Chapter Text
Jayce has begun acting very strange.
The secrecy surrounding his work as a councilor is manageable, if not a bit irritating, but his paranoia is suffocating. Viktor can’t take a step out of their house without the giant puppy of a man on his heels, and Jayce won’t even tell him why. The only answers he gets are frustratingly vague and suspicious. It’s driving him insane.
“Do you want to go to the market on Saturday?”
“I can’t. I told Powder I would visit her.”
“About that…”
Viktor does not like his tone. He spins in his stool to face a very sheepish Jayce standing at the lab’s chalkboard.
“What?”
“I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to go to the Undercity right now.”
“Excuse me?”
“Well, uh— The council already thinks you might have something to do with the recent explosions, and I don’t want them to get more suspicious. Plus, we wouldn’t want them to trace it back to Jinx, right?”
Jayce gets more shifty the longer Viktor stares at him with narrowed eyes.
“Explosions?”
“Yeah? You said you heard Caitlyn and I talking about it.”
He did, and Jayce ripping up the evidence that Jinx started the fire was the most attractive thing Viktor has ever seen.
“Yes, one. You said explosions, multiple.”
“Did I? That’s funny…”
“Jayce.”
“Okay, okay. She’s done a little bit more since then.”
“How much more?”
“…Three?”
Viktor is extremely tempted to throw his notebook at Jayce’s head.
“Three? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I’m handling it.”
“Clearly not, if you won’t even allow me to see my sister. What were you thinking, Jayce? You’ve been keeping so many secrets lately, it’s infuriating.”
Jayce scoffs.
“Please, Viktor, like you’re so honest with me.”
His penchant for spinning any given argument around on Viktor feels more and more childish by the day.
“I already explained that not telling you about Silco was to keep you out of danger.”
“Yeah, is that also why you never mentioned what happened with that topsider before we met?”
If Viktor were asked to describe how he feels in this exact second, “blindsided” would be his only possible answer and still a major understatement. It takes him a moment to understand how Jayce would have even found out about that, and realizing that Vi must have told him feels like a second gut punch.
It’s clear from his widened eyes that Jayce already regrets throwing this in his face, but it’s too late. Viktor is so tired of letting Jayce get away with saying whatever he can to hurt him just because Viktor understands where his resentment stems from, and this is too far, even for him.
“What do you want to know about that, Jayce? Do you want me to tell you how I was too terrified of being taken again to leave my father’s bedroom for months? Do you want to hear that the sound of locks made me panic until I was twelve? Or are you simply bitter that I didn’t tell you about this before I let you fuck me? I can assure you he never touched me, if you were worried about tainting your pristine hands.”
Viktor can’t think of another time he responded so strongly to Jayce’s comments, and the expression of horror and heartbreak on the man’s face extinguishes all of the fight in him. He’s far from forgiving Jayce, but Viktor has never had impressive stamina in maintaining this kind of fire. His sigh of resignation is almost loud enough to drown out the nearly whispered question from his partner.
“…Do you really think I’m that kind of person?”
If it wasn’t so blatantly obvious that Jayce is genuinely wounded by the insinuation and not just trying to manipulate him by acting pathetic, Viktor would be much more hesitant to refute that.
“No, I don’t.”
“Trust me, Vik, you have no idea how relieved I am that he didn’t hurt you, but not because— I would never—”
“I know. I’m sorry for suggesting otherwise.”
They stay in stilted silence until Viktor realizes Jayce is biting his lip and taking short breaths like he’s trying not to cry.
You big baby.
“I truly don’t believe you would feel that way, Jayce. I’m just… upset, that you and Violet would use that experience to humiliate me.”
Jayce’s jaw drops, but at least his shock seems to have stopped the watery eyes.
“Humiliate? V, she just wanted to help me understand you better. I’m the one who did something wrong by bringing it up like this, I’m sorry.”
“How could an unpleasant month of my childhood help you understand me?”
“A month?”
Why is he so surprised by everything Viktor is saying? The amount of time he was gone for should have been one of the first things Vi mentioned. Unless..
“Jayce, what exactly did Vi tell you?”
“As much as I said. She just told me to ask you what happened. I… I really should’ve started with that.”
Obviously.
Viktor’s shame regarding his outburst has doubled. Not only did he completely lose his composure over something that doesn’t even bother him anymore, he also embarrassed himself by sharing more information than he ever would have done consciously. Even if it really wasn’t their intention to humiliate him, they have certainly succeeded.
“Do you still want to know?”
It’s certainly not that Viktor will enjoy explaining what happened, but he’s pretty sure that momentary discomfort would be preferable to letting Jayce believe whatever conclusions he’s come to from what Viktor has revealed so far.
“Not if you don’t want to tell me.”
“I don’t mind. You can’t… I need you to promise not to make a big deal out of this.”
Jayce nods as he drags his chair to Viktor’s end of the desk and sits a bit too close for comfort. It’s a lot harder to avoid looking at him when he’s taking up this much of his view, but Viktor manages.
“A friend of my parents found me a few years after he heard of their passing and brought me to Piltover. I was kept here until I was able to convince the man who… acquired me that I wanted to stay with him enough for him to stop locking me up, and I went home. It isn’t a very exciting story.”
There are obviously a few pieces of the puzzle Viktor elected to keep to himself, but Jayce doesn’t need to know every detail to understand the main idea.
“Acquired you? Are you saying— V, were you sold?”
This event doesn’t keep him up at night, but to hear it phrased that way still makes him uncomfortable enough to squirm in his seat.
“The Undercity has an abundance of orphans; it isn’t unheard of for topsiders to obtain one. The man who traded me didn’t know that I had already been taken in by Silco and— He didn’t know I would be missed. Not that it made much of a difference.”
Not until he was back home, at least. Viktor can’t imagine how much worse it would have been if he’d had nowhere and no one to return to. He’s not entirely sure he would have worked so hard to leave at all.
“Because they didn’t know you were taken to Piltover?”
“No, because they couldn’t get me back. In the eyes of your city’s law, without my birth parents, I belonged to that man as much as I did anyone in Zaun. My family knew exactly where I was, there was just nothing they could do about it.”
Viktor remembers how hard he’d cried when Vander had gone through the effort of getting past Piltover’s border to find him, only to be dragged away by enforcers when that man accused him of trying to kidnap his “daughter”. Viktor shoves that memory down before any part of it can get to him.
They have another long, tense silence before Viktor gets antsy and chances a glance at Jayce. He does not appreciate what he finds. Jayce promised he wouldn’t overreact, and now he looks like he’s going to be sick. Actually sick, considering how often his eyes are flitting to the trash bin.
