Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It wasn’t unusual for Jayce to receive a visit at this time of night. A calculated effect from the events that unraveled earlier that same day, yet when a cold hand slid under the hem of his shirt, he still jolted, the act stilling the other presence ever so slightly before that same hand moved to envelope the side of his neck. 

A thinly veiled threat , Viktor would’ve argued; a caress was more what it felt like coming from him.

Jayce chastised the mirth out of the other’s eyes with a single glare, turning to face the other. “Herald.” Jayce uttered, his eyes thinning with newfound aggression for the briefest of moments. 

“Defender.” Viktor mirrored, voice deep and so unlike the one Jayce had only been rewarded when the other man felt like taunting him with their past. Even as their relationship developed further, the boundaries between enemies, occasional colleagues and casual lovers blurring all together, it was rare for any of the two to show any sign of intimacy. 

The herald moved to lean against the table that held Jayce’s many blueprints, notes, letters, fidgeting with the piece of paper currently held under Jayce’s palm, barely skimming the words with his eyes in unphased consideration.

Jayce stared silently, awaited with posed stillness for the eventual strike of unpredictability that could be thrown at him, often in the form of a fist, Viktor had other plans for today.  

“So,” he started, tapping his fingers in a gesture that looked too humane for the machine Viktor often described himself as. “When is a good time to ask for sex?” He asked finally, giving Jayce a look that told him that that would be as much of an apology as he’d get for the mess he had caused earlier that day.

Jayce let out an exasperated sigh in reply. “Was that really necessary?” He asked. “You sent your hunch men-“

“ Fanatics .” The herald swiftly corrected.

“-Topside to wreak havoc, and for what? Last time I checked, theft wasn’t part of your ‘glorious evolution’” he mocked, moving to grab at the side of the letter he was writing just to swat it at the other man’s curious hand. “I had to write an apology as a proper member of the council and first on the scene to act, I had to assure this was some sort of isolated event just to-“

“Clear out my name?” Viktor tilted his head, clearly raising an eyebrow even if his metal plate lacked to show any emotion. 

“ A s if that could ever happen.” Jayce spat out, refusing to come to terms with the fact that that was exactly what he had tried to do. “You’re a lost cause, a fucking nut job…” he muttered, trying to convince himself first and foremost that that was really what he thought of him. “And oh , let’s be completely honest, you weren’t exactly sane before you turned into… this ” the man flaunted his hand, while the other crossed his arms in controlled rage.

“I wasn’t leading them.” He said instead, lifting his weight off the wooden desk completely. The hand that still held the man’s warmth moved to fiercely cup at his chin, tilting it ever so upwards for Jayce’s face to be better inspected. The defender didn’t fight hard to free himself. “If I were leading them, you wouldn’t have gotten away with a simple scratch.” He pointed out, pushing his thumb on the tear right below his lower lip, smearing blood that wasn’t truly there in a familiar motion. 

“Medical supplies.” Jayce said, and Viktor’s disappointed tilt of his head followed, it wouldn’t take much before Jayce’s talkativeness would start to irritate him, but Jayce would spend all the time he’d get trying to get a decent conversation out of the man that had captivated his every thought. “What exactly were you trying to get from this last raid? What did you promise these poor people, V?” 

To the herald’s credit, a grounding sigh was all it took not to lash out. Perhaps the familiarity of his nickname helped. He let his hand fall back to its rightful place at his side, slowly considering his next words, before he kicked the back leg of Jayce’s chair, causing the man to make a choked up sound of surprise. 

Much to Jayce’s pleasure, he didn’t fall. The Herald’s other hand swiftly grabbed at the back of his seat instead, in a show of short-tempered pettiness.

“Your emotions cloud your judgement, Jayce.” He immediately said, looking down at his former partner’s eyes with newfound hostility.  

“Don’t start with that.” The other man interjected, his voice not faltering despite the more than unusual position he had found himself in. Viktor let his feet touch the ground soon enough. 

“You think I’m trying to build myself an army.” The herald accused.

“I think it would be hard to perform mechanical augmentations without anesthesia.” Jayce said, only consolidating Viktor’s accusations. 

“No, I’ve never had any problems doing so before.” Viktor admitted, Jayce visibly winched, his lips twisting in an uncomfortable grimace. “But it makes the people I help feel more at ease, I suppose.” He added.

“Viktor…” The name was uttered as a plea. “you’re not helping these people. You’re weaponizing them.” Jayce corrected. 

“I’m giving them the opportunity to join me.” He said with an air of finality. “Don’t make my visit a waste of my time. I don’t want to gag you to shut you up. Not today.”

Jayce was a man of impenetrable morals, a man sturdily built in both brain and body, forged by the challenges he had faced so far, yet still just a man. 

“What did you have in mind?” He asked, earning himself a chuckle. 

“I want to reward you.” Viktor said instead. “Are you hungry?” He asked.

And ‘No , what kind of question is that?’ was the first thing Jayce meant to say, then Viktor started to undress, taking off his armor starting from his chest piece, revealing the protective piece of clothing behind it before even those were being taken off, and he soon was faced with a nearly naked Viktor.

His ‘mask’ was the only thing that remained. 

He didn’t move from the chair he was still sitting at, awaiting instructions with a hungry but obedient stare.

Viktor tilted his head, amusement clearly etched in his glowing golden eyes and voice, the latter becoming more and more familiar as the man ‘loosened up’. “You’re not subtle.” He pointed out, noticing Jayce’s intense stare. “Have you missed me?”

“It’s been… a while.” Jayce confessed when an ungloved hand moved to caress the side of his face. “You’ve been sporadic in your visits, for some reason.”

Viktor hummed. “I have.” He conceded without adding more, only raising suspicion from the other party involved. 

Jayce took the hand caressing his face, brought it to his lips before placing a kiss at the center of his palm, mesmerized by the pattern of creases and lines that reminded him how human Viktor still felt, despite him denying. He knew Viktor was looking down at him with pensive reverence. 

The other man had more than once tried to convince Jayce that the Viktor like he once knew was dead, only born anew as the machine that he now was, even in its ‘ imperfect, incomplete form’ . Viktor never missed a chance to remind him that his current body would be temporary, his arm was more than testimony enough that he was able to replace pieces of himself at whim; it was more than a simple prosthetic, Jayce realized, but a biomechanical experimental project fueled by the Arcane itself and that only Viktor knew the blueprints of, one he had sacrificed his body for instead of going through the hassle of unnecessary testing and bureaucratic green lights. 

The type of reckless mentality that reminded Jayce why they couldn’t have these ‘meetings’ any other way.

“Is there something you want to tell me, V?” He finally asked after a moment of focusing on Viktor’s steady pulse under his thumb, he knew it wasn’t a real heart pumping blood in his veins, but it was very similar, he supposed. It reminded him of the old days.

Viktor shook his head after a moment of tense silence, unwilling to elaborate further. His touch became softer, the thumb of the hand still cupping at his face moved to draw soothing patterns on Jayce’s chin for just enough for the man to relax into the touch before it was cruelly stripped of it.  “Now put your mouth to good use.” He ordered after a sudden change of heart, yanking his hand away.

They had stalled long enough.

Jayce finally rose, loosely wrapping both of his hands on each side of Viktor’s hips, his lips parted in anticipation as he asked, like he usually did: “can I kiss you?”

“No.” The answer always remained the same, but Jayce didn’t have it in him to feel too disappointed when Viktor looked like he was genuinely mulling the question over in his head. “You can come inside me if you manage to get me off first.” He still consoled, softly nudging his forehead against Jayce’s but not relenting in his decision of ever taking off his ‘mask’. 

He’d take whatever Viktor was willing to give him.

“Deal.” He said, lifting the other man just enough to push him on the side of his work table, Viktor’s metal arm and leg amounting for quite of his weight.

Jayce knelt down at a rather weird angle, noticing the pleased gleam of Viktor’s eyes as he looked down at him and moved to caress the back of his head. “Don’t look so pleased…” he muttered, his mouth parted against Viktor’s thigh, where he began to place kisses. It was easy to talk with him, when they put pride aside, Jayce loved their banter immensely.

“You're asking the impossible…” Viktor whispered after a slow exhale, his other hand slid closer to his waiting cunt, parting his lips apart. “I’ve been waiting too.” He confessed, easing two of his own fingers in, barely making a sound as they entered him. “And, I might’ve started without you.”

Jayce’s hands stretched to grab at his ex-partner’s ass, making him lean against the edge of the table and closer to his expecting mouth, Viktor’s hand previously holding Jayce by the hair moved beside him on the wooden surface, sustaining his weight in case he’d lose balance. 

Jayce let out a shaky breath as he pressed his mouth impossibly close, his nose brushing against the dark untamed hair just above his cunt. His hand moved to pinch the flesh upwards and his tongue eased inside, earning himself a pleased hum that trailed off into a robotic whirring sound. Jayce worked meticulously, Viktor’s commanding voice and satisfied moans a welcomed sound amidst his own pleased, silent hums. 

“ Right there .” The Herald ordered, and for the first time ever since burrowing his face inside him, Jayce looked up, noting how his mask had been slid upwards to the tip of his nose, a red tint now covering every inch of Viktor’s uncovered skin, his breathing uneven. Jayce didn’t dare to stop, he sucked relentlessly at Viktor’s clit just how he had been instructed, one of his hands wrapped itself on Viktor’s metallic calf almost possessively while the other moved to free his aching dick from his pants, already half hard in his own hand. 

Jayce started teasing the nub with his tongue instead when he felt a slow exhale vibrating from the man in front of him, licking and flicking his tongue in a gentle motion as if awaiting further instruction, or a scolding for taking initiative. 

This time, it would be the former.

”Get up.” Viktor ordered, his voice needy despite the authoritative tone. Jayce brushed his hand against his cunt lips once, pleased by the shuddering breath his touch provoked, before he rose between his legs.

Viktor swiftly wrapped his legs against the other scientist’s back, pushing Jayce’s hips forward as a snarl found his way on his uncovered lips. “Get in. Breed me.” He demanded, making Jayce’s dick twitch in anticipation.

“ Yes .” Jayce breathed out, rutting the tip of his dick against Viktor’s clit, utterly enamoured with the view of both of their sexes pressed together.

Viktor grunted in response before grabbing Jayce’s cock in his own cold hand, leading it the right direction. “ Inside .” He scolded, making Jayce whimper a pathetic sound but successfully keeping him in line. Jayce groaned a half-choked moan when he finally found his pace, easing into the tightness and stretching Viktor’s hole apart, and Viktor wrapped his hands around his back almost mechanically, his fingers digging half moons against the soft tan skin of his ex-partner.

“Do you want it?” Jayce asked, breathlessly, eyes shining with idiotic, unbridled hope. Viktor’s covered eyes squinted in consideration, and the corners of his mouth shot upwards in amusement, as they always did. He let out a shaky laugh. “Do you want me to give you a baby?”

“Why not?” Viktor replied, and another soft chuckle that morphed into a moan left his mouth as Jayce picked up his pace, ruthless and rough as his more animalistic side engulfed his rational-self. “If it doesn’t take-” Viktor was interrupted before he could finish the sentence.

“It’ll take.” Jayce interjected, seething with finality, the faintest of growls vibrating from his throat. Viktor shot a mean glance his way, chastising the smile away from his mouth and steadying his voice to let the other take note of the obvious shift of his mood. 

“If it doesn't,” he repeated. “We'll switch places.” If the whimpers he got in response were of any indication, Jayce sounded pleased to know. Although, the frantic nodding of his head against the crook of Viktor’s neck would have been an ever greater hint. Viktor’s hand grabbed at the dark damp hairs at his nape, soothingly caressing the spot. “And you’ll carry our child instead.” He said, the words coming out as a threat more than something Jayce would look forward to doing. 

“It’ll take,” the other man repeated, grasping at the words left unsaid and unwilling to fail. Beads of sweat were running from the top of Jayce’s forehead down Viktor’s neck as he kept thrusting his dick inside. “It’ll take, I promise.” Jayce said as he hit just the right spot inside him, Viktor moaned in answer, any attempt of a witty reply wiped away from his mind as he gritted his teeth to keep himself quiet.

“I promise, V.” He whined, his breath hot against his neck before he started mouthing kisses against the side of it. Viktor found it quite charming in his hazened state. 

Jayce’s broad arms wrapped around his back, pushing him even closer than what Viktor felt was humanly possible, his dick sliding even deeper in an impossible stretch. The herald gasped, and when a hand brushed against the bolts screwed to his spine and Jayce’s chest brushed against the scar where his heart would be, -a bittersweet reminder of how vulnerable he had let himself be seen- , he whimpered a pitiful sound.

Near his climax, Jayce pulled his head back, his hair messily clinged to his forehead and the heat his body provided was greatly missed by Viktor. Viktor gritted his teeth, his hidden eyebrows furrowed in confusion, but he never managed to inquire about Jayce’s sudden halt in pace as the man explained himself fast enough. 

“Choke me.” He said, making Viktor still in place as he considered him. “Choke me Vik, please .” The man begged, and Viktor’s hands moved almost as if under a spell, wrapping themselves around the sides of Jayce’s neck, the motion all too -familiar for all the wrong reasons.

He’d never tell Jayce how much he loved his mind sometimes .

Viktor’s hands tightened their grip around Jayce’s neck, successfully leaving him gasping for air as he picked up his pace once again, his hands coming undone against the now-bruised flesh of Jayce’s neck only as the man spilled his seed deep inside, reaching his climax as Viktor reached his.

Jayce tried to regain his breath at the same time Viktor managed to steady his own, and the man begrudgingly tilted his metal mask downwards, having found reprieve in the unrestricted flow of cold air up until then. Jayce pulled his dick out soon after, some of his spent leaking down from his puffy hole and onto the floor. 

“You…” Jayce muttered, unsure what to say. He looked at his former partner with wide eyes, realizing what he had done. “…Should go. Now.” He finally said, and Viktor’s eyes glowed in amusement at the sudden bashfulness.

”You usually ask me to stay.” Viktor pointed out, following his sentence with a mocking hum, as if pensive. “The defender of tomorrow…”

”No, don’t say it…” Jayce warned, his fingers sliding through his hair. After recollecting himself, he crossed his room determined, their routine familiar.

”likes being choked in his chambers and… outside them?” The herald mocked a gasp as a towel was thrown his way, he supposed he’d have to follow through with the clean up himself this time.

“No.” The man still denied, both of his hands now covering his reddening face. “It’s not like that!” Jayce insisted , huffing his displeasure. Viktor should’ve really given him a break, but…

“How many times have you moaned in pleasure instead of dread whenever I choked you in battle?” Viktor still asked, his feet finally touching the ground with a hard thump as he moved to fetch his discarded clothes and armor.

” Never .” He said, horrified by such an accusation. “This? This is different!” He gestured to the both of them. 

“How is it any different?” Viktor asked, slipping into his armor and stretching his arms and back.

”We were having sex.” Jayce said matter-of-factly. “It was a sexual fantasy, just like… you know.” 

“No safe word either…” the other mumbled, much to Jayce’s chagrin. “You were completely at my mercy, exactly like when we-“

”I don’t get hard when you’re beating me up into a pulp in battle!” Jayce insisted, as if his whole dignity depended on it. And perhaps it did, to some extent. “Would you get out already?! Leave like you always do whenever we hook up?!”

Viktor looked tense for a moment, his hand suspended in the air, still, as if considering his next move, he was eerily silent, Jayce realized. It made goosebumps crawl at his skin like they only did when expecting to be electrocuted. 

Something was clearly wrong , and Jayce almost regretted having let his guard down for so long before he realized. 

In his mind he mulled over their more-coherent side of their conversation that night, how Viktor had looked hesitant to stay and too eager to listen to him all at once, while his eyes searched for his hammer, finding it still at the place he had left it, leaning against the wall near his desk, but closer to Viktor than it was to him, unfortunately . 

Despite his instincts screaming at him to make a run for it , grab the hammer and defend himself from a possible assault, he rationally knew he wouldn’t get away with just a few scratches if he did. 

And besides, Viktor couldn’t read minds. If he kept himself calm and collected he could trick his former partner to think he was blissfully unaware of the tense shift of their situation.

“I’ve been absent.” Viktor said, making Jayce’s jolt at the sudden noise. Jayce’s eyes turned sharp, definitely a trap, he chastised himself, he was a fool not to realize it sooner. 

Viktor moved closer, but didn’t fully invade Jayce’s personal space, his fingers fidgeting with his blueprints instead, tapping over the thick paper rhythmically.   

His blueprints? Was that what he was after? It wouldn’t be the first time. Jayce couldn’t think how any of his inventions could be of use to Viktor, especially the ones he had lying around his lab at this moment in time, definitely more tame in comparison to others, but he didn’t scratch that possibility just yet.

Then Viktor spoke again, and the worry he felt for the general being of Piltover turned into genuine concern for his casual lover. 

“That’s because I’ve been ill.” He said, and Jayce’s eyebrows furrowed.

“You don’t get sick.” Jayce pointed out, ever so slightly tilting his head in confusion. Viktor played with the rim of a discarded mug as he chose his next words carefully, but all it reminded Jayce was how cynical in his own admissions his ex-partner could be. 

“I had meant to eradicate the problem from its root, but further scans revealed there was a precise reason why I hadn’t felt fully in control of my body for the first time in so many years…” Viktor tilted his head, hesitant, he averted his gaze almost shyly, but Jayce interpreted it as indifference.

“Spit it out.” Jayce demanded, impatient.

“I’m pregnant.” The herald delivered, in the silence that followed only the thrumming of his fingers could be heard, a motion that Jayce now recognized as anxious.

He wished he had just been blasted with a laser instead. 

“Is it mine..?” Jayce asked with a voice above a whisper, flinching and taking a step back when those same fingers tapping at his desk quickly turned into a fist hitting the surface of it. Not the right question to ask, then. “How could this have happened?” He asked instead, muttering the question to himself more than to Viktor, but that didn’t help the hostility that had already begun to form between them after his first question.

“Sex.” Viktor unhelpfully provided, Jayce scoffed, but couldn’t bear to look at him in his evident panic.

“How far along are you?” He asked instead, sliding a hand on his face.

“Early.” Viktor blandly replied, the sudden switch of tone immensely irritated Jayce.

Something in the way Viktor’s gaze was fixated at him made his skin burn and Jayce couldn’t possibly think of a reason The Herald would tell him this information without a purpose. He still had to identify if that purpose fit more into the emotional manipulation category rather than the renewed temporary partnership one.

“Viktor, I…” The beginning of an apology died in his own throat. “What are we going to do?” He asked instead. The silence that followed had Jayce furrowing his brows, and his lips curling in a grimace. “You… Is this a joke ?” He asked next when silence was the only thing he was met with. “How do I know you are not lying to me? you must know how crazy this sounds- with the way you… became. How do I know you didn’t take the chance of that ever happening away when you put that thing in your chest?” Jayce scoffed, but in the deafening silence that kept on persisting, he realized Viktor hadn’t been joking. Jayce didn’t know how to deal with this new information.

Jayce let out a breath of air he didn’t know he was holding, his eyes flickering everywhere in the room but his partner’s face. If he truly dug deep enough in himself he would have identified some of the fear he was feeling as anticipation, but on the surface he couldn’t help but feel terror settle heavy in his throat. 

He wanted to ask how Viktor had known, if he wanted this, if he had intentionally wanted to get pregnant as a last resort of a romantic confession, It wouldn't be the craziest thing he’s done, after all . Yet he remained silent, petrified.

Would Viktor be willing to settle down with him if he did the same? Bury the old axe and move on for the sake of something- someone that would depend entirely on them? 

Even if it was a strategically political move to gain something out of one of Piltover’s councilors by a marriage of convenience, Jayce didn’t deny that the idea wasn’t the slightest bit tempting, desired even. 

But How could he have a baby with a man whose face he hadn’t seen in years?

The Herald looked like he was truly considering Jayce’s reaction with the hum that followed, his gaze fixated on the ‘man of progress’ mug his fingers had started to play with once again, circling the edge in a self-soothing motion. Jayce sighed, his eyes softening, he felt something akin to shame for his behavior at the sight. Jayce’s mouth opened and closed a few times without a sound coming out, then it hit him, the mug.

The defender’s hand shot to his aching head in an instant, he felt blood before he heard the rest of the mug shatter on the floor, then footsteps as he realized Viktor was unwilling to have a civilized conversation anymore, and ready to flee from the same open window he had come in from. 

“You- asshole !” Jayce yelled and panted, his eyes were kept shut in pain while he sustained most of his weight on his elbow, now rested over the same pages of projects he was so sure Viktor wanted to steal at first, ruining the papers as red covered the whole lot of them. The footsteps didn’t stop. Jayce managed to open his eyes fast enough to see his own hammer swinging his way, dodging it by pure chance by throwing himself over the table. 

Now, heart beating fast in his chest at the near-death experience and blood still tickling down his face, his vision became blurry and he panted as he looked at his ex-partner with wide eyes. It would take time before the steam would blow off this time, he was sure.

“Don’t search for me.” Viktor warned, his voice void of any affection he might've had previously. “Or you’ll come to regret it.” 

“You are… a psychopath…” Jayce muttered, tongue sharp even in his evident dread. He was clearly out-powered against a half-cyborg without the proper equipment. Viktor knew that too.

”Your… superiors will be pleased to hear I’ll be out of commission for the next few months.” Was the last thing the herald said before jumping down Jayce’s window. 

Chapter Text

The other councilors were not his superiors, Jayce wanted to say at the time, pointing out how he was as much in charge as the others, but in the couple of months that followed with radio silence from the Machine Herald, said group of people had been truly ecstatic to watch the criminality rate statistics plummet down to near zero; Sure, there were still some revolts topside but not as organized as the few before Viktor’s ultimatum.

Said ultimatum had kept Jayce away from Viktor for more time than they had ever been apart since their arrangement. He knew Viktor needed time, he knew he’d be the one to find him if he’d ever want to talk to him again, but everyday he fought himself not to sneak in the undercity and search for him. The workload he added to his schedule helped him purge those ideas out of his system.

He had kept his calendar busy for the most part of his days; he had started new projects, scratched out a few others, he had partaken in a few business gathering, had his picture taken next to big political figures at important events, but come night he would always long for Viktor’s touch against his skin. 

It had gotten to the point where he could admit it wasn’t only his touch he missed. In truth, busying himself in boring conversations had made him realize how much he craved more insightful company, Viktor’s specifically. He never met anyone that could compare to him, and every moment he spent without him was a sour reminder of that irrefutable truth.  

In the depths of Zaun, Viktor had been thinking about Jayce too, unfortunately. 

“Come on, Viiiki.” Jinx pleaded, laying her whole body on top of the backrest of the couch Viktor was resting on, dragging the ‘I’ of his nickname for an annoyingly long amount of time. “You can’t keep brooding like this, it’s been weeks.” She extended a hand from above and poked his cheek with a pointy nail, once, twice and also a third time before Viktor grabbed her wrist and shooed her away. He sighed, exasperated. 

”I’m not brooding.” Viktor insisted, although he could see why Jinx had come to that conclusion. 

He had spent most of his recent days on his bed, his couch, or the floor, often skimming over old Piltovian newspapers just so he could get an idea of what Jayce had been up to in his absence. If he weren’t deep into a new self-destructive habit, he was doing the bare minimum to keep himself and the little clump of cells resting inside of him, now much more than just that , alive.

After what had transpired topside, he had been very close to gathering up an army with a heartfelt motivational speech to all his loyal followers and sending his formal war declaration to the council - that’s when Silco showed up at his doorstep, Renata following behind him, and ended his voluntary isolation streak. He had been getting more and more visits from them after that, and Jinx had tagged along more than a few times, each time bringing him a new riddle, a new piece of scrap, a broken toy, anything to keep his mind busy. It worked, for the most part.

Since she had been the only one visiting lately, he thought -rather correctly- his mood had improved enough for Renata and Silco to leave her his well being. Or rather, let her deal with his petty mood swings .

Viktor understood that even his former mentor and father figure had had enough of his volatility, Silco had enough unpredictability in his life with Jinx at his side at all times after all, he didn’t need Viktor to add to it.

The duo were a good match for each other anyway.

”You are.” Jinx said, rolling off the cushioned backrest and onto the floor with a loud thud , she got up and scoffed, moving to stand in front of Viktor with her arms crossed, waiting for him to scoot over and give her a spot on his couch, Viktor reluctantly did. “Again. Seriously, I thought we were over that.” She sat down next to him with a sigh, lolling her head backwards. “It’s not your fault if your Piltie boyfriend ended up being a deadbeat dad, I mean- you should have expected it but you know, nobody’s perfect. ” If her voice sounded any more petulant he might’ve felt offended , but Viktor just scoffed.

He had had no reason to hide his pregnancy to what he considered the closest thing to family , so Silco and Jinx knew first, the latter having eavesdropped on a rather private conversation. Renata had been informed at a later time, and she had given him some space.

“I’m taking everything out once the gestation period is complete…” Viktor muttered through gritted teeth, a disgusted grimace at the mention of his sworn enemy beginning to form on his tired face.

”Jeez,” Jinx chuckled. “I get that ‘emotionless robot’ is your whole gimmick, but if you refer to your pregnancy as ‘gestation’ again I might actually puke.” She said, Viktor huffed a breath and buried his nose deeper into the deep blue blanket he had draped over his shoulders. “Besides, aren’t you at least a little bit excited for the little ankle biter to get here already? You haven’t even decorated a room for them!”

Jinx gestured to the house, how plain and unfit for a baby it seemed even for the standards the both of them were raised in. Viktor didn’t want to think that some of the only toys he had for his baby were the ones Jinx had brought him to fix and never reclaimed, as of now he didn’t feel in the right place mentally to do anything more than the most necessary. 

“They’re sleeping in a crib in my bedroom.” Viktor immediately said, defensive. “I’m not letting them out of my sight, in case they get kidnapped.” He clarified. 

“Wow… and they call me the crazy one…” she eyed him, frowned as if disappointed. “You know that's not going to happen, right? That’s too paranoid even for you.” Jinx said, raising an eyebrow. Viktor just shrugged, unconvinced. “He or she is going to be the safest kid in Zaun, for one, they’ve got me as their aunt.” And she flexed her arm as if to show muscle mass that definitely wasn’t there. “So, I guess we could start working on the little bug’s room to cheer you up.” Then, a gasp. “Are you going to know their gender anytime soon?!”

“I should be able to.” Viktor answered cautiously, his voice guarded after Jinx’s unexpected excitement. He set a hand on his abdomen, the black fabric of the shirt he was wearing stretching with the added weight he had been rapidly gaining after entering his second trimester 3 weeks before.

“No, wait- don’t do it. Just-“ she hummed, thinking how she could ever propose this idea to Viktor in the first place. “I know you’re a bit of an oddball, but let a real doctor do your ultrasounds next time around, then you’re going to ask for the gender to be a surprise and then-“

“You are not throwing me a gender reveal party.” Viktor interrupted, glaring at his sister with an angry furrow of his brows. He could be very expressive when he didn’t cover his face.

“I am!” She insisted, fervently.”I am! I am! I am!”

“That’s completely unnecessary . And I’ll have you know that once I’ll get handed over the ultrasound pictures by this hypothetical doctor, if we even manage to find one-“

“Doctor Reveck!” She interjected.

“It won’t be much of a surprise anymore, I know what to look for in an ultrasound, I’ve been- I’m sorry , did you just say doctor Reveck ?” Viktor asked, just to confirm he hadn’t gone truly mad.

“Yeah!” She confirmed, nodding her head up and down almost comically, making a frown appear on Viktor’s face. He shook his head.

“He’s barely a doctor at all.” Viktor sighed, sitting up straighter and stretching his limbs. 

“And you aren’t that better either…” Jinx muttered loud enough for him to hear. It was true, but Viktor prided himself in the idea that nobody knew his body better than him. Still, she pursued with her offer. “Look, let me do this for you. It’ll be a little gathering just me, you and Silco! Then we’ll take a few pictures and put them in an album, that’s it . The kid’s gonna be the next eye of Zaun after all!”

“We can't all be ‘the next eye of Zaun ’” Viktor pointed out with a scoff. “Zaun has enough eyes as it is.”

“Yeah, three eyes? That’s pretty weird. Maybe as weird as having a half-cyborg as one of the candidates.” Jinx rolled her eyes, eliciting a short chuckle from the man. 

“Mage.” He corrected her. “I’m not asking Singed to do an ultrasound scan on me, I… respect him as a colleague, but that’s not his field of expertise.” Viktor said before their conversation could derail further, his tone was firm but also softer , this time. Jinx had only tried to help after all. 

Next to him, his sister deflated like a balloon, all the excitement she might’ve felt before now disappeared in an instant. “ However -“ he added, watching the spark in Jinx’s eyes rekindle back to life, he stood up, slowly walking to the kitchen, blanket still draped over his shoulders like a cape, Jinx followed. “I can act surprised when cutting a cake, if that’s what you want.”

“Yes!” She rejoiced, jumping up and down. “Yes, yes, yes! That’s the spirit!” She slapped a hand on Viktor’s furthest shoulder, basically hanging on him, while with her other hand she poked a finger to the defined curve of his stomach. “Say, you got a preference for the little rascal?”

Viktor shielded the spot she had poked with his palm, not particularly fond of being touched. “A girl.” He still replied, before shaking Jinx off his shoulder and fetching some kind of dark powder from one of the cupboards and, immediately after, a saucepan.

“That was quick.” Jinx raised an inquisitive eyebrow. “Where’s the whole ‘it doesn’t matter, I’ll love them regardless ’ bullshit new parents always say? You didn’t even try!”

He moved to take some milk out of the fridge next. “It doesn’t matter and I’ll love them regardless,” he said, pouring the liquid in the saucepan and mixing the powder in. “but I do have a son already.” He heated up the mixture with his laser, a thin concentrated beam shooting from his eyes for a small amount of time lest he wanted to melt the pan.

Jinx looked genuinely taken aback by his previous statement however, much more than his indirect demonstration of a built-in weapon, she stumbled over her words, trying to make sense of that. “Wha- when did that-“

“Blitzcrank.” Viktor interrupted, turning off his laser and facing her, he watched as an unamused expression crossed her face. “He’s like a son to me.”

“Ah…” she exhaled from her nose, a lopsided smile tugging the corner of her mouth. “You're really weird, huh?”

“Talk about the pot calling the kettle black.” Viktor snickered, and poured her a mug of sweetmilk, immediately after pouring one for himself. “Drink up.”

It was easy to say they got along well, and when Viktor had been solicited to stop sulking and get back to work with a new shipment of refined shimmer, they worked together just fine. 

Surprisingly enough, the occasions in which they had blown up his laboratory had considerably decreased ever since their first attempts of a partnership. Viktor liked to think it was because they were finally on the same wavelength and Jinx was willing to learn something from him, but he knew she was restraining herself from doing more damage out of sheer consideration for his current condition. It was driving her insane.

The workload had kept Viktor from plotting revenge on his ex-partner, while Jinx had succeeded in avoiding letting him wither away from over-exertion, and when further along his second trimester he had another ultrasound, he had kept his promise to her. He wrote down the gender on an ultrasound picture he hoped he’d eventually get back, put it in an envelope, and personally gave it to Jinx the next time she came around. She was ecstatic to begin with the preparations, so much so she didn’t show up for the next few days. 

The herald didn’t hear a peep from her until a colorful invitation was sent to his house, looking unmistakably Jinx, that upon opening sent a blast of confetti all over the ground. With pink and blue letters she had clearly invited him to the party she was hosting later that same night at the Last Drop, and since he had no intention of receiving a bomb at his doorstep for his missing participation, he supposed he could spend the rest of the afternoon trying to look presentable.

His armor as a choice of clothing for the night was out of the question, he had since left his project of adjusting it to accommodate his pregnancy as it progressed, and he would likely not go back to it anytime soon. Although it had been an useful asset to have whenever meeting with chembarons, enforcers navigating his premises in search of trouble or for his more violent objectives up in the golden city, ever since he had secluded himself strictly in his home and office he rarely felt the need to have it on. Everyone feared and respected his name just the same, and often just the addition of his metal face plate would suffice to let himself be known.

Letting himself be detected was precisely the opposite of what he wanted that night. He picked up his mask, although he chose not to wear it but rather attached it to one of the magnetic belts he had decided to add to the chosen outfit for the day.

With the lack of variety in his wardrobe, said outfit consisted of a loose pair of gray pants, an even looser black t-shirt he forgot he ever had and a huge coat he’d hoped he’d never have to take off.

He looked… decent. He supposed.

“I hope you’re worth the trouble…” Viktor muttered to himself, mentally noting how he would have to put on more effort in finding fitting clothing options going forward. He paused, acknowledging whom he was actually talking to. “And I hope you look nothing like him.” He concluded, caressing the spot he had last felt a flutter from and looking amused when he received one more, as if agreeing. 

It was a feeling he had yet to get accustomed to despite not being a new development at all, something that had increased both in frequency and intensity but always felt inexplicably foreign, alien .

“I’m glad we’re on the same page.” He added after a moment of silence, he had since left his quarters to tidy up his work table before parting, but the kicking hadn’t stopped. He stared at his Hexclaw for a moment more, at his projects next to it, he was fairly certain his core could sustain the machine without the need of a second hex crystal, but what it would mean for him was a new surgery he’d have to go through, one he wasn't willing to perform on himself just yet. 

He slotted the hex crystal inside the claw and put on the matching glove, watching it rekindle back to life with his own mirrored hand movements. “One day,” he started, voice soft, but determined. “You’ll follow my steps, and every project I’ll leave behind will be yours to complete.” He said, his hand now reaching for the claw as it reached for him, both a mirror to each other. With his other hand, he finally deactivated the machine, taking away the crystal and hiding it away. “All in due time.”

Before even setting foot in The Last Drop, Viktor knew there had to be some miscommunication that had taken place between him and his sister. He paused at the grand display of pink and blue banners that didn’t quite fit the blasting nightclub music that could be heard from miles away, streamers and confetti in the same color were all over the place as he finally entered, intent on finding Jinx and asking for an explanation. 

Those were her signature colors , he tried to remind himself, not to jump to conclusions too quickly. Jinx had said it would be a small gathering, after all. He had clearly not read the invitation correctly if the crowded halls of The Last Drop were truly the location his reluctantly-agreed-upon party was being held at. 

Despite his desire to keep a potential conversation rational, his mood had significantly plummeted down into the negative digits the moment he got in and got bumped into, shoved left and right and successfully been forced to walk along the perimeter of the bar to avoid frying someone’s hair off out of exasperation. It was Jinx that found him first, sliding a hand against the back of his neck, making him turn around in a quick motion to grip at the offending wrist.

Viktor let go of her the moment he realized who she was, but the angry furrow of his eyebrows remained. “ Jinx .” He said, unsure if Jinx had heard the threat in his voice under the blasting sound of music when the same chirping tone he was always greeted with addressed him back.

“Woah mama, getting a little worked up are we?” She yelled at him, for the sake of effective communication. “I think you broke it!” She gripped at the very-much-intact wrist he had grabbed out of self-preservation habits, waving it around as if it couldn’t stand up on her whim, she dropped the act soon enough. 

“What is the meaning of this?” He yelled back at her instead, receiving half of an answer already in the form of an amused grin. “You tricked me.” He concluded, looking more annoyed at himself than the girl in front of her. “You tricked me into making a public appearance.” For some reason.

“ What ?” Jinx yelled back at him, not an ounce of recognition for his last few words. “I can’t hear you but you really sound like you might need a drink!”

“ No .” 

“Juice!” She immediately rectified. “I didn’t forget who this party was for!” She bumped his shoulder once, then twice when that didn’t get enough of a reaction. “Behind you, big guy!” She pressed, pushing him to move forward to the counter. She ordered for him, pressed the drink right in his hand all the while he remained completely still, weighing his options. 

“I know this wasn’t what you were planning.” She said, now ever so close to his ear. “But I’ve got a big surprise in store for you!” Viktor shattered the glass in his hand, causing a small group of people to look at them concerned before returning to meaningless conversations, he didn’t care about the mess he’d leave behind, he only grabbed Jinx's wrist once again, this time dragging her in a much more secluded hallway of the nightclub to properly talk to her.

“This is not what we agreed on.” He told her, eerily calm even in his evident rage, he pinned her to the nearest wall with his metallic hand, and didn’t have to wait long for an answer. 

”Yeah! It’s better!” She insisted, looking him right in his eyes, fear didn’t register for her when the threat was void of any real consequence. She shrugged when silence persisted for an awkward amount of time, successfully pressured to talk. “Well, you know, word spread out of a party and then: what party? What’s the occasion? And theeen it was a biiig game of telephone between the lanes, the promenade, hell even someone from the sump’s in here, who would’ve thought? And now Janna only knows what some of these people think this party is for, buuuut you did get a bunch of presents for the little one, sooo… ”

”Everyone knows.” He said instead of acknowledging all the rambling nonsense Jinx had just told him. “All of Zaun knows.” He reiterated. 

”And so what ? Were you planning on keeping the kid a secret? Hide him away with no social interaction for how many years you could before he murdered you the first chance he’d get?” Jinx raised an eyebrow in question, but Viktor spoke soon enough this time, predictably avoiding the question.

“I’m leaving.” He said, removing his hand from the wall, Jinx reached for his arm again, halting in his steps.

“Matricide aside, doesn't this make it a little more… real?” She asked, a tinge of worry and confusion laced in her words. “I mean, I didn’t even get why you kept it, aren’t you the super-maître of body modifications and shit? Didn’t you have a knife to cut it out of you as soon as you learnt about it and put the little thing in a jar as a trophy? Is that how far your moral code can stretch?” 

There wasn’t any question of morality as far as his pregnancy was concerned, Jinx knew.  The decision had been completely his, and he had yet to regret ever being curious about pursuing this life-changing step in his path. 

Although he had at first hoped his old partner would’ve had a different reaction to the news, he was ready to realize that cutting off any ties he had left with the man had been the right choice, beneficial to his plans even, albeit difficult at first. He would never live down the offense of having his very first iteration of a plan crumble down in front of him as long as Jayce lived still, but he’d eventually find a way to fix that as well.

Rejection didn’t sit right with him.

“I don’t need you to tell me how to feel about my body.” He said after a second of charged silence. “I am fine with the way things turned out. I don’t need this party, I don’t need Jayce around, I don’t need you .” He spat, pride unwilling to let him see beyond the offense of a possible fallacy in his train of thought. 

The sharp eyes that stared back at him mirrored his ones in an uncanny way. “You want to play happy house with that same face that scares children off, do you even hear yourself?” She said with a tilt of her head and a giggle, feigning innocence.

His fist crushed the wall behind her before he could think against it, he didn’t pull away when metal met concrete, but Jinx didn’t flinch either. Other customers in the general vicinity had started to move, but whispers among them insinuated they’d rather gather and place bets soon. Neither of the siblings made the first move.

“Viktor.” A familiar voice from behind him spoke, Viktor heaved a deep breath, some of his anger dissipating. “I need a word with you. Follow me to my office.” Silco ordered, leading the way.

He could’ve sworn he had heard his sister chuckle when he turned his back on her, but didn’t look back to confirm, when he finally stepped foot in Silco’s office, he was led to sit on red cushions of one of the sofas Silco had decorated his office with, and for the first time in the entire night he realized just how nice it was not to be on his feet. 

Silco’s office was pleasantly quieter than any other room, secluded to a distant corner of the bar where real business would be held were it not for such a special occasion taking place.

“It’s quiet here.” Silco said, sitting in front of him. “You can stay as long as you want.” An olive branch. The man reached into his own pocket but despite the clear silhouette of a cigarette box, his hand came out empty upon further consideration. 

He walked out of the room soon after a few moments of silence, only to return and sit in the same spot. He hadn’t smoked. “How do you feel, son?” He asked, the question was followed by a sigh, and Viktor crossed his arms out of habit, his answer practiced. 

“Great.” He replied, tense.

“What were you and Jinx talking about?” Silco asked instead, pressed for an answer that would incriminate him and free Jinx from any charge held against her.

“Nothing.” He said instead.

“That didn’t seem like ‘nothing.’” Viktor didn’t answer. Didn’t have to. “You can’t keep arguing like children, and Jinx was only trying to help.”

Silence, then a quiet: “I know.”

“Glad we’re on the same page, then.” The next few seconds were shared in complete silence as the bartender that he had already encountered once came in with a glass of steaming hot tea, placing it on the table in front of Viktor, and a bottle of whiskey with an empty glass on Silco’s side. Neither of them spoke until the door was locked back again. 

“Chamomile tea.” Silco explained, jostling his empty glass in his hand. “Not poison, you haven’t deserved anything of the sort, not yet. You’re much too valuable to be discarded in this way, I just thought it might keep you from breaking any other walls.” Silco sighed, he looked two seconds away from saying he wasn’t mad, just disappointed . “You know getting aggravated in this way can’t be good for you.” he said instead.

“Then Jinx should put more of an effort on not getting on my nerves.” Viktor snapped, but the inflection of his voice didn’t change.

“That’s not her fault, that’s yours.” The older man scoffed, and slid a hand in his hair. “You should apologize to her.” He concluded out of half of a one-sided conversation. “Not everything is bound to go how she had planned even if she had your best interests in mind. She got you an expensive cake from Up-top, you’ll forget about ever making a fuss when you get a slice.” He poured himself whiskey, while Viktor eyed his own drink, considering his next action.

How everyone thought he could be bought with sweets had been the worst-kept secret in all the undercity, the words didn’t feel any less disrespectful even if there was some underlying truth behind them: He could go for something sweet right about now.

There wasn't much he could say to Silco to make him change his mind about Jinx anyway, so he didn’t argue, didn’t say a word. The silence was pleasant, and even if he had ended up owing Jinx an apology on the account of Silco ordering him to, Silco kept his promise of letting him stay for as long as he needed.

He finally unclenched his fists long enough to take upon the offer of the glass of tea, hoping it would calm down his nerves as much as quell some of the need for sugar everyone was making him crave. He took a sip, and then immediately started to sugar to taste, taking advantage of the little bowl of sugar the offered drink had been brought up with.

Silco relaxed in the seat in front of him, crossing a leg over the other, but his hand that had been swirling his drink up until then suddenly stopped and his lips parted for a second too long without a word coming out, it was clear he wasn’t quite done talking. After a couple of uneventful minutes, that same hand set the still full drink back on the coffee table in front of them, the action leaving a ring where it was dragged. Silco swiftly reached for the inner pocket of the expensive coat he was wearing instead, taking out a cut-out excerpt from one of the newspapers of Piltover and sliding it over Viktor’s way across the table in front of them.

“Have you been keeping up with the news from the upside, son?” Silco asked, Viktor’s face dropped as recognition settled in his expression, his reaction alone was enough to say the question had been answered. 

Said excerpt claimed Piltover’s beloved golden boy and estimated inventor had had a secret relationship with former councilor Mel Medarda, known to be one of his most long-lasting past relationships, and said clandestine love had generated a child, a girl. 

A girl that looked about the age of 5 that had been alongside Jayce at the pre-selections for the junior distinguished innovator competition, exactly where the picture he was carefully analyzing was taken.

“What do you want to do about this issue, Viktor?” Silco added after a while, reminding Viktor of his surroundings.

“It’s not an issue.” He immediately said, even if the stinging sensation of disappointment had already settled deep within him. “Mel is still in Noxus dealing with threats of a civil conflict within. She has made multiple public appearances before that have all been properly documented, Jayce wouldn’t have had time to meet and have a clandestine relationship with her.”

Because he was having one with him already.

The confirmation that he had always been a rebound for Jayce stung, but Viktor had tried to rationalize it as an unsurprising revelation even if it was anything but.

Silco hummed, honestly surprised how calculating Viktor could be for a matter that affected him personally. “And what about the girl?”

“It depends on her age.” Viktor said, heaving a sigh. “Former councilor Mel left for Noxus six years ago, around the same time I left too.” He explained. “Zaun’s independence happened a year after her abjuration, with the riots that I led before they could reform the council.”

Silco made an amused sound from the seat in front of him, half of a chuckle that left a full smile on his face that Viktor could have easily missed hadn’t he raised his eyes from the picture. “I remember that .” He reminisced, taking a sip out of his drink, but didn’t interrupt Viktor more than that.

“It would be completely possible for her to be their daughter and for Jayce to know about her existence around this time too.” Viktor concluded. As much as this conversation had made him forget about the rumble of a party dedicated to him just outside, he wished he could go back to where he wasn’t aware of the new information he had acquired.

He lowered his gaze to his shoes while his mind raced to make sense of questions he wouldn’t like the answer of, Silco was considerate enough to give him a moment to process the input, not a movement nor a sound came from him until Viktor was completely ready to speak again.

In the back of his mind he could see Jayce be a good father, and if all his suppositions were correct, he was being one to a child that he had just met and had without a doubt immediately connected with. He wondered what was different between the child that was growing within him and the one smiling in the picture he wished he’d never seen, but the answer couldn’t have been more clear.

The same reason that had kept them from ever revealing to the world about their reciprocated affection had been the one a child of his would never have a chance to meet his other father; The Machine Herald and The Defender Of Tomorrow were meant to despise each other, and in some ways they always did. 

If he were out of the equation, perhaps his child would have had a different life too. One that Viktor could never give, but not one he’d ever agree with. 

He hadn’t thought far enough about his own plans if his own blood were to reject him too, his own personal vision of future and liberation, but his mind always wandered.

“This doesn’t change anything.” He added after a moment of silence, dragging his eyes back on Silco. “Don’t send your men after him, I’ll deal with this myself.” If he had the chance, sooner rather than later. “You’ve got enough on your plate trying to testify that I wasn't the only reason you got a seat on the council. Don’t involve yourself with me, not this way.”

“Correlation doesn’t equal causation, some might say.” Silco objected. “It’s been enough years that they won’t look into it again, you can’t say they’ve got wit on their side when they casted away their most valuable asset.” With his glass still in hand he gestured to him, it would be more flattering if it wasn’t objectively true. 

The thought that he could have been working for the bettering of both of the twin cities in a properly equipped lab weren’t it for the close-mindedness of Piltover’s most influential political figures made his blood boil. The fact that Jayce, a former friend of his, had been too cowardly to take his side reminded him why he’d never trust anyone like he trusted him.

”Suddenly I’m a valuable asset again…” Viktor mumbled, steering the conversation on a much lighter note. “I thought you said I was a hormonal mess and my brain was too scrambled to form a coherent thought beyond murderous intent.”

Silco closed his eyes for a second and hummed, clearly pleased. ”I remember saying much more than that.” He said, making Viktor roll his eyes, the childish action elicited a chuckle from the older man. “Oh don’t look at me that way. You can be quite reckless, don't deny it. Recklessness is what got you pregnant in the first place, after all.”

”That’s debatable.” Viktor retorted, unwilling to go over the details and unsure if he’d ever bring up any good points in his favor.

“Just get over your ex boyfriend soon enough and get back on the market. If you’re quick about it, the kid might grow up with a second dad.”  Silco added, and before Viktor could defend himself and say he had gotten over Jayce a long time ago already, he asked: “How far along are you, again?”

”approximately 21 weeks. The fetus is developing at an adequate rate and at this stage chances of survival for it outside my own body are almost optimal.” His answer was clinical, but he couldn’t hide the slight hint of pride he felt even if he tried.

Silco hummed, used to Viktor’s oddness after almost two decades of having met him. “Twins?” He asked, absentmindedly.

But before Viktor could voice his offense, a knock on the door distracted him. The person behind it didn’t wait for Silco’s permission to enter, they just did. 

Anyone but Jinx would have been executed for that, so when said girl entered the room holding two covered plates, Silco’s expression immediately changed from annoyed to fond exasperation. 

“D'aww, look at the both of you… two old men exchanging war stories… truly touching.” She mocked blandly, more as a way to announce herself than a real joke. “I brought cake!”

“Funny.” Viktor said, humorlessly. “And wasn’t I supposed to cut the cake myself and act surprised?”

“I figured you wouldn’t have liked doing that out there after your little outburst.”

“It was completely reasonable on my part to be-“

“Yeah yeah, it’s fine, all is forgiven Viki.” She interrupted, “plus someone had already helped themselves to several pieces of cake so I also figured I should save some for you before it was gone.” Jinx set a plate in front of Viktor first.

“Smart.” Silco commented as a plate was set in front of him as well, she sat down next to him, lifting and stretching both of her legs on top of his lap without a care in the world. 

“So, are you ready for the gender reveal?” Jinx asked, giddy like only she could be.

Viktor huffed a brief chuckle, before lifting the cover off of his plate and revealing a piece of chocolate cake with blue filling, just as he had expected. He still stabbed his fork into it, lifting a morsel of it to better look at the bright color of the edible dye. The cake certainly looked expensive.

“It’s a boy.” Viktor announced, not upholding his promise of sounding the slightest bit surprised. “You're going to be aunt and grandpa to a little nephew soon. Congratulations.”

Jinx cheered, bringing both of her arms up and hitting her back against the armrest of the couch. Silco began to eat his own piece of cake quietly instead; if he did tell Jinx to keep it down, he did so quietly enough that neither Viktor or Jinx had noticed. 

“This has been rough…” Jinx said, heaving an exhausted sigh. “I didn’t think organizing a piltover-style party was this hard. I completely skipped over some of their stupid traditions but that didn’t mean I didn’t have to read about them.” 

As much as he wanted to belittle her hard work and point out how all the effort she had put had been useless to begin with on the account that he hadn’t wanted this party at all, Viktor chose to be kind, and appreciate the only way Jinx knew how to care for people. So he only hummed, bringing another forkful of cake to his mouth. 

He hoped she gave topsiders a hard time trying to come up with the answers to her questions at the very least, if he was temporarily out of commission then someone else should take his place. 

“I don’t know about what they do Topside, but over here you just give the new parent-to-be a blanket to wrap their baby in.” Silco said. “No excessive parties, or cakes filled with pink and blue icing, just that. I had one made for when Jinx was born. And I’m having one made for your little one as well.” 

He didn’t know how to respond to that. Viktor wasn’t used to receiving gifts and not any that held as much consideration as the one Silco had wanted to give him. Jinx spoke before he could comment about it anyway, and he was grateful for that.

“Yeah but the kid’s half a Piltie, you know?” She said, “what if their other dad gets him for the weekends and he likes it better Topside? We have to-“

“Nonsense.” He immediately interrupted. “Nobody is going to reclaim him for any amount of time, long or short. He’s my blood and flesh and nobody else’s. He won’t get involved with life in Piltover, nor is he half-Piltie. ”

“Blood and circuit board you mean.” Jinx mumbled with a little smile.

“I genetically engineered his DNA in utero, modifying it to be an exact genetic copy of mine back when it was yet to be altered by the arcane.” He lied , it was unbelievable enough that neither Jinx nor Silco fell for it, despite knowing about Viktor’s proclivity with bio-mechanical augmentation. “I made sure he wouldn’t have any undesirable trait passed down from his sperm donor.”

“ Ew !” Jinx exclaimed, commenting Viktor’s choice of words with a disgusted grimace.

“Viktor’s right.” Silco said instead, and Jinx raised an eyebrow his way. “Not about whatever he was blathering about, he’s just messing with you.” He clarified, earning himself a sharp glare from Viktor. “The kid will be born and raised in Zaun, if that doesn’t make him a Zaunite I don’t know what does. There’s no reason to damn him off of his heritage.” 

“Alright. I guess so.” Jinx shrugged as she sat up straighter, her boots landed back on the floor with a soft Thump. “Party’s over, but I have one last surprise for you though.”

“I don’t want it, I’m not in the mood.” He rarely ever was, but the events of the day had exhausted him, depleting his patience as well as energy resources. 

“No, seriously, you’ll like this one, I swear on my life!” Jinx put both of her hands up, Viktor raised an eyebrow, looking at her up and down for any reason to mistrust her.

“Someone has come to visit you, I told him to get himself a drink but he doesn't seem the type.” She added, and Viktor’s eyes sharpened. In the silence that followed he picked up his mask from where he had attached it on his decorative belts earlier in the day, putting it on. “No, not him . Go look for yourself! You reaaally can’t miss him, he’s probably right on the dance floor where I left him, still as a stone.”

Finally standing up, he brushed crumbles off of his coat, buttoning it higher before walking to the door. With a hand fixed on the handle, he spoke again. “Thanks. This was a failure of a party but it’s the thought that counts.”

“A real charmer you are…” Jinx muttered, standing up herself and stretching. “I’ll take my camera, dork. I bet you’ll want to have a picture of this moment.”

Viktor didn’t answer, unsure if he believed Jinx’s words and quite frankly scared about whom he might find, by the time he walked out and closed the door behind him, Jinx had crossed Silco’s office, squatting down at one of the lowest drawers to rummage through it.

“Got it!” She announced to the only other person still in that room, waving the little disposable camera around before standing up once again. Before she could leave and find Viktor, she noticed the piece of paper that had been laying on the coffee table all along, previously gone unnoticed by her. 

Her eyes skimmed over the headline, and she had to re-read the text a few times before a frown began to form on her face, finally recognizing the words. Silco noticed the reaction, and sighed. “Viktor told me not to get involved.” He told her, before taking a cigarette out of his pocket, now able to do so without Viktor around. “Don’t cause trouble for him.”

Jinx nodded solemnly, but didn’t say a word. She ran out of the room and into the dance floor finding that people formed a circle around the sweet reunion of the Machine Herald with one of his robotic creations.

“Jinx!” Viktor called as soon as she saw her, it was easier to spot her when Blitzcrank held him as high as he did, engulfing him in a hug. She ran to their direction, camera held up by both of her hands.

“Stand still!” She said before taking a picture right how she had found them, eventually Viktor was let down by the almost-three-meters-tall giant, taking a step back only to look at his sentient creation better. 

“Look at you!” He said, voice raised high enough to be heard amidst the confused chattering of people, Blitzcrank tilted his head sheepishly, the action deliberately unsubtle to let Viktor know it was exactly the desired intention despite the unmoving, inexpressive glowing blue eyes he had. “Exactly how I remember you…” Viktor heaved a contemplative sigh, letting the silence linger for too long before Jinx stepped up, cleared her throat and let her presence be known once again.

“I can’t engage in this machine to machine communication you seem to be having…” she said, and Viktor and Blitzcrank both turned to stare at her. “But you can ask your robot if he can help us carry your gifts to your super-secret-evil-lair and keep talking there.” She suggested, her thumb pointed to a room behind her.

Chapter Text

The gifts turned out to be much more than Viktor had anticipated, how he would’ve gotten them all back to his place without the help of Blitzcrank, he didn’t know. Jinx had helped him quite a bit as well, lingering for a while more as Viktor and his creation caught up. 

“You can visit anytime.” He told Blitzcrank, dismissing the clanking sounds coming from behind him as Jinx doing whatever the hell she was doing. He was far more occupied fixing a loose wire from inside Blitzcrank’s main compartment to care anyway.

“I know you better than anyone else, and I can’t imagine any Piltie would ever properly perform a maintenance check on you without doing more harm than good.” He added. “They don’t have any consideration for people like us Topside.” 

Blitzcrank much preferred to be asked plainly about questions, so to avoid his evident worry to be left unnoticed amongst his perceived displeasure against Piltovians, Viktor voiced his concern. “I was worried about you. How is life treating you, son?”

“I have been doing well, father-unit.” He replied back, and Viktor’s eyes softened behind his metal plate in barely restrained relief. 

“I’m glad to hear.” He said, and not too fond of small talk, he kept the conversation going with heavier details about his life. “You must’ve heard by now that I’ve been able to use my organic side to foster another life form within.” He said, finally closing Blitzcrank’s panel and screwing the last few bolts tight.

Blitzcrank leaned forward just a little more, and Viktor looked up to stare face to face at him. “It seems like an inefficient way to build an army for your glorious evolution. It would be best to follow the path that does not involve organic life forms,” he suggested, and Viktor could’ve imagined he was almost reprimanding him for not thinking about it before. “If you’d much prefer to expand your army organically, I would suggest that the insemination process should be multiplied amongst more people, it would be beneficial to your objective if you could provide the chosen subjects with fertility boosters.”

Viktor hummed, listening to the points made as if considering the ideas given. “Too inefficient,” he said, shaking his head. “If I start the procedure now It would take at the very least 18 years for the children that I fathered to begin with the second phase, mechanical augmentation.” He explained. “And it shouldn’t be taken for granted that every single one of them would want to join my cause on the account that they share my blood. Humans are complex, in that sense.” 

Blitzcrank tilted his head again, when his creator extended a hand of his, he gave him his own to continue with his careful inspection. “Having one is just as inefficient. There is not enough data yet to determine if a child you personally schooled would accept to follow your path either, if sharing a bloodline is not enough of a reason.” Viktor checked for any anomaly at the junctions of his new guest’s metal fingers; it wasn’t lost on him how some of his golden paint had chipped, but it was information he had categorized for later consideration. 

He let go of the much larger palm soon after, satisfied not to find any creaking or cracks that didn’t involve aesthetic damage.

“It is.” He said, successively knocking his knuckles on Blitzcrank’s metal body. “It would be much more profitable if I managed to produce on a larger scale more prototypes that resemble your outer shell, but with a much less complex internal structure, there wouldn’t be any worry about devoted compliance, and I wouldn’t need to replace flesh for metal in the first place either.” He added, confirming Blitzcrank’s claim. “Or find a way for me to actually provide genetic material for a successful insemination…” he felt the need to point out.

“Then why?” Blitzcrank asked with what Viktor could only describe as genuine curiosity. The herald had moved near his work table instead, finding a clean towel to wipe his hands off. 

“You are not exactly compliant either, nor do you particularly care about my plans to overthrow Piltover’s government.” Viktor said, taking his mask once more and setting it aside on the first available surface. “But I do care about you, and I know you can feel the same about me, or the very next thing that you are able to process.”

The giant standing right in the middle of his living room stilled, awaiting for a definite answer to his question. 

“Just so you know, despite having a much more vast understanding of my own body, I didn’t plan on getting pregnant.” Viktor confessed, the hand that still held warmth moving to cradle at the swell of his abdomen. “The human gestational process is imperfect, takes too long of a time and just about any host is vulnerable throughout the entirety of it lest they want to stumble into complications for the fetus or themselves, it can hardly be categorized as a miracle despite the general consensus claiming it to be so.” He explained, Blitzcrank didn’t catch the tinge of spite in his voice. “But I decided to go through it anyway by my own volition. In truth, there is no real reason why I decided to pursue this path, take that as the stubborn, irrational, organic part of me interfering with my long-term plans once again to pursue short-term gratification.”

While it must’ve been the tenth time already that Blitzcrank tilted his head in consideration, Viktor didn’t mind, he found it amusing. He awaited for him to process the information had given him on his own, come up with his own answers even if the data given had no logical connection or explanation. 

“Was it curiosity?” Blitzcrank supplied after a long moment, and Viktor stopped in place to properly identify his intention. 

He nodded after a silent second, affirmative. “I suppose you could call it that…” he sounded almost defeated to realize so. He drummed his fingers on the table behind him, lost in thought.

“I need you to do me a favor, Blitz.” Viktor spoke again after a while, deciding to dismiss an uncomfortable conversation for another time. “I understand it might be inappropriate of me to ask for your help during our very first reunion after years, but it’s important.”

“ A favor ?” Jinx raised her voice, peeking her head from a storage room Viktor rarely ever set foot in, she walked closer, a little hammer in hand and a small trinket Viktor could recognize as the beginning of one of her hand-held bombs. “Why are you asking him and not me ?”

Viktor glared at Jinx with an unamused expression on his face that conveyed just how much he needed her to stay out of it. “I think you know the answer to that question.”

“No I don’t !” Jinx took much more offense by the statement than expected, one of her hands moved to wrap itself on her hip, clearly awaiting for answers Viktor felt uncomfortable giving. “I think I’ve earned the benefit of the doubt at least! I’ve been working with you for a month now and I’ve never caused you trouble!”

“It’s a stealth mission.” He tried to reason with her, unsuccessfully.

“And you send a three-meters-tall robot out for a stealth mission instead of me?!” Jinx accused, her eyes twitching with barely restrained anger.

“That’s how desperate I am.” Viktor groaned, his hand pinched at his aching temples trying to keep a headache from forming. “I have a reason to be asking Blitzcrank specifically, Jinx.” He finally explained. “He was a work in progress when Jayce and I were colleagues at the academy, and a work in progress even when the fruits of our work developed in the first prototypes of hex crystals.”

“Okay…” Jinx said, unsure where Viktor was going with his rambling.

Viktor raised the hand previously at his temples, waving it dismissively as his shoulders shrugged. “It was… funny for us at the time to give Blitz a unique fingerprint pattern and a matching access card with as high as a level of permissions that both of the creators of Hextech had themselves. He has always been our little helper after all, and Jayce joked that if it ever turned out that Blitzcrank became evil it would be my fault due to my influence on him. We placed bets.”

“So he’s got access to secret sides of your old lab then?” Jinx asked, and Viktor nodded, affirmative. “What are we stealing?”

“We are not stealing anything .” Viktor reprimanded. “We’re taking back some of the work Jayce and I conducted while experimenting with the Hexcore.” One of his fingers tapped at the covered scar on his chest as if to point out the obvious. “The one that is currently in my chest.”

Jinx moved her eyes in quick succession between Viktor’s hand, his chest and his face, the beginning of a frown forming on her face and the unmistakable look of concern etched on her features. “Are you… sick?” She asked, and Viktor’s eyes softened in response.

“No, there’s nothing to be worried about my health.” He replied, sincerely. “But despite the meticulous check-ins I am conducting on myself, I am still not completely sure if my body as it is right now can properly carry to term a pregnancy. The studies conducted with organic matter set in contact with the hexcore for prolonged periods of time always proved to be detrimental to the survival of plants… and we never began any sort of animal testing either with the kind of results we got.”

“And you’re thinking about it now?!” Jinx reprimanded, looking horrified to hear. “I even threw you a gender reveal party for Janna’s sake! Now you’re telling me there might not even be a baby!”

“When I told the news of my pregnancy to my former partner I had thought we’d come up with a solution on the matter together… He had other plans, clearly .” He seethed, his rage turned toward someone that wasn’t even present. “Then again, I am the exception to the rule.” He told Jinx. “It is strictly a cautionary measure, there would be no need for it if I hadn’t begun to… feel attached to my progeny. As of now I only want to prevent a possible loss and raise the chance of survival of the baby by any means possible.” He confessed. “Then I may begin with decorating him a room.”

“D'aww…” Jinx mumbled, she leaned against Viktor’s work table in silence in a way that mirrored his own, trying to process the information given. Her hand scratched at her chin while Viktor turned his full attention back to his creation once more.

“What would be the probability that you’d access the inner layer of Piltover academy’s library, take any work labeled under ‘Hexcore’ and bring it back to me?” Viktor asked him, awaiting for response as Blitz’s blue eyes flickered on and off while he carefully considered his options.

“Piltover’s library would be open to the public in broad daylight.” Blitzcrank informed. “While the information required is nowhere near public domain, it would be easier to access the inner side of the building by morning rather than by night when the place is far more guarded.” 

“What is the likelihood of you going unnoticed in broad daylight and being able to bring back my work?” Viktor asked, hopeful.

A pause, those same eyes blinked on and off once again. “12%.” Blitzcrank said, and Viktor visibly deflated. Noticing his reaction, Blitzcrank spoke again. “If it could make you feel better, the chances of that same scenario happening at nighttime instead would drop between 0,5 and 0,2%.”

“Thank you, Blitz.” Viktor said, surprisingly sincere. His hand stroked one of his creation’s arms in a soothing motion, as if he could rub the discomfort his own reaction had provoked to Blitz away. He was still quite frankly impressed that Blitzcrank had the capacity to correctly notice disappointment and act accordingly. 

“But you’re the co-creator of Hextech.” Jinx spoke up, making Viktor turn to stare at her instead. “You have access to the inner layer of the library yourself. Unique fingerprint pattern and all.” She motioned to his arm and hand, the one he hadn’t modified, before raising her own palm and moving her fingers rhythmically. 

“You must have not noticed,” Viktor started, looking predictably unamused. “but I technically am a terrorist.”

“Really? a terrorist seems excessive.” Jinx retorted, shrugging one of her shoulders. She slowly but steadily scooted ever so close to her brother. 

“Attempted murder, drug abuse and distribution, illegal possession and distribution of unauthorized weapons, arson- and those are only the crimes we share. ” Viktor listed, raising a finger every crime he named. “Do I need to go on?”

“Jeez, it takes so little…” Jinx muttered under her breath, she crossed her arms and set her chin on Viktor’s shoulder. “So we can’t show ourselves topside, alright, but we could disguise ourselves, you know, a little makeup, some sunglasses...”

“And that brings me to the reason I didn't want to involve you. ” Viktor retorted, raising his voice just enough to exude authority. “If we did manage to disguise ourselves successfully, despite your unmistakably bright blue hair and my unordinary body augmentations, I would still be in no shape to fight or flee in the event that you’d jinx it.”

“Yeah, and still you have no one else to ask!” The statement was followed with an irritant scoff. “So, are you up for it?”

The chances he’d find additional research he hadn’t skimmed over back in his days as Jayce’s partner were low, and even lower was the possibility of finding anything of use to his situation, but the option that didn’t involve going Topside and investigating would have resulted in going the rest of his pregnancy regretting not even trying to manipulate its outcome to his favor.  

“-Plus it’s time you buy a little outfit for the baby!” Jinx snapped him out of his own thoughts, a hand draped over his shoulder. He had no idea what Jinx had been talking about beyond the only sentence his brain registered, but he didn’t plan on asking, so he hummed once more and walked alongside her on stone paths that led into a crowded open market, one of the few roads they had decided to cross to better blend in with the scenery.

It had taken a few days for Jinx to come up with the necessary gadgets and trinkets that would help them better mimetize themselves amongst Piltovians. Despite the twin cities being one adjacent to the other, style and fashion differed immensely, and had Viktor not had experience in Piltovian customs they would have taken a considerable risk showing themselves topside with seemingly eccentric clothes.

The both of them still looked like outsiders to the average passerby, but Viktor managed to hide his more distinctive arm under a cloak, the hem of it acting like a scarf for the mechanical accents still visible on his face that had been installed years prior without much consideration for his aesthetic appearance. His eyes were hidden by a pair of sunglasses that also helped him be out in the blinding sun, after he hadn’t seen it fully in quite some time. 

Jinx’s disguise wasn’t as much of a sore-eye as his, but her hair was meticulously being kept hidden by the hood of her vest, the buttons of which weren’t symmetrical enough to properly fit in with every other citizen. She carried a crossbody bag around that Viktor didn’t question. A little trinket, a chain ball keychain, was hanging from one of the metal accents, bouncing with each of her steps.

“The baby has enough clothes.” Viktor replied, before he swiftly pulled Jinx by her wrist before she would collide with a passerby trying to make a purchase on a nearby crowded stall. “I got enough of them as gifts after your party, amongst other things…” 

“Yeah?” Jinx asked expectantly, moving inappropriately close to his face and bumping their noses together, Viktor’s hand pushed her face away an instant later and walked on.

“Yes.” An annoyed confirmation. “A lot of people have given me questionable things, further solidifying the notion that they really did not understand what the purpose of your party was, but certainly aware enough that it was in my honor.” He explained, tilting his head around to see Jinx following him, his voice deliberately being kept low for the sake of their conversation being kept private. “A lot of what I can only presume to be fanatics sent me their mutilated body parts in tiny boxes.”

“Oh, wow…” Jinx muttered once she caught up to him, sounding truly disgusted.

“It was fingers, ears… I found an eye as well.” Viktor added as if the entire subject of their conversation wasn’t morbid enough without the details. “As… a sign of devotion.” He mused. “Some of them find that voluntary mutilation as a sacrifice to The Gray Lady is an important rite of passage for their little religious cult, but I’ve never meant to be the subject of their worship, nor I want to be. I can only guess those same people will soon visit my quarters to upgrade the missing flesh with metal. I respect their dedication but I condemn their barbaric rituals.” Jinx hummed, her eyebrows furrowed on her face, she was pouting as if she hadn't been expecting that answer to begin with, and Viktor took that as a sign to change the subject. “ I’ve acquired more gifts that were less bleak in nature, while still being inappropriate for a baby: sets of shot glasses, various wine bottles and other alcoholic drinks, vials of shimmer and…” a pause, then an exhausted sigh as Viktor realized why Jinx was so eager to hear him ramble. “sex toys.”

As if on cue, her lips curled into a mischievous smile and a matching roar of a laugh that almost put their whole plan in jeopardy.

“Where the hell did you even get those?!” Viktor’s lips, previously thinned in annoyance at the confirmation of Jinx’s indirect confession, curled into a disgusted grimace, one of his hands covering her mouth as they passed by some enforcers scrutinizing the area, the girl was clearly amused by his reaction.

“I’m something of a scientist myself!” Was the only reply she gave after freeing herself from his grasp, one that horrified Viktor more than any mutilated body part sent to his doorstep.

“Those abominations are not going anywhere near any of my orifices!” 

“Hey! I don’t have to hear about it, just know that the option’s there and nobody blames you for getting dumped.” Jinx shrugged as if she hadn’t just scandalized him, and Viktor muttered a low growl, trying his best not to get aggravated by Jinx’s antics.

He should know better than to fall into her traps every single time. 

The walk forward was relatively quiet, both of the siblings were well aware they had chosen a longer route to better go unnoticed amongst the crowd, but the hustle of the lively city had begun to rub off on Jinx, and she had been successfully distracted into peering through colorful stalls and festival games that she couldn’t join lest they’d miss their chance to get the files needed, she still made sure to voice her displeasure with a huff or a groan before Viktor dragged her away. Viktor himself would have scolded her harder weren’t he mesmerized by those same makeshift markets, his eyes often lingering over sweets, freshly baked cakes and cupcakes on display for a moment longer than necessary before he forcefully pried himself away.

He sighed through his nose, annoyed at the rush of irrational aggression that overwhelmed him after not being able to properly take care of pregnancy cravings. His mind supplied unhelpful images of cakes he hadn’t had in years and was sincerely looking forward to trying again, and with the advent of the spring kicking in he might be able to. Cherry pies, peach cobblers, and lemon curd tarts was what he was fondly thinking about, anything with lemon and cream might’ve worked too.

Jinx bumped his shoulder with hers, snapping him out of his reverie. “What’s wrong?” She asked. 

While silent at first, Jinx nudged him some more, successfully pushing on his buttons hard enough to make him talk. “ Stop it .” He chastised, elbowing her arm similarly on how she had pestered him. She hadn’t needed to poke him more to receive a clear answer. “I was lost in thought. I find it hard to focus on our objective when surrounded by… distractions .” He said, unable to properly admit he was hungry. “Irrational cravings are a side effect of being pregnant… and being pregnant is a side effect of acquiring a baby.” He added after a second of reflection.

“Irrational cravings..?” Jinx asked in a small voice, turning around and into a building when Viktor prompted her to. “How close are you to eating hex crystals exactly?” She asked from in front of him, climbing step after step to what she now recognized as one of the most secluded entrances of the academy. The long climb up was quite uncomfortable for her, and she wondered if Viktor had been thinking the same too with the added weight he had put on, but he hadn’t complained yet.

“Far.” He replied, characteristically annoyed despite the question being genuine from Jinx’s part. He took a breath of air, and successively tilted his head as if considering. “Unless I need to.” He said, a hand holding the rail as he walked along. “One of my other theories, albeit unlikely, is that this baby is more of an amalgamation of Jayce’s genetic material and the Hexcore’s influence than an accidental product of a penetrative copulation.”

”Please, I sincerely beg of you, stop .” She said, coming to a halt at the top of the stairs, her arms crossed over her chest. Viktor took an unamused look at her and led the way forward, Jinx walking along with a bounce of her steps. “Just say you had sex , like normal people.” She chastised, then Viktor grabbed her arm and told her to walk normally without as much as a word. He didn't take his hand away. “So, what are the odds of your kid coming out purple?” She whispered instead, now ever so close to the environs of the public library.

“I have yet to acquire enough information to come up with a number.” Viktor replied back sourly, leading her in and being careful not to make any eye contact with anyone.

”Yikes….” Jinx looked around the vast hallways filled with book after book, ladders that reached the highest of rows available on every other shelf,  when one of her fingers skimmed over the spine of a book, she realized everything was neatly organized by letter. Just as Blitzcrank had said, the place was mostly deserted, quiet, enforcers had left the premise and the only person that might’ve reprimanded them for any sort of misconduct was the librarian that had been distracted by a novel she had in hand. They walked some more without a word shared between them, then Jinx spoke up again with one of her questions. “What are the odds of you having twins then?”

”Zero. I showed you an ultrasound picture, it's just one baby.” Jinx freed herself from Viktor’s grasp when they were close enough to her newly acquired short-term objective, near where the ‘P’ letter books would be categorized, Viktor walked over behind her but didn't have a reason to scold her when the door they’d have to cross was just a few hallways further, and even the thought of doing just so died down when Jinx started pulling out pregnancy books out of the shelves. “You’re not the first to assume, though. I realize I have put on quite some weight.” Viktor said, his hand skimmed through the same kind of books as well.

”you look like you’re about to pop and you’re just halfway there.” Jinx told him with a scoff, leaning against the place he was checking and tilting the book she was reading over. “Aren’t you scared it might split you in half?”

“The baby might be bigger than average.” Viktor admitted. “But a natural birth would still be the ideal outcome since I would have to perform a C-section on myself otherwise, but I’ll weigh my options once I’m further along. Although, I’m not sure I’d be able to perform an episiotomy if needed…” He muttered, more to himself than Jinx, the latter had been distracted by the book she had chosen not long ago anyway, completely uninterested in his little medical ramble.

”Hey, what craving did you have just a little ago then?” Jinx said, changing the subject and tapping over a few words in the book she had chosen. “Chalk? Sand? What was it?”

Viktor took the book in hand and hummed, skimming over the words with his eyes. The cases depicted weren’t the same as any he had experienced yet, but it could come in handy to study all the variables. “I was thinking of something closer to lemon tarts, actually.”

”That’s not a weird craving at all . Your baby just wanted to eat!” Jinx yanked the book away once again. “Are you skipping meals? Just cause you’re half-robot you’re going to make the little guy starve?” Viktor grabbed the book back with more force than needed, and started going page after page himself.

“I assure you I am not .” He said, unable to shake the irritation away from his tone after such an accusation. “You don’t gain this much weight from skipping meals. I eat one third more than the recommended daily amount of calories for an average man, exactly as advised. Sometimes more.” Some of the pages he had found made him reflect on the possibility of drawing his blood more frequently for analysis, checking for any possible deficiency he might’ve had.

“You’re low on iron.” Jinx voiced his own concern, peering over the same pages he was scrutinizing, the ones that had implied a possible iron deficiency due to the nature of his craving. Despite that, the book had no scientific claim to back the statement. He closed the book shut, and looked over at his sister as she looked over to him, an amused smile on her lips. “Isn’t that ironic?”

He decided not to comment on that. 

“We’ll make a stop at a bakery if we have time. Shove this in your bag, we’re borrowing it.” Viktor opened the crossbody bag Jinx was carrying, but stood still in place, book in hand, upon seeing the contents.

“What?” Jinx asked at his reaction, she took one of the many handmade grenades from the inside of it and showed Viktor closer. “It’s plan B!” Viktor shoved it back in next to the newly acquired book he had gotten his hands on. 

He decided not to comment on that either. 

“Let’s be quick.” He said instead, moving towards one more secluded area of the library. Shelves and shelves of books were replaced by plain cream colored walls, sterile in nature. “Cover me, don’t let anyone near.” 

“There’s no one here!” Jinx exclaimed as an answer but just one stern look from Viktor was all it took to make her oblige instead. Once in front of a tall white door with a ‘staff only ’ sign on it, Jinx turned around, scanning the very much still deserted perimeter, just as asked. 

Viktor made quick work of the initial passcode, following the same protocol he and Jayce had come up with years and years ago, he ungloved his hand when the square screen displayed that further identification was needed, and he pressed his palm against the screen awaiting for the door to slide open before him.

Taking his hand off the device without any feedback concerning his approved trespass, he had already realized something wasn’t quite right. When the device flashed red and asked for a second input, he couldn’t wipe away the look of disappointment he felt, already coming up with his own conclusions.

Nevertheless, he tried again, and then once more. Until the device asked for a retinal scan instead, one he couldn’t provide with the way his eyes had been augmented, a decision he never regretted but most certainly thought back to whenever he was faced with Jayce, and then, with anything that concerned him.

How could he have stripped him of his privileges as co-creator of Hextech without as much as a care? How long had this been the case?

Viktor had always been under the impression they had an unspoken agreement. That even though their paths had diverged long ago, the past they had shared would forever be remembered fondly, untainted by the people they had become, by the perceived betrayal the both of them shared of one another for two different reasons. It was the kind of unspoken pact that had made Viktor re-enact the slightest semblance of intimacy whenever they met in the dead of night after a fight, a reciprocated apology that was never muttered but always implied.

Had Jayce thought the same or had he had the wrong impression all this time?

It made sense, in truth. 

Viktor set his head on the device, this one made a little beeping sound when in contact with his forehead, and then again, a red screen flashed again as it denied his access one more time.

He took a grounding breath, trying to shake the more intrusive thoughts out of his mind, trying to keep his eyes on the task at hand and come up with a solution to this last predicament. He took another, and then one more, and again and again. When his breathing pattern was steady once again, he lifted his head from the pad, and blinked away the discomfort he still felt in his tear ducts.

“ Jinx ?” He spoke up, his voice cracking before he tried again. “Jinx.” He called again, awaiting an answer. The girl only hummed her acknowledgment, completely unaware of what had transpired just then. “Plans changed.” 

