Chapter Text
“Jayce?”
“Yes, Viktor?” It was a quiet night in - they usually tried to set aside one evening a week for paperwork, otherwise it got out of hand in a hurry, but to sweeten the pot they usually combined it with takeout from a restaurant they both liked. They were sitting beside each other at their shared desk, half-eaten containers of spicy noodles cooling as Jayce worked on organizing and tracking the changes to their latest set of blueprints. Their chairs were pushed close together, close enough that their shoulders could casually touch as they worked, a comforting closeness Jayce appreciated.
“This Ferros Foundation grant, it’s so frustrating. I don’t even have a last name, let alone a house name….maybe we should just use yours for the both of us...”
Jayce blinked, his eyebrows shooting up in surprise. “Yes! I mean I’d love nothing more.” Yes, this was a bit unorthodox, but what about them hadn’t been? Jayce leaned in, putting his tools down as he leaned over and pressed a soft kiss to Viktor’s mouth, unable to hold himself back any longer. Now it appeared to be Viktor’s turn to be surprised, but quickly enough he was leaning into the kiss, kissing Jayce back. One of Jayce’s hands cradled Viktor’s head, while his other rested on Viktor’s waist, pulling him closer. Viktor wrapped his arms around Jayce’s shoulders, deepening the kiss, until both of them were panting and breathless, foreheads pressed against each other.
“I’ve been wanting to do that for ages,” Jayce murmured. “But I was never sure if it was the right time, or we got interrupted, but then you asked and…I admit it was a bit of a surprise, but really it makes sense it’d be in the lab, where everything started….I think we should tell my mother first, she’ll be so excited, and then Cait, she already said she wanted to throw a big party to welcome you into the family….is there anyone from Zaun you’d want to invite?”
Viktor pulled back, puzzled. “Tell her what? Invite to what party?”
“About the proposal?” Bow it was Jayce’s turn to look puzzled. “I mean of course we’d have an engagement party….”
“...I beg your pardon? What do you mean engagement party, who’s getting engaged?”
Jayce felt all the blood drain from his face. “We just did? I mean, didn’t you just…..oh fuck.” He buried his head in his hands, utterly mortified. How had he gotten the situation so wrong? “I thought you were proposing,” he muttered into his hands.
“Jayce, I didn’t quite catch that.” He felt Viktor’s hand on his shoulder, reassuring, but Jayce felt too mortified to look him in the eyes right now. “What do you mean?”
“I thought you were proposing to me,” Jayce admitted. “Fuck, this is one of those things Piltover does that Zaun doesn’t, isn’t it? When you said we should just use my house name for the both of us…asking to use someone’s house name like that only really ever happens for marriage or adoption and I thought….”
Viktor’s hand tightened briefly on Jayce’s shoulder, before he gently put his hand under Jayce’s chin, carefully turning Jayce’s head to look at Viktor. “This is not a thing I was aware of, no… I was simply asking in the context of the paperwork, they’re asking for information I do not have, and so I was wondering if it might be better to use yours…..” His cheeks were flushed pink, but his gaze never left Jayce’s. “I admit, I hadn’t realised you felt this way about me…..”
“What do you mean? We’ve been courting for the past month?” Jayce felt the pit drop out of his stomach.
Viktor’s eyes widened, his voice growing alarmed. “I am fairly certain we have not!”
“Yes we have - after that night on the fire escape, when we talked….I decided I wanted to court you properly. And the next day I brought that cake I made, and you accepted it, and that meant you’d accepted my suit… I mean there’s a whole list of traditions for this, everyone gets them drilled into them during etiquette lessons…”
Viktor sighed. “Etiquette lessons every Piltoverian gets drilled into them, you mean. We have no such traditions in Zaun. I thought the pastry was just you celebrating our success, I was unaware of its significance.”
Jayce turned away from Viktor in favour of banging his head rhythmically against the table. “I’m such an idiot….I thought you knew….fuck, this is embarrassing.”
