boyofprogress | closed rp for [recursiveimpulse]

Anything new is bound to be at least a little uncertain. That much Viktor knows for sure.

It had been a relatively sleepless night, anticipation and sore joints working in tandem to keep the tinkerer awake. He just couldn't stop thinking about all of it. Magic. REAL magic.

Sure, he had broken his cane. But in return, he had FLOWN. For one, glittering moment, the relentless drag of gravity against his ailing flesh had ceased. Maybe the pain did, too, if he cared to spare a thought about it.

There was the other man, too. Jayce. He kept coming to mind, with all those wild ideas and brilliant theories. In those big, amber eyes, Viktor found...something that he still can't place. Something familiar, or - perhaps just kindred spirits?

Whatever it was, whatever it is, now it's waiting on the other side of this door. Slender fingers pick the keyring from his vest pocket, and a moment later, the door to the lab swings open.

"Good morning," he calls, his arrival heralded by the tak-tak-tak of his cane on the floor.

He'll buy Viktor a new cane. He'll buy Viktor a hundred new canes, in return for all Viktor had shown him.

Trust me, his partner had said. And so he did. And the result was... well. It was magic, wasn't it?

Mel had told them to go home and get some rest, and he'd tried, he really had, but his whole body was thrumming with that energy that had coursed through him when the runes had all locked into place and he and Viktor had lifted off the ground.

He'd eaten something, he's pretty sure, but he can't remember what it was. Mostly he'd paced his apartment or lain in bed, staring at the ceiling while he tried to force his brain to shut off. Finally, he'd given up and headed back to the lab.

He's at the chalkboard when Viktor walks in, and Jayce spares a glance over his shoulder. "Hey! Is it morning?" A look at the sun through the window confirms it, and he winces a little. Oops. Ah well, he can sleep later. "Oh, did you have a spare cane? I was going to get you a new one since you sacrificed yours for science, but I needed measurements."

Oh, wow.

So the enthusiasm - that's an all the time thing, then.

Viktor chuckles a little, bemused, a crooked smile tugging at his lip. "I take it you did not do a lot of sleeping, Jayce."

He's approaching when attention is drawn to his cane - he holds it up, shrugging a little with one shoulder.

"Eh, this is an old one. It...will be fine for now." It looks older - a little rough around the edges. Fabricated by clever hands from carefully selected scrap.

(Viktor is still proud of it, even if it usually makes the people around him here uncomfortable.)

"I see you really hit the ground running."

"Uh!" He gives Viktor a crooked, sheepish sort of smile, shrugging a shoulder. His hand goes to his face, thumb rubbing against the small cut the glass had left behind. A little self conscious at being caught out.

"I tried, anyway. But I just kept thinking -- I thought it wasn't going to hold. And then it did and -- god you're amazing, Viktor," he can't help but gush. How exciting, to have such an innovative partner. Someone who can use his ideas as a jumping off point and take them further, higher.

"Ah-"

Viktor sputters a little, almost flinching under the sudden barrage of praise. Another thing he's going to have to get used to.

"Well. Thank you. But you are not giving yourself enough credit. I still have no idea how you figured out that sequence."

"I was going off of what you had! I did have to turn the notebook upside down a few times but then something clicked when I was looking at it from a different angle.

But Viktor -- " He grasps the other man's shoulder with a firm grip, his whole body practically vibrating with excitement. "Viktor we did this. Together. And it was incredible."

The size difference between the two men is palpable in that moment - Viktor is acutely aware of just how tiny and frail his shoulder must feel under that hand.

A faint pink rises into his cheeks, and he clears his throat, trying to save some face.

"We did - and it was. It really was, and I am eager to get working with you. We have barely begun."

Easing himself out from under Jayce's grip, he shuffles across the room to set his satchel down on one of the desks.

"How do you like the space? Now that we are not using it in the dead of night, that is."

There's a brief, sleep-addled thought to how slight Viktor really is. Some mental calculations involving the span of his hands and the circumference of Viktor's waist before he manages to pull himself back on course.

Though before he can say anything about the future of their work together, Viktor is away and across the room, fussing with his things. For lack of something to do with his hands, Jayce takes up a pen to spin it between his fingers, perching against the desk he'd halfway claimed as his own. "It's great! I mean, plenty of space. All the chalk I could ask for." It's a poor attempt at a joke, but he finds he's longing to see Viktor smile again like he did the night of their discovery.

"A lot nicer without having to sneak around, that's for sure."

Viktor is, Jayce will swiftly come to know, a man of deep sarcasm and dry wit. So it's for an upsettingly long moment that he appears unmoved by the joke, standing there by the desk with a blank expression...until, finally:

"Well. It's important to have chalk you can count on."

He lets that pun hang for a moment before a lopsided smile cracks his face.

"It's all ours now. And I've brought a breakdown of resources at our disposal. The only real obstacles to our progress will be ones of thought."

There's a beat while the pun and its dry delivery sink into Jayce's sleep-deprived brain, but when it does he answers with an amused "Ha!", tossing the pen into the air and catching it with a grin.

And there's that smile. The one that digs into Jayce's chest for reasons he can't quite place. "Look at you, doing extra math already. And because I'm trying to pull my weight, too, there are an extra couple of sandwiches in the fridge for you today." He'd noticed that either Viktor wouldn't bring any food at all to the lab, or whatever he brought would end up forgotten. Poor guy is skinny enough as is, the least Jayce can do is make a few extra sandwiches.

"Anything you want in the fridge is yours, really. I stocked it with drinks, too. That way we can just grab something without having to break too long, if we're really into something."

In different company, he could almost be offended - take that as accusation about his habits. But there is an honesty about Jayce that defuses any potential irritation.

"Well. Thank you."

He starts to walk back towards the other man. Tak. Tak. Tak. His right leg is twisted slightly inwards when he walks. It's frustrating. Soon he'll have to start correcting it.

"But you know, you don't have to go out of your way to pull your weight. It's YOUR thesis, YOUR ideas that brought me here.

You don't have anything to prove to me. We have everything to prove to everyone else."

"You helped me break in to get my supplies back. You pushed me to keep working, when I -- " He stops, drops his gaze. Twirls the pen again, leaving the rest of the sentence hanging in the air between them. They both know what could have happened, if Viktor hadn't come found him.

Jayce heaves a sigh and scrubs his hand over his face, rubbing the back of his neck. "I feel like I owe you, that's all. For pulling me back into this. I don't think I really said thank you."

Ah.

That makes sense. When you've been caught in the red tape of being assistant to someone like Professor Heimerdinger like Viktor has, you get...a little stagnant. But you never REALLY forget how hard it is to get someone to listen to your ideas. To REALLY listen.

And Viktor certainly knows how dark and insurmountable that can feel.

For now, he smiles in a way that he hopes is reassuring, reaching out to gingerly lay a gentle hand against Jayce's (large. hm.) shoulder.

"If you owe me anything, I owe you in return. But if it means we can stop going in circles, then - you are very welcome."

A twinkle in his eye. Teasing?

Viktor's hand is slender, a little cool against Jayce's always too-warm skin, even through the material of his shirt. Viktor only really smiles with one side of his mouth, at least that Jayce has seen. He wonders if he's aware of that. It's sweet. Shy, in a way.

This time, however, is one of those instances where his smile makes it all the way to his eyes, and it warms something inside of Jayce. He returns the smile, patting the top of Viktor's hand where it rests against his shoulder. "I think I can accept that. If you promise to eat lunch with me today."

That hand is much larger than his.

Hm.

He rolls his eyes in an exaggerated fashion, that smile broadening just a little bit more. Jayce has such warmth. A natural light that Viktor had not seen in the mirror in years.

"All right, all right, it's a promise." He shifts a little against his cane, leaning a little to one side and wincing faintly. He is remembering, gradually, the other reason why he had replaced this cane.

There's a joke, maybe, half formed on the edge of his mind when the way Viktor leans catches his attention. And he realizes -- "Oh!" He's using an old cane. Jayce isn't sure really how that sort of thing works, health science isn't his field. But if it's old, maybe it's the wrong size. The wince didn't look comfortable.

With a hand at Viktor's back, Jayce leads him to the closest chair and gestures for him to sit, then goes to grab them a few bottles of water from their fridge. And two of the sandwiches. Might as well eat, while they're thinking of it.

"I need to get those measurements from you," he calls over the shoulder. "I owe you a new cane, after yours bravely sacrificed itself the other night. And don't say I don't!" he adds, before Viktor can protest, heading back over to their desks with the food and water. "If it weren't for your cane, we wouldn't be where we are today."

It seems like, separate of everything else in this lab, Jayce has brought his very own personal source of perpetual energy. Another thing on the list to get used to, but...not a bad thing, either.

The sudden hand at his back, on the other hand, needles Viktor in a place that's never quite healed. A hand darts up to swat at Jayce's - but the strike is pulled, and the regret is immediate on the tinkerer's face. He knows it was innocently meant.

"Sorry," he mumbles softly, fighting back no more as he is guided to a seat.

"You can measure this one, then add two inches. I mis-set the height when I made it."

He pauses a moment, considering Jayce's comment, before adding: "...If it weren't for my cane, I wouldn't be much of anywhere."

Another little joke, self-depreciating.

Edited 2025-04-17 07:25 (UTC)

He sees the gesture -- but also sees the way Viktor pulls it back. Something habitual, maybe? A reflex? "Oh sorry, did I hit you in a bad spot?" He winces in sympathy and sits in his own chair, which he pulls over to be closer to Viktor.

"Two inches, got it," he acknowledges, starting in on his lunch. And then the rest of the comment sinks in and Jayce blinks in surprise. "You made it?" he asks around his half chewed bite of sandwich before swallowing and holding his hand out. "Can I see it? That's really impressive, Vik."

"No - no, you didn't."

And for a couple minutes, it seems like he may just let it go at that, carrying on in the conversation with no further comment, handing his cane over when asked.

"Yes, I did. Thank you. It was...a while ago. Back when I wasn't sure if I would stay here or not."

A long silence as he picks up his sandwich, looking it over before taking a little bite of it and chewing it thoughtfully.

"If I ever - bristle, like I did a minute ago, I apologize. Calling too much attention to my...my condition has only been trouble, in the past. Not everyone has good intentions."

It's clearly made of scrap, this cane. But it's also very carefully selected scrap, and it all fits together almost seamlessly. You have to look really close to see all the separate pieces, the way Viktor has molded them together to make one very functional (if a bit short) piece of equipment.

"By hand?" he asks, looking from the cane to its owner, his expression amazed. "Welded, I'm guessing? That's incredibly impressive. Sorry -- here." And he sets it back against the arm of Viktor's chair, mulling over what he's said.

"At the risk of sounding harsh, I don't care about your condition. I mean -- I do! Care about your -- your wellbeing, but I'm not, uh." He pauses and tries to reorganize his thoughts. Numbers are easy, but words are trickier. People are trickier.

"As long as you can sit here and tell me your ideas, just like this? That's what's important, for me. My intentions are to find out what's in that brilliant mind of yours. Up to you to decide if that's good or not."

"By hand, yes. My access then to larger methods of fabrication was...limited. But I needed something better than a stick."

