#same goes for viktor & Jayce

[linddzz]

nothing is prompting this post at all I just wanna say that Viktor is also possessive about Jayce, if they actually did get together his version of possessiveness would start circling around to borderline exhibitionism. He loves that Jayce's face is slapped on stupid blimps and mugs. He's so into the fact that this city that disrespects him, his people, and disrespected Jayce until he became useful them...he LOVES that that city wants his man so bad. It always looks like he tolerates how tactile Jayce is but Viktor is basking in it.

Viktor thinks everyone should get a chance to see Jayce when he's sweaty and shirtless and breathing hard at the forge. He enjoys seeing people fawn and get giggly when Jayce smiles at them.

His form of possessiveness is going "Yes take a good look. Really drink it in. Enjoy that he flirts with everything that smiles at him, he really is a charmer. You noticed the shoulder to hip ratio there I'm sure. Sure, give him your address I don't blame you. Now then. Guess who has him wrapped around my pinky finger and die mad about it"

[asgardian--angels]

keep fighting the good fight against this weird misconception that vik is somehow stoic and unemotional, bestie 🫡 cause idk where the hell people picked that up lol

thank you!!! fandom is always gonna fandom, reducing characters to two-dimensional tropes to make them mix-and-matchable. it's especially unfortunate when the characters we're given in Arcane are so rich and nuanced. the best antidote is to go back and rewatch the source material imo lol.

thanks for enjoying my tags also!! I used to write actual meta many years ago but at some point lost my nerve or lost the time. now it lives in the tags. I don't know many people in the jayvik fandom here, it seems mostly active on twitter, but I'm glad to be noticed by at least a couple people here :) your blog is great!!

[cl-0v3r]

Riot needs to take this poor woman out of their basement before I tweak out and do it myself

Everyone's been getting baby treatment and all us Mel connoisseurs have been living off of SCRAPS AND A SINGLE POSTER AND ITS NOT FAIIIRRR

Im actually going insane i need her back.

[sunshine-zenith]

Was thinking about how Jayce and Jinx are both actually pretty touchy-feely characters and so here: my own take on JayVik adopts Powder AUs — Jinx/Powder craves positive physical touch but is too embarrassed to accept it from a gross Piltie like Jayce, so Viktor has to endure it instead. She has no problems with family hugs, though, which Jayce is thrilled about

Vi is also there because she deserves to not grow up in jail. (She also wants a hug but acts too cool for it. Jayce eventually drags her into it and Viktor makes him help pay off his ortho bills later)

[her-soliloquies]

Being mostly only part of the jayvik fandom (and partly caitvi) means I get to bask in their undeniable romantic relationship (ofc you can also see it as platonic, just don't insist that it's the only way to look at it) while others fight over how Silco and Vander's relationship is as brothers and they can't be shipped and whether Jinx and Ekko are straight or bi or whatever.

[fuckyeahisawthat]

While I absolutely adore all the "Viktor acquires Jayce's last name for accidental/practical/non-romantic reasons" ideas, I think Viktor would have had to solve his last name problem for paperwork reasons as a student at the Academy, and if he didn't have a last name, the simplest option would be to steal one.

He figures out within three days of starting at the Academy that he needs a family name.

Introducing himself as "just Viktor" gets him marked out as from the undercity immediately, if missing one of a hundred other social cues hasn't already. "Don't you know no one knows whose kids are whose down there?" he hears someone scoff from down the hall, after he's extracted himself from a conversation that was going nowhere good.

Family, like most things in the undercity, is assembled from spare parts more often than not. Family is who will have your back if someone is giving you shit; who will offer you half of something that is already not enough. His parents by blood are both alive and still live together, but no one knows them as anything other than Iveta and Hal.

But topsiders care about things like bloodlines and inheritance, and they all have family names. Not just the rich kids whose family names are carved into buildings, but the children of merchants and craftspeople and workers.

So, he needs to acquire one.

He can't just make one up. What if he picks something that sounds obviously fake to their ears? Or worse, the name of a real, well-known family that he then has to explain his connection to? No, it has to be a real name, just not one that anyone would care about.

He goes to the cemetery. Not the fancy one with the high wrought-iron gates and elaborate masoleums, but a humble one, in a part of the city filled with the modest homes of tradespeople. He searches until he finds an ill-tended family plot, the most recent date of death a hundred years in the past. A simple man, maybe a baker, judging by the carving on the headstone. That will do.

He makes up a story to go with it (a Piltover family of small shopkeepers, forced into the undercity by hard times several generations ago, but topsiders by ancestry still) and starts writing his name as Viktor Trini on homework assignments and forms.

"Viktor." Professor Heimerdinger catches his attention after class one day, a few weeks into the term. Viktor has a routine for this steep amphitheater-style lecture hall by now. Sit in the front so he doesn't have to deal with the stairs; make a bit of a show of gathering up his books and papers slowly after class, letting the students who are in a hurry get out the door first, without his uneven steps slowing them down.

"Yes, Professor?"

"Excellent work on the last assignment. Inspired problem-solving, if I must say."

"Thank you, Professor." He'd been gratified by the solution he came up with, but it's nice to hear someone else say it, too.

Heimerdinger is still holding his problem set paper, rocking on his toes on the small stepladder he uses when lecturing, when he doesn't get too animated and just start striding across the desk like a stage. "You know," he says. "I knew an Aloisius Trini, many years ago. Lovely fellow. He could get a bit gruff with the customers, when the shop was busy, but he made the best meat pies, so nobody cared. I was wondering, might he be your...grandfather perhaps?"

"Yes," Viktor says quickly. "Though I never knew him."

Heimerdinger lowers his voice conspiratorially. "I think you will find that great-grandfather works better, given the math." And he winks.

Viktor's throat goes dry. "Professor, I--"

"Ah-ah. No need to worry, my dear boy. Most people you meet in Piltover won't be nearly three hundred years old." He leans in, drops his voice to a whisper again. "We'll keep this our little secret."

Ah. He understands what's going on now. "Of course. What do you want in return?" He doesn't like this, owing someone who could have him expelled with the stroke of a pen.

Heimerdinger looks surprised at the question. "Nothing!" he says. But that can't be true. He'll ask for something sooner or later.

"I want you to succeed," Heimerdinger says after a moment. "I've seen a lot of students come through these halls, and you're very bright. I predict you'll do extraordinary things."

It still feels like a trap, and maybe it shows on his face, because after a minute Heimerdinger makes a noise of frustration and says, "Fine. If you insist on viewing this as a favor to be repaid, come to my office. There's a lightbulb that needs changing and I can't reach it."

That, he can do. "Thank you, Professor," he says quietly as Heimerdinger hops down the stairs of the stepladder.

"Don't thank me until you've seen the state of this light fixture. I can't reach it to dust, either."

[th3archivisst]

Things I've started noticing in media as someone who recently developed a not yet diagnosed chronic pain disorder that has fucked up my life.

- seeing rep for any. Any. Disability makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside.

