#realizing Jayce felt that way about him

[varibean]

Ok but when they parallel this scene with Viktor as machine herald looking at jayce’s broken human body and realizing that he too would do anything in his power to save him, what then?

[zaine-m]

the thought of Jayce teaching Viktor how to feel emotions again.

"Jayce, what is this. It feels like my brain is slowed. I do not like this"

"You're probably tired Viktor"

"Oh"

He remembers what it was like being tired before the accident and goes to the coffee machine but Jayce stops him.

"Is this not what you do when you're tired?"

"That's one way to deal with it but I think you should get some sleep. Let's go back to our place"

They head home and after a while of trying to sleep Viktor knocks on Jayce's door.

"I do not think I've been able to sleep"

"mhm? how are you feeling?"

"Like my skin is... harsh. It's unpleasant but not quite pain"

"Oh you're probably cold. The heater in your room never was that good. Come, you can sleep in my bed"

They climb into bed together, Viktor remembers times they've done that before when he was cold or needed someone to hold him on days he was in a lot of pain. They lay there for a while before Viktor speaks again.

"Jayce there is this pulse. A rhythm. I don't know what to call it"

"When was the last time you felt it?"

"When I awoke I think? from the accident. It was unpleasant then, it feels good now"

"You were cold then?"

"No, that isn't it"

"Does it remind you of anything you felt before the accident"

Viktor didn't really talk about his feeling before then so even though he can pull up some memories associated with this feeling that doesn't help him to name it.

"It was always around you, I think. I remember feeling it often when we were working, or also not working? I don't quiet remember"

"hmm, let's save this for the morning, okay?"

he watches Jayce nod off while letting his mind slowly run through memories associated with this emotion until he comes up with one that has a word associated with it.

He's laying down on a couch in a small run down room, a woman places a warm wet towel over his head and hold his hand. He coughs, "thank you, mom" "feel better soon sweetheart, I love you, okay?" "I love you too"

"Love... " he says in realization. He wraps his arms around a fast asleep Jayce. "I... love you"

[aismoker]

Garett was happy that his barber had opened again. The neighbourhood where the barbershop was, was undergoing some gentrification or something like that. There had been some commotion about it, because a tobacco company or something like that had been one of the investors, but he hadn't really paid attention to it. He only came to that neighbourhood, when he went to the barber ans now, after months of being closed, they were open again. The barbershop was owned by a couple of guys, Jason and David. They were the most effeminate guys he knew, but they always did wonders with his hair. Garrett was happy that they had opened up again and that he was one of the first to get an appointment.

When he arrived at the place, he was taken aback. In front of the door stood two guys smoking a cigarette. They wore black shiny tracksuits and barber aprons. They looked quite thuggish. When they saw him, they greeted bim. "Hey Gaz, long time no see! Come in!"

Garret felt a pang of annoyance. "It's Garret," he snapped, almost automatically. He hated the name Gaz, so much. But when the words left his lips, he noticed that it had been David, who had greeted him. He looked better at the thugs. "David? Jason? Is that you?" he asked? Bot thugs smiled. "Yes, buddy, but I go by Jayce now," one of them said. The other added: "Yeah, and call me Dave." Garrett was astounded. They both used to have such nice long shiny hair...

He was so shocked, that he asked almost without thinking:"What happened to you?" They grinned, still smoking their cigarettes and blowing their smoke towards Garrett: "Yeah, the neighbourhood got a new look, so we thought we should go for a change too." Garrett, breathing in the smoke, was still a bit shocked, but it somehow made sense to him. In a strange way, it suited them. In fact, he could no longer remember how they had looked before.

Jayce and Dave entered the barbershoo and gestured Garrett, to follow him. Walking in the trail of their cigarette smoke, he coughed a bit. "Since when did you start smoking?" "Oh, you didn't know we smoked, Gaz?" "It's Garrett," Garrett murmured. He then remembered that Jayce and Dave had been smoking as long as je knew them. "Oh, yeah... Must have slipped my mind..."

Garrett sat down in the chair. Dave draped a cape over him. The material was cold and it felt a bit... slimy, but Garrett didn't want to say anything. He sat back and Jayce started to wash his hair. Garrett relaxed instantaneously. This was the reason he loved to go here. Jayce's hand were just magical. This time, it felt even better than normal. Was it the smoke? Nah, Jayce was always smoking when he was working... right?

Garett relaxed more and more. He closed his eyes. Jayce seeing this, grinned around his cigarette: "Yeah, Gaz, just close your eyes and relax." "It's... Garrett..." Garrett murmured, as he was quickly falling asleep. He felt so warm and nice, like he was floating in a cloud of smoke. The cape draped over him seem to start hugging his body. It all felt so good. He didn't even realize that Dave and Jayce were softly whispering to him.

------------

"Hey, Garrett, get your lazy ass out of that chair and start sweeping the floor! We don't pay you to just sit and smoke!" Dave shouted from the back of the barbershop. "Mate, you know how much I hate that name! It's Gaz!" Gaz shouted back almost automatically, waking up out of his daydream. He looked at himself in the mirror, while taking a deep drag of his cigarette. He couldn't help being pleased with the way he looked. One of the perks of working at a barbershop was that he was always looking sharp af. That and the "special" attention he got from his bosses after hours.

[thenationofzaun]

Character writing in Arcane Season 2: Act 1

I have big issues with the quality of dialogue and characterization so far in Act 1. Characters and conversations have almost zero depth. Examples:

Heimerdinger - Does he know about the Council attack? How does he feel about it? Is he relieved he was voted out beforehand? Does he feel responsible for the attack, in that if he had taken action sooner, Zaun would not have been driven to this level of violence? Does he feel guilty for the deaths of his colleagues? Viktor was almost killed by the attack but got saved by the very Hexcore Heimerdinger hated. What's his reaction to that??

Lol who cares? Let's do goofy Disney channel hijinks by sneaking into a lab with Ekko. He meets Jayce there. Does he express his concern or relief that his former student just survived a Hextech explosion unscathed? Nope!!! Wacky humour time!!!

Ekko - Does Ekko know Jinx killed Silco? If yes, how does he feel about that? Is he shocked? Confused? If he doesn't know, what does he think happened to Silco? What do Zaunites like him make of Silco's death if Jinx got rid of his body? How does he feel about the Council attack? Does he support it or does he think Jinx went too far? Is he on the fence?

Lol who cares? We don't need to know any of this. Let Ekko have goofy scenes with Heimerdinger. Speaking of Heimer, what the fuck is Ekko's opinion on Heimerdinger's criminal negligence of the Undercity for the past two fucking centuries? Because he sure warmed up to that hairball quick. This is an issue that started in Season 1 Episode 8, but I had hopes they would address it in Season 2. I guess not.

Jayce - How does Jayce feel about seeing Heimerdinger again, when their last meeting was Jayce betraying him? We know he felt guilty about it in Season 1 so why was there no inkling of it during their meeting in the lab? Why doesn't Jayce tell Heimer that the Hexcore saved Viktor? The Hexcore having the potential to save Viktor's life was a huge point of contention for them in Season 1 and was partially the reason for Jayce's betrayal, but neither of them mention it. Lol. Viktor wakes up and tells him that Sky was killed by the Hexcore in their lab. Jayce: "Oh no! Anyway..." ?????? No questions as to how and when this happened? No questions as to where Sky's body is? You just learned your employee was fucking killed in your lab a few days ago and this is your reaction?

Vi - How does Vi feel about the fact that the tyrants who killed her parents are dead by Jinx's hand? She herself wanted to take revenge on the Council in the past, so how does she feel now that her little sister's the one who did it? When Caitlyn yaps about avenging her mother's death by killing Jinx, does Vi realize that Jinx's attack was in itself vengeance for their parents' deaths on the bridge? Which were sanctioned by the Council? Will she ever bring this up to Caitlyn? Probably not. What exactly is Vi's opinion on a Zaunite uprising against topside? Does she no longer think it's the right way to go about things?

What does she think happened to Ekko? The last time she saw him, he was fighting Jinx to the death. He could be dead for all she knows. And she doesn't even think about or mention him once. Seems like she doesn't give a shit about Little Man lol. Did the writers forget they are childhood friends?

What eventually drives her to join the enforcers? Could it be concern for her sister, that she somehow thinks the badge would allow her more say in advocating for lesser sentencing? Could it be ideology, that she genuinely believes stricter policing of the Undercity is the way to prevent more Silcos? Lol nope! She's convinced by some rando giving her an ego boost about how Kewl and Badazz she was attacking the factory of child labourers. (A+ manipulation by Caitlyn by the way. What a wholesome and healthy romance Caitvi is turning out to be!)

What causes the rift between Vi and Caitlyn? Could it be Vi's love for Jinx, because as much she tries to convince herself her sister is dead and that Jinx is a different person, deep down she knows that Jinx is still her sister and for all Vi's bluster and rage, she can't bear to see Jinx actually die when push comes to shove? Lol nope!!! She's actually totally okay with a fucking enforcer killing her fucking sister, the exact thing that orphaned them both. Vi only draws the line when a random kid intervenes, after which Caitlyn proceeds to domestically abuse Vi and leave her crying on the floor without looking back.

There is so much detail and nuance missing. This is why almost every scene and conversation feels so empty. Every conversation is comically rushed and not allowed to breathe. The characters' superficial personality traits are there for the most part, but their underlying motivations, feelings, opinions, and desires are completely neglected to fulfill whatever the plot demands them to do.

[oldrockformations]

Something about Caitlyn telling Jayce “hextech may keep us alive, but it’s not what will save us” and how that relates to Viktor.

Like Jayce’s immediate reaction to hearing that is just deflating and looking at the ground and I can’t help but think he looks guilty???? He has just directly defied Viktor’s wishes, using hextech to keep him alive and Jayce knows it. In keeping Viktor alive, Jayce may have doomed them all. Viktor watched the hexcore kill Sky. He knew the potential for harm it had, and he tried to warn Jayce. And Jayce didn’t listen.

When Viktor finally wakes up, Jayce is too relieved at first to realize something about Viktor is different (aside from his new look ofc) Where as before, Viktor’s eyes were full of adoration when he looked at Jayce, now he looks conflicted. When Jayce, a man he loves dearly, hugs him, Viktor doesn’t seem to know how to react. He almost looks like he pities Jayce.

That line Viktor said, “I sense a charge. A potential. A recursive impulse.” He should feel cold, but he doesn’t have the capacity to anymore. His body is trying to replicate what it knows it should feel, but it’s doing so with all new material. It gives Viktor an echo of what he should be experiencing. And it seems that doesn’t only apply to his physical form. His very being has been altered by the hexcore.

So when he hugs Jayce back, it’s the same thing. It’s an echo of who Viktor was before he was changed. Muscle memory. It’s what Viktor is supposed to do in the situation, because the Viktor before loved Jayce. And just like the cold, he’s feeling a replication of the affection he felt. His reasoning is intact, he knows he should be feeling affection, but the way he feels emotions has fundamentally shifted.

Viktor should have died. He should have died of his terminal illness, but he survived using the hexcore. After Sky though, Viktor realized his mistake and he knew nothing good would come of the hexcore. Viktor should have died again in the explosion. He knew he was going to die anyway, and he had accepted it at that point. Only Jayce hadn’t. Maybe, if he had, Viktor would have been able to die as himself and be at peace. But that didn’t happen. Jayce, in keeping Viktor alive, has given him a fate worse than death. The hexcore has taken away who Viktor was, and left his body behind. The Viktor that Jayce knew is gone, and what has survived is either a shell of him, or something else entirely.

[13timesihavedonethis]

Indulge - Viktor x reader drabble

Some Viktor fluff because working on the long angst fic has been bringing me down.

Warnings: Viktor not taking care of himself, rushed and not really proofread

Word count: 642

Desc.: Viktor likes to indulge in your care

Even in the early days of Hextech, it was a fight to get Viktor to rest even when he overworked himself into sickness. You would have to coax him with kisses and sweet nothings. Your voice always beckoned him back to bed each morning. Though, there was just so much for him and Jayce to learn about the Arcane and how to use it for good. They had just figured out how to create portals around the world to improve imports and exports! They couldn’t stop there. There were so many more projects to get done.

However, when you would look at him with a small pout telling him how he needs to take better care of himself, he felt a bit bad for making you worry. He also loved to indulge in your care. Maybe it was selfish of him to enjoy how you fussed over his health; he was happy to know for sure that you did care about him. You never let him feel unworthy or unseen when he was in your arms. So he let you pamper him every once in a while even if he had a mountain of work waiting for him at the lab.

On stormy days where his leg felt the worst, he would hold onto you for longer in the morning. Viktor would breathe you in and pepper kisses all over your face to wake you up. If that didn’t do the trick, he would call out to you using a dozen cute nicknames until you finally stirred. The way you look and the way your voice sounds in the morning never fails to get his heart racing. Upon hearing the crack of thunder, you would pull him down so his head was resting on your chest, and your heartbeat would lull him back to sleep. 

When he woke up again, you would help him over to the dining area where you’d have food and a warm cup of tea for him. It was your turn to cover his face in kisses while you went on and on about how handsome he is. The soft smile and blush he wore never left his face.Jayce always jokingly pestered him on those days—if you even let him leave the apartment—for being such a softie with you. 

When his health got drastically worse, it took a lot more effort on your part to get him to even take a long enough break to eat lunch and drink water. There wasn’t much time left for him to get his work done, and he told you that. You just didn’t seem to understand. He thought himself immune to your tactics to get him to rest, but he wasn’t prepared for you to come into the lab crying. Even worse, Jayce got up and left the two of you alone in the lab the very second you walked in. 

“I know you keep telling me you’re fine, but I know you’re not” you hiccupped. “Jayce and Heimerdinger and Sky have all kept me up to date with how you’re doing. Please, please take an off day with me again. You will have even less time if you refuse to take care of yourself.” 

A massive wave of guilt hit him hard at your words and tears. He’s known you really do care about him, but he didn’t realize how him not caring for himself would affect you. Viktor stood up supporting himself with a hand on his desk, and you rushed towards him enveloping him in a hug. He nuzzled his face into your neck and breathed you in for the first time in way too long. With you by his side, he went back to the apartment and let you pamper him. It truly had been far too long since he let himself indulge in your care.

Note: If there are any mistakes, please let me know! I am still working on the longer fic, but because it handles darker themes such as drug addiction and mental health disorders, I am making sure I am doing my best to accurately portray those things. Probably expect more of these small cute things while I work on that one :)

[q8qwertyuiop8p]

My thoughts on season 2 Act one-

Overall: Not as good as season one for sure, but still pretty good. Needs more silco. Too fast paced, but good music, loved the Hellfire scene and Vi/Jinx fight, plus Viktor went biblical and lost his manhood. Magic stuff too confusing with not enough buildup in season 1 and parallels way too obvious.

Now more specifically.

Screw Heimerdinger. Screw Smeech. Screw Renni. And guess what? I'm going to say it.

Yes

Screw Vi.

We were in such denial with her being an Enforcer, we convinced ourselves she was lying to Cait about giving up on Jinx just to protect her. I was really surprised that she genuinely turned on Jinx. I think Vi would have killed Jinx if it weren't for Isha. I'm not going to pretend like Vi was totally wrong, totally evil- Jinx did kill everyone, so I can see why Vi would give up on her. But personally I cannot forgive Vi this, so it was pretty disappointing seeing her take a complete 180 and hate Jinx like that. Also not fond of Cait, and it actually seems like she's to be a major villian now.