But then Jayce is saying...well, something new. It's not dismissal, but... it's not belittling him, either. Viktor isn't sure what to think of it. Maybe it's...kind of refreshing.

"...I appreciate the sentiment. For better or for worse, it's...a part of my life. And if we are going to be working together for any length of time...I should warn you that it is progressing, over time."

He realizes how dour his tone has gotten - he clears his throat, adjusting his grip on the sandwich.

"Anyway, I will not let it impede our progress."

Jayce pauses, turning that over in his brain. Something degenerative, then. Both the problem solving and the compassionate parts of him want to jump into this. To fix it, somehow. But bodies don't work the same as machines do. This isn't something a hammer or a wrench can fix.

So his shoulders sag a little, and he nods his understanding. "I'll help, where I can. But I believe you, when you say it's not a problem, in terms of our work.

Um." The mood has gotten a little dark, so he tries to lighten it with a smile, holding up his sandwich like one might a drink in a toast. "Cheers. To our partnership, and to our future work together."

That look. It's not the first time Viktor has seen that look, and regret stings him deep. Maybe it was too soon to bring this up. Maybe he's just bringing the mood down again.

Poor little Viktor.

So it's eagerly that he allows Jayce to pull him up from it, returning the gesture with a bemused little laugh.

"To our partnership."

He takes another bite of the sandwich, only letting the moment hang briefly before trying to release some pressure.

"This is good, by the way. And kind of you. Thank you."

"Oh sure! I always have something hand-held. You know, write with one hand, eat with the other? The ultimate multitasking. And besides, my mom is an amazing cook. I'd be a fool to come into the lab without something she made.

Careful if you meet her, she'll fuss over you for being too skinny and send you home with more leftovers than you can carry. Hell, she fusses over me for being too skinny. Which is why there are six sandwiches in the fridge right now."

He's rambling, he realizes. Filling the awkward silence with enthusiastic talking. But it is true that his mother would worry over Viktor like crazy. Though something at the back of his neck feels warm at the idea of Viktor meeting his mom.

Aaaaand Viktor is quiet again - this time not out of any dour mood, but because he nearly feels knocked from his chair under the sheer volume of chatter coming out of Jayce's mouth.

It's...well. It's kinda cute, actually.

Like a puppy.

"She sounds wonderful. I will...have to wear baggier clothes on the day I meet her, then. Maybe pad them a little, so I don't give her a scare."

Another self-depreciating joke - but this time, his smile is warmer, sincere. A little less sad.

He's having fun.

"She's the best," he agrees, his smile warm and bright. Miles away from the awkwardness of a few moments ago. "Maybe if we layer one or two of my sweaters over yours, the guise could work. Until she pulls you in for a hug, anyway. She's big on hugs." Which might explain why Jayce himself is so comfortable with physical touch. So generous with it.

That particular smile looks nice on Viktor. Jayce tries not to stare openly, but he's pretty sure both corners of his mouth go up, this time. It's sweet, almost.

After a beat or two (maybe half a moment too long of looking at the way Viktor is smiling), he shifts subjects. "You know, you're a lot more adventurous in your work than I initially thought. No offense but you seemed a bit... tight laced, at first? I was surprised. But not in a bad way!" he hurries to add.

It's fortunate that, amongst the things in Viktor's past that haunt him in daily echoes, the fact that he had grown up with no parents to guide him isn't really one of them. It simply is what it was. He sees little point in being jealous about it. It just means he truly is a self-made man.

A man who, also, is a little amused by the staring. He opts not to tease this time, though, letting it slide as Jayce tumbles over himself to avoid upsetting him.

"I actually get that a lot. I do not really know why. Is it the cane? The accent? Ehhhhh...." He gestures broadly with his sandwich. "But - no. No, I am not the kind of man who thinks you can pursue anything while sitting where it is safe."

"Oh, no," he says around his next bite, shaking his head a little. "It's definitely the vest. And the way you wear your tie like it's strangling you a little, it screams stuffy academic.

Whereas I," he gestures to himself. "Wear mine a little loser, and usually undo the top button of my shirt if I can get away with it. It makes me look very devil may care, like I throw away the rule book.

Besides," he adds, finishing off his sandwich and dusting crumbs off his hands. "Even if I shave in the morning, by noon I already have a five o'clock shadow. It adds to the, uh. The aura?"

"The. Aura."

All this gets a bemused, slightly stale look from Viktor - ironically, probably exactly the kind of look that gets him the reputation that he doesn't understand why he has. So what if he likes things that fit? And covering himself?

"...But why?" He arches a brow, a smirk tugging faintly at one side of his lip again.

"Who are you trying to impress here at the Academy, exactly?"

Viktor. Mel, now. The Kiramanns. Everyone on the Council who fought for his exile.

"No one in particular, I guess," he shrugs, crumpling up the paper that held his sandwich and tossing it with surprising accuracy at the nearest trashcan. "Why, are you unimpressed?" It's a bit of a needle. A tease, testing to see if Viktor will tease back. Take the bait, so to speak. Wanting so desperately to know where he stands with this man.

Viktor is a much slower eater than Jayce. While the younger man postures, he chews thoughtfully, watching the display with a faint smirk.

He lets the question hang on purpose for quite a long time, keeping his face neutral to watch if Jayce squirms....

"By how much you button your shirt? Not really. But your ideas, those are something else."

The pause is agonizing, leaving Jayce's mind to spin and spiral a little before Viktor finally answers. His shoulders sag a little on a relieved exhale, and his smile returns full force at the affirmation.

"All right, I'll take it. If you can't appreciate my keen fashion sense, I guess I'll have to accept you approving of my ideas."

Yes, Viktor is getting to learn about the type of man Jayce is. About how hard he's trying, and not only in the field of science.

But he can't really blame Jayce. Everyone has to find their 'in' somehow. Personality can count for a lot.

That will be good, should they need to address the public. He isn't really the speech type.

"I do not give compliments unless I mean them, Jayce. We are out on this limb together now, whatever happens. And your work? It is a strong limb."

...

Shit, that's a double entendre, isn't it?

It's not that Viktor is soft spoken, really. That's not quite the right term for him. No, he's... careful with his words. He only says what he feels needs to be said. Which, honestly, is a welcome attribute in a partner.

Goodness knows Jayce talks enough for the both of them.

The strong limb comment gets a slight laugh out of him, and he shakes his head a little. "Well, working in the forges will do that.

But seriously, Viktor -- there is no one I'd rather be on this limb with than you. Your ideas are sometimes unconventional, but they're brilliant."

They say opposites attract for a reason. It feels true here - something like the poles of magnets at work. Filling in the missing spaces.

He manages not to react more than a chuckle as his double meaning is caught - but then it's right back to compliments, compliments, compliments.

Viktor finishes with his sandwich, crumpling the wrapping in his slender hands and turning it this way and that, as if he's trying instincually to smooth it into a sphere.

"We've only just started to work together, Jayce - you have no idea just how unconventional I can get.

And speaking of that, I want to talk to you a bit more about - the rune. The experiment. Because I may have solved the equations, but you, YOU found the sequence.

How?"

Ah, yes. The rune. Jayce rubs his thumb over his cuff thoughtfully, trying to figure out how to explain it without it sounding like some wild hallucination from a half-dead child.

"When I was a boy, maybe seven or eight. My father took us on a work trip, out to see a new site for a mine. My mother and I decided to go explore the area a bit, and a blizzard hit. Out of nowhere, it just -- dropped down on us, it felt like.

We were stuck. Trapped out in the snow. But then there was a man who came by -- not from the mines, but from the other direction. He had a bracelet with rune stones hanging off it."

Jayce pauses, pressing his thumb harder against the stone. Reminding himself that this happened. This is real. "He was capable of doing magic, this man. And when he activated the rune, he did it with this -- uh this sequence of movements, I guess you would call it. He took me and my mother and he brought us back to safety. Teleported us.

Then he gave me his rune, and I never saw him again."

He drags in a breath, heavy with emotion, and exhales with a trembling sort of noise. Blinking hard to clear away tears. "When we were trying to figure out the sequence that night, I remembered his movements. I copied that sequence for the dial, and it worked. It fucking worked," he laughs, shaking his head in disbelief.

There's nothing at all in Viktor's face that betrays disbelief. Quite the contrary, he listens in great fascination, something in it all calling to him in a way that he can't put his finger on.

Of course, he doesn't stew too long on the emotions of it. (He does not remark on the tears, though they do play at his heartstrings.) Not when there's such intriguing concepts to play with.

"So - let me be sure I understand. That rune, that sequence - that was used by the Mage for...teleportation? At great distance?"

"Uh, yes." He sniffs hard, rubbing a hand over his face to try and collect himself. Of course, the sequence is the most important part of the story, in this context.

He'll visit his mother later, when they're done for the day. Hold her tight for a while.

"Sorry, yes. That's exactly what I'm saying. I saw him use this rune, this exact rune, with that sequence. And he brought both me and my mother out of the snow, several miles away."

It's not that Viktor is trying to be flippant about the meaning of it all - he'll probably regret this moment later on, in fact. But knowledge and potential looms large and low in this moment, and he would be a poor partner not to reach for it.

Pushing himself up to his feet (and wincing a little), Viktor starts scrawling calculations and geometry on a fresh chalkboard.

"If that's what this rune is for, what it's function is, then - I wonder. I wonder about scalability?"

The wince doesn't escape his notice entirely, but before he can protest about Viktor standing, his partner is already at the board, working, and Jayce's attention is caught by the equations. "You mean something more than just three people. Or -- a further distance? Or both, potentially."

He stands as well, setting a hand against Viktor's back to alert the man to his presence at the board, as has become his habit.

If there's one thing Jayce needs to learn quickly about his new work partner? It's the fact that if Viktor stopped for every discomfort, he would never get anywhere.

His leg throbs but he ignores it.

"Either! Both. Think of the applications, Jayce! The IMplications! We have the outline of a spell, we would just - need to refine it."

"Based on a rune and a memory? It's risky..." But it has worked. They saw it work, the other night. And isn't this what he's been waiting for since he started work on the crystals?

"I think it's possible." He rubs at his cuff, looking at the numbers Viktor has started laying out. "It could work."

"Anything worthwhile that we do from this moment on will be risky, Jayce. I have made my peace with that. You should, too."

But even as his words are a bit chilly, he's turning to rest a hand gently stop Jayce's forearm.

"You are not writing a thesis anymore, Jayce. You are in active testing. Think BIG."

"I think..." Jayce takes a deep breath, resting his hand on top of Viktor's. Finding comfort and something grounding in that contact. "I've had all these theories and hypotheses. These ideas. And to most people, to the Dean, it's been an interesting thought experiment with no real practical use.

I guess I'm just still trying to wrap my head around the idea that someone wants to take this journey with me. That there's even a journey to take, still."

"I understand."

His eyes flick down to look at his hand under Jayce's. So warm. Steady. Much larger than his own.

"I do. But I am here, I am not going anywhere except where those wild ideas take us. It's time for execution."

"Interesting choice of words, given how this started." But the comment is given with a wry smile and a pat to Viktor's hand to show he's trying to be funny.