It had all seemed so simple then. They’d had a really good day: their test of their first hexgate prototypes had been a rousing success, the miniature gates successfully teleporting a box of tools halfway across the building, and they’d felt on top of the world with glee. They’d celebrated by taking a bottle of Zaunian rakija out onto the fire escape, passing the bottle between the two of them. Jayce had taken another sip of the liquor, pressing his lips to where Viktor’s had been on the bottle just moments ago as they sat side by side, looking out over the glowing lights of the city, tipsy and high on endorphins, leaning against each other.
Viktor had leaned against Jayce’s shoulder, and Jayce in turn had picked up his overcoat from where he’d tossed it earlier, wrapping it around the both of them. They’d been perhaps rather tipsier than they’d intended - rakija was made mostly from raspberries, the only fruit hardy enough to grow reliably in Zaun. In practical terms it occupied a niche somewhere between fruit brandy and moonshine, sweet and potent, with much more of a kick than either were used to. Still, it had been Viktor’s breakthrough that had led to their success, and Jayce had insisted, and so now the two of them had been both thoroughly schnockered.
“"I never dreamed I could be this happy, you know?” Viktor had said softly. “You, me, our work....it's all I've ever wanted." Jayce had felt Viktor’s breath against the side of his neck, the soft warmth of Viktor’s body against his, and everything had felt so right. “It’s so perfect.”
“Me too,” Jayce had admitted. He’d turned to look at Viktor, hazel eyes meeting amber, Viktor’s skin gleaming in the soft light spilling through the windows. Unbidden, the thought “I want to marry this man” had come to his mind, hitting like a thunderbolt, overwhelming him with just how much he loved his partner. “"When I'm with you, it's like everything flows together perfectly. I love...I love what we have together." He’d wanted to say “I love you” but he stopped himself at the last second, chickening out like he had the past several times he’d almost confessed his feelings. But somehow he’d felt that this time, maybe Viktor understood him anyways?
“"I wish I could just....capture this feeling forever. How happy I am like this, with you. Forever like this would be nice. Just you and me….the two of us, forever" Viktor had buried his head in Jayce's shoulder, his voice relaxed and soft and slightly drowsy, wrapping his arms around Jayce’s waist and this was the moment, Jayce had thought, a sign that maybe they understood each other, that maybe they did feel the same way about each other.
"It would be really nice, wouldn't it," Jayce had admitted. "I want forever with you too." He’d paused, unsure of what to say, only to realise that Viktor’s breath had turned slow and soft - he’d fallen asleep. Jayce had pressed a soft kiss to Viktor’s head, a coward for doing it while Viktor was asleep instead of while he was awake, but he’d done it nonetheless.
The next morning they’d woken up on the fire escape, Viktor still using Jayce as a pillow, and the roaring hangover they both had sported made the day a bit quieter and more subdued, and Viktor had apologised for using Jayce as an impromptu pillow, while Jayce had said he was welcome to do so anytime. But even filtered through the haze of the past night, all Jayce could think about was Viktor saying “the two of us, forever”. They had reached some sort of understanding, hadn’t they? He certainly felt like they had…and with that certainty firm in mind, he’d decided that he was going to court Viktor properly.
Piltoverian society of Jayce’s class was bound by a series of rules and rituals and formalities from everything to social gatherings to politics to family life, and everything had to follow tradition as much as possible. Even as people at the academy worked to advance science, when it came to social circumstances or matters of the heart, tradition ruled. Sure, there were casual arrangements, but how you treated someone you viewed as temporary versus someone you saw a Future with was extremely different. And with Viktor, Jayce saw the kind of future he’d only ever dreamed of, and so was determined to do everything by the book.