- in fandom, every time I see another disabled person discuss a disabled character, they actually like analysing the character in terms of how they function with their disability. But I only ever see ablebodied people make aus in which "everything is fine".

- seeing arguments about what is and isn't good representation is extremely draining. This goes for any minority, many of which I'm part of. It's an important conversation to have, but so often the focus is on tearing down the character instead of building them back up yourself. The approach is too focused on rooting out the bad apples, not on planting the seeds for better ones.

So often I see complaints, and those complaints are entirely valid. I agree with most of them. But wouldn't it be more productive to point out what was done right and suggest what could've been done to make it even better? If there's one thing school taught me, it's that constant criticism just leads to resentment.

Make up ocs with disabilities, draw them as well as you can or commission someone to draw them for you and post that shit with a detailed explanation. Someone is bound to see it. Write fanfiction of your favourite character and go in depth on the struggles they face and how they still find happiness alongside those struggles. Make videos or write books or animate something and include your story there, because that won't make you miserable. Force people to see you for who you are. It's far more effective than getting into arguments online.

[escyn]

10, 14, 15 for the Wrapped game?

Hihi, thanks for the ask! 

10: What inspired/motivated you this year?

I feel like I was heavily inspired by ~fanfic~ this year. The whole reason I started drawing in any real capacity this year out of all years was that I read some really good smut that would not leave my mind and I let my scribbles of it get out of control. In line with that I feel like half the art I started/finished this year was directly inspired by a fic that I had read…

14: What's one pairing/character/subject/body part/object you want to explore next year?

(Un)fortunately the arcane brainrot is pretty strong currently and I don’t really see that ending any time soon. Have a few sketches and some drabble that has been percolating in my brain about some ~post-canon cosmic jayvik~ as well as some more lol-colored thoughts and we shall see what comes of that. 

15: Is there any new style/technique/medium you want to explore next year?

Like every year for the past 3 years, I am telling myself that this is the year that I will get back into metalworking. Will it actually happen? Realistically depends on if I have any money (which is probably no). 

full artist wrapped ask list here, still taking these!

[everythingisamazing]

We all know about most of these by now, but I thought it'd be fun to make a comprehensive list of all the things of varying degrees of insanity both Jayce and Viktor have done in the series to, for and because of each other: 1. Viktor looking at Jayce in the most intense but also thoroughly enchanted way in the council room scene

2. Viktor stealing Jayces notebook from Heimerdinger after Jayces research was officially deemed "dangerous" by the council

3. Saving Jayce from suicide and instilling new hope, along with a sense of adventure in him manic-pixie-dream-girl-style.

4. Jayce asking for Viktors name in the most romantic way possible and Viktor answering him with 2 syllables and bedroom eyes

5. Jayce-I-egotistically-sign-all-my-notes-with-my-name-Talis going instant commie mode by calling his life long dream "our" dream after Viktor scribbled something on a blackboard and cracked a silly little joke once.

6. Casually snacking on pickles, bread, wine and coffee as if they weren't committing crimes and there wasn't a huge hole in the wall while nerding out about magic

7. Breaking into Heimerdingers lab together

8. Viktor using taking Jayce to his bedroom as an excuse when getting caught, and Jayce being too stressed out to notice

9. Viktor then having the audacity to look disappointed in the background when Mr. Oblivious reacts to Mel the way every single person with functioning eyes would react to that goddess of a woman

10. Both trusting each other enough to risk exile after knowing each other for like a day.

11. Jayce, although having just experienced the same crystals blowing up a building, going through with the dangerous experiment simply because Viktor says "trust me".

12. Viktor sacrificing his cane, which is basically an extension of his body, to keep the door shut 13. Jaye carrying him bridal style because of that afterwards.

13. Experiencing what they'd both probably rank among their top 3 moments in life when floating in the magic they just created together

14. Viktor smiling the only full on smile we see him do in the show because of that.

15. Jayce drawing a portrait of Viktor in his notebook, next to a little doodle of two brains with lightning between them and a reminder to ask him for his last name.

16. Working alongside each other as best friends for 7 years and creating world altering technology

17. Viktor yearning for Jayce each day, for each of those 7 years ("Viktor wanted things Jayce couldn't give him at the time")

18. Whatever the fuck happened at the distinguished innovators competition that was probably also among their top 3 moments because of the way Viktor looked when Jayce brought it up and the fact Jayce used it to remind Viktor of things that make life worth living

19. Jayce constantly touching Viktor. In almost every scene. Whenever he can.

20. Them giving each other the same dumb heart eyes but always when the other is not looking 21. Viktor looking at Jayces lips in the scene before he gives his speech

22. The way they say each others name. It gets progressively more breathy as the show goes on.

23. The way their pupils dilate in several scenes when looking at each other

24. The butterfly symbolism connecting them throughout both Seasons

25. (Debatable, but I will include it) Jayce having a bi-crisis when Ambessas twink reminds him of a certain someone

26. Jayce asking "You had a vision?" as if it is the most normal thing ever. (Thank you Jayce. We love a husband, who unabashedly supports his witchy partner, plagued by visions and omens.)

27. Jayce having his sex scene with Mel be intercut with scenes of Viktor (not something they actively did, but still has to be mentioned)

28. Jayce leaving Mel to be by Viktors bedside when he wakes up in the hospital 29. Jayces hands visibly shaking in the top-shot of him beside Viktors hospital bed. (someone posted a close up of it on insta - I linked it in the convo with the person suggesting this bullet point in the comments)

30. Viktor being the only one shown to notice how stressed Jayce is about getting pushed into being a councilor via the deep exhale he does in that scene

31. Jayce not letting Heimerdinger interfere with the experiments that might save Viktors life, no matter how dangerous

32. Jayce removing Heimerdinger from the council because of it

33. Viktor immediately thinking of Jayce when Singed mentions the word "love"

34. Viktor instinctively knowing Jayce will reach out his hand to help him up without having to look during the bridge scene

35. Viktor slapping his hand away, but then accepting when Jayce puts it on his lower back a second later

36. Jayce stopping Viktor from taking his own life

37. Jayce granting Zaun independence because he doesn't know how to save Viktors life but he has to do something to honor their shared dream

38. Jayce seeing the council room completely destroyed, with several people hurt and dead, but only tearing up when he sees Viktor

39. Jayce running several blocks while carrying Viktor to their lab

40. Breaking his promise to Viktor (and probably several laws) by performing necromancy on him

41. Jayce saying "fuck the council" and everything he has worked for, when he realizes none of that matters without Viktor

42. Jayce staying holed up in the lab for god knows how long to watch over Viktor 43. Jayce adding unnecessary details to his sketch of Viktors body, like the exact swoop of his hair.

44. Jayce immediately waking up after Viktor quietly says his name, whereas we saw him sleeping through an air alarm before that.

45. Viktor looking...very different, but all Jayce cares about is that he is alive. 46. Jayce, glancing between Viktor’s legs in his changed form an ungodly number of times.