At that, Jinx turned a full 180, staring at Viktor with a confused expression, her eyes widened almost comically as Viktor punched the security pad, successfully detaching the outer shell of it to mess with its wires. The moment he did so, an alarm started resounding throughout the library, an uncomfortable chime of a sound that had surely called the enforcers to their general direction the moment it started, but the act itself had let them gain access to the secluded area. “Are you insane ?! Viktor, what is going on?!” She ran to him, following his steps methodically as he began rummaging through cabinets full of folders.

Viktor didn’t answer, only took out the necessary files out of the cabinets, any piles of papers categorized under the letter ‘H’, and shoved them all in Jinx's hands. Viktor didn't have time to properly skim through them to exclude any unnecessary information.

Jinx shoved the whole lot of them in her bag, crumpling the papers just to make them fit. “Are we done?! Is this all you needed?! Come on!” Jinx fretted, her eyes moving left and right behind them in case they’d suddenly get surrounded with no way to escape.

Viktor grabbed at her hand and dragged her deeper into the room, and then into another, and another. “Enforcers will be here in approximately 45 seconds. We’re jumping down this window. Follow me.” Jinx removed her wrist from Viktor’s hand right that instant.

”Jumping down a window?! You ?! Have you lost your fucking mind?! You’re pregnant!” 

“I’m aware.” Viktor set one of his feet on the windowsill of the window he had brought Jinx at, ready to jump down off of it, but got distracted by a nearby binded notebook with a big T on the cover of it. He walked over the tiny table it had been left on and took it, running a hand on the soft leather material of it.

”The place is connected by an adjacent campus, there’s a few landing spots we can use to our advantage and at this time the market is still open, the constant influx of people, both students of the academy and common civilians, would give us enough of a start to lose the enforcers. The air conditioning unit for the fridge cell is just under this window, it's a start, we just have to jump down.” Viktor explained, urging Jinx to follow him.

”You’re pregnant!” Jinx repeated, horrified. “And you’re huge !”

”I said I am aware .” Viktor repeated, now more frustrated than ever. “We don't have time, Jinx! I’ll be fine, come on!”

The sound of boots running to their direction wasn't missed to either of them, but by the time Jinx had realized she didn't have a choice nor a backup plan, enforcers had already encircled the premise.

“ Freeze !” Was the only thing a brave enforcer said before Jinx took a deep breath, even with a gun pointed at her, she reached in her bag for one of her handmade bombs.

”Okay mama, let’s go with my plan then...” She whispered, prompting Viktor to jump down first. “How do you like this plan B, now ?” Jinx threw a blue bomb in the middle of the room and smoke enveloped the lab long enough for Jinx to follow Viktor down the window, then, immediately afterwards the device exploded with only a low blip of a warning, the room going up in flames right after.

Jinx climbed down the air conditioning unit and then into an adjacent railing before landing on cobbled streets with a loud thud of her boots, Viktor had been waiting for her on the same spot she had dropped at, but quickly picked up his pace the moment she was in his vicinity. 

“That was unnecessary…” Viktor scolded her, leading Jinx into narrow hallways that branched into the place they had first come in. Unfortunately for them, panic had already spread after the commotion of the nearby explosion and they’d have to be quick to make it back safely. “All that knowledge… I can only hope it didn’t blow up with the enforcers.”

”we were going to get shot!” Jinx reminded him with a sharp whisper. “All of that and not even a thank you… What the hell happened there?! I thought you had everything under control!”

“My fingerprints… They didn’t work.” He said, looking as melancholic as expected. “I’m officially locked out of the work of an entire lifetime.”

“ Really ?” Jinx raised an eyebrow, coming to encircle Viktor’s arm with hers just so she wouldn’t lose him as he sped up. “He can just do that?! Hextech wouldn’t have existed without you!”

“I don’t want to talk about it, Jinx.” Viktor replied, and his voice sounded the most pitiful she had heard in a long while. “Not now.” he pleaded

” Fiiiine .” Jinx huffed, still quite frankly annoyed but taken aback by Viktor’s soft tone. “Just… it’s fine, we got the files and you can study them in peace for however long you need. No more trips upside.” She assured, setting her cheek on his shoulder. “You’re stepping down from your machine herald position and taking a good fucking break, got it?” She said, her voice bordering on threatening. 

Viktor let out a sad huff of a laugh, and made an effort to smile even though he wasn’t at his best at the moment. “No more trips upside, I promise… but it’s a shame that I’ve never got a slice of lemon pie…”

“Well, you can’t take trips Upside.” She corrected, successfully being led into the crowded cable car that’d let them make it back home safely, she pulled down the hood off of her braided hair just then, heaving a sigh of relief. “I could sometimes, if you’re behaving.”

“Behaving?” Viktor parroted, taking off his scarf away from his face and his shades off. 

“Like, not engaging in suicidal plans kind of thing…” She explained, shrugging her shoulders. “But we’ll figure out the kinks of that another time”

Chapter Text

Jinx released her hand from Viktor’s arm only a few steps away from his lair, Viktor invited her in and took the rest of his disguise off, his cloak, his gloves and the decorative belts that kept it all together, all that it remained were the wide high waisted deep blue pants under it and the black tank top he wore, he stretched his back and shoulders, and waited at the door for Jinx to follow him.

Jinx unbuttoned the asymmetrical golden buttons of her purple hoodie and took off her crossbody bag, throwing the whole lot of them on the nearby coat hanger, the rest of her outfit underneath was kept exactly how she had designed it to be, she wore almost the exact identical choice of clothing as Viktor, but she wore a large square of leather on her waistline that acted as a an additional belt to the other few she had. Viktor threw the odd notebook on the nearest wooden surface, and walked in front of Jinx into his home.

It was quiet for a few more moments even as Viktor led Jinx into one of the many storage rooms he had, the one closest to his personal room. He quietly assessed the situation, no wonder coming up with ideas for renovations even before Jinx understood what he had been thinking about. “What color do you think I should paint the walls?” He asked her after a little hum of consideration.

But Jinx only raised an eyebrow, looking at Viktor as he had truly gone mad. “You’re asking me ? Why? You finally got tired of disgusting gray and depressing black?” 

“I just think they’re not particularly stimulating colors for a young developing mind.” He conceded, and Jinx’s eyes widened with childlike excitement. Viktor smiled at her fondly for only a second before his eye twitched and he winced in discomfort, his hand immediately flew to caress the swell of his abdomen in a familiar fashion before he let out a breath.

Jinx looked at him with a confused expression, as she had done countless times in the span of one single day, but Viktor explained his reaction before she could ask about it. “He’s kicking.” He said, lifting the fabric of his shirt just slightly. “Harder than he’s ever done too. Do you want to feel?” Viktor took Jinx’s wrist in his hand before she could get a word out, leading her hand where he had last felt movement. 

A few moments passed without either of them uttering a word, Jinx stared at her hand with a furrow of her brows as she waited until she felt it herself. Viktor let out a grunt at the same time she heaved a breath, one she didn’t know she was holding in that moment of silent anticipation. “That’s… weird.” She said, but her posture became less stiff, and her eyes filled up with mirth. “That’s really weird!” She repeated with a huge smile.

Viktor agreed with only a soft hum, but Jinx wasn’t done talking. “And to think I wanted your mom to-“ she whistled as she moved her other hand to her neck, moving her thumb from one side to the other in a quick motion. Viktor rolled his eyes at her. “He’s a strong one!”

“He is.” Viktor confirmed, nodding his head proudly. He winced some more the moment he felt another kick. “He’s agitated today, for some reason. He never kicked me this hard.”

“You damn near jostled him around like a rattle today,” Jinx reminded him before her whole attention shifted to the baby instead. “your mom deserves it, champ. Don’t stop, keep going!”

Viktor huffed a displeased sound but a brief laugh followed right after. “I think I’d want a kid of my own,” Jinx added after a little while, finally removing her hand. Viktor covered his bump back again, but kept his hand on the side of it, waiting for the baby to calm down as he drew soothing circles with his thumb. “But I have no boyfriend, you know? Well, you neither but…” Jinx shrugged her shoulders, unable to finish that sentence without making it awkward and Viktor waved his hand dismissively. “But I would look great with a bump like yours.” She said instead, stepping next to her brother and bumping her hip to his, achieving so successfully by standing on her tiptoes. “We were meant to get pregnant together, I just know it!” Her hand curved further away from her actual waistline, imagining a bump of her own that comically exceeded the boundaries of what Viktor’s was. 

“Don’t get any weird ideas.” Viktor warned, decidedly serious. “Silco would have the head of anyone that ever so casually held your hand, let alone managed to get in your bed…” he mused, moving to kneel at a box full of scraps on the floor, searching for the red marker that was the only label of it. “but don’t worry, you’ll regret ever saying that the moment this one’s out of me and crying in your arms.”

“ My arms? You’re leaving him to me ?” Jinx asked incredulously, kneeling down next to him. 

“Temporarily.” He corrected after her odd reaction, he stacked boxes of the same content one on top of the other and then did it again. “I just expected you’d be up for babysitting duty, I realize I shouldn’t have assumed.”

“ I am!” Jinx insisted. “Of course I am. It’s just that… eh.” She made a grunt of a noise, letting some air out of her mouth. “You always look like you can’t stand me.” She moved her pointer and ring fingers on Viktor’s shoulders, letting the two of them ‘walk’ from one side to the other before Viktor slapped her hand away. 

“You're one of the only people I can stand.” Viktor corrected, despite his shown lack of patience. “Although I value my alone time highly, I quite enjoy having you around, and even if our conversations are not always mentally stimulating I know you match my genius.”

“Your genius? Egotistical much?” Jinx asked, moving to lie her whole body on the floor as Viktor worked through the boxes, she let out a little tired sigh when her back hit the ground and relaxed her shoulders.

“It’s an objective fact.” Viktor affirmed matter-of-factly before shifting to a more comfortable position on the ground, one that didn’t involve bending his legs beyond what was possible of him, having his legs crossed wasn’t that much of an improvement, but Viktor supposed it would ease the pressure he had felt throughout the day while being on his feet or jumping down windows. 

Jinx extended her arm in front of her, her fingers pointed upwards like a gun and one of her eyes squinted shut as she pretended to take aim. “I want to paint a galaxy.” She said, and Viktor hummed twice in affirmation, genuinely interested in the idea. “I could paint the room while you bake the little guy in your oven. It’s about time you take some maternity leave, after all.”

“I'm not stepping down from my role,” Viktor immediately refused. “I barely did any work coming out of my…” he stopped, humming as if unable to find the words to finish that sentence. 

“Depressive episode?” Jinx helpfully supplied, rolling over and leaning her head on her hands as she awaited for a very expected deflective response.

“It was a short period of time dedicated to processing my immense disappointment on my choice of sperm donors.” Viktor said, earning a gag sound from Jinx before she laughed and waved her legs in the air. “It was a moment of weakness, that’s what it was.” He added after an irritated groan.

“It happens to the best of us.” Jinx said with a snort, shrugging her shoulders. ”But I’m serious, Viki. You should take a break.”

“A break from what exactly?” Viktor retorted, his tone annoyed. “I assist people when they search for a new arm or leg, do the bare minimum of lifting when I’m sent new shipments from Renata and stay at my desk all day long tinkering. I’m a scientist, I don't feel stressed nor do I think my job is particularly strenuous or dangerous. Aren’t you content enough that I don’t lead riots anymore?”

”We blow shit up all the time here!” Jinx talked back. “Your workbench shouldn’t be in the middle of your living room, throw it down in the basement! Do you know how crazy you’d have to be to make me the voice of reason?”

”That seems to happen only in your presence...” Viktor insisted, mumbling the words to himself, he successively took a deep breath. “I admit I should prepare my lair to accomodate a fragile life form since I’m due soon, but the work that I do is barely a hindrance in that regard.” Viktor stood up again, satisfied with the results of his tidying. “ I will take into account your suggestions.” He conceded. “Get up. You’re helping me baby-proof the house.” He ordered. 

“Right now ?” Jinx asked, the words followed by a pitiful groan. “What about… I don’t know, a nap , aren’t you tired? Pregnant people are tired all the time! Be normal for once, for fuck’s sake!” Despite her antagonism, she got up on her feet as well as following Viktor as he walked to the living room.

“I am tired. I’m just feeling particularly… maternal at the moment and I need to rearrange the living room and my living quarters before I lose interest or motivation. My maternal instincts override my sense of exhaustion, to be completely clear.” He reiterated at last.

“It doesn’t make any sense!”

“You can either help me or go home, Silco must be waiting for you anyways.”

While hesitant at first on the correct choice of actions, Jinx decided to stay, working through the exhaustion she felt in hope she would rub off on Viktor eventually and make him stop as well. Jinx was surprised to know that after the first round of tidying unnecessary junk off the floor, moving the workbench and the projects next to it to a more secluded area of the house, and sweeping the floors, most of their work had been theoretical, with plans and sketches of new illumination projects that would replace the warm lights for more cold ones, brainstorming of the correct color schemes of rooms that would fit a mad scientist as well as a little child trying to explore the world, Jinx had acquired full reign of the baby’s room but much of the other parts of the house she wasn’t allowed to design yet.

It was evening when Viktor had enough of Jinx’s prodding at his overall wellbeing, and at that time he finally decided to use the energy he mysteriously gained to cook instead, giving Jinx the reason to question him about all the things that didn’t make sense while she analyzed the book they had borrowed earlier that day.

“How come you know so much about the baby but so little as well?” Jinx asked, she sat at the table they had just moved closer to the kitchen while dusting off the entire place, skimming through page after page of the colorful maternity book as Viktor made them both dinner, as he had insisted on doing himself.

“What do you mean?” Viktor replied back, stirring something in a large pot while trying to hide the confusion he felt between one step of the process and the next one, all his knowledge being taken out of an old dusty tome he had set on the counter next to him.

“You know, you’d be able to tell me at what stage the homunculus got their ears and eyes but you don’t know when you’re experiencing normal pregnancy stuff like cravings.” 

“I scanned every anatomy related book to be able to give myself the proper care that I would get by any medic. I am not a midwife nor do I have any reason to be.”

“So…” Jinx prompted, her hand flailing in the air as if to say ‘keep going’.

“So I know how to operate an ultrasound machine and search for superficial issues within a read, but it’s the first time I’ve ever done so and there are too many variables that could affect the baby negatively, some that are harder to identify or completely out of my control or anyone’s knowledge.” He salted the bubbling contents to taste before taking a spoon and analyzing the flavor himself. One of the perks of cooking has always been sampling one’s work-in-progress, after all.

“Hm… but we’re painting the baby a room so… ” she prompted again, repeating the same gesture. 

“I’m feeling optimistic.” He admitted. “I will analyze the papers we stole in search for any information about hexcorization of more complex life forms, but all that is left to do is to wait. In the worst case scenario, I have decided… that I’ll mourn the child as if they had a significant impact on my life despite not being exactly the case; Rationally, either if I’m closer to 40 weeks rather than 36 by the end of my pregnancy, it’s still a short period of my life to get attached to something that I’ve never held or that I’ll hold once. Perhaps then I might begin to understand grief the way some of my colleagues do…” He muttered the last part of his monologue to himself, lost in a train of thought different than what he had first intended.

“Jeez, ok, moving on… Let me ask something else,” Jinx quickly interjected, throwing a glare back on the book. “did you know you were nesting?” She asked.

“Nesting?” 

“Like, apparently it’s very common when you’re having a baby. It just means you’re getting your home ready for the little guy.” She explained, tapping the paragraph she was referring to in her book. “And you did say you needed to rearrange the whole house before you lost interest. Good news though, you’re not going to lose interest in that until the baby is here.”

Viktor hummed, eerily silent despite having learnt a new detail about himself.

”What? What’s wrong now ?” 

”I don't particularly like to be a generic out-of-book pregnant person, I thought it to be a particularly tri-dimensional experience, individually exclusive.” Viktor confessed, his eyes never quite moving away from the task in front of him.

“Oh, believe me there’s nothing generic about you or your baby… I still think we could keep him if he’s just a little more purple than normal.” Jinx shrugged, raising her eyes as if in thought. “Might be a little ugly…”

”That would not be an issue.” Viktor assured, letting out a huff of air. “Hexcorization is…” he stalled, changing his mind mid sentence. “I am worried about the baby’s DNA being corrupted to depend entirely on the hexcore for survival, in that case the child might not be able to survive outside of me, and I might lose him the moment I cut the umbilical cord.”

”And you said you felt optimistic… Is this all you think about?”

“Frequently. I realize I shouldn’t since there’s nothing I can do to prevent things that are only thought to be theories.”

”Well, my theory is thaaat,” she said, getting up and walking next to Viktor with her book. “That the baby is going to come out looking pink instead of purple and is going to wreak you on the way out.”

”That last part was unnecessary.” Viktor said despite having chuckled at Jinx’s attempt at cheering him up.

“ But you’ll recover. Next question.” Jinx said instead, sitting on the counter and holding the pregnancy book on her legs. “Wait, what are you cooking?” She asked, peeking over the stove.

”Meat stew, it’s hearty, you’ll like it. And I need to replenish my iron levels, if that book is right.” Viktor answered, pointing the ladle at Jinx before turning the page in his recipe book.

“You already sound like a mom, it's unbelievable…” She retorted, dangling her legs in the air.

“I am almost one.” Viktor said while stirring the contents of the pot some more.

The next couple of minutes were shared in comfortable conversation by a few more questions Jinx had in store.  ”Do you like mom or dad best?” She asked first, hopping down the counter when Viktor turned the stove’s knob off.

”Either is fine.” Viktor replied, taking off his apron and giving Jinx cutlery to set the table with.

“Would you ever give Finn a chance if he came up to you? He looks like he kind of likes you.” She asked, following his silent orders.

“Never.” He prepared the plates for the both of them, setting them at their respective seats at the table.

”Do you have a super secret relationship with Renata? Is the baby hers ‘cause you performed freaky science on yourself?” She asked next, sitting down at her spot and taking up a spoon. “You can tell me, you know.”

”No.” There was a pause as he sat down next to her, bringing a spoonful of stew to his lips to taste, and then. “And Renata hates children, or pregnancy. I have a feeling it disgusts her more than it does me.”

”Really?” Jinx asked at last, taking a spoonful of her own dish as well, audibly humming her appreciation. 

”At the last meeting with the chembarons she kept staring at me, but didn’t say a word. I thought I was going to get a congratulatory pleasantry, but she just shook my hand and never acknowledged it again. The others didn’t ask.”

And when Viktor asked Jinx about her week instead, the rest of dinner was spent in relative radio silence from his side, the only noises that were made were the little hums of acknowledgement as he listened to Jinx’s story or the sound of cutlery hitting porcelain plates. Jinx had decided to stay the night despite Viktor advising against it with the worry that Silco might be looking for her, but she insisted, so she stayed.

After a brief shower, Viktor walked to his quarters in a pair of long pants and a white t-shirt to find Jinx there, waiting on his bed with her legs crossed and an expectant look in her eyes. In her hand she held a brush that had been taken from his own home but had never been used too much. Viktor sighed but sat behind her, silently unbraiding her hair.

“You can sleep in here, I’ll take the couch.” He told her after a short period of silence, running his fingers through the hair he freed before going for the other twin braid. 

“No way, you’re pregnant and the couch is uncomfortable. We can share the bed, it’s not weird.” Jinx said instead.

”It is weird.”

”It’s not! I’ve known you forever!” she insisted, tilting her head backwards to give Viktor an unamused look. “You’re making it weird.”

”Then you sleep on the couch and I’ll take the bed.” He said, pushing her head back into facing forward so he could brush her hair properly.

”nuh-uh.” Was all Jinx would say about the matter.

Viktor took a deep breath but relented, the exhaustion that he hadn't felt throughout the day finally letting itself be known. ”You’re irritating.” He only muttered, putting the brush aside on his bed stand. He got under the covers after switching the lights off, turning around and facing the other way without acknowledging Jinx’s presence any more than he had already done.

But his sister had other plans, clearly. 

“Do you take your arm and leg off while taking a shower?” She asked, the shuffling of the sheets signaled she had gotten under the covers.

“I’m not answering any more questions. Go to sleep.”

“I think you do.” She said, but Viktor didn’t answer to confirm. There was a moment of silence, one that wasn’t particularly long lived as Viktor slightly tilted his head back to find piercing blue eyes staring right at his neck. He stood on his arm with a little effort and switched the lights back on. 

“Jinx.” He called after a groan. “Turn the other way.” Viktor demanded, tone collected despite his lack of patience. 

“What?! Why?! What the fuck did I do now?!”

“I don’t want you staring at me.”

“I stare at the wall to fall asleep! Now you’re saying I can’t even do that?!”

“You’re staring at me . Turn the other way!”

They went back and forth for a while more, but despite the arguing the two of them ended up in a tangled mess of limbs come morning, with Jinx’s leg on the same pillow Viktor was resting at and one of her arms wrapped loosely around his leg. Her entire face was covered by the bedsheets, but her hair exceeded the boundaries of the bed, some of it falling on the floor.

They were rudely awakened by a knock at the main door, firstly mistaken for a gust of wind then quickly recognized by what it truly was the moment it intensified in force. 

Jinx stood up first, rubbing her eyes and mumbling a curse under her breath, Viktor took his time with the knowledge that his day had started against his will. 

“I’ll go for it.” Jinx offered, already walking out of his living quarters. “Probably just one of your followers...” She predicted, her voice going sour at the mention of possible work she wouldn’t have to partake in but would inevitably get all of Viktor’s attention.

Jinx followed the sound to the main door, her hair trailing behind, but a familiar voice came through the other side in the form of a mumble, the suspicion was enough to make Jinx peep through the keyhole instead before walking away from the door with a new objective in mind.

Returning to the threshold after a couple more knocks, she pulled the door ajar and that same voice let out a breath of relief, before Jinx pushed the muzzle of a colorful gun on the man’s forehead instead.

The gun resembled the ones she had at home, a courtesy of Viktor and a thoughtful birthday present, the man in front of it was Piltover’s most brilliant scientist, clearly taken aback but not so easily spooked.

“Huh.” Jinx muttered when Jayce quietly raised his hands, she pushed the door all the way open. “I thought it’d make you squeal a little.” She admitted, unaware of his dynamic with Viktor leading him to expect far worse than a gun to the head. 

“What are you doing here?” Jayce asked with a furrow of his eyebrows, voice decidedly irritated despite the position he had found himself in.

“Oh I could ask you the same thing.” Jinx answered instead, chuckling. “Piltover’s golden boy walking to the undercity all by himself… could be the start of a joke, or a murder scene.” Her blue eyes scanned the man in front of her more closely, noting how he had at least put on an effort not to look like he had a target on his head, except for the fact that he seemed not to carry any weapon with him. 

“Where’s… The Herald?” Jayce asked after a grounding breath, he undoubtedly had questions and she might have the answers if he played his cards right. 

Jinx just stared at him some more; his lack of a mean of self defense other than his fists, the modest cloak that covered the white and cream symmetrical pattern of his shirt, his well-kept hair under its hood - and she laughed , a roar of a sound that resounded throughout the house, Jayce’s eyes sharpened in barely restrained fury, but the tightening of Jinx’s finger against the trigger of her newfound toy kept him grounded in place. Despite her evident threat, she didn’t have time to say a word as Viktor sneaked up on her instead, a hand on her shoulder.

”Viktor…” Jayce whispered under his breath before the mage could let a word out himself, Jinx tilted her head upwards toward Viktor with a pleading look, only for her glare to be met with glowing yellow eyes on a metallic mask. She pouted instead. 

Viktor’s other hand shot to the gun, but instead of yanking it away he directed Jinx’s aim lower and lower, where Jayce’s heart would be. Despite the threat still ongoing Jayce let out a breath of relief, up until Viktor opened his mouth. “Aiming for the head takes away the intimacy out of your shot.” He instructed Jinx, his finger resting on top of hers on the trigger, putting the slightest of pressure on it. “You look your prey into his eyes and aim slightly away from a vital organ in hope he’ll bleed out instead, it makes it more personal. There’s no need to rush.”

” Viktor.” Jayce repeated, protesting. “I just came here to talk , I’m unarmed, you-“

”But I’m not.” He interrupted. “I seem to have the upper-hand now, Defender.” Jinx’s giggle only intensified as Viktor squeezed her shoulder, silently fixing her posture and urging her to keep going. 

Viktor pushed Jinx’s finger on the trigger exactly where he had aimed and Jayce squeezed his eyes shut in anticipation and resigned acceptance, but the shrill sound of laughter came to a complete halt in a sudden turn of events, the silence was filled with the sound of the gun jamming instead, not once but twice before Jayce opened his eyes again. 

Jayce watched as Viktor took his hand away from the weapon fully, and frowned at the way Jinx kept on pressing the trigger on him but death wouldn’t take him, he was too stunned to make sense of what had just happened or take this as anything but a sign the divine had granted him a second chance.

The reason, as explained by Viktor soon after, was much simpler. “It’s fake. A prototype.” He said, more to Jinx than to their new guest. “You have the real ones at home, this one is a keepsake.” Jinx groaned, but finally pointed the gun away, pushing it in Viktor’s arms instead. 

“Why am I not surprised…” she mumbled, pushing him out of the way to turn back inside instead, her blue untamed hair dragging on the ground.

Viktor followed her with his eyes before turning back to Jayce, an unreadable look was all he gave the man before pulling the door toward himself and letting him in. He didn’t miss how his ex-partner’s eyes shot down at his abdomen for a quick glance, but he had gotten himself the benefit of the doubt by not mentioning anything of it. “Come in.” He said, leading the way inside.

Jayce obediently followed as Viktor led him to a chair at the nearby kitchenette, instructing him to wait while he searched for Jinx instead.

Jayce had been given a significant amount of time to stare at the house he had only seen a couple of times in his entire life, their meetings, after all, were often held at Jayce’s apartment instead, or their dormitory room even before that and in a time that was much simpler. Despite his very limited recollection of his whereabouts, he could clearly see that something had been missing, the place looked eerily empty and he couldn't figure out why.

He hesitated taking a tour of Viktor’s lair in the fear he might’ve been thrown out without ever having the chance to have a proper conversation with his ex-partner, one that might’ve been long overdue, but he would’ve pursued the idea had Viktor taken any longer getting back to him.

Viktor walked out of the door Jayce recognized to be the bathroom with Jinx following behind him, now her hair was fully braided as Jayce always remembered it be and he could only correctly assume Viktor must’ve helped her with it.

Jinx sat in front of him with Viktor right beside her, silently watching. “Talk.” She only said, hitting her hand on the table for a comedic effect. 

“What is going on exactly?” Jayce asked instead. “I thought-“ Jinx rightfully interrupted him.

“Nuh-uh, we’re making questions here, you-“

“I’d rather have a conversation with The Herald by myself-“ he talked back instead, raising his voice as she tried to talk over him. 

“-are the one being questioned instead, don’t-“

“-Why the hell are you here, you-“

“Stop it! Stop talking!” Jinx yelled, her hands shooting up to her hair as she held her head as if pained, Viktor placed a hand on her shoulder and decided to take the reins.

“Clearly this is not working.” He said, drawing circles on Jinx’s shoulder with his palm, trying to soothe her. “We cannot get rid of you despite wanting to,” Viktor helpfully clarified, taking his hand away when Jinx raised her head back up. “it would look extremely suspicious if Piltover’s golden boy suddenly disappeared after a trip down. Your people topside would need a scapegoat and I’m not willing to take the blame this time, I have much more important projects I need to attend to in the foreseeable future.”

There was a moment of silence as Jayce mulled over the meaning behind Viktor’s words, the plans he could have and that apparently didn’t involve him.

“You look… well.” He blurted out, immediately regretting it the moment Jinx comically gagged. “Excuse me, I feel like It’s insane that I have to ask this question again, but why the hell are you here and why are you not rotting in a cell?!”

“Easy there, you want to throw me in jail?” She challenged, raising an eyebrow. “Will I share a room with your boy-toy here or…” she let her words trail off purposefully. 

“Jayce.” Viktor called before he could retort, exhaustion seeping through his voice. “You must realize you’re not my usual customer, Jinx might as well be.” He explained, despite not being the case of Jinx’s presence. “So unless you’re here for a new shiny arm you must have something to say, something that I’d be interested in hearing if it would make you leave quicker. Your presence is bad for business.”

“You blew up the academy’s library, didn’t you?” Jayce said, and if the silence that followed was any telling, he was right in his assumption. “The both of you did.” He added, his eyes flickering between Jinx and Viktor as he realized just so.

“Oh shit, he gotta go…” Jinx mumbled as a joke before Viktor could stop her, he still tugged at one of her braids to get her to behave, making her yelp in pain.

“You don’t have proof.” He challenged instead. 

“They found enough evidence to incriminate Jinx, fragments of one of her handmade bombs, we wouldn’t even need a trial to throw her in as she’s done much worse than blow up an empty wing of the academy.” Jayce said, his whole attention dedicated to Viktor and Viktor alone despite Jinx’s protests.

“Helloooo , I’m here , you know!” She waved her hand. “No need to talk about me in third person…”

“but that’s hardly a reason why you came to me instead.” Viktor replied, tilting his head.

“No, it isn’t.” Jayce confirmed, eerily bashful. “You’d have the motive of course, and she, the means, but it’s a leap to say the least.”

 “A huge leap.” Viktor commented after a brief hum, his intentions unreadable. “You didn’t know she would be here.”

“Am I… missing something?” Jinx mumbled under her breath, a hand on her chin as she intently watched the odd interaction play out in front of her as if she wasn’t there.

“Is there another reason that you decided to visit me instead?” Viktor asked Jayce after a beat of silence.

”Is there another reason that you decided to blow up the academy but to give me a message?” Jayce asked as a way of replying, “Did I misinterpret?” his eyes flickered away in shame for just a second as he feared it to be the case.

“This is foreplay for you, isn’t it…” Jinx spoke up, finally catching Viktor and Jayce’s attention. She stood up and walked in front of the former. “you don’t want to kill him, you want to fuck him.” She accused, blocking Viktor’s view of Jayce to get his full undedicated attention, Jayce peeked over her silhouette to expectantly hear Viktor’s answer. 

Viktor took a relatively long time to answer; he crossed his arms as the glowing golden color of his mask flickered in intensity for a couple of seconds, considering. “Those two notions don’t have to be mutually exclusive.” He said at last, and Jinx groaned, exasperated , stepping out of the way and walking behind his seat. “And I do have needs .” He added.

”Well, take them away! Saw your head open and take them away!” She said, shaking the back of his seat to highlight her statement, and Viktor raised his head to look at her without having to stand up. “You’re plain embarrassing !” She yelled with a disgusted grimace on her lips.

”I think you should go.” He only said, and Jinx realized he sounded sheepish despite not behaving so. It would be way easier to read him if he didn't have that dreadful mask on.

”And I think you should get a new fucking situationship. Dear Janna, have mercy…” She scolded, taking advantage of the resigned pliancy Viktor seemed to show.

It would’ve been way easier to follow her advice hadn’t Viktor accidentally Pavlov’d himself to a fuck or fight reaction whenever he was at a certain distance from Jayce.

“We can continue with the renovations tomorrow… ” He offered. “I have a lot to discuss with Jayce, I might be unavailable for the most part of the day.”

”Oh, you’re going at it all day long aren’t you?” She scoffed, bending to Viktor’s level low enough to put her head on his shoulder. “Wow Talis,” she called, looking at him from her position. “Something tells me you must be very well-endowed, you make all the ladies go crazy!” She poked at Viktor’s cheek with one of her nails, his mask making a tin-tin of a sound as it came in contact with her colorful acrylics. “I hope you choke on the piltie’s dick.” she whispered to only him, patting his shoulder before raising her head. 

“Let’s pretend I was never here.” She said at last, waving her hand as a salute. 

“Let’s...” Jayce repeated, turning his head around and quietly watching her leave, Neither Viktor nor Jayce said a word until they heard the main door click shut. When Jayce turned back around he was faced with Viktor himself, now standing right in front of him and reaching for him with his metal hand. Jayce closed his eyes shut instinctively, waiting for a hit, but he received a soft scoff as the clasps of his cloak were freed instead.

“I find your reactions amusing,” Viktor said, clearly smiling despite not showing it. “Do I scare you?”

”No…” Jayce replied in a voice a pitch higher than a whisper. “You…” He started before taking a deep breath of air and setting his hands on Viktor’s hips instead, looking up at him. “You look well…”

”You already said that.” Viktor pointed out, starting to unbutton Jayce’s shirt. 

“Are you…well?” Viktor immediately stopped trying to undress Jayce, moving his hands to rest at Jayce’s shoulders instead and muttering a contemplative humm. He didn’t talk, and Jayce tried to fill the silence himself. “I mean… I never thought I’d hear from you again and now…” he whispered, but let his words trail off intentionally. “You could’ve just come to me at night, I would’ve let you in. Less destructive.”

While beneficial to him at first, the misunderstanding of his actions had clearly given Jayce an impression he wasn’t willing to dirty his reputation with. He was known to break no contact, but he was hardly one to admit resignation. 

Viktor took a grounding breath, removing his hands. ”You came to me.” He said, taking a couple of steps back.

”You called me here.” Jayce corrected instead, finally standing up. “With your… stunt . You called me here.” He repeated, now furrowing his brows.

Viktor crossed his arms, staring down at Jayce with an unreadable expression. ”I didn’t,” he confessed, finally clearing up the evident misunderstanding. “you just assumed I did, or wished so…”

“I just…” Jayce ran a hand through his hair, messing it up as he faced away from Viktor. “I was trying to give you space, I waited for any sign from you but you…” He heaved a sigh. “I was worried about you. You- I wanted to reach out sooner, I did, but I didn’t think you’d want me to.” He frowned and took a step closer, a hand extended toward Viktor in accusation. “You told me to stay away.”

”I am doing well .” Viktor said instead, tilting his head slightly, irritated. “You got your answer, can we resume sex quietly , now?”

“I came here to talk, Viktor. You owe me answers, I feel like I barely know you anymore and I-“

“Then our interests clearly don’t align.” Viktor interrupted. He took a deep breath, looking away. Jayce realized he sounded disappointed .

“No- but they can .” Jayce offered, maybe too quickly. “They can align.” He repeated. “I can ask questions and you…” Jayce couldn’t help but oogle Viktor even in his less than ideal position. If Viktor didn’t have his arms crossed he was sure he’d have punched him already, yet again he had willingly crossed them to avoid that from happening.

“I’m not desperate .” He retorted angrily, his defensive stance never faltering. “You should leave. I have much more pressing matters to attend to.”

“No. ” Jayce said, finally removing the distance between them, his hands held  Viktor’s shoulders tightly, gripping at them as if his life depended on it. “No… I’d rather… stay.” He said, pleadingly . 

Viktor watched as Jayce couldn’t properly hold eye contact with him, how his eyes flickered between them, then down where his bump was pressed against Jayce’s abdomen, and then away as if embarrassed, the quick sequence repeated for a few more times. 

Jayce would be the death of him, he realized.

Viktor finally loosened his stance, reaching for Jayce’s half undone buttons again.

“How do you want to do this?” He asked, and Jayce’s answer was quick, enthusiastic, hopeful even. His eyes shined with newfound excitement, (or was it warmth?) as his hands began to wander back where they had always belonged, on Viktor’s hips once again.

“You, on my lap.” He said, before he could help himself. “Or me on yours, I-“ He let out a breath, Viktor didn’t point out the impossibility of that position. “Or wherever, on the floor, on your bed… whatever you have as a bed…”

Viktor smiled under his mask, letting out a brief sigh of a laugh before answering. “Me on your lap?” He asked again, raising both of his hands to cup at Jayce’s face. “I’d crush you.”

“No, you won’t.” Jayce assured, his mouth parted for a silent second as he awaited for something that he had no right to ask. “I’m tougher than I look, you know.” He said instead. “And you…” 

Viktor hummed, his eyes thinning with interest, and he pressed himself impossibly closer to Jayce, his hands shooting up on his shoulders to wrap themselves around him and play with his hair instead. “And I am heavily pregnant.”

”You look amazing.” He corrected, taking another breath. “So you are? Pregnant?” He asked as his first question of many more, and Viktor immediately stiffened.

Viktor’s hand stopped caressing the back of Jayce’s head to tightly grip at his hair instead,  tugging him away. “You still don’t believe me.” He said. “Why would I lie?”

”No, not like that!” He defended himself, closing his eyes for the briefest of moments up until Viktor released his hair. “I just… didn’t want to assume , you didn’t mention it once !”

Viktor made a ‘hmph’ sound and decided to move on, pegging Jayce’s hesitancy as politeness. Viktor instructed Jayce to follow him with a wave of his hand, leading him to his bedroom. “I have a perfectly functional bed.” He assured him. “Not a recharge station as you seemed to have implied before.”

”It would have been characteristically you, though.” Jayce said and Viktor let out a soft laugh of a sound as a reply. It was true , and Jayce knew him relatively well. 

“Is this safe to do?” Jayce asked next, when Viktor started to undress from his waist down, unbuttoning his pants before pulling them down. “With you being pregnant, I mean.” He didn’t take off his t-shirt. 

“We’ll have to take our chances.” Viktor replied, moving to help Jayce get rid of his own clothes, Jayce stopped him, holding his hands in his.

”No. You- I don’t want-“ He stuttered, looking completely distraught. “I don’t think-“

”It’s safe.” Viktor interrupted, a soft ache in his figurative heart quelling once Jayce’s pitiful voice was replaced by a sigh of relief. He had missed him, despite his stubbornness to ever admit it. “I should give you a maximum number of questions you can make, perhaps it’ll increase the quality of them avoiding stupid questions to be raised. What about 5?” He said instead of what he was thinking.

”I’d rather… not. I have a lot to ask.” Jayce confessed, but it wasn’t his decision to make. “And it wasn’t a stupid question, I had to know. I don’t want to hurt you.” He pulled down his pants and boxers in an excruciatingly long amount of time before he was being pushed on the bed by Viktor, this one straddling his legs as soon as humanly possible.

“Ask away Jayce.” He said, his hand reaching between them to stroke at Jayce’s half-hard dick. “Although, you might not be able to form coherent sentences soon enough.” He teased, his actions successfully making Jayce gasp and wriggle beneath him.

Jayce whimpered, his own hand shooting up to his face as he instinctively tried to keep himself quiet, he set it at his neck instead, rubbing at the side of it in a near self-soothing manner. “You and Jinx… How did you end up working together? That’s… an unusual partnership to say the least.” He still asked, despite the topic of his questions not being particularly stimulating for their current activities.

”I needed some files from the academy, Jinx was enthusiastic to help. The explosion wasn’t planned but we needed a quick way out.” He referred, cynically. “Nor was your consequential appearance…” he hummed, brushing his hand lower. “I don’t mind it as much as I thought I would.” He added, hoping it would derail Jayce’s thoughts away from ever mentioning his sister again, to prevent getting even more turned off.

“What… what did you need?” Jayce asked next, trying to steady his voice despite wanting to melt at the slightest hint of praise he heard in Viktor’s voice. “You could have asked me…”

”Files.” Viktor replied, icier than what Jayce had expected after his first willingness. “And I couldn’t ask you because I wanted you dead.” Jayce decided not to press the matter, lest he irritate Viktor too much. He slipped a hand on Viktor’s leg, caressing it as an unspoken apology.

”That doesn’t tell me how you found yourself in the same place at the same time to come up with the perfect crime…” Jayce mumbled, implicitly complaining about how Viktor’s answers didn’t fully satisfy his questions. 

”It was hardly perfect.” Viktor corrected, pressing his cunt against the curve of Jayce’s dick. “Jinx has found an interest in me lately, she came to me and I told her I needed a favor.” He said, twisting some of the truth to better fit Jayce’s perception of his relationship with Jinx. He wouldn’t have taken well the knowledge of his upbringing being so closely related to one of Piltover’s worst criminals, he could only make so many exceptions for a person…  Not to mention Jayce would be smart enough to find the link between him and counselor Silco. “Our partnership is relatively new.” He said instead, rubbing himself against his length again, finally finding a pace. “But we are compatible enough, and she has kept me company.”

” Compatible ?” Jayce asked, outraged. “What do you mean compatible, Viktor?”

”Compatible.” Viktor repeated. “That’s enough questions, Jayce.” He said, his tone held finality.

”No. ” Jayce protested, sitting up straighter and ruining Viktor’s plans of riding dick anytime soon. If he had asked any other questions of the same nature, the result would’ve been the same despite all of Viktor’s efforts of manipulating them to better fit his desires. “Did you have sex with her? In this bed?!” Jayce demanded to know, he seemed to visibly pale as he came up to some rather erroneous answers on his own. “That’s why she was here so early in the morning? How long has this been going on?!”

Viktor should have been insulted, but so close to Jayce at that time he could clearly see how his voice faltered, how his eyes filled up with unshed tears and how he was fighting off a pout. 

Perhaps he should try a different approach. 

“You’re a bundle of nerves.” Viktor said. “Let me fix that.” He offered, moving out of the way and standing up. Jayce followed instinctively, sitting at the edge of the bed and staring up at him with an angry furrow of his brows.

”Viktor!” Jayce protested at the questions still unanswered, but then Viktor tugged at his mask, lifting it ever so slightly to reveal the lower half of his face, and he stilled, anticipation gnawing at him. He didn’t take it off, but he knelt down in front of him with his hands on his knees, silently asking for access.

It was tempting to say the least. Viktor was giving him a chance to just give in and let go of the question right away, possibly knowing he wouldn’t have liked the answer to it. After all, It was a question he had no right to ask since they had never been exclusive to begin with, but something tugged at the strings of his heart at the thought that Viktor might have moved on so quickly after their most recent fallout. He had been hinting at it, hadn’t he? 

“I don’t… I don’t like the idea of someone else having sex with you.” He confessed, despite the odds of receiving a positive reaction clearly tipped against his favor. 

“We didn't.” Viktor answered after a while, and Jayce immediately heaved a sigh of relief. “But you have no claim on me, after everything you’ve done. After everything that happened.”

”I know…” Jayce heaved a sigh, and he seemed to mean it when he then said: “I am at your mercy.” 

“You are.” Viktor confirmed, wrapping his lips around the tip of Jayce’s dick. Jayce let out a pitiful sound akin to a choked up whine as Viktor’s tongue lapped the curve of his cock. His hand moved to slowly pull Viktor closer, tugging at his hair while being careful not to give him the idea he’d ever take off his mask.

“It feels the same…” he still muttered. “You didn’t cut your tongue off and replace it. It’s the same, exactly how I remember…” He clarified his statement, and the laugh that followed reverberated through his length where Viktor’s mouth and his dick connected. Jayce shivered in response. Viktor kept silent for a few more moments, clearly too occupied with other matters. He pushed himself down, and down again, before pulling himself off and away, saliva coating the side of his mouth and dragging a string that still connected them, Viktor wiped away the fluid instantly, but Jayce’s mouth watered at the sight just the same, a bead of precum forming at the tip of his dick as he let out a shaky breath.

“My tongue remained the same, but I have installed a second row of teeth, behind my uvula.” Viktor said once his mouth wasn’t obstructed by his wrist, breaking Jayce from his reverie. He felt the phantom of something icy slide along his spine as his mind supplied him a clear image of what Viktor had actually meant, the sight settling right behind his eyelids before he realized it was all one of Viktor’s particularly odd jokes paired with an unfortunate - but deliberate - monotone.

“ Hah .” Jayce exhaled, unsuccessfully fighting a smile. “Near your tonsils or...”

“I don’t have those.” He replied, feeling Jayce's tension melt off as he breathed out. “Well, I do but not in me. I keep them in a jar.”

” …Seriously ?” Jayce still asked despite knowing he wouldn’t be able to trust Viktor’s answer.

”On a very tall shelf.” He informed him. “My second row of teeth is deeper in my throat.” He raised his chin just enough to show Jayce his parted mouth, pointing the inside of it as if he could actually see anything but his palate.

“Fascinating…” Jayce said after a hum, his eyes creaking in amusement. “Am I going to reach this second row of teeth anytime soon?”

”Perhaps.” He said, moving to brush his lips on Jayce’s cock again. “If you’re daring enough you might get to my third row of teeth.” Jayce couldn’t help but laugh at that, a soft giggle that didn’t distract Viktor any less from his objective, the moment Jayce’s mouth shut again, he was back diving onto his dick, finding his pace as Jayce found his voice again, this time in the form of moans and choked up gasps.

One of Viktor’s hands rested at the side of his leg as he found enough leverage to envelope Jayce’s dick fully, Jayce made an incoherent mumble of a praise before he grabbed at his hair once again in a desperate attempt of feeling closer.

When Jayce’s hold tightened and his gasps became shakier, Viktor understood he was nearing his own climax, but waited for Jayce to tell him himself. “V, don’t- don’t stop.” He pleaded, stumbling on his own words. Viktor imagined his eyes closed shut, imagined he wouldn’t bear to look at the mask that obstructed the upper half of his face from his view, and that had resorted to relying on the memory of him he still cherished trapped behind his eyelids. It was bittersweet to say the least, to know someone cherished him so much once upon a time that couldn’t bear to see him for the person he had become. 

Viktor relied on a version of Jayce that accepted him, one that had never existed, and Jayce relied on the version of Viktor that didn't exist anymore.

If he had opened his eyes and tipped his chin upwards, he might’ve caught that he had been the only one that had kept his eyes shut.

“I’m so close” Jayce muttered in a whisper of a moan. “I’m so close, don't stop.” He repeated, his eyes liddening for half of a second as he willed his pupils to look anywhere but his partner.

But Viktor pulled his mouth away immediately after the plea left Jayce’s lips, the act resulting in an obscene pop of a sound and an aborted moan, Jayce looked down at him with eyes wide open, unable to make sense of what had just happened, but Viktor stood up from between his legs, pushing him closer onto the bed and straddling him once again, one of his hands held the base of Jayce’s shaft as he directed his cock to his wet cunt, exactly how he had first intended. 

Jayce’s mouth closed back shut after the first surprise, and he exhaled through his nose as he tried to recollect himself.

”You wanted me to finish in you so bad?” He asked through a shaky breath, his hands wrapped around Viktor’s waist instead, keeping him steady as he lifted himself up and down on his dick. Jayce’s eyes glanced at Viktor’s still exposed lips for a moment too long and Viktor pulled down his mask as if punishing him, the metal plate making a low clank as it came in contact with the metal plaques Viktor had installed on the sides of his face, the ones that Jayce correctly figured out acted as magnets.

“That’s where my third row of teeth is.” Viktor retorted before exhaling, making Jayce shiver with how much deeper he had deliberately made his voice. The action of pulling himself up and down became strenuous enough to prevent him from multitasking a conversation further than that, Viktor eventually let go of his pride to rest his head on Jayce’s shoulder, continuing with his rhythmic pace as he directed Jayce’s dick exactly where he wanted, hitting his favorite spot over and over again to the point of an orgasm. 

Jayce’s climax came first, but the walls of Viktor’s cunt tightened as he reached his own climax not long after. Viktor pumped Jayce’s dick for a couple more strokes before he let out a pained whine, sitting on Jayce’s lap instead, his dick still inside him, and panting trying to regain his breath. 

Jayce did much of the same, but shivered when he felt the phantom of Viktor’s breath coming from under his mask and brushing his shoulder where his head was still lying atop of.

”Does it have… a proper ventilation system? Your mask, I mean.” Jayce asked, genuinely curious. His hands clinged at Viktor’s back keeping him in place in a loose hug, looking for affection he wasn’t sure he’d get.

“Dumb question.” Viktor replied, lifting his head away from Jayce’s shoulder with a soft mumble of a groan. ”I’m working on it.” 

Jayce huffed at the condescension of his voice, and fought the urge to roll his eyes. “So, you’d rather not breathe than to let me see your face again. Got it.”

” Precisely .” Viktor said, voice bordering on threatening. 

“I’ve seen all of you, Viktor. I doubt it’ll change anything.” Jayce pressed still, and Viktor pushed himself off his lap and away from him in response. The sight of his spent running down from his legs making Jayce’s dick twitch in interest for a painful instant. 

Viktor ignored the demand, trying to keep the air amicable still. He took care of the cleanup efficiently, silently, and threw a clean towel at Jayce to do the same.

”How far along are you? Do you… know?” Jayce asked amidst the silence that followed and his eyes widened at the warmth in Viktor’s reply.

”22 weeks, it won't be too long before they’re here...” He said, moving to sit at the other side of his bed, Jayce turned around to face him but didn’t move. Viktor wasn’t used to having Jayce around after sex, but he hadn’t told him to leave either. “It’s a boy. Healthy. I’m decorating him a room right next to mine.” He informed him. “I even have the blueprints of a cradle figured out, one of the easiest projects I’ve ever worked on might I say.”

”Really?” Jayce asked, his eyes softening and the corners of his mouth tugging upwards in a smile. “I never thought… You… ” He let out a breath, afraid of saying the wrong thing. “That you…” he repeated, but words wouldn’t follow, Jayce only shook his head, scolding himself from ever doubting Viktor’s soft side left him all those years ago.

”Me neither.” Viktor answered at Jayce’s inability to finish that sentence. ”But I don’t mind it.”

”I could help. With the cradle. It’s time I do something I… wasn’t here for you for so long but in my defense,I thought… you’d kill me if we met again.” He confessed, reiterating something that he had already told him before. “When you told me, I…”

”I’m still debating.” Viktor interrupted.

“Debating ?” Jayce repeated, going back a few steps in his own train of thought. “You’d kill me after we just had sex? Like a mantis ?” And Jayce raised an eyebrow.

Viktor hummed as if genuinely piqued, and Jayce laughed. “Oh, don’t give me that look. What made you change your mind?”

There was a moment of silence before Viktor managed to find the words to answer that question, and even when they had left his mouth, he wasn’t sure he had said everything that needed to be said, if he had told the whole truth.

“Seeing you outside my door was enough.” He confessed. “It didn't help that conversation comes easy with you either, nor did it help that I’m charmed by idiots in fancy clothes. Perhaps it was multiple factors all at once… I still don’t know what I would’ve done instead if I had known you were on your way to me beforehand.”

“Viktor…” Jayce exhaled, softly and with a lovestruck look in his half lidded eyes, Viktor tilted his head away and sighed.

“Don’t sound so relieved.” He chastised, despite that, his tone was sheepish. “I’m telling you it was all luck that our meeting didn’t turn into a murder scene.”

”I’m glad all the same.” Jayce still said, looking at him like he hung the moon and stars. “I was serious when I said I could help. I could come around more often. I'm a great help.”

”I don’t need it. And you are bad for business, I cant have Jayce Talis, counselor of Piltover, in my lair. It’s bad enough I’ll have a baby running around this place in a couple of years. I have a certain standard of professionalism I must keep.”

”I should decorate a room for him at my place too.” Jayce said excitedly, and Viktor turned his head his way. Jayce immediately stiffened at the odd reaction, his next words uttered with a sort of defensiveness coating them. “For when you… drop him off.” He clarified.

”I don’t think that’ll be necessary.” Viktor insisted, raising his chin.

” What ?!” Jayce protested, raising his voice before taking a grounding breath. “What do you mean by that now?”

”You completed your side of the job, You’ve successfully fertilized one of my eggs and I became pregnant as a result. I’m raising this baby. I don't need you to do much else, nor I expect you to.”

“So I won’t be able to see him, that's what you’re telling me?” He reiterated, gritting his teeth at Viktor’s answer. 

”That’s right.” He said. “Even though I am not able to prevent you from ever coming across him in an unforeseeable future, I would rather you not tell my son you share some of his DNA if an encounter accidentally takes place. It is imperative to both of our professional integrities that you don’t.”

“Viktor, it’s not funny.”

“I’m not joking.” He said, his hands moving to grip at the bedsheets in irritation. “I don’t want you involved.” he reiterated instead.

“There was a reason why you told me you were pregnant all those nights ago, and if it wasn’t to ask for my involvement then I don’t know why the hell you did it. So why not ?” Jayce asked, and Viktor took a deep breath before replying. Perhaps the way he moved his other hand on his bump made Jayce soften in the hope the answer was justified in self-doubt, but his eyes sharpened again when Viktor’s answer didn’t fit his daydream.

“I rescind my offer.” He said at first. “ I now realize I shouldn’t have blurted out that information to you in that way, and for that you will have to suffer the consequences. But it’s in both of our best interests if you had never known it was yours, or if you choose to ignore it now .”

“So, you’re asking me to act as if I don’t have a son with you, and for what reason? You don’t make any sense.”

“When my prolonged period of convalescence is over I will walk topside once again with an army of my own and destroy everything in my path until my demands are met or I lose enough limbs to make retreat my top priority. Exactly how it has always been before I fell pregnant. You will be there, defending your beloved city like you’ve always done, on the side of the oppressors.” Viktor pointed out, unable to take his eyes off of Jayce while he instead was trying his best not to look at him.

“It doesn’t have to be this way, if you didn’t-“

“But I don’t want it to change.” Viktor interrupted, and Jayce finally faced him. 

“Seriously?” He asked in a small voice, unable to make sense of Viktor’s argument. “You’d rather die by your cause than find a compromise. You’d rather break before you bend.”

“I did much more to help people after my exile than I ever did working as your partner.” He said. “We created hextech and you transformed it into a weapon, you armed your militia with hex crystals to prevent insurrections. You are not keeping order, you are protecting a flawed system that feeds on inequality.”

“Things are changing, it takes time but they are changing.” Jayce claimed, extending an arm as if to highlight his point. “The council, it’s not perfect, but it has been considering Zaun’s proposals more and more, steadily . There’s no need for this resentment between the both of us, I’m on your side!”

“You never were.” Viktor retorted instead. “You‘ve taken action only after I became a problem . You and your council are doing damage control.”

Jayce’s mouth began to twist in a grimace, his eyebrows furrowed in pensive consideration. He stood up then, immediately fetching his discarded clothes from the floor, he wasn’t facing Viktor when he questioned him again, coming up with conclusions on his own that he had only skimmed the answers of when in the thick of sex. “What were the files you stole about, Viktor?” He asked again that day. 

Viktor began to dress back up too, despite first assuming they’d have a second round. “What would change if you knew?” He questioned as a way of replying, following Jayce out of his bedroom door. 

He wondered what Jayce had rummaged about in the few moments of silence they had shared before his voice became cold. If he had found his words to be true and the distance that followed was the rational result, if he had accepted what seemed to be a clear rejection of a deeper connection beyond sex or if he still fought hard against the idea as Viktor still did sometimes.

“Nothing. It would change nothing.”

Perhaps they had finally reached the same conclusion.

Chapter Text

He hadn’t visited the next day, nor the day after. 

Jinx returned instead, upholding her promise to start with the renovations, but didn’t make staying the night a habit, which Viktor was particularly glad for since he needed a moment of his day to spend in complete silence. She didn’t ask about Jayce either, clearly upset he had even entertained the idea of talking to him.

Him and Jayce hadn’t ended their conversation amicably enough to make their meetings a nightly habit once again, and the files he had stolen had proved to be useless, just as expected, making the hassle of retrieving them ungratifying in more ways than just one.

It was one of these days where Jinx and him were supposed to meet again when Viktor got an unexpected visitor instead, Viktor put away his mask as soon as he recognized his guest, comfortable in the presence of someone that wasn’t a stranger.

Renata had been let in without as much as a word uttered between either of them, methodical and efficient was what she’d look for after all, so it wasn’t unusual for Viktor to sign her to follow him with a well-aimed nod at her general direction, but this time, she raised a palm, and Viktor halted his steps before he could even inform her of his new designated laboratory room, now deep in his basement.

”I’m not here to retrieve the shimmer.” She said, standing between the living room and the hallway. “ if you’ve reached your quota for the month in advance…I’ll send someone over to get it for me” She said matter-of-factly. “Have you?”

“You have so little faith in me.” Viktor retorted with a scoff, crossing his arms. “I always meet quota in advance.”

Renata made a hum of a praise before walking around the house, inspecting the perimeter and the freshly dried walls of the living room and halls as if they were the most interesting thing in the world, as long as she didn’t have to look at him , Viktor supposed. 

Viktor moved to Renata’s general direction to stare at the same empty frame she was looking at with silent consideration, and while Viktor wondered how odd Renata could at times be, he knew Renata had been wondering something else entirely.

“Why are you here, then?” He simply asked, successfully snapping Renata out of her own thoughts.

“I think someone might be attempting to murder me…” She said in a quiet voice, she didn't face him. “At the next meeting with the chembarons, precisely.” Renata informed him, her voice held a tinge of disgust as her mouth twisted in a mean upturned sneer.

”Wouldn’t be the first time.” Viktor said instead, raising one of his eyebrows in question before turning around. “Can I offer you something while you explain why you would back away from a murder attempt this time? You don’t need me to fight your enemies, nor am I the most qualified person for the job.” He had already walked to the kitchen even without an answer, Renata kept her distance as she followed him a while later. “Not to mention the idea that someone is bold enough to try is as much of an affront as a challenge to you...”

”Tea is fine.” She said, nodding to the jar he had been inspecting at that moment. “And you’re not that bad of a choice as a personal guard if you ever get bored of alchemy…” No, it wouldn’t be ideal. she would still need an alchemist to replace him. “Perhaps you could do both.”

”I’ll pass.” Viktor said, waving a hand in dismissal. “About that murder attempt…” He prompted again, putting a pot of water to boil on the stove. He refrained from using his laser so often, as of late. 

Renata walked closer, but not close enough to bother him.

”Have you heard talks of me finally resigning from my ‘reign of terror’, as some like to say, Viktor?” She asked, Viktor nodded his head once, He supposed he had heard rumors, fleetingly . “ Well, that’s fake news of course, you won’t get rid of me that easily, but those rumors have spread after my apparent absence from most of the unorthodox work practices I am known to partake in…”  She adjusted a magnet on the fridge’s door, before taking a few steps away from Viktor once more.

 “My image has been kept pristine for the most part of a whole year now, all because some most important business in Piltover requests my attention.” She continued. “Silco found a few investors he’d like to introduce to me, it’s a hush sort of deal, nothing official… but I have been waiting for an opportunity like this since…” her breath hitched, and her finger that had moved to twist her hair at some point in the conversation stopped as she stilled in place. “Forever.” She said in an exhale, finally facing Viktor, her eyes intercepted his gaze and she waited for his full attention before she spoke again.

“You look decent.” She mumbled, looking at him fully for the first time ever since she entered Viktor’s lair. She resumed twisting her hair as soon as the semi-compliment left her mouth.

Viktor hummed as if not quite believing her. He took a good look at himself, noticing how he could barely see the point of his feet when he looked down. He would say he had seen better days.

”Well, decent enough to go in my stead.” She added soon enough.

“So I’ll get the end of a blade instead of you.” Viktor supplied, furrowing his eyebrows in a clear show of disapproval. “I’m disappointed you even asked.” 

“And now I can’t even ask a dear friend for a favor…” she mumbled in that pitying tone she reserved for mocking, but didn’t give Viktor enough time to retort. “They want me, but they respect you, Viktor.” Renata said, moving the slightest bit closer, the sound of her short heels clicking on the pavement following her every step. “You know how it goes, they love a revolutionary but hate an economist. Nobody wants you dead, they’re just envious they haven’t got you by their side and I do.”

“Mostly.” Viktor hummed, fetching two mugs out of the cupboard. “You flatter me, truly. But I don’t feel comfortable taking this risk this time.” He decided, pouring boiling hot water into the ceramics cups.

“We can postpone the meeting to another day if you need to clear your schedule,” Renata offered. “but you’ll have to deliver the news of Glasc’s expansion yourself.” She stopped, moved her eyes away sheepishly. “with the price increase that it would bring, of course. If there’s more demand, then…” she let her words trail off. 

“You’re asking for a bloodbath. Will my wage be increased if your plans are successful?” He asked, half as a joke, half genuinely interested in Renata’s answer. He gave her the mug, the tea bag still brewing inside, she took a tentative sip.

“I might give it a thought if you don’t argue any further.” It was a no , Viktor realized. He hadn’t been counting on it. 

“I know you are particularly skittish around the subject,” Viktor started, taking a sip out of his own mug before starting to sugar his tea to taste. “But I am currently with child, so I have to keep certain life-threatening activities to a minimum, threats of murder attempts included.”

“You’re not a target, you’ll be safe.” She repeated. “I’ll give you backups and I can tell the others to put off the meeting for as long as you need,” She hadn’t taken a sip of her tea since the first, and when she set the mug back on the counter again still untouched, Viktor realized she was ready to leave soon enough. “How long until you’re back on business again?” She asked, softly but firm.

Viktor took a second to reply. “The end of June. Maybe July.” He informed her, watching her reaction with a hint of amusement.

“ No .” Renata only said, she lidded her eyes in annoyance, clearly not believing he’d ever need that amount of time. “I’d have any other insubordinate fired for even suggesting that long of a time. That’s 3 months from now.”

From dear friend to insubordinate pawn again.

“That’s my approximated due date.” He explained. “And that’s technically how long I’ll need to get back to business as usual by your standards. Standards that require me to be much more than the alchemist I was first listed as…” He pointed out, he truly considered the idea of a voluntary break for the first time in years. 

“Well it’s certainly further away than what I thought.” Renata scoffed, crossing her arms and looking at him up and down. “I’d have given you… a couple of weeks at most, maybe three, before you’d cut your little monster out.”

“Funny .” Viktor commented, his mug nodding her way as one of his fingers wrapped around its handle pointed at her. “Then it’s a no.” 

“I apologize for letting you think you had a choice before, Viktor. But in my defense, you were gullible enough to believe it.” Renata said, heaving a sigh. “Your inestimable competency and reliability will be the death of you, I suppose. You’re the only one I trust with this fast and you don’t have a choice.” She informed him. “Meeting is this friday, I’ll give you a chart to present and you’ll just have to explain it to those brainless idiots as easily as possible.” She pointed a finger at him, and repeated: “ easy . Read off the script I’ll send you if Smeech starts to give you shit about how fancy you talk.”

“I’d rather fucking die than give a presentation to those degenerates again .” Viktor seethed, his nose scrunching up in disgust. “They have no fucking idea what a pie chart is, they’d ask for a slice if I ever presented one.”

“If you kill yourself out of exasperation then I’d just have to find someone to put you back together.” She said, dead serious. “Don't give me any more paperwork, Viktor.” She groaned, then grabbed at her temples as if pained. “It’s bad enough I lost one of my most productive employees to… pregnancy .”

“My work has been of the same consistency.” Viktor replied to Renata’s dramatics, shaking his head. “You’re exaggerating, the only thing that’ll change come summer is that I’ll have a small child strapped to my chest while I work.”

“Oh dear god,” She exclaimed, placing a hand on her chest mockingly. “So you’re really keeping it?”

“Of course, why would I carry a pregnancy to term otherwise?” Viktor huffed before smiling, amused. “You’ll be aunt Renata soon enough, unless you want to be called grandma.”

“And that is my cue to leave.” Renata held a palm as if to stop Viktor right there, preventing the conversation from derailing any further into uncharted territories she’d rather never hear of, which for her meant childbirth and progeny, apparently. 

Soon enough she was stepping ahead of Viktor and into the entrance hall, he followed with his mug still in hand, in case she’d have any further instructions to give. “I’ll send you a couple of my personal bodyguards to escort you when it’s time.” She said at last, before a knock came from the same door her hand had taken hold of the handle of. 

“Well, you seem to have a visitor.” Renata commented before pulling the door open, she looked at the new guest up and down, noticing the gallons of paint Jinx had brought with her. She held one by the handle with her left hand, while the others were in a bag temporarily discarded on the porch instead; she wore white overalls over an old stretched blue T-shirt, which Renata thought was particularly unusual, but didn’t dwell on it. “I was just about to leave. He’s all yours, Jinx.” Renata told her and walked past her.

Jinx watched her leave silently and turned around to face Viktor with wide eyes just moments later. “Huh…” she only said, before stepping inside. Viktor took the paint she left behind by his augmented arm and followed her. 

“Before you say anything, I must remind you that Renata is my boss, and she came here to give me a professional related task.” He said, clearing out the misunderstanding before word would spread that he had a secret romantic relationship with Renata. He was years too late for that.

“Oh for sure ,” Jinx mocked, scoffing. “my boss comes to my house while I’m in my pajamas aaaaaall the time.”

“Your boss is your father and you still live with him. I bet he does, actually.” Viktor pointed out, rolling his eyes. “And anything I own is either too formal or too small. I’ll stick to wearing loose clothing for as long as I need in the comfort of my own home. Nobody but you has ever complained about it before.”

“I think she winked at me when she left…” Jinx said, taking one of her braids in her hands and making a show of rotating the end of it in the air. “Maybe she was trying to tell me something.” She giggled.

“She didn’t. And if she did, she’s fucking with you.” Viktor sighed, following her to the room he had chosen to be a nursery. “You’re not her type.” He commented.

She stopped at the door, barricading his access by holding her arms on both sides of it. “I’m not going to ask how you know that, ‘cause honestly, it’s getting a bit repetitive . I’d ask you if you two are fucking, you’d say no… then I’m back asking again, it’s annoying!” she conceded. “Why don’t we get to work instead, hm?” 

“That’s what I’m trying to do. Move.” He ordered, and raised an eyebrow in question when she refused. 

“Actually, I was thinking I could take care of the painting of this room alone and then show you as a little surprise, what do you think?” She asked. “You’d still be working on the furniture yourself, but we could split up the work. you as the engineer and me as the artist.” Jinx didn’t point out how she was as much of an engineer as Viktor, trying to appeal to his ego in hope for a positive reaction.

Viktor hummed, looking seconds away from refusing, but then he placed the bag full of tins of paint by her shoes, taking a step back. Jinx smiled as he finally gave her full creative reign over the nursery. “If you insist…” He said as confirmation, his hand joining his other one on the side of his now lukewarm mug of tea. “I’ll be in the basement if you need me.”

Turns out, Viktor had overestimated how much Jinx would actually need him. 

She hadn’t called upon him once, obstructing his view of the nursery whenever he went to check on her instead, even going as far as locking the door whenever he’d ask her to come out. She had been working on the room by herself for around three days when she walked out of it and climbed down the stairs to search for him out of her own volition. Viktor had been, expectedly, in his designated laboratory station when cold hands wrapped around his shoulders, making him jolt before he turned around.

“Don’t sneak up on me like that, Jinx.” He chastised, fully expecting it to be someone else despite his better judgment. “What do you want ?”

And as calmly as she could, Jinx said: “I set the house on fire, we have to get out of here, quickly.”

“What ?!”

“I’m just kidding, I’m done painting!” She said, laughing at Viktor’s unamused expression that followed. Jinx moved to stand in front of him instead, sitting on his workbench as she waited for him to finish with his ‘independent studying’ , as he liked to say, noticing how some of the papers she saw under his palm had been there for quite some days. The tiny organized notes filling every available blank space in sight had become a scribbled mess of blacked out words as Viktor went over them again and again. It was a pitiful sight.

“I’m sure you did a great job.” He said before she could say a word herself, tidying up his desk, starting by piling up the sheets of paper Jinx was eyeing with suspicion. “Thank you.”

“Why are you thanking me?” She asked, picking up a discarded leather notebook from the pile of folders set by a corner of the table. “You haven’t even seen the room yet!” She pointed out, opening the notebook by a random page.

“You have yet to disappoint me, I don’t see why you’d do so now.” Viktor replied before standing up, he walked by the side of the door leading upstairs, waiting for Jinx to follow. 

“It’s not… as nice as you think it is to say that.” She said, tilting her head to the page in front of her. “And if I knew you were such an artist I wouldn’t have offered, when did you draw this?” She hopped off the table soon after, walking towards him. 

“What are you talking about?” Viktor asked, before Jinx showed him the notebook, holding it with both of her arms outstretched as if presenting it, and pointing at one of the pages with one of her fingers. “Oh, that’s not…” he began, sighing and reaching for it with both of his hands. “It’s not mine.” He said as he grabbed the binded notebook. “I haven’t drawn anything of the sort in ages, only blueprints…” 

Jinx hummed. “Really? But that’s your arm… very detailed too.” 

“It seems to be a drawing of the inner workings of my arm, correct.” Viktor mused. “Someone was trying to figure out how it worked.”

“Isn’t that a problem?” Jinx asked, following Viktor upstairs and prompting for an answer when one wasn’t immediately given. “You’ve got a copycat on your hands, doesn’t that mean you’re going to lose business?” She asked.

“I doubt that would be the case.” Viktor said cryptically, walking on without further explanation given.

She walked in front of him before he could go too far, setting a hand on her hip and raising her eyebrow in suspicion. “What does that mean?” She asked. 

“It just means I have an admirer, not a competitor.”  He finally explained.

“An admirer ?” Jinx repeated with an unimpressed look on her face. “What was your job Topside again? ‘cause I don’t think scientists get as much attention as you do.”

Viktor scoffed, setting the notebook aside. “Why don’t you show me the nursery?”

“I guess…” Jinx mumbled, yet to be completely persuaded to move on from the odd interaction they just had. It was a good enough answer to be believable, she supposed. “Oh, I must warn you, the paint isn't dry yet, don't touch anything!”

Viktor hummed as a response, and followed Jinx into the nursery. 

The room’s walls were painted with various shades of blue, going from the palest of hues to a deep navy that covered the entirety of the ceiling, and there, hand-drawn stars, each a little different from the next, were placed. Jinx pointed to each of her painted masterpieces one by one, describing how she had made each of them; the cerulean blue strikes of colors that were supposed to represent trees and leaves in the distance, the little white drawings near the floor that represented wood critters, and then, she pointed to the big star at the center of the ceiling, the one she had tried to blend with the new square illumination system they had installed.

“I wanted to draw a moon but it would’ve looked odd …” She said to that particular artistic choice. “You don’t know how hard it is to paint a ceiling, how do people do that?!” She complained with a little laugh before she crossed her arms. Viktor admired her work without as much of a word uttered, walking along the perimeter of the room and scrutinizing each detail once more, and Jinx tried to fill the silence while awaiting for the final verdict, the old anxious habit of oversharing her thoughts whenever she felt uncomfortable resurfacing. “I made butterflies to hang in here, they’re back at my place but they’re made of iron and glass… and sharp … and they flutter if you touch them, so…” She huffed. “They might be a little dangerous for a newborn.” She said, shrugging her shoulders. “I guess I’ll just have to run them by you first…” she muttered in a small voice, going quiet when Viktor faced her once again.

“You did an amazing job, Jinx.” Viktor only commented, his expression softening as he set his eyes on his sister again. “Naph is really lucky to have a talented aunt like you to care for him.”

“ Naph ?” She repeated before her eyes widened in realization. “Is that what you’re going to call him?”

”Yes.” Viktor answered. “I had the name figured out for a while now, but you’re the first to know. I think that’s only fair after everything you’ve done.”

”If you had it figured out already why didn’t you just announce it? I might’ve written his name on the walls if I had known…” She mused, looking around for a spot on the walls where she could still do it.

“I had a couple of names that I preferred in mind when I first realized I was pregnant, but I decided on one of them further along.” Viktor explained. “If this pregnancy had gone through unfortunate complications and ended up not being viable I’d have used the name for my next big project without anyone suspecting that I was mourning. If there’s still a chance of that happening then you’re the only one to know.” He shrugged. 

” Stop saying that. I always regret asking you shit about your ugly kid for that reason! You’ve got a weird sense of humor, Viktor!” Jinx chastised. “Why the hell wouldn’t it be viable or whatever?! As a matter of fact-!” She exclaimed, pointing a finger at him. “Your baby is going to have to pay rent if he doesn’t get out soon enough! You’re over-baking him in there!”

“He’s still small, Jinx.” He said with a laugh. “You just haven’t seen enough pregnant people to know what’s average and what isn’t.”

“Eh, you know… parenthood isn’t trendy anymore… must be the war undertones in the air.” She said, waving a hand in the air before crossing her arms.

“Good point.” Viktor conceded with a nod. “We’ll begin moving the furniture next week.” He informed her, moving on with a different conversation. “Don’t bother coming tomorrow, take a break. I’ll be busy in an important meeting.”

“What kind of meeting?” Jinx asked, curious.

“The boring kind,” Viktor explained shortly. “You can’t come.”

“Hm.” Jinx huffed, scrunching her nose. “I didn’t want to go, but now I suddenly changed my mind…” 

“Seriously, you won’t like it…” he insisted. “Renata is away for work-related business, and she has given me the task of reading economic growth data of Glasc’s industries off a presentation in her stead. If you want to follow me, suit yourself.”

“Eh…” she hesitated, flicking her eyes anywhere else in the room and searching for something that would distract Viktor from realizing that; yes , he was right, she would hate that. “What about the other name for the kid?”

“What about it?” Viktor asked, dropping the subject easily despite the smug smile he acquired. 

“What was it?” She asked, shrugging her shoulders. “You said you had a couple names figured out. So? What was the other one?” 

“I’ll keep it to myself.” He said, moving out of the room, Jinx following. “In case I have another child further along the way.”

Jinx crossed her arms, and Viktor closed the nursery door behind her. “You must be joking.” She said, calm and collected despite the dirty look she had given him.

Viktor didn’t reply.

It was no surprise when protests erupted from each of the five members gathered around the table at the very first mention of an overcharge for shimmer as much as Glasc’s industries branded weaponry and products, but Viktor’s eye twitched behind his mask all the same when silence was replaced with unorganized verbal violence, mostly directly at him but not exclusively.

“I knew something was wrong the moment you walked in without that hag by your side! Well, tell her that if I send you back to her with a lot less limbs then she’s next !” Smeech seethed, his threats, Viktor was sure, were devoid of any true bite even in his apparent aggression. He stabbed his pocket knife into the wooden table in front of him soon after, pointing his finger at him instead. “I’m not squeamish .” He said to him, and Viktor raised his chin. “I’ll carve her kid out of you and serve it on a platter, I’ll show her who’s got the upperhand!”

Viktor didn’t know if Smeech had gotten the wrong idea on the account of his own limited intellectual capabilities or if it was the general consensus that Renata and him were having an affair, but he much preferred the answer that included the yordle possibly not understanding romantic interaction, or the intricacies of human reproduction.

He wasn’t going to be the one to correct him.

“You simply enjoy making void promises.” Finn, on the other side of the table, yelled instead, he raised one of his hands as if to highlight his point, while the other swirled a glass of wine. It wasn’t missed to any of the participants that he had tried to act much like Silco, even sitting at the chair that directly faced his empty one. “Let me deal with her. After a unanimous vote of course, it seems only fair .”

Viktor thought he was enacting an awful attempt at democracy, and if Silco’s right hand had been there to fill the spot he had temporarily left, he wouldn’t have been so bold to sway the other Chem-Barons on his side in fear of a reprimand. Or a beating. 

Viktor didn’t care enough to get involved in petty internal conflicts within Zaun’s council, the same one that mirrored Piltover’s nonetheless. He only scrunched his nose at the idea that he had had to deal with childish men and women known to be influential figures of power within their districts on more than one occasion in two different situations despite never having had the patience to.

“It’s about time someone does…” Margot agreed next to him, crossing her arms and shaking her head. Her voice successfully tugged Viktor out of his own train of thought. “I mean, who does she think she is? She even sent her fuck-toy to deliver the news ‘cause she was too scared to face us, but we have to roll on our ass and show our belly just for a drop of shimmer, she walks us around like dogs…” She said, heaving a breathy, dreamy, sigh.

“She can set any price she wants on her product, a product she had earned the patent of after a legit process of negotiation, nonetheless.” Viktor spoke up. “Everything has been run by Silco beforehand, tariffs are already in effect and will apply on anyone’s next purchase. There won’t be an ‘ unanimous vote’ to deal with the issue either. It’s awfully counterproductive.” Viktor explained, beginning to set his out-of-place presentation aside. 

The neat thick paper of his graphs was pierced by not only one knife, but two as soon as he had turned his back. He turned around once more, discarding the presentation altogether and walking at Silco’s vacant seat instead. Despite the aforementioned threat, his voice was calm as he kept talking. “Besides, more demand means-“

“You already said that, dickhead !” Smeech screeched from his seat, his metallic claws scratching the table as he grabbed it.

“Glasc’s industry has increased the price of shimmer because of demand further up , correct?” Renni asked as he sat down, reiterating what he had already explained. “Then double the price of shimmer sold up-top and exempt us from any overcharge and we have a solid compromise .” She said, her hands found herself at the side of the table as she tilted her head just the right angle to look unnecessarily haughty and petulant. “You call yourself an alchemist but you haven’t got the brains to reach that conclusion? Seems like this new generation of progress can hardly be worth the investment…”

“You must realize that would only hinder Glasc’s industries expansion…” Viktor explained again from his seat, trying to avoid sounding condescending as to quell the thick tense air at least by a tad. “Renata is as much of an opportunist as any of you here present. She has made her personal considerations and has found that the best course of events includes larger tariffs to provide a better service globally.”

“What about you , tin can?” Margot yelled from her chair, addressing him personally. “Are you ok getting charged more to get shimmer for your independent projects? What happens if you can’t afford Shimmer, then?”

“He makes it, you dumb bitch.” Smeech talked in his stead, despite never being correct. “He’s getting half of the earnings for all we know!”

“I’m only here to represent Renata in her absence. I don’t have an opinion on this matter.” He politely replied to Margot’s answer while ignoring Smeech altogether, he drummed his fingers on the table. 

“What if I cut your good arm off, hm ?” Smeech threatened again, a disgusting smile plastered on his face. “That’ll tell Renata how much we liked her presentation.”

“Oh, I agree with the rat for once. Let’s send him back to his master, leaking oil.” Margot agreed enthusiastically, clapping her hands together. 

