Chapter Text
Maddie had come walking in a tight stride. Her arms barely moved from her side; something similar to what a soldier marching would do. At least, in the laymen mind Jayce had towards the subject.
"Councilors." She addressed, her head slowly falling into a low bow. Her hand forming a fist on her chest. "I have something you may wish to know."
This confused both he and Mel, had them passing each other a look with knitted brows. Having just left a meeting, both already on their way to talk strategy, Jayce and Mel knew not what to expect.
Jayce simply pinched the bridge of his nose, his eyes fluttering shut. He had stayed up for most of the night, and he barely took any breaks or naps once the sun rose. Mostly due to the utter failure of which was Progress Day, he had much on his mind that wouldn't let him rest.
"Is that so?" Mel questioned, cupping both elbows with her hands. Her head cocked to the side with curiosity. "What is it?"
Before answering, Maddie looked around. She looked up and down the corridor, even attempting to peak—in vain—to see behind the doors of which they stood in front of. "While on duty, I saw Viktor on his way to the Undercity." She spoke in a gruff whisper. One that seemed both too loud and much to quiet for Jayce's ears.
The newly found information nearly made Jayce's heart stop completely. Viktor, the man who hardly left the lab doors for any reason, was on his way to the Undercity? Why? What could he possibly be searching for?
Glancing over at Mel, Jayce was seeking answers not even she seemed to have seeing as she, too, was quite surprised. Her arms dropped down to her sides. Her index finger was twitching a bit, probably the effect of drinking too much coffee. "To the Undercity, you say?"
Maddie nodded swiftly, the hat still laden on her head tilted a bit. Pulling her face back up, her eyes seemed to be much slower to face them. Very unusual for people in a conversation, but maybe she was just nervous. "I'm afraid so."
Jayce had way too much to say, but not a single thing came out. It was as if all his words were stuck piled in his throat. So all Jayce could do was open and shut his mouth as if he was a fish out of water, all the words he planned on saying dying on the tip of his tongue.
"I just thought," Maddie said at last, her eyes near glued to the floor, never reaching the councilors eyes again. "You both would like to know. Seeing as I couldn't find anything linking his actions to you."
And with that, Maddie turned around quickly after gifting a soft goodbye. Her hand suddenly reaching for her chest, seemingly grabbing something. And, not a second after, Officer Nolan was long down the hallway. Her legs carrying her swiftly to her next position.
What on Earth, Jayce thought now, was Viktor up to?
———
"Now," Mel spoke with a bit of gruff to her voice. It wasn't really noticed, not after she had been speaking about one thing than another for hours now. "About the Zaun—” Seemingly realizing what she was close to saying, Mel cleared her throat, avoiding Jayce’s gaze. “Your partner's situation."
Jayce sighed with a quieted pain; his head had started hurting right after Maddie Nolan had left. Too much was fogging his mind. And with how this conversation was going, Jayce knew his brain would be close to exploding.
"What are we going to do?" Mel said, her fingers gripping onto her temple and forehead. Her eyes were heavy with fatigue, her drowsiness dulling her eyes. "We cannot have one of our own going to the undercity." Touching a set of two new, likely cold, fingers to her temple, Mel added, "At least not without previous permission."
Mel said the word 'Undercity' with such disgust; one would think Zaun to be the equivalent of hell itself. And though Jayce couldn't fathom the why for Viktor's action, he certainly didn't like how she talked of his nation, of him.
Jayce's eyes seemed to gloss over every inch of the room, though, his mind was intending for him to look and speak to the councilor in front of him. But it was as if he was on repeat from the morning because nothing got past his mind nor could he look her in the eyes.
Pathetic.
Mel pinched the bridge of her nose, a long and exaggerated sigh escaped her lips. She was tired, they both were. But their minds couldn't slow down long enough for them to actually find time to rest. So instead of asking for a short recess between these nonstop conversations, Mel instead opens her mouth, “Jayce, if this gets out—”
“I know.” He interrupted, his eyes squeezing shut as his mind raced with "what to do’s". Pushing for his brain to think of something else, Jayce started walking around the room. His body felt as if it was slowly turning to stone by how stiff his bones were. Shaking his hands as if he were drying them, Jayce finally got a couple words out of his mouth. “I’ll… just give me some time. I’ll talk to him.” He spoke with a crooked and dying smile.
Mel looked utterly unimpressed. Her eyes were sharp, assessing Jayce as if he were any other councilor. He could feel the questions brewing inside her mind, and Jayce knew only vague answers would help him escape them. And that didn't really sit well with him. But, ignoring the words she kept stuck on her tongue, Mel only shrugged as she shook her head. Her eyes fluttering with frustration.