47. Them embracing very closely while Viktor is nude, ending with Jayce looking slightly embarrassed when the emotions are threatening to overwhelm him

48. Jayce covering Viktor in the blanket from his childhood bedroom which Viktor will keep even after reaching godhood.

49. "My place was always here with you."

50. "It was affection that held us together"

51. Jayce getting glassy eyed when Viktor tells him he is leaving and holding out his hand as if he is expecting him to come back and grab it.

52. Jayce looking heartbroken at Heimerdingers reminder of him having broken into the lab before

53. Jayce generally giving off freshly divorced vibes in that whole scene

54. Jayce longingly looking at the remains of two male figures embracing in the AU while sitting in the rain

55. Jayce hallucinating Mel turning into Viktor in the fire at the bottom of the ravine.

56. Jayce basically walking a mile in Viktors shoes, fighting his way from the depths of the Undercity to the top of piltover with a broken leg. 57. Matching leg braces on opposite legs.

58. Viktor walking a mile in Jayces shoes by becoming a leader in S2 and his body finally being strong, while Jayces gets broken in the Au.

59. Viktor designing the sphere in the commune similar to the top of the Hexgates he built with Jayce

60. Viktor finally realizing through Singeds memories, that he wasn't kept alive by Jayce as an experiment, but out of love

61. Jayce tenderly stroking the hexcrystal on his bracelet

62. Viktor tenderly stroking the gear that reminds him of the night him and Jayce became partners.

63. Jayce looking at mage!Viktor in the exact same awestruck way he did when he was a child - even after about 6 months of pain and suffering

64. Jayce being ready to sacrifice himself after mage!Viktor reveals the truth to him

65. AU Jayces corpse responding to Viktors touch 66. The fact that the only "beautiful" place left in Piltover was where Jayces corpse was

67. Jayce dramatically adding "...and with me" after saying to Viktor how he thought he was done with hextech, like the bitter divorced husband he is.

68. Viktor excitedly inviting Jayce to the commune, believing he finally knows how Jayce really feels about him

69. Viktor waiting for Jayce floating in the air like a venus fly trap, with his upper body bare, while holding the gear in his hands

70. Viktors eyes changing color when he sees Jayce, because as confirmed by the writers, when he looks at Jayce he’s reminded of his humanity and is tied to it once again </3

71. Jayce visually having to fight himself to be able to shoot Viktor and not being able to look while doing it

72. Viktor never taking his eyes off of Jayce after being shot by him

73. Jayce leaving without as much as a glance back while looking absolutely destroyed

74. Jayce now dressing in dark colors - both Zaunite and mourning coded

75. Jayces clothes being asymmetrical in the final scene - Zaun style

76. The most homoerotic fight in history.

77. Viktor giving bedroom eyes #2

78. Viktor choking Jayce (twice)

79. "Let's do this once again as partners." (Viktor didn't speak when he said this. He purred.) 80. Viktors robot "crying" after being rejected by Jayce once more (shortly followed by "the line" starting to play </3)

81. Jayce lovingly caressing the gold poured into the broken council room table as if it was the golden lines in Viktors new skin. 82. Jayce having a dead wife-flashback, remembering Viktor lying dead in the rubble as he does this. (it's fast in the show - blink and you'll miss it)

83. Jayce having another dead-wife-flashback when Cait says "Viktor is at the center of all this, isn't he?", remembering him smiling, with a strand of hair prettily falling in front of his face, when that isn't what Viktor really looked like in that moment.

84. "I've been confused about a lot lately."

85. Viktors Mask as the herald resembling the Talis Symbol

86. Another homoerotic fight

87. Jayce never looking at Viktor in any of his forms with disgust, not even as he becomes some sort of eldritch being, but like this instead:

88. Jayce kneeling down calmly infront of Viktor, accepting his fate

89. Jayces whole speech on the astral plane. Calling Viktors imperfections beautiful. Basically revealing how his plan was to deter Viktor from destroying the world by confessing his love to him.

90. IN ALL TIMELINES, IN ALL POSSIBILITES. SOULBONDED ACROSS INFINITY. INEXTRICABLY BOUND. ONLY YOU CAN SHOW ME THIS. NO MATTER THE CIRCUMSTANCES, IT'S ALWAYS GOING TO BE YOU.

91. Viktors eyes practically glowing in Jayces memory of him.

92. The "you have no idea how beautiful it is"-magic Jayce had been chasing since he was a child turning out to be Viktor all along.

93. Viktor bending the laws of the universe because he cannot let Jayce die

94. Jayce dooming the world over and over again because he cannot let Viktor die

95. "Because I promised you."

96. Jayce embracing Viktor again and Viktor, starting to glow gold where Jayces hands touch him.

97. Viktor telling Jayce to go, giving him the choice to live on without him

98. Jayce looking at him so tenderly yet sadly, because Viktor STILL doesn't realize he will never go. Ever.

99. Jayce passing the rune embedded in his wrist back to Viktor as if handing him his heart.

100. "We finish this. Together."

101. Them fighting to hold on to each other even though the force of the Arcane is pulling them apart

102. It finally giving up underneath the touch of both their hands

103. That one shot directly after where Viktor looks up from where their hands are touching and he has this expression on his face as if FINALLY realizing that he is no longer alone because of how Jayce truly feels about him. 104. Their pupils are still dilating as they look at each other, even though a bright light is shining between them.

105. Their final embrace: Touching foreheads. Jayces hand on Viktors neck. Viktor gently stroking his arm as if to soothe his partner.

Ps: If I have missed anything, let me know! I want to add it to the list :D

[captainx-camino]

There's something so perverse about how Jayce is paraded around in white and red and gold when his House colors are clearly shades of blues and browns.

Especially because the more he is used and controlled by the council as a whole, the more he is plastered about as some figurehead or poster boy of Piltover's progresses, the more he is draped in the gilding of false colors.

We actually never get to see him wearing his own House colors past his flashback with the mage, in which the majority of his little outfit is made up of the more humble color scheme.

The only thing he actually still owns in his house colors is the blanket he gives to Viktor, which can be seen in his childhood room and is made of the same material his mother wore during the blizzard for warmth.

Edit to add:

I'm adding this to the original post so y'all don't assume I just didn't analyze the literal BEST Jayce outfit in the whole series.

It's a mourning shroud.

While the highlights may have some blue to them (blue highlighting is very common in animation to keep things from looking dull or muddy) the midtone on his shirt is actually in the yellow field.

Also, no. The Talis House symbol is not red. It's brown and gold (sometimes with white).

Any red relating to the Talis symbol is BECAUSE of the color corruption of Jayce, not in spite of it.

The outfit still has meaning, but as I said in the post, he NEVER goes back to his family colors after being paraded around in the red, gold, and white.

This outfit is black, red, and silver. His armor is black and gold with an off white coat (to show that he's still doing this in a way for Piltover as well, probably.)

It's and end and new beginning. It's a rebirth.

Not a return.

