skvaderarts

[skvaderarts]

Plasma and Ozone

Chapter 1: Inverse and Antithesis

Summary: Word Count 4k AO3 Link

The plan was simple, if not grim. Jayce would return to Piltover, track down Viktor, and bring an end to things before they could get any worse. But when he arrives and finds himself in the depths of a version of Zaun that he doesn’t recognize, and in the company of an enigmatic yet somehow familiar scientist, will feelings both new and old get the better of him? And will he be able to return to Piltover without his help? TLDR: S2 Ep 6 Jayce and Machine Herald Viktor find a very cathartic way of settling their mutual frustrations with their better halves. Wrote this because I saw a Bluesky post and said "Fuck it, why not?"

Chapters: (1) (2) (3) Masterlist 1/3

Inverse and Antithesis

Notes: I will be upfront with you all, I have never played League because I've been told by everyone on Earth not to. I read The House on Emberflit Alley and A Quick Fix, watched footage from Legends of Runeterra, and checked out Jayce and Viktor's old biographies, but the League of Legends lore is a bottomless pit, and I found myself staring into the abyss to the point where I was starting to get lost, so I'll make a second attempt soon. If there are any good sources of lore out there, let me know! And again, sorry if the characterization isn't correct. I'm trying. Constructive criticism is welcome!

—

The air was still, the night uncharacteristically silent, especially by the standards of the streets of Zaun. The evening sky, what little of it that could still be seen in the shadow of the towering buildings above, was dim, allowing only the faintest traces of starlight to shine down from below. Starlight that did not reach the confines of Emberflit Alley.

There was a shift in the twilight air. Something passing for a breeze between the stifling streets suddenly carried the scent of ozone and static electricity. Of the unseen and the otherworldly. There was absolutely nothing, and then, in the place where that nothing resided, suddenly there was something. Fragmented splinters in a menagerie of shifting hues shredded through the fabric of the pitch black void of night and the rolling fog that settled over the streets, amalgamating into the vague outline of a man before the figure reconstituted and was sent crashing back down to terra firma without so much as a parting word, their buckling legs trembling against the cool cobblestones that lined the street beneath them. The otherworldly screech that accompanied it ceased. The man clambered disorientedly to his feet, reaching towards it, and in the blink of an eye, it dissipated and returned to the unfathomable void from whence it came. Vanished without a trace as though it had never been.

Holding his head as he attempted to regain his balance, Jayce squinted and winced. His head felt as though it had been stoved in with a blunt object. His ears rang like a church bell, and his teeth ached in his skull from the sensation. It was akin to the feeling of suffering from severe brain freeze, only he wasn’t cold. Nothing was cold, in fact. The air was stifling and damp where he stood, chemical spray and wet mist frothing forward from a damaged pipe to the side of him, no doubt aiding in the production of the mist that hung low in the air around him. Everything was somehow too bright for him, despite the darkness. But as he blinked slowly and allowed his eyes to adjust to the inky blackness, his breath coming in heavy, unsteady drags, he thought he caught a glimpse of something in the distance ahead of him. At the other end of the alley. The outline of something. Someone. And a chill ran down his spine. It was coming this way.

Gripping the handle of his hammer, Jayce could only watch as the figure lurked in the shadows of the alleyway, coming ever closer with each heavy, muffled footfall. Their gait was ever so slightly off, yet oh so deliberate as they stalked ever closer. A set of bright, almost luminescent eyes cut through the darkness, burrowing into his very soul. Jayce raised the hammer as if to ward off the being that stood before him, but they did not seem dissuaded in the slightest. Instead, he watched as their head pitched ever so slightly to one side as they appeared to examine him. Scrutinize what he held in his grip as though it were an object of great fascination and intrigue. A trinket to be placed in a curio cabinet and not a weapon capable of terrible devastation. As if to drive home the point, Jayce growled under his breath, his long, shaggy hair falling into his eyes as he pulled back on the handle of the device, opening its great, warped maw like the teeth-filled jaws of a great and terrible serpent. Exposing the arcane glow of the corrupted Hex Crystal within. It was an invitation to death.

An invitation that was accepted without hesitation.

From behind the shadowy individual came some sort of appendage, mechanical yet fluid. The grasping digits of what was probably meant to resemble a hand folded open, and a brilliant glow emanated from within it’s facsimile of a palm before, without warning, a burst of searing energy soared towards him from long range, narrowly missing his head as he ducked down and took cover behind a stack of wooden crates and barrels on the far side of the damaged pipe. His heart raced, the sound of his pulse pounding in his ears as he panted heavily.

It seemed that this new opponent wasn’t impressed. Or in the mood for warning shots.

Standing from his place behind what flimsy cover he’d managed to find, he felt his heart sink as he realized that he was now alone in the alley. The scent of plasma clung to the air as his eyes fell over the outline of the warped Mercury Hammer, standing upright where he’d left it just a few feet away. His leg burned from a combination of his graceless landing and his shoddily constructed brace, but he cursed under his breath and clambered over to it anyway, wrapping his fingers around its handle again. Eyes surveying the area for any signs of life. Again, he found nothing.

Instinct told him that it was a terrible idea. That he should turn tail and book it in the opposite direction. Paranoia played at the fraying edges of his sanity. What if they shoot you when your back is turned? You can’t dodge what you can’t see? But all of his considerations were short-lived when a moment later, something cold and metallic latched around his throat and hefted him up off his feet. He felt it coil around his throat, clamping down with the force of a hydraulic press. He felt the outline of bricks against his back and fingers against his soon-to-be bruised skin. He felt his feet kick at empty air as the ground failed to meet his feet. And then he felt darkness play at the back of his eyes, his lungs burning as he struggled against something unseen. He forced his gaze downward, following the length of what seemed to be an arm to the source of the crushing force that constrained him until he met them again. Those same glowing eyes, gleaming like illuminated hunks of amber in the dim evening light. Puncturing his very soul. There were no features. Nothing that he could read. Only the pittyless gaze of what seemed to be some sort of automaton, but far too savvy and sentient to be anything but human.

Jayce brought his hands up to his throat, trying to pry the appendages loose, but was met with only utter failure and scratches from his own ragged nails for his efforts. He felt fury rush through him, white hot like molten metal as he thrashed and clambered defiantly under the indignity of it. As if applying just a bit more force against an immovable object would be enough to sway it. And then all at once, the rage was replaced with abject terror, raw and primal as he realized that nothing he did was enough to allow him to gain purchase against his assailant. He was outmatched, plain and simple. He felt his pupils dilate, filling with unspent tears as his heart hammered in his chest and his breath sputtered. He could feel the fire in his lungs. Fatigue settled into his muscles as his limbs slumped down against his sides in futility. He managed a soft whimper, but little else.

And then he felt his ass crash against the pavement.

A choked gasp was the only sound that he could make in response, his eyes clenching shut as he winced in pain and bit his bottom lip, nearly puncturing it as he stifled a cry of anguish. If not for the fact that he knew firsthand what a broken bone felt like, he would’ve sworn that he’d just shattered his tailbone. Jayce hazarded a glance up at his attacker, only to find them looking down at him. He swore he saw them blink underneath the inhuman shell that they wore over their skull in the place of skin, and his blood ran cold as the grave in response. The spit in his mouth evaporated as blood thrummed through his ears, and his head lurched. Tentatively, he began to open his mouth to speak, and then everything went black.

—

It was rare that Jayce Talis felt small. Insignificant in the face of something greater. Until he’d been faced with the enormity of his fate. Until he saw the masked man tower over him like a spire, casting a long shadow over darkened waters.

He wasn’t even standing. A door had opened above him, followed by the sound of thudding footsteps as his captor descended a staircase into whatever dark antechamber Jayce currently occupied. He’d paused in front of him, his gaze lingering for just long enough to be unsettling, and then he’d disappeared into a corner only to return with a flimsy old wooden chair. It scraped across the wooden floor and then wobbled into an upright position before the individual in question sat down in it with a surprising amount of grace, considering his uneven gait and towering stature.

And there he’d remained for the last few minutes. Still as the grave and utterly silent.

If his intention had been to wear Jayce down, then it was working. The silence was utterly maddening. The idea of being at his mercy even more so. Time seemed to stand still under the gaze of his jailor, punctuated only by the occasional blink, and Jayce was starting to wonder if that was anything more than his imagination. When the point came where the anticipation became unbearable, Jayce lunged at him, only to find himself collared and leashed to the wall like some sort of neglected, unloved guard dog tethered to a house it was doomed to guard. He huffed, as insulted as his neck was sore, eyes filled with newfound resolve and feral hunger in equal measure.

