own actions but those of everyone around her. It was a result of her upbringing, of Ambessa’s style of parenting, and Mel had made a career of it.
Where Jayce would try to be vulnerable, Mel would be cynical. Where Jayce would openly ask for what he wanted, Mel would try to manipulate her way into getting it. One of the few times they had had a genuine discussion about their feelings, it had ended with them agreeing to get a divorce.
It’s so different with Viktor. He is not the most upfront person either, but usually he hides parts of himself away because he does not wish to be a burden. Jayce never has to push with him, only nudge. And Jayce, in turn, has never had to beg him for affection, for kind words, which had sometimes been the case in previous relationships where the other person would leverage his perceived neediness.
Loving Viktor, he realizes, does not feel like a risk.
“You’re my partner,” Jayce says, and it’s a response to Viktor’s words, and his own thoughts, and just the general truth of the matter. They are partners, in all things. They take care of each other.
Viktor must understand what he means, because his ears redden, and he ducks his head over his plate.
“The food is getting cold,” he claims, reaching for his cutlery, and Jayce grants him this easy escape.
So they eat, and they drink some wine, and Jayce forces Viktor to have at least some of the garlic bread so that they will both smell, and then he asks Viktor what he was working on, and Viktor goes off on a rant about a bug in one of the codes he has been writing, and it’s almost an evening like any other.
But Mae is not there, and Viktor looks so nice, and when they put away the dirty dishes together, Jayce stands behind Viktor and closes his arms around him.
“Was this an okay date?” he asks, beginning to lightly kiss along what little of Viktor’s neck is exposed. In response, Viktor first grows taut, but then relaxes against him.
“A date, huh?” he asks, turning on the correct program on the dishwasher and then closing it. “I assume you expect me to put out now?”
At once, Jayce splutters, entirely wrong-footed by that, because while Viktor isn’t technically incorrect, it is not the primary reason why Jayce had put so much effort into this evening, and he wants to explain as much. But then he feels Viktor’s shoulders shaking with mirth.
“Don’t do that,” Jayce groans. “I thought you were going to put me in the doghouse.”
“We have neither a dog nor a house for one,” Viktor reminds him, and then turns around in his arms. He stretches a little, placing a soft kiss on Jayce’s mouth. When he pulls back again, the look in his eyes is heated.
“I’ve heard that one is supposed to wait until the third date,” he says. “But considering that I’ve been waiting for over a decade, my patience is running rather thin.”
It occurs to Jayce that, while he had been giving Viktor time to get used to their new relationship, Viktor had been giving him time in turn. Maybe they really should just have fallen into bed on the day that Jayce confessed; it would have saved them all this tiptoeing around.
“So you’re saying I could have had my way with you at any time?” he asks lowly, cupping his hands over Viktor’s ass and pulling him forward.
“Well,” Viktor says. “Not while I am working. Nor while Mae is around, obviously. Seeing as I am also not much of a morning person, you probably shouldn’t try your luck then-”
“You’re impossible,” Jayce sighs. So much for his attempt at seduction. “Okay. You wanna take this upstairs and let me make sweet, sweet love to you?”
That, somehow, manages to shut Viktor up. He just gives a small nod and then lets Jayce take him by the hand and lead him up the stairs, to his bedroom. Once there, Jayce dims the lights and closes the door, turning toward Viktor once more. Viktor is already by the bed, leaning his cane against the wall.
“Does your leg hurt?” Jayce asks, stepping closer, and circling his fingers around Viktor’s wrist.
“No?” Viktor asks, looking down at himself as if to check whether his something in his stance hinted at any discomfort.
“Are you sure?” Jayce asks, lowering his voice. “I could give you a massage.”
Viktor’s lips part.
“I,” he says, and Jayce is pleased to see him a little flustered. “If that is something that you would enjoy?”
“I always enjoy it,” Jayce tells him. “I like touching you, and making you feel good.”
“Then, yes,” Viktor says. “A massage would be appreciated.”
“Hm,” Jayce hums, hooking one finger under the hem of Viktor’s turtleneck. “We’ll have to get you out of these clothes first.”
