Chapter Text
He’s awake before Jayce in the morning and there’s no moment of forcing himself to remember anything about the previous night. As soon as Viktor’s eyes blink open, he recalls everything. Every slide of Jayce’s fingers in his hair, every perfect fit of Jayce’s mouth against his own. Viktor turns his head to where Jayce rests against his chest. His lashes are full and dark, fanning against the crest of his cheeks. The beard looks good on him, and Jayce had admitted that it kind of happened by accident because he just didn’t take the time to shave, but Viktor hopes he keeps it. His hair, too.
As carefully as he can, Viktor peels himself away from Jayce, who takes a long, slow breath in before burying himself back into Viktor’s pillows. Viktor smiles down at him before reaching for his crutch. He ignores his brace for the time being and makes his way slowly to the bathroom, then down the hall into the kitchen. The house is silent except for the tap of his crutch on the hardwood and the soft falls of his bare feet.
He’s not in any hurry to do much of anything, really, but Viktor goes through the motions of brushing his teeth and putting the kettle on anyway. He’d never been fortunate enough as a child to stay through the night with Jayce, so he’s not sure 1) how easy he is to wake up or 2) how long he’ll actually sleep for, but Viktor is more than content to spend the day watching Jayce sleep in as non-creepy a fashion as he can.
Viktor has his answer soon enough, though, because he can hear the heavy slide of sleepy footsteps behind him, and Jayce’s warm body eventually slots against his back, strong arms winding around his middle. He’s not wearing a shirt.
“Good morning,” Viktor says quietly, still not inclined to break the soft stillness of the morning. Jayce mumbles something in response, his voice low and scratchy from sleep. He sucks a few soft, slow kisses up the side of Viktor’s neck and Viktor is helpless against the instincts of his own body as he tilts his head to the side. He almost drops his empty cup when Jayce’s teeth find his ear.
Their night hadn’t ended in them sleeping together, because Viktor wasn’t ready for that, but it had included many, many, many hours of heavy petting. The sight of Jayce’s large hands between his legs are blissfully burned into his retinas and the sound of Jayce’s keening whimpers had played on loop in his dreams.
The tips of Jayce’s fingers have found the waistband of his sleep pants, creeping slowly inside. Viktor is powerless to stop him and he does drop his mug into the sink then, but it doesn’t phase either of them. One of Jayce’s hands holds him steadfast at his hip, and the other has made its way into his briefs. His face feels unimaginably hot. Viktor’s knuckles are white where he grips the counter. Jayce’s fingers card through the neat, trimmed hair between his legs and Viktor makes an embarrassing noise that only spurs Jayce on even more.
He can feel the rigid outline of Jayce’s cock through his sleep pants where it presses against his lower back, and Viktor’s mouth waters. Jayce’s wastes no time, but only manages to complete one slow circle at his core before he hears a shout behind him.
“Oh my god!”
Viktor nearly jumps out of his skin and he yelps. Jayce yells behind him, too, tearing himself away from Viktor just as his father rounds the corner to join Jinx in the entryway to the kitchen. They all stare at each other, dumbstruck, and somewhere in the chaos of it all his crutch has fallen from its place where he left it propped up against the counter. Jinx has a ridiculous smile on her face and she lets out a loud guffaw. His father’s eyes are wide and he’s wearing an expression that Viktor has never seen before as he looks between him and Jayce.
“Shut up,” Viktor barks at Jinx, who only takes that as permission to laugh even harder. “Dad, tell her to shut up.”
“Viktor,” Silco responds, training his eyes on his son. Jayce fidgets beside him, worried eyes looking to Viktor for any kind of instruction.
“Uh,” Jayce finally starts. He clears his throat and looks like he might offer Silco his hand before remembering where it was not ten seconds ago. His face is a bright red. “Hi. I’m Viktor’s– uh. I’m Jayce.” Both Silco and Viktor look at Jayce in unison. Viktor wants to tie cinderblocks to his own legs and jump off a bridge.
“I know who you are, boy,” Silco drawls. Jayce is taller and broader than his father, but no matter the situation, Silco always commands the entire room. “Go put some clothes on. Viktor. My office. Now.” Again, Jayce turns to shoot a pleading look in Viktor’s direction, but Viktor only tilts his head toward his bedroom and Jayce follows his instruction without preamble. Jinx is still laughing and slaps Jayce’s bare shoulder as he walks by, following closely at his heels and ribbing him as she trails him down the hallway.
Viktor doesn’t even try to offer an explanation or defend himself as he slowly follows his father into his office without his crutch. Silco closes the door quietly behind them and scrubs a hand over his face.
“I’m sorry-” Silco stops him with a raised hand, shaking his head. Viktor makes his way over to one of the dingy couches and eases himself down as his father leans against his desk, hands gripping the worn edge at his hips. There’s a long, drawn out silence and Viktor swallows.
“In the kitchen?” Silco says after a while. Viktor lets his face fall into his hands. The tips of his ears are so hot he feels like they may well burn away into ash.
