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alotofpockets · 1 day ago

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A change of plans | Lotte Wubben-Moy x Reader

5k celebration prompt: "I should've called."

Warnings: foster care, past parental death, mention of drug abuse

Woso masterlist | Words: 3k

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Today was your two month anniversary with Lotte. While it was only two months, you wanted to do something special. Usually when the two of you would get together, it was a restaurant or activity. On the rare occasion that you decided to hang out at someone’s place, it had been at Lotte’s.

That is why you had invited her over for dinner at your place tonight. It was only fair that she got to check out where you lived as well. Your plans were nothing fancy, just cooking a nice meal for her and maybe watching a movie after. Yet, you were buzzing with excitement as you entered the store.

You were walking down the first aisle of the store when your phone rang. “Hi Michelle, it’s been a while.” You say while answering the phone and stepping to the side. “Hey, yeah the only type of call where that is a positive thing.” She jokes.

Michelle was the caseworker at Child Protective Service you had been working with for a few years now. You were a foster parent, and were mainly helping out with emergency placements.

“I’ve got two kids who need a place to stay. A six month old boy and an eight year old girl. They are siblings, and despite the age difference, I don’t want to split them up. Is there any way you can take them in for a few days?”

There wasn’t a moment of doubt in your mind, you would never turn down a child in need. “Yeah, of course.” You knew not to ask too many questions about their past, because Michelle would let you know when she would bring over the kids. “I’m at the grocery store right now, so I will pick up some things. Should be back home in about an hour.”

“Great, thank you. I will grab the kids and pack some of their stuff. We’ll see you in a bit then.” Michelle hung up the phone and you quickly changed your grocery run for dinner into a quick shopping spree for children’s necessities.

You had a few basics at your place like toothbrushes, toiletries, and some toys, but you hadn’t had a baby in a long time. So, you grabbed the necessities for both their ages, knowing that once they were there, you could always get more if needed.

Once you’ve got everything you thought you needed, you rush back home to get your place ready. Making sure the bedroom is fully set up, getting the toiletries out from the cupboards, and getting the boxes with stuff out for their ages.

Over the years you’ve learned what kids of certain ages like, which was always a huge help in preparing when a new child would arrive. Just as you were making your final touches, the doorbell rang.

You quickly made your way over to the door, but completely froze once you saw Lotte stand on the other side of it. Shit, in your haste you had completely forgotten to call her. Her bright smile faded slowly into confusion when she saw your expression. “You look like you weren’t expecting me. Did I get the time wrong?”

“No no, you’re right on time.” You say after looking at your watch. “I- eh, something came up and I should've called, but I completely forgot.”

Lotte put her hand on your arm. “It’s alright, take a breath.” She stepped into your home and closed the door behind her. “What’s going on? Is everything alright?” Lotte asked as she pulled you down onto the couch.

“Yes, everything is alright. Just, well. Okay there is something I haven’t told you before.” You started getting nervous now. “I’m a foster parent. Mostly kids who need an emergency placement, so always very last minute. Like today, I got a call that two kids needed a placement, so I was getting everything ready, but I forgot to call you. And I was going to tell you about me being a foster parent. I just haven’t had a placement for a while, so yeah I hadn’t gotten to it yet. I promise I wasn’t trying to hide this from you.”

Finally you allow yourself to look at Lotte, who just looked at you in awe. “Wow, that is such an amazing thing. I fully understand that the rush of getting everything ready for their arrival came with forgetting to call. When are they getting here?”

Before you answer her question, the doorbell rang again. “That must be them.” You say as you make your way to the door again. This time when you open the door it is Michelle. She was holding a baby carrier in one hand and the girl's hand in the other. She was hiding behind Michelle’s legs, trying to observe her surroundings from a safe distance.

You crouched down to her level. “Hi, my name is y/n and this is Lotte.” You point to where Lotte was sitting on the couch. “I’ve known Michelle for a long time, did she tell you that?” The girl responded with a shake of her head. “When I was about your age, she was my caseworker too. She took really good care of me and helped me find a nice place to live.” The girl slowly stepped away from behind Michelle’s legs.

“What’s your name, sweetheart?” You asked when she seemed to get more comfortable. “Lauren.” You smiled, “That’s a beautiful name. I have a bedroom for you and your brother, can I show you?” She nodded. “Alright, let me grab your bag, and then we can go upstairs to check it out.”

You take the bag that Michelle is holding out for you. “Thanks Michelle. Oh and this is my girlfriend.” Lotte reached out her hand, “I’m Lotte, nice to meet you.” Michelle shakes it and sets the baby carrier down on the table. “I’m gonna show Lauren her room, but please make yourselves at home.”

After showing Lauren where everything is and placing her things to the side, so she can decide what she wants to do with it, you ask if she wanted to come back downstairs or if she would like to stay in her room. She picks the latter, which was of course fine by you. “Alright, I’ll be downstairs if you need anything, okay?” Lauren nodded, and you took that as your sign to give the girl some space.

When you came back downstairs, Lotte was gently rocking the baby, and Michelle was sitting on the couch sipping on a cup of coffee.

As you walked back into the living room, you found Lotte gently rocking the baby. The sight warmed your heart. A calm moment in the not so calm hour or so you’ve had. Lotte looked up and smiled, her soft expression confirming that she was on board with you being a foster parent.

“His name is Levi,” Michelle said, setting her coffee down on the table to grab the kids their file. “Their mom was admitted to the hospital yesterday after an overdose. She’s had a hard time since Lauren’s dad passed a few years ago. Levi’s dad isn’t in the picture, no one on file either. Luckily the kids weren’t home when it happened, but we did tell Lauren that her mom wasn’t doing well.”

You nodded along, it was alway tough to hear what kids had been through, but knowing their background was necessary to take care of them well. “Do you know much about Lauren? What she likes or what might help her feel comfortable?”

“She didn’t speak much on the way over, but I did notice her face light up when we drove past the football stadium.” Michelle answers. “Emirates Stadium?” Lotte questioned. “Yeah, that’s the one!”

You and Lotte share a look. “She’s a football fan,” you say, a smile tugging at the corners of your mouth. “I think we can work with that.”

Content with that knowledge, Michelle stands. “I should get going. I’ll check in tomorrow to see how everything’s going.” She looks at you with a grateful smile. “Thank you again for doing this. And Lotte, it was nice to meet you.”

You get up and walk her to the door. After discussing a couple more small details, you wave her off and close the door behind her. Just as you were about to turn back into the living room, you heard Lauren creep down the stairs.

“Hi sweetheart, do you want to come join us?” The girl timidly nods her head. “Awesome, come on. Levi is right in there with Lotte. I will be right there.” You head into the kitchen to grab something to drink for her and yourself before you join them.

You walk back into the living room, drinks in hand, and find Lauren sitting next to Lotte, who is still gently rocking Levi. The sight makes you smile.

“I heard from Michelle that you got excited when you passed Emirates Stadium,” you say, handing Lauren her drink. Her eyes light up slightly, though she remains quiet. “Do you like football?” She nods her head.

“Do you like Arsenal?” She starts smiling wide. Seemingly happy that someone knew about the team. “Yeah.” You smile back at her, glad that you found something that might help her feel more comfortable. “Did you know that Lotte plays for Arsenal?”

The girl's mouth falls open and she moves her eyes towards Lotte. “Really?” Lotte nods, “Yeah, I’m a defender. You recognized the stadium, does that mean you’ve been there before?”

Lauren nods again, “Yeah, with my daddy. He liked football too. Mommy doesn’t, but sometimes I can watch a game on the tv at my friends house.” It was the most she had spoken so far, but you didn’t want to linger on that too much, not wanting to make her uncomfortable.

“Lotte has a game there tomorrow. Would you like to go and see it at the stadium?” The girl froze with widened eyes, as if she was not expecting to ever go back to the stadium. “Can I?”

You nodded, “Yeah. We can do whatever you want to do while you’re here with me.” The girl started nodding slowly. “Can I see Arsenal then?” This time Lotte chimed in. “I’ll do you one better. We can head in early, you can meet the whole team.”

With that plan set, Lotte asked if Lauren wanted to kick the ball around in the backyard. Hoping that staying on the topic of football would keep her comfortable. Lauren said yes immediately. Playing with a player from your favourite club, who would say no to that?

Lotte handed Levi to you, and went to her car to grab a ball from the trunk. You had learned by now that Lotte didn’t go anywhere without a football, which you thought was really cute. When she returns and Lauren is excitedly waiting by the backdoor, you mouthed a thank you her way.

While they were out in the backyard, you started making a simple meal in the kitchen. According to Michelle, there weren’t any allergies that they were aware of, so you went with an easy pasta recipe, that most kids you’d had so far, had enjoyed.

After dinner, you brought Levi to bed. Lauren didn’t want to leave him alone in the room, so she asked if she could stay there and continue reading the book she had been reading earlier. One of the books you had laid down on her bedside table earlier.

Levi was already nodding off, so you said that she could. With her teeth brushed and pajamas on, she laid down into bed, ready for when she was tired. You clicked on the nightlight. “If you need anything, I am going to be right downstairs, okay?” She nodded. “And if I’m asleep, you can also come knocking on my bedroom door. Second door on the left.” When she nodded again, you smiled. “Alright, goodnight sweetheart.” She smiled back, “Goodnight.”

When you get back downstairs, you plop down on the couch next to Lotte. “I am so sorry about the change of plans today. Please let me make it up to you with a redo-date?” Lotte takes your hand in hers. “We can have a redo-date, but only because I want to go on more dates with you, not because we did something different today. While it wasn’t at all what I was expecting when I rang your doorbell, I had a great time.”

“That means a lot honestly. Also, thank you for sticking around. Not just for me, but I think it did Lauren really good. Plus you were so good with Levi, I can’t believe you got him to stop crying instantly.”