Viktor does not resist when Jayce pulls the sweater over his head, carelessly tossing it aside, nor when Jayce runs his fingers through Viktor’s now messy hair. Instead, Viktor watches as Jayce pulls off his own sweater, too, but then Viktor slaps Jayce’s hands aside when they go for the buttons of his shirt, clearly keen on doing the job himself.
He starts at the top and then slowly works his way downward, exposing Jayce’s skin inch by inch. Jayce, who is naturally rather hairy, is glad that he had gone to the waxing studio earlier that week to get the situation under control.
Viktor makes a thoughtful sound, lightly tracing his fingertips over the smooth expanse of skin. His nail catches on Jayce’s nipple. “Is this worth the trouble?”
“Sorry?” Jayce asks, too distracted by the touch to figure out what Viktor might be talking about.
“The pain. The money. Just to get rid of some hair?” Viktor muses. He leans in and, without warning, bites at the nipple, only to lave a soothing tongue over it. Jayce can feel himself harden in his pants.
“Ah,” he says, more of a groan than anything else. “Why? You like hairy men?”
“I like you,” Viktor informs him succinctly. “In whatever form. But yes, I wouldn’t mind some fur, so to say.”
“Wait till you see my ass,” Jayce tells him and then laughs at Viktor’s intrigued expression.
Jayce busies himself with unbuckling Viktor’s belt, tugging a little more than necessary when he pulls it from its loops, so that Viktor’s hips sway into him and he can push Viktor’s slacks down as well. Like this, they are standing very close, breathing each other in, and Jayce smooths his palms over Viktor’s prominent shoulder blades down to his back brace.
“You are so beautiful,” he breathes, dipping his fingers into the corset, and Viktor shivers in response.
“Take it off me,” he says. “I want- I want to feel you properly.”
So Jayce helps him out of the brace, setting it aside, and then, when Viktor sits on the bed, Jayce undoes his own pants and unceremoniously kicks them off, followed by his socks. He kneels down in front of Viktor and then removes the leg brace as well, sliding his hands down to pull Viktor’s socks off his feet, too. It’s stupid, but it feels strangely sensual to Jayce. He’s always found little acts like these incredibly intimate, because there was a trust and vulnerability in them.
He wonders if it is the same for Viktor. If, when Jayce offered to massage him for the first time all those years ago, Viktor’s acceptance had already been a confession all of its own. This is what I look like, this is where I’m hurting. I know you will be gentle.
And so Jayce is gentle with him as he begins the massage. Not with the usual ointment this time, but with some nice oil he also specifically bought, which smells of sandalwood and whose label promises that it will not stain fabric.
Today, Jayce starts with Viktor’s feet, which are both cold, but quickly warm up underneath his touch. Viktor’s feet aren’t particularly ticklish - his armpits are, though, and Jayce has abused the knowledge of this secret often enough - so Jayce is delighted to feel Viktor relax. He does, however, also notice that Viktor shivers.
“Here,” he says, handing Viktor his own sweater, because it is a bit cold in the bedroom and he doesn’t want Viktor to be uncomfortable. He also admittedly wouldn’t mind seeing Viktor wear it again, because he hadn’t considered to properly appreciate it back before Halloween.
So Viktor slips the sweater on, pausing to bury his nose in the collar, visibly taking in Jayce’s scent, and Jayce continues with the massage.
He moves up along Viktor’s calves, digging his fingers into what little meat and muscle is there, and then carefully caresses Viktor’s knee, tracing the individual scars with his fingers, his mouth, his lips. Viktor gasps a little when Jayce pushes between his legs and begins to suck a bruise onto the inside of his thigh, pulling back after a minute to appreciate his work.
Viktor generally bruises like a peach, which Jayce has been well aware of before, but now the thought excites him. He could leave bite marks on him. Fingerprints on his hips or around his wrists. If Viktor likes it, that is. Viktor, judging by how he is trembling under Jayce’s ministrations, seems to like it very much.
Jayce sneaks his arms underneath Viktor’s legs and then settles his cheek against Viktor’s thigh. His hands slip up under the hem of the sweater, resting against the waistband of Viktor’s underwear.
“Okay?” Jayce asks, and Viktor answers by lifting his hips, allowing Jayce to pull the briefs off him and then push the sweater up enough so that he finds himself face to face with Viktor’s cock. Jayce has never personally given head before and, while he has received plenty, that doesn’t actually translate to being good at performing.
