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“There has got to be a better way for this..”
Compared to all the appointments Jayce and Viktor had gone to over their lives, this had to take the cake for the oddest one. Now they've done a lot already that required hospital visits in the past.
Broken limbs. Burnt hands. Flashed eyes. The usual that came with being engineers.
But they've crossed into a new realm that was a lot more touchy feel-y and poor Jayce was subjected to it all.
Outside of the hospital, pregnancy was actually manageable. Sure there was the morning sickness that haunted him, the odd cravings at all times, he even handled the "shrinking clothes" like a champ. When it came to crossing the threshold of the hospital, that changed a bit.
Like now.
Viktor just hummed and patted his hand as they sat in their current appointment. Though Piltover spearheaded the realm of science and technology, its effort in the medical field was a little lacking.
Especially when it came to pre/post natal care. It was better than how it was in the Undercity but that didn't help the argument very much.
As uncomfortable as it was, Jayce leaned back on the table he was on, gripping Viktors hand as his stomach was prodded and palpitated. Twitching even when a cold scope was pressed against his skin. It really didn't help that the scope they were using, the Fetoscope - or a head stethoscope-, had their practitioner placed in a very… odd position in front of Jayce. At least they no longer had to rely on invasive procedures anymore.
A slight rustle had Jayces attention and pulled him from his musing, blinking back, he watched as the Doctor stood up, finally coming back into his view as his belly had blocked most of his sight the moment he laid down.
“The heartbeat’s strong for how far along they are, -” they spoke, taking the equipment off his head to set aside. “It feels like the spine is aligned well so far as well, the head is still facing upwards but there should be a “switch” into the correct position in a few weeks. So expect that change. Beyond that. There's not much left to do”
The couple listened with rapt attention but for Viktor, his mind was abuzz. Though Piltovers hospitals were advanced, they left a lot to the imagination, or worry in Viktors case. Just because the spine felt fine didn’t mean it could be bent in a way that couldn't be felt, what about its legs? Did any of his “qualities”, as they had been so “gently” presented to him, pass on to their child? He couldn’t tell, Jayce couldn’t and it certainly looked like the doctor couldn’t either.
“Hey Vik?”
Could the toxic fissures on his home affect his genetics? Should he even be trying for a child?
“Vitya?"
Oh, that was Jayce. Viktor blinked for a moment, looking at his partner when he fully came back.
"You alright there. Kinda dozed off there it seems" he teased, grinning at the huff he got from the zaunite. Slowly, he gripped the side of the table he was on to sit up while Viktor focused on standing up himself. "Thinking up something?"
Viktor just shrugged, situating the cane properly in his hand before offering his free hand to Jayce to help him off the table. Which Jayce did with a groan, the new weight sitting weird, something he was slowly getting used to. They were alone in the office, the doctor leaving sometime while Viktor did his musing. He stood and watched as Jayce put his clothes back together, smirking a little at how it stretched to accommodate their child. Already finding the need to buy clothing again to be hilarious.
"Just thinking. That's all. Now, if we're done here, I don't know about you but I'd like to get home. "
"Now that's something I can agree on. Come on, there's some leftovers from last night I can't stop thinking about."
Viktor couldn't stop thinking about his own musings, it had been days since that appointment and his own haunting had been, well, haunting him.
Through every problem, there was a solution to be found. Sometimes it took forever to reach, sometimes it took trial and error and some times, all it took was a break from routine.
Viktor had parted from Jayce that day, the larger having planned on spending the day with his mother. Going through old momentos to pass on to the newest family member. Viktor thought of tagging along but figured that this was a little too personal and despite Jayces and Ximenas assurance that they wouldn't mind on that front, he held strong and stayed home.
Well, except that he didn't.
Instead he went to the Hexgates. Unlike every part of Piltover, where they'd scrutinize his presence and silently judge. The Hexgates and those who worked there didn't mind him, as he and Jayce were very hands-on in its development to the point where they actively participated in its construction.
His arrival was quiet, the workers keeping the gates running merely waved before carrying on, not minding him walking through. Even though the control station, they didn't mind, the manager of that shift approaching to update him on the latest developments and consistency of the crystals.
Any upgrades concerning the Hexgates were put on hold with the discovery of their child but plans were slowly coming together. Viktor couldn't say anything but just smiled and carried on. Leaving the main spiral and control office to walk the perimeter, coming upon a small area under repair construction.
He stopped to watch, looking as new metal support beams were aligned correctly, held steady as one member welded the beam in place.
