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Jayce Talis is a puzzle that Viktor turns over and over in his head, at least when he isn’t knee-deep in experiments and breakthroughs beside him.
Sometimes he’s as simple as putting two pieces together. The forge is his outlet for his restless hands and churning mind. The day after Viktor off-handedly mentions never having time to eat, Jayce is then onwards bringing ‘too much’ lunch and insisting they share. Viktor shifts his weight a particular way, and in the blink of an eye Jayce is on his knees inspecting his leg brace and asking what adjustments need to be made.
Sometimes the puzzle twists, and Viktor sees him from a new angle. The way his eyes lit up during that magical and weightless first success, awed from the very depths of his soul. The slight twitch of his smile after talking in lazy circles with potential investors, when mere minutes ago the two of them were excitedly pouring over their test results for hours. The sharp contrast between Jayce Talis the inventor- exuberant, always moving, almost touch-starved- and Jayce Talis the politician- modest, trying to be restrained, almost smaller in stature.
And now, holding Jayce to his chest as the man trembles in his arms and shudders with each breath, the pieces have fallen into an insidiously horrifying shape.
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“I hate this,” Jayce grits like it’s an admission being pulled from his teeth. He finally gives up on the cravat and pulls it loose instead of continuing to strangle himself with it. His hands are shaking too much, his leg bounces restlessly as he leans back in his chair, his breath still catches in his throat.
Viktor looks up from his notes with a small frown and slight furrow of his brows. “... Go without it, then. You look better in a tie anyway.”
A half-hearted laugh escapes Jayce, and then he takes a breath. “Yeah, y-yeah, I probably should.” He slips the fabric from around his neck and sets it aside, picks up the spare maroon tie. But the anxiety keeps curling tight in his stomach, thrums through his limbs. Another breath, trying to still himself. He can do this. It’s just an investor’s gala, it isn’t his first and won’t be his last. Surely he knows how to talk to these kinds of people by now.
Viktor’s concern abates when Jayce lets his breath out slowly, relaxes, puts on a practiced smile. But not entirely. He offers a smile and steps closer to place a hand on Jayce’s shoulder. “You will do great. And I will be there, if you need to talk to someone intelligent,” he chuckles.
More genuine mirth glitters in Jayce’s eyes as he snorts. There’s not even the slightest tremble of his fingers as he slips the tie on and knots it around his neck.
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Viktor, seated in his usual post in a quiet corner, is sure he will never be relaxed at these noisy and overstuffed parades. Everything reeks of Piltover excess and vice. He can’t even get drunk on the champagne if he wants to make a good impression on these strutting investors, lest they sneer at the slovenly undercity boy. Hypocrites. And so Viktor silently seethes and stews and does his best to put on a smile for those brave few that attempt to make conversation with him.
If they do not bother him about Hextech, they are asking about Jayce. That is certainly the only reason why Viktor’s gaze so often drifts to the hearthfire that is his partner, in the middle of most every conversation he’s in.
… Yes, Jayce Talis the politician is a hearthfire. Soft and subdued and warm and inviting. His smile never falters, his chuckles sheepishly muffled behind his hand, his eyes aglow as he listens so attentively to what those around him talk about.
In that case, Jayce Talis the inventor must be a forgefire. Bright, hungry, boundless energy guided so precisely. A shame that Jayce feels he must temper himself to be palpable.
Viktor chuckles to himself. It is a little strange, this dichotomy, but perhaps there is some use to it if it means Jayce’s near-effortless charisma can win over some investors. Half the (very little) fun of galas is seeing that hearthfire flare, a peek at that forgefire within, all the little signs of the true Jayce through that politician’s smile.
He’s speaking to Councilman Hoskel and a gaggle of investors and their hanger-ons. A flick of his eyes and twitch of his smile. Jayce is growing restless. The councilor laughs a bit too loudly at something, perhaps an attempted joke, and Jayce lets out a half-hearted laugh. He manages to catch Jayce’s “-a joint effort-” before a particularly swaggering investor is invading Viktor’s space and trying to be subtle about his probing for Hextech secrets. Some theories about its potential use in public works is enough to send the man away in a huff.