Heimerdinger better die, I'm so done with him. He seemed to get better in s1 act 3 but no. He is still annoying and has too much screentime in season 2.

Smeech is somehow even worse, my new least favorite character. He has a cool design visually but I'm glad he died so soon. Same with Renni, seriously launching an attack on Piltover, escalating tensions like that, because the one guy killed your son?

I'll miss the flashbacks we had at the beginning of the episodes in s1. The new intro was alright, it felt less interesting than the season one intro to me.

Jayce has too much screentime, the way he doesn't realize viktor was naked until after he hugs him was a little questionable, but it's OK because we find out later that the hexcore stole Viktor's privates. The JayVik breakup was very rushed, disappointing, and unclimactic, jayce acts like it didn't even happen. The Viktor in Zaun scenes felt like I was watching an animated version of the Bible, I'm not sure how Viktor knew that touching huck, who I thought (and wished) died in episode 6 would do that, but manhood or not, I think viktor has become hotter.

The leblanc thing was cool, but incredibly random and confusing, and I even knew a little about leblanc beforehand. There was literally zero buildup for this not just in season 1, but even in season 2 before all this happened. The Arcane in general was practically absent in season one besides the mage and hexcore, and then is suddenly thrown in our face in season two, which I thing contributed to the feeling of things being too fast-paced.

I'm mad we have not yet seen a silco hallucination. We better get one. The scene with Jinx letting him go was heartbreaking, but the way they kept flashing back to his death and baptism scene was incredibly annoying. We get it, this is a parallel to that, no one is thinking otherwise. In season one the parallels were nice and subtle, you don't even realize until looking deeper and it's a nice treat, but that is no longer the case. And then as he sinks we hear him say "have you had enough?" Again, we get it. We know what that is a parallel of.

I'm confused as to how singed just got up, went to the snowy place, found and killed a murk wolf, dragged it all the way back to his lair, and hoisted it up singlehandedly. Also confused about how literally everyone knows silco is dead already. Did jinx tell everyone? Did she admit that she killed him to sevika? Why doesn't sevika see jinx as a traitor?

[cheeriecherrymain]

viktor is a cat, no i do not take criticism

you're right and you should say it.

The Likeness Of Men And Cats [Oneshot] Pairing: Viktor x Reader Rating: T Proofread: no beta we die like men Synopsis: You acquire a cat for the first time, and make a startling connection between it and your best friend, Viktor. Of course, you now have to test your theory: is the man you're crushing on actually several cats in a trenchcoat?

You’ve worked with Viktor for years. Six years, in fact, if you started all the way back in your first year at the academy.

You hadn’t had much interest in him, then. He was just another face in the crowded classroom, just another hand that got raised whenever your professors asked a question. He was smart, sure, but no more than some of the other people in your peer group.

Only once you’d been assigned to a group project did you really start getting to know him - and his less than stellar reputation around campus.

Your friends had all given you their condolences when you’d told them who you’d be working with for the semester, each of them sprouting off some story or another about an interaction they’d had with this Viktor.

And the more you got to know him, the more you realized their stories were true.

He was blunt, and logical to a fault. He refused to take breaks, for either his or your sake - even when you’d been about to pass out from sleep deprivation, he’d merely sighed and told you to sleep, then, if you need it. He frustrated you to no end.

And the more you got to know him, the more you realized your friends’ tales were…wrong.

You had hardly wanted bad blood between you and the man you were supposed to be working with for the whole semester, so you’d stuck it out. You’d been friendly, made yourself approachable, listened to him when he spoke and tried to include him in conversations.

And eventually he opened up.

Shared little jokes with you, brought little snacks to your study sessions so you wouldn’t go hungry. He showed a profound sense of compassion, the deeper your chats got, and a truly spectacular desire to change the world for the better.

It only made sense that you’d fall in love with him. Stupidly, terribly in love.

Even now, years after you’d graduated and moved onto your own projects, you still got heart palpitations whenever you spent time with him. Which happened to be most days, what with your work coinciding so closely. You’re certain that one of these days, the persistent thrum in your chest is simply going to stop, and you’re going to perish.

All because of him, and his stupid handsome face, and his stupid beautiful brain.

And it’s not like you hadn’t tried to tell him how you felt! You’re not the kind of person to just stand there stewing in your feelings for years without trying to resolve them!

He was just…not interested. You dropped hint after hint after hint, suggesting you spend time together to catch up, or maybe go out to lunch, or even dinner. You’d flirted with him so openly that even Jayce was cringing from your efforts!

But he never reciprocated.

Jayce had tried to comfort you one evening, after a particularly rough afternoon of thirsting after your best friend. He probably just doesn’t realize you’re trying to uhh…woo him, he’d said, in a vain attempt at calming your roiling emotions.

Didn’t realize. Right.

You’d been heartbroken for so long after being rejected by Viktor, lost in thought and unable to effectively work. Making excuse after excuse as to why you were ‘out of sorts’ and ‘not feeling well’.

That is…until now.

Three weeks ago, you’d…come into the possession of a soft, fuzzy creature. Or she’d come into possession of you? 

Either way, you’d found a cat. Skinny, mottled black and white, covered in fleas - she’d woken you up in the middle of a fateful night, screaming haplessly from your balcony where she’d gotten stuck. The moment you opened the sliding door, she’d run inside and had since refused to leave.

It had been hectic in the first couple days, particularly when you were trying to get her into the bath to remove all the built up dirt and dust from her fur. But you’d gotten her settled eventually, and since then she’s become a staple in your everyday routine.

It had taken you a while to really notice the patterns in her behavior, and to connect the dots.

Your cat behaved an awful lot like Viktor.

Rather, Viktor behaved an awful lot like a cat.

Bringing you little gifts for no apparent reason, typically in the form of snacks or trinkets. Preferring to sit in the same place as you and work separately, as opposed to actively engaging in conversation. Only showing you his softer side once he knew he could trust you. Even the few times he touched you, he did so in the most unusual way you’d ever seen - running a hand down your arm, or your back.

Not unlike a cat brushing up against its companion.

Looking back, knowing what you know now, you feel…stupid. For disregarding the man you loved so easily, for not clueing into his way of expressing love.

Because of course he loved you!

…probably.

Maybe.

…you need to test your theory.

—

The next day is when you begin Phase One of your plan.

You spent the entire night working on a detailed month-long set of experiments, subtle enough that Viktor wouldn’t think your actions were too weird or out of the blue. In the event that you were wrong in your hypothesis, you would be able to chalk your behaviour up to…

…to…

…wanting to switch things up a bit?

So, truthfully, you hadn’t really thought much about it at all. You’d actually fallen asleep with your face smashed into your desk around ten in the evening, and by the time your alarm had started blaring, you had to scramble to make sense of what little you’d scribbled down.

“Good afternoon, my brilliant men of science!” you cheer, skipping into the lab in your typical loud fashion, your arms full with a large cardboard box that had steam wafting from between its creases.

Viktor hums a quiet greeting from across the room, barely paying you any mind as he continues to focus on his current project.

Jayce, on the other hand, looks over the moment you set foot in the room, making a beeline towards you when he sees you struggling with your parcel.

“What’s in the box?” he wonders, watching over your shoulder as you set it out on one of the free desks, and begin to unfold the flaps.

“Lunch!” you reply, finally revealing a bunch of smaller boxes packed tightly within. “I know you two don’t always have time to run out to grab something to eat, so I thought I’d do it for you. It’s important to keep your energy up when you’re using your brains so much.”

Jayce wastes no time in helping you unpack everything you’d brought, opening up each little package to discover the treasures that lay inside. It’s mostly foods that you know Viktor likes - a couple of baked goods, some potato dumplings, a thermos of root stew, some little swirly breads. 

In no time, he’s fixed himself a plate and gone back to his own workplace, leaving you to stand alone by the feast.

Looking at Viktor.

Who was looking at you.

Looking at you with the most suspicion you’ve ever seen him wear, with his eyes narrowed in thought and his shoulders held tight and square.

“Why?” he asks, glancing between you and the food.

“What do you mean, why?”

His brows pull together slightly, adding to the absolute absurdity of his expression.

“What’s the catch?” he reiterates, finally rising from his seat to slink towards you. “You never bring us lunch. Ever. What’s the occasion?”

You shrug nonchalantly.

“Why would I need a reason to be nice?” you ask. You supposed you could just tell him what you were up to - you doubt he’d be upset with you if you did. He’d probably just be curious about your theory.

The only issue was that if he knew, it might skew your data. If he knew what you were looking for, he might try to react in a way that he thought you’d like - or in a way that would purposefully fuck with you.

No, it would be better if you didn’t tell him. At least not yet.

“V, I’m all for asking questions, but please stop trying to dissect a good thing?” Jayce pleads from the other side of the room, casting over his best impression of a kicked puppy.

You’re pretty sure he knows what you’re up to.

Viktor, in any case, appears to be momentarily placated by your explanation, poor as it was. You know that he’s going to wonder about it eventually, but for now you’ve got time. You’ve got time to sit and eat lunch with your two best friends, and hopefully think up some better excuses.

—

You continue bringing the two of them lunch for the next week. Jayce remains completely unbothered by the situation, and even offers to help once you tell him what your master plan is.

He knows how down bad you are for your friend, and you’re certain that he’s fully sick of listening to you lament about how pretty he is and how badly your heart aches.

Viktor hasn’t mentioned anything since the first day of your new routine, either, but you can tell he’s just as suspicious as he was at the start. His gaze is always sharp when you clatter into the room with another box of food, watching intently while you unpack, remaining trained on you while he makes his way over to hesitantly scoop some up for himself.

Almost like he’s waiting for some kind of reaction out of you.

But you give him nothing, no hints as to what your plan is. You wait patiently while he fixes himself a plate, asking him how his day has been or perhaps about what he’s working on, smiling softly all the while.

It’s exactly one week to the day when you burst into the lab again, followed closely by your loud and raucous announcement of your presence, only to be met with silence.

“I’m afraid Jayce isn’t here today,” Viktor sighs from behind a stack of notebooks, not even bothering to turn his attention away from the formulas he’s copying down.

You, however, are undeterred, continuing your trail into the room, over to your usual table where you are about to begin Phase Two of testing your theory.

“I know,” you reply, setting your things down. “He said he had a thing with Mel today - and a busy week, too.”

You can see from the corner of your eye as your friend finally turns away from his work.

“You knew he wouldn’t be here?” he wonders, utterly perplexed. When you hum your confirmation, he continues, “Then why did you bother coming?”

That alone is enough to give you pause, glancing towards him in confusion.

“Why wouldn’t I?” you ask.

You stare at each other for a couple of seconds, before he shrugs and makes a noncommittal grumble, turning back to his papers.

He…thought you wouldn’t come? If it was just him, he thought…you wouldn’t even bother showing up. As if he wasn’t your best friend, and the love of your life, and the brightest part of your day? Like he couldn’t possibly be the reason for your kindness?

Your heart clenches.

In silence, you fix him a plate of the little foods you know he’ll like; you’d gone out of your way to pick out a couple of his favourites today, having suspected that he might be difficult to persuade without Jayce nearby to bully him into eating.

“Here,” you tell him, softly, setting the plate on the desk beside him. You set your hand on his shoulder for a brief moment, letting your fingertips wander down his arm, and then turn away to head back to your own work.

Knowing Viktor, he’d prefer the silence over active conversation. It was easier for him when the other half of HexTech was around to act as a buffer and keep your endless desire to talk entertained. But today, when it’s just the two of you? You know you’ve overstepped your bounds in the past, pushing him into a state of discomfort with your constant chattering.

But not today.

Today, you’ve brought your own work with you, fully intent on sitting quietly with your best friend while you both eat your meals. You had the entire hour to catch up on grading your students’ tests - grades they’d been hassling you about for a while now.

It’s a little bit uncomfortable at first, to not talk while you know he’s nearby. There are things from your day that you want to share with him - something funny that one of your first-years said to you, the gossip you’ve heard about other faculty members.

But you resist.

Viktor, on the other hand, only makes it about ten minutes.

All at once, the incessant scribbling of his pen stops, followed by a deep sigh, and the quiet clatter of the utensil being set down. A creak in his chair, as he turns towards you.

“Have I done something to offend you?” he inquires, bluntly, as usual.

You glance up from your pile of papers with wide eyes, surprised by the suddenness of his question.

“No?” you reply, “Why would you think that?”

He sighs again, his gaze wandering away from yours and down to the floor. He looks hesitant, the same sort of hesitant that he’d been when taking the food you offered to him: like he was waiting for something to happen. 

Like he was waiting for you to…to announce that you were playing some kind of absurd prank-

Oh.

“You’ve hardly said a word to me today,” he mumbles, crossing his arms on the back of his chair so he can rest his head between them.

“But…you like the quiet?” you reply, far more meek than you’d intended to be. Had he been taking your entire experiment as some kind of mean joke on him? Had he already known that he was reminiscent of a cat? Did he think you were making fun of him for it?

“Yes!” he retorts quickly, running a hand through his already-mussed hair. “But you’re always talking! To me, to Jayce - about your students, or some shitty scholarly article you read! You’ve been acting strange for the entire week. First the food, and now this - are you okay? Are you-”

“Viktor, breathe!” you squeak.

The moment you see the worry in his eyes, you jump to your feet and make your way over to him. Taking his face in your heads, despite your better judgment or regard to the rules of your plan. Stroking your thumbs slowly over the curve of his cheeks, holding him close while he forced himself to relax and slow his breathing.

You’ve never seen him so outwardly worried about you.

“Look,” you murmur, “I just…I care about you. A lot. And I feel like sometimes I…do a pretty shitty job of showing it.”

Slowly, you let your hands slide down to rest atop his shoulders.

“I’m always after you to take better care of yourself, but I never actually do anything to help. And - and I always push conversations on you, even though I know you’d rather work on your own projects.”

With a dejected sigh, you remove your hands from him completely, “Even now. My first instinct when trying to comfort you is to touch you, even though I know you don’t really like it.”

Idly, you fiddle with the edges of your sleeves.

“I just want to make you happy, but…I know I can be annoying, sometimes. I’m sorry.”

The air is thick between the two of you after that. You can’t for the life of you figure out what else you should say, if anything - you can’t even bring yourself to look him in the eye. Instead, you turn on your heel and wobble back to your seat, trying your hardest to keep the hot sting of tears from reaching your eyes.

You feel like an idiot.

Your entire plan was stupid, and your theory was stupid, and wanting to test it? Stupid!

So caught up in your own thoughts, you don’t even notice the sound of a chair being dragged across the room, over to where you sit. Only when Viktor shoves it right up beside you and plops down nearly in your lap do you jostle out of your own head.

Staring up at him with wide eyes.

“You think you’re annoying?” he asks, nearly incredulous. “I never have anything to contribute to your conversations - never have any stories or adventures of my own to share. You have to carry all our interactions! And you…think you’re annoying?”

You scoff softly. “I mean, most of my other colleagues tolerate me, and only barely. Do you know how many break room conversations I’ve accidentally overheard about me?”

