Chapter Text
“Vi found a girl!” Claggor burst into the workshop with more energy than Jayce was used to seeing from him.
“Ew,” Powder grimace where she sat in the corner, working on one of her metal monkeys.
Good for Vi, Jayce thought, leaning into the heat of Viktor at his back. Despite her tough exterior, Vi had a lot of love to give. She deserved her own life outside of all this, the family and the community. She did so much for everyone and asked for so little in return. She reminded him of Viktor in that way. Hopefully she found someone to appreciate her the way Jayce appreciated him.
Viktor squeezed Jayce’s hip as he continued making notes in the margins of one of their blueprints, and the touch spread warmth throughout his entire body.
Well… maybe not exactly the same way.
“I don’t know why this is such a big deal,” Mylo complained, unsuccessfully attempting to scrub the face off one of Powder’s creations. “It’s not like she hasn’t found a girl before. At this point, she’s dated half the Lanes.”
He yelped as Powder kicked his shin under the table. Viktor shook his head, exasperated by all of the chaos, and Jayce chuckled at the sight, feeling oh so fond of his little community.
“I don’t know when my lab became a children’s classroom,” Viktor had commented just a few weeks ago, after another futile attempt at synthesizing a cure to a common fever that was going around. In Piltover, vitamins, minerals, and certain medications were automatically added to the water supply, keeping the population healthy and immunized. They didn’t have that same luxury in Zaun. Viktor was able to use his connections to obtain a concentrated vial of the specific medication they needed, and they’d both spent countless hours trying to replicate it in a way that was affordable to mass produce.
That in and of itself was difficult enough, without having to stop and untangle the mess that was Ekko and Powder’s fight, which had caused all the other kids to pick sides or give each other the silent treatment or stomp into their lab to vent.
Or even worse, to cry.
Jayce had rubbed his shoulders and pressed a kiss behind his ear, just because he could.
“They look up to you, V. Of course they want to be around you. ” The way Viktor relaxed into his ministrations never failed to make Jayce feel like the luckiest guy in the world.
“You always want to be around me, pet. Does that mean you look up to me?”
“You should know the answer to that,” he’d said in the voice that he knew drove Viktor crazy. “You put me on my knees often enough.”
Viktor had gripped his jaw tight in one hand, and Jayce knew his evening was about to get ten times better. “Clearly not often enough if you have enough energy to speak so impertinently.”
Jayce gasped as Viktor’s hand slid down to his throat and tightened experimentally, just a little squeeze that sent all of his blood south, brain already fuzzy and nearly useless.
“You gonna stare all day,” he drawled, “or are you actually gonna do something about it?”
Viktor chuckled, and Jayce knew, he knew he was in trouble. His knees hurt thinking about it, and god, his mouth was already watering. From the smirk on Viktor’s face, he could tell.
“Oh Jayce,” he’d said, lovingly stroking his thumb across Jayce’s Adam’s apple. “Has someone been feeling a bit neglected? Don’t you worry, pet. I’ll give you exactly what you need.”
Jayce had whimpered, overwhelmed already, and needless to say, they didn’t get any more work done that evening.
He was jolted back into the present moment by Viktor tracing a line down his thigh, likely reliving the same memory. Maybe, if they made enough progress today, Viktor would let him recreate it.
“No!” Claggor said, looking around the room with an increasingly alarmed expression. “Vi found a girl by the bridge. She’s from Piltover, and she’s bringing her here now .”
The room was completely silent for a moment, then it exploded into a burst of noise, everyone talking over each other.
Jayce looked over at Viktor, who was still taking notes, completely unfazed.
“Well,” he said, quirking an eyebrow in Jayce’s direction. “This ought to be interesting.”