“Viktor, I’m… I don’t know how to express how sorry I am.”
“Jayce—”
“No, I’m serious. I never even considered that— I should have considered it. If I’d known what happened, I never would’ve said that to you. I’m so sorry.”
Viktor hunches his shoulders as he leans on the desk and looks away again. The sincerity in that apology only has him more perturbed. Jayce is taking this far too seriously.
“Don’t be dramatic. It was twenty years ago, it doesn’t affect my current life at all.”
The intensity of Jayce’s stare on the side of Viktor’s head could burn a hole into his skull. Viktor turns his face farther away to stop having to see that gaze in his peripheral vision.
“You think that being kidnapped and held captive for a month before you were ten years old… Doesn’t affect you?”
“Yes. I told you, he didn’t hurt me, and I was too young to understand he might have wanted to.”
“Viktor…”
It’s clear from Jayce’s tone that he doesn’t believe that for a second, and he’s right. Viktor had been acutely aware of what that man expected from his purchase. It was only by extreme luck that his captor was more interested in convincing Viktor to willingly give him what he wanted rather than taking it. If nothing else, Viktor can commend his patience.
“Have your questions been answered?”
Jayce blinks like he was just reminded of why they were talking about this in the first place and sputters awkwardly for a moment.
“More than you know, actually.”
He continues talking before Viktor has the chance to ask what he meant by that.
“Can we— I’m going home early today, will you come with me?”
“Now? It’s barely five.”
“We can stay extra late tomorrow. Please?”
He sounds so pitiful, Viktor doesn’t know how to refuse. It feels a bit like he’s having to comfort Jayce despite being the one who spilled his guts, but he much prefers this to being coddled. Viktor can handle Jayce finding that story disturbing, but he may have gotten violent if his partner began pitying him.
“Alright.”
Viktor doesn’t mind the walk home from the lab. It isn’t too long for his leg, especially not compared to the journey back to Zaun, and the company is nice. Most of the time, at least.
Not when Jayce is tense as a brick and very obviously trying to decide whether or not to voice what’s on his mind. They only make it halfway to the house before Viktor gets fed up with the awkward silence.
“You have more questions. Ask.”
For a man who couldn’t have been making his thoughts more obvious, Jayce looks unreasonably surprised by Viktor calling him on it.
“What? No I—”
“Jayce.”
He gives in quickly with a sigh.
“Fine, yeah, but I only have one. Do you know where they are now?”
Viktor is a bit surprised by Jayce asking about both men involved, but he really shouldn’t be, considering how appalled Jayce was by the idea of him being traded.
“Dead.”
“Both of them?”
“Yes.”
“That’s too bad.”
That unexpected response has Viktor raising an eyebrow.
“You would feel sorry for even that type of criminal?”
“What? Is that a joke?”
“Why else would you be disappointed to hear of their deaths?”
“Because I didn’t get to watch.”
Viktor nearly drops his bag and trips on the flat ground whipping his head towards Jayce. The evening light that would typically soften his pretty features seems to highlight the bitter loathing in his expression. Viktor thought he knew what pure hatred looked like on that face. Clearly, he did not.
“Don’t say that.”
“You’re right. I wouldn’t want to watch, I would rather be the one to kill them.”
“Jayce.”
Even as a child, Jayce was always protective of the people he cared about, but it was cute when he was eleven. Now, it falls much closer to terrifying. Viktor knows Jayce meant that statement with his whole heart as well as he knows two plus two, and that scares him.
Not for the reason it probably should scare him, of course, but the prospect of Jayce landing himself in prison frightens Viktor far more than the prospect of Jayce hurting him.
“I don’t need you to fight my battles for me, Jayce.”
“Obviously not, if they’re already dead. This is just me being selfish.”
Selfish, as if killing two people is something Jayce would find gratifying.
“You aren’t a murderer.”
“I could be, for you. I would be.”
Viktor likes to imagine he is an apple that somehow managed to roll away from the tree that dropped him, but moments like this remind him that he does in fact belong to a family of violent criminals. Jayce just admitted he’d willingly kill another person and Viktor is nothing but flustered. That was the most romantic thing anyone has ever said to him.
“Are you blushing?”
Too bad it came from the most irritating man in existence. Viktor turns his head when Jayce’s astonished face pops into his line of sight.
“No.”
“You are! You loved that!”
“No more talking.”
••
Jayce is not good at pretending everything is normal. Not even a little bit. He’s not treating Viktor any differently, but it’s been extremely irritating to try getting his attention while he stares into space looking brain dead. Viktor gives up on interacting with him for the night after two failed attempts at breaking him out of his recurring trance.
It would be a little less annoying if Jayce wasn’t silently trailing behind him throughout the house. If Jayce isn’t going to speak, Viktor would like to be alone, away from the man who unintentionally forced him to relive unpleasant memories. He’s trying to distract himself with work until it’s time to sleep, but Jayce’s awkward presence beside or behind him is messing with his ability to focus. Seeing someone so clearly lost in thought while trying to ignore the exact topic they’re thinking about is not an easy endeavor.
Viktor is almost thirty, he shouldn’t find an inconsequential event from his childhood this unsettling, and Jayce shouldn’t be acting like he just witnessed the bombing of a childcare facility.
“Stop staring.”
“You aren’t even looking at me.”
“I can feel it. Stop.”
Jayce sighs as if Viktor is being unreasonable and that only makes him more testy.
“If my request is bothering you, go back to your own room and let me work.”
“I don’t want to be away from you.”
Does Viktor have a roommate or a clingy pet? Sometimes, it’s hard to tell.
“You are acting like a child.”
“I’m acting like a person who just found out their partner went through something horrible. Forgive me if I want to be near you right now.”
The pen in Viktor’s hand snags on the page where he’s trying to write and tears a hole through the paper.
“I don’t need your supervision, and it wasn’t horrible, it was... Inconvenient.”
“Inconvenient? Viktor, you were kidnapped. You were taken from your family and locked up for weeks in a different city by someone I sincerely doubt was just looking to adopt—”
Jayce catches the book hurled at his head and the two men stare at each other in shock for a long moment. Viktor didn’t mean to do that. He wasn’t thinking about the possibility of it hurting Jayce, he wasn’t thinking at all. He just wanted to make him stop.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t—”
“It’s okay.”
“No, it’s not. I’m—”
“Viktor, it’s fine. I shouldn’t have pushed. Come on, we should shower and go to bed.”
“It’s still early.”
Despite his verbal protests, Viktor still lets Jayce take his hand to guide him out of his chair and away from his desk.