“My ‘good arm ’ is the one I cut off myself .” Viktor corrected, raising his augmented arm from under the cloak he wore. “But by all means, I’ll allow you to try all the same, if you so please. I’ll tell Renata’s bodyguards to leave us alone for as long as it takes me to pluck your fur hair by hair and throw you in an oven. I’ve always wondered what yordles tasted like.”

Neither of the two offenders went beyond their frivolous threats, and the room fell into a predictable silence.

“We’ll have to talk about the issue in private… without any external… interference .” Finn said when the others failed to answer, still debating if a match was truly worth it. “He told us repeatedly he didn’t have any say in the matter, after all… It’d be idiotic to threaten the messenger.”

“Oh, he’s an odd one, He'd definitely get off to it…” Smeech finally relented. “And where’s the fun in that? I mean, for me .”

“Well, I don’t want to get on the bad side of someone who can just give me an arm if I ever lost one…” Margot backtracked at last. The room became even more silent as the first bout of aggressivity dissipated. 

“This is preposterous…” Chross said after a moment of complete stasis, speaking for the first time in the whole meeting after only communicating through mumbled nonsense. “I’ll talk to Silco myself if I have to but until he fills his vacancy again, I’ll act as if this meeting never happened!”

“And about THAT !” Smeech protested, jumping up the table and beginning the second round of intensive arguing once again, this time completely directed at Silco’s apparent abdication from his formal duties. 

It was tiring, Viktor realized as he sunk deeper into his seat. His part of the job had been done, and he had spoken less and less as newer issues were raised and Renata’s offense was forgotten. 

It had been late, later than he had expected when the meeting had ended, his brain was thumping against his cranium as he realized he had found he could experience migraines again just like old times after years of blissful ignorance.

Renata’s absence had felt like a mere annoyance in the grand scheme of things, and while he had analyzed hushed conversation as the meeting had come to a conclusion, none of the conversations had included her.

Before he could leave, Renni stopped him; she had a cigarette in one of her hands as the other poked his shoulder, urging him to turn around. 

They had never interacted that much before, and Viktor didn’t have any idea why they would now . So he only stared at her as an acknowledgment, hoping she had mistook him for someone else.

“Is it your first?” She asked, moving her cigarette in a circle in the general direction of his abdomen, this one completely covered by a long coat, and letting ash fall on the red carpet of the entrance hall. She moved to his right, while his guards politely excused themselves from the conversation as he dismissed them without as much as a word. 

“Yes.” He replied once in her presence alone. 

“I have a son.” She said.

“I have heard.” He replied.

Renni scoffed. “You don’t talk much, do you?” She looked far in the distance, out of the gap the half-open door that the entrance made. The night was quiet, the streets were characteristically dark even with the bright-green street lights around every corner. She was waiting for her ride home, Viktor realized. 

“It’s hard,” she said after a moment of silence, startling Viktor. “Bringing a child into this world, I mean. It seems like the most noble act someone can do and then, now that I have a kid I can see why it’s anything but.” She threw her cigarette on the ground, stomping on it. “You're a godsdamned selfish brat.”

“... Excuse you ?”

“Oh, someone had to tell you eventually.” She said, facing him again, her arms now crossed against her chest. Viktor raised an eyebrow at her. “You’d think someone as ‘ smart’ as you would know, yet here you are, completely clueless… Any kid born down here doesn’t have good odds to lead a life worth living, and with the state of things now, with Silco as councilor…” She let her words trail off. “I’ve never thought I’d see the day I'd ever admit it, but I wish Silco hadn’t accepted the peace treaty after all, it’s...”

“It’s defeat.” Viktor supplied, taking the words out of Renni’s mouth. “The independence of Zaun cannot be achieved if it’s a mere clause under a title; if his vote, representing an entire city’s, is valued as much as anyone else’s. ” 

“He’ll bite more than he can chew, eventually…” Renni muttered, Viktor tilted his head slightly, disapproving of her choice of words, and she didn’t mention Silco again. “If you care about the future of your kid, I'd reconsider making your mistress’ weapons available for just about anyone .”

Viktor remained silent, and Renni’s ride came soon after. She sat in her seat, but she had one last thing to tell Viktor before she’d leave.

“But it doesn’t matter.” She said, possibly interpreting Viktor’s silence as indifference. “I doubt you’ve got anything human left of you, it’s like talking to a brick wall.”

Renni was not a warm-hearted woman, and had never earned the title. A manipulative hag fit her description better, and the few conversations Viktor had the ‘honor’ to share with her, including this last one, further consolidated that belief.

She cared little about children born in Zaun, children that she hadn’t mothered herself at the very least, as she had been one of the first to experiment with the lives of orphans as if they were livestock, her only good invention was at the expense of many deaths due to error and trials.

But her hatred and ardent desire for revenge was just as fervent as any of the older members of the chem-barons council, the ones that could relate to a life of hardships, and she had a point, even if her plan had been trying to appeal to his more compassionate side in order to lower prices to keep her Shimmer needs satisfied. It was a low blow, even if ineffective.

He was glad when his bodyguards finally came to fetch him, asking if he was ready to leave and snapping him away from thoughts he had no business doubting about after so long of a time.

And with the potential threat of a murder attempt back at the meeting with the chembarons over, his guard had been lowered and at that moment it had yet to dawn on him that it was all too odd that he was being led in hallways after hallway but going in circles.

When one of the two men he had been given as a guard swiftly pushed him into a near wall holding his hands behind his back, he admitted he hadn’t seen it coming.

“He’s not Renata Glasc.” The one that didn’t currently hold Viktor in place said before Viktor could process what was happening, evidently reiterating what the two had already been mumbling about while Viktor was too distracted to eavesdrop. 

“He’s still got a hefty bounty on his head, more than hers.” The other man replied, Viktor squirmed under his hold trying to get a better look at the man’s face that he had completely ignored up until that point, but this one only pushed his head still. Viktor didn’t try again. “And he’s defenseless.” The man added, mistaking his actions for compliance.

“I thought The Machine Herald was taller…”

“Apparently not. Help me tie him.” 

He had expected insurrection to rise from any of the members of their council, so much so that he hadn’t thought Renata’s own guild might be trying to sabotage her empire.

“He’s not completely defenseless.” The other corrected at last, and Viktor heard the unmistakable sound of chains clanking at the same time as he saw the end of a screwdriver with the back of his eye. “Got a metal arm, like her. I can work with that, if you keep him still. It’s going to be worth something, and he won’t need it where he’s going…” 

Renata’s guards had good enough knowledge of her to know she’d have fought back, Viktor supposed. If the plan had always been to sell her arm as scraps and send her to Stillwater, then Viktor assumed they had prepared for a similar situation for him and had all the means to do so. That is, unless they were just two incredibly bold idiots.

Viktor analyzed the situation quietly, he let himself be manhandled with commendable pliancy as well, but stilled all the same when the first man of the two, the broadest one Viktor noticed, dragged his head by his hair, reminding him of his ‘delicate’ condition with a question that hadn’t truly been directed at him.

“Do you really think he’s pregnant?” He asked, before turning him around with enough gentleness that he’d never thought he was actually being kidnapped, he still held both of his hands still.

“He looks like he is.” The other, the shorter out of the two, replied. Viktor took his time to remember each of the two men’s faces to heart in case there’d be any particular feature left on them he’d have to report to Renata. “It’s nothing personal, really.” he said at last, and Viktor tilted his head to watch him scrape the end of his screwdriver on the steel of his arm, after roughly shoving his cloak away.

He’d have to convince Renata he had earned that promotion.

He headbutted his head to the broadest of the two, his metal plate of a mask clanking loudly against the man’s nose, before he used his augmented arm to elbow the man unsuccessfully trying to dismantle him.

The thinner man grabbed at his inconveniently long cloak from behind him before he fell backwards, making Viktor stumble forward, the other had taken the half second that it took to try to regain his balance to grab him from behind and push him on the ground. He fell on his back and his head hit the ground with a loud thud.

The man that held no particular feature on him except his broad shoulders and covered nose and mouth, pushed him on his side with a kick aimed to his back, before leaning forward and straddling him in an odd position. He took off his mask, throwing it away from his field of vision, Viktor tilted his head just enough to see the other man approach with a metal pipe in hand, this one making a loud metallic sound as it scraped on the floor as it was dragged.

He squirmed under the hold trying to free himself only to be grabbed by his throat instead, the smaller of the two instructing the other to keep him still again with urgency in his voice, while the other assured him all would be fine if he just fell asleep for the whole trip to Stillwater. 

He grabbed at the hands tightening against his throat with no avail but finally freed himself by turning his body around just enough to kick his assaulter in the stomach, and throw him thumbling against the nearest brick wall.

He was painfully aware that he had been outpowered and underperforming in a completely short-range attack, but without the proper fighting equipment he only had his augmentations and enhanced healing factor to rely on. 

And he was thankful for the latter when the metal pipe he had only previously seen swung at the side of his head, his head tilting with the impact even as he tried to keep himself steady. 

Anyone else might’ve dropped dead, yet Viktor spit up two of his teeth on the ground before he grabbed at the offending hand with his augmented one, just a sluggish second after he regained control of his poise. He tightened his grip around the wrist in his hand with ease, while the weaker of his arms shot to grab at the man’s nape, keeping him in place. He exhaled a deep breath before his core burnt hot enough to be of use, his eyes shot a red-ish thin beam of light right into the other man’s eyes, the man shrieking a blood curdling sound out of his throat before being dropped off to the ground.

Viktor fell on his knees just an instant later when the previously discarded screwdriver was stabbed on the back of his non-augmented leg by the last remaining man standing. The attacker realized quickly enough that as long as The Herald had the aid of his more robotic side of his body, he wouldn’t stand a chance against him, so he pushed him once again into the ground, using his size to his advantage. His foot kept Viktor’s head in place right on the cold stone surface while he pulled at his hand with all the might a desperate man might’ve had, Viktor groaned and gritted his teeth, his knees trying to find enough leverage to get out of his less than ideal position with no avail. His arm didn’t budge yet Viktor felt his shoulder dislocate from the force that was applied, successfully rendering it inoperable.

Despite the damage and injuries sustained, his attacker took the failure of being unable to detach his arm as a sign he wouldn’t have survived the fight, and fled the scene before Viktor could regain his strength.

Viktor got on his elbows soon after, watching his attacker run away and pondering his next move, his eyes lit up again as he took aim, but he closed them shut when a wave of nausea overtook him, exhaustion following it soon after. 

Although he prided himself in his immense show of calm and pondered collectedness, his breath picked up in pace as he set a hand on his bump, slowly caressing it as if to tell the child within him that the worse had passed, that same hand shot to his aching shoulder immediately after, and then, to his leg.

He pulled the screwdriver out of the back of his leg before adjusting to a sitting position and analyzing his overall state, wondering if he’d be able to limp back home or if his best course of action would involve waiting for that healing factor to kick in on itself.

he had not been able to look himself in the face at the time, but he knew his blood had been running from his nose, and he supposed that his bruises had advanced despite not enough time having passed, beginning their process of discoloration as they always did when he got hurt, he might’ve also been aware that this time it would take longer for him to heal.

Viktor took one last shaky breath as he stood up on his own two feet, walking over the dead body of the man he had been able to subdue, before limping past him and searching for a way home.

It had taken time to get back to his lair, and his sense of urgency to check his overall health and his child’s only intensified as he finally reached his door, unlocking it sluggardly and loudly despite the silence of the night. 

Upon entering he had immediately noticed a few things in disarray, his whole self high on adrenaline and alertness; a can of spray paint had rolled to the ground and against the leg of a tilted chair where Viktor had found it, and he wasted no time calling for the possible intruder. 

“ Jinx !” Viktor called, and hearing a rattling noise coming from deep within his lab he had supposed she was listening. “Get here, now. ” He ordered. “You have to…” he took a shaky breath, collecting his thoughts as well as taking off his cloak, hissing when his hand bumped against bruises that had only recently started to hurt. “You have to-“ he repeated “-get to Renata. She’s staying in the south of Piltover, the hotel located near wharfside’s docks’, you can’t miss it.” He instructed, throwing his cloak on the ground before unlatching his many decorative belts he had over the stretchy dark fabric of the plain looking clothes he wore, he walked to the stairs leading to his lab, holding the handrail as he awaited for Jinx.

“Tell her her guild might have a rat, several.“ he added. “and dear Janna bring me some damn shimmer in case I-“ the silhouette that emerged from the end of the stairs wasn’t Jinx’s and Viktor stilled in place, almost immediately considering fighting his way out of the situation in a near-automatic response. He thought against it when his hand still wouldn't respond to him, and walked away from the stairs aware that Jayce would follow. 

“It’s not the time .” He scolded as he heard footsteps get closer, he didn’t turn around, set into finding any kind of self-medication instruments at his disposal into one of the many drawers he and Jinx had recently rearranged. “Leave at once Defender, I won’t ask again.” He seethed when his search was fruitless. 

He was reaching for the cupboard closest to the fridge when he was abruptly turned around with more force than his current state could bear, his head reeling with the pain that shot from his lower back all through his side. He whimpered and lolled his head back, this one hitting the cupboard behind him.

“Viktor…” Jayce breathed, his eyes analyzed him briefly, unfocused, before he snapped out of it, understanding the urgency of the situation. “What the hell happened?!” He demanded to know, taking a step back. 

“You need medical attention, immediately . Can you walk to the bed, lay down?” He asked softly, and Viktor nodded his head in affirmative before turning to his side and setting his elbow down against the surface of his kitchen counter. He took a few steps forward to the wrong direction that Jayce had otherwise instructed him to take, and bent his head over into the sink to throw up instead. 

He felt Jayce’s hand rub soothing circles on his back before the movement stilled, the sight of blood being the cause of his temporary stasis. Viktor looked down at the pitiful sight for just the slightest of instants before letting the faucet run. 

“Teeth.” He said.

“What?”

“I lost two teeth. It’s not internal bleeding, I-“ he said, before his hand shot to cover his face, finally realizing the lack of his mask. He moved a few steps ahead of Jayce but didn’t have the necessary strength to stop him from following him. He walked to his room just as Jayce had previously instructed.

Jayce didn’t mention his face, taking the reluctant compliance as a sign Viktor was accepting to be helped. Viktor sat at his bed facing away from him, and he took a deep breath. 

“I need you to force my joint back into place.” Viktor said a split second later. “Go take a hex key from the lab, size 8, and take off my arm, I can’t have it weighing down my shoulder.”

Jayce followed orders swiftly, undoubtedly messing up his workstation in search for the right tool. When he came back, he set himself in front of him and worked efficiently, as if he had done this countless times before despite never having had the chance to. 

Viktor knew the reason of course, had seen the notes he had written about him in the notebook he had stolen, admiring how incredibly accurate each of Jayce’s own private musings were. 

Jayce, even in his careful thinkering, seemed to admire him instead. His eyes flickering from the task to his in rhythmic intervals.

Viktor set his head on Jayce’s shoulder just to have a reason to pretend he hadn't seen disappointment in the gaze reflected back at him, he hid his face for a while longer and exhaled a shaky breath.

“It’s going to be alright, Viktor.” Jayce consoled, setting a hand on the back of his nape after he had successfully dismantled his steel arm off. He stayed clear of the metal attachment at the end of his over-the-elbow amputated arm, the one device that had been useful when mixing and matching new prototypes whenever he felt like he’d need a change, or a replacement.

“This is going to hurt.” Jayce warned softly, and Viktor nodded his head where it was still half-hidden. Jayce pushed the joint back in, Viktor groaned in pain before reaching for his aching shoulder in an automatic response. 

“It’s okay, it’s over… it’s alright…” Jayce comforted again, and Viktor gave a grunt of a response before pushing himself away from their less than than favorable position.

He’d need to keep the injury immobilized for as much time as he’d need. 

“What happened?” Jayce asked again, unable to keep his eyes off of the bruises visible on his face even as Viktor try to shield him from seeing. “Who did this to you?”

“They’re dealt with, that’s all you need to know.” Viktor replied coldly, hoping his statement would at least partially quell Jayce’s worries. “Help me take this off.” Viktor demanded right afterwards, tugging at the hem of his shirt. “I need to assess the damage.”

Jayce complied, slowly and carefully taking off Viktor’s shirt. His mouth parted in a quick exhale when he saw the red bruises covering the entire side of Viktor’s flank, some of them extending over one side of his bump while most of them, he realized, were located on his back. Viktor touched the taunt skin with concerned consideration, before his mouth twitched in an irritated tic that Jayce was all too familiar with. 

“Why aren’t you healing?” Jayce asked after a moment of shared silence, and Viktor closed his eyes shut in response, inhaling a deep breath. “Why isn’t your body healing on itself?” 

“Does it matter ?” Viktor snapped.

“Yes. Yes it does!” Jayce replied, matter of factly. “What aren’t you telling me?”

“It doesn’t concern you.” Viktor stood up back again, stumbling over his injured leg before regaining his balance, sustaining most of his weight on the other. His pace carried urgency even in his less than ideal state, Jayce followed him as he climbed the stairs leading to his laboratory, and Viktor didn’t acknowledge his pleas, aware that no amount of apologies would stop him from his newly acquired objective.

Viktor took little notice of the state Jayce had left his lab in, only reaching for the secret compartment inside a seemingly normal drawer and taking a lone hex crystal in his hand as soon as he set foot near his workbench’s environs. 

“I can’t do it alone…” Viktor muttered, unaware of the frown Jayce acquired after his odd, ominous words.

Seeing as it was most urgent that he’d have to replenish his arcane resources, he turned around once again, and finally addressed Jayce. “You have to cut my chest open, I can’t do it alone.”

“What ?”

“My stitches.” The ones that had never fully healed, he tapped at his chest once more with his knuckles, the crystal in his hand reacting at the contact by glowing the slightest bit brighter before it was pulled away. “Cut them.” He ordered.

“You want to..?” Jayce asked, finally grasping at his intentions. “Is this- are you-“

“Do you think we have time to discuss this?! Cut them .” He ordered again.

Jayce obediently took the nearest sharpest object in hand and cut over the stitches with near surgical precision, Viktor willed the paper-cutter away from Jayce’s hand as soon as he had done what was asked of him, the tool falling on the ground between them with a low clank of a sound.

He handed the gem to Jayce, and didn’t give him time to oppose him as he pushed his hand inside the open wound. The incision widened with the intrusion, but didn’t bleed, the gem inside glowed a bright blue as Viktor stumbled over in pain. Jayce took a hold of him with his only other available hand, preventing Viktor from falling to his knees, but didn’t pull his hand away. 

The Hexcore within him accepted his offer adamantly, and when Viktor exhaled, his breath carried a blue-looking hue before it dissipated in thin air. Jayce retreated his hand as soon as the gem was drawn in, blood that had never split coating his fingers for just an instant before each drop was returned back to its owner, and before the scar over Viktor’s heart gained new stitches out of the ones that were just cut. 

Jayce stood completely still for an awkward amount of time, amazed by what had just happened with childlike wonder etched in his eyes. He didn’t let go of him even as Viktor tried to free himself from his hold, completely and utterly mesmerized. 

“Jayce.” He called, no longer as panicked as he previously was. “You can let go of me. It’s over.” He reassured, tugging himself away once more, this time Jayce let his grip loosen, and Viktor moved backwards to lean over his workstation instead. He closed his eyes shut when his back hit the wooden table, aware the arcane input might’ve still not been enough to completely satisfy his needs and heal him.

Jayce analyzed his palm, his hand, his wrist, noticing how his skin still tingled with what he could have only described as unbridled potential, and then, he willed his mouth open. “What… happened?” Jayce asked again. “Are you ok?”

“I will be, eventually.” Viktor assured.

“Is… the baby alright too?” He asked after half a second of consideration, unsure if he had the right to ask after their last conversation. “Is this safe for…” Jayce paused thinking about his next words, and he had perhaps said the wrong thing when he opened his mouth again. “... it ?”

“ He’s fine too,” Viktor corrected, and Jayce’s breath hitched. “as far as I know.” He added, before setting his hand on the side of his bump, partially covering the bruises that were still healing. “He’s kicking me where it hurts. Must be my punishment for wreaking havoc in his ‘house’.”

Jayce let out a soft exhale of a laugh before launching himself at Viktor again, hugging him tightly against himself. Viktor grunted in response, but wrapped his hand over his back all the same, trying to reciprocate. 

When they parted the embrace, Jayce looked at him with teary eyes and a pitiful little frown of his mouth, looking distraught but relieved at the same time in a conflicted show of unrestrained emotions. Viktor grabbed at the hand that surely ached to touch him still and kissed the offered palm before setting it at the side of his cheek where it truly belonged.

“I think…I’m ready to talk.”

He said, his voice no more than a whisper.

Chapter Text

Jayce smiled softly, a single nod of his head signaling he had understood, but he didn’t move, didn’t answer further. It was Viktor that led the way back upstairs, and Jayce had devotedly followed him.

Despite his statement and his well meaning intentions, words didn’t come easy for him, he silently took Jayce’s advice to sit on his bed when prompted, but found it hard to start their well-overdue conversation. 

“I saw the nursery.” Jayce said, filling up the silence of the room with his own voice, Viktor hummed a sound of acknowledgment but moved his eyes elsewhere. “It’s beautiful, I’ve never seen anything like it before.” He added, Viktor nodded his agreement.

Viktor tilted his leg just enough to check the damage, touching at the fabric of his pants to rule out the possibility of a still-open wound before lifting both of his legs on the bed and scooting into a more comfortable position. “It hurts…” he said, whispering still. “My back hurts, it’s going to be hard to lay down.”

“How did you end up like this ?” Jayce asked before silently instructing him to prop his back against a couple of pillows without being prompted for a solution. Viktor leaned back, slowly but surely finding a good enough position that wouldn’t hurt, he took a deep breath and set his hand over his bump, slowly caressing it as the child within him taunted him with his restlessness. 

“I was working and I got attacked. It happens.” He said blandly.

“It happens !?” Jayce repeated, a frown of his eyebrows beginning to form on his face, one that Viktor didn’t notice with the way that his eyes were closed shut. 

“It happens , you just wouldn’t think it would happen to me .” Viktor said, before tilting his head towards Jayce, finally facing him. “And it wasn’t supposed to happen.” He informed him. “Some opportunists decided I was an easy enough target to sell out to the authorities once they learnt I was pregnant, despite not being the person they were searching for.”

“You were working for… Renata? Renata Glasc , the heir to Glasc’s industries and business.” Jayce asked next, raising one of his eyebrows in question as he connected the dots of the foggy details Viktor had let slip. “She was the one being targeted in your stead, wasn’t she?”

“I can’t disclose this kind of information with you.” He chastised, moving his head away. “It hardly matters anyway.”

“Why would you be involved with the likes of her ?” Jayce pressed still, furrowing his eyebrows once again. 

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Viktor retorted, looking just as annoyed, he bit his tongue before he could say more. “I said, it doesn’t matter.”

“Viktor .” Jayce chastised, his tone firmer than he had ever heard, his mouth parted for a sharp breath, before he leaned forward, closing the distance between them. “You said you were ready to talk, then talk to me.”  Jayce set his hand on top of Viktor’s trying to intertwine their fingers in a desperate attempt at contact. 

Viktor’s eyes dwelled long on the affectionate gesture, before he blinked fuzzy ideas out of his mind.

“You're asking all the wrong questions…” he said instead, his tone lowering once again.

“No, I’m asking all of them.” Jayce corrected him, making Viktor exhale a sad chuckle at the childish answer. “Because we have time , because I’m not leaving, I’m not moving until you’ve answered all of them.” He added, determination twinkling in his eyes. “Viktor… I need you to trust me, wholly. I-“

“ I needed you on my side.” Viktor interrupted.  

“I am .” Jayce insisted, fervently. “I am on your side, Viktor . And I’ll never find peace until you come to realize that there’s nothing else that matters to me any more than you do. You have to believe me…”

“You betrayed me.” Viktor said through a shaky exhale. “You crumbled under the pressure of your responsibilities and strayed away from our dream, you were… blinded by your own vision of righteousness.”

“I know .” He retorted. “I made a mistake, I let you drift apart… We lost sight of what was really important, our dream. I lost you… ” Viktor furrowed his brows all the same, but didn’t shy away from Jayce’s eyes again. “Let me prove I’m on your side.”

“I know where your… ‘ affection’ lies.” Viktor stated after a moment of silence. “You miss who I was.”

“No, no…” Jayce insisted, shaking his head. He retreated his hand just for a second, but it was enough time to make Viktor wonder if he’d leave. Jayce’s hand hovered over the place it had just left, and Viktor’s fingers twitched searching for its warmth once again. “You are right here , with me…” He said through an exhale, each word held a tinge of incredulity.

“I’ve changed.”

Jayce set his hand on his shoulder, held it tightly, “It’s still you, you’re still my Viktor.” He said.

“I'm more than I ever was.” Viktor corrected. “It was always meant to go like this, even when I didn’t know it would.”

Jayce didn’t contest further despite the sour look on his face, aware Viktor wasn’t done talking.

“You never saw my vision.” Viktor added, heaving a soft sigh. “I see potential in humankind, one that can only be achieved through the aid of the arcane and steel. Humans as they are now… are flawed .” Viktor tilted his head just enough to nod at his other arm, the action on itself being an excuse to tip his chin lower and lower his gaze from Jayce’s own. “Today’s course of events only made me realize that I should have never shied away from devoting my whole self to my cause, to remain human would be rejecting my purpose of life… I am the only one that can help these people understand what greets them on the other side of the end .”

“The Arcane speaks through me.” Viktor whispered. “The world that was shown to me knows no pain, no hunger or war. I am only a means to an end in the great scheme of things… Yet, you make me feel like I have the choice to throw it all away as long as you’re by my side...”

Jayce listened intently, his eyes half lidded and his mouth closed in a thin line as he considered Viktor’s words carefully.

“You weaken me.” 

It felt like a coin was flipped when Jayce replied, landing on one side with a small clink. 

Viktor didn’t know if he had bet head or tail, if his choice was his to make, if he had won or if he had always meant to lose, but after his wholehearted confession, Jayce’s answer was uttered in the form of a soft laugh, making Viktor’s eyes widen at the unexpected sound.

Viktor stared at Jayce and wondered what had warranted that reaction, if it was something that he had said that he shouldn’t have, or if Jayce had suddenly gone mad.

“Doubt, empathy, selflessness …” He muttered, the words were said as if they had always meant to be a thought, and Viktor couldn’t make sense of them. “What will you have, when you’ve completed your… task ? When your body will have withstood god knows how much, when even steel will have crumbled under the pressure of time?” 

“ You .” Viktor replied through a breathless exhale, his eyes lidded. “If you join me, I’d still have you…”

Jayce took away his hand from his shoulder only then, and only to wrap it around his bruised cheek instead. He leaned forward, and Viktor parted his lips in eager anticipation. 

He thought, faintly, that perhaps he had bet on the correct side of the coin, after all.

Viktor’s eyes closed as Jayce removed the distance between them, but he willed them open once again in bewildered confusion when Jayce only set his forehead against his, his arms enveloping him soon after.

“You’ll always have me.” He promised after a moment of silence, exhaling a soft breath of his own. “In this lifetime, for my whole mortal life but not a moment more.”

“ Jayce… ” Viktor protested softly, his lover’s name muttered as a plea as he asked him to reconsider without as much of another word uttered.

“I want to live and die for what I believe in.” Jayce explained. “And I believe that your utopia, even if you say it’s destined to happen as foretold by some… arcane power beyond my comprehension, is not a world I’d want to live in.”

“Could I ever make you change your mind?” Viktor pressed still as they parted from their loving embrace, his hand trembling as it reached for Jayce’s.

“No…” Jayce replied, smiling softly. “But knowing you, you’ll surely try.” 

Viktor’s lower lip quivered, his eyes crinkling upwards as tears threatened to spill from his eyes. Even with his immense knowledge, he still couldn’t grasp how he hadn’t been given the ability to properly express his feelings, how someone could make a person but forget how to wire them the same as others. 

Instead of words that wouldn’t budge from the place they had been stuck in his throat, Viktor leaned forward once more, finally connecting his lips to Jayce’s to take the kiss he had been waiting for. 

Jayce reciprocated his affection, eager albeit initially surprised, and when they parted once more Jayce’s hands didn’t stop caressing his back. His eyes held adoration Viktor wasn’t sure he deserved.

Viktor’s lips parted countless times, not a sound coming out for most of these, while the noises he let out on a few of those occasions were nowhere near forming a coherent word. Jayce waited for him all the same, and when realization settled in Viktor that he might never find the chance to tell him again, he willed his mouth open once again and muttered; 

“I will think of you until the end of times.”

Jayce smiled all the brighter, but his eyes held a tinge of sadness in them, “I know.” He said. “I love you too.”

Viktor moved his head on Jayce’s shoulder in a slow, unsure motion.

“What do you need to know?” He asked soon after, still whispering, and delighted in the questioning hum that Jayce had given him, as if he had forgotten all about his questions.

“Everything.” Jayce replied after a moment. “But let’s start from the beginning. Do you really work for Renata Glasc now?” Viktor huffed an annoyed sound before giving his response.

“I’d rather describe my connection with her as a beneficial partnership.” He corrected him. “I refine the shimmer for her ongoing business as her personal alchemist, and she gives me the means to cater my expensive ‘ hobby’ , as she likes to call it… She can be quite abrasive, but we’ve gotten along well enough.”

Jayce hummed, prompting Viktor to keep going as his hand stroked his back, staying away from the bruises located on the lower side of his body.

“She was the one being targeted, you were correct.” He said, a hint of pride for Jayce’s incredible observation and deduction skills seeping through his words. “She had assured me that I wouldn’t have gotten the same treatment since she had first assumed betrayal would occur within the council I had been tasked to attend a meeting of, and not one of the chembarons would benefit from my incarceration.” 

Viktor noticed how Jayce’s noises of acknowledgment were fewer and fewer as he found it difficult to keep up with the new information, but he decided to tell him every detail all the same. “You must’ve gathered how she was unfortunately wrong. Insurrection came from her own guild instead, and the people that she had sent as bodyguards had been part of the traitors as well.”

“Are you… an active member of the undercity council?” Jayce asked next, hesitant at first with the fear he might be pushing Viktor to reveal something he wasn’t ready to.

“No. I have never been much of a political figure.” Viktor answered honestly, before tilting his head upwards to face his partner. “You, on the other hand…”

“Gods, don’t remind me… I still regret not choosing exile over being a politician…” Jayce confessed, and Viktor’s lips curled in a little smile. “I still have nightmares about Mel’s abdication and your… disappearance .” He said, heaving an exhausted breath. “Haunts me still.”

Viktor played with the button of Jayce’s collar, moving his finger in a circular motion over it. “How is Mel?” He asked despite initially thinking against it.

“Radiant as ever.” Jayce replied. “She sends me letters when she can, tells me she wants to visit Piltover once again but she hardly ever has the time… Weeks pass before I ever get to see my letters replied to, but I understand she has more pressing issues that need her attention in Noxus.”

It was Viktor’s turn to hum. He didn’t doubt that Jayce’s affection for his former lover and friend were pure despite their love having run its course, but he had wondered if Jayce would ever be able to tell him what he had only gathered from newspapers. 

“You have a child.” Viktor prompted next, and Jayce tilted his head as if confused.

“I think I do..?” He stated, the words muttered as a question. 

“With her, I meant.” 

“I do ?” He asked again, shocked to hear Viktor tell him just so.

Viktor raised an eyebrow at him, but didn’t completely rule out the possibility he had been wrong. “I read the newspapers, the headlines made it seem like it. It was recent.” He explained. “You were at the junior distinguished innovator’s competition for ‘younger emergent scientists’ with a little girl that had been rewarded with first place.”

“Amaranthine?” Jayce asked, Viktor didn’t recognize the name. “ No - she’s not… Well, she’s…” Jayce stammered, and Viktor tried to move away from him, recognizing the pattern of hesitancy as a sign he had been partially right, and Jayce had been lying by omission. Jayce’s hand still on his back kept him still in place, but only his next words completely quelled his doubts. “She’s adopted.” He explained instead.

“But not by me and her , I haven’t seen Mel in years… Just by me.” He added once Viktor had rested his head on his shoulder once again, willing to listen. “Ama showed up at my doorstep one day asking for her toy to be fixed and then kept visiting. She told me she was an orphan and I just figured out she could stay at my estate if it meant she'd have a place to stay… it’s small, but it doesn’t lack any rooms…”

Viktor hummed as an answer, at least partially satisfied. “The Talis estate…” he then muttered. “The one situated north of Piltover that you hardly ever visit… that’s child neglect, isn’t it?”

“There are still housekeepers devoted to the Talis house that live within the premises… she’s being followed and tutored by people that clearly have more experience in parenting than me.” Jayce corrected him after a soft scoff. “If I can plead my case, she’s doing great in her studies so far, she can already write, and put together a pop-up book like the one she won the competition with.”

“It doesn’t paint you in a good light to say you’ve left all of her parenting to the first person willing to take her off your hands.” Viktor said, despite his harsh words the statement was followed by a huff of a laugh and Jayce rolled his eyes, grasping at the jokingly nature of that statement. “You collect… orphans.”

Jayce tilted his head and furrowed his eyebrows for the slightest of seconds before he replied. “Was I not supposed to? You’d rather I leave a young child in the streets?”

“No.” Viktor replied. “But I don’t adopt every kid that comes knocking at my doorstep asking for help… They’d be too many to handle…You are… kind .”

“I was sent to an orphanage, when my mother died. A blizzard.” Jayce said, Viktor knew snippets of this story already, but he had remained silent in the hope Jayce would make light of details he had never found the occasion to ask about. “I was far from home, and I remember that at the time I didn’t even want to return to Piltover, I had no one to wait for me there after all… My father died earlier that same year.” Viktor hummed in acknowledgment, but didn’t interrupt.

“When my uncle from a different house emblem came to reclaim me in a completely different nation, I had already spent weeks in the company of the other kids, some were twice my age and had been waiting for a family for years, some came after me… Once I came back to my empty home I kept wondering why I couldn’t have adopted the other kids myself,” Jayce chuckled. “I didn’t know why my nanny wouldn’t let me at the time, but I understand now that while that meant lots of new playmates for me it also meant more mouths to feed, more mess to clean, just…” He heaved a sigh. “More responsibilities that she wasn’t willing to take. I guess, it just wasn’t my choice to make.”

“Do you blame me?” Viktor asked then, his voice incredibly soft. “For keeping this child, for making that choice for you?” He had made it clear enough, after all, that no amount of objection would have convinced him to think of any other choice. 

Jayce’s answer, much to Viktor’s delight, was immediate, as if he had never thought to blame him to begin with.

“No, gods no.” he said. “Although, did you… no , it’s… crazy isn’t it?” Viktor departed from their embrace, but didn’t stray far. “But did you…” He continued, now furrowing his eyebrows. “...baby-trap me on purpose?” He asked in a small voice, hoping the question wouldn’t ignite a new argument.

To Jayce’s surprise, Viktor chuckled , before moving his eyes elsewhere. “Is that what you think of me?”

“No!” Jayce immediately rectified, but Viktor interrupted him.

“Oh, but it is something I would do.” He said, making Jayce still in place in hope for an explanation. “That has to be some sort of higher manipulative tactic somewhere , hasn't it?  Do you ever think somewhere in Noxus some warmonger general is asking anyone with a womb to provide it for a ‘ greater cause’ ? Do you think people have decoy-families somewhere that are purposely government-made to spy on political figures?”

“That’s a hyperbolic statement if I’ve ever heard one…”

“For what reason would I, though?” Viktor asked next, humming to himself. Viktor stood up then, and Jayce’s eyes never left him either. “ Power ? You hardly make up 1/7 of Piltover’s council…” He added, muttering to himself as if he was truly considering it, or as if he had already considered it. It was driving Jayce insane.

Viktor walked over the door, aware Jayce would follow. “But you are the most loved out of all of them…” he said a moment later, glancing back at him for just a second, before opening the door of the bathroom and stepping in. “How did they call you again? Piltover’s sex-symbol ?”

“Are you or are you not telling me this was all part of your plan?” Jayce asked then, raising an eyebrow and crossing his arms. When Viktor’s answer didn’t come fast enough, he added: “I’m not mad, I’d never be mad at you- I want this baby, but I-” Jayce groaned, and shook his head. “I guess it doesn’t matter now.”

Viktor hummed, clearly amused, before taking Jayce’s hand in his and placing a kiss on his palm. “I wish I had thought of that.” He confessed, and Jayce huffed a laugh. “If I knew I could get pregnant, I might’ve used it against you. But I’d have never told you.”

“That’s part of the… fun . I suppose.” Jayce said, his hand moved to hide the lower side of his mouth, as he focused his eyes elsewhere. He found his reflection interesting enough to stare at the mirror instead. 

“ Fun ?” Viktor repeated, sliding his finger inside one of the loops of Jayce’s pants, over his belt. He considered Jayce’s choice of words carefully. “Would you have liked tampering with birth control if we had ever used any?” He then asked.

“ No ,” Jayce protested, tilting his head slightly and closing his eyes shut for the briefest of seconds. “No, I’d never…” He let his words trail off. “I had… well, not hoped , but… assumed you had that taken care of…”

“What if I’d never known?” Viktor asked instead of clearing up Jayce’s doubts, his eyes set on Jayce’s reflection in front of him. “What if having a baby was the best thing that could’ve happened to me? Or, what if it was for a ‘ greater cause ’?” Jayce chuckled, trying to come up with a reason that would be the case. “Maybe it’d send me out of commission long enough for Piltover to have its longest year yet without any of my evil insurrections?”

 “You are not evil.” He corrected, pleased when Viktor didn’t seem to contest his answer. “And I suppose… We’ll never know.” Viktor hummed, moving his hand away just to reach for the buttons of Jayce’s collar, tugging and pulling at the inside of his shirt to pull them free. “What… are you doing?” Jayce asked, putting his hand on Viktor’s.

“Taking it off.” Viktor replied shortly.

“No, I can see that. Why?” Jayce asked him once more.

“Shower, with me.” Jayce looked hesitant, and so he insisted. “A real shower.” He added, and Jayce finally gave in.

“Okay…” he murmured, letting Viktor resume, it wasn’t too long before his shirt had been completely unbuttoned, and Jayce made quick work of discarding it on the ground. his pants were next, then his briefs, Viktor took the remaining pieces of his own outfit soon after, before turning the hot water on.

Viktor’s hand held Jayce’s as he dragged him into the shower, silently instructing him to follow him still, signaling that he hadn’t changed his mind and he still wanted him near. 

Jayce’s breath hitched for the slightest of instants in a near-silent gasp as he saw the water under them turn red, but he chastised the bewilderment out of his face, coming to his own conclusions.

“Dried blood.” Viktor still explained, running a hand through his hair to part it to the side, showing the impacted area. “I got a metal pipe swung at me on the side of my head, then my leg got stabbed by a screwdriver.”

”That sounds… painful.” Jayce said through an exhale, putting shampoo on his hands and silently reaching for him, Viktor walked one step forward and let him run his fingers through his hair, letting him work his way through knots and grime. 

“It was. I’m fine now.” 

”I’ll be careful.” Jayce said, soaping his partner’s hair as Viktor set his forehead on Jayce’s shoulder, despite his statement, Viktor hummed pained sounds, his lips thinned so as not to sound any louder. “They did a number on you…” Jayce commented softly, furrowing his eyebrows.

”I wasn’t prepared for a fight.” Viktor defended himself, tilting his head as Jayce massaged his scalp. “No armor, no weapons and my state weakened by my pregnancy. It has taken a toll on me, more than I could’ve expected.”

”I’ve noticed…” Jayce said as a solemn exhale.

“I don’t think you’ve ever checked my medical records despite being my only emergency contact,” Viktor said, startling Jayce with the suddenness of that seemingly-out-of-place statement. “Nor do I think you’d have found the information of any use, but years of exposure to Zaun’s toxic fumes had given me a frail immune system, and rendered me barren long before I could have done it myself.”

Jayce stilled, his eyes glancing down between them as if to check he hadn’t gone mad, Viktor noticed the reaction and couldn’t help but laugh, he tilted his head back up and Jayce’s fingers slipped away from his hair. “Elaborate, please…” he mumbled, asking for a more thorough explanation.

“I am not anymore,” Viktor assured, lest Jayce would start thinking of him as a hallucination anytime soon. “Why the arcane gave me the possibility to have children back, is beyond me.” Viktor pressed the cap of the same bottle Jayce had used for his hair, shampoo pooling at his only available hand as he awaited for Jayce to bend closer to his height, he soon did, letting himself be cared for the same way he had done Viktor. 

“I have questions that are still left unanswered to this day, just like you might have…” he told him next, his voice would’ve been a whisper weren’t it for the sake of clear communication under the sound of water running down their back and onto the marbled surface underneath them. “But I have much to share with you, we can still work as partners if you’re willing to stay indefinitely… ” he offered, smiling softly to himself.

“I still have duties to attend to in Piltover.” Jayce replied through closed eyes, quickly getting worked up over their less than favorable position. 

“A pity, really.” Viktor commented, but didn’t try to persuade him more. He exhaled a tired breath, before silently progressing through their shower. Without the slightest hindrance of conversations to be shared the both of them worked through the task fairly quickly, Viktor slower than Jayce as pain overwhelmed him where his touch brushed his back and his flank.

He followed Jayce out of the shower some time after he did, and let him drape a towel over his shoulders. 

Still naked aside from the gifted towel, Viktor led the way back to his room, letting puddles create at his feet wherever he stepped. Once there, he only threw Jayce some loose enough clothes that would fit him, some that he himself recognized to have previously belonged to him back when the both of them were still in the academy and back when he thought his clothes would just mysteriously disappear. 

Jayce put on the offered sleepwear without asking any questions, sure Viktor would lie his way through an explanation.

“We never… slept in the same bed.” Jayce pointed out with an awkward laugh, now sitting at Viktor’s bed and looking forward toward his back as Viktor rummaged through his wardrobe for something to wear himself. He stepped forward with much of the same clothes crumpled at his grasp, before discarding the whole lot of them on the bed beside Jayce and putting them on, starting from the bottoms.

“We haven’t.” Viktor confirmed, humming as if he had just now realized so. “It would be the first time…” 

“Where do you usually sleep, what side of the bed?” Jayce asked, a tinge of childlike excitement in his voice.

“It doesn’t matter, pick one and I’ll pick the other.” He told him, before slipping into an oversized tank top. “Although…” he muttered. “If I can raise a preference, I’d rather you not… be behind me.” He said, thinking back on how uncomfortable he had felt when sharing a bed with Jinx.

Jayce hummed, trying to find the best course of action with incredible seriousness. Viktor sat at his side and let him work out a plan. “So, you’re going to sleep on your side.” He mused. 

“Anything else would hardly be comfortable.” He informed him, moving his hand on the swell of his stomach.

“Let me handle it.” Jayce offered, intent on making their first night sleeping in a bed together as much of a pleasant memory as possible. He was a hopeless romantic in things that mattered little , Viktor supposed. it was… cute.

They ended up facing one another, Jayce was mindful of the bruises he had sustained even as he laid his hand against Viktor’s back and pushed him closer and closer, as close as possible without causing harm to the baby between them. 

Jayce set his chin on the top of his hair, exhaling what Viktor could have sworn to be a relieved breath, and let himself relax in the embrace. Viktor didn’t want to break Jayce’s little daydream with complaints about his less than ideal position, especially since there was little Jayce could do to ease his pain even if he would wholeheartedly try to, so he only willed his eyes to close and let Jayce’s hands wander over his arm, under the material of his shirt and over his shoulder, melting under the touch.

But Viktor had one last question before he’d let the tiredness overtake him.

“What were you doing in my laboratory, Jayce?” He asked, he had just closed his eyes shut.

The question uttered in the silence of night made Jayce still immediately, Viktor could’ve sworn he had felt his body temperature drop despite being most unlikely.

“At this hour of night too…” he said, humming to himself. “You were sneaking in.”

“I…” Jayce started, keeping his voice as a whisper. “I was trying to see what you were up to… I saw the files on your workbench.” He explained. “I now know why you’d go as far as to burn a whole wing of the academy just to get them.” 

Viktor hummed, interested in his theories about his intentions, and Jayce resumed his caresses as well as the conversation.

Despite not having thought so initially, Jayce had gathered enough information to realize Viktor had never planned an attack with the knowledge he had stolen, or “ borrowed”. He had realized that his intention lied somewhere else entirely.

“Your body hasn’t been taking the pregnancy well.” He commented, the sentence was framed as a definite truth, but Viktor replied to it all the same.

“No, it hasn’t.” Viktor confirmed, and Jayce heaved a solemn sigh. “But it has yet to reject it so far. It might never happen.” 

“It’s reckless .” Jayce still chastised. “You… put yourself in danger just to pursue a theory . One that had nothing to back it up. Any experiment we conducted with the Hexcore and organic life matter had been fruitless, if not downright lethal… Viktor, you can’t deny that the Hexcorization you underwent fundamentally changed you.” Jayce said, and his breath hitched, his hands tightening his hold against him. “You say the arcane has given you the chance to have children back, but I think it has been nothing if not unintentional… You regained the ability to, but you were never meant to create life.”

Jayce’s nails left half-moons wherever they could reach, Viktor had been sure it was involuntary on his part, a reaction completely dictated by his perceived fear. 

“Your body can’t sustain it.” Jayce said simply, coming to his own conclusions as their conversation progressed. “The Hexcore doesn’t recognize the fetus as a potential human being, just as a part of you that keeps on demanding energy, and you’re suffering from the lack of it.” He theorized. “The Hexcore doesn’t make enough for the both of you, not fast enough anyway, and you have to feed it manually… like you showed me today.”

“One charge, one crystal -,” He corrected himself “was meant to last me a lifetime… ” Viktor added, not once denying anything Jayce had said so far. “Yet I feel like I’ve depleted my resources even so soon after the second…”

“You didn’t have to go through it…” Jayce whispered at last. “There’s hardly anything you can’t do, if you wanted a baby and your body wasn’t able to, you’d have artificially-manufactured a functional womb in your lab, not to mention adoption being an option…” He pointed out, finally letting his grip loosen. “You just wanted to see if your body could handle it.”

Viktor nodded in affirmative in an imperceptible movement of his head. Jayce didn’t know if it had been intentional, or if his tiredness had made him pliant, nevertheless he didn’t try to dismiss the statement.

“There’s a hierarchical system to my healing abilities, from what I’ve gathered.” Viktor added as a non-sequitur, a pleased hum escaping his lips. “The Hexcore knows what to fix first, and what not to ‘fix’ at all. It’s logically-driven, vital organs are the top priority of course, then it’s bones, muscle tissue, skin… It creates the necessary components to my survival out of nothing . Yet, the pregnancy has progressed the same as any other human’s, it hasn’t sped up the process, it hasn't altered it.”

“It’s not human…” Jayce contested in a small, unsure tone. “ It doesn’t recognize it as human.” he repeated, furrowing his eyebrows. 

 “If the gestation was parasitic in nature, my system would have taken care of it.” Viktor corrected.

“ Parasitic ?” Jayce repeated. 

“A living organism feeding off a different organism from a different species, a host.” Viktor explained “My genetic code hasn’t been completely overridden by The Hexcore.” He concluded, letting Jayce come up with his own conclusions.

“You can’t play with life, I suppose…” Jayce muttered after a second of silent consideration. “But even if the pregnancy has progressed ordinarily so far, you can’t be certain that the baby’s DNA wasn’t exponentially changed…”

“No, but it makes him human to some extent , not an unrecognized foreign object inside my body.” Viktor finally corrected. “It’s just a baby… your baby.”

“I… I don’t know what to believe, Viktor.” Jayce mumbled. “It wasn’t supposed to go this way… I…” Jayce made an exhale of a sound. He couldn’t finish that sentence, so he changed what he had meant to say. “I wish you’d have found… another way.”

“You always wanted to have a baby with me, so what does it matter how he came to be?” Viktor contested, mirth evident in his voice. “After all, the way I look, swollen with your child, it drives you crazy, doesn’t it?”

Jayce buried his face deeper into the mess that was Viktor’s auburn hair in a futile attempt of avoiding the question. “Not… When I know it could kill you. Too many variables, not enough time in development and experimentation… characteristically you. ”

Viktor chuckled, and didn’t deny it. “It won’t kill me.” Viktor assured instead. “I’ll be careful.”

“Promise?” 

“I promise.”

Chapter Text

Despite never having slept in the same bed before, Jayce knew what it meant to have Viktor around early in the morning. He reminisced about their days in the academy and even past that, their days in their laboratory, and he had always noticed how around the earlier hours of day, he was usually silent, contemplative, and awfully untalkative.

And now the sight of him, even after the emotional intimacy they had shared the previous night, seemed to deeply upset Viktor, who scrunched his nose and bared his teeth at him.

“You're staring .” Viktor pointed out after awakening, turning his head around before sitting up and scooting to the side of the bed. The action made his still aching body complain, and he whimpered in pain. “Hurts still…” He muttered, rubbing the side of his flank and heaving a pained, shaky, sigh.

Viktor was no stranger to pain and aches, he had had his fair share of brushes with death and the call of mortality was both a painful reminder of the pieces of himself he still had to leave behind and a sign that, despite everything, he had awoken another day. Despite that, he had forgotten how it truly felt to feel every little ache intimately, the sensation was often dampened by the aid of the arcane up until yesterday.

Jayce would’ve had something to say about the tone he was greeted with, but he had forgotten all about it the moment he heard Viktor voice his pain. He walked to the other side of the bed just to lend him a hand. “Organs, bones, muscle tissue and skin… that’s what you said yesterday.” Jayce said in a small voice, helping Viktor up and out of the bed despite him not asking. “I guess you have to wait just a little longer…” he consoled, keeping one of his hands behind his shoulder while the other intertwined its fingers with Viktor’s.

Viktor moved his eyes where their hand connected for just a moment before opening his mouth again.

“It’s vital organs, bones, muscle tissue and skin.” Viktor immediately corrected him. “because-“

“Skin is an organ. I know .” Jayce groaned, closing his eyes shut. “Must I remind you I took the same biology classes as you?”

“Funny, I never noticed you in any of them.” Viktor hummed. “Are you sure you weren’t wandering Bilgewater at the time?” 

” If I was, you’re the only one that knows about it.” Jayce said. “Take that to your grave.”

Viktor’s eyes crinkled in amusement, oddly pleased by the answer. Jayce watched as Viktor took away his hand from his only to cup it from below, his thumb drew invisible lines where it could reach, which wasn’t much. He caressed his knuckles with devoted reverence all the same.

“Did your teeth grow back at all?” Jayce asked then, curiosity showing through his eyes. Viktor stopped his caresses as if surprised by the question. “You said you lost two teeth yesterday.” Jayce reminded him. “Do you grow those back as well or have you been replacing teeth with the next closest thing?”

Viktor glared at his partner with half lidded eyes, annoyed, but reached with two fingers inside his mouth all the same, stretching at the skin and showing Jayce his palate, inviting him to look for himself.

“Fascinating…” Jayce said, reaching to lift the corners of his mouth before Viktor backed off. Jayce didn’t let the reaction get to him, aware of how odd he must’ve looked himself. “They are growing back. Steadily.” He informed him. “The line between vital organs and organs is thin, I’d have never known if teeth were given ‘top priority’ or not if I had never asked,” Jayce said, trying to explain his curiosity. “And as you know , teeth are not considered bones.” Jayce huffed a laugh, trying to sound condescending enough to be an annoyance. It was working. “You lost your upper two premolars, didn’t you? The left ones.”

“How would I know ?” Viktor retorted, walking out of the room. He might’ve praised Jayce’s curiosity were it another time, but he hadn’t felt like rewarding him at the time. “I didn’t check which ones I spat.”

“You must have felt them leave your mouth.” Jayce pointed out, rolling his eyes. He followed him out of the room.

And he was right, of course, but Viktor had never wanted to talk about teeth any less in his life, and he used to be fascinated by animal remains as a child, bones, shells, cartilage and fangs.

“I need shimmer…” he exhaled instead, his hand finding his place on his aching forehead before he moved it on the surface of the kitchen table.

“Shimmer ?” Jayce repeated, sounding outraged.

“Medical-grade shimmer…” Viktor said wistfully, and hummed. “To ease the pain.” Which meant, regular, unrefined, shimmer. 

“None of that on my watch.” Jayce said, grimacing at the mere thought. “It’s too heavy of a drug, definitely not good for the baby.” Jayce commented, facing Viktor’s stare with a raised eyebrow. “You should try… a natural remedy, something lighter; Tea, for example. I heard it works.” He advised, leading the way through Viktor’s kitchen and making himself at home. He rummaged through cupboards and tins, trying to find anything fitting the description of what he’d consider suitable for a natural painkiller. 

“Are you… trying to micromanage my pregnancy?” Viktor asked, his tone neutral, as if he was willing to receive a second opinion for a change. 

“Our pregnancy, it’s our baby.” Jayce replied, nodding the can in his hand towards his partner before opening the cap and taking a sniff of its contents. “And I’m not ‘ micro managing’ it, you’’ve got the wrong idea.” Jayce assured. “I’m macro managing it. As in, I’ll take care of everything from now on, I’m your prince in shining armor after all- but you’re the one wearing armor usually…”

Of course, Jayce’s advice was worth less than anyone else’s.

“No, absolutely not.” Viktor protested. “I’ve done just fine without your input in the 6 months that I’ve been a single proto-parent, I don’t need your uneducated opinion on the matter.”

“Of course you’ve done just fine without me, it’s because you had to , but we- ” He set a hand on his heart. “ -can do better together now, just consider it!”

“I’m considering murdering you, Jayce.” Viktor calmly informed him, raising his palm and moving it in the air with each pause of his speech. “You should choose your next words very carefully, if you care about your life.”

Jayce stopped fidgeting with tins and glass containers just then, setting the idea of a natural remedy aside, instead he turned Viktor’s way when he asked: “Pancakes?”

He had chosen his words wisely, after all.

Viktor hummed affirmative, and sat at the table with a soft huff. Jayce had spared him a few minutes of silence as he whipped up their breakfast himself, up until he presented his plate with a request.

“We should set up a list of names.” He said, and Viktor’s eyes followed him as he walked back to the stove. 

“Do you have any in mind?” Viktor asked, feeling magnanimous after Jayce’s offering, despite it being subpar. It was like chewing through rubber…

“Yes , I do in fact have some in mind.” Jayce replied excitedly. Viktor was too busy trying to chew his way through a pancake to notice what he was doing, but he still heard the sound of pots, tins and cups being moved around. “I was thinking, Sol.” He suggested. “It’s a strong name.”

“Sol.” Viktor repeated, realizing what was the train of thought behind Jayce’s suggestion, and predictably guessing what the next one would be. 

“Or maybe Azir, Kàyl… Morgan?”

“Pretentious.” Viktor commented. “Each one of these names is more pretentious than the previous one.” 

He liked the name Morgan, in truth. He’d have chosen it weren’t he already set on a completely different name. It was third on his list, as of now.

“You’d name our child with some iteration of deities names that neither of us believes in.” He accused him, but Jayce didn’t see anything wrong with it.

“What’s wrong with Sol Talis?” He only asked, pouring milk into a saucepan.

“Talis ?” Viktor repeated in a tone a pitch higher than before, shocked to hear Jayce suggest so.

“What’s wrong with Talis ?” Jayce asked instead, and even if he had his back turned on Viktor, Viktor could clearly see he had been irritated by the question. Jayce shifted from one leg to the other and put a hand on his hip, awaiting for clarification.

“I don’t have to give my child your house name.” Viktor contested. “Not out of legislative responsibility either, we’re not married.”

“You’d rather him just be Sol ? What if a couple years down the road he feels left out from his little group of friends ‘cause he doesn’t have a surname?” Jayce asked, turning around and facing Viktor, he leaned over the stove, not straying away from the pot still simmering. 

“I don’t have one either and I grew up just fine.” Jayce had the audacity to glare at him up and down before ‘ shyly’ turning his eyes back on the task behind him. “Mind you, I graduated with honors in one of the most prestigious academies in the whole of Piltover.” He reminded him, his palm and elbow both now planted on the table in front of him.

Jayce bit his lower lip for a split second, an action Viktor might’ve missed if he weren’t so hypervigilant to begin with, he moved his hand to his chin before he signed his own death sentence.

“Yeah, and whose degree got revoked for misconduct? Mine or yours?”

Seriously, how did they ever get along?

“My ‘misconduct’ has nothing to do with the lack of a house emblem to my name, and the thought that someone ‘higher-up’ has the ability to revoke my degree is preposterous on itself, as I have not only acquired all the requisites necessary for its completion, but I have extended my knowledge from the confines of what could have been taught to me there.” Viktor scoffed, drumming his fingers on the table. “I have superseded expectations, my mentors , and became the best version of myself in a way you’d never imagine. I transcended humanity.”

Jayce chuckled, muttering something along the lines of “ nerd ” under his breath.

“But we can give him a surname that wouldn’t outright reveal his connection to you .” He said instead of resparkling an argument. “If it is that necessary to you.” 

“Just… a random surname.” Jayce commented, sounding disappointed.

“Reveck sounds appropriate, dignified.” 

“Dear god…” Jayce scoffed. “I understand you want to keep my involvement as hidden as possible for the sake of anonymity, but you’d fucking damn a child with that.”

“What’s wrong with Reveck ?” Viktor asked.

“The last known member of that house was… peculiar to say the least.” Jayce said, giving Viktor a mug of sweet milk. “A psychopath is more like it.”

Viktor hummed, tilting his head and moving away his eyes as if reluctantly agreeing, before letting go of the topic altogether. He wrapped his fingers around the loop of his mug.

“What if I marry you, then?” Jayce asked after a silent pause.

“What.”

“Then our child would have my surname by law, correct?” He asked. “I suppose it’s standard legislation for Zaun just as much as Piltover in this case, isn’t it? You don’t have one so… mine it is .”

“I’m not even considering the idea.” Viktor said.

“Why not? Don’t you like Viktor Talis?”

“You’d associate with the likes of me, Jayce? I doubt you’d truly want that on your record.” Viktor muttered. “How is the spotlight treating you?” He asked, clearly deflecting.

“Oh, I’m always recognized by my association with others…” Jayce answered somberly, moving his own mug to his lips. Viktor wasn’t sure if Jayce had noticed by now that the mug he had conveniently picked, was once his. He most definitely had. “Having a husband would keep gossip at bay for a while… And it’s not like you’re bad company.”

“So, it’s not treating you well.” Viktor replied to his own question, Jayce shrugged his shoulders. 

He sighed, looking away as he contemplated his answer. “I can’t help but feel… I wasn’t made for this .”

”You help people, the way you know how to.” Viktor said after a moment, he stood up then, walking to him. Jayce shifted in his place almost instinctively, loosening his stance as if waiting for comfort Viktor didn’t seem to realize he wanted. If Viktor had noticed, he hadn’t tried to initiate contact. “I have yet to hear of a better cause to stand for.”

Jayce took Viktor’s hand in his, setting it on his cheek. He moved his other hand on the small of Viktor’s back, softly pulling him closer in the space he had made for him. Viktor let him. ”I thought you’d have something else to say.” He admitted. 

”Something along the lines of ‘if you retire, it’ll make my job easier?’”

Jayce chuckled, nodding. 

“Would that convince you?” He asked. 

“Sometimes…” Jayce said, whispering. “I think about it. Retiring.” He confessed. “After all, where’s the link between constructing a fictitious but positive public image, going to galas and fancy events, and truly doing good ?”

Viktor knew Jayce’s retirement would come with conditions and consequences, he knew what was truly being asked of him , and perhaps it was exactly for that reason that he cut their conversation short, and feigned ignorance.

“You’re putting on a show.” Viktor moved his thumb where it was planted on Jayce’s cheek, caressing the spot silently for a couple of seconds. He exhaled a breath through his nose, contemplating his next words. ”Stop thinking about it so much. It’ll come easier.” He said, awaiting for Jayce’s answer to finally move away.

This one came in the form of an unsure nod of his head, and Viktor retreated his hand.

Jayce interjected his wrist before it could wander too far, placing a kiss on the palm of Viktor’s hand, and even then, he didn’t depart from its warmth, holding it in his for a moment longer.

When Jayce nodded once more, Viktor tilted his head and simply asked: “Do you want to help me get an upgrade for my arm while we analyze a sample of my blood?”

“Yeah.” 

“Impressive...” Jayce commented, turning over the sheet of paper he had in hand while Viktor sat beside him at this workbench, scanning the pages of a little book he had in hand. “Your bloodwork is near perfect.”

”Near?” Viktor asked, eyeing Jayce with a questioning look in his eyes.

”You should try getting your magnesium and folic acid levels a little higher, but other than that it’s great, you’ve been taking good care of yourself.” Jayce complimented, skimming through the numbers with his eyes one last time.

”I’ve been following a personalized dietary plan.” Jayce hummed, interested. “It’s upstairs, attached to the fridge’s door by a magnet.”

“I have to see it.” He said, looking over the papers he had been given to finally check what Viktor had been up to, he didn’t question him about it yet. 

Viktor set the leather-bound notebook aside, to run his hand across the metal arm Jayce had detached for him yesterday night, he called for his help keeping it steady, and Jayce lent him a hand. “You’re AB positive.” Jayce commented, waiting for Viktor’s acknowledgment, this one came in the form of a long-drawn hum. “Universal recipient, you can receive blood from anyone.”

”Is it that interesting of a fact? I doubt I’d ever need a blood transfusion.”

”No, I was just pointing that out… But we can predict our baby’s blood type with this kind of information.” 

“You’re O negative.” Viktor said, and Jayce raised an eyebrow. “Our baby’s blood type could be A or B, of either sign.”

”You remember my blood type.” Jayce mused, tilting his head. “That’s… weird.”

”It's useful information to have.” Viktor only commented, jamming the casing of his metal arm open with his elbow only to reveal its wires. “If you’d be so willing as to offer, I’d love to have a vial of your blood to keep.”

Jayce hummed in affirmative even before he knew what he had agreed on, much too occupied on watching Viktor slide his fingers under the metal plate of his hand, wriggling his fingers deeper behind a place that would’ve been much easier to reach if he had pried loose more bolts. 

He tugged at the wires stuck between his two fingers as he retreated his hand, the action making a small sharp noise before Viktor pulled a plug free, this one now hanging from his fingertips as he analyzed the gold plated pins at its extremity. “And since we’re on the topic of genetic details, I need to ask you about your medical and genealogical history, do you have anything of note on the top of your head that you’d like to share?”

”No…” Jayce muttered, his attention completely elsewhere. Viktor finally noticed his absentmindedness, tilting his head inquisitively before setting them back on his task.

“The wires, they’re arranged as if they were muscle tissue.” Viktor said, the statement coming out as cryptical with how long of a pause there was within a statement and that one. “Shrinking at the base of each bundle, the thinnest parts looking like tendons... A machine that looks human.” He added.

Jayce blinked his eyes in disbelief, genuinely taken aback by Viktor’s words. “You read my mind…” he said. 

“No,” he said. “just your notes.” Upon further consideration, Viktor loosened the few bolts that still kept the panel of his arm together, before getting up from his chair and moving on the other side of the room.

“Ah…” Jayce mumbled, he eyed the discarded notebook Viktor was busy with earlier just for a second, before he shifted in his chair. “That explains it.”

“That was one of your last entries.” Viktor said once he returned, he stood next to Jayce with a new small hand-held machine, setting it at the table next to his work-in-progress. He took the welding goggles on top of his head, and gave them over to his temporary lab partner.

“I remember.” He said, shifting the offered piece of safety equipment from one hand to the other. It was covered in dust, Jayce realized. He supposed Viktor didn’t need protective goggles over his eyes anymore. “Then the pages ran out and I had a new one made.”

“Countless are the iterations of ‘what is wrong with him?’ that I found scribbled over each doodle of me…” Viktor mumbled, slightly disappointed. He took the angle grinder in his hand and Jayce put on the goggles, silently assisting him. 

“Countless are the times I asked myself that.” Jayce replied, huffing a laugh, his hands now keeping the metal arm steady. Viktor tested the tool in his hand, and Jayce had to raise his voice over the sound of its rotating blade. ”Can you blame me?” He said as Viktor moved the blade close to the side of his discarded metal arm. “You unsettle people more than I do, and that’s saying something…”

Despite Jayce’s desire to fill every little moment of blissful peace with unnecessary chats, Viktor remained silent up until the completion of his task. He didn’t reprimand Jayce when he took hold of the other handle of his tool either, stabilizing his lines and the precision of his cut. Even though he hadn’t asked him. ”People know there’s something wrong with me the moment they see me,” Viktor said as he turned off the tool. “But they only know that the same applies to you when you open your mouth.” 

“You can’t feel your arm when it’s detached from your body.” Jayce commented all of the sudden, Viktor raised an eyebrow at him, temporarily coming to a halt in his actions as he silently questioned the oddity of that question.

“Obviously.” He said solemnly, resuming his task, he pried the casing of his arm open, and began to detach the internal wiring system of it. Jayce lidded his eyes in pensive consideration, watching as Viktor’s hand reached for a lone cable deep within the mess of wires that his arm had become.

”But you can interact with Hex crystals and Hextech powered objects remotely if you’re within a certain distance from them, can’t you?” Jayce pointed out. “Your presence interferes with them. Even yesterday… the gem glowed when you came in contact with it.”

”Interacting with them is an exaggeration of a statement…” Viktor said, huffing a laugh. “Do you realize how many times I’d have blown your hammer in your face if that was the case?”

“Ah…” Jayce muttered, covering his chin with his hand, embarrassed from his incorrect deduction. “Then you can’t interact with them from a distance…”

“Nothing is impossible,” Viktor immediately corrected. “But I have yet to learn how to.”

Jayce hummed, and Viktor slid his fingers against the piece of metal he had separated. “You suggest I use a different hex crystal for my arm, and try to remotely control it…” Viktor mused after a second of consideration, coming to his own conclusions about what Jayce had meant to suggest. “Would it be worth the cost? It’s quite an expensive deal for just a bit more autonomy.”

”I’m just curious how it would feel for you,” Jayce said, sliding his hand against his chin, covering his mouth and nose. “to feel your arm even when it’s not connected to your body…” Jayce moved that same hand away from his face, just to extend it next to Viktor's, showing him his palm as he opened and closed his fingers rhythmically. “Would you be able to feel those wires to some extent? How… would it feel?”

At that, Viktor faced him, making Jayce jolt in his seat. He had a smirk on his face that Jayce had no recollection of ever seeing before, it was eerily terrifying to look at, unnatural but yet still so Viktor . “What are you truly suggesting, Jayce?” He asked, and Jayce’s eyes widened in barely restrained surprise. “Is this aimed to fulfill a sexual fantasy you might have? You know we can test how it feels even with my arm still attached to my body, right?”

”Sexual fantasy?! I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Jayce immediately said, retreating his arm in a swift motion.

“If you want to fulfill your scientific curiosity then… You’ll have to acquire a hex-gem for the next time you visit, how does that sound?”

Jayce furrowed his eyebrows, as if finally coming to his senses. ”I can’t do that knowing what else you’re capable of doing with it…” he said.

”A pity.” Viktor scoffed. “I would have been a willing participant in an experiment of that nature.”

Jayce let go of the subject, classifying Viktor’s reaction in a remote corner of his brain to analyze another time. He instead scooted his seat closer to Viktor's and waited for him to sit down to set his head on his shoulder as he worked through his project. Viktor filled the silence with his own detailed remarks, and Jayce closed his eyes, lulled by his voice. He would have had something to say about the retreating claws Viktor was installing at the tips of his fingers if he had only listened to him, but he hadn’t, and Viktor didn’t disturb his peacefulness with any brisk movement on his part, even if it meant that his mobility was partially affected. 

Viktor only nudged him awake hours later when asking for a hand attaching his work, and Jayce gladly helped him. Soon enough Viktor’s arm spurred to life, his knuckles rising and being let down again at a rhythmic pace.

“Do you think your shoulder can handle it?” Jayce asked, noticing how Viktor had held it as he tested the arm.

“I replaced the outer shell of my arm with a lighter alloy,” Viktor explained. “It’s less sturdy, but more flexible. I should be just fine as long as I don’t strain myself too much…” Viktor replied, his tone unsure. 

“It’s not exactly the kind of project we work on in Piltover but I know your skill in this would do numbers topside…” Jayce commented.

“I can’t return topside.” Viktor reminded him. “You casted me away.”

Jayce took Viktor’s newly acquired hand in his, looking over it, analyzing it accurately as to remember every little detail he’d then note down for further consideration. Viktor let him. He pushed with his thumb on the inside of his palm when Viktor prompted him to, and backed away when Viktor unsheathed his claws. 

Viktor was pleased with the reaction, and his eyes crinkled in amusement. 

“...Seriously?” Jayce huffed a laugh, shaking his head. “That’s quite creative, isn’t it? Like a cat’s paw…”

“Art imitates life.” Viktor commented, retreating his claws. “And I need some way to defend myself in the foreseeable future, even as I am healing.”

“I doubt that.” Jayce said. “Matter of fact, you’ll be confined in your lair in the foreseeable future .”

“Who says that?”

“ I do.”

“Your orders are worth less than your opinion.” 

“Funny for you to say that, because I am actually paid to voice my opinion.” Jayce said. “Unlike you, I hold the title of Paragon of Progress .” Viktor lidded his eyes, annoyed. “Among other things” he shamelessly added. 

“Do you want to be acquainted with my latest upgrade, Jayce?” 

“Ah… no thanks .” Jayce said. “Let’s be reasonable now, I am a father of two .”

Viktor chuckled, and let go of the offense. “I have plans for later today…” Viktor informed him.

“Plans…” Jayce repeated, furrowing his brows. “And… am I allowed to know what kind of plans?”

“Nothing that concerns you.” Viktor assured quickly, maybe too quickly. He walked near a machinery, took the folder on top of its monitor, and opened it. “But before I must go, I suppose I could share the details of the only project I can discuss with you without any conflict of interests occurring…”

“Hm…” Jayce hummed, not completely satisfied with Viktor’s answer. “I suppose.” 

Viktor took a small black-and-white picture from the folder, analyzing it before passing it over to Jayce. 

Jayce hesitantly took it. “What am I looking at?” He asked, before being handed a similar one to compare. 

“That’s week 8 and 12.” He announced.

“It’s an ultrasound scan?” Jayce asked, his voice’s pitch the slightest bit higher to convey his surprise. “How long have you known about your pregnancy before you told me, exactly?” 

“I saw the signs almost immediately, but it was hardly plausible at the time to think I was pregnant. That is to say, I chose to ignore it.” Viktor said. “I told you after this one.” He tapped a finger to the second picture he had given him. “3 months. I still wasn’t showing, not by a lot.”

Jayce nodded, flickering his eyes between the two pictures given before being handed another set of them. “16, 20 and 21.” He said, and Jayce noticed how the last one he had received had the word ‘boy’ written on it in Viktor’s unmistakable handwriting. 

“This is… a lot.” Jayce said, the words followed by a short chuckle. “I’ll have my own independent research to make if I want to catch up to your current knowledge, but I suppose I could give you the benefit of the doubt and trust the word of an esteemed scientist for now. This looks healthy, right?” He asked, his eyes crinkled upwards in a small content scrunch of his face. 

”Everything’s proceeding as it should.” Viktor said. 

“No anomalies, nothing you have to tell me that might suggest otherwise, correct ?” 

“None at all.” Viktor assured, shaking his head. “Nothing out of the ordinary, and as I already told you, fetal growth hasn’t been affected either. I was even able to estimate how far along I was from the biometric parameters of the fetus. As well as to guess which one of our penetrative copulations best fit the numbers...”

”You have a date of conception.” Jayce reiterated, his eyes widening. 

”October 11.” Viktor replied with an air of certainty. 

”That would set your due date in July.”

”More or less. I estimate it will be closer to the last week of June.”

”That’s… Wait , biometric parameters? What doctor did you go to? How did you acquire any of these?” Jayce’s eyes skimmed over the pictures once more, then Viktor. His silence on the matter was enough of an answer, unfortunately. “You're not being followed…” Jayce commented under his breath, before spotting the ultrasound machine he hadn’t noticed before. “Viktor, I’m hardly an expert in this area, and I get it’s an odd pregnancy but-”

“The baby is just fine ,” Viktor interrupted. “as you have seen for yourself.”

“I don’t have enough of a grasp on the subject to know that, and neither do you ! Having a genuine curiosity about the process is one thing, but not even considering a second opinion is just… neglectful .”

“I don’t appreciate you discrediting my efforts. You fail to mention that it would be particularly hard to find someone qualified willing to assist me since I’m a highly controversial figure in Piltover, where most doctors that’d have the right equipment to follow my condition would be.” Viktor retorted, his tone had made clear he had already ruled the possibility out.

“There has to be another option… what about traveling somewhere else in anonymity?” Jayce suggested, raising his hand, the pictures crumpling in his grasp. “Somewhere where you’re just Viktor and I’m just Jayce . No other title or responsibility. We can just disappear, never look back, you know I’d do it.”

“Oh, but you didn’t seem to mind having the title of Paragon of Progress just moments prior.” Viktor commented, furrowing his brow. He set the folder aside once more and interjected Jayce’s wrist in his hand, prying the pictures from his careless, inconsiderate hold. 

“Are you serious? ” Jayce muttered, before he retreated his arm away. “This goes beyond petty conversations and sarcastic remarks. We’re talking about a whole other human being!”

Viktor straightened the pictures back to their original state, setting them on the workbench and flattening them with his palm. They were irreplaceable , he wanted to remind Jayce, but he only heaved a soft defeated sigh when one of them folded at its corners etching a small crease on it, and kept his concern to himself.

“Why do you insist on being an extension of me ?” Viktor asked instead. 

“An extension of you ?” Jayce repeated, scoffing. “What is your damn problem, exactly?!”

“You insert yourself in my life and pretend your presence alone will change me for the better. You think I’ll finally atone for my ‘mistakes’ if I only follow your guide, but you don’t realize that your moral compass is just as skewed as mine is.”  He said, turning around to face Jayce once more. He exhaled, but his shoulders remained tense. “You don’t have a purpose beyond me, I made you, everything you stand for. There wouldn’t be you without me , so of course when you’re doubting about the path you chose, you want me to follow you in the same sinking ship.”

“I want you to do the right thing for once!” Jayce contested, raising a hand to highlight his point. “You’d compromise your safety, our child’s, and for what? Nothing else matters just as much as that!”

“If you’re unhappy with your life, if you regret the choices you made up until now, it’s only your fault, but I made a purpose for myself that goes beyond my connection to you. I’m no longer in your shadow, Defender .” Viktor said, baring his teeth. “It doesn’t bring me joy to see you suffer from your own success either . I feel pity for you, when I know you don’t deserve it, but you’d feel no remorse in stripping me from anything that’s mine, just because you think I’m unfit to have it.” He pointed a finger at Jayce, tapping at his chest. “It’s My child,” Viktor corrected at last, tightening his other fist. “My child, Not Sol, Not Talis, Not Sol Talis , None of the other stupid names you chose. Mine , not yours.” Jayce furrowed his brow and raised his chin, but didn’t argue, didn’t say a word.

The silence stretched on for a long uneventful minute, before Viktor unclenched his fist, and broke eye contact.

He moved out of the way, returning closer to his desk where he then set both of his palms on, he couldn’t bear to look at Jayce after that. Despite his better judgement, he felt embarrassed by the show he had put on, even if he wholeheartedly believed everything he had said. 

“I think you should go now.” Viktor said, calmly. He had his back turned on Jayce, unable to face him yet. “Take your hammer and leave, or did you think I hadn’t noticed that you bought it here with you when you disrupted my peace last night? If you expected a fight to occur, I’m not in the mood to entertain you.” 

Jayce remained silent, didn’t move. Viktor didn’t ask him to leave again, but he didn’t acknowledge him further. Jayce ran his fingers against a few discarded books, fidgeting with the spine of each of them but never truly picking one to take.

“Contrary to popular belief, I don’t exactly enjoy fighting you…” He said after a moment more, but the effort didn’t automatically warrant an answer.

“My…” He said, before he cleared his throat. “Amaranthine says I should start my sentences with ‘I’ instead of ‘you’...” Viktor tilted his head, the only sign he had been listening. “She thinks I can sound a little… arrogant , otherwise.”

Viktor huffed a sad excuse of a chuckle and nodded his head, but took a while more to reply. “She is right.” He said. “And more emotionally mature than you at the age of 5.”

“Hah .” Jayce said, fighting off the urge to scowl. “She’s 5 and a half… and I think I will work on that.”

“ I think you know how to push all the right buttons to make me lose my mind.” Viktor played along, releasing some of that tension off his shoulders.

“ I will work on that too, then.” Jayce simply said. “I think… you’re weary of me.”

“ You -” Viktor said, before interjecting himself. “I think you think I’m negligent, and selfish.”

“I think you should be more transparent with me, and trust me.”

“I think you’re suffocating me.”

“I think we need couple counseling...”

“We’re not a couple.” Viktor said.

“I think we should be.” Jayce retorted instead.

Viktor huffed a laugh, a real one this time, and finally turned around. “In your dreams, maybe.” He said. “I’ll only ever be your controversially-evil lover.”

“You saw that?” Jayce exclaimed, and Viktor hummed in affirmative. “I had to pay out of my pocket to have that issue wiped out from Piltover’s newspapers! All because you blew me a kiss in battle, just to mock me nonetheless!” 

“Hmm, you could do only so much to prevent rumors after the issue was already distributed to the masses… If they knew what we truly do when no one is looking…” Viktor contemplated.