Finally, his captor exhaled almost tiredly before standing up and gesturing towards the right side of the room. Towards the ruined Mercury Hammer that he hadn’t registered was there until now. Jayce’s eyes darted around erratically. He’d yet to use it, but something told him that he wasn’t going to like where this was going. But then again, at least it couldn’t be used against him. After all, he was the only one who knew how it worked.

He hefted the hammer up with surprising ease, considering its sheer weight, and brought it over to him, plopping it down with a thud just outside of Jayce’s reach. Jayce gave him a questioning, panicked look as he examined the instrument with the eye of a consummate professional, allowing his fingertips on his right hand to graze the uneven surface of the weapon’s handle until it found the grip. He gingerly coiled his fingers around it, gripping it just tightly enough to make his strength known before redirecting his attention back to Jayce. Silently prodding him, asking all the right questions despite never uttering a single word. 

Jayce only glared in response, unsure if the other man could even see him in the dim light of the basement. He wasn’t intimidated.

And then the man notched the handle into the correct divot with practiced ease as though he had done so a thousand times, opening the head of the hammer and exposing the corrupted Hex Crystal within. Fractal patterns refracted off the walls, dancing across every surface with kaleidoscopic brilliance and illuminating the outline of every surface. Jayce watched as the man who held him prisoner reached down towards the crystal, ostensibly unbothered by the potential harm it could cause him, as though he knew with the utmost certainty that it would do no such thing.

Jayce groaned, shaking his head as if he could physically shake his thoughts from his head as he flinched, a sudden flash of something slamming into his skull. For a moment, all he could see were the telltale incomprehensible fragments of the Arcane, his head throbbing as the episode subsided and the capacity for vision was restored. He blinked, regarding the other man with equal parts confusion and irritation as he realized that he had paused just shy of touching the crystal, more than likely to discern if Jayce was having an episode of some sort. 

Jayce didn’t like the way he was looking at him. Didn’t like the way his unreadable eyes lingered on him, even if he wasn’t making any expression in particular. He could just feel the judgment oozing off of him like sludge out of a factory waste pipe. Or so he thought. But even still, he hadn’t killed him. Yet. So perhaps he could be cordial enough to return the favor.

“I wouldn’t do that.”

The man stopped dead in his tracks, darting his head up to look at him as though something about the way he spoke startled him. Perhaps it was the fact that he could talk at all and not simply growl and snarl that got his attention, but Jayce couldn’t help but notice that something about the reaction just seemed… off.

As if on cue, the man touched a fingertip to the crystal, and the audible sound of electricity arching off of metal could be heard. There was a loud pop, and suddenly his arm slumped over against his side, unmoving. He sighed deeply, whether out of irritation or to suppress pain, Jayce could only guess, but the scent of fried circuitry and plasma filled the still air of the basement holding area regardless. After a moment, the man deactivated the hammer and released his grip on it again, allowing it to slump over against the floor. And then he looked up again, his demeanor somehow more hostile than it had ever been. “He sent you, didn’t he?”

Jayce felt his heart skip a beat. There was a certain inherent shock that often accompanied hearing an imposing stranger speak for the first time; a certain sense of expectation as to what they might sound like. But the last thing that Jayce had expected was for the voice to sound familiar.

No. It simply couldn’t be…

“Do I know you?” His mind discarded the logical sense of fear it had known moments ago. It brushed aside any semblance of self-preservation and made ample room for new, impenetrable combinations of unwelcome emotions to take root. Feelings that only heightened his mounting sense of disquietment and feral survivalism. Confusion, anxiety, and disbelief bloomed in his chest as he processed the way the man before him had practically growled those words, and the undeniable effect that hearing them spoken in such a low tone had on him. And then it hit him.

Jayce had noticed that something felt different about this place, but now he fully understood. He was in the wrong timeline again. Damn it.

“I asked myself the same question.” His counterpart answered, taking note of the way Jayce seemed to be cycling through emotions like a roulette wheel. Jayce’s eyes were wild, pupils dilated and irises gleaming with feral mystique and frenzied madness. Only the vestiges of sanity clung to him, disturbed as he seemed to be. “Currently, I lack essential details about the situation at hand. I intend to remedy that. And that is where you come in.”

Each syllable spoken seemed to unravel him further. If he’d been in his right mind, Jayce might have thought to think before he spoke. Might have tempered the cascading waves of excitement, anguish, and blinding rage that boiled within him like fissile material in a nuclear reactor. Might have. But as things stood, he was none of those things, and hadn’t been for longer than he could remember.

“... Viktor… It’s me. Jayce. Jayce Talis. I-” Jayce hardly got the chance to blink before the back of his head met the wall, metal fingers wrapping around the leather collar around his neck, restraining him but not choking. Not this time, at least. The other man leaned in close, eyes somehow growing brighter with every passing moment as he stared at him. Against his better judgment, Jayce continued to speak, even as he struggled against the grip of his attacker, gnashing his teeth. “I know I’m not your Jayce, but still, I-”

“Stop. Talking. Not another word.” He growled, clearly unamused by this sudden turn of events. He pressed into him, looking him up and down with a careful eye as though he were attempting to take in every detail of him. And then, without warning, he released him and stood up, backing away as if he were in utter disbelief. He paused a few feet away and clasped his right hand over his damaged arm, looming. Processing. The air grew heavy. And then, after what felt like a lifetime, he spoke. “... Elaborate. Now.”

“It would be easier to talk if I weren’t chained to a wall!” Jayce shouted through gritted teeth, pulling at his binds as he struggled fruitlessly. He wasn’t fundamentally opposed to being tied up, but this…

“No, it wouldn’t. Your current conditions have little bearing on your capacity to speak.” The man shook his head as if chastising a naughty child, not a hint of humor present in his voice. Jayce would’ve mistaken it for dry humor if not for his body language. “But my rapidly dwindling patience just might.”

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” Jayce practically spat, another wave of pain causing him to flinch as he huffed in pain, blinking away tears. He was frustrated, perhaps more so than he could remember being in quite some time. His extended stay in purgatory had been frustrating in a completely different way. Demoralizing and maddening to the extreme, but this… this was another type of madness entirely.

The towering man leaned in, his good arm holding his damaged arm tucked behind his back in a sort of mock bow. His countenance was foreboding and his voice low, but there was something almost enticing about it despite the way it caused Jayce to instinctively recoil in discomfort. “You have no comprehension of what I am capable of believing.”

Despite himself, despite everything, Jayce managed a bitter, almost sardonic little huff. “I stumbled into a tear in the fabric of reality, got spat out in an alternate version of Piltover that was destroyed, spent multiple months in a cave with a broken leg eating gods knows what, and then crawled to the top of Piltover just to get sent back into the wrong timeline yet again, so I’m sorry, but I’m just not in the mood for this right now, Viktor.”

Jayce sighed, tired. Suddenly, everything hurt, especially his head. Nothing made sense anymore, and it hadn’t for a long time. Not since Progress Day, if he was being honest with himself. Since the night that everything had fallen apart. “I can’t make you believe me, but it’s the truth.”

Quiet settled over the room as Jayce’s words began to sink in. Suddenly, he was aware of every creak in the floorboards, and the weight of the world as it rested against his shoulders. The reality of what he was supposed to be doing at that moment in time in his own timeline now unfathomable to him.

Just as the reality of the fact that Viktor no doubt thought he was insane, if this truly was Viktor at all, settled over him, the man in question let out a beleaguered sigh as though somehow this wasn’t the worst thing he’d heard recently. He stepped forward and knelt down in front of him, looking him in the eyes. Grasping the collar around his neck. “Unfortunately, I am inclined to believe you.”

Jayce stared. And then his brow furrowed, a flash of confused madness in his eyes. He was telling the truth, sure, but it all just felt a bit too… easy?

Staring in mild disbelief as he heard the lock at the back of his neck click, Jayce remained still as Viktor unlocked the shackle and stood, allowing Jayce a moment to gain his bearings. The haggard man held his head in his hands, closing his eyes as the room began to sway. He felt awful all of a sudden. Like his head was being pressed flat in a factory compactor. It wasn’t a welcome sensation, to say the least. “What? Just like that? Why?”

“Because you are a poor companion, and an even worse liar.” The other man answered as he headed towards the staircase, pausing at the bottom to look over his shoulder. It was clear that he expected Jayce to follow. And for all intents and purposes, he should feel nothing but excitement about the prospect of leaving the dungeon his host called a basement, but the pain in his head was far too unrelenting for him to feel anything else.

Jayce opened his mouth to object as he wobbled over to him, but then closed it again. Outside of the single time that Viktor had playfully referred to him as egotistical when they’d first met after seeing his tendency to sign every page of his own notes, he’d never heard Viktor insult him, not even in jest. He wasn’t so much angry as he was genuinely taken aback by how bitter he seemed. What had happened between the two of them?