“I’m sure we can find a way to pass the time if you aren’t tired yet.”
That doesn’t seem like a terrible idea. Viktor can’t say he’s feeling particularly turned on or sexually inclined, but Jayce will hold him and kiss him if they sleep together, and he wants that like a starving man wants a steak. Besides, seeing Jayce bare will always be enticing enough to put him in the mood. Hopefully.
••
It is. Even if it hadn’t been, Viktor would’ve still enjoyed himself, and he would’ve been equally as uncomfortable after they finished as he currently is.
It’s impossible to actually feel cold with a human furnace in the same bed, but watching Jayce reestablish the distance between them the second he’s done feels especially cutting tonight. Viktor can generally ignore how much he dislikes that moment, so he doesn’t understand why he finds it so unsettling right now.
He just stares as Jayce flops onto his side of the bed and wishes the man hadn’t thrown his clothes so far across the room. He doesn’t want to be naked anymore, but going to get them seems like more trouble than it’s worth. Pulling the sheets up to his chin is the best he can do.
“You okay? Did I hurt you?”
Viktor shakes his head and hopes Jayce doesn’t realize that’s his answer to both questions. He won’t admit it, but he’s... Scared. Sex has never made him feel this way before, and the only person near him is the last one he should ever look to for comfort. Viktor didn’t know it was possible for his face to be painfully hot while his body is practically an ice cube. Jayce’s eyebrows furrow as he rolls on his side to have them facing each other.
“Are you sure? You don’t look so good.”
“Thanks.”
“You know I don’t mean it like that. Talk to me.”
He doesn’t want to talk, he just wants to feel better. Shouldn’t Jayce know him well enough to know what he needs, even if Viktor himself isn’t exactly sure? Jayce knows how to hurt him better than anyone, why can’t he also know how to help?
Viktor studies his partner’s face as he reaches for the broad hand laying between them and feels emboldened by Jayce immediately intertwining their fingers once he makes contact. It isn’t a conscious decision to move forward, and Viktor only realizes what he’s doing once his mouth is already on Jayce’s. He doesn’t have the opportunity to pull away before Jayce is returning the kiss, and he starts to feel a bit more like himself. Up until Jayce is pushing him back with a gentle touch on his shoulder.
“Give me a few minutes, I can’t go again yet.”
Right. Of course that would be what Jayce assumes he wants. Why would a fucktoy ever try to kiss him without sex being involved? How could someone like Viktor have the impudence to ask for intimacy that won’t make Jayce come?
Viktor tears his hand away from Jayce’s and sits up when it starts getting hard to breathe. The reason he feels so uneasy hits him with bone breaking force, but he’s wrong. He has to be. It’s just his feelings playing tricks on him because he’s disappointed that Jayce doesn’t want the same thing he does, and this afternoon is still on his mind. That’s all.
Jayce is nothing like that man. He’s not.
Silco isn’t being proven right just because Jayce doesn’t want to kiss Viktor without fucking him. That’s ridiculous. Viktor is being completely illogical.
“If... If we stopped having sex, would you still let me stay here?”
Viktor flinches hard when Jayce starts laughing. He needs to leave. He needs to go home and sleep in his father’s room and never go outside again. He’s fully shaking by the time Jayce sits up to wrap his arms around him.
“I think the better question is what would have to happen for me to let you go. You were living here for months before we slept together, why are you asking me that? ...Viktor?”
Jayce turns Viktor’s face towards him with a hand on his cheek when Viktor takes too long to respond, and whatever he sees is worrying enough to have his concern visible in a room illuminated only by moonlight.
“…I’m not him, V.”
“I know that. Obviously.”
“Do you?”
Yes. Viktor’s mind knows that completely, he doesn’t understand why his heart doesn’t seem to get it.
“Please don’t be angry.”
Jayce’s eyes blow wide before he’s kissing every inch of Viktor’s face he can reach. It feels weird, but the smothering attention doesn’t bother him.
“I’m not, I promise. I would never be angry that you— It wasn’t a good idea to do this tonight, I’m sorry. I’m an idiot.”
“I agreed to it.”
“Yeah, but you’re…”
Viktor frowns at him when he trails off.
“What? Incapable of making my own decisions?”
“No! No, you’re just… Not acting like yourself. I mean, you kissed me, Viktor. For no reason. That’s not something you do. You can’t deny that you’re acting strange.”
Strange. What a kind way to describe putting one’s heart in someone else’s hands to be crushed for the millionth time. Viktor doesn’t even care about how pitiful he must look when he pulls his knees up to hug them.
“I just wanted to.”
“Exactly, and that’s strange.”
“Stop it.”
Shrugging off Jayce’s arms earns him a disappointed sigh, but he only has a single moment of freedom before there’s a warm hand on his nape.
“I’m not saying it was bad, just— I would do anything for you, Viktor. You know that.”
Comparing the act of killing a person to accepting a single kiss from Viktor while not inside of him isn’t as reassuring as Jayce may believe it to be.
“Okay.”
“I know we’ve had our problems, and how I felt about what you did—”
Viktor slaps Jayce’s arm away with a bit more force than intended. He doesn’t bother turning around to see his reaction, partly because he doesn’t want Jayce to see whatever devastated expression he must be wearing.
“You are disgusting.”
“Excuse me?”
“Is this not enough for you? I’m behaving more pathetic than I ever have before, and you still aren’t satisfied. Bringing up everything that makes me a terrible person while I’m already like this— I would never treat anyone the way you treat me.”
“Viktor, no—”
“I don’t know how I keep falling for it. I know you hate me, I know you want to see me hurt, and I still trust you. With my feelings, with my body— I don’t understand how I can be so stupid.”
Only one of his feet has made it out of the covers when Viktor is yanked onto his back with Jayce looming over him half a second later. If Viktor didn’t know better, he might say the look above him is one of desperation.
“Fucking listen to me. I’m not bringing it up to hurt you, I’m trying to explain to you that it doesn’t matter.”
“…What?”
Jayce’s face scrunches up in frustration.
“Okay, yeah, it does matter, but not— I still care about you, Viktor. I will always care about you, and nothing you do can change that. I don’t enjoy seeing you like this and I hate myself for causing it, so please stop acting like it was intentional. I’m trying… I want to make you feel better, and all I can do is make everything worse.”
He drops from his hands to his elbows so he can thread his fingers through Viktor’s hair and tuck his face into his neck.
“Please just tell me what to do. I can’t stop messing up.”