It’ll be okay though, Jayce knew it would be. Everything was always alright in the end. No matter what happens, no matter what he or Viktor did, everything would end up in the same happy way. At least, that’s what he’ll continue to tell himself.
Fairytale.
——
Jayce yet again found himself rehearsing things in his mind. They were similar to before, lines of apologies still turning and shifting mentally. Yet not a single one of them ever stuck; all of them felt fake or so incredibly basic no one would ever believe it. Yet, along side all those apologies meant for his dearest partner, Jayce now also thought of near a thousand questions for the man.
He wasn't looking for him though, he had far too much to do. More meetings, tens of deadlines, and so many projects that needed fixing. All things that needed extreme attention too. Jayce was in the lab now, so he put those questions and apologies on hold. Viktor was probably in space for all he knew—Or on his way to the Undercity again. Either way, Jayce knew he would likely not find him today. If last time was any hint to that.
Right now, though, all Jayce had to focus on was the work in front of him. Alongside the hundreds of tools and thousands of notes that were scattered all over his desk. It was important stuff after all. Especially with many of them holding deadlines that were quickly coming up. So, what's better to focus on than this? Right?
A short and sharp knocking came to his door. "Mr. Talis, are you in here?" The voice calling out to him, all gruff and commanding, pushed all of the so-called calmness straight out of his body. The-...Ambessa Medarda was back inside his lab, luckily without his partner here. Jayce couldn't even imagine have to see them interact again.
He was out of sight. In a far, far corner of the lab. So all Ambessa could see was empty desks and lab tables. So, he had a choice. Either let his presence be known to the mother Mederda, see whatever strange thing she wanted from him and his sanctuary. Or, keep himself hidden and see what the Medarda would do.
And, with how villainess Ambessa is described to be—through the words of her own daughter no less—the choice seemed obvious. Plus, if nothing else was to happen and Ambessa would just start to leave, he would simply show himself and use some random excuse for why he hadn't answered.That way he could see what the Medarda would do alone in his lab and also possibly know just what she wanted.
She was in the middle of the room now, making it much harder for Jayce to keep his large frame hidden from view. "Mr. Talis?" She called out once more, her daggers and things clicking against each other on her hip. The fact that she held a blade to her side slid troubled nerves down Jayce's side. Herding shivers up and down his spine like a rollercoaster. What exactly did she want? Jayce couldn't help but wonder.
The Medarda continued to take caution as she advanced farther into the room. Her body was nearing Viktor's desk of all places. She laid a finger, then a hand, onto his table. Sliding it—and every last one of her germs—all over his desk and tools. Even went as far as sitting in his chair, pushing it forwards and backwards as she glanced around at his notes and things.
What was that point of that?
It was annoying that Jayce couldn't bring himself to do anything but watch. Though that got increasingly arduous as he watched the Medarda go through the things on, and inside, Viktor's desk. If he was only here to see this... he'd have her head as an experiment.
What could she possibly be looking for?
The urge to announce himself overcame every other thought once she went on to grab one of Viktor's notebooks. Clearing his throat, a near imperceptible jump of her shoulders pulled Ambessa out of her train of thought, Jayce finally spoke up. "Apologies, for not answering," Jayce's voice felt more hostile than how he initially wanted it. "Is there something you need?
Ambessa stood up with practiced ease. A perfect grace as she slid the chair back under Viktor's desk, even with her tall figure. Afterwards it was as if it hadn't been moved at all. "There is something I wish to speak with you about." Medarda spoke with eyes calm, but calculating. A defining feature she seemed to have shared with her intelligent daughter. Along with that sense, the Medarda held a strong tranquility that Jayce wished he shared.
But a strange clench in his heart was directing him off the edge. "About what?" Did he even have to ask? Since the moment they met, Ambessa's favorite subject had been Viktor. And with the news of Viktor's venture down to the Undercity likely at her ears, well, there was little to no chance that it wasn't about Viktor. Though a part of him, deep down, hoped that nothing would come of this. That, even with that information, the small chance of something new would be what happens.
"About Viktor."
Delusions.
"Or more specifically," She moved closer to Jayce, a hand kept midair. Her eyes shining with false sympathies. "About a conversation we had." He couldn't help fold his arms. An insatiable need to start roaming his lab clawed through every nerve he held. Hell, even his nerves began to send signals of pain up his spine.
