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It was a quiet day in the lab, only Viktor to himself as it often was these days. There would’ve been a time where he might’ve just shrugged that off. Now that he’d had a taste of something else though, it was hard to get back into that mindset where being on his own was the norm. He kept wanting to turn to tell Jayce something and being met with an empty chair.He wasn’t gone forever, he kept telling himself. It was just right now. Things were crazy and having Jayce on the council made everyone feel safe.The sun poured through the window, he could feel a sharp pain pressing on the inside of his skull. A sure sign that he’d been operating far too long on no sleep and caffeine. He was almost done, this was the best discovery he’d made yet. Sleep was a necessary trade for the importance of his work. Besides, when he figured everything out, when he made HexTech a safe reliable power source and figured out how to keep his fellow Zaunites from using the same thing for a deadly outcome… Then Jayce would come back to him.He ran his sleeve against his sweaty brow, they really needed to get some curtains for that window. It was so large and so bright.Under his breath, he murmured, trying to keep himself awake long enough to put the finishing touches on his project.
So close.. So close.. I think the headache is getting worse. Maybe I should just lay my head down for a second..
Jayce came back to the lab with amazing news, he was excited to share it with Viktor but as soon as he pushed the doors open he realized it would have to wait. The Zaunite was sat at his lab table, head laying on the table, hands still gripping tools in them.The excitement that had been brewing suddenly became something a lot softer, more caring. He huffed. It was likely that Viktor had been awake all night working on this, it was also likely that he had had taken things to keep himself that way as he worked on whatever it was that had caught his fancy.If he’d been there, Jayce would’ve forced him to go to bed. But the nights he spent in the lab these days were far and few in between.“Come on…” He lifted the sleeping form of Viktor from the lab seat. The jostling resulted in his head laying softly against Jayce’s shoulder. For a brief moment, he had flashes to memories of him as a child, falling asleep doing whatever and his mother picking him up in a similar fashion.He wondered if anyone had ever done that for Viktor. He didn’t know a ton about the other’s past, but it sounded like he hadn’t had a whole lot of people he could count on. Jayce had always been too scared to ask where his parents were. He’d never even considered the question until his own mother brought it up.“I don’t… know.” He’d said. She had had an expression of pity, she basically took Viktor in as her own after that. It was sweet.“I can walk..” A groggy voice snapped him back to reality. Viktor had awoken, but only a little bit. He was not happy about being carried.“I know, I didn’t want to wake you. You looked like you could use the rest.”“I need to finish my work…”“Tomorrow. Today you’re going to rest.”“No. Where’s my cane?”Jayce sighed as he set Viktor down on the couch, it wasn’t a bed but he knew he wouldn’t get him on actual bed rest. He had to settle for little victories. Besides the couch was far better than the lab table.“I was going to go back for it.” Jayce pushed him to lay down. He received a glare in response. “You can glare all you want, V, but you need rest. Stay there.”He walked back in the direction of the lab table, picking up the cane that was leaning there. He remembered absently when he’d first met Viktor and the impression he’d had of him. It had changed a lot over the years knowing him.Back then, he’d wrongly assumed the cane made him weak. That it impeded the other man in some way. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Viktor was twice the man he was. Twice as smart, twice as strong, twice as brave. He was sick right now, facing down death and all he wanted to do was work on their stupid project. If that were him, he’d be curled up in his bed fearing what was to come.“I want to keep working.”“Just rest, V, please.” His voice was strained, it was the first time he’d let it show how worried he was for the other man. The leg was getting worse, the coughing louder… how long would it be before he was no longer able to have these conversations with his favourite person in the world? What would a world without him even look like?For once, Viktor remained silent. He didn’t argue, he sat there, calculating his lab partner with those deep intense eyes.Finally, he sighed. There was no point in arguing with Jayce. He might as well take the break to appease him. Jayce walked back over leaning the cane against the wall beside the couch, he spent a long time lingering and staring at.They shared a silent moment, then the councilor joined him on the couch. They’d been avoiding, running, working through the reality of the situation for so long. They were men of intellect, of science. Emotions weren’t intellectual so they were pushed down so that they could be the best versions of themselves the world needed. But there was no need to pretend right now, in the safety of the quiet empty lab where this all started.The rest of the world was on the other side but in here they were safe.Jayce’s head fell into Viktor’s lap. It was his default when he needed comfort from anyone, if he laid there long enough they always stroked their fingers through his hair and that was the best feeling in the world. It was even better when his lab partner did it because he knew the exact spots that felt the best… Viktor had known him better than anyone else ever had.“You worry too much…” His accent was thicker, it always was when he was more emotional. Maybe because it was harder to control anything in his voice.He huffed. “I think I worry the right amount, V, you heard what they…”“I want to finish our work before I go, Jayce.”“You’ll work yourself to the bone-“Viktor snorted. “Not something you seem to care about when you’re off playing Councilor.”He received a hard glare for that, it wasn’t a position he liked being put in but what else was he supposed to do? This could be war soon and weren’t people always making hard decisions in the face of war?He already had a solution to bring peace, even if temporary, between Zaun and Piltover. A bandage to everything that as soon as it was set in place would allow him to spend more time here, at Viktor’s side. Because if he was going to go soon, he wanted to relish every moment they had together.“I’ll fix everything..”There was a soft snort from Viktor, as if he didn’t believe his words. But that was okay. He didn’t need to.“Let’s not talk about all of that. I want to forget about it for now.”He didn’t have to explain what he meant. Jayce knew he meant everything; the pending war, his illness, Mel, the Council, Heimerdinger, the Arcane, HexTech… all of it. He wanted that too, to just focus on them. Sure, all those things were still happening and they’d need to be addressed eventually but there was nothing wrong with disconnecting for a bit.Jayce suddenly sat up, an idea in his mind, Viktor’s hand pulling back from his head.He slid off the couch and rummaged through all the junk in the laboratory, feeling the other man’s eyes on him. Aha! Of course I kept it!The old record player, the one he’d brought from his mother’s house to play music for the two of them occasionally while they worked. More than a few times, they’d got caught up more in the music than their work. It was easy to get distracted when you were spending time with someone you care about.“I cannot believe you kept that, does it even still work.”It hadn’t been used in at least a few years but when Jayce picked out a record from the collection it still played. Sure, there were probably more efficient ways to play music these days but he’d always be nostalgic for the record player. It was what his mother had listened to growing up, what he’d had his first dance with Viktor to… And now it would forever be apart of this moment too.He held his hand out for Viktor. If it was a bad leg day, which Jayce suspected it might be given how he’d asked for his cane earlier, you’d never know it. The two of them danced around the lab once more turning it back into their special spot. It was like all the doom, gloom and loneliness of the past year and a half disappeared. In it’s place was laughter, Viktor leaning into Jayce like they’d never been separated.Sometime later, Jayce sat on the lab table, Viktor leaning into him between his legs.They were too exhausted to dance anymore but the good mood hadn’t been spoiled and Viktor was using it to nuzzle his head against Jayce’s, trailing soft kisses along his jaw.Jayce’s hands rested on his hips.No matter how things went from here they had each other, they had these moments, they had the life they’d built up together and nothing could take that from them.“I love you, V..” He whispered breathless.There was a brief pause in the kissing. “I love you too, Jayce.”