Another glance towards Jayce’s conversation, and the handful of women are giggling and the men are suppressing smirks and Hoskel is chortling heartily. Jayce is showing teeth in his smile, there’s a nervous curve to his brows, a slight reddening of his cheeks. Is he embarrassed? That’s new. Viktor hums his curiosity as he idly spins his cane in place.
Jayce’s eyes flick towards him, then away just as quickly. He tries to laugh, says something too quiet for Viktor to even guess, but apparently it’s enough to escape the conversation and make his way to the balcony outside.
Yes, Viktor agrees, it’s gotten too noisy and pungent for his tastes, he could use a breath of fresh air as well. With a grunt of effort he rises, grips his cane, does his best to weave around the chattering crowds to follow Jayce out into the cool evening air. Perhaps a whisper of worry follows at his heel.
By the time Viktor reaches the balcony, Jayce is leaning against the railing, gazing out over the glittering city and setting sun, taking some slow breaths. His fingers move slowly, automatically over the runestone in his leather bracelet. Whatever happened during that conversation must have been bad, if he’s this visibly anxious.
At least he looks up as the tap of Viktor’s cane nears. But then he glances over his shoulder at Viktor and the slight furrow of his brows, and Jayce puts on his politician smile and looks out again. “Gods it’s stuffy in there, isn’t it?”
“Mm. Smothering,” Viktor concurs as he comes to stand beside Jayce. “I’ve had my fill of the food and the strutting birds for at least a month. I would like to go back to the lab, I’ve been-”
“No!” Jayce says so suddenly it takes them both by surprise. Jayce clears his throat and tries to relax his posture again. “I-I mean, why don’t you come to my place?” As Viktor snaps his mouth shut in red-faced astonishment, Jayce continues with a practiced smile that almost reaches his eyes. “It’s about 15 minutes from here, and I can make you something better than whatever is being touted as high cuisine. Maybe we can go over the notes from the prototype’s experiment?”
Viktor swallows thickly as he grips the balcony’s rail. His heart thuds in his chest. “Jayce-”
He puts a hand over Viktor’s, and his smile softens and his eyes glimmer more genuinely. “Let me take care of you, Viktor. It’s the least I can do, after you’ve done so much for me.”
Jayce’s hand is warm and a little calloused. Forgefire. After a moment, Viktor huffs softly and tries to relax his shoulders. “... Alright. I, eh… I suppose we both could use some time away from the lab.” With a slight smile, Viktor adjusts his grip on his cane. “And you certainly ought to breathe fresh air instead of whatever is in those cigars.”
Together they make their way out of the gala, and exchange goodbye-pleasantries to those that attempt to waylay them.
Unseen by Viktor, Jayce is holding his leather bracelet tight in his fist now. His thumb traces along the runestone in small, anxious circles.
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“Let me take care of you,” Jayce murmurs against the fingers he’s holding to his lips. “Let me make you feel good,” he breathes against Viktor’s wrist.
Heat coils in Viktor’s gut, his heart flutters against his ribs. “Jayce…” He whispers around a tight throat.
In the small and rapidly-heating space of the apartment’s doorway, Jayce seems to be hyperaware of his greater stature and is trying to make himself so small, but presses Viktor’s hand so reverently to his cheek. They hadn’t even turned on the light, which makes Jayce’s sunlight-hazel eyes seem to glow in the last rays of the sunset. Viktor is taken aback by the desperation radiating off of Jayce. Needy, puppy-like, hungry to please him. Viktor takes a shaky breath. Gods, he can’t even remember the last time he shared a bed with someone-
“Viktor,” Jayce nearly whines, and he swears there’s a slight fearful quiver to his lip and glisten in his eyes, “please, please let me do something good for you, I need to do something good for you. Please let me make you feel good.”