"I thought it was over, and now here you are. Pulling me towards a future where all my wild ideas are possible. I'm so used to hearing no, I keep expecting it from you, still. But it hasn't come yet, and you're telling me it might never happen.

You have no idea what a weight off me that is."

That actually does get a laugh - the tinkerer seems a fan of dark humor. (And Jayce's hands are so, so warm.)

"And it is a weight I am glad to keep from your very capable shoulders.

But! We have to stop gushing long enough to do actual work."

The admonishment is gentle, though - and spoken with pink cheeks. He's not used to all this praise.

"Well I'm sorry you're just so brilliant that I have to keep telling you what a clever guy you are." But it's said with a sideways smile and a slight laugh, shaking his head a little.

But still, he gently (regretfully) moves away from Viktor's grip to look at the proposed equations. "Is it a bad thing," he says, following the line of numbers on the board with a finger. "That all I want to do right now is see if we can make ourselves float again? I know that wasn't the intended outcome, but it was pretty fun."

"Laying it a liiiiittle thick, Mister Signs-Every-Page-Of-His-Journal."

But, already, there's fondness in that tight smile, and when the flying is brought up? Well, it's his turn to get distracted. A childlike light dawns in his eyes, brightening his whole face.

"I have never experienced anything like that, Jayce. I felt - I felt...."

His hand tightens around the handle of his cane.

"It was freedom. Real freedom."

Oh, what a change in Viktor's expression. He looks half his age, bright and excited and really alive. His eyes, gods. Such a stunning shade of amber, reminding him almost of the glow of the embers in his forge. It makes Jayce want to do absolutely anything to see that expression again.

Right, steady on.

"Even if that wasn't our original intention, maybe we can try it again, sometime. Just for fun," he offers, bumping his shoulder lightly against Viktor's. Not with the aim to knock him over, just to be a little playful.

While Viktor comes back down to earth pretty quickly - sadly, time and society have worn down that starry-eyed boy from the fissures - it's with a smile, chuckling at the nudge.

It's funny - that's the moment, for him. The one where Jayce's personality clicks for him. It's a little bumbling. A little roughhousing.

But it's roughhousing.

It's not treating him like glass.

It feels...nice.

"It would be an important experiment to repeat, anyway, after all."

Honestly, Viktor's attitude and sense of humour make it easy to forget that he uses a cane, most of the time. He's quick-witted and the smartest godsdamned person Jayce has ever come across, and he's proven already that he can handle the occasional jostle.

"Yeah," Jayce says thoughtfully, a smile creeping across his face. "To see if it was chance or skill that the sequence worked. If we can replicate the results, then we know the sequence is vital to our equation."

"Exactly." There's mischief in his smile. That same sense of play that had him cracking jokes under pressure that night.

He considers pushing again into talk about work, redirecting the conversation into territory he usually prefers to tread...but Jayce had been quite open with him. He feels inclined to, at the very least, let his new partner in just a little more.

Reaching into his satchel, he pulls out a very worn thermal flask, rubbed to bare steel in the spots where hands tend to sit. Uncapping the cup-lid, he pours the steaming white contents into it, offering it out to Jayce. It's opaque and frothy, flecked with and smelling of spices.

"Since you brought lunch, I'll give you something new to try. Here. This recipe is...well, it is all I have of my mother. I don't know if you will have had it before."

"I'll admit, I was expecting that to be filled with coffee." The worn steel warms his heart a bit, honestly. Seeing something so well cared for despite being so well used.

He takes the cup, carefully, holding it up to inhale its scent, first. Sweet, but spiced. It reminds him of a candy Caitlyn's mother used to give him, as a boy. Something hard and chewy, he remembers. He sips at it, making an approving noise at the taste. "Oh this is sweeter than I thought it was going to be. I like this. It reminds me of something my mom makes, actually. But hers is more cinnamon based."

"Eh, I can make coffee here. But people always assume and no one ever asks."

He takes a sip from the body of the flask, humming softly in enjoyment.

"It's called Sweetmilk. I have always found it comforting, and I always bring some with me to work."

"Sweetmilk," he repeats, taking another sip. Definitely comforting. It feels a bit like a hug in a cup, which he will absolutely not say out loud for fear of one of those little eye rolls. "The one my mom makes is called horchata. It's cinnamon and rice milk, and a few other things.

I may have to sneak from your thermos, if this is what you're bringing."

"Horr-chah-tuh. Hm. Well, I would like to try it sometime, yes."

But that last bit makes him chuckle, shaking his head a little. "You only have to ask. I can always bring extra."

His smile is wry, amused - but maybe a little fond. He already likes some of what he's seen from Jayce, and he's eager to get to learn more.

He's just...not as good at people.

"Okay!" Maybe it's said a little too fast, or a little too eager, but godsdammit, he wants so badly for Viktor to like him. It's like that with most people; Jayce is a people pleasure by nature, he might wither away and perish of despair if someone doesn't like him.

But this feels different. Viktor is the smartest person he's ever met, and he's got a weird little sense of humour that Jayce already finds so charming and Jayce craves his approval like a desert craves rain.

"I could ask, next time I go to her house for dinner. She always sends me home with enough food for the entire city, anyway."

Eager. Note to self - I need to be careful how I word anything that might sound like a request.

But even while he's thinking that, watching Jayce light up, he's smiling. They make such an odd pair, really. Jayce is bright and friendly and earnest, determined in a way that suggested that the world hadn't QUITE jaded him just yet.

It's nice, actually.

"If you like - and only if it is no trouble," he adds, waggling one finger in emphasis.

"No trouble at all. She'll be excited to learn she has a second person to spoil. I should bring some of her food to work, at some point. You'd be doing me a favour, taking it off my hands. I foist some of it off on a few of the other students, sometimes, but I have loads."

He realizes he's rambling again and ducks his head, looking sheepish. "Sorry, um. You just feel really easy to talk to." Which is the truth. Even just writing equations with Viktor, it feels like they're starting to finish each other's thoughts. It's incredible, and a little bit frightening. The idea of someone being in his mind like that.

"She sounds lovely." It could be dismissive - but there's no irony this time, nothing wry in the tone. He's being quite sincere. After all, Jayce had to get it from SOMEWHERE, right?

But the second part?

Viktor blinks owlishly.

"...You...really think so?" But he's smiling, all the same. He's been told either that he blends seamlessly into the background or that he is intimidating - but being told he's easy to talk to? That's new.

"It is...nice to have someone who is interested in talking to me."

Edited 2025-05-16 07:09 (UTC)

"Well, you're interesting. Why wouldn't I be interested in talking to you? But I -- " he laughs a little, and holds his hands up before Viktor can protest. "I won't start complimenting you again, don't worry.

I'm just saying I think we work well together. Our interests match."

It catches Viktor off-guard to be called interesting - faintly, his cheeks burn, in spite of his best efforts to keep himself composed. One hand finds the back of his own hair, twirling and twining it between his fingers. A peek behind that wry curtain to something...shy.

"Well - thank you. I agree. I don't think I have ever worked on anything even half as interesting as what we are doing now."

"It has so much potential," he agrees eagerly, pushing past the fluttering in his stomach at the sight of Viktor playing with his hair like that. A sweet, shy sort of gesture that hints at a little vulnerability.

"So many applications, if we can pull everything together like we've been wanting to."

"Yes, absolutely!" Back onto solid ground, onto topics that make sense and don't make him dizzy to think too hard about.

"Absolutely. And I think - I think we really have a strong first direction to develop in, with this....this acceleration rune of yours. If we can just begin with getting...a pen, say, across the lab, then...why not a person across the town, or...?"

"Yes!" He nods his agreement, moving back to the chalkboard to look at Viktor's equation. Trying to work out the next steps. "Start with something small, something easy. Perfect it on a small scale, make sure we have the sequencing correct before we move on to bigger tests."

He grins over his shoulder at Viktor, his tone light. Excited, easy. "Do you think the Professor will let us borrow his poro for live testing?" he jokes.

"Exactly! We just work in scale."

Viktor has to look away from that grin before its warmth floods his cheeks. He busies himself with his notes, chuckling all the same.

"No, but damn if that thing won't find its way into the experiments anyway. I swear he has it out for me."

"He's underfoot at the worst possible moments. One of these days I'm going to trip over him and go flying."

Jayce squints a little at the equation on the board and makes a few small adjustments based on his rune and the memories of the cloaked man. "We need to refine this a little, but I think it's a good start."

"Try getting around him with a cane."

But he's laughing - even as he pushes himself to his feet, shuffling his way over to stand at Jayce's side and taking up a piece of chalk. Looking at what has been written, he taps his lip a couple times, then changes one number.

"A very good start."

"He hasn't tried to steal it, has he? That seems like a potential problem. I've seen poros out in the wild before, but this is my first domesticated one. A group of poros," he informs Viktor with a flourish of his chalk, "Is called a fluft."

The number changes has him squinting at the equation again, reading back over their work. But he nods his agreement, "You're right, that makes more sense."

"No, it is too big and he is an old Poro." But the fact does get a laugh out of him before he carries on. Perhaps he's not quite as straight-laced as he would like others to believe.

"Enh, it was an easy miscalculation to fall into. We're dealing with elemental things, it's easy to lose the fundamentals."

"And so much is still unknown!" he agrees, nodding firmly. "I've been working on those gems for years now, and I still don't have a full understanding of them. What their full potential is. I think it's going to be a lot of changing small things and running tests over and over until we hit the exact right point."

"Isn't it fortunate, then, that you have found yourself with a partner who finds repetition to be soothing?"

He's already off in his head - creating charts, preparing his methods for categorizing his findings in a way that is useful. If anyone can bring order to chaos, it will be him.

He thinks.

"We should pick our first target object to test calibrate for. Something...very small."

"You mentioned a pen, but I'm a little worried about potential ink explosions. Not that I mind cleaning up after that in the name of science, of course." And not that he's unused to explosions, at this point, unfortunately.

"So we need something more simple, something with less parts to worry about."

"Parts, parts...a-ah! Wait!"

Suddenly struck by a thought, the tinkerer plunges a hand into his pocket...and from it he pulls a little cog, holding it out on the palm of his hand. "This one was...floating with us, yesterday. It passed THROUGH the field once already!"

"The gear!" he exclaims, excited by the idea and frankly quite touched that Viktor held onto it. But he pushes aside that soft, warm sort of feeling in his chest to contemplate later.

"Viktor, I could kiss you. That's genius. It's one solid piece, too, so we don't have to worry about the mix of materials."

Well. Viktor never said he wasn't sentimental. He just wouldn't admit to it if you asked him.

The first piece of that statement gets a raised eyebrow from the tinkerer - but he doesn't press or tease. He just smiles, setting the piece down on the nearest surface for them both to look at.

"AND we know it is possible already. It's a direction to begin in, anyway."

If Jayce realizes what he just said, he doesn't comment on it, too excited about this next step in their work.

"It is! We just need to narrow the focus, first. Make sure it's concentrated on one spot, and not filling the entire room. We've got power, but it's broad. To spread out for what we want to do with it."

Jayce steps back to study their work so far. Trying to pinpoint where things need to be shifted in order to scale things down properly.

"We have foci for the energy - the crystals - but...maybe if we adjust the mount..."