As they reached the top of the staircase, Viktor turned to the left into what appeared to be a small sitting area. It was furnished in a manner that reminded him more of a medical office than a home parlor, but seemed serviceable nonetheless. On the other side of it was a door. One that he couldn’t help but wonder about as he staggered into the room, his head screaming as his brain slammed inside his skull. His vision blurred and his breath came in labored huffs as he braced himself against the back of the chair. Every atom of his being wanted to flee. To find shelter and hide away from whatever this was. But there was no running from his own mind.

“Come. We have work to do.” The man said as he turned the handle of the door and pushed it open. He wasn’t quite holding it open for him, but he did appear to be waiting with his back to him, unaware of the turmoil unfolding just outside of his peripheral vision.

“We do?” Jayce managed as the last coherent lobe of his brain began to falter and shut down, everything going dim. He swayed.

“Yes. One version of you is already too much for a single timeline as it is.” Viktor said as he turned towards him. Jayce could practically hear him rolling his eyes. I might’ve been amusing or annoying to him if he were more coherent. He couldn’t be sure. The last thing he recalled was his companion tilting his head to the side as if surprised and taking a step towards him as he caught sight of the state he was in. Of his no doubt pale pallor and glassy eyes as everything became unbearably blurry.

“Talis?”

And then everything went black.

—

Viktor gets his turn to be unhinged in the next chapter lol! Don’t worry, I’m here to make them worse, not better. Okay, maybe a little better, but still. Unhinged enough to have an unhinged sex scene, and then be hit with the world's worst case of post-nut clarity. But I digress. See you soon! Thanks!

[skvaderarts]

Bottom Jayce Week Day 5: All In The Name of Science

Summary: Word Count 8.1k! AO3 Link

Summary: After Viktor is gifted an experimental and highly suspect strain of Shimmer by Singed in the hopes of curing his illness, he disappears into the depths of the Undercity. And when Jayce finally manages to track him down, he isn’t ready for what he finds. Or how strangely affected he is by it.

I saw the concept art of THIS Viktor and thought he would be perfect for this occasion. Quick timeline note: In this timeline, Viktor disappeared BEFORE the second time he used Shimmer and Sky died saving him. It takes place around the time that Ekko and Heimerdinger would have shown up in the show. Jayce is still crashing out and going through his newly divorced ark, just for a different reason. Just wanted to clear up any potential confusion. The concept art in question, courtesy of this wonderful art and its comment section: https://www.tumblr.com/starklike34/784777519897427968/couldnt-resist-seeing-viktors-new-concepts-xd?source=share

My Bottom Jayce Week Lineup can be found HERE!

So if you want to check out all the other fics for the other days, go for it! I hope you enjoy, and thanks for reading!

The Jayce and Viktor in question:

All In The Name of Science

Summary: After Viktor is gifted an experimental and highly suspect strain of Shimmer by Singed in the hopes of curing his illness, he disappears into the depths of the Undercity. And when Jayce finally manages to track him down, he isn’t ready for what he finds. Or how strangely affected he is by it.

—

The explosion at the Capitol building had silenced Piltover, but the lab had grown cold long before then.

His sudden lack of interest in his life’s work had been an unwelcome development, at least as far as the council was concerned. He was the golden child of Piltover, the Man of Progress, and an irrefutable symbol of the city's greatness. But as things stood, he was little more than a fixture, rooted in place in his lab as the even sun faded around him.

No one had seen Viktor in weeks. Jayce feared the worst.

Again and again, he combed over their last conversation together in his mind, his words gnawing at him like a festering wound that refused to stop bleeding. “I need to think,” he’d said. But when he’d returned to the lab, he’d found nothing. He’d failed to take notice at first, but now all he could do was grit his teeth and chastise himself for how long it had taken him to realize that something was amiss. That Viktor hadn’t been there in days.

Jayce had rushed to their lab in a frenzy of excitement and frayed nerves to present the blueprint for a lasting peace between Zaun and Piltover to Viktor. To invite him to the council meeting. But he’d simply vanished. He hadn’t been at the pump station. He hadn’t been at his apartment. He hadn’t been seen anywhere. And in the wake of a bomb tearing through Piltover, he remained unseen. Silent. As untraceable as smoke over water.

It wasn’t like him.

Jayce’s city needed him, but all he could think about was Viktor. When he closed his eyes, images of magic and mechanisms faded away as Viktor’s visage replaced them. The golden glow of his eyes haunted Jayce’s guilt-addled mind like a specter looming over dark water. The timbre of Viktor’s laugh, his accent, and the rare warmth of his smile.

The double doors to the lab opened, and he knew without looking up that it wasn’t who he wanted it to be.

“Oh, there you are. I was hoping you’d be here.” Came a familiar voice. It was enough to draw his attention from the object he held in his hands as he leaned against his desk, even if only for a moment.

“Sky?” Jayce lifted his head to regard her properly. Or, at least something akin to it. He could barely fake the small, tired smile that he gave her as she approached, holding something tightly between her intertwined hands.

Her presence wasn’t unwelcome. Far from it. But in truth, he’d simply forgotten about her role in their lab, so engrossed he’d been in the depths of his quasi-mourning. Jayce had spent the last while going through the motions and in and out of a sort of fugue state, unable to cope with the sudden disappearance of his partner. Worrying about him. Wondering if they still had time left. He realized now that he had taken their time together for granted amidst the thousand other things that demanded his attention, and a part of himself was wholly unwilling to grant himself even a sliver of forgiveness, even if it had been an unintended misstep.

“It’s urgent.” She said as she extended her hand to him, handing him a slightly crumpled envelope that had been visibly smoothed flat by worried hands. The seal was broken, but the paper inside didn’t show evidence of being unfolded, at least not fully. She wore a grim look upon her face as she watched him hesitantly take it. 

Sky’s eyes drifted to the object in his off hand. A picture frame cradling a photograph of the two of them together at the Distinguished Innovator’s Competition, winning their first award together. A knowing sadness filled her eyes as she extended her hand and placed it on Jayce’s shoulder, looking away. Unwilling to meet his gaze as her hand dropped back to her side. “Look at the handwriting…”

Hesitantly, he sighed and gently set the picture down as though it would shatter at the slightest touch. He opened the envelope and retrieved the paper inside, unfolding it almost absentmindedly. And then his eyes widened. A palpable wave of anxiety and bewilderment overcame him the moment he beheld his own name, scribbled in a woefully familiar flowing, if not slightly messy and hastily scribbled, script.

He felt his heart catch in his throat, as excited as he was genuinely terrified. Gripping it tightly as his heart clenched and fell into his stomach.

Dear Jayce,

I wished to be in contact with you sooner, but there were complications. Word has reached me in the Undercity of the attack on the capital and the subsequent memorial, and of your miraculous survival. I am grateful that you were unharmed. It appears that you remain as indestructible as ever. Please do not test this theory further.

Jayce rolled his shoulder and adjusted his neck, suddenly all too aware of the dull throb that traveled diagonally across his back as he hunched over to read. Something akin to an amused smirk spread across his face, the light returning to his eyes as he beheld the writing with reverence as though it were sacred script. It was really him.

It was not my intention to abandon you so suddenly and without explanation. There was ample cause, I assure you. The circumstances I now find myself embroiled in are as unexpected as they are potentially hazardous, and I do not expect that to change anytime soon. I did not wish to endanger you. I intend to be in contact again in the future, but I cannot say when. I am sorry I cannot delineate, and for the worry I have no doubt caused you. Unfortunately, that is all I can say for now. Something must be taken care of. Urgently. Please give my regards to Mrs. Young.

Do not look for me.

Your Partner, Viktor.

Jayce clasped the piece of paper as though it would vanish should he relinquish it, and take all the hope it had restored to him with it. His brow furrowed as he considered the unsettling implications of its latter half, worry settling into his heart as he contemplated what dire situation Viktor now could’ve found himself in. This was both like him and very much unlike him all at once, and that diversion from the norm cut him to the quick.

Jayce glanced up at Sky, taking note of the way she almost seemed to bounce in place from anticipation, clutching her notebook to her chest as if it would shield her from her own worry. He gave her a questioning look, glancing between the letter and her anxiety-riddled eyes. “Did you read it?”

“I read enough.” She rubbed her neck in discomfort before adjusting her glasses. “The header. Just enough to see that it’s addressed to you, so…”

Jayce handed it to her, standing to grab his coat with a soft smile. Sometimes, Sky was too sweet and well-meaning for her own good. He wasn’t blind to the fact that she cared for Viktor, even if he didn’t know to what extent. She needed answers. Closure. Hopefully, this would provide something close to that. He left the document in her care with a few pats on the shoulder as he shrugged into his jacket and strided towards the door to the lab, pushing it open as he vacated the premises.