“That’d be the end of my reputation…” Jayce said with a small smile adorning his lips. He didn’t seem to mind all that much. 

“You know,” Jayce said after a moment more. hesitantly, he moved near Viktor, leaning against the same workbench he was leaning at, but keeping his distance. “When I met with Silco, now formally a counselor, I had meant to bring whoever was behind the terrorist attack leading to Zaun’s liberation to justice… god knows everyone was waiting for it, there were talks of a public hanging at some point in time… But then, I learnt it was you… And I never even raised the request. I didn’t haggle either. I just told the others the stakes were too high to reject a peace treaty, and that Zaun’s liberation was meant to happen one way or another.”

They had planned around it, in truth. What Viktor had thought to be a risky bet at the time, turned out to be an effective tactic to ensure another low blow to Piltover’s elites. Sentimentality and war hardly ever got along.

“So, It’s true.” He said, and Viktor tilted his head questioningly. “I thought I could make you see reason as long as we had a chance to talk. After all, I could hardly believe what you became was completely your fault. And I told myself, someone had to have taken you hostage, they were threatening you, torturing you into compliance…” Viktor shook his head softly, as if answering in negative, and Jayce moved a hand closer between the space that was left between both of them. “But I don’t believe that anymore. After years of trying, I came to the conclusion that I just never saw the signs you gave me.”

“You were hardly the brightest out of the two of us.” Viktor commented, moving his own hand closer.

“What happened to ‘I’ statements?” Jayce asked, facing Viktor once more, he shrugged, and didn’t give him an answer. “ I think…” He said. “my moral compass starts to go haywire whenever yours ends, and I think I want to make us work, If you think that too… I’m tired of fighting you, Viktor.”

Viktor hummed briefly, contemplating, and lowered his gaze. “I’m not abandoning the life I made for myself,” He said. “My place is here, and so is yours.” He retreated his hand, only to set both of them on his bump. “But I’m willing to compromise, if you promise me you’ll fight for what is right instead of questioning yourself about what is good or bad. Give me a Zaun where I know I can raise my child, and I’ll forget all about the resentment I still hold for you.” Viktor conceded at last. 

Jayce’s eyes followed Viktor’s hands, now caressing the swell of his stomach over the fabric of his shirt. It was hardly an unreasonable request to raise, and much less of a price to pay than Jayce had deserved.

“Tell me what to do.” He asked as a plea, after a sharp, unsteady breath.

Viktor closed his eyes and heaved an exhausted sigh. He didn’t believe he’d ever say just so, but...

“I need you to bring me in front of the council.” He said.

“The council? Piltover’s council?” Jayce asked, his voice now a pitch higher. ”How am I supposed to sneak you in…” he murmured, and Viktor only stared at him, waiting for him to come to his own conclusions. “In chains ? Oh no, no, no .” Jayce said after a moment of consideration, he shook both of his hands, denying the mere idea.

Sure, if they put on an act and pretend The Defender had finally captured The Herald, Jayce could parade him around as a trophy of conquest for however he’d like up until his supposed imprisonment, they’d have free reign over the places Viktor once walked in freely, their old laboratory, the academy and the council room, but he’d be defenseless in a ritual that is nothing but humiliating .

“If whatever plan you have ultimately fails, there’s no chance I’d ever see you again.”

“Then it better not fail.” Viktor answered. “It’s not my intention to spend the rest of my life in Stillwater. We don’t have to go through the details as of now, I have some… people to contact yet and I still need to heal… I just need to know you’re with me, whatever it takes.”

Jayce lowered his eyes before completely shutting them close, he nodded once, firmly even if reluctantly. “Whatever it takes.” He repeated.

Viktor took the initiative to shorten the distance between the both of them, walking closer just to set his head on the crook of Jayce’s neck, Jayce wrapped his arms around him in a near automatic response. 

“You…” Jayce started, before he huffed a laugh. “You’re ‘rewarding’ me just so I’d associate pleasing you with affection. That’s cold, even for you…”

“Are you always this paranoid with your other controversially-evil lovers?” Viktor asked.

“It’s hard enough to find one mentally unstable lover with a penchant for unethical manipulation… Where would I even get another ?”

“Is there even any ethical manipulation?” Viktor asked, and Jayce let out a chuckle for an answer. “I don’t intend to carry out my liberation plans anytime before this baby is out of me, if you wanted to know.”

“I was genuinely too scared to ask…” Jayce said through an exhale. “Thank you for clarifying, I appreciate that.” Jayce’s tone was light enough even in his teasing, and Viktor further melted in his touch. He rubbed his cheek where his head laid at, slowly, as if testing the waters.

“I will take another ultrasound on my 24th week of gestation.” Viktor informed then, after a second more of silence. “That’s a week from now, for your information… I wanted to tell you, since seeing first hand how I go through a medical exam might help you realize there’s nothing to be worried about.” He said.

Jayce’s eyes widened, but he chastised the surprise out of his expression. “That’s… very thoughtful. I appreciate that too.” He said. He hovered one of his hands lower, and Viktor followed the movement with his eyes. “Can I?” He asked. “Unless… My dad privileges got completely revoked…”

Viktor nodded in affirmative, and let him set a palm on the curve of his abdomen for an uneventful, silent minute. “He’s not kicking anymore.” He said after. 

“Ah… Was he kicking before? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“We were arguing.” 

“So… you’re telling me the baby doesn’t like us arguing?”

“If you think the baby’s kicks are directly related to negative emotions…”

“No, I think they’re directly related to whatever fits my current narrative. The baby doesn’t like us arguing.” He repeated. Viktor hummed, and didn’t try to tell Jayce otherwise. “We should make up, just to show him he’s got two loving parents waiting for him on the other side.” He suggested. “Wouldn’t want him to think we hate each other, no?”

Viktor moved his head away from Jayce’s shoulder just then, and only to glare at him. “Emotional manipulation. Where did you learn that from?” 

“Only the best.” Jayce kissed him then, and Viktor reciprocated the affection. It was chaste, but welcomed all the same. When they parted, Jayce hesitated, but pressed another kiss on the corner of Viktor’s mouth, making him squint his eyes shut in surprise.

“That’s enough.” Viktor let out an instant later, firm and unmoving. “I have plans for later today, if you think this will lead somewhere you’re completely mistaken.”

Jayce laughed softly, but went in for a third kiss.

“To tease me like this is just cruel...” Viktor grumbled, pressing his palm on Jayce’s face and urging him to leave. Jayce laughed louder instead, he rubbed his face into Viktor’s palm, before moving it out of the way. “You're intolerable…” Viktor told him when their eyes locked again. 

“I assure you my intentions are pure.” Jayce said instead, a smug smile on his lips. “But let me tell you exactly what you thought this was leading to,” He tilted Viktor’s chin with one of his hands, and Viktor, despite his better judgement, didn’t fight the touch. Jayce’s eyes creased upwards in amusement, temporarily distracted by Viktor’s pliance. He didn’t try to finish his sentence. “...Where were we again..?” He asked after an uneventful second, and Viktor untangled his finger from his face.

“You were leaving.” Viktor said, pushing him away once more. Jayce hummed as if pensive before placing one more chaste kiss on his lips. 

“You are throwing me out.” Jayce corrected. “I have to say goodbye to the baby too. Who knows how long until I see you again, right?”

“Let’s be completely honest, you aren’t going to give me a chance to breathe in the next three months.”

“You’re right, I won’t.” Jayce promised him, before kneeling down to his bump. “Can I?” He asked, moving his hands under the fabric of Viktor’s shirt, a nod was all needed before he proceeded lifting it up. 

Jayce placed a kiss just above Viktor’s navel, before pressing his cheek against the curve of his stomach. Viktor reached for Jayce’s head with his right hand, playing with his hair, but didn’t tug him away. “I think I can hear his heartbeat.” Jayce said after a short moment of silence. “Is that even possible?” 

“It’s extremely unlikely if not outright impossible .” Viktor replied. “Come again next week and I’ll let you listen through a special stethoscope… But as of now, he can ‘hear’ you , to some extent.” He informed, and Jayce nodded his acknowledgement, still trying to get a better grasp at what he was truly hearing. “He reacts to simple stimuli, light, warmth and pressure.” 

Viktor pressed his other hand on the side of his bump next to where Jayce’s face was planted, poking the spot repeatedly until the baby moved and shifted. Jayce raised his head away just to place his hand in the same spot. 

“This is amazing…” he breathed out, before lifting his eyes upwards. “We’re really having a baby, V. Isn’t that…”

“Amazing?”

“Yeah…” he said right after a short laugh, finally raising to his feet. “It is…” he said, temporarily at a loss for words, Viktor rolled his shirt back down, pressing a hand on the side of it. “I didn’t want to say it…” Jayce started after a thoughtful hum, piquing Viktor’s interest. “But ever since yesterday, I just noticed that your belly button is all weird now, is that supposed to happen?”

“Get out .” Viktor ordered, tugging his arm and dragging him to the stairs leading upstairs. 

“I like it!” Jayce insisted, letting himself be reluctantly dragged. “It’s cute but I’ve never seen one like yours before, that’s all!” He only tried to pry himself free from his hold halfway upstairs, realizing he couldn’t. Didn’t Viktor say he had sacrificed strength for flexibility? “My hammer! Wait, I have to get my hammer!”

“Come collect it later tonight.” Viktor simply said. “And I’ll have you know, changes such as a more prominent navel are just an ordinary occurrence in the life of someone carrying a baby as big as yours is.” Viktor said, tugging at his arm a little harder than necessary. “It’s entirely your fault.”

“So it’s my baby only when you see fit? Whenever you need someone to blame?”

“Exactly.”

Jayce freed himself from Viktor’s death grip only when he was brought to the main door, and only because Viktor released him. “Alright, I can find my way home, you can stop now. I'm leaving, I swear.” He said, heaving a sigh when he could move his arm again, he held at his aching arm with his other hand, moving it rhythmically as if to test it wasn’t broken. “And I said I like it! I was just pointing it out!” He snatched a cloak out of the coat hanger near the main door.

“You overstayed your welcome, and are starting to get on my nerves.” He only calmly informed him, Jayce gave him one last kiss as an apology and Viktor grabbed him by the chin, tugging him back closer for a kiss of his own. “Leave.” He ordered when they parted once more. “I don’t have time to entertain you today. I fear if you stay, I’d have to clear my schedule.”

”It wouldn’t be that bad of an idea…” Jayce suggested, taking one step forward and back into the hallway.

”If I had time...” Viktor said instead, letting his voice trail off. He pushed a hand against Jayce’s chest all the same, urging him to cross the door’s threshold. “But I have business that attends me before I can.”

Jayce hummed, an unreadable expression adorned his face, one Viktor didn’t know how to figure out but had stressed about for a whole dreadful instant before Jayce stepped back again, finally and truly leaving. “Tonight, then.” Jayce said, and Viktor closed the door shut before he could change his mind. 

Chapter Text

Once inside and into a much quieter house than what he had been greeted with that same morning, Viktor stepped into his room, not sparing a second thought about getting out of his pajamas and making himself presentable for a proper business meeting. He got dressed, forgoing the cloak that was unmistakably too long to be nothing but a burden. 

In the depths of his lab he already had a mask to replace the one he had lost, and once he was dressed formally enough to make an appearance, he left his lair, taking the road upwards and towards the southernmost side of Piltover with a clear objective in mind: get to Renata.

He had some information to share and a raise to ask for if he managed before he could definitely take his leave and dedicate his time to his most tame of projects.

Namely that crib he always talked about assembling .

Other than the trip upwards, actually locating his boss wasn’t a hard task to accomplish. Renata had communicated her location to him and him alone in case of emergency, and she had been out and about near the docks with a man dressed in white when Viktor found her. He waited hidden in the vicinity, in an hallway adjacent to the hotel Renata was staying at, correctly identifying the man as the investor Renata had been plotting to talk with, and unwilling to ruin her plans.

The most imperceptible of breaths behind his back made a chill run against his metal spine. He might’ve missed the hand reaching for him hadn’t he heard it, but Viktor elbowed the man behind him before he could get a hold of him, turning around and grabbing the man’s neck by his metal hand while he raised his other to the assaulter’s face in the form of a fist.

He didn’t have to strip him down of his red cape to determine where to punch, but he only conveniently stopped when this one fell from the man’s head, revealing none other than Piltover’s most beloved councilor under it. 

Jayce took a hold of his wrist when he had already halted his attack. 

“ What are you doing here? ” Viktor whispered in a quiet but confused tone, he didn’t have it in him to be harsher when surprise was all he felt. He let out a deep breath the moment he had determined he was safe enough to do so, and let his grip loosen.

"Following you…” Jayce replied in the form of a groan. Viktor lowered his fist but pinned Jayce against the wall by his arm instead, making Jayce huff another pained groan. “Had… a suspicion..!”

“How can you sneak up on me like that knowing I was assaulted just yesterday?” He simply asked, tilting his head as if awaiting for an explanation. It wasn’t missed on him that it was both a blessing and not that he had subconsciously used his less sturdy hand for his hits.

“How can… you get back to your lousy job knowing you were assaulted just yesterday?!” Jayce asked as an answer, raising his voice a notch over his.

“You don’t get it, you never do.” Viktor said, adding pressure, the bounty posters behind Jayce crinkling as he shifted. “But the situation is most dire, so much so that I’m not above begging you to walk away and back where you came from if you care about my safety and yours.” He said, closing his eyes as if pained. “If I’m seen with you when Renata is clearly expecting a murder attempt I’ll get accused of treachery and the both of us will get killed for it. You’re risking your life and mine .”

“You’re the one who-“ Viktor grabbed him before he could finish that sentence, dragging him in an even more secluded area of that same hallway he had been hiding in the moment he heard footsteps in their general direction. He held his palm on Jayce’s mouth as he straddled him on the ground behind a trash can. Fortunately enough Jayce had gotten the memo, and remained silent until they were in the clear.

“Patrols… at this time of day…” Viktor mused in a low whisper, looking out in the distance. “Someone must’ve paid for some extra privacy…” 

And it was hardly something Renata would do.

When his eyes were laid back on Jayce, he only hummed, catching Jayce’s ogling him not so discreetly.

Viktor didn’t immediately take away the hand from his mouth, instead analyzing how he had rendered his partner flustered with little effort on his part. He shot him an unamused look that must’ve been clear even behind the metal plate of his mask, as Jayce stopped his eyes from wandering. “Don’t get hard.” Viktor teased, causing Jayce to slap his hand off of his mouth in retaliation.

“Is this the business you needed to deal with today then?” Jayce immediately asked, pushing his hands against Viktor’s shoulders instead, trying to keep some distance. “And you have the gall to make me look like the bad guy? You say I’m suffocating you?”

Viktor remained silent, an answer on its own. Jayce could have sworn he looked sheepish when his hand reached for the cut near his lip. One he had just caused nonetheless . “God, you’re impossible…” Jayce chastised, looking away. 

“ You were following me.” He accused back, cupping his face and forcing him to face him. 

Temporarily taken aback by the audacity Viktor displayed, Jayce’s eyes widened, before he lidded them once again in barely restrained rage “And I was right to do so! I can’t believe I thought even for a second you wouldn’t do something like this!”

“ Keep your voice down .” Viktor ordered, raising his hands once again on Jayce’s mouth and pushing his head against the trash can behind him. “You would have never followed me if you truly trusted me. You decided to come here instead of living in blissful ignorance. It is entirely your fault if you’re disappointed .” He retorted, his voice harsh but no more than a whisper. “This means we are incompatible and our peace has come to an end. effect immediately.”

“You can’t -“ Jayce managed to say in a muffled tone, but Viktor interrupted him.

“But you’re hindering my peace and messing with my plans.” He argued. “I know what to do and you don’t give me enough credit to trust my better judgement. First you’re trying to insert yourself in my personal life, now you’re trying to ruin my professional image?” Jayce pried his hand away once more, but didn’t try to raise his voice again.

“Do you even hear yourself?” He asked. “What ‘ better judgement ’ would push someone 6 months pregnant to prioritize their criminal career? Do we have to talk how this is a high-risk pregnancy or the fact that this is the same job that almost killed you is enough of a deterrent for any fucking argument made against me?”

“ High-risk ? What gave you that impression?” Viktor asked, Jayce raised an eyebrow, shaking his head in a near imperceptible movement, and Viktor furrowed his eyebrows. “I have been doing nothing but minimize the risks of stillbirth even before you decided to get in the picture. It’s entirely for the precautions that I took if I’ve managed to carry a pregnancy until this point. The baby is fine .” He clarified once more, but Jayce only frowned, his lips parted once, before he bit them shut.

Jayce lowered his eyes, and moved them away. It was an odd reaction, Viktor thought, even for Jayce’s standards. 

It didn’t take him much to realize he was talking about his own survival in childbirth, rather than the survival of their child instead. It was thoughtful, albeit unexpected.

“And I am too, of course.” He added as an afterthought, his voice once again softening. “It would take much more to kill me, I assure you. We talked about this.” He tried to convince him.

“ Viktor .” Jayce protested. “You stepped down from your role the moment you got attacked and it jeopardized your life.” He fervently insisted. “I’m not an idiot, your body isn’t healing fast enough, you’re objectively weaker even for your standards, and the only point of reference I have is that you were relatively fine days before the attack and now you aren’t . Is it so bad to set everything aside until June? You promised!”

“Go home, Jayce. Your home.” He said after a moment of silence. He got up shortly after, giving Jayce the chance to walk away. “We’ll meet tonight, and I’ll pretend this conversation never took place.”

“Then, you lied to me.” Jayce muttered, furrowing his brows and pouting in the way Viktor was all too familiar with. He raised to his feet just to take a step closer, reaching for Viktor’s hands. Viktor distanced himself once more in response, walking over the edge of the wall just to peek over it. “A lie by omission is still a lie!” 

A sharp ‘shhh’ of a sound was all it took to remind Jayce of their current situation, he took a step back as if startled, and Viktor’s next words were muttered in an even lower whisper. 

“What other choice did you give me? You wouldn’t have taken any other answer that mentioned me meeting Renata.” Viktor said as a matter-of-fact, deliberately avoiding eye contact lest he end up giving in to Jayce’s argument and follow him home.

“Because you weren’t supposed to do that.” Jayce retorted, grabbing Viktor’s arm and tugging at him, trying to catch his undivided attention.

“Jayce,” He said, turning around to face him, a hint of bite in his voice. “I need you to stay out of my business the same way I stay out of yours.”

“You barely stay out of mine, that’s your whole deal. Evil villain act and all included.”

He’d have loved to remind Jayce he was the one to break their latest no-contact agreement for once , but it was decidedly not the time. 

“Everything is under control, my control. It’s a simple conversation.” Viktor assured Jayce, before elbowing him, trying to keep some distance once again. “ Leave .” He ordered.

“Not without you.” Jayce said instead, once again wrapping a hand against Viktor’s shoulder. He didn’t answer, didn’t budge, and Jayce thought he was actively being ignored. His theory was proven right when Viktor shook Jayce’s hand off of him without as much as a word.

Something must’ve caught Jayce’s eye after that, as he didn’t try to pry him away from the view again.

“That symbol, it’s the Ferro clan’s.” Jayce said, temporarily distracted. “Why would a representative of the Ferro’s clan have any business with Glasc industries’ heir…” He muttered, already furrowing his brow, Viktor tilted his head his way, and hummed.

It wasn’t a real question, it wasn’t even directly addressed to him. Just a thought said out loud, something Jayce was known to do when deep in thought as he often was.

He would’ve gotten his answers in time, with personal investigations being conducted, he would involve the Kirramans before anyone else, forgoing some of those bureaucratic procedures he always nagged him about, it was part of what Jayce did, after all. A tiny part of it that was often overlooked by the media, but such an integral part of his hero hobby .

He didn’t need any help to figure it out. Viktor didn’t need to say anything at all.

Perhaps it was the fact that Jayce knew he wasn’t owed answers that made it all so significant when Viktor willingly spoke up.

He’d get his answers, but not as soon as Viktor would’ve preferred. 

So he took a deep breath and told him, hoping he wouldn’t look back at this exact moment in time, and regret his decision.

“Shimmer production and distribution outside of Zaun’s perimeter.” Viktor informed briefly, reciprocating Jayce’s glance. “Renata aims to make it legal… with time . As in, she’s going to make Shimmer easily available Topside, enough for it to be a problem that cannot be ignored.”

“That doesn’t automatically warrant that it be legalized… Not to mention that there’s people in the council, namely me , that are aware of the addictiveness of Shimmer.”

“Everyone has a price, even you. She’ll find something to bribe you with, if you’re not careful.” Viktor said, framing the statement as definitive truth. “As of now she’s going to amp up the production and spread the distribution of it for a wider range… reap her sows and invest the money in the council.”

“They’re not as easily persuaded.” Jayce insisted, and Viktor tilted his head.

“Corruption in your council? It’s more likely than you think.” Viktor said in a mocking tone, and Jayce rolled his eyes. “I need you to keep an open mind, Jayce.” Viktor said then, eerily serious. “Renata refines Shimmer and uses it on most Chem-tech weapons, but unrefined, regular Shimmer is still the only easily available self-medication substance currently obtainable in all of Zaun. It’s fast, versatile.”

“That’s impossible…” Jayce retorted, frowning. “We send medical supplies to those in need, it’s… charity. There’s a big event around it at the time of the summer solstice.” He insisted. 

“So you know that at the end of the solstice enforcers get a hold of all the donations, they gather all, they walk Zaun’s border, and… distribute them to the highest bidder.” Viktor said. “It’s usually bigger guilds, well-known industrialists… After all, the kind of money enforcers want for a single gauze is much more than what a common zaunite earns in a month. They end up selling unsold crates in bulk, if there’s not a high enough demand.”

Jayce recalls an article talking about The Gloriously Evolved guided by The Machine Herald raiding a crate meant to aid those that most needed medical help, he remembers the disbelief, the disappointment. But he blinks away the memory just as fast as he blinked it to existence.

“Now, she’s found a business partner…” Viktor said when Jayce failed to say anything.

“Why are you telling me all this?” Jayce asked then, genuinely taken aback. 

“I trust you to do the right thing. Whatever that might be.” Viktor said, facing forward once again, Jayce stared at the back of his head instead for a while longer, unsure if they had the same definition of ‘right’. “And I trust you not to mention who gave you this lead, unless you want the mother of your child in jail.”

“Oh god… Are you going to pull that card anytime we argue about morally ambiguous tactics you might be involved in?”

“Perhaps… Would it work?” Jayce exhaled an exhausted sound of a laugh, shaking his head. He didn’t answer, but at that point he realized they had come to a taciturn agreement.

He followed with his eyes as the man dressed in white walked away, but Renata remained, a cigarette held in her hand as she quietly looked forward and into the distance of an eerily calm sea. Wasn’t he so close to Viktor at the time he might’ve missed how his back straightened at the sight of Renata alone, but he could do little to stop him from stepping forward without possibly revealing his hiding spot. 

He still tried, of course. But his hand had been slapped away immediately with the attempt.

The sour expression on Renata’s face immediately softened once she recognized the quickly approaching footsteps she heard as Viktor’s. She exhaled a chuckle, and her eyes followed his hands as he grabbed the rail in front of them, he didn’t talk.

“How was the meeting?” Renata asked then, after an uneventful second. She turned to finally face him as she discarded ash from her cigarette in the sea below. “Did you have fun ?”

“It went as expected.” He briefly informed her, Renata shook her head with a weary look on her face, despite that, Viktor realized she looked content . 

“Have you dealt with the mole then? How did it go?” She asked next, taking another drag of her cigarette and exhaling purple smoke. 

“Not entirely.” Viktor said, tilting his head. “That wasn't what I signed up for either.”

“Oh, you signed up for that so long ago you must’ve forgotten.” Renata said with a scoff. “Care to elaborate why you haven’t dealt with the problem yet?” She asked, but her tone was much too light, as if she knew something he didn’t, or that she had already gotten the answers to her questions.

“Turns out it was your own guild that targeted you,” Viktor said, watching for any sign of surprise on Renata’s expression. “You might want to consider replacing a few expendables.”

“I know.” She said instead, and Viktor frowned. “I thought you knew as well, or at the very least, I gave you enough credit to realize that at some point in time.”

Viktor huffed an exhausted sigh realizing he had been toyed with, and moved to raise his hand from the railing, but Renata intercepted his movement, placing a hand on top of his.

“You wouldn’t have accepted hadn’t I told you exactly what you wanted to hear.”

It was jarring to hear words he had said on a different occasion directed back at him.

Viktor halted for a second too long, as a weird sense of deja-vu assailed him. “I wouldn’t have.” He only confirmed.

“I only did what was best for the cause.” She added. “And it worked for the best. The rat scurried back to my quarters begging me to do something about the reckless insubordinate that killed one of my loyal lackeys completely unprompted, he said he was the only survivor of the two. He gave me your name, and I held his throat until he couldn’t beg to be spared anymore.” 

“You were so sure it wasn’t me, then?” Viktor asked, awaiting response. She laughed and laughed, waving her hand as if ruling out the possibility altogether.

“You’re nothing without me.” She said after a long drawn breath, she squeezed his hand, and Viktor moved his eyes to follow the movement. “Will you make a show of executing a few ‘expendables’ with me, perhaps?” She asked quickly after that. “Me as the tyrant that never dirties her hands, and you as my devoted killing machine.”

“You have no issue dirtying your hands.” Viktor retorted instead. “And you're awfully confident I'm in good enough shape for any intimidation tactics you might suggest.” Viktor scoffed, finally retreating his hand. “I'm not taking risks anymore. I have other projects that need my attention at the moment.”

Renata hummed, as if somewhat agreeing, she lidded her eyes, her gaze piercing enough to force Viktor not to leave yet. “I can’t help but feel like you’ll leave.” She said as something of a non-sequitur. “And this is the only warning I’ll get.”

Her tone was light but guarded, she truly believed what she was saying. It was a look into Renata’s most sincere thoughts. Viktor would be an idiot to refuse her an answer. “Even if it was the case, I have faith you’d find a way to bring me back to your side.” He simply said.

“You're not denying it.” Renata pointed out with a snarl, before her features softened once more. “Have you finally gotten tired of my ‘charades’ ? After such a successful deal… you’re killing me here, Viktor.” She said in that mocking but jokingly light tone she usually reserved for him. “I just signed up a contract that promised to increase overall shimmer production by 30%… how am I supposed to without your consistent and reliable workload? ” 

Renata discarded her cigarette in the water, before moving both of her hands on Viktor’s face. Viktor didn’t back away, didn’t flinch, he let her get near, and she took his metal mask off. She grimaced as if surprised for the slightest of seconds, not quite understanding the extent of Viktor’s bruises or why they hadn’t healed, but she quickly composed herself once more, and smiled at him. A wide smile, all teeth.

“I have much more to offer, you know.” She said, “Especially in the monetary sense. But you could pick and choose any other fair transaction that you see fit, there’s little I can’t arrange for you .”

“Don’t bribe me like this… It makes you look desperate, Renata.” Viktor scoffed, expecting Renata to roll her eyes and play along, but her glare sharpened, and one of her nails scraped at the inside of his mask in a circular pattern. 

“What about Shurima crystals, then?” She suggested. “ You call those Hex-crystals nowadays, but it’s all the same junk. Do you need any?”

“It’s nothing a generous amount of money can’t buy.” He said instead. “One that I already refused in exchange for full autonomy over my time.”

“No, there’s nothing money can’t buy.” She confirmed, her voice suddenly icier. “Not even time, not even yours .” She snarled, grabbing Viktor’s chin with her augmented arm, she dragged him closer and didn’t even acknowledge when Viktor’s hand grabbed her wrist, didn’t spare the offending touch a glance. “Each body part you replace has a brand on it, my brand, my name . You’re mine, I don’t need to find a way to ‘bring you back’” she said, reiterating what he had said. “Because I’ll never let you leave.” She pushed his head away, and handed him his mask. “Don’t forget whose money made you, Viktor.”

“Wasted potential.” She muttered as Viktor’s hands reached for his mask, he took it, and set it back on his face. When he raised his eyes once more, she was smiling once again. “Enjoy your maternity leave, you’ve earned it. And If you ever need to send the kid to boarding school, I can put in a good word. Anything for my favorite alchemist.”

Renata chuckled, a low growl of a sound, before she waved her hand. “you’re dismissed, Viktor, but don’t think I won’t send you the blueprints of the new factories I mean to build, you’ve got a pair of functional, shiny eyes after all.” She promised at last. “Now, leave me to reminisce about a well-struck deal.”

“As you wish.” He said, finally turning around, he walked back to the alleyway he first came in through fully expecting Jayce to be gone, but finding him exactly where he left him. 

“How did it go?” Jayce asked as soon as he could, out of prying ears. Viktor walked a few steps ahead of him, following a near automatic path back home, he didn’t answer. “It looked… intense.”

“For as much as I know our temporary partnership ended not long ago. When you decided to follow me here against my knowledge.” He said. “I don’t owe you answers.”

“That doesn’t count.” Jayce insisted. “How did it go?” He repeated again.

Viktor turned around, and crossed his arms. “I’m officially on leave from work.” He said, watching as Jayce’s smile grew bigger. “I hope you’re happy, you’ve rubbed off on me.”

“Well, that’s good news, no?” He asked when Viktor rolled his eyes.

“It only means I have more time to dedicate to the baby’s imminent arrival, and the task will still require my full attention.” Viktor let silence linger for a second. “It would be appreciated if you didn’t let anyone interfere with Zaun’s legislation until I'm back on business. but other than that, this is where our paths diverge for the time being.” He said, shifting from one leg to the other. “Until tonight.” He decided to say.

“You didn’t have to say it so… ominously .” Jayce replied, and chuckled. “Careful there, your voice-box might be broken, you sound almost disappointed.”

“I am.” Viktor confessed, but not for the reason Jayce was implying. “Imagine having all the time in the world but being forced to spend it in complete stasis on the bias I’m not able to take care of myself now that I’m pregnant. I will have to read what new way higher-ups Topside will find to completely throw away years of riots I held, from the sidelines .” 

“I must correct you once and for all before you actually believe whatever the hell you’re spewing to be true.” Jayce said, raising both of his hands as if to halt Viktor in his steps. He wasn’t going anywhere. “You work with corrosive chemicals, weapons and explosives.” He stated, waving one of his hands in the air as if just that list would be enough of a point on itself, nonetheless, he kept talking. “And if you can tell me three things that notoriously don’t go well with babies in any part of Runeterra, whether it’s Piltover or Ionia for all I know, I will actually give you an applause. Here’s a hint, I just listed them. Come on, say it .”

Viktor squinted his eyes, and his eyebrows followed the shift. Despite Jayce’s inability to see his face, he understood he wasn’t at all amused. Viktor didn’t answer further, and Jayce heaved a sigh, fighting the urge to roll his eyes. 

“The fact is that now you don’t work with those anymore and hopefully you’ll shape your house’s environment to better fit someone else’s needs. Someone the height of a small poro, maybe.” Jayce made a ball with his hands, trying to estimate the height of one, whether it was a poro or a newborn was left up to Viktor’s interpretation. 

“Please never compare my child to a pet again or I’ll have to revoke your parenting privileges.” Despite the harsh sounding words he still untightened his stance, moving both of his hands on Jayce’s. “And exactly how big do you think a Poro and a full-term newborn are?”

“I think they’re about the same size, obviously.” He pointed out, letting Viktor move his hands freely. 

“Poros of the likes you find in street markets in Zaun are usually underfed, keeping them from growing too big out of the confinements of their cages, but even then they’re not as small as you believe them to be.” He explained. “Those are around 40 cm in diameter, or around 15 inches.”

Viktor moved his hands further apart with the next information. “A baby on average weighs around 7 pounds or 3 kg and is 19 inches in length, around 10 cm more than a small poro, if you’re really set in making that comparison.” 

Jayce scrunched his nose and lidded his eyes, clearly communicating that despite Viktor’s educated explanation he had his doubts about the veracity of his facts. “Are you completely sure?” He asked next, and Viktor removed his hands, Jayce kept his own suspended in the air exactly how Viktor had left them for a moment more, comparing the theoretical size of their baby to Viktor right in front of him. “How is this even supposed to fit in you ? You might want to consider a cesarean.” He said at last, his arms finally falling at his sides.

“You might want to consider minding your own business.”

“ Maybe , but we seriously need to go over the birthing plan more thoroughly, right after I so politely escort you back to your house-lair-base.” He said, moving a hand on the small of Viktor’s back.

“I can find my way home alone .” Viktor retorted instead. “And if you think I’d do anything but do that then… ”

“ No , of course not. It’s just chivalry.” Jayce assured. “Did you take the Bathysphere up or did you just... walk across The Bridge? How did you evade security in either case?”

Viktor stared at him, before he moved his hand where his chin would be, his gloved palm brushing with metal instead of skin.

“How did you…” Jayce said, hoping it would be enough to prompt an answer out of Viktor. Viktor only hummed, in the same way he always did when contemplating what to say, and what not to say instead. “How did you get here?” He asked in entirety, furrowing his eyebrows.

“I climbed up.” He said. “With a grappling hook.”

And Jayce’s reply to that was immediate. “You’re not doing that again.” He said matter-of-factly, but Viktor just chuckled, and tilted his head.

“It’s not as bad as it sounds like, it’s easy. You get the hang of it.” 

“I don’t even want to know how you’d have climbed down if I wasn’t here to escort you.” He said, taking off his red cloak and wrapping it around Viktor. “We’re taking the Bathysphere.” He announced.

“I’d have jumped off the deepest crevice I’d encountered.” Viktor still explained, despite Jayce’s wishes.

“hmhm.” He hummed, jokingly annoyed, and buckled the belt attached to the hood of the cloak, preventing it from slipping away from Viktor’s shoulders.

“Then I’d have taken my grappling hook,” He continued, showing the gun-like tool attached to his hip by a holster. “And shoot upwards. The hook would attach to rocky walls, wooden bridges of old abandoned mines, even clotheslines if I fire it too late. The hike down after that is easy enough.”

“Keep doing that and one day you’ll get stuck in a ravine.” Jayce said, tugging the hood of his cloak down Viktor’s head.

“Do you talk from experience?” Viktor asked and let himself be led, holding Jayce’s hand as he extended it his way. Jayce laughed as a reply but shook his head. 

“I can’t imagine a situation in which that’d happen to me.” He said.

“I could be the one to throw you in one, for starters.”

“I can imagine one , now.” It was Viktor’s turn to laugh. “Seriously, though… And Sol doesn’t complain at all when you insist on doing all of that ?”

“I do not know of anyone with that name.” Viktor said, before moving his other hand on his bump, below the fabric of Jayce’s cloak. “If you’re talking about my baby, then no. On top of not being able to perceive pain and react upon it within the sturdy membrane of my uterus like you seem to imply, he’s also incredibly well-behaved if such an adjective can be used in this context. He only ever gives me ‘trouble’ when you open your mouth, or annoy me with your presence, and even then his kicks are not enough to bother me.”

Viktor had to wait a second more for Jayce’s answer, as they climbed up a granite stairwell and into a crowded park.

“I think you’ve got favorites…” Jayce mumbled. He found the perimeter of the place much easier to navigate than the center with all the people enjoying their leisure time in the warmth of the sun, mostly kids and a few parents supervising.

“You want to compete with a child, now?” Viktor asked in a low tone, tilting his head. “You’d be losing against anyone in your league, but if you think I’d prefer you over my son… You’re simply delusional . Even if we don’t consider the theoretical advantage that being 50% me would give him, he’d still be only 50% you, which is way better than being 100% you.” 

A ball rolled against the heel of Jayce’s boot, halting him in his steps and making him release Viktor’s hand. He took a quick step backwards before he shot his foot forwards, successfully kicking the ball back to their owners. Cheers followed, and he waved a hand in the air, sunny only in appearance.

“ Never mind .” He said when he turned around once more, no longer holding Viktor’s hand and certainly no longer as cheery as he seemed to be before. Viktor had attempted to request his hand back without as much as a verbal complaint, lifting his hand and standing still for a couple of seconds, but he was promptly ignored. “Fuck me for thinking you enjoyed my company even a little.” Jayce said instead, walking in front of him.

Viktor walked a few steps forward then and took his hand by his wrist this time, moving it under the cloak that still hid him and over his bump, the baby kicked over the exact spot Jayce’s hand had been led to soon after, and with it came Viktor’s snarky remark, as if he just couldn’t help himself. “See? This falls in the category of ‘annoying me’. Were you always this huffy? Is it genetic?”

Jayce glared daggers at him before he softened once more, even if reluctantly. He shook his head. “Worry on what you are going to pass down to the kid instead. A supposed, alleged even, ‘bad temper’ inherited from me is the last of your problems…”

“What’s wrong with me ?”

“There’d be too much to list.” That was the only thing Jayce was willing to say on the matter.  “But, on a scale of one to ten…”

“Not this again…” Viktor muttered, intertwining their fingers again. Jayce got the memo, and began walking towards their aim again. “I don’t like the stupid questions that you pose with that kind of start.”

“How much do you enjoy my company?” He still asked, expectantly.

Viktor hummed contemplatively, decidedly mockingly. “Can I use decimal numbers?” He finally asked.

“Not if your answer starts with a 0.”

“You do realize even if I said 0.1 it would’ve still been higher than a 0?”

“You weren’t going to say 0.1.” 

“No.” Viktor confirmed. “Still higher than 0.”

“Any number below that would be humiliating, even if technically, but ultimately insignificantly , higher than 0.”

Viktor paused. Stalling. “That’s your opinion, and it’s decidedly wrong too.” He said. “A value of 0.01, which is a value below 0.1 in case you didn’t know-,“

“ In case I didn’t know ?!“ Jayce repeated, his voice rising a pitch higher before he lowered it once again. “ Stop .” He ordered.

Jayce’s pleas fell to deaf ears, unfortunately.

“-is still considered ‘highly significant’ in statistics and when observing data. It can provide definitive information on whether the reaction of an experiment is due to random chance or certain reactions originate from a common phenomenon, in your case a value of 0.01 would rule out the possibility of a value of 0 actually being taken in consideration as a definitive 0, as null. To put it more simply,-“

“Are you seriously committing to this bit right now?”

“-if I said I rated your company and my enjoyment of your company 0.01 out of 10, it would not mean that I do not enjoy it.” He said, much to Jayce’s displeasure. “Now, I didn’t say my answer started with 0.01 either, but you do realize your mistake, don’t you?” 

“Drop it. No decimals.” Jayce insisted.

“I’m not willing to participate in any survey that doesn’t allow a wider scale.” Viktor said, jokingly offended. “You should know better than to limit your evaluation parameters so low.”

Jayce groaned, but even with half of a remark already on the tip of his tongue, he decided to shut his mouth. He’d have better odds trying to convince a Cat-Vastaya to jump in the sea rather than convince Viktor to admit he cared. 

Once at their destination, Jayce instructed Viktor to wait, just to return with a couple of tickets in his grasp. Viktor walked behind him in the queue leading on the Bathysphere, his face lowered as Jayce tried to sweet-talk his way through some enforcer’s questions. He was successful in his task, and dragged Viktor into one of the wagons. 

Viktor grabbed one of the poles near the closest exit, but Jayce nudged him, forcing him to turn his way. “You better sit down now, it’s filling up quick here.” He said, pointing towards an empty seat, Viktor looped his forearm against the pole his hand was holding, and refused.

“I’m literally offering you a seat.” Jayce reiterated, then in a higher tone, as if he was trying to show off, he said: “Take it, I insist .”

“I don’t want it,”  Viktor complained, whispering. He furrowed his eyebrows behind the mask he never took off. “you sit down.” 

“You’re the one who’s pregnant, you’d make me look like an asshole.” Jayce whispered back.

“The truth would have been revealed anyway.” Viktor said. “I’m not sitting down.”

“It’s five minutes you could be sitting down instead of standing up. It literally only benefits you!” Jayce insisted again, now on the brink of losing his patience. “People are staring, engine’s starting, just sit down for god’s sake.”

Jayce set both of his hands on Viktor’s shoulders, trying to tug him away from his ‘designated-emotionally-support-pole’ but Viktor planted his feet on the ground and didn’t budge. “I don’t want to.”

“Why are you being so dense ?”

Viktor shrugged his shoulders then, before moving his finger on the side of his face, just beside where his mouth would be, and tapping the spot twice. 

There was no button there, no switch either, Jayce knew. But the movement alone was a warning that Viktor was up to something, one that Jayce ignored with a confused furrow of his brow. When Viktor spoke again, his voice wasn’t his, but rather much more high-pitched than what he was normally capable of vocalizing.  “Get your hands off of me, pervert !” He yelled.

Jayce immediately retreated his hands, surprised and horrified in equal measure. Viktor had successfully mortified him and earned himself a moment of complete silence as Jayce denied him even a glance. He didn’t take the vacant seat, neither of them did, but he grabbed the pole directly adjacent to the other side of that same exit, waiting for their stop instead.

The chattering that Viktor brought with his stunt soon came to a halt as the offense was forgotten by all but one person.

If either saw the other staring at the other’s reflection in the following minute, neither mentioned it. 

“You get on my nerves.” Jayce said one minute and half in his silence-strike, unable to help himself.

“So do you .” Viktor replied, somewhat smugly.

Neither pointed out how easy it would’ve been for either of them to just walk away either.

After the initial confused chattering, some people had started their own iterations of conspiracy theories that Jayce was unaware he’d soon find on newspapers, but some other braver eavesdroppers directly approached the man of progress, tapping at his shoulder as the bathysphere kept his slow but steady pace downwards. 

“Mr Talis..?” A girl called, prompting Jayce to stop brooding just to instinctively turn around. He stood uncannily still, so much so that the poor soul thought she had offended him somehow. “Dr. Talis.” She corrected at last.

“Either is fine…” He said, despite never having gone by ‘Doctor Talis’ before or hardly being all that old to go by either , in his opinion.

Unless the two in front of him snatched a couple of uniforms from the academy, they were regular students, or so Jayce had gathered from his invasive stare. 

“How can I help you two?” He asked, suddenly remembering his manners. 

The boy next to her nudged her once, and she elbowed him back, but spoke once again. “I understand it might be a bit over your mansions to recall every class you’ve held at the academy in the past year… and we apologize if it might come off as rude, but since neither of us has yet to choose a mentor for their thesis-“

“ Thesis ?” Jayce interrupted. “You two need a supervisor for your thesis?” He repeated, raising an eyebrow. 

“Yes.” The boy replied in her stead. “Mine is closely related to the risks of radiation exposure which was one of the few subjects you chose to talk about in the meeting of late November… while Jade’s-“

“I’m sorry but you look fresh out of highschool.” Jayce rudely commented, immediately shattering the students’ curated perception of him. “Are you being serious right now? Is this some elaborate ploy to ask for an autograph?”

Viktor laughed from the place he still stood at, but Jayce crossed his arms, and paid him no mind.

“And even if I didn’t find it hard to believe either of you aren’t just freshmen pulling a prank, you still forget that I don't hold a teaching post at the academy, nor a professorial chair.” He chastised.

Deep into the unwarranted scolding he was giving the two students, Jayce hadn’t noticed the doors open nor the cable car coming to a halt.

“It’s a considerably important detail to overlook since your advisor must have a teaching position at the academy. You’d still have to choose one of the other Professors to supervise your work, it can’t be some outsider .”

Nor did he notice Viktor walking out and ahead of him.

“If you haven’t had enough time to get acquainted with any of your professors and their specialized field of expertise, I can only redirect you to Professor Heimerdinger. He’ll know how to mix and match your preferred topic to the person most appropriate for the job within the academy .” Jayce scoffed as the two lowered their heads, mortified like he himself was moments prior.

Jayce was his own PR manager’s worst nightmare unfortunately, he never got approached for a reason.

“But I can give you a few tips on how to make a dashing thesis next time I hold a conference, if it can prove to be beneficial.” The two nodded, quickly, doing anything in their power to get out of the awkward conversation. They left soon after, and Jayce chuckled, tilting his head to the side. “Unbelievable, did all common sense leave Piltover the moment we got our degrees?” Jayce asked absolutely no one , finally realizing how empty the whole wagon had come to be.

Viktor expectedly got home first, making a quick work of Jayce’s hooded cloak and hanging it by the door. He huffed an exhausted breath of air as he held the small of his back, wondering if he deserved a nap or if it would be better to endure drowsiness and start on lunch first.

He didn’t expect to find Jinx waiting for him in his kitchen, nor did he think he’d find her on his kitchen table, holding her legs as she buried her face where Viktor couldn’t see it.

“Jinx?” Viktor called, softly. “What’s wrong? Did you have a nightmare?” Jinx shook her head, and he took a step closer, halting his steps right in front of her. 

She lifted her head then, and he noticed black strikes of mascara running down her cheeks at the same time as her silent tears did. He set a hand on her knee, and tilted his head. “Do you want to talk about it?” He asked.

She didn’t answer. Didn’t have to. 

“Come down here, let’s talk.” Viktor tried again. 

She lowered her legs on the side of the table, dangling them once before she leaped forward and into Viktor’s arms. He moved his hand on her back in a circular, soothing, motion. “Why are you here?”

She shrugged her shoulders, and wiped her eyes against Viktor’s sternum, rubbing her whole damp face on his shirt just as much as her eyes. “Searching for you…I saw Violet, topside.” A pause. “I don’t want to see her again.” She said, shaking her head. “Watching her live her life happily after abandoning me… it’s unbearable .” The last word was uttered in the form of a choked breath.

“You saw enforcers, then? Were you hurt?” Jinx shook her head once, and Viktor moved his other hand to stroke her hair. “And Silco? Does he know?”

“I didn’t want to bother him…” She said after a slow exhale. “There’s little he can do about it…”

“You’re not a bother.” Viktor immediately rectified, Jinx shrugged her shoulders again. “You’re not.” He insisted. “Disappointment, abandonment, regret and envy are inherently human, you’ll always feel this way, it’s inevitable.” He somberly announced, making Jinx still for a second. 

“Human life is a redundant cycle of misery and apathy, you have to live within the wavelength that forms between those two stages.” He added then, and despite his bleak and rather inappropriate speech, his hand never stopped caressing Jinx’s hair. He hummed briefly, trying to come up with a straightforward solution to a problem that had little to do with the realm of rationality. “The best course of action would be to erase all feelings toward your estranged sister, and stay in Zaun.” He supplied, framing the statement as definitive truth. 

Jinx chuckled, a sad sound that morphed in a low whine, before she grabbed at the collar of Viktor’s shirt, wiping her tears as she tugged the fabric closer to the corners of her eyes. “How did that work for you ?” She asked instead, temporarily distracted. “I’m starting to think you’re not actually capable of removing emotions, erasing unwanted memories, and all the things that you say you did to yourself… And, maybe, you’re more human than you say you are.”

“You’d be wrong, of course.” Viktor replied. “But do you want to try? I’ve got a brand new chainsaw, and a scalpel, if lobotomies are more your thing.” Jinx didn’t doubt he actually had those tools lying around somewhere, but Viktor’s tone was light enough that Jinx could never interpret it as anything but a joke to cheer her up.

“You’re so weird…” She commented, before taking a step back. She unwrapped her arms around Viktor only to wrap them around herself instead, she shrugged once more. “No wonder we get along. Crazy knows crazy…” 

Viktor patted her shoulder, tilting his head as he contemplated her reaction. “I always thought ‘crazy’ was just another word to say someone whose genius was misunderstood.” He said, eliciting a soft chuckle from Jinx and an even softer ‘corny’ out of her. 

“Is that what your dad always told you? Your psycho dad.” She specified. “‘cause no offense, that sounds like something he would say…”

“Singed?” He asked, Jinx only smiled as a reply. “He’s not my father. We’re colleagues , always have been.” He felt the need to specify, moving away his eyes as Jinx blatantly mocked his choice of words with a shrill laugh.

Viktor let the comfortable silence that followed linger for a moment more, he opened his mouth again a minute later, the movement going completely unnoticed under the metal plate that covered his face, but before he had a chance to offer Jinx to stay for a while more Jayce opened the door Viktor had left ajar for him, and noticed her just as she noticed him.

 Jinx sharpened her glare, and her hands shot on Viktor, tugging him closer to herself as she stared at the intruder from behind his silhouette, while Jayce armed himself with the closest thing he could find, at the time it was the coat hanger closest to the door, and pointed it at her as if he were holding a spear.

“What’s that psycho doing here now ?!” Jayce asked, taking a few careful steps forward and into the arch that separated the hallway from the kitchen, his make-shift weapon in hand. 

Jinx froze, her eyes wide and a confused, horrified expression plastered on her face, one that Viktor had never seen before. The moment of perceived terror was short-lived as Jinx grabbed the back of Viktor’s hair soon after the slip-up, tugging him away and lower on her level. Her eyes sharpened once more, and she stammered, her rage barely restrained. “What… is he doing here?” She asked him, ignoring Jayce all together, she didn't give Viktor enough time to answer, and her voice went a pitch higher as she opened her mouth once again. “Oh god, you’re pathetic. You want him here, you… called him here.” She seethed. “What’s wrong with you? You… just can’t help yourself can you?” She asked, her voice lowering once again, defeated . 

Viktor only managed to grab her wrist in one poor attempt of freeing himself from her grip, but she tightened it instead, and pulled harder. “And you dare give me advice on what to do with my sister? Oh, Silco was right…” She whined. “ He’s always right, he is .” She insisted.

“It’s not what you think. Let me clear this misunderstanding.” Viktor said, firm and authoritative despite the position he had found himself in.

“What are you doing?!” Jayce asked in the form of a whisper. “Just… use your claws, do something!” 

“ It is, it is, it is! ” Jinx replied. “Silco told me you don’t have the guts to be… Like us … Oh, but he had so much more faith in you!” She taunted, chuckling as her eyes began to water. “He thought you’d last a few more years at least before you’d be back begging the Piltie to get your old life back! He and I were the ooonly people that even bet that long!”

“Just let me explain, Jinx!”

“You’re leaving then?” She asked, her voice unbearably soft. “You’re leaving again? With promises you’ll visit some day?” her grip finally loosened, and she pouted , Viktor shook his head as he held a palm stretched outwards and toward her, but his temporary found-freedom was stripped away when she spoke once again. 

“You’re just like her… You’re exactly like her.” She said, “ just like her, just like her, just like her .” She respected the words over and over as she tugged at Viktor’s hair until she tore chunks of it away, once, twice and even a third time before Viktor finally locked both of her wrists in his grasp.

“I’m not going anywhere.” He told her, calmly. She tried to break free, biting at his gloved hand, but gave up soon after and heaved a breath. “That’s it, just keep breathing… We can talk, as soon as you want to.”

Jayce immediately lowered the coat-hanger, but he never took his eyes off of Jinx, expectedly vigilant, and quite frankly horrified, even if Viktor seemed to have the situation under control. 

“I’m sorry.” Was the first thing she said. “I’m so sorry, I-...” she lowered her eyes, shut them and tried to break free again, trashing her forearms forward and into Viktor’s chest with unexpected ferocity. “I’m sorry...” She repeated after her unsuccessful attempt. “I didn’t mean to… your hair.”

“I’m not leaving you, Jinx.” Viktor said, tugging a reluctant Jinx closer again, untangling one hand from her wrist only to take both with the other. Jayce raised a palm, ready to protest, but he didn’t go beyond uttering a sharp breath, growing silent once more as soon as Jinx plopped her cheek on Viktor’s shoulder when his palm pushed her there. “And it’s just hair, it’ll grow back.” He added.

Jinx shook her head, faintly. She grew lax in Viktor’s hold, lowering her hands, and while that might’ve been enough to let Jayce’s guard down, Viktor knew better than to let her flee. 

“You don’t think it’ll grow back?”

Jinx stilled in her place. Viktor was good at stupid, meaningless questions , she thought. He wasn’t given a response.

“It was getting too long as of late…” he said, and the perceived lie made his ‘temporarily-captive’ sister ram her head into his shoulder, he didn’t acknowledge it, just fixed his stance in case she’d try to mess with his balance once again. Jinx stared at his feet, contemplating her next move as well. 

“It was. It’s bound to get in the way.” He insisted. “Do you want to cut it for me?” He asked her, moving his free hand from her back to her head. 

“ What are you doing?!” Jayce asked again, answering before Viktor could get a word out of Jinx. “This psycho just attacked you and you’re giving her scissors ? Have you completely gone mad?!” 

“This clearly doesn’t concern you, Jayce.” He answered, but didn’t face him. “As much as I would’ve liked your company, we’ll have to postpone our business plans for another day.”

“They call her loose cannon for a reason!” Jayce insisted, moving a palm in the air to halt Viktor in his tracks. “She’s armed and she has a few loose screws, it doesn’t get simpler than that!” 

Viktor tilted his head Jayce’s way, his eyebrows furrowed despite Jayce not being able to see them, then Jinx slowly nodded her head against his shoulder and he let go of any argument ready on the tip of his tongue, he turned to Jinx once more and gave her his attention instead. “You do?” Again, a nod. He let go of her wrists then, and she took a step back. she didn’t run away.

Jayce pointed the coat-hanger higher, and furrowed his eyebrows, and Jinx glared at him for the faintest of seconds before wrapping her hand on Viktor’s forearm, and looking up at him. Her other hand lifted the end of one of her braids, and she tilted her chin towards it. “You can cut mine, if you want. It’s only fair...”

“There’s no need to ‘make amends’ with me. You’re doing me a favor, and I’ll compensate you accordingly.” He said. Jinx huffed a breath, but didn’t argue with him.

When he moved his eyes back on Jayce, he understood that his magnanimity was conditional. “Piltover undoubtedly needs you and you’re in the wrong place…” He said to him, “Go home before I make you.”

“And leave you with her ? No chance I’d let that happen.”

Viktor took a step closer to him then, Jinx’s arm returning to her flank as she stood completely still, watching. Viktor took the other extremity of the coat hanger and pushed it forward, making Jayce take one step back with the relatively innocuous impact.

Jayce didn’t push back for evident reasons. Possibly reasons the size of a small poro. 

“What is the deal with you and her , exactly?” He asked after a moment. He didn’t object when Viktor pushed him back once again. “And Silco? Why did she mention him?” He added. Viktor’s silence only made him more guilty in Jayce’s careful, attentive eyes. 

It was in the middle of the hallway, just a few feet away from Jinx and over the pile of coats and jackets that gathered on the floor that Jayce set the coat hanger aside, he raised his palms and Viktor slowed his steps, but never stopped trying to remove him from his house, even if it meant he’d have to chase him away. 

“How long has Silco known you for?” He asked after a silent instant, and Viktor plunged at him, holding him by his augmented arm as he slammed him against the main door. He tugged at the collar of his shirt, lifting him higher.

“Rambled nonsense.” Viktor immediately defended. “She’s just-“

“A full fledged terrorist . 18 years of age, and a criminal for at least 17 of those, she was shaped in the ‘field’, wasn’t she? But you keep babying her like a child and I highly doubt it’s just your parental side ‘coming out’.” Viktor didn’t answer, but tilted his head, aware that Jayce knew more than Viktor had let out accidentally. When Jayce noticed the sudden willingness towards hearing him out he smiled, faintly.

“Every information we have on her Topside, Violet has willingly given to us.” He informed him. “She’s cooperative, for the most part. Not hostile, just fierce . I guess aggression just runs in the veins of some people.”

Viktor was surprised by the comment, disappointed even, before he gathered what was being truly said. “You mean my veins too.” He said, pushing any other interpretation aside.

“Am I wrong?” He asked, and Viktor hummed in a low tone, a low whirring sound following it.

“Do I strike any resemblance with either Jinx or Vi?”

“No.” Jayce admitted, and his mouth tilted upwards in a near imperceptible nervous twitch. “Different father, same mother, I presumed.” 

Viktor scoffed and Jayce’s eyes thinned in consideration. There was no doubt Jayce hadn’t gathered enough information to come up with a clear answer. “Silco, then?” Viktor asked, mockingly. “You think I’m related to him ?”

“If you told me things straightforward instead of waiting for me to ‘ask away’, I’d know.” Jayce scolded.

Viktor moved his eyes away, but the movement was lost on Jayce. Viktor thought it best that it was since he had no answer to his own evasiveness if not general distrust. 

“Don’t I deserve to know?” Jayce insisted. “You know how much pain could’ve been avoided if you stopped lying to me? But you insist on doing things alone, whether it’s playing the long run to get a drug empire dismantled, or just making yourself a martyr walking down the streets of Piltover with a whole army of fanatics you don’t truly care about.”

Viktor huffed a sigh, and let Jayce’s soles slide back on the floor, letting him down. 

“This past week has been the most time we’ve ever spent together actually talking, since… forever!” Jayce pointed out, his palm covered Viktor’s metal wrist, he didn’t try to pry his fingers away, didn't push it away. “And turns out we’re great at that, for the most part… ”

“I don’t think…” Viktor muttered, he let him down completely, removing his arm. Even under his mask, Jayce could now see he had been taken off guard, sheepishly gripping at the shattering pieces of his defense as he searched for any reason not to believe his words without sounding just like a hypocrite. He crossed his arms together, lifting his shoulders and chin with the last semblance of confidence he could muster. “…Spending time with my sister is the best occasion to know about me.”

Jayce shrugged, “Will there ever be a better time to know about your… er, family..?” He was unsure if he liked that information. Viktor didn’t expect him to excuse every single criminal that might be affiliated to him… right? 

Will he be expected to make an exception for Jinx even outside of Viktor’s general vicinity? 

“If she doesn’t want you here, you must leave.” Viktor warned, snapping Jayce out of his own thoughts. “She’s had a rough day and while a distraction from the stressful situation she experienced might do her some good, I don’t want you to make her upset again .” Viktor said, taking a step back before turning around, Jayce followed him as he slowly, unsurely walked back to where Jinx was.

He stood against the wooden arc, tapping his fingers there as he locked eyes with Jinx, she hadn’t left, hadn’t crawled over some shady corner of the house just to hide, but she had found scissors, it seemed. “Jayce is asking if he can join us.” Viktor said, eerily unassertive even in his own house, possibly sheepish. “He wants to know more about you, while he gets re-acquainted with me.” 

Jinx stared at him from behind Viktor, she didn’t give any of them the sign she’d equip the newfound scissors as a weapon, as Jayce had implied, but wasn’t any less dangerous because of that.

“He’s totally doing it just ‘cause he doesn’t trust me to be with you, you know?”

“Yes, I know.” Viktor confirmed, and Jayce raised an eyebrow. “He’s predictable in that sense, but one of the only effective methods I’ve found to convince him to change his mind is through visual learning and consequential positive enforcement.”

Oh, he definitely omitted ‘brute force’ off that doggy-list . Jayce thought it best not to remind him of that while he was vouching for him, but he shot him an unamused look all the same.

“He’ll behave.” He promised. “And I’d personally like… if you could tolerate each other for the time being. I'm trying to re-insert him in my personal life for the sake of parental entanglement, and on the account of certain compromises we’ve come to.”

“I heard you bicker. the walls are thin, so…” jinx informed, rotating one of her braids in her hand. “I'm not one to judge one’s relationship but… it kind of reminds me of…” she intentionally let her words trail off. “or what’s… left of that .”

“Sounds promising…” Jayce whispered mockingly, Viktor didn’t have it in him to tell him just who Jinx was referring to and how much bleaker that comparison was because of it. 

“You should probably tell him about your family tree yourself, who knows, he might finally get weirded out enough to leave you alone once and for all.” Jayce rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, Jinx let out a pitiful sound akin to a chuckle at the childish reaction, but still refused company. She caressed one blade of the newfound kitchen scissors with her thumb pensively before speaking up. “I don’t want to… third-wheel you or anything…”

“How thoughtful.” Jayce commented. “You’re awfully late for that, unfortunately.” Viktor elbowed him before he could say more.

“He’s got a point. I should leave.” Jinx insisted.

Viktor walked to her direction, taking the scissors out of her hand and setting it back in the drawer she had first found them in. “Nonsense.” He said, closing the drawer. “And now that you’re here, I don’t see why we wouldn’t resume the projects that still need to be completed.” He said. “And we do have two more hands at our disposal with Jayce present.”

Jinx’s eyes lingered on the closed drawer for a silent second. “Don’t you want me to fix your hair first?” She asked.

“Later.”

Chapter Text

To Jayce’s credit, he had tried to help Jinx and Viktor, inserting himself in tasks that had little importance just as instructed, and just to hover close to the two of them. But he ended up straying away from the two siblings soon after the first few attempts were shut down, sitting at the table instead, quietly watching the two bicker easily between the both of them.

It was evident that striking up conversation didn’t feel natural when he quite frankly didn’t have anything nice to say about Jinx, and Viktor counted on him not to screw their first peaceful meeting up. He just didn’t fit in.

It was only when he was handed a bowl of potatoes to peel with a question that he was formally dragged into a much more ‘amicable’ territory.

“What do you even see in him?” Jinx muttered, sliding the bowl closer to him with an implied request.

Jayce thought he had misunderstood, that somehow she had mistakenly switched ‘he’ to ‘you’ and ‘you’ to ‘him’ respectively, he took a potato that had been skewed by a kitchen knife and started cutting its peel off. He blinked away the confusion from his expression and tilted his head before asking for clarification.

“What do I see in Viktor?” He asked, Jinx made a ‘hmph’ of a sound, confirming he had heard correctly. Jayce lowered his eyes, and couldn’t help but smile a little at the innocent question. “Did Viktor tell you to ask me that?” He asked. “If that’s the case, you can tell him that he can just come and ask me that question himself, and that he doesn’t have to be shy, I don’t bite.” 

“Yikes, no.” Jinx immediately responded. “I’m not trying to be a vessel for your ‘love messages’. You’re too old for these games, it’s just a question.”

“Suddenly you're 25 and you’re supposedly ‘too old’, got it...” Jayce commented sourly. “Thank god time is linear, I can’t wait for when a few years down the line you’ll get told the same thing.”

Jinx took a different knife and pointed it at him and Jayce winched instinctively “Cut the bullshit, golden boy.” She said before taking a potato out of the bowl and aiding him in his task. “You’re well over 40.” 

“29. I’m 29.” Jayce felt the need to correct, but Jinx barely acknowledged him. “I just rounded it down…” he muttered idly.

“You’re kind of the ‘safe option’…” she mused with a little hum. “Popular, reliable and conventionally attractive.”

Jayce paused, surprised. “Really?” he asked with one of his eyebrows raised.

“Yeah, and you look spoiled, haughty and insufferable too… the kind of guy that’d leave someone at the altar or just something of a deadbeat dad.” Jinx listed with a shrug, just in case Jayce thought he was going to be given a heartfelt compliment. “Hey, kudos for coming around and sticking for this guy over here.” She pointed a thumb behind her, pointing directly at Viktor. “He’s definitely waiting for your answer even if he looks like he’s pretending not to listen to us, he does that sometimes.”

“You are talking about me .” Viktor decided to remind her. He didn’t turn around despite confirming he had indeed been eavesdropping, he instead kept on cutting herbs by himself on a lone corner of the kitchen counter. “Of course I’m listening.” He said.

“So, you’re the safe option.” Jinx repeated, catching Jayce’s attention once again. “but he’s just… the complete opposite.”

“That’s definitely an understatement.” Jayce commented, he let out a soft chuckle when Viktor huffed in the distance, clearly not amused.

Jayce hummed then, sheepishly moving a hand against the side of his neck before he slid it closer to his chin and mouth. “What can I say?” He said after a second of consideration. “I just love argumentative men with an unconventional interest in science and little consideration for possible medical malpractice.”

Viktor chuckled, and the comment managed to elicit a little smile from Jinx as well. 

“There you have it, Jinx.” Viktor said, finally walking their way and inserting himself between the two. He set a hand on Jayce’s shoulder, and tilted his head his way. “You work relentlessly for a better body, get numerous reprimands and your degree ‘revoked’ in the pursuit of perfection, and boys will always prefer insignificant, superficial details of yourself, such as your personality .” 

“I don’t recall ever complaining about your body...” Jayce said, sliding a hand against the small of Viktor’s back now that he was in his close vicinity. He didn’t move from his seat, but he tilted his head upwards to properly look at him. “If I had done that a little more frequently maybe we wouldn’t be having a baby right now.”

“You have, actually. Countless times.” Viktor corrected. Jayce set his head on his hip from the place he was still sitting at, and Viktor moved his hand from his shoulder to his hair, and looped a strand of dark hair around his finger, again and again. “but I’ll let this inaccurate slip-up slide ever since the result ended up being the same.”

“Sit on my lap.” Jayce offered, framing the request as more of a question rather than an order. He wrapped his other hand on Viktor’s furthest flank and tugged him close. “Please?”

“Guys…” Jinx mumbled as a warning, nearly growling. “I’m right here.” She reminded them. “This guy is the same old asshole that barred you access to the work of a lifetime mind you, and you’re just… gods damn it, you’re flirting with him, it’s disgusting.”

“I retrieved some of it anyway, didn’t I?” Viktor said, but that only earned him an eye roll by Jinx. 

Not to mention that they set fire to part of it as well, if he couldn’t access it then so wouldn’t Jayce. He should reward Jinx for her fast-thinking, eventually. 

“And I’m not flirting with him, he’s flirting with me. There’s a difference in that.” Viktor corrected.

“Yeah, ‘cause it’s evident that you hate it sooo much…” she mumbled under her breath, gathering Jayce’s unfinished work from the table and in her hands, and peeling the rest of the vegetables herself. 

“Are you talking about… the new security system? The one you tampered with when you blew up the library?” Jayce asked, still tugging Viktor closer and closer despite his unwillingness to oblige. “If I can plead my case, it was an executive decision…”

“Of course.” Viktor said, nodding. “I had thought so.”

“I just…” a pause. “signed it.” Jayce added. 

Viktor hummed, but stopped his caresses. “Hmhm…” 

“The old system was obsolete…” he explained shyly. “and it just seemed odd to everyone else that it still had your fingerprints and retinal scans ever since… you know, your exile.”

“Don’t make this worse for yourself.” Viktor warned, finally detaching himself from the man, he pried Jayce’s fingers loose with little effort, and pushed his hands away. Jayce stared at his hands as if he couldn’t quite understand what had happened. 

Jinx chuckled at the reaction, and covered her mouth with the blade of her knife. Viktor sneaked up behind her and silently grabbed the peeled potato out of her hand, threw it in the bowl next to the others and carried it all the way back to the stove, when he turned around, Jinx followed him.

Jayce was once again left alone, likely up until his help was required again, or possibly until either Jinx or Viktor remembered he was there. He tapped his fingers on the surface of the table, impatiently. The drumming persisted for a minute more and then, he began to tap his foot, trying to catch anyone’s attention and struggling to stay put as he was actively being ignored. It was when he heard the sound of laughter that he acted, getting up from his seat and walking over the pair again after his first few failures.

He wrapped his hands around Viktor from behind, pulling him closer. Viktor expectedly interjected his touch, grumbling under his breath something about  the inappropriate, childish behavior he was showing in front of ‘polite’ company. Jayce could hardly believe Jinx’s company to ever have been polite.

He spoke before Jinx could reprimand him as well, before they could both team up against him. “It doesn’t mean it was my idea… You know that, right?” He said, sliding one of his hands higher, near Viktor’s sternum, even as Viktor’s hand was tightly wrapped around his wrist. 

Had it been his other hand, he might’ve succeeded in giving him a reason to back off, but Jayce supposed he was being nice on purpose rather than pinpointing the gesture as unintentional.

“You gave your approval .” Viktor reminded him. “But it doesn’t matter. It would’ve made my life easier had I been granted access to my research while in my delicate state-”

“ Delicate… ” Jayce muttered, unconvinced. He still rubbed his cheek against Viktor’s neck even as that, combined with his relentless antagonizing nature, might’ve just increased the chances of getting himself thrown out. “After what you managed to do in the span of two days you just now dare to say that?”

“-but I never had the need to resort to these cheap tricks otherwise.” He said, fortunately ignoring Jayce’s words. “And I never will again.” The last bit of that sentence was uttered in a sour tone, Jayce could almost imagine the snarl under that mask before he ultimately scratched at his hand and requested his freedom back. “Unhand me now, I’m getting tired of your behavior.” He ordered, clearly fed up.

But Jayce only moved his hand higher with a little disagreeing hum, going as far as to slide a few fingers under the rimmed fabric at the side of Viktor’s clavicle, under his sleeveless shirt. It was completely unintentional when Jayce brushed his fingers against Viktor’s nipple, causing Viktor’s hand to detach itself from Jayce’s wrist to cup his chest in a near instant jerk, with a high-pitched squeal to match.

He elbowed him, and Jayce finally moved his palms, raising them in the air as he backed away. While at first surprised by the fact that that was as much emotion he had seen Viktor express ever since his ‘becoming’ ( beside rage and disdain, of course ), he quickly realized what had caused his reaction, and his face reddened. 

Viktor too, looked just as surprised as Jayce was, the shift of emotions evident even behind his mask, seeping through his body language as he remained petrified . Jinx looked somewhat intrigued by the reaction, she lidded her eyes, and did not move.

“It’s-” Jayce stuttered, looking away. “It’s completely normal to experience- I mean, I think it is, but-”

Jayce let out an awkward chuckle and Viktor huffed a long breath before removing his hand from his chest and acting as if nothing had happened. “Yesterday… too rough.” He insisted, stitching up a few vague words. Jayce’s eyes widened, and he nodded solemnly, accepting Viktor’s excuse despite knowing it not to be true. He lowered his head before setting his hands back to his flanks and shifting his weight from one leg to the other, clearly uncomfortable. “That’s all.” He said.

At that moment Jinx, who had watched the scene unfold quietly, slammed her fist on the cutting board, nearly knocking it over. “Can you talk about anything else but fucking for just a second?!” She complained, dragging an exasperated groan. “Do you even have anything in common besides that?”

“Ah…” Viktor managed to say after a moment of eerily guilty silence. “No, I’m…” He cleared his throat, and composed himself. “I got ambushed, last night.”

“Ambushed..?” Jinx repeated, raising one of her eyebrows, she turned to Jayce and pointed a finger at him. “By your baby’s daddy?! You’re sick .”

“Me?!” Jayce mocked, pointing at himself.  “Why the hell would I do that?!”

“I dooon’t knooow!” She yelled, dragging the o’s of her words in a little, clearly frustrated, whining timbre of her voice. “It just sounds like something you’d do!”

“I think that would count as a conflict of interests.” Viktor commented, moving a hand over his bump. “Although… he did manage to sneak his hammer in my house.”

“ Woah , you’re taking that out of context!” Jayce said, raising one of his palms his way. “I brought it with me in case I needed to defend myself!”

“I’m pregnant,” Viktor stated matter-of-factly, waving a hand in the air. “what harm could I have ever caused you in this state?”

“Hey, don’t pull that damn card now .” Jayce warned, now pointing a finger at him as Jinx lowered hers, she shifted her glare between the two. “You got a bionic arm and you’re fueled by pure, unadulterated hatred towards me, I just have wits and the indomitable human spirit on my side so, on a fundamental level, I’m very unfortunately underpowered without my hammer!” 

“No wits on your side either…” jinx commented with a chuckle. 

“And the ‘indomitable human spirit’? Really ?” Viktor mocked.

When Jayce spoke next, he had every intention to clear the misunderstanding for Jinx. “The idiot got himself beaten up in whatever is your equivalent of a council room!”

“Dark hallway, a few steps away from it.” Viktor corrected. “And I got led into a trap, it’s hardly a reason to call me an idiot for...” He added.

“And why is that relevant in any way?” Jinx asked, crossing her arms before shrugging her shoulders. “I mean that sucks,” she conceded. “But eh . Not that big of a deal for someone as tough as steel- literally!”

Viktor drummed his fingers on the surface of the kitchen counter, contemplating. He idly checked pots and pans over the stove, just by tilting his head. “I think…” he said, hesitantly. “I have temporarily lost that kind of resilience and that I should refrain from getting in trouble for the time being.”

Jinx looked unconvinced, and Viktor removed his mask, making her winch at the sight. She moved her eyes away, not out of disgust as the extent of his wounds wasn’t all that serious, but out of concern for what that could possibly mean for him.

“It’s not permanent.” Viktor said, certain even if he had no proof to back up his words. “Just a side effect. I was expecting I’d experience some when I first decided to keep the baby, pregnancy-related and magically-entangled both.”

“I just don’t understand how that only happened when you got attacked…” Jayce said, inching a step closer but refraining from touching Viktor again.

“Although the attack was a breaking point, my physical enfeeblement was a gradual process. I had noticed some changes in my usual parameters even before the attack, my stamina was certainly affected the most, but I had felt discomfort trying to do the simplest of tasks as of late…” he admitted, moving away his eyes when Jayce frowned at him. “I theorize that on top of not being able to produce enough magically-sourced energy necessary for both of us, the hex core has deemed it necessary that my body ‘soften’, so per say.” He said. “For the next stage of my pregnancy, at the very least.”

“…soften?” Jinx asked, innocently.

“You might not be aware of this, but my birth canal is supposed to stretch to accommodate the passage of the baby in childbirth, and if this one doesn’t yield enough to permit a safe delivery, then the baby might get stuck.”

“Wow… Way too much information.” Jinx said. “You make me never want children of my own…” 

“I disagree.” Jayce said, and Jinx glared at him for no apparent reason but antagonizing him. “The hex-core doesn’t operate for what is best for you, but simply for what is best for itself, it just doesn’t have enough of a magical charge to let you keep up your style of life while creating a whole human being from scratch, you’re overworking yourself and you’re getting the equivalent of a burnout, that’s it. There’s not enough…” he paused, suddenly flickering his eyes away. “evidence or experimentation to suggest otherwise.” then as an afterthought, mumbling under his breath, he said. “Not to mention that you’re implying you’re made of steel inside and out, which is unlikely to be true…”

Jinx blinked, and Viktor tilted his head expectantly interpreting the low mumble as something he had meant to ‘share with the class’. Jayce willed his mouth open once more to give further information.

“In this case…”  he started, hesitantly. “The baby is an ‘experiment’ and the cause of your sudden lack of magically-sourced power in pregnancy is the question we’re trying to answer.”

“You think so?” Viktor asked with a small smile. “If that’s so then there’s a very intuitive if not outright consequential course of actions we can take to test your theory in particular.”

“No…” Jayce said, moving his hand to cover his mouth and chin. “too risky...” He managed to let out in a muffled tone, cheeks slightly reddening by the second. “Paradoxically, we wouldn’t even need to answer that question if we hadn’t started with experimentation at all…”

“How can you even test that?” Jinx asked Jayce, tilting her head.

“By keeping on experimenting. Give me 4 months and I’ll come up with something.” Viktor said, raising four fingers, Jayce moved his eyes away but Jinx very slowly turned her head his way.

If that wasn’t enough of a threat to make Viktor reconsider his words, she then raised both of her hands, her palms stretched in a claw-like grip, and Viktor preventively took a step back, his mouth beginning to twist in an uncomfortable grimace. 

“I was joking.” Viktor managed to say before Jinx grabbed his neck, it didn’t exactly hurt, but Viktor didn’t deny it might if he were to irritate Jinx even more. He grabbed at her arms and tugged at them, trying to make her back away out of her own volition. “It was just a joke.” He repeated.

“Don’t ever do that again.” She threatened, waiting for Viktor’s acquiescence to loosen her grip. 

“What do you want me to do exactly?” Viktor said instead, he furrowed his eyebrows before tugging her arms once again, without success. “Are you seriously going to take away my right to express myself in my own home?”

“You can’t turn this around your way, just don’t flirt with your scum boyfriend that nobody else likes in front of me! That’s all I ask!” 

“I find my ‘boyfriend’ incredibly attractive.” He said. “It’s a curse, I can’t help it!” He added when Jinx tightened her grip. 

“No mercy…” She mumbled, lidding her eyes. When Viktor managed to push her away she kept on lunging for his throat, again and again anytime Viktor interjected her hands. Not even his pleas to let him check on their meal were enough to make Jinx stop her relentless attacks.

“I’ll stop, I get it! Just, back off!” Viktor said, and Jinx eventually complied, somewhat satisfied by the answer. He pushed her away once more, and she didn’t lunge at him again. “Dear Janna, you’re just irrational .” Viktor grumbled, but moved closer to the stove to turn off the heat under the boiling pot. “You’ll have to get used to having Jayce around,” he said, draining the hot water into the sink and moving the potatoes into a bowl. “he’s technically your brother-in-law.”

“I’ll shoot everyone in this room and then myself before I let that happen.” Jinx said, crossing her arms once again. “And don’t think I forgot how you called him just ‘your sperm donor’. You think I’m irrational? Really?”

“Jayce’s life is too short to hold grudges,” Viktor said, before handing Jinx a ladle and silently instructing to mash the contents of the bowl, tapping the utensil against its border. He didn’t have any other appropriate kitchen tools. “And technically he’s also that.” He angrily pointed out.

“ My life..?” Jayce muttered under his breath, only half-listening to whatever came after Viktor said ‘my boyfriend ’, even if mockingly. “Wait, slow down. Did you just say I’m attractive?” 

Viktor turned around, and set a hand on his hip, he didn’t answer but rather glared at Jayce, warning him to be careful about what he said without as much of a word.

“Willingly?” He added, and Viktor rolled his eyes. He had failed . “You're not under any spell, correct? You just gave me a compliment out of your own free will.”

“Oh my god he acts like you don’t give him any compliments…” Jinx grumbled, sliding both of her hands on her face, nearly scratching her cheeks.

“No, Jinx .” He said, directly addressing her. He raised a palm her way, stopping her in her tracks. “This is a one-of-a-kind event, don’t ruin it for me.”