[evieelyzabethh]

"glue song"

✭"don't forget to kiss me or else you'll have to miss me"✭ ~ How Arcane characters show affection headcannons {fem reader}

cast ✧ Vi, Ekko, Jayce, Viktor, Mel

cw ☞slightly pervy jayce (you can't pry him from my cold dead hands), fluff

♞Vi♞

♞Vi kisses like she is starving, and you are the first morsel of food she can get her hands on. Like she is drowning, and you are her first breath of air. It's not just desperate and hungry, but there's also a thankfulness to it. Thank you for sticking with her, thank you for being so patient with her, thank you for loving her. Vi doesn't do anything half-assedly, especially not kissing her pretty girlfriend. It's probably her favorite form of affection because it's so versatile. It doesn't have to lead to the bed if neither of you want it to, sometimes it's just on the couch, you sat in between her large thighs, positively falling into her.

♞Her favorite place to kiss you would be on your lips as she holds you chin in her rough hands. She would kiss you thoroughly and deeply, her tongue languidly kissing your own without a rush or care in the world. She is quite prone to getting overwhelmed herself, squeezing the air from both of your lungs and having the nerve to pout at you when you pull away. On her messier days, she leaves a string of spit behind, but she's always kind enough to wipe it away with a few swipes of her thumb. With every inch you pull back she leans in a mile more, chasing you as you try to catch your breath and when she does pin you down, she holds you impossibly close so you can't escape again until she's had her fill. Even then, she holds you in her large arms and tangles your limbs together, at one point sliding her hand beneath your shirt just to lay it on your tummy and feel it move as you breath.

♞Vi is also secretly a space heater. She runs incredibly hot and because of this, sleeps naked and is always down to give you her jacket. It just makes sense in her mind, seeing her clothing wrapped around you. She likes sharing most things; oddly specifically, drinks. She's gross and thinks it's hot that you're technically swapping spit. When it comes to alcohol, especially if you're not a big drinker, both of you will nurse off the same drink, her tipping your head back and pouring it into your mouth when you get a bit too tipsy to do so yourself without spilling.

♞Her go to pet name is 'pretty' and I will die on this hill. It's the thing that defines you for her. She's an idiot and a loser and she knows there's more to you than just how you look, but she just can't help it that whenever she sees you, all her reptile brain can think is 'pretty'. She absolutely abuses it, too. Besides this, I also think she would use those sleazy kinda bar pet names, like sweets or babydoll. Not in a creepy sleazy way, but that is just realistically what she would've been hearing for terms of endearment.

♞Slight side tangent, in a modern AU she is definitely one of those mascs that gets a hold to some Calvin Klein boxers and takes advantage of every opportunity possible to show the waistband off. Part of it is just her showing affection, even if you can reach tall shelves on your own, she still insists on getting the items for you. This carriers over into many things, like twisting open pickle jars or opening your soda cans if you're someone into longer nails. While she isn't as good with building things as Jinx, I think she would definitely be able to manage putting together the furniture in your shared home. Would it take all day? Well, yes! But you chose to make the best out of it and fuck on top of the furniture to test its sturdiness and congratulate your girlfriend on a job well done.

♞On the topic of nails in a modern AU, she would love a partner who gets them done absolutely goes feral if you get them customized to her liking, like coloring them after her eyes or hair or sneaking her name in there somewhere. She feels like she's made it in life when she can pay to get them done. It seems like a selfless action, but it would be a lie to say she gets nothing out of it. The scratch mark you leave on her back after break her brain a little.

★Ekko★

★Ekko loves cooking for his girlfriend! I feel like that would definitely be his main love language along with quality time. As stated before, you two would spend a lot of time in his kitchen, often times with some source of music providing a background noise to the nonsense that you concoct together, occasionally slow dancing while there's time to kill while waiting for something to finish in the oven. Food fights may occasionally occur, but he does a thorough job of licking you clean after. He claims he 'can't let good food go to waste'.

★He would also have a sketchbook absolutely full of you. You can tell when a new edition is about to be added as well. Ekko isn't loud, but he isn't quiet either. His foot is always tapping, he's usually humming something, he always has something to keep his hands busy. He's hardly ever still, except for those moments when you fully wash over him. Sometimes the lighting is exceptionally beautiful, sometimes it's in appreciation of how the wind moves the world around you, and some moments are just so breathtaking beautiful he has to take a moment to go silent, still, and stare. Sometimes he'll just tell you to be in his presence and be pretty so he can properly commit you to paint and commemorate you forever in oils and brush strokes. He's not above nude paintings, though those strokes look and feel much different.

★Ekko is the CEO of quick kisses. He's a busy guy!! He's running an entire commune. He makes the absolute most out of moments when you have the world to yourselves, but most of what you receive are quick passing kisses on your cheeks or the corner of your mouth. He misses on purpose because he simply does not believe in starting things he doesn't have the time to finish. For this reason, I don't think he'd be a big quickie guy. A kiss can easily just be a kiss, but sex is not something meant to be done in 5 minutes.

★Ekko's favorite place to kiss you would also be your lips. He's a romantic, what can I say!!! At the end of every day, you ask each other how your day was after you've both showered and gotten comfy. You both sit on his bed, set beside each other, your legs haphazardly laid over his as he casually massages your thigh. Sometimes you're both a bit too tired and aren't listening that hard, the occasional tidbit catching your attention making either of you sit straight and get closer until eventually you laid on top of him, both of you half asleep. No matter how much energy either of you has, a good night kiss is to be had. When Ekko doesn't need to be quick, he is impossibly slow. He has all the time and then some.

★Not only does he demand a good night kiss, but a good morning kiss to. He gets pouty without it. And sassy. He tells Scar, very loudly so that everyone can hear him, that you hate and don't love him anymore and he is just so deeply hurt that you would let your boyfriend, you're one true love, leave the house without kissing him goodbye and doesn't shut up about it until he gets his goddamn kiss.

★He loves picking out your outfits. He prides himself on the way he dresses and out of everyone, I think Ekko has the most domestic skills. I've already discussed how well he cooks, but I wouldn't be surprised if he also knew his way around a needle and thread. He is not just wearing any clothes; he has a sense of style that he is very proud of. This being said, he loves going shopping with you in a modern AU and he loves when you eventually get comfortable enough to not retreat into the bathroom when changing from outfit to outfit. He's the one making you do the little spin so he can appreciate the outfit from all angles.

★As far as pet names go, I think Ekko would keep it simple with "babe" or "baby" for more casual usages. I also think he would be fond of "my girl" and expects it from you in return because yes he is "your boy" and yes you are "his girl" and yes he loves you very very much. He wouldn't be a stranger to "my love", especially in the mornings or at night when your face is the first and last thing he sees when he closes his eyes. It makes him feel extra sappy.

❂Jayce❂

❂He is all over you at all times of the day omg. I feel like of everyone, Jayce would be the clingiest. This isn't to say he's attached to you at the hip, but his favorite part of the day is getting to go home to you. You're cooking and there he is sitting on the counter yapping about Hextech or something. You're taking a shower and he wants to join. And it's not just a proximity thing, it's also a touchy thing. Any reason or way he can find to touch you, he is taking it. He doesn't care if it's pathetic, dammit, he wants to be held.

