31

                                    

                                          
Viktor met you at the lab fifteen minutes later - the longest fifteen minutes of your life. 
The corridors were a stark contrast to the crowded hall, dark and cold, lacking in the stuffiness that comes with large crowds. You shivered and waited, arms folded across your chest, for what seemed like hours. You'd began to think you'd somehow gone to the wrong lab when you heard the familiar rhythmic tapping of his came against the polished tiles. 
Perhaps it was from the relatively long walk there, but when he reached you, you swore he was out of breath, as if he, too, had hurried to get there.  
"Sorry to keep you waiting," he said. "Heimerdinger wanted a very thorough account of the technology behind the Hexgates, although I found I couldn't think clearly, not with my thoughts being preoccupied with, uh..." He swallowed, eyes falling to the floor, and murmured the last word so quickly and quietly you thought you'd misheard him: "... you." 
You suddenly found the atmosphere between the two of you awkward, filled with a kind of tension neither of you knew how to break. Your brain flatlined at an appropriate response, and you instead chose to meticulously study the pattern of the floor tiles underfoot. 
"It's cold," Viktor said after a long moment, more, it seemed, to fill the silence than for anything else. "Are you cold? With what you're wearing, I imagine you might be feeling slightly..." He trailed off subconsciously as his eyes slipped from yours to your stature. He caught himself and shrugged off his suit jacket before offering it to you. "If you want, that is. I imagine- It was hot, back in the hall..." 
You smiled and thanked him. It was a bit too large in you but did a good job in staving off the cold. Hugging it around you, you felt a variety of objects and belongings stored in its pockets. Suddenly the small favour felt incredibly intimate, almost intrusive. 
"Shall we go, then?" he asked. 
You frowned. "Go where?" 
He gave a mischievous grin, one side of his mouth raising slightly, and tapped the side of his nose: secret. 
You followed him as he lead you through the deserted corridors to a familiar stairwell. 
"Up here?" you said, staring forlornly at the copious amount of steps you had to ascend. 
"All the way up here," he confirmed. "I'd offer to carry you, but I'm afraid I wouldn't be much use myself." 
"Maybe your and Jayce's next project should be the Hex-elevator." You waggled your fingers for effect. 
He laughed, eyes crinkling at the edges. 
You walked side by side up the spiralling staircase, the knuckles of your fingers brushing with each step. Neither of you made to move away. Every now and again your fingers would entwine, just for a second, as your arms swung with the rhythm of your walking. 
Fueled perhaps by the foul drink you'd sipped earlier, or the buzz of liquid lightning that had been surging round your veins since what had happened on the balcony, you dated to slip your forefinger around his, the move just intentional enough to show... something. 
He showed no obvious objection, although you thought you heard his breath hitch slightly. Slowly, tentatively, as if you might startle at any sudden movements, he interlaced his fingers with yours, one at a time, until by the time you reached the door at the top of the stairs, you were holding hands. 
He glanced down at your joined hands, gave you a quick, shy grin and your hand a light squeeze before letting to go to retrieve his set of keys. Your skin felt cold without him, bare and empty.