Lotte smiles, “Being a footballer and auntie has its perks. Speaking of Lauren, I texted the girls, some of them are able to come in early and meet with her before the game. I also wanted to ask if it would be okay if I got her a jersey to wear to the match?”

“Yeah, I think she would love that. Just tell me how much it is, and I’ll pay you back for it.” She quickly shook her head, “No need, I want to get it for her.” It took some convincing, but eventually she got you on the same boat.

Then Lotte got a serious look on her face. “I know we haven’t been together for long, so if you don’t want to talk about this, please let me know. But, you told Lauren that Michelle was your caseworker as well, is that the reason you became a foster parent?”

You sat up straighter before you answered. “Yeah, as a kid I was moved around quite a bit. I had a different caseworker before, but after a couple bad houses, they put Michelle on my case. I know what a bad house is like, and I wanted to do my part in bettering the homes available. Got my license as soon as I was allowed and have been fostering kids ever since.”

Back then you hated talking about foster care. There were homes that ruined your childhood, but eventually Michelle had found you a great home, the home that became your forever home. Now the topic came easier for you, and you didn’t mind talking about it. Not even with Lotte, although you had been nervous about when you were going to have to tell her you were a foster parent, but after how today went, you realised that those nerves weren’t necessary.

The two of you continued talking until Lotte had to head home. With her match tomorrow, it meant an early night. So, you said your goodbye’s, and would see each other the following day at the Emirates.

The next day when you’re driving up to the Emirates, you see the exact look on Lauren’s face that Michelle had mentioned. You smiled at the moment too, happy to see that despite going through a hard time, she was happy being here.

When you got inside, Lotte greeted you with a gift bag in hand. “I’ve got something for you.” She said to Lauren once she had walked the three of you inside. Lauren looked into the bag and her face lit up again. An Arsenal jersey and a jacket. She asked if she could wear it right away, and Lotte showed her to the bathroom where she could change, while you laid out a blanket for Levi to lay on in the room.

When Lotte came back with a beaming Lauren, you knew that her day had been made before the match had even begun.

“I was gonna do some doodling before the girls got here, want to join me?” She said, holding out a big piece of paper and some markers. Lauren hesitated at first, but when Lotte sat down on the floor and laid the paper out, she gave in and sat down with her.

Lauren’s shyness faded away, the more that they were chatting and colouring together. Such a simple activity, yet what it did for the girl was major.

You watched as one by one the Arsenal players began arriving. Greeting Lotte and then crouching down to meet Lauren. They all gave her a moment of time before they headed to the locker room. Asking her about her favourite players, and telling her where they played on the field. You could see Lauren’s confidence grow with every interaction, her eyes sparkling as she was talking to them.

When it was time for the match, you sat down in the front row seats that Lotte had gotten you. The excitement that Lauren had while watching the game was contagious and soon you found yourself cheering and yelling along.

After the match, Lauren got to take pictures with all of the players, including Lotte, who had promised her a picture. Before you headed home, Lotte said she had one more surprise.

When she came back from the locker room, she was holding the jersey she was wearing before. It was filled with signatures and messages from the girls on the team. Lauren couldn’t believe her eyes. “Thank you so much.” She said while hugging your girlfriend tight.

That evening, Lauren wouldn’t stop talking about the match, and you knew you had done something right. Well, Lotte had. When you were putting Lauren to bed, she gave you a hug. “Today was the best day ever.” Your heart melted. “I’m glad you had fun.” You said hugging her back.

Back downstairs you wanted to message Lotte about what Lauren had just said, but she had texted you first.

Lotte: Thank you for letting me be a part of today. You’re amazing. Not just for opening your home and your heart for these kids, but for the way you care for those around you. Goodnight ❤️

You: You’re too kind. Thank you for making today so special for Lauren. She just told me that today was the best day ever. You’ve given her an experience she will never forget. And I won’t either, thank you. Goodnight ❤️

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daveth-isnt-dead · 3 days ago

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Coalescence part 2/3

Part One

Summary:

She’s so nervous that her breath catches in her lungs and doesn’t come back out, from her side she can hear Viktor’s foot tapping a frantic rhythm against the tiles. Without even thinking it through, her hand finds his and grabs it tight. He doesn’t pull back, if anything he holds hers even tighter. The question rises once again, unbidden. What are we? AKA: She works with Viktor for seven years, she is in love with him for five of them.

Contains: she/her pronouns, supremely slow burn, sharing a bed, canon typical illness stuff.

Word Count: 12,181

Read on AO3

The next year feels a lot slower than the last few had, without the relentless push from the council to get the Hexgates finished, work stagnates as the three of them try to figure out what to make next. A few months in she gets sick of sitting on the other side of the room and goes through the arduous process of rearranging the furniture. She has to move Jayce’s desk first and then the blackboard and then she finally has enough room to squeeze herself in, the fact that the only available spot is next to Viktor’s desk is only serendipitous, at least that’s what she tells herself. Jayce seems pretty excited about the change when he comes in, that maybe the rearrangement might be enough to finally get all their synapses firing.

Viktor, by comparison, sits quietly next to her and doesn't even acknowledge the change for the first few hours, just scoffs when she asks to borrow his ink for her pen, “If you’ve only moved your desk next to mine for access to my stationary then I’ll be very upset.” despite his words, he slides it over to her desk, “You’re lucky I’m so accommodating.”

She wants to say something about how his stationary is the last thing on her mind, but instead, she just laughs and replies, “Very lucky, thank you.”

A few weeks after her impromptu rearrangement, she comes into the lab to find a new desk sitting where hers once was and more surprisingly, a person sitting at the desk. Shocked, she lurks in the doorway while trying to figure out what to say, only for the visitor to notice her and immediately jump up from her chair and rush over to greet her.

“Hi! I’m Sky! It’s so great to meet you!” She says, grabbing one of her hands between two of her own, “I’m the new lab assistant! Viktor hired me!” She blinks for a moment, trying to find a way to reply that doesn't make her seem utterly repellant, “I thought I was the lab assistant…” is what came out, and it wasn't the energy she had been aiming for.

Sky laughs, “You’re funny. It’s nice to know you three have a sense of humour.” she finally releases her hand before readjusting her glasses, “If you ever need anything, I’ll either be here or in the botany lab down the hall. I’m going to study as much as I can while I have the chance, but I’ll always be nearby.”

When Viktor eventually arrives and sits at his desk, she scoots her chair a little closer to his and whispers, “Why’d you hire another assistant?” “Sky’s an old friend and we’re going to need the help-” he pauses a moment and then spins his chair to face her, “Why did you say another assistant?” “Because I’m your assistant.” Viktor lets out a disbelieving laugh, “ You haven’t been our assistant in a very long time.”

Her heart thrums nervously in her chest, and all she can let out is a weak little, “...huh?”

“You’re a partner.” Viktor clarifies as he rests his hand on her forearm, “A friend .” a beat, his thumb lightly rubbing against her bare skin, “and you always made terrible coffee, it was time to let you off the hook”

She laughs and playfully slaps his hand away.

It’s only a month after that when Jayce has the idea that changes the trajectory of their research for the foreseeable future. They had all been sitting at their desks, doing barely any work. It was still just under a year before the next progress day and without an active request from the council, there wasn’t all that much pressure for them to create something. She had been entertaining herself with a paper ball that she was tossing up into the air, Jayce was flicking paperclips into an empty crate on the other side of the room, and even Viktor had been absently spinning around in his chair for the past hour, which was definitely out of the ordinary for him.

“Maybe we need a change of scenery?” Jayce suggests, hanging his head low when he finishes his last box of paperclips.

She scoffs, tossing the paper ball in the air once again, “It’s not like we can take the research outside with us.”

“Even if we could, it would be far too dangerous to take any of the crystals out of the lab.” Viktor supplies, completing another rotation on his chair, “They are too volatile.”

Jayce sighs, “I didn’t literally mean moving the lab equipment outside, guys. I just thought we could take a walk and-”

When the paper ball finishes its most recent arc into the air, she doesn’t bother catching it again, instead pointing a finger in Jayce’s direction, “That’s your idea face! You have an idea!”

Viktor freezes mid-spin, quickly rotating himself to face Jayce whose eyebrows are drawn tight. After another moment just sitting there and staring straight forward, Jayce leaps up from his chair and starts frantically pacing back and forth.

“Oh yes!” Viktor says enthusiastically, turning to look at her over his shoulder, “He definitely has an idea.”

Jayce laughs breathlessly and then stalls in the middle of the room, erupting into a passionate and wildly gesticulated speech about finally being able to bring Hextech to the people instead of just serving the whims of the council, about working on smaller devices that could be mass-produced and (importantly) would have a far shorter development time than something as large scale as the Hexgates. As he spoke, she couldn’t resist shifting her gaze to Viktor, leaning forward on her desk to get a better angle on his face and nearly melting at the impassioned warmth in his eyes, the delectably sweet tug of his lips.

“Before we get ahead of ourselves,” Viktor begins, trying not to seem as exhilarated as he clearly is, “We need to figure out a way to stabilise the crystals, then we can focus on utility.” “God, I’ve missed this,” She says with a warm smile dancing around her mouth, “When can we start?”

***

It’s full steam ahead in the lab for the next few months, literally, to some degree. Before fully joining the Hextech team she had spent a brief portion of time studying glass-blowing and shaping and while she was only half joking when she suggested that they should try tempering the crystals, it ended up being the first step to the final solution. While a collision with physical objects causes a volatile reaction in the crystals, standing about twenty feet back in the Talis family forge, they learned that heat did not cause the same problem. Tempering Hextech crystals turned out to be a much more exhaustive process than tempering glass though, and every step of the way they were worried about causing some sort of disaster in the forge.

Sky became an invaluable resource and her contagious energy meant that she also very quickly became a friend. While she wasn’t able to commit her full time to the lab because she had her own studies to worry about, she was always around to help copy down notes when everyone else had full hands or to provide encouragement whenever it started to feel like the next hurdle was impossible. Viktor was also right, Sky made a much better coffee than she ever could.

