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VIKTOR

Viktor woke slowly. He ached all over with dull pain and his head was fuzzy. There was no cold concrete beneath him but something soft. He could sense light behind his eyelids. His left hand itched and he could feel the plastic tube of an IV with tacky tape holding it in place. His right hand was warm and there was something heavy on it. With great effort, he cracked one eye open.

He was in a hospital. Piltover. A private room. His bed was by the window. There was a chair by his bed, drawn close. Jayce was sleeping in the chair, cheek resting in Viktor’s palm. 

For a moment, Viktor stared. Jayce was still when he slept, his lashes kissing the top of his cheeks, face lax. His breath came in soft, even puffs that he could feel against his hand. Jayce was beautiful, even asleep. Viktor wondered why his head was resting in his hand.

“Jayce?” he asked softly.

Jayce’s pretty eyes fluttered and he let out a small noise of sleepy protest. Then his body went rigid as he undoubtedly realized where he was and who was inadvertently cradling his cheek. He sat up quickly and winced, shifting to crack his back as he stared at Viktor, a small smile curling on his lips.

“Viktor, you’re awake!” Jayce said.

“I…what happened?” Viktor asked.

“You were attacked.”

“Yes, I know that part. How did I get here?” Viktor asked, waving away the injuries as if they didn’t matter.

“Someone found you in the Undercity and called for help. What happened?” Jayce asked, grasping Viktor’s hand, still warm from his cheek. 

Viktor stared for a moment at his pale hand in Jayce’s. He knew he wasn’t imagining it. He could feel Jayce’s warmth, but it still seemed impossible.

“I was mugged,” Viktor said slowly.

“Mugged? V, I–”

“Don’t start,” Viktor said sharply. He was in no mood for I-told-you-sos.

“I wasn’t going to…who did it? We need to tell the Enforcers, they can–”

“No. I didn’t get their names and I won’t have enforcers tearing the Undercity apart for my benefit,” Viktor said stubbornly.

“They could have killed you,” Jayce said, clutching his hand almost painfully now.

“But they didn’t,” Viktor said soothingly, grasping Jayce’s hand back. It still felt like a gamble, even if Jayce had been the one to clutch his hand first. 

Jayce nodded and took a deep breath. He looked terrified. Viktor ran a thumb over his knuckles, a reassuring gesture. Jayce liked touch. It would soothe him and maybe he would let the whole mugging thing go. Jayce stared at their joined hands and slowly his shoulders relaxed.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” Jayce said quietly.

“Okay? Is that what this is?” Viktor joked.

Jayce let out a small, sad laugh and Viktor’s heart twisted. He wondered how long Jayce had been sitting at his bedside, waiting for him. He was important to Jayce, he knew that. They wree best friends. He didn’t need it to be anything more. 

“You want to know the damage? Or should I get a doctor?” Jayce asked.

“Tell me.”

“It’s, um, it's a lot,” Jayce said, letting go of Viktor's hand to rub his leather cuff. “How’s your leg?”

Viktor stretched his bad leg carefully. He felt the beginnings of a cramp and the dull ache it always carried. He wiggled his toes, bent his knee just a little, and nothing out of the ordinary happened. Thank Janna for small miracles, he supposed. Whatever potent concoction of painkillers they’d given him were likely dulling the worst of the pain. When they wore off, as he knew they would, it would be excruciating. 

“It doesn’t feel worse than usual,” Viktor said quietly. 

“Good,” Jayce said. “That’s good.”

“And the rest of my injuries?” Viktor prompted.

Jayce sighed and closed his eyes as if steadying himself. Then he told him. It was a long litany of injuries. He probed the place where his tooth had been, tender and raw. The concussion explained his fuzzy head and the ribs and lung why his chest hurt. 

The two men had done their job well. It was an act of brutality, nothing more. Part of Viktor knew he should file some kind of report, tell the authorities. If they attacked him, they could attack someone else. But he was Fissures Folk, no matter what they said. No one from the Undercity went to the enforcers. If he did now, it would just prove them right.

“That is…quite a lot,” Viktor said vaguely when Jayce was done.

“I know,” Jayce said quietly.

“I must look awful.”

Jayce laughed sadly. He was holding his hand again, soft and tender. Viktor squeezed it. He could blame the affection on the painkillers later if he needed to. 

“I’m glad you’re back,” Jayce said quietly.

“I’m glad I wore my backbrace. I nearly didn’t.”

“I told you that thing was important.”

Viktor shrugged and winced as he did so. Jayce shot him a panicked look and stood, dropping his hand. Viktor longed for it back. It was warm and solid. There were callouses along the palm from his work in the forge. 

“You’re in pain,” Jayce said.

“I am–”

“I’ll get the doctor.”

“Jayce, really it is not so–”

“They wanted to talk to you anyway when you woke up. Properly woke up. You came in and out a few times.”

“I did?” Viktor asked, surprised. He couldn’t remember anything between blacking out on the cold, hard ground and waking in the warm soft light of the hospital room.