And just like that, Viktor is off - the man casually chatting about his thermos stepping away in favor of a near-mechanical technical mind.

He diagrams a new shape to the crystal mount, with wings to change the flow of energy - then steps back, frowning.

"Something is missing. The return will diminish too quickly this way...."

"Ugh," Jayce sighs, setting the chalk down and pushing a hand through his hair. Not realizing he's now smeared chalk dust across his face. "I wish we could just build it and test it now, but at the same time I want to make sure our theories are sound before we do that.

I just feel -- antsy, you know? I want to make it happen."

By the time Viktor snaps out of his focus, he has to stifle a chuckle at the white smeared through Jayce's hair. Reaching up, he dusts it out with a gentle tousle.

"You forget - you are out of theory now. This project is live, funded, backed. If we want to start fabricating a test unit... we can. Literally right now."

"Hm?" he asks of the hair tousle, turning his gaze up to try and look at Viktor's hand.

"Oh!" Jayce looks startled, a little, at the idea that he can just... do things now. This is their project. They can decide the timeline. "We could, couldn't we? We could start designing, start building."

"Chalk," he tosses back lightly, shrugging in dismissal.

But watching the way that his expression shifts as it sinks in that this is for real? That's the sort of reason why he's doing any of this. To fuel sparks.

"We could. We can. And if it doesn't work? We do it again. This is not an assignment, where we pass or we fail. We have iteration."

"Oh! Yeah, that happens. I go home at the end of the day and have to shake chalk dust out of my hair." But his laugh is bright and easy, now that he's adjusting to the idea of how much possibility there really is, here.

"They let me have access to my forge again. So anything we design in here, I can just run down and make. When you want to change the world, don't ask for permission, right?" he grins, reaching out to nudge Viktor's shoulder companionably.

"I guess I will learn quickly what you would look like with white hair." He's laughing too. This is still...easy. Comfortable. The start of a good thing, he thinks. Maybe the start of a real, REAL chance to -

He'd better not get ahead of himself.

"Exactly!" He nudges right back, a little awkwardly, but - it's an attempt. "For my part, I know my best work is done in iron, not on paper."

"I think you mentioned that." Oh -- that's adorable. The nudge back gets a smile and a pat on the shoulder, and Jayce moves a bit to perch on one of the desks.

"The uh, the tinkering, I mean. You like to build things? If you ever need access to the forge, let me know."

Well, good. Someone who isn't going to make fun of his somewhat clumsy attempts at socialization. It isn't that Viktor is anti-social, it's just...usually, people make some assumptions that grate on him, and it's easier to keep things to cool civility.

Not necessary here, it seems. That's nice.

"The Forge...I would love to see it, sometime, actually. I've never seen it in person."

"Would you?" Jayce looks surprised, but pleasantly so, at the idea of bringing his new partner, his new friend down to the forge with him. To show him the ins and outs of how he builds things.

"Yeah -- yes. I'd like that a lot. I'll give you a full tour, whenever you'd like."

"Of course. The Forge is where the things I work with are born. Why wouldn't I like to see that?"

But he understands - the novelty of someone taking interest in something you've had a hand in for as long as you can remember. So his smile is warm, his eyes glittering slyly.

"Careful. I'll show up unannounced."

"That's not hard to do, actually. I'd say to knock first, but the bellows gets pretty noisy. But honestly, I'm happy to share the space with you, just as much as the lab here. It all goes to our work, so you're welcome to all of it.

If you don't watch out," he teases with a grin, "I'll put you to work shoveling coal."

That gets a laugh out of Viktor - a genuine one, bright and gentle. He raises an eyebrow, leaning in a little towards the other man.

"Oh, I see how it is. I'm from the Undercity, so put me to work like a miner, eh?"

But it's playful. Easygoing, not defensive.

He's about to protest that that wasn't what he meant at all, but then Viktor is leaning into his space. Is laughing, and teasing him much like he had earlier.

Jayce blows out a relieved breath and shakes his head. "You're mean. Already, so cruel to your poor partner. Just for that, I'm making you sort the coal to weed out the smaller pieces, like my dad used to make me do."

"Oh, you wouldn't dare."

He laughs again. Everything feels warm right now, and his chest only hurts a little.

This could be the start of something good, he thinks.

Getting to know Jayce has been - nice. Their friendship had been almost instantaneous, blazing like fire across oil, and Viktor isn't sure he's ever had this much fun. Something he didn't know he was missing.

Their work is coming along nicely - nicely enough that he was willing to put things down to go get some dinner and a celebratory drink.

Or two. Or three. Or five.

Now it's giggling madly that Viktor unlocks the laboratory doors very late at night, swaying against his cane. This is a great idea. They both have so much energy and motivation right now, they simply HAVE to get some of it down in their notes.

He teeters and nearly falls into his nearby partner, snorting a little bit - but the door swings open, at least. He grins up mischievously, his gaunt face flushed deep around his nose and cheeks.

"After you, MISTER Talis."

Working with Viktor has honestly been kind of a dream. There's such a connection between them, it's almost like they're living in each other's brains, which is amazing. One can start an equation and the other can finish it.

Which is why, when Viktor suggests dinner, Jayce takes him to his favourite little hole in the wall spot. Amazing food and generously poured drinks. Maybe a little too generous, he's starting to realize as he leans against the door Viktor is unlocking.

But they have too many ideas to discuss! They can't stop now, certainly, and Jayce tumbles into the lab with a laugh, shushing himself quickly. "Happily, Mister... Viktor. You don't -- there's nothing after Viktor, right? Yeah, yes."

This is definitely the drunkest he has been in someone else's company in...a long time. Perhaps ever. It makes him a little looser with his boundaries, using Jayce as a handrail without a second thought as he plows over to a fresh chalkboard.

"Yes! Yes. Just Viktor. I...hah, I am drunk, I think. But I feel good. Full of ideas. Don't you?"

Impulsively, he opens the front of his vest. Letting a little loose. FEELING a little loose, if he's honest.

"Mister Viktor," Jayce affirms, laughing a little but holding still as Viktor steadies himself against him to make his way to the chalkboard. "Here! Here." He grabs a chair and rolls it over, so Viktor can sit, if he wants. Or lean on it, anyway.

"I am definitely both of those things. Also..." If there was an end to the sentence, he's forgotten it, because he's now trying to remember the last time he'd seen Viktor with his vest undone like that and rapidly realizing that the answer is perhaps never.

"Yes, good. For sure good. I could go all night," he assures his companion, but it's mostly true. A little wobbly, but in a very good mood.

Viktor half-kneels on the offered chair in front of the board, scribbling some calculations in lopsided scrawl.

But that choice of words Jayce uses makes him stop in his tracks.

He looks over first in surprise and then in... something else. Jayce is looking and feeling so. Sturdy. His face flushes a little deeper as he realizes that his body is responding before he can shift away from the thought.

He hopes Jayce doesn't notice his thighs starting to quiver. This is a terrible idea.

"Hah. Could you really? Go all night?"

Jayce squints a little to try to bring the equation more into focus, but his gaze wanders to the hand writing the equation instead. Viktor's hands are so damned delicate. Everything about him is slender and lovely, and he could watch his hands work for hours. It's really unfair, and Jayce keeps staring at the lean lines of his body, thinking --

"I bet I could get my hands around his waist."

Uh. Oh no. That was definitely meant to be in his head, still. Was it out loud? Maybe Viktor won't notice. "I mean, sure. I feel great right now. What's your idea? What're we -- what's the project."

"What?"

Okay, his mind cannot possibly be that far in the gutter. He HAS to have misheard.

His mouth feels dry.

"What was that first thing?"

"No! Uh." He's an idiot. He needs to focus on the work they have planned, and not Viktor's adorable beauty mark at the corner of his mouth, or the way his nose scrunches a little when he concentrates.

"Misspoke, it's nothing. Tell me your idea?" His hand is on the back of the chair that Viktor is kneeling on, and he keeps leaning into his partner's space even more than he usually does.

"Nono, I - thought I heard you say something about...."

Jayce is close. He smells really good. Heat starts to bloom in places difficult to ignore. Viktor squeezes his thighs together a little. This is a mistake. It feels too good. He flushes deeper, breathing a little harder.

Uh-oh.

"...About your hands around my waist?"

That little stuttered nono is one of his favourite noises that Viktor makes. Right after his either considering or condescending (depending on the situation) eehn sound.

He is in so much trouble, isn't it?

Viktor is leaning close, and from this distance it's easier to see the flush in his cheeks and oh gods, okay, he has exactly one chance at this, and he absolutely needs to not fuck it up. So he works to rephrase what he said into something hopefully intelligent sounding and lands on --

"Just that if I wrote out the equation to measure the circumference of your waist, and compared it to the one measuring the span of my hands, I think they'd match almost perfectly."

...Well huh. That was more upfront than he had expected.

He can give back just as well.

"Why hypothesize? We can test the theory right now."

Without missing a beat, he stands with his arms out, swaying slightly on his feet under the muzzy haze of the alcohol.

His smile kind of looks like a challenge.

Oh sweet Janna, he is in so much trouble, isn't he? Viktor is standing (mostly) in front of him, arms out like he's about to be measured for a new suit, or something similar.

He's barely breathing as he reaches out, setting his thumbs against Viktor's stomach, letting his hands settle at the slimmest part of his waist. Carefully, staring down at his hands rather than dare to look Viktor in the eye, he wraps his fingers around him. And, sure enough, his middle fingers just about meet at the small of Viktor's back.

"Love it when a hypothesis is proven right," he manages to mumble, heart hammering against his chest.

And that's that. Viktor sets his jaw, trying to hold still while he can feel himself starting to get...well, wet.

He's got a decision to make here. And he knows that it has to be him, because Jayce will absolutely not.

He could pull away. Put an end to this here and now.

Meh.

Instead, his hands reach out to find Jayce's biceps, watching the paths his fingertips take to commit the contour to touch and memory both. Humming approvingly.

"You're huge, you know."

He can't even hide the undercurrent of want in that statement.

"I'm in the forges a lot." It sounds stupid the moment it leaves his mouth, because Viktor's all too light touch is leaving lines of fire in its wake and his eyes are still fixed on his hands around Viktor's waist.

He should stop touching Viktor.

He doesn't want to. He can't, it feels like his hands are fused there. They fit together perfectly and it's making Jayce salivate, thinking of all the other ways they could fit.

"Mm," Viktor grunts, as though that's interesting in any way compared to how SOLID Jayce is under his hands.

Which, between the alcohol and the hands around his waist, has sent his mind straight down into the gutter. (Injection day. Of course. He should have known better to go drinking on injection day.)

He looks at Jayce's downcast face, looks at the way he's moving, sounding, and....

"Oh, fuck it."

A half a second later and Viktor is grabbing Jayce's shoulders and pulling him down, low enough that the tinker can catch the other man's mouth in a hungry kiss.

"Thank fuck." His arms wrap around Viktor, embracing him almost greedily and hauling him close, feeling confident that even if he throws him off balance with the tug forward, he can take his weight.

He tastes like anise and the olive Jayce watched him suck off the toothpick that came with his martini when he was trying and failing not to think too hard about his mouth. The kiss is messy, too much tongue and teeth getting in the way and it's exactly what he needs right now.