Courtship in Piltover wasn’t based on gender so much as it was the relative rankings of the respective houses of those involved. As the head of House Tallis, that meant that Jayce was expected to take the more active role in initiating things, showing off the connections and social status he could bring to the table, so to speak, while it would be Viktor’s role to show what he brought in terms of resources or skills, though privately Jayce wasn’t concerned about that - he knew Viktor was one of the brightest minds he’d ever met, and even as they followed the traditional rituals, he had no hesitation that it would all work out. Technically as House Talis was a client house of House Kiramman, he would have to get permission from Lady Cassandra, but given her enthusiastic patronage of his and Viktor’s work already, he didn’t see that as a problem. All he had to do was follow the traditional list and everything would work out perfectly, this was going to be great!
Courtship was formally initiated by the person whose idea it was presenting the object of their affections with some sort of elaborate and traditional pastry. In the past, the person doing the initiation had been expected to make it themselves, symbolising both their skill at providing as well as hinting at the sweetness of a life together, but these days most noble scions barely knew how to cook, let alone something elaborate - there were whole bakeries that specialised in this sort of pastry now.
Jayce wanted to do it right, and he actually did know how to cook, to boot. He would never be able to do one of the fancy rainbow steamed cakes he saw in shop windows, but when he’d been a child, he’d been fond of the layered spice cake his mother had made for holidays, thin layers of spiced batter cooked in cast iron skillets and layered with preserves. She’d taught him how to make it, carefully layering the cake batter and preserves before covering the whole cake with a layer of marzipan and powdered sugar. The last bit had always been Jayce’s favorite - heating a metal skewer to just glowing and using it to draw fancy designs in the sugar. It was the perfect courting gift - the fanciest thing he knew how to cook, and something sentimental to him and his family.
He’d gotten up extra early to cook and assemble the cake - lucky for him he could do most of the work in the forge, using its heat to cook several layers at once. As a special gesture, he’d replaced the cherry preserves he usually used with sweet marmalade. Citrus fruit was almost impossible to find in Zaun and he knew Viktor had developed a fondness for it since joining the academy- he always went for the marmalade-filled tarts at academy meetings if he could, and Jayce had even started saving them for him if he got there first.
He’d brought it by the lab that morning, so excited he could barely focus. He’d even rehearsed what he wanted to say, but his words had fled him at the sight of Viktor’s delight at the cake. He’d eventually stammered out something about this being his favorite thing to bake (true) and how he had wanted to celebrate the previous night (also true) and that he hoped that this treat would be the first of many wonderful things to come (and that was part of the traditional wording, whew). Viktor had flushed scarlet before eagerly accepting the cake, insisting that Jayce share it with him. A lively discussion of cooking followed, and the whole morning had gone by in a blur. He’d almost worked up the nerve to ask if he could kiss Viktor when Heimerdinger had come by, reminding them they were almost late for a mandatory seminar, and the moment had been lost.
Awkward moment aside, Viktor’s acceptance of the cake and eager offer to share it with Jayce had been exactly the welcome signal he’d wanted. He felt like everything was perfect, like the happy future they’d both wanted was just on the horizon. Except now, a month later, he’d found out that he and Viktor hadn’t been reading from the same book, let alone the same page, and he felt absolutely mortified. What if he’d fucked things up forever between them?
“I’m sorry,” Jayce admitted, still unable to look Viktor in the eye. “I mean I did the traditional things and I thought you were reciprocating, I thought we were on the same page….I mean….you let me hold your hand, and …”
“I agree your behaviour this past month has been rather confusing.” Viktor sighed, leaning against him, his shoulder brushing Jayce’s. “But you are a very naturally exuberant person, and you are very intense when you’re happy. It was easy to chalk it up to your extroverted tendencies, perhaps exacerbated by our recent successes. I admit I had hoped that this perhaps meant my feelings were returned, but you never said anything, and you never even tried to kiss me until now…I kept telling myself not to read too much into things, that it was a good mood caused by our recent successes. I didn’t want to say the wrong thing and risk damaging what we have together.”