“You were pretty out of it. You just sort of…looked at me, you didn’t say anything, don’t worry,” Jayce said quickly. 

“Oh,” Viktor said softly. 

The thought of saying something embarrassing had never occurred to him. He almost wished he had. Let dazed Viktor confess the feelings long held in his chest, relieve at least one of his burdens. 

“I’ll…I’ll go get the doctor. Be right back,” Jayce said. 

For a moment, Viktor swore he was going to kiss his forehead, but instead Jayce cleared his throat and left. Once he was gone, Viktor clenched the blankets in his fist, blinked back tears, and took proper stock of his body. He could feel the pain now, the pinching in his chest when he breathed, the ache across his face. His bad leg hurt, throbbed even, but it didn’t feel any worse than a bad pain day. His back was sore and stiff, as if it would break if he moved it the wrong way. 

It was bad, worse than when he was seventeen and mugged by some men for parts he had scavenged. He’d broken his nose then too. His mother had tended to him, shaking her head, swearing revenge on the men who hurt him as she wiped blood off his face. Viktor convinced her not to. Back then, it hardly seemed to matter. There was revolution brewing and Viktor was dead set on getting out of the Undercity before it broke and he became trapped there. Finding the men who hurt him would just slow him down. Maybe he should have stayed, but then he never would have met Jayce. 

There was a brisk knock and the door swung open. A doctor came in, with Jayce at her heels like an anxious dog. He started towards Viktor and stopped, flexing his hands. Viktor watched him, confused. Jayce had never been this way before, unsure, rattled, torn between staring at Viktor and looking away. He must look truly awful. Finally, Jayce settled awkwardly near the door while the doctor began her examination. 

“Any headache?” she asked, peering into his eyes with a flashlight.

“A bit,” Viktor admitted. “I am on a lot of painkillers, yes?”

“Yes. You have a moderate concussion. You’ll need complete rest until tomorrow evening at least. After that, you’re expected to take it easy for a few weeks at least, but it can take up to six months to fully recover, though. I recommend a week off of work to start.”

Viktor made a face. Jayce caught his eye and hid a smile. The doctor ignored him, moving down her list of questions. His leg ached but had the range of motion it normally did, his back ached, his ribs ached, his everything ached, he could remember what happened, he was tired. 

“There are some final things I wish to discuss. It might be better if we were alone,” the doctor said, glancing at Jayce.

“I–sure. I’ll go grab some coffee. V, you want–” Jayce said awkwardly.

“Jayce can stay,” Viktor said before he could think. 

“I can stay?” Jayce asked.

“If that’s what you’d prefer,” the doctor said at the same time. “Sometimes these questions are…a bit awkward.”

Viktor shrugged. It was better if Jayce stayed. He’d feel less alone. Viktor glanced at him and Jayce seemed to understand, coming to take his seat next to Viktor. He rested his hands in his lap. Viktor wished he could hold one, but that would be strange. They were just friends. Business partners. It wasn’t like that, even if he wished it was.

“Were you…violated in any way?” the doctor asked.

“No,” Viktor said quickly. “They were just after my money.”

Next to him, Jayce tensed. Viktor wanted to look at him, tell him he was fine, it was fine. Have Jayce tell him the same. Then Jayce took his hand, which was even better. The doctor didn’t seem to notice. Maybe it wasn’t so strange to hold hands with your business partner/best friend/man you were secretly in love with then. 

“Were drugs involved?” the doctor asked.

“No,” Viktor snapped.

“You need to be honest with me. If you have drugs in your system–”

“I do not. I haven’t taken–do you ask all your patients who have been mugged this?”

“If they’ve been to the Undercity, yes,” the doctor said. 

Viktor bristled, and Jayce squeezed his hand. Viktor satisfied himself with letting out a loud scoff while the doctor noted his response on her chart. 

“Okay, then. An enforcer will be in to speak with you shortly,” the doctor said.

“I do not wish to–”

“Hospital policy,” she answered briskly. 

“When can I leave?” Viktor asked stubbornly.

“We’d like to keep you for one more day of observation. Additionally, some…potential problems with your spine were revealed during our initial exam. I’d like one of our surgeons to speak with you.”

Viktor nodded mutely. Hot tears pricked the corner of his eyes. He just wanted it to be over, to be back in his home or, even better, the lab with Jayce. Then he could pretend none of this had ever happened. 

As soon as the doctor left, Jayce let out a long sigh, as if he’d been holding his breath, and leaned against the bed, not letting go of Viktor’s hand. Viktor leaned back into his pillows and shut his eyes briefly. Maybe if he just pretended to sleep, everyone would leave him alone.

“You okay?” Jayce asked quietly.

“Eh,” Viktor replied.

“You want me to stay?’

“Yes.”

“Okay. I do need coffee, though. I, um, didn’t sleep great last night,” Jayce said sheepishly.

“Hm. Perhaps you should have gone to your own bed, then,” Viktor teased lightly. 

“No. I couldn’t leave you on your own.”