“Tell me if I’m doing something wrong,” he tells Viktor, and then closes his fingers around him. That alone makes Viktor strain forward, and Jayce bodily drags him to the edge of the mattress, so he has better access.
He licks over the head of Viktor’s cock, curling his tongue around in order to get used to the taste, the shape of it. It’s unfamiliar, but not unwelcome, and he immediately decides that he wants more of it. So he tries a variety of things, seeing what works and what doesn’t, listening for the little hitches in Viktor’s breath that tell him something is especially good.
He licks down along Viktor’s shaft, nosing at his balls, and then back up again to take him into his mouth properly. It takes him a moment to find a good angle, and then another to get used to the fullness. But then he finds that swallowing makes it easier to bear, and that it makes Viktor moan, too, so he does it again, taking more and more of him in, before he reaches what is probably his limit for now. He bobs his head, sucking hard and stroking upward with one of his hands. His own cock is hard in his underwear, straining against the waistband, but he doesn’t want to touch himself yet.
“Jayce,” Viktor moans. One of his hands is in Jayce’s hair, tugging. “Jayce, I-”
Jayce can feel him throbbing in his hand, so he quickly circles his thumb and forefinger around the base of Viktor’s cock to stave off his orgasm. Viktor groans in frustration, his things trembling violently, and Jayce pulls off him.
“Good?” he asks, wiping the back of his hand over his spit-slick mouth to gaze up at Viktor.
Viktor’s pupils are dilated, and his face is pink with a blush that Jayce suspects must reach all the way down to his chest. He is utterly gorgeous, and Jayce cannot believe that he gets to see him like this.
“You, ah,” Viktor says, catching his breath. His hand slips from Jayce’s hair to his jaw, his thumb pulling down Jayce’s lower lip. “You look good on your knees.”
“Fuck,” Jayce groans, burying his warm face against Viktor’s belly. “You can’t say that.”
“No?” Viktor asks idly, his palm cupping over the back of Jayce’s neck. “How else would you like me to express it? ‘I like it when you service me’? ‘Your mouth was made for this’?”
Of all the things that Jayce had expected from their first time together, Viktor dirty talking him had not been it. There’s something about the casual manner he does it, even though he had previously blushed at the simplest things. How his accent gets a little stronger, harsher around the consonants. How he seems to know exactly how much Jayce enjoys being talked to in such a manner.
Though that brings up another thought.
He lifts his head again, searching Viktor’s gaze.
“How do you want to do this?” he asks. “Would you like to be on top or-?”
He does, admittedly, feel a flare of nervousness at that. He’s done anal with some girlfriends before, but never tried out being on the receiving end, so he doesn’t know exactly what to expect.
Viktor, however, surprises him by leaning back on the bed, taking Jayce’s hand and leading it up to the crease of his ass.
“Oh,” Jayce exhales, finding Viktor’s hole that is already wet and open.
“I may have taken the liberty to prepare myself in the shower,” Viktor admits. “I figured it might make things easier.”
“Efficient,” Jayce hums, dipping the tip of his finger inside. Viktor’s cock twitches. “Did you think about me?”
“I usually do,” Viktor says, looking Jayce right in the eye, and it goes straight to Jayce’s groin.
“Okay,” Jayce says, carefully extricating himself from the Gordian knot of limbs they have created. “Okay, I’m going to fuck you now.”
He wipes off the oil from his hands and slips out of his underwear, before going to retrieve the condoms and lube from the bedside table. When he turns around once more, Viktor is hungrily eyeing him.
Jayce closes a fist around himself, stroking upward once, smoothing his thumb over his slit to spread the pre-cum there.
“Take off that sweater,” he says, because he wants to see all of Viktor, too, and Viktor hurries to obey. He is skinny and pale and his nipples are dark pink, but the areolas are brown, and there are moles on his belly, and Jayce wants to kiss every single one.
“What’s the best position for you?” he asks, as he sits down next to Viktor.
“On my side, for now, I think,” Viktor says. He settles back on the mattress, his bad leg stretched out. “I want your fingers first.”
Jayce lifts an eyebrow.