“Damn.” She mutters, sipping gingerly on the very hot coffee, “How do you stop it from tasting so watery?” Sky laughed, expertly working the coffee machine in the small tearoom in the sciences wing of the academy, “I worked at a coffee shop in the undercity for a few years, all muscle memory.” she explained, popping a lid on Jayce’s coffee and then scooping one spoonful of sugar into the final vacant cup.

“Viktor takes two sugars.” She says quickly, probably too quickly.

Sky gives her an odd look, and then chuckles, “I was about to add another one, but thanks for the help.” She suddenly finds her own reflection in the cup of coffee very interesting.

While the work on finding a way to stabilise the crystals took almost all of their time, it was impossible to stop herself from peering in Viktor’s direction whenever she had a spare moment. He had lied about the leg brace just being for the gala, he didn't wear it every day and on the days that he did he claimed to have plans to take a walk out in the city when they wrapped up in the lab, but she usually caught him walking straight back to his dorm as always. She and Jayce would often share a worried look on days that he showed up wearing it but both could sense he didn't want any attention being drawn to it. There were other changes too, smaller ones, that might have gone unnoticed by anyone from outside the lab. His breath quickened and the hours he used to spend working out calculations and formulas on the blackboard were now spent at his desk instead, his angles sharpened and his face slowly began to lose its softness.

“Just tired.” He responds, whenever she asks how he is feeling.

Her eyebrows pinch, an insidious fear taking up residence behind her ribs, “You're tired a lot.”

He sighs, and she is standing close enough that he can rest his head on the swell of her hip, “I am”

She wraps her arm around his shoulders to hold him against her, aching with the weight of a familiar question.

While he moves slower, he doesn't stop moving. When she and Jayce try to untangle just how to temper the crystals, Viktor sits on a chair nearby taking furious notes and offering suggestions. He sits at his desk with Sky as the two of them start sketching potential designs for smaller-scale Hextech projects. Viktor is, of course, there on the day that they manage to create their first successful gemstone. The crystals temper a lot stronger than glass does and were (so far as they could tell) completely resistant to shattering. The final test happens back in the forge where this process all began, with her and Viktor waiting impatiently on the other side of a wrought iron metal door with only a small glass window to watch through as Jayce bravely performs the final test of the gemstone’s durability.

Jayce waves at them both, though they can barely see his face under the full set of protective armour he is wearing just in case they were off with their calculations. Despite all the preliminary testing and Viktor’s absolute belief in the gemstone’s structural integrity, she still nervously chews on her thumbnail as she watches Jayce set it down on the anvil. Though she doesn’t express her nervousness, Viktor still notices, resting a hand on her shoulder. “Jayce will be fine.” He says confidently, “We’re ready.” She lets out a shaky sigh, the orange firelight from inside the forge washes gently across Viktor’s face at sets his eyes ablaze. His posture is more lopsided than it used to be, his left shoulder kicked up where he is putting almost all of his standing weight on his cane. Her feelings are discombobulating, a dizzying mixture of fear and denial with an overlarge dash of something aching and desperate that she is still too afraid to give a name despite so many years of feeling it.

“Knowing you think so makes me feel a lot better.” She replies, turning her gaze back to the tiny window, “I envy your optimism.”

“I wouldn’t call it optimism .” He says, wrapping an arm around her shaking shoulders and resting his cheek on the top of her head, “Determination, maybe?”

She softens against him, his touch is familiar by now and while it no longer sends her awash with nerves to feel it, a warmth still settles in her stomach that she is unable to do away with. Her arm slides around his waist and clutches him tight, breath high in her chest as she watches Jayce take a few cautious steps towards the gemstone, clutching an oversised smithing hammer in his hands. Just as he raises it in the air, she’s so panicked that she can’t bear to watch and spins to bury her face in Viktor’s chest. She swears she hears his breath catch, and while he stumbles a little to adjust for the new weight, it only takes him a moment to regain his footing. From behind her closed eyes, she hears the echoing boom of the hammer making impact and then a ringing silence where an explosion would have been, if there was going to be one.

Viktor lets out a breathless, overjoyed laugh, his hand rubbing enthusiastic circles between her shoulder blades, “We’re going to be able to do some real good now.” He says, “I can feel it.”

The leadup to the next progress day is a stressful one, a great deal of their time was spent tempering enough gemstones for testing purposes and the process was hard enough to replicate that they didn't feel comfortable letting anyone other than her or Jayce near the forge. Even Viktor found it a bit intimidating in there and preferred to sit back while the two of them worked. So while she was spending months and months writing detailed instructions for the tempering methods in preparation for the day that smallscale Hextech devices went public, for now, it was still safer to handle that part themselves. Once they finally have enough gemstones for the prototyping stage, they leave the forge behind for the far more familiar walls of the lab. She continues working to transcribe all the notes they have on the process of refining Hextech gemstones, while Viktor, Jayce and occasionally Sky toss ideas back and forth.

It takes a lot of late nights glowering at the blackboard and throwing out hundreds of ideas before Viktor finally has the idea to find a way to improve working conditions for miners in the fissures. She can tell that it’s a personal mission for him, the way he talks about what conditions were like when he was still living in the Undercity and she, Jayce and Sky all agree with the idea wholeheartedly. They have far less time before progress day than they would like, but after narrowing the scope of Viktor’s idea to a maximum of two projects for now, it feels doable. Viktor has a bit of his pep back, which also helps to soothe her worries. While he isn't moving around as much as she remembers, his enthusiasm surrounding their new project can be heard in every word, seen in every exaggerated gesticulation.

One day she is completely lost watching him with wrapt attention as he and Jayce discuss what kind of metal would best be suited for the final version of the devices. Utterly absorbed in each and every minute movement of his lovely hands, in the bright vibrancy of his eyes.

“He was like this as a kid too,” Sky says, snapping her out of her stupor.

“What, sorry?”

Sky laughs and inclines her head in his direction, “Viktor. We grew up in the same neighbourhood if you could call it that. He was always tinkering with something instead of playing with the other kids.” She shrugs a shoulder, “He always inspired me, still does, maybe even more so.”

“Yeah.” She replies wistfully, watching as Viktor excitedly gestures to an equation on the blackboard, causing Jayce to pick up the chalk and start making edits, “He’s certainly inspiring.”

***

With only two months left before progress day, the prototypes still aren’t in any sort of state to show the public even though they are almost complete. Especially since the gauntlet keeps insisting that it wants to remain clenched in a fist no matter how hard they try to convince it otherwise. It’s that terrible part of development, where all the brainstorming and assembly is completed and all that’s left is struggling to figure out the last remaining kinks. Despite not being able to make much progress, the four of them are in the lab from sunrise to sunset almost every day. Sky often wears the gauntlet for hours straight as they all take turns trying to diagnose the issue and Jayce almost loses a finger to the Hexclaw when he gets a little impatient in getting it out of the way and forgets to disengage the gemstone.

She’s tired. They all are. Sky at some point admits that she can’t keep up these hours when she has her own studies to work on and returns to only dropping by when they need help, but the main Hextech team persists, pulling allnighters and sometimes even falling asleep on the floor of the lab in a big pile. At the very least they endure the stress together. With the initial excitement of development over and the growing sleep deprivation, Viktor starts looking worse again. His already pale skin turns papery ashen and the bags under his eyes are purple like a permanent bruise. One day he shows up with a crutch instead of his cane. He doesn’t even try to create an excuse for it, just sits at his desk and starts working before either she or Jayce can ask questions. That’s when they quickly make the decision to insist that all three of them stop spending so much time in the lab, enforcing a cut-off time where, regardless of progress made, the three of them would all head back to their dorms for the evening. While he seems a little irritated by the idea at first, Viktor does agree. None of them are getting any good work done and a proper sleep schedule might be just the thing to change that.

It’s not a perfect system though. Some nights she sneaks work home with her and knows that Viktor is doing the same, but at the very least he’s more likely to fall asleep in his bed that way. Other nights she is still so anxious about their upcoming deadline that she can’t force herself to sleep, even as the time ticks through until the AM.

One such night, she dashes her way back to the lab well past 2:00 am. She had been planning to tire herself out by reading the book she had rented from the academy library, but she had left it on her desk in her rush to get home that evening. It’s cold when the sun goes down, so she wraps her arms around herself to avoid the chill as she finally draws closer to the lab. The academy can be a little spooky at night, especially alone. It looks a lot different without the usual warm lighting, and the sound of her feet echoes off the tiles and the whole way down the hall. When the door comes into view, she doubles her pace in the hopes of being back in her bed as soon as possible.

She wipes her eyes and lets out a yawn as she unlocks the door, only to freeze at the entrance of the lab when the cool blue light of a Hextech gemstone still shines brightly from Viktor’s desk. It’s concerning, because they're usually very careful to lock them away when no one is inside. That's when she notices Viktor slumped on the desk, head resting atop his folded arms, he's still, he's so still that it makes an ice-cold panic start rushing through her veins. She calls his name out, walking towards him, and then again when he doesn't answer, hurrying her pace to reach him as soon as she can, her breath coming hard and fast and desperate as she reaches out and grabs him by the shoulder.

At her touch, he startles immediately, inhaling a shocked and wheezy breath.

“Thank god.” She exhales, wrapping her arms around him and burying her head in the join between his neck and shoulder. He's still only half awake, one of his large hands coming to rest on her forearm.

“I fell asleep.” He whispers

“Yeah.” She replies quietly, trying to calm the adrenaline still racing through her, “You did.”