There was somewhere he needed to be.

—

The Undercity was always dark, but something about tonight felt especially bleak and oppressive.

Jayce shuffeled along in the darkness, his feet practically dragging against the ground beneath him as he stumbled along. He was no stranger to the concept of fatigue. His current state was one that he’d been in numerous times before, and would undeniably find himself in again, but as he descended into the depths of the Undercity, it almost felt as though a weight was pressing down on him. Like he was trapped in a vice.

He had no concept of how long he’d been walking. How far into the depths of the city he’d gone. If it was even nighttime anymore. What few residents of the underground had been willing to be forthcoming with potential leads hadn’t been able to give him anything concrete other than a general idea of where to look. The good news was that they all pointed conclusively to the same region of Zaun. The bad news was that it was The Sump. Where everything that was lost found itself.

The city had been in utter turmoil around him as he descended. Infighting amongst the Chembarrons in the wake of the disappearance and presumed death of Silco had opened up a power vacuum, and they were all eager to fill it. To take a larger portion than the miserly scraps they’d been allowed. It made for hectic travel and uneasy streets, but what was new? Sadly, this was not something unfamiliar to the lanes, as much as he wanted things to be different. As much as Viktor had hoped to change things before he’d gotten sick. Jayce shook his head as if to dislodge the concept from his mind. He had to find him. Before something else did.

As he continued down the darkened streets, he couldn’t help but notice that the state of the area was somehow worse than he’d ever seen in the Undercity. Numerous unfortunate victims of Shimmer addiction scurried about on all fours, more akin to the scuttling insects that seemed to cover every surface than the people they’d once been. Ramshackle accommodations did little to keep warmth in and the thick, barely tolerable air out. Several people were scavenging through the dumpsters while others lay nearby, visibly starving and succumbing to the elements. It was desperate, harrowing, and utterly heartbreaking to witness. They were supposed to be helping people like this. Hextech was supposed to be for the people. But somewhere along the way, they’d strayed from the path.

Barely resisting the urge to wring his fingers, Jayce let his mind wander to darker places. Places fraught with anxious thoughts and worst-case scenarios. What had Viktor gotten himself into? He’d never been one to fear risks, always ready to dive in head first, but this…

A scenario wholly unwanted and unwarranted barged into his stream of consciousness unannounced. The notion that he would arrive just late enough for it to be too late. That some unknown individual had harmed him or taken him captive, and his letter had been a gentle goodbye in the hopes of sparing him the truth. That he would find a version of Viktor that was beyond his help. That his health would be too fragile and he would succumb to his fate here in the depths of the Undercity. Unknown. Unappreciated by the public at large. Jayce felt his blood run ice cold.

He never wanted to imagine what it would be like to lose him ever again.

Freezing in place from the sheer weight of the chill that crawled up his spine at the very concept, he closed his eyes, grounding himself. He would find Viktor, they would both leave this place, and they would go back to the lab together. To safety. The council would continue to do just fine without him. He’d had plenty of time to settle on his priorities in the wake of Viktor’s absence. Promised himself that if he ever had the privilege of seeing him again, that nothing would go unsaid, no matter how difficult.

They would work on a cure for Viktor’s disease, he would be fine, and they would get through this. Together as partners should.

“I wouldn’t go down there, topsider.”

He hadn’t meant to jump, but the sound of someone speaking to him had genuinely startled him. His eyes darted to his left, only to land on an elderly woman peering at him from inside a dilapidated building as she stood in the doorway. Half inside, her body was obscured, little more than her head and shoulder visible in the dim light of the alleyway.

“I beg your pardon?” Jayce asked almost hesitantly as he took a breath and sighed, attempting to shake off his nerves with moderate success.

She pointed in the general direction of the way he was headed. Into the mountainside and the remnants of the mines and the structures beyond. There was a tunnel, and beyond it, darkness. Nothing but the vague outline of derelict buildings and thick, barely breathable air.

“Into those caves. Nothing but monsters posing as humans, and humans posing as monsters.” She cackled madly, but despite the questionable state of her mind, Jayce found himself swallowing thickly and steadying himself. She leaned in a bit and gestured in the vague direction of some sort of ventilation shaft. “Something lurks in there. Most nights it comes out, stalks around, and then disappears. Couldn’t tell you what it is but…”

His eyes followed her shaky hand. The vent cover was bolted in place, flimsy pieces of wood leaned up against it in some vague attempt at keeping it closed. Someone had set a bowl of something red and some wilted flowers in front of it, along with a single lit candle as if to make a peace offering towards whatever unknown thing lurked just outside of the bounds of their perception. That watched them as they dreamed.

Jayce gripped the lapels of his coat, brushing his fingers over them as he adjusted the garment in a bid to appear less nervous than he was. It did the very opposite. The old woman cackled, and Jayce was suddenly painfully aware of how naked he felt without his Mercury Hammer. He’d left it behind for fear that it would be too conspicuous at a time like this, but…

Jayce had never been superstitious or paranoid, but if magic existed, then who knew what else did. He wouldn’t dispel the notion, at least not entirely. He would let it linger on the fringes of his subconscious where all the other nightmares dwelled, festering and feeding on his insecurities until it took hold when he least needed it to. Until it was time to be known again.

“Has it done anything?” It was a fair question, but one he wasn’t sure he wanted the answer to. He didn’t want to believe any of this was real.

“Nothing yet, and we intend to keep it that way.” She shook her head almost nervously, clenching her jaw as she continued to gawk from the open doorway. “Let’s hope it doesn’t have a taste for topside flesh.”

Jayce attempted to wave off her remark nonchalantly, feigning a lack of fear. He just about managed to convince her, but it was harder to convince himself. He reached into his pocket and produced a photo of Viktor, stepping closer so that she could take a better look at it.

“Have you seen-” He didn’t get the chance to finish before she nodded.

“Oh, I’ve got some bad news for you, deary. He went to see the one who lives down there quite some time ago. Haven’t seen him come back since.”

Jayce sighed deeply. Of course he had.

“Do you know anything about who he went to see?” It was a long shot, but perhaps he’d been with an acquaintance in the Undercity this entire time. Sure, he’d never heard Viktor speak of having anyone else in his life, let alone a friend or a relative, but surely he wasn’t so alone in the world. Surely… Jayce suddenly felt his heart clench. He was. He knew that. It was false hope for the sake of it, his optimistic mind trying to find something to cling to in such a disparaging place. Jayce was all Viktor had. He’d told him as much himself, once upon a time.

As soon as the words vacated his mouth, he wished they hadn’t. The look on her face spoke volumes about what she’d seen in her lifetime, and she had nothing hopeful to contribute to his endeavor. She nodded.

“Enough to know that he must have been awfully desperate.” She shook her head, her tone as grim as her eyes were dark. All humor had vacated her. “Everyone down here knows better than to meddle in the affairs of Singed.”

Jayce sighed, resigned. “Thank you for your time.” He had heard enough. There was nothing for it, then. He was going down there. 

—

If the populated side of the tunnel was bad, then the far side was immeasurably worse.

A thick haze blanketed the area, snuffing out virtually any light as he proceeded into the depths of the abandoned structures. The area wasn’t vast, but the low visibility made it difficult to navigate with any efficiency. He stumbled around a corner, looking side to side as the sudden realization that he didn’t quite know where he was in relation to the way he’d come in hit him like a tidal wave.

He turned in a bid to reorient himself, stumbled back against a building, and then suddenly became painfully aware of something that he hadn’t noticed before. He was no longer sure he was alone. Something at the edges of his perception called to him, alerting him to the possibility that something might truly lurk in the darkness. It felt like eyes. Like breath on the back of his neck, but he told himself it was simple paranoia nibbling at the edges of his nerves. And if it wasn’t, well, that was even more reason to find Viktor and leave. Exigently.

Suddenly, there was a low metallic creaking sound from behind him as though something were putting weight on something flimsy just out of sight. Jayce didn’t think. He acted, dashing forward and around the corner into an adjacent alleyway. His foot caught on something; some sort of metal grate by the feel of it, and the hatch gave way, sending him careening downward into some sort of ventilation shaft. A soft yelp escaped him, followed by the distinct sound of metal clanking as he was tossed from side to side against the unyielding metallic confines of whatever he was now ensnared by. But he wasn’t allotted much time to process the direction he was going in, much less his destination. With just as much subtlety as his entrance, he made his exit, falling through the opposite end of the vent and, after an anxious few seconds that felt like an eternity, making impact with the unforgiving concrete below, rendering him little more than a winded, dazed facsimile of himself. But a cursory assessment brought with it the relief that at least nothing was broken.