…
The girl, when Vi brought her into one of the upper rooms with a tight grip on her shoulder, had dark blue hair a little past her shoulders, a serious expression on her face that made her look older than her sixteen years, and a satchel clutched to her side. She wore a simple black cloak, slightly oversized and made of fine fabric, indicating to Viktor that she was not from Zaun. More than that, though, was the aristocratic way she carried herself, as if she was above mundane things such as fear. However, her hands that betrayed her, knuckles white where she held the strap of her bag, tension thrumming through her tendons and veins.
Viktor found her unaffected facade impressive. Jayce had been much more obvious when he landed at Viktor’s feet, face betraying his every emotion. It was endearing, how vulnerable he’d looked, babbling and glaring and pleading in turns, off balance and completely disheveled. He’d been, to put it frankly, a mess.
The young lady Violet pushed into the room was nothing of the sort. She was composed, and that made Viktor curious. What was a wealthy, determined teenager doing sneaking out of Piltover, mysterious bag in hand and face set like she was preparing for war?
“Violet, you may unhand our guest now.”
When Violet let go of the girl’s shoulder, she sniffed haughtily, brushing off the fabric of the cloak as if removing any trace of Vi’s presence. Vi scowled at her, but the girl was no longer paying attention, staring at something over Viktor’s shoulder with wide eyes.
“Caitlyn?” Jayce choked out, rushing forward and enveloping the girl into an overbearing, bone-crushing hug.
“ Jayce .” Her voice, colored by emotion and spoken with a slight accent, was muffled by Jayce’s shoulder.
Ah, the young Miss Kiramman. Jayce had mentioned her to Viktor in hushed tones a few months back, head in Viktor’s lap, tears on his face invisible in the dark. Viktor had experienced much pain in his life, but there was something uniquely haunting in Jayce’s experience, in being completely and clinically removed from everything and everyone he’d ever known with no bridge home. That night, he told Viktor that sometimes he felt like a ghost, like he’d never been there at all.
Jayce held onto Caitlyn for a long moment, longer than Viktor expected, before pulling back enough to look her over, holding her by the arms. “What are you doing here? Why aren’t you at home? Do your parents know you’re here?”
She scowled, and the petulant childishness of it made her look her age. “I’m fine, Jayce. Stop mothering me. How are you? I’ve been so worried.”
“I’m fine, Cait, really.” Almost subconsciously, he brushed her hair back from her face, and the motion was so tender that Viktor felt a lump in his throat. “I got taken in by some good people, I’m okay.”
“I can’t believe they- that mother and father let them- I’ve been so worried. They never should have exiled you.” She had that same fierce, determined look on her face, and Viktor knew she would be formidable as she got older. He recognized in her the same thing he himself had at that age— fire. Conviction. A desire to be taken seriously, so strong that would hone her into a finely sharpened blade.
“Hey, it all worked out, right? I mean, I wasn’t super happy about it at the time, but I’ve settled in here. I’ve made friends.” Jayce gestured behind him, and for the first time, Caitlyn’s eyes swept over the room, distrustful and guarded.
At the moment, it was just Viktor, Sevika, Vi, and Jayce. He’d sent the others away for the time being, despite their begging and curiosity. He found himself glad of it now, not wanting to overwhelm the girl, aware how all of this must look to her.
“Jayce,” she said tensely. “Can we speak in private?”
Jayce’s eyes flickered back to Viktor, conflicted, and Viktor nodded. He trusted Jayce, more than he thought he would. More than he should. Perhaps even implicitly. He’d never met anyone so- so incapable of deception. It was astonishing how painfully open he was.
“C‘mon, Sprout. We can talk in my room.”
Viktor watched them go, a familiar sinking feeling in his stomach.
…
Jayce came back an hour later, a little puffy-eyed but loose-limbed in a way he hadn’t been the whole time Viktor knew him, like an invisible weight was removed from his shoulders. It made Viktor’s guilt fester even more.
“How did it go?”
Jayce sighed and wrapped his arms around Viktor from the back, resting his forehead in between his shoulder blades.