There was a raw truth to the statement that made Viktor ache. He looked away from Jayce. It was suddenly too hard to stare at him, like staring into the sun. Too much tenderness had always made him feel like there was a lump the size of his heart in his throat, even with his mother. He should take his hand away, clear his throat, ask Jayce about the lab, steer the conversation back to something normal, but he couldn’t. He was a weak man. 

“Thank you,” he said quietly. “I…I was afraid while it was happening that I would not see you again.”

“V,” Jayce said like he had never said his name before.

Viktor looked back at him. Jayce was blinding, but now he was a moth, drawn to the flame. Jayce was staring at him with a soft, earnest look. One hand, he held Viktor’s like he couldn’t quite bear to let it go, the other came to cup his cheek gently. Viktor jumped, surprised at the contract, and Jayce drew his hand away quickly, as if burned.

“I’m sorry,” Jayce said quietly.

“No. It, eh, it felt nice,” Viktor said just as quietly.

Jayce smiled. He reached out his hand again, but before he could let it rest against Viktor’s now burning cheek, there was a knock at the door. Jayce pulled back as an enforcer came in, dressed in full uniform with a hard look on his face. Viktor let go of Jayce’s hand and wished he hadn’t.

“Are you Viktor?” the enforcer asked briskly.

“Yes,” Viktor replied, hackles already up.

He had dealt with enforcers before, plenty of times. The ones who started interrogating before giving even a cursory greeting were the worst. 

“I have some questions about the recent incident,” the enforcer continued before glancing at Jayce. “No need to stay, Mr. Talis. I can handle it from here.”

“I would like him to stay,” Viktor replied.

“I’ll stay,” Jayce said before he could finish. 

The enforcer eyed them both skeptically, but whatever fame Jayce had garnered in the past almost two years since they invented Hextech must have counted for something. He only shrugged and turned to address Viktor again as if he had done something wrong.

“You were injured in the Undercity, correct?” the enforcer asked.

“Yes,” Viktor replied blandly. He knew only to give short answers, quick and free of any tone. It was the best way to end this quickly. 

“Why were you in the Undercity?” the enforcer continued.

“I had business and wished to visit an…a family friend,” Viktor replied. 

Jayce’s eyes darted to him. Viktor wished they hadn’t. The enforcer would see, it would look like Viktor was hiding something. He should have told Jayce more about his past, perhaps. Maybe he should have brought him down after all. Marek would have welcomed him with open arms. 

“What kind of business?” the enforcer asked.

“He was getting–” Jayce started, defensive, which was sweet but useless.

“I did not ask you, Mr. Talis,” the enforcer said firmly.

“We need a material more resistant to corrosion for our work. The Undercity has such things. I was merely going to acquire some samples to work with,” Viktor said simply. His hand was sweaty, curled in the blanket now. 

“Can anyone else back up this claim?” the enforcer asked. “A…scrap dealer? Lab assistant?”

Viktor was silent. No one else knew. It hadn’t come up in their last meeting with Heimerdinger and they’d agreed to keep it from the investors until they had a budget. He hadn’t done anything wrong. That didn’t mean the enforcer wouldn’t drag this out, make it look like some sort of illicit deal. If it boiled down to Viktor’s word against the enforcer’s, he knew who would win. Trenchers never got far in Piltover. 

“I can. He’s telling the truth,” Jayce said, rising to his full height, a good half-head taller than the enforcer.

Despite Jayce’s attempt at intimidation, the enforcer gave him a pitying look, as if he were being made a fool. Viktor frowned. Jayce wasn’t a fool. For some reason, that rankled most of all. 

“You’re willing to testify on his behalf?” the enforcer asked.

“If it comes to that, yes. But he didn’t do anything wrong. Why are you treating him like a criminal?” Jayce snapped.

“Mr. Talis, people from the Undercity tend to get dragged back into…illicit business, not matter what–”

“Viktor would never–”

“Jayce,” Viktor said softly, reaching for his arm. 

Jayce stilled at Viktor’s touch. He didn’t want a fight at his bedside or for Jayce to be arrested. He may have gained notoriety, but Viktor doubted he’d get away with punching an enforcer. Jayce took a deep breath.

“Councilors Medarda, Heimerdinger, and Kiramman will vouch for his good character, if you want to bother them with this nonsense,” Jayce said in a barely controlled voice.

The enforcer paused, pencil held still over his notepad. Enforcer might beat Scientist and Trencher, but Councilor beat them all. Viktor only hoped the man wouldn’t be brazen enough to take it so far. 

“Very well. This…family friend. Who is he?” the enforcer asked.

“Marek. He owns a restaurant in the Fissures,” Viktor said.

He learned long ago that it was better to tell some of the truth if he could when talking to enforcers. Marek never broke the law. Even his basement liquor was technically legal. He would be safe.

“Fissures?”

“Yes. I…I grew up there.”

The enforcer sniffed in distaste. Viktor’s frown deepened, Jayce’s hand tight in his grasp now. 