❂Jayce would absolutely thrive in a modern AU. He would be the guy whose social media page are all posts about his girlfriend and does he just love to show you off. He would spoil you so good, but rather than buying anything you wanted like Mel would, I think he would also really enjoy making you presents. This isn't to say he doesn't enjoy buying you things, one of your staple pieces of jewelry is the gold anklet he bought with his initials on it.

❂Physical touch is easily his love language but he cannot handle all that, or rather, he freezes in situations where you initiate it. His hands tend to naturally find your waist and will occasionally, if he's feeling bold enough, slip down to your ass, but one time when it was freezing out, you offered your tits as handwarmers and he got a nosebleed. Jayce is definitely an undercover perv but due to never having a girlfriend before and being completely foreign with the concept that he doesn't need to hide how badly he wants to jump your bones at nearly all hours of the day, he freezes when it comes to you initiating contact.

❂He would definitely be the type to get you teddy bears and flowers just whenever. It's never with any rhyme or reason and it happens rather sporadically, just when he is out and about for any reason and thinks of you and wants to bring you something home. He thinks of you a lot, actually. Mel and Viktor love the both of you, but sometimes he goes a bit overboard when it comes to talking about you. This being said, he jumps at any opportunity to show you off. He loves going to gala's because he likes seeing you in pretty clothes and hanging off his arm. He also likes kissing you in public, even if no one's paying attention. He is well versed in the art of delayed gratification and loves getting the both of you riled up knowing full well he does not have the balls to actually fuck you with people around (he gets loud and is very well aware of this)

❂ Jayce's absolute favorite place to kiss you is your neck. He usually starts with your lips, large hands cupping your cheeks and soft lips moving over yours until he gets more antsy. His hands travel from your cheek to your neck then begin to creep under your clothes to grab and knead at your warm skin. Then he would move down your face, peppering kisses across your lips, down your jaw, then down you neck, panting as he goes along and his hands getting rougher as he tries to remain composed. He stops there for a moment, breath fanning over skin that is now slightly red from his canines nipping you and his fresh stubble scratching the area, reminding himself to be gentle and not take more than he's given. He pleads with you, his own cheeks flushed from the heat of the movement as he mutters out his "please...". He's begged you time and time again to not make him verbalize exactly what he wants, but you are relentless. At least he has the manners to ask sweetly beforehand.

❂He is the type to lay right on top of you. After you've gotten comfy in your bed, thrown on your pajama's, maybe are doing a bit of light reading before bed, he comes around to disturb your peace and lay himself right on top of you, smothering you with kisses while he lays there. He eventually moves out of his starfish position to lay his head on your chest and wrap his arms around your torse. He's like a giant, weighted, warm teddy bear

❂One of his go-to pet names would be 'baby', but only when it just the two of you. He is also quite fond of 'gorgeous' and he always has a stupid smirk on his face when he says it. His favorite would be 'sweetheart'. Slightly off topic, he would be the first to jump the gun and start calling you his wife. Especially to council members that are annoying him and taking up time he'd rather be spending with you, he is very quick to pull a "Sorry, gotta get home to my wife." He bought to matching rings for your one-year anniversary to sell the story better.

☽Viktor☾

☽As far as physical affection goes, I think he would be the least touchy. I think the touches would be concentrated on your face, lazily tracing all of your features, marking where your cheeks sink below your cheek bones, the divot between your chin and lips, and where your face is most pronounced. While he wouldn't call himself an artist, he could probably mold your face in clay from the number of times his feather light fingers have caressed every inch of it. He's utterly entranced by it. His mind often wanders while listening to you speak, eyes roaming from your lips and taking note of them in proportion to your eyes, getting lost in the color of them until his eyes flit to your nose and the way your nostrils slightly flare out. It's very mechanical, but that's just the way his brain works.

☽Less of a hugger but he does like to keep his arms around you. Especially on date nights when you're cuddled up on your couch, a myriad of snacks in between the two of you, your head resting on his shoulder while he tries to hide his snores as he falls in and out of consciousness. You accuse of him trying to go to sleep and he tells you he was just "resting his eyes".

☽He would make you all the trinkets in the world. Many of them start as failed experiments of his or scraps from projects past that need to be repurposed, but the thought is always there. He hates to waste and there's really no need to when he has a girlfriend he can make gifts for. Your vanity is full of pretty side projects, decorative boxes for your makeup, ornate music boxes, tea sets and tiny figurines. Your desk would be full of special tchotchkes.

☽Speaking of tchotchkes, I think that would be one of his playful nicknames for you. It sounds absolutely delectable in his accent. I think he would also go for the classier terms of endearment such as 'dear', 'love', 'darling' as well as variations of them in his mother tongue. He would love teaching you his native language, both as a way to bond even more but also to make sure he never loses it.

☽He would also be big on compliments. He is probably your number one supporter, but not in the loud sports fan with a huge foam finger kinda way, but in a quieter more personal way. He is extremely confident in you and your abilities as well as being endlessly proud of everything you do. He is in complete awe of you, and he tells you as such. It is impossible to feel bad about yourself in his presence, he keeps a mental rolodex of every accomplishment of yours to combat any sort of negative self-talk.

☽Not a big PDA guy. He would rather throw himself out of a window than suck face with you in Jayce's presence. He is a big hand-holder which is disastrous when doing it while walking around because neither one of you can walk straight to save your life. It's not even an issue with his leg because you do it too. You bump into each other all the time, though in the winter it is more often on purpose to keep warm.

☽Viktor's favorite place to kiss you is on your forehead. It's simple and it's sweet and more often than not what he can get away with the most. With how much time he spends in the lab, he has grown to deeply appreciate those quiet moments with you, holding your hand under the table as he works in the low light, papers rustling as he tries to find the specific formula he's looking for. Jayce is across the table, snoring loud enough to keep the both of you awake. You look like you want to kiss him, he can feel your gaze on his lips as your fingers tangle through his hair and he turns to you and gives you a small smile then a sweet kiss on your forehead. When he pulls away, he leans into you and you sit there for a moment, nose to nose. "Just a few moments, love, I'm almost done." You giggle through tiredness. "It won't be a few moments, Vik." And he appreciates your understanding more than most things in the world. "No, it won't. But I'll try to make it quick.", he promises and then plants another kiss on you

☽He really likes reading with you, or just doing activities that allow the both of you to be doing something together without necessarily needing to talk. It doesn't even have to be something he's good at, it could be a painting session, or a pottery lesson, and he would be down. He would also be the type to try and pick up on your hobbies. You like to crochet; he's also picking up a crochet needle to try and work alongside you. And he's not too proud to ask for help, he likes a relationship where both parties are constantly learning and exploring.

☼Mel☼

☼Mel is definitely the type to spoil you. She has so much money and is not afraid to use it. You really like that dress you saw while window shopping? She's already ordered it to be tailored to your exact size. You like that bracelet? You wake up to it in a box on your nightstand the next morning and spot her wearing a matching piece later on that day. It's not to try and buy your love, she just thinks you deserve the world, and if she could buy it, it would be your wedding present.