“I couldn’t sleep.” He clarifies slowly, trying to take stock of where he is, “And I came back here thinking that maybe I could solve our problems with the gauntlets before tomorrow morning.” He lets out a breathless laugh and runs a shaky hand through his hair, “My exhaustion must have caught up with me, I apologise.” She doesn’t move, her arms still clutch tightly around him when she lets out a shaky little breath against the skin of his neck. He was just tired, overworked just like her and Jayce. It’s not the first time he’s fallen asleep at his desk, not the first time any of them have. Her heart slowly calms at the feeling of him between her arms, the slow brush of his hand against her bare forearm. She almost wants to laugh, what had she even been thinking? That he had-

No . There’s no point in even thinking it. He’s fine, she was worrying for nothing.

“C’mon.” She says, unwrapping her arms from around his shoulders and smiling down at him, “You need to get to bed” He smiles weakly, and she watches with pain in her chest as he puts all of his weight on his crutch to pull himself up from the chair, “Don’t you need to get to bed too?” he asks, giving her just a glimpse of that mischievous smile she loves so much.

“I'll walk you back first.” She replies, heart in her throat, “Your room is closer anyway.”

Viktor looks at her curiously for a moment, and then replies, “Yes, I suppose it is.”

It isn't, they both know it, but the lie is comfortable and the fact that Viktor is willing to go along with it sends a dizzying rush down to her fingertips. They walk in comfortable silence, it reminds her of their first walk together on the way to the music wing, though a lot slower. His crutch makes more of a thunk than the click that his cane used to, but the sound is still good at helping her keep pace with him. The last thing she wants is for him to think that he’s slowing her down. He isn’t, he couldn't, a longer walk is akin to a gift for her, there's so little time for them to meet outside the lab these days that even this minuscule moment is enough for a syrupy warmth to spread through her veins.

“Do you want to come inside?” Viktor asks when they reach his door. His voice is thick and his tone uncertain, she catches the way his free hand clenches nervously at his side.

She nods, “Just for a second. It’ll be nice to warm up.” His smile is warm and his eyes shine like amber, “Yes.” He begins, quickly unlocking his door and stepping to the side to let her in first, “It is cold, isn't it?” It isn’t, but the lie is comfortable.

“Freezing.” She replies, smiling up at him and walking through the doorway.

This is hardly the first time she’s visited his dorm, though it’s usually during the day to pick something up or drop something off, once or twice to deliver lunch when she suspected that he forgot to eat and on one notable occasion, for a cup of coffee while she struggled through translating his notes into something comprehensible for the council. It looks much the same as she remembers it, very cluttered but still neat. He has stacks of books and piles of notes all over the room and a corkboard with so many overlapping sketches, notes and blueprints that its impossible to see the cork underneath. The floor is clear, though, all his frantic scientific mess is left across desks or bookshelves, a hard divide been his work life and home life.

Viktor shuts the door behind himself and starts making his way across the space to where she can only assume his bedroom is. He looks at her over his shoulder and says, “You’ll have to give me a minute. Make yourself at home, I won’t be long.” “Oh, okay. No worries.” She replies, wondering what he has to do back there. He might just want to change into something more comfortable for the evening, which is completely reasonable, even if it makes her cheeks warm to think about. Now that she’s actually standing alone in the middle of his sitting room does she finally remember that she’s wearing her pyjamas. They aren’t at all scandalous, thankfully, but she does feel underdressed. After a moment, she sits tentatively on his couch, trying to find the perfect balance between comfortable but not too comfortable for when he comes back out. She drums her fingers against her thigh, trying to ignore just how much it smells like Viktor in here when she hears him call her name.

She leaps up from the couch, “Yes? Are you okay?” There’s a moment of silence, and then he replies, “I’m fine, I just-” he’s muffled on the other side of the door, but she hears what sounds like a foreign expletive, “I’d appreciate your help, if you’re willing.”

She would be willing to do anything for him, so she walks towards the closed door and then says, “I am.” she swallows nervously, “Can I come in?” “Please.” He replies quietly.

Her heart races as she opens the door, this part of his dorm she has never seen before. He has a few plants that seem to be in various stages of deceased, a completely full bookshelf, a large wooden dresser and a second, smaller desk that is covered in just as many notes as the one out in the sitting room. His crutch leans against the wall and the man himself sits on the edge of his bed, looking like he’d prefer if she didn't even notice him. “How can I help?” She asks. He looks up at her and then sighs, “The clasps at my ankle.” he says, inclining his head towards his brace, “I’m stiff today I-” “It’s okay.” She replies, already lowering to her knees, “I can do it, don’t even worry about it.” It’s clear that he is still worrying about it, even with her insistence not to. The muscles in his jaw are tight and he turns to face the wall, unwilling to meet her eyes. She doesn’t take any offence, she can tell this is humiliating for him, even though she feels nothing but adoration as her fingers meet the metal clasp at the base of his brace. Luckily the mechanism is intuitive and she doesn’t need any help in undoing it, though her trembling hands make it harder. She is not unaware of the suggestive nature of her positioning, on her knees, between his thighs, but she manages to push past the cloyingly thick implication because more than anything she just wants to help him.

“Thank you.” He says quietly, when his ankle is loose, “I can reach the rest myself if you’d like to return to the couch for now.” Despite his tired expression, he looks very pretty above her like this, his hair is tousled and hanging slightly in his eyes and the dim lighting in the room catches on all his sharp edges in the perfect way. She sucks a shaky breath in through her nose and then suggests, “I might as well do the rest.” her smile is shaky with nerves, and her voice wavers when she adds, “It just makes sense. I’m already down here after all.” The room feels quieter without the sound of Viktor’s wheezing breath, that’s the only way she realises he’s holding it, “I, ah-” he clears his throat, “Yes. I suppose it only makes sense.” Her next smile is stronger, and more confident as she begins to undo the rest of the clasps and buckles. Viktor has to help her with a few of them, the one at his knee is particularly tricky and he’s insistent that she ask if his leg needs to be moved instead of manoeuvring it herself. Not that he needed to tell her, she would never dare do anything that could hurt him. She has to sit up on her knees to undo the final buckle at his thigh, and he rests a hand on the top of her head as she does so. The feeling of his hand has another smile jumping its way across her face and she quietly asks him to straighten his leg a little so she can slide the brace off completely.

“All done.” She whispers when it hits the floor.

He looks down at her for a moment, his gaze so soft that she feels herself beginning to melt in it, “Thank you.” “Do you, um, need help with anything else?”

The muscles in his jaw tighten again and he goes back to staring at the wall, “Well, yes, but-” he shakes his head, “I can do it myself, you’ve done plenty.” “No. I want to help.” She replies, “Please, let me.” Viktor sighs, “I have a back brace too, I can undo it myself, but it takes some effort.” Though there was no real way for her to have known until now, a painful churning begins in her stomach at the thought of her never noticing, not paying enough attention. She pushes the fury with herself down, something to deal with later and instead gives Viktor what she hopes is a comforting smile, “You might have to guide me through it, is that okay?” He looks relieved, as if he was half expecting her to get cold feet, “That would be fine. Thank you.” He adjusts himself on the bed so he’s facing away from her and slowly starts undoing the buttons on his shirt.

She sucks in a nervous breath and watches as the fabric slides down his shoulders. There’s a mole on the back of his neck that she wants to kiss so badly she can barely stand it. It’s alarming how much his shoulder blades arch against the papery confines of his skin, the way his posture slopes up to the left, the result of an overcorrection for his limp. She swallows thickly at the sight of his brace, layers of overlapping leather and metal splints that seem directly affixed to his spine.

Viktor takes a deep breath, she sees his shoulders move, “There are clasps on either side of my spine.” He says, voice quivering. One of his hands reaches behind himself in an attempt to point out one of the clasps for her, “It’s very tight, it will be easier if you start at the top and bottom and then work your way to the middle.” “Alright.” She whispers, trying to conceal the incessant way her heart patters behind her ribs, “Let me know if do something wrong, okay?”

He nods but otherwise doesn’t say anything. It takes her a moment to figure out how the clasp undoes at first, it’s quite a complex piece of machinery and she’s shocked to find that her first assertion was entirely correct. The central portion of the brace is affixed to his spine with a series of bolts the whole way down. Her hands shake as she moves to the same clasp on the opposite side, “How, um, how long have you had this?” she asks weakly.

“A few years.” She clenches her teeth. How did she never notice? “Just to correct my posture.” He clarifies, sensing her tensing up behind him, “It doesn’t hurt.”

“But you didn’t tell me.”

He shrugs a shoulder, “You didn’t need to know.” “I would have liked to.” “Yes, well you know now,” he replies tersely and she immediately regrets pushing the matter.

He stays silent as she works her way through the rest of the clasps. There’s a window on the wall opposite the bed and the curtains are open just enough for a beam of moonlight to reach in and wrap around the bony protrusion of his shoulder, all the way down the length of his back. She feels lost, caught and tangled up in the sharp angles of him. Her hands continue slowly undoing the brace, but her mind is tumbling and grasping for him before he slips through her fingers. The back of his neck is very pretty, the bumps of his spine that aren't covered by the splints are delicate and heartbreakingly sharp and his breathing is quiet and even for the moment, though she has grown used to hearing it like a chesty wheeze. When she finally undoes the last two clasps in the centre of the brace, he lets out a sigh of relief and when she presses a palm beside his spine, she can feel his heartbeat. Without speaking, he slips his arm through the strap that wraps up and around his left shoulder and her heart aches at the red welts left behind where the brace was pulled tight against his skin, the one on his shoulder is particularly deep and she finds herself leaning in to press a kiss to it before she can even think. Viktor sucks in a breath at the feeling of her lips against him but otherwise makes no acknowledgement of it happening.

“Would you like me to go?” She asks quietly, “You’ll probably just want to sleep now.” He looks at her over his shoulder, eyes wide and vulnerable, “No.” he says quickly, “No- it’s, it’s dark. You shouldn’t walk back alone.” A smile tugs at her lips, “It is dangerous in the hallways of the academy at night, isn't it?”

It isn’t, but the lie is comfortable.