“Are you parents living?” the enforcer asked.

“What does that have to do with–” Jayce started but Viktor squeezed his hand to silence him. Let the enforcer have his fun if it meant he would leave quickly. 

“No,” Viktor said. “But I was not visiting them, as I said, I–”

“Their professions?”

“I don’t see what that has to do–” Viktor started.

“Lots of bad business in the Fissures, a lot of it is inherited. I just want to make sure this isn’t a gang thing,” the enforcer sneered like he knew how his mother kept a roof over his head. 

“It isn’t,” Viktor said firmly.  

“I’ll need some kind of proof of that.”

“He’s telling the truth,” Jayce said, voice low and angry. “What’s your badge number?”

The enforcer looked at Jayce as if he had suddenly grown fangs. Viktor wanted to shrink behind him, let Jayce’s name protect them both. The enforcer cleared his throat and wrote something down. 

“Can you describe the incident?” he continued, tone neutral. 

“Two men attacked me, took my wallet, and decided to beat me. That is all,” Viktor said. 

It sounded quick and brutal like that. Jayce paled slightly. Viktor wondered if he should tell him the whole thing, how much it would hurt him to hear it. 

“Were drugs involved?”

“He already told the doctor–” Jayce started.

“No, no drugs,” Viktor said, cutting him off, praying this would end. 

“Have you been tested?”

“I, um, I do not know.”

“I’ll order one, just in case.”

“He wasn’t on drugs!” Jayce yelled, angry again.

The enforcer gave him a patronizing look. “A lot of people go down to the Fissures for drugs and a lot of them come back looking just like your…friend here,” the enforcer said, eyes darting significantly to their joined hands. “It’s best for him if he’s honest about it.”

“He is honest about it. Viktor is the most honest person I know! And he’s not on drugs. He’s not…he’s telling the truth. He was going down there for us, to get some samples, and he was attacked. Why are you acting like he did something wrong?”

“Jayce,” Viktor warned again, louder this time.

“Mr. Talis, I will leave the science to you if you will leave the enforcing to me. Now. Can you describe the attackers?” the enforcer asked Viktor, fully ignoring Jayce now.

“Two men. One very large, one slender. I did not…I did not catch their names and I do not wish to press charges. I wish for this to just be over.”

“That isn’t for you to decide. Withholding information related to a crime can have serious consequences.” 

“I…I understand,” Viktor sighed. “The slender one was blonde. The tall one…may have had a scar on his face. I…I could not tell.”

The descriptions were vague enough. It would likely be dropped anyway, the enforcer was just having his fun.

“Thanks for your cooperation,” the enforcer said with an edge of sarcasm. “I’ll be on my way. Please contact us if you have any more information. The hospital will handle the drug test.”

“Thank you,” Viktor said softly.

Jayce didn’t say anything. As soon as the enforcer was gone, Viktor let his head drop and shut his eyes against tears that were definitely coming. He felt the bed dip and a strong arm pulled him against a solid, warm chest. Viktor let out small, shuddering noise and turned into Jayce. He thought Jayce might have kissed his temple. He wasn’t in any mood to hope.

“I’m sorry,” Jayce said. 

Viktor shook his head. He didn’t want to talk because then he would start crying. 

“I didn’t know…I didn’t think it would be that bad. I’m going to report him. He acted like you were a criminal, V.”

“I am from the Undercity. That is all they see,” Viktor said pathetically.

“Then he’s an idiot.”

Jayce had started rubbing his back gently. There was pain, of course, but it faded in comparison to the sensation. No one had cared for him in so long. 

“I got you a souvenir. I think they took it. It was in my coat,” Viktor said, voice ridiculously choked with tears.

“I bet it was a good one,” Jayce said softly. 

Viktor nodded, opened his mouth to explain about the children and the badge, but closed it again against an embarrassing little cry. He curled into Jayce, hiding his face. Jayce held him, not speaking, rubbing his back, arms firm and solid. 

“I want to go home,” Viktor said when he was reasonably sure he wouldn’t cry. 

“Then we’ll go home. Wait here, I’ll be right back.”

It took Jayce an hour. He charmed or argued with the doctors, swearing he’d keep an eye on Viktor, promising to bring him back the next day for an appointment with a surgeon, to pay close attention to his medication. The drug test turned out to be a non-issue. The enforcer hadn’t filed a request. It was not surprising. Those kinds of men liked toying with men like Viktor to make them feel small. Viktor had to sign paperwork saying he’d left against doctor’s orders and Jayce  had to get his medicine. When he returned, he had a large paper bag and a plain, hospital issued cane.

“Here,” he said gently, setting the bag and cane on the foot of the bed. “It’s what you had on you and some clothes from the lost and found. They, um, they had to get rid of your clothes. The, um, there was too much blood.”

“Ah,” Viktor said, taking the bag.

“I’ll give you some privacy but…but call me. If you need help, I’m just…I’ll just be right here.”