Excellent. Ideal, in fact. It's been too, too long since Viktor had had this kind of attention - and right now, he's quite happy to set all thoughts of professionalism and propriety aside in favor of...blowing off a little steam.

It's with that thought that the tinkerer hums approvingly into that wet, open-mouthed kiss (messier than he normally is, but he's like a man starved right now), carelessly tossing his cane off to one side in favor of pressing his small, fragile body right up against Jayce's wall of muscle for all the support he needs.

Depending on how this goes, there may be some...discussion to have. But that's a bridge that can be crossed when they reach it, and his mouth is very, very busy right now.

Jayce happily takes his partner's weight, letting Viktor lean into him as much as he wants to right now. As much as he needs.

Jayce's hands are everywhere, greedily exploring Viktor's body like this might be the last time he gets to touch him like this. Now cupping those birdskull shoulder blades, now sliding down his back, feeling the outline of the brace underneath his clothing, finally settling with one hand against the middle of his back and one against the slight curve of his ass.

He's making noises, he realizes faintly. Little sighs and whines as his hands explore Viktor's body and they work on claiming each other's mouths.

It's...vulnerable, for Viktor to be doing this. Even drunk as he is, part of him is still all-too-aware of just how fragile he must feel under Jayce's hands - at the contours of his ribs being a little too obvious, at the shape of bolt and brace that proves his failing body.

But at least there's nothing wrong with his ass. He's fine with the hand there.

He's fine with the noises, too. They're encouraging, and...well, kind of cute. Viktor finds himself wanting to hear more of them, and so his own hands slide up Jayce's strong back, pulling back just enough from the kiss to nip experimentally at the other man's bottom lip.

He loves it. He loves how perfectly Viktor fits into his hands, the way their bodies slot together just so, like they were two unlikely puzzle pieces made to fit. Viktor's straight lines and Jayce's curves somehow complimenting each other.

The nip is -- good, fuck, and Jayce makes some sort of affirming sound, squeezing Viktor's ass and trying to pull him closer, in response. Yes, that. Do that again.

And speaking of curves and fitting together - being pulled in tighter pushes Viktor's packer firmly against him, and he lets out a little gasp into Jayce's mouth, his hands raking up to card through the back of his hair.

The more he whines, the more Viktor is encouraged to push, which...isn't an impulse he's gotten to indulge in a while.

This is a bad idea, professionally.

But the series of martinis that he's had is telling him otherwise.

It's a terrible idea, professionally.

But currently, his higher brain functions are rather firmly erased by a mix of alcohol and lust, and the feeling of Viktor pressed against him. And then, he realizes, the feeling of Viktor pressed against him, and he groans at the sensation.

Still, he's greedy for more. He wants something, feeling restless and needy and without warning, he grips the backs of Viktor's thighs and turns the two of them to set Viktor on the edge of the closest desk, standing between his legs.

His hands tug uselessly at Viktor's shirt in a messy attempt to untuck it, and he smears his mouth over the sharp angle of Viktor's jaw. "Fuck you are so hot."

Oh. Well, then, that answers questions of continued consent for a moment or two, now doesn't it?

There's something in Viktor, deep down - a tendency that doesn't normally get indulged...but now? Now, he's being picked up and praised by a man so much bigger than him, and that tendency is greedy for more attention.

"You think so?" It's half-gasped, half-purred. He's made up his mind. He takes the risk, his hand wrenching and YANKING Jayce's hair backward to look him in the eye, gaze burning.

"Then be a good boy and pay attention to what you are trying to do."

Viktor's eyes are like embers as they burn into him, smoldering. Bright with intent, with command, and Jayce can't remember the last time he'd gotten this hard this fast. The hand in his hair, the sharp pull hits just right and he stares back down at his partner, lips parted and breath panting.

"Yeah," he says, dumbly. Trying to remember what he was even trying to do in the first place. Right -- Viktor's shirt. And his fifteen fucking vests. It's a struggle, but he manages to get his hands to cooperate and work together and start unbuttoning the first layer, starting at the bottom and working his way up. "Fuck, yeah."

Viktor's head swims a little. The rush of heat as he watches Jayce obey him so readily, so eagerly - it has him wet enough that his packer shifting against him is starting to make him pant and flush.

He still knows he'll have to explain, but - not yet. Not yet, while Jayce is being so accomodating.

"If I didn't know better," he purrs, his voice low and rumbling, "I might think that you get off on being a good boy, Jayce."

"Only if I'm yours." The answer comes fast and easy and a little breathless, his fingers trembling as he finishes unbuttoning the vest and starts in on the shirt, taking the same path bottom to top.

Gods, how long has he been waiting for this? Maybe not the first night they met, but not long after. There's been a tension between them, almost physically tangible, and Jayce is hoping they can start to resolve it tonight.

Viktor's tie is still there, but it's fine. He can take care of that in a second. If Viktor tells him to.

"Let's see how you do, then." It feels like such a rush, leaning into this kind of play - but like so many things in their work already, it seems that Jayce fits seamlessly in the spaces where Viktor does not.

He tries not to flinch or look away as his shirt is opened - the scars on his chest are not so pronounced, compared to what his back looks like, so perhaps it will all keep sliding by.

(He could just tell him. But he's been burned before, and if it's going to happen again, he may as well have what fun he can first.)

"Your precision is still pretty good...even with your hands shaking."

The scars don't register for what they actually are; because of the leg and back braces, Jayce assumes Viktor has plenty of scars, perhaps from past treatments, or from the wear of leather and metal against skin.

No, he's more focused, in this moment, on that gap in the leather at the bottom of Viktor's ribcage, where his skin is visible. Accessible, even, and Jayce's hands fit in that space as if magnetized. Viktor's skin is cooler than his, but Jayce tends to run hot, anyway.

"My hands are shaking because I want you so damned bad," he sighs, giving Viktor a nervous but oh-so-eager smile. "What next?"

That comment actually gets a breathless laugh out of Viktor - it's almost giddy, accompanied by a little wrinkle of the nose. It feels sort of nice to be objectified.

"Good boy. The pants next."

He has to say it soon.

Just...not yet.

Oh Janna's mercy, yes. Jayce lets out a whine, his fingers pressing briefly against Viktor's sides while he gathers himself enough to attend to the task at hand.

He leans in to brush their mouths together, one hand sliding between them to press his palm against the front of Viktor's fly -- and he pauses. He was expecting heat and firm flesh, but that isn't what he's feeling. Not exactly, anyway.

Jayce pulls back with a puzzled expression, raising his eyebrows at Viktor. "Wh -- "

...Shit. Okay, maybe he should have said it a little sooner.

His brows pinch together, expression apologetic. "...Uh, Jayce, there is - since we are doing this,n there is...something about my body that you...should know ahead of time."

Oh, that expression tugs at his heart a little, and Jayce rests his hands against Viktor's hips again, nosing at his cheek in what he hopes is a reassuring manner. "Anything, okay? I'm not going anywhere."

Ugh, how can he be so nice?

He blushes deeper, watching the other man up through his eyelashes with nervous eyes.

"...Well...I...the truth is, Jayce, that I was...born...incorrectly."

"... I know," he answers, brow furrowing in confusion. His left hand moves down to settle just above Viktor's knee, his thumb tracing over the top of the brace.

"Your leg turns in a bit, I think you said? So it needs correcting."

Oh.

Viktor laughs, soft and breathy. "It - does, yes, but that...is not what I was talking about." He shivers, briefly, at the huge, warm, gentle hand skating over his bad leg...but there's a matter at hand.

He takes a long breath to steady himself, and then...gently, he grabs Jayce's hand and directs it to one of the scars on his chest.

"I was not...born a man, Jayce. What you...felt down there is...a prosthetic. For packing."

This conversation might have been easier were Jayce more sober, as the confession takes a moment to soak into his brain. But then his thumb his brushing against the surgery scar, and things click into place more firmly.

"Okay..." he says slowly, processing this new information and realizing that it changes nothing about his want, his feelings for Viktor. It just means he might have to shift his approach a little. "Then tell me how you like to be touched?" he offers, gentle but hopeful. Encouraging.

Viktor shudders, watching Jayce trace that scar with his warm hand. It's vulnerable, personal, and...well, the other man is being gentle and understanding about it.

He's beginning to realize that...that's just how Jayce is going to be.

He smiles, a little mystified.

"Like you would probably expect," he chuckles, still flushed and breathing hard. "And I am...sterile, so we should have no immediate need for protection."

He has to laugh a little; his partner is straight forward, as always, cutting directly to the point. Jayce has to kiss that faintly surprised looking smile, tugging Viktor's tie loose with a soft laugh. "That is very useful information for later, thank you Viktor.

For right now, my initial plan to stick my hand down your pants hasn't changed at all. If that sounds agreeable to you, still."

And now they're both laughing.

This is...fun.

"Yes. That sounds very agreeable to me."

"Yes? Perfect." It feels easy, still. Like talking with him is, like working with him is. It's one more extension of their partnership. A natural evolution from where they started to here, it feels like.

Jayce braces on hand against the table next to Viktor's hip to help steady himself, nosing at Viktor's jaw as he undoes the button and fly of his trousers to slip his hand inside. His breath catches a little at the heat of him, so fucking warm and gods, wet already. He moves slowly, learning the shape and curve of him, keeping his touch light for the moment. "Do you have any idea," he sighs against Viktor's skin, "How fucking sexy you are?"

Metoidioplasty has left Viktor a little different than what Jayce is probably accustomed to - the clitoris is larger, more pronounced, and...well, erect. And the fresh dose of hormones in his body is dancing with all the vodka in his blood right now, making Jayce's touch damn near unbearable. He gasps and arches against the searching fingertips, nearly short-circuiting for a moment before he gets his wits back.

The compliment is - not one he has enjoyed before, but god, it is NICE to hear it. "Coming from you? I - ah! - I would call that a line, if I thought you we-ere - kurva - capable of insincerity."

It's all a little new, a little left of what he's used to, but familiar enough that it feels comfortable. And it's Viktor, so it feels easy. Especially the way Viktor is moving right now, pressing into his touch. Encouraging him to keep exploring and gods, he wants to see Viktor spread out on his bed. Wants to really take his time and learn every part of him until he knows his body like he knows his mind.

Viktor is swearing and Jayce huffs a laugh. "I'm pretty sure that's a naughty word, so I'm guessing I'm on the right track," he teases, stroking his thumb along the length of him, leaning up a little to nip and tug at Viktor's earlobe. "Does that mean you think I'm sexy, then?"

The desk isn't as comfortable as doing this on a bed would be, not at all - but it also feels sort of daring, enticing in a way that makes all of this just...exciting. New. Fun.

It's hard to want to speak when he's being rubbed like that, his dark lashes low against his pale cheeks - but he wants to get the reins back. So when Jayce starts to tease, Viktor suddenly grabs for the back of his hair, giving it another firm yank.

"Under the right circumstances...yes. I do."

The yank on his hair pulls his head back, sucking in a breath, and his cock absolutely throbs in his pants. His pants tend to fight him fairly tightly anyway, and he feels almost exposed at the moment with the way they hide little to nothing of his desire, a damp spot forming where his cock is pressed against the material.