He swallows. “Okay,” Viktor murmurs, gently gliding his thumb along Jayce’s lower lip, “okay. Yes, let’s go to your room then, Jayce.”
Jayce lets out a breath and looks at Viktor like he’s just earned the grace of a god. “Can I carry you there?” He asks softly, releasing Viktor’s hand so his can hover around Viktor’s waist, waiting for permission with baited breath.
Viktor huffs a small laugh and gently guides Jayce’s hands away. “Thank you for asking, but no. I want to walk with you.”
A moment of heartbreak before Jayce is puppy-desperate again. He offers an elbow to Viktor, who does take it with an amused smile, and arm-in-arm they make their way to Jayce’s bedroom.
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It is almost too perfect to be real. The way Jayce helps him onto the luxurious bed, so reverently slips Viktor’s brace from his leg and clothes from his body and presses a kiss to each body part (just one, licking his lips after as if savoring a taste he’ll never have again). He didn’t even blink when he slid Viktor’s underwear off, just a quick glance up for Viktor’s nod first (must have permission, only what he wants) before taking him into his mouth. Viktor moans, and Jayce’s eyes brighten with delight (he’s doing good, he’s doing good). Jayce works his mouth and tongue and hands like he works his forge- relentlessly, thoroughly, expertly (after so much trial-and-error). Viktor cums hard enough to see stars, and he blinks back to reality to his hands still fisted in Jayce’s hair and the man licking up the mess around his lips and on his fingers (even if more still glistens deliciously on Viktor, can't be a bother).
Then Jayce sits up and starts to slide off of his bed.
Viktor blinks and pushes himself up into a sitting position. “Jayce, what about-”
“I’m fine,” he replies almost instinctively, but glances over his shoulder at Viktor with a smile that almost reaches his eyes. “How are you feeling?” He hasn’t shed a single piece of clothing, his hands are folded firmly in his lap.
Viktor blinks again, an incredulous smile tugging at his lips. “I am quite satisfied, thank you.” The short and simple answer to the best orgasm he’s had in a few years at minimum.
Some tension melts from Jayce’s shoulders and he breathes a sigh (he did good he did good) before nodding in satisfaction. “Do you want to wash up? There’s a shower in this bathroom, or a bathtub in the other one.”
“Mm…” Viktor swings his legs over the side of the bed. “A bath sounds lovely. Will you help me-”
And just like that Jayce is on his feet and offering his arm to help Viktor do the same. They walk together to the bathroom attached to the living room, Viktor blinking contently in the blissful aftermath and Jayce just barely keeping his urge to fret over everything in check. Once in the bathroom, Jayce sets out a thick towel, a fluffy robe, explains what’s in the bottles (“I-if you want to use anything, of course-!”), closely monitors the water’s temperature, all while Viktor leans against the sink with an amused smile tugging at his lips.
“And where are the chocolates you’ll hand-feed me as I lounge in the tub?” He teases fondly.
Jayce stiffens, goes red from neck to ears. “I-I didn’t--” he stumbles and stutters over his words- “I don’t mean it like- I mean i-if you want something to eat--”
Viktor places a hand on Jayce’s shoulder, and the man goes rigid again. “Jayce,” he says soothingly, “this is good. Thank you.”
Some of that tension leaves Jayce’s shoulders, and he swallows thickly. Can’t seem to look at Viktor. “I… I-I’m going to wash the sheets,” he murmurs, “and your clothes, a-and uh, get the bed ready. Call me if you need anything, Viktor.”