“I wanted to kiss you,” Jayce replied. “So many times, but I would think about it and then lose my nerve, or we’d get interrupted, or I’d remind myself that you’re supposed to take these things slow…and I didn’t want to push things too fast, or make you feel I felt entitled to anything…” Formal courtship was supposed to be slow and steady. It had evolved out of the older traditions of chivalry and courtly love, with the added complexity of navigating differences in status between houses. He’d wanted to make Viktor feel cherished, despite their differences in backgrounds. Viktor was prone to overthinking, but Jayce was sometimes prone to jumping in feet first, and it seemed like the latter had gotten him in trouble yet again. “And you never initiated anything either so I thought maybe you wanted to take things slow as well…”
“Jayce, I’ve seen other Piltoverians be in relationships without going through any of this formality. I have seen others at the academy be far more casual about things…I myself have even been in a few such arrangements in the past. I don’t understand what’s so different.” Viktor was looking at him - not angry, thank goodness, but still looking rather confused and even a bit frustrated.
Jayce felt a brief wave of jealousy flash over him at Viktor’s mention of past casual arrangements. “Argh….it’s…it’s different, okay?” He ran his fingers through his hair in a gesture of frustrated anxiety. “There’s casual things, but no one ever treats them as if they mean anything. If you want to show someone you’re serious about them, that you want it to be a forever thing….formal courtship is how you do it. And I wanted you to feel valued, to feel like I respected you enough to court you properly. Instead it seems like I made an absolute fool of myself. I hope I haven’t….” his voice cracked a bit, but he continued. “I hope I haven’t damaged things between us. However you feel about me, I hope you don’t feel hurt, or, or obligated, just because of how many signals I misread. If you don’t feel the same way…”
“Jayce, I think perhaps we both have been a bit foolish,” Viktor admitted. “Perhaps you more than I, but did you not hear me when I said that I had hoped my feelings were returned?” He looked Jayce straight in the eyes, and Jayce felt pinned under the weight of Viktor’s gaze. Viktor took Jayce’s hand in his, clasping it with both hands. “I care for you deeply, and to know that you care for me also is the greatest feeling in the world. I am only sorry that I did not realise sooner.” He chuckled softly. “Well, sorry, and rather exasperated at Piltie traditions. You were being subtle to the point of incoherence.”
“I feel like an utter dolt,” Jayce agreed. “I never stopped to think that you might not even know all the traditions, that things would be different in Zaun, or that you wouldn’t’ve learned them since moving to Piltover..”
“We have no such traditions like this in Zaun,” Viktor explained. “People may exchange gifts with loved ones, but formal gifts between lovers only occur at weddings.” His expression turned to a soft smirk. “Weapons are traditional, though I believe armor or tools are also acceptable.”
“So what you’re saying is, when we get married, I need to make you something really impressive, got it.” Jayce laughed, before coughing awkwardly. “Sorry.”
Viktor smiled at him, and it felt like the sun rose in Jayce’s heart. He bit his lip, unsure of what to say next, and noticed Viktor’s gaze shifting to his mouth. This time, it was Viktor who initiated the kiss, pulling Jayce close. When they stopped to breathe, their lips were kiss-swollen and Jayce’s tie was half-undone from where Viktor had used it to pull him even closer.
“I can’t believe you thought I would propose over paperwork,”Viktor chuckled. “I do have more romantic sensibilities than that…”
“I admit I thought it was rather sudden, but I wasn't going to complain. Of course turns out you were just asking about paperwork…” Jayce’s shoulders drooped “I got swept up in everything..”
“I admit that I am not opposed to the idea….” Viktor looked at him, eyes wide and sincere, a slight blush across his cheekbones. “But you must give me a moment, not even thirty minutes ago I had no confirmation that you returned my feelings, let alone that I was being unwittingly courted.”