He locks gazes with Viktor, his eyes so dark they're almost molten, lips parted while he does his breath to keep his breathing steady. And fails, miserably.

"I'm not saying to stop," he grits out, voice dropping into something low and needy. "But I'll tell you that if you keep pulling my hair like that, I'm going to drop to my knees so damn fast."

Oh. That look is -

Viktor lets out a shaking breath of his own, his jaw dropping a little open as his heavy breathing becomes panting.

He would be lying if he said he hadn't snuck a peek. And right now, the contour of the other man is...well, it's PROMISING.

His smile is wicked as he yanks again.

"Don't try to threaten me with FUN, Jayce."

Viktor pulls his hair again, and Jayce takes his hand away to rest it on Viktor's thigh instead, sinking to his knees in front of him. Because sweet Janna, he likes the wicked tilt of that grin, and wants to see more of it.

He slides his palms over Viktor's thighs, his breaths coming out short and sharp. "I've been dying to get on my knees for you for ages. There's no place on your body I don't want to put my mouth right now."

The dynamic is slowly clarifying - both of them sliding tidily into their desired roles with no friction. If Jayce wants a chance to please, then...well.

Why not?

He shudders again at the warmth of those hands on his thighs - his boxer-briefs under his pants don't leave a ton to the imagination, nor do they hide the scattered scarring around Viktor's bad leg. But Jayce wants all of it, so...for now, Viktor doesn't mind. He drops his voice low and sultry, eyes blazing.

"Then go ahead. Be a good boy and show me."

Despite the hand in his hair, all of Jayce's movements are tender. Slow, reverent, like he's performing some sort of ritual. The packer is carefully taken and set aside for the time being, and Viktor's pants and boxers are tugged down as far as the brace will allow. Jayce makes a low noise at the sight of all of Viktor at eye level, not how he'd imagined but even more perfect.

"Can I taste you?" he breathes, keeping his gaze on Viktor's face as he presses a few warm kisses to the pale skin of his thigh.

There has been, for years, the understanding that these type of situations would usually result in Viktor being treated as though he were fragile.

But this - this is distinct, because he's not being treated as fragile. He's being treated as precious, and it's that more than the words or the chilly open air hitting his erection at last that makes his breath catch at Jayce's question.

He licks his lips, a canine tooth briefly dragging over the flesh in an antsy little bite.

"I would love it if you would," he purrs, as coolly as he can manage with his heart pounding.

Jayce's fingers slide over Viktor's slick folds like they had before, his free hand settling at that gorgeous slim waist as he finds his balance. He drags his tongue over the length of Viktor's erection and his eyes flutter shut, his expression utterly blissful.

His tongue works as slowly as his hands had, learning the shape of Viktor, the feeling of him against his tongue. Savouring him before he closes his lips around him with a quietly needy noise.

Viktor watches for as long as he can bear to - until the sight of Jayce between his thighs collides with the FEELING of Jayce between his thighs, and he nearly sobs out a moan. His head lolls backward, eyes fluttering shut so he can just...feel.

"Oh, good boy, Jayce," he gasps, his hands nesting with fingers threaded through the other man's hair.

The praise combined with the fingers in his hair sends a shiver through him and he hums happily, squeezing Viktor's hip in response to it all. It's perfect, the way his partner's voice drops a little, his accent sounding thicker like this.

As he works his tongue steadily, his fingers slide down, probing gently. Seeking out his entrance to press with a questioning noise, asking with his actions if Viktor wants his fingers, too.

It may come as no surprise that Viktor is as withdrawn vocally during sex as he is usually - he doesn't moan loudly, as though trying to keep himself low, but he does MOVE, writhing and canting his hips almost uncontrollably under Jayce's attentions.

But then the question is asked, and it's in a breathless gasp that he responds, lips twitching in a smile of near disbelief.

"Y-yes. Please, Jayce. Please."

Honestly, all that does is make Jayce want to try harder, to see if he can get Viktor to make a little more noise. To figure out exactly what spots to hit to make him moan the loudest.

He pulls off, leaning back just a little, just enough to be able to see Viktor's face as he slides two fingers into him. His mouth drops open with a soft, gasping noise, like all the breath has been punched out of him. God, Viktor is so wet, so warm, and the heat of him around his fingers has him throbbing.

When Jayce leans in again, he licks more broadly, dragging his tongue slowly from where his fingers are curled inside Viktor, up to tease along his cock again. "I've wanted to do this for so long," he sighs, looking up at Viktor with a half lidded, dreamy expression that can't all be blamed on the cocktails he's had tonight. "I won't be able to look at you without thinking about how you taste, now."

The feeling of being entered DOES get noise out of Viktor - he almost whines, higher pitched than one might expect, twitching his hips against Jayce's grip.

And then Jayce is working him inside and out, feeding his ego while he does it, and his panting borders in the animal.

"Th-that might be - mnh - a distraction f-from work... especially - hah! - if I can't get the way you look right now...out of my head...."

"How do I look, right now?" His mouth and chin are shining and slick, his hair is mussed from Viktor's fingers, and his cock is straining against the tight material of his pants, the outline of his erection visible where it lays against his thigh. His gaze is heavy, the gold of his eyes almost liquid, pupils blown out with need.

He curls his fingers inside Viktor, spreading them a little to see if he can coax another noise out of his partner. "I want to spread you out and get my mouth on every inch of your thighs. I want to sink my teeth into your hips. I bet you bruise so fucking pretty."

Viktor's eyes widen in response to the question - and to the sight of Jayce between his legs, practically screaming that he couldn't want this more with his every move.

"...Beautiful," he breathes, before he's arching and seeing stars, gasping out some profanities that nearly get lost in his accent.

But...while he's enjoying the attention, he also wants to return it, so even as he's rocking his hips to try to ride Jayce's hand, he leers, half-lidded, dropping his voice to something dangerous.

(Briefly, he considers the opportunity for a prank - a quick 'oh...is my brace leaving marks again' would have the other man pedaling SO far backward. But Viktor wants to get off much more than he wants to be snide...for now.)

"Bold of you to think that I would be the one left bruised, Jayce."

"Would you let me?" he asks breathlessly, twisting his wrist as Viktor comes down against his hand. Realizing that the cuff of his shirt is going to be stained after this and he has to press his face against Viktor's thigh for a moment to try and breathe through the rush of arousal that shudders through him.

"If I asked nicely, would you let me leave bruises?" The question is mumbled against Viktor's skin and he drags his mouth over his inner thigh.

"I want you to. On me." He can hardly think straight, the scent and sound and feeling of Viktor surrounding him. Jayce presses his mouth to the core of him again, flicking his tongue against the tip of his cock, his own hips twitching like he's the one being touched. "I want your marks on me."

He supposes he shouldn't be surprised. Jayce Talis, known serial talker? Of course he's chatty in bed.

It just means that it's all the more tempting to reduce him to silence.

"If you were...really...good."

It's hard to pull himself together enough to not simply surrender to that TONGUE - but he wants more than just this. He's drunk, hormonal, and feeling greedy.

So he nudges Jayce off of him after a few very tempting moments, sliding his good leg up between Jayce's legs to rub at him with the toe of his shoe.

"I will let you leave bruises...if you earn them. Like a good boy."

He almost protests being pushed back, but then Viktor's leg moves and that makes him pause, his hand stilling as his brain struggles to catch up to what his body is feeling. When the pressure against him registers fully, he whines and turns his head to press his face against Viktor's thigh again.

He's trembling, he realizes, shaking where he kneels in front of Viktor. The commanding tone, the good boy draped in Viktor's accent with those sharp consonants that sink into his brain.

From where his face is pressed against Viktor's thigh, Jayce murmurs some sort of uh huh, unable to do much else. "What -- " he tries to say, but quickly loses the thread of his thought. He tries again, turning his head to look up at Viktor again, cheek against his thigh. "Tell me?"

God, that look. The way Jayce is nearly helpless down there, face still glistening, looking at him Like That -

Viktor visibly shudders, clenching a little around the other man's fingers before he collects himself, looking down at his partner (hah) with eyes half-lidded and full of dubious intent.

"...Stop for a moment. Undress for me.

I want to see you."

"Yeah." He manages to only whine a little as he draws his hand away, like it pains him to lose Viktor's warmth. Unthinkingly, he brings his hand to his mouth to lick his fingers clean with a blissful sigh, lashes fluttering a little.

"Okay, yeah." He draws back, carefully, inhaling sharply as he stands and the tight material of his trousers drags over his erection. But he starts with is tie, first, pulling it loose and shoving it into his pocket. His fingers fumble on the buttons of his vest and shirt and it takes him longer than he wants to but managing it in the end.

Fuck, his boots. Another quiet noise of despair, but he bends to undo and step out of them. This uniform will be the death of him, he thinks, as finally, finally he gets to his trousers, shucking them and his boxerbriefs off with a sigh.

Jayce reaches up to push his hair out of his face, standing unselfconsciously in front of Viktor, allowing his partner to see all of him. His expression is sweetly hopeful. Did I do well?

Janna's TITS.

The expletive doesn't leave his mouth. It can't. Viktor is too busy being damn near AGAPE at the way Jayce just licked his fingers clean. If there was any doubt that the man finds him attractive, that ship has sailed for the time being.

He watches the whole undressing process with a look almost hungry, taking all of Jayce in. The way he moves, his muscles, his big pretty puppy-dog eyes and -

Well. The glance downward doesn't disappoint, either.

"Very good," he purrs, voice dark and almost shaking. He leans forward, resting a hand lightly on the other man's chest and slowly trailing it down, down, down.

Hopefully, Viktor liked it. Him licking his fingers. He hopes that expression is something positive, something that means Jayce did well and will be rewarded for it. He's sunk too deep in his head to think much beyond that, but it's fine for now.

It's good the way Viktor looks at him after he undresses. Assessing him and deciding he likes what he sees. Even better is that low very good as he sets a pale hand against Jayce's chest.

He's panting, still, and makes a soft noise as Viktor starts to move his hand down, nodding a little to encourage the motion.

Oh, he liked it. He more than liked it, if the near-reverent way he traces his slender fingertips down over Jayce's abs is any indication. Permission is given, and he moves further still, brushing feather-light over the base of the other man's cock.

Viktor grins a little as he wraps his hand around it, getting the heft of it while teasing his partner at the same time.

"...Big overall, I see."

He drags his teeth over his lower lip and sucks in a breath at the too-light touch. Gods, he likes the way Viktor is looking at him. Assessing him, almost. He feels objectified, but he can't say he minds it.

But then, oh mercy, Viktor's long fingers wrap around him properly and his hips twitch, toes curling against the cool floor of the lab. "Uh huh," he answers dumbly, lashes fluttering against his cheeks.

Oh, Viktor is ABSOLUTELY objectifying him. Eyeing him up and down, prodding, testing, inquiring. He knows he's been looked at in return, and right now? Right now that suits him just fine.

He strokes a couple of times, slowly, almost lazy. A wry smile tugs at his lip.

"Well, aren't you lucky that I can be very...accommodating."

He's trying to be cool, but the alcohol is making his head swim, and he bites his lip through a sharp throb from below.