It was an intricate process and fascinating to watch, even as the group dispersed back to their stations. One remained behind, going over each weld that was made. This caught Viktors attention, head tilting a bit as he watched before taking a breath and approaching.
"Excuse me!" He called out, hand cupped by his mouth. "May I ask what you're doing?!"
The welder stopped what he was doing to look around, startled for a second before looking down and seeing him.
"Ah! Mr. Talis, lovely seein' ya. Whatcha doin down there?" He asked back, glossing over the question for a second before "oh! Just checking that these beads are secure. Can't have the gates collapsin' on us now don't we?"
Viktor pulled a face and instead of being miffed the welder just chuckled and untangled himself from the beam to get on Viktors level. Before the Zaunite could ask again, the worker held up the machine he had with him. A small hand held portion was attached to a miniature screen via a few cables.
"Well to answer you that Mr. Talis, I'm checking to make sure all the welds we just did were good! This is the best we got since we can't send 'em in for x-rays like usual. Mighty expensive too. So this is the next best thing" he showed it to Viktor while he talked, occasionally gesturing to the beams. "Here lemme show ya"
He didn't wait before walking back to the beam and squatted down to a previous weld, which Viktor followed after. A little trapped by social convention that he couldn't just walk away but that curious part of him was holding him there too.
"We use this thing here… turn it on and put it here" he messed with the machine. Putting the screen portion on a shelf nearby, well within sight for Viktor. "It'll show us what we can see. This little hand thing here puts out waves, and when it hits a defect, or hits anything really. It'll bounce back before all the others! So then we save the data we got.. it'll show us…this!"
He had pressed a button in the hand held device, the screen flickering to life, just gray for a moment before a picture started to appear. It was hard to tell what it was but it fascinated Viktor and the welder knew just what it was, starting to point at it.
"So you see, it shows us each bead and just how far it penetrated the metal. This passed inspection but any defect usually is a different color. It's so cool!"
The enthusiasm was infectious, though for different reasons. An idea came to bloom in Viktors mind.
"Do you, eh… mind if I take this?"
"... I need to talk to the manager about that Mr. Talis"
Luckily, the company was going to liquidate the machines, so giving one to one of the Hextech founders was nothing to them. It also wasn't the first time that Viktor had asked to take someone's unwanted items for a project but this was important and he truly didn't care what anyone said or thought about his inquiries.
Even Jayce didn't seem to mind, having caught sight of the pile of new material littering Viktors desk in the lab. He didn't say anything, aside from Hextech, they both had their own smaller projects so this wasn't anything new. If anything he just clapped Viktors back with a grin and let it be.
Left mostly to his own devices, Viktor worked to breathe a new meaning to this machine in tune with his curiosities.
He wouldn't change the method, using high-frequency waves to capture an image, but instead of just gathering a photo, his goal was to try and capture his image in real time. A moving picture if you will.
It was a hefty plan and the more he worked the larger it got and the longer it took to finish it. He would sit in his chair and tinker away, shocking himself now and then when he introduced a small hex gem to the board, earning himself a chuckle from Jayce from across the room.
He didn't mind it, when his back started to ache and his eyes started to cross, he knew he could step back and fall into the arms of his partner.
If anything it spurred him on even more.
Waking up in the middle of restless nights to work on faded equations, bringing it to the table despite their rule about separating food and work.
Each time he would assure Jayce. That this would pay off, not only for them but for the entire medical world.
As much as he was creating this for himself, it was a gift for Jayce.
It only took one test run on himself before he knew he had succeeded.
It happened one day not too long after, he and Jayce were spending a day in the lab, focusing more on the theory portion of their next project. Figuring out which equation formulas they would need to be using and just what limits they would need for the first rounds. Chattering back and forth but nothing beyond what they had on the chalkboard.
"Maybe it's the sequence of runes that we got wrong… how many combinations can we make from these 5 again?"
A shuffle of papers and a tired sigh followed. "..750 combinations.. so far, today at least. We have tried…156 combinations"
Jayce joined him in frustration, groaning loudly while he pressed the heels of his palms into his eyes, as to rub away the stress. Shuffling to a chair by Viktor, he fell into it with a huff.
"I'm gonna go cross eyed at this point.." he muttered, his frown shifting to a grin at hearing Viktors groan. As much as they loved their project and everything Hextech was, there were moments they just wanted to quit (it didn't last long but frustration built frequently).
Looking up from his notebook, Viktor barely glanced at the chalkboard before his gaze landed on Jayce, just staring at him.
It had been a few weeks since that initial appointment and to their sights, Jayce had only gotten bigger. In return, Viktors' worries grew as well.