“Of course! I mean, take all the time that you need.” Now Jayce was blushing too. Now would be the perfect time for someone to pull the fire alarm….or accidentally set off the sprinkler system…or for a colony of research antlermice to be running loose in the hallway….something to save him from the absolute mortification he was feeling.
Unfortunately, none of these happened. Instead, Viktor was still looking at him, a considering expression on his face. “Perhaps you can explain to me the other signals that I missed? Just so that I understand more.” Viktor took Jayce’s hand, getting up from the lab table and leading him over to the couch. “I think we are both done with work for today, and the couch is a more comfortable spot for discussing things.”
“Sure,” Jayce agreed, trying to ignore the way the pit dropped out of his stomach. “Comfortable is good.” He exhaled slowly, gathering himself. As much as was riding on this, he really hoped he could explain everything without stuffing it up even more. Sending a quick prayer to any divine power that might be listening and in a good mood to take mercy on him, he followed Viktor to the couch.
He took a seat beside Viktor, the two of them angled on the couch so that they could lean back against the back if needed while still seeing each other. Viktor tucked a pillow bHe rubbed the back of his head with his hand, still feeling incredibly self-conscious. “So after you accepted the cake, I thought that meant we were official, or at least, you’d agreed to let me court you, so then I went and told my mother, and then I asked Lady Kiramman for permission - I really should’ve done both beforehand, but I knew they wouldn’t object….”
Viktor held up a hand, gesturing for Jayce to pause. “I beg your pardon, but how many people were aware that we were courting before I was?”
“I mean, just pointing out that I thought you were aware but …my mother, Lady Cassandra, Cait….everyone at the fundraising gala last week, really.”
Viktor raised an eyebrow. “I’m going to need more explanation on that latter point, please. Though that does explain why Caitlyn hugged me at the gala.”
“Ah yeah, she’s been excited about us ever since I told her. She thinks the whole thing is terribly romantic.”
The latter was an understatement - Cait had compared it to one of the romantic dramas you saw in theatres sometimes, or the adventure novels she’d loved since she was a child. To be fair, Jayce had also been mooning over Viktor for months before that night on the fire escape, much to Cait’s amusement. Having a little sister was a blessing and an annoyance sometimes, and she would probably laugh herself silly when Jayce told her how things had actually gone. To be fair, Jayce himself had thought the whole thing was hopelessly romantic as well, and while he hadn’t quite reached the stage of doodling “Doctor and Doctor Jayce and Viktor Tallis” in his notebooks yet, and not just because they hadn’t officially defended their theses yet, but there were a few doodled hearts with intertwined “J” and “V” letters in them in his private sketchbook. Or at least he had thought the whole thing hopelessly romantic…now he was hoping he could salvage things, though from the way Viktor had responded, he thought he had a chance. Viktor was willing to let him explain things, and he was at least sixty percent confident in his own ability to explain things enough that it would work out. Maybe sixty-five percent, given that Viktor was still holding his hand.
“I mean it is romantic, in its own sort of way.” Viktor quirked a smile at Jayce. “Go on?”
“It’s probably best if I explain things chronologically. So after the courtship has been accepted, then it becomes sort of….showing off for each other a bit. Gifts, doing nice things for each other, spending time together….all with the goal of showing why the match is advantageous for both houses. And we spend lots of time together in the lab already….and we walk home together…”
“It only makes sense, my apartment is on your way home and if we walk together we can keep discussing our work….” Viktor agreed. “The way you insisted on taking my arm that day and sharing your umbrella, I thought you were being a mother hen because of the rain.”
“I mean that day I kind of was, but also….can you blame me for wanting to be closer to you? I’m just surprised you didn’t realise….”
“I noticed, but again, I didn’t want to misread the meaning. You are a very…physically demonstrative person. I never had cause to believe it was anything other than platonic, though I had my hopes. And I’d think perhaps he is meaning something more, but then you never said anything one way or another…you touch people easily, it’s part of your natural outgoing personality. I am not like this, and I am very aware of our differences.” Viktor sighed, and Jayce’s heart sank at the tired expression on his partner’s face.