Jayce's eyes are wide and dark, pupils blown with need. Craving more of Viktor's touch, more of those delicious words. More of that liquid amber gaze on his body.

"I could still -- " he tries to say, swaying a little when Viktor starts stroking him. "You pushed me off before I finished. But I still could? Or -- or this.

Gods Viktor, I just want you so damned bad."

Enh, works for me.

Viktor visibly quivers, opening his legs as he lets Jayce go and leans back on the table. He sees no point in dancing around it.

"Then be a good boy and take me."

That good boy almost finishes him, and he whines low in his throat, reaching out to skim his hands over Viktor's thighs.

The brace is a problem, only insofar as it's keeping him from just pulling Viktor's trousers off entirely. So he compromises, carefully working the other pant leg down and off (struggling for just a moment to get it over the shoe before pulling the shoe off, as well). A little awkward, but at least it lets him step between Viktor's legs again.

His hands are trembling a little as they settle at Viktor's waist again. Which, it hits him, is what started this whole damn thing in the first place. "Yeah?" he asks breathlessly, glancing at Viktor's face for confirmation that this, too, is allowed.

Yeah, that brace is a pain in the ass. But there's something of a show to seeing Jayce trying to come to grips with it, to understand how to work around it. Most importantly, he didn't ask to take it off.

The hands at his waist, the sight of Jayce positioning himself...Viktor is panting by the time he answers, face flushed deep, eyes fiery with want.

"Very 'yeah.'

Fuck me, Jayce."

The brace doesn't bother him. It never has. The only issue was that it was keeping Jayce from getting his pants off more quickly. Next time, when they're on a bed, Jayce will take his time. But not now, not in this moment.

Viktor's flushed face is the prettiest damned think he's ever seen, and he brushes parted lips against the pink that spreads over his cheekbones, nosing at his temple. One hand braces against the table, the other taking himself by the base of his cock as he presses into Viktor with a low, trembling sigh.

"Fuck, Viktor," he sighs, pausing when he's buried fully within him. Trying to catch his breath.

It's been a WHILE, honestly. Not that Viktor doesn't have toys, but...none of them compare to THIS.

He gasps against Jayce's jaw as he acclimates to the feeling of being so full, wheezing softly as he, too, can't quite seem to breathe.

"J-Jayce, you're..." But he catches himself. Not so fast. Use this.

He purrs into the other man's ear.

"...You're doing so well."

"So damn warm," he sighs, clutching at Viktor's waist now that he's properly inside him. And then the praise hits his ear and his fingers dig into Viktor's hips, his whole body shuddering with it.

He's doing well. He's making Viktor feel good, and he feels warm at the idea of it. Carefully, he starts moving his hips. Long, slow thrusts at first, learning the way Viktor feels and fits around him. Trying to memorize him from the inside like he knows him from the outside.

It shouldn't bother him.

It's the middle of the summer, it's warm out. There's no chance of freezing. It's fine. But ever since that blizzard, storms of any kind had bothered him. He'd seen the dark clouds gathering this morning on the way into the lab, and things had only gotten darker and more foreboding from there.

A tension spreads across his shoulders at the first rumble of thunder, and he shakes his head. "Ridiculous," he mutters to himself, frustrated with his own mind, his own fears and tries to keep his focus on the numbers on the chalkboard.

Eh. Rain. Snow. Whatever. It doesn't matter much to Viktor, beyond how navigable the walkways are with his cane.

It's that indifference that makes it difficult for him to clock what might be wrong when he spots Jayce tensing up.

"...What is? Your numbers....actually look sound this time."

"Ha, ha," he says with an eyeroll at the actually sound. There's another slow rumble of thunder, and his shoulders hunch up around his shoulders a bit.

"No, the numbers are fine. I just, uh. There's a storm headed in. It's giving me a bit of a headache, that's all." It's a half-truth, not a complete lie. He does get headaches in bad weather. But it goes deeper than that, unfortunately.

"Oh."

Light, almost dismissive - but Viktor's expression is one of suspicion.

"...That does not sound ridiculous, Jayce. That is a headache." Without missing a further beat, he's moving to his satchel, rooting around inside it.

"I have painkiller. I have - well, I have a few painkillers. It's still mild, you said?"

The light in the lab dims as the clouds fully cover the sun. He's starting to regret the fact that they have such large windows, and he turns his chair to face away from them, rubbing at his face.

"Hmm? Um -- yes, sorry. Still mild. Just sort of... creeping. It's annoying, that's all."

The glance up towards Jayce to seek an answer has him watching the other man moving around, turning away from the windows, and...Viktor is sharp-eyed as ever, watching that tension building in his partner.

He pulls a little white pill out of his stash, then makes his way over to Jayce, offering it out with a little frown and a look of scrutiny.

"...Jayce, is something wrong? You are...eh, not as pale as I am, but giving me a run for my money."

He takes it, because he really does have a headache coming on, building behind his eyes, and tosses the pill back with the last of his coffee. But he can feel Viktor's gaze on him and sighs.

Jayce keeps his back to the window, but he can still here the rain start to patter against it. Slow at first, but rapidly picking up speed and intensity. Great. "I just -- I don't like storms." Which is an understatement, but he doesn't quite know how to explain to his partner that he sometimes shuts down due to the weather, of all things.

Oh. Of course.

It hits him all at once - the memory of what Jayce had said happened to him as a boy, the tension, that LOOK creeping into his eyes? This isn't something to tease. This is a trauma response.

In an instant, Viktor's expression goes from suspicious to calm - and he gets up, immediately and without explanation moving to one of their blank chalkboards and rolling it into the middle of the room.

There's a strange scraping noise coming from behind him, and Jayce whips around to see what it is, his nerves already frayed from the oncoming storm.

Viktor is, inexplicably, dragging a chalkboard across the floor. "Whoa -- whoa hey!" he calls out, scrambling to stand and make his way over. "Don't do that by yourself, let me help? Where do you want this?"

"It is just a chalkboard, Jayce. I am not made of glass, you know." But he takes it in stride - once Jayce is up, he gestures towards another chalkboard stand, beckoning.

"Just bring that one over here, next to this one, about...eh, approximately five feet apart. Parallel."

And then he's off into a cabinet, rooting around in the supplies for something.

"It's a little unwieldy, that's all. More of a two-person job, usually." But he listens, a little confused but trusting whatever Viktor has planned, and dutifully moves the chalkboard where he's told.

"Can I ask what you're looking for?" he calls to Viktor in the cabinet.

"No," he answers, simple and short, head still in the cabinet - but he is successful a moment later, and he comes bustling back over to the chalkboards with an arm full of sheets and storage blankets.

With no further explanation, he tilts both boards on their stands until they're parallel to the ground. Then he starts to fling the blankets over them both, making a sort of crude shelter underneath.

He straightens up, nodding in satisfaction, then walks over to his desk to grab his thermos and the notepad he was working on when Jayce had first piped up. "Grab a work light."

... it's a fort. Jayce is startled into a laugh and shakes his head a little, but grabs his work light to go join Viktor under the blankets. Which do, to Viktor's credit, help block out the windows and therefore the storm.

"This is nice," he says, setting up the light nearby. "It's cozy."

It takes Viktor a minute to get settled comfortably on the floor - but it's far from the first time he's been huddled under a shelter with a notepad, braces or no.

Expression serene, he pours some sweetmilk into the cup-lid of his flask.

"...When the enormity of nature gets to be overwhelming, sometimes, we need cozy.

When I was little, I built a lot of forts like this. Except they weren't indoors."

It's a piece of Viktor, given gently. Offered like a precious treasure, and Jayce happily accepts it, along with the sweetmilk.

He rubs his fingers against the side of the cup, looking pensive. Finally, he says -- "Ever since the blizzard, I've hated storms of any kind. A light rain is fine, but when it gets to be like this..."

He sighs and sips his milk, brow furrowing in frustration. "That's why I said it's ridiculous. It's not even a snow storm, I don't know why it bothers me this much."

It's the least he can do, Viktor figures, somewhere deep inside. If he's going to fall apart anyway, then at the very least, he'd like to leave a piece or two of himself with someone who will care for them after the fact.

He watches Jayce thoughtfully, quietly, and thinks for a beat or two about his reply.

"...When something hurts you that much," he begins, a weary smile on his lips, "It's not like...a knife that leaves a gash. It's more like...a ripple when a stone falls in. There's the entry point, yes, but...then there's everything that surrounds it."

Hesitation, and then:

"I am...afraid of very little, anymore. But...suffocation. That still scares me."

"How are you so wise?" he asks, leaning their shoulders together. Comforting Viktor as much as he's comforting himself. They both, in this moment, need a little support. A place and person to lean into. He can provide that, at least.

"How about this: I will promise to keep you from suffocating, however I can. If you promise to keep me from freezing." And he holds out his hand, to seal the deal.

"It comes from having to grow up too soon. But it...does give me the tools to help people, sometimes. I know what pain really is."

When Jayce leans in, Viktor doesn't lean away. They've been closer than this, physically, now. He's learned he can trust this man to touch him kindly.

And touch him he does. A little smile crosses his lips and he takes the hand and shakes it.

"It is a deal." There's an idea, even - in the back of his mind.

Maybe later. He's feeling...soft, pensive. When he speaks again, it's very softly, almost a whisper.

"...I want you to know, Jayce, that I would never be cruel to you when you are afraid. I would never do that to anyone, but - well." His expression turns a bit timid, his head ducking a little to try to hide the color blooming around the tops of his ears.

"...I definitely couldn't...not to you."

"A deal." And, on a whim, he brings Viktor's hand over to him and kisses his knuckles. It's been nice, being able to touch Viktor like this. Since finding out that not only did Viktor want Jayce to touch him, but would reciprocate those touches, as well. Maybe not as freely or as often as Jayce did, but it was there. And perhaps the scarcity of them made them even more precious.

The sentiment has him sucking in a breath. Not Viktor's usual dry wit, but a deep sincerity that touches Jayce. Another little piece of him. "I might tease you sometimes, but I wouldn't ever be cruel to you, either. You mean too much to me for that."

It's easier, anyway. To let the physical affection happen with Jayce, instead of railing against it. That's a good reason, too.

(His cheeks still burn deeper when his knuckles are kissed, all the same.)

"...Thank you. Really. For being someone I can...actually trust. I haven't had a lot of that, you know."

"You're welcome, really."

Another long peal of thunder rumbles behind them, and Jayce clings a little more tightly to Viktor's hand, leaning a little more firmly against him. "I can't think of very many people I'd trust enough to spend a storm in a fort with. So thank you, for that."

And...slowly, gingerly, Viktor's arm creeps around Jayce's shoulders, inviting him closer still for comfort. It's chilly anyway, and the other man is warm.

"Of course. I couldn't have just...ignored you like that. I know I have a reputation for being a little severe, but I'm not that cruel. Not to someone who has done nothing to harm me."

Viktor isn't sure Jayce COULD harm him, honestly.

"Maybe you're a secret sweetheart, deep down." Oh -- there's an arm around his shoulders, and Jayce leans into it happily. Tucking himself up against Viktor. There's a brief hesitation, but he decides to allow himself the extra comfort and slip his arm around Viktor's waist, as well.