“It is.” He replies and his smile is a soft, heart-melting curl. After a lapse of almost excruciating silence, he shuffles himself to the side of the bed and stands shakily, resting most of his weight on a dresser in front of him, “Could you turn around a moment?” He asks

It clicks that the dresser must be where he keeps his clothes, “Oh! Yep!” He chuckles, “You can get in the bed if you’d like, I’ll sleep on the couch.”

She does as he suggests, facing the wall away from him and crawling in under the covers. It feels strange, the academy bedsheets are exactly the same as the ones in her own room, yet it’s impossible to shake the significance of them being distinctly not hers, “You know I won’t let you do that, right?” she says quietly.

A drawer opens behind her, and there’s some rustling of fabric, “I’ve slept places far worse than my couch, you even caught me doing so this evening.”

She sighs and pulls the sheets up to her chin, clutching desperately at the fabric, “C’mon, Viktor.” she almost pleads, “It’s just me, I don’t bite.” He scoffs behind her and the bed sinks when he sits on the edge of it. There’s more rustling and she can only assume it's easier for him to change in and out of his trousers when seated, “That isn’t what I'm concerned about.” “Then what are you concerned about?” Viktor goes completely still, she can only hear the sounds of his breathing and she struggles to keep her own breath even as she worries that she may have overstepped. The moment hangs in the air like a pendulum above her and her fingers dig tightly into the blankets.

“Alright, you win,” Viktor says, and the weight is lifted. He shifts a little, and she feels the blankets lift on his side of the bed as he climbs in. Then she hears a click, and the only light source in the room goes out.

What are we? She wonders, body stiff and uncomfortable as she lies in the darkness. She’s so close to the edge of the bed that her bent knee hangs off it, too afraid of accidentally touching him because of just how much she wants to. It’s been years of aching and wishing and she’s starting to get the sense that she’s running out of time, that if she doesn't find the right words for what they are, he will be gone before she can express them. She squeezes her eyes shut tight and tries to push the thoughts away, once again forcing herself to believe that Viktor is fine and to ignore all evidence to the contrary.

Then, she feels Viktor shift on the other side of the mattress and he whispers, “It’s cold tonight, isn't it?” Her heart stops in her chest and she tentatively rolls over to find he’s already facing her. He looks pretty, the light of the moon is eclipsed by the back of his head, leaving him backlit in a soft white light, “Freezing.” she replies, remembering their lie from earlier in the evening.

“There must be something we can do about that.” he breathes, shuffling in just a little closer.

She feels like she is about to burst into tears or laughter or something equally immense as she ignores all pretence and all comfortable lies, instead moving straight towards him and wrapping her arms around his chest, tucking her head under his chin. One of his arms slowly slides around her waist to tug her closer against him and his good leg tucks in between both of hers. Something that feels suspiciously like a kiss presses to the top of her head, and as she listens to the gradual calming of his rapid heartbeat she wonders again, what are we?

___

Progress day doesn't go as planned for a lot of reasons. Sitting at the side of the stage, she and Viktor clutch hands the same way they always do. Though maybe a little tighter than normal as they watch Jayce give his first progress day address. She lets out a shocked gasp when Jayce goes off script, deciding not to unveil their newest projects even though the three of them spent so many sleepless nights working on them, even though they drove themselves to exhaustion trying to reach this deadline. Viktor is especially angry about it, seething almost, but everything is thrown into disarray by the attack from the Undercity before they even have a chance to talk it over.

Jayce is their spokesperson, as always, when the three of them are forced to address the council about the theft of one of their gemstones as if it was somehow their fault. They didn’t even have the decency to scrounge up a third chair for her, so she just stands awkwardly beside Viktor and nervously clutches his shoulder. It sometimes feels like the council would forget that she and Viktor even existed if Jayce didn’t keep reminding them. An argument breaks out among the councillors as Jayce begins suggesting a full suspension of Hextech production until the gemstone is located. Viktor also tenses under her hand at the suggestion and while she can understand his reservations, it’s hard for her to disagree with Jayce on this point at least. The last thing they need is someone doing something illegal with their technology, it would be a terrible look, and who knows how many people could get hurt.

Then, things change so quickly that she can barely keep track. Councilor Medarda levies an attractive offer and before she can even wrap her head around what is taking place, the council issues a vote and suddenly it has eight members. Viktor’s hand shakes when it reaches up to grab her own where it rests on his shoulder, “This won't end well.” he mutters She swallows, filled with an anxious dread that doesn't leave her for the next three days, “Yeah.” She replies, “I have an awful feeling.”

When the two of them return to the lab, the room is filled with a thick and uncomfortable silence. Viktor sits at his desk and clutches his head in his hands, she on the other hand, can’t even bring herself to sit down, instead standing at the only open window in the room and resting her shaking hands on the windowsill. Her stomach twists itself into knots that will take hours to undo, any exhilaration from the the morning is completely gone, only replaced with a churning anxiety. Neither of them speaks until two hours later when Sky drops by, completely unaware of everything that transpired. Viktor explains it to her, his voice weak and exhausted. Sky is a smart girl, she can tell when there isn’t much she can do to help, she promises to let them know if she hears anything about Jayce’s whereabouts, but otherwise says she’ll be in her lab down the hall if they need her.

With Sky gone, the room once again turns to heavy silence. She swallows and the feeling is thick in her throat, “He must still be with the council.” she says.

“Yes.” Viktor replies, “He must.”

***

Jayce doesn’t come back that evening. While she’s certain that there is a lot that he needs to learn and probably some sort of extensive paperwork, when she looks over and sees the anxious curl of Viktor’s spine she wishes that Jayce would just tell the council to get fucked and come back to the lab where he belongs. Neither she nor Viktor manage to get any work done, neither of their prototypes are up for production and while there are improvements to be made, Heimerdinger’s insistence that the modifications would take a decade at minimum makes any attempt at progress feel utterly futile.

Viktor does occasionally pull his pen out and make a few notes, but then he curses under his breath and lets the pen go after just a few minutes. Once she notices the sun has well set through their window and the moon is hanging high in the sky, she lets out a sigh.

“We’re not going to get anything done, Viktor.” She says quietly, watching as he runs a desperate hand through his hair, “Do you want to get some sleep? Jayce will probably be back in the morning, then we can at least work out what we’re going to do from here.”

“I still don’t understand why he didn’t show the prototypes.” Viktor mutters, “Nothing today has made any sense.” “Yeah.” She replies, “It hasn't.” After a moment, Viktor sighs and grips tightly to his crutch to pull himself up from the chair, “Let’s just go.” he says, and then quieter, as if he doesn’t want her to hear it, “I’m tired.” They don’t talk at all on the walk over to his dorm, both exhausted emotionally and physically. Viktor is struggling to walk more now, she always finds him falling behind even though she is trying her best to keep in step with him, he must notice, even though she purposely doesn’t draw attention to it and she can only imagine how that makes him feel. He stands back as she unlocks the front door and she fondly remembers the morning when she found the spare key lying on his dresser when she woke up. He hadn’t told her that he was getting a copy made, he’d just left it for her when he headed to the lab for the day. It makes sense though, she spends more nights asleep in his bed than she does her own these days, trapped in a tangle of bony limbs that isn't necessarily comfortable but it is profoundly comforting .

“Do you want tea?” She asks as she steps in through the doorway, holding the door open for him as he follows her inside.

“No, thank you.” He says, moving to the bedroom and sitting down on the bed, “Help yourself, though.” She follows him into the bedroom, sitting down on the floor and going through the familiar routine of undoing his brace, “You know I was just being polite, I hate tea.” He laughs weakly, leaning back on his elbows as she moves to undo the clasps at his knee, “Don’t worry, it was very polite, thank you.” Her hands are quick now, familiar with each fastening the whole way up his leg, it only takes her a few seconds to have it undone. when she finishes She rests her head on his left thigh, peering up at him. Viktor sighs softly, brushing her hair away from her face. This isn’t a thing that friends do, she recognises, unable to resist leaning into his touch, but it is what they do. The fabric of his slacks is a little scratchy against her cheek and her legs are starting to go numb where they are curled under her, but the moment is so intimate and delicate that she can’t bear letting it shatter.

“If Jayce isn’t in the lab tomorrow morning, I’ll see if I can find him in the council room,” Viktor says quietly, rubbing gentle circles over her temple with his thumb.

“I can go instead, " she suggests, “if you want to get some work done in the lab.” “No.” He replies sternly, “I-” he sighs, hanging his head, “I need to talk to him.” “He’ll listen.”

Viktor lets his hand drop from her head, his face awash in painful uncertainty.

She raises herself up on her knees and reaches out to cup his cheek in her hand, “It’s Jayce.” She whispers, confidence proved only a mimicry by the way her voice shakes. Her thumb traces the sharp line of his cheekbone and her voice is more sincere when she adds, “He always listens.”

***

Whatever conversation Viktor and Jayce have doesn’t seem to help all that much. Jayce does seem apologetic at the very least, but for the next few days, Viktor is decidedly prickly. He sets himself up at one of their workstations and starts wordlessly assembling a new project that neither she nor Jayce has heard anything about until now. While he works, she mostly just sits at her own desk and goes back to trying to fix the issues with the hexclaw with the hopes of getting it to a more finished state before the next investor meeting in a few months. Something has changed in Viktor, she notices. A more pointed determination, something almost dangerously single-minded. He works on his new project all hours of the day and it’s harder than ever for her to pull him away for meals, or to convince him to leave the lab with her in the evenings.

His cough is getting worse too, worse enough that it’s impossible for her to pretend that everything is fine, no matter how much he tries to convince her that it is just a cold or just allergies or just-

She catches him once or twice, wiping the blood from his mouth on the back of his hand and she wants to scream or cry or do any number of things to force him to stop acting like everything is still fine. Jayce has noticed too, but he’s so busy with council business now that he only drops into the lab for a few hours a day.