The only thing Viktor can think of that he truly wants is something Jayce is simply not capable of giving him, but having him explicitly state that he cares is more impactful than he knows. Trying to read between the lines with someone who only draws in scribbles isn’t easy, especially when everyone around them seems to have strong beliefs that don’t entirely match up with the loops and swirls on the page.
Even if Jayce is lying, which Viktor finds unlikely, he wouldn’t be telling such a lie if he was trying to hurt him. It’s embarrassing how excited Viktor is by the notion of basic human decency from the person he’s foolishly in love with.
“I’ve calmed down, you don’t need to do anything.”
The noise that comes from Jayce’s throat can only be described as a whine.
“Please, Viktor. I can’t handle you pushing me away again. Please let me help.”
“I’m not pushing you away, I’m tired. If you want to help that badly, just… Lay with me.”
“Yes. Yes, absolutely. I’ll do anything. I’ll lay here until I die of dehydration if you want, V.”
“I do not.”
••
Jayce’s proposal that they stay late at the lab becomes even more compelling when they both wake up long past their typical rising time the next morning, and their late nights turn into a pattern. Viktor likes it, it reminds him of the early days. Even if he was miserable at the beginning of their partnership at the Academy, nostalgia has a way of making any time seem pleasant.
Fortunately, it only takes a few days for Viktor’s memories to stop plaguing him and his mental stability to return, though Jayce’s clinginess hasn’t left.
It’s not nearly as bothersome when Viktor isn’t actively spiraling over something that doesn’t matter, so he makes no complaints when Jayce behaves like there’s a magnetic field preventing him from moving past five feet from Viktor. It doesn’t become an issue until they’re both losing momentum after the sun has set, and Jayce bumps into Viktor because he’s decided to renounce the concept of personal space.
The gemstone in Viktor’s glove goes flying across the room and time seems to slow down as they watch its arc. The sound of Viktor’s crutch clattering on the ground as Jayce hauls him away from the untethered crystal is louder than the soft clinking of the blue orb hitting the wall and falling to the floor.
Viktor can’t even be angry over the manhandling when he realizes what this seemingly anticlimactic moment signifies. He’s tested the strength of that gemstone already, he knows it’s as powerful as any other, but any other would have blown a hole through the wall at that impact. He squirms out of Jayce’s arms and uses the desk for support to go retrieve the crystal.
“Hey, don’t touch that! It could’ve cracked—”
Jayce tries to grab the gem with his bare hands before Viktor can reach it and his hypocrisy is almost comical. Unfortunately for him, Viktor is closer. He inspects the glowing ball for a few moments before holding it out to his partner.
“It didn’t crack. We will need to test it further, of course, but I think we did it. I think it’s stable, Jayce.”
Viktor’s excitement dims when he realizes it isn’t being mirrored in Jayce’s expression. His lips are pinched tightly as he stares at their first success in discontent. Crouched on the floor, looking up at Jayce’s disappointment makes Viktor feel a bit like a misbehaving child.
“Are you not pleased?”
“What? No, no, I am. Of course I am, I just— I’m tired. I’ll be more excited tomorrow.”
He’s a terrible liar, and Viktor can’t understand why that’s a lie. This is something they should be celebrating, not resenting. It’s silly how Jayce’s lack of enthusiasm can completely rid Viktor of his own. A single unhappy expression being capable of souring such a major accomplishment only makes Viktor feel more childish. He stands up and carelessly drops the gemstone on the desk, much to Jayce’s displeasure.
“Fine. Let’s go.”
Jayce’s proximity has gone back to bothering Viktor now that he’s in another bad mood, and he is not hiding it. He hits Jayce with his elbow every time he walks too close to him.
“V, I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to be a jerk.”
“I just don’t understand how you are disappointed by the success of a project you have been working on for years.”
The groan that earns Viktor is too loud for the residential street they’re walking down this long after dark.
“I’m not disappointed! I told you, I’m just tired. It’s late.”
“You acted like you would have preferred it blew us up.”
“You’re reading way too much into this. Why does it even matter how excited I am?”
“Because it’s your project. It’s the entire reason you brought me back, so it clearly matters to you, but now that we’re close to making it work, you’re upset.”
Jayce hums his assent without facing Viktor. He doesn’t even know what he just agreed to. Arguing with the back of his head because he can’t stop staring across the street when he’s the one who started the conversation in the first place is more than annoying.
“You aren’t even listening to me. Why do you keep looking over there?”
“Hm? Oh, I like the architecture of that building. It’s nice, right?”
“What? It looks like every other topside building.”
“Well, uh— The railing. The railing on the balcony. Impressive metalwork.”
Maybe Viktor could agree if Jayce wasn’t completely blocking his line of sight. One would assume a man of his size would have put more effort into developing spatial awareness. Viktor abruptly stops walking in hopes that Jayce will keep moving and clear his obstructed view, and he does… For a single second, before he’s darting back a step to keep them parallel. Should they just start handcuffing themselves together at this point? Jayce would probably be more than happy to do so.
Viktor has barely opened his mouth to admonish Jayce for keeping him from seeing the supposedly noteworthy metalwork he called attention to when an unmistakable and unfortunately familiar sound rings out in the street. It takes Viktor a breath longer to understand what’s happened than it would in Zaun, given how out of place it feels up here, but he still acts just as quickly as he’s been taught him to. His gun is out of his bag and raised before he even knows where the shot originated.
The idiot fires again and Viktor side steps around Jayce to aim in the appropriate direction, but he’s yanked back before he can get a good angle. His tunnel vision is too strong to even consider why Jayce is grabbing him, but the restriction while he’s trying to do something this important pisses him off enough for him to successfully twist them despite Jayce’s shout of protest.
The flash of surprise Viktor feels at the sight of the stranger aiming towards them is forgotten the instant he pulls the trigger a third time. The determination necessary to keep a gun raised with another pointed at him has Viktor making the split second decision that a shot to the leg wouldn’t be sufficient in stopping the man.
Jayce’s knees give out at the same moment the body thuds across the street. Viktor drops his gun to use his full strength preventing Jayce from falling gracelessly and lowers them both down gently.
“What the fuck, Viktor? Since— Since when do you carry a gun in your bag?”
“I have always carried a gun in my bag! Why are we on—”
The planet stops spinning, or maybe it fractures into pieces. Viktor’s not sure which, but he imagines something of that nature must have occurred when he finally processes why Jayce would collapse after someone shot in their direction.
“You were not hit.”
“Sorry.”
Viktor wants to lay Jayce down to judge the severity of his wounds, but the man’s hold only tightens when he tries to break away.
“Jayce, let go.”
“Let me stay like this.”
“No, I need to stop the bleeding.”