"I can't imagine why I'd ever want to do anything to harm you. So I guess you can keep being not-cruel to me."

"I don't mean for it to be a secret in the first place."

It's...nice, being tangled up like this. Jayce is huge, warm, solid - good balance against Viktor's small, chilly, delicate frame. He leans into him a little in return, his breath rattling softly as he relaxes.

"Good - then you understand. You can tell me...anything like this. If it matters to you, then it matters to me."

"You know that goes both ways, right?"

It always amazes him, how well Viktor fits against him. All his angles slotting into place with Jayce's curves. Complimentary pieces. Even the slight wheeze of his lungs brings Jayce some strange comfort, because it means that at the very least Viktor is still breathing.

"There's nothing too small, or too big, for you to tell me."

"I do. I do know that."

A soft chuckle, a shy smile, the splash of color across his cheeks.

"You have made it...very clear that I can trust you. And I do. I trust you very much."

There's another crackle of thunder behind them, and a flash of lightning briefly illuminates their little fort. Jayce closes his eyes and takes a deep breath.

With Viktor this close, his scent surrounds Jayce in a way that blankets and comforts him. Anise, of course, and whatever soap he uses. He noses into his partner's hair and takes a few deep breaths like that.

"I'm okay," he finally says, quietly.

Viktor doesn't mind Jayce leaning in. He's scared, and...well. It's still sort of novel, the turn this took.

"You are okay," he repeats, sliding a hand around to rub at the other man's back soothingly. "We are safe, warm, and dry right here. And the storm will pass before we know it. We just need to...eeeeeeeh, pass the time?"

"You're right." The circles against his back help slow his breathing down again, and provides him with something to focus on that isn't the storm.

"Um -- I'm sorry, this is strange, but -- " He laughs a little, self deprecating. "The sound of your voice is honestly really helping."

Jayce can't remember the last time he'd been quite this nervous. It had taken a week of making and scrapping sketches based off of Viktor's old cane. The one he'd forged for himself, back in Zaun. He wanted to keep the same basic design but improve the length so that it fits Viktor better.

He'd also added, on a whim, a small compartment for storage. Nothing that upset the structural integrity, but he felt it was neat and a bit of a challenge for himself. But he worries, now, that Viktor will think it's silly. Maybe he won't tell him.

He spent all night in the Forge finishing it, running home only briefly to shower, change, and grab his thermos before popping back into the lab. Hoping to get there a little early to surprise Viktor when he arrives.

And right on cue, Viktor arrives like clockwork - the tell-tale TAK-TAK-TAK of his old cane rapping against the floor heralds his arrival, just as always. He is not, however, expecting Jayce to already be present.

So he stands in the door for a moment, blinking in confusion before closing it behind him.

"...Good morning, Jayce. You're - did you skip sleep again?"

"Just the one night, I promise," he says cheerfully, leaning against his usual spot at his desk. The cane sits on the desk behind him, and he's draped his coat over it to obscure it from view.

His stomach flutters in anticipation; gods, he's nervous, but excited, too. Hopeful that Viktor will approve of his design. Of his gift.

"It's not very often I beat you into the lab."

"Eh, I couldn't stop you anyway, could I? When you are determined."

He has no idea that anything is happening - only that this kind of buzzy overexcitement usually means new work and new ideas. He sets his bag down, turning to Jayce with a little sigh.

"Slow start this morning. Some mornings are...a little harder than others."

"I... actually might have something to help with that. Or at least hopefully make things not quite so hard by the end of the day? Um -- "

He gives Viktor a nervous smile, stepping aside to whip his jacket off the desk with a bit of a flourish. "Tadaaa! Back to your usual measurements, I hope. A-and if not, I can adjust it, of course. But I wanted to get it put together as quickly as possible, so you weren't using something too short for you."

It's a bit of a whirlwind - Viktor stands watching in mild bewilderment until the reveal, and -

Oh.

He walks closer, slowly, looking down at the cane in quiet awe. As soon as he's close enough, he reaches out to brush his fingers over the handle.

"...You...you made me a cane?"

It's modeled after the one Viktor made from himself. Carefully fit together scrapes, hammered out smooth but the lines and edges where the metal meets and overlaps still clear. A careful homage to the original, just made (hopefully) to the proper size.

And with the little storage compartment, of course. Just for fun.

Jayce looks on, nervously, as Viktor inspects it. "In the forge, yeah. I haven't made one before, but I made a lot of sketches of the one you use and I think I got it pretty close."

His design. Studied, re-tooled, and carefully reconstructed. The workmanship is beautiful, and there's been no small amount of effort put in.

For him.

He turns to Jayce with misty eyes, his one hand still resting on the cane on the table. "...It'a beautiful, Jayce. Thank you. I don't - when did you even measure?"

The last time Jayce looked this pleased and proud was the night they first got the core to work. Viktor's emotional reaction hits him straight in the gut, and he's practically beaming, eyes glowing at how delighted he is that Viktor likes his gift.

"I had some estimates for my initial designs, based on known figures and proportions. But you did doze off at your desk one night, and I confirmed my measurements then. I had to make sure it would be the right size, of course."

It's impossibly thoughtful, really. And maybe if it weren't Jayce it would almost feel like an invasion of his privacy, just a bit.

But Viktor doesn't care about that. He's too busy hanging his old cane from the desk to carefully take the new one in hand, hefting it like something precious. Because it is.

"It's...perfect. Just the right height."

He takes a couple of experimental steps, joy blooming steady across his gaunt face.

"Thank you, Jayce. I've never - well, no one HAS ever-"

He stops, going a little red and looking to Jayce with a sheepish expression, and for just a moment, there's a glimpse of a broken-bodied little fissure boy being handed a treasure.

"Are the weight and balance okay? I sort of had to guess, just based on watching you use this cane. If anything feels off, let me know and I'll fix it immediately -- "

But his ramble is broken off by the look on Viktor's face. Something soft and vulnerable. A little scared, perhaps, for reasons Jayce can't begin to fathom.

"Hey," he says softly, stepping closer to touch Viktor's shoulder. "I'm happy to. Considering the old one was sacrificed for our project, it's the least I could do, really."

"No - no, it's perfect. It feels...made for me. Which - it is, yes, but...ahem."

He tries to collect himself, even as his cheeks burn a little at how his shoulder seems to tingle under that big, warm hand.

"It may seem like the least you could do, but...it's more than most have done. People usually think too much about my condition, or they think too little of it. It's rare that someone pays attention in a way that is actually...useful."

"Well..." His expression softens into a smile, and he leans in to press a warm kiss to Viktor's forehead. "I don't know all that much about your condition specifically, but I do at least know that if a tool that's meant to help doesn't fit properly, it can do more harm than good."

While his mother went through treatments for her hand, it took her a while to find a prosthetic that was both comfortable and functional. Jayce had watched her struggle through the pain of finding something that fit, that worked the way she needed it, and he's fairly certain that all that helps him be a little more attentive than most to Viktor's needs.

"...Precisely."

They've known each other for long enough - and in intimate enough situations - that Viktor has already learned that he can trust Jayce to be genuine about this particular, very complicated and heavy topic.

Maybe he can talk about this. Truly.

Jerking his head towards the larger desk they frequently sit together at, he walks in that direction, leaning a little heavier on this new cane with a sense of relief.

"This is well timed. My spine is...it has seen better days."

Edited 2025-06-25 07:43 (UTC)

He can see the way Viktor shifts his weight, leans on his cane more now that it's the right height. Sees the wince that crosses his face. He frowns slightly, but follows after, sitting backwards on his usual chair.

"Because of the cane, or something else?" he asks, folding his arms across the back of his chair and watching Viktor carefully. "I give a mean massage, I've been told."

Viktor fairly sinks into his seat once he gets to it - and it's with a brand-new openness that he shrugs a shoulder, replying:

"Well - if you are offering."

Then, a self-depreciating chuckle.

"...I had to have my bolts tightened. It...is very painful."

"Oh?" He sits up a little; Viktor's medical operations are so interesting, from a technology standpoint. It's fascinating, what medicine and tech can come together to do. "I knew they helped support your spine, but I don't think I knew they needed adjusting.

Is it because they get loose, or is it more to do with what your body needs changing?" The questions have an earnest curiosity behind them. Not trying to pry or pity, but wanting to learn more about a subject he's interested in.

It's that earnestness precisely that's why Viktor has decided to open up - especially as his body declines, and he will have to trust Jayce with more and more of the truth.

"A little of both. Movement shifts them over time, but...." He sighs a little, his smile faltering. "...But I have declined more, recently. They will...probably have to add more braces soon."

It's not something he talks about. Not with anyone, and that much is obvious by the way he keeps looking at Jayce.

But...he would LIKE for someone to know. At least a little understanding, before....

Well.

While he can get it.

He'd seen the bolts along Viktor's spine. The two at the top that currently sit empty, but he assumed had been added during the initial surgery just in case. Easier to do everything at once, probably.

"If you wanted to," he offers, a little nervous that it might be shoved aside but wanting to show support. "I could come with you to the next appointment? I could learn how the bolts fasten and tighten. That way, if you needed something adjusted and I'm around, I could lend a hand? Just for a quick fix, anyway."

The offer is almost startling - and that much is evident in the way that Viktor's eyes widen a bit, his brows pinching...but then he smiles again, tiny and timid.

"You...would do that? Really?"

It's a very kind thing to offer, and even though he's asking, he already knows it's sincere.

It's Jayce.

"I really would. For you, but also for my own peace of mind, honestly. Knowing how it works, the mechanics of your braces -- leg and back. If something comes loose or is out of place, and I'm here, then I can help out.

Especially for your back, where it's a little trickier to reach. Besides," he adds. "After going with my mom to her appointments, medical tech has become an interest of mine. I like seeing how it all works."

"...Well. If you are interested, then...sure. Yes. I have an appointment in three days, you can follow along."

He's framing it in a relaxed way, making it sound like he's the afterthought here - but there's no hiding the way his expression calms, the warmth in his smile. He feels...like someone cares, about the stuff he's kept to himself for too long now.

It's nice.

Oh. That smile. Jayce feels both a warmth and a tightness in his chest that makes him realize he'd do just about anything to see that smile all the time. Maybe he has been, without realizing it. Little jokes and jabs to amuse his partner.

But this feels different. This feels... heavier, somehow. More. He puts it aside for the moment to mull over later, when the freckle at the corner of Viktor's mouth isn't distracting him.

"You might have to give me a crash course in terminology, but I'd be happy to. We could grab something to eat, after." Not a date, exactly, but... something.

There's...SOMETHING in the air, here. Viktor is inclined to just write it off, but it hangs about him like a mosquito, needling him just enough to remind him of its presence.

So he ignores it harder.

"I would like that. There's a cafe I like near the clinic, I usually go after my appointments to reward myself for putting up with having the bolts tightened."

It's less intense than it was that first night, certainly, but it's still almost tangible though just beyond Jayce's reach. He can think about it later, when he's not in the middle of a conversation.

"What do you treat yourself to? That seems deserving of an exceptionally nice treat."

closed rp for [recursiveimpulse]

There is magic in this room - I don't know if you can see it....

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