“It is like….” Viktor began, carefully choosing his words. “Up here, it feels like I am always very aware that my natural instincts come from a different manual, and I am having to translate things back and forth. The same was true in Zaun, but less so. I am aware that my brain is different from others’, and even when sometimes you and I, our brains feel like they’re hearing the same wavelength here in the lab, when we work together, when we are doing Science…I don’t have to translate, for once - not around you, at least.” Jayce could hear the capital “S” in the word Science in Viktor’s voice. “But when it comes to matters not of a technical nature, I am very aware that I am reading from a different manual than people from around here, just because of who I am and where I am from. But it is, perhaps, something that doesn’t always register for you - as you said, you assumed you and I were reading out of the same book, while I was often unsure of how to translate your actions in a non-scientific setting.”
Jayce nodded. “I mean, social stuff doesn’t come naturally to me either. The only reason I can make it work is because of all the etiquette classes my mother and Lady Kiramman made me take when I was younger. It’s a lot easier to handle social situations if you can just refer back to the manual in your head about what is appropriate small talk, or what is expected at certain things…having a list of rules to fall back on makes things a lot less awkward. Like if I’m at a party and have no idea what to do, I can just refer back to the page on ‘approved small talk topics’ and flounder my way from there? But it’s not something that comes naturally to me. I’m much more at home in the lab - things make more sense there, especially since we’ve started working together.” He twined his fingers between Viktor’s, enjoying the warmth of the other man’s hand in his, feeling it ground him in his emotions. “You and I work together so well in the lab, I never had someone who got me the way that you do, who things felt so right with…. I admit I never stopped to think that outside of our work we might be inadvertently talking past each other.”
Viktor smiled at him, tone brightening. “I admit that I feel the same way - it had not crossed my mind in that sense either. But it is an issue that is surmountable as long as we make sure to communicate properly, and make sure that we are on the same page after all. We just need to be clear with each other.”
“I promise, I’ll do better about it going forward. I’m still so embarrassed I didn’t realize. Like when you brought me dinner that one time….I admit, I read that as you reciprocating by following from the same list, so to speak. Sharing food but also something important to you.”
It had been a week or so after he’d brought the cake - they’d been having difficulty getting the right kind of reactions working for part of their latest phase, and Viktor had theorised that a byproduct from some Zaun’s chemical refineries might have the right properties they’d needed. Jayce had offered to go with, but Viktor had insisted on going by himself, coming back the next day with not only enough of the reagents to perform several tests, but he’d also taken some of the insulated containers they kept in the lab and brought them back full of Zaunite ingredients that he liked to keep in his apartment for cooking or snacking.
That in and of itself wasn’t unusual - the strong black tea they both enjoyed was from Zaun, as was the smoked blue-veined goat cheese Viktor loved, and the various types of mushrooms and pickled or fermented goodies. What was exciting was the container that held two waxed-paper boxes of something that smelled delicious and spicy - and still steaming hot, despite the journey.
“I happened to go past my favorite food cart,” Viktor had explained. “And I thought, might as well get some for the both of us.”
“What is it?” Jayce had asked, tidying away notes and books on their table to make space to eat without risking getting food on anything.
“Original Stevan’s special rice and beans. Regular spicy for you, extra spicy for me.” They had opened their boxes to reveal rice and beans topped with a layer of sauteed onions and something crispy Jayce couldn’t quite identify.
“It smells amazing,” Jayce had said, inhaling the scent of hot peppers, chicken broth, onion, garlic, and other spices he couldn’t quite name. “What makes it special?”
“Take a bite first, then I’ll tell you,” Viktor had teased, and Jayce had eagerly done so, almost moaning at how good it was. It tasted amazing - the kind of slow cooked food he had grown up eating sometimes but which he usually was too busy for these days. The flavors reminded him a bit of the arroz con pollo his mother liked to make, but the spice profile was a bit different, smoky and tart as well as spicy.