And with that, Jayce scurries off like a shy schoolboy. It makes Viktor chuckle. More and more pieces of the puzzle that is Jayce Talis are settling into shape. There’s a flutter in Viktor’s chest, that even during such intimacy he’s so attentive and caring. This was not at all how Viktor intended to end the night, but he is unlikely to regret it. A hopeful warmth spreads through his body. Almost as warm as the water now filling the tub. Viktor sinks into it with a low sigh, and enjoys the simple luxury of a warm bath. The temperature and pressure of his apartment’s shower is not worth the rent. This shampoo must be why Jayce always smells so nice.
The bathroom door was left open a crack, and from it Viktor can hear Jayce puttering about his apartment. Once again his thoughts drift, but now to those brief moments of oddity as Jayce pleasured him. Viktor really is feeling good after this, truly, but something is worrying at the back of his mind. He can’t put his finger on it. A piece to the puzzle isn’t quite lining up in a satisfactory way. Why is Jayce giving so much, but still asks for nothing in return-?
As Viktor stands, satisfied with his bath, the sloshing of the water evidently catches Jayce’s attention. The door opens a bit wider so he can poke his head in. “All done?” He asks, his eyes never drifting from Viktor’s.
He smiles and nods as he carefully steps out of the tub, then takes a seat on the edge of the tub and starts to pat himself dry with the towel. “Much better than what I have to deal with in my apartment. I wouldn’t mind you bringing me here more often.”
Jayce’s smile wavers a fraction, there’s a flicker of something in his eyes, but he chuckles. “I, uh, I could make you a spare key, if you want,” he swallows thickly, “and you could come over whenever you want.”
Viktor glances up, his brows furrowing slightly, but before he can speak Jayce perks up again. “Oh, do you want anything to eat?”
“I’ve had my fill from the gala, truthfully.” Viktor’s eyes flick up and down Jayce’s form. Hearthfire, warm but restrained. Not the forgefire Viktor knows and lo- “But I’d enjoy some breakfast tomorrow morning.”
“O-of course!” Jayce’s grin brightens, but it doesn’t seem to quite reach his eyes. “Uh- and the bed is ready, if you are.” He gestures vaguely behind him. “I-I’m still washing your clothes, but I think I found some of mine that, um, might fit with some drawstring-pulling.”
Viktor chuckles and heaves himself to his feet. Only a moment of hesitation before Jayce is beside him and offering his arm for support, which Viktor takes as he slips the plush robe on. “Should I get your cane?”
“You don’t need to trouble yourself.” Viktor looks at him with a slight smile and holds his arm more comfortably. “I enjoy walking with you, Jayce.”
He swallows and looks away.
They are silent as they walk back to the bedroom. The bed’s blue sheets have been entirely replaced with a cream-colored set with a thick white comforter on top, and Jayce helps Viktor sit on the edge. “Here-” he says as he reaches for and places a stack of folded clothes on the bed. “Sorry, they probably won’t fit,” Jayce chuckles and rubs the back of his neck. “I’m almost done with your clothes, they’ll be ready in the morning.”
Viktor smiles and runs his hand along the soft fabric of the robe he’s wearing. “Even if they do not, I will be fine for the night. Thank you, Jayce.”
He smiles brightly, but it still doesn’t quite reach his eyes. Jayce nods before he steps out of the bedroom to finish his chores.
Viktor tries on the loaned clothes, and indeed they’re too big for his thin frame. But a particular shirt is soft and smells like Jayce, so he doesn’t mind the bagginess. He shifts and wiggles under the blankets, absolutely luxurious compared to his ragged old sheets, and waits for Jayce to return. While Viktor might have taken some time to get used to Jayce’s physicality and touch-starved habits, it’s become such a part of his life now that of course Jayce is going to join him on the bed and snuggle, it’s a mathematical certainty.
At some point, Viktor falls asleep alone.
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The peek of sunlight between the curtains is what wakes him up in the morning. Blinking the sleep out of his eyes, Viktor hums as he pushes himself up into a sitting position. Then furrows his brows as he looks around.
Alone. Not even disturbed blankets to suggest Jayce had ever come to bed.