By this point, the woman was less than a couple feet away from him. An uncomfortably close distance. He wished, above all else, that he could travel countries away from this woman. The day she arrived, the woman gave Jayce a feeling of pure distress. A feeling he despised with every inch of his being. "He came by my room earlier, before he left to go down to Zaun." There it was. Yet again, the Noxian was inserting herself into the problem.
What could possibly be her aim?
Taking a step closer to Jayce, a hand reaching out to grasp his shoulder, Ambessa continued to speak out of her wretched mouth. "And, in that talk, he spoke of many troubling things." Ambessa's eyes took on a fake sense of worry or concern. It was as if she had tried to copy the look of a sad puppy but failed so extraordinarily bad.
"I just thought," Ambessa squeezed the hand holding onto his shoulder. The feeling of dirt and grime on his body had Jayce glaring at the hand holding him. His mouth shaped into a disgusted frown. It was just an instinct, but seeing that look, Ambessa returned her hand to her side. A strange look flooded her face, but Jayce didn't care to figure out what it meant. "You'd want to know about what he'd said."
In the background the hexcore, comfortably set up in a hidden area, began to make short rhythmic pulses that were strange to Jayce's ears for some reason. The tool always brought on a sense of curiosity and eagerness when it would pulse or change in color or shape. But it didn't this time.
Instead, it just gave him a drowning feeling of anxiety. The look in the Noxian's eyes, the strangeness of Viktor's actions, the weird behavior of the hexcore, everything was killing his nerves and it felt like his insides were on the verge of being thrown up again. But that feeling—all of those problems circling his mind—that was just the beginning of this growing nightmare.
Urgency.
———
“You what?” Jayce could feel his muscles tensing his jaw as he clenched his fists. An uncontrollable urge to scream and cry pushed beads of sweat down his forehead as he tried to keep his cool, not wanting a repeat of what he had done to his partner. “I thought we agreed that I would talk to Viktor.”
The look on Mel’s face was a mix of emotions Jayce couldn't name. But he can feel a copy of those feelings pooling at his feet, and it was slowly rising up to his neck and shoulders. "You were busy." Mel said, a strange look playing in her eyes and on her lips. Her hands were holding each other, her fingers itching to start scratching at each other. "I felt that my speaking with him myself would lighten the load on y—”
Jayce couldn’t help it, the claim she was trying to make... it was absurd. “That wasn't your decision to make!” He cut her off, his fingers twitching the same way it did that night on the balcony. He could hear his own voice, it was so aggressively high Jayce could hardly believe it was his. But, unlike him, Mel kept her cool. Her voice came as calm waves against his raging furies.
Placing a palm against his shoulder blade, her warmth bringing him a tranquil feeling unlike what her mother had given him. Mel spoke with upmost grace. “Listen to me Jayce.” With less than five words, a whole new emotion seemed to explode inside Jayce.
Condescending.
"I did it to make it to make everything easier.” The stupid tone of her voice pushed Jayce into an endless loop of feelings that drowned him. Feelings he both couldn't understand and couldn't name. All he could seem to do was blame it all on Ambessa Medarda, the one who forced out all these things onto him. And he was growing to h— ...strongly dislike her for it.
Drifting closer towards him, Mel softly pulled his head down to meet her directly into the eyes. "All I did was take something off of your plate. Nothing more, Jayce." Taking a short step closer, Mel put a kiss onto his lips. A thing that Jayce both welcomed and wanted to avoid at the same time. It was as if the thought was a foreign concept to him. The thought of Viktor was still in his mind, and he knows. He knows.
But Jayce still leaned in, wrapping his large hands around Mel's waist. She was his... girlfriend. Pushing her away at a time like this would just be rude. He liked kissing her. Her soft lips and dreamy figure was something to die for. It even reminded him a lot about his interests and things. Her eyes, Jayce always loved her eyes the most. He wasn't exactly sure about what it reminded him of, but he still loved them.
Finally pulling away, a suddenly cold sensation landing on Jayce's lips, Mel cupped his cheek. Her soft palm had him leaning into her touch, Mel's thumb started caressing his cheek. "It'll all be okay. Now that I've spoken with Viktor, a good part of our woes are gone."
Jayce sighed long and slowly. He wanted to tell her about Ambessa's little talk with him, and all the things Jayce wished would just disappear from his mind. But he couldn't shift all of his problems onto Mel. And when her questioning look locked onto him, all Jayce found himself saying was, "You're right." With a shy smile.