“This is amazing,” Jayce had said, once he’d swallowed. “Oh wow, thank you so much for getting this.”
“Original Stevan’s has been my favorite since I was small,” Viktor had explained. “His stall is by the Night Market, and when I would sell things I had made, or go to trade or buy supplies, sometimes I would have enough for a portion. If I was lucky, it would be a day he made his special rice and beans. Any time I go back, I always try and get some - it is nostalgic, but also very good food, very filling. I tried to make it myself a few times but I never got close. That’s why he is Original Stevan’s - no one can ever quite get it like he does, though many have tried.”
“I can see why, it’s fantastic.” He’d taken another bite, trying to place where he recognised the crispy layer on top. It was like concentrated chicken flavor, but salty and crispy and chewy all at once. “What makes this special rice and beans?”
“Ah, because he only has special rice and beans on a day he has been making schmaltz and gribenes,” Viktor had beamed, taking another bite before continuing. “He cooks with chicken fat, so every so often he has to make more, and he takes his big pan and fills it with chicken skin and onions, and he cooks it down and renders all the fat out, low and slow, until the whole street corner smells like chicken heaven. And then he strains the fat, and he gets his new jar of chicken fat, and the best crispy chicken skin and slow-fried onions you’ve ever had. And he puts the chicken skin, the gribenes, and the onions on rice and beans that day, and sells special rice and beans.” Viktor’s voice had gone soft with nostalgia explaining this to Jayce, and Jayce had wanted to melt inside at the look on Viktor’s face. He knew that his partner didn’t have many good memories of his childhood, but this was clearly one of them.
This was a perfect response to Jayce’s courting gift of the cake, he had thought then. Not only had Viktor used his ties to Zaun and skills in haggling to get them the reagents they’d needed, but he’d also brought back food to share - food that was special to him and that he was now sharing with Jayce.
“I’m honored you’re sharing it with me,” Jayce had replied. “I really appreciate it.”
“I appreciate having someone to share it with. Zaunite food is seen as so declasse up here, especially food like this - it’s very traditional but not exactly fancy. But it is good.”
“People up here don’t know what they’re missing out on, clearly. The….gribenes?” At Viktor’s nod, he’d continued. “It’s like bacon but chicken-y. They’re amazing.”
“There is a pork version, but less common. Easier to keep chickens, and cheaper; pigs are escape artists. There are feral hogs in some of the lower levels but it is unwise to eat them - they’re quite large, and as likely to view you as a snack as you would view them as one.” He’d shuddered dramatically at the thought, making Jayce laugh. “Chicken, goat, mushroom - all easier to keep and safer to eat, though the goats and chickens can be just as bad for escaping…”
He’d then told Jayce of an incident where he’d built a small automated net-throwing gun to help round up escaped chickens from a neighbour’s coop - one of his first inventions that he’d been able to sell, at only the age of eight. It had been a good story, one of the happier moments from a childhood Jayce knew had not always been so pleasant. “My parents were so proud of me,” he’d added wistfully. “They never quite understood why I spent so much time in my room building things, but they always supported me.” He’d sighed wistfully then, looking rather sad.
Viktor didn’t talk about his childhood too often; Jayce knew that he’d been orphaned by the age of twelve, working various odd jobs, repairing and improving machinery, and selling his inventions until at age eighteen one of his designs had caught Heimerdinger’s eye on one of the scientist’s visits to Zaun. He could see Viktor’s mood turning somewhat maudlin, and tried to figure out a way to distract him.
“So you said you got yours extra spicy?” Jayce had asked, trying to brighten the mood a bit. “What’s extra-spicy by Zaun standards?” He moved in to playfully steal a bite of Viktor’s food.