“I don’t know what to do.” He says, leaning against the wall just outside the lab.

She leans there with him, not wanting to have this conversation in the same room as Viktor, “Me either.” “He is sleeping, right?” She nods, “Not as much as I’d like, but I'm getting him to bed every night.” “That’s good.” Jayce replies, hanging his head, “I should be in there with the two of you but-” he sighs, “Everyone’s still worried about the attack and that missing gemstone, until that’s sorted I don’t know how much time I’ll be able to spend in the lab.” “I know.” She replies, because she does know, even if the facts make her angry, they are still just the facts. She wrings her hands together and turns to face Jayce, his brows are pulled tight and he’s chewing hard on his bottom lip.

“Hey, Jayce?” He turns his head to look at her, exhaustion visible under his eyes, “Yeah?” “Do you-” her breath escapes her in a hiccuping sob, “Do you think he’ll be okay?”

“Sure he will.” Jayce says, though his smile doesn’t reach his eyes, “If anyone can get himself out of a bind, it’s gonna be Viktor, you know?”

***

She visits her father for dinner the night after. They have a long standing arrangement where she stops by within a week of progress day to debrief him. For the first time though, she spends the whole time just itching to get back to the academy, nervously checking the clock with each passing hour and barely managing to eat any of her dinner.

Her father laughs, “I know I’m not a proper chef or anything, but my food can’t be that bad, can it?” “No, it’s good, I’m sorry.” She says quietly, pushing her food around the plate with her fork, “Still just discombobulated after-” she waves her hand around vaguely, “You know.” “The attack?” He asks softly.

“Yeah, the attack.” she lies

“Your friends are alright, aren’t they? The Talis boy and uh-” “Viktor.” She supplies. Suddenly even less interested in eating her dinner.

The new project Viktor is working on consumes him. He’s started calling it the Hexcore and says that he aims to find out whether or not Hextech can learn , if like she discovered so many years ago, they were missing a fundamental and human component. While all of their current creations resonated at a G4, who’s to say that there aren't other effects that could be unlocked by teaching it how to resonate at another, or by giving it an unlimited combination of runes to cast with? He sits at the workstation for hours, constantly manipulating and twisting the rune matrix around. At all moments the room is filled with the rapid click of plates realigning or the humming of the gemstone within them. The only break comes when he takes a moment to update blueprints or write down new notes. She still managed to get him to bed the past few nights, though it only becomes more difficult each time. With Sky’s help, she’s able to keep him eating, even if it’s little more than a sandwich or one bite of an apple.

She did tell Viktor that she was going to be out tonight and that she’d likely see him in bed. Sky will be staying late at the academy because she has an assignment due tomorrow morning and she promised to keep an eye on him as best she could. Jayce has a meeting with councillor Medarda (though he called her Mel ) and will try and find time to stop by the lab on his way back just in case. It doesn't matter though, there’s a terrible, awful feeling sitting in the pit of her stomach that she can’t do away with.

“I should get to meet those boys someday, you know?” Her father says, snapping her back to the present, “I know you’re probably embarrassed about our little house on the fringes, but it cleans up nice!” She laughs weakly, remembering that Jayce and Viktor technically already visited years ago, “Sorry, Dad. We’re all really busy right now, and Viktor-” she bites her lower lip to stop the words from coming out, “He’s tired, we’re all tired.”

“Well, maybe I’ll stop by your lab sometime.” He replies, leaning back in his chair with a warm smile on his face, “You can do experiments on me, I’m tough.”

That gets a proper laugh out of her and she’s grateful for it, “I think we’d all like that.” she says, “You could meet our assistant Sky, too. She does work with plants, which is probably a little more up your alley than our stuff.”

“Speaking of plants, did you see the hydrangea on the doorstep? She’s looking a lot better, isn’t she?”

“Doesn’t look one foot in the grave anymore, at least.” She says and then lets out a sigh, “Look, I’m sorry I still haven't been able to get you a seat in the main hall for progress day. Mrs Talis said you could both share a seat next year if they deny my request again.” Her father barks a laugh, “Good sense of humor, that woman. I like her.” he crosses his arms and a frown pulls his grey eyebrows together, “House Talis isn’t even that large, I don’t understand why she gets a seat every year and I don’t.” She shrugs a shoulder, “They’re still a house, Dad.” He huffs, “You’d think having a daughter who helped build that big whosawhatsit in the sky would count for something.”

“Sorry to disappoint.” She replies with a halfhearted smile.

“When are you going to get your face on one of those mugs?” He grumbles, “I keep telling my clients that my brilliant daughter is doing all this amazing stuff and none of them ever believe me, but if i had a mug- ” Another laugh bubbles up and out of her, she shakes her head, “Hey, Viktor doesnt have a mug either. We just don’t have the faces for it.” She lies, Viktor has a face that should be carved out of marble, “Plus we’re not exactly socialites, I don’t know what Id do if people started recognising me when I went out for lunch.” Her father leans forward, taking one of her hands in two of his own, “You deserve some recognition though, pumpkin.” he waves his hand, “I guess that Viktor guy does too, but I don’t care about him.” Somewhere amidst her laughter it starts feeling like crying, she sniffles and quickly wipes her eyes, “Be nice to Viktor, he isn’t here to defend himself.” “Maybe i’d care about him more if i got to meet him.” “Okay, okay.” She says with a watery smile, “I’ll see how we’re doing next month, maybe we can find time for you to visit the lab. You just won’t be able to touch anything, alright?” He lifts his hands up in the air, “Fully hands off, no worries, kiddo.”

***

It’s well past midnight when she finally leaves. Despite the sense of urgency burrowing into the marrow of her bones, her father still makes great company and it was difficult to leave him, but as she finally makes her way back to the academy dorms the urgency has begun an evolution into terror. Viktor’s dorm is eerily silent when she opens the door, even when he’s sleeping she can usually hear the rasp of his breath. Her heart beats so wildly in her chest that she can feel it down to her fingers as she rounds the corner and finds no crutch leaning against the wall of his bedroom and not a single disturbance in the perfectly made sheets.

The bad feeling rises in her like bile. Desperation gnaws as she drops her handbag, grabs her keys and kicks off her shoes before sprinting from the dorms all the way to the lab on the other side of the building. Her breath is ragged in her chest and her heart is racing in a panic that only increases in metre as she runs. The tiles are cold under her bare feet and she is aware that anyone still awake must hear her barreling down the halls, but she couldn't care about anything less. When she finally turns the corner to their hallway, it feels like it stretches and stretches, mocking her as she tries to get to the door, faster faster . Her breath comes out in an aching sob when she finally makes it, hoping and praying to be proved wrong as the door unlocks.

But the feeling had been right.

Viktor’s Hexcore still pulses on the workstation, pitch shifting from G4 to A4 like it’s laughing at her, spinning quietly as she crosses the room. Watching. Her heart stops completely when she sees him slumped on the floor, there’s a disconnect between her brain and her legs, she can’t make them move, she just stares and inhales gulp after gulp of air that never seems to satisfy. Her feet shuffle slowly, like she isn’t quite awake, like it might all just be a dream. She drops to her knees and reaches out for him.

“Viktor?” she tries, shaking him by the shoulder, and then again, panicked, “ Viktor?”

He doesn't stir. She inhales a breath through her nose, biting back tears, “Okay. Okay. ” she whispers to herself, trying to calm her breathing despite the aching sobs that still lurk in the back of her throat. When the sounds of her own breath are finally quiet enough, she lowers her head to his chest, pressing her ear to his sternum. A heartbeat. Barely there. Her own heart starts racing again and tears of relief start rushing down her cheeks. He’s still alive, but she has to keep him that way. While he certainly can’t weigh all that much he’s still a lot taller than her and completely unconscious so there is no way she can carry him.

“Okay.” She says, more to Viktor than to herself, “I’m going to get Jayce.” she hiccups another sob and presses a hand to his cheek, nodding to herself, “You’re going to be okay. I promise.”

The academy has a capsule pipeline system to send information between wings. She knows (thanks to Jayce’s complaining about it) that there is also a system that connects directly to each individual counciller room. Most folk can’t get a letter through to them directly, but Jayce left her and Viktor with a couple of special capsules that get immediate access without needing to go through verification first. Just in case. Her handwriting is very messy as she scrawls out two letters, barely a sentence on each. She also writes another one for the hospital, but she knows they’re further away than Jayce is. Her shaky hand smudges the ink and the paper must be covered in tears, it’s hard to see what she’s doing with only the ominous light of the Hexcore for illumination, but she never even considers turning a light on.

Clutching the capsules she avoids taking another look at Viktor, because she might not be able to leave the room if she does, and runs down to the station that sends and receives capsules for the science department. She sends the one for the hospital first because they have a direct line she doesnt need to input an address for. Then she inputs the address for Jayce’s room, sends the capsule and collapses to her knees beside the machine. It’s loud, when a capsule arrives, at least that’s what Jayce says, loud enough to wake him up. She sits on her knees for what must only be five minutes, but even that feels like an hour. There’s a thunk when a capsule arrives in the tube and she opens it with a panicked vigor.

It’s the hospital, they’re on their way, but it’s going to be an hour.

She presses her forehead to the cool wall, gritting her teeth. Jayce should have heard it, she has another capsule just in case he didn’t, but he should have, unless he isn’t in his room. Her eyes snap open and she rises up on her knees, hand shaking as she inputs the address for Councillor Medarda’s room instead and sends the second capsule.

Sitting there on the floor, clutching her knees up to her chest. She can’t stop thinking about Viktor, how she wishes she could do something instead of just sitting here and waiting. She buries her head in her knees and lets out a wail, not even bothering to keep quiet should someone overhear. If she hadn’t gone out tonight, if she just told her father that she needed to postpone, she could have stopped this. It’s all her fault. Just as she feels a scream building in her chest, there’s another thunk .

This capsule is from Councillor Medarda’s room. The letter inside is Jayce’s handwriting.

