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β’ open post.
[ ππππππππ β πππ‘ππ, πππππ, πππππ, πππ. ]
[ ππππππππ β πππ‘ππ, πππππ, πππππ, πππ. ]
β voice
Jayce. [ He's, uh. He's tipsy. ] Jayce. [ It sounds like he's tapping the screen, as though half-expecting his partner's voice to answer immediately. ]
βvoice;
I'm here, Vik. [ His voice is a little rough and lower than usual. Jayce bites back a yawn. ] Where are you? What's going on?
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Alright.
He hums, resting his cheek on the table right next to the phone. ]
Keep talking.
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[ Except he doesn't really wait for a response, always too eager to please. He wants to open with: You know people usually start with something else when they call in the middle of the night, but that's too forward so he reels it back. ] Well, I managed to figure out what was stopping that mechanism from working. Something was getting caught in one of the gears.
β @victus
[ Those are the first words Jayce has spoken today, actually, his voice slightly hoarse from disuse. He's spent the entire morning hunched over the worktable, head in his hands, puzzling out some fault they'd come across in a prototype days ago, but he'd looked up the instant he heard the familiar cadence of his partner's footsteps and the tap of the crutch.
Jayce looked up and he kept looking. And then those words came out of his mouth.
Now, he's standing, reaching out and touching it a little too long. ] Sorry I didn't notice before. I guess I was too focused on... [ he gestures vaguely towards the scattered notes and makes a disgruntled noise. ] I like it.
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Tearing his gaze away, Viktor moves to perch on his stool and begin rifling through his notes when he felt a sudden brush of fingers. Viktor almost jumps, instead managing to hold himself very still lest Jayce think to stop. ]
The product of one too many late nights, [ he says casually, a blush creeping up the back of his neck. ] I've wondered how this might affect our ... image.
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That flustered feeling hasn't sunk in yet, even as his knuckles brush casually against the blush creeping up Viktor's neck. ]
Our image? You look good. I don't think that would do anything to the image. [ Jayce sounds almost offended, not at Viktor but in the general direction of whoever might be critical of Viktor's appearance. ]
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Even when goosebumps raise along his scalp, that blush deepening. He fights a shiver. ] I look unkempt, [ Viktor corrects gently, easing back into that touch as subtly as he can, like a cat pressing into a caress. ] I need to be more aware of how I present myself. There are expectations here. [ Ones he can never quite meet. But then, that's not a point he's going to belabor. It is what it is. ]
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You... what? [ That almost snaps him out of this daze, but he doesn't move his hand. ] Half of the chem lab thinks that the emergency shower counts, V. I think if anyone in the science wing is getting a talking to, it's them.
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Oh.
This is bad. Viktor makes a rumbling noise in the back of his throat, something almost like a purr, and before he can stop himself, he's pressing into Jayce's hand in earnest, his eyes fluttering closed. ]
Jayce. [ It's spoken warmly, but firmly, even as his voice rasps a little. ] I know you forget where I come from, but the rest of the world does not. [ He sighs, eyes still closed. ] It's fine.
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Viktor. [ It's said just as fondly, his heart skipping a beat. ] I don't forget. I just see more than Zaun when I look at you. [ Jayce is practically pouting, and it's clear in his voice. ] Is someone giving you a hard time?
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Even while they're having a difficult conversation. Typical. ] Are you going to defend me from the entire city? [ There's teasing in his voice, but also so much fondness. Viktor's heart is in his throat, and he realizes he's starting to give too much away.
So he gently eases his head away from his partner's hand, leaning all the way forward to return to his notes. ] Leave it, Jayce. I can handle this.
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[ Somewhere along the road, the meaning of that word changed, heavier, warmer, bigger than what he thought it was when they started. Or maybe it's just what it's always been and he's just finally coming around to realizing it.
The worst part is that is entirely possible. For a man as smart as he is, Jayce can be so stupid. ]
What? Hey. [ Jayce chases after him, but his hand finds its place on the back of his neck, sliding down to sit between his shoulder blades. ] We're partners. [ That word again, and all it's meanings. ] I'm here for you.
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Tapping his pen against the pad, he worries his bottom lip, that weighed and warm use of the word partner shaking something loose between his ribs. Viktor glances at Jayce's chair, gesturing to it. ] Bring that here, [ is all he says at first. ] And sit with me.
[ Not that he wants that hand to leave, but this is too important to rely on a single casual conversation. Once Jayce is settled, he tries again. ] This is my reality, Jayce. It is the world we live in. There is no changing it overnight, as much as you and I would like to.
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He turns it around though, sitting down so he can fold his arms over the back of it, resting his chin on his forearms and trying not to look like he's pouting. ]
I know. [ He sighs. ] Sometimes I wish we could. You've done so much, you're the co-founder of Hextech. People shouldn't treat you like that. They never should have. Even before. [ His thoughts are all over the place, spilling out of him haphazardly, but he can't stop himself once he starts like this. ] I'm sorry, V.
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Hand resting on his partner's shoulder, Viktor curls his fingers, protective and grateful. ] I know I don't always accept help, [ he says dryly, self-aware enough to see he's mostly resistant to it, ] But I will work on that. Yes?
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Jayce perks up a little. ] So what can I do to help? What would you want me to do?
[ Because more than anything, he wants to help. ]
We'll work on it together. As partners.
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Realizing what he's done a second too late, Viktor is quick to drop his hand to Jayce's arm again, flustered.
He clears his throat, trying to ignore the blush creeping back up his neck again. Mortifying. ] To start, [ and he's grateful his voice is even, ] When I'm spoken over, if I look to you, I need you to interject. Your voice will have more weight.
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Jayce's eyes open immediately, looking up at Viktor again looking for anything and yet not knowing what he's looking for.
He sees that flush and he's a little relieve because it matches his own. ]
If you look at me, interject. [ Jayce nods, so serious and enthusiastic at the same time. ] Anything else?