Jayce hisses when Viktor’s hands find two of the holes in his back and put as much pressure on them as possible.
“Not worth it.”
He can’t be talking like that. None of the bullets hit his heart, and he’s still awake, he’s still talking; he’ll be fine. He’s fine.
Viktor’s inability to breathe has nothing to do with how much the person leaning on him weighs and everything to do with how much blood is seeping between his fingers.
“I can’t— I need a better angle. Let go of me.”
There’s a single moment when the arms wrapped around him loosen where Viktor foolishly believes Jayce is going to comply, but he only leans back enough to press their foreheads together.
“Stop it. Let go. Jayce, please.”
“You know I love you, right?”
“Stop talking.”
“I’m dying, V. At least—”
Jayce’s inhale through gritted teeth is wet and unsteady. So much adrenaline is pumping through Viktor’s body that he doesn’t even feel like he’s inside of it.
“At least say it back.”
“Shut up. You aren’t going to die, stop—stop being dramatic.
“You really want those to be the last words I hear?”
Viktor needs him to stop talking. He hopes he’s just imagining the blood flow seeming to increase every time he speaks.
“I’m sorry.”
“Yeah, that’s better.”
The sudden, uncontrollable coughing that wracks Jayce’s body has him grimacing in pain. Viktor knows that telling him to stop moving is pointless, but the urge is still there. He doesn’t like how much this must be aggravating his wounds.
Viktor’s whole world narrows down to the face in front of his when blood lands on his cheek. No, that’s— Viktor isn’t even aware of his own whimpering as he frantically and futilely tries to wipe away the blood falling from Jayce’s lips. Is it his lung? Viktor has never seen someone survive an injury that causes this kind of bleeding. He’s never seen someone survive multiple shots to the torso at all. Not without—
“You look so scared.”
He is scared. He’s never been more terrified in his life.
“I’m not. You’re fine.”
“Are you… lying?”
Jayce loses his fight with unconsciousness and fully slumps against him before he can hear Viktor’s answer.
••
The speed at which Jayce is rushed to the hospital must be a benefit of his position as a councilor, or maybe just having been shot in a populated area, filled with nosey residents who stupidly come running outside the moment they hear loud noises. Viktor doesn’t follow them. Jayce isn’t awake, anyway. If he dies, he won’t even know Viktor isn’t there.
Thirty minutes of panicked rushing without rest brings Viktor to being caught with his hand in the proverbial cookie jar. Singed doesn’t seem angry to find Viktor digging through his lab, but Viktor can’t recall a single time this man has shown emotion.
“Viktor, I didn’t expect to ever see you back here. You’re bleeding.”
“It isn’t mine.”
“Yes, it is. Let me see your shoulder.”
Viktor doesn’t stop scouring the table for a specific liquid that isn’t bright purple, but he also doesn’t jerk away when Singed picks up a pair of scissors to cut the collar of his shirt. He doesn’t understand why it stings when the metal touches where his shoulder meets his neck.
“You’re lucky, the bullet only grazed you. Do you need my assistance bandaging this?”
“What?”
Slapping a hand on the place Singed is looking isn’t the smartest move, and that’s proven by the sharp pain that immediately radiates from the gash Viktor was entirely unaware of. He doesn’t blame himself for being too distracted by Jayce bleeding out to notice it before, but he does nearly gag when he registers that his injury means at least one of the bullets went through Jayce.
“No, I’m fine. Where is my strain? I need— Where is the one I made?”
Singed casually looks over the beakers and Viktor wants to snap at him for his lack of urgency.
“You know your version is… expensive. There are few who can afford it, I don’t keep much on hand.”
“I don’t care about the cost. Just give me what you have.”
Viktor watches impatiently as the scientist walks over and pulls a package down from one of the shelves.
“Margot is expecting her order tomorrow.”
“She can wait. I will visit her myself if I have to, just give me the drug.”
Singed inclines his head as he holds the package towards Viktor, and he hardly gets the chance to blink before it’s snatched from his hand. Viktor doesn’t bother thanking him, and he doesn’t bother mentioning payment. He will pay or he won’t, there is nothing Singed can do about it either way.
“How severe are his injuries?”
Viktor bristles and tucks the bag under his arm.
“Whose?”
“Come now, Viktor. You would never take this for yourself, and if it were a family member in danger, you would have brought them to me. This is about your friend from the river, isn’t it?”
Is he that obvious? It’s a bit embarrassing that Singed is right about who’s been hurt, since Viktor first told him about Jayce before he was even a teenager. What a lonely existence, only ever having a single friend he would do this for.
“He’s been shot.”
“Where?”
“In his back. Three— Three times, I think.”
Singed hums thoughtfully as he returns to the shelf and retrieves several more items.
“You will need more than that if you’re trying to save him. Though, I must warn you, this is not an easy process on the body. It will be… Torture, for him.”
Viktor knows that. Of course he knows that. Singed puts the vials and injector into a brown box and extends his hand for the bag Viktor is holding.
“Why?”
“The enforcers know to let this kind of package past the border without inspection. It will greatly reduce the time it takes you to return to him.”
That sets off a multitude of alarms in Viktor’s mind, but he can shamefully admit that he hadn’t even considered how he was going to smuggle this into Piltover. He lets Singed take the bag and dump its contents in with the rest.
“Why would they let this through?”
The length of time that the scientist takes to consider his answer is something Viktor finds disquieting.
“The strain you cultivated is more popular in Piltover than it is in Zaun. The cost is too high for most down here, but it has very loyal customers in the City of Progress.”
No, that can’t be true. Silco would have known if Singed was selling to topsiders, and he would have told Viktor if his creation had made it across the bridge. Wouldn’t he?
Singed writes a long number on the box and passes it to Viktor while he’s still trying to process this new and unsettling information, but the weight in his hands reminds him of why he’s here, and any contemplation comes to a screeching halt. He can worry about that when Jayce isn’t in danger.
“Will it work?”
“Perhaps, if he can survive the procedure.”
Viktor balances the unassuming package on his hip. This is more shimmer than Viktor has ever held, much less seen someone ingest.
“Jayce is strong. He can take it.”
••
Viktor has never snuck into a hospital before, but it’s laughably easy, even with the heightened security that must be related to a council member being treated inside. He could have walked in through the front door, but Viktor would rather complete his task without anyone knowing he’s here. A task that he fears is entirely moot when he sees no mention of a “Talis” on any of the boards in the operating wing. He’s only been gone for an hour, they can’t possibly have performed a successful surgery in that time.