A sharp intake of air through gritted teeth followed by a groan as he attempted to muster the mental energy required to sit up was instantly waylaid by the realization that he appeared to be in a factory building of some sort. A former manufacturing plant of some unknown purpose, by the look of it. Maybe a printing press? Nothing extraordinary or worth delving into further, but just noteworthy enough to catch his attention. And with it the realization that despite the cavernous nature of the semi-subterranean space, it was still light enough to see in. At least where he lay facing the far side of the factory. Dim light bounced off the wall behind him. It flickered, interrupted by something. And then came the distinct, familiar sound of metal making contact with concrete.

“... Jayce?!”

The man in question practically leaped to his feet, his heart set alight by a voice he’d almost been sure he’d never hear again. He spun to face its source and, despite his disbelief, there he stood. Viktor. Holding a dim lantern in his right hand as he stood in front of him, leaning on his crutch with an incredulous look plastered across his face. Golden eyes darker than he remembered, but gleaming in the dark nonetheless. Filled with equal parts wonder and abject horror. “It really is you…”

The sound of his voice was like a balm against charred skin. His hair was just a bit longer than Jayce remembered, tucked behind his ears on either side and swept back just enough to keep it out of the way. Strangely enough, he didn’t appear to be wearing his external leg brace. But stranger still was the apparent state of his health. He looked… better. The polar opposite of what Jayce had envisioned when he’d mentally prepared himself for what he might find. He was noticeably less gaunt, and although it was apparent that his habits in regards to maintaining a proper sleep schedule were still an issue that needed remedying, the bags under his eyes were less prominent and far lighter. He looked as though he’d taken a few years off the clock. Probably right back to just before his health had taken a turn. But what stood out most were his eyes. Golden as ever, but they almost seemed to glow in the dim light. Radiant. Enchanting.

Jayce gawked.

“Did something in the tone of my letter indicate that it was a good idea to ignore my explicit request that you not come here, or do you simply possess no regard for your safety?” Viktor was half bewildered and half enraged, and it showed. He didn’t raise his voice, but he almost seemed to speak through gritted teeth as though it took a great amount of willpower to restrain himself. He looked away, tilting his head to the side as he seemed to check something in the middle distance. And for a brief moment, Jayce caught a glimmer of something else in his expression as he peeked at him out of the corner of his eye. He seemed almost… concerned.

“Viktor…” Jayce felt his face turn warm as he rubbed his chin and jaw with an open palm, his eyes darting away towards nothing in particular. Truthfully, he hadn’t thought this through. His singular thought had been to find Viktor. In his haste to locate him and bring him back to safety, he’d, um, disregarded that part of the missive. And the potential peril that might come with it, despite the clear indication from Viktor that he might be in danger, and Jayce, too, by extension of being in the same locale. He was developing an unintentional knack for wearing Viktor’s patience down to bare metal, despite his best intentions. And yet, despite everything, the only thing he felt was joy and relief to see him again, an overwhelming sense of fondness flooding his senses and taking all coherent thought with it. Viktor was alive. More than that, he almost seemed to be doing better in some respects than when he’d last seen him.

It was almost too good to be true.

“... Are you alright, Jayce?” Viktor softened as he spoke, turning almost cautiously to look him up and down. His brow furrowing just enough to indicate that he was thinking deeply, assessing him. He took in every inch of Jayce’s form from the soles of his shoes, to the hairs atop the crown of his head as Viktor attempted to ascertain for himself if there were any signs of injury. Jayce nodded his head, smiling gently. Words failed him. He was fine. More than fine. Better than he’d been in a very long time.

Viktor regarded him silently for a moment, his eyes drifting downward as he seemed to think. As if some great unseen weight had suddenly settled onto his beleaguered shoulders. The dark haze of the warehouse blanketed them like starlight, the lantern flickering as its oil ran low.

“You must go, Jayce. It isn’t safe here.” He pleaded softly. Almost too softly as though he genuinely meant what he said, but despised every syllable that passed his thin lips and lamented their usage. Sought vengeance against the honesty of their purpose.

“Yeah, I gathered that. That’s why I came here. To help you.” Jayce said with a warm look, his head tilted ever so slightly to the side as he nursed the new wound in his chest right where his heart no doubt resided. Was Viktor still upset about their last conversation? About everything that hadn’t happened between them? “I… want to make it up to you. Everything. I know I wasn’t there when you needed me, but… We’ve made a few breakthroughs back at the lab on ways we might be able to help you.”

Jayce didn’t have to say it. Didn’t have to address the unspoken weight that settled between them as Viktor lingered on his every word, taking them in. dissecting them into digestible pieces as he realized that Jayce was still chasing the fantasy that he could be cured. That they still had time.

“Oh… Jayce… You misunderstand.” There was such grief in his voice that it nearly stilled Jayce’s heart. Jayce took a step and reached towards him, only to halt as he saw Viktor’s body pull away despite his ever-honest eyes betraying his earnest desire to the contrary. He was worried. “I am the risk.”

Truthfully, Jayce couldn’t fathom a single circumstance in this universe or any other where that could be the case. Or where it would be enough to stop him. He smiled, extending his hand. Wordlessly asking Viktor to join him. Beckoning him to abandon his solitude before something they couldn’t undo happened. “Okay, I’ll admit, I trip over your crutch from time to time, and sometimes you make me think you’re about to blow up the lab, but we can talk about your casual attitude towards lab safety later. Let’s-”

Viktor didn’t answer. Instead, he sighed softly, coming to an understanding that Jayce knew nothing of. He reached up towards his vest and undid it, allowing it to fall open and hang loosely against his body as he undid the button beneath to reveal that he wasn’t wearing his brace. 

Ah, so that was why his clothes seemed to fit differently.

That would’ve proven to be a revelation in of itself if not for the additional detail of the almost spider web-like network of veins that snaked across his torso, glowing a dark red in the dim lantern light. He averted his eyes as he held the garment open just enough so that Jayce could witness it. Just enough to intrigue him and bring an end to his machinations. Just enough to worry him into coming closer as he stared despite not meaning to.

“Viktor, what happened?” He tried to conceal the genuine sense of horror and dismay at the prospect of Viktor’s suffering, but couldn’t. His heart raced at the thought that Viktor had endured this without his comfort and company to reassure him. Jayce blinked rapidly, chasing away tears. And as he looked up to meet his eyes, Viktor looked away. And Jayce realized all too late the conclusion Viktor had come to. He reached over and took his wrist into his hand, stroking the back of his hand with his thumb in reassuring circles. “Wait, please… That’s not what I meant. Are you in pain?”

Shaking his head, Viktor risked a glance at him, bringing his left hand up to rest on his own right shoulder as he seemed to contemplate retreating into the darkness he’d sprung from. Yet despite this, he did not move. Instead, his gaze traveled down to where Jayce grasped him, eyes lingering on the way that Jayce rubbed the back of his hand. The gentle solace it brought. The tension slowly abated, but it did not depart entirely. Still, it was enough to reaffirm his decision to stay, even if only for a little while longer.

Something in Jayce didn’t believe that Viktor hadn’t suffered. That he wasn’t still. But he wouldn’t press the issue for now. Baby steps.

Yet strangely enough, there was a part of Jayce that flustered at the sight of Viktor standing in front of him, buttons undone just enough to grant him a tantalizing glimpse at the warm skin beneath. Just enough to tempt him into wanting to touch what he knew he couldn’t. Just enough to…

“As strange as it is to say, I doubt you would believe me if I told you.” Viktor finally spoke. He sounded nervous, certain in the truth of his words but unsure as to where to go from here. Jayce could work with that.

“When has that ever been the case?” He said with a knowing, sympathetic smile, his irises full of warmth and affection. For a moment, he was almost willing to swear that he’d seen Viktor’s face flush, but it was probably little more than a trick of the light and a product of wishful thinking. “Try me.”

Viktor didn’t respond. Instead, he slipped his hand from Jayce’s grasp, clasped his fingers almost tentatively around his own, and pulled him into the inky blackness that was the back of the warehouse.

—

As it turned out, Viktor had been hiding out in the warehouse for some time now. He’d stumbled upon the location as the effects of the compound in his blood had started to take root. As the specialized strain of Shimmer had begun to settle into his bones and his blood. A gift, courtesy of Singed.

He’d thought it wise to set up shop in an attempt to run a few tests before returning to Piltover, but days had turned into weeks, and weeks into months as his condition spiraled sporadically from passable, to deathly at the whims of seemingly nothing. Most nights, he was capable and fully functional, but others… others he’d been willing to believe would be his last. So more tests were in order. And a new notebook to record his findings in.