Jayce squeezed his hand and left, just outside the door. Viktor stared at the bag a moment before dragging it to him. There was a pair of loose pants, white shirt, and orange and purple sweater he hated immediately. There were also his shoes and, he realized with a small cry of delight, the pin he’d bought Jayce. 

He dressed quickly, tucking the pin into the pocket to the loose pants to give Jayce later. The cane was too light in his hand and each step hurt, but he made it to the door, opening it to find a smiling Jayce on the other side waiting for him.

“Nice sweater,” Jayce smirked.

“I am going to burn it later if you would like to help,” Viktor replied.

“Sounds like a date.”

Viktor tried not to read into that as Jayce helped him make a slow path through the hospital to a waiting cab outside. Jayce tucked him against his side without hesitation and Viktor leaned against him, a little sweaty from the exertion of just walking through a few hallways. He didn’t want him to leave, but he had taken up enough of his time. As the cab turned to corner to his block, Viktor sat up, removing himself from Jayce’s gentle warmth. 

“Thank you, Jayce, for all you have done for me. I will see you tomorrow,” Viktor said.

“What are you talking about? I’m coming in with you,” Jayce said, already leaning forward to pay the driver and offering Viktor a steady arm to lean on.

“You do not have to.”

“I kind of do, I promised the doctor not to leave you alone.”

“I am a grown man.”

“Yeah, well, what if I want to?” Jayce said tenderly.

Viktor didn’t know what to say to that. He nodded, relieved that they didn’t have to part yet. Jayce’s warmth was addicting. He would hold onto it as long as he could. 

When they reached Viktor’s apartment, he immediately went to draw himself a bath to rinse the smell of hospital off of him. He yanked the hospital issued clothes off of him, feeling better naked than to be wearing them any longer. He folded them neatly and set them on his toilet. No matter what he’d told Jayce, he wouldn’t be burning them. Someone could use them, they were in good condition.

When he saw himself in his mirror, he winced. Twin black eyes, a bandaged nose, a scab on his bottom lip, pale, gaunt face. He looked awful. His body looked worse. A swirl of purple and green bruises, one on his back in the shape of the Blond’s shoe. It would have been comical if it were not so painful. He glanced at the door. Jayce was out there. The idea was a balm to his beating heart. With a shuddering breath, he added the herbal salts he used on bad pain days to the bath and lowered himself into the steaming water with a slow hiss that turned to a moan as muscles he didn’t realize were clenched released. Viktor leaned back and shut his eyes. 

He dozed until Jayce knocked on the door. It couldn't have been that long. The water was still warm and the mirror had steamed up. 

“Yes?” Viktor called.

“Just checking on you. You need anything?”

“No I…I will get out now.”

“Okay,” Jayce replied in a strangled voice and withdrew.

Viktor got out, using the hospital cane for help, and dressed in his soft pajamas. Each movement was painful. The pills must have started to wear off. Jayce was there when he opened the door. He smiled when he saw Viktor, some tension leaving his face.

“Hey. You look better,” Jayce said.

“I look horrible,” Viktor countered.

“Then just think how you looked before,” Jayce said, earning a poke in his arm. 

“I…thank you for staying,” Viktor said, breaking the silence that stretched between them.

“I wanted to,” Jayce said again and offered an arm. 

“Thank you all the same. I think I should lie down. I am still…” Viktor said, trailing off with a hand gesture.

“Yeah, okay,” Jayce said.

“You do not need to stay longer than is necessary. I’m sure you have–”

“I made you some of that sweetmilk stuff.” Jayce said quickly.

“You did?” Viktor asked.

“Yeah. It’s probably not very good, but I thought you might want, um, want something familiar.”

Viktor did not know how to answer that. He ducked his head in thanks, hiding his blush, as he and Jayce made their way slowly to his bedroom. He had to use Jayce’s arms to lower himself into bed. It should have been embarrassing, but it was not. Jayce just stood as still and steady as a rock, withdrawing gently once Viktor was settled.

“I’ll be right back,” Jayce said.

Viktor nodded and lay against his own pillows. It was good to be home, better to have Jayce with him. His head ached, a dull throb. He’d need pain medication after the sweetmilk and then he’d fall asleep and Jayce would have nothing to do. Surely, he’d leave by then. Viktor would not blame him, even if he hated the thought of waking alone. 

“Here. I hope it's okay,” Jayce said, reappearing with a steaming mug.

“Thank you,” Viktor said, taking it and taking a small sip.

The anise was not strong enough and there was too much honey, but that didn’t matter. It was sweet of Jayce to try. For a moment, he thought it might have been the best sweetmilk he ever had.

“How is it?” Jayce asked.

“Passable. When I am better, I’ll show you how my mother made it,” Viktor replied.

“I’d like that. And, um, you said you were visiting a family friend?”

“Yes. Marek. He is not so much a friend as…as someone from the old neighborhood. My mother and I used to frequent his restaurant when she was alive. He had a fondness for her,” Viktor said, smiling at the memory.

“I bet,” Jayce said, grinning. “If she was anything like you.”