It takes him another ten minutes of rummaging through patients’ paperwork while dodging staff before he finds any mention of Jayce. Viktor notes the room number and pretends he doesn’t see the word “fatal”.
He reaches the hallway to Jayce’s room and ducks back around the corner the second he sees Caitlyn walking out of it. He lets out a deep breath when the click of her heels recedes until the hall has gone quiet again. She probably won’t be gone for long, so he’ll have to work quickly.
The whole hallway is completely devoid of sound, which likely means they intentionally placed Councilor Talis away from other patients. That will definitely be beneficial for Viktor, even if the silence does make the tapping of his crutch sound particularly loud. Viktor manages to slip into the room without drawing any attention, and his hands are shaking as he closes the door.
“Viktor?”
Oh. Oh no.
“Ximena…”
Fuck, he should’ve thought of this. Of course she would have been informed, and of course she would have dropped everything to be at the hospital where her only child is actively dying. Viktor hears her sniffling and wiping her nose as he stays frozen with his eyes locked on the wooden door.
“Sweetie, is that really you?”
He bites his lip when that term of endearment sends him back to the happiest years of his childhood. Why is she still calling him that? What is he supposed to do here? Viktor strengthens his resolve and turns around only to have the rug pulled out from under him. The combination of seeing Ximena in this much pain after so long apart and Jayce lying unconscious with tubes all over him is nearly lethal. The package under his arm starts to burn.
“I need to help him.”
Ximena’s face crumples and she shakes her head with a sob.
“There is nothing they can do. They said we only have hours.”
“There is—”
Viktor swallows when his throat gets too tight to speak.
“—There might be something I can do. Please, you don’t need to trust me, just let me try. If he’s going to die anyway, please let me try.”
She looks at him with far more contemplation and far less skepticism than he was expecting.
“Do you think you can save him?”
“I think there is a chance. I’m— I’m begging you.”
The tension in Viktor’s shoulders releases like a broken spring when she nods. He makes his way to the bed and places the package next to Jayce’s unmoving hand.
“Do you know if they removed the bullets?”
“They did.”
“Good, that’s good… I would— It would be best for you to wait outside. If you could distract Caitlyn, I would greatly appreciate it.”
Ximena hiccups and takes a shaky breath before nodding once again and standing up to leave. Viktor looks away to give her some semblance of privacy as she kisses her son’s head and whispers softly to him about how he needs to wake up to see Viktor. He can’t believe she’s trusting him of all people with Jayce’s life, especially when he’s still wearing torn, blood soaked clothing, but people do tend to behave unexpectedly in moments of desperation.
He waits for the door to click shut behind her before tearing into the brown box. Even the sight of the off white substance inside makes him nauseous, but not nearly as much as the thought of letting Jayce die.
Viktor takes several deep breaths in hopes of getting his hands to stop trembling enough for him to break open the vials and pour them into the obnoxiously large injector, but it still takes him much longer than he’d like.
Pulling the tubes from Jayce’s body will kill him if this doesn’t work. Viktor will have killed him if this doesn’t work. Even so, he can’t risk Jayce healing around them. Viktor tries not to think too much about everything that can go wrong as he tugs them out and lets each fall to the floor. He doesn’t know how long Jayce can survive without them, so he doesn’t allow himself a single moment to hesitate before climbing on top of his partner and plunging the needle into Jayce’s arm.
Jayce’s eyes shoot open and his entire body seizes up the instant the drug hits his system. Viktor does his best to restrain him with his own body weight despite the pain caused by Jayce’s thrashing, and it breaks his heart in half to cover his mouth when he starts to scream.
Viktor sees the hazel of his irises shift into a swirl of colors as Jayce’s eyes dart around the room with a mixture of agony and confusion. It morphs into a look of betrayal when he finally focuses on the man hovering over him and Viktor’s chest convulses. The blood on his hand trails down to Jayce’s chin in streams with each tear that falls on it. His sobs choke him in between unintelligible apologies.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I know, it’s almost done.”
He wishes that wasn’t a lie. He has to take his time to keep from overwhelming Jayce’s system, but he doesn’t know how long he has before all the noise they’re making alerts someone. It’s a miracle no nurse or doctor has burst in and stopped him yet. Viktor watches the iridescent liquid drain slowly and pretends he can’t see the glow beneath Jayce’s skin.
Jayce stays screaming and tense for a moment after Viktor removes the needle before his eyes roll back and he slumps into the bed like his strings have been cut. Viktor can’t see through his tears, meaning he has to rely on touch as he shoves his hand down the collar of Jayce’s hospital gown. He lets out a labored, unsteady exhale when he finds a raised patch of skin instead of a gaping wound.
The glass of the injector shatters on the floor as he practically throws himself off of the bed onto unsteady feet. He staggers backwards until he reaches the wall and slides down into a curled up position on the floor. He succeeded, didn’t he? Why is he still crying?
Viktor flinches at how violently the door swings open however many minutes later, but doesn’t stop crying or even lift his head from his knees.
“What have you done?”
He covers his ears to block out Caitlyn yelling at him, but he can still hear Ximena gasp from beside Jayce’s bed.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I didn’t want to hurt him.”
A hand with two metal fingers gently lays on his head as Ximena lowers to a kneel beside him and Viktor cries harder. He can’t think of the last time he sobbed to the point of being unable to breathe.
“No, baby, you did it. You helped him.”
Viktor lets her pull him in to cry on her shoulder and she holds him until there’s a rustling of fabric from the bed. His sobs stop abruptly, along with his breathing.
“I have— I have to go.”
“Sweetie?”
He doesn’t care how undignified he looks, scrambling for his crutch and pushing himself to his feet far faster than he should, given his current state. He needs to leave. He can’t be here when Jayce wakes up; he's not prepared to face him yet. Viktor spares a quick glance at Jayce to make sure his eyes are still closed as he rushes out and moves a bit quicker when dark eyelashes start fluttering. He’s barely made it into the hallway when he hears a rasped out “Mom?”
••
Viktor sits on the front steps in a daze for an amount of time he can’t determine once he gets back to the house. He could never bring himself to regret what he’s done when it saved Jayce’s life, but he still dreads the fallout. He’ll probably end up having to return to Zaun permanently when the doctors and enforcers inevitably start asking too many questions. Jayce won’t be there to defend him this time. After how much he’s hated Viktor for creating the drug, it’s highly unlikely that he’ll forgive Viktor for using it on him, regardless of the circumstances.
It seems to be nearing sunrise when Viktor hears the creak of the gate opening. He doesn’t have the energy to be worried or alert. He doesn’t have the energy for anything at all.