Coming now.

___

What are we? She wonders, sitting for the fifth hour beside Viktor’s bed in the hospital. She holds his hand tight, tracing the bumps of his knuckles with her thumb and just waiting . It’s been long enough that the orange light of the morning sun is pouring into the room, trying its best to bring some colour to the sterile white hospital room. She’s so tired after an evening spent crying and screaming and running back and forth that her head leans uncomfortably against the unforgiving wall behind her because she can’t manage to hold it up anymore. Jayce is tired too, but he still has enough energy to argue with the doctors, apparently. She can hear them from across the hall.

It only took him ten minutes to show up after his letter arrived. She was slumped against the wall of the lab with Viktor’s head in her lap when he came scrambling into the room. She’d cried so much that she could barely even move, completely weak with emotional and physical exhaustion and when Jayce finally came in through the door all she could do was start crying all over again. Jayce tried his best to stay calm, though his breath was heaving after running all the way over and his eyes were watery and panicked. She remembers the way he forced a smile.

“It’s going to be okay.” He’d said, the wavering in his voice betraying his cool exterior, “We’ll get him to the hospital, c’mon.”

He’d pressed his forehead to hers for just a moment and then lifted Viktor from her lap and into his arms. She barely managed to tell him that the hospital already knew they were coming, all her words came in juts and stutters between hiccuping sobs. Jayce tried to convince her to stay behind, but even with her exhausted body and shaking limbs, it was impossible for him to change her mind. The rest of the night is a blur, lots of sprinting, arguing, crying and waiting, so much fucking waiting .

She sits up straight when Jayce slams the door open. He has his hand clasped over the lower half of his face and his eyes are wild. She just watches as he crosses the room and all but collapses in the chair beside her. She sniffles and tries to smile, “Didn’t change anything, did it?” Jayce buries his face in his hands and she tentatively wraps the arm that isn’t areadly occupied by Viktor’s hand around his shoulder. He isn’t quite crying, but it sounds like he could start at any moment, “No.” he says gravely, “The results for the second round of tests were the same as the first.” a humourless laugh escapes him, “and they said there’s no point doing a third.” She bites her lower lip to hold back a sob, “You didn’t need to yell at them.” She says quietly, “It’s not their fault.” “I know.” Jayce says, his voice breaking, “I just-” he doesnt finish, pressing the heels of his palms against his eyes and sucking a desperate breath in through his teeth “Yeah.” she replies, resting her head on his shoulder, “Me too.”

***

Jayce forces her to go home after four more hours. Promising to stay at the hospital until Viktor wakes up. She tries to argue, but unlike her, Jayce had managed a few hours of sleep the night before while she was running completely on empty. For a moment she considers going back to Viktor’s dorm instead of her own and curling up on his empty bed, but logic settles in when she realises Jayce will need to know where to find her if something happens. So she sleeps alone in her own bed and spends the whole time wishing she was somewhere else.

Even when laying in the bed and clutching her knees to her chest she can still hear the rush of her heartbeat in her ears. Her chest hurts from so many hours of painful sobbing and her eyes sting whenever she blinks them open. Her dreams are restless and disquieting. Unfamiliar images flash behind her eyelids that make little to no sense, Viktor is in all of them, Jayce is there often, Sky too. The only sound she hears is the ominous humming laugh of the Hexcore, as if it has sequestered itself inside her grey matter. The dreams start and end in rapid fire. Nothing good ever happens.

She doesn’t have any sense of what the time is when a knock at her door has her waking with a panicked gasp. Sun streams in through her open window, so it must still be at least the late afternoon, but other than that she has no idea. She stumbles to her door, still dressed in her nice blouse and skirt from the evening before but terribly rumpled for all her tossing and turning. It takes a moment for her to unlock the door, her hands don’t seem to want to obey her anymore.

“He’s awake.” Jayce says in a rush, when the door swings open.

Her heart jumps back into gear, all aching lethargy suddenly replaced with a jittering anxiety, “We have to go back now!” she says, moving to push past him.

“Wait!” He exclaims, grabbing her by the shoulders before she can start running, “I- I wish i could, but Mel doesn’t even know where I am and-” “Oh.” She says quietly, Jayce looks just as tired as she feels. The Councillor Medarda situation notwithstanding, he needs to rest, she can tell. She lifts up onto her toes and pulls him into a hug, breathing shakily, “It’s okay, I understand.” she buries her face in his shoulder, “Did you at least get to talk to him?”

Jayce returns the hug, wrapping his arms around her waist and holding her tight, “Yeah, for just under an hour. I know you wanted to see him straight away but,” he laughs a little, “He wanted me to let you sleep.” Her eyes start beading with tears again, at the thought of him asking Jayce to make sure she gets some rest as if he wasn’t the one who almost died the night before. Sucking in a shaky breath, she releases Jayce and gives him a tired smile, “I’ll see you later then, I guess.”

He nods, “Let me know if you’ll need me. I’ll be in my room all night.”

“Will do.” She replies, stepping past Jayce and closing her door behind her, “We will talk about you and Councillor Medarda later, though. I want details.” Jayce laughs and they both head their separate ways.

***

Viktor is at least sitting upright when she finally makes it back to his hospital room. His breath is an aching, painful wheeze and despite being open, his eyes seem glassy and inattentive. They do dart to her face when she enters and something like the first inclination of a smile tugs at the very corners of his mouth. She wants to start crying again, to hold him tight and never let go. She doesn't. Instead, she lurks in the doorway, wringing her hands together.

“I hear you saved me.” He says quietly, his accent and the rasp of his voice makes the words difficult to discern.

She swallows thickly, “I tried to.” Viktor sighs, then. Turning away from her to face the window. The sun's light makes his skin seem less ashen, but the hollows of his cheeks look even deeper, “I take it you were here with Jayce for my diagnosis, then.” “I-” she starts, voice catching on the word, “I’m sorry.”

He laughs bitterly, “Don’t do that to me, don’t apologise.”

She doesn’t know what to do but apologise. So instead she keeps her mouth shut and forces herself to return to the chair she had been sitting in for all those hours. Wordlessly, she shuffles the chair forward so she can rest her head on the edge of the mattress, peering up at him. She grabs his hand again, holding it tight the same way she had been when he was asleep.

“I wouldn’t judge you wrongly.” He says quietly, his other hand moving to cup the back of her head, “If you decided to put a stop to-” he closes his eyes and then says the last word like a secret, “-this.” There’s no specification, no clarification. But she knows, she knows what this is, she’s known it for years. This is the only thing she’s ever wanted, this has taken up residence behind her ribs and any removal would have to be surgical. They’d have to rip this from her, out of her and even then she would kick and scream the entire time. This is what they are.

“I don’t want to.” She breathes.

“Milackú” he whispers achingly. A word she has never heard before, but instantly recognises it as being for her, “I’m dying .”

It hurts to hear him say it, more than when the doctors did.

“You’ll figure something out.” She says, “I know you will and if- well if you don’t, I-” she squeezes her eyes shut, trying to force back her tears, “I’m still not going anywhere okay? Neither is Jayce, or Sky. Okay? ” she somehow manages to let out a weak little laugh, “and my father wants to meet you, so you have to stick around for a little while.”

Viktor laughs, though it's more of a rasp, “You talked about me?” he asks quietly.

“Always do.” She replies.

It looks like Viktor wants to say something and it looks that way for quite some time. He lets out a shaky breath instead and just keeps looking down at her, whatever words had been dancing on the edge of his tongue are long gone. Usually, she would be curious as to what they were, but at this moment she's just glad to have him, even in silence. It's hard to remember the precise moment when even looking at Viktor became an exercise in restraint, if it was the day they first held hands in the council room, or even before that. She always wants to reach out, to touch, for her skin and his to coalesce into something evangelical.

After some time, she attempts to readjust her head, frowning when she can't manage to find a position that doesn't put a crick in her neck.

“That cannot be comfortable,” Viktor says quietly, rubbing light circles on the back of her head.

“It isn’t, my neck hurts,” she answers truthfully. He huffs in faux irritation and shuffles himself to the far side of the bed, “Just get in.” he says, “Before you hurt yourself.”

The hospital bed is a lot smaller than the one in his dorm and while the sheets are starchy and uncomfortable, they do smell like him, so she is more than happy to climb in. The single bed leaves them pressed together from collarbone down to knee and the only comfortable place for her head ends up being his chest. He doesn't seem to mind, his arm curls around her and holds her even tighter against him. She wraps an arm around his middle and buries her face in his hospital gown to hide the new tears beading in her eyes.

“I love this.” She whispers, a close enough approximation, but its utterance feels less dangerous than the truth.

Viktor kisses the crown of her head, and he breathes, “So do I.”

He falls asleep first, probably less than an hour after she joins him in the bed. First the first time in a long while his breath sounds steady, though it’s probably because he’s still on oxygen. The rhythmic sound of his heart beneath her ear has her biting her lip to keep herself from sobbing, remembering how quiet it had been all those hours ago. How much it hurt to think he had died, how much it hurts still to know that he will .

She stays awake as the sun begins to set outside the window, once again painting the hospital walls in hues of orange, watching the shafts of light slowly shift with time. This is what they are. It’s not something that can so easily be named, it’s a feeling, a sob building up behind her ribs, his arm around her and the aching dread of something terrible on the horizon. She feels inseparable from him, a very real sense that if he were to die, she would be soon to follow. It takes another hour for her to fall asleep, hand clutched tight to the bedsheets at Viktor’s waist, leg tucked over the top of his own. She isn’t going anywhere, the universe itself couldn’t make her.

#bree writes occasionally #viktor x reader #viktor/reader #arcane fanfic #viktor fanfiction

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floweredsoul03 · 1 day ago

Text

Doctor’s Orders

(Boom!Sonic x Doctor!Reader)

A/N: I suck at summaries. Just a bunch of fluff. I'm sorry if this sounds ooc. I might make this a series. The dividers were created by @pixxiecup I know they said their free to use with no credit but I want to give thanks and tag them here anyway.