☼Mel love holding hands at all times and specifically is the type to rub the skin between your pointer finger and thumb. Her skin would also be so soft, touching her feels like touching smooth velvet. She also likes to kiss your knuckles and the inside of your wrist before letting go, the mark her lipstick feeling like a heavy imprint of her lips.

☼She is also very fond of kissing your nose. She thinks 'booping' you with her finger is childish, but she is not above a little peck on the nose, which is the abridged version of her usual ritual of pecking your forehead, nose, and lips. Those kisses are usually taken in the morning when you go your separate ways for the day, particularly those that she knows will be long and tedious. She likes to think she takes part of you with her when she does it. She misses your intellect, she misses the silent indicators of your presence, she misses how you feel. Some days, she greatly yearns to return to you. She feels like a physical weight is lifted off her back and she can actually breathe.

☼She loves spending wash days with you. Those locs take hours and you are there right by her side, gossiping and discussing everything and nothing while royal hairdressers take down or retwist that beautiful head of hair. It's even better if you're the one doing it for her. She likes the feeling of your fingers in her scalp, massaging out the wrinkles in her brain as she goes boneless in between your legs. I, unfortunately, do not think she could return the favor. She is like basically royalty; her whole life someone was likely doing it for her. She would try and learn!! It would just take a little bit.

☼I do think she would be very good at doing your makeup. She has the base routine DOWN and usually likes to do simpler eye looks, though she can do whatever you request of her. All hell breaks loose when it comes time to do lips, and her gloss would end up all over your face as she is overcome with the unabating urge to leave glossy kiss marks all over your face . You would return the favor, whatever pigmented shade you previously wore landing all over her flawless skin, and she would savor the moment with a photo she keeps in her journal

☼In a modern AU, I think she would be really good at carnival games. I can't explain it, she just would. She's not the biggest fan carnivals and fairs as they're a bit too loud and crowded for her taste, but if you wanted to go, she certainly would never say no to you. While I think Vi would try very hard to beat them only to fail, Mel would be unexplainably good at them and win you tons of prizes.

☼Mel carries a purse on her at all times and has absolutely everything in there. Pads, tampons, ibuprofen, lip gloss, hand sanitizer, wet wipes, anything you could possibly need is in that bag of hers. She also carries the big bag so you only have to carry around outfit purses than can barely handle a handful of coins. She also loves matching outfits with you!!! You probably own so many matching outfits, matching pjs, matching workout sets, as well as multiple items of clothing that are the exact same except for sizing.

☼She would be another one who constantly talks about her partner, albeit, in a much smoother way than Jayce does. Jayce jumps at every opportunity to bring you up in conversation, it's always flows naturally with Mel but she also brags far more. It's always, "That's great but my girlfriend..." or finding ways to talk about big accomplishments knowing damn well no one else can compete. See her girlfriend has a doctorate, or her girlfriend won this prestigious award, or her girlfriend was the first to do this...what were you saying about your wife though???

☼As for pet names, I think Mel would be another person who uses "my love" or "my dear" but I also think she'd be the type to refer to you as "princess". Once again, coming from royalty, she treats you as such, and that also comes down to how she refers to you. She also just likes calling you by name, usually in her sappier moments followed by her last name She can't get enough of the way it sounds rolling off her tongue and the two of you together just sounds perfect.

[cupidsncheerios]

i don’t get how everyone talks about “possessive jayce” and “obsessive jayce” and uses the post hexyoghurt breakup scene as proof when like. jayce had the most NORMAL reaction to that shit

respectfully guys he almost got assassinated like a week ago and just found out that his nonconsensual necromancy WORKED and now his boyfriend is back from the grave and taller and purpler, what do you expect him to say when said freshly-not-dead boyfriend immediately dumps him?

“oh i’m sorry you feel that way, viktor. i treasured our time together and i hope the same goes for you too. would you like me to get your belongings from my apartment before you ride off into the distance with your purple asscheeks hanging out?”

[fuckyeahisawthat]

So I've written before about how a lot of Arcane s2 is out of chronological order--intentionally, imo--and how this changes the impact of certain moments. But in this post I want to focus on one sequence of events in 2.05 and 2.06.

Let's assume that when Jayce comes back to his own timeline, he goes directly from the Hexgate to the commune to shoot Viktor. I think this is a reasonable assumption--in the commune, he's still "glitching" significantly, he's still pretty fucked up and disoriented, and it doesn't look like he's made a pit stop to shower, treat his wounds, or improve anything on his makeshift brace.

So I think this:

and this:

are the same day, maybe only an hour or a couple apart, depending on how long it takes Jayce to make the journey (the exact reverse of what he just did to escape the pit).

We see Jayce come back at the end of 2.05. But! We know that 2.06 takes place over at least two days and a night. Vi, Jinx, Isha and Vader/Warwick arrive in daylight.

They spend at least one night (but possibly many nights) there while Viktor tries to heal Vander.

Jayce arrives at the commune in what looks like late afternoon, while Ambessa's forces are also assembled outside, and the ensuing battle runs into the night.

So I think the sequence of events goes like this:

Vi and her family arrive at the commune and meet Viktor. At this point, Jayce has been gone for what seems like months. (My best guess is that Jayce spends something like 2 months in the torment nexus dimension, but he comes back to a point maybe 6-8 months after he disappeared in the main timeline. I think Mage Viktor could have sent him to any point in time and chose that moment specifically, but we don't know that until the end.)

Did Viktor try to contact him in those 6-8 months? Did he think Jayce died? Or maybe he hasn't been trying to seek him out and is doing his best not to think about him.

During a conversation with Jinx and Vi, a gear pops off the water pump, seemingly by chance.

It reminds Viktor of his partnership with Jayce and he starts sentimentally carrying it around.

While trying to heal Vander over the course of at least 24 hours, but possibly many days, he becomes aware of just how much his arcane powers are weakening.

Singed shows up and tries to convince Viktor to use Vander's blood to strengthen his (once again) failing body. Viktor refuses. I think it's at some point on this day--possibly right after this conversation--that Viktor sends Salo to steal the Hexgems, hoping to use them as a power source instead of Vander's blood.

During the conversation with Singed, he sees into Singed's memories and learns that all the doctor's fucked-up experiments have been done out of love for his daughter. Does Viktor suddenly see Jayce's actions in a different light? He's got the gear with him the whole time. Man he sure is thinking a lot about Jayce lately.

And then all of a sudden JAYCE IS THERE. Almost as if he summoned him. As if the gear was some kind of prophetic talisman. After months of no contact, Jayce is RIGHT THERE in the same room as Salo. Does it feel like...fate?

And ohhh Jayce is fucked up. Something in that guy is deeply damaged, and of course Viktor wants to fix it, that's what he does!

So he invites Jayce to come to the commune and Jayce heads there right away like immediately!! Doesn't even stop to drop his hammer off at home! He shows up that very day, probably mere hours after Viktor invited him!