“She was. Same eyes, everyone said, too thin, shy.”

“Smart?”

“Very.”

“Kind?”

“Yes,” Viktor said quietly. “She was very kind. A good woman. I thought of her, too, during the…and before. I miss her. Terribly.”

“I know. I still miss my dad.”

Jayce had settled next to Viktor on the bed again, arm around his shoulder. Some barrier had broken down between them. Viktor never wanted it to go back up. He snuggled against Jayce, drinking his sweet milk. 

“Was he like you?” Viktor asked.

“My dad? I guess. I don’t…I don’t remember him very well. He died when I was nine. My mom says we’re the same.”

“Then I would have liked to meet him.”

“Yeah, well, I’d have liked to meet your mom.”

“She was the only thing that still connected me to the Undercity, but she died years ago,” Viktor said quietly. “Now…now I do not think I belong there anymore.”

“You’re here now, you don’t–”

“I don’t belong here either, Jayce. You saw how the enforcer and the doctor acted. You and Heimerdinger, I suppose, are the only ones who act like I am not…a criminal. Or embarrassment. Like it is not so strange that I am here.”

“Mel likes you.”

“Mel tolerates me,” Viktor said with snort.

“Do you want to go back? To the Undercity?” Jayce asked softly.

“I don’t know. I…I thought I would one day, when I made something I could show them, did something to make things better but…those men called me a traitor. That was why they beat me, not for the money but because I left. Because I am no longer one of them.”

He took a breath and a sob came out instead. Jayce gently took the sweetmilk out of his hands and wrapped him in a hug. No one had done that, been able to do it so completely, since he was smaller than his mother. He buried his head in Jayce’s chest and sobbed, letting all the misery out. The attack, the hospital, the enforcer, all of it. It was not the worst day of his life, but it was close. He clung to Jayce like he’d fall apart if he let go, like he was the only thing holding him there and Jayce held him gently, like he was important, like he was worth keeping. 

“For what it’s worth, you belong somewhere. With me, in the lab,” Jayce said softly once Viktor started to calm. “You always will, no matter what. And…and if you end up going back to the Undercity, I’ll just come with you. But you have to tell my mom. She won’t like it.”

Viktor let out a small, hiccupy laugh. He liked that idea more than he cared to mention. 

“And…fuck them. All of them. No one can say where you can and can’t belong. They don’t know you. I do. And I…I want you here,” Jayce continued, cheek resting on Viktor’s head now. His arms were still wrapped around him, Viktor was still clutching his shirt. 

“I want to be here, with you, too,” Viktor said softly.

“Okay. Then that’s settled.”

Viktor nodded and let Jayce hold him for just a bit longer. His head ached from the tears as much as everything else. The throbbing in his leg and back were also getting worse. Viktor slowly let go of Jayce’s shirt.  

“I…I think I need the next dose of my medicine,” Viktor said.

“Okay,” Jayce said and reluctantly let him go.

Viktor lay against his pillows, exhausted. His eyes were heavy when Jayce came back with water and toast (the doctors warned against his medication on an empty stomach). He sat with Viktor in silence as he ate and took the medicine. He crawled into bed next to him as Viktor settled in to sleep. He was too tired to question it. Jayce would leave soon. It wasn’t even seven o’clock. He’d be bored, have work to do, people to see. It was fine. Viktor could fall asleep in his arms this once. If this was all it ever was, he would survive it. They were maybe something other than friends, but Viktor knew better than to hope too much. 

Viktor slept for over twelve hours. When he woke, his head was clear and pounding. His body ached and his mouth was dry. But he was warm. Jayce slept next to him, on his stomach, fully dressed. His arm was thrown over Viktor’s stomach and he was facing him, as if he had fallen asleep watching him. Viktor stared at him for a long while, half afraid to break a spell, half trying to figure out how this had happened. His Jayce, for the moment at least, curled next to him as if they were lovers. It was nearly too much to bear, more painful than his beating because it would have to end. 

Jayce woke all at once. He always did. He slept like the dead when he slept and came to consciousness as if he had never left it. When he saw Viktor, he smiled, soft and dreamy. Viktor had to stop himself from touching his face.

“How do you feel?” Jayce asked.

“My head and body hurt,” Viktor replied. “Why are you still here?”

Jayce stiffened. He withdrew his arm quickly, stammering out an apology. He was about to propel himself off the bed when Viktor reached for him. He stilled the moment Viktor touched him and let himself be guided by to Viktor’s side.

“No, I am not…I am glad you are still here. I did not like the thought of waking without you, which is…which is a bit…why did you stay, Jayce?”

“I said I’d look after you,” Jayce said.

“Yes, but you could have left and come in the morning with coffee and breakfast. You could have gone home or slept on the couch. You…you didn’t. You slept here. With me. Why?”

“Viktor, I…you don’t…when I got the call that you were hurt, I thought I was going to…I was so scared something had happened to you and then I…I knew. All that stuff I said last night, it's how I’ve felt for a long time. You belong here, with me. You feel it too. It's why I’m your emergency contact. You…you know, right?”