“Viktor? Why are you out here? It’s freezing.”
Caitlyn’s voice is not one he expected to hear, but his mind hadn’t exactly reached expectations by the time she spoke. He lolls his head to the side to see her shivering on the pathway to the house.
“I didn’t notice.”
“Right… Ximena sent me here to make sure you’ve eaten and to tell you Jayce has been asking for you since he woke up. I’m assuming the answer to my first inquiry is no?”
Viktor shrugs. That’s a reasonable assumption, considering he hasn’t even gone inside to change out of his ruined clothes.
“I’m not hungry.”
Caitlyn sighs and picks up his crutch from the pillar he propped it up against. He’s so unused to any civility from her that it takes him a long moment to realize she’s holding it out for him to grab.
“Come on. I’ll get you something while you go bathe.”
“You are aware we don’t have any chefs here, yes?”
She rolls her eyes as he takes the crutch.
“I’m not completely incompetent in the kitchen, Viktor. But I did mean I would get you something from the store…”
Viktor is amused by that, but he gives up quickly on trying to get his face to move in a way that reflects it. Caitlyn doesn’t seem to mind.
She doesn’t follow him inside, choosing to go get the food immediately instead, and he’s quickly shown why he spent so long on the steps. The house feels suffocatingly wrong.
It’s not like Viktor has never been home without Jayce before, it’s just different when that came very close to becoming permanent today. He could have woken up next to the love of his life and fallen asleep knowing that love was no longer breathing. He doesn’t want to think about it.
Showering is going to be miserable. Now that he’s not overdosing on adrenaline, everything hurts. His shoulder, his leg, his back, it all feels horrible. He grabs a pair of scissors before making his way to Jayce’s bathroom. It will be a lot less taxing to cut himself out of his clothes than to undress, and he can’t imagine saving any piece of cloth he’d have to scrub Jayce’s blood out of.
It takes him twice as long as usual to grab a change of clothes and reach the bathroom, but the sight of his reflection almost makes him wish he never made it. He knew that his arms were drenched to his elbows, but he hadn’t thought that his chest would be covered, too. He doesn’t know how much came from Jayce and how much came from his own wound, but it doesn’t matter.
Seeing the blood spatter on his face sends him back to the exact moment he knew Jayce’s injuries would be fatal, and he forgoes wiping it away in favor of scratching it off with his nails. Jayce was going to die. If Viktor hadn’t helped create something horrible in his youth, the only person he’s ever loved would be dead, and he would’ve died without Viktor ever telling him how he felt. The last thing he’s even said about Jayce was that he’s “disgusting”. They did get that cleared up, but Viktor can’t easily recall anything genuinely kind he’s said to Jayce in recent times.
The blood on his face isn’t coming off at all, and it takes several more scratches for Viktor to realize that’s due to him breaking skin with his clawing. He needs to get cleaned up before he repeats that all over himself.
Bending over to finish cutting the legs of his pants after shredding his shirt and vest is painful, and he doesn’t have high hopes for this shower. Taking a bath would certainly be more wise, but the thought of soaking in water tinted red by Jayce’s blood has him rushing to lean over the toilet. Even bending at the waist hurts.
Viktor makes the mistake of wiping his mouth with the back of his hand once he’s finished emptying his stomach, and the taste of iron renews his heaving despite there being nothing left in him to expel.
He drags himself to the shower the moment he’s no longer convulsing and turns the water to the hottest setting. It steams immediately and burns his skin, but it also burns his tongue enough to erase the metallic tang when he rinses his mouth. Viktor remembers the first time he bathed in here and discovers he did not run out of tears at the hospital.
The differences between that experience and this one are almost ironic. Feeling jittery over the fear of losing Jayce, to feeling hollowed out by almost having lost him; watching blue water trail down his body, to trying to avoid seeing the red; being held steady in Jayce’s arms, to shaking on his feet by himself.
Having hope for their relationship going forward, to knowing he’s caused its end.
A strong tremor in his leg warns Viktor of an impending fall and he slowly sinks down to the stool Jayce bought him before he can lose his balance. It’s a rare sentiment, but Viktor currently resents the fact he’s incapable of making much noise when he cries. He wants to scream and wail, he wants to find some sort of relief, but he can only manage aborted sobs that make him cough and whine. How can he still feel this helpless when he saved someone’s life?
Viktor has half a mind to be ashamed that he killed a person today and can’t force himself to feel guilty, but who knows what would have happened if he hadn’t? It’s unlikely that man would have stopped before his target was dead, and the mental image of holding Jayce’s shattered skull in his hands has him dry heaving again.
Why did Jayce ever become a councilor? That’s the only explanation for why this happened. Maybe a few months ago Viktor might have assumed Silco had something to do with it, but Viktor’s threat to never return home was not a bluff, and his father knows that. He would sooner move to Noxus than go back to his family if they killed Jayce. Hextech is too trailblazing to have any legitimate competitors, so this must be council related.
Viktor wants to make him resign. Fuck the council, fuck Piltover. If it puts Jayce in danger, it should burn. What if Viktor hadn’t been there? What if he’d returned from an errand to a notification of his partner’s death? He doesn’t even want to imagine what he would do.
“Viktor? Are you alright?”
Caitlyn’s voice makes him jump so hard his stool squeaks. He instinctively wipes his tears before realizing how pointless that is.
“I’m fine.”
“Are you sure? You’ve been in there a while.”
Oh. She must be right, given how flushed his skin is and how the water temperature has stopped being painful.
“I’ll be out soon.”
“Do you need my help?”
That type of question typically evokes a strong feeling of indignation in Viktor, but he’s currently too surprised to be offended. Caitlyn is asking if he needs help? Caitlyn Kiramman? The woman who has told him to his face that he should be dead is offering to help him get out of the shower. What the hell is going on today?
“No, thank you. Just give me a moment.”
“Alright. I’ll be in here if you need anything.”
Sitting under scalding water for a prolonged period of time has rinsed off the blood Viktor had been wearing, but he still cleans himself with a washcloth just to be safe. It stings to put soap on his raw skin and Caitlyn is waiting on the other side of the bathroom door, so Viktor works quickly. He struggles to stand up once he’s done and wishes Jayce had been the one to offer him assistance; maybe then he would have been able to accept it.
He’s itchy and uncomfortable by the time he’s dried off and dressed, but at least he has his crutch instead of his cane. This aid will be seeing a lot more usage in the following days(or weeks) while he recovers from every careless decision he’s made tonight. From making an express trip underground to an attempt at restraining his violently bucking partner, Viktor has not been very considerate of his own physical condition.