“I didn’t know you would be home,” he says, voice muffled between his fingers. Silco surprises him with a low chuckle and Viktor looks up. His father is staring at the floor, eyes looking far-off. He feels like this talk is either going to be really important or really embarrassing, but it will probably end up being a bit of both.
After another long bout of silence, his father asks, “Are you happy?” He doesn’t even have to think about it.
“Yes.” Silco sighs.
“That’s that, then, isn’t it?” Viktor’s brows knit together as Silco finally looks at him. “You’ll be staying in Piltover, I assume.” He doesn’t say it like a question.
“I don’t know,” Viktor says honestly. He feels very small. Truthfully, he hadn’t considered the notion that he would leave his home. He loves his father. He loves his sister. He loves Zaun, and his work, and Sky, and he can’t imagine being anywhere but here. But, he is frantically in love with Jayce Talis. Viktor hadn’t considered that love would force upon him any sort of change.
“Why would I have to leave?” he asks.
“Do you really believe Piltover’s Man of Progress would consider living the rest of his days here, in Zaun?” Silco tsks. “Come, now, Viktor. You’re smarter than that.”
“We can make it work. I can still work here, and maybe– maybe we can–”
“Viktor,” his father sighs. He pushes himself away from his desk and comes to sit next to Viktor on the beaten, patchy couch, placing a hand on Viktor’s bad knee. “If this is truly the road you’re set on going down, you’re going to have to make sacrifices one way or the other.”
“It doesn’t have to be sacrifice. It can be compromise.” For a moment, Viktor thinks that Silco may be considering just that. His father’s mouth twitches into a frown and he removes his hand from his son’s knee, leaning back and threading his fingers together between his legs.
“I suppose that’s a possibility. Truthfully, though, it will be entirely up to him.” Viktor balks a bit at that and Silco raises a brow. “He’s a very powerful and important person, Viktor. Someone with the obligations of Jayce Talis has much less freedom than you understand.”
“Isn’t that what this is all about, though?” Viktor pauses and his father tilts his head, waiting. “Figuring it out as you go along? Making things work?” Silco laughs, a small and quiet thing that rumbles in his slight chest. Viktor can see bits of himself in his father: his cynicism, his stubbornness, his resistance to change. But things are different now. Silco’s footsteps are the ones he would have followed if things had not worked out the way in which they had. If he was left hurting and alone. But Jayce had found him, and now he was left standing on the precipice of something new. Something his father had never been granted the opportunity to experience.
Viktor takes a moment to really look at his father then: the hard lines of his face, the deep scars running across his cheek and brow, the wicked darkness of his eye. Silco is all sharp edges and severity, but despite all of that, Viktor has always seen the lines on his face as proof of hard work and determination. He knew that the scars on his father’s hands were reminders of what he had done to keep the hands of himself and his sister as clean as possible. He wore dirt beneath his nails so they did not have to. It’s impossible how much Viktor loves his father, and he knows that Silco shares the same intensity when it comes to loving his family. Sevika, too.
“There is no reason for this to be a goodbye,” Viktor offers, hopeful. He reaches a hand toward his father’s and watches as the corners of his thin mouth tick up in a smile. “I promise.” Silco slides one hand out from under Viktor’s to run over his messy hair.
“My son,” he says, and it sounds achingly sad. There’s another long pause before he continues, still petting Viktor’s hair. “You have a beautiful heart. Don’t let anyone take it from you.”
They talk a bit more after that, Silco asking questions in earnest. Viktor’s heart feels desperately full. His father even apologizes in his own roundabout way for how things went between them before and after the ball. He’s careful with the words he chooses, like he always is, and naturally their conversation ends with Jinx barging in.
“I brought your boyfriend,” she announces as she practically kicks the door open. “He’s kind of like a puppy, Vik.” Jayce stands behind her, looking very obviously uncomfortable. He’s holding Viktor’s crutch, and when his eyes find Viktor’s, he offers him a small smile. Then, like a ghost, Sevika’s form seems to materialize behind Jayce, who nearly jumps out of his skin when he realizes she’s behind him. She offers him a bored stare before shouldering past him and into Silco’s office. Jinx hops into the room to bother her, fingers grabbing at her sleeve and tugging on it, already having moved onto a different topic.
Viktor stands, leaning on his good leg as Jayce takes tentative steps into the office and offers Viktor his crutch. Silco’s eyes remain trained on Jayce as he slots himself against Viktor’s side, hand finding Viktor’s as if it’s the most natural thing in the world. As if they’ve been doing that for their whole lives.
It hits him hard, then, as he looks around his father’s office: he’s standing in a room with the most important people in his life, and it’s something that he never even considered would be possible even in his wildest dreams.
“Jayce Talis,” Silco purrs, jerking his head toward the extra couch across the room. “Sit. We have much to discuss.”
Viktor is the happiest he’s ever been in his entire life.