He grumbles a bit, letting his head roll sideways to carefully knock against the curve of your shoulder. 

“This isn’t about them,” he insists. “You’re not annoying. I enjoy listening to you talk - you always have interesting perspectives on subjects that I rarely consider.”

He tilts his face up, then, staring up at you from mere inches away with a sort of intensity that makes your cheeks nearly catch fire.

“And I also like it when you remind me to take a break. You know how I am about keeping track of time - if there isn’t an alarm, I’ll sit and work until I pass out.”

Slowly, oh so slowly, you lean towards him. Gently, tenderly, with an affection that makes your chest ache - you bonk your forehead against his, the barest of touches, but the most intimate you’ve ever been with him.

And all at once, his face lights up into a bright, rosy hue.

Much like how you had connected the dots a week ago, all the pieces fall into place in his mind. One by one, clicking together to form an entire beautiful picture: a story of your friendship, finally understanding.

“You…” he begins, trailing off as he tilts his head up by a fraction, drawing you into a kiss you’ve both been waiting years for.

[ilguna]

Oh my gosh, (if it's available for the event) please please please Viktor from Arcane with 100 from the expired medicine list

☼ blood run red (Viktor) ☼

warnings; swearing, blood mention, ehh gore, wound, mention of self-harm but not in the way you're thinking.

wc; 2k

prompt; 100. "I should have left you bleeding to your death."

--

“Hey, Sky,” Your eyebrows twitch. “I’m surprised you’re here so late.” You glance over your shoulder to see the dark hallway you’ve just come down. “Or this far into the building.” When you look back at her, you tilt your head curiously. “Isn’t your study down the hall?”

Sky doesn’t speak right away, lips slightly parted as her feet shuffle to a stop. She has one of her books held loosely against her chest with one hand. “It is, but I was paying a visit to Viktor.”

“Of course.” You wave your hand. “That should’ve been obvious. Is Jayce with him?”

“No.” She shakes her head. “I wouldn’t go in there, though. Viktor doesn’t want guests.” She readjusts the glasses on her face. 

“That’s not anything unusual.” You tell her. “I’m sure he’ll make an exception for me. I’ll get him out of that room one way or another.”

“He says he’s going to sleep there again.” Her tone is almost defensive.

Your eyes narrow, speaking slowly, “He says that pretty often, but he always ends up with me, anyway.” You take a step to pass her. “I can pass along a message, if there is one.” You raise your eyebrows.

Sky’s face falls, realizing what you’re implying. Her eyes find the floor while she shakes her head. “No, no message.”

“Well, I hope you have a good night, then.” You smile, continuing down the hallway. 

It isn’t out of the norm for Viktor to push people away, especially when it’s this late at night. He was likely trying to let her down easy, so that he wouldn’t be caught up with her when you got there. People have a hard time catching the hint when he’s trying to be nice about it, taking his words as a suggestion rather than law.

Interesting how she felt the need to ward you off. Maybe he’s given her the speech on how important it is for him to get the last few precious minutes in before giving his projects a rest for the night. You can’t recall the exact amount of lectures you’ve received for showing up a few minutes earlier than expected and ruining his plans.

No matter how many times you tell him that you’ll patiently wait while he finishes, he tells you that it’d be rude to make you sit there and watch him. Even if you find it interesting or entertaining, he insists for the two of you to walk home. You have a running joke with Jayce that he gets performance anxiety. Viktor doesn’t think it’s nearly as funny.

Honestly, you’d be more worried if Viktor suddenly wanted people around him while in the study. Besides Jayce, they’re partners, Viktor’s supposed to want to work with him.

It takes you another minute to make it to the door, which is closed. You raise your knuckles to the wood. Knocking a few times before you reach for the doorknob. You don’t care for his permission to enter, at least you’re announcing your arrival. You wouldn’t want to startle him while he’s working with the Hexcore.

You push the door open with your hip with how heavy the wood is. “Viktor, I’ve come to keep you company, against your wishes. Or we can go home, it’s up to you.” You muse.

The door opens with a long creak, the hinges are so worn down from the weight that it slides to a stop. The space is just wide enough for you to slip inside, not bothering to open it any further. You stroll in, eyes sweeping across the dimly lit room. You’ve told him that he needs to be careful with reading in the dark, it’ll ruin his eyesight.

You sound exactly like your parents, don’t you?

Viktor doesn’t respond to your joke, you turn your head, expecting to see him sitting on the stool at the desk, but here’s not there. The stool has rolled several feet away, out of his reach. There are a few used papers scattered on the floor, surrounding your boyfriend, who has collapsed in the middle of it.

“Viktor!” You cry, rushing forward. 

You nearly trip over his cane in your haste to reach him. You hold his face with both hands, running your thumbs beneath his eyes. His eyebrows twitch, responding to your touch. And while his chest is rising and falling, there’s blood coating his lips, as if he coughed it up.

“Viktor, honey?” You can hear his ragged breathing, liquid stuck in this throat. You twist on your knees to face the door. “Sky!” You shout. “I need help!”

There’s a brief panic that fills your body when silence ensues. Then, the sound of heavy footsteps echo through the corridor as the person draws closer. It can’t be Sky, she’s got to be long gone by now.

A hand pushes the door open further, it belongs to Jayce. He’s breathing heavily, head whipping in your direction to see what the emergency is. You don’t think you’ve ever been so happy to see him in your life.

“I came in and he was like this.” You tell him.

In a few long strides, Jayce comes over to scoop Viktor into his arms, unaffected by his weight. You have enough of a mind to grab the cane before you follow after him.

–

Viktor has been absent and obsessive—two traits that wouldn’t normally stand out, if it weren’t for the fact that you haven’t seen him for nearly a week. You don’t know how he’s been successfully missing you each time you come to the study, but it’s beginning to wear on your patience. 

You understand his need for progress, and that his work is a priority. What you don’t get is him not communicating this to you. He’s had no issue doing it in the past, why the present is such a difference is an absolute mystery.

Not only that, but you’ve taken up a project of your own with Sky in the meantime, and she’s somehow disappeared from the city completely. If she didn’t have your combined notes, you’d wait for her to reappear. The fact that she’s taken it with her, despite the many times you’ve requested having them for yourself, is an irritation.

“Viktor, you better be in here.” You mumble to yourself, pushing open the large wooden doors. They’re already unlocked, telling you that he must be in here. “Viktor, I’ve been looking for Sky everywhere, and I can’t seem to find her or our notes.” You begin to ramble, “Do you…”

As you step into the room, you can feel the whole atmosphere shift into a darker energy. You can feel your stomach fly into your mouth, uneasiness halting your movements. You can’t get a muscle to move until your eyes adjust to the extreme darkness. The only source of light is coming from the glowing Hexcore on the table, that seems to have morphed into something different. The runes are gone.

A wave of deja vu makes you feel sick. You take in the mess on the floor, the discarded cane, the sheets of white paper, the pair of familiar glasses. And Viketor, sprawled on his stomach.

You stare down at him for half of a second, too shocked to move, confused at what you’re seeing. Viktor has stripped himself to his underwear and brace, revealing his damaged skin to the air. The wounds that cover his chest and upper arms… the dark purple tint of his right hand and leg.

When he looks up at you, you jerk forward, as if realizing that you should be caring for him. You fall to your knees to help him into an upright position. “What happened? Are you okay?”

You can see the wounds better up close, and they look like puncture marks. You can’t help running your fingers over one of them, listening to Viktor hiss before he seizes your hand. 

“Please, don’t.”

“You’re bleeding.” You remark, shaking your head. “And your clothes are missing.”

“I was conducting an experiment.” He says, trying to shut you out.

You won’t let him. “That resulted in this?” You ask, looking him over again, eyes locked on the discoloration. 

That looks like…

“(Y/n).” Viktor warns.

Your face falls. “What have you done?”

Your tone is a dead giveaway of your realization. Viktor pushes your hand away. “Nothing that I hadn’t meant to do.”

The curling of your lip is involuntary. “I’m not stupid, Viktor. I know this is from shimmer. Where did you get it?”

“I don’t have to tell you.”

“I’m tired of the secrets.” You tell him. “You were using shimmer for the experiment, why?”

You get to your feet, leaving him on the cold tile, no longer worried about him. You go to step around him, curious about the Hexcore, which has clearly evolved. Viktor reaches out with one arm, hand wrapping around your skin.

“Don’t get close. It’s not stable.” His voice is pleading.

“It didn’t look like this earlier today when I was trying to find you.” Your eyes shift to him. “Is this your blood on the desk?”

He doesn’t speak, sleep-deprived eyes boring into yours.

“Viktor, I’m reaching the breaking point. What happened here, and where is Sky?”

“Sky wasn’t here.” He lies.

You point at the glasses on the floor, lenses shattered. “Those belong to her.”

There’s a few beats of tense silence, and then his shoulders hunch, arm falling from your leg. “It was an accident. I think… I think Sky is gone.”

“What do you mean by gone?”

“Dead.”

“Dead?” You almost choke on your spit.

“Yes.”

Your breathing picks up in pace as you roll this information around in your head, unsure on how to approach this. Should you be worried about him killing people? He’s never shown the urge for it before. If he’s trying to cover it up, it can’t be good. Yet, he did say it was an accident… isn’t that what they all say?

“I need you to tell me what happened here.” You tell him.

Viktor’s face twists, lips turning down. “The Hexcore responds to natural elements. I figured it out when I got my diagnosis. You know this.”

You nod slightly.

“I visited an old friend from the Undercity.”

“That’s where you got the shimmer. That’s why you were on that bridge.” Your eyes drift away.

“How do you know that?”

“I talked to Jayce, because you wouldn’t talk to me.” You look back at him. “Keep going.”

“I was trying to inject my body with shimmer to alter the nature element for the Hexcore. I got too close, it sucked me in, and Sky saw. She tried to help.”

You shake your head, not following.

“She… disintegrated.”

You still, staring at him intently. “You’ve been harming yourself for this? And now Sky is gone?”

“It was never my goal—”

“Viktor, you’re already sick. You should not be doing this.”

“I have no choice. Jayce and I made a commitment, he needs my help.”

“Your safety doesn’t come first?” You challenge, watching as his face twists. “You’re killing yourself, Viktor. This is hurting you—changing you. You need to stop.”

“I will decide when to stop.” He snaps at you.

You press your lips together, beginning to back away from him. “I don’t want anything to do with this.”

“(Y/n).” Viktor reaches for you, hand landing on the tip of your shoe before it’s pulled from his fingers. “Wait.”

“I should have left you bleeding to your death.”

--

this was part of my 3k celebration!!

[blissfulip]

Holiday Market

on AO3

Viktor x gn!reader

Rating: G

Tags: Friends to lovers?, 5+1 things (actually 4+1) awkward flirting, just tooth rotting fluff.

Cw: some cursing

Words: 3.7k

Happy Holidays from me to you  🎄

“We can agree to disagree there, Sky is such a pretty and sweet girl, and Viktor is very fond of her, so I’m sure if he wasn’t that oblivious he would’ve certainly noticed she was asking him out.” 

“Come on, he’s the smartest person both of us know, do you really think he didn’t notice? Why else would she offer to walk him to the dorm?” Jayce spoke passionately. 

This lighthearted argument you were having had been the topic of conversation for more than a month now. Every time Sky tried to do something to either flirt with Viktor or outright ask him out, he would either not notice or shut her down politely. To Jayce, it seemed like Viktor was simply not interested, to you, however, it looked like he was unknowingly shutting down her advances because he didn’t realize the romantic undertone in any of them. 

“He even said at some point he was grateful for Sky’s help, and he emphasized help.”

“See, I just think Sky is not his type.”

“Oh yeah? And what is his type?” You said this, crossing your arms and staring at him with a raised eyebrow and a half-ironic smile.  

“How would I know? It’s just a theory.” He said, shrugging, “You should try flirting with him and see how he reacts.”

“Why would I?”

“It’s definitely better than simply pining over him while you pretend to be okay with Sky flirting with him.”

“I’m not pretending, I think they look cute together.” Your voice came out much less firm than you anticipated, and it didn’t help that you unknowingly started to make small circles on the table with your free hand. 

“I think you would look even cuter with him.”

“You’re just saying that because I’m your friend, plus, how would my flirting with him conclude anything about our argument?”

"Well, if he also doesn’t notice you flirting, then you’d be right, and If he does notice, then It would mean I am right.” 

“Right, let’s assume he does in fact notice, what if he’s not into it?”

“You tell him it was a joke between us, but that’s unlikely.”

He knew something you didn’t, but you didn’t ask him what it was, it was dangerous for you to get hopeful. You didn’t bother to deny what he said earlier about you pining over him, because although talking about it openly was never really a necessity, the way you looked at Viktor when he wasn’t paying attention and the way you laughed a little louder at his jokes had never gone unnoticed by Jayce. He knew you well enough to not put you on the spot by asking about it, but he knew, and you knew that he knew.

In actuality, you had a sneaking suspicion that this little game of his was just Jayce’s not-so-secret plan to finally get you to make a move on his partner. He would never admit to it, and you would rather pretend to be unaware, after all, you’d be waiting for an excuse to do this. 

“If he doesn't notice by the third time I try, then I win.”

“Fifth.” 

“Fine.” You huffed. 

“And you have to be aggressive about it, subtlety will not do.”

“Don’t you worry, as soon as he gets here, you’ll see a master at work.” You said with a playful smirk. Although you had said that with an obviously joking tone, you were, as a matter of fact, perfectly confident in your ‘skills’. Flirting was fun to you, it made you feel pretty and playful, and as long as you kept it respectful, you could always tell that the other person, albeit bashful and sometimes surprised, usually felt as good as you did. 

I.

When Viktor got back into the room, your heart started to race, not so much in a way that worried you, but more like it does when you play sports, eat something tasty, or stand on the edge of a tall building. The intoxicating feeling of adrenaline filling your chest to the brim. When he noticed you there, leaning on the side of Jayce’s desk, he gave you a warm smile, and you walked over to greet him. 

“I thought you had given up on visiting the lab.” He said with a chuckle as you approached.

“Never, I would miss you too much.” You told him with a sickly sweet smile as you gave him a small hug, game on.

“Eh, well, I’m glad you came by, I’m sure Jayce is happy to have an excuse to stall.” There he was, it hadn’t been more than a minute, and he was already deflecting the attention from him. You looked at Jayce and pretended to laugh along, and he gave you a look that screamed ‘too subtle!’. It was fine, you could do better, so you turned back to face Viktor and looked at him intently. Head tilted to the side and a satisfied smirk that you wanted to make sure lingered for a second too long. 

The moment he noticed and his eyes landed on yours, you brought your hand up to brush some of his hair away from his face. The small strands in the front that sometimes cascaded over his forehead usually gave him a messy look that you personally adored, this time, however, they would serve a higher purpose. 

“Have I ever told you I love your hair? Its…so soft.” You cringed as soon as it left your mouth. ‘I like your hair’? What are you thinking? But you had to commit to it now, so you didn’t break eye contact.  

“Oh, hold on.” He said this as he sat down on his chair and started to write something on a small notepad. You glanced over at Jayce and noticed he was as confused as you were. No more than three seconds later, Viktor tore the piece of paper off the notepad and handed it to you.  