“It was good to see her. Draining, but good. It’s like, all of the feelings I thought had faded flooded right back.” He sighed, and his breath warmed Viktor’s neck. Everything about Jayce was warm- his hands, his breath, what it felt like to be inside him, the feelings he inspired in Viktor. It was all warmth. “I thought I was past it.”
Viktor hummed, allowing Jayce to wrap his arms around his middle, letting himself provide comfort. If someone tried to touch him like this a year ago, he would have cut off their hands. But Jayce, as always, appeared to be the exception to Viktor’s many, many rules.
“Did you have a nice talk?” He prodded, sensing that Jayce needed to talk about it.
“We did. She’s been planning how to sneak out of Piltover ever since I got exiled, if you can believe it.” Jayce laughed incredulously, but Viktor wasn’t surprised. He could, in fact, believe it. “She’s been trying to find me, had some insane notion of bringing me back with her. Still, it was- it was good to see her. I never thought I’d see her again.”
Viktor ran his fingers along Jayce’s forearm, but the gesture felt empty. It felt hollow, compared to what he could do for Jayce if he wasn’t such a coward.
“Oh, and she brought me some of my things! A fresh outfit, a few memorable trinkets, a shit ton of money, and-” he swallowed thickly, “and a note from my mom.”
Viktor closed his eyes tight against the emotion in Jayce’s voice. He couldn’t do it, he just couldn’t do it anymore.
He allowed himself a second longer to bask in Jayce’s arms, just a second longer. Familiarized himself with his scent, oil and ink, and his touch, strong and steady, and the glorious, perfect warmth of him. His Jayce.
He’d been truthful when he said no one could take Jayce away from him. It was only Jayce himself who could bring Viktor to do something as painful, as self-destructive, as letting him go.
“Darling,” he said, relishing the way Jayce kissed the back of his neck. So reverent, so worshipful, as if Viktor was his sun and his moon and his stars. “Beloved. I need to tell you something.”
“Mhm,” Jayce said, still mouthing at the back of his neck.
“I must admit I’ve been… selfish when it comes to you.”
Jayce nipped underneath his ear, half-listening. “I like it when you’re selfish,” he purred.
The tightness in Viktor’s chest loosened for just a moment. “Incorrigible,” he chastised, but Jayce didn’t care.
“You like it.”
Viktor pinched him on his side, and Jayce yelped at the sensation, shocked out of his relaxed headspace.
“Behave, pet. I’m trying to talk to you about something important.”
“Alright, alright.” Jayce finally abandoned his resting place at Viktor’s back and came around to face him, picking up both of his hands to press kisses into his knuckles.
He’d been like this since the second month into their relationship, when he’d evidently realized he had full permission to touch Viktor however he wanted, that the normal rules didn’t apply to him. It was almost overwhelming, Jayce’s desire to touch. He was so overwhelmingly needy, all of the time.
Viktor wouldn’t have it any other way.
“What did you want to talk about?”
Viktor pursed his lips, trying to figure out how he wanted to say this. “Have you ever thought about going back to Piltover?”
“Of course,” Jayce shrugged. “Especially those first few months. Why?”
“If I told you there was a way… Would you want to?”
Jayce froze. “ What?” His voice cracked, and the fracture perfectly mirrored the cracks in Viktor’s heart.
He drew himself up to his full height and looked Jayce in the eye. He wouldn’t shy away from this, no matter how much he wanted to. He was the Snake of the Underground, the Savior of the Damned. He would not hide, not even from this. “I am a very powerful man, Jayce. Many people owe me favors. It would be easy to get you pardoned and send you back.”
Jayce scanned his face, eyes clouded and unreadable for once. “Why didn’t you?”
Viktor couldn’t stop himself from tracing Jayce’s cheek, from his temple all the way down to his jaw, thumbing at his bottom lip, admiring the face that caused him to break every rule that he made for himself. “I told you,” he murmured. “I am a selfish man.”
He waited for the look of disgust, for Jayce to push him away and curse him out and yell until his throat was sore. He knew it was coming, so he braced himself for the blow.