“Here it is…” Viktor mumbled under his breath.

“I mean, I understand why you’d think that. But you? Admitting it? It’s unbelievable .” He said, the statement followed by a little chuckle. “Are you really my Viktor? The same old maniac with a God complex I’ve known since my days at the academy? That Viktor?”

“I’m done with this conversation.” Viktor said, going about his tasks even as Jayce wrapped his arms around him once again, enveloping him in a hug from behind. He didn't move his hands elsewhere, this time.

“I think you’re pretty attractive too, you know?” He said. “But I bet you know that already since, unlike you , I’m not emotionally constipated.”

“I have to admit it,” Viktor said, his mouth twitching in that little nervous tic Jayce was so used to. “it’s bold of you to irritate someone that has full access to your food. Expect poison, it’s not negotiable.” He threatened.

“I’m switching plates when you’re not looking, let’s make it a Frejlordan roulette…” Jinx said, exasperated. She lifted the ladle off the bowl of mashed potatoes and licked it before putting it back in. “But if Viki forgets to salt the food again, I prefer the poison.”

“I’m honestly surprised he puts an effort now,” Jayce commented. “My old Viktor would’ve rather starved than get near a stovetop.”

“That’s it .” Viktor said, raising his voice just by a notch. “Get out of my kitchen, both of you. Bring your coalition against me elsewhere.” He pushed Jayce away and snatched the bowl out of Jinx’s reach. “Take a walk, snoop around, go socialize with each other, I don’t care. I just don't want either of you near me.”

If the kitchenette had a door he’d have slammed it in their faces as he pushed them away, but it only had an arch that acted as an hypothetical invisible barrier. It made it all the more anticlimactic when Jinx and Jayce had to quietly stand around and watch Viktor get back to work. 

They didn’t end up socializing.

Jinx had even tried to re-insert herself in Viktor’s close quarters shortly after the reprimand, offering her help and pleading, but Viktor just shooed her away. Jayce hadn’t been given the same amount of kindness when trying the same kind of tactics.

Once Viktor was taken out of the equation, neither let out a peep. Jayce, that had been at first fascinated by the chance of being able to snoop around, didn’t go all that far beyond walking in circles and peeking through doors that had been left unlocked, and it didn’t take much to explore the perimeter of the house as it wasn’t all that big to begin with.

So, reluctantly, he sat one seat away from Jinx on the same couch she sat at, and waited with his arms crossed.

“Creep…” Jinx murmured, she didn’t face him and neither did he. 

Jayce pretended he hadn’t heard her.

“Yeesh…” Jinx muttered, biting her lower lip. “Yep, that’s a bald spot, looks like it…”

“Can you fix it?” Viktor asked, seemingly unbothered by Jinx’s comments or the way she was ruffling his hair. He had his back turned on her but he could still see her reflection from the mirror in front of him. He was sitting on a chair they had moved there with the well-meaning thought that it might’ve helped Jinx operate better. Jayce was on the opposite side of her, with much of the same concerned expression. 

“I can… level it out. If that makes any sense?” She suggested, shrugging her shoulders. “Just,” she took a strand of his hair, trapping it between her index and middle fingers as she considered her options. “Snip it all off.” She said, closing and opening the gap between her fingers.

“I’d rather keep some of my hair, if that’s all the same to you.” Viktor said, the statement followed by a little sigh, he closed his eyes shut, and couldn’t help the slight tilt downwards of his lips. 

“It’s not that noticeable.” Jayce commented, moving his hand and nails away from his mouth. His oddly nervous behavior made it all the harder for Viktor to believe his lies. “You could wait for your hair to grow longer, and maybe…” he shifted closer to Viktor’s hair, half-pushing Jinx out of the way as he pinched two strands of hair, each located opposite from the other, and gently pulled them together. “Tie these two together to conceal the damage.”

“Man, your freaky cyborg healing magic just had to leave you now, didn’t it? Could’ve done wonders…” Jinx said. 

“Doesn’t work that way.” Viktor reprimanded, tilting his head back just enough to face her. The movement made Jayce release his hold and he took a step back. “Be reasonable, my hair wouldn’t stop growing if that part of me was affected as much as you think it is…”

“No, but your hair follicles… that can’t be good. It would’ve surely helped a little…” Jayce agreed with Jinx, astonishingly enough.

Jinx hovered her hand on the side of the kitchen sink, pausing at the sight of the scissors Viktor had provided her, only to take the comb right next to them. “You're not telling on me for this, right..?” She asked him in a small, pitiful voice. She worked through knots with her fingers, before passing the comb through dark strands of hair.

Viktor huffed a breath, and straightened his posture. “No.” He said. “As long as you don’t tell on me for seeing Jayce again.”

“Well…” she muttered, now definitely just trying whatever her mind could come up with with Viktor’s hair as she tied parts of it randomly. “How long was it since you stepped foot in The Last Drop?”

“Jinx…” Viktor murmured in a low growl. “What did you do?”

“I was kiiind of mad at you when you so desperately needed to have sex with your boy-toy back in… what? A couple weeks ago at most?” Jinx reminded him with a scoff. As if he wasn’t aware how desperate it made him look to throw away years of ambiguous-rivalry in exchange of what for Jinx might’ve looked like ‘a night of passion’ (that was anything if not disappointing in truth) and an even more ambiguous-situationship. 

“You should be honestly surprised I wasn’t mad at you for longer , but you know, being an aunt comes first.” She said, twirling the tufts of Viktor’s hair around her finger, before setting down the comb and taking the scissors “…Just as I guess being a dad comes first, am I right?” She tested the scissors in her hands, but turned to Jayce when she spoke next. “And now, with the exclusive , incredibly sought after participation of… drumroooll… Papa 2 , aka Jayce Marc Talis. A round of applause is in order, no?”

“That’s not my middle name…” Jayce corrected. Despite that, he had a small smile on his lips. “Did you just pick one at random?” He asked, but his question wouldn’t be answered. 

“Stop messing around. What did you do ?” Viktor asked again, firmer this time.

“I might’ve told the big boss you were back together with The Defender.” She confessed, slyly concealing Silco’s name from any conversation Jayce was included in. “He’s not mad… just-“

“Just disappointed . I get it.” Viktor interrupted, frowning. He groaned, but even then, there was little he could do about it. “Next time you see him, you can tell him everything is under control, and that there’s nothing to be concerned about.”

She bit her lower lip once again, and sucked in a breath, the little sound that resulted was a sharp hiss. “I don’t know, he looked pretty concerned to me…” she said, snipping away hair here and there. “He told me: ‘Once I get him in my stupid-dark-office then I’ll show him!’ Something like that…”

“And you’re telling me just now ?!” Viktor moved his head, turning the slightest bit around, Jinx pushed his head back ahead, and cut some more. 

“I guess I was more than just a little mad at you.” She confessed.

“Do you think he’ll come visit me anytime soon..?” Viktor asked softly, somewhat scared.

“Oh, he hardly has the time…” Jinx commented, almost sadly. “Just don’t get too near the pub or he might get you. All done!” Jinx announced at last, patting down Viktor’s hair, he got up from his seat and moved closer to his reflection.

“Get you?” Jayce raised his concerns, shifting his weight from one leg to the other. “Is there anything down here that doesn’t want to kill you?”

“It’s compliance that they seek…” Viktor corrected, twirling one side of his hair with his finger. By then he had realized one side was ‘fuller’ than the other, but he hadn’t commented about it. “Nobody is trying to kill me, relax.” He said. “I just have to be careful enough not to get caught and sent to Stillwater, some people just can’t handle rejection...”

“Wouldn’t it be so much easier to just… move in with me? Nobody would bother you…” Jayce suggested shyly. Despite his better judgement, he had innocent hopes Viktor would accept. It made it all the more crushingly heartbreaking when Viktor groaned as a response.

“And then what ?” Viktor asked, finally turning around. “So you can keep me secluded in your house? Feels just like a cell to me.”

Jayce furrowed his eyebrows, but didn’t try to deny it. “Your hair looks stupid.” He said instead. “Now I get why you always walked around the academy halls looking like that , your barber is your fucking half-sister. Is this ‘ in vogue’ in Zaun?”

“And you couldn’t keep your hands off of it back then, nor can you now.” Viktor said, raising a palm his way. “It’s perfect as it is. Don’t bother me again.”

“Me next!” Jinx exclaimed, sitting at Viktor’s vacant seat and nearly knocking it backwards weren’t it for Jayce to catch it. “I want something… funky, vibrant, fresh !” She said, moving her hands in front of her and further apart from each other. “Think you can do something like that?”

Viktor moved behind her and nodded his head. “Anything you want, Jinx.” He said. “But you might have to be more specific. Let’s get you out of these braids first.” 

Viktor did just as he said he would, brushing her blue hair as it was finally set free. Jayce could only stare as Viktor worked, somewhat hesitantly. It didn’t look like he had done this all that often, nor did it look like he knew what he was doing. It made him wonder if the siblings had really been each other’s hairdressers for all that long at all, or if Viktor just hadn’t cleared up his doubts about the matter.

“Now, what did you have in mind?” He asked her then, softly.

Jinx shrugged, and so Viktor hummed. “Should I just take care of these split ends?” He asked, only starting cutting off hair when Jinx gave him her approval. “You can bring me a picture of what you like next time you come around.”

“You know…” Jayce said, breaking his silence. “You could try adding one more braid making it three instead of two, and maybe make it a ponytail.”

Viktor hummed but shook his head. “I don’t know how to do it…” He confessed, and Jayce’s eyes lidded almost guiltily with how honest it sounded, as if he had forced Viktor to say something he wasn’t supposed to hear. “I’m not even sure what you mean by that…”

“I can do it, if you want.” Jayce offered, but both Jinx and Viktor turned their heads his way, uncannily synchronized. Jayce crossed his arms, and raised an eyebrow, defensively. “Don’t look so horrified, I’m not that bad… Plus, Ama likes it when I do her hair, she tells me I’m skilled, I’ll repeat it in case you didn’t get that: skilled !”

“Why the hell would I let you touch my hair?” Jinx asked, somewhat annoyed, Viktor resumed his snipping soon after. 

“It’s just hair.” Jayce said, waving a hand in the air, but he didn’t receive an answer. Much like any conversation he ever had, it felt like he was missing something, as if he hadn’t been let in on some inside joke, or in this case perhaps, a family tradition. He sighed, but pushed the thought away. “What about simple ponytails then?” He suggested. “One on each side of her head, at least it’s something new… ”

Viktor set his hands on Jinx’s shoulders and asked her himself. “Well? what do you think?”

“No…” she said after a while, and didn’t elaborate, Viktor turned to Jayce once more for help.

“Then braids with the addition of two buns, maybe some bangs.” Jayce suggested next, his hands hovering over his own hair as he mimicked two messy buns. The innocent gesture made Viktor’s metaphorical -heart flutter. He had really been putting in an effort to like Jinx.

“That sounds cute, actually.” Jinx said, nodding along. “Let’s try what golden-boy said.”

“I can try.” Viktor promised, but he still had to follow Jayce’s instructions to completely fulfill his ‘vision’, as he insisted some things were best if done symmetrically. It sounded like a waste of time to him.

“You have to be careful when cutting bangs...” Jayce instructed next, after about 45 minutes of braiding and styling. He handed him the scissors. “Trust me, you can really ruin a kid’s life with that... I bet it’s not at all that different for a teen.”

Viktor didn’t doubt that Jinx would’ve appreciated more the effort he had put into it rather than the result, as after all it was the thought that counted whenever affection was shown, but it was hardly a reason not to take the chance to do things the right way. 

“Pinch those two strands of hair.” He said and Viktor did. “Now twist them, like that… cut an inch or two away from her eyebrows.”

“An inch or two ?” Viktor asked again, just to be sure. “Be more precise.”

“Just enough so it won’t cover her eyes.” He said, and Viktor hovered the blades at about 1 inch and half. “Now, cut.” Jayce said. Once he did, Viktor brushed Jinx’s bangs with his fingers, ruffling them as they began to take shape. Jinx stood up as soon as Viktor removed his hand, her new, but so similar, braids bouncing behind her as she hovered impossibly close to the mirror. 

“Not bad at all!” Jinx commented before Viktor could ask for her opinion. “Someone’s got a hidden talent over here.” She said, whistling. She removed her hands from the sink she was leaning on, and walked closer to Viktor, tugging at his arm.

“Jayce is full of surprises.” Viktor conceded. “It just so happens that not even I knew about this one.”

“To be fair, it’s a pretty new development.” He confessed, shrugging. “All to impress Amaranthine, I wouldn’t have thought of learning about trendy haircuts if it wasn’t for her.”

Viktor hummed, but his thoughts were completely elsewhere. He wiped the blades of his scissors reverently with a rag. “Do you want me to cut your hair next?” He asked then, and he didn’t look incredibly disappointed when Jayce answered as expected.

“Are you kidding ?” Jayce raised an eyebrow, acting as if Viktor’s offer was truly framed as a joke or a threat just to irk him. It wouldn’t be the first time.. . “I can’t be walking around Piltover with half my hair missing, I’m a big public figure.” He said. “And I have someone that does it for me already, professionally .” He added.

Jinx’s mouth twisted in an uncomfortable grimace, she glared silently at Jayce and that glare extended to Viktor as well when his answer didn’t seem just as adequately offensive. “Of course, I had thought so.” He said, beginning to set his tools aside. “Your hair is too neat, too short. I wouldn’t have had enough area to work with to make a substantial change either.” He conceded. 

“Man…” Jinx muttered, lowering her voice, he followed Viktor out of the bathroom and back into the hallway, Jayce following just a few steps behind. “That’s kind of embarrassing for you, Viki…” 

“It’s different in Piltover.” Viktor said with much of the same tone, and Jinx made an ‘o’ with her mouth, connecting the dots. “It’s been years that I ask and years that he still hasn’t figured it out. Don’t tell him, he’ll get it eventually.” He said.

“Get what ?” Jayce asked, eavesdropping the last part of that conversation.

“Get down in the basement and bring up the wooden crib I personally made to assemble.” Viktor said instead, the order was believable enough coming out of Viktor’s mouth to prevent Jayce from ever thinking they had been talking about something else entirely.

“First Hex-partners collaboration in decades and it’s a crib with a few missing screws…” Jayce commented soon after having scattered Viktor’s work in the nursery room, he held the blueprints open wide as he peeked over the blue paper and at the mismatched pieces of furniture on the ground. “An esteemed engineer making mistakes only a kindergartener could make… Typical .”

“You clearly lost a few fundamental pieces on the way here. Last time I checked, I set aside 8 deck screws, 4 flathead screws and 4 sleeve nuts for this project. How did you end up with 5 of everything? ” Viktor said, unamused. He had one hand on his hip while the other tugged one of the corners of the blueprints Jayce was holding closer to himself.  “Unless your sudden reluctance for this task is just you admitting you’re not able to assemble a simple white crib.” He mocked, lidding his eyes as a memory resurfaced in his mind. “It wouldn’t be the first time you’ve been faced with more than you could handle, do you still want me to explain to you basic algebra or you got that figured out now ?”

“Oh, and it all boils down to me being incompetent now…” Jayce muttered sourly, knowing exactly what anecdote Viktor was referring to.

“Even I could do that, honestly.” Jinx said, twisting the knife. 

“ Great .” Jayce replied through gritted teeth, he furrowed his eyebrows and closed his eyes shut. “I’ll be sure to call you whenever I’m running on 2 mere hours of sleep, my prototype doesn’t work as expected and I have a presentation with the most esteemed of Piltover’s elite due the very next day, Jinx .” He reprimanded, clutching the blueprints tighter. “And let’s not forget, in this scenario I also have a very irritatingly abrasive work partner that keeps on getting on my nerves.”

“The crib… I meant.” Jinx said with a small smile and her eyes wide in surprise. The comment only earned her a groan. 

Viktor looked amused enough by Jayce’s exasperation. “Yes, an irritatingly-abrasive-work-partner that helped with earning us a deal in a timely fashion. I saved the day.” Viktor reminded him, when he turned to Jinx, he still had that sly grin on his lips. “Turns out, there was-”

“A smudge.” Jayce interrupted, heaving a defeated sigh. “There was a smudge on my calculations, a 3 that looked too similar to an 8.” 

“We figured that out 40 minutes before the presentation, Jayce’s curated persona was in shambles . He hadn’t shaved, had huge bags below his eyes and he looked moments from crying.”

“You weren’t looking all that proper either…” Jayce said before discarding Viktor’s instructions on the ground. He didn’t need them.

“And I didn’t have to look handsome for a very important meeting with our investors due in 40 minutes either.” He said, shrugging. Jayce exhaled a breath from his nose, but smiled, faintly.

“You did it again…” Jayce said, kneeling down on the ground and picking up a screwdriver before turning back to him with it. “You called me handsome , what’s up with you today?”

“Pregnancy hormones, I’m full of them.” Viktor said simply. “Pick up a drill first, sweetheart. Wood is not steel but it’s still hard to penetrate,” He pointed out. “and those are not self-drilling screws, you’ll need to make a few pivots, feel free to help yourself with the instructions you threw away.”

“Funny,” Jayce said, testing the drill in his hand. “I didn’t need one of these to ‘ drill into steel ’ before.” He winked and Viktor shook his head, feigning annoyance. “But thanks for the tip, sweetheart .” He teased back. 

“Gross guys, just gross.” Jinx commented a few steps away from the couple, but by then she had gotten used to it. “Do you have any intention of building a dresser too?” She asked. “Maybe a little changing station as well, oh, and a basket full of toys right in the corner over there.” She suggested, pointing to a corner of the room. 

“I’m accepting suggestions.” He said, genuinely interested. “I’m also going to keep the furniture that I’ll make white so you can personalize it to better fit the aesthetic of the nursery, if you so wish to. I know I’d like that, at least.”

“You’re just letting her scribble on furniture now?” Jayce taunted, but didn’t turn around. “And deprive our actual child of doing the same thing a couple of years down the line?”

“If you frame it like that it looks like Jinx is our free-trial-baby.” Viktor commented mockingly, he took a step closer to Jayce, supervising his work-in-progress with a hand on his chin. “And she’s the one that painted this room, she can have free creative reign of it however she likes, and that extends to furniture as well.”

“ Really ?” Jayce asked, raising an eyebrow as he moved his head Jinx’s way, Viktor walked behind him and on his other side, giving him a free unimpeded view of his sister, now wearing a smug grin.

“What? You’re surprised ?” Jinx giggled, taking one of her braids in her hands and rotating it. “Looks like you’re not the only one with a hidden talent down here.”

“Huh.” Jayce didn’t say anything else on the matter. Viktor knelt down next to him, before crossing his legs in that weird position he insisted was much more comfortable. He huffed a tired breath, unintentionally catching Jayce’s attention who did a 180 to face him. 

“Why are you sitting on the ground like that ? Are you trying to test the limits of your new spine?” He reprimanded, frowning at him. “I don’t need your help, go ahead and take a nap.”

“I doubt that’s true.” Viktor said. “You’re assembling the crib upside down.”

“ No , I’m assembling it upside down and then I’m flipping it over. Everything is under control, V.” Jayce said. “All jokes and anecdotes from our youth aside, let’s not forget who you’re really talking to…”

Viktor hummed, somewhat agreeing. “You mean esteemed scientist Jayce Talis? That conventionally attractive, insanely talented Jayce Talis from Piltover’s newspapers is whom I’m talking to?”

“Alright, I know what game you’re playing.” Jayce said, getting up just to help Viktor do the same, he reluctantly, silently, accepted his hand. “You want me to look crazy in front of your half-sister, there’s no other reason you’d compliment me this many times in a row in a single day.” He accused. 

When he turned to Jinx, he raised both of his palms in front of him. “He never does that.” He felt the need to say. “He’s never done that before, in fact. If you’ve known him for more than a day then you know he’s just as emotionally immature as I made him out to be.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Jinx said, raising her pitch of voice to convey just how scandalized that comment made her. “Viktor is the sweetest!” She defended, giggling . 

“I can’t believe you’d say that. You sound crazy , Jayce.” Viktor said, crossing his arms. “And I thought you liked compliments.”

“I like them, you don’t like giving them, it’s throwing me off.” He muttered, setting a hand on the small of Viktor’s back and gently pushing him towards the door.

“Men are impossible to understand.” Viktor complained to Jinx, making her giggle. He then interjected Jayce’s touch and moved it higher, casually reminding Jayce that, despite his resilience, he was still healing. “And stop trying to make me leave, it’s my house.”

“Let’s get you to bed, old man.” Jayce mocked him.

“Are you going to tuck me in?” Viktor closed the Nursery’s door behind them.

“Yes, of course.” He confirmed, sporting a charming smile.

“Awful, I don’t want that.” Viktor said, shaking his head, but didn’t fight too hard to make Jayce reconsider, not until they were out of the room and walking along the hallway and a few steps away, just outside his bedroom door.

“Too bad.” Jayce managed to say before Viktor turned around to face him, swiftly cupping his cheeks with one of his palms. Jayce’s hands automatically found their place on Viktor’s hips as he turned, and Viktor didn’t seem to mind that.

“You’re not doing that.” He said, his voice low but not a whisper, and Jayce furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, he made a mumble of a complaint before Viktor interrupted him once again, this time in the form of a brief, somewhat chaste, kiss. 

“My sudden lack of flexibility and the concerning weakening of my stamina has been the worst next news since the time I realized my exile meant I’d be stripped of my unimpeded access to the forge whenever you’d be there,” Jayce blinked, twice, then the corners of his eyes turned upwards in recognizable mirth. “but I’d tell you exactly how to bypass that and fold my legs over my shoulders if you’d be willing to listen.”

“Then…” he muttered, his voice coming out muffled before he freed himself from Viktor’s grip. “we're going to bed..?” He said, framing the statement as a question. As intended nonetheless , Jayce might’ve added, but he didn’t think it’d apply anymore. He had really meant to tuck Viktor in bed and return to his newest task, like the completionist he truly was, but anything Viktor had in mind was much more entertaining.

“You’re utterly shameless ,” Viktor said, moving his hand on Jayce’s shoulder, the comment was followed by a sigh, and a small smile. “Those were my plans for tonight.” He confessed. “Would you have liked that?”

A pause. Jayce let out an aborted breath as his eyes wandered for an uneventful, silent, second. “…those were your plans?” He asked instead. “As in… past tense?”

“Before Jinx visited.” He said simply, as if Jayce’s world hadn’t just shattered in front of him.

“Well? Throw her out then.” He immediately protested. “Please, oh God, throw her out. ” He begged , knowing Viktor had already made up his mind.

The fact that he hadn’t thought twice about preferring Jinx’s company over his were he to need to make a choice was what truly irked him the most. 

“Be nice .” Viktor warned, and Oh, Jayce wanted to kill him , but he only held his forehead with his palm. “We can postpone that.” He said. “Think about it as something to look forward to later in the week.” He said.

Later in the week? Why not the day after? Why not right then and there?

Jayce moved a step away, and covered his face with both of his palms. “Why tell me at all?!” He asked through a muffled whine, before taking a deep breath. “You’re torturing me.” Jayce said, uncovering his face and spreading his palms apart in front of him. “You’re torturing me, that’s it. You enjoy torturing people and you’re doing it to me .”

“I do.” Viktor admitted, laughing. “But I hadn’t planned to this time. Seriously, it’s honestly endearing how you think you’re entitled to my time.”

“Well, I am to some extent, aren’t I?” Viktor moved one step closer again, deleting the distance between them. “On the account of acquiring the title of your boyfriend at least, if you find anything else to be completely irrelevant .”

“Not at all, no.” Viktor corrected him, shaking his head. “Now, be a dear and take a walk Topside-”

“Topside?!” He interrupted. “You want me to go back Topside?!”

“ Topside .” He repeated, and covered Jayce’s mouth before he could protest again. “Just be a dear and go get us some cake, that’s all I’m asking. I’m not throwing you out.”

“ Cake ?” He said, pushing Viktor’s hand away. “You want cake now ? V, I just…” A sigh. “I will never understand you…”

“What is there to understand?” Viktor asked, now raising an eyebrow. “Your pregnant partner wants you to bring him some cake. Simple. Might even help you cool off a little, you’re too agitated.”

And whose fault was that in the first place?!

Jayce shifted his weight from one leg to the other, before turning away and grumbling under his breath. “Yeah, sure .” Jayce said, squeezing at his temples with two of his fingers. “Let’s set aside the fact that you had a craving of a completely different nature just before, oh , and let’s forget that you’ve been teasing me all-day today too !”

“And you’re so incredibly patient with me, aren’t you?” Viktor mocked, clasping both of his hands together. “you’re nothing but a loving, devoted, boyfriend .”

Jayce sighed, but nodded. “I am...” He said, almost defeated. “You’re making fun of me, but I am .” He insisted. “What cake do you want?”

“You know my tastes, you’ll figure something out.” Viktor said, patting Jayce’s shoulder and planting a kiss on his cheek. “Pick a few, if you’re not sure.”

“It’s just me, you and Jinx…” Jayce reminded him, now holding his hand reverently. He looked like he truly didn’t want to leave at all. “We don't need two cakes. There’s 8 pieces in one, what are you even doing with 16?”

“You’d be surprised.” Viktor said. “Now go, before they close. Be a good dad.”

That’s all the convincing he needed.

When Viktor walked back into the room, he found Jinx analyzing his previously discarded blueprints with an odd look but that quickly changed when she saw him, as her attention shifted completely to him, he walked to the crib, and picked up a couple of bits. “You see these, Jinx?” He asked, holding out his palm, and Jinx tilted her head.

“Deck screws. Third drawer, left of my workbench, pink box. I need three more of these.” He said, flipping the two wooden frames Jayce had managed to assemble over. “If we’re quick enough we’ll finish before Jayce gets back, I sent him to run some errands.” 

He had been looking forward to building this cradle for a while, after all.

Chapter Text

“These were only ever created to assist Noxii troops coming from nearby colonies navigating Piltover’s ports.” Jayce said, running a hand on the flat surface of the machinery, before he hovered it over one of the knobs, Viktor only hummed in acknowledgement a few steps away. “And only ever used in military, sterile, settings to check for internal bleeding up until not too long ago.” He said. Viktor hummed again. “Piltover siding with a blood-thirsty, imperialist reign sounds like an odd concept, as the city is now well-known for its neutrality towards outside conflicts.” Viktor walked next to him and Jayce stopped fidgeting with the machine’s controls, giving him space to push a few buttons on a keypad. Jayce’s eyes followed the movement. “But there was a time where The Golden City didn’t have all that much to offer.” He continued. “Now, it has become a beacon of prosperity.”

“Have you held any history lessons at The Academy lately, Jayce?” Viktor asked, now walking away and dimming the lights of that already-too-dark laboratory. Jayce supposed he had a reason for it, perhaps one lying in getting a clearer reading.

“A few.” He confessed, smiling faintly. “Not my preferred class to hold, but I had been doing someone a favor.”

A pause, then, a breath. “How is Sky?” Viktor asked, pushing one last button. He moved closer to the mechanical hand attached to the machine, tugging it down for easier handling near an underwhelmingly unprofessional couch, rather than an actual medical cot.

“You’d know, if you asked her.” Jayce said, crossing his arms. “She wouldn’t sell you out, she’s not that kind of person.” He insisted but Viktor huffed a displeased exhale out of his nose, and shook his head.

“I was once someone she looked up to,” He said, before wiping his hands and putting on a pair of gloves, those snapped into place with a loud noise. “And although egoistic, I want to be remembered that way.” He concluded.

“You… never tried to clear your name at all.” Jayce mused. “Why?”

“What would be the point?” Viktor asked as an answer.

“But you insist on being remembered for someone you’re not anymore.” Jayce pointed out, waving a hand in the air, condescendingly . “You just think she won’t see what you’ve been up to plastered around the news and come to her own conclusions? Having a chat with her would only work in your favor.”

“I said it was egoistic, didn’t I ?” Viktor felt the need to remind him. He furrowed his eyebrows, irritated enough by a simple, innocent question. “You’re unfathomably annoying.” He said, picking up a small container. “What would it take for you to shut up and stop distracting me? I promised you a thorough look into a prenatal medical exam but I never said I’d entertain you. Do you want to see your son or not?”

“I do, but I’m-“ he hesitated, turning his head towards the machine once more. “Before we start… I’m just really curious how the hell you acquired one of these? This particular model is military-grade equipment,” he pointed out again. “Which usually means these machines are under heavy surveillance at all times. Do you have any advice on advanced security measures you’d like to share..? Some that would prevent someone like you from getting into restricted areas and-“

“I have the right to remain silent.” Viktor interrupted, and laid down on the couch. “Let’s just get this over with.”

Jayce looked moments away from complaining, his mouth twisted in a sour grimace before he softened up, taking his place next to Viktor and standing by his side.

“Can I operate this thing?” Jayce asked, and before Viktor could shoot him down, he added. “With your instructions, of course.” Viktor hummed, and lifted his shirt upwards, uncovering just enough to carry out the exam. 

Since his temporary work leave, he had found loose clothing to be more convenient to wear, and he hardly wore anything else anymore. Oversized shirts and briefs were his to-go attire right after pajama pants and tank tops long enough to reach his thighs. Jayce would have had something to say about his lack of pants if he didn’t pity him at least a little. 

“You can operate the wand, but I’ll still hold your hand and guide it to the right place.” He conceded, before spreading a thick gel-like substance on his abdomen, taking it out of the little cylindrical container Jayce saw him take. He wiped his hand with a rag and put his glove back on again.

“You don’t think I can find the baby?” Jayce asked, taking the base of the wand attached to the sonogram by a metal arm. This type of model looked a lot more intimidating than what it really was, he thought. “How could I not ?” He challenged. “He’s built a mansion in there, it’d be harder to miss him.”

“Put on some gloves.” Viktor growled instead of acknowledging his previous statement. 

“Oh don’t pretend you haven’t put some on just to convince me you’ve been practicing unauthorized, unlicensed prenatal exams responsibly .” Jayce said, chuckling. “I've learnt to distinguish your performative behavior from reality long ago.”

“This is supposed to take 15 minutes at most.” Viktor said, eerily calm. “Most of the hard work was me lying down on this very same couch I’m lying down on, which is to say that we’re more than halfway through this exam, and I would be a fool to interrupt it right now and throw you out, but it doesn’t mean I won’t .” He threatened. “So, I advise you to be comforted by my medical prowess, and keep on with this charade.”

“Got it. Gloves.” Viktor heaved a little sigh, somewhat relieved, and Jayce put on the required equipment before wrapping a hand on the sonogram’s metal arm once again, Viktor wrapped one around his, just as he said he would, and dragged the tool downwards, pressing it softly against his bump.

Jayce’s hand tried to hijack his, tugging the wand up as Viktor tried to get it to slide in the opposite direction. Arrogant prick. “Move it any higher and we’ll be here all day.” Viktor reprimanded after a brief game of tug. 

“I’m trying to assess the situation.” Jayce insisted.

“Those up there are my organs, all crammed together to make space for my growing uterus. Is that enough information?”

There was a pause, then his hold on the wand loosened. “I guess…” he said. 

“The area that we are going to evaluate is the one conveniently covered by the sonogram gel.” He said, guiding Jayce through the exam in the hope it would make him realize there was no need to worry about any health-related issues. Viktor finally slid the wand to the area, and pressed down. “Now, at this stage the baby should be about-“

“ Should be ?” Jayce immediately interrupted. “Are you reciting me some out-of-book explanation or are you-“

“I’m reciting some out-of-book explanation to then compare it with the actual scans. Don’t interrupt me again.” Viktor complained, already fed up enough by Jayce’s questions. “He should begin to grow fat under his previously translucent skin.” He concluded, no longer all that interested in putting on a show of collected politeness for Jayce’s sake. “And he looks like he is. Turn your head to the monitor.”

“I can’t see anything…” Jayce confessed after having moved his attention to the small monitor attached to the machine. “Not anything that I’d be able to recognize as being a baby. You’re moving too fast.”

“I can.” Viktor said. “He looks fine. He’s grown in size and that means he’s getting enough nutrients. No issues with the placenta.”

“Is he even a boy at all?” Jayce asked all of the sudden. “How can you even know that if this is the way you carry out an examination? You can’t get that kind of information from books, that’s for sure.”

“I’d show you the latest ultrasound scans and highlight the exact spot that made me come to that conclusion, but you have a bad habit of ruining everything you touch.” Viktor replied, but partially conceded Jayce the benefit of the doubt, beginning his guided approach once again. “I can’t show you now as the baby is not in a favorable position, and that means you’ll have to take my word for it.” He said, before moving the wand to a precise angle for the sake of clarity. 

“This is the head.” He explained, and Jayce hummed. “As you can see, it being this high means the baby is in breech position, it is-“

“Isn’t that bad?” Jayce asked, turning his head around and back in Viktor’s direction. “You can’t deliver a baby that way.”

Viktor paused, somehow touched. “He’s got time to turn around, it’ll happen naturally.” 

“And if it doesn’t ?”

“Then I’ll know about it before I go into labor and check my options from there. None of these involve going to a medical bay topside, but some…” he grimaced, and the action wasn’t missed on Jayce that furrowed his eyebrows in response. “ …might involve me searching for an acquaintance’s advice…”

“That’s it ? That’s all you’re willing to do?”

“Yes.” Viktor confirmed, raising a hand as if to question Jayce’s odd behavior. “In the worst case scenario I’m searching for an acquaintance’s professional advice, that’s what I said.” He repeated, just for clarity. His eyes shot back to his abdomen and he hovered his finger from one side of it to the other, as if tracing an imaginary line. “Between the possibility of the birth proceeding without any complications and that, there’s also the accounted possibility that I’d perform a C-Section on myself, perhaps with your help, if you’re willing to assist me.” 

Jayce’s eyes that had previously sharpened silently exposing his disapproval, softened once again as he blinked once, then twice, recognizing a particularly odd detail that Viktor had let slip.

“But it won’t come to that,” Viktor continued. “As, just like I said, there’s still plenty of time for the baby to turn on its own.”

“You want me there for the birth?” Jayce asked then, hopeful, and Viktor tilted his head, visibly taken aback by the question.

Whether he was taken aback by Jayce asking it at all on the account of that being obvious or just because he hadn’t meant to let that slip, was left up to Jayce’s interpretation.

“I suppose.” He said, but furrowed his eyebrows. “If you’re nearby, you can assist me.”

“Yeah, that sounds fair.” He said plainly, and Viktor took that answer as enough of a hint to keep his examination going, moving the wand down. 

“It looks like this is as much as the baby is allowing us to see today,” he announced, jokingly exasperated.

Since Jayce wasn’t looking at the monitor anymore he hovered a hand on the upper side of his abdomen while the other kept the sonogram wand steady. “I can’t even show you his fingers, or any other discernible feature that might interest you, but he has supposedly grown eyebrows and hair at this stage and time.“ he explained.

Jayce hummed, and Viktor moved his hand a little lower, still being mindful not to touch the gel. “The only real nuisance of the baby being in the wrong position at this stage is that he might wriggle around a lot more trying to turn,” he explained, thinking Jayce’s silence must’ve derived from him still worrying about that issue. “And now that I’m most vulnerable while he’s thriving and beginning to strengthen his punches, he could also be able to bruise my ribs, but if you put in consideration everything that I’ve been through this is not-“

“How should I prepare for that?” Jayce interrupted. “What should I do to help you through labor?”

Viktor paused, glaring at Jayce, but answered him all the same. “I’ll be doing all the work. Even on the small possibility that you’re here to assist me.”

”But I have never delivered a baby before.” He pointed out. “And you seem to know so much… You could give me a tip or two.”

”Jayce,” Viktor said, sitting up straighter and raising a palm. “I don’t expect you to do anything at all but to listen to me in the causality that- that-“ Viktor groaned, and dropped the topic.

Jayce squinted his eyes. “Why does it seem like there’s always one less chance of me helping you through labor anytime you open your mouth…”

“I’m having regrets .” Viktor confessed. “I shouldn’t have mentioned that at all, you’re not a suitable presence to have in such a delicate situation.”

“Oh, please .” Jayce scoffed. “You’d rather do it alone?”

“That is exactly what I’m saying, yes.” Viktor said, finally moving the wand away and any possibility of conducting a successful prenatal exam with it. He could print a picture to file away later, he supposed. “It’s not the most pleasant of experiences to have with your newly acquired romantic partner either, we should discuss our options another time.” He said, wiping away the gel off of his abdomen.

“We’re not exactly strangers…” Jayce mumbled, but Viktor shook his head, and didn’t reply. “And you can call me your boyfriend, for your information…” He added in a small voice, but Jayce feared if he said anything more he’d somehow get blasted away.

“This examination is over.” Viktor announced. “Everything is fine and proceeding as it should. I hope you’re feeling more at ease now on the baby’s overall health and wellbeing.”

“Are those stretch marks?” Jayce asked instead of replying. He moved a finger on the impacted area instead. “You can get those?”

“…I can now.” Viktor said, hesitantly. He sat up, swinging his legs to the side of the couch, but letting Jayce’s hand wander back on the side of his bump. “Skin is the last organ in the hierarchical order of my regeneration ability.” He reminded him as Jayce sat down next to him, pushing the metal arm of the sonogram away from their view. “Stretch marks are quite literally tears of the skin . They begin as red but fade to white over time.”

“I know what stretch marks are.” Jayce said, scoffing. He traced the few lines with his thumb, pensively.

“You don’t like them.” Viktor said, interpreting Jayce’s silence for disappointment. “It’s a natural part of being pregnant.” He reminded him.

“No, it’s not that.” Jayce replied. “They’re cute. It looks like you’ve been struck by lightning.”

“I wouldn’t find that ‘cute’ by definition…”

“It’s a compliment, V. I like them.” He insisted, exhaling a soft chuckle. “It’s fascinating… to see your body take a different shape because of me .” He admitted, Viktor tilted his head, but didn’t interrupt him. “But for you to get them when your energy isn’t working on repairing any internal hemorrhage…” He let his words trail off for only a second. “Think about it, cuts and superficial wounds are top priority whenever there’s no other underlying issue within you. You’re just…”

“Weak.” Viktor concluded for him. “There’s no reason to remind me of that.”

Jayce didn’t comment on it, but seemed almost to agree. He hummed, and hovered his hand higher. “Is there any other change you’ve noticed lately?” He asked.

Viktor hummed, and pretended not to know what he was talking about. “My teeth have fully healed.” He said. 

“That’s not… That’s great, but…” Jayce stammered, and Viktor slid down his shirt completely. He retreated his hand. “I meant to ask… if you felt any change in your chest area.” He said, but Viktor stood up, walking to the sonogram machine once again.

”My chest area?” He asked, pushing a few buttons and successfully turning off the machine. “What’s wrong with it?” He said, but paused at the sight of a needle. His sudden hesitant consideration was soon replaced with curiosity, as he tilted his head.

” You tell me…” Jayce mumbled, sourly, but his mood switched from irritated to guarded as Viktor held up the newly found syringe in his field of vision. 

“What do you need that for?” Jayce immediately asked, as any previous conversation was set aside. “Exam is over, you said it yourself.” He reminded him.

“For me, yes.” Viktor said, and Jayce furrowed his eyebrows. “But you, however, still owe me a sample of your blood.”

“Is this really necessary?” Jayce asked, unconsciously shifting away when Viktor sat next to him once again. “As in, does it serve any other purpose beyond filling your stupid collection with potential biological or biotechnological weapons?”

“What do you think?” Viktor asked, inching closer. “We can return to our conversation after I’m done, from one bodily fluid to another.”

Jayce sighed, but extended his arm and formed a fist.

“It’s just a vial.” Viktor said, tapping at the area of his forearm with a damp cotton ball Jayce hadn’t seen him take. “Not a blood bag.”

“A blood bag would be more useful, not just a gimmick for your evil facade.”

“Is collecting blood inherently evil?” Viktor then asked, but paused before he could answer his own question, finding the perfect spot to pierce a vein with his needle. “It can save lives, when done correctly.”

“Let’s cut this short.” Jayce said, watching the small syringe fill up. “How much time do I have to wait before I’ll know whatever the hell you plan to do with this?” He asked, but wasn’t patient enough to wait for an answer. “I’m going to explicitly say this in case it was not clear enough, but I do not approve or condone any unethical cloning experiments using any genetic material I might’ve provided to you throughout all the years we’ve known each other.”

“Really?” Viktor asked, amused. “Not even-”

“A baby isn’t a cloning experiment, you know that.” Jayce added, and Viktor huffed a chuckle. “But you’re not allowed that either… anymore.”

“It’s just a keepsake, I’ll keep this in a glass vial and shake it around sometimes, pretending I’m shaking you instead.” Viktor promised, pulling the needle away, satisfied. “If you truly want to donate blood, then we can arrange that another time. I don’t have space in my refrigerator for that as of now,” Viktor said, once more walking away to correctly store his new acquisition. “Plus, it leaves an awful impression on unsuspecting guests searching for a cold sweet treat.” 

Jayce opened his palm a few times as his other hand held the base of his forearm, he watched a droplet of blood fall from his arm, before Viktor returned to his side, and put a plain bandaid over it. 

He didn’t know why the sight of a simple band aid made him imagine a future where Viktor would hand him one again for a similar occasion, but he imagined he’d switch them for colorful ones, different shapes and childish patterns. In his little reverie, Viktor would have done so just to satisfy their child’s whim, all because their son might not want to wear any otherwise.

And now, odd collections aside, Viktor mentioning he had a loose plan involving his compliant presence for the birth of their child made it all more imminent.

“Do you think you’d ever need some?” He asked and Viktor tilted his head inquisitively, now facing him once again. “Now that you don’t regenerate it as fast anymore…” a pause, then he rephrased his vague statement. “Complications in childbirth aren’t all that uncommon, whether it’s Topside or in Zaun…”

Viktor tipped his chin and hummed, Jayce swore he had seen faint, fleeting, pout on his lips. “You’ve always known me for the sick man that I was that you just can’t accept to see me in any other way, can you?” 

“No, it’s not that… it’s not.” Jayce insisted, shaking his head. “You haven’t been human for years now, you… must have forgotten how it felt to be one again… fragile, soft… just human .”

“But I’m not fragile, I’m not soft and I’m definitely not human ,” Viktor said, heaving a sigh. “And I’ll never be again.” He reminded him. “I’ll outlive you, I’ll outlive our son too. I will live to see the end of it all.” He said, his words laced with a sense of fatalistic finality that did nothing to comfort Jayce nor smooth the tired, angry lines on his face. Viktor moved his hand from the crease of his inner arm to the base of his palm, only to backtrack back to his wrist, the touch was ‘professional’ enough that Jayce hadn’t even thought to question him about it. He pressed his thumb to Jayce’s pulse and held his breath, listening for its faint thump against his finger. 

When he spoke next his tone held a newfound softness, one that sounded so eerily out-of-place after what he had said just a moment earlier. “So, I’m not sick.” He said. “Don’t grieve me when I’m still here.”

Jayce exhaled a breath through his nose, and didn’t understand what Viktor had meant to hide from him, nor that his words had meant to be deflective. “You’re right…” he said. “There’s no sign your health is at risk at all either. Just a pessimistic guess.”

Viktor tugged Jayce’s hand with his one still wrapped around his wrist, and Jayce followed the movement with that beaten-puppy look he still had. 

“Nevertheless… I should still inform myself about what to do to assist you in childbirth…” he said, not quite realizing Viktor’s intentions yet.

To his most welcomed surprise, Viktor guided his hand on his chest, and his mood visibly improved.

“I have a few books that might be of use. I’ll let you borrow them.” Viktor replied a moment too late, by that point Jayce had forgotten what he had even said. 

He took the gesture as an invitation to touch, to explore, and pressed his hand deeper where it had been led. He didn’t take in consideration Viktor’s newly-discovered sensitivity when he squeezed one of his small breasts, but pulled away his hand when he winched in response, recognizing his mistake.

“Does it… hurt?” He asked, but by then he had already figured out his answer.

“No… I wouldn’t call it that.” Viktor still answered, taking a step closer.

Jayce’s hands wrapped around his hips almost automatically, but he was yet to be done exploring. One of his hands found its way under the hem of Viktor’s oversized shirt, tracing the side of his bump slowly as it kept moving upwards.

“Should I stop?” He asked, and Viktor shook his head.

“Keep going.” Viktor insisted, interjecting Jayce’s hand as he stepped up his pace upwards. 

Jayce brushed his thumb against Viktor’s nipple, guided by him, but where he was sure he’d meet soft skin, he found plastic as what was most certainly a bandaid covered Viktor’s areola. 

“They’re sensitive.” Viktor reminded him. “They kept brushing against my shirt, it was uncomfortable.”

“Has your milk come in?” Jayce managed the courage to ask as he circled his thumb against the area, Viktor laughed and shook his head.

“It’s too early for that…” He said, as Jayce’s nail scratched the side of the bandage enough times to lift its corner. “If you want a taste, you’ll have to wait a little more.” Jayce stopped in his tracks, before removing his hand completely, he breathed out a quick exhale of a sigh, and Viktor tilted his head up, surprised.

For a slight second, he had thought he had overstepped, perhaps Jayce’s questions were truly rooted in curiosity and he shouldn’t have implied otherwise. He parted his lips ready to change the subject but Jayce spoke before he could.

“We can continue our talk upstairs.” He said, and didn’t wait for his answer to lift him off his feet. 

Viktor didn’t utter a word until he was set on his bed. Jayce straddled him and Viktor joined his legs together, watching as Jayce made quick work of his shirt just to set both of his hands back on his chest and cupping his tits. “Do you need a hand?” He asked while smiling, already reaching for his belt, but Jayce interjected his hands and simply set them on his shoulders.

“I don’t want you to lift a finger today.” He said, placing a kiss on the corner of his mouth. “Let’s get you comfortable now, princess .” 

“How chivalrous…” Viktor mocked. His thumb traced circular patterns on the back of Jayce’s neck as his eyes focused on his clavicle, avoiding eye contact. “I take it as you know what I want then, right?”

“Always do.” He replied before setting a pillow behind Viktor’s back and silently expecting him to lay down. He didn’t.

“No, you don’t.” He said, placing a quick kiss on the spot he was eyeing. “But I’m great at giving instructions.”

“I believe I was promised a taste.” Jayce said, but Viktor huffed and shook his head. One of Jayce’s hands slid back on the side of the bandage he was fidgeting earlier, picking at it with his nail once again. Viktor took his wrist, but didn’t pull him away.

“It’s too early.” He repeated. “Nothing will come out.”

“Never say never,” Jayce said, and Viktor raised his eyes just in time to see that cheeky smile he sported anytime he knew he’d get what he wanted. Viktor’s grip loosened almost instantly after that, and he took his hand away. “You know,” he said. “I’m told I have a magic tongue.” 

Jayce pointed at the inside of his mouth for just a childish second and Viktor jokingly rolled his eyes, before getting comfortable on the couple of pillows behind him. “Maybe whoever told you that was caught in a moment of weakness…” he mumbled.

“Most definitely.” He said, lifting the corners of Viktor’s left bandaid, slowly. Viktor sucked in a breath, noticing how tightly it stuck against his skin, and how Jayce wasn’t doing much to make this any bearable for him.

“You’re taking your time…” he reprimanded softly, making sure the edge of disapproval was clear enough.

It was, but it wasn’t any more of a deterrent.

“I am.” Jayce replied, suddenly stopping. “Does it bother you?” He asked, moving his other hand over the sliver of skin he had freed, he wriggled his thumb under there, and then kept his steady pace as he tugged the rest of the bandaid off. 

He wasn’t given an answer, Viktor didn’t think it was necessary. His little gasps could not be mistaken for anything that didn’t remotely resemble pleasure, after all. 

“ Sensitive… ” Viktor mumbled through a breath, he covered his nipple, and Jayce’s attention snapped back to his eyes. “Even a light breeze makes them harden… It’s annoying.”

Jayce made a mocking hum of a sound, as if feigning pity, before prying his fingers away, and Viktor’s eyes widened in surprise at the sheer audacity of his tone. 

“ Poor thing …” Jayce said, lowering himself a little more for easier access. “Let me warm them up for you.” He added, before latching his mouth against his breast, encircling his areola. Viktor’s hand tugged at his hair in a near automatic reaction, but Jayce stood his ground and opened his mouth further, only to push the back of his tongue against his nipple. 

“ You -!” Viktor managed to say before a moan escaped from his already parted lips. “animal…” He concluded in a small voice, trying to keep his mouth shut by biting at his lower lip, Jayce glanced up, flickering his tongue before wrapping his hands around Viktor’s back. his eyes were crinkled up in amusement as he slid one of his hands higher, pushing Viktor’s closer.

Viktor sucked in a breath, before slowly releasing it from his nose. “You’re having fun, aren't you?” He asked, and Jayce complacently sucked on his breast, shutting his eyes. Viktor palmed at his hair once again in response, before he finally relented. He let out soft moans after the other as Jayce worked with his mouth and tongue, but just as Viktor warned, nothing came out.

Eventually, he became used to the predictable, steady, pace Jayce had been keeping, beginning to adapt to him after the initial shock. He realized soon enough that Jayce had lost himself in self-indulgent pleasure while his own was left aside in a careless lapse of his better judgement.

He caressed the back of his hair, wrapping his finger around a lone, tangled lock and pulling, all to catch his lover’s attention, when Jayce opened his eyes back again, looking up, he rolled his tongue against his nipple, huffing a low rumble of a chuckle when Viktor gasped once again in response. 

“It excites you to know you did this to me, then?” Viktor asked after that, and Jayce’s hand pinched his flank in response, he tightened his grip on him then, but didn’t answer. “My body… It might never look the same again.” He added, and Jayce stopped, looking as if he was moments away from protesting. He managed to lift his mouth an inch away from his breast, before Viktor pushed his head back down on it.

“I’ve begun to get stretch marks despite thinking it impossible…” He said. “My navel’s changed too, you pointed that out as soon as you noticed.” He added, playing with Jayce’s hair once again as he remained completely still. His other hand moved at the breast still left untouched, cupping it as his thumb played with the bandaid on top of his nipple. “I’m huge, and now my breasts have begun filling out, all because of you… ” He taunted. 

“You did this to me…” Viktor mumbled, almost mockingly, and Jayce enthusiastically nodded against his palm. “Tell me, what will happen when my tits’ll begin to grow fat with milk? Will you suck this breast while our son nurses on the other? Or will you take turns?”

Jayce made a mumble of a noise in response before Viktor parted his fingers, scratching Jayce’s head all the while he kept him compliant. “Maybe you-“ Viktor said before he moaned out a pitiful whine. Jayce had playfully nipped at his nipple, and Viktor’s hold on him loosened as he closed his eyes shut and let out a groan.  

Jayce took the occasion to raise his head once again, but only after placing an apologetic kiss on Viktor’s clavicle. 

“I might need to get restrained,” he said, wiping away saliva from his mouth with the back of his hand. “or I could seriously end up sucking you dry.” He answered, before setting both of his hands on Viktor’s hips.

Jayce had left his chest exposed to the freezing air once again, and Viktor covered it with a little complaint. “A muzzle…” Viktor suggested, but Jayce paid him no mind.

“I’m so happy…” He said instead, and whereas before he was straddling Viktor, now he freely moved their position around until he parted Viktor’s legs for easier access. Viktor took the hint, and loosely wrapped them behind his back as Jayce moved closer, brushing his half-hard cock inside his pants against the thin fabric of Viktor’s briefs. 

“You cannot even imagine how much it excites me to see you carrying my child, V.” He slid his thumbs below the elastic band of his underwear, taking it off. “I’d put another one in you right away if it were even possible.”

Viktor heaved a little breath in anticipation, and Jayce’s eyes flickered to his diaphragm just for a second.

“Is it possible?” He asked, pushing his knuckles against Viktor’s slit, but not slipping them in yet, Viktor lifted his hips in response and grumbled a low sound. “Maybe that’s what you should be working on instead now that you have the time, no?” He suggested. “You should get your hands on your little chemist set again and make another one of those boosters you circled around a few years back.”

Viktor hummed a low sound at the particular choice of words Jayce had made. “ Little chemist set …” he repeated, scornfully. “ Too bold.” He warned. “Just because you think you’ve got the upper hand doesn’t give you the right to belittle my work…” 

One of the flaws of having a boyfriend with a similar interest in scientific research and the same dedication to innovation was certainly the competitiveness they sometimes demonstrated in any and every possible project. Perhaps that was more of a Jayce thing, to be completely fair.

“No…” Jayce eventually said, brushing his knuckles deeper against Viktor’s folds as an apology. “I’m impressed, really.” He said, slipping his fingers in, Viktor heaved a little sigh as he finally stepped up his pace. “It took so long to take them out of circulation… You remember those? The epinephrine vials.”

“It was a complex, refined relative of ephedrine .” Viktor objected, scoffing.

“I stand corrected.” Jayce conceded. “You’re the one that made the formula, you know it better than anyone else… Still, you fail to mention it was illegal.” He reminded him. “And now it has been taken care of, all thanks to yours truly .” Viktor huffed a brief laugh, and when he spoke next, a ghost of a smile graced his lips.

“You’re impossible… ” He scolded, earning himself the pleasure of a third finger inside him as Jayce stretched him so nicely. “The only reason we came to an agreement is because I wanted to.” He said, sucking in a gasp. “Too hard to synthesize…” He concluded, uttering a small whine.

Jayce's eyes widened for the slightest of seconds before he shyly raised his glare with a silent request, he only managed to utter a low ‘Say…’ before Viktor lolled his head back and groaned. 

”I’m not talking you through the process of making ephedrine as foreplay .” He said, and Jayce immediately pouted, cruelly retreating his hand. “Why bring that up at all ?” Viktor complained, but Jayce didn’t answer, feigning hurt.

Viktor could’ve dropped the subject there and then, Jayce had taken off his boxers after all and he was finally getting what he had been waiting for, but despite himself he still traced back their previous conversation in search for an answer.

When he found one, he was almost impressed by Jayce’s train of thought, and barely registered the wet kiss Jayce placed on his cheek before he moved him to his side.

“You want me to make a booster that makes me ovulate while pregnant?” He asked in a high pitched tone of his voice, surprised. Jayce moved his leg on his shoulder, caressing the place where metal and skin met, and smiled.

“ Yes .” He confirmed excitedly. “If there’s someone that can make it happen it’s definitely you.” He added, endorsing the more unethical side of Viktor’s scientific curiosity. 

“You’re rambling nonsense…” Viktor chastised, helping Jayce ease his dick inside by pinching his folds wider apart. He had to admit, beyond the barely perceived strain bending forward provoked him, the action also elicited a little moan out of him as he began to accept the fact his nipples were not the only part of himself that had become more… tender . “But you’re so eager …” He breathed out. “what’s gotten into you?”

“I don’t want you to have this baby…” Jayce confessed, rutting the tip of his dick inside Viktor. “I want to keep you like this forever, I’d never let you leave my side,” He almost pleaded , thrusting himself inside. “You should see yourself right now…” Viktor closed his eyes shut in a tight scrunch of his face as soon as Jayce said that, more in response to pleasure than his comment.

Jayce noticed, stopping in his tracks. “ Breathe , V.” he instructed, placing a hand on his bump. Viktor did, the soft exhale was followed by a small chuckle as Viktor realized Jayce couldn’t stop worrying about him even deep in his babbled gibberish. Only after he exhaled, Jayce thrusted his dick completely inside.

“You’re so pliant under me…” He continued. “You’d never have let me boss you around before either.” He pointed out, and Viktor buried his face deeper into the pillow and moaned out a whine, making the effort to open one of his eyes once again to look up at the smile he knew Jayce was surely sporting. “I’m going to lose this side of you too once you give birth… I’m missing it already…” He said, pouting once again. 

“Move.” Viktor ordered, frowning as if confused. 

“But just as you said, I did this to you.” He said instead of complying. “And I can do it again. I can have you like this immediately after the first. Would you like that?” 

“Move.” He repeated. 

“What if I don’t?” Jayce dared to ask, knowing that, even after Viktor tried to deny so, he really had the upper hand in that exact moment. “What if I want you to beg for it?”

“I don’t beg.” Viktor reminded him, wiggling his pelvis instead. Jayce wrapped his other hand on his hip to keep him still and Viktor threatened to break it, wrapping his own around his wrist. Jayce took the chance to intertwine his fingers with Viktor's, earning himself an exasperated groan. 

“No, you don’t…” He conceded at last, finally picking up his pace, Viktor moaned in answer, shutting his eyes once again. “But can you make me a promise?” He asked, and Viktor almost immediately nodded into his pillow before he had even heard the request, only to stop himself in one last lapse of clarity. 

“Can we have another?” He asked, and Viktor huffed a breath that morphed into a moan as Jayce wrapped his other hand against his other hip and dragged him on his cock. “I'm serious,” He said, inserting two of his fingers inside his cunt and pulling upwards, as if he could make any more space to fit better inside. “If everything goes smoothly, I want another.” He reiterated. 

Viktor finally nodded, and it felt like bliss when Jayce lifted his hip further up and hit the exact spot Viktor had been waiting for him to hit. Jayce moaned in response to Viktor’s own incoherent mumbling, unable to help himself. 

“And then you’ll get my name. Viktor Talis .” He said, “I guess this is as good as any other time to ask you to marry me?”

“Just move…” Viktor said once again, the words uttered in a mumble Jayce completely ignored. “ Faster .” He drooled into the pillow. 

Jayce retreated his fingers from his cunt just to forcefully open one of Viktor’s eyes, trying to catch his attention. “Will you-”

“ Jayce !” Viktor interrupted. “It’s no-” Jayce picked up his pace, just as requested nonetheless, as soon as Viktor’s mouth opened in a ‘O’ sound, making his moan resound louder. “ n-not the time!” He still managed to say. “I’m going-”

“A man can dream.” He said.

“Keep going.” Viktor ordered. “I’m going to come- I’m so close, keep going .” He repeated. 

“Already?” Jayce asked, but didn’t dare to go against his wishes, he helped Viktor reach his climax, and Viktor rewarded him with little words of praise, a flurry of ‘you’re so good to me ’ and ‘ only you ’ coming out of his mouth in a grooved, nonsensical mix and match. 

Jayce came not too late after that either, spilling his seed inside, and despite both being a panting mess by the time they were done, he didn’t pull out, didn’t move to rest next to Viktor either. He lifted Viktor’s hips higher instead, and didn’t let go of him.

“I’m already pregnant.” Viktor said through a huff, noticing how Jayce’s eyes kept staring down at his cunt, where his dick was still buried deep inside. 

Whereas Jayce regained his breath already, he was still trying to steady his own, and with the way Jayce kept lifting his legs, causing his abdomen to at least partially weigh down on his diaphragm, he might never do.

“Just put me down, will you?” He asked, grunting. “I already said I’m going to give you another baby after this one. You just have to be patient…”

“But are you going to marry me too?” He asked, and didn’t give in yet.

“ Jayce… ” Viktor warned.

“Some say a baby is an even bigger commitment than marriage.” He pointed out. “So why not?”

“Put me down, it’s getting uncomfortable.” He requested again, and Jayce complied, even if reluctantly, Jayce watched as seed trickled down Viktor’s leg with a disappointed look on his face. 

Viktor heaved a deep sigh before giving out his answer. “You keep asking that…” He mused, humming when Jayce finally collapsed against him, wrapping his arms around him from behind. He tilted his head his way and found out he didn’t mind the position as much as he thought he would. “Why do you want to ruin my bachelor reputation so badly ?”

“Bachelor reputation? What reputation?!” Jayce immediately asked, raising his voice. “What reputation!?” He asked again, when Viktor only laughed as an answer.

“I’ll think about it.” He said.

Chapter Text

Viktor slid a gloved finger on the rim of the cup of tea he was offered, looking down at its contents with a puzzled look on his face.

“It was nice of you to give me the time to dress up for the occasion.” Viktor said after a little hum. “I wasn’t expecting visitors, and decidedly not three of your men.”

“You’re welcome.” Silco replied dryly. He gestured to his cup, as if inviting him to drink, but didn’t have one on his side of the table to match.

Silco sat on that dreadful red couch that mirrored the one Viktor was forcefully brought to sit on, but unlike him, he had a hand resting on the backrest of it as he stared at him, his every movement surveilled. 

He hadn’t lit up a cigarette, but the place still smelled faintly of ash, Viktor noted. He swirled the cup in his hand and watched as Silco lidded his eyes and followed the movement with a small , chilling smile.

He was trying to irk him. There was no other plausible reason for this odd performance.

He had been given the chance to have a private chat with the man alone , at the very least, but knowing he was most likely suspected of treachery, he knew the fact that Silco hadn’t thought twice of sending his men away only meant he wasn’t all that much of a threat to him.

And how to blame him? He didn’t look all that intimidating anymore, after all.

He had most likely heard all about his loss of strength from Jinx and had only sent three of his men to fetch him in case he weren’t alone when they found him, Viktor mused silently. He didn’t voice his thoughts.

“Can I ask what’s in this?” Viktor said instead, holding up his cup further away from his mouth.

“What would be the point in asking?” Silco asked back, and didn’t even give him the pleasure of a polite chuckle. He was right, there was no point in asking.

Viktor set the cup down. 

“Do you know why I brought you here?” Silco finally asked, adjusting his position, he crossed his legs and set one of his hands on his knee. 

He didn’t answer at first, didn’t think the question was anything but rhetorical, but when silence persisted, he raised his own personal theory. “I feel it’s because you think I’ve done something that you perceive as bad.”

Those words alone were enough to make Silco grab at his temples and heave an exasperated sigh. “In what world siding with the enemy is not perceived as ‘bad’?” He asked, raising his voice above his. 

“Jayce is not the enemy.” Viktor said, but Silco scoffed, and slid a hand through his hair. “Not anymore . He’s harmless.” Viktor tried to reason, thrusting a hand in the air as if to make himself be taken seriously.  

“He’s part of the council.” Silco rebutted, sounding defeated enough. He took a cigarette out of his pocket and slipped it in his mouth. He wasn’t looking at Viktor anymore. 

“ You are part of the council.” He said. “He’s a colleague of yours, mind you.”

“On the side of the opposition.” Silco reminded him, and lit the cigarette. “He’s been asking for you around here. He’s on your tail.” He said, taking a drag. “Which means it’s a matter of time before he’s all up in my business. You’ve become a liability in my path, Viktor.” He calmly informed, extending a hand across the coffee table and pushing his drink closer.

There was certainly a chance that he might’ve gotten out of that office alive, even Silco must’ve had his doubts about his compromised healing factor, just as Viktor still had sometimes, but every single choice he made after that point always ended with him alienated. 

He had never truly committed to a side, after all. His beliefs always skewed near the end of a spectrum, and they just happened to align with the revolution’s. He was a fraud as a symbol of rebellion, it was imposed on him but he never managed to go to lengths to change that. In truth, he was lulled by the sense of belonging that never clearing up that misunderstanding brought him.

Not a Piltie, but he’s always been the odd one out in Zaun. He never was empathetic enough to be considered kind, but he had yet to find a way to stop caring too much. Not good, but not irrationally evil. Not a man and not really a machine either, and he only ever fit the description of one of the two based on what people perceived him as. He didn’t know where he fit. 

What he knew is that he regretted ever taking the diplomatic approach, he regretted not putting his foot down. Most of his time would have been spent on his individualistic version of freedom had he never crawled back into Silco’s waiting claws when he had the chance. He couldn’t deny that it brought him comfort, at the time.

Silco was a soothing presence, he had passion to spare, and at times it felt like he understood him more than anyone ever did. It shouldn’t have come as a surprise that he wouldn’t tolerate any potential threat standing in his path, but it did. He thought he’d been given more than just the chance of a talk before his very-much-planned execution. 

”So what now?” Viktor asked, after an uneventful silent moment. “What do you intend to do with me then? After all I’ve done for you?”

“ What ? You want a prize?” Silco heaved a sigh, and stood up from his seat, tapping his cigarette on a nearby ashtray as he did. ” Thank you for your service,” he mocked. “It was all for a good cause. I hope these gratifications will be worth something where you’re going, but they most definitely won’t .”

“Where am I going..?” Viktor asked in a small voice, furrowing his eyebrows. 

“Off to a ‘reboot’ , in the best case scenario.” He said, crossing his arms and facing him once again. “But I doubt even Renata will claim dibs on your body after learning what you’ve done.”

”you haven’t told her..?” Viktor mumbled, moving a hand on his neck in a self-soothing motion, Silco made a hum of a sound and Vikto raised his voice once again. “Have you told her? Renata.” He repeated. “Have you told her about my entanglement with Jayce?”

Silco made a subtle movement with his head, it was a no , and as long as Silco never did, he’d still manage to keep his reputation intact.

“She’ll learn all about it soon enough.” Silco added when he saw Viktor’s mood visibly improve.

“She doesn’t have to.” He said. “I have a plan.”

“Should’ve thought about it before crawling back to your Piltie boyfriend and betraying us…” he mumbled, walking back to the ashtray.

“It involves him.”

“Even worse.”

“You can’t deny it’s useful having one of us on the opposite side.” Silco lidded his eyes, an action Viktor might’ve missed if he didn’t know him so well. 

“He’s not one of us…” he still protested, but by that point Viktor realized he had bought himself the benefit of the doubt. 

“He’s not just a vote in our favor at the council, he’s willing to sneak me inside. A large-scale attack might be what we truly need to-“

“Why would I spare resources for another attack…” Silco interrupted, and Viktor frowned.

“You cannot be content with the way things have settled between Zaun and Piltover. You think they’d ever let you represent your nation if the vote of six other people is valued as much as all of Zaun’s?” Viktor asked, frowning. Silco raised a hand, ready to interrupt him again, but Viktor raised his voice above his.

“Everyone noticed, you’ve gone soft.” he said, and blinked away the discomfort that came with Silco glaring daggers at him. Still, he persevered. “The ‘others’… they’re not satisfied with the economist role you settled for back in The Undercity. They want more, they want your rage . And if that is not enough to make you see reason, Inducing fear is the only thing that worked for us so far.” Viktor decided to remind him. “Let them know… that we’re still a threat. Even after all these years…”

Silco hesitated, but he discarded his half-intact cigarette in the ashtray, before walking away and to a different side of the room.

“It’s worth a try.” Viktor insisted, but the fight had died in him as soon as Silco averted his eyes.

“You have the right timing.” He conceded, rummaging around the general direction of his desk for something. Viktor had no idea what that something could be, but joined his hands on his lap, brushing his navel from over his clothes. “There’s a law they’re trying to enforce later this week, it’s this Friday. Those Upside time their conferences by day, so that by night I can communicate everything that's already been decided to ‘the others’.”

He took a medium sized box sitting against the side of his desk, curately wrapped around colorful paper and tied by a red ribbon, and walked back to him.

“They’re trying to implement limitations about who can replace me when the time comes.” He said. “The suggestion alone is an insult on its own, but the threat it poses is an even clearer reason to take measures.” He set the box on the table, near his glass. 

“Friday…” Viktor repeated, winching when the cardboard of what he realized was his gift hit the wooden coffee table. 

“I mean to refute whatever restriction they want to impose, and suggest that a monarchic approach on the choice of a new Zaun representative is the most effective way to avoid a possible conflict. You didn’t know?” He then asked, and Viktor shook his head. “I guess Talis hasn’t told you.”

He set a hand on his bump, softly caressing the side of it. “I’m… in no way ready to lead an attack that soon.”

“You won’t be the one leading, this time.” He said, and Viktor tilted his head his way, raising his eyes to Silco’s level as he looked down on him. “Your plan is sloppy, you clearly haven’t thought about it as much as you think. After all, a reaction from you is almost warranted, god knows it’s predictable, even… never mind that you hadn’t even thought about it.” he quickly added, raising a palm towards him. “In any normal circumstance, you’d be there, and subsequently, they’d have every right to strike you down with the attempt after your recurrent offenses.” He explained. “Let Piltover’s beloved hero show his worth, this time.”

Viktor's eyes widened for the faintest of moments before he furrowed his eyebrows in a sad scrunch of his face, he shook his head once again. “He won’t accept that…” he mumbled. “It’d be his last straw, he’s… willing to stay out of moral obligation.” He said, averting his eyes. He didn’t know if he was lying to Silco or himself. “He’d never go to such lengths.” He added, but Silco heaved a sigh, and wasn’t convinced enough to completely drop the idea.

“If your ‘special someone’ stays with you out of moral obligation, then he wasn’t meant to last at all.” Silco said, and it almost sounded comforting coming out of him. “If you tied yourself to someone that wasn’t meant to last to begin with and trusted him too much, then you can only blame yourself, and should be dealt with accordingly… your secrets are my secrets, Viktor.” He reminded him. It was useless for Viktor to try to plead his case, at that point.

“I pity you.” He said after too long of a time, finally consolidating what Viktor had only thought privately. They did have much in common, after all.

He didn’t say anything else on the matter. His mouth twisted in an uncomfortable grimace, and he bit back his words. When he spoke next, it was as if he had never said those three words at all.

“He stayed neutral long enough. Give him an ultimatum, or just don’t tell him he’ll be the face of the whole plan.” He moved his eyes away. “Either way, with the way that man is he’ll lash out the moment he sees any enforcer rattle you around too much...”

“I’m too close to my due date.” He protested once more. “That alone could jeopardize the whole plan, have you thought about that?”

“You really only have one choice, Viktor.” Silco said, and waited for him to nod before heaving a sigh, he walked to the door, unlocking it, and walked back to him. He offered him a hand, but Viktor didn’t take it yet. “Don’t wander to the border until Friday, don’t get caught. Let him seek you down here.” He still warned.

“What did you put in that?” Viktor asked instead of acquiescing, nodding his head to his discarded glass, the one that had slowly cooled in time, left untouched.

“Seriously… ” Silco almost growled, displeased by the question, he forcefully handed it to him. “Figure it out yourself if you’re brave enough.”

Viktor took the glass in his hand, hesitating but bringing it to his lips as he sipped its content. Silco hummed and raised an eyebrow, and waited a few, uneventful seconds.

“Spit it out.” He ordered, as if scolding a dog , He dragged the glass back closer to his lips, almost hijacking Viktor’s grip on it. 

Viktor complied, never having swallowed in the first place. 

He set the glass back on the coffee table with a small clink and a sour look on his face, and almost didn’t notice the two blue braids now dangling from the ceiling right above him.

Viktor draped his new acquisition on one side of the crib, the fancy red and black quilted blanket almost clashed near the many others that covered every corner of the crib, it didn’t match in style and didn’t match in color to anything present in that room, but it certainly looked soft enough to warrant its place.

Jayce sneaked up on him, wrapping his hands around him from behind as he looked over his craft.

“Look what daddy bought you, look at that blankie...” He said in that high-pitched voice he only ever reserved to talk with their baby. He wrapped an arm tighter just below his sternum, while his other hand grabbed at the corner of the new quilted blanket. “Rich, dark red and…er- and even darker black.” He said, his voice cracking as he flipped over the side of the blanket. “Seriously? It’s so… gloomy. Flowery embroidery is too overrated now?”. Viktor took his hand away, and flattened the soft fabric back where it belonged, Jayce moved that same hand back on his bump when Viktor turned around soon after. 

“I mean, as long as you don’t flip it over it looks fine…” Jayce commented, still eyeing the blanket behind Viktor. “I like red.” He said.

“Haven’t I noticed?” Viktor said with a little chuckle, wrapping his hands around Jayce’s shoulders. “It’s your house color, and you make it obvious enough…”

Jayce jokingly rolled his eyes, before exhaling a breath from his nose. “It’s just one of my favorite colors.” He said, placing a kiss on Viktor’s lips. “And it can be Sol’s too if he wants, I don’t mind sharing.” He moved his eyes down, and poked at the top of his bump, Viktor followed the movement. “ What do you think, Sol?” He asked in that silly voice again. “Do you like red? one kick yes, two no.” 

It wasn’t because the baby understood whatever Jayce was blathering about and had a real opinion on the matter, but he kicked all the same with enough encouragement, just once, and Jayce smiled, proud. “Works every time.”

Viktor put his hand on his, successfully stopping Jayce from annoying Naph even more, but didn’t reprimand him for egging him on. “What if he likes it more than you?” He deadpanned, his head elsewhere.

He didn’t correct Jayce about the name he still imposed on their son either, nor he had any intention to. He didn't want Jayce to ruin the name ‘Naph’ for him in the unfortunate circumstance that he didn’t like it, but he knew he could convince him their baby just had a face fitting for the name when the time came.

“Then I can pick a different one as a favorite,” he answered simply. “Pink, orange, grey… Just what kind of question is that?” 

He had indisputably lived the past couple of months in relative peace. They had found a routine, and while it started as the arrangement they once had, in time it had mutated to mundane, frequent visits that had little to do with sex.

Jayce would come by late afternoon and stay until morning every day until Friday, when he would come late in the night instead, near sunrise, and bury himself against Viktor’s neck as he slept. Viktor never gave him keys, but he’d always find a way to sneak in, somehow.

Some of these days Viktor would ask him to run errands, others Jinx would join them, and a few of these Jayce would argue with her and get himself thrown out. 

It was peaceful, even if it was just a few months. He didn't know if it would change, once he told Jayce about his plans.

…Wait, what kind of answer was that?

At this point, he was almost sure pregnancy mind-fog was contagious. 

Viktor’s chuckle came after an alarmingly long amount of time, Jayce furrowed his eyebrows but his lips mirrored Viktor’s smile. “You look good in red.” He said instead of explaining himself, and brushed invisible dust off of Jayce’s collar.

“I like you in red, too.” Jayce immediately answered.

“And in white, black, green…” He listed, eerily sincere. He rubbed his thumb against the back of Jayce’s hand pensively, before he decided a different approach, one that would possibly sweeten what he was supposed to say. “Although, I think I like you naked the most.”

Jayce rolled his eyes, and brushed his nose against his. “You can do better than that, you know I like to play hard to get.” He said.

“Can I or are you just not that attracted to me anymore?” Viktor retorted with a little hum and a disappointed grimace on his face. “That would’ve been enough back in the golden days…” He said, scoldingly.

“You can definitely do better than that .” Jayce insisted, heaving a soft sigh. He wasn’t at all too pleased by whatever Viktor was implying. “And you’re not supposed to do anything too strenuous for a few weeks still, that includes house renovations just as much as sex for your information.”

“Are you still mad at that?” He hummed, and buried his cheek on the crook of Jayce’s neck. “Who was supposed to change the tiles in my bathroom if not me? You surely didn’t offer.”

“How was I supposed to know you wanted to change those?” He groaned, but dragged Viktor impossibly closer to himself. “I found out when I saw you standing in your bathtub with a trowel in hand. You didn’t have a bathtub before that either, for all I recall!” 

“I’m nesting.” Viktor simply said, playing with the buttons of Jayce’s shirt. ”It means I’m preparing things for the baby’s arrival. My bathroom lacked a bathtub.” He explained, in case he hadn’t yet.

Jayce heaved a long-drawn breath from his nose, before moving his thumb up and down the back of Viktor’s neck in a soothing motion. “Just ask next time.” He still scolded. “I barely let you out of my sight and you still find ways to do things you’re not supposed to do…” Jayce mumbled, more as a thought said out loud than anything else.

Viktor circled the button of his shirt with his finger, before silently slipping it free. “Don’t worry about me… Let’s get you comfortable.” he said, but Jayce interjected his hand, and intertwined their fingers together instead. Viktor thrashed the offending touch, trying to break free. “Why say things like those if you don’t want to commit then?! This despicable taunting will not be tolerated in my own home.” He complained, now biting at Jayce’s hand.

“What the hells did I say now?!” Viktor wasn’t going to paint him the image he saw in his mind, but it involved Jayce in nothing but overalls and a wrench in hand. Was he really trying to sweeten the pill for him if he really looked forward to his own ploy? “Look,” He said, retreating his hand and snapping Viktor out of his own mind. “I want to, but it’s too risky. Just wait a few more weeks.” He insisted, even if he logically knew it’d be more than that. Viktor mumbled something under his breath but nodded against his shoulder soon after and Jayce placed a soft kiss on his cheek, above the metal magnets attached to his face.  

“We can get back to nesting. Matter of fact, I think I have something for that.” Viktor lifted his head away from Jayce’s shoulder and he walked out of the nursery, only to come back with a white gift bag he had left at the door. “I almost forgot about this…” He said before spreading the two thin strings of the bag apart. He nodded towards it and Viktor reached inside with his hand, only to pull out a stuffed animal with an enforcer hat on its head.

Viktor silently inspected it, turning it around in his hands and tracing over the carefully crafted stitching pattern around its paws with his fingers. It certainly looked expensive, unnecessarily so. Did Jayce assume their kid would appreciate this amount of craftsmanship as much as either of them did? Did he expect him to put it on a shelf until he would be able to? In that case, who was this gift really for?

“That’s cute, isn’t it?” Jayce asked, tilting his head as if confused by Viktor’s reaction. Viktor hummed, and tried to lift off the hat from the bunny’s head, only to find it unpleasantly stitched on. “You look like you hate it…”

“I’m the one nesting…” He said instead of answering, he flipped the bunny upside down, surprised when he found a tag attached to its fluffy tail. “You're not pregnant and therefore aren’t able to, but the use of ‘we’ in your previous statement makes me feel like you think you would be.”

“ We can agree to disagree.” He said, and his eyes followed as Viktor’s thumb and index finger grabbed at the tag, stretching it out as he read the inscription on it.

“ Don’t be afraid to be brave .” He read outloud, Jayce smiled even if his eyes had a sad look to it, Viktor didn’t question it, pinning the odd reaction to a sentimental hidden value in the plushie, he flipped it over. 