“What’s this?” 

“The conditioner brand I use—I almost couldn’t remember the name, but it came back to me.” He said this with such a sincere smile that you had to concede and admit you had been defeated, at least at that time. . 

“Thanks Vik.”  You said, unable to hold back a laugh. Jayce laughed as well, for nearly a minute after mouthing ‘a master, huh?’ at you after Viktor had turned his chair away.

II.

I’ll show him, alright. You thought to yourself as you left their lab to go back to work, you were already planning on what to do the next time you saw them, and you caught yourself smiling like an idiot as you worked, remembering his sweet little face as he handed you that piece of paper. How could you not fall head over heels for that? You didn’t know if it was his refusal to accept compliments or just his genuine interest in helping you get silky-smooth hair, but it didn’t matter, everything he did was absurdly endearing. 

Next time, though, as you pondered, I'll have to try a different angle. 

The opportunity presented itself a lot earlier than you expected when you went to the Academy kitchen about a week later and were pleasantly surprised to find both of your dearest friends there, Jayce sitting on one of the stools near the window and Viktor leaning against one of the counters. 

“Look at what the cat dragged in,” You said with a playful tone. “You two never come here, is the coffee machine in the lab broken?”

“Not quite, no. Jayce thought it would be a sensible idea to take a break over here.” He said, gesturing at Jayce with the face of someone who had already regretted his decision. Jayce simply looked at you and raised his eyebrows slightly. He knew you liked to come here to get coffee. 

“Well, he’s right, a change of scenery never hurt anybody,” you said, walking over to lean on the counter right next to him. “How’s work? Any significant progress lately?”

In any other circumstance, you would’ve listened to what he had to say attentively, but this time you were on a mission. He went on about the hex gates they were developing blueprints for, and you looked up at him through your lashes, making sure to take a quick but noticeable glance at his lips when he was looking back at you. For a second, it seemed like it worked, he stopped in his tracks and looked at you with slightly furrowed brows. Not angry, but as if he was trying to examine you and figure out what you had in mind.

“I apologize, eh...was I going too fast?” he chuckled.

Great, he just thinks I’m stupid.

“No, sorry, I just got distracted.” As you said this, you got an idea. You brought your hands up to the collar of his shirt, skimming over the lapel of his vest on your way there in the most casual manner you could muster. 

“Don’t worry about it,” He said lightheartedly. He didn’t seem to mind you touching him like this, so you didn’t take your hands back. 

“Work has been pretty tedious the past few weeks, you know?” You said while adjusting the collar, lightly brushing your fingers along the seams, and making sure the tip of your thumbs ‘accidentally’ and ever so delicately grazed over his neck. “Not all of us are geniuses working in the genius department making genius discoveries every day,” You teased him as your hands traveled up. 

“You give us too much credit,” He said with a shy laugh. “But you’re right in that regard; we have discoveries to make; come, Jayce, the genius department awaits us,” He joked as he picked up his cane and walked out of the kitchen with a relaxed smile. 

Jayce turned to look at you so fast that you were worried he would sprain a muscle. 

“You can’t tell me that was too subtle” You said with a bitter sigh. 

“You know, Mel is not really the flirty type, but if she ever did that to me, I would turn into a puddle.” He said half amused and half puzzled. “He’s a mystery, I'll tell you that.” 

“Well, how much more aggressive can I go without being weird?” Both of you thought about it in silence for a couple of minutes before Jayce spoke up. 

“I might have an idea, come by the lab tomorrow for lunch and follow my lead.”

“Normally that would scare me, but sure.”

III.

You suspected any food you ingested at that moment would swiftly be rejected by your stomach, this whole situation, which was initially supposed to be a laid-back fun thing, had turned you into an anxiety-induced mess. Technically, the way things were going was good for you, it proved what you said about Viktor being oblivious, and you loved being right, so why didn’t it feel good? 

Whatever it was, you knew one thing for sure: you were skipping lunch that day. You decided to go out a bit earlier than your usual lunchtime and stop by your favorite bakery. They had a chocolate and cinnamon roll cake that they only made around the holidays. You and the guys usually love them, so it should at least cheer you up. When you got to their lab, they both took your presence as a cue to stop working, almost as if they were expecting you.

“Great! We can get a second opinion.” You were visibly confused, which prompted Jayce to widen his eyes and raise his eyebrows, probably to remind you to ‘follow his lead’ before he continued speaking. “I was telling Viktor that Sky has been trying to flirt with him, and he doesn’t believe me. You see it too, right?”

Oh, I see what he’s doing.

“For sure, I can’t believe you haven’t noticed, Vik.”

“I have noticed the things Jayce mentioned, I just don’t believe they constitute flirting, and I also don’t see why she would be flirting with me.” 

You took this personally.

“Why wouldn’t she? You’re handsome, and sometimes you’re even tolerable, I don't see why not.” You were sure a compliment combined with some teasing should do it, you were wrong, as Viktor remained unmoved.

"Eh, sure, but I still believe she’s simply being nice, and if she were indeed flirting with me, I don't think she would do it in front of other people,” he said nonchalantly. 

“I don’t see why not, it’s not like her feelings for you are a secret to anyone, and maybe she’s being incredibly obvious with what she does in the hope someone will notice and tell you about it,” you said in a playful tone but sincerely.

“You do those things as well, you’ve always been naturally touchy and affectionate, so I don’t think those things are inherently romantic,” he shrugs.  

“Touché…”

It all made sense to you now, how all of your attempts at being intimate or complimenting him had gone unnoticed; they were lost in a sea of millions of other instances in which you had acted the same way. All of those came back, you remembered at least two other times when you had called him handsome and multiple times in which you were overtly touchy and showered him with compliments. 

You figured that Jayce’s intention with this whole conversation was for you to at least figure out what Viktor considered to be flirting, and at best, it would be an opportunity for you to openly compliment him. But you looked at Jayce and saw the realization dawn on him.

“Let me go grab some plates for the cake, help me get some cups too,” He told you, nudging you to come out of the room with him. 

“Well, I guess that’s it, he’ll never figure it out, so I win,” You said with a sly smile intended to hide the strange bitter feeling in your mouth as soon as you closed the door behind you. 

“Nope, this just helps us recalibrate. Now we know being touchy and just generally nice and affectionate will not work, so you need to try something else.”

“What else is there?”

“We have to come up with things for you to say and do that you would normally not say or do for someone other than a romantic partner.”

“Wouldn’t that basically be a confession?”

“At this point, I think you could very well confess, and he wouldn’t register it as such.” He chuckled. 

“Well, let me think.” And you walked in silence towards the kitchen for a couple of minutes before Jayce spoke again. 

“I think you need to go for some more obvious compliments. When people say he is smart and handsome, he just takes it as them stating a fact.”

“He’s a confident one, that’s for sure.” You said this as you smirked in contentment. 

“So, you’ll get him alone somehow to avoid that whole ‘she wouldn’t flirt in front of others’ thing, and you’ll compliment something about him that only a romantic interest would like. I’m 84% sure this one’s going to work out.”

“The odds are with me, I see”

IV. 

“I’m going to the holiday market, want to tag along?” You asked them on a Saturday afternoon.

“You should go, Vik, it would do you some good to breathe some fresh air.” 

“I don’t see how walking around the snow would fix this prototype.” He said with a disgruntled chuckle.

“It won’t, but it will give me some alone time to figure it out without you pestering me.”

“Ok, I get it. I’m going.” 

It had been close to a month since the last time you tried anything. Jayce and you agreed that you wouldn’t make any moves unless you were alone with him, so this was about to be your chance to do something. 

You had thought about it extensively since, playing and replaying your interactions in your head like a chess game. Perhaps the plan you had arrived at wouldn't work, perhaps you had been overthinking it, and once you tried it, the results would be catastrophic. But one thing was for sure, you were letting this consume you. The whole point of this experiment was to prove that Viktor was oblivious, and strictly speaking, the way things had been going proved you right, but it had morphed into more than that. 

You wanted him to notice, you wanted him to notice you.

“Are you planning to buy something?” He said snapping you out of your thoughts.

“Nothing in particular; I just really like coming here; it’s full of happy people in clothes that make them look like marshmallows, and the smell of the place is lovely.” 

“I admire the way you look at things, sometimes I feel like my vision of the world is so stale, yet you’re always finding beauty everywhere.”

"Well, let’s look together.” You told him, dragging him slowly out of the influx of people, to stand against a wall where you had a good vision of everything.  

“I think I get it, the people really seem to be happy.”

“At least they’re pretending to be,” you said with a cynical smile that got a low chuckle out of him. 

“And it does smell very nice around here.” 

“It does, but you smell better.” You said shrugging.

“I, eh, can give you the name of the lotion I use, I just don’t remem—”

By Janna, he is going to drive me insane. 

"Viktor, I don’t care for the damn lotion; I like the smell of it on you; I like your smell.” You said almost in an exasperated tone. 

“Oh.” He said, the corners of his mouth curving slightly upward. “Thank you?”

You walked together, sharing a comfortable silence for a couple more minutes, but you had to look back when you noticed Viktor wasn’t keeping up anymore. You were able to spot him leaning against a wall next to one of the stalls selling wood carvings, so you walked back to meet him. 

“Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, my leg just gets a bit sore after walking for a while when it’s too cold out.” 

“Oh duh,” You said, giving yourself a slap on the forehead. “I totally forgot about that, Vik, sorry. Let’s head back”

“We don’t have to, I just need to stretch it out a bit.”

“Don’t be silly, besides, I think we’ve seen enough happy people for today.” You told him with a playful frown. 

“Sure, eh, want me to take you home?”

"Yeah, you can take me home.” You told him with a cheeky smirk, and he simply laughed off the very obvious innuendo in that sentence. 

V. 

Jayce was not happy to hear you wanted to give up, but you were over it. After overthinking for 4 nights straight, you decided Viktor had definitely realized you were flirting with him, and feigning insanity was the most polite way he could find of rejecting your advances. Pushing it at this point felt like overkill, and you certainly did not want to make him uncomfortable. 

“Listen, trust me, I have an excellent feeling for this one. Not to mention, the deal was five times.”

“Jayce, there is no way on earth he hasn’t noticed, I’m sure he’s just ignoring it on purpose at this point. I’ll give you the win, just drop it, okay?” 

“It doesn’t count as a win if he hasn’t openly acknowledged it. I get not telling you, but he hasn’t even told me anything.”

“You know what? Fine. I’ll make it as obvious as I possibly can, I’ll embarrass myself if that’s what it takes, and then when he asks me to stop acting weird, we can drop this thing, happy?” 

“Go to the kitchen, I’ll send him over.”

And off you went, resigned to making a fool of yourself and dragging your feet with aggravated sadness. You weren’t sure when or how Jayce intended to send Viktor over to the kitchen, so you picked up a kettle and decided to brew some tea while you waited. The crackling sound of the stove and eventual whistling made the wait seem longer, but at long last you saw him come in. 

“Hey Vik” you said in a tone that conveyed more frustration than you intended it to. 

“Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, I'm just tired.” You said with a forced chuckle. “You?”

“Eh, I’m positive Jayce is hiding something from me at the lab. He was very adamant on getting me out of there today, but I’ll figure it out eventually.” You scoffed in response. 

“Do you know something I don’t?” he questioned. 

Okay, let’s get this over with. 

“You tell me, pretty boy, I’m just glad you ended up here.” 

“Yes, it’s always fun to chat with you.” He said with an endearing smile. Endearing is not what you were hoping for. 

“So fun, but we could always do more than chatting.” 

Silence. Maddening silence for what felt like years. And then he walked over to where you were, painfully slow and keeping intense eye contact. When he got to you, he stood less than a hand’s distance away, stared down at you with a smug look, and spoke.

“Stop that,” he said in almost a whisper. “I know you think it’s so funny to mess with me like that, and I know Jayce thinks it’s hilarious as well, but you’re not going to think it’s so funny anymore when I flirt back, and it stops being a joke.”

Oh. 

“So… you knew the whole time?”

“It was funny the first time, but if you keep escalating, I might have to match your energy, and you won’t like it.” He said, a grin creeping up. 

“See, you think you’ve got it all figured out, but you’re wrong.”

“You intend to tell me you were not flirting with me? I’m not an idiot,” he said, raising an eyebrow.

"No, I was definitely flirting, but everything I said to you was true, and I wouldn’t mind you escalating.” You shrugged, trying to pretend this whole tirade was not affecting you. 

“I see.” He kept examining your expression, as if he were trying to find a weak spot in your posture to attack. “How does dinner tomorrow sound?”

It caught you by surprise, but it wasn’t an unwelcome one. 

[ursawastricked]

Distracting: Part 4

You have infected most of Viktors thought by now. And unfortunately he can not find solace in his own home, not when his growing “collection” he realizes, contains a remnant of you that he had forgotten about..and the distraction follows him further then just his brain.

Wordcount: 3,081 (I had too much fun)

THIS CHAPTER IS 18+ MDNI

Warnings: Pining, cute memories, Smut, Solo Viktor, Male masterbation, Viktor being soft and oh so distracted

It wasn't uncommon for Viktor to be locked in his room after returning home, however he was much more annoyed at the current moment then he would usually be.

Now, on any other occasion, one where he found himself stuck between his desk and his bed, he would just continue to his desk. But no, instead he had been standing in the center of his empty room, starting an increasingly aggravating item in his possession.

He held the light weight glass in his grasp, leaned over it while sitting cross legged on his floor..somewhat, his bad leg was stretched out in front of him, it had been aching since he jumped to grab you earlier, another event he was planning on ignoring. He tilted his head as he turned over the glass in his hand, he had not yet noticed the light gold trim at the edge of it, nor the chiseled texture of the handle..it was clearly expensive which only worsened the guilt of having it. He wondered momentarily if he would be in trouble if they came looking for it, however people probably stole from those parties all the time. He knew they did, because at your first ever banquet, he had caught you slipping one of the china plates in your bag.

Viktor chuckled lightly, you were so quick to try and drag him into your scheme after he had caught you. At that point he had only known you about a month, and you had just started being actively social in the lab, mostly with Jayce, however you had said your fair share of ‘good mornings’, ‘goodnights’. It was charming, in a childish kind of way, and despite not assisting you, he hadn’t said anything and you still had the plate in your cabinet. He had seen it when you had invited him and Jayce over for some dinner. He ate off it, but didn’t comment on it, you winked at him and he smiled..

He leaned his head back, looking at the ceiling and analyzing that night as a whole, he recalled dinner, eating, drinking a bit..yes he definitely remembered drinking, because he had woken up in his own bed the next day with the same pain he imagined was felt after falling from a building, all settled in his skull. Lucky for him, he had beat Jayce to the chance of blacking out, so Jayce had gotten the honor of carrying him home. He had spent most of that day dragging himself between his bed and the bathroom, taking many showers, lots of vomit, and lots of sleeping. He had somehow ended up still with one of your scarves in his bed after he had passed out. He had learned from Jayce after asking about it, that he in his inebriated state, had put it on and tied it around his head to do what he thought was a very funny impression of you, but was actually a lot of gibberish and him not being able to stop laughing.