Instead, Jayce grabbed Viktor by the back of his head and pulled him into a burning, all-consuming kiss.
Viktor gasped into it, sliding his hands down Jayce’s waist to grip his hips, not one to waste an opportunity, even if he didn’t understand why it was happening. Jayce’s hands flitted across Viktor’s body as if they didn’t know where to land, and his kisses were particularly sloppy, mouth uncoordinated and so, so desperate. Sweet boy.
When given a bit of control, he had no idea what to do with it.
Finally giving into temptation, Viktor gripped Jayce’s hair with one hand and guided the kiss, slowing it down into something molten, something that reminded him of the way Jayce looked in his sheets, blissed out and well-fucked.
“Shh,” he smoothed a hand down his back, calming Jayce’s restless energy as he pressed burning, biting kisses into Viktor’s throat. “Tell me what’s the matter.”
“Don’t do it,” Jayce whispered into his neck, still worshiping Viktor’s collar bones. “Please don’t send me back.”
Viktor paused, and Jayce whined at the loss of his touch, the little strokes through his hair, the knee pressing into his groin.
“Please,” he begged. “Please don’t send me back. I’ll be good, I’ll be better, I’ll do anything, please—”
“Okay,” Viktor hushed him, mind racing a million miles an hour. “Calm yourself. It’s okay.” He resumed stroking Jayce’s hair, resolve crumbling as Jayce melted into the touch. How was he still so sweet? How had the world not eaten him alive by now?
He waited until Jayce’s breathing steadied to continue the conversation. “Why do you want to stay? You could return to your old life. Your house, your mother, Caitlyn, your studies. Surely you wouldn’t wish to give that up.”
“Viktor,” Jayce said, eyes big and lashes wet, looking like one of Viktor’s childhood dreams come true, even now. “My life is here. My friends are here, my work is here. Yes, I miss my mother. Yes, I miss Caitlyn. I liked the academy, I liked my research, but- everything I need is here. And…” he scanned Viktor’s face, hesitant and oh so sweet. “You’re here.”
The fissures in Viktor's heart shattered into a thousand little pieces, leaving in its place a different heart, a new one, formed and shaped by the capable hands of a blacksmith. A heart that would never grow cold.
“My darling, darling boy.” He tilted Jayce’s chin up with a finger, admiring his beauty, his vulnerability, his bravery. “What did I ever do to deserve you?”
Viktor knew the strength it took to form a new life out of nothing at all. He did not know the strength it took to allow yourself to be seen as you were, to look, unflinching, into the light.
Perhaps, for Jayce, he was willing to learn.
“You—”
“Shh,” Viktor shut Jayce’s mouth with a soft tap from his cane. “That was a hypothetical, my dear. Now come. If we do not head to my bedroom, I will defile you on the floor.”
He said it so matter-of-factly that it took a whole five seconds for Jayce’s face to turn a satisfying, burning red. Still so fun to play with.
“ Viktor ,” Jayce hissed, trailing after him. “What about Caitlyn?”
Viktor raised an eyebrow. “I’m fairly certain you don’t want her around for what happened next.”
Jayce choked on his own words, and Viktor’s laughter echoed down the hallway.
He knew with certainty that there would be time for everything later.
There would be time to speak with Miss Kiramman himself, time to meet the girl that Jayce regarded as a sister. There would be time to organize a safe path for her return, and time for the children to tease Violet for the way her eyes rarely left the girl’s aristocratic face. There would be time for discussions and favors and negotiations, stolen time for Jayce to visit his family once a month, time for him to cry when he sees his mother, wrapping her up in his arms.
There would be time for all things eventually. Viktor knew this— he was a very patient man.
He looked at the tragically beautiful package of innocence and naivety knelt at his feet, and he knew, though Jayce had changed so much about Viktor's life when he stumbled into Zaun with nothing but the clothes on his back and his toolkit, that some things remained the same.
Viktor was still a very patient man who had little patience for distractions or fools.
Everything else could wait.