And despite having just observed that there was something weird and off about Jayce, that he didn't seem like himself, despite having just seen him pancake Salo with extreme prejudice...he lets him walk right in. With his fuckoff hammer that probably still has Salo's blood on it! Because it's Jayce and Jayce needs his help and Jayce would never hurt him. Right??

[420technoblazeit]

the thing about jayce is that the same thing that makes him so annoying in season 1 also makes him so endearing in season 2. and it all comes down to his sense of loyalty. he spends a lot of time in the first season struggling with being a people pleaser and a great example of this is the aftermath of his progress day speech. heimerdinger insists that the hextech inventions need more work so he holds off on revealing them to the public, disappointing both viktor and mel. he's constantly being pulled thin by conflicting loyalties. he wants to appease the council so he rubs elbows with them and allows their illegal imports despite just raising security in the hexgates. he wants to keep the people of piltover safe so he puts up the barricade at the bridge even when that worsens the city's relationship with zaun. and when vi storms in and tells him that the best way to hurt silco is to destroy his shimmer factory he goes in swinging

but in season 2 after he quits the council jayce isn't obligated to please them and the people of piltover anymore and has some freedom to choose what he really wants. and it turns out that at his very core his loyalty is to viktor. jayce says it himself, he believes now that his place is in the lab with him, not on the council. that same devotion that led to him going astray in the first season is also what leads him to revive viktor with the hexcore. jayce just can't stand inaction. if he thinks he's found a solution he'll reach for it every time and when it comes to his place on the council that means acting against silco and intentionally or not escalating the zaun-piltover conflict. but when it comes to viktor that means doing whatever he can to save him even to the bitter end. and that makes him a much more sympathetic character because while those choices aren't necessarily morally better than the ones he made in season 1 they're also primarily motivated by his love for viktor

[verysadlesbian]

Now that I have sat with my thoughts for a couple of days, I want to talk about some things:

There are too many people trying to defend Caitlyn's actions, so I have to say: NOTHING, and I mean absolutely nothing, justifies fascism. "Oh but she's grieving and blahblahblah" you know who else was grieving?! The mother of the kid Jayce killed in season 1. You know who else?! Vi and Powder that saw enforcers murder their parents, just like many other children from Zaun. Caitlyn destroyed her mother's legacy in the police brutality™️ operation, you understand how fucked up this is? Her mother's recording is saying "the people from Zaun deserve to breathe," and she did it anyways. If you sympathise with Piltover, you're either part of the problem or naïve enough to fall for fascist propaganda.

Ekko is the only real one. Not a single slightly evil bone in his body. Everything he does, he does for his people, not in a persuit of power, or revenge. He's genuinely good, so much so that he's willing to hang out with not only Heimerdinger, but also Jayce just so he could protect his community. He deserves so much better and I'll be heartbroken when he finds out that Vi was involved in Caitlyn's operation.

I don't know how Vi can forgive Caitlyn after what happened. I know I wouldn't. It just goes to show that you cannot trust that privileged people are going to be different just cause they were nice to you. Viktor found that out in season 1 and Vi is finding this out now.

Do you guys think the black rose is gonna pretend to be Mel?! I don't play LOL, but it is to my understanding that the black rose can make clones, so it'd be obvious that they're gonna take Mel's identity

Saw some people on twitter and tiktok (of course they were there) denying that jayvik has heavy romantic undertones by stating "they're friends! They're like brothers! Why everything has to be gay now?" and EVERYTHING HAS TO BE GAY CAUSE I SAID SO, NOW SHUT UP! But seriously though, I understand that to cishet viewers, their relationship might seem strictly platonic, 'cause they lack the eye that we, queer people, have for these things. And that's okay. Not everyone needs to understand the nuances of a homoerotic friendship. But in the same breath, they're quick to say that "Viktor was thinking about Sky, so obviously he's straight" and that pissed me off, cause: 1 - have you looked at him?; 2 - He feels responsible for her death (cause he was)! He's thinking about her because he feels GUILTY! that man was not interested in Sky whatsoever; 3 - it's so heteronormative to think that a man and a woman can't be friends, they're so adamant in denying jayvik cause "they're friends!" but they do the same fucking thing!; and finally 4 - HAVE YOU LOOKED AT HIM???

The trio "Sevika, Jinx and Isha" is probably my favourite thing in Act 1, I just can't get enough of them.

[hivemuthur]

Hi! Thank you so much for your beautiful work!! I hope it’s okay to make a silly little request

So I’m in my 20s (late 20s I might add) but I’ve never ever even kissed anyone yet and I kinda really want to so… Would you consider writing modern au!Viktor with a virgin!f!reader? Something about a first kiss or maybe having sex for the first time or first relationship..? Anything first in general 👉👈

Anon, I am beating my chest that it took so long and hope that you will get a notification that it is published (I sometimes don't when I ask anon questions). I was a late bloomer myself and it has some massive advantages. Though I hope you get to kiss someone nice soon!

First Rites

viktorxfemale!virgin!reader mature, kissing and making out :)

author’s note: Nothing smart to say here, really, other than I will probably write a part two of this :') @rennethen beta read!

word count: 1,8K

—

Your eyes sweep over Jayce’s tongue on Mel’s before you catch yourself staring. And even that doesn’t stop you. You analyse the movement of their hands, the way Jayce’s hips press into Mel’s, memorising all the smacking sounds they try to muffle into gentle giggles, hoping that you and Viktor are doing a decent job of not looking. When in reality, it’s the exact opposite.

It always goes the same way: the clack of heels echoing through the corridor outside the lab already has Jayce perking up. He grunts, clears his throat, and gets up slowly to avoid raised eyebrows and Viktor stating the obvious, like, “I guess this means you’re off for the day?”

Then, Jayce gives an apologetic smile and strolls toward the door, opening it before Mel can even knock. He exchanges a shy, stupid, cheek-reddened “Hi” for her sultry, thick “Hi yourself.” Their greetings die somewhere in their mouths when their lips meet in a first hello kiss. That one doesn’t last very long—soon, it shifts into an I missed you kiss. That lingers before melting into an I want you kiss or an I’d rather eat you than dinner kiss. And those are your favourites.

Even when you try very hard not to imagine what kind of kiss might follow that, you can’t help yourself. You end up blushed and flustered, your mind spinning with curiosity.

So you stare—impolitely, some might say—but for you, it’s research. You study and memorise, committing their courtship to memory so you can replay the scene later, your fingers wandering over your own lips as you imagine what it would be like. To have someone’s lips on yours, someone’s tongue in your mouth. It doesn’t sound all that appealing or hygienic, but it looks fantastic. It makes you feel a very much welcomed weirdness in your chest and belly, and having nothing else to supplement those feelings with, you just outright stare.

“It’s quite rude, if you ask me,” Viktor’s voice cuts through your thoughts just as Mel lets out a small, startled sound at Jayce’s hand cradling the back of her neck.