His folded clothes and polished cane and leg brace have been placed neatly on or against the side table. With a discontent grunt, Viktor swings his legs over the side and sheds Jayce’s shirt, starts to put on his fresh clothes, only to pause. Room temperature, not fresh-from-the-dryer warm. Not a complaint in the slightest, another strange variable to the formula of this situation. Some odd feeling coils in Viktor’s gut. Once his leg brace is secure, he grips his cane and limps out of the bedroom.
The apartment is quiet. Viktor huffs softly. Perhaps… Perhaps he went to the lab early. Yes, that makes sense. He should join Jayce there. Taking a breath and forcing his shoulders to relax, he makes his way to the door. A paper package sitting on the table beside it catches his eye. Now that he’s closer, he picks up the smell of food coming from it, and gently opens it.
A homemade pastry, probably filled. Not oven-warm but it still smells delicious. There’s no label for an intended recipient on it… Did Jayce accidentally leave it here on his way to the lab? Viktor gingerly wraps it back up with the intent on returning it to Jayce once he gets there, and smiles to himself about all the fond teasing he could do now that Jayce is the one neglecting to bring food. Viktor stretches a moment in preparation for the walk to the lab.
From the living room comes a soft snore and Viktor stiffens. He takes a few steps to peer into the living room, and spies a blue blanket-covered mass on the couch facing away from the bedroom’s door.
“Jayce?” His hesitant question breaks the silence of the apartment. Indeed the figure stirs on the couch, and Viktor hobbles closer.
When Jayce’s eyes slowly blink open, the first thing he sees is Viktor’s slight frown and furrowed brows.
“What are you doing here?”
He blinks a few more times, like he can’t believe this is happening. Those golden eyes dart about, and when he sits up they start to glisten. His mouth opens and shuts a few times. He draws the blanket tighter around his body.
“I-I’m sorry,” Jayce finally manages to whisper after a moment, “did I do something wrong? I’m sorry, I-I can leave next time- i-if there’s a next time-” his words are coming faster, tears swelling up “- uh, d-do you still want a spare key? Offer still stands, w-whatever you want, anything you want, n-no strings attached, whenever, whatever, I-I’m sorry, I’m sorry--”
“Jayce, Jayce-” Viktor struggles a moment to kneel on one knee, then places his hand against Jayce’s cheek, “shh, slow down.”
His mouth snaps shut and his eyes go wide at the touch.
“I fear we are not, eh, on the same wavelength,” Viktor says gently. “My question is what are you doing on the couch? I was waiting for you in bed.” His brows furrow deeper. “Did you sleep out here the entire night?”
Jayce takes a shaky breath. A few of those tears slip down his cheeks. “Um. Yeah.”
“Why?”
He swallows thickly. “I… I didn’t want to bother you.”
Viktor huffs softly, cups his jaw with both hands and thumbs a tear away. “Jayce Talis, you are not a bother. I wanted you with me.”
A mirthless chuckle escapes him. “Um. Sorry.”
“This pastry,” Viktor nods towards the table where he’d placed it, “was it for me?”
Jayce nods.
“It is homemade, but not warm. When did you make it?”
“After I took care of your things. Your clothes, your cane and brace. I-I can make it later so it’s warm for y-”
“When did you sleep?”
“... After I finished cleaning the dirty sheets.”
Viktor sighs softly, sorrowfully. “Jayce, why did you do all of this?”
His thumb moves in small, anxious circles over his runestone. “It’s what I’m supposed to do.”
“And what makes you think that?” Viktor’s brows furrow.
Jayce blinks. “It’s what I’ve learned I’m supposed to do. That’s how the others liked it.”
Stated plainly, like it’s so obvious. Viktor’s heart clenches tight and something drops in the pit of his stomach. “The others?”
Jayce blinks. And nods slowly.
“How many others?”
His golden eyes flit about the room as he thinks.
Viktor’s expression plummets as he cradles Jayce’s jaw. “Jayce, what has happened to you?”