Jayce had been largely silent for the better part of an hour, pursuing the pages of the leather-bound tome as though it held the secrets to immortality. Perhaps it did, if Viktor wasn’t exaggerating his findings. And that wasn’t something he was typically want to do. But between diligent study of his partner’s notes and the rare stolen glance at Viktor’s still partially bare chest, Jayce had little time to ponder the ramifications.

“To my great relief, I have confirmed that I am not contagious,” Viktor added as if sensing what part of the notebook Jayce had just stumbled into. His partner nodded in consideration, enraptured by what he read. Fascinated.

The symptoms were intriguing. Sensitivity to light that seemed to grow with time to the point of being excruciating. Dizziness and daytime drowsiness. A constant lack of appetite. But with those downsides came better muscle rigidity, enhanced hearing and eyesight, and regeneration of damaged tissue. If the symptoms could be mitigated and this mutation could be tolerated and stabilized, then…

And then Jayce got to the next page. “... Episodes of bloodthirst…”

“They are sporadic in nature, and barely controllable. An inherent part of the nature of whatever creature this specific strain of Shimmer was derived from. A bat of some variety, from what I now understand.” He gestured broadly before allowing his arm to flop back against his abdomen as he leaned his back against a makeshift worktable. A grim look crossed his face. “Hence the reason I told you not to come here.”

Realization hit Jayce like a bolt from the blue.

“You think you’ll hurt me?” Jayce scoffed at the notion, quirking an eyebrow as he continued to read Viktor’s notes. They were hastily scribbled in parts, perhaps in a bid to record what it was like to experience such a thing in the moment. Unfortunately, that did not make for coherent data. “That’s why you want me to leave. You're afraid that I’ll be here if it happens again.”

“Is that so ridiculous?” Viktor sounded almost offended by the notion that Jayce didn’t think he was capable of such a thing. That he couldn’t pose a risk to someone, regardless of his desire to. Jayce had to resist the urge to smile at the way he glared, his lips pursed as he gave him the most serious look he could muster. It was adorable, if not genuinely effective. But he didn’t want to come off as patronizing. He knew Viktor too well.

“Yes,” Jayce said in a manner so matter-of-fact that it almost came off as unserious. “You wouldn’t even kill the last spider that got into our lab.”

“Arachnids are fascinating creatures. Even if I admittedly cannot stand the sight of them.” Viktor conceded, huffing. He folded his arms, not quite pouting but most certainly rolling his eyes. “But that was then, and this is now. We are both different people than we once were. As you well know.”

Jayce nodded begrudgingly. He was willing to admit that. They undoubtedly were. He’d come to some conclusions of his own in recent months. Experienced an epiphany or two in his solitude at the lab they’d once shared with one another. Conclusions he had battled against before realizing that there was little point in it. He knew the truth.

“Does it come with any other upsides?” Jayce enquired, laser-focused.

“Eh. It depends on what you consider to be an upside.” Viktor shrugged nonchalantly. Too nonchalantly, in fact. Jayce smirked from behind the pages of the journal. Viktor had always been a poor liar. It was one of his most endearing qualities, as far as Jayce was concerned. But it was rare that he caught him red-handed like this. His golden eyes betrayed him.

“Okay, you’ve piqued my curiosity. What is it?” Jayce gave him a lopsided look, his brows raising just enough to purposefully call his bluff.

Viktor blanched. He could hear Jayce’s smile.

To Jayce’s visible shock, Viktor’s face turned a few shades pinker as he opened his mouth to speak before closing it again, contemplating. Measuring the weight of what he truly wanted to reveal, and what he wanted to keep to himself. “It’s easier to demonstrate than explain...”

Without hesitation, Jayce gently closed the book and strolled over to him, laying it down on the table next to him. He leaned over, resting his chin in his hand as he met Viktor’s gaze, irises sparkling with words unspoken.

“Show me,” Jayce said softly without a hint of fear, but more than a hint of something else. “I’m not afraid.”

Viktor gave him a contemplative look, almost as though he were trying to gauge something. His gaze deepened, eyes darkening as Jayce swore they shimmered in the dim light as he felt his own pulse race in anticipation. Viktor reached forward unhurriedly, tucking his fingertips into the edge of his collar and grazing them against the skin there with deliberate precision. The moment his fingertips touched his skin, Jayce shuddered and his breath hitched to a halt, pupils dilating as an involuntary thrill shot through his body, accompanied by the unmistakable sensation of his pants tightening. Jayce swallowed audibly, his face darkening as he flushed a pretty shade of deep red. It suited him.

Viktor’s gaze swept down him acusatorily, pulling Jayce’s attention along with it as the taller of the two half closed his eyes under the intensity of his watchful eye. Viktor could feel the palpitations of his partner’s heart against his fingertips. The warmth of the blood that lingered just below his skin. The path it took through his body. Where his blood pooled.

“I… did not mean to do that.” Viktor began to elaborate, but Jayce’s smile commanded him to stop without the utterance of a single syllable.

“You didn’t,” Jayce admitted almost sheepishly, leaning in ever so slightly to test the waters. Unsure if he was misreading and overstepping, but ever willing to hope beyond hope that he wasn’t. “I’ve missed you, Viktor. Terribly.”

“Yes.” It was more a response born of mutual sentimentality than anything else. He, too, had hungered for him. In more ways than one. “I can see that.”

Jayce pressed his head against Viktor’s forehead, closing his eyes as he savored the scent of him. The soft strands of hair that tickled his face. The noticeable lack of heat that radiated off of his skin. Viktor was always so cold to the touch despite the warmth that radiated from his very soul like the guiding light of an eternal flame. He was beautiful. Precious. Something to covet by those who held no claim over him and were undeserving of his company. Unlike him. He would never be that again, if he’d ever been.

He was pulled from his revelry by the sensation of Viktor slipping his fingers out of his collar and taking hold of his neck tie, pulling the delicate fabric from its rightful place tucked securely in the front of his vest. He used it to guide him forward into the soft warmth of his embrace. Into the comfort of his arms as a hand came to rest on his shoulder.

Jayce rested his head on Viktor’s shoulder, inhaling deeply as he brought a hand to rest against Viktor’s upper back. Cradling him as he nuzzled his neck and the valley of his shoulder with his cheek. The past few months had been filled with idle daydreams of moments like this. Fleeting, beauteous things that always ended far too soon for the solace they brought. He was in no rush. No hurry to end the splendor of the sensation of being close to Viktor again. This was no flight of fancy. It was splendor incarnate. Rapturous in the magnitude of the worship he sought to bestow.

Tempting fate, he placed a single, chaste kiss against the mole on the back of Viktor’s neck and watched as the man in his arms melted like supple wax.

He held his lips there, pressing a second and then a third as he felt Viktor’s hand release his tie and snake up into the back of his hair. Drawing him forward. Inviting him in. Their breath slowed in measures, soft as the feeling of Viktor’s skin against Jayce’s lips. He was perfect. So dearly perfect as nothing else had ever come close to being. Jayce would be content to stay as he was forever, lingering in one perfect, unbroken moment.

Viktor could’ve allowed it. But instead, he leaned back to look Jayce in the eyes, trusting that he would hold his meager weight. That he would not let him fall. The thought that Jayce would falter never so much as forming in his subconscious. Viktor beheld him with reverence and fervor, a famished look taking up residence upon the features of his face as starvation took root in his gut. Desire in his core. His breath deepened as he leaned forward, eyes glimmering as they met in the middle, well aware of what the other wanted. What their bodies required. Their lips pressed together softly before parting as they both earnestly attempted to inhale the other under the scorching heat of their shared kiss. Their very first.

As they were with all things, they were scientific. Careful, but curious all the same. Exploratory as Jayce hungrily delved deeper into the confines of a place so unknown to him in reality, but thoroughly conceived in his mind's eye. His imagination had sold him short, for no fantasy could compare to the feeling of Viktor’s lips against his own, his tongue intertwined with his like the roots of a great deepwood old groth. The way Viktor grasped his bottom lip between his teeth, razor sharp canines digging in just enough to be felt, but nowhere near enough to hurt as he sucked tenderly on it.

Jayce groaned deep in his chest, his free hand searching hungrily for the buttons at the front of Viktor’s shirt. He undid them with just enough restraint not to tear them asunder under the heat of his passionate anticipation. The garment parted beneath his grasp, and he seized what he now knew to be his, freely given and guided to by a careful tug of his hair. He took the soft nub into his mouth, diligently servicing it as he barely resisted the urge to growl from satisfaction at the sound of Viktor’s choked gasp. Viktor opened his mouth, his head falling back and his eyes closing as he labored under the sensation of Jayce’s mouth against him, trailing ever lower with a clear goal in mind. Kissing the dark veins on his abdomen.