Did he..ever give that back to you? He wasn't sure..but as he stared at the lipstain on the champagne glass again, despite how faded it was after he had secretly drank from it during the nights, he had wondered if you missed it. After all, the cold season would be coming soon, and he couldn't stand the idea of you shivering because he had drunkenly stolen another thing from you..maybe you had a point, maybe he was a little bit of a kleptomaniac.

He groaned as he stood from the floor, grabbing his cane and pulling himself to stand. With a bit of effort he was able to leave his room and head to the hall closet, where he and Jayce kept their winter coats and such when it wasn't cold. With his free hand, he tugged the sliding door to the side and began to filter through the thick collection of fabric that was hanging in the far too small closet. It was truly ridiculous how many things Jayce chose to keep in this thing..but soon enough he had found it. A long, thickly knitted crimson scarf, squishy too the touch and clearly well loved as it was a little beaten up at the ends, or at least he hoped, if moths had eaten away at it while it was in his care, he would be quick to pay for a new one and spend the rest of the cold season trying to make up for ruining your property. He pulled it from its hanging state, feeling the weight of it settle against his palm as he inspected it for any details that would cause him worry, he couldn't remember if he had vomited on it, but either way, it would be polite to wash it before returning it. He sighed, throwing it over his shoulder so he could close the closet..when it hit him.

It wasn't gentle, it was an intense waft of smell that hit his senses. It was honey, lavender..the slight alteration of an oaky, maybe smokey smell that he then recognized as your perfume. He paused, closing the door to shamefully lift the fabric to his nose, not sure if he had any control over the carnal motion of holding it to his skin and inhaling deeply. He had missed the hint of caramel, the kind you always put in your coffee, and probably had spilt on this very scarf. His eyes were closed, senses blurring as the sensation of buzzing settled in his chest and let loose a sigh from him, one he would have hidden if he had noticed Jayce down the hall, apron tied on and holding a spatula covered in fudge from the brownies he had insisted on making that night.

“Vik, what's that you got there? Is it cold in here?” He asked, over the giggling noise of Mel who had arrived without warning to Viktor. She too came into the corner of Viktor Gaze as he yanked away your scarf from his nose and closed the closet the rest of the way.

“No..just remembered something..and wanted to check,” he replied, lazily glancing between Jayce and Mel as he crept toward his room, tossing the deliciously scented scarf too his bed before closing his bedroom door and standing facing it for a moment..He wasn't quite sure what had happened, but the buzzing in his belly had subsided only partly, and he could feel his body craving another huff of what he had just discovered. However he instead moved toward the kitchen, it was better to not feed into something that felt addicting.

He limped into the shared kitchen, seeing Jayce still stirring a bowl of fudgy brown putty, and his..guest as Viktor would put it..lounging on the stool, looking over Jayces work. She turned to smile at Viktor, and he gave his best attempt, despite how aggravating it was to be surprised with company when you didn't want to be.

“Viktor dearest, I couldn't help but notice that scarf you were holding down there,” she hummed, twirling glass of wine in her hand, a much less pretty glass then his he would note, “It looks a bit like the one your other lab assistant work..what was their name?” He was quick to spit your name back at her, almost instantly, like he was waiting for someone to ask. Mel glanced at him, a little spooked, “Yes..yes them. I saw them wearing the Yule ball, is that it?” she asked, sipping his wine with the elegance of a queen.

Viktor had almost forgotten about the Yule ball. Though now that he thought about it, you had worn it then, that was until you took it off and had revealed a golden collar around your neck..purely decorative, however he now wondered if you often wore things like that–

‘Stop that,’ he silently chastised himself, clearing his thirst to give a real answer, “Yes..they had lent it to me a while back..I wanted to pack it in my bag so I can return it” he murrmered, leaning over the sink and filling his usual cup with water.

Jayce giggled lightly, clearly amused by his next words before even saying them, “You gonna write a note for when you return it?” he asked, Viktor furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, “Maybe some hearts, an invitation to steal yours next?” he teased, sending heat fast to Viktors face. His hand gripped the cup, avoiding anyones gaze as he stepped to the side,

“Of course not! Why would I ever offer that?” he huffed,

“One of your shirts would fit them pretty nice, don’t you think?” Jayce purred, only barely avoiding the water that spilled from Viktors mouth when he had missed his sip at the thought of you wearing his shirt, all sleepy and comfy, hiding yourself in his clothes,

“You..are an evil man Jayce Talis, a vile and disgusting creature–” Viktor choked, wiping his chin from the spittle that had fallen down it, turning his face away from Mel as she stared at the pair.

Viktor wasn't lucky enough it seems, as he had caught a smirk of understanding spread on mels painted lips. “Has our Viktor found himself a little playmate?” she hummed,

Jayce nodded, mouthing an exaggerated ‘Oh yeah’ which resulted in the hard thump of Viktors cane against his shin. Jayce yelped, hopping on one leg and holding his injured one and settling his forehead against the counter,

“I do not have a ‘playmate” Viktor grunted, tucking his cane back under his arm,

“Are you going to wash it at least? The scarf?” Jayce panted, settling his leg back down and leaning into Mel as she rubbed his shoulder for comfort, like he was a wounded puppy.

“Of course,” Viktor insisted, turning and making his way back down the hallway too retrieve it,

Jayce leaned down the hall as he went, “Hey uh, Mel is gonna sleep over, ok?”

“I assumed,” He yelled back, slipping into his room and closing the door.

As much as he planned to get right to your scarf, he had gotten distracted with what he thought would be a quick adjustment to his notes. He looked up to notice he had somehow ended up filling what was left of his notebook..he sighed, rubbing his temple and lifting himself toward his bed. He needed to sleep, so he tripped what was tight around his form, and rolled into his mattress. He laid on his side, and let out a deep sigh as he settled into the soft sheets..he was much more annoyed to hear the muffled noise of Mel and Jayce on the other side of the wall. He inhaled deeply, covering his head with his hands and trying to block out any further signs of their intense “conversation”.

His breath hitched as the feeling of his back hitting the bedroom door, your form standing close, blocking him from moving away. His gaze was lingering on your face, a bit disheveled from the rush into the apartment. He sighed, cupping your face as you tuck your body closer to him, the velvet of your vest brushing against his chest.

“Janna..your so lovely,” he huffed,

“You're so beautiful Viktor..” You whisper in reply, only to be cut off by the weight of Viktors lips colliding with yours. You both pant into each other, Viktor wrapping his arms tightly around your hip and using the other to cup your jaw, and keep your lips locked in a passionate embrace. Your combined weight sends you both tumbling to the bed. You land almost perfectly, Viktor slotted between your legs and pressing his weight into your pelvis. You let out a pathetic whimper as Viktor grabbed hold of your thigh and tucked it over his hip. He pulled his lips away briefly to mutter your name, 

“Your perfection..ever since that party..with that lovely gown..I can't stop thinking about you, about everything you do..” He panted between kisses to your impossibly soft lips, and when he couldn't handle muffling your sounds any longer, he pressed his lips into your throat, greedily licking at your sweat dappled skin as if he would die of thirst. You moan out his name as he rolls himself into you, groaning at the sensation of your plush behind against his bulge.

Your nosies only continued to spill from your throat, each shriller than the next, until he swore you began to sound like the creaking of his bed frame..

The creak of said bedframe is what met him when he fluttered his eyes open and found that rather than your, in his words, ‘Plush behind’, he had dug his hips into one of his pillows..He grunted, pulling himself to sit up and rubbing his face drearily. His brain was foggy, another groan from his bed sending a shutter down his spine and into his hips.

He didn't want to look, but like a drone, his chin dropped to his chest and he was met with the unmistakable outline of his throbbing cock, pressing against the fabric of his  boxers. He sighed, falling back to the mattress and combing through his hair with his hand, until he felt a soft texture crush his fingertips. He turned his gaze lazily, his gaze caught on a familiar crimson color. ‘Your damn scarf..’

He reached for it, flushing a bit in the cheeks as he brought it to his face..another instinctual move he had no control over. He deeply inhaled, feeling the smell trickle down his lungs into his stomach. He shuttered lightly, opening his eyes lazily and staring off at the cieling as the sickening feeling of shame flooded into his barely conscious mind. He knew it wouldn't go away, you wouldn't leave his mind, and because of it, his little..not so little, problem would also remain stubbornly active.

He closed his eyes again, maybe if he didnt see the scarf he would feel less guilty about the effect it was having. His hand pressed the fabric closer to his face, the other free hand slowly sneaking over his hip bone and causing him to involuntarily jut upward. He exhaled that first deep breath as the weight of his hand settled against his bulge and sent a muted humm of pleasure into his thighs. He took another moment to move again, a moment to at least settle on what to think about. Of course the only thing in his mind at the moment was you, that excited look on your face from the dream, the way your hair felt between his fingers as he kissed you..his hand slipped beneath his waistband, hurrying top push them down enough that he would ease the ache of his cock that was needily pressing into the now tight fabric. His grasp was light as he held himself, feeling the weight against his palm and considering himself for a moment..

Your voice invaded his imagination, a scripted coo into his ear, a fantasy of your sing songy tone, ‘excited Viktor?~’

His grip tightened around his shaft, he made one slow pass over it, making him inhale sharply through his teeth. He pressed your scarf to his mouth, taking in another intoxicating breath of you, his hand starting its slow, lazy pace as he squeezed his cock lightly with each stroke.

The scarf proved extremely effective in muffling his moan, one he didn't plan on, brought out as he pictured your hand rather than his, rubbing a bit faster. He felt a slight burn, lifting his hand away from his shaft for only so he could drag his tongue over his palm, giving himself a fair bit of saliva to better lube himself up with, before bringing it back to his cock and returning to a less lazy pace. The heat of his saliva brings an image of your perfect lips pressing into him, against his throat, against his hips, his cock.

His hip twitched into his tightening grip, sending an increasingly shocking amount of sensation through his stomach. He was shivering, the smell, your smell was all he could breathe in. It was as addictive as he anticipated it to be, sweet, strong, the intensity of pleasure it brought him was humiliating, especially knowing how much more noticeable it would be when he had to see you tomorrow. He wasn't sure how he would handle seeing you tomorrow.

You had smiled 15 times yesterday, the number tripled after he had touched you..oh and that touch was exquisite. HIs hand quickened, his breath was heavier, and he could feel the rumble of his groans as they sank into the soft fabric against his lips. Janna, he wanted to touch you again. With one touch, he had earned the luxury of knowing that, for a fact, your waist was as soft as he hoped..and the feeling..the squish of your flesh..it was enough to send a whimper from his throat. A shivering sensation spread down into his hips, his thumb pressing teasingly against the swollen head of his cock. He was shaking now, the weight of your body against his palm, he squeezed tighter around his shaft, his pace quickly becoming irregular. He groaned into the scarf, whining helplessly into the soft yarn, sighing shakily. His hips thrusted into his fist, greedily pushing himself toward the edge. He gritted his teeth, arching his back against the mattress as one last memory of you flooded into his psyche..the slight smile on your face after he let go of you, the little lean you made to chase him after it, the smallest sign of your returned affection.

He whimpered your name, the scarf not able to hide it as he held it tight to his chest, and white hot pleasure coursed through his body, down into his stomach and shooting through his hips as warm cum freckled his bare stomach.

His body collapsed into the mattress, his breath heavy and desperate, his release cooling soothingly against his belly as he fluttered his eyes open and started up into the night.

How was he going to look at you tommorow..

He couldn't figure it out in the morning..for now he reached over to his bedside table, gripping cold glass and sipping from the last remnants of your stained glass.

[valaruakars]

We Have Chemistry (Together)

A bonus chapter/prequel oneshot for Let's Get Physical

Gen || Jayce & Viktor || 3.7k || Modern/College AU || Ao3 Link Tags: Baby frat boy Jayce, developing friendships, misunderstandings, emotional hurt/comfort (shitty), hazing, underage drinking (for us USAmericans), alternating POV, no Beef!Reader today sorry babes

Help is high on the list of what people typically want from Viktor. Usually in class. Sometimes in the elevator beforehand or in the hallway after, or following a light tap on the shoulder in the library. All academic help, strictly speaking. But this wasn't about their lab report.

Sweaty palms, shaky hands—he’s got one shot at this. One phone call. He knows the landline and his mom’s cell by heart, but he can’t call her. Can’t let her see him like this. Can’t think of who the hell else to call—who even memorizes phone numbers anymore?—so maybe he’d better get comfortable with sleeping upright and a permanent wedgie. There are worse things, like the disappointed purse of her lips; the way she sighs and bows her head and makes him wonder if it’s his fault her hair’s already shot through with gray.

Except.

Area code, same as the rest. Dorm number. Cait’s birthday.

He types it out. It looks as familiar on the screen now as the first time he saw that string of numbers, when the coincidences jumped out at him as the patterns in numbers always do. Enough to make an impression, apparently. Just like the person it belongs to.

Who, in all likelihood, won’t be thrilled about this.

But he decides then and there that he’s just desperate enough for normal underwear and his too-firm twin XL bed—and, fuck, there’s a quiz in materials performance first thing in the morning so he really needs the sleep—to hit call.

It rings three times. He feels a hot surge of nausea two in, the rising urge to puke into his purple foam hat. It’s bitter in his throat like those IPAs he didn’t want to drink in the first place, but he’s never been great with peer pressure.

And on the fourth, above the rustling:

“Hello?”

He sounds annoyed.

He usually sounds annoyed, but sometimes Jayce wonders if it’s all in his head, because Viktor’s voice softens when he explains the equations to the girl that sits next to him and snaps her gum too loud and misses every other class. He’s heard it gently ask the professor for a letter of recommendation in the hall after lecture, and lilt into the phone—in what? Russian?—on the bench outside before it. It’s only when Viktor’s talking to him, which is already rare, does it get quick and terse.

But maybe he hears it wrong half the time because there’s part of him that’s been intimidated since day one. That first day of class, when he’d taken the last seat at the front and stuck his hand out to the guy beside him. He was nervous. It felt like the right thing to do. But those egg-yolk eyes had ticked curtly from Jayce’s hand to the professor he’d just introduced himself to, with a detour to his crooked pink bow tie. Maybe it was a little much with the blazer and ironed slacks in sweltering August. And in hindsight, yeah, maybe shaking the professor’s hand and explaining how this class fit into his three year plan was definitely too much, but Jesus fucking Christ *was it also too much to just come out and call him egotistical *for it.

Without even shaking his hand! Who does that?

Really, he’s just trying to make this feel like a good idea. It’s not.

It’s also too late to back out. “Hey—Hi, yeah, it’s Jayce… Your lab partner. From chemistry?” He’s already started running his mouth.

“Ah. I realize.”

He wrings the hat in his lap. The iron-on stars are starting to peel off. Glitter flakes cling in the creases of his wet palms. It’s delusional, isn’t it, to imagine that Viktor doesn’t hate him.

Only with a deep breath can he get himself to say, “I know it’s late…”

“It is.”

“But I really need your help.”

—

Help is high on the list of what people typically want from Viktor.

It’s what he’s good for—all those questions along the lines of, ‘Did you do the homework?’ which means, ‘Can I copy it?’ (No.) Or, ‘Do you know what he’s talking about?’ which means, ‘Can you explain it like I’m five?’ (Yes, but try to keep up.) *Sometimes it’s, *‘Have you taken any of Heimer’s classes?’ which either means, ‘Can you give me the study guides?’ (There aren’t any.) or ‘Can you tutor me, but we somehow hook up and never speak of it again?’ (Depends.)