He needed to talk with Viktor. He needed to apologize and explain all of that had transpired on that day. Nevertheless, the main thing he need to talk about with him was why he went down to Zaun. Especially with all the high temperatures between the two cities.
Desire.
—~•~—
Jayce wasn't usually the type for reminiscing. Especially not when practically everything in the universe was piling on top of him all at the very same time. But right now, Jayce couldn't seem to really help it.
He was thinking back to a time before Ambessa Medarda was even known to both the scientists. Upon further thinking, Jayce realized that the time he was thinking of was far before he knew anyone past Mel and Professor Heimerdinger.
It was back to when he first met Viktor. Or rather, when the pair were working on their first, official, experiment that was paid by the council.
It was one of the first things that gave him the feeling of pure adoration towards Viktor. It's how he got so close with him. And Jayce'll forever be grateful to whatever powers that pushed them together.
He could remember how they set up the lab. It was so spacious and new in the beginning, seeing as his original one had been... strangely damaged at the end, Viktor and Jayce hadn't known what to do with it. But the excitement in their chest was palpable.
Taking up space on the biggest lab tables they could find, Jayce and his dearest partner had took up their new tools and notebooks and laid them neatly on the table. They pulled over a wheeled chalk board and took whatever thoughts onto it. Though, looking back, half of them didn't make any sense whatsoever.
Grasping onto his cane, Viktor had went to grab a couple of their old notes. Somehow keeping a grip on his cane and several pages of notes and notebooks, Viktor had read some of them aloud. It helped Jayce start on his next project.
Even with his disability Viktor was extraordinarily mobile. The whole time Jayce worked, Viktor scurried around the lab. With a notebook in hand, he mapped out every empty space and random things that had potential. The continuous tapping of his cane somehow got Jayce to focus on his project. It was very calming.
After a while, Viktor sat down next to Jayce. He had a book in his hands, his elbows were leaning on the tabletop, Viktor swung himself around in his chair. He didn't pay much mind to his staring companion. Viktor kept his eyes on the book page in front of him, giving it his full attention.
He couldn't recall why Viktor wasn't working on a project. But he was mesmerizing to Jayce. The mole on his cheek, the calculating golden eyes, the pale skin he wished to just... Taking the man in, Jayce could only admire him. He was wearing actually clean clothes this time. Without any experiments or labs to take care of Viktor's clothes were left without any grease or oil, not even any dirt on his pants or shirt.
He looked simply astonishing to Jayce. But it wasn't out of the ordinary for a partner to think that way. Plus, throughout the entirety of their partnership, Jayce always had—how to word this in a not too, well, peculiar way—thoughts of Viktor. Thinking about what he'd like, what he didn't. Sometimes he would even wonder what Viktor's type was.
But the latter was absolutely, positively, not for himself. Of course not, that's his partner for gods sake. No. He thought about that because of how much he cared. Maybe he could find someone that was, somehow, good enough for Viktor. That way they could both be happy in their own ways.
Undoubtedly.
—~•~—
Jayce was, yet again, in a far corner of the laboratory. Jayce wasn't there to stalk Ambessa Medarda this time, so that was a positive. Instead, he was waiting for Viktor.
After the experimenting and the reminiscing, Jayce had a couple hours on his hands. Seeing as he didn't want to have another talk with Mel, or any kind of important meeting, Jayce thought he'd play his hand act trying to find Viktor again.
It had only been a couple of days, but it felt like weeks since Jayce had any type of conversation with Viktor. And though he'd never admit it, Jayce was ready to start pulling himself apart from the inside out.
Before the whole debacle, the partners never spent more than a couple hours without talking. Those hours were usually filled with meetings or focused note taking. But nothing had ever separated them like this before.
It was unnerving for Jayce. Not even knowing where or what he was doing, Jayce couldn't help but start believing all the words that were floating around the Academy.
All those rumors about him and Ambessa had been reaching Jayce's ear more than he wanted it to. The tales about them sleeping together, all the people that witnessed Viktor going to her room on his own accord, the talk the Noxian had with him...
It was driving him insane. He hated, with all his heart, that he didn't find any of this—if it's even true to begin with—out by the man himself. Instead of by outsiders and strangers that practically hated the entire embodiment of which Viktor was.
But right at that very moment, Jayce was going to have a long, extraordinarily long, talk with his partner.
Jayce was going to apologize for everything he had done. He was going to explain his side and give him the reasons, not excuses, for what he hadn't. But above all, they were sure to have a talk about what has been going on his life.
Above all, Jayce wants to be Viktor's one and only. No matter what exactly that meant to him.
Devotion.