“I don’t hate it.” Viktor finally said. “It just looks like it wouldn’t be suitable for a kid aged 0 to… it’s not made to be played with at all, to be frank. It’ll get ruined.”

“And what’s the issue with it getting ruined?” Jayce asked, tilting his head. “It’s just a toy. As long as our kid plays with it I guess it’ll have fulfilled its purpose.” 

“That’s the point, it doesn’t look like it was made for that purpose in mind… thread and fur quality are quite high from what I can tell, and as if that’s not enough of a reason, some finer details are made in leather , who in their right mind would put this much work on a children’s toy?” Viktor asked, he furrowed his eyebrows as his lips turned downward in a little frown. “It looks like it’s part of a collection, one to be appreciated by afar, I can’t give this to a baby...”

“No, it’s not part of a collection…” Jayce said, taking the bunny and squeezing it in his own two hands, it was sturdy, well crafted, but it still yielded to his touch. “I can assure you it’s one of a kind… Pretty expensive too, I bet.”

“Really…” Viktor mumbled, before heaving a sigh. “I understand you might think our kid is special on the account of being your genetic legacy, arrogant as you are ,” he managed to add in a little, quick whisper. “But at the end of the day he’s just a child. He’ll ruin it.” He repeated.

“It’s just a toy, I don’t mind if it gets dirty, torn apart, or rips at the seams. It’s what it’s made for , no matter what material he’s made of .” He concluded, placing the bunny on the other side of the crib, directly opposite of the blanket Viktor had provided. Viktor reached with a hand towards its direction and adjusted the toy a little to the right, unable to help himself in the pursuit of the perfect nursery. 

“Covered in dirt and spit-up and unable to complain… I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.” He mumbled, but he didn't take the bunny away from its place, he returned his hand to his side only to move it higher and on his abdomen in a matter of seconds. “That’s enough standing up for today...” He said, heaving a long drawn sigh and startling an ever-so-hyper-vigilant Jayce in the process.

“What’s wrong?” He asked, throwing the empty cardboard bag in the crib and placing a hand on Viktor’s back. “Do you feel pain anywhere?” He asked, and Viktor let out another sharp breath, Jayce’s eyes flickered to the pained look on his face and down to his hand, before placing his other one there. “You don’t think it’s time, do you..?” He mumbled. 

“ No .” Viktor immediately said, raising his voice and elbowing him away. “That’s too early.” He added as he made his way out of the nursery. “He’s just acting up, I need to sit down.”

“I think you should go lay down...” Jayce suggested instead, placing a hand back on the small of Viktor’s back and redirecting him to his room, Viktor didn’t have a reason to oppose him as his bed sounded just a little more comfortable than a chair.

As he sat down, he sighed once more, drawing soothing circles with his hands  where the baby was still kicking, Jayce wrapped a hand around his knee, as if urging him to lay down properly.

“You’re so pale… you’re not going to faint on me when it’s actually time, right?” Viktor asked in a poor attempt of lighting up the mood, Jayce didn’t seem to have a clear answer to his question as he nodded at first, but then quickly shook his head. 

He let himself be manhandled onto the bed, before crossing his legs and sitting up straighter, he felt so much better already. “He’s not ready to come out yet,” He repeated again. “you just riled him up and then he decided he wasn’t done trying to kick me in the ribs. The silver lining is that he’ll probably get too tired to try that again once I go to sleep.”

“It’s alright, I get it… It just looked so intense, for someone with a high pain tolerance like you .” He said, leaning against Viktor’s nightstand and shifting his weight from one leg to the other. “You told me the baby ‘dropping’ doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to labor anytime soon, but I’ve found books that say otherwise… just tell me if you feel any pain and we’ll see what happens from there…”

“No pain.” He reassured. “It's just a little discomfort.”

Jayce pursued his lips in a thin line, eyeing Viktor suspiciously. He didn’t necessarily believe Viktor would tell him the truth, even in a critical situation such as labor, but there was no doubt he’d have to admit it If he stood around long enough or if he possibly pried the truth out of him. “You know,” he started, cautious. “sometimes babies come out earlier than 9 months, and that doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with them ,” he quickly added. “it’s just-“

“Who do you take me for? An amateur ?” Viktor interrupted, raising an eyebrow. “I  calculated that as well, I estimated an accurate due date based on average gestational time statistics in the last generation. He’s not coming before the 23rd, I assure you.”

“What statistics?” Jayce asked, raising a hand in disbelief. “I find it hard to believe you when there’s no way anyone would note down that kind of information. And please, do enlighten me on what relevance they’d have in this case...”

“‘That kind of information’ is found on one’s birth certificate, usually.” He said, completely ignoring any other presumptuous requests of an explanation.

“Yes, and ? Nobody would find it useful to gather all those numbers and… oh, you did, didn’t you?” He interjected on himself, sliding a hand on his face and sighing. “You just… oh my god…” he groaned, coming to his own conclusions. “Poor people, poor mothers…   I can only imagine what they might’ve thought when you stalked them and asked to see their children’s birth certificates…”

“Probably something along the lines of identity theft...” Viktor mused, but it was the first time he’d ever thought of his behavior as inappropriate. “Would they ever think I’d swap their child for mine? Some species of birds rely on other birds’ parenting to make up for their shortcomings after all.”

“No… yes ,” he said, the words starting as a whisper but raising in volume as he thought more about it. “well- maybe… I don’t know! What the hell..? What birds..? Are you a mother bird in this scenario?” he asked, but wasn’t all that interested in that answer. “Did you stalk families at night ?” He asked instead.

Viktor shrugged and didn’t confirm nor deny it, as expected Jayce’s mood dropped. “It’s important to attempt to connect with people that have gone through the same parenting journey as I am going through.” Viktor tried to reason, but Jayce was barely listening. “The survey doubled as a search for an adequate playmate for our child, if it can make you feel better. Candidates have been selected pre-birth and I know the general location of a few pregnant mothers in my vicinity.”

“ohhh…” Jayce groaned once again, the sound coming out as a whine this time, he held his temples with two of his fingers. “I can’t believe I’m standing in front of the latest iteration of the monster mothers tell their children about at night… in the flesh.” He complained but he still sat down at the end of the bed, and scooted closer to Viktor’s direction. 

“So, the average is..?” He asked then, genuinely curious.

“37 weeks.” He answered. “And I still have a couple of weeks available to prepare for that.”

“ Well , now I feel inclined to remind you that some babies come out later than expected too.” He scolded. “That’s what I get for not questioning your math…”

“That’s a different issue… Just relax, Jayce.” Viktor said, moving a hand on his arm and squeezing, he moved his legs back at the edge of the bed just to move closer to Jayce. “You’re not going to be the one to push him out either way.”

“Right…” He conceded. “But all this waiting around… doesn’t it feel like torture to you? Not to mention you were already waddling around a few months ago, but you can’t do much of that either now.” Viktor tilted his head, and Jayce sighed. “I meant to say, it was cute at first, but now you tell me you can’t breathe properly and it’s just concerning. It just reminds me you weren’t really supposed to ever get pregnant…”

“I can breathe.” Viktor corrected, chuckling. “I can breathe, I can definitely still ‘waddle around’ and I’m still able to do everything I did before getting pregnant.” And then, he added: “with the exception of jumping down rocky crevices and tall buildings.”

“Thank god for that…” Jayce exhaled, chuckling. He placed a hand on Viktor’s other hand, on top of his bump, and silently caressed it with his thumb.

Viktor hummed, contemplating. Silence stretched long enough for Jayce to heave a relieved breath, successfully lulled by Viktor’s calming presence. “I suppose it’d be easier if he came out right now…” Viktor conceded after a long moment of consideration.

“ No , no no- Don’t get any weird ideas, I didn’t mean that .” Jayce immediately interjected him, it was astonishing how just about anything these last few weeks could spike Jayce’s blood pressure exponentially. “I know it’s probably not comfortable having a full-term newborn in you, but if he’s really not ready to come out, then leave him be. We played with life enough ...”

“Not full-term and not a newborn, on the account of it still developing inside of me and not being born yet…” Viktor corrected again. “But if he was born right now, it’d be easier for me to… tell you.” He said. Jayce’s eyes lit up after a moment of silence, and he dragged Viktor’s hand on his palm, before covering it with his other one.

“Viktor,” he called, unbearably and atypically softly . “I know we had our differences, but it doesn’t matter anymore. I’m ready.” He said, much to Viktor’s surprise. “I’m ready to be a dad, and I’m ready for the next step.”

“oh.” Viktor exhaled. “…the next step?” He repeated, but didn’t dare to raise his voice above a whisper.

“And I didn’t mean to rush you,” he added. “but I really want you to meet Amaranthine when you feel ready to take the trip Upside.”

“What about this friday?”

“Wha- No . you’re on bedrest.” He reminded him, now the slightest bit suspicious about Viktor’s intentions. “It’ll be months before you can, don’t push yourself like that…”

“I’m not sure what you’re talking about, Jayce.” He finally confessed, retreating his hand. “But there’s a council meeting on Friday.”

”There’s one… almost every Friday, really.” He corrected, trying to get behind the disappointment he felt. “I thought it was the same down here.”

”It’s an important one, if you recall.” 

Jayce slid a hand in his hair, as if considering, but shook his head. “Just something about…” he let his words trail off, and sighed. “ Definitely not my expertise.” He said instead, confessing he hadn’t been paying attention. “I usually get the topic of the next meeting before I get there, and I never really stay longer than I have to either, so...”

“It’s your job…” Viktor chastised, furrowing his eyebrows.

“A job that I hate , I’m not really that motivated to give anything but the bare minimum.” He reminded him.

Viktor could keep the scolding tone off his tongue and the petty remarks about being more engaged in such a high-profile job as the one Jayce had if it meant he’d buy himself enough time to explain himself.

Viktor moved a hand on Jayce’s shoulder, sliding it further against the back of his neck, where he stopped it from wandering. Jayce shifted to the touch, gladly tilting his head closer to it. He took Viktor’s other hand and set it on his cheek as he tried to drag him closer and closer to his lap. He didn’t manage to do much more than make their knees brush against each other before Viktor spoke again.

“I need you to be open-minded about this.” Viktor said all of the sudden, and Jayce opened his eyes, previously shut as he got himself carried away by a little show of innocent affection.

“I don’t like where this is going…” He mumbled, looking down at Viktor’s lap. 

“It is of utmost importance for you to accompany me to the council room this Friday."

“It’s a private meeting,” He said, kissing Viktor’s thumb absentmindedly. He didn’t question the formality of that statement, as approximately ‘every other word’ coming from Viktor was too formal for any occasion. Jayce theorized it was for a lack of company in his upbringing and sourcing his entertainment from books as a replacement, but never tried to open a conversation about it.

Viktor was one of the last people that’d ever enjoy getting psychoanalyzed, after all.

“I can’t give free-passes to just anyone,” he continued. “it’d be unfair, I-“ he interrupted his own generic, calculated answer and straightened his posture, finally remembering who he was really talking to. Viktor’s hands slid off of him with the sudden movement. “ You are definitely not welcomed, Viktor! Are you kidding me?! You’re considered a war criminal!”

“Am I a terrorist or a war criminal? make up your mind…”

“ Both ! ‘Both’ is the answer!”

“I told you I’d need your compliance in the foreseeable future.” Viktor said, and gripped the collar of his shirt, dragging him closer. “ Whatever it take s, remember?” Jayce’s eyes lit up in recognition, but it was hardly a triumph.

Viktor was painfully aware his current state took away some of that necessary dread that threats of any kind needed to be successfully intimidating, but if he hadn’t been, Jayce sure had a way with words.

Jayce pushed his hand away with ease. “Yeah, right .” He scoffed. “Ask me again when you’ll be able to fit in your armor, I might change my mind.” 

Viktor nearly snarled, but refrained. “You promised,” he pointed out. “Those were my conditions when you agreed to pursue a truce.”

“If you recall correctly, you said you wouldn’t ask me to do that while you were pregnant, and that was before knowing the extent of your sudden loss of strength! What even is your plan now that you can’t even defend yourself? Let’s act this out! ” Jayce suggested, more out of spite than genuine brainstorming.

He stood to his feet, taking a step back and raising both of his hands in front of Viktor, both of them pointing at him. “You’re in the middle of the council room and you just declared war- don’t get up, it’s fine.” He ordered as soon as he saw Viktor move to do just so. He heaved a sigh and covered the back of his hand with his other, as if concealing what was behind it. Viktor raised an eyebrow.

“Now ask me what I have here.”

“What do you have there?” Viktor asked, deciding to humor him.

“A gun.” He said, and made a show to reveal his hand behind the other, now pointing it at him as if it were a real weapon. “A gun ! You chose to rebel against the only oligarchy that actively trains their militia on how to use hex-tech powered guns !”

“Who are you in this scenario?” Viktor asked after a little unimpressed hum. “The creator of hex-tech powered guns or a random enforcer who is surveilling the premises?”

“Does it matter?!” Jayce asked, pacing in circles, he groaned, and Viktor gave him a moment to recollect himself before answering.

He drummed his fingers on his bump as their baby eventually calmed down. “I’d have at least a few more chances of coming out of the fight without a shot wound if it’s you.” He pointed out.

Jayce stopped, turned to him once again, and with the necessary rigidity the situation seemed to require he said: “There doesn’t exist a world where I’d ever entertain the thought of shooting you in this scenario.”

“Called it.” Viktor said, unamused.

Jayce heaved a deep breath, but couldn’t help the exasperated whine that followed. “You’re asking me to trade your life and our son’s right now, all because of a suicide plan, Viktor! Can you be reasonable?!”

“You’re the one that suggested playing pretend.” Viktor pointed out. He set a hand on the bedstand, and finally got up, slapping away any attempt of Jayce helping him out. Jayce retreated his hand but he never fully wiped off the concern off of his expression. “And I’m not asking you to do that, I’m asking you to uphold a promise.”

“I can’t do it.” Jayce said, vigorously shaking his head. “I can’t do it and you can’t make me do it, I won’t do it.” And if he hadn’t fidgeted with his hands enough already, he slid one back on his face, gripping at the bridge of his nose with two of his fingers.

Viktor set a hand on his shoulder, urging him to step aside. “Where are you going..?” Jayce asked after a second of complete deadpan, he trailed behind Viktor as he stepped out of the room. “This is your house, you can’t run away! Please- just sit down again, let’s talk about it.” He nearly pleaded. 

When he didn’t receive fast enough feedback, he scrunched up his nose and walked in front of Viktor. “You’re a manipulative piece of shit if you think you can just leave anytime I don’t do exactly as you say- anytime we have an argument, really!” He yelled.

“It is my house, and I couldn’t run away even if I tried.” Viktor conceded, but didn’t face Jayce, he instead surpassed him and walked through the arch dividing the hallway from the kitchen and near the stove. He rummaged through a few cupboards before Jayce interjected his hand. “Sit down, Jayce.” He instructed, before he could say anything else. “You need it more than me.” He said, reaching for the small container he had eyed with his other hand. 

Jayce paused, taken aback, but reluctantly did, dragging a chair from the kitchen table and tilting it closer to Viktor’s general direction. 

“I don’t know what I’m doing wrong with you.” He said after a moment more, by the time he did Viktor had already started working on making sweetmilk for the both of them. “I’d never thought I’d say this but I wish you’d think more about yourself, I wish you’d just… act egoistically for once and think that, maybe , your life matters more than most- to me, at least!” He quickly added. “Instead you’re considering dying in a lost cause that I know for a fact you don’t truly believe in… Is there any other way for you to trust me? One that doesn’t involve potentially losing you in the process.”

“Im afraid not, in this case.” Viktor said, stirring the contents of the saucepan in front of him. “Whatever you choose to do, I want you to know I appreciated the time we spent together, and I do… trust you.” He added, even if hesitantly.

“No, you don’t...” Jayce retorted.

“I think I do.” He corrected himself.

“That's not enough for me...” Jayce confessed with a sad chuckle. “But, if I have a choice, what happens if I refuse?”

“In any other case, I’d cut contact with you indefinitely.” He stated, simply. “You’re indirectly responsible for the reason I can’t give my son a comfortable life in the place that I grew up in, after all… and I’d never overcome the resentment I still feel for you.” 

Jayce hummed, but he wasn’t truly considering the idea. He’d have argued it was just the same as not having a choice at all.

“Since the situation is most dire, I’m not sure I can anymore. Whether you and I act or not, a new civil conflict is inevitable.” He poured two glasses. “It was partially my fault, my sudden disappearance, I… didn’t fulfil my tasks.” He confessed. “Piltover is now almost 9 months into what is expected to be the ‘most peaceful’ year they’ve ever had. No revolution, no threat, no change.”

“What does that mean for you, then?”

“If a civil war breaks out I’d be the first they’d blame, both for not fulfilling my role, and for my evident affiliations to you.” He said, giving Jayce a glass of sweetmilk before sitting on the nearest chair with one of his own. “You asked me about my family, once.”

“I did.” Jayce said, unable to pass the occasion of hearing more about Viktor now that he was willing to share, even if he thought the information to be completely irrelevant.  

“My biological family died in a raid, mistaken for young revolutionaries on their way from work. Both my parents were miners, and contrary to what you might think based on my personality and life choices, they loved me. I was their pride and joy.”

Jayce looked almost offended by the assumption, but any rebuttal died in his throat when he realized Viktor wasn’t all that far off. “I would never… I mean, I had some doubts but… well...”

“When they died, someone found me and gave me a home, and most importantly, gave me the means to explore my engineering curiosity."

“Silco…” Jayce mumbled, and dragged the offered glass closer, rubbing his thumb against its side.

“No.” Viktor quickly corrected. “But that’s how I met him… through a common connection.” he said, and heaved a sigh. “I owe him, when I cut ties with you and all of Piltover, he welcomed me, treated me like…” he didn’t know if what he wanted to say applied anymore, so he didn’t say it. “He treats Jinx like his daughter,” He said instead. “and I treated her like a sister by extension. She works for him.” 

“That’s not…” Jayce started, furrowing his eyebrows, he let the glass warm his fingertips, but wasn’t in the mood for a sip. “She’s a wreck… unstable… Jinx doesn’t work for anyone but herself, that’s what Violet told me.”

“She’s not as unpredictable as you make her out to be Topside, she knows who she’s loyal to, and it just so happens to be Silco, whether Violet accepts it or not.” 

“It’s treason.” Jayce said, plainly. “It’s high treason, harboring a well-known criminal and obstruction of justice...”

“Not only that,” He said, and Jayce’s eyes shot from his glass back to Viktor. “but we partnered in order to secure him a spot in the council. He was the solution to a problem we ourselves created, the attack on the council, all our doing. It was by design a fearmongering tactic, we needed you to believe every Zaunite was armed, dangerous and ready to march Piltover’s streets, but if it ever came to that… We knew losses would have been devastating.”

“You shouldn't have told me.”

“I think you knew.” Viktor said. “At least part of it.”

“ I’m not supposed to know.” Jayce reiterated, holding a palm in front of him as if to stop him from saying anything else.

Viktor jerked his head back with the odd reaction but hummed, as if agreeing. “After today, it doesn’t really matter… If you refuse to bring me before the council this Friday, Silco will take it as mutiny and deal with me privately.”

“What even is the point in having you there? What threat do you pose?” Jayce asked, shaking his head in disbelief. “You’re out of commission, anyone that ever so slightly glanced at you from afar would notice, it doesn’t make any sense! So, why?”

Viktor tapped his finger against his glass, and Jayce set a hand back on the table, waiting for an answer that wouldn’t come. Viktor took his glass closer to his lips, nursing it so as not to burn his tongue. 

“I am the backbone of this whole operation, aren’t I?”

“Face and body.”

Chapter Text

Inside one of the hallways of The Academy wasn’t exactly where Jayce would ever think to be ambushed, but there, in front of him, she was. He stopped at the sight of her, but didn’t have a valid enough reason to stride in the other direction, and soon enough, Caitlyn called him. 

“Hey, stranger.” She simply said, her steps were delicate but urgent as she approached Jayce. Even she must’ve felt like he might’ve run away if she wasn’t fast enough. “Can I walk with you? Or do you have places to be?” She asked, and Jayce noticed how she kept her hands behind her back, and her posture stiff. “You’ve been avoiding me like the plague.” She pointed out.

Jayce adjusted the book in his hand and grimaced, unable to help himself. “I should’ve tried harder…” he mumbled, and she shook her head, chuckling. It was odd when she let both of her hands fall at her sides, before adjusting the thin strap of her paper bag to her forearm, and holding it upright, and it was even more odd when she didn’t immediately mention it. 

Jayce didn’t give her enough time to do so, to be completely fair. Their shoes had never brushed before Jayce was stepping forward and once again aiming to his destination, Caitlyn following him always a step behind. 

“To what do I owe your er… presence?” Jayce said trying to sound the tiniest bit annoyed, but couldn’t wipe away the smile off his face at Cait’s response.

“Seriously? What’s that tone supposed to mean? You walk the other way anytime we meet and that’s the first thing you say to me…” she said, and she certainly didn’t pout. Despite himself, Jayce relaxed his shoulders and let her catch up to him. “If I didn’t know you, I’d think you were hiding something.” She said, moving a blue lock behind her ear.

“But you do know me, so… nothing to worry about.” Jayce said before walking down an infinite flight of stairs.

“But I do know you” she repeated as soon as they set foot to the last step, she let Jayce walk ahead of her up until she grabbed his wrist, and tugged him in a different direction, and to a certain car waiting for their arrival. “and I know for a fact you’re not only hiding something, but you’re also going to make it everyone’s problem if I don’t act fast enough. Care to join me for a trip to the Kirraman’s estate, sir Talis?” She mocked, using some of that formality he had used against her earlier in the conversation. 

On any other occasion, he’d go along. He hadn’t seen Caitlyn in a long time, he had been avoiding her in face of the recent developments in his private life, but he feared he’d reveal everything to her if she only ever asked. 

“I can’t.” He said, stopping her in her tracks, her hand falling from his wrist. “Amaranthine… She’s waiting for me at home… I… don’t have time.” He said.

Anyone would be a fool to believe him.

But Cait hummed and forced herself to smile, even as her eyes fluttered in disapproval. “I had a hunch you’d say that.” she said, before tapping a finger beside her lips pensively. “Let me give you a ride, then.” 

Jayce heaved a sigh, but silently accepted. He resumed his steps and Caitlyn did the same. 

The ride was uneventful, awkward even. Caitlyn set the white bag on her lap as the both of them were sitting in the backseat. Any attempt she might’ve wanted to make at a conversation was admittedly snuffed out by Jayce doing anything in his power not to make eye contact.

“What a day…” she said all of the sudden. She didn’t tilt her head his way for as much as Jayce could tell. “Earlier this day I had to conduct a thorough investigation near The Sun Gates, you can figure out how that went…”

Jayce hummed as an answer, but his interest was piqued.

“Thankfully, I didn’t have to deal with any smuggling, my priorities lay further south, near the docks.”

“I’d have to argue that’s where the most smuggling occurs…” Jayce commented, and Cait hummed in positive.

“Between council meetings and patrols I barely have any time for myself…” she said, she looked down on her lap, at the bag there, while she willed her hand to wander near her clavicle, tapping the spot nervously as she muttered something below her breath. Something Jayce didn’t quite catch, but had something to do with a certain ‘she’ and what would’ve happened were she there. 

It had been years, but there was yet to be an effective cure to grief.

Jayce furrowed his eyebrows in a concerned scrunch of his face, but didn’t get the time to inquire about his friend and her wellbeing, as she immediately switched the conversation. 

“But while I’m dealing with a possible organized crime case, I get wind of The Defender having already inspected the premises recently…” Jayce finally turned his head in a swift move.

“Me?” He asked back with his eyes wide in surprise.

“Yes, you.” Caitlyn said, returning his confused gaze. “It was a couple of months ago, some bystander recognized you coming from the docks, and since you’ve been featured in a few journalist issues around that time with a similar location… it checks out.” Jayce had wished he had gotten the hint of teasing in her voice, but as panicked as he was at being found out, he hadn’t, and the question that came afterwards was as much as an accusation as anything. “What were you doing there, exactly? Who are you meeting up with?”

“Are you interrogating me?” Jayce asked, instinctively tilting his body further away from her and closer to the door.

Caitlyn raised a confused eyebrow, with a little grimace to match. “If the situation requires it…” She said, straightening her posture. 

“Well, it doesn’t require it.” Jayce said, tapping his foot impatiently. He couldn’t wait for this ride to be over… “Everything is under control.” He added, before silence fell on both of them.

They didn’t talk for the rest of the ride, but the guilt Jayce felt at his outburst was immediate, and only kept growing as time went by. He didn’t know how to address it and when the car came to a stop, he hesitated, but gripped the handle of the door, and opened it without a word shared. 

Cait scooted closer to the open door, and kept her hand on its handle before Jayce could close it behind him. “Can I pay my favorite niece a visit or are you going to be this snappish for much longer?”

Jayce smiled, and opened the door wider for her. His eyes flickered back to the white bag she looped back around her arm, figuring out she had always meant to give it to Ama, before taking her hand and helping her hop off. He didn’t deserve someone as caring and understanding as her, but he was glad she had stuck around for so long.

Jayce didn’t run a step in front of her again as he walked alongside her inside the Talis estate. The halls were silent as usual, except for the sound of boots running to the main door. 

Amaranthine stopped at the sight of the both of them, surprised to see a visitor, before running to the favorite of the two siblings. 

It wasn’t Caitlyn… but she ran to her.

“Hey there, little recruit! Reporting for duty yet?” Caitlyn lifted Ama off her feet as soon as they collided, balancing her on one arm as she held her shoulder with her other hand. She brushed their noses together like she always did whenever visiting, and Ama giggled. “Is Jayce treating you nice? 

“Nothing to complain about…” She said, before covering half of her face from Jayce’s view and adding a low “ yet .” to her previous statement, making both Jayce and Cait chuckle by how adorable she sounded.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Jayce retorted, but his tone was playful enough, he tugged at one of her ponytails and she immediately slapped his hand away.

“I’m sure you did something to warrant it.” Caitlyn said, before adjusting Amaranthine in her arms. Ama wrapped both of her hands around Cait’s neck before tilting her head backwards to stare at Jayce with an unamused little frown. 

“I didn’t!” Jayce protested, but when Amaranthine turned her head to Caitlyn once more, she had a different story to tell.

“He’s always away.” She complained to her, making sure she was loud enough for Jayce to hear as well.

“Is he now?” Caitlyn asked, glaring at Jayce before moving further into the hallway, aiming for the living room.

“Not always…” Jayce retorted, walking a few steps behind, Ama glared at him the same way Cait did as she laid her head on her shoulder. “You’re just mad ‘cause I didn’t bring you to the academy with me, aren’t you?” He asked her. “No kids allowed in chemistry class, that’s what Heimerdinger told you last time, didn’t he?”

“Well, you bought her a coat and goggles, no?” 

“It wasn’t enough, apparently...”

“I’m sure Professor Heimerdinger would make an exception if he knew how smart Amaranthine proved to be. It’s your fault for not trying to persuade him harder, Jayce.” Caitlyn reprimanded, before sitting at the couch with Ama on her lap, she booped her nose, before she was assaulted by an irrational pang of cuteness-aggression and pinched Ama’s cheek. 

“Hey!” She protested. “What was that for?” 

“Cute tax I’m afraid.” She tsked, before shaking her head as if disappointed, but her lips were still turned upwards in a smile. “You should know the law better than anyone, little lady. Aren’t you going to take Jayce’s role when he’s old and weak?”

“Only if he lets me use his hammer…” Caitlyn put the bag on the ground, near her heel and Amarantine followed it with her eyes. She was polite enough not to ask.

“That’s not going to happen anytime soon, Ama. Go play with your little ponies if you’re bored, but I’m not letting you hold a weapon- actually… Hold that thought.” He interjected himself, bringing his wrist near his field of vision before remembering he hadn’t worn a watch, he glanced at the clock on the wall instead.

“Oh-oh…” Amaranthine whispered, Cait raised an eyebrow at her.

“It’s Monday, and it’s 5PM.” He stated, matter-of-factly. “And you’re in time-out ‘till 6. No ponies for another hour, go read a book.”

“No ponies until 6?” Cait asked, turning her head to Jayce, Jayce moved in front of both girls to give her neck less of a strain. “We’re timing punishments on the dot now? What did this young lady do to deserve that?” Cait cupped Amaranthine’s chin with one of her hands, caressing her cheek with her thumb as she pouted up at her.

Despite it being impossible, Cait was sure she had inherited that look from Jayce.

“She got in my stuff and she shouldn’t have done that.” Jayce said, crossing his arms, protesting when all Cait had to say about it was a little pitiful ‘aw’. “There’s nothing cute or funny about that, she could’ve gotten seriously hurt, Cait. Tell her.”

“And you’re making her read a book at the age of 5?” She asked instead, Jayce raised an eyebrow.

“5 and half, and she can read, so…”

“Yes, but as a punishment ?”

“As a replacement . A replacement for ponies.”

“Don’t listen to this brute, Ama.” Cait said, brushing her hair with one of her hands. “I’ll tell you what, go grab your coat.” She said, nodding her head, Jayce’s eyes widened, already figuring out what she had in mind to do. “You’re having a slumber party with me and your aunt Violet tonight. Not as a prize-!” She quickly added before Jayce could protest. “but as a replacement. Let your aunts take disciplinary action for your little mishap.”

“ Really ?” Amaranthine asked, flickering her eyes between Jayce and Caitlyn.

“Yes, really .” She said, but Ama didn’t move away from her lap until Jayce nodded his acquiescence. “Now, go. Go grab your coat, and I don’t want to hear anything about it being too hot outside.” She scolded, lifting one of her fingers. “It’s going to be chilly tonight when I’ll bring you to see the ducklings in my garden.”

Amaranthine squealed in excitement, nodding her head as she ran to the direction of her room, Jayce tried to stop her, already regretting his decision, but didn’t go further than a step her way before he gave up. 

“Did you really have to do that..?” Jayce asked, heaving an exasperated sigh. “She’ll never take me seriously if you let her do whatever I don’t…”

“Bad cop, good cop.” Caitlyn said, shrugging her shoulders. “It’s a classic.”

“What if she rummages through my things again? What if she finds Hex-tech gems in my drawers and-” Cait stood up from her spot on the couch, only to grab at Jayce’s arm and interrupting his morbid train of thought.

“I know you mean well.” She said, squeezing his arm. “But you’re too strict with her. She’s a good kid, it was just an accident.”

“It could’ve been deadly.” Jayce insisted, but released tension from his back, convinced enough. “Cait,” he called, sliding a hand in his hair. “this is…”

“This is your first time parenting, I know.” She completed for him. She bent against the end of the couch, taking the bag she had brought with her and giving it to him . “Let’s hope you won’t use the same excuse with the next one.”

Jayce took the gift in a near automatic response, but didn’t answer. Didn’t think he’d be able to even if he tried, but his lips parted as if attempting to all the same. 

“I don’t know why you’ve been so secretive lately… but your mistake was thinking I of all people wouldn’t notice your odd behavior.” She said, “Toys, baby clothes and then, furniture that is best befitting of a newborn than a kid the age of Amaranthine, that’s all I’ve managed to find in a quick search through your purchase history.”

“That’s…” Jayce muttered, looking down at his feet. “abuse of power, not to mention a breach of privacy...”

“Not at all, I didn’t have to go to any lengths to find that kind of information. Your purchase balance still gets mailed to my House every few months… Since my mother was your sponsor back when you weren’t that big of a deal.” Caitlyn informed him, Jayce grimaced. He should rectify that … “Did you ever bother checking?”

“If I did, we wouldn’t be in this situation right now…” Jayce sourly pointed out, the slightest bit defensive. He heaved an exhausted sigh from his nose.

Caitlyn joined her hands behind her back, fidgeting with her index finger as she searched for the right words to say. She opted for a joking approach, this time. 

She hummed, letting silence linger for a moment more. Then… “Although, I wish I could’ve met the lucky lady before knowing about a new Talis member on-the-way. Is there any reason you’d hide her from me? Do I know her? Them?” She asked, before a different thought came to mind, she blinked her eyes as if chastising herself for not thinking about  the most obvious answer. 

“Do I hate them?” She asked, smiling. She raised an eyebrow as she looked at Jayce up and down, analyzing his reaction. Bingo ! “Who could-“ 

“I’m ready!” Ama called from the end of the hallway, running dangerously fast towards her aunt. Other than her coat, she also had a bag in her hand, which Caitlyn immediately inquired about. 

“Did you bring your pajamas?” She asked, bending down on her level and peeking at the bag, Amaranthine opened it wider, letting her see.

“No, but these are…” she stopped, eyed Jayce, and then lowered her voice. “These are my ponies, I can’t leave without them…”

“I heard that… And you still need pajamas, you better go get those too.”

“Oh, it’s fine.” Caitlyn said. “I must have some from when I was little hiding somewhere in my household.” Then, she lowered her voice too. “And we can always buy a new one if that isn’t the case.” 

“Nonsense… she doesn’t need any more.” Jayce said, smiling faintly. “Come on, Ama… You can’t go to a slumber party without your pajamas, or your toothbrush, don’t forget that one.” Then, when he saw her hesitate, he said. “You can bring your toys too, just don't lose them.” He waved a hand, urging her to go back and fetch the missing items herself. 

“What an independent young lady…” Cait mused proudly as Ama gave her the bag and ran back to her room.

“It’s… complicated.” Jayce said, making Caitlyn raise an eyebrow and turn his way again. “I haven’t told Ama yet, I don’t want her to think I’m replacing her…”

“I’m sure she’ll be thrilled to have a little brother or sister, don’t worry too much about it.” Caitlyn said, lightly punching Jayce’s shoulder, but then her smile faltered, and her eyes held a new, concerned look to them. “And Jayce…” she called, gently. “I just want you to know, I’m here if you need any help.” Jayce’s eyes turned her way once more, almost confused. “Whether it’s a rifle at your service or a hand with nappies” She said, quietly. “Just a whistle is all you need… When in doubt , you know where to find me.”

Jayce tilted his head, and forced himself to look her way, he nodded, but he wasn’t at all that convinced.

Caitlyn patted his shoulder lightly before walking in front of him and meeting Amaranthine halfway all the while Jayce reached for a hand inside the bag Caitlyn had given him, taking out a white rabbit with a little enforcer hat on its head.

He pushed it back inside the bag.

“My legacy.”

“Your legacy?” Jayce asks. “What’s the use of a legacy for an immortal being?” 

.

.

.

“ Jayce .” Viktor calls in a low whisper, but he doesn’t manage to grab his arm before Jayce lifts his head off the pillow, shifting away. 

“On it.” He answers, walking away from the bed and into the nursery. Jayce comes back from his quick trip with Naph cradled in his arms, wrapped around a small, red blanket and screaming his lungs out just to grab his parents' attention.

Born slightly bigger than they’d expected, a little over 9 pounds, Jayce was devastated to know any outfit that he had ever bought Naph before his arrival would not fit him. 

but he quickly adjusted, spending the consequent few days after his birth bringing him new onesies that would. That is, up until Viktor told him to stop and that he’d begin to grow out of his new wardrobe just as fast as he did the other.

“I know, I know…” Jayce mumbles, managing to quell Naph’s desperate wailing to a manageable little whimper of a sound. “There, your mommy will take care of you now.” And as if on cue, Viktor sits up and opens his arms.

Jayce sets him softly in his waiting arms, and takes his place beside him in bed, but instead of falling back asleep, he sets his head on Viktor’s shoulder, and closes his eyes. 

Viktor rolls his eyes lovingly, before lifting his pajama shirt and letting Naph nurse, he lets out a hiss and then immediately a sharp exhale, before he relaxes his shoulders.

Jayce moves a hand on his furthest shoulder patting him on the back as he snickers under his breath. Viktor could hear the joke form in his head even if he hadn’t said a single word.

“No.” He says amidst the silence, scoldingly. “You’re not much better either.” Jayce lets out a laugh, and buries his nose against Viktor’s neck just to muffle the sound, but finds the temptation of mouthing the spot too strong with his lips so close to the area. He still doesn't go far beyond a few innocent kisses, nor did he have any intention to. 

“Did you know…” Viktor starts, his voice a little more than whisper now that he was the slightest bit more awake. “A newborn has around a cup of blood circulating in their system in total?”

“Not ours.” Jayce insists, sporting a smug little smile on his face, he nestles his head back in the crook of Viktor’s neck, and finally opens his eyes. “Ours has one cup of blood and half a stick of butter in his system at all times. I’ve never seen a newborn this big.”

“Did you know it’s all your fault?” Viktor counterattacks. 

“Mine?” Jayce repeats, feigning offense. “Why would it be my fault? It’s what you ate while you were pregnant.”

“It’s genetics.” Viktor corrects him, the joke flying over his head. “On top of being your perfect copy, he’ll most likely grow up to be just as tall as you, explaining his unaccounted weight at birth.” Viktor brushes a thumb over his son’s chubby cheek, softly caressing him. “You were a handful.” He whispers to him, low enough for Jayce to ignore it.

“But he looks just like you.” He says instead.

Viktor chuckles, but immediately shakes his head. “I’ll never see it.” 

“I do.” 

Viktor leans his cheek on top of Jayce’s head for an uneventful, silent moment, up until Naph unlatches from his breast and he’s slowly set on top of his shoulder. Viktor taps his back twice before he’s out like a light in his arms. 

“That was quick.” Jayce comments, setting a hand on top of his.

“He’ll be back for seconds.” Viktor says, and the statement instantly elicits an exhausted little groan from his partner. “Just drag the crib in here, I doubt he’ll sleep through the night at this rate. And it’ll be easier for you to bring him to me.”

Jayce lifts his head from Viktor’s shoulder, and with one last sigh he’s already standing up. “On it.” He says, before crossing the door to the hallway.

“A real handful…” he repeats to Naph and Naph alone with little hope he’d actually answer, or understand him. “Good thing I plan to acquire another arm.” 

Viktor heaves a sad, exhausted sigh at the same time Jayce returns with the crib, pushing its frame ahead and dragging its legs on the floor with a loud screech of a sound that nearly startles Naph awake.

Viktor murmurs sweet-little-nothings to their son, preventing another tantrum from escalating, he cradles him just like Jayce previously did and Naph opens his unnaturally bright blue eyes at him, before quickly burying his face back into his chest.

Viktor’s eyebrows furrow, and the corners of his lips turn downwards in a little frown. 

“I need to introduce you to my father...” He says then, and Jayce almost breaks his neck as he turns to him.

Turns out, Viktor’s acquaintance and colleague , (he quickly rescinded any other interpretation Jayce might’ve wrongly assumed of those titles soon after), would be one of the last people to meet Naph, as the next couple of weeks after Viktor has healed up properly were spent with ‘ courtesy visits ’ from and to his dysfunctional family. 

The first to visit was Jinx, too soon for Viktor’s comfort, only three weeks after Naph was born - Jinx even argued she had waited even more than she’d have liked tho. She wasn’t given the chance to hold Naph before Jayce sent her out, arguing with her as he always did. Viktor didn’t intervene that time, secretly relieved she was gone as he slowly got acquainted with his body again.

When she returns again, a couple of weeks later, Viktor is much more inclined to receive her, letting her cross the hallway into the nursery and instructing her to sit at the rocking chair by its corner before handing Naph to her.

“Careful.” He still warns, adjusting her hands and lecturing her on how to hold a baby properly since he supposed, rather correctly, she has never held one before. “You have to support his head, he’s not able to do it on his own yet.”

Jayce bites his nails a little more frantically when, after he gives his instructions to Jinx, Viktor just moves away, not even pretending to hover over his sister to prevent a possible, likely disaster. 

Jinx stares down at Naph with big wide eyes that might’ve just matched his in both size and color, and moves closer and closer to him. Naph blinks a few times, wriggling and cooing at his odd aunt before moving his head left and right, all in the hope of finding a much more familiar face.

“Don’t ‘boo’ him.” Jayce warns, raising his voice. He points a finger in her direction, highlighting his order. “You’re scary as it is, there’s no need to give him any other reason to fear you.”

Jinx lifts the corners of her mouth in a smile, but doesn’t turn to Jayce. “Boo.” she says almost immediately after, but not out of malice, only as a little teasing. She is considerate enough to utter the word in a low whisper, and Naph’s attention snaps back to her. 

Jayce rolls his eyes, showing his disapproval with more than just a little grimace. He crosses his arms, taps his foot impatiently but doesn't intervene. More out of fear of getting kicked out of the room than anything else.

When Jinx keeps her weird scrutiny on their child, moving impossibly close to his face, he tries to get Viktor’s attention, glances his way only to see him just as antsy as he is. 

It worries him.

What if she shakes him a little too hard before they pry Naph away from her?  What if she bites him? 

He really wants to trust Viktor’s judgment. He wants to believe Jinx is not all that she claims to be, or others claim her to be. 

But she’s unpredictable, impulsive, erratic, dangerous. And their baby, still just an infant, is currently in her arms, wrapped around his baby blanket and surrounded by pink and blue claws . 

He means to intervene, uncaring if he causes a scene or not, but then she just bumps her nose against Naph’s, and Jayce freezes. 

“And boo-p .” Jinx says, more like a whisper meant for Naph’s enjoyment alone than anything else, and he does enjoy it, giggling and squinting his eyes when the next thing she does is giving him little nose kisses, brushing her nose against his.

Jayce relaxes his shoulders then, his hands slide from his shoulders to his elbows just to end up back at his sides.

Jinx is every adjective he’s ever thought of her, but she’s just a teen.

At her age, just a few years back, Caitlyn was still asking for his help in her studies, she was still buying and naming stuffed animals she’d then set on her bed to collect dust, she was still asking for his help braiding and tying her hair on hot summer days after losing the only person who would. And he was still giving her advice, buying her plushies, braiding her hair and wiping her tears.

Jinx lifts Naph up, but still holds his head against her palm when she does, and then slowly lets him down again, just to rest her forehead on top of his head. Viktor walks over to her, sets a hand on her shoulder and reminds her to be careful, but Jayce doesn’t move an inch, and doesn't really notice.

In a way, If roles were reversed, he wouldn’t have forgiven himself either. 

If Caitlyn had chosen to shield a criminal implicitly responsible for the death of Jayce’s most important person, he’d have never looked her way again. 

But then again, whenever he’d think of anyone fitting of the role he’d, unsurprisingly, come to the conclusion that out of lack of candidates both said criminal and Caitlyn would contend and overlap for the spot of most valuable person to him, resulting in the very foundations of said dilemma crashing down onto itself.

He snaps out of his sad derailing of his own train of thought when Jinx squeaks a scandalized little yell, and only because she hands Naph back to him, urging him to ‘Take him back! Take him back! Take him back!’

At first that is enough for the panic to set itself back deep behind his ribs, but then he glances down at Naph, he holds him tighter, and he finally understands.

He sighs, and scolds Jinx for being so childish before setting Naph on the changing table.

After Jinx, it was Silco, whom Viktor managed to trick into babysitting for him a few times after his and Naph’s first encounter before he had had enough of him.

After all, despite having questionable parenting ethics, Silco had, objectively, more experience than him in that field. Much more than he himself would comfortably admit. 

He should’ve expected the day he’d blatantly refuse him would be right around the corner, but he had meticulously ignored all the signs (namely Silco explicitly telling him not to rely on him for such frivolous things again), so much so that he was visibly surprised when he set Naph on Silco’s desk and the man immediately pointed at the door Viktor had come from.

“Get your baby off my desk and get out .” Silco says not even giving Viktor a glance before he turns his rolling chair around and outright refuses to acknowledge him.

Viktor sweeps an arm on the table and lets Naph flop on the cleared out wooden surface of it flat on his stomach. He tries to reach for a pen, but Viktor gives him his finger instead.

“There has been a sudden rise of business ever since June.” Viktor explains, somewhat apologetically, after all, he really did rely on Silco more than he signed up for. “It’s imperative that I tend to it in a timely manner before it piles up even more than it already has.” 

“Not my problem.” Silco says briefly, but Viktor doesn’t let that discourage him.

“I need to trade for scraps near your environs, this is simply a necessary stop between my humble laboratory and my destination. I won’t be long.”

“Take him with you, I don’t want to hear it.”

“Jayce doesn’t want Naph anywhere below The Promenade’s proximity before we figure out Zaun’s ventilation system. I cannot trade with him strapped to my chest.” Viktor argues, but Silco moves a hand outside the boundaries of his chair, still turned opposite to him, and moves his index finger from one side to the other in a sharp ‘no’. Cruel . “ In addition to that ,” He still argues “he doesn’t like that there’s a brothel near every Entresol’s workshop, he doesn’t want Naph to see them.”

“How does he know of the brothels near Entresol’s workshops?” Silco predictably asks.

“He has wandered the place before in search of crystals.” Viktor replies, unamused.

“Liar.” He snickers, and finally turns around. “But speaking of him, why shouldn’t he be able to pick up his brat while you go about your day?”

“Unlike you, he’s still a councilor, one that has just come out of paternity leave and trying to fit in with people that see him as nothing more than a class traitor.” Viktor reminds him, picking up Naph from Silco’s desk once again when he plops his head on its surface, too tired to hold himself up. “And it’s all thanks to us if you’ve been promoted and don’t have to deal with any of those people anymore. All I ask in return is that you spend a few hours with Naph while I get the means necessary to carry out my job.”

“Let’s set things straight once and for all.” Silco says instead, setting his elbows flat on his desk and joining his hands together. “If it weren’t for me , you’d be the scraps you’re trying to trade for, and your baby would be sent to an orphanage.”

“Only because you’d order it.” Viktor points out, raising his chin.

Silco chuckles but only after a moment of charged silence. “Well, I’m glad I didn’t.” He confesses at last. Viktor exhales a breath he didn’t know he was holding, and the other slides a hand in his hair. “One hour.” He concedes. “Then I’ll feed him to the newts rummaging in the dumpster.”

“Newts don’t eat babies.” Viktor says, turning his head to Naph as he does. He adjusts him on his hip, and pinches his foot. “I know, I befriended one.”

“If they’re desperate enough, they might.” Silco comments in a low tone, but Viktor barely acknowledges him, he sets Naph in his arms but keeps a hand on his back for a moment more, afraid to part with him.

“You really are soft.” Silco says all of the sudden, Viktor scoffs as if offended, and doesn’t think much of it. “I can’t even say it’s Piltover that poisoned you. You were born with it. From the moment I met you, I knew you were different.” He adds.  

“I always was ‘different’, I was destined for greatness, and alienation in my formative years is the price I paid. settled , now.” He decides to add, he faintly thinks of Jayce, and perhaps, that makes the payout of having to be burdened with loneliness in his childhood all the more satisfying. In a twisted way, it does. “But beside that, every child is born soft.” He says, stoking Naph’s cheek. “And if I were just as much as anyone else, I am not anymore. Steel replaced meat and bones, and experience shaped my perception of others. I am who I was always supposed to be.”

Silco hums, and sharpens his eyes, glancing at him up and down with a sly smile. “I still see it.” He says. 

“Nobody has ever looked at me and thought I was soft, nor weak. You are an exception. Your memory of my past life clouds your critical thinking… you’ve gotten old, replaceable even.”

“If you ever find someone that could do what I do… Give me a call.” Silco mutters, annoyed.

“Babysit their grandchild? I will search and let you know.” Silco scoffs, and doesn’t seem all that interested in changing his mind anymore. “Perhaps growing another heart made me remember the one I’ve lost…” He utters out loud, just after a moment of silence. “I will correct that.”

“You are far beyond the point of saving… Most sentiments start from the brain, after all. Ever thought about getting a new one?” Silco suggests at last.

Viktor takes away his hand, but doesn’t reply, he only shushes Naph when he coos in distress.

“There, there now.” He says, but then his voice cracks, and his timbre of voice changes. “Grandpa is going to take care of you now, little one.” Viktor says, now in an almost near identical voice as Silco’s.

Silco raises an eyebrow, and scolds him. “Cut it.” He orders, and adjusts Naph in his arms. “It creeps me out.”

“Every day I get better and better.” Viktor says, in his voice still, but quits it soon after in the sentence that follows. “I should get going, now.” He caresses Naph’s head once, and rubs his finger near his ear in a soothing motion and in something of a parting goodbye.

from one of the structural lintels of the ceiling, Jinx makes a little sound of appreciation, an almost mocking “oooh!”, before she peaks her head out. 

Viktor looks up at her, and she smiles. She supposes Viktor is doing the same behind his mask.

“Can you say ‘I’m stupid and I cry when Jinx pokes my eye’ next? in that voice, of course.” She requests, and Viktor’s diaphragm moves with the start of a reply before Silco interrupts him.

“No.” Silco answers for him, raising his voice. Then, he moves his head to Jinx and furrows his eyebrows. “Get down there immediately and take this brat off of me.”

“Nooo!” She complains, but Naph is already giggling from recognizing her voice alone. “He keeps pulling my hair, I hate him!”

“Get. Down.” Silco repeats, Viktor quietly backtracks his steps, taking advantage of the distraction to get out of Naph’s sight without him noticing a thing.

When Sevika sees him walk out of the room and hears the mess he left behind, She stops, and simply turns around.

Around the same time, Naph gets introduced to Amaranthine. 

And to be completely fair, Jayce could’ve organized it better, perhaps he could’ve told Amaranthine there’d be a sibling on the way and he’d be born anytime around July, but he never found the right chance to approach that topic.

So when Jayce tells Amaranthine she can skip school one day, around the first week of October, just so they could spend a full day working on her Harrowing costume together, she immediately knows something isn’t right, but she’s not willing to let that opportunity slip. 

Then he lets her in his office, tells her she can use his ‘expensive blue paper’ for her sewing project and gives her a new doll around colorful but hastily-wrapped wrapping paper and it clicks for her that she’s either getting a shot or Jayce is trying to give her bad news.

“What’s wrong?” Jayce asks, furrowing his eyebrows at her odd reaction, he kneels to her and sets a hand on her shoulder. “Don’t you like her? Oh god, I didn’t get you one that you already had in your collection, did I?” He worries, but Ama shakes her head in ‘no’.

Amaranthine grabs the doll by her legs and lets her flop down in her hold. “It’s nice…” She says, shrugging. “I like cat-people better though.”

“The tiny cat figurines?”

“Yeah.” She nods. “I think they’re better.”

Jayce smiles, somewhat relieved or amused, she doesn’t know and she doesn’t want to dwell on it. “We can return that one and you can pick whatever you like later in the day.” He says, and Amaranthine instinctively brings the doll closer to herself.

“Why?” She asks.

“Why not?” Jayce replies, raising an eyebrow. 

“But why?” She asks again.

“Well, if you don’t want to, you can just keep that one.” He says instead, rising to his feet once again. 

“I didn’t say that.” She says, and her face begins to morph into an angry grimace, Jayce lets out a little humorless laugh.

“You kind of did...” Jayce comments with a hand on his mouth, but he does it low enough not to spark an argument with a 5 almost 6! years old.

when all Jayce does is walk back to his desk and pretend that the whole interaction didn’t happen, she yells “I’m not going to the doctors!” Tapping her foot down, and pointing at him. “You go, not me!”

“Im not bringing you to the doctor, who the hell told you that now?!” He complains, turning back around and furrowing his eyebrows once again.

But Amaranthine holds her ground and clenches her fist. “Then why are you giving me a present and being so nice to me?”

“Wha- when have I ever been mean to you, Ama?!” Jayce asks back, sliding a hand in his hair, truly distressed . “And sending you to school ‘too early in the morning ’ is not being mean, that’s what all your classmates do anyway. Everyone wakes up at the same time of day or gets eaten by the school monster, I don’t make the rules!” He points out, waving a hand in the air to highlight his point. “Look, you might not understand it now, but perseverance is a virtue, just as discipline and patience, you’ll thank me once you’re older.” 

“Then…” She looks down at her doll. “You’re being nice just to be nice?”

“I’m always nice.” Jayce corrects her, then stalls. “But, uhm…”

“I knew it!”

“You’re not going to the doctors, that’s not it!” He quickly says, pointing a finger at her. “Stop saying that!” He says. “But, that aside… I have been meaning to ask you something…”

“What?” She simply asks, tilting her head. 

Jayce sits on his chair, and Amaranthine walks to him. He picks her up and sets her on his lap with a little sigh, Amaranthine thinks he’s always catching his breath like that because he’s old , but she doesn’t tell him this time. Jayce doesn’t like to hear it that much. 

She glances down at the blueprints on his desk, and although she doesn’t understand any of it, she fleetingly thinks that they’re of a really nice color. She should take some, make stars out of it and ask Jayce to hang them in her room. That would make her happy.

“How do you feel… about getting a sibling?” Jayce asks her then, but he gives her a pen, like his plan had always been to distract her while she was deep into her creative process before dropping that bomb on her, and her inquisitiveness might’ve just ruined it.

“A sister?” She asks, seemingly excited if her tone was any telling. She tests the pen on the paper, it writes in white ink. She should ask for one of these in her pencilcase. “Some of my friends have sisters. They say they’re nice and they don’t eat the things that you like so you can always trade with them for the icky stuff on your plate. Like tomatoes.”

“Well, no. Not a sister.” He corrects, before taking a new piece of paper out of his pile, one that wouldn’t be all that missed if it were to get scribbled on.

Amaranthine hums “A brother then?” She asks, turning her head to Jayce.

“Yes, a little brother.” He confirms.

“I prefer a sister.”

“I can’t really do anything about that…”

“Can I get a sister instead?” She asks, as if that would be the most obvious solution.

“No.” Jayce says, sighing again. “But you haven’t even met him, maybe you’ll like him.”

“I don’t think you can trade the gross stuff on your plate with a brother. I don't really want to meet him.”

“Well, then when a little baby comes to our house in a few hours just cover your eyes and go to your room…”

“I don’t have a choice then...” She complains in a low voice, scrunching her nose. 

“Of course you have a choice…” Jayce says, his voice a little more high-pitched now, he caresses her cheek with his thumb. “You can choose to meet him or not when he visits.”

“I really prefer a sister.” She repeats, in the hope that could change something, maybe she could change Jayce’s mind if she says it enough times. 

“I’ll take note.” He promises. “Maybe next time, how does that sound?”

“Why is he coming here?” Ama asks instead.

“To meet you, of course.”

“Why does he know me ?”

“ I told him about you.” Jayce answers simply. “And now he really wants to meet you, but I must warn you he might not be able to tell you that. He doesn’t talk.”

“Why?” She asks.

“He doesn’t know how yet.”

“Why?” She repeats.

“He’s very small.”

“How small?”

“Very small, so much so you might be able to pick him up if you promise to be careful.”

Amaranthine hums, still visibly disappointed.

“His mom is really good at making costumes, and he’s coming too.” he says then, in the hope that would cheer her up. He wraps his hand around hers, specifically the one still holding his pen. “He made his out of steel, and he wears it almost everyday. He can help us with your Harrowing costume if we start sketching a few prototypes now.”

“Why does he wear his Harrowing costume every day? Doesn’t it get itchy?” Amaranthine asks but Jayce only chuckles as an answer, ‘almost everyday’ he repeats in a low tone, Ama eyes him and pouts. “He sounds weird.” She says at last.

“He is.” Jayce confirms. “But he’s not all that bad.”

.

.

.

When Viktor arrives, Amaranthine has already made a few sketches of what she’d like for a costume and Jayce has already moved the old sewing machine from the attic to the living room.

The machine is an ancient heirloom that neither Ama nor Jayce know for certain that still works, Jayce doesn’t have time to express his doubts or suggest they’d buy another one that a chime is heard from the main door, and he’s conveniently distracted.

He opens the door and greets the person behind it with a little more affection Ama, who had followed, has ever seen him show for someone else. She realizes just then the mom of her new sibling is also her dad’s new boyfriend, a detail she had completely overlooked when asking about him. 

And he is weird.

He wears a costume just like Jayce warned her, he has a blue and red cape, tattered in some edges, and a sturdy steel armor, he also wears a metal mask that he quickly takes off when he steps inside, revealing his black sclera and his neon-orange irises.

Oh, and he has a damn third hand on his back! This one waves at her when she stares at it long enough, and Amaranthine grimaces, scrunching up her nose and furrowing her eyebrows.

‘Where did her dad find this weirdo?’ Amaranthine wants to ask, but in truth she knows. And the answer isn’t one that she necessarily likes.

She moves behind Jayce’s leg, something that she would deny ever doing because: ‘it’s really childish, and she’s not a baby’, and tugs at his shirt.

“I need to tell you something.” She whispers, looking up at him. “Alone.” She adds.

Jayce turns to her, and sets a hand on her head. “Don’t you want to meet your brother first?” He asks, and moves one step to the side to make space for their new guest, and sure enough, strapped with a piece of fabric under the frayed scarf-cloak-mantle, there’s a little baby, way younger than Amaranthine first imagined. Not even old enough for her to play with.

“No.” She still says, raising her voice. Jayce tries to hide his disappointment, but can’t help but let out a nervous chuckle.

“That’s…” he says, perhaps as the beginning of an apology, but then he backtracks. “Just, go ahead and make yourself at home. I’ll be back in a moment.” He tells Viktor, and he silently acquiescences. Jayce walks forward and in one of the hallways leading to the bedrooms, and Ama follows behind. He stops before they reach Amaranthine’s room, and kneels in front of her instead.

“What is it, Amy?” He asks, and Amaranthine can see he’s worried, he’s mirroring her expression without meaning to. Before she answers, he sets a hand on his forehead and shakes his head. “I mean… It’s ok.” He says. “If you don’t feel like meeting Naph, I can just tell Viktor to come back another time, it’s fine, really.” He insists. “We can work on your costume by ourselves, it’ll be nice.”

“That’s the robot that tried to kill you and aunt Violet!” She says instead, completely ignoring Jayce’s rambles on her supposed shyness. “and aunt Cait and everyone else!” She adds, raising both of her hands. “Everyone!”

Jayce stills, he squints his eyes and nods his head just for a second, as if to confirm Ama’s worries without meaning to, then he sighs. “Yes and no.” He says. “It’s a long story, we came to an agreement.” Then, quickly but not quick enough, he adds: “And kill is a strong word, we just used to argue a lot. Don’t believe everything aunt Vi tells you.”

“I don’t like him! You don’t like him either!”

“Aw…” Jayce murmurs, relieved and somewhat touched, he pats her head. “Are you worried about me, Amy?” Amaranthine huffs a breath, and shakes her head exasperated, much like Jayce always does whenever he talks with someone other than her. “You just don’t know the whole story, Viktor’s a really cool guy actually. Why don’t you try meeting him? Then we can go buy ice cream together.”

Does Jayce really think he can buy her compliance just like that?

“...What kind of ice cream?” She asks.

“Whatever kind you like, of course.”

Amaranthine hesitates, but shrugs. “I guess.” She says, easily swayed by some bribery. “But I’m watching him.” She warns.

“That’s alright.” Jayce says, standing up again. “I count on you, then. No funny business.”

“That’s right. No funny business.” Ama repeats.

When they get back to the living room, Viktor isn’t there. Jayce calls for him only to find him in his office, looking over Ama’s drawings and the sketches Jayce made based on them. He has a hand on Naph, snugly trapped against his chest, and another grips the corner of the blueprints, Jayce steps closer to him.

“So, what do you think?” He asks him, Viktor doesn’t turn his way.

“It’s nice.” He says, and doesn't add anything that might faintly resemble a compliment. Viktor wasn’t really the type to sugar-coat things, after all. “Is this piece of fabric supposed to drag to the floor?” He asks instead, circling one spot on the paper.

“That particular draft includes a jester-like hood, and yes, it’s supposed to split in two different directions that drag to the floor.” Jayce confirms, before pointing at the extremities of the hood. “And here and here, we thought we could attach some bells. Comically large bells.”

Viktor hums. “That’s not very practical…” He comments.

Jayce nods. “Well, It doesn’t have to be. It’s just a costume, she’ll use it for the week of The Harrowing event and then she’ll grow out of it.”

“It just has to be fun.” Amaranthine adds, backing her dad’s words.

“I don’t find that fun.” Viktor says, mimicking her tone of voice.

Amaranthine makes a groan of a sound, scandalized . “figures!” She says before crossing her arms.

“Ama, be nice…” Jayce whispers to her, but chuckles as if amused. 

Viktor finally turns, lowering his eyes to Amaranthine, he remains silent for a second, just staring at her.

What a creep… 

“Lasers are fun, bells are not.” He then says, and oh-

Oh. 

That, she could work with.

“No!” Jayce immediately protests, but still too late, Amaranthine is already jumping up and down in her spot by the time he does.

“Yes!” She squeals, wandering closer to Viktor and tugging at his cloak. “I want a Stellacorn horn that shoots lasers and confetti!”

“On a headband?” Viktor asks, and adjusts Naph a little better on himself, now wriggling under his make-shift baby carrier and complaining about the noise with little whimpers. “Or would you like it coming out of your forehead?”

“On a headband, of course!” Jayce answers for her, before she could even think about it, then scolds Viktor. “Stop giving her weird ideas, she might think you’re serious!”

“… he’s not?” Ama asks in a low voice, disappointed.

“I’m always serious.” Viktor argues, scoffing and raising his chin.

Jayce turns again, and points a finger towards her. “And no lasers until you’re 18!”

“Come ooon…” she whines.

“But you can have the confetti.” He concedes. He glances at Viktor with half-lidded eyes and a grimace that matches his apparent distrust. “I just don’t feel comfortable giving you creative reign over the design of that…”

“On a headband and no lasers. I get it, I can follow instructions.” Viktor says, rolling his eyes. “Where can I find the necessary materials for the project?”

“I guess I can find a headband lying around somewhere…” Jayce answers. 

“I’ll be able to make a rough prototype out of a few pipes, of various sizes preferably, and a circular saw.”

Jayce sighs, and sets a hand on his desk. He lowers his voice, as if somehow he expects the kind of feedback he'll be met with. “You’re making it out of cardboard.” He announces, and the other two participants audibly complain their dissent, Ama goes as far as to stomp her foot on the ground.

“You’re making it out of cardboard and glue, and that’s final.” He repeats, raising his voice. “And, make a simple spring mechanism tied to a string for the confetti thrower.”

“That sounds boooring.” Amaranthine complains, dragging both of her hands on her face and whining.

“Creativity should have no boundaries,” Viktor argues, and furrows his eyebrows. “Who are you to limit your child’s imagination and ambition?”

“She’s not going to bring a metal stake to school for The Harrowing event! Do you know how dangerous that could get? What if the other kids get hurt?”

“Natural selection.” Viktor simply says.

“You don’t really believe that…” Jayce mumbles, unsure. Then he gathers round all the disarrayed sketches, and begins to tidy up his desk, putting away pens and pencils, and swiping off the table eraser shavings. “If we’re done with the draft we can go ahead and buy some fabric at the markets,” he says, now moving to the door. “and if we get there before they close we might get a good deal out of it too.”

“A good deal?” Viktor mocks, letting out an unamused laugh. He and Amaranthine follow him outside the room, and near the main door. “You couldn’t haggle even if your life depended on it, let me do the talking. It’ll save you some coin, and your dignity.”

“I can haggle.” Jayce retorts. “And you don’t know how to do that without turning a simple polite conversation into a threat. I think I’ll pass.” 

“What are you going to dress up as for The Harrowing?” Amaranthine asks him all of the sudden, grabbing at two of his fingers to get his attention, Jayce holds her hand instead and pushes the sheets of paper inside the leather briefcase by the door, the one he often carries books to the academy with. 

“Me?” Jayce repeats, adjusting the bag on his shoulder. He hums, as if that was the first time he’s ever thought about it, then, he turns to Viktor. “Personally, I think I’m going as him.”

Viktor scoffs, and takes the mask he had previously taken off from the little coffee table near the coat-hanger. “Request denied.” He announces, setting his mask back on his face. Naph looks up at him but doesn’t cry, doesn’t bat an eye, possibly all too familiar with that particular quirk that his mother still retains. Viktor moves his chin closer to his head, softly, as if he were kissing him.

“I wasn’t asking for permission, I’m definitely going to dress up as you.” Jayce reiterates, and opens the door. 

“That’s unbelievable. How dare you appropriate my image for mockery?”

“You can go as me too, if you want.” Jayce offers, shrugging his shoulders. 

“Never. It’d be a downgrade. I’m better off dressing up as a worm than you.”

“That sounds like an ugly costume, but nobody is stopping you.” Jayce answers, letting out an humorless chuckle.

But Amaranthine frowns, glances from her dad to their guest and furrows her eyebrows.

“Why are you so mean?” She asks Viktor, and Jayce squeezes at her hand a little tighter.

“He’s not mean to me, we're just joking.” Jayce tells her, “you really think I’d let someone like him bully me?” but Viktor has an answer of his own.

“It shapes personality, builds resilience.” He says. “I’m doing Jayce a favor. He should thank me.”

“Yeah right, as if.” Jayce scoffs. “Don’t trust a word Viktor says, Amaranthine.” He warns her. “He doesn’t mean a thing.”

Viktor doesn’t answer, just shakes his head annoyed and walks a few steps ahead.

Amaranthine glances at him just for a second before he lifts her head back to Jayce. He does look happy, she thinks. She also wonders when it’s a good time to tell him that her feet hurt and she doesn’t want to walk all the way to the markets.

.

.

.

She’d never say it, but Viktor is really better at sewing than her dad is. So much so that she doesn’t think Jayce knows how to make costumes at all.

When Jayce takes the scissors to the bright pink fabric they bought, he’s right behind him taking them out of his grip. He scolds him, tells him they’re nowhere near that step, and takes Amaranthine’s measures before he makes a pattern of her dress out of a couple of pieces of paper taped together.

He asks her for her opinion too, even though Amaranthine doesn’t really know what to say most of the time. He talks weird and his questions aren’t any better. But he still asks her what length she wants the dress, if she wants gloves with it, if she wants any more accessories, and a lot of things she didn’t think about wanting when she first thought of her ‘Stellacorn princess’ costume. 

Amaranthine starts to think Jayce didn’t even try to learn how to sew when deep into the thick of it, when Viktor is pushing the first iteration of her dress on her head, he’s just over to the side, comfortably sat on the couch and talking to her new brother as if he could understand him, which Ama doesn’t think he can.

“That’s pretty cute, isn’t it?” He says when she and Viktor approach him, but forgets to switch to his normal voice, the one that isn’t reserved to babies like Naph. He quickly corrects that. “What do you think, Ama? Is it too tight? Can you move your arms?”

Amaranthine tries, rotating her arms in a circular motion. She can, and it doesn’t feel uncomfortable. She doesn’t say that.

“It’s missing stuff. I don’t like it.” She says instead.

“This is only the beginning,” Viktor says, and walks a step ahead. “The shimmery details will come later. I will add a petticoat, tulle and functional stellacorn wigs some time later in the week.”

“Why not today?” Amaranthine asks, lifting her eyes his way.

“Well, it’s gotten pretty late, and making a dress takes time, Amy.” Jayce answers for him. “There’s no need to rush it either... Or bother Viktor more than we already have.”

“It’s not a bother to me, sewing is a skill that comes natural to those endowed with steady hands and inventiveness. I have both.” He says. Naph raises his hands towards him, and he takes him off of Jayce, adjusting him on his hip. 

Amaranthine hops on the couch instead, scooting near her dad. She takes the dress off her head, Jayce helps her and helps adjusting her clothes under it back again. “Would you like to hold your brother, Ama?” He asks her then, all of the sudden. 

Jayce looks over to Viktor, now a little less scary-looking with a few unnecessary pieces of his armor missing and his scarf-cape gone, and he hesitates, but nods.

He walks over to Amaranthine and she wipes her hands on her skirt before being handed her brother. She holds him like she would a pack of flour, and stares at him with wide unblinking eyes. Naph stares back.

…He really doesn’t do anything .

“That’s nice...” She says exactly two seconds later. “He’s a bit boring. I don’t think a sister would be like this.”

“Cut it,” Jayce scolds. “it’d be the exact same with a sister. He’s just small.”

“I guess… What does he eat? Does he like tomatoes or..?”

“He doesn’t eat any solid food yet.” Viktor answers. “He’s just a little over 3 months old.”

“That small? He’s 0 years old!”

“That’s right.” Viktor says, and smiles, amused at her reaction. Then she looks over at him, raises her eyes his way, and glares.

Viktor tilts his head, he doesn’t ask her about it, just pinpoints her reaction to her feeling uneasy in his presence. Most kids are when they see him, after all. But after spending so long together he was honestly surprised she only remembered her distrust for him at the end of the day.

“Where did he come from..?” She asks him after an uneventful moment, but then she turns to Jayce too, as if he could give him a clearer answer, or one she could trust.

“That’s a question for another day, Amy.” He says, exhaling a breath.

“I know how babies are born.” She says, huffing an annoyed breath. “I do!” She insists. 

Jayce lets out a long-drawn hum, but doesn’t believe any of it. “How do you think babies are born then?” He challenges her.

“When you kiss someone you can ask them if they want a baby.” Amaranthine explains, Jayce nods, ‘right…’ he mumbles. “Then you have to wait and a baby grows out of your belly.”

“Yes, that’s correct. You can find more information on biology books, but this sounds more or less accurate.” Viktor confirms. “This one, I made myself.”

“ …You?” She repeats. “But… You’re weird. And he looks normal, not like you.”

“He takes after his father, I just made him.” Viktor says, but Amaranthine doesn’t seem convinced enough. “How do you think I made him, then?”

“He doesn’t look like a robot to me… But if you’re a robot then you don’t have a belly button and then you can’t have babies. Did you make him in a-” she holds out a hand, and pinches her fingers as if she were holding a tiny cylinder. “-vial in chemistry class?”

Viktor laughs but shakes his head. He sits beside her, only to set a hand on top of Naph, he reaches his hand to hold one of his fingers, and coos. “This one is made the old-fashioned way, although I have another son that is made of non-organic matter. I didn’t make him in a vial either, no chemical reaction. just metal.”

Amaranthine hums again, looks over Naph, still suckling his pacifier, he’s boring but he’s not that bad after all. “He can come over sometimes, I don’t mind it.” She says, and Jayce lets out a little chuckle, relieved to hear her say just so. 

“Do you want Viktor to come over too sometime?” He asks her then with big hopeful eyes.

Amaranthine has to look the other way to answer truthfully.

“Not really…” she admits.

“What- why not?!” Jayce furrows his eyebrows, surprised at the admission. “After everything he’s done for you? Amaranthine!”

Viktor lets out a huff of a chuckle, and shakes his head. “Don’t let your father sway your judgement, you don’t owe me kindness. He’s just been trying to bribe me to move in with him ever since we had a baby together. I have a perfectly functional and baby-proofed house back in Zaun, and I don't want to move.”

“What baby?” Ama asks, looking down at Viktor’s stomach. 

“This baby.” He says, nodding in Naph’s direction.

Only then, it clicks for Amaranthine that her new brother’s dad is also hers. 

“Alright, that’s enough…” Jayce repeats, bouncing a wailing Naph in his arms like he’s done for the past hour. If that wasn’t long enough of a time, the entirety of the night before was spent much in the same way. “That's enough, it’s naptime, don’t you want to sleep a little? Take a little nap and let your daddy take one too?” He rambles, hoping his voice sounds soothing enough to lull Naph back to sleep. “Gods, why are you so clingy?” He asks after a moment more. “Your mom is coming back! I swear he is!” 

Jayce tries to push the blinky back in Naph’s mouth only for him to spit it away and far from his reach, destroying every little chance he had of quelling Naph’s cries. 

He groans and shuts his eyes, but keeps on trying to cradle Naph in his arms, hoping the movement would be enough to send him back to sleep. 

Babies cry for no reason at times, he knows that, but there’s a little voice in his mind always repeating that this might not be the case this time, that he should worry, that something is wrong with Naph and he’s not able to figure out what because he chose to focus his attention in science rather than take a class or two on parenting. 

All the knowledge coming out of books he haphazardly skimmed before Naph’s arrival was all useless paired with lack of sleep and multiple coincidental causes and reactions to prenatal issues of the same root. 

And worst of all, he has no one to ask for help. 

So when he hears chimes at the door, he nearly runs to it, pulling the handle towards himself with a wide smile in hope of finding Viktor behind it, the only person that he could comfortably confide in and search for a solution with. His hopes shattered as soon as he’s met with Violet’s face on the other side of the door.

His expression goes from disappointed to guarded in the matter of seconds as he reminds himself that a visit from an enforcer of any kind is never a visit he wants to receive. 

It's not that he doesn’t enjoy Violet’s company, but after the last insurrection he was personally involved in, they had hardly conversed at all if not in lone hallways of enforcers stations and jury trials.

“Holy shit.” She immediately exclaims, her eyes wide and focused on the little figure cuddled against his chest. “Whose baby is that?!” Is the first thing she asks after that. 

Jayce looks down at Naph, still whimpering and on the verge of throwing another fit, and he adjusts him higher in his hold, supporting his head with a palm.

He sighs, but answers her. “It’s mine. It’s my baby…” he says.

“You have two?” She asks, and her eyes focus on him before they sharpen again, she frowns. “Why has nobody ever informed me of that?” She complains, and walks forward. Jayce lets her in despite his better judgment, exhausted beyond measure and unable to properly hold her back even if he tried. 

She could hardly handcuff him with a baby in his care, after all. Any enforcer would have to go through much more trouble than they’d want to deal with if they’d ever found a legitimate reason to get him into custody but had to find a place to send Naph away.

Violet was not just any enforcer, he reminds himself. However, Jayce fleetingly thinks jail couldn’t have been all that bad if it meant he’d get a break.

“What do you want?” Jayce asks her after a moment of silent consideration. “What else have you found on my record that you want to politely discuss? What else could there be?!”

“Nah, that’s not really…” Violet scratches at her cheek, just near the corner of her mouth, then lets out an humorless laugh. “Heh… I guess I’ve been doing a lot of that lately.” She says, hoping to light up the mood, Jayce lets out a choked up groan and shakes his head. 

“I just came to check on you.” She insists, raising both of her palms defensively. “Maybe near a drop of something? You… can drink, right?”

“Why…” Jayce murmurs, a bit hesitant, then he immediately raises his voice, defensive. “Why would I not be able to drink?!“

“You seem busy, that’s all!”

Jayce heaves a deep breath, and lets her follow his steps into the living room. “You can bet I am…” he says, nearly whining. He refrains. “He won't stop crying, and when I think he is, he just starts again and again and again…” he moves his hand in a circular motion and Violet’s eyes follow it. 

“That’s tough…” Violet mumbles, unable to find anything better to say, she looks around the living room, from the toys scattered on the ground on a little chemistry-themed playmat Jayce must’ve had custom made, to the rocking chair Just on the side of the couch, one that had likely been in another room if the drag marks on the ground were any telling.

Some other toys were organized on a line on the edge of the coffee table, some others on the couch. It was a whole lot of gifts for a child so small…

“I don’t know what else to do, I feel like I’ve tried everything.” Jayce says then, and waves a hand toward the mess. 

“Maybe the little guy is just hungry…” Violet suggests mindlessly, stepping forward, still quite frankly surprised by this recent development. 

“I said everything.” Jayce repeats, raising his voice again. “You think I haven’t thought of that?! That’s the first thing anyone ever does when facing this kind of… calamity!” 

“Alright, alright… I get it.” Violet says, raising both of her hands again to deescalate the situation.  “You’re both a little grumpy right now.” She turns and extends a hand Jayce’s way, he looks down at her hand with a frown but doesn’t intervene when she pokes Naph on his cheek. “Yes you are, you are, aren’t you?” She says in a high pitched babble, Jayce lets out a breath but shakes his head, foreseeing the inevitable meltdown. “You’re just a little grumpy baby… D’aw…” when her finger wanders near Naph’s eyes wiping away a lone tear he, predictably, bursts into a huge cry once again.

Jayce furrows his eyebrows at him, and thinks he might be next.

“Alright, this one doesn’t like to be touched…” Violet unhelpfully provides, setting her hand back on her hip. “such a handful… What's the ‘protocol’ for this little guy usually?”

“This is nothing if not an anomaly… He’s never been like this!” Jayce insists, and brings Naph closer to himself once again. “He’s quiet, he loves napping and he only ever complains to get held!”

“Don’t you have any closet you can put this guy in for a little time-out?- I’m joking!” She interjects on herself as soon as Jayce opens his mouth, interrupting whatever flurry of insults he was going to throw her way. Jayce never quite rubs the scolding tone off his words after that. 

“Come on, give him here…” she tells him then. “Just let me hold the little bug for a while- long enough for you to take a nap or something… you look like-“

“Shit.” Jayce interrupts, and doesn’t hand Naph over, actively shielding him away from his friend even when she extends both arms his way. “I look like shit.”

“Like you’ve seen better days!” Violet corrects. “Come on, hand him over, you need a break.”

“I don’t think I could ever sleep knowing there might be something wrong with him.” Jayce refuses, taking a step back. “And the noise?” He scoffs. “Yeah, that’s another reason.” 

“Aunt Vi is waiting…” she repeats, lower this time, she moves her hands his way, gesturing with her fingers back towards herself and urging Jayce to hand the baby over. Jayce reluctantly gives in, setting Naph in her arms with the necessary care.

“Can you imagine if I dropped him?” Violet asks, as if reading his mind.

Jayce sets both of his hands on her arms immediately after the comment, securing Naph in her hold. “Don’t drop him.” He warns her. 

“I won’t,” she says with a small smile, and shrugs Jayce’s hands off of herself. “he… what’s his name again?” She asks.

“Naph.”

“Naph is in good hands now.” She adjusts her hold on him, assertive, as if she had held a baby before. Jayce can’t recall a time when she would have, and only raises an eyebrow. 