“Uh, I know. They should take it somewhere else, really,” you whisper back, but your tone is far from condemning. You say it absentmindedly, your eyes still glued to their mouths, chin propped on your hand, your scribbling abandoned the moment Jayce stood up.

“I meant your intense staring. But yes, such activities should be performed outside of work areas,” Viktor mumbles, not looking up from his notes.

Your blush deepens into an intense red hue as you finally look away and cover your face with your hand.

“Oh, I um… I didn’t mean to, it’s just—”

“All right, we’re off! Don’t work too hard while I’m gone!” Jayce’s beaming laughter cuts you off. Before you or Viktor can reply with a snarky comment, he sweeps Mel by the waist, and they disappear into the hallway. The sound of Mel’s giggle and the uneven click of her heels on the stone floors make you wonder if Jayce is kissing her neck or pressing her against a wall.

“It’s just?” Viktor insists, finally looking at you, his face forming an unamused expression.

“Nothing. It’s just nothing,” you respond quickly, picking up your pen with a shaky hand. You force yourself back to scribbling, even though your handwriting comes out ragged, suffering from both the excitement and the fear of Viktor’s prying eyes. But you do it anyway, desperate for any kind of shield.

“It does not look like nothing,” Viktor pushes, rotating in his chair to face you fully. You deepen your hunch, almost pressing your nose into the paper. How mortifying.

“I understand the concept of unrequited attraction, but you should really do yourself a favour and quit this self-flagellating practice of ogling every time Mel picks him up. It doesn’t lead to anything beneficial and impacts your focus,” Viktor drones, his nasal tone close to scolding.

You feel so scrutinised that you don’t even bother to correct his misunderstanding of your habit. You just sigh and continue your fake note taking.

“Trust me, I would know,” Viktor adds.

That catches your attention. How would he know anything about what you’re going through?

“Whatever do you mean by that?” you ask, keeping your face turned toward your notes, though your eyes wander to glance at him. He looks… unhappy? Mildly irritated? Annoyed at your lack of shame and focus?

“I am merely stating that lusting after someone out of reach is, at best, futile and, at worst, a path to ruin. For your own good, I would refrain from such practices,” Viktor says quietly.

You blink a few times as the words settle in your mind. He thinks I’m in love with Jayce? Lusting after him? It’s almost funny when you think that what you’ve been doing is in fact, just lusting.

“I can assure you, I am not attracted to Jayce. Or Mel, for that matter. I just—”

“Oh?” Viktor’s head snaps up so fast it surprises even him. He internally scolds himself for the involuntary reaction, but the undeniable punch of hope makes him lose control of his body for a moment. His pupils are wide, his brows lifted all the way to his forehead. “You’re not?”

“Uh, no,” you sigh, finally turning to face him properly. Your head dips as embarrassment weighs you down, but maybe admitting it will make it easier to carry. “I’m just… collecting research. For whenever I’ll have the opportunity. If ever. I mean, it’s not like I’ve ever—”

“What?” Viktor’s voice comes out too sharp. Shit. He scowls at himself—internally, of course—for how poorly he masked his shock. Way to be sensitive.

You wince, sinking deeper into yourself.

“Oh. Forgive me. I didn’t mean to… offend you,” he says carefully, trying not to sound too excited. His hand hovers over your knee while he calculates whether it would be proper to comfort you with a gentle touch. If you would like that. If you would like him to touch you.

But before he can decide, you turn back to your side of the desk, avoiding his gaze. “I’m not that easy to offend. It’s just not something I’m comfortable with. I’m a bit… too old for that, you know.”

And as if having a mild upper hand in this situation pumps Viktor with extra courage, he twists your chair back and rolls it close to his, until the sides of your thighs touch. “I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable, then. I actually mean for the opposite of that,” he breathes and allows himself to glance over your lips, briefly. But you notice.

“Viktor?” you whisper, feeling an invisible force pulling you closer to his face. His arm extends over your legs, gripping the edge of your seat, and you feel the mild heat radiating off his body. You can smell his scent lingering in the space between you as you indulge in small glances at his eyes and lips.

“If you allow me, I could provide you with… some hands-on experience. Unless, of course, I am not—”

“Yes,” you answer quickly, and Viktor exhales into a relieved smile. He mumbles an “okay,” as if bracing himself, and closes the little distance left between you. His mouth presses against yours almost innocently as he takes your upper lip between his. His lips are soft and warm. It’s a long, lingering peck that has your eyes fluttering shut and a pool of heat blooming in your belly. You find yourself leaning into the kiss, your hips on the edge of the chair, to the point that your chests almost press against each other.

When he disconnects from you, it’s only to breathe against your mouth, “Is this alright?”

“Yes,” you say shakily, your lips brushing his. You open your eyes only to see a pretty pink blush splattered across his cheeks and ears. A smile tugs at the corner of his mouth when he asks, “Would you like me to continue?”

“Please, continue,” you exhale, and something glints in Viktor’s eyes. Emboldened by your enthusiasm, he slides the hand gripping the stool to the back of your seat, pulling you closer until you can almost feel the flutter of his heart against yours as your chests meet. His other hand cradles the back of your neck, and oh, it’s the same gesture Jayce granted Mel that you’ve longed for so dearly, and you feel your skin prickling under Viktor’s touch.

His mouth is back on yours, this time the press is firmer, as he parts your lips with his tongue and—oh. Just oh, as your eyebrows knit together and the warmest of feelings floods your chest, making your hands jolt out to fist his vest, and you sigh the sweetest of sounds into his mouth. And he doesn’t stop there—the hand from the chair slides up your side, rests on your ribcage, fingers digging in when he—oh—also makes a sound. The hottest of sounds, a honey-dripping moan that makes you bite his lower lip, craving to eat him up with a long spoon.

And when he loses himself a bit—grunts and sighs into you, his hands wandering to rest at the base of your spine and cradle your cheek in a firm grip—you don’t even know how it happens, but you slide your hips to straddle his and press yourself down on him. To your delight, he has many more of those pretty sounds, some even forming something close to your name, making you melt into his arms.

When he pulls away, it’s only for an inch. “Oh, my,” Viktor mutters, rubbing his face against yours and kissing your neck. You like that too, but you already miss his hot tongue in your mouth. “A natural talent, I see,” he chuckles, and you blush even more at the thought of what he would say if he knew how much practice you’ve done on the crook of your fist alone in your room.

He looks up at you, all flustered and pretty, swiping his thumb across your glistening lip. He doesn’t know what’s come over him when he says, “If you wish to explore this further, I can offer my… expertise.” What he wants to say is that he’s been thinking about this too many times to count, leaving him flustered and pretty countless times before, but he doesn’t want to scare you away. So he just keeps looking at you expectantly, willing his mouth to shut.

“I would like that,” you mutter shyly, noticing how Viktor’s chest sags with relief. To think that he was there, willing and within your reach all this time makes you feel silly for all those times you stared at Jayce and Mel longingly. And you’re convinced you’ll continue to watch them—not with longing, but with anticipation for when they finally stroll off to their date, so you can sink your lips onto Viktor’s.