Viktor nodded. This was not going like he thought. Jayce’s arms came to settle around his waist as Viktor leaned towards him. There was nothing friendly about it anymore. There was only one conclusion from months of testing. 

Jayce didn’t move away when Viktor cupped his cheek. He leaned into the touch, like he had been waiting for it forever. Slowly, as if one of them might run away, as if something earth shattering might happen if they got it wrong, they leaned towards each other and kissed. 

It was light. A brush of lips, a hypothesis. It lingered, neither of them willing to pull away. Viktor pulled back and Jayce followed him, kissing him again, with more intent this time. The press became something more and Viktor forgot himself for a moment as he traced Jayce’s lips with his tongue, only to be granted entrance. He slipped his tongue in and the kiss became more heated. Viktor tangled his hand in Jayce’s hair and he pulled them closer together until there was no space between them. They kissed until Viktor tasted blood. His lip had split again. They pulled apart with a small, sheepish laugh. Jayce’s eyes were wide and his lips were red. Viktor ran a thumb along them, wiping his blood away.

“Sorry,” he said quietly.

“Don’t be,” Jayce replied, kissing the mole under his eye.

“I…what now, Jayce?” Viktor asked, still holding on to him.

“What do you mean?” Jayce asked.

“We can’t…we work together. If this goes poorly, then–”

“It won’t,” Jayce said.

“How can you be sure?” Viktor asked.

“Because I love you. You are the only person I’ve ever worked with who I haven’t wanted to kill. We work together, you and me. You know that.”

“I do,” Viktor said. “And I…I–”

Viktor leaned into Jayce, pressing their foreheads together. It was an old gesture. His mother did with him. He could remember seeing lovers do it when he was young, friends, family, all the same. He loved Jayce and Jayce loved him. The feeling was too much to verbalize, too overwhelming. It made sense Jayce could just say it, of course. He was good at talking. 

“I know,” Jayce said softly and tilted his head to kiss Viktor gently once more.

They stayed in bed all morning, barely talking, holding each other and kissing gently, careful of Viktor’s broken nose and split lip. Jayce only left to go to the cafe next to Viktor’s building for coffee and the kitchen to get his next dose medicine. When it was time to go to the doctor’s appointment, Viktor requested the loose pants from the hospital. The idea of wearing anything tighter made his leg ache. When he put them on, he noticed a weight in one of the pockets and smiled when he withdrew the little pin. 

“Jayce?” he called.

“V?” Jayce replied, already at his bedroom door, already mildly worried.

“Come here.”

Jayce came, stopping in front of him. Viktor reached for his lapels to drag him down, kissing Jayce quickly, ignoring his look of surprise when it didn’t turn into more. With great care, he fastened the little pin on his shirt and smoothed it with his hand.

“What’s that?” Jayce asked, standing back up, pulling the shirt to better see the pin.

“Your souvenir,” Viktor said.

Jayce froze and his face did something complicated and sad. Suddenly, Viktor wondered if he had done the wrong thing. With a grunt, he got to his feet and shuffled to Jayce, wrapping Jayce’s arm around him to steady himself.

“I bought it from two children. They made it. That was before…it had nothing to do with what happened. It was in the Lanes. I am glad it did not vanish. It looks good on you,” Viktor said.

“Yeah,” Jayce said softly, touching the little badge and then frowning. “Is that a Talis crest?”

“They took it off a hammer, I think.”

Jayce laughed and kissed Viktor’s hand. He was still wearing the pin when they arrived at the doctor’s appointment, hand in hand. There was nothing new to say. He was still healing, he should rest. They went home and for the second night in a row, Viktor slept in Jayce’s arms. 

JAYCE

It took a month for Viktor to heal. Jayce never left his side. He didn’t want to. Viktor didn’t want him to either. He leaned into his touch, pulled him in for a kiss, and casually rested against his side as slowly he was able to work more and more. Jayce delighted in taking care of him. He felt starry-eyed and light that first month, too in love to care about anything else. The first time Viktor let him see him naked, he thought he might die of want. It was two weeks after the attack, after most of his bruises had healed and the cast on his nose had come off. Viktor asked for help in the bath. It was all a pretense. Viktor kissed him hungrily and he slipped a hand between Viktor’s legs until Viktor’s cheeks were pink and his head was thrown back in pleasure. When Viktor begged him to join him in the bath and returned the favor, Jayce was sure he would actually die. 

“I love you so much,” Jayce whispered in his ear when they was done, breathless, pulling Viktor flush against his chest, sending a slosh of warm water through the tub.

“I love you too,” Viktor replied, smile evident in his voice. 

It was the first time he said it aloud, though not the first time he said it. Jayce saw it in the press of their foreheads, in the insistence that he go home and rest, in the way he touched him casually because he knew Jayce needed it. They had sex for the first time the moment Viktor felt he had recovered enough. It was nauseatingly slow and tender. Jayce never wanted it to end. When it did, they lay panting in each other’s arms. Jayce kissed him and Viktor smiled into it. He had never seen him so happy. 