“Jayce I don’t think you’ll -” Viktor had begun, but it was too late. Jayce took a bite and immediately regretted his life choices. Piltover was notoriously wimpy when it came to spice levels, but Jayce’s family loved their hot sauce, especially his mother. He had a much higher spice tolerance than most of his peers, and while he knew Zaunites liked their food extra spicy, he was mostly certain he could handle this. In this case he was beginning to suspect that just because he had a spice tolerance higher than 90% of Piltoverians, that didn’t make him immune.
“That’s….wow. Hoooo wow. That’s…got a kick to it!” Jayce gasped. “It’s good, it’s really good, just…ooof, maybe ten percent too much for me.”
“Jayce, even I don’t get extra spicy usually,” Viktor chided. “It’s spicy even for me, but it’s a good spicy. Normally I get regular spicy but I was in a nostalgic mood, and the fattiness of the gribenes helps cut the heat somewhat….here, have some flatbread, that will help.” He handed Jayce a pita from the breadbox they kept in the lab for the sake of snacks.
“Thanks,” Jayce breathed, trying not to shove the whole pita in his mouth at once. He took a few bites and had a sip of water, letting the spice levels settle. “You know that’s still really good though. Like, very flavorful spicy. And it’s not the spiciest thing you’ve brought back, it's not anywhere close to that apple and tiger’s paw pepper jam you brought back that one time…”
“You mean the jam you insisted on trying, and then declared it could be marketed as “apple-flavored decongestant”? The one you said tasted like “sweet fruit with an aftertaste of PAIN”?” Viktor had teased, laughing.
“I stand by those statements!” Jayce had teased back. “My sinuses have never felt so clear.”
“It was meant to be spread in a thin layer over cheese and toast, not eaten by itself, and certainly not a whole spoonful of it…”
“It was still good though, but that definitely was way too spicy for me, I think this is just ten percent too spicy, I bet I could get used to it…”
It had been a very fun rest of the evening, as they’d discussed various dishes and cooking, complete with affectionate mocking of each others’ tastes in food: they both loved anise-flavored sweets but they were Viktor’s absolute favorite; Jayce loved chocolate and mint together, Viktor thought it was vile; they both loved the rose petal shortbreads the cafe near campus sometimes had….it had been a wonderful afternoon, and one Jayce had been sure had been another successful step on the list of formal courtship steps….except now he realised he’d been reading the signs entirely wrong.
“I mean I was reciprocating, just not perhaps the way you meant it?” Viktor said, snapping Jayce back to the here and now. “When I saw the opportunity to bring back some food from my favorite food stall…the idea of sharing it with you appealed to me. If you liked it, then great - and if you didn’t, well your reaction would at least be amusing.”
“You just appreciate I’m one of the few people up here who likes spicy stuff as much as you do,” Jayce chuckled. “We need to introduce my mother to Zaunite cuisine, she’d love it just as much.”
He smiled at Viktor. “She really likes you, you know that? When I told her I wanted to court you formally she was so happy for us. So were the Kirammans. My family already loves you almost as much as I do. Cait has already called dibs on being best man..er…woman, if we get married. She said she’d fight anyone else who tried.”
Viktor laughed, looking down at his hands somewhat self-consciously, clearly touched by Jayce’s words. “I have no doubt she would. She was so excited when she came up to us at the fundraising gala last week… had thought it was because of our recent success with the Hexgates, but now I see I was wrong…that perhaps explains the hug. I was quite surprised when she did that, I admit”
“Ah yeah, I mean, we’re not blood relatives but she is like a little sister to me, and she manhandles me all the time…I think by her logic us being together gave her little sister privileges for you as well? I hope it was okay - you looked a bit uncomfortable.”
“It was surprise more than anything,” Viktor reassured. “As you said, she is your family. At the time I didn’t understand the context, I understand things a bit more now…though I feel like there are things that happened that night that I still have missed some of the context of. Perhaps you could explain that next?”