Oh well, nothing to be done about it now.
“My god, Viktor. Did you boil yourself?”
Viktor looks down at the V cut of his sleep shirt to see his skin looking especially red against the white fabric. He avoided the mirror after he left the shower, so he really doesn’t know what kind of picture he paints.
“There was a lot of blood.”
“There’s still a lot of blood. What happened to your shoulder? You didn’t bother treating it before getting dressed?”
Right, Viktor got hurt too. He forgot about that. His shirt is wet when he reaches up to check it, and he has to wipe his hand on his back before he sees the crimson liquid on his fingers.
“I forgot.”
“You forgot a bullet hit you?”
“Grazed. It didn’t hit me directly, it went through—”
Viktor attempts to cover his gag with a cough into his fist and Caitlyn doesn’t call him on it, likely because she looks equally nauseated by that statement.
“Right. Sit down, I know where Jayce keeps the bandages.”
“You don’t have to do that. I can take care of it myself.”
“But you won’t. Just sit.”
Caitlyn’s headstrong nature isn’t unfamiliar to Viktor, but that trait presenting itself in the form of a determination to help him is something he’s never experienced before. He sits on Jayce’s bed and unbuttons his shirt just enough to shrug it off his injured shoulder while she grabs the supplies necessary to treat it.
Viktor hasn’t actually examined his wound unobstructed, but Caitlyn’s pinched expression when she sees it is a good indication of how bad it is.
“You’ll probably need stitches.”
“I’ll see a doctor tomorrow.”
She shrugs as she starts to wipe away the blood.
“That’s your prerogative.”
The silence they fall into is tense, but not particularly uncomfortable. They’re both too drained to feel awkward, but the weight of recent events still hangs heavy over them. Viktor can’t tell if the lack of pain he feels in his shoulder as Caitlyn bandages it is due to some sort of nerve damage or just a general numbness.
“I haven’t spoken to Vi since yesterday, but I’m sure she’ll want to see you once she hears what happened.”
“I doubt that.”
“Trust me, she will. Especially once she hears you were shot as well.”
“Grazed.”
“Fine, grazed by a bullet that was shot at you.”
Caitlyn finishes taping the edges of the gauze she placed and sits down next to Viktor. He’s not sure he’ll be able to stay awake long enough to hear whatever she’s building up the courage to say.
“Viktor, you’re aware that I don’t exactly… like you.”
“Caitlyn—”
“Please, let me finish. What you did today… Jayce and Vi have both told me how you feel about shimmer. The fact that you would use it to save him despite your reservations is something I find commendable.”
She looks at the ceiling with a sigh while Viktor considers all that he’d give to have Jayce share her sentiment.
“I won’t claim that I can forget the past, but I am willing to stop letting it dictate how I behave with you. If you hadn’t done that, Jayce would be— Thank you, Viktor.”
If Viktor thought her fury made him want to disappear, he was unprepared for how her sincerity would affect him. He wishes he could teleport anywhere else in the world.
“It was the only thing I could do.”
“No, you could have easily let him die. That’s what anyone else would have done. God, I was so angry at you for not being by his side, but you— I suppose I’ve become rather rigid in my perceptions.”
“We all are, at times.”
That was meant to be reassuring, Viktor doesn’t understand why it makes Caitlyn’s face twist in irritation.
“Why are you so nice?”
“What? I’m not.”
“You are, and it makes no sense. My anger is justified, but you hardly even defend yourself. I don’t understand how someone can exhibit such obvious remorse while still refusing to apologize for their actions.”
Viktor doesn’t have the mental capacity to figure out what she wants him to say to that. She already knows everything there is to know about what happened between him and Jayce, he has nothing new to tell her.
“Sorry, I’m sorry. I’m being— You must be exhausted. Should I bring your dinner to you here?”
Letting her go to the effort of finding a place open at this time of night and buying him something, only for him to reject it is undeniably rude, but Viktor still shakes his head. He’s gotten sick enough for one night.
“I’ll only throw it up. You should eat it, or take it back to the hospital.”
“I’ll leave it here in case you change your mind, but I should be getting back. I don’t suppose you want to join me?”
“No. No, I— No.”
Caitlyn’s frown is equally disappointed and unsurprised.
“He wants to see you, you know. Badly.”
“Does he know what I did to him?”
“He knows what you did for him, yes.”
Then there’s no possibility that whatever he has to say is positive. Viktor tries to keep his hopes high by imagining that Jayce only wants to yell at him, but he knows that their next conversation is going to include Jayce ending their partnership for good. Having to experience that during the worst adrenaline crash of his life might actually kill him.
“I can’t. I’m sorry.”
Caitlyn stands with another sigh and a nod.
“Alright, he can wait. He’ll probably be here by the time you wake up, anyway.”
Viktor reflexively grabs her sleeve before she can make it more than two steps to the door. He thought he had no energy left in him, but the way his heart rate picks up has proved him wrong.
“Back here? I thought— He was shot three times, shouldn’t he stay in the hospital for longer than that?”
Her brows pinch together as she tilts her head.
“You healed him, Viktor. They’ve only kept him this long to monitor his vitals. Don’t worry, I’ll tell him not to wake you when he gets home.”
That is so far from what he’s worried about that he could laugh, but he just releases her sleeve and crawls under the sheets without a word. He doesn’t care that he’s being a horrible host with a glaring lack of decorum, he’s only thinking of how this will be his last time allowed in Jayce’s bed. He thought he would have at least a few days to accept that he’s going to be forced to leave, he’s not ready yet.
If he’s being honest with himself, he could be given years to prepare, and he still wouldn’t be ready for Jayce to discard him.
“Will you tell him that I’m sorry?”
Caitlyn stops at the doorway and turns around to study Viktor with narrowed eyes.
“I will, but if you’re asking me to do this because you’re planning to run off again, I will hunt you down myself.”
Noted. If Viktor were in a better mood, he might be amused by the similarities between her and Jayce. As it stands, he’s lamenting the fact they’re preventing him from disappearing quietly without taking his punishment. It’s cruel to make Viktor accept whatever heartbreaking insults and accusations Jayce is going to hurl at him, but Caitlyn doesn’t actually seem to understand the way this is going to go at all.
As far as Viktor can tell, she’s operating under the assumption that Jayce will be grateful for Viktor’s selfish actions. Maybe she doesn’t know him as well as Viktor thought she did.
“I won’t leave. Not until he makes me.”
She chuckles softly like Viktor has intentionally made a joke.
“Then I hope you’re prepared to celebrate your hundredth birthday in this house. Goodnight, Viktor. Sleep well.”