Jayce told his mother about them the first chance he got. She was thrilled and welcomed Viktor a few weeks later with open arms, treating him as her second son. Viktor blushed under the attention, but took it happily. No one had mothered him in quite some time.

Two months after the attack, they lay in Jayce’s bed, still sweaty from exertion. Jayce wanted nothing more than to go again. He was addicted to Viktor in a way he never wanted to recover from, already kissing down Viktor's chest, eager for another taste.  

“I have been thinking,” Viktor said.  

Jayce hummed to show he was listening and kissed one of the many moles that dotted Viktor's chest.

“I have met your mother–”

“Mood killer,” Jayce muttered, continuing his path. 

“But you do not know any of my people.”

Jayce stopped. This was a more serious conversation. He moved off of Viktor, shifting so that they could both sit up and face each other. 

“I thought they were all gone,” Jayce said.

“In a way, yes, but I want you to see where I am from. The street I lived on, the food we ate, and the man I was visiting when…when I was attacked. I want you to see it all.”

“Yeah?” Jayce said, grinning.

“Yes.”

“When?”

Two days later, they went to the Undercity. Jayce dressed in dark, plain clothes and stayed close to Viktor. He’d left the new cane Jayce made for him at home, opting for a plain, wooden one. He jumped now at strangers who brushed too close and kept looking over his shoulder, but Jayce kept a steady hand on him. He was not much of a fighter, but he’d take on the whole Undercity for Viktor.

Eventually, when they were far below where any sunlight could possibly pierce the thick smog that blanketed the Undercity, they came to a small, nondescript building. A sign hung over the door in a language Jayce couldn’t read. There was a picture of a fish on a plate and a winking man with a fork. Faded flowers were painted on the door frame.

“Is this it?” Jayce asked.

“Yes,” Viktor said, or more sighed, relieved, and pushed open the door.

It smelled warm and fishy. The restaurant was cramped and nearly every table was full. A stove let off heat in one corner and music played from a phonograph mounted to the wall. Everyone spoke in a language Jayce only recognized because Viktor cursed in it under his breath when things went wrong. Suddenly, Jayce was nervous. He wiped his sweaty palms on his pants and let Viktor take his hand as a balding middle-aged man with a wide smile came bounding over, speaking rapidly in Viktor’s language.

When he reached Viktor, he took his face in his hands, studying him closely and speaking softly. Viktor said something reassuring back and the man shook his head. Viktor said something else and the man laughed. Then he gestured to Jayce and Jayce was pretty sure it was an introduction.

“You are his partner?” the man asked.

“Yes. Hi. Um, Jayce Talis,” Jayce said, offering a hand.

The man ignored Jayce’s hand, opting to hug him instead. Viktor watched it all with a bemused look that made something warm bloom in Jayce’s chest. 

“This is Marek. He…he found me, actually. And called the enforcers,” Viktor said once Marek let Jayce go.

At the mention of enforcers, Marek’s eyes darkened and he made a sign with his fingers. Viktor laughed and said something in their language and Marek shook his head.

“They are bad, enforcers, but I know Viki’s mother. And him. I am glad you came,” Marek said sincerely.

“I’m glad you called someone,” Jayce said, snaking a protective arm around Viktor’s waist and smiling at the nickname. He owed Marek more than whatever he was going to pay for their meal.

 “Ah! I see,” Marek said, eyeing them. “Best table. You will invite me to the wedding.”

Viktor said something quick in his language and Marek laughed. They were brought to the table closest to the porcelain stove and Marek returned a moment later with three glasses of a clear liquor that made Jayce cough and gag much to Viktor and Marek’s amusement. Then Marek left them to their meal, going to gossip with other customers and greet new patrons. 

In the dim light of the restaurant, Viktor glowed, more at ease than Jayce had seen him, whatever Piltover effect he took gone. Jayce took his hand and kissed his palm. 

“Viki?” he asked.

“An old nickname. My mother called me that,” Viktor said wistfully.

“It’s cute.”

Viktor hummed in agreement, looking out across the restaurant with a soft smile.

“You’re happy here,” Jayce said.

“I am,” Viktor agreed.

“See? This is still your home.”

“It is now. You are here.”

Jayce wanted to kiss him with a desperate passion, so he did, leaning across the table, not caring who saw. There was still fallout from the attack. Viktor hadn’t replaced the tooth they’d knocked out and the spinal fusion he’d have needed anyway would have to come sooner, but for the moment, he was happy. That was all Jayce ever wanted. 

They ate their fish stew (strong, flavorful, surprisingly spicy), had one more shot of the clear liquor with Marek, and promised to return soon. Jayce took Viktor home with a hand on his back the whole way. No one attacked them, no one looked twice, not even with Viktor pulled him into an alleyway and kissed him breathless. Love would overcome him, maybe even drown him one day, but now Viktor was safe and warm, held tight in Jayce’s arms, right where he belonged.