Her hands don’t tremble like Jayce’s sometimes do, she supports his head, bounces him the same way he previously did, and it doesn’t make Naph calm down any more, but it helps. It makes it manageable.

Jayce eventually relaxes his shoulders, he lets out a breath and takes a place on the couch. Violet follows with little Naph in hand, standing near his field of vision, but a little further from him. He supposes it’s to help his eardrums stop ringing in his ear. 

“So… where’s Naph’s adoption sheet..?” She asks after a little while, when Naph is still hiccuping in her hold, but has long since closed his eyes. She doesn’t give Jayce enough time to answer before she adds: “Do I have to give you the whole spiel Cait gave you when you just stole Amaranthine off the streets or have you finally learned your lesson?”

Jayce huffs a laugh, temporarily distracted. He sets a hand on the armrest of his couch, and lolls his head back. “He’s not adopted…” he says.

“So you haven’t?” She asks, furrowing her eyebrows. She looks down at Naph once again. “Look, I don’t like all that bureaucracy stuff either…” she says. “and I know you think you might have even lesser chances to get custody of a child after… what happened, but anyone would be a real evil son of a bitch to deny a little child a new home…" She moves a finger near Naph’s cheek once again, and rubs her thumb there.  “it’s going to be fine, you just need to fill in the paperwork and I’ll run it over by… well, by Cait.”

Jayce sighs and faces forward again. “You think she’d let me win his case?” He asks in a small voice, entertaining this hypothetical parenthesis.

“It’s not a matter of whether she would or not, it’s just the right thing to do.” She says, matter-of-factly. “You have a good household, a good income and you also adopted a child before that surely loves her brother already. But if that’s not enough, she would totally tip the odds in your favor.” She insists, Jayce lets out a pitiful laugh of a chuckle. “You’re not… violent despite what people might think. Your insubordination has, so far, been ruled as fair, and most importantly, she has a soft spot for you… even now.”

“I’m not so sure anymore…” He tells her, lowering his voice even more, she looks at him just then, and her eyebrows raise in an apologetic expression, with a little pitiful smile to match. 

“Trust me, she’ll forgive you.” She says, Jayce lets out a little hum, and moves his eyes away. He doesn’t have anything else to say.

She takes a step forward and her voice holds a newfound hint of authority when she speaks next. “Now… let’s get this cutie sorted out… Naph Talis? Any middle names?” 

“Naph Maxwell Talis. Unofficially.” He adds, making Violet raise an eyebrow. “His mom really didn’t want him to have any pompous middle name, something about putting expectations on a child they’re not required to follow up…” He explains. 

Violet hums, but frowns. “Was this… an open adoption kind of thing..?” She asks, awaiting clarification. 

Jayce shakes his head. “Just Naph Talis.” He corrects himself at last. “That’s what’s on his birth certificate. He’s not adopted, and I have all the paperwork in check for him. No need for you to come and save the day this time…”

“Really?” Violet asks, voice high-pitched and eyes wide in disbelief.

“Why is it so difficult to believe?”

“I don’t know, I thought… You had a thing for… you know who.”

“You know who…” Jayce repeats. “You act like Viktor is haunting me…”

“You even went against Cait’s wishes and defended him in front of everyone else…” she lowers her voice then. “I wasn’t there, she told me you were mind controlled and while I don’t believe that… mind control kind of fits the narrative.” Violet muses.

“You don’t really read the news, do you?” Jayce asks her instead. 

“A better question is whether or not newspapers ever publish something genuine for once…” Violet taps her foot, uncomfortable. “After a while of hearing the same old crap about Zaun, I realized you couldn’t really trust anyone to give it to you straight without their personal bias.”

“Well, if you’re still wondering why The Machine Herald stepped down from his violent rebellion all those months ago,” he gestures his hand to Naph. “you have the answer in your hands.” He says.

“I don’t really…” Violet starts, but stops. 

“He had a baby. Our baby.” Jayce explains, finally. “I thought it was a joke.” He admits. “But he was pregnant and had to step off his raid-streak because of the precarity of his pregnancy… And, also because he’d have rather avoided me.”

Violet closes her mouth and lets out a nervous choked chuckle of a sound. “This is insane…” her eyes lower down on Naph once again when he tightens his grip against her shirt. “but hey…he really does look a lot like you, doesn’t he?”

“I hear that a lot.” Violet sits next to him, but Jayce doesn’t dare to take Naph out of her hold. “But you should’ve seen him when he was born, he just scrunched up his face and… well, I’ll never forget it. Right at that moment, he was Viktor’s little clone...” 

“How long ago was that?” 

“Just 20 weeks ago.”

Violet makes a sound akin to a little ‘aww’ and adjusts Naph higher in her arms. She looks down at him, her hand hesitates but she eventually moves it near his mouth.

“What are you doing?!” Jayce protests in a harsh whisper. “If he wakes up again I..! Don’t wake him up again! Not until Viktor is here! Please, I beg you…”

“Shh! I know what I’m doing.” Violet scolds, and lifts the corner of his lip, inspecting his gums. “You know, when I was very, very little I remember my mom telling me I was the only person Powpow would ever want to sleep with… then she’d leave her sleeping in my drawer surrounded by soft things-”

"Powpow? A drawer..?” Jayce repeats, confused, but doesn't interrupt her.

“-and she would just scream her lungs out for the entire night.”

“That’s… unfortunate.” Jayce comments. “I don’t understand how that’s relevant…”

“I was certainly my sister’s favorite but my mom just put her there because she had work in the morning and she really needed her sleep.”

Jayce almost forgot Violet has a sister that she doesn’t talk to anymore. Her little nickname wasn’t of any help in reminding him either. The fact that he now knows her personally could be ground for some reconciliation, or just some blackmail if he asked Violet for more embarrassing information.

“Makes sense…” he only mutters, keeping his thoughts to himself.

“Turns out I was the first person to realize she was teething, just like this little guy is.” She informs Jayce at last. 

“He’s teething?” Jayce asks, raising his voice. His eyes flicker down on Naph again. “Already?”

“Some kids get their teeth late, some get them early. Powder’s canines came out first and she looked like a feral cat until her other ones grew out.” Violet reminisces with a soft smile, she lids her eyes for just a moment but she blinks that expression away. "I definitely see a pair of bunny teeth coming out there, look.” She then announces.

“Really?” He asks again, still in disbelief. A quick glance down was all it took for him to notice she was telling the truth.

“Nothing a chew toy can’t fix.” Violet says, and lets go of Naph’s upper lip. Naph wriggles in her hold then, annoyed and moody from lack of sleep, they could add uncomfortable too on that list after what they had learnt. “Let him suck on an ice cube for now, it’ll help.” Violet suggests.

“No…” Jayce sighs, disappointed. “That sounds like a choking hazard.”

“Ice melts, idiot. It’s safe.” She insists. “You could also try… some whiskey on his gums to numb the pain and make him sleep a little longer, but that… well, that I have some doubts about… it feels outdated.”

“I mean, you grew up fine, didn’t you?” Jayce teases. He lets out a guilty chuckle when Violet punches his shoulder in retaliation.

“Ah, what is that supposed to mean?” She complains with a big smile.

Uneasiness was all Jayce felt as he trailed rocky steps towards a lone, hidden cave in the middle of nowhere. Viktor, in front of him, placed his feet on the ground with assertiveness, creating an invisible path for Jayce to follow.

When stepping foot inside the makeshift hideout that was supposed to be Viktor’s childhood home, Jayce wondered how the path they had trailed had never been carved with Viktor’s weight and hesitant steps, he wondered so since he immediately wanted to leave even as he first arrived, and supposed any kid would think the same, never wanting to linger too long. 

He didn’t ask Viktor, worrying that the answer might’ve lied in voluntary isolation.

“Are you sure this is the right place?” Jayce whispered, the echo of his voice resounding from every surface. He didn’t receive an answer that a man he had never seen before opened the door to what felt like an abandoned little hut and let them in without as much of a word.

“I guess it is…” Jayce comments, unable to help himself as uncomfortable as he was. Viktor doesn’t answer him.

The little hut looked much bigger from the inside than what he had first imagined, all the furniture looked ancient, perhaps moldy and damaged, but it all felt less dangerous than what Jayce had been first led to believe. Tame and old, and eerily not lived-in enough if one accounts that a child aged 10 and up had lived there for most of his formative years.

Viktor stepped further inside, stopping his former colleague and associate from engaging in performative acts of hospitality.

“I need a favor.” He tells him, closing the cupboard Dr. Reveck was rummaging in and skipping frivolous pleasantries.

“Another one?” He asks, but retreats his hand.

“Much like the first, it involves an examination of physical and internal details of myself I am not able to control, and his.” He nods down toward Naph with his chin and their son buries his face against his neck as if understanding he’s become the main subject of this conversation. Viktor huffs an humorless chuckle, and adds: “I want to understand the extent of the influence my body might’ve had on him when he was still part of me.”

“I take it that he’s genetically yours.” He muses out loud.

“Yes.” Viktor confirms.

“And you had him naturally? No third-party machination and/or biological tampering involved?” He asks.

“None that I know of. Surprisingly.” Viktor replies.

Singed raises an eyebrow, amused. “More than you seem to imply.” He gives Jayce one single glance, but doesn’t directly acknowledge him. “Follow me.” He urges them both, leading them deeper into his house and down a flight of stairs.

Now that he thinks about it, Jayce thinks the layout of that hideout is much similar to Viktor’s house. 

Singed stops near a sturdy granite table, lights up a chemtech powered lamp, and glances down at Naph. He tilts his head, but Naph never even tries to look up from the place he’s nestled.  “May I hold him?” He asks, extending his arms.

Viktor looks visibly conflicted at the question, he steps forward once, then stops. “I’d have preferred you’d never asked.” He admits in a small voice. “Now I feel… obligated.”

Jayce takes a step closer to him, out of solidarity or simple instinctual protectiveness, he doesn’t know. He doesn’t try to insert himself in the conversation and half wonders if he should’ve listened to Viktor’s wishes and let him go alone. He feels out of place, as if he’s witnessing a memory that is not quite his.

He sets a hand on Viktor’s shoulder when he adjusts Naph higher on himself before prying him away. Jayce’s eyes follow him as he’s softly set in the arms of the man in front of them.

He doesn’t blame Naph when he wriggles and whines in protest, Viktor’s father unsettles even him, to a degree where he doesn’t know if he should speak to him at all.

His only available eye, the one that hasn’t been disfigured by circumstances Jayce is in the dark about, skims over Naph, only to settle on his eyes.

“I don’t think this is a good idea anymore…” Jayce whispers to Viktor alone, and instead of replying he sighs, not as if dismissing him, but as if agreeing. Jayce rubs his shoulder and understands this decision hadn’t come easily.

“You think he’s not quite human.” Dr. Reveck affirms, not as a question but an obvious statement. He softly sets Naph on the examination table, and Viktor’s hand finally rejoins to his. He holds it in his own, engulfing it in his much bigger, much colder palm.

“He’s human enough.” Viktor says, defensive. “But hexcorization has a similar effect to radioactive poisoning and either have been proven detrimental to organic matter and lifeforms.” As if reading his mind, Singed takes out a syringe from a drawer.

“I suppose your pregnancy has progressed ordinarily, since you haven’t visited before.” He comments with a little hum. “If that is the case, he’s been within unsafe ‘radioactive’ distance long enough in his gestational period that he might be desensitized, if not outright immune to it. It’s an anomaly that he’s alive at all.”

He walks back to Naph then, sets the syringe at his right next to him, and lifts his chin. He moves the hand of the lamp closer to him, and explores the bright blue speckles of his eyes a little more thoroughly. Naph whimpers in his scrutiny, and bursts into a cry soon after. 

Singed lets him go, and Jayce moves to hold him instead. 

“Do you breastfeed?” He asks, and Jayce doesn’t think it could’ve gotten even more awkward.

Viktor only nods, intent on focusing on the more professional aspect of their dynamic and relationship.

“Your blood is corrupted, what makes you think any other bodily fluid of yours wouldn’t be?” Singed asks, but doesn’t want to hear the answer. “But perhaps… not all side effects are necessarily bad,” He reassures after a little hum. “he could simply grow up to be a regular human with an odd resilience and/or affinity towards magic. A superhuman, if you will.”

Viktor tilts his head at the title, but doesn’t comment on it. Singed takes the syringe then, and moves toward Jayce.

Viktor slides his third hand on Jayce’s arm, keeping him in place as if expecting him to fuss, he looks down at it with his eyebrows furrowed, but Viktor ignores the threatening glare directed at him. He grabs Naph’s arm instead. “This might sting a little, baby.” He tells him, rubbing the spot just below his shoulder. Naph doesn’t look at him, just buries his face in his dad’s chest, still sobbing.

Dr. Reveck pushes the needle in his arm and he predictably yells. It’s over as soon as it began, fortunately.

“The color could fade over time.” Singed sets the sample aside. “And he might never show any other symptoms. Keep a close eye on him.” He says at last.

.

.

.

Viktor asks for Naph back a little after they’re away from his childhood home’s proximity, he kisses Naph on his forehead and tells him sweet nothings even as he has long since forgotten all about his distress. He lets out a sigh, and moves just a little closer to Jayce.

“Why did he take a blood sample, exactly?” Jayce asks further into their walk, seeing as Viktor is much more willing to answer him.

“He’s a creep. He keeps a collection.” Viktor replies, Jayce stops in his tracks, enraged, and Viktor turns to him.

“And you seriously let him-“ He protests, already raising his voice, but Viktor interrupts him.

“But he’ll notify me if he sees anything out of the ordinary.” He reassures.

Jayce lets out an exhale, and unclenches his fists. “You could’ve started with that…” He mutters sourly. Viktor grabs his hand, and urges him to follow. They get home when the sun is setting, managing to run a few errands along the way. 

And with a bag draped on his forearm and his house keys in his hold, Jayce suddenly blinks as he backtracks their odd encounter.

“Hey…” He says, Viktor adjusts Naph on his hip for the tenth time that day, and Jayce is reminded how big he’s gotten in the span of a few months. Soon he’ll learn how to crawl, then walk, then talk… It feels all too bittersweet, somehow.

Viktor hums inquisitively and Jayce is reminded of his previous train of thought. He unlocks the door, and leads the way. 

“Why didn’t you tell him about… when Naph was born? Why did that happen?” He asks, and hangs the bag to the coat hanger at the door.

“It was awkward enough… ” Viktor confesses, unwilling to say anything more.

When Naphs turns one year old, there are fireworks outside, just like the day he was born. This time, having spent the night Topside, Viktor hears them a bit more clearly.

He pries Jayce’s hand away from his waist, he’s considerate enough to do it slowly, as not to wake him. When he walks barefoot to the crib near the corner of the room, he finds Naph awake, as if awaiting him , Viktor thinks. 

But it’s nothing more of a coincidence.

Viktor smiles down at him, and Naph reaches his hands up and in his direction. He grabs him from the crib, and he no longer scrunches his feet up like he did months ago. He brings him closer to his neck and rubs his hand on his back. He doesn’t stay in the room much longer after that, the sound of Jayce snoring brings him back to the present and he lets out a silent chuckle. He adjusts Naph in his hold and gestures to him to ‘be quiet’. He doesn’t answer.

He walks to the porch with nothing but Jayce’s shirt on, he sits at the granite stairs and sets Naph on his lap.

“Those are for you.” He says to him, pointing up at the sky. Naph follows his finger for just a moment before he tries to reach for it.

Every year, between the late 6th of July and the very early beginning of the 7th, fireworks mark the start of the summer solstice. The date, in a surprising turn of events, coincides with Jayce’s birthday as well as Naph’s. 

Viktor runs a hand through Naph’s thin hair as he looks up, mesmerized. It feels like the ‘gift’ is more for him than for his son when he’s genuinely the only one that really appreciates it at that moment.

A few minutes into the spectacle, Viktor tips his chin down towards Naph, The air is cool between his legs even in the thick of summer, and he suddenly thinks Naph would be more comfortable wrapped around a thin blanket, perhaps right next to him in bed. 

He kisses his head from above, and Naph looks up to him. 

“Happy birthday, Naph.” He says as he’s finally granted his whole ‘attention’, fleeting as it might be. “You've been alive more time than it took me to make you now” He informs him, playing with his tiny hands. “That’s impressive.”

He hums to himself, and finally lifts him up, raising to his feet as well. “It took me years to make your brother.” He mutters absentmindedly, closing the door behind them. “Officially he’s 7, but he had been in development for much longer before that. Almost 21 years.” When Naph rubs his face against his chest and closes his eyes, he lowers his voice. “Almost 21 years… ” He repeats.

He silently walks back to his and Jayce’s shared room, setting Naph right between them. He doesn’t fall asleep again. 

.

.

.

“Let’s suppose you age the more time you’re away from the Hexcore’s influence.” Jayce says out of the blue, playing with his pen between two of his fingers.

Naph plays with his toys a little further into the room, Jayce’s office (now properly baby-proofed), while Viktor and Jayce work on a new water filtering system, or try to.

“And what would be that case?” Viktor asks, comfortably seated on his lap as he skims over a few pages of Jayce’s notes, perfectly bound in leather. His third hand, the death-ray Hex-claw, ‘looks’ down at him even as Viktor’s eyes are fixated forward.

“Like, when you’re pregnant.”  Jayce says, and Viktor hums. “How much would it take for you to age at the same rate as me?” He asks again.

“How many months would I have to be pregnant for me to age regularly?” Viktor repeats, unfazed by the weird question. “Are you experiencing empty nest syndrome perhaps?”

“Months, years- months that add up to years…” Jayce shamelessly adds and doesn’t agree nor deny. The death-ray wraps itself around his face when Jayce taps his pen against it and he lets out a little ‘oof’ of a complaint. 

“I don’t know, it is to be estimated.” Viktor says, before freeing him. He shifts on his lap in order to address him better. “If it makes you feel better I look much older than I am, and you, slightly younger than you are.” He teases.

“Slightly?” Jayce asks with a sly smile. “In all the years that you’ve known me, I haven’t changed a bit.” He insists, but Viktor shakes his head.

“40 is still 40.” He says. “And as a father of two you should expect a few grey hairs.”

“40?!” Jayce repeats, scandalized. “31! I’m 31!” Jayce insists, vocalizing each syllable slowly. “And I don’t have any grey hair, thank you very much.”

“You’re welcome.” He jokes. “And you definitely do.” He plucks a hair from Jayce’s head without enough warning and examines it closer and closer, bringing it to his right eye. His iris opens and closes as if it were a camera and he hums. 

Jayce looks annoyed if not a tiny bit terrified of hearing his judgement.

Viktor hovers a hand against the back of his head before giving him a verdict, and Jayce promptly interjects it. “I took the wrong strand of hair, I need a few hundred more samples to confirm my hypothesis.” He explains, but doesn’t fight Jayce’s grip too hard.

“Forget it! Mirrors exist!” Jayce protests, pushing his hand away. Viktor laughs it off, and Jayce chuckles quickly after. Naph makes a sound from the end of the room, a little grunt of a noise that has both Jayce and Viktor turn their head simultaneously.

gripping at the end of the rocking chair furthest to the right, Naph stands up on his own. Neither parent moves from the place they’re seated, but Jayce tries to lift Viktor out of the way before he grabs his hand and stops him, The Hex-claw wraps itself around Jayce’s mouth, ordering him to stop and still without as much of a word. Jayce moves it out of the way quick enough to witness Naph’s first steps towards the both of them.

Wobbly, hesitant but determined to reach either of them. Naph moves his palms forward with his steps, and he stops a few times but never gives up.

Viktor moves out of Jayce’s lap only to kneel at the ground and Naph changes his trajectory. Jayce stands up and walks closer to Naph in case he’d need help, but not close enough to distract him.

Viktor scoots a few inches towards him, aiding him in his task, but Naph eventually reaches him. He lifts him up in his arms and the corners of his eyes lift up with the proud smile that follows. “He made it!” He exclaims. “My superhuman, the very next optimized evolutionary step and ultimate lifeform!”

“Alright, let’s calm down. He’s not all that…” Jayce mumbles with an uneasy little smile, but Viktor hardly listens. He pushes his nose against Naph’s and their son giggles in response.

“First you’re conquering these halls, then, all of Piltover.” He tells him.

Jayce is almost sure he’s joking.

He laughs, and kneels down at their level. “He’s still soiling his diapers, you’d think the ‘ultimate lifeform’ would adapt beyond the need of those…” Jayce argues, but Viktor doesn’t want to hear any of it.

“Highly irrelevant in the face of progress.” Viktor insists, raising his chin.

“I think Someone has personal biases…”

“ I think our genetic code is highly compatible and I am pleased with the result of our last collaboration. I hereby ask for a generous sample of your seed to begin further testing.” 

“V, I really wanted to get you pregnant just a second ago, but now I feel morally obligated to- Urgh.” Jayce grunts and Viktor smiles. “Who am I kidding? I’ll clear my schedule.” 

“I’ll begin tracking down my cycle, then.”

“Wipe down your hands! Wipe your hands!” Jayce protests, shielding Naph closer against his chest, but Viktor is already wrapping his hands around him by the time he does, lifting him off his father. “Viktor! You’re covered in oil!” He complains, but lets him go easily, too easily.

“Don’t use your dad voice with me, I know what I’m doing.” He insists, and sets Naph in his arms, running his oil-soaked hand through his hair before walking a few steps closer to Blitzcrank and Amaranthine. 

Amaranthine is using Blitz’s arm as monkey bars, every once in a while he- they throw her into the air only to catch her back again. Viktor insists it’s safe, that he’s updated Blitzcrank to be mindful of weaker and smaller humans, weighting the force of their swings accordingly.

Jayce doesn’t trust Viktor has updated Bliz at all, but finding himself against 3 individuals that affirm the contrary, he’s made to shut up and bear the burden of being the only responsible person in their family.

Ama laughs once more before she’s being let down on the ground, she grabs Blitz’s finger and doesn’t let go even as Viktor approaches with Naph.

Naph’s supposed resilience to magic turned out to be closer to an aversion to it, with the exception of Viktor’s own, postponing his planned meeting with his bigger brother for months down the line.

“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” Jayce still asks, moving a few steps behind. “How likely is Blizcrank’s arm to explode again?”

“That is to be determined.” Blitzcrank answers for him. “If it makes you feel any better, it doesn’t necessarily translate to pain, if not a simple lack of opposable, useful, thumbs.”

“Thank you, Blitzcrank.” Viktor answers. “That helps. I would never want to cause you any pain, not voluntarily.”

“No offense Blitz,” Jayce says, and he tugs Viktor’s cape towards himself and a few steps back. “but we can put you back together, I am much more worried about Naph blowing up with you.”

“Has he reacted in a similar way with Hex-tech gems without a host?” Blitz asks, and their eyes flicker with the answer, as if categorizing it somewhere remote.

“No, he hasn’t.” Viktor says. “Your gem was much less polished than others that came after yours.” He explains. “Its magic has stabilized within you, and so did mine within me. Naph is an anomaly, while he recognizes mine as stable, yours is still wild and untamed. Whenever you interact it’s as if two magnets with different poles do. You’re incompatible.” 

The death-ray snags his cape from Jayce’s grabby hands, and he scolds him as if provoking him to try bother it again and find out . Jayce raises an eyebrow at him, one Viktor doesn’t see.

“I gave you a little upgrade, feel free to test it on your own free time.” He tells Blitz.

Naph climbs up Viktor’s shoulder and whispers in his ear barely audible ramblings. Viktor shakes his head soon after, rubbing his cheek against his shoulder, and moves him away, uncomfortable. “You’re drooling in my ear, Naph. It tickles.”

“Sorry…” He says, still trying to get his consonants right. Viktor adjusts him on his hip. “But I don't want to…” He whines again.

Viktor hums and tilts his head, his eyes have a malicious teasing glint to them when he speaks next. “Take off your coat or you're bursting into flames.” He warns, and Naph wriggles in his hold.

“Viktor!” Jayce scolds, setting a hand on his shoulder. “Stop taunting him, that’s not going to happen!” He tells him.

“Don’t be scared, Naph!” Amaranthine calls, she moves closer to Viktor then and tugs his arm. “Blitz is safe, I can show you!” She tugs at him a few more times before Viktor gives in and lets Naph on the ground. She wraps her hand around his and they walk back to Blitzcrank, they lower their head a bit closer, eyes unblinking and unmoving. Naph nearly bursts into tears when Blitzcrank waves at him, big blue eyes fixated on their much smaller brother.

“Remind me,” Viktor says to Jayce, crossing his arms. “I need to give Blitzcrank some eyelids… They might help them convey a wider range of emotions. For socializing purposes.”

Blitzcrank extends a finger to Naph, and Amaranthine grabs his tiny hand. When they connect, there’s no explosion, but Jayce still takes a step forward in fear. He stops and lets out a deep breath.

“We can work on that after we find enough funds for our next project.” He tells Viktor soon after, never having forgotten his request.

“After the gala, then?” He asks, turning his way. He raises an eyebrow. “Do you have everything under control or should I make an appearance?”

“I have everything under control, and any appearance of yours would only work against our objective…” he points out.

“It’s been years.” Viktor muses. “How much longer am I supposed to wait until I can comfortably walk alongside you in a public setting as your spouse?”

“Give it time…” Jayce mutters, wrapping his hand on Viktor’s shoulder. The death-ray Hexclaw mirrors his action. “Last time I checked the news you were my controversially evil wife. It’s a start.”

Viktor hums, and seems to agree. “I don’t mind the title.”

“Fits you.”

“You could visit more.” Jayce says, walking alongside Mel out of the nearly emptied council room. “I find your participation lovely and decidedly encouraging. You can sway a few votes just like that, with your presence alone. It feels illegal.”

“Pros of being in a highly influential position of power.” Mel answers with a little smile. Her heels tap on the floor with each of her steps. 

“Will you be here for the inauguration?” He asks her, stopping by the stairwell.

“I’ll be here for the after party.” She promises, and leads the way down, as if she remembers those halls all too clearly. “As I suppose it’s the most appropriate place to find good quality wine.” She muses with a soft chuckle.

Jayce laughs, and shakes his head. “I’ll make sure your requests are met, Miss Medarda.” He teases.

“You never disappoint.” She praises. 

At the end of the stairwell, on the other side, Naph calls for his dad desperately, running through halls he must have memorized.

As if automatically, Jayce lifts him up as soon as he collides with his leg, he places him near the crook of his neck and shushes him, trying to make his sobs a little more manageable. Mel peaks at the child with wide green eyes, tries to smile at him, but he barely even acknowledges her. 

“Alright, Alright…” Jayce comforts, patting his hand against Naph’s back. He gives Mel an apologetic smile, and a little exhausted sigh, then closes his eyes shut and repeats what must have been said time and time again. 

“Whatever your mom told you, he was just joking. You know he does that sometimes… It’s the way he loves.” He insists. 

“What the hells did he tell you now anyway?” He asks, moving Naph a little further away from himself, he rubs a thumb on his cheek and wipes away his tears.

“You can tell me.” He says. “Then we’ll deal with that big evil brute together, what do you think? Hm?” He points a finger to Mel then. “Me and her.”

“We’re on your side, baby.” She says, waving her hand as a small greeting.

Naph hesitates, but finally shrugs his shoulders, he wraps his hand tighter against the side of his dad’s neck and furrows his eyebrows at him. “He said he’s going to eat me and spit out a new baby.” Naph says. Jayce bites his lower lip to avoid laughing at Naph’s very real concerns. Mel barely manages to keep it together, excusing herself to wander a little further into the hall to burst into laughter. 

“And you really think he can really do that?” Jayce asks instead, unable to hide the amused intonation of his voice. Naph nods, and he clears his throat. “No, he cannot.” He reassures. “It’s physically impossible. Babies are brought by the sea, and mom doesn’t like baby meat, it’s too salty. Therefore, he was just joking.” He repeats. “You really think mom would eat anything that’s salty? He only loves sweets.”

Naph shrugs again. “He told me so…” he says, and wipes his nose against Jayce’s shirt, Jayce makes a ‘ew’ of a sound, but doesn’t scold him, knowing it’s mostly Viktor’s fault if he’s granted a few liberties.

“Why don’t we go confront your mother?” Mel suggests, finally coming back from her fit of laughter with a big smile. Naph grabs at Jayce a little tighter, and shakes his head.

“Do you know who this lady is, Naph?” Jayce asks him, again, he only shakes his head. 

“My my, your dad has never told you?” She asks with a high-pitched voice. “I’m next in line to become your favorite aunt, of course.”

“Ah, you have some tough competition… I believe that spot is Miss Young’s as of now.” Jayce tells her, but that hardly discourages her. Mel shrugs before moving a hand behind Naph’s ear.

“Do you like magic, little one?” She pulls a coin out of the spot before hearing his answer, handing it to Naph. “Impressive, isn’t it?” He grabs it and turns it around in his hand, successfully distracted.

Jayce looks much more surprised than Naph is, in reality.

Mel didn’t have to suggest they’d try finding Viktor again; at that same moment he approaches from one of the open arches of The Academy. Naph yelps as soon as he notices him, burying himself on the side of Jayce’s neck once again.

“Viktor, could you tell Naph you were only joking?” Jayce asks, giving Viktor a sharp, unamused look. 

“Why would I do that, now?” He asks, feigning innocence. He greets Mel with a nod, and she smiles at him.

“Good to see you again, Viktor. In better circumstances, now.” She points out.

“Likewise, Miss Medarda.” She extends her hand, and he kisses it as a greeting. She chuckles and rolls her eyes, muttering something about expecting a handshake.

“Yeah, because tormenting your child with lies really does scream ‘better circumstances’…” Jayce intervenes with an angry frown.

“Would you have preferred world domination to that? Please, it’s objectively true.” Viktor argues.

“Just say sorry, you idiot.” Jayce scolds, rubbing a hand against Naph’s back. “You went too far. You’re hurting Naph’s feelings.” 

“Am I now?” He asks, tapping his shoulder. 

“Yes!” Their son yells, the word coming out muffled. 

“I am sorry.” He admits, wrapping his hands around Naph, he gives in far too easily, jumping off his dad’s embrace toward his mother. “It was just a joke, little bug. I’d never eat you.” He reassures, patting his back. He nuzzles his nose closer onto his hair. “You’re too heavy, I need a smaller baby or I’ll get a stomachache. One of your friends, maybe?”

“Viktor…” Jayce warns.

“Or no baby at all, I suppose.” He corrects at last, that seems to be enough to calm down Naph. 

“Dad says you can find babies at sea…” he tells him, still a bit fearful. “But they’re too salty and you don’t like salt. I don’t want you to go hungry but I don’t want to eat babies like me…”

Both Jayce and Mel make a sound akin to a little ‘aww’. 

“That’s alright.” Viktor says, and boops his nose. “In truth, I already ate two, I’m full. I won’t eat any more babies for a looong time.” He promises. “Your friends are safe too.”

Mel laughs, covering her mouth, but Jayce rolls his eyes and scolds him again. 

“Stop it.” He orders, pointing a finger at him as if he were scolding their children. “You’re so damn childish sometimes…”

“Can you spit them out now..?” Naph asks instead, clearly distressed. 

“Not now, I just ate them.” 

“When are you going to spit them out?!” He asks, now a little more worried. Naph furrows his eyebrows and nearly cries again when all he receives is a hum. Viktor wraps a hand on his chin and squeezes his cheeks

“Hm…” Viktor takes a quick glance at Jayce, still sporting his signature disappointed scowl, and he closes his eyes, deep in thought. 

Something seems to light up in Mel’s eyes before he even says anything, she wraps a hand around Jayce’s shoulder and he follows the odd movement with his eyes. 

“Perhaps you should discuss this alone.” She says, shrugging her shoulders. "I have a few people I have yet to visit before my departure. We'll see each other again, then?” She removes her hand, and takes a step back.

“Oh, before you leave…” Jayce stops her. “Don’t forget, you promised you’d be here for the inauguration.”

“For the after party.” Mel corrects. “But yes, I’ll be here. Send the invitation by mail and I’ll write down the date.”

“I count on it.” Jayce insists, Mel only waves her hand, amused.

“And, congratulations.” She adds. She winks to Viktor before walking away, and he waves at her, telling Naph to do the same.

.

.

.

Jayce doesn’t get the memo until much later in the day, retracing back their conversation in his head. He walks all the distance from his office to the little makeshift library Viktor has been cooped up in all day after their return from the latest mid-day meeting. He glares at him when the door opens, but only because he lets the harsh light of the hallways contrast with the much softer light inside.

“Are you pregnant?” He asks, skipping the metaphors and childish tales.

Viktor sets his book down, marks the page and closes it. “I thought I made it obvious enough...” He replies from his seat, somewhat disappointed. He has his legs trapped between his torso and the little desk Jayce had assembled him, comfortably surrounded by books in a room that Jayce never really set foot in, too small for his tastes…

“It’s twins?!” He asks immediately after, still gripping at the doorframe with one of his hands.

“Jayce, keep your voice down. The kids are sleeping.” Viktor warns, furrowing his eyebrows.

“But are you?” He closes the door behind them with the question, threatened enough by the possibility of either Naph or Amaranthine waking up with the noise.

“Yes.” He finally admits. 

“Viktor!” Jayce calls, wrapping his hands around him, Viktor melted into the embrace and reciprocated it. “How did I not notice the signs…”

“We’re always so busy…” Viktor says, almost as a consolation. He plays with a lone strand of Jayce’s hair, wrapping it around his finger as Jayce buries his nose impossibly close to his neck. “I don’t blame you.”

“I do! God… I should’ve known.”

“You do now.” Viktor says, following the words with a little chuckle. He let Jayce drag the moment for as long as he needed knowing he needed it too.

When they part, a few long moments later, Jayce has an odd pensive expression.

“We’re definitely postponing that trip to Ionia…” He says, and Viktor hums inquisitively. “I’m not dealing with your cravings in another nation.”

“Go to sleep, it’s time to sleep, the stars are shining… You wouldn’t want your dad to get an earful just cause you’re bothering your mom, would you?” Jayce mumbles in a low tone, one of his hands is wrapped around Viktor’s bump, just below his navel, while his ear lays flat further above it. 

“It’s not working.” Viktor complains at the same time Jayce feels a kick on his cheek. “What use are you now that they don’t even listen to your voice?” 

“I’m tired…” Jayce mumbles, shutting his eyes.

“So am I. ” Viktor retorts, and grabs at Jayce’s hair a little tighter.

Jayce sighs, but has to give in. He lifts his head and pats the spot twice, trying to show some effort, but it’s no use.

“V, just sleep in a little more tomorrow… I don’t know what to tell you…” Jayce suggests.

“This is all your fault, mind you.” Viktor reminds him. “You are throwing off my plans.”

“And I’m sorry.” He whines, before throwing himself on his pillow.

“Why should I suffer alone in this?” Viktor asks, shaking him. “You’re not allowed to sleep either.”

“Who’s going to the grand opening tomorrow if you don’t let me sleep?” Jayce asks, grabbing his hand and shooing it away.

“We both are.” Viktor points out, pinching him with his other. It leaves a red mark on his back, and Jayce yelps in pain.

“Well, I’m going earlier in the day.” He retorts. “You’re just making an appearance.”

“This always happens when there’s something important planned for the next day...” Viktor complains after a moment of silence, Jayce only hums, halfway through sleeping already.

“Naph wouldn’t stop kicking me either the day before I had to show myself for my trial.” He adds in a small voice. “He didn’t stop even when we got there, it was so intense I thought I was going into labor...” he confesses. 

Jayce shifts from beside him and props himself on his elbow. “And you never even mentioned it before now.” Jayce scolds, looking at him with a threatening furrow of his eyebrows.

“Of course not.” Viktor says, oddly amused. “You were the last person I’d tell that to.” Jayce groans with the admission, but it’s enough to wake him up. He sits up, much like the way Viktor is. “Do you remember how anxious you were when that happened? You couldn’t stop trembling.”

“It was an emotionally charged event.” Jayce defends. “I’m glad it’s over and we didn’t get the shortest end of the stick.”

“Can you imagine that?”

“I don’t want to think about that.” Jayce says. “Why didn’t you ever tell me you thought you were in labor?!” He asks, annoyed and anxious in equal measures, as if he were reliving that moment with that bit of information in mind, now.

“Well, it was simply a false alarm. Like many others.”

“Viktor, you have to tell me when you’re uncomfortable.” He says. “You never know when it’s more than just a ‘false alarm’”

“I wanted to give birth alone, too.” He admits, Jayce nearly whines, but only huffs an exhausted breath. “Jinx made me change my mind.”

“I owe her a statue.”

“She’d love that.” Viktor muses with a little smile.

“...Have we ever set up a list of names for these two?” Jayce asks after a while.

“Jayce, I don’t want to hear your suggestions…” Viktor warns, but Jayce doesn’t feel threatened at all.

“Last pregnancy you chose, I think it’s only fair that-”

“Go to sleep.” Viktor interrupts. Jayce wraps his hands around him and brings him down for an embrace. He sets a hand on the small of Viktor’s back and drags him closer to himself, bearing some of the weight of his bump on him.

Viktor sighs in relief, but he half wonders if it wouldn’t just be more comfortable to have two pillows under his stomach; he's proven wrong when his ‘pregnancy pillow’ doubles as a soothing presence for the twins, just as intended.

“Was it so hard to follow orders?” He whispers when they’re settled, trying to scoot impossibly closer, Jayce huffs a laugh, but doesn’t answer. 

“One’s named Rio.” He whispers, muttering the name as if he were trying to keep it hidden, and only when he’s almost sure Jayce has since fallen asleep. “It was my childhood friend… and it’s not negotiable. But you can pick the other. I’ll allow it.” He concedes.

Jayce hums a low raspy sound, and slides his hand on the curve of Viktor’s swell. “Hi Rio...” He says, testing the name. “Rio and Morgan…” He adds. Viktor hums, pleased with the name, and he moves his lips on Jayce’s own in a brief, chaste kiss, before burying himself in the crook of his neck.

He sighs, while Jayce's hand still caresses the spot where their sons are nestled. “Your mom doesn’t know I know, but whenever he thinks about manipulating me with affection, he too looks forward to doing it.”

Chapter Text

If letting her braids fall from her hiding spot wasn’t enough, Jinx giggled, but quickly covered her mouth when Viktor raised his head. He exhaled an exhausted breath from his nose, and sunk further into the red cushions behind him. He didn’t even give her the pleasure of a glance as she fell on the seat right beside him, landing on her soles on soft, red padding. 

Jinx made a weird nose from her mouth next to him, not quite a hiss and not quite a ‘yuck’, but something in between. “Doesn’t look like you’ve got your dog on leash after all.” She commented, comically dangling a foot off the boundaries of the couch before falling off of it, and then, sitting down properly. “But if you kissed him juuust right, you might be able to convince him!” 

Viktor crossed his arms, wondering why he was willing to entertain her instead of walking away right then. Silco, on the other hand, was uncharacteristically annoyed by her antics today, he waved a hand her way as if dismissing her, although he didn’t exactly voice it or made it known in any other way. He stepped aside far into a different corner of the room, near his desk again, and Jinx poked Viktor’s shoulder. 

“Earth to Viki? Viki! Vik! Viktor!” She called and called, and didn’t stop trying until he faced her. “Finally! What took you so long?”

He didn’t answer. Didn’t have to, Jinx barely gave him any time. “You know, that thing you did… when you took that glass of ‘mystery liquid’ and drank it? Mystery-liquid that was clearly poison, too! Well, that?” She asked, her voice high-pitched and cheery. “Pre-tty metal in my opinion.”

She really wanted to act as if nothing had happened, didn’t she? As if she hadn’t been a witness, or directly accomplice, of a murder attempt.

“Metal.” Viktor repeated, furrowing his eyebrows at her. 

“Yeah, pretty cool.” She said, “Just rat poison, though. Nothing too bad. It wouldn’t have worked on you and your little stinkbug, you know. it’s because-“

“I possess a gag reflex.” Viktor completed for her. Despite the obnoxious comment, he relaxed his posture, somewhat relieved. 

Jinx scanned his every little move, and tilted her head. “Did it scare you?” She asked, with a little sad smile. “We’d never go that far…” 

“It would have been a necessary evil, if it came to that.” Silco said instead, facing elsewhere. He brushed his hand against the latest reiteration of Jinx’s art-attacks nailed on the wall, but moved away soon after. “Trust me, it doesn’t make me feel any type of satisfaction seeing you drop dead in my office, but I would have never let you switch sides. Even if it meant having to deal with the clean up.”

“Honestly, there’s so much more we could’ve done than poisoning your drink if you walked out of here as a traitor.” Jinx added, catching Viktor’s attention back again. “Poison feels too easy…” she mumbled, and if Silco hadn’t interrupted her she would’ve certainly listen any other torture method that came to mind.

“He wouldn’t have walked out as a traitor.” Silco corrected, now sitting at his desk chair. He took a pen, and started scribbling away on a few, white pages. It was as if he had indirectly asked them to leave when he subsequently acted as if they weren’t there at all, but Viktor knew he was listening, intently.

“But we didn’t resort to any of those things…”  Jinx said. “‘Cause you’re on our side, and we, on yours.” She promised. “You don’t think we’d send you Upside with your Piltie boyfriend completely alone, right? We’ve got your back.” She made a fist with her hand, and bumped his shoulder. It felt like a sad attempt at an apology, and somehow, Viktor accepted it as it was. Imperfect, underwhelming and poorly executed. 

“I don’t feel protected…” Viktor pointed out. “Yours was the first murder attempt I’ve had in months…”

“I bet it’s not exactly easy to murder someone that doesn’t ever come out of their hiding spot…” Jinx commented. “Not to mention you have a few…”

“so, you’re coming with me?” He decided to ask, instead of dwelling on morbid thoughts. “As backups?”

“Well, not with you… you’re not exactly right in the head… last time we partnered for a blitz you almost got us killed.” She said, tapping her finger against her smile lines sheepishly and flickering her eyes away for just a second. “But be assured, we’re always watching and we’re going to pull you out of trouble if you reaaally need it, don’t abuse the system, only real emergencies.” Silco eyed Jinx, as if disapproving, but didn’t say anything else, not to his knowledge nor in his presence.

“Real emergencies…” Viktor repeated, watching as Jinx opened the present that was meant for him, she hummed in positive.

“Oh, look at this…” Jinx said, taking out a red blanket from the box. “Quilted? That’s ex-pen-sive.” She turned it around, showing its other side. “Oh, red and black.” She mused out loud. “Fancy!” 

“What would be categorized as a real emergency?” Viktor asked, despite Jinx wanting to derail the conversation anywhere else. She wore the blanket on her shoulder, as if it were a cape.

“As in, what if… The Defender chickens out?”

Between the sound of the angle grinder in Viktor’s hand and the sheer amount of concentration involved in mechanical engineering and coming up with new temporary, secure, armor blueprints, Viktor and Jayce had barely shared a word in the last few hours. It was late, way later than they’d have let themselves indulge in on a normal day, but with the few days they had at their disposal before the meeting, every second counted, and Viktor’s dark laboratory was the best place to start thinkering.

Jayce dropped the pencil out of his hand, sighing when it came in contact with the floor for what felt the 10th time that night, but instead of picking it up again, he tilted his head to Viktor, seeing him deep into his task, which at that point was just dividing his former armor to properly modify it to accommodate him again. Not entirely… Jayce was certain.

Jayce set a hand on his thigh, squeezing it to get his attention, and soon enough, Viktor lowered his tool, silently facing him. Jayce looked at him up and down before he made a disappointed ‘tsk’ of a sound from his mouth, and Viktor furrowed his eyebrows in response.

“Fix your posture. You’re going to get back pain.” He instructed.

“I always had back pain.” Viktor retorted, but instinctively sat up straighter. Although, without a proper support for his back on his rolling stool, he’d be back to the start in a matter of time. “It came built in with my…” he paused, reached a hand behind his back and pressed it against his neck, then lower against his spine. “How strange…” He muttered. “It seems that with the increase of uneven weight I have put on my balance point has shifted, resulting in the bolts keeping my spine straight loosening in retaliation.” 

“Is it? Strange, I mean.” Jayce asked, and immediately picked up a wrench, aiming to fix the problem. 

“No,” Viktor admitted and let out a tired breath. “I suppose it’s the furthest thing from it. It’s strange I didn’t notice before…”

“It’s better than never noticing it at all… We might be able to fix it before it gets worse.” Jayce consoled, and moved a hand under Viktor’s T-shirt, on his back, slowly lifting it up. “Rust.” Jayce informed him, much to Viktor’s displeasure. “Ever heard of a regular check-in with a water dispersant of your choice?” He asked, scoldingly.

Well, he hadn’t had the need for it before. 

Viktor huffed a displeased sound, and didn’t answer, Jayce scraped the tool against the bolts, finding it unpleasantly unfit for the job even if it was the right size.

“You’re not going to be able to fix it manually.” Viktor warned, but set both of his hands on the working table in front of him, and lowered his head, not completely adverse to Jayce’s touch. “The robotic hand that originally screwed them in place is out of commission for the time being. Until I find a strong enough replacement power source.” He still said, all the while Jayce hummed.

“Nothing a ratchet and some motor oil can’t fix.” He said, letting Viktor’s T-shirt fall back in place as he began to search for the correct tool. “You do have a socket wrench, right?” 

Viktor just pointed at a corner of the room, and let Jayce do the rest. He relaxed his shoulders completely as he set his arms flat on the table, and his head nestled on top of them, and basked in some of that well-deserved break Jayce had suggested they’d take.

He unintentionally let out that whirling sound he often made whenever he was truly spent, or simply when he held his breath long enough; as if the sound itself came from inside Jayce now realized, previously pinning the weird nose to a quirk of having his mask on. It was clearly not the case, this time.

He hovered a hand closer to Viktor’s head, but refrained from touching his hair, afraid he’d bother him. So, he moved closer to his back with a new adequate wrench in hand and, softly, he simply asked: “What’s the plan again?”

The answer was almost immediate, calculated. 

“Deceive, trespass, conquer.” Viktor said, Jayce huffed an annoyed breath, unsatisfied.

“That doesn’t make it any clearer… nor doable.” 

Viktor didn’t sound offended when he properly explained his plans.

He oiled the divot of one of the bolts making up Viktor’s spine, before carefully adjusting the tool in his hand. It fit, but the nut didn’t budge.

“I’ll pretend I have surrendered after hell has already broken loose in the streets of Piltover,” Viktor said, his voice coming out muffled before he rectified it, moving his head to the side but still on top of his arms. He didn’t open his eyes. “You get me into the council room unscathed, as per your personal preference, while enforcers will have already been sent to manage my hunchmen outside of The Council’s room perimeter. It’ll leave the counselors with few of their personal bodyguards but not enough to slow you down. ”

“Fanatics, you mean.” Jayce corrected absentmindedly, as he tried to find enough leverage to fix Viktor’s spine.

“It’s the same thing.” Viktor finally confessed. “We’ll begin disarming everyone involved and force the others to sign their compliance, there’ll be help from the inside.”

“You want me to point a weapon at my coworkers?” Jayce asked instead, after a second.

“Why? Do you have any moral qualm about the idea of targeting your former coworkers?”

“Well, some.” Jayce replied sincerely, lowering his voice.

Viktor hummed, but didn’t seem upset by the confession. “I’m sure we can manage… As long as I can hide a weapon somewhere on my persona…” he muttered as an afterthought.

Jayce chuckled at the thought, but he lidded his eyes soon after as concern took over his expression once again. “You just assume everything will fall into place once we begin with the operation…” Jayce mused after a thoughtful hum. “What about variables?” Jayce chastised. “What if they don’t let you in until the council has already decided their verdict?”

“They’ve been expecting a strike, I’m the perfect example of an unruly citizen that shouldn’t be allowed to have a say in whoever gets a seat at the council, If I’m noticed by any of them, I’ll be brought in just to be ridiculed, and possibly sway a few votes.”

“What if an enforcer refuses? And decides to send you away?”

“Easy, a councilor’s word weighs more than an order coming from any enforcer. You are a councilor.”

“What if they hurt you?”

“What are you good for, then?”

“What if-“

“It won’t happen.” Viktor interrupted. “Redefining the plan is one thing, but you’re just doubting me, at this point.”

“How could I not?” Jayce said. “What do you get from this? What is your objective?”

“Mine? Not getting ‘disconnected’ and delivering my child in the comfort of my own home.” Viktor replied. “But I suppose the whole point of this plan is giving Silco a raise, and a higher charge. He should become a monarch, and then an ambassador if everything goes smoothly, Zaun could reorganize their…” he paused, let out a deep breath, and hummed. “Their internal political affairs… Perhaps Silco could begin an unification plan.”

“Between Piltover and Zaun?” Jayce asked in a high-pitched voice, surprised.

“No.” Viktor corrected, raising his voice. “Between Zaun and Zaun. The Nation of Zaun has strayed too far away from Piltover to unify itself back to what it once was before the ‘terraforming’ incident that created its invisible borders. Not to mention the social differences that… Jayce.” He called, sharply. “What are you doing, exactly?”

He stopped. “Why? Does it hurt?”

“No…” Viktor muttered, sheepishly. “it’s quite pleasant,” he confessed. “but I don’t think it aligns with your objective…”

“Pleasant? Really?” Jayce asked, raising an eyebrow. He had barely managed to tighten the bolt and  he wasn’t sure it had made a difference at all… unless… “I suppose… this is as close to a back massage as you could get, isn’t it?” Jayce suggested, Viktor hummed. 

“Have you ever…” Viktor started, hesitant, but not because he was scared of finishing his sentence, but because Jayce kept jamming the wrench in place and hitting it with his elbow. “…dipped your boiling hot hand in freezing cold water?”

Jayce stopped, taken aback by the odd question. “I guess that I have… when I was a child, maybe? That sounds… like something a kid would do.”

“The chill that runs through your spine and buries itself deep behind your lower teeth, that’s very akin to what I feel right now.” Viktor said.

“Ah… You painted a vivid picture, that’s for sure…” Jayce commented, and let out a polite, almost uneasy, chuckle. “Is that a good thing?”

“I like it.” Viktor clarified, humming in positive.

“It‘s stuck.” Jayce said, and moved to the next nut, a little higher, without result. “Maybe try lifting your head and back a little, so I can check which ones are looser and which aren’t.” He suggested instead.

Viktor complied without as much of a complaint, lifting his head back from his arms, while his elbows remained flat on the workbench, still, he raised an eyebrow as if questioning Jayce’s reasoning. “How would you check that?” He asked, but by then Jayce had already found his next target.

“You tend to lean on one side rather than the other, I guess it’s a simple process of exclusion.” He explained, and this time when he cranked his wrench, it was just a little easier for the bolt to yield.

“Do I?” Viktor asked after a little pleased hum.

“Well, you… kind of always have. Back in…” he let his words trail off, and didn’t pick them up again.

Viktor drummed his fingers on the surface of the table, he kept his eyes low, deep in thought. “I wonder if it’s punishment…” he said after a moment of silence, masking the sentence as a thought said out loud.

“What is?” Jayce asked.

Viktor hesitated, but answered him. “My… state.”

After all, with much time to himself, he couldn’t do much else but wonder about fickle, passing-by, ideas. Had he strayed too far from his plans? Was it a change of heart or simply a consequence of a lack of compatibility between a simple human pregnancy and The Hexcore if he had lost the privilege of harnessing metal and magic as if it were a second nature?

“I suppose it is.” Jayce said, much to Viktor’s evident surprise. “Not by design, I’m sure.” He consoled, before laying a hand flat just on the side of his ribcage, Viktor exhaled a little breath. “Pregnancy is one of the few things that really makes you realize how imperfect evolution truly is. It’s as if someone said, ‘that’s good enough’ and didn’t take in consideration anything else as long as it served its purpose…”

Viktor let out a long-drawn breath then, but didn’t try to correct Jayce on his assumptions of his presumed worries. What he’d have loved to correct him about, however... 

“Interesting argument.” He said. “I would like to add to it.”

“Keep dreaming, V.” Jayce said after a flat, humoreless chuckle. “I don’t entertain lunatics and their demented, eccentric delusions.”

“But you knock them up and insist they marry you.” Viktor pointed out, drumming his fingers on the surface of the table. He tilted his head just enough to glare at Jayce, and he let out a tense chuckle as an answer.

“Guilty as charged.” Jayce admitted. “Hey, it was a real solution for hysteria back in the days, and you fit all the diagnostic criteria.”

“Please, don’t quote outdated, groundless medical facts in this context again, or you will be dealt with.”

“Oh-oh… Someone should’ve given you twins.” He joked, hitting one end of his tool on his palm as he took a step back. “Try standing up.” He then instructed.

Viktor did, stretching his shoulders before he moved a hand on his lower back. He turned around, facing Jayce once again.

“It’s the best I could do.” Jayce said as soon as he saw Viktor’s sour expression. “Don’t look so disappointed, you’ll be able to fix it yourself in a few weeks time…” and when Viktor grumbled something under his breath as a response, Jayce laughed and set the wrench on the table, before wrapping that same hand where Viktor’s was, rubbing the spot.

“One fat Talis baby is enough,” Viktor grumbled again, louder this time. “I don’t want to imagine what it’d be like with two.”

“Aggressive and defiant… it’s triplets next time, that ought to fix your temper.” Viktor grumbled again, but made a tsk of a sound and moved his head to the other side. He wasn’t willing to entertain Jayce anymore, but he didn’t push him away, it was quiet for a second more, until Viktor let out a sigh, and relaxed his shoulders again. 

“Viktor, I…” Jayce started all of the sudden, heaving a sigh himself, Viktor faced him once again. “I really don’t know what I’d do if something were to go wrong… I know you said your place is here, but if there’s something that I am, that is definitely stubborn…” Viktor let out a huff of a laugh, and seemed to agree. Jayce too, smiled, despite wanting to do just about anything else. “I must ask you again, for the last time. What if we leave? before Friday. It doesn’t have to go this way…”

Viktor set a hand on Jayce’s cheek, brushing his finger against the corner of his mouth. That was enough for him to melt, and he closed his eyes. He didn’t seem surprised, nor angry, when Viktor predictably refused. “It might not seem like it now,” He said, “but you’re doing the right thing, Jayce.”

Jayce nodded, and didn’t open his eyes. “I know.” He muttered, letting silence fall for a second more, before he broke it once again. “When everything starts to derail-”

“It won’t.” Viktor interrupted, firmly.

“When everything eventually does,” Jayce insisted, and set a hand on top of Viktor’s. “I want you to follow my lead, you got it? You have to trust me… Just this once.”

Viktor paused, but gave a hesitant, little nod.

At the threshold of his own main door, Viktor handed Jayce the handcuffs, golden in color and with a long chain dragging to the floor. He waited for him to take them before showing him his wrists.

“What are you waiting for, Defender?” Viktor asked as Jayce stalled, and thrusted his hands forward. 

Jayce furrowed his eyebrows and lowered his hands, handcuffs included, Viktor did the same soon after, glaring at him behind his mask, behind the whole ensemble of his damaged, ruined armor, a detail they had fictitiously implanted for the sake of their plan.

A plan that was going to fail before it even began if Jayce hesitated any longer.

“Jayce…” Viktor called in a low, warning tone. “If this is your way of telling me you’re having second thoughts…”

“No, no. That's not… It just caught me off guard.” Jayce said, and heaved a sigh. “Let’s forgo the humiliation ritual, not down here. It’s not necessary.”

“It is necessary.” Viktor insisted, thrusting his wrists in the air again. “It’s what makes it credible, you won. Keep your head high, straighten your posture, You won.” He repeated, and he seemed to take his own advice despite Jayce ignoring it. “act like it.”

Jayce let his hammer rest at his side as his hand reached elsewhere. He furrowed his eyebrows, clearly disapproving of Viktor’s seemingly-mocking words. Still, he kept his composure. “We’re taking The Bathysphere, The Bridge is closed off. Riots.” Jayce said, already taking a cloak from Viktor’s coat hanger. “But it hasn’t spread far enough north to affect public transportation yet…” He informed.

“It’s a viable alternative.” Viktor muttered, and tilted his head. “Although, unnecessary. We’d have better chances at blending with the rioters if we crossed The Bridge, and less chances of getting stopped by enforcers in restricted, isolated areas. They’d let me in, and it shouldn’t come as a surprise how much more protected I’d be if I had a human shield padding my every step.” 

“Well, human shield or not, I don’t want to walk you there in chains, not in front of people that might recognize you.” Jayce simply said. “You’re someone people look up to down here, as odd as it might sound. Let me keep your dignity intact.”

“How chivalrous…” Viktor mused after a little hum. He took the cloak, and tightened its clasps against his neck, wearing it. “I care not for what people might think of me, but I will do as you say if it means we won’t be delayed any longer.” He conceded.

“And please…” Jayce said, picking up his hammer before turning around and leading the way. “Don’t make a scene, not again…” Viktor chuckled. 

He picked up his pace, walking alongside Jayce with the best of his ability, Jayce adapted to him soon after, and even set a hand on his back as to not let him wander too far behind. “My image can only ever take so many hits, and if I get mistaken for a pervert one more time…”

“I won’t.” Viktor promised after a little teasingly contemplative hum, Jayce turned to his left, and he furrowed his eyebrows, before noticing a detail of Viktor he had completely skimmed over before.

He suddenly looked down at Viktor’s feet, and Viktor tried to do the same, unsuccessful. “What’s wrong?” He asked, setting a hand the curve of his bump instead.

“You are… taller.” Jayce mused and slowly set his eyes back forward.

“I am.” Viktor agreed. “Have you truly never noticed the difference before today? It’s the armor.” Jayce hummed, wondering if it was his fault for not noticing before or Viktor had done something to mess with him. He didn’t answer him, but Viktor gathered his answer on his own. “It’s an interlocking mechanism under my armor’s boot and a 2 inch metal piece that provides me additional height and, consequentially, a slightly optimized field of vision.” Viktor explained, filling some of that awkward silence Jayce was so set on letting linger.

It didn’t help much, and the comment that would’ve otherwise been a great conversational starter was left ignored.

“I should’ve asked this before we left.” Jayce said after a silent pause, just enough time to see The Bathysphere in the distance. He let his train of thought drag for a moment longer and led Viktor to one of the doors of The Bathysphere, eerily unsurveilled in Jayce’s opinion, no enforcers in sight. 

Jayce stepped out of the wagon for just a few seconds, initiating their ride remotely from one of the boots reserved to staff, before returning to Viktor. The alarm signaling a ‘moving vehicle’ immediately followed, but it’d take a few more minutes before the ride would depart.

“But, how are you faring? Any aches?” He asked at last, and led Viktor to a seat near the closest exit. Viktor sat down without complaint this time, and Jayce grabbed at the pole directly adjacent to his seat, shielding him from possibly being recognized if it suddenly started to get crowded. Although, it didn’t seem like that would happen anytime soon.

“I’m fine.” Viktor answered briefly.

“Because you have to tell me, if you’re not.” Jayce insisted.

“I’m fine.” He repeated. “You’re disappointed you can’t find any reason to quit, not any that you might blame to a bodily reaction I am not able to control, my waters breaking, that is.”

“As repulsively as you put it, I can’t deny that it would be convenient…” Viktor huffed a laugh, but shook his head.

“No, not convenient…” Viktor muttered. “Don’t put the blame on our son. He had no say in this, just like you and me.” Then, lower. “Even I would have waited a little longer, ‘perfect occasion’ be damned…”

“Sol, if you can hear me,” Viktor tilted his head with the odd non-sequitur, and Jayce set his free hand below the fabric of his red cloak. “kick your mom for letting you go on trial before you were the age of 0. No- kick him if you want to go home.”

“Hmm…” Viktor interjected his hand, sliding one under his, and waited for a few seconds. “He’s sleeping. I suppose that means he’s not all that bothered.” He concluded. 

“Just another testimony that my prayers don’t ever get answered...” Jayce let out a breath from his mouth, defeated. And Viktor slithered a hand on top of his other one, the one gripping at the pole next to them, he didn’t talk, didn’t try to either.

All that had to be said, had already been said.

The rest of the ride was spent in silence and it wasn’t long before the doors opened to their right. Jayce contemplated his next action, but he didn’t spend more than a second in stasis before he moved out of the way, giving Viktor space to leave as well as his hand for support.

“It’s as good a time as it’ll ever be.” Viktor said, and if he hadn’t squeezed his hand, the sound of his voice would’ve gone completely unnoticed under the deafening static-like noise Jayce heard buried behind his eardrums.

He offered his wrists again, and Jayce wrapped a hand around one, before clasping the handcuffs around it. Viktor’s vaguely-suggestive jokes weren’t much of help and Jayce didn’t think they’d warrant a chuckle, not at that moment. He snapped both handcuffs in place, then wrapped the restraining chain around his waist, and clasped the excess around a loop in the back of the contraption. He pulled Viktor’s hood down, and his hands lingered for a moment more on his shoulders, before letting one fall back to his side where it found his hammer again, and gently pushing Viktor ahead of him. 

They didn’t hear shouting up until they left their carriage, and not until they stepped away from it. On the other side of the Bathysphere, tape covered every entrance, so as not to let anyone through, and Jayce freed their path before gripping Viktor’s arm tighter and closer to himself.

Riots had spread, perhaps a little further than what Jayce had expected them to.

“Stand back!” An enforcer, from behind the makeshift borders that had been held up to manage most of the crowds, warned as soon as he saw the two approach. Rioters just outside the academy main entrance and perimeter were yelling and thrashing behind shaky dividers that looked moments away from falling apart. “This is a restricted area, any trespassing will be-” The enforcer stopped, and she took a good look at Jayce. “Councilor Talis,” she called, softer this time. “it’s-” and then, she turned to The Herald. 

Jayce couldn’t imagine what went behind her head after she noticed Viktor next to him, visibly pregnant and in chains, but he hoped it must’ve felt like a weird dream to her when she was immediately knocked out cold by a member of the rebellion taking advantage of her confusion. 

“Shit-!” Jayce muttered, somewhat in solidarity, before urging Viktor to pick up his pace, and leading him to one of the secluded entrances of The Academy.

“Send out the gas!” Another enforcer yelled before putting on a gas mask, but by then Jayce had already dragged Viktor inside the building, and through nearly all the steps of that endless flight of stairs necessary to reach the hall, and eventually The Council Room. 

But when Viktor huffed a breath and planted his feet on the ground, Jayce stopped in his tracks and let him regain his breath, and when he took a step forward mere moments after, he set a hand on his shoulder, and blocked him from proceeding further.

“Too many steps.” Viktor said as an explanation. “This place has never truly welcomed me.” He muttered, and tried to push forward again. Jayce didn’t let him go too far, only dragged him to the top and let him lean against the end of the railing.

“Take a break, we’re almost there.” He said, keeping his hammer planted on their path. 

“You think standing around is any better?” Viktor complained. “Let's just get this over with, before they start.”

“They probably already have.” Jayce informed, glancing at the hallway behind them. He looked down at his wrists, slithered a finger under the handcuffs to check if they were too tight, they weren’t. Viktor placed a hand just below where his navel would be, most likely out of habit, or perhaps it was the only spot his hand could reach. Jayce followed the movement with his eyes, pensive. “How are you faring?” He asked in a low tone.

“Again?” Viktor retorted, and raised an eyebrow Jayce wasn’t able to see. “Should I ask you the same question, Defender?” 

It wasn’t an invitation, but Jayce answered anyway. “Anxious.” He moved his hands on the sides of Viktor’s mask before taking it off. “As if I’m about to lose you…” He stopped at the sight of him, but soon reached into his pockets, pulling out a handkerchief.

“It’s too hot in Piltover.” Viktor said, and all the authority and assertiveness he had tried to maintain evaporated with the little defeated smile that followed. He let Jayce dab his face with the handkerchief and closed his eyes, he didn’t open them until he was done. “I shouldn’t have to be exposed to such adverse weather.” He said, only half-joking, he opened his palm back in the same spot. “Think of the baby.”

“A sunny day in the middle of June is what you fear will be most detrimental to our son’s health?” Jayce asked, following his words with a sad chuckle "You're impossible…” He paused, and heaved a sigh. “I guess it doesn’t help that I had you wear this…” He muttered, but still tightened the cloak around Viktor’s shoulders, as if a simple piece of red cloth could protect him any further. He set a hand on his bump then and just looked down the spot for a moment more, the baby kicked his palm, and Jayce let out a breath, amazed as if it were the first time. “And then all these stairs, and now your trial- it’s cruel, I’m- I think we-”

“My mask.” Viktor interrupted. He waited for it to be returned, and Jayce silently complied, setting it back on his face.

“Note it down, your next project involves a proper ventilation system inside that thing…”

“I would, if my hands were available.” Viktor joked. “But if it can be of any consolation, your reminder will be safely stored in my head until I can effectively do something about it.” Jayce shook his head, only partially annoyed, and turned around.

“Don’t speak unless spoken to, let me do the talking.” He said, taking his hammer back in his hand. “Don’t move, you cannot be perceived as a threat.” He took Viktor by his arm again, and began to lead him further into the hallway. “And under any circumstance, just listen to me.”

Viktor didn’t answer, but Jayce supposed he was rolling his eyes beneath his mask, a part of him wanted to believe he refrained from speaking, just as afraid as he himself was, but he wasn’t sure if he was projecting.

An enforcer stood peeking at a gap between the doors to The Council Room, tapping her foot impatiently as she tried to go unnoticed. They had started, Jayce noticed, focusing on the silent whispering that could be heard from afar. When he stopped in front of them, the enforcer turned their way, closing the doors completely and acting like she hadn’t just eavesdropped at something she shouldn’t have.

Jayce raised an eyebrow, but didn’t manage to inquire about her behavior before she spoke up.

She cleared her voice and her hand flung to her head, as if to salute a higher-up, before comically bowing down. “Councilor Talis.” She greeted, and then, she turned to Viktor. “And what do we have here?” She asked.

Viktor tilted his head, intrigued or annoyed Jayce couldn’t tell, but he didn’t speak. 

“Good job, Defender. You’re a savior and a beacon of hope for all our citizens.” She said, nodding her approval. Jayce lidded his eyes and the corners of his mouth lifted as he fought off a little grimace. 

She had no reason to mock him, Jayce was sure it wasn’t intentional on her part even if he perceived it as such. He was obviously reading too much into it. 

“It’s a pleasure working for the people.” He simply said, his answer practiced. “Everything is-“

“No- seriously.” She insisted, interrupting him. “They should make you a statue. You’re a hero!” She patted down her pockets as if searching for something. “Oh, I so need my uniform autographed, it’d be an honor!”

A fan, then. 

“Everything is under control here.” Jayce said instead, raising his voice. “You can leave, your help is needed out there. If you really want an autograph maybe you should wait until after your shift is over, or consider resigning.”

“Really? And then I’ll get one? Is it that easy?” She asked. 

That wasn’t an offer. 

Either she hadn’t been trained properly or she was just… odd. 

The first option wasn’t all that unlikely as they’d need a large amount of trainees to serve long before their training has been completed to contrast the latest wave of rioters, but the second option felt more fitting, somehow.

He looked at her up and down, but there wasn’t anything remarkable to her, no discernible feature behind her gas mask nor a strand of hair that was visible from behind her hood, she was just disgustingly unprofessional. 

He stepped forward and she put both of her palms in front of herself as if to stop both of them, but especially ‘his prisoner’. “Woah- Smuggling a watermelon in the courtroom, are we?” She asked, before tugging a corner of Viktor’s cloak, hard. 

Viktor huffed a breath, moving his head away, defeated, disappointed and possibly enraged. Jayce could only imagine the angry scrunch of his face under that mask, it would have surely mirrored the one on his.

“Excuse me?!” Jayce said. “I’m going to need your badge number.”

Viktor bumped his shoulder to his. “Leave it.” He whispered, harshly.

“My badge number?” She tilted the badge attached to her chest, looking down at it. She looked seconds from reading it to him before she was interrupted.

“That isn’t going to be necessary.” Another enforcer said, rapidly approaching the three of them, he tugged at the girl’s arm, dragging her away. “No badge number needed, we’ll deal with this insubordination privately, within the force.” He insisted.

Jayce hesitated, but let the offense go. They shouldn’t really be wasting any more time.

“But Mr. Talis…” the man spoke up again, unlike the trainee next to him, he didn’t have a mask, and Jayce could see how uncomfortable he looked trying to make sense of the situation. “It’d be best if you and your prisoner could follow me, we don’t need to disturb the meeting.”

“I am part of this meeting.” Jayce insisted. “And besides, The Herald should undergo a trial just as anyone else, and what better time than when everyone is gathered to witness it?”

“I understand, but… then what my colleague suggested was not all that inappropriate. He should be patted down before entering, no weapons are allowed in the courtroom. It's protocol.” He purposely nodded his head to his hammer, finding it just as a liability as any weapon Viktot might’ve hidden.

“No weapons I haven’t deactivated on The Herald. I checked myself.” Jayce simply said, and didn’t acknowledge the stares.

“Furthermore-!” He insisted. “There wouldn’t be any need for a trial for such a high-profile criminal, it’s-“ 

“Nonsense.” Jayce interrupted, already walking forward. “If you’d put half the effort you’re putting in wasting my time in training your recruits…” 

The enforcer took a step back, dragging the odd girl with him, he nodded, and didn’t say anything else.

Viktor glanced back at the couple of enforcers, much more interested in them than Jayce ever was, he noticed how they seemed to argue not soon after Jayce had turned his back, but they left his field of vision not long after. Jayce guided him inside, and the room fell into a deep silence before a low confused mumble resounded from within its walls.

The hands that were raised upon entering, were soon lowered in a simultaneous shuffling noise. 

Caitlyn and Jayce shared a look, just as Viktor and Silco did the same. A fleetingly brief moment when eyes knowingly interlocked.

“Shall we recount our votes, then?” Silco asked the room after a long moment of awkward silence, handing a bill to Sevika, his right arm in the role of his bodyguard.

“Should we really?” Salo intervened. “I’m not sure if we can count Talis’ vote as completely impartial…” he huffed a chuckle. “I mean, do you have any idea how bad this looks?”

“Do you have any inappropriate theories you’d like to share, Salo?” Caitlyn asked, tapping her nails on the table in front of her.

“A few. Surely I can’t be the only one.” Salo insisted, and looked around. “And the hammer? I feel threatened.” He set a hand just below his neck, mockingly.

“The Herald is in chains and awaiting trial, it’s surely a precaution.” Shoola said, raising a hand, and some of the hyper-vigilant guards behind their respective patrons relaxed their shoulders with the admission. “Any other speculation shouldn’t be taken into consideration. Accusing another councillor of corruption… Have you no shame?”

“Well, but what is the meaning of this?” a Ferro’s house representative asked, just as suspicious as Salo was.

“Why haven’t these degenerates out there run away with their tails between their legs if their leader has been captured?” Salo asked instead.

“You did the right thing, Jayce.” Caitlyn spoke up. Viktor raised his chin, but was unable to show his full disapproval. “We shall inform the masses that The Herald has been taken into custody, that ought to put a stop to their behavior.”

Silco let out a brief, hoarse chuckle from the other side of the room and shook his head. “I have a feeling no one is leaving until we come to an agreement.”

“We have.” Shoola insisted, the admission followed by an annoyed squint of her eyes. “What screams ‘agreement’ more than 4 votes against 1? And even if Talis put in his, what difference would that make?”

Viktor stood still, looking forward, lowering his head. He didn’t turn to Jayce, didn’t speak, didn’t call for him. 

He had no reason to, after all. He’d take care of it.

For a silent moment his thoughts were filled with trivialities about ‘later’ rather than the present moment.

What could he guiltrip Jayce to buy him before going back to Zaun? Would he meet Amaranthine anytime soon? Would Jayce meet Silco under a new light anytime soon?

Viktor relaxed his shoulders, and let out a breath from his nose.

But Jayce still stalled, petrified. He only managed to grip the handle of The Mercury Hammer tighter, before he bit his lower lip. Then he pulled it back, and opened his mouth.

.

.

.

‘No one is leaving until Zaun has known freedom.’ was on script, short but impactful. Threatening enough coming from Jayce, someone that had supposedly ‘infiltrated’ into the council with that objective in mind. No one would have expected it, given his record.

Any iteration of ‘Councilor Silco is right’ would have been fine too, he’d have let it slide.

But he hadn’t yet uttered a word that Caitlyn suddenly raised to her feet, took Jayce’s hesitation as a sign, and turned to one of her guards right behind her.

“Surround the exit.” She said, calm, poised and low enough not to sound like a threat. Although, being the only person speaking at that point, her voice was the only noise that had been heard, it echoed and resounded from one wall to the other, imposing. She didn’t give the command, but rifles from all different directions pointed at Viktor, as if planned.

He was glad his apparent surprise couldn’t be perceived from behind his mask, he was even more grateful when Jayce turned his attention to Caitlyn but wrapped an arm around his furthest shoulder from ahead, shielded him and his supposed vital points, forgetting he didn’t have a heart anymore. The thought was appreciated nonetheless.

“This is an ambush.” She announced, planting both of her hands on the granite table in front of her. A few councilors turned to their guards, but no one would respond to their command if not Caitlyn’s, prime funder of Piltover’s enforcer force and general. “Councilor Silco,” She called, and the aim shifted from Viktor to him. Neither he nor Sevika raised their hands. 

Jayce, from next to him, heaved a breath, a near imperceptible shift of his mood that was enough to let Viktor know something was wrong. He didn’t need to wait too long to search for an answer to his mystery that Caitlyn raised her voice, explaining details of the previous revolt that had never been uttered in her presence.

“You are accused of high treason before this whole council, with 5 other members present to witness. What do you have to say for yourself?”

Silco hesitated, but slowly raised to his feet, the barrels of each rifle following him with each of his moves. “On what account, exactly?” He asked, calmly amidst the chattering from everyone else.

“On the account of collaborating with and harboring in secret a well-known criminal and implanting fictitious evidence in favor of ensuring you a charge and a seat at this very table.” Then, she furrowed her eyebrows and repeated. “What do you have to say for yourself?”

She took the silence that followed as enough of a reason, she glanced down just for a second but that was enough for Sevika to spring into action, forcing the closest enforcer to drop their gun, and taking them hostage with their own weapon, but unfortunately leaving Silco without any defence.

Caitlyn too, forcefully pried a rifle free from her guard’s holster before pointing it at the seat on the other’s side of the room, immediately parallel to hers. 

“Cait!” Jayce yelled, loosening the grip he had on Viktor just to take a step toward her. The request was clear even if he didn’t follow up with anything else, and Viktor could imagine the conversation that had transpired behind his back, how long ago, he doesn’t know. ‘No bloodshed, descalate, take them alive’, anything along those lines. He felt Jayce’s voice read those words in his mind despite him never having uttered them in that sequence.

Anything that he felt at that moment didn’t stray too far from what he had always felt buried within himself at every encounter. Disgust, rage and regret were the only thing he had felt at one point in his life, and he wasn’t a stranger to the ache that came with betrayal, but it stung just as bad as the first time.

Jayce, ever so vigilant, noticed the shift in his posture, how he seemed to heave a breath, how his shoulders relaxed. 

Helplessness, that’s what he saw reflected in his eyes when they softened, apologetic. 

He knew he wouldn’t have the means to fight back, knew that even if he tried, the risk was too high in his condition, and most importantly, knew he had unknowingly trapped himself in that situation. Giving Jayce the handcuffs, his weapons, and his trust.

He lifted his hammer then, and walked away. 

Whatever he did now would be irrelevant after all, as if he were part of a puzzle he had already solved, predictable. 

But he still had to deal with his ‘accomplices’. 

“You’ll be granted the benefit of the doubt,” He said, directly addressing Sevika. Viktor didn’t even know if he had ever met her before, if he had ever bothered. “If you walk away now.” 

Silco laughed, and even Viktor felt himself exhale a poor excuse of a chuckle.

“I think we’re past the point of negotiations.” He said, a hint of bite in his voice. “Now, It’s either proceed with the verdict or there’ll be more than just one body dropping to the ground. You wouldn’t trade any life for this… simple misunderstanding, would you?”

Jayce raised his hammer, challenging. “Well then.” He heaved a breath and Caitlyn reloaded her rifle behind him, he then raised his voice. “You have a right to remain silent, anything-”

Sevika raised a punch to Jayce before he could finish that sentence, throwing the unfortunate guard at her hands against the wall and launching herself at him from over the table. She was successful in taking his weapon away, while also ensuring herself a much higher-value hostage. Caitlyn jumped over the table to the other side, joining him as backups with her rifle while The Others were escorted to the exit, much to Silco’s apparent displeasure. 

He visibly hesitated, but took a tiny device from his coat pocket, before his arms were forced behind his back by the remaining enforcers and he dropped it. 

Viktor watched it slide across the room, and made it his first priority to get rid of the chains he had nearly begged to be put in and grab a hold of it.

He trashed the chain to the edge of the stone table, trying to mold the metal so as to let him slip free, when it broke, the handcuffs still looped around his wrists, but they didn’t hinder his movement anymore. 

Caitlyn noticed him before Jayce did, and aimed at him instead. He was the easier target, his edges didn’t blend with Jayce’s like Sevika’s did while she fought him on the ground, while they struggled and spilt blood. He was conveniently slow, sluggish, nearly completely defenseless if not for a few of his augmentations.

The sound of her rifle connecting with his forehead was enough to distract Jayce and make Sevika land a punch straight on his face.

Viktor raised his hands, just like Silco already did from the other side of his room. Much like him, he was made to kneel, and Sevika was surrounded by the other bodyguards with nothing short of a simple subsequent order.

Jayce slid from under her only then, grabbed his hammer, and wiped blood off his face with a swing of his hand. He approached them as if disapproving of Caitlyn ever acknowledging him, he said as much right after.