Jayce was undoing the buttons at his fly when he felt Viktor’s fingers cup the underside of his jaw, beckoning him to look up. To bask in the radiance of his otherworldly stare as he gazed down at him. As Jayce slipped his fingers eagerly into the front of Viktor’s pants, greedily stroking him in firm, steady pumps and watching as Viktor’s honeyed gold irises nearly rolled back in his head. His breath labored and his hands clutching the worn old wood of the desk at his back so hard that Jayce swore he saw it splinter.

But when their eye contact broke and Jayce stood to pull them close together again, he was met with something he did not expect. Viktor’s arms coiled around his back, anchoring him in place as Jayce hefted him into a sitting position on the table so that their bodies could better align. Viktor stared almost vacantly as he undid the front of Jayce’s vest and the tie at his neckband, letting it hang limply around his neck as he parted his collar. Eyes glassy. As he kissed the warm skin that fabric had once vainly sought to conceal. Pulling Viktor’s chest against his own as his worship deepened. As their mutual desire crested to untold new heights. As Viktor trailed his tongue up the side of his throat hungrily, tasting the salt of his flesh.

Jayce was hot. Both figuratively and literally, as Viktor grasped him tightly. As desire overtook his senses and thirst and ungodly desire flooded the logical part of his mind that knew better than to act upon his rising appetite, but cared little to indulge his common sense. His desire not to.

Viktor pressed a kiss to him, parted his lips, and pressed his incisors into his flesh.

Gasping in genuine shock at the sensation, Jayce almost pulled away. Almost jerked back to ask what had gotten into Viktor. Almost deprived himself of the wave of warm, heady pleasure that flooded his body from the top down like molten glass being poured into a mold. His eyelids fluttered as the sensation took hold, and a sound somewhere between a sigh and a moan slipped past his lips. He felt Viktor’s kiss deepen. Felt the momentary pang of discomfort before euphoria set in. And as it did, he decided to stay as he was, anchored to the spot from pure pleasure. Willing to question very little as he allowed Viktor to indulge in his newfound appetite.

He remembered a segment of Viktor’s notes at that moment. A paragraph about the subconscious desire to do this very thing that he had yet to act upon, despite the way his throat burned and his stomach clenched in need at the thought of it. How he’d been utterly appalled by the notion of such a beastly instinct. How he’d fought not to succumb to his baser instincts for so very long and become the beast he knew himself not to be. But something about Jayce, about his scent, and his bearing, and the mutual eros in his heart that was so much deeper than even his own hunger, that had finally broken him. Had finally set the cracks in the dam loose and the floodgates bursting. Be it the knowledge that he need not hide himself from Jayce, be it his longing for Jayce rendering him too desirable for him to withstand, be it simply a matter of time until the inevitable occurred, neither of them knew. And in that moment, neither of them cared.

Jayce wanted to satiate him. To be satisfied. And so he would.

All at once, he could sense Viktor in his head. Beckoning him to unwind. To let him in. To allow him to indulge in the act of delighting him as he became almost painfully rigid from the act of being subconsciously coaxed alone. He felt Viktor’s hands on his body and his words echoing throughout the confines of his mind as Viktor praised and commended him, a haze settling over his lust addled mind as Viktor reached ever deeper still, caressing the folds of his brain and sending his loins into quaking spasms unlike anything he’d ever felt. He felt something deep within him stir. Felt the otherworldly pleasure that radiated from his prostate as Viktor did something to it with well-practiced fingers from within him without so much as a hint of external stimulation. He felt Viktor’s approval. Felt him purr against his shoulder as his nails dug into the flesh of his back, his hands snaking under his shirt to pull him ever closer still as Jayce stroked him. His adoration as Jayce surrendered himself to him, trembling from near overstimulation at the crossroads of pain and pleasure as they melded into one uniform sensation. There was no need for glamor or convincing. No need for the power of persuasion. He would willingly give himself to Viktor without even being asked, such was the depths of his desire. His love.

He could hear the sound of Viktor’s breath against his ear as he settled into a rhythm. As his consumption petered off and became a series of small sips instead of drunken gulps. As they went limp in another’s arms and his lips finally parted from his neck with a pop and nary a drop spilled, shuddering as they reached mutual climax. Viktor, with the aid of Jayce’s fingers as he idly fondled him through his own orgasm, and Jayce from the sheer intimacy of being so very wanted. The inherent pleasure of their little experiment sent him over the edge, leaving him clinging helplessly to the last vestiges of his sanity as his orgasm dragged him under with the strength of an industrial vice, his undergarments now rendered little more than an unsalvageable mess. Jayce beheld Viktor with astonishment and wonder as their lips met again, and his head suddenly swam with fatigue before he closed his eyes. His legs convulsed before failing him, allowing him to slump against Viktor as little more than dead weight. Utterly spent.

If he’d been more cognizant, he would’ve been pleasantly surprised by the way Viktor managed to save him from crashing into the floor and table in a blood-deprived heap. He would’ve smiled warmly against him as Viktor cradled him in his arms on the floor, looking him up and down with a mixture of trepidation and disbelief as the reality of what had just transpired came rushing back all at once. But instead, all Jayce could manage to do was huff softly and settle in against him, the subtle warmth of Viktor’s arm around his back grounding him like an anchor cast adrift against the rolling tides. Insulating him like wires against rubber.

The two of them would stay as they were, huddled together half under the table on the floor with only the sound of their breath between them. With Viktor’s fingers tangled in Jayce’s sweat-dampened hair, and his head clutched gently to his chest against his heart until the morning came. Until change was necessary. But for now, there was no need for anything. For apologies for old and new wounds alike. For faux pas and missteps in the name of progress. For now, there was only their affection and the way it anchored them. The way is sustained them.

For now, there was only their love, and the boundless depths of it.

—

Wow, 19 pages… I overdid it again lol. I think I’m cursed. Anyways, I apologize if this one isn’t as steamy as the others. I was going for more of a mood piece. Less smut and more vibes. The next story will NOT have that problem. But I do have some juicy Van Helsing-esque shenanigans planned for Vampire Jayvik Week in November, so look forward to that if you liked this! I saw the new concept art of Viktor with his hair swept back post cocoon and knew I HAD to use it for something. See you very soon!

[skvaderarts]

😭

something cosmic *ੈ✩‧₊˚

[skvaderarts]

Aww

[skvaderarts]

This was one of my favorite fics ever holy shit it's GOOD.

The Glorious Epilogue by @saltslimes i read this fic and it made me watch arcane such fates could happen to you as well

[skvaderarts]

👀 OH AND IT WAS CERTAINLY SOMETHING. YES.

Both of them are not quite happy with Viktor's idea (it's temporary)

[skvaderarts]

Bottom Jayce Week Day 4: A Very Special Occasion

Summary: Word Count 5.5k! AO3 Link

Summary: (Lingerie + Masturbation) Jayce decides that he wants to do something out of the ordinary for Viktor in celebration of their one-year anniversary, so he plans a very special surprise for him. One involving flower petals, candles, a very big gift, and lots of sheer, delicate lace. One thing is for certain: it will be a memorable occasion, indeed…

Wow, four stories in before I wrote one that wasn't connected to the others lol! I just can't help myself, I guess. Fun fact: I've been wanting to write a fic like this for 6 months. Ever since the ever-talented Ellen Chain made this masterpiece. Go check it out! It's what Jayce is wearing in the fic, after all! https://bsky.app/profile/ellenchain.bsky.social/post/3lez73xra222z

My Bottom Jayce Week Lineup can be found HERE!

So if you want to check out all the other fics for the other days, go for it! I hope you enjoy, and thanks for reading!

A Very Special Occasion

Summary: (Lingerie + Masturbation) Jayce decides that he wants to do something out of the ordinary for Viktor in celebration of their one-year anniversary, so he plans a very special surprise for him. One involving flower petals, candles, a very big gift, and lots of sheer, delicate lace. One thing is for certain: it will be a memorable occasion, indeed…

—

Viktor dragged himself listlessly towards the apartment, drenched beyond comprehension as the storm raged on around him.

It was supposed to be a quick detour while he was out. A simple task. Head to the lab, check in with Sky about a status update the council had requested from them, and then grab what he’d originally left their home to get that day. Simple. Uncomplicated.

Until the heavens opened up above him and unleashed a torrent of freezing rain so unrelenting that Viktor was starting to think that Piltover slipped off the isthmus and straight into the bottom of the sea.

He was convinced that he’d never been more soggy and miserable in his entire life. Sitting in a bathtub full of water would be drier than this. He’d seen the warning signs before he’d left. Taken the precaution of bringing an umbrella along with him just in case. But it had done little once the sky had turned black, the storm had rolled in, and the winds picked up. Well, aside from acting as a makeshift sail, propelling him backward into the cobbled streets, and straight onto his backside in a deep puddle of water. 