"Viktor?"
"Hm?" He looked up from where his gaze had wandered, meeting Jayces eyes and relaxing at the warmth they gave him. "I'm sorry- ..did you say something?"
"Nah but I gotta ask V, is everything alright?" He asked, leaning a bit on the arm rest to reach out to Viktor, placing a large hand on his shoulder. To which the Zaunite hummed again, rubbing his cheek idly.
"The same thing I've been thinking of for the past 2 weeks. Nothing new"
Jayce nodded, rubbing his shoulder gently. "You know if you're stuck, you can ask for help. I'll take anything other than rune combinations at this point" he joked, laughing shortly.
Viktor looked at him for a moment, rolling over the words for a second before a smile broke out on his face. Nodding as he reached up to take Jayces hand, giving it a squeeze.
"I think you may like what I have in store".
"Oh?"
The shorter man said nothing, if anything his smile grew bigger as he slowly stood, letting Jayces hand drop back down. He walked slowly to his area, only pausing to consider before throwing any concern out the window and took the tarp off his project. Letting the fabric fall away, he grabbed the small carts handle and pulled it over to Jayce.
Though he had to quickly wave him off, not allowing the pregnant man to stand up. Easily returning to Jayce, pulling over a stool to sit in front of him. He didn't say anything at first, letting the other look over the machine with curiosity and awe plain on his face.
"You built this?" Jayce asked, leaning over as best as he could, which honestly wasn't much to begin with. From his seated position in front of Jayce, Viktor could see a flutter of movement, their child not liking being squished by Jayces movement.
"I did. For you two" he admitted, finding it cute how Jayce just stopped and stared at him. His hand came to rest over his belly, not minding the movement as the notion of a new invention being made solely for him and their child warmed Jayces heart.
"I was concerned.." Viktor admitted, looking a little ashamed at his worries ", that there was something wrong with them..considering my current state and- and there was nothing to tell if there was. So.. I made this, to see them."
Jayce gave him another look, one of understanding, and reached out to grab his hand, giving it a comforting squeeze. "It's okay Vitya. I won't lie, I've been..been a bit concerned too. Not about genetics but..just worried I guess. Mom says it's normal but, ya know" he shrugged at the end and slowly let Viktors hands go. "Show me how it works"
A spark was lit within Viktor and the smile he had turned a little manic. Something Jayce loved and knew when his partner was invigorated.
Viktor wasn't one to show off but he did puff his chest a little as he brought his hands to himself to turn on the machine, bringing the handheld device over his lap. "As much as I can go on a spiel about this, I have a feeling a demonstration would be better suited for this. No?' he asked, giving him a grin before prodding at Jayces front. "I've found that bare skin is best for this"
To which Jayce immediately laughed, "I didn't take you for a risky lover. Really? In the lab?' he teased, though he did unbutton his front, pulling up his coat and undershirt. Despite starting all this, Viktor did turn a little red.
"Hush lásko, not the time" he flicked Jayces knee as he turned to turn on the machine, making sure everything was where it should be. Though Jayce did pick up a small "maybe next time", he didn't get to ask more before Viktor faced him again, looking at the expanse of Jayces front.
It has been weeks since that initial appointment and Jayce had only grown. His belly stuck out far more and stretch marks were apparent along the side, it was art to Viktor and he couldn't help but feel a little prideful.
It took trial and error for him to figure the next part out but the labs bottle of sanitizer helped with it. Applying a little onto the handheld device, he let the sounds of the machines beeping ground him.
Looking at his own insides was one thing, looking at their child was another.
He didn't realize his hands were shaking until he felt Jayces own hand rest over one. Looking up, he met his eyes, confident and calm, with a shaky sigh, he nodded and pressed the device against the swell.
Viktor couldn't help but lock his eyes on his own hand that held the device, not wanting to look at the screen just yet. It was silent in the room, just their breathing and for a moment, the Zaunite worried if he missed anything in the initial setup..
Ba-bump
He looked up, immediately looking to Jayce who met his gaze. Both gaping at each other at the new sound.
Ba-bump Ba-bump
Viktor didn't dare look at the screen but pressed a little more with the device into the skin. Just a tad, feeling the flutter of movement inside and he saw Jayce gasp, bit from the movement but rather what he saw. He was no longer looking at Viktor but rather the screen beside him. Keeping the device pressed, he slowly turned to look as well.
He nearly dropped the device at the sight. It was blotchy and constantly going static but in what little moments of clarity it had made all the trouble worth it.
Their child. As perfect as could be.