That’s usually in class. Sometimes in the elevator beforehand, or in the hallway after, or following a light tap on the shoulder in the library. All academic help, strictly speaking.

But this wasn’t about their lab report.

If anything, it should’ve been about their lab report. Because what else could Jayce Talis—who moved seats after the first day of class and made a face like a whipped animal when they were partnered for lab work last week, who pledged a fraternity (abhorrent) and has his pick of pretty friends—possibly want from him?

It feels as though he blinks and thirty five minutes of his life have just dissolved* since he hung up the call, so lost in theoreticals of *why *and *me that curiosity itself must’ve found his pants and his wallet and led him here by the hand. Rumpled, but fully clothed. This is novel and extremely necessary considering he’s standing in a squat, brutalist building at the front desk of campus security.

All because Jayce asked, ‘Can you come pick me up?’

And Viktor simply agreed.

There’s no bail, no paperwork, no real formality here. The only requirement to walk Jayce out is to be over the age of eighteen, and he clears that easily enough. The state ID he hands though the sliding glass window of reception says as much, but he still has to remind the campus cop who flips it over three times like there’s something confusing about it that it’s just as legitimate as a driver’s license, thank you.

“Time to go, Talis,” the man bellows, snapping Viktor’s ID onto the counter with thick fingers and no further acknowledgement. As he pockets it, a metal chair scrapes across the linoleum somewhere out of frame, behind a door with a decades old pin-punch lock.

“You’re a lucky one, kid,” the officer chuckles, deep and phlegmy with the sound of black lung. “If I hadn’t laughed so hard you’d be at county intake right now.”

“Do I… Um, do I need to sign something?” Jayce asks. His voice is world-weary more than ass-kissing.

“You want this on record?”

“No, sir.”

“Then there’s the exit.”

By that point, Viktor’s already tapping his way to it. Jayce will follow, and with his long legged stride, he will catch up easily. Probably to thank him with that performative politeness that drives him to say ma’am or sir *or to *shake the hands of strangers, and then they’ll go their separate ways after has Viktor served his purpose. Like whatever this was never happened.

Behind him, a hydraulic arm shrieks, the intake door claps shut, and Jayce whispers an apology to no one for rattling the lobby’s musty silence as Viktor pushes outside. The tepid night air rushing against his face, and because he’s not rude, he holds the door open for Jayce.

But Viktor gets stuck. Or maybe stunned. Perhaps it’s flummoxed, or even transfixed. There’s no one perfect word to describe why he’s stopped, blocking the door and staring, which is rude, but happens to him with enough regularity that he’s owed a pass or five, and he’s using one now.

He blinks.

Blinks again.

Once more, and yes, Jayce is still standing in the doorway clutching a cheap wizard hat in his hand and a child sized blanket around his body. It strains around the bulk of his arms, stretching, cracking the gold vinyl stars. It matches the purple beneath his eyes, complements the tawny red his face is turning, and does not, in fact, reach low enough to cover his too small speedo.

Or the knee high boots.

A cape, Viktor realizes. Not that he’s just eyed Jayce from top to bottom with enough scrutiny to notice that he’s unnaturally hairless and his thighs are ribbed with stretch marks, or that his own face is set in a hard frown like this is all somehow unsavory. (It’s… not. Definitely not.) No, Viktor simply notices that the starry patterned blanket has a collar, which makes it a cape.

And despite this revelation, the fact that Jayce is mostly naked remains unchanged.

‘Why’ is on the tip of his tongue. It usually is; its natural habitat is in his mouth. But Jayce’s eyes flit from Viktor’s down to his pointy toed boots, then back up again, and he preemptively explains, bitterly, “Nothing in the lost and found fit.” Which actually explains nothing.

Viktor nods as though he understands (he doesn’t), and forces himself to just start walking.

Jayce tails him down the sidewalk in uncomfortable silence. It’s when they pass the parking lot that Jayce picks up the pace, falling into stride side by side. The pieces fall into place too—late night, terrible costume, and now, the acerbic smell of stale beer wafting off him. Frat party.

It’s worse on Jayce’s breath. “So…” A tight, tried sort of impatience undercuts his attempt to sound casual. It’s familiar. Understandable, too, after sitting through a scared straight experience on a weeknight. “Where’d you park?” Jayce asks.

Lack of a car notwithstanding, the implication he’d ever be swindled out of eight hundred dollars a semester to park on campus is a joke. Not a laughable one. “I took the bus,” he flatly answers.

“Oh.”

For a moment, Viktor can ignore the palpable disappointment—that he is disappointing. He can even empathize with the situation. Riding public transit dressed like that isn’t exactly ideal. But then Jayce asks, “They run this late?”

“The city ones do.”

And then Jayce says, “It’s just… I don’t have any money.”

“They’re free to students.”

And then Jayce mutters, “Uh, cool. Good to know,” because he doesn’t have to know, has never had to know. And suddenly Viktor doesn’t feel so bad for him anymore, that he gets to learn tonight that need-based scholarships don’t buy cars or taxis, and that sometimes it’s slightly inconvenient when you fuck up. Perhaps that should be more obvious to someone who just lucked out with a slap on the wrist for flagrant underage drinking.

Except they stop and Jayce takes one look at the bus stop bench; notices—what is hopefully just—dried, congealed soda spilled across one side. He asks, “Do you want to sit?” because he’s ignorant, yes, but not the worst to ever live.

Viktor says, “No, thank you,” knowing what Jayce doesn’t: the bus schedule, and that up and down in short order won’t feel particularly good.

When it grinds to a halt at the curb two minutes later, Jayce pulls his student ID out of his boot and soldiers onboard with his head down. He collapses full bodied onto the seats running parallel down the center aisle the same way he'd collapsed on the bench outside: hunched over with his face in his hands. Luckily, people are sparse at this hour, and there is nobody sitting across from them. Unluckily, someone in the back laughs openly.

With so much space, Viktor leaves an open seat between them. It feels right. But in the awful fluorescence before the lights wink out, Jayce’s skin looks waxy and his shoulders rise and fall with the deep, intentional breaths, and Viktor is struck by how alone he is—how strange it is that he’s alone in this. Where are the drunk friends that should’ve been picked up with him, or the cavalry that should’ve pulled up in a dirty Jeep with Greek letters on the bumper to save him?

He sits up as the dark bus drives on, soberly tucking his cape and forearms over his stomach, and Viktor snatches his eyes away. It doesn’t add up—not really. Jayce* does not particularly like him*, and Jayce has other friends.

He should probably ask which dorm is Jayce’s or if he knows what stop to get off at, but he knows the right question now. “May I ask—?” Viktor tries.

Only to be shot down with a clipped, “No,” which is strange to be on the other side of, but he’ll learn nothing from it.

Viktor nods and sits back quietly, the plexiglass window cool against his skull. The vibrations ghost shifting patterns behind his eyes. The silence is filled with the rumble of the engine accelerating, and the time with drafting a polite, impersonal email in his head to request they not be partnered together in the future.

At the next stop, two people get off, and when the bus drives on the silence is different. It lacks the subtle undertone of whispers and snickering, of other passengers entirely. Viktor opens his eyes to find there’s no one else left but the driver with her headphones in.

“Okay, fine,” Jayce suddenly sighs, like he’s been holding his breath the whole time. “Ask.”

They don’t look at each other. Viktor watches the traffic light ahead tick to green out of the corner of his eye. “Why did you call me?”

Jayce leans back and groans, pained, into his hands. “No, about the outfit. You’re supposed to ask about the outfit, or the night, or how I got caught.” He pulls the tiny cape tightly around himself again. It doesn’t contain how badly he smells of pore-distilled alcohol and nervous sweat. “Any of those.”

He considers, briefly. “Explain the night, then.”

“I went to this pledge party…”

“On a Wednesday?” admonishes Viktor, who is known to stay out at the library until they banish him at close and sleeps the minimal amount to function most days of the week; who smokes and drinks and fucks enough for at least two frat boys, just in a wholly different context. Who is, sometimes, kind of a hypocrite.

“It’s Thursday now,” Jayce corrects as if it matters, stalling for seconds. “It was mandatory, okay?” He’s embarrassed, shrinking in his seat. “They had us drink, then confiscated our phones and gave us these costumes. I was supposed to do magic—” which explains the conical wizard hat, ”—but I wasn’t doing a good enough job, so I had to go out onto campus on a special errand,” he accentuates with limp, one handed air quotes, “to, uh, get something.”

“Is that not considered, eh…?” Viktor forgets the word. It doesn’t have much of a place in his vocabulary; was never really relevant during freshman year orientation.

“Yeah, it’s hazing, but it’s not a big deal,” Jayce snaps, filling it in defensively. He deflates just as quickly, resigning to his lot. “It’s just something that happens.”

But Viktor shrugs, “I see no benefit to the situation.” That’s putting it mildly. He’d rather amputate his own leg than be humiliated and told what to do. “Quit.”

This is, apparently, an offensive suggestion. “It’s—No, it’s about the connections.” Jayce is resolute. “Networking. Knowing the right people who can probably get me in the door at the places I want to be one day.”

One word stands out: “Probably?”

“It’s not exactly guaranteed, but if it means the odds are better…”Jayce is less resolute. Like he’s trying to convince himself, confidence in his own choices waxing and waning fretfully.

“And,” asks Viktor, “you think this is worth it?”

“I don’t know,” Jayce whispers in a small, scratchy, tired voice. He knows what this means. The heinous costume; risking his academic career; having to embarrass himself in front of a classmate he hardly knows or cares about. “I just… I thought it would make it easier to make friends, but I don’t want the whole *parties and drinking and girls and ‘haha, isn’t it funny I failed that test?’ *experience.” For a moment he looks like he wants to put his face into the hat in his lap and scream. Instead, he pinches his eyes shut. “They pushed me harder than anyone else tonight, because they know I don’t belong. My grades just bring up their stupid academic average.”

Viktor doesn’t know what to say. It’s not uncommon, this helpless sensation of floundering when confided in, when faced with the enormity of things outside his ability to change or control. He didn’t know what to say when the girl he was tutoring last year told him she lost her scholarship, or when he caught Heimerdinger’s last TA sitting shell shocked on the bathroom floor after finding out their partner cheated. He didn’t know what to say when his mother told him babička wanted to go home home to die (she’s fine, just dramatic and bitter about getting old), or when she saw him changing his shirt while they were packing up the apartment and cried for how she failed him (she didn’t).

He does know that saying I’m sorry never feels right. That it’s empty, and nobody really feels better hearing it. But Jayce is smart and attractive and also, perhaps, just dramatic too. He belongs somewhere, even if he hasn’t found that place yet. “How valuable could these, eh, connections with stupid people be, hm?”

“I mean,” Jayce mutters, “it’s not that they’re stupid—”

“Don’t argue. I’m aware of nepotism and how it functions,” Viktor huffs, tempered by Jayce’s soft laugh of the same quality. “There are always other avenues to get what or where you want. Find them. Your time is better spent than,” he gestures broadly, “on this.”

“Yeah…” Jayce nods. It’s a kinder resignation this time. The troubled creases in his face start to ease away. “Okay.”

Cars pass. Silence settles, strange in that it’s easy. Or, it starts to. But Jayce takes a breath. Hesitates. Takes another one that turns into, “There was no one I could call.” He crosses his legs. Uncrosses them again. Can’t get comfortable with himself or the admission:* *“Not because they took my phone, there just isn’t anyone else.”

“Your friends?”

“Still in high school, and she’s not even old enough to drive yet.” He finds himself on the receiving end of a curious stare, and gets the why of it wrong. “It’s not like that, I swear,” he cringes. “She’s a lesbian, Viktor.” Which is all fine and good, but has nothing to do with why Jayce is speaking in singular. He asked about the plural.

“Your roommate?” he tries.

“Dropped out two weeks ago, and please don’t suggest my mom next.” Jayce rolls his eyes, and they don’t find their way back. He stares off, down at the floor, canting his head away. There’s glitter in his hair. “Trust me on this. It’s not like I wanted someone who hates me but has an oddly memorable phone number to be my one phone call tonight.”

He would’ve been allowed multiple phone calls is the first thing that Viktor thinks. The second: “I don’t dislike you.”

Another eye roll. “You gave me a look.”

“I look at plenty of people,” Viktor hand waves.

“No, a look,” he insists. “It was this ‘if we were in a Russian prison right now, I would shank you’ kind of look.” Viktor narrows his eyes, so he specifies, “When we got assigned in lab?”

“Why,” Viktor asks slowly, “is the prison Russian in this scenario?”

“Because you’re—”

“No. Do not finish that sentence.” Wildly rude and too common of an assumption, but, “In the spirit of forgiveness, I will let that slide,” he holds up a slender finger, “once.” Jayce mouths sorry as Viktor considers the sort of look his face is being accused of. “I…” But he only remembers reading the clear disappointment on Jayce’s. “Was probably thinking about something at the time,” Viktor shrugs.

“How much you wish I’d switch majors?”

“Mm, no. It was the end of class, so probably how much homework I could accomplish before work study, or how late to my next class I could reasonably be if I showed up with coffee from the dining hall.”

“Yeah, but…” He pivots in his seat. His thighs squeak on the plastic. “But you still called me egotistical on the first day of class!”

Yes, when Jayce made a painful show of ingratiating himself to the professor before class. Jayce throws that in his face like some sort of gotcha; in reality, it ranks one of his top ten social failures. “It was a question.” He was simply asking if, in hindsight, the action could be misconstrued as egotistical. “Not a criticism.”

But Jayce scoffs, “How was I supposed to think that when you wouldn’t even shake my hand?”

“It was stuck.” Viktor lifts up his right hand. Empty, but the cane still comes with it, dangling where it’s looped around his wrist. “You took yours away before I could get it out of the strap.”

“But I didn’t know yet that you—” Jayce scrubs his hand down his face, quiet until he whispers a revelatory, “Fuck.” Then a slightly hysterical, breathy, “Fuck,” and he’s smiling, gap-toothed and too brilliant for the lateness of hour.

“Eh, still a weird thing to do, though,” Viktor shrugs. He’s smiling a little too. It’s a private, wry thing. It’s a start.

And by the time they finish, on the other side of campus, on a sidewalk, at a bus stop much like the one they came from, things are very different.

For instance, Jayce has put the horrible wizard hat on. Ironically, of course.

They meander past the library, its windows tall and dark, cutting across the quad in front of it toward the residence halls. “What was your special errand, anyhow?” Viktor asks. “You never said. I’m curious.”

“Yeah, well, I’m trying to forget the horrors. Y’know, of getting caught trying to break into a building with my entire ass out,” he says sheepishly, catching the hat as it starts to slip. It’s not his entire ass. Only about eighty five percent. “I had to borrow something.”

There’s a word he’s avoiding. “What, exactly, were you trying to steal?”

“Borrow,” Jayce counters. “There’s this paperweight in Heimer’s office. Looks kind of like chalcedony, but it does have these faint striations, so I think it might be agate—

“I’m familiar.”

“Anyways, that. I was supposed to get that. Probably because it was impossible.”