Warning: Just one part that is just a pinch suggestive but nothing extreme.

This was getting ridiculous. It was one thing to help Sonic, Tails, and the rest of your friends -mostly Sonic and Tails- with a sprain, scratches, or a cut here and there, but this was starting to get out of hand. It shouldn't have been surprising to see them with an injury that needed stitching, bandaging, or even a cast once you learned they were considered Seaside Island’s heroes. But as time went by, it always seemed their injuries were getting worse than the last time you saw them. Worse, initially, you thought it was only because of Eggman. At least that way, they had an excuse.

Hell no.

A crazed circus man that bought equipment from said man, Frog-whatcha-mccall-it cult (?) trapped in Sticks’ basement (?), meteors, Sonic being trapped with Eggman in a temple while everyone around was too busy arguing about being the leader, the conversation was going nowhere and being the only person with no knowledge or experience with fighting you were about to leave as you were announcing that you would be waiting back at Tails’ home with medical equipment ready when the ground beneath all of you caved in. You got involved regardless, and you don’t even want to start talking about when Knuckles was purposely injuring himself to ‘shift the balance of luck in the universe.’

As more time passed, the number of ridiculous reasons for injuries seemed to be balanced with the actual reasonable excuses. Not that you weren’t already stressed out with some of your friends’ reckless decisions when they were up against an enemy.

Cough, cough. It was mainly Sonic and Tails, with Knuckles in third place—surprisingly—cough, cough.

You came to Seaside Island thinking a small yet gorgeous place like this would not be hectic. And best of all, there was a job opening where you could help people. You should have known there was a reason there was a job opening that somebody else hadn’t already snatched up so quickly before you could even apply. You should have seen an even bigger sign when you were hired quickly. Looking back at the day you graduated university and almost cried tears of joy that the worst of it all -late nights, all-nighters, missing out on events, get-togethers, friendships, and relationships- had come to pass. All you had to worry about was being able to find an opening and the usual stresses that being a doctor would come with. All that you felt more than ready and determined to face head-on.

Oh, how naive you were.

You haven’t even lived on Seaside Island nearly as long as you have lived on campus in university. Yet, everything that has happened so far has given you more heart attacks and stress than any homework, studying session, or test combined. But then again, it’s not exactly your fault for falling for a place like Seaside Island that looks so deceivingly peaceful. Just like it’s not your fault for thinking assuming your now close friends would only get injured because of some foes they’ll have to come face to face with.

You can’t help but find the humor in it all. The fact that you weren’t expecting to make some new friends the same day you finally had moved to said island. Just like you were surprised to find out later that they were this island’s heroes, you assumed that it was just by chance that you met them and talked to them on day one. You didn’t think they would all actively reach out to you -for any other reason than just medical aid- to hang out and become friends with you. You didn’t mean to become close to them, just like you didn’t mean for word to get around the island, and people started identifying you as the group’s doctor. And you didn’t mean for people to start associating you with the group of heroes.

It was just by chance that the first person they went to was you whenever someone was hurt. You somehow became a close friend to these famous names despite not being super fast, strong, a technical genius, or having other skills or quirks that made you stick out like the rest. You had also become a ‘hero’ in the eyes of the citizens living on Seaside Island, despite a few other doctors and nurses also living there. You became your friend group’s doctor, although you have not signed a contract stating that you were only their doctor. Your company doesn’t seem to mind somehow. You guessed that’s the perk of being considered the island’s ‘heroes.’

You would be lying if you said there weren’t multiple times where you muttered under your breath that you were only a doctor, not a hero. So much so that it feels like it’s become just as much of your catchphrase as Sonic’s “gotta go fast.” You’d also be lying if there weren't moments when you thought that maybe moving to this island was a mistake. But, deep down, you know that it isn’t. You care and love your friends to death. You never had friends quite like them, you never expected people like them to want to become friends with someone like you, and you especially never had bonds with others as strong as the ones you have with them. No matter how much you may complain, scold, and yell on a few occasions, you’ve never felt more at home.

You’ve also never felt more like a ‘mother’ -so Sonic likes to joke- than moments like these.

Sonic and Tails are sitting on a couch battered to the point that you’re pretty sure it is more than normal—whatever is considered normal at this point. And if that’s not telling, then definitely the way they’re both avoiding your gaze as you stand in front of them, arms crossed, foot tapping, and glaring at them.

“Do I even want to ask?”

Sonic perked up, “Oh, how kind of you to ask what happened!”

A sigh leaves your lips as you open your bag to work on them. Tuning out whatever Sonic is saying. Whether Sonic is retelling what transpired or is lying out of his ass and making up a story -he’s done it in the past. For the sake of your sanity, you decide not to bother this time around. Most of the time, you end up chiding them, especially if they’re lying. This brings up the repetition of you reminding them why lying to doctors is an awful decision. But based on the fact that, you don’t hear Tails butting into Sonic’s explanation with a slightly raised voice to say that that’s not happened, and instead is calmly telling the story from his perspective, providing more proof that he can attest to Sonic’s words. As much as you wish, you can always depend on Tails to speak the truth when incidents like these occur, like how you thought when you were getting to everyone, you couldn’t. As time passed, you learned the hard way that boy has picked up a few bad habits from Sonic. Lying about his wounds is one of them. Thankfully, it's not as bad as the blue hedgehog.

The entire ‘conversation’ between you three was just you perfectly timing when to hum, nod, and pretend you were listening to them as you finished patching them up. On the other hand, Sonic finally catches up to this as Tails finishes speaking and points this out.

“Hey. Were you even listening?”

“Not really,” you responded bluntly.

“Hey! Aren’t you our doctor? We’re supposed to tell you these things, right?”

Ignoring the warmth creeping into your heart as Sonic put not just his trust but also his and your guy’s friends' health in your hands, saying, ‘Our doctor,’ you frowned and looked at him and Tails as you stood up, hands on your hips. They both sheepishly smiled, knowing what was coming.

“I don’t know. Should I listen to you guys? Just like how well you guys listen to me regarding your well-being?”

There was no actual bite behind your tone or attitude. Sonic and Tails both knew it. Still, that didn’t mean they didn’t feel some guilt, knowing the stress that weighed on you by being their doctor. Or at least, if not Sonic, then surely Tails.

“We really are sorry (y/n). We do appreciate everything you’ve done for everybody since you arrived.”

Hearing Tails’ words and genuineness, the frown on your face disappeared, and your hands fell from your hips. You sighed.

Damn him for being adorable.

“I understand there will be moments where you guys are bound to get hurt. But that doesn't mean go ahead and be reckless since you will get harmed anyway.”

Tails’ smiled and nodded, “We understand.”

Sensing the conversation would end, you asked, “Are you going to be working on something?”

“That’s right!” Excitement shone in his eyes.

“Make sure you work sitting and relaxed. Do nothing with a lot of movement, but don’t stay too long sitting up. Take breaks, lay down, rest briefly, and don’t push it.”

“I won’t.” Too thrilled to head straight to work on a gadget, he ran towards the door.

“No running.”

“Right, sorry.” He chuckled, rubbing his neck before closing the door.

Right as he left, you immediately turned, “And you!”

Your sight set on Sonic, who tried sneaking away, “What?”

You swiftly approached him and grabbed his wrist. “You’re lying down,” you said.

You dragged him towards the couch before he yanked his arm away, “Why does Tails get to go scot-free? And what’s up with the switch up all of a sudden?”

“Your wounds are more severe than Tails’; that’s what’s up.”

Your reasoning was full of shit, and you knew it. But damn do you need to find a way to make Sonic slow down for once, “Now lay down.” You pointed towards the couch.

Sonic breathed and faked a groan, “You know how it is (y/n). Got a reputation to keep up. ‘Fastest being alive.’” He signaled his thumbs to the door while scooting around you. But before he could go any further, you grabbed him by the shoulders and pushed him onto the couch.

“Doctor’s orders.” Your brows furrowed, and your voice stern.

For you, it was just a second or two. For the fastest being alive, it felt like more than two seconds.

The view of you above him arms out, hands firm on him, sitting him down, demanding tone, and your face—he already knew you were quite the sight, but he’d be lying if he said the upset look on your face didn’t look especially gorgeous on you.

Sonic played it off by lightly swatting your hands away, crossing his arms, and looking away, “Fine, fine. Doctor’s orders, I guess.” He shrugged, hoping that his face wouldn’t give away how warm it was starting to feel.

Smiling and satisfied with this little victory, you nodded and walked away to get a pillow, blanket, and book.

Once the blue blur was lying comfortably with a pillow and blanket, you sat by him and opened the book in your hands.

“Are you going to read me a bedtime story, Mom? I’m too old for that.” Sonic said dryly.

“No. I don’t trust you won’t start running again when I leave, so I’m staying until you fall asleep.”

“Seriously?” He rolled his eyes, not meaning it, and didn’t mind.

“Seriously.” You smiled and started reading the book in your head so Sonic could fall asleep without any disturbance. Unknowingly to you, he wished you spoke the words under your breath so he could have an excuse to listen to your voice.

You open your eyes and find yourself lying on the couch with a pillow and blanket. Your mind is foggy and confused. You remember falling asleep upright while reading a book when suddenly you jerked up. Realizing the pillow and blanket on you is the same one you gave to Sonic. Looking around, he was nowhere to be found. Calling out and looking for him would be pointless; you already knew he was probably up and running again.

Shaking your head, you wondered,

Maybe I should contact the previous doctor who worked on this island and ask why they left.

#fanfic #fanfiction #sonic #sonic the hedgehog #sonic boom #boom!sonic #reader #x reader #reader insert #y/n #x y/n #(y/n)#sonic x reader #boom!sonic x reader #sonic the hedgehog x reader

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