“What do you think you’re doing?!” Jayce immediately yelled, and perhaps his was the only voice Viktor recognized clearly amidst the others’, as if he hadn’t heard anyone else speak before that.

Caitlyn glared at him, but she didn’t turn his way. “Preventing a criminal from fleeing the scene.” She said, the sharp edge of her voice pointed out how disappointed she was of having to explain herself. “I thought it was obvious.” She added.

Jayce pinched his temples, and exhaled from his nose. “What harm would he have caused? He wouldn’t have gone too far anyway.” Then, as an order. “Drop the weapon, I’ll handle him.”

But something in Caitlyn’s expression shifted, she tugged the corner of her mouth higher in a disgusted scrunch of her face, she furrowed her eyebrows and still didn’t take her eyes off of her aim. Her finger hesitated on top of the trigger, and she let out a hitched breath before her eyes sharpened again.

“I’ll handle him.” Jayce repeated, and tugged Caitlyn’s arm closer to himself, it wasn’t long before Jayce was attempting to grab her rifle, covering the end of its barrel with one of his hands.

When her aim faltered, Viktor took Caitlyn’s ankle, and dragged her down in a last attempt of exercising his free will. He didn’t have a clear objective, not any that wasn’t tied to a last spiteful insult to Jayce and everything he ever cared about.

When she fell, she didn’t lay flat on the ground, as Jayce wrapped his other arm around her and supported her before she could, but her grip on her rifle never faltered, she aimed at him purposely this time.

Silco took the distraction, the moment where the guards’ hold on him loosened with the perceived threat that was a possible fight between the trio, to slip free of his handcuffs without anyone noticing, and strode all the way to the device he had let fall, pushing the only button it had.

It made a beeping noise that everyone stopped to hear, hesitant, aware it might’ve blown in their faces the very next moment, yet the sound ceased soon after. Nothing happened.

Viktor heard Jayce heave a sigh, and even Caitlyn’s breath hitched for a moment before she regained her composure. 

Then, a cloud of blue smoke appeared from further outside, but right below them, below the main entrance, with a matching resounding blast that left Viktor’s and much of everyone else’s ears ringing and a few of the glass panes facing outwards shattering.

Jayce grabbed Caitlyn closer to himself, while Viktor shielded his face with both of his forearms out of self-preservation habits.

Caitlyn hit her shoulder against Jayce’s when the scare was over, but she finally let go of her personal revenge at the sight of Viktor, defenseless as Jayce had made him out to be, only to move to other matters. She walked to Silco, instructed him to raise his hands.

When even more enforcers surrounded the premises, Viktor understood it was truly over. 

He didn’t have a reason nor the will to reject Jayce’s touch when he dragged him closer, when he set both of his hands on his shoulders and asked him if he was hurt, when he acted like it was just another day, as if nothing happened. Viktor kept his eyes low, and bit his tongue, he didn’t reply to any of his questions.

A lone ball rolled from all the way at the end of the entrance at the same moment Caitlyn grabbed Silco’s arm, forcing it against his back while her other hand gripped her rifle against herself, always alert.

At the same moment Viktor raised his head to Jayce, at the same moment as Jayce smiled, relieved, and tried to push him closer for a hug, taking his silence as surrender.

And at the same moment an enforcer with her gas mask walked precise steps in the middle of the room, another mask in hand. She bounced it in her palm, made a whistle of a sound that had been clearly directed at Sevika as she called her name soon after it, and she launched the mask her way.

The ball broke in two before it slowly released a green fog.

Caitlyn released her hold on Silco then, only to cough and drag the collar of her shirt closer to her mouth. Her eyes squinted as the toxic fumes propagated, but she immediately locked them on the enforcer in front of her, that at that moment waved her hand her way.

Jayce was doing much of the same thing as Caitlyn, most enforcers had tried to leave the premises, while Silco barely batted an eye. He lifted himself to his feet, and walked to his daughter.

“Here to save the day.” She said, and tugged her hood down, but not her mask. Silco set a hand on her side, and praised her with a little hum. She took a colorful gun from her holster, and rotated it around her finger by the loop of its trigger. 

With the newfound advantage, Sevika broke free of her handcuffs, finding enough strength to do so with her prosthetic arm, and set the mask right on the face. She clasped its straps and immediately charged for Caitlyn, she didn’t give her time to act, found it convenient that she had begun to swing side to side as dizziness hit her.

Jayce took a good look at Viktor’s mask and found it appropriate enough to temporarily protect him, he moved away to assist Caitlyn instead, and Viktor let him, unable to do anything else.

The rifle in Caitlyn’s hold fell on the ground as she squirmed below Sevika’s blows, and when Jayce rushed to her, it flew all the way near Viktor. 

Jayce took a hold of his hammer, pointing it at Sevika and threatening to shoot only to pry Sevika away from Caitlyn, but she kept her hand tight around her face and kept knocking the back of her head against the marbled table. Viktor took the opportunity to drag his knees closer to the weapon they had discarded, and took a hold of it, pointing it at Jayce when he charged his hammer.

“Lower your weapon. Now.” He ordered before he could aim, Jayce scoffed and didn’t give in so easily.

“And let your ‘friend’ over here have her way?” He asked through a muffled sound and a cough, at the same time Sevika heaved a gasp of a breath as Caitlyn managed to detach her mask, even for just a moment, but enough to slip free as she regained her breath, giving Jayce a clearer shot. 

Jayce aimed at his target, holding his breath just to set his other hand on the ‘trigger’.

He’d never had thought the day when Jayce would not fear him would come. 

In other circumstances, it would have been relieving. Perhaps he could have found a way to let the walls he had built around himself fall down and crumble, he could have found an equal to trust, leaving all the past behind.

He thought about the impossibility of seeing anyone else but Jayce crushing his barriers when he fired the rifle in his hands. Low, as his field of vision permitted, but precise.

He yelped in pain, bending to cover the spot just below his knee, before hitting his other knee on the ground. His other hand was planted on the ground for leverage, leaving his hammer without anyone that would wield it.

Jayce let out a nervous little laugh, squinted his eyes shut with the gasp that followed, and covered his mouth back again to muffle out a whine. Most of the room had been evacuated, some enforcers fainted while others, now properly equipped, were giving their aid.

Too many to be properly taken care of. 

There was no doubt, despite dealing a hit on Piltover’s elites, they had lost. And the gas was finally dissipating from the windows that exploded in the latest attack. 

Silco and Jinx, a little further away, walked closer to the scene. Jinx pointed her gun at the back of Jayce’s head.

“So… You’d leave me the honors?” She asked. “It feels kind of… wrong. Not the killing, last time we did something like this we got two councilors with one stone-rocket!” She corrected, laughing, and fired her weapon to a ‘brave’ enforcer aiming their way before connecting it with the back of Jayce’s head again.  “But now… yeesh. Isn’t he supposed to give you child support?” She asked Viktor immediately after, slightly lowering her weapon. Insecure. 

Viktor turned his head the other way, and didn’t answer.

“You’re right.” Silco conceded, much to Jinx’s surprise, and he pried her gun away from Jayce. “Despite what you two agreed on, the honor should only ever befall Viktor.” He said instead, Viktor raised his head once again, knowing it wasn’t a request, but an order.

“No!” Caitlyn protested in a wailing shriek of a plea, and Viktor temporarily turned her way. She was being held still by Sevika, who laughed when she tried to break free. 

“Urgh…” Jinx groaned. “Not her…” she mumbled and walked her way, she pointed her gun at her instead. “What’s your problem? An eye for an eye, ever heard of that? You stole my… sister, and we’re taking out your non-blood related brother. It doesn’t get simpler than that!”

Then, she hummed. “Wait, I have an idea. Give her here, Sevika.” She requested.

“Give her to you?” Sevika scoffed. “You’re going to let her run and get backups. Whatever idea you have isn’t worth it.”

“Anyday now…” Silco called, as if he were scolding two children, and kicked Jayce’s leg when he tried to stand up again. This one grabbed at his knee again, wondering how the blood hadn’t stopped flowing, but realizing Viktor had hit a major artery. Out of spite, he was sure.

He deserved that.

“Give her here!” Jinx requested again. “What if we take her life in front of him instead, hm? So you’re still going to have a dad for your kid and it’s good enough of a message for everyone else.” She suggested with a little hum, raising both of her eyebrows.

“Leave her.” Jayce immediately ordered. “Take me instead, take anyone else.”

Jinx feigned a little contemplating hum and hit her gun on her palm. “Well, it’s not your decision, is it?”

Silco hummed, but sighed. He accepted Jinx’s gesture for what it was, a simple distraction from letting Viktor show his loyalty, but let it slide. “Do whatever you want, but do it quickly. While we still have a way out.” Silco urged, responsibly impatient. After all, the alarm had been raised.

She turned to Viktor, opening both of her arms and palms, looping the trigger of her gun around a finger and rotating it around it. “Out the window! I’ve got a hook.” She explained to him, possibly noticing his inability to do talk, or get up.

The fact he hadn’t managed to kill Jayce didn’t paint him in a good light, but Jinx didn’t seem to blame him for it, at least.

The same couldn’t be said for Silco, who raised an eyebrow his way. He didn’t say anything. 

She then grabbed Caitlyn from Sevika’s hold, she set herself right behind her back, and pointed her gun to the side of her head. 

“Your hair smells nice…” She said, sniffing the side of Caitlyn’s neck, where she could reach. “That’s it. That's all I wanted to say.”

If Jayce didn’t go off script the device in Silco’s pocket wouldn’t have been detonated, if the device hadn’t detonated, Jinx wouldn’t have been called there and the alarm wouldn’t have been raised, if that didn’t happen, Violet wouldn’t have rushed to The Councilroom, wouldn’t have run to Jinx, and wouldn’t have distracted her.

Recalling the moment, Jinx would have said that it happened too fast for her to do anything. She would have admitted she was only playing, that she knew Caitlyn wasn’t worth getting chased by the whole Kirraman’s clan for, that she had talked with Silco just moments prior, and he’d have given her the green light to give her and Jayce a scare.

She’d recall the moment with a gasp that matched the one that she uttered when she saw Violet lay eyes on her, the same hitched breath that she let out when Caitlyn took a hold of her gun, changed its trajectory to target the man Jinx was trying to impress, correctly identifying him as the man behind this whole plan and pressed her own finger against its trigger. 

At that moment, she hadn’t noticed the swarm of enforcers behind Violet, slowly but decidedly trailing in her steps, hadn’t rushed securing Sevika’s and Viktor’s escape, hadn’t been able to act like the role she had inherited the moment Silco dropped dead on the shiny marbled floor. 

She had rushed to his side, mumbling nonsense in a desperate whimper Viktor didn’t quite catch the words of. She had lifted his head, her eyes were blown wide in panic as she found the strength to close his, but she had ultimately been forced to leave the body there without saying a last goodbye. She jumped off the window with the escape plan she had previously only mentioned. 

Sevika fought off a few enforcers trying to subdue her for the tenth time that day, it always required more than just one, and rushed to the window Jinx had fled from and called her name like a curse, waiting for her to come back. She didn't.

Jayce, with a gaping wound yet untreated, still rushed to his side, crawling his way there and unknowingly giving Viktor a better idea of where the bullet had hit Silco before his body shielded the scene. He covered his shoulder with his blood-soaked palm, and the back of his neck with the other. 

He opened his mouth, Viktor’s eyes followed the movement but his ears didn’t register more than a few words. …Not supposed to… Hadn’t planned… Harmless… Insane… Manipulated… Better… 

As he spoke, Viktor’s mind supplied  him with flashes of the supposed future Jayce had in mind for them, a fuzzy happy memory of the ideal aristocratic family Topside, in Jayce’s childhood home. Only there. He’d have nurtured his interest for science, things would’ve returned how he remembered them deep in their partnership. He’d have nurtured his interest for Science and nothing more,  because part of the interest Jayce had for him resided in the intellectual challenges he was able to provide him, but he’d have only let him under his care, he was sure he’d set some boundaries for the sake of public appearances. 

He’d thought of the fights they’d have, where Jayce would have surely put the blame on him, for preventing him from leaving when they had the chance. 

He could hear the insults thrown at him, and they sounded like the ones he’d heard before.

They’d be captive of their own respective caprices, never letting go of their own personal extremity of the rope that held them together, pulling until it broke on its own.

Viktor was sure he was spiraling even if his breath pattern hadn’t changed. Jayce had noticed too.

He smeared blood on his mask without meaning to, lifting his head, asking him if he understood him. Something that he sequentially said, when he didn’t give him enough feedback, made a chill run through his spine.

His trembling hands moved as a surge of energy rekindled within him. 

‘Would you ever forgive me?’

Viktor moved a hand on Jayce’s cheek, while the other gripped the hair at the back of his head. Jayce smiled, leaned against the familiar touch like he had done countless times. Relived, he closed his eyes, and breathed in his scent; sweat, fear and anger. 

Forgive him?

Viktor buried the hand that stood still at the side of Jayce’s face behind his ear, he lifted his chin then and thrust his head forward, repeatedly. Jayce held his shoulders away, and Viktor nearly broke one of his hands trying to stop him from moving even an inch away. 

He didn't stop, even if logically he knew he was doing just as much damage as he was receiving, the inside of his metal plate of a mask bumping against his nose and mouth just as it hit Jayce’s face. It felt like the repeated impact would have been enough to weld it to his face, something he should have done long ago.

He’d have made it top priority. 

It took a couple of enforcers swarming his way to pry him away from The Defender, they tugged at his hair, made him stand again. They realized they could be a bit rougher with him soon enough, even if most felt morally obligated to go easy on him seeing his condition. They forced his arms around his back, but he had already stopped fighting them the moment he was pulled away from Jayce. This one hesitated, but scooted a step back, holding his bleeding nose as he relaxed his wounded leg flat on the ground.

He’d replace it for him if he came to ask. The humiliation of having to request his help would be enough of a reward.

When he was escorted out of the room, an enforcer on each of his arms, he didn’t try to look back, knowing in his heart Jayce hadn’t stopped following him with his eyes up until he was out of his view.

.

.

.

In all fairness, he wholeheartedly believed he’d have benefitted from a few more days in isolation. He had been given a single cell out of what he supposed was magnanimity (or perhaps contempt), one buried deep within the confines of Stillwater’s penitentiary, and he had yet to receive a visit a full week into his stay not counting the medical staff occasionally checking in on him. 

But when Jinx approached with her stupid excuse of an enforcer disguise, looking disheveled and like a shell of her former self, walking to him uttering those words in a low, pitiful tone, he could hardly refuse her company.

“You’re all I have left…” She had said as soon as their eyes met, she had opened his cell and taken her gas mask off. She’d stood a few feet away from him, keeping her arms behind her back. She didn’t dare raise her eyes from her feet. Pensive, desperate, devastated.

She was a mess, but Viktor supposed he didn’t look all that better either.

With one arm less and his augmented leg chained to a ball for the safety of the medical staff monitoring him and his unborn child, with a white plain shirt that fit him poorly, creased at the seams. His face, still healing from most of the hits he had caused himself, on display for everyone to see. It was less than ideal.

Viktor decided to remain silent for a moment more, then, not long after, he grabbed the corner of his bed and stood to his feet.

He walked to Jinx and she stilled, waiting for a sign, a spoken word.

He wrapped his arm around her back in something of a hug instead. 

“I’m sorry...” Viktor muttered, half-expecting her to lash out on him just as he thought he deserved. But Jinx only buried her face against his neck and shook her head, smearing tears and snot on him and succeeding in enveloping her arms around him far better than he had managed to. He held her tighter with the best of his abilities.

“No… no…” she mumbled, her voice coming out muffled. “We’ll show them.” She said in a low whisper, her voice strained. “You’ll see… We’ll-“ there’s a pause, a crack in her voice. “We’ll make them pay.” 

That sentiment, he could share.

That night he had taken charge of his sister.

He reminisced how not long ago, deep in his depressive episode, she had had his instead, but didn’t ever mention it.

With Silco gone, she was the only one that ever bore witness to his unusual, temporary, disastrous partnership with Jayce. She didn’t tell a soul, but as Naph grew up he could only imagine that he’d be approached with curious stares, whispers and speculations about his resemblance with Piltover’s beloved, but never questions. 

He’d never get asked about it, and he’d never confirm.

Stares, whispers and mumbles would occur even in his new home, where any new customer or visitor would be able to feel the presence of a baby he never talks about openly, never mentions, but is somehow always in his immediate vicinity. 

He realized that he could have never been able to prevent or predict the rumors that had already spread when a group of kids he had only ever seen once before returned to request his aid, and reminded him how creative people could be when dealing with doubt and speculation. 

Viktor recognized the leader of the little team of children by the cast he had installed himself. He let them in silently, didn’t separate them even if he’d only ever needed to aid one of them while the other two watched and possibly caused trouble around his house. 

He supposed the others were the kid’s emotional support team, therefore he didn’t think of mentioning it.

Right then and there, he only lifts a page of the calendar hanging beside his desk, scribbled by streaks of pink marker beyond recognition and hums, contemplatively. 

“You should have come earlier. As advised.” Viktor reprimands after a moment more of humming. He soon lets the sheet of paper down. “That cast… it must itch a lot, you had it on for too many weeks… aren’t you afraid it might’ve hindered your arm’s growth?”

“You moved houses.” The kid points out, decidedly accusingly, Viktor hums again.

“Was it hard to find me?” He asks instead of taunting him again.

“A little… Are you going to cut this off now or what?” He nods at the cast on his arm with his chin, expectantly. Despite the order and the angry furrow of his face, the kid stood eerily still, as if petrified. 

“I guess you’ve waited long enough.” Viktor concedes.

He takes a seat next to his workbench and extends his arm expectantly. He opens his palm, moves his fingers rhythmically in front of him and waits for the child, no more than 9, to come closer.

When he does, he takes his trusted multi-tool from off his desk, a Chemtech-fueled handheld device that looks like it has ‘teeth’ as Jinx once said, and holds it closer to the cast.

The kid’s eyes widen, he audibly gasps and he immediately takes a step back in fear. 

Viktor lowers it.

“Noah.” He calls, the child raises an eyebrow, surprised. As if he didn’t expect him to remember his name, or care about remembering it. “I need you to stay still for this procedure, or I might end up cutting your arm off.”

“You wish!” Noah yells at him. He turns around in search of his friends, the ones he had come with. 

He finds the two of them closer to the door, where he had left them, terrified, and some of that defiance leaves him at that instant. 

“Do you really have to use that?” He almost pleads when he turns around again. 

“I can use a pair of scissors.” He suggests. “It might do irreparable damage… to them.” He sets his multi-tool down on his workbench again, half expecting the outcome of this conversation. “It’s a waste of perfectly functional scissors, is what I mean to say.”

“I can work with that.” Noah says, shrugging. Viktor scoffs, shooks his head, and picks up the preferred tool.

“Hm. Tedious.” He says, testing the scissors with two loud clicks.

There’s silence for a moment more, then Noah opens his mouth. 

“Do you… uhm…” He starts, Viktor tilts his head. “Have you seen something weird lately?” He asks. 

“Weird?” Viktor repeats, sliding the blades of his sturdy fabric scissors between the cast and the soft padding behind it. They’d be ruined at the end of this, he was sure. “You’ll have to be more specific.” He instructs. 

“Have you… heard anything at night?” The child asks again.

Viktor pauses for a second. “You shouldn’t wander at night, it’s dangerous.” He says. “gunshot wounds are much harder to treat than a simple fracture, you don’t want to be caught between fights you’re not part of. It begins with the removal of the foreign object, some areas are harder to treat than-”

“No, not that…” The kid interrupts. “Have you seen ghosts around here?”

“Ghosts.” Viktor repeats.

“You had a…” He waves his other hand in a circular motion, unhelpfully - that could translate to anything and everything after all... 

Viktor’s mind fills the missing blank with almost any countable noun, his train of thought always supplies him with names of tools he could have a spare of in his workshop; from ‘you had a circular saw, a hammer, a wrench to ‘pliers, screwdrivers, screws, bolts, tape, drills…’

He’s managed to mentally list everything he’s ever had in his improvised laboratory before he asks himself: what would a kid even do with any of those things? 

Then Noah points at him, at his stomach, he makes a hand gesture soon after as if highlighting the fact that he’s lost weight, that he wasn’t pregnant anymore. That’s how Viktor interprets it anyway.

“I had a baby.” Viktor completes the sentence for him, Noah’s eyes light up slightly as if he said the correct thing.

His mind supplies him with a different question then: Would it have been so embarrassing for a 9 year old to even mention pregnancy? He almost rolls his eyes.

“I don’t see how that’s relevant.” He says instead.

“It’s just…” Noah hums, and he lowers his eyes. “That sucks, I’m sorry.” He says, Viktor can’t help but let out a little chuckle.

Parenthood hadn’t treated him that bad.

“There’s no need.” He says, and keeps on jamming the scissors deep into the cast, they make a loud, almost rusty sound and Noah falls silent once again.

“I had a brother too,” he says after a moment. “That’s what my mom told me. I never met him, he died before I was born but…” He never finishes the sentence, simply doesn't pick it up again. He only wills his other shoulder to shrug.

Viktor pauses, turns the little boy’s arm a little to the right and admires the shaky cut he had managed to make. “Condolescences.” He says.

Noah hums as a reply. 

“But it seems there has been a misunderstanding.” Viktor adds. “You mentioning ghosts makes it seem like you’re under the impression my child has been haunting this house from their grave.”

“I mean… yeah…” Noah says, and looks around for confirmation from his friends. They nod their head, proving that that’s exactly what the three of them had creatively made up.

Paranormal activities that don't quite align with magic… He had never heard that one before.

“That’s news to me.” Viktor says, letting out a huff of a laugh. “If my baby ever cries it’s because he has yet to be able to provide for himself, like every other newborn or infant.” He tells Noah, the child furrows his eyebrows, confused. “Certainly not to taunt me from the afterlife- All done.” He informs at last, letting the broken cast fall to the floor with a thud. “Now, to the padding…” 

He discards the scissors, unfit for their purpose anymore, only to take a much smaller set and begin gliding its blade to the soft insolation that still remained attached to Noah’s arm. It’s quick work, easier than his previous task.

“It’s not dead then?” He asks, voice high pitched. “You didn’t try to bring your baby back and something wrong happened that made it become a ghost? One that only wails at night when everyone else is sleeping?

“No, you’ve got the wrong idea. I’m not an expert in necromancy, after all. ” He says, loosening his grip on the boy’s arm and finally standing up. “But you’re right about one thing, he only ever cries at night. He’s sleeping or eating any other time of day… he doesn’t do much else.” Noah grimaces, and takes a step back. “I can show him to you if you’re still skeptical.” He suggests.

Noah makes a little jerk with his head, a little tilt, but stands still in his place.

Viktor takes that as enough of an answer, so he turns around and trails one of the hallways of his new hideout in search of his bedroom.

He comes to a halt just outside it, his hand rests on the handle, he breathes out, closes his eyes and simply listens for an uneventful second.

It had become a habit. A habit born of irrational fears and paranoia that stayed with him even after the sentiment attached to it was long gone. 

In the few weeks after his son was born, he had dreaded walking away from his crib, fearing he might not find him lying there where he had left him on his return. 

In the following time, he had slowly realized nobody would come to reclaim him. 

He was safe, hidden away from prying eyes.

Viktor heaves a breath of relief and slowly opens the door.

Naph lays sleeping exactly where he had left him, in the crib next to his bed, surrounded by a few pillows and a white rabbit toy that had peeled in a few spots, too delicate for any kind of handling.

 He hovers a palm near his nose, a different anxious habit he picked up once he learnt newborns could stop breathing at any given time, often for inexplicable, unpreventable reasons, then he softly lifts him up in his arms. 

Naph makes a little sound of protest, he scrunches up his legs before he’s set comfortably on the crook of his mother’s neck. He doesn’t open his eyes, he relaxes in the embrace immediately, as soon as he’s set there.

When Viktor comes back to his living room with Naph in his hold, the other two kids had almost convinced Noah to make a run for it.

But Noah stood his ground, determined to get to the bottom of his little made-up mystery.

He turns his head to him once he notices him arriving, Viktor huffs a soft laugh and sits back at the chair he had sat to help him take off his cast.

He lifts Naph off of his shoulder, careful to support his head, and shows him to Noah and his friends in silence. 

“Are you sure he’s alive?” One of them asks, Viktor doesn’t recognize who, doesn’t try to either, too mesmerized by his own creation. Naph wiggles in his hold even before he can open his mouth and answer, opening and closing his tiny palm in an involuntary reaction.

“I’m sure.” He still confirms. “He’s just sleeping. Newborns do that for most part of the day.”

“He doesn’t look anything like you.” The other one retorts a moment after. “He’s tan, he’s got… weird dark eyebrows and… and he’s chubby too…”

“Hm… it might seem that we do not share any resemblance as of now, but he’s still mine, and I take all the credit for his existence. Give him time.” Viktor says, he rubs his thumb against Naph’s cheek. “And since when has the adjective  ‘chubby’ gained a negative connotation? I take good care of him and it simply shows.” He retorts.

Noah makes his way between the others, pushes them aside and takes a step closer just to peek at the baby with his own two eyes, conducting something of a personal investigation. He pauses, hums. His eyes widen slightly, but he doesn’t elaborate. “What's his name again?” He only asks, after a few seconds more.

Viktor slowly lifts Naph back closer to himself.

“Just Naph.” 

“Don’t overestimate my patience.” Viktor tells her, framing the statement as a warning. “A small gathering between you, me, Blitz, Sevika and him is enough. He won’t even remember it.”

“Not even Renata?” Jinx asks, and lends Viktor a wooden spoon when he asks for it, doing so with just a wiggle of his fingers. She peeks over the bowl Viktor pours cocoa powder in a little too closely, and he pushes her away. 

She’s not all that interested in baking anymore after that. 

“You can invite Renata. She won’t come, but you can invite her.” He concedes, and pours the gritty mixture into a tray. “But that’s as many guests that I’ll allow.”

Jinx hums, then pouts. A little whine escapes her before she wraps her arms around Viktor from the back. She intertwines her hands just below his diaphragm, and rubs her cheek against his spine, finding the little bolts protruding to be somewhat satisfying to feel against her skin, even from above his shirt. 

“You never let me do anything…” she says, and lowers her eyes.

“That’s not true.” Viktor replies. He pauses. “I let you invite Renata.”

Jinx makes a groan of a sound, and hits her head against his back.

“It’s best if we wrap it up before midnight.” Viktor then informs her. She squeezes him harder in retaliation. “I’m trying to fix Naph’s sleep schedule so he’s awake when I am available to tend to him, and only for as many hours as he’s physically able to be awake for. It’s a gradual process.”

“Your sleep schedule sucks!” Jinx unkindly reminds him. “That’s child abuse!”

“What’s the point in having him be awake when I’m not there? This way, it’s efficient.” Viktor insists, closing the door to the oven a little harder than necessary. He turns its knobs without having to look at instructions all the while Jinx is still glued to him. “I can plan my days around him, around his development. He's bound to take his first steps soon, then he might begin to fill out any other developmental milestones for his age… I simply don’t want to miss any of it.” 

“Oh my goodness let him breathe! He’s just a snotty kid! He likes cake, toys, parties- NOT learning, learning and learning!”

“You paint me like a tyrant, but fail to understand he has not fleshed out his preferences enough for you to make that claim.”

“He’s just 1!” She insists. “Babies love when you do like-” she unlatches from his back only then, moves her arms higher and covers his eyes with her hands. “Peek-a-boo! Peek-a-boo!” She exclaims, making her point clear enough, Viktor grabs one of her wrists and pushes her away, next to him again.

“Spare your breath for his enjoyment, then.” He chastises. “For all else that truly matters, he has plenty of potential I’m interested in nurturing.”

“Big whoop, I don’t want to hear about potential, I don’t want to hear about how big the… the fucking diameter of his head was when he was born or whatever and how that translates to- Urgh!” She groans, and sets a hand on the counter. She raises her other hand to her forehead then, feigning an illness. “I can’t believe I’m reciting your ramblings word for word!”

Viktor scoffs, and drums his fingers on the metal side of the stovetop. “I don’t recall saying ‘whatever’ when telling you about a larger circumference head paired with greater brain volume and its possible correlation with higher cognitive skills.”

“You really need to find a hobby… All this overcompensating on parenting cause Naph lacks one… Urgh. It kind of makes you look pathetic.” Jinx says, furrowing her eyebrows at him. “It doesn’t make it any better that at the end of the day he’s still going to ask;” she joins her hands together in a swift, pretentious, move and raises the pitch of her voice, mockingly. “ ‘Daddy, daddy! Where's my other daddy? Why did he leave us? Why is he such a-“ 

“You can be his mom, if you’re offering.” Viktor interrupts, pushing a finger on the tip of her nose, temporarily interrupting her taunt. He moves away from the kitchen then, but stops at his workbench. Jinx follows.

“Me?” Jinx asks, dumbfounded, then she takes a breath and raises her voice. “Me?!” She repeats, finally grasping what was being asked of her. “No! That’s fucked up!” And completely misunderstanding. 

“It’s not.” Viktor scolds, he sets a hand on the back of his chair. “It’ll be completely platonic, you can just let him call you mom until he’s old enough to understand why he can’t have one.”

“Find some other idiot! No- literally! Find some loser that’ll take you! It doesn’t have to be like this!” Jinx suggests, Viktor shakes his head, annoyed. “I have dates, and yeah- it might be cute to show my nephew to a hottie and make them go ‘d’awww’” She juggles two imaginary objects in her hands, as if weighting her options. She doesn’t give the idea too much thought. “-but it's going to get weird if he starts calling me ‘mommy, mommy, mommy!’ And asks me for money for a new chemistry set.” 

“Don’t you have something better to do? What about organizing this stupid party you wanted?” Viktor asks instead, looking up at the clock by the door and refusing to entertain her. “Go blow some balloons, that ought to keep you distracted.”

“Well, what’s the point anymore…” she mumbles, pretending to hit a pebble away from his floorboards. His perfectly smooth floorboards. “You don’t let me have it my way…”

“‘Your way’ would have us found out and arrested.” Viktor points out, and tilts his head. “It’s a miracle nobody has told on us yet, the bounty on my head is enough of a motive…”

“It’s not a miracle…” Jinx corrects, still mumbling. “it’s ’cause nobody ever thinks being a doctor is profitable enough down here… as fucked up as it is, you’re almost the only one that offers that kind of service… other than guilds trying to recruit people.” She points out, and brushes two fingers against his back, letting them ‘walk’ on his shoulder. 

“and Renata’s protection is enough of a deterrent too…” She adds, and tilts her head, something lights up in her eyes when her hand brushes the side of his neck and she wraps her arms around him again, around his neck. Jinx glues herself against his chest and looks up at him with a little pout and her eyebrows furrowed in a matching pitiful expression. “nobody would talk if we had a big, loud party…” she says in a low tone, not quite pleading.

Viktor pretends to consider the idea with a little hum, and a tilt of his head. He heaves a breath then, and wraps his hands around her wrists again, pushing her away for the tenth time that day. “The noise would be enough to alarm authorities patrolling the environs. No is no, don’t make me repeat myself.” He insists. Jinx forms a pair of claws with her hands, retreating her fingers closer against her palms and charging them in his direction.

Thankfully, one year was enough time to re-learn all of Jinx’s tricks.

“It’s Naph’s birthday not yours.” He reminds her. “Naph’s under my supervision, therefore I decide what’s best for him and how he’d like to celebrate.”

“I hate when you bake.” Jinx says as a last attempt to hurt him. A last unsuccessful attempt. She pulls her hands away from Viktor’s grip. “You put too much sugar in any recipe and nobody likes that.”

“I enjoy it that way.” Viktor retorts and shrugs. “I’ll make it up for you in October, there’s no need to pout.”

Jinx frowns, but she’s somehow satisfied with that answer, she crosses her arms. Not soon after the hand of the old clock he keeps near the door reaches 5:15, Naph coos from his room. Viktor walks to the door he had purposely left ajar and picks him up, bringing him back to his favorite aunt. 

Jinx sighs, but she’s unable to stay mad at Viktor anymore with a cute baby on his hip.

.

.

.

Naph watches the silver spoon move towards him, but he quickly turns his head away, he looks up at Viktor as if awaiting instructions, or simply to look at him without any other ulterior motive. 

He’s sitting on Viktor’s lap as he tries to feed him a piece of cake, he hovers the spoon to his mouth again, and this time Naph raises a hand and blocks his attempt. 

“I don’t get it.” Jinx says at the same time Viktor pushes that same spoon in his own mouth and digs into the pan for a second bite. “I mean… I’m not surprised Sevika would say no, but Renata?”

Viktor hums, but doesn’t understand why Jinx would have the impression her and him are anything but unconventional acquaintances. “You are all Naph needs for his birthday.” He says, Jinx shakes her head. “I’m pleasantly satisfied with our little gathering.”

“I’m not.” Jinx felt the need to say, before keeping on recalling her encounter. “ But she just… tore a page from an old notebook on her desk…” Jinx says. She has her elbows planted on the table, and her head resting on top of her arms. 

Naph tilts his head at her, and pretends to listen. Viktor gives him a half a spoon of cake when he’s distracted enough to actually accept it.

“She wrote something down, then slipped it in an envelope and gave it to me.” She lifts her head only then, she pushes her untouched plate further away before digging in her pocket for said envelope. “She told me ‘Viktor’s already been informed’, what the hell does that mean?” Jinx hands it to Viktor with that question.

“I haven’t been informed of anything.” Viktor confesses, and adjusts Naph a little better in his lap, he tries to grab the collar of his shirt, going as far as trying to lift himself just to reach it, but gets distracted soon before he does. “But I had presumed she’d have never partaken in Naph’s birthday. She’s much older than he is, after all. And Naph hasn’t yet had the occasion to learn about the last economic recession, he’d hardly have any topics to break the ice with.” Viktor jokes, Naph babbles a few incoherent vowels in Jinx’s direction instead, and he sets him on the table, giving him the freedom of trying to crawl his way to her on his own.

He takes the envelope from Jinx’s hand then and opens it, he drags the folded note out of it and begins skimming his eyes over it, silently reading it.

“So, what is it?” Jinx asks, and takes Naph in her arms, he squeals in anticipation, somehow expecting her to bounce him up and down like she always does. She doesn’t this time, much more occupied in trying to sneak a peak of Renata’s elegant but rushed handwriting. “What does it say?” She insists, frowning and nearly falling down her seat from how much she scoots closer to Viktor.

Viktor hums, but gives in far too easily. “One coin for one year alive. Happy birthday, Naph.” He reads out loud, completely pulling out the note and discarding its envelope on the table. “That’s all.” He informs her. 

“That’s all?” She repeats at the same time Naph grabs one of her braids, Viktor nods.  Jinx lowers her eyes, and her expression becomes contemplative. Much like Naph, she pouts.

“What did you expect, exactly?” Viktor asks her, raising an eyebrow. Jinx huffs a breath from her mouth and shakes her head, dismissing the question. “I’m surprised she remembered his name, honestly.”

“I can’t wait until Naph’s 100 years old then…” She says instead. “That’s barely gonna leave a dent in that stingy hag’s savings but it is something.” Jinx sets Naph on the ground then, letting him free to crawl away, and takes the envelope. “It’s empty.” She announces, and turns it upside down, shaking it up and down. “Where’s the coin?”

Viktor doesn’t have an answer for that up until Jinx points at the back of the note with her finger, eyes wide in surprise. He turns the little piece of paper around, and reads the last remaining piece of the letter.

‘Tell your guardian to come collect your gift in my office.’ It reads. There’s a little heart at the end of the sentence.

“She’s simply feeding into the baseless conviction you seem to have about our completely professional relationship, don’t fall for the bait, you’re clearly above these tricks.” He says instead of reading those words outloud, but Jinx’s already smiling ear to ear, ready to taunt him. 

She crawls on the table, nearly knocking it over, she turns on her back and she opens her arms. “I knew it!” She says. “I knew it, I knew it, I knew it!” She repeats, following the words with a hearty laugh.

Viktor sighs, and doesn't delight her with any answer. “Oh this is the best gift I could ever receive!” She squeals, and turns to her side, facing him. She lifts herself on her elbow, and her head on her hand. “So… ‘Viktor’s already been informed’ is code for ‘Meet me at my place, pretty boy’?”

“I have never heard Renata say the words ‘pretty’ and ‘boy’ in that sequence, nor will I ever do.” He says, throwing the letter away and standing up again, Jinx catches it before it can fall to the ground and brings it closer to her heart. As if it were for her. “Renata simply has an odd sense of humor.”

“Well, rumor has it she kind-a ‘fancies’ you.” She nearly sings.

“Those rumors are completely groundless.” Viktor corrects, scoffing.

“If you were a little less frigid they wouldn’t be all that groundless at all… Or rumors.”

“Why exactly do you want me to whore myself out, now?” Jinx lays flat on the table once again, heaving a somewhat relieved sigh.

“Oh you know,” she says, moving her hand in the air. “It’s simple math, giving Naph a mom so you get back to being yourself again equals more time to pick up your precious projects again!” She insists. “and if it finally makes you forget that guy… I mean, that’s a plus.”

Viktor pauses, Jinx doesn’t notice the hesitation, or ignores it. “I do not know who you speak of.” He says.

“It’s already working!” Jinx yells, and finally hops off the table. “We’re back to business, Viki!” She raises a fist before turning around in the correct direction and facing him. Silly. “It’s a matter of time before we-“ Jinx doesn’t manage to complete the sentence that she jumps out of fear, stumbling over a few steps at the sight of a big, huge, hand waving from the hole it made where, just mere moments ago, there was a door.

She recollects herself pretty quickly, recognizing the owner of the limb by its metal structure. 

“Blitz!” Viktor immediately exclaims, walking over to him. He picks up Naph on the way there, stopping his miniature adventure before it could bloom. That is, if knocking his head against his chair could be categorized as an adventure.

“My creation, I’m glad you could come…” Blitzcrack retreats his hand, and Viktor peaks his head out of the new arch that once was his main door. “Even for a frivolous event such as this. Would you prefer to enter from the back door? It’s much more spacious…”

“Why bother? If he squeezes in he’ll manage to get in just fine…”

Blizcrank hums as if considering, a whirling mechanical sound resonates from deep within its gears. Viktor all but beams, proud beyond measure at such a simple show of communication and adaptation skills. “an even bigger hole in the wall wouldn’t be ideal if you plan to repair it.” He says at last.

“Wouldn’t be as much of an issue as you seem to claim it to be.” Viktor assures, before taking a few steps forward and out. “This… This is the reason we are celebrating today.” He lifts Naph up, and shows him off as if he were a prize. Naph seems to like the newly acquired height, smiling and trashing his arms around. “Your brother, in the flesh.”

“‘In the flesh’” Jinx repeats, mockingly.

“In a less than optimal form.” Blitzcrank muses, and brings his head forward, he analyzes Naph, still in Viktor’s arms, up until he nestles back on the crook of Viktor’s neck. “I understand the human need to celebrate such trite achievements.” He says after a moment.

“Do you?” Viktor asks.

“In such a small, imperfect, form even being alive for a year seems impossible.” He pauses, deliberately. “Although, I am led to believe he would not have survived were it not for your monitoring and mentoring.”

“We can’t really equate a year of his life to a year of your own.” Viktor says instead of agreeing. “Or mine.” He adds, Naph turns his head his way, quietly watching him as he speaks. He seems lulled enough by his tone of voice to lid his eyes, but he doesn’t fall asleep yet. “Yet, I believe he’ll be just as capable of leaving a mark... Perhaps the fact that he has less time makes the miracle of creation all the more… marvelous.”

Blitzcrank tilts his head again, pauses for just a second. “I am almost certain that last statement had nothing to do with our current conversation.” He says.

Viktor hums. “Just a thought uttered out loud, my mistake.” He apologizes. “Would you like to formally meet Naph, now? Shake his hand, he’s able to do so after I taught him.”

“How odd…” Blitzcrank says, and tilts his head. “Humans are often described as a social animal, It feels almost natural to think they’d be born knowing how to act in a social setting, yet you had to teach him?”

“Children develop the ability to adapt later on, so it isn’t incorrect to think humans are wired to form connections… there are certain exceptions but you are not all that far off.” Blitzcrank’s eyes flicker, and Viktor scoffs. “Do I detect some jealousy?” He asks then. “I had to teach you how to do that as well, if you recall. You weren’t built with social skills either.” He decides to remind him.

“I am not human, and I believe I am a much faster learner.”

“You’d be correct to believe so.” Viktor softly nudges Naph awake, he grumbles nonsense in his hold but doesn’t cry. “Shake hands, Naph. Shake hands with your brother.” He instructs, spelling out each word slowly to better get the command across. 

Naph seems to audibly complain before he lifts up his arm towards him. Viktor tilts it closer to Blitz’s general direction and the golem moves his hand accordingly, closing all of his fingers on his palm, all except his index one, he extends it towards Naph until he reaches for it.

There’s a spark of blue energy even before Naph grabs Blitz’s finger, even before he tries to drag it down for a proper handshake, but the moment their hands meet the air begins to crackle with static charge. Viktor only has the time to move his eyes from Naph to Blitzcrank before the golem’s hand and arm explode, pieces of them flying in all directions while most of its metal carcass falls on the ground. 

Viktor shields Naph with the best of his abilities but a shard of metal still scrapes his eyebrow, leaving a small cut behind. 

Naph almost immediately bursts into tears, despite being the one having taken less damage out of both of his creations, and Viktor covers the scratch with his palm, skims his eyes over his frame to check for any other injury and steps forward to Blitzcrank when he doesn’t seem to find any.

“I was in need of an upgrade.” Blitzcrank says as soon as he realizes he’s approaching, Viktor’s eyes soften with the idea he had predicted his worried questions, or the need to utter them. 

Blitzcrank takes a step back not long after. “It is best there is no more contact between us for the time being. I don’t enjoy hurting any of you.”

“This wasn’t your fault.” Viktor assures, and takes another step forward. “ It’s… perhaps, it’s a short circuit in your…” Viktor blinks, and doesn’t finish his sentence. “Let me fix your arm.” He only offers.

“Fix yours!” Jinx yells, horrified. She walks over to him and nudges his shoulder, trying to convince him to back away. “Viktor, you’re bleeding!”

Viktor looks over his shoulder, and surely there’s a wound going from all across his chest up to his clavicle, Viktor lowers his head for just a second, quietly collecting his thoughts, but it's enough for a drop of blood to fall from off his nose and on Naph’s head. “It's a superficial cut.” He still says. “Barely any hindrance. Come, from the backdoor. We'll both get an upgrade.” He promises. 

He silently gives Naph to Jinx on the way inside before picking up his pace, he frets to open cupboards after cupboards, drawers full of utensils he doesn’t really need, before rummaging through a lone jar by the stove. He takes out a bandaid, and shows it to Jinx just to receive a sour grimace back.

“And you really think that’s of any use?!” She audibly complains, but he just unwraps the bandaid and sets it on Naph’s eyebrow. He cradles his face in his hand, and shushes away his tears.

“I’ll be fine.” Viktor assures right after. Jinx drags her finger against the cut on his cheek and nose in a poor attempt of cleaning the wound, Viktor blinks away the surprise out of his eyes.

“A mask would have prevented this…” She points out.

“It would have.” He confirms. “Blitzcrank is waiting for a repair. Could you be my assistant?”

Jinx doesn’t answer, but she frowns. Viktor leads the way to the other side of his laboratory, walking past the empty room they had never managed to paint like they wanted, the messy halls of boxes they had never bothered tidying either, the shipments of Shimmer still waiting for their refinery. He takes a vial out of one of the boxes on the way to Blitzcrank, and injects it in his shoulder with a little grunt that doesn’t help Naph calm down any more. 

Viktor takes Blitzcrank’s hand in his much smaller one, except that it isn’t much of a hand anymore but a mess of sturdy metal wires arranged in a bundle, twitching and letting out sparks at their extremities. 

“How do you feel about being temporarily shut down for this procedure?” Viktor asks after a quick examination.

“Not good.” Blitz answers.

“I need pliers,” Viktor starts, this time implicitly addressing Jinx. “electric tape… I might also need a heat gun.” He instructs, and puts a rubber glove on his ‘exposed’ hand.

Jinx pushes a trolley over, hoping it has everything Viktor needs. When he begins to work, the world quiets down a little, Jinx realizes none of them is in any danger, and wonders if they ever were. She looks down Viktor’s hands as he cuts the end of copper wires with a pair of pliers, and her eyes trail up to his shoulder, where the cut has stopped bleeding, but it’s still visibly red and aching.

“You’re just a glorified toaster…” She muses out loud. 

Viktor hums, and she realizes she hadn’t been as quiet as she thought she’d been.

“I am a scientist as well.” Viktor replies.

“Have you ever regained your… after Naph was born?”

“My enhanced healing factor, you mean.” Viktor states, but immediately shakes his head. “Not entirely.”

Jinx lowers her eyes to Naph, a thought crosses her mind but she doesn’t communicate it. 

“I am not a liability. Nor is he.” Viktor adds, he’s not facing her. “It’ll come back to me. I am still indestructible… I just need more time, to heal.” He insists. 

Jinx chuckles, and blinks away unsavory thoughts. “It’s been a year.” She reminds him. “Are you ever going to be yourself again? You weren’t all that strong to begin with, but…” She shrugs. He doesn't answer her immediately.

“Trauma takes years to heal from.”

Jinx seems to immediately tense her shoulders at the sentence, she grimaces and seethes. “Trauma?” She repeats, raising her voice. “You left The Undercity, you left us even after everything he’s done for you- he-”

“Physical trauma.” Viktor corrects, talking over her. Jinx audibly exhales, quiets down a little.

Viktor softens his voice once again. “Birth, for example.” He specifies. Jinx still frowns at him, and waves a hand in the air, urging him to stop. The derailing is enough to calm her down, for her rage to become annoyance. “It's different from expecting mother to expecting mother, it just so happens that it was particularly difficult for me to handle.” Viktor almost taunts.

“Look at you…” Jinx murmurs, Viktor takes off his glove. “Two years ago you had never opened a maternity book before and now you know everything.”

“Mock me all you want...”

“I will.” Jinx interrupts even before Viktor is able to come up with the second part of that sentence. “I will mock you until I’ve had enough.”

Viktor hums, and wipes his hands over a rag. 

“Will you watch over Naph for me tonight?” He asks her instead, finally turning around. “I might need to meet with a possible customer.”

“And you just now realized that..? I mean, for someone that tries to predict every outcome…”

The lie slips far too easily.

“I’d have left Naph in his crib and went about my day, I’ve been training him to sleep through the night after all… but I fear he won’t be able to sleep much after this last scare.”

Jinx lets out a breath, she means to complain but agrees instead.

Chapter Text

Viktor grips at the window frame a little tighter than necessary when the hook retreats, taking all the required measures to not tumble down from a two story building before he's even had the chance to climb in. 

He fidgets with the locking mechanism of the window for just a second, before losing his patience and punching a hole through it, making himself a big enough gap to slip through. After a moment of quiet consideration, he sets a foot over the other, climbing inside.

The room is predictably dark when he does, yet the layout of if is still visible over the dim light the moon shines over its, now shattered, windows.

Viktor remembers it all too well for someone that hadn’t been there for almost two years. As if it were yesterday.

He brushes glass shards from off his shoulders, these ones padded with additional weight now after his latest modifications, then slithers a hand behind himself, gripping at the mantle of his cloak only to pry it free from the shattered pieces of glass it got impaled on. 

He doesn’t turn around nearly fast enough when the owner of that studio turns on the lights on him, but when he does he feels like the world has stopped for the both of them.

He looks down at the man’s leg in a quick glance, then tilts his eyesight to the right, to his hammer, and then back at the white suit he’s wearing, soaking wet with wine or anything that’s strong enough in pigment to dirty a perfectly white suit in purple. He never raises his glare up enough to face him. 

Jayce notices the stares before he does anything else, he sets the hand attached to the light switch back at his side, he bends his leg slightly, and lets the grip on his hammer loosen.

If the silence, the way Jayce opens his mouth but doesn’t seem to make a sound, and his hesitation are of any telling, Jayce hadn’t expected him to be there.

Neither did he. He takes a step back near automatically. 

“Stay.” Jayce orders, quickly finding the words once again, and the will to get closer. He takes a few steps forward, and Viktor takes another step back, he leans over the shattered window, over its frame, his leg bends when he sets foot on the wall right below it, ready to jump again. To leave.

Jayce finally stops. 

“What are you doing here?” He asks, he moves a hand to his forehead, forces his head too look away. Leaving now would be a better mercy. “I… I tried searching for you, you know?” 

Jayce begins to pace, and in the span of time it takes for Viktor to move his head to follow his movements, he’s reminded of how he doesn’t have to follow every order out of Jayce’s mouth. Yet he stays, silent. 

“But you didn’t want to be found, I… I don’t know why I bothered trying.” He confesses. He moves closer to his desk, and Viktor raises his chin.

He pauses, squints his eyes shut. Both of his hands find their way on the wooden surface of it, the place is way tidier than Viktor ever remembers it being. 

There aren’t sheets of paper scattered around, no blueprints point to any foreseeable future project either, where Jayce’s palm is set there’s a sticky note Viktor can’t quite read, but that’s as much as he sees. 

His eyes trail from his fingers to his shoulder, to the light that shines on the gold-plated accessories covering him, to his eyes that had begun to look at him again, for how long he doesn’t know.

Jayce watches him from over his shoulder, eyebrow furrowed in a contemplative expression that leaves little to the imagination about the thoughts behind it. It paints an almost threatening picture.

Alas, he doesn’t really have the means to trap him.

 “Say something… anything.” He pleads instead, he’s left breathless with that simple request.

Viktor thought he’d feel different once he had Jayce back in front of him, perhaps he’d relive everything he had felt in that councilroom over and over again, like he sometimes still does in his dreams. But he doesn’t feel any of that.

There's something familiar in the way they’ve met again, yet so incredibly foreign.

“Please…” Jayce says when he’s still deep in his thoughts, when he doesn’t answer fast enough. He aches to move closer, even knowing that might be just the last straw that would send him away.

Viktor lets his feet slowly slide to the ground again. Jayce heaves a small sigh of relief.

“You’d think me so cruel to give away your location? ” He asks. Viktor doesn’t remember what he’s referring to. “You didn’t have to leave, nor run or hide. I’d have fixed it all if you gave me enough time, and- and trusted me.” He adds at last, stammering.

He turns to him, fully. “I can’t believe how we got here…” he mumbles, his hand trembling his way to his forehead once again. Viktor looks down at the ground, he’s pondered that as well. He opens his mouth, but no sound comes out, Jayce raises his voice a few notches over accusatory at the following silence, doesn’t perceive the hesitance. “You didn’t tell me you had backups.”

Viktor’s eyes widen with the audacity coming out of his ex-partner’s mouth, but he lids them again in barely restrained rage. He doesn’t answer. “Say something! Talk.” Jayce pleads again, quickly losing his patience. 

“You didn’t tell me your plan involved having me jailed for life.” Viktor finally says. Jayce doesn’t have time to rejoice at the prospect of Viktor finally uttering a word, but his eyes flutter as if he did.

“For life?” He waves a palm in the air, frustrated. “It would’ve been temporary, as soon as I’d have been dismissed from the godsdamned shot wound you gave me! I had everything under control, you just needed to follow my lead for once in your miserable existence!”

Viktor huffs a laugh, doesn’t point out the irony that comes out of having plotted one against the other. Viktor is sure Jayce knows he’s lidded his eyes in a smug scrunch of his face by the little tilt of his head that follows, even if can’t see behind his mask. Jayce frowns at him, furrows his eyebrows.

“That wasn’t what we agreed on.” He only points out.

“It was better.” Jayce insists, and grips at his chair until his knuckles go white. “It was a better plan than anything you managed to come up with in that week before your trial.”

“Better? You’d parade me around like a pet, constantly keep me in check and isolate me,  just to have your image intact? Are you that afraid of change? Or am I just that much of a threat to your existence you’re always running to loosen the gap that there is between you and me?”

“A pet? How are you even coming up with these accusations?! What’s wrong with you?!” Viktor tilts his head, rolls his eyes and grips at the window frame again. “Seriously, just answer me! I never figured it out.” Jayce says, taking a step forward.

“Why are you here?” Viktor asks instead of answering. “Even if you got demoted from councillor's duties after a supposed failed attempt at overthrowing the government, I feel like no one would ever banish such a pretty face from The Academy, nor from its Ball rooms.” 

Jayce seems to pause at the praise, a praise that falls short from being just that. “I didn’t feel like partaking, today.” He answers then, lowering his voice.

Viktor hums.

“It’s my…” he stops, tries again. “I didn’t want everyone else’s eyes on me. I didn’t feel like it.”

“It’s your birthday.” Viktor says. Jayce’s eyes seem to visibly widen. “You thought I forgot?” He asks, raising an eyebrow at the reaction.

“I thought I’d never told you…” he says. Viktor walks ahead, and into the room, he stops a few steps away, Jayce almost tries to remove the distance between them, but refrains. “I’m… glad…” He says, he deadpans more like, his eyes never quite stop wandering. He licks his lower lip in a poor attempt of self control.

“You sound like you’ll start asking about my day…” Viktor chuckles, Jayce slides a hand on his face, mortified, recognizing his mistake. “Do you think I came here for that?”

“No-! gods no, but… What did you even come here for, then?” He asks at last. Viktor hums once more.

“Let me show you.” He says in a low tone, and begins to undress. 

The temptation is too strong for Jayce not to step forward and wrap his hands around Viktor’s side. To be completely fair, he doesn’t fight it too much.

Viktor sets his hands on top of his, silently takes them away as if to scold him for not being patient enough. He moves his neck to the side and slides his hands below the hem of his cloak at an unforgivingly slow pace. Jayce doesn’t argue, having him right there where he belongs seems surreal enough. He doesn’t want it to end, even as the anticipation gnaws at him.

He pulls the piece of clothing over his head, lets it fall to his side before taking off his harness, a new addition of his armor Jayce realizes. He doesn’t take too long to figure out what it is attached to, the mechanism at the side of his shoulder contracts and slowly but surely comes off. Viktor sets it next to the few other pieces of his armor he discards next. Jayce categorizes the image in a remote place of his mind, he briefly wonders if it’s time to dust off the old notebooks, if he should buy a new pencil set, but he blinks away the thought at the sight of Viktor’s skin, the section of it wrapped in gauze, over his chest and up to his clavicle.

Viktor moves his hands on the collar of his shirt, grabs at the hems and pulls them apart, helping him undress.

Jayce stops him in his tracks and takes off his jacket, beginning to pick up his pace.

“I apologize.” He says simply, but Viktor tilts his head at the tone, formal. “I was lost in thought. I don’t know what’s… gotten into me.” He refrains from saying anything else.

“Are you using your councilor voice on me?”

“What? What voice?” Jayce asks, furrowing his eyebrows once again. He begins to unbutton his shirt, plucking the buttons one after the other. “You seriously think I can just come up to someone at the council and ask them to bend over? I don’t know how meetings are arranged down where you are, but orgy isn’t on our list of duties.”

“Down where I am, in the uncivilized part of Piltover, right?”

He throws the shirt on the ground with more force than necessary. “You know damn well that’s not what I meant!” He all but yells.

“I don’t know much of anything about you anymore.” Viktor seethes, following the low growl with an aborted breath. It feels like a faucet has begun leaking with that simple sentence, he wills his head away, trying to dismiss the words after they’ve already left his mouth. He takes a step closer. 

“I don’t want to argue.” He says, and grips at the belt of his pants, tugging it free from its hoops. “Get naked, before I lose my patience.”  Jayce skims Viktor’s naked form with his eyes, his breath hitches, he hesitates, but…

“it’s for my birthday, right?” He asks after a moment, when Viktor tugs enough that his belt unbuckles.

He immediately agrees, without thinking about it, without meaning to either, finding any little distraction to be reprieve enough from any argument that might be rekindled from their meeting. He ultimately nods.

Jayce slides his hands on Viktor’s hips, he rubs his thumb over the faint white lines near them, “Let me try something, then.” Viktor stills before he can tilt his head in confusion as Jayce simply says, with his hand still on his skin, “turn around, against the desk.”

Viktor heaves a breath, he visibly deflates. But he follows the order almost immediately, Jayce wraps his hands on his shoulders as something of a praise, and places a kiss close to one of the nubs of his spine, near his neck. 

Viktor interjects the hands slowly sliding from his hips to the sides of his ribcage, wraps his arms around himself in the act, as if they were a shield. “I suppose it’s easier… this way.” He says in a low tone, partially explaining that odd reaction Jayce didn't even bother investigating.

Jayce doesn’t argue. Doesn’t deny it.

It is easier. 

Jayce couldn’t bear to face Viktor for what he’s thinking to do. He retraces conversations they’ve had time ago, too much time to exactly pinpoint the moment. He recalls Viktor’s tone, how he let him change the subject without insisting further. 

He wonders if Viktor knows what goes in his mind right now, if he would endorse it, if somehow he expects Jayce’s train of thought. Is he looking forward to it? 

“It’s only fair” he adds in a small voice, Jayce blinks, Viktor frees his hands. With his newfound freedom, he slides an arm around his abdomen from behind, restless. he pushes Vikor’s naked back against himself, sighs from his nose when cold metal nubs meet his exposed chest, when his clothed cock rubs against Viktor’s naked back.

Viktor puts his hands against the edges of the desk, searching for more leverage even as he’s nearly lifted on his feet and into Jayce’s deep embrace, he nearly wiggles away, but the first attempt dies immediately within him when Jayce speaks once again.

“What is?” Jayce asks, his breath hitches in anticipation for the answer, for a moment he feels he’s been found out, then…

“You don’t get to see my face, and neither do I.” He answers simply. “Just like strangers.”

“It’s different.” Jayce insists, he buries his nose against Viktor’s nape, takes in his scent hoping he won’t forget it this time.

When he partially lets go of Viktor, he sets his foot forward, he pushes himself further against his back, pushing Viktor against the desk, trapping him between the surface and his own body. Viktor accepts the unspoken order and raises to his tiptoes before laying his chest and ribcage on the table. He raises himself over his elbows, and doesn't look back. 

He tries to reduce the distance Jayce has put between them when he retreats once again, rubbing himself against Jayce’s erection almost demandingly, but Jayce doesn’t let him lead their pace this time, he sets a hand on his hip, keeps him in place even as he’s presenting himself to him so eagerly.

“How so?” Viktor asks after a moment, lower this time, he lets out a breath out of his nose as Jayce moves his other hand against Viktor’s soft thigh, parts his legs further, ‘aids’ him in finding a good enough position.

“For one, you don’t see a stranger under your eyelids when you finger yourself, do you?” Jayce asks, Viktor buries his face against his own shoulder, muffling the sound of laughter that follows.

A brief low whirring sound escapes him without his consent, a purr of some sort. “That's a bold assumption you just made…” He comments.

“I know I’m right.” Jayce insists, heaving another breath. “Do you wish your fingers were just like mine?” He asks in a throaty remark. “Do you wish they were long enough?” He teases his middle finger against his waiting slit.

He doesn’t push it in. 

“I have plenty of lovers with sufficiently long fingers to assist me.” Viktor finally answers, furrowing his eyebrows when he feels Jayce’s hand retreat with a near silent shuffling sound.

Jayce doesn’t answer at first, Viktor’s breath hitches, he hesitates, but he takes a step back, he sets his hands on the edge of the workbench once again and lowers his head between the open arch that his forearms make. And when he finally lowers his eyes between his parted legs, he sees it. 

The head of Jayce’s half-hard cock lined up perfectly against his hole, his own hand gripping at the shaft. Viktor swallows hard, impatiently. He’s unable to see the glint in Jayce’s eyes when he notices his reaction, but he feels his eyes on him, he feels his glare like daggers on his skin. 

Like he’d offended him, deprived him or, better yet, starved him all this time he wasn’t available at his quarters. Viktor almost feels like it’s his fault, something deep inside himself tells him he shouldn’t have left Jayce to deal with his frustration by himself, tells him that somehow he deserves the rage, the silence, the disdain. 

The Defender’s glare feels like it’s burning his skin, but it’s his subsequent admission that has him squirming in the spot he’s still bent.

“Then you won’t need me to loosen you up, this time.” He breathes out, pressing his lower back down at the same time he guides his dick up, against the ‘backdoor’. He pushes the tip of his dick inside as his hand finds its place on the divots of his hips. 

Viktor’s fingers bend against the wooden surface as if trying to glue himself in place, or brace for impact.

Jayce’s dick slides inside almost too easily with the thrust that follows, unforgiving both in strength and pace. One more and it’s all it takes for it to bury deep inside him. Viktor’s body visibly recoils with each of them, like a spring. 

He knocks his head against the edge of the table, doesn’t try sneaking a glance again, and breathes out an aborted moan that ends in a pitiful little groan.

He doesn’t manage to scold Jayce; out of surprise, he doesn’t even think about it.

Jayce has his hands still at the end of his shaft, takes it away only when he’s fully buried himself inside Viktor’s asshole and he’s balls deep into him. He pauses, tilts his head just to take a peek at Viktor as he’s taking a deep breath.

Viktor clenches his fist, glues it on the table in front of him.

“Keep going.” He rasps out, demandingly.

“Is that the way to ask for it?”

Viktor bumps his mask against the wooden surface of the table, stubbornly nods inside the little cocoon he made with his own arms.

“Oh, Really?” Viktor hums in positive, obstinately. He wriggles his hips again in protest. Jayce immediately interjects his movement, presses down on both of his hips with each of his rough hands at both of the sides of his body.

“Ask nicely, Viktor.” Jayce reprimands after a low ‘tsk’ of a sound. “Come on, I know you can do it, V.” He encourages, petulant.

Viktor remains silent for a moment more, doesn’t lift his head, doesn’t talk. His fist unclenches, he lets out a breath.

Through gritted teeth he says one single word.

“Please.”

“What did you say?” Jayce taunts, smiling ear to ear.

“Please.” Viktor repeats, biting his tongue.

Jayce begins to drag his hips back, just to push them forward again. The movement is enough to make Viktor’s body jerk forward in response, the stimulation is enough to reverberate through his clit, as if to tease him. 

Jayce finds his pace not long after, moaning each thrust of his hips, each time Viktor’s voice raises to voice his own pleasure, at each of his gasps, whines, grumbles…

It goes long enough that Viktor feels his pussy’s been neglected, his own clit throbbing uselessly and his walls clenching onto nothing as the manchild Viktor’s chosen to bed fucks into him in the wrong hole.

As punishment, Viktor’s sure.

Taking matters into his own hands, Viktor slides a hand against his flat abdomen, he reaches under himself, plants his fingertips right at his lips, rubs them at the same time Jayce’s curved rod fucks into him from behind.

He closes his eyes shut, slips one of his fingers in, and doesn’t notice Jayce’s hand moving to aid him until he’s hijacked his. 

“You can’t go a moment without thinking about it… about me, inside you.” He says, Viktor nearly moans Jayce’s name, the syllables come out more as an incoherent mumble than anything else. “How did you survive all this time without it?” He asks. Viktor grunts.

Jayce grabs his own smaller hand, pushes four of his own fingers inside his hole as two of Jayce’s, tucked on top of his own, follow. They penetrate with a‘squelch’ of a sound. 

“I have plenty-“ Viktor begins, lucid enough still to make conversation. He’s interrupted by Jayce jerking his hips once again. Viktor moans as his fingers seem to move with the action, slipping further inside.

“Don’t give me that bullshit.” Jayce breathes out. He removes his hand and wraps his forearm against Viktor’s abdomen tightly instead, presses it there and upwards until he’s sure he can feel the outline of his dick. He can’t, in actuality, but that is not any more of a deterrent to try. “You haven’t let anyone in your bed since we’ve met. No one would compare to the real thing.”

“Wrong…” Viktor moans instead of a proper answer, Jayce tilts his head, hums a low sound that it’s enough to show his full disappointment. “Wrong hole…” he completes, taking a breath, Jayce’s eyes lit up almost instantly.

“Fuck me… properly.” Viktor orders, breathing out a strained exhale. Jayce seems to consider his words, visibly pauses. He lets out a low chuckle as he slowly pulls out, as he pulls away his arm. 

Jayce’s palms find Viktor’s waist almost automatically, Viktor closes his eyes shut, he feels a chill down his spine as a sense of Deja-vu assails him. It’s a familiar touch, predictable, coming from an even more familiar face. It soothes his nerves despite himself.

Jayce wraps his whole hand against his thigh, squeezes it with an order to turn around. Viktor complies, telling himself he’s doing it all for the sake of his plans, whatever they might be at that point in time. His lower back hits the edge of the table, he sets his palms at his sides, and bends his fingers. 

Jayce comes closer then and Viktor tilts his head towards him, intrigued. He whispers to him, a barely audible low rumble of a message that, aided by the silence of the night, comes across just fine.

“I’m going to bury my dick in you so deep you’ll leak for days…” he says. “There’s no chance you’re walking out of here unless you’re pregnant… Do you understand me?” He asks, Viktor’s breath hitches and his head nods in positive before he can stop himself.

Jayce scans him for a silent moment before he forces one of his hands behind Viktor’s nape, he cups just behind his ear, Viktor wiggles in his grasp, erroneously thinking he might slip his metal plate off. He doesn’t. Jayce pushes his head forward when he struggles to stay put, he plasters a wet, hungry kiss on his mask, where his lips would be. 

Viktor stills again without as much of a word.

Then Jayce lifts his legs, instructs him to wrap them around his back, moves his hands on his shoulders to keep him from slipping away as he slips his dick inside again, manhandles him how he pleases. Viktor doesn’t fight him, lets him do so lured by sweet, meaningless promises. 

When Jayce reaches between his legs to steady his rod against his entrance, Viktor can’t help but look down between them until they’re connected once again. He’s embarrassed by how much easier it is for Jayce to slide in, embarrassed from the sound of their sexes intertwining.

The perceived absent-mindedness gives The Defender the opportunity to take The Herald by surprise as he cups one of his tits with his free hand.

His hand shoots right on top of it in an instant, and his supposed bashfulness is gone at last. 

“What are you doing?” Viktor breathes out, threatening enough for Jayce to pause before he squeezes the contents of his palm.

He hums as if contemplating. “Much smaller than I remember…” he mutters, Viktor forcefully pries his fingers away, nearly snapping them. Jayce retreats his hand, but hovers it near. His eyes scan Viktor’s body language meticulously, unable to see his face that’s the only thing that gives him away, and the following annoyed sigh Viktor lets out makes the corner of Jayce’s mouth lift in a sad smile. 

“Do you still-“ He dares.

“No.” Viktor interrupts. The mood shifts instantly.

He almost wants to ask more. His mouth opens with the attempt a few times, but then… What would be the point? Viktor’s sharp answer made it clear enough. His year-long disappearance, even clearer. He doesn’t want to talk about their son. Fullstop. 

“You’re turning me off.” Viktor says instead. “How am I supposed to get bred if you don’t put in any effort? My uterus’s not fertilizing itself.”

“Not yet…” Jayce mutters, Viktor laughs at that. “I’m sure that if you didn’t like the ‘first step’ of insemination as much as you did you’d have found a way around it…”

“It would be…” Viktor hums, truly considering the idea. “But to have a perfect genetic copy of myself in miniature form… Hm…”

Jayce blinks, almost straight up laughs on Viktor’s face as he realizes he’s been completely wiped out of the picture for the sake of a theoretically-impossible reverie where Viktor is the sole progenitor of any of their subsequent children. “Let’s stick to the traditional way.” Jayce chastises and Viktor shifts in his place in anticipation.

“Hold on tight, baby” Jayce mocks, lifting him up ever so slightly and making the small of his back hit the edge of the desk. Viktor does eventually wrap his arms tighter against Jayce’s back. 

After all, when Jayce rams into him, again and again and again, picking up his pace, slowing down and repeat; there’s not much else he can do.

He sinks his nails deep against Jayce’s back. For an unremarkable second he thinks it’s fitting. That if he could never manage to skin Jayce alive, this could be the closest thing he’d ever manage.

Viktor intentionally leaves streaks of red as his nails drag lower, Jayce intentionally pushes his dick further inside to the point of hurting. Both expressing some sort of possessiveness they could never manage to openly talk about.

Viktor bites his lower lip, refrains from letting out anything beyond a grunt until he can’t take it anymore, until he moans louder and louder, covering Jayce’s own groans with his own voice, even if muffled behind the metallic plate covering his face. 

When he comes Jayce buries himself deep inside his cunt, Viktor’s walls constrict his rod around him with a climax matching his own in intensity. The tightness of Viktor’s pussy around his dick manages to drag out a long drawn moan from Jayce’s mouth even as he struggles to gasp for air.

There’s a beat of silence after he’s completely regained his breath. Viktor doesn’t move, and so he doesn’t either. 

His eyes skims over his former partner’s naked form, they linger on his argumentations, his leg, his arm, his… metal face.

Viktor visibly winches, looks away. Jayce does the same.

He moves to pull out not soon after, but Viktor’s deep voice makes him halt in his tracks.

“Don’t move.” He says as a rapidly-cooling drop of semen trails down his leg. “Plug it in. Don’t waste a drop.” Jayce’s breath hitches before he chastises the reaction out of him. He gulps down a lump in his throat. Doesn’t answer. “Put me down, but don’t take your dick out of me.” Viktor orders again. Jayce buries himself balls deep inside with one last thrust that teases Viktor’s state beyond overstimulation, he curls his toes, satisfied, and whines. 

When Viktor speaks again, Jayce gasps for air as if he had forgotten how to breathe.  “I promised you, didn’t I?” He says. “Let it take.”

Jayce blinks, lowers his voice to a more gentle whisper. “You think it’ll take?” He asks, playing along. Disappointment seeps through his voice at the thought of it being just something said to rile him up. He doesn’t give Viktor the satisfaction of hearing him growl his name, scold him or lash out. He merely quiets down. 

“If it doesn’t, we’ll try again. Simple.” 

Simple.

Viktor tilts his head upwards, tips his chin at the silence that follows. Jayce shuts his eyes closed before asking: 

“How many tries do you think… before it’ll happen?”

Viktor hums, Jayce can almost imagine the grin under that awful mask, mocking him, taunting his dreams. Jayce doesn’t give him the time to find an answer to that. “Would you really let me get you pregnant again, Viktor?” He asks instead. 

Viktor stills. Jayce opens his eyes again. Neither speaks again for a beat. 

They stay silent just like that for a while longer, until a line of semen leaves a trail against the side of his inner high, it cools before reaching his heel.

The world is a little quieter for a while longer, until it isn’t. Until fireworks visible from Jayce’s apartment window explode in a myriad of colors and in a cacophony of sounds, reminding them that time hadn’t really stopped.

Viktor wiggles his body, lifts himself a little higher with his elbows. Jayce wraps his hand tighter against him in retaliation. “Stay.” He says, and suddenly his voice holds a hint of panic that was previously absent. “Let’s try again. Until we know. Until there’s no doubt.”

When he tries to remove the distance between them, Viktor elbows his chest, keeps his distance.

“I need to go.” He reiterates, as if his body language wasn’t enough. When the tips of his toes touch the hard wooden floors, he forcefully pushes Jayce away.

“Stay.” He repeats, even as they’re no longer intertwined and semen leaks down in streaks from Viktor’s inner tights. He manages to sneak a quick glance, then, he’s back to furrowing his eyebrows. “Don’t- You don’t have to leave.” He nearly pleads before his voice raises both in intensity and tone. “How long until I’ll see you again, Viktor?”

“It could be days, months, years, decades or never again. That is for me to decide.” Jayce visibly struggles to keep his hands put as Viktor takes a step back. He slides them in his hair, grips at it as if deep in thought. At the end of the day, there's no real solution to their current situation. Wounds have been left untreated too long after the cauterizing heat of their own mistakes. 

Still, he tries. In the only way he knows how. 

“How do you expect me to let you leave after that answer?!” He immediately lashes out, he’s got the decency to grimace when he sees Viktor clean himself up with his shirt before discarding it. Suddenly he’s aware of his own nakedness, and quickly moves to redress himself, just below his belt.

Viktor’s answer comes after too much of a time, long enough for Jayce to map out every possible escape path Viktor might’ve planned.

“Walk away, Jayce.” He says, eerily calm. “It’s best if you forget about me ever coming here in the first place.” 

Jayce pauses, gives Viktor enough time to question the silence on his own. It takes him a while, and it’s only after he’s redressed that he finally turns to face him again. 

When he does, Jayce has only one question to ask: “What did you truly need, Viktor?” Viktor's eyes furrow behind his mask. “Based on my own movement patterns and schedule, you expected me to be at The Council. It’s an unfortunate coincidence that I came to my study instead.” 

Viktor tilts his head, hums and huffs a little snicker of a laugh. Jayce doesn’t know how such a sound could irritate him so intensely. 

And with that, Jayce finally knows Viktor had never expected him to question him. The idea of him never buying it had never crossed his mind. For a guy that swears by methodical machinations and logically-driven actions, his plans have never been all that thought-through. 

He wonders if he ever retraced every single word they’ve exchanged that day to find every little discrepancy like he himself did, repeatedly. The idea that Viktor’s plans could have been truly absurd-enough to work, vanishes just like that. Just as his guilt for ever thinking things would have been different if he had just trusted the process.

Words coming out of a madman, every single last one of them.

The question slips out of his lips while he’s still deep in thought, his mouth runs faster than his mind, his own voice feels so foreign to him.

“How do you feel knowing you’d have had a better life if you just gave up?” Jayce nearly seethes; his whole body tenses with the question, as if he had repressed that kind of rage for far too long. He tightens his fists, both still at his sides. 

“How does it feel knowing you were the reason I never could?” Viktor asks back, nearly immediately.

Jayce takes a step forward, just a step, but that is enough for Viktor’s whole body to tense.

There was no way to predict what would’ve come out of Jayce’s mouth after that, the mere thought that the very next thing Jayce would do was to raise his hand is enough for Viktor to act. 

Call it pattern-recognition, or simply projecting. But he defends himself before Jayce even gets to make a move. He raises his augmented leg in a swift charged kick that sends him tumbling far enough for the idea of a threat to vanish from his head.

Another pause. Jayce furrows his eyebrows at him from afar but heaves a breath and a little whimper as he tries to get back on his feet, helping himself with the same windowsill Viktor had planned to escape from. 

Panic. Panic is all he feels, all that his body seems to react to instinctually as he quickly rummages through drawer after drawer, scattering sheets of dubious importance aside in a barely desperate attempt of getting back on track on his original plan.

A single Hex-gem would be enough.  

All he finds is the previous pos-it note attached at the wooden surface of Jayce’s desk, one he’s finally able to depicher; ‘Don’t overwork yourself! -AMA’

He picks it up. Stares at it as if anything else barely mattered anymore, as in enthralled. It’s… incredibly domestic.

He almost wonders what it could’ve been.

Jayce’s boot thumping on the floorboards behind him as he finally stands up is not what snaps him out of it, the clinking of his hammer rising from the ground and the revving sound as Jayce activates it, is. 

He turns to face him, Jayce grips the weapon tighter. Viktor throws the post-it not on the ground, crumpled. 

“I hope you spend the rest of your life wondering if there was something you could’ve done to prevent this.” He says. Jayce’s eyes widen for the slightest of seconds before he’s furrowing his eyebrows again.

“There wasn’t.” He replies. “If anything… our child, wherever he might be, is the only proof you ever had a heart, a real, flesh one. Anything else…” there’s a pause. “You’re just a shell of your former self. ”

Viktor hums, a low, contemplative sound. 

“I disagree.” He says, before raising his palm, light cannon included.

Viktor comes home with a few more bruises to an equally dark house as the one he had left. As soon as the door is shut right behind him, he heaves a deep sigh, he means to linger near the main door a little more, then he hears a little sob, soon replaced by a muffled whine.

His legs move on their own, he opens his and Naph’s room to find just what he thought he’d find, he composes himself over the disgusting feeling of fear, and walks over to her.

Jinx is hovering near Naph’s crib holding her spread palm down his mouth.

Viktor encircles her wrist with his own cold hand, her eyes immediately shoot to him, first bewildered, then, recognizing. She lifts her palm away.

“That’s not the most efficient way to soothe a crying child.” Viktor muses, taking Naph in his arms despite the look Jinx gives him.

He buries his head under the frayed dark navy cloth of his cloak, whimpers against his chest. 

“I was trying to smother him.” Jinx confesses. Viktor pauses, hums as if contemplating. He doesn’t give her the reaction she expected. 

“Not the best way to do so.” He repeats. Jinx exhales, her sour expression turns into a sad little tilt of a smile, she shakes her head. “Why do you think you’d want to do that?”

“I… don’t know.” She says. “To get back at you?” Her sentence is followed by a little laugh, as if she doesn’t believe her own statement. “You haven’t done anything to me, he’s not…” she pauses. “Well, he’s been…” 

“Naph?”

“He’s the reason you became a wuss, and…”

“Naph?”

Jinx groans at the repetition, exasperated. 

“and he screams a lot, it’s just so goddamn annoying…” she says. “What's the point of having him here?” 

Viktor looks down at Naph, more specifically the bundled bulge of his head under his cloak. He thinks about the question as he taps two of his fingers on his head, softly, waits for him to peek through the dark cloth before giving Jinx an answer he’s not sure he believes fully.

“Well, I made him, didn’t I?” He asks, not meaning to get an answer. Jinx tilts her head. “He’s mine, completely. His Past, present and future, all mine to decide.” Jinx actually furrows her eyebrows at that. 

“That’s all the reasoning you need.” He concludes.