He takes a sharp and shaking breath, glistening eyes going wide. Has something happened to him? Was something done to him? No, no, nothing has happened to him, h-he was happy to--
Jayce tries to play it off with a laugh, not mirthless but not happy either, and lifts Viktor’s hands off of his jaw. “N-nothing! Nothing happened to me, what makes you say that Viktor?”
His brows furrow. “Jayce-”
“It’s just what I do. I’m just taking care of my partners, Viktor. I like to take care of the people I love.”
“Jayce, has anything been done for you?” Viktor asks grimly.
He tries to scoff a laugh and looks away. “Yeah, of course! We have sex, and it feels good, and they keep talking to me-”
“Stop, what does ‘keep talking to you’ mean??”
Jayce is taken aback. “... Th-they kept talking to me. They kept being friendly with me.”
“Jayce Talis, when we met only that Kiramman girl was your friend, and she’s nearly a decade younger than you. Did you--”
“Gods no!” Jayce laughs nervously. The tears still haven’t gone away. “Caitlyn’s like a sister to me, we met after the Kirammans sponsored me. And I had plenty of friends back then!”
Viktor sighs and rubs his face, a bubbling fury rising in his chest. “Jayce fucking Talis, we walked together in the Academy and nobody ever said hello to you. And I can’t help but notice now- and looking back- that you don’t have the first idea of what it’s like to be in a relationship.”
Jayce’s forced smile falls.
Viktor winces. “I… I didn’t mean-”
Jayce curls tighter into his blanket and takes a shaky breath.
Gentle hands slide the blanket from his head, and cup his jaw so he’s facing Viktor. Regret shimmers in his sunlight eyes. “I’m sorry, Jayce. I am… I am angry and frustrated, but not at you. I’m furious that you have been treated like this. I am trying to mind myself now, but this anger will never be aimed at you.”
With a shuddering sigh, Jayce allows his eyes to close and to lean into Viktor’s palm. “I’m sorry.”
Viktor huffs through his nose, clicks his tongue. “Do not apologize.” His knee and legs hurt from kneeling for so long. With a grunt and his cane he pushes himself back to his feet. “Move, please, I want to sit with you.”
Jayce is baffled, but obliges. “W-we- I should be taking you to the lab Vik-” he tries to protest.
“Absolutely not. I am declaring today a break day,” Viktor states as he settles in the space between the couch’s arm and Jayce’s side. Jayce is stiff and awkward, as if he’s unfamiliar with being on the other side of fond touches, and Viktor’s heart clenches again. “Come here, Jayce.” He says gently and opens his arms for him.
Jayce’s eyes go wide. Slowly, uncertainly, he shifts, moves, gently lays against Viktor, trying so hard to mind his weight. Instinctively lays his head against the crook between Viktor’s neck and shoulder.
Viktor wraps the blanket and his arms around Jayce and nuzzles the top of his head.
The dam breaks, and Jayce starts to weep.
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Through shaky breaths and hoarse whispers, Jayce pours his heart out.
The strange boy with his head in the clouds who only ever wanted to talk about magic and played with handmade toys, he was never going to have friends. He was okay with it, but his mother worried. It wasn’t normal. Children need friends. He took to listening to the other kids, and he was a good listener, but they didn’t want to keep talking to him.
He got bigger, older. Slowly started to figure out how to talk to others like a normal fucking person. But they didn’t want to talk to him anymore. They wanted to look at him.
That was… Okay. He was still a good listener, and liked learning about the things they talked about. And they would keep hanging out with him after he listened to them and made them feel good! Yes, he finally figured out how to make friends, finally cracked the code.
The trouble was keeping them.
He took care of them, listened to them, tried talking to them, definitely made them feel good. But nobody wanted to stay. None of them ever stayed. No matter what he did. In his eyes it became clear that he was too much. Too much talking, too much kissing, too much attention, too much affection. With careful balancing, so much restraint, someone would stay eventually, call him a good boy and mean it. Didn’t think he was just a daydreaming prettyboy.