“Mm, no, not impossible,” Viktor hums. “You should’ve called me sooner,” he says, dragging a carabiner from his pocket, stripped of paint and utterly ancient. When he holds it up, the street lights catch on tens of little metal teeth. “I have the key.”

[leurdhavemerky]

Hello,little goofy goober!I hope this ask finds you well!How about Viktor with a reader who is passionate about researching the worst of the worst of humanity in an effort to understand the world better and possibly help,who comes to him when it all gets too much,too heavy,too ugly just to remind herself of the beauty of the world as well?

Flame vs. Fissure

Summary: When her research becomes too taxing and troublesome, she wanders off to Viktor's favorite spot in hopes of finding comfort.

Contains: Reader x Viktor, hurt/comfort, light to mild angst, reader with she/her pronouns, fluff, LIGHT SPOILERS

A/N: The clocktower ledge referred to is the same place where Heimerdinger spoke to Viktor, where Viktor and Jayce chatted during the sunsets in act 3.

I think I formatted the dialogue right but, there is bound to be a mistake or two. Also, thank you to this asker I had so much fun!

Word Count: 825

Shimmer was being passed out to sickly fiends like candy. Broken glass littered the ground, puncturing her boots- and cutting those without. Every time (Y/N) had walked up to someone optimistically, pen and pad in hand, she was quickly brushed off. Or spat on. Or shoved. Most notably, called a "topside swindler" by a dealer.

Defeated and tired of being on her aching feet for hours, she trudges back to her office at the academy.

Her poor journal, being slammed onto the table that way. Nails dig into the leather cover, injecting it with heartache. She sinks into a chair, depressed.

The plan was to survey Zaunites. To better understand their struggles- mainly with the fissures. She was going to convince the council to set aside money for repair. So much of the Undercity's air pollution related sickness was the result of toxic gas leaking from those openings in the ground.

Now, without testimonials and evidence, the grant was slipping out of her fingers. More people would have to ruin their lungs and waste away for years to come. Nothing made (Y/N) feel more trapped than trying to help... only to be pushed away. It was miserable, seeing that much darkness in the world, and realizing her lighter is empty.

There was only one person who she could count on- who knew exactly how that felt.

When he wasn't slaving away in the lab, Viktor spent his sunsets out on the ledge towards the top of the clock tower. Its overgrown vines and worn charm were rare in the overly aestheticized city of progress.

Rhythmically shifting gears and cogs calmed Viktor's nerves. He found great comfort staring out into the expanse of Piltover.

The walk up to clock tower felt drawn out and tiring, like the oxygen had been sucked out of the atmosphere. The survey failed so, so terribly. The downright disturbing sights in the Undercity were still ruminating in the back of her mind.

Turning the corner, she sighs. She takes a soft step onto the ledge where Viktor stood, silently admiring the picturesque scene.

"Sorry- I didn't mean to interrupt your pondering," she states, breaking the silence.

He turns his neck to look at you, cat-like irises illuminated by the rays of the setting sun. A little smile cracks as he turns around.

"No worries, I was looking for someone to talk to."

"It's just- I'm having issues with getting the grant for fissure repair. It was embarrassing, how futile I felt."

"You've been surveying the Undercity all week, no?"

"I've tried," she whispers with a waver, "I just wasn't... welcomed."

He softens his gaze when he hears the strain in her voice.

"What went wrong, dove?" Viktor asks, stepping closer with concern.

A salty tear trickles down as her face contorts with anxiety. Her vision blurs and more water pours out, washing the rosy sunset from sight.

"It's all too heavy. I can't- I can't do this anymore. I spent months researching and begging," she whispers, choked up. "I just want the council to give the Undercity a chance." Her throat tightens as she looks down, avoiding Viktor's eyes.

He puts an end to it- tilting her chin back to him with a finger. Viktor wipes the glistening tears with his thumb, caressing her cheek with warm hands.

"Enough worrying. Come close to me dove," he speaks with a tender tone. Holding onto your waist with a gentleman's touch, his chest expands with a deep inhale. "This cycle of death and disease, it is not your fault," Viktor breathes, "you are simply trying your best. It is all you can do."

"That's the problem. I'm only able hold one candle, I can't light a whole city by myself," she whispers, sullen. Her hands find Viktor's shoulders as she sighs.

"You do not realize how bright your flame is, (Y/N)."

A silence hangs in the air as the sun begins hanging lower in the sky. She leans in and rests her head over Viktor's shoulder, The light pink hues have turned to deep oranges, and birds have soared back to their nests.

After the two give each other an, "I know, love" kind of gaze, they slowly pull away. Coming to the edge of the risky platform, they watch the rainbow light show nature has put on just for them until the stars poke through.

"The world is much more beautiful with your fire- your passion. It is too late to quit your research. The time is now," Viktor urges. He gestures out to Piltover's skyline, tracing along. Smokestacks from the Undercity rise higher.

The tears have subsided, only light stains on (Y/N)'s face as she feels the cool wind dry what's left. Her hair lifts slightly as a calming breeze blows through.

She says with determination, "I'll consult the council as soon as possible. I'm going to repair the fissures, even if I have to lay concrete myself."

[viktorybell]

Tight Spaces

Jayce x Viktor x GN!Reader

Word Count: 3.8k (EXACTLY 3.8k I will never achieve this again.)

Warning: slightly suggestive at the end, but that’s it

Ask:  is it ok if i request some poly jayce and viktor x reader? if you dont do poly just jayce is fine =] maybe the reader is an artist and they love drawing their crush(es) but because theyre a journalist they cant normally show off their art, but while at the lab one day, the other notices their sketchbook and asks to flip through it - and reader, forgetting that its a sketchbook and not a notebook for articles, says yes. after that, everythings up to you >=]

You’ve always been good with tight spaces. It’s part of what makes you one of Piltover’s most prolific reporters. You’re willing to go places that the majority of the prim n’ proper Piltover journalists wouldn’t dare. Which is partly because you grew up in a shabby neighborhood on the edges of the Undercity and partly because you were just a damn good reporter.

Growing up in the Undercity was integral for developing your reporter skills. You didn’t have many toys or trinkets to fill your time with, so you found alternative ways for filling your afternoons as a child. Alternative ways meaning snooping. Creeping around the Lanes and finding new hiding places. Unseen and unnoticed places where you could camp out for an afternoon. Your favorite spot had been a gap in the wall behind Vander’s old bar. You’d sit there for hours, drawing pictures in the dirt with a stick while listening in on the dozens of conversations that felt infinitely more interesting than your life had at the time.

Your start in the Undercity also helped to endear you to a certain renowned inventor with similar origins. 

You were in his lab now, sketching out the shape of him and his lab partner where they’ve been hunched over a complicated set of blueprints for the last hour. This is usually how your sessions worked. With you wandering aimlessly around their lab while they bounced between assignments and answering your questions. The drawing was a more recent addition to the routine, though.

Viktor, who was from the Undercity despite the two of you having never met, was a dream to draw. For as much of a show he put on trying to scare you away during your first report, those sharp angles softened pretty quickly when he realized you didn’t startle easy. His long legs and messy hair just inspired the artist in you in a way that you hadn’t felt since you were young. It was like coming home after so long being stuck in the stuffy yet isolating atmosphere of Piltover.

Then there was Viktor’s partner, Jayce Talis. Jayce didn’t feel familiar like his counterpart, but was intriguing and alluring all the same. Where Viktor’s shape took form in sharp, wispy lines, Jayce’s were sturdy and bold. He was comforting and bright, like sunshine after a storm. And wasn’t that the most fitting way to describe it? Jayce had been full of apologies and little jokes during the first meeting between you three. Where Viktor was a little less than welcoming, Jayce doubled down on friendly smiles and encouraging pats on the back.

Not that either of them could scare you away now. You’ve moved far past the awkward first few interviews, your questions stilted and the atmosphere tense with the distrust coming off of Viktor in waves. It was hard to keep up with how many pieces you’ve done on these two so far, you stopped counting when you ran out of fingers to count them on.

Somewhere between your first article on an exclusive Hexbros interview and the piece you’re currently working on talking about the environmental benefits of Hextech technology, the three of you grew close. Viktor was comfortable, like sepia memories drenched in nostalgia. He was a man from the Undercity through and through, tough and resilient despite all the odds. Then there was Jayce, who was his opposite in every way besides how much he cares. He hadn’t needed more than a day to win your favor, it was like he always knew what to say to you. It did things to your brain. Hence why you’re sitting on the couch in their lab and scribbling down their likeness instead of pestering them for answers like you should.

“It’s been an hour and I’ve answered maybe a question and a half for this piece. Should I come back when you two come back down from outer space?” You call out just loud enough for them to hear as you put the finishing touches on your sketch.

“Sure, let me put a pin in our progress on life-saving, world-changing, investigative technology for your silly newspaper questions,” Viktor hums sarcastically, rummaging through his desk drawer for something. To his right, Jayce’s stomach growls loudly.

“Maybe a break wouldn’t be a bad idea,” Jayce grins sheepishly at you while you’re holding back a laugh. “Science can wait for lunch time, right?”

“How quickly you abandon our team when your stomach’s involved,” Viktor comments while moving over to rummage through Jayce’s desk now.

“Hey! I’m not abandoning anybody, ok?” Jayce scoffs, folding his arms defensively. “And besides, Y/N’s a part of the team too at this point.”

“For putting up with your never-ending appetite?” Viktor grins slyly at Jayce.

“I was thinking more for putting up with your attitude, but…” Jayce has to quickly dodge the balled up paper that Viktor beams at his head. It does nothing to dampen the goofy smile that’s burning your eyes from the sheer warmth and fond exasperation it exudes. “Hey! Stop screwing with my stuff!”

“I wouldn’t have to screw with your stuff if you just kept the lab tidy.”

“You’re messier than I am!”

“You cannot prove that.”

“You wanna bet?”

“Girls, girls! You’re both equally as disgusting as the other! Can we stop arguing now?” You groan, shutting your sketchbook and setting it on top of an identical notebook. Identical except for the paper inside that was lined instead of blank. You tried to keep your reporter’s notes and questions separate from the drawings you did as a hobby. Especially when your hobby mostly consisted of drawing the two other men in the room. “What’re you looking for, Viktor?

“My toolkit. The one I use for detailing,” Viktor huffs, knocking the desk drawer he’d been digging through shut. Both you and Jayce could tell in the tense line of his shoulders that he was actually getting frustrated now.

“Do you remember where you put it last?” Jayce asks, his voice softer as he steps closer to Viktor. You don’t think either of them even notice, but as Jayce moves in, Viktor unconsciously sways towards him. For as much as they bicker like an old married couple, they care deeply for each other.

Maybe it was your reporter’s habit of looking into things too much and drawing conclusions, but you’d thought the two were an item. FOR MONTHS. It’d been earth shatteringly awkward when you called Jayce ‘Viktor’s boyfriend’ in front of them and they had instantly stopped their playful arguing to stare at you, jaws dropped. You’d stopped talking outloud about the conclusions you drew from their behavior since then. For your sanity.

Which was probably for the best seeing as, despite their insistence that they were just friends, the two had obvious feelings for each other. It was clear in the way they spoke to each other, understood the other’s eccentricities and adored them for it. You got the feeling that the two didn’t get to fully be themselves often, making it that much more of a privilege that you can sit on their couch and be a part of it, no matter how minor. There was a sick jealous part of you that squeezed in on itself as you watched Jayce rest a hand on the side of Viktor’s arm. You weren’t sure who you’d rather be in that moment, as Jayce leaned in just that much closer, lowering his voice until it was soft enough only the two could hear it.

Notebook. Yes. Reporting. Mhm, yep. You were here to write a report about Hextech. You should probably stop gawking at the two and actually do what you’re paid to do.

Tearing your gaze away, trying to ignore the pit of longing in your gut and give the boys some privacy, you absently reach for your notebooks and pens and they topple to the floor. You roll your eyes as your favorite color pen rolls under the lab’s couch.

Figures.

Getting on your hands and knees, you stack your notebooks and set them back on the coffee table. Then the hard part. You try and slip your arm under the small gap between the couch and the floor. It’s dusty and you try not to think about what you’re touching until you grab something decidedly un-penlike. Wondering what sort of horrific artifact you’ll find under the couch that has clearly never been cleaned under, you’re surprised to pull out the missing toolbox.

“Good find, Y/N!” Jayce cheers, making you jump where you were still kneeling in front of the couch. Turning to look, you find both men staring at you. You hadn’t even realized they stopped talking to watch you fighting for your life trying to find your pen. Aw, damn. Your pen…that thing’s gone forever now.

“Go figure, looking for my pen and I found your toolkit,” You chuckle goodnaturedly as you stand up from the floor, dusting yourself off.

“Our little lab good luck charm strikes again, however can we repay you?” Viktor teases, him and Jayce headed over to your side of the room now. Whatever Jayce had said to him certainly seemed to put him at ease, your face going red as you played Viktor’s words over and over in your mind. You could think of a couple ways he could repay you. Shit, focus, they’re both staring expectantly.

“You can repay me by getting some actual work done while I grab us lunch,” You make a big show of rolling your eyes as you hand over the box. Viktor gasps in mock offense while Jayce makes puppy dog eyes at you.

“Aw, you’re leaving us?” Jayce whines. “But I didn’t even get to read through your notes yet!”

“There’s not even notes to look through yet, we haven’t gotten anything done this last hour,” You point out. Jayce sighs dramatically, his big, sad eyes still staring pathetically back at you. Incapable of resisting, you grab a book off the table and shove it into his chest. “Here, you big baby. You can look through my old notes while I grab you ungrateful wretches some food.”

Jayce flutters his eyelashes and hugs the book to his chest, “Awww, you always know just the things to say!”

Viktor glares over at Jayce, “What? That’s not fair, what am I supposed to read?” Your heart nearly leaps out of your chest as you watch Viktor swipe the other book off the table.  

Drawing Viktor and Jayce in the lab wasn’t just a random thing you decided to do today. Your sketch book was almost entirely filled with different sketches of the men from almost every time you visited the lab for the last six months. If either of them looked through your sketch book you’d probably have to quit your job, move countries, and then completely change your identity so nobody will ever know you’re the poor schmuck falling for the brightest minds in Piltover.

“Not that one!” You yelped, quickly trying to snatch the notebook back from Viktor. Unfortunately, Viktor shoots his arm out of reach lightning fast, filling you with dread. Both men look at you in shock. Which quickly gave way into the most devious smirks you’ve ever seen.

“Why? What’s in here that you don’t want us to see, hm?” Viktor practically purrs, half lidded eyes making you stutter over your words.

“What? Nothing! Give it back!” Making another grab for it, this time Jayce swipes it from Viktor and lifts it high up above his head. You could kill him.

“Hmmmm, I dunno, Viktor. Sounds like there’s something pretty important in here,” Jayce has his free hand on his hip, carrying on a casual conversation with his partner as you jump up and down. You’re getting nowhere with snatching your notebook back. “Maybe we should keep it safe while our darling reporter gets lunch?”

“Oh how kind, Jayce! You wouldn’t mind, would you, doll?” Viktor hums at you. He’s not hiding his amusement at your struggle at all as Jayce chuckles and wiggles the book out of your reach.