At least he hadn’t been in the Undercity at the time. The puddle probably would’ve been contaminated with the remnants of a chemical spill…

Viktor was sore, freezing, and almost certain that he’d have a cold tomorrow, but it hardly mattered to him, despite everything. He glanced down at the medium-sized cube-shaped cardboard box that he’d half tucked into the front of his coat and smiled. Jayce was going to love this…

It was slow going and exhausting, but eventually he rounded a corner and was greeted with a familiar sight. Every building on the street was similar, aside from a few with different colored metal roofs. A collection of single-floor residential units decorated with that signature Piltover style of striking masonry and metal embellishments. But that hardly mattered to him as he opened the door to the ground floor lobby and into the gate-fold elevator. The inside of their residence had more than enough personality to make up for it.

As soon as he reached the front door, he hung the umbrella on the door handle to drip dry, hastily unlocked it, and stepped inside. All at once, he was enveloped in the cozy warmth of their apartment and the unmistakable scent of… no, that couldn’t be. He’d noticed that Jayce had been trying to keep him out of the kitchen before he’d left a few hours ago, and had rightfully assumed that he was trying to conceal a surprise from him. But he hadn’t expected him to go through the labor-intensive nightmare of baking his favorite dessert. Or cook his favorite meal. Especially after he’d insisted that Viktor didn’t need to get him anything for the occasion and that his company and the bottle of fancy wine he’d gifted him were more than enough.

He was going to strangle him.

Shrugging out of his soaked coat, he shook his head and stepped in the direction of the bathroom, mumbling curses under his breath in regards to how his soaked clothing clung to him. The second he appeared in the hallway, Jayce choked.

“Viktor, you’re soaked,” Jayce called to him from the sitting room off to his right, an air of amusement and horror clear in his voice. He sounded like he wanted to snicker and ruffle his hair, but could tell by the fatigued look on his face that it wasn’t a very good idea at present.

Pausing, Viktor glanced absentmindedly in Jayce’s general direction, noting that the lights were out in the sitting area, and the curtains were drawn, making it unusually dark for this time of day. Strange.

“Unfortunately, the umbrella broke,” Viktor replied with a tired sigh. And it was going to stay broken for the time being. He would fiddle with it on their off day tomorrow. He knew that he could simply travel to a general goods stall and obtain another one at little to no expense, but he’d never been one to discard something he was confident that he could reuse or repair. He had to at least try to fix the useless thing first. Old habits died hard.

Jayce hummed knowingly in response from parts unseen as Viktor proceeded into the bathroom and took another look at just how wet he was as he passed the mirror before peeling the garments off and discarding them over the top of the shower curtain rod to dry. He briefly considered taking a second shower that day simply to warm himself up before deciding that he was plenty wet enough as it was and opting to have a cup of sweetmilk instead. The scents wafting from the kitchen called to him, tempting Viktor like a siren’s song. He grabbed a towel, dried himself off, and then exchanged it for one of Jayce’s robes when he couldn’t find his in their bedroom closet for some strange reason.

Now it was time for that cup of sweetmilk. And maybe a peek in the oven.

The first thing he noticed when he returned to the hallway was the welcoming scent of warm amber and cedar that clung to Jayce’s robe. He rubbed his face against it, savoring the titillating scent his skin had left on the fuzzy garment. There was something more to the bouquet of scents, something sweet, but he couldn’t distinguish it from the rest. Regardless, it smelled heavenly. Warm and comforting, just like their home. Just like his partner and everything that word meant to them now. Viktor smiled absentmindedly. Had it truly been a year already?

The second thing he noticed was a distant crack of lightning followed shortly by the crashing boom of thunder from beyond the walls of their residence, jolting him out of his peaceful reverie as the air around him trembled. The storm was getting worse, then. Of course it was.

The third thing he noticed was that the sheer curtains that led into the sitting room were pulled shut, and a faint flickering light was visible from just beyond them. Odd. He hadn’t heard Jayce get up to shut them. Who knew someone of such a towering stature was capable of tiptoeing…

But as Viktor parted the curtains and stepped down into their living space, his eyes adjusting to the difference in lighting, he was greeted by a final, unexpected sight. The spectacle that was Jayce Talis sitting across from him on the upholstered alcove bench built into their bay window, his right arm astride a cushion and his left elbow resting against his thigh, fingers curled up into a loose resting position off to the side of his head, almost as though he’d been resting his head against it before Viktor had entered the room. Wearing nothing but a loose, lacy, negligee that was barely sufficient to cover anything on anyone, least of all him.

The delicate lace hung from him like curtains, soft and almost dainty in comparison to the fierce look in his eyes. His shoulders and chest were almost entirely exposed, the garment held together around the back of his neck and undone across the front, peeled back in a way that offered a tantalizing view of his chest and abdomen, but fastened again just above his shaft, only just shielding it from view. The bottom was open, his left leg propped up slightly as if offering him a peek, the lace cascading down from his knee on the backside and creating a tantalizing gap in the front that somehow managed to not give anything away. A secondary section of the sleeves were open down to the cuff, which fell in a long bell along the edge of the pillow. Every edge and seam of the garment was adorned with more delicate, intricate lace, making the sheer, single-color garment a sight to behold. And Jayce somehow more seductive than he’d ever been.

Jayce’s chest rose and fell softly in anticipation, a certain confidence to him as he lounged almost lazily in their sitting room, surrounded by lit candles and flower petals that he’d haphazardly scattered across the floor in a trail leading to him. The garment might conceal just enough from view to leave some things to the imagination, but not the desire that bloomed within Jayce’s gaze. The anticipation. The hunger.

Oh. Oh.

Viktor stared at him in blatant disbelief, a soft pink tint coating his face as he paused by the doorway, leaning heavily on his cane. His face was unreadable, his breath slow and shallow as all the blood seemingly vacated his brain. Never in a million years had the thought that Jayce might do something like this crossed his mind. While it was true that he was open to experimentation in the bedroom on most accounts, this had taken some degree of forethought and planning to execute. Of fantasizing. How had the idea even taken root in that brilliant brain of his? What had been the spark that set their house aflame?

Hopefully not anything from the kitchen. No one was paying attention to the oven, after all…

“You look miserable. We should do something about that.” Jayce said smoothly, waving one finger at a time with a curl of his left hand, gesticulating for him to join him on their favorite lounging spot. He spoke with unrushed assurance, an easy confidence oozing off him like the tides lapping at the shoreline. Exuding a steady pull as he beckoned his beloved to join him. When Viktor didn’t budge, Jayce raised an eyebrow in bemusement, smirking salaciously as he looked him up and down with his gaze alone. Undressing him with his eyes.

Viktor was almost certain that he felt a blood vessel burst in his brain.

Snapping out of his stupor, Viktor took notice of the lump forming in his throat and the knots building in his stomach. He willed himself to move forward, still feeling like he was in a drunken fever dream, but more than willing to reciprocate. But as he sauntered closer to Jayce, coming to a stop in the dim candlelight, Jayce smiled warmly. Seductively. And then he looked him up and down and let out a soft huff. “I see you’ve been on my side of the closet again. Was the selection to your liking?”

It was Viktor’s turn to huff in amusement as he slowly reached over to stroke the right side of Jayce’s chest. He let his finger leisurely trail along the silky fabric, enjoying the embroidery. He lightly captured the fringe between two fingers as he traced it up to Jayce’s shoulder and then up the side of his neck, brushing the underside of his jaw before allowing the back of his hand to come to rest against Jayce’s cheek. Viktor smiled fondly, his eyes filled with a warmth that the cozy candlelight only multiplied.

“Yes. As a matter of fact, it was.” He leaned in and gently pressed his lips to Jayce’s, stealing his breath as he bestowed a lovingly gentle kiss. When they parted, slow and deliberate, the hunger in Jayce’s eyes had multiplied tenfold. But still, his composure held. Viktor was silently impressed. Jayce was normally the first to fold.

He watched as Jayce lowered his left hand to his lap, slipping it under the underside of the front of the garment. His eyelashes fluttered for a moment before he looked back up at him as though it wasn’t abundantly clear what he was up to. Viktor pretended not to see him. The fabric offered quite a bit of coverage for something so sheer, but it couldn’t cover up the motion of Jayce’s hand. The way his fingers curled around himself, stroking upward in a steady rhythm before falling again, taunt skin sliding along with it. The way his breath picked up in a manner so slight that it would’ve proven imperceptible to anyone else besides him. Besides his love.

Before he realized what he was doing, Viktor had been staring for a solid minute.

Their eyes met in unison, holding one another captive as Jayce continued to stimulate himself, reaching forward with his free hand to hook his fingers underneath the loop of the robe’