They still fucking didn’t.
He thought he was broken because of how much it hurt when he’d wake up and they were gone. It was almost a physical sensation if the same person he adored the previous night acted like it never happened, or ignored him altogether, or even mocked him. If this was normal, why did he ache so deep in his chest?? Why does it still hurt now, Viktor’s arms around him the way he always wanted someone- any fucking one- to hold him??
Viktor. Viktor. Viktor. He wasn’t supposed to do this to with Viktor. It was a relief to have a real fucking friend that he could be that daydreaming magic-obsessed little boy with while the real genius behind Hextech makes it work. To have someone listen to him for once, and see his dreams. He still wanted to take care of Viktor, but not like this. It shouldn’t have been like this. He’ll never be able to apologize for doing this enough. But he’s always been weak to the opinions of others, a single poisonous word has always been enough to make him spiral into the depths of anxiety and terrible desperation.
Anger coils in Jayce’s chest, but it only burns him in the tears streaming down his cheeks. And it quickly boils away to a nugget of white-hot shame and self-loathing.
He’s always been a fucking idiot, hasn’t he? He’s just the pretty face on the side of the blimps, like Hoskel said--
Jayce tries to get up, more apologies pouring from his trembling lips, now making promises to hand over all of his (useless) Hextech notes, but Viktor resolutely refuses to let go of him and curses out that idiot councilman. And, well, with Jayce being roughly half the size of a mountain and Viktor being the twig that he is--
“Jayce, J-Jayce-!” Viktor calls out, half laughing half hollering. “My feet aren’t on the floor-!!”
“Wha-” He turns, and Viktor is also turned given how tight his arms are around Jayce’s shoulders. “Hey- Then let go!!” he laughs as he half-heartedly twists his body around.
Viktor hisses some Undercity curse and petulantly holds him tighter. “No!”
“Vik, c’mon, th-this is ridiculous-!” One of Jayce’s arms is stuck under the gripping force that is Viktor’s arm strength as he continues to futilely try to grab Viktor with his other arm. He switches tactics and tries to pry Viktor’s arm off of his chest, only for the thinner man to start butting his head against Jayce’s shoulder. “Stop that, I am not done hugging you!”
Jayce is laughing and crying and not entirely sure if he’s getting the proper amount of oxygen from that and Viktor’s deathgrip around his shoulders. “V-Vik, V, ‘m gonna fall ‘n land on you specifically--”
“Then carry me properly!”
Jayce finally finds his breath because it catches in his throat. Viktor pauses with a confused furrow of his brows.
He turns his head as best as he can to look at Viktor, golden eyes shining with hope and delight. “Can I, really?” Jayce asks reverently.
Viktor’s expression softens into a fond smile, and he huffs. “Yes, Jayce, I would like to be carried. The bed is a better place to cuddle anyway, no?”
Now Jayce gingerly lowers himself to the couch so Viktor can sit and let go of him, and Jayce can then pick him up in the more comfortable bridal style carry. Viktor relaxes against his chest and cards his fingers through Jayce’s hair as the man walks towards the bedroom.
Gently Viktor is laid on the bed, and Jayce doesn’t need to ask if it’s okay for him to be there too, because he knows Viktor wants this. Wants him. The weight lifted from his chest at the sight of Viktor’s smile is almost enough to bring the tears back. Jayce is still careful as he climbs onto it beside him, minds his weight as they entwine arms, and the sigh of relief nearly deflates him as he rests his head against the crook of Viktor’s neck.
“Thank you,” Jayce breathes against his skin.
“I love you,” Viktor murmurs before pressing a kiss to his head.
Jayce’s shoulders tremble as soft sobs escape him, but Viktor runs his hands up and down his back and lets him release years of bottled-up emotions for as long as he needs.