Your face is burning from the energy you’re wasting trying to jump as high as you can and also because maybe you’re a little flustered. You’d almost missed the pet names the two had given you. Almost. It wasn’t helping out with your situation at all, though. Focus, time to think of a different tactic.

Neither inventor was prepared for you to take a running start and leap onto Jayce.

“Woah!” Jayce borderline squeaks as he immediately lets go of both books to wrap his arms around you. His big, strong arms that are built with muscle from all the time he spends in the forge. Big, strong arms that are wrapped around your waist to stop you from slipping where you're hanging from his shoulders. You almost don’t even notice that he dropped your books, too caught up in the sheer heat radiating off of him. “Are you ok??”

This hadn’t been your plan.

Originally, you had planned to just climb him until you reached the book, but now with your notebook free and one of the two most handsome men at the academy holding you tight…could you really call it a failed plan?

Right. Jayce asked you a question. And he was staring at you in shock. Viktor was doing the same. OK, yeah, time to be normal. You could do that…right?

After untangling yourself from Jayce’s arms and hopping to the ground, you snatch up your notebook and give the boys a sheepish smile.

“Oh geez, no idea what came over me, guys! Probably just hangry, I’ll go grab that lunch now, enjoy the old notes!” You manage to just duck out of the room as both scientists open their mouths to say something. The bang of the lab door slamming shut has never sounded so sweet before.

It’s a herculean task to not replay that awkward interaction over and over in your head. Feeling tortured as it plays through again and again in your mind’s eye, but it almost feels worse when you try to think of anything else.

You shake yourself mentally as you stand in line at the academy’s dining hall. Yes, you’re the world’s most socially inept reporter. BUT at least you grabbed your book and prevented the world from ending via your stupid crush drawings being exposed to said crushes. Flipping to a random page in your book, you nearly drop it when you open to lined paper and a paragraph detailing the top ten most unconventional uses for Hextech.

The book slams shut, your shaking hands doing so on impulse. Quickly you tear the book open to another page, maybe you were seeing things. It’s an interview on Viktor’s work ethic. Another page. A think piece on Jayce’s past and how it led to where he’s at today. Another page and another and another.

You grabbed the wrong book.

From behind you a student clears their throat, asking if you were gonna move up. The dining hall continued to slowly shuffle forward like your entire world didn’t just stop. On autopilot, you stumble to close the gap in the line, muttering some half-assed apology as your mind reels.

The notebook for your reports was here, which could only mean that your sketchbook was left behind with the last two people you’d ever want it to be left with. There’s no chance in hell they aren’t flipping through it right now and laughing over how hopelessly and desperately in love you are.

To your agony, the dining hall line was steadily shortening, even as you do your best to drag your feet the entire way. You were dreading coming back to the lab.

Maybe there was a chance they had opened to a life drawing of Piltover.

Yeah! Maybe they opened to a less damning picture and decided to respect your wishes for your sketchbook to remain untouched. You were worrying over nothing. It’ll all turn out fine in the end. Probably.

—

“Did you really draw all of these yourself??” You hadn’t even been back in the lab for five seconds before Piltover’s golden boy was in your face, holding a head shot of himself that you’d done in graphite last week.

“I quit. Find a new reporter who will pick up your stupid lunches.”

“Oh, Jayce, leave them alone,” Viktor looks entirely too amused where he’s sitting with his legs crossed. Jayce is leaning against the desk to Viktor’s right and flipping excitedly through the pages. “This is obviously personal to them.”

“What? My private sketches that I never let anyone touch? No, go ahead,” You shrug your shoulders, unpacking your bag on Viktor’s other side. The knowing look in his eyes was making you twitch, so you refused to look at either of them.

“These are incredible, Y/N. Seriously, I’m floored,” Jayce gushes, passing the book over to Viktor.

You fight back the urge to throw Jayce’s lunch across the lab and sprint out, never to return. “It’s just drawings, Jayce.” You mutter through gritted teeth. This was like torture. There’s no way in hell they didn’t know you had a crush on the both of them by now.

“Don’t sell yourself short, now,” Viktor hums as he thumbs through the pages and stops at the one you did today. Through the messy bits of his hair that are constantly falling into his eyes, he looks up at you. Almost right through you, honestly. It’s like he can see through your act, the way you play unbothered when you’re nothing but a hot mess inside. His golden eyes are piercing from this close, and when he points back to the drawing, you’re almost relieved at the excuse to look anywhere else. “There’s obviously a lot of passion that goes into these, hm?”

“Stop fucking with me, Viktor,” You grit out, not even pretending to keep yourself busy with the lunches anymore. In your ears you can practically hear all the blood rushing to your head. It’s fucking with your head, you don’t know what Viktor’s up to and you just want the games to be over with. You’re so busy glaring daggers at Viktor that you don’t even notice that Jayce has shifted from his partner’s side to right behind you until he places a gentle hand on your waist.

“Fucking with you? I’ve done nothing of the sort,” Viktor hums. The corner of his mouth twitches up as you jump at Jayce’s touch, and you almost don’t hear him add, under his breath; “Not yet anyways…”

“We just wanted to thank you for all the lovely art work you’ve made of us,” Jayce’s voice comes from directly beside your ear, and you absentmindedly sway backwards. Leaning into where you can feel the heat coming off of him in waves. Good lord, does he always run this hot? You feel like you’re melting. “That ok? You gonna let us thank you?”

“I - well, I wouldn’t say no, but-” It felt like your head was spinning. Jayce was practically snug against your back at this point, Viktor smirking in front of you while watching you slowly lose composure. You try to gather yourself enough for a full sentence, “Wait, I’m sorry. I’m confused. You guys aren’t…weirded out?”

“Of course not,” Viktor assures you as he takes one of your hands and uses the desk to help push himself to his feet. “I like getting to see this side of you. For someone who spends all their time digging into other’s secrets, you aren’t very forthright.”

“Although I kind of wish you had felt comfortable enough to show us yourself. I’m sorry you grabbed the wrong notebook,” Jayce says, pressing a kiss to the top of your shoulder. An action that nearly wipes every thought from your brain clean. There’s absolutely no way this is actually happening. You’re half tempted to pinch yourself.

“I wanted to,” You blurt out, the words surprising you with how much conviction you put into them. Once they were out in the air, you found that you meant them. The words came out easier this time, “I just didn’t know how. Honestly, I just felt like an asshole for assuming you guys were a couple and didn’t want to make things awkward again.”

You can feel more than hear Jayce chuckling behind you. In response, Viktor shoots him a fond look over your shoulder. You’re more than a little bit lost when Viktor makes a noncommittal sound in the back of his throat.

“Ehh, about that.”

“What. What?? Have you two been messing with me this entire time??” You try to turn around in Jayce’s hold, catching a glimpse of his red face before he turns you right back around.

“No, no! Nothing like that!” Jayce reassures you. Huffing and leaning back into where Jayce is standing sturdy and strong behind you, you raise an expectant eyebrow at Viktor. “We really were just friends when you asked if we were dating.”

“It’s just your little comment made the both of us realize we wanted something more than that,” Viktor is staring into your eyes again, although the golden hue’s less piercing this time. His eyes are full of intensity, but less like an interrogation this time and a bit more smug. Like everything was falling into place exactly how he wanted it to.

It took a large amount of restraint to hold back from yelling out a triumphant ‘I KNEW IT!!!’ Instead, you settled on “Oh? And where do I fit into all of this?”

Like a cat who got the canary, Viktor’s smirk widened. Apparently that had been just the right thing to say.

“Where you’ve been fitting in this entire time, my dear,” Viktor purrs, almost closing the gap between you two as he places his hand on your waist, opposite of Jayce’s.

“Right here next to us,” Jayce finishes Viktor’s thought, and you wonder if they rehearsed this beforehand. Not that you had much time to wonder after Jayce started placing a trail of kisses along your shoulder and up the side of your neck, effectively killing any and all brain function you had left.

Your head was still spinning but in some weird way you were growing used to it around your two muses. Fortunately, you’ve been growing fond of their brand of chaos. There wasn’t anybody else in all of Piltover or the Undercity that could leave you reeling like Viktor and Jayce. It was almost suffocating, the heat being generated from where you were stuck between the two of them, but you found yourself rather enjoying the feeling.

Afterall, you’ve always been good with tight spaces.

[skullsgrowontrees]

ARCANE SEASON 2 SPOILERS!!

.

I have a lot to say.

1) Oh my gosh, I did NOT expect Sky to hahnt the narrative like this. I'm so happy they're using her for this, I was getting bored of people saying she was a wasted character when it was obvious they were setting up something. I also wanna add (which is a little bit of a tangent but wtv) that this, to me does not confirm that Viktor had a romantic interest for Sky necessarily, but to me it shows that he did CARE about her a lot. I was getting a little upset at discussions saying that Viktor simply never cared for Sky and she only mattered when she died, since it made Viktor realize his effects on other people. She had way more of an impact on him than this (obviously, they've known each other since childhood). I don't believe he ever saw her romantically tho. Probably just go a lot more attached upon reading the confession she had written for him. Nevertheless, I am sooooo enjoying this sort of messiah persona their giving him (it lines up well with what we know of him in the games).

2) A part of me is a little sad that a Mel wasn't the one who died. Not because I hate her character, in fact, I find her to be very interesting (The stuff with her mom is ALWAYS so visceral to me???). I just think that it would have had a lot more of an impact on Jayce and probably given her mom more of a reason to be here. It also would have given the start of the season more emotional weight. Sure, I'm sad that Caitlin's mom died and I'm happy this is being used as a drive for her, but it just didn't hit me as hard as it could have. I have some thoughts on it is all.

3) Does anybody else find it kind of jarring how many musical moments there are? It's not that I dislike them or anything, but I liked that there were less of them in the first season so it felt fresh and unique to the scenes when there were. In the first episodes, I can already count like a good 3-4 of them. Just thought it was a strange decision.

4) Gosh, I am loving some of the new character's and their designs. I hope we see more of them. They look really good. In general, the show is just as, if not MORE aesthetically pleasing than in season 1. Everybody and everything just looks really nice and I'm happy that's something that wasn't slept on.

5) I really like the Sevika/Jinx alliance! OH, THAT AND THE LITTLE KID! I love the idea of putting Jinx in a sort of protector role after having every older figure in her life promise to keep her safe just to fail at it. At first, I thought it might not fit her, but I think it's a good decision.

6) Jayce and Viktor breakup part 2... Omfg, these two. THE HUG SCENE. IT'S SO... INTIMATE. The way Viktor was caressing Jayce's back, it's like the other was precious. I felt like I was interrupting something like HELLO??? "It was affection that held us together."

...IT WAS AFFECTION THAT HELD US TOGETHER. SAY FUCKING SIKE RN. I DID NOT WAIT THIS LONG FOR YOU TOO TO TENDERLY EMBRACE AGAIN JUST FOR YOU TO THROW THIS SHIT AT ME. OML. They make me sick. They make me ILL.

7) Vi is having the police effect rn (The oppressed becomes the oppressor). It was to be expected since yk, the games, but like I hate seeing it in real time. I hate seeing how little fights for it not to happen.

8) The Vi x Caitlyn stuff is real cute, but I'd be lying if I said I found the Caitlyn stuff to be very interesting at the start... I'm sorry, but we have so many things to deal with rn, how are we spending this much time over the poor girl's dead mother. It was just uninteresting to me, but it was a vehicle for the fun stuff to start, so I can't really be mad.

9) Seeing how the underground functions now that Silko is dead has been a lingering question of mine for a while and I'm happy that it was answered!

10) I was so worried the second intro wouldn't be as good and was even kinda wondering if they would just go for the same one, but I LOVE the vibes and tones set for the second! It doesn't beat the first, since that's almost an impossible task, but it's a fun treat and I am also not skipping that one when I watch an episode from now on.

11) And of course, the most important thing; EKKO LOOKS SO FUCKING FINE UGHHHHH HE FINALLY GETS MORE SCREEN TIMEEEEE!!!

LORD, HAVE MERCY.

Oh, and the Heimerdinger stuff with him is also cool ig.

[jayvikbrainrot]

I shouldn’t be starting another chapter fic, but maybe I could do a really long one shot?

👀👀👀👀💦

Basically I really really want to write about Viktor teaching Jayce the four relationship “F’s” and slowly falling in love with him, because I’m cheesy AF

Teach Me

He wasn’t sure how they got here. He and Jayce sitting on the floor, alcohol in hand and stomach. They were celebrating a successful pitch meeting that had finally resulted in an investor stamp of approval to start prototyping.

They had raided their meager stash for drinks and hadn't stopped at just one. His brain, a little fuzzy from the cocktail of whiskeys he’d had so far, heard something so unacceptable he was at a loss for words.

“Ehm what?” He asked, perhaps hearing it again it might start to make sense.

Jayce flashed a small smile around his beer bottle, “It’s true, I’ve never been kissed. Or I guess done the kissing either.” He looked away shyly before taking a swig.

“That’s…” his mind went through a quick succession of words all of which paled for how he felt. Eventually settling on… “wrong.”

Jayce chuckled, “Thats sweet. But still doesn’t change anything.”

Viktor’s mind, a constant churn of problem solving blurted out, “Ech I should just kiss you and get it over it.” Em, wait that wasn’t right, “…over with…”

Jayce was looking at him with a wary sort of awe, and then Viktor realized he must have said something odd. His ears caught up with his mouth and he could feel his face blush furiously. He and Jayce had only been partners for a little shy of a year. Definitely settled into a comfortable enough friendship, but not like this. He couldn’t look Jayce in the eyes.

“I mean… if you wanted to I wouldn’t stop you.” Jayce said slowly. “It’s actually something that weighs on me quite a bit.”

Viktor looked at his partner. What an odd predicament. He certainly thought Jayce was handsome enough, clever, and if he was being honest, totally adorable. He had that rare pure hearted optimism that had been quashed by so much of Zaun. And now he was saying, admitting, he wanted to be kissed by Viktor? Huh. Well, he could do that.

“Come on, then.” Viktor said, gesturing him over with a finger.

Jayce looked a little shocked, but put his beer aside and crawled over on hands and knees. He sat obediently in front of Viktor. A shy sort of excitement present on his face. Oh this beautiful boy, how had no one else been tempted?

He sat up, and because Jayce had still not moved close enough, grabbed his tie, and pulled him in. Up close Jayce was a little trepidatious, eyes roaming Viktor’s face, his tongue darting out to wet his very lovely lips.

He pulled Jayce the last bit forward, their lips unaligned, but easily fixed. His lips were warm and soft, and the barest hint of hops and bitterness clung to them. He stayed that way for just a moment longer before letting Jayce go. Done. Not perfect by any means, but at least Jayce was no longer hung up on something so trivial.

Jayce didn’t pull back right away, lingering, starry-eyed, and blushing. That felt like an accomplishment at least. Viktor leaned back, till his shoulders hit his desk with a thump. A giggle escaped him, here he was, in his late twenties acting just like a school boy. But then again Jayce had only just left university hadn’t he? School was school, so maybe not so strange. At least for one of them.

Jayce sat back, swiping a thumb over his lip, smiling. Jayce was a good one, maybe this would be good for him. Especially if his only references had been books and film, oh speaking of…

“So, have you finished that book I lent you?” Viktor ventured.