“I may have underestimated how much preparation I would need,” Viktor says dryly, glancing down at Jayce’s erection, then patting the spot in front himself. “Lay down here. Hold me.”
Jayce does not have to be told twice. He arranges himself on the bed, sliding close so that Viktor can throw his left leg over his waist, and Jayce pulls him even closer by the ass, their cocks brushing together. Jayce slips one arm under Viktor’s head for him to use his biceps as a pillow, and then pops open the bottle of lube with the other hand.
When his finger finds Viktor’s hole again, it slips inside without any resistance, though Viktor does clench around the last knuckle, letting out an appreciate sigh.
“Did you use a toy for this?” Jayce asks, and Viktor shakes his head once.
“Just my fingers.”
“No wonder, then,” Jayce muses, kissing the shell of Viktor’s ear. “Your fingers are so thin. I’ll have to stretch you way more until you can take me.”
“Shut up and do it then,” Viktor hisses, bucking his hips a little, trying to get more friction, and Jayce chuckles.
Just like with the massage, he takes his time with this, too, adding a second finger, and then a third, slowly pumping them in and out, scissoring, feeling around for what angle makes Viktor lock up in pleasure.
“Jayce,” Viktor begs finally. He’s practically clawing at Jayce’s back. “I’m ready now, I- I want you in me.”
And Jayce, whose own erection has been leaving a wet trail along Viktor’s belly, concurs.
He fumbles for a condom, regretting that he didn’t open the box earlier, because now he rips it open like a beast, though he is more careful with the foil. By the time his slippery fingers have managed to roll the rubber on, Viktor has turned over to lie on his front.
“You’ll have to mind my leg,” he says over his shoulder. The hair at his temples is damp with sweat, and his pert ass is slightly raised. Jayce has to reflexively swallow the excess spit in his mouth. “But you can be a little rough, if you want.”
And Jayce wants to be a little rough, but he also wants to be impossibly tender. To trail kisses over Viktor’s misshapen spine, and catalog every single mole he has. To cup his palm over the back of Viktor’s head and, like a Victorian phrenologist, determine that this, clearly, is the most perfectly formed skull of all. To slip his cock into him, inch by sinful inch, until Viktor is drooling into the bedding and begging Jayce to go faster, please, I need-
Viktor whines when Jayce finds his prostate again, an almost otherworldly sound, and his hips buck up and then away again, as though the stimulus were almost unbearable, and Jayce wishes he could at least see his face, but he supposes there will be other opportunities for that.
Viktor could sit in his lap, for example, with his legs around Jayce’s waist, setting the pace he wanted. Or Jayce could take him from behind, perhaps, braced against the big mirror by the closet. But, for now, this is enough: Viktor prone on their bed, with Jayce slaving on top of him.
“I want you in every manner possible,” he whispers in Viktor’s ear, sliding one hand underneath Viktor to grasp his cock and stroke him firmly. “I want to give you everything you need.”
Viktor comes with a broken moan.
⬡
As with everything, there is a learning curve, not just to their sex life, but the general balance in their relationship.
Jayce, personally, could kiss Viktor for hours, if given the chance. Usually, Viktor is the one who grows impatient or distracted, either wanting to move on to actual sex or whatever he was doing before, and he doesn’t always understand why Jayce just wants to hold him sometimes.
Similarly, unless directly prompted, Viktor often neglects addressing any of his wants and needs, at least the ones he seemed somehow self-conscious about. There is no rhyme or reason to what exactly he’d be ashamed about. He bluntly tells Jayce that he wants to try deep-throating him, but he also reminds him to buy laxatives when he feels constipated. However, it takes Jayce two whole weeks to get Viktor to confess that he wants to get his hair pulled in bed.
Luckily, Jayce, whose last partner had been Mel who was very vocal and demonstrative about what she wanted, delights in the way how he has to try different things to discover what Viktor likes. He learns how to listen to the tell-tale catch in Viktor’s breath, to notice the miniscule stuttering of his hips. In this, like in everything else, Viktor is an open book written in a language one first patiently needed to learn.
Like before, Viktor seamlessly inserts himself into the empty spaces in Jayce’s life. When twenty-year-old Jayce had been desperate for a kindred spirit, Viktor had appeared in the form of Heimerdinger’s assistant, leaving notes in the margins of Jayce’s papers. When Jayce wanted to found a company, Viktor decided to forgo his PhD and became his partner instead. When Jayce’s marriage fell apart, Viktor made sure that Jayce himself didn’t.
Now, Viktor is there when he wakes up in the morning. Viktor, who smells of plain soap and store brand deodorant and the same laundry detergent Jayce uses. He tastes of cotton mouth and rank sweat, when he has been neglecting showering in favor of programming their new system. Viktor, who complains about his leg after a bad day, his body tight with pain, but who still lets Jayce remove his brace in the evening and squeezes his wrist in thanks when Jayce runs him a hot bath.
Today, after Jayce returns from running an errand, he opens the front door to be greeted by the familiar sound of Disney music. He wanders into the living room, only to find Viktor sitting on the couch, with Mae standing on a cushion beside him.
“Moana, make way, make way!” she sings, bouncing a little instead of properly dancing. She’s in the middle of putting a bunch of colorful clips and elastics into Viktor’s hair. She also doesn’t seem to know the rest of the following lyrics, so she makes a bunch of random sounds that only vaguely sound like words, before she finds her place again.
“Happiness is where you are!” she yells excitedly. “Consider the coconut!”
“The what?” Viktor says dutifully, if a little flatly.
“Consider its treeeee!” she squeaks, and then squeaks even louder when she spots Jayce standing in the doorway. “Hi, daddy!”
“Hi, baby,” Jayce greets. “Hi, V.”
Viktor turns his head a little, so he can lock eyes with Jayce. There’s a purple butterfly clip in his fringe, but his expression warns Jayce not to say a word.
“What are you doing to your tatí?” Jayce asks Mae as he wanders over, completely undeterred.
“I’m making him pretty for the wedding,” Mae explains, adding another strawberry-shaped clip.
“Hm, he’s already pretty,” Jayce muses, and that seems to mollify Viktor enough that he accepts the kiss Jayce drops to his lips. “And the wedding is still three months away.”
“But we have to practice,” Mae insists and then tugs at his hand until he sits down with them.
“You should make your daddy pretty, too,” Viktor suggests. “He is in desperate need of it.”
“He is,” Mae agrees and adorns Jayce with a pink butterfly.
They spend the next twenty minutes singing Disney songs and getting a questionable makeover, because Mae brings out assorted items from her dress-up wardrobe.
“You have PT tomorrow,” Jayce reminds Viktor after a look at his phone. “Mae and I can go get groceries while you are there, and then we can maybe drop by the library after?”
“I am amenable to that plan,” Viktor says. He’s now wearing heart-shaped sunglasses that are much too small for his head and are visibly digging into his temples. Jayce is faring only sightly better, with a glittery and incredibly itchy tulle scarf tied around his neck.
“Let’s go to the library~” Mae singsongs, momentarily mesmerized by a fake pearl necklace she has found. “People who don’t read are stupid~”
Jayce throws Viktor a pointed look, and Viktor looks away somewhat guiltily. It’s obvious where Mae must have gotten that sentiment from. It’s not exactly the best way to install a love for reading in your child, but Jayce supposes that it’s better than nothing.
So the next day, Jayce drives them all downtown, where Viktor’s physical therapist is located. Jayce also has to go by the dry-cleaner to pick up a suit jacket that Mae had spilled cranberry juice on, so he and Mae accompany Viktor to the practice as well.
“I want to see the peanut butter doctor!” she declares, and it takes Jayce a moment to make sense of that. When he does, he cannot help but laugh.
“Not PB, Mae,” he corrects. “PT. Physical therapy. It’s to make Viktor’s leg feel better.”
“Oh,” Mae says, audibly disappointed, and then looks around the inside of the practice with open contempt.
“Hello,” Viktor greets the receptionist. “I am here for my eleven thirty appointment. Viktor Fiala.”
Jayce, however, is distracted by a familiar face coming out of one of the examination rooms on the right. It’s an Indian woman in a light blue polo shirt, her hair up in a bun.
“Oh, hey!” she says, when she spots Jayce, too. “Long time no see.”
“Hi,” Jayce greets her, darting a quick glance down at the name tag to make sure he’s got the right person this time. “Asha.”
She grins broadly, likely aware of the circumstances under which had met her sister at that street festival. God. Jayce had literally used Viktor as his beard to get out of that situation. Perhaps Jayce should feel bad, but at least now he understands why Viktor had done such an excellent job.
“So you work here?” Jayce asks, somewhat surprised. He tries to recall what she had told him about her life when they first met, but he thinks he would have remembered that she was a physical therapist.
“Well, we moved here when I was pregnant with my son,” Asha explains. “So I was mostly out of work for a while. Did some remote stuff, writing articles for health websites. But I started this job a couple of weeks ago now. Feels good to be in a proper practice again.”
“I can imagine,” Jayce agrees. His job necessitated a lot of computer work, but he was always happiest when he could tinker away on some actual robot.
“Who are you?” Mae asks. She’s still standing beside Jayce, holding onto his hand, and Asha bends down a little so she can better talk to her.
“I’m one of your neighbors,” she explains. “And I’m a physical therapist, so I work here.”
“Ah,” Mae says, with a look of enlightenment. “Are you going to kiss tatí’s knee, too?”
Asha’s eyebrows jump up in surprise, and she sends Jayce’s a questioning look.
“Well, you see,” he chuckles a little awkwardly. “We’re here for Viktor, who is Mae’s tatí.”
“And what does tatí mean?” Asha wants to know, curiously awaiting Mae’s response.
“It means daddy,” Mae announces proudly, her pigtails bouncing. “Because tatí is from the Shrek Republic.”
At that, both Asha and Jayce have to bite down their laughter, which is when the ogre in question joins them.
“Jayce,” he asks. His hand settles on top of Mae’s head, but his gaze darts over to Asha, probably not sure what to make of this interaction.
“Viktor, this is Asha. She lives nearby. We met her twin sister at the street festival before,” Jayce explains, watching as Viktor’s expression grows a little cool.
“Ah, yes,” he says and, oh, he must think that Asha is a threat as well. “I remember.”
Idiot that he is, Jayce finds that the thought of jealous Viktor makes him stupidly giddy, so he leans over and kisses Viktor’s cheek.
“We’ll come pick you up in an hour,” he promises, and Viktor flushes, obviously still struggling with Jayce’s tendency toward PDA.
“Yes, yes,” he says, pulling away, though he does allow Mae to press a rather loud smooch to the back of his hand.
“Bye bye, tatí,” she tells him, and he smiles softly.
“I will see you soon, Mae,” he says, briefly squeezing her small hand, and then he goes to follow the doctor’s assistant who has come to show him to the examination room.
They watch as he disappears, and then Asha turns toward Jayce.
“So,” she says. “I’m confused.”
“Yeah, so was I,” Jayce laughs, rubbing the back of his head. “It’s, uh, a pretty new development. But it’s been a long time in the making. I think we’re on the right track now, though.”
“Glad to hear it,” Asha says. “My sister thought I had deliberately tried to trick her into hitting on a man who was gay and taken.”
“Well,” Jayce says, “Bisexual and taken, I suppose. But yeah, he’s got me pretty good.”
“I’m just happy my instincts weren’t that far off,” Asha laughs. “Okay, I have to look over some files now. Maybe we can arrange a play date at the park later?”
“Sounds good,” Jayce agrees, because he does think that Mae needs some friends she sees on a more regular basis.
For now, though, he and Mae return to the car and drive to the supermarket. With a kid, everything takes twice as long, but they still make it back downtown with a little time to spare. Spontaneously, he ducks into the pastry shop along the street, and picks out a couple of cupcakes: chocolate for Viktor, red velvet for himself, and a tiny vanilla one for Mae. Viktor always has cravings after therapy.
When Viktor is done only five minutes later, the three of them find a bench where they can eat. It’s late February and accordingly cold out, but the weather itself is nice enough, with a hint of spring already in the air.
“Good?” Jayce asks with a sidelong glance at Viktor who is taking a hearty bite out of his giant cupcake.
Viktor swallows, licking the frosting off his lips. One of his arms is settled around Mae where she is seated between them.
“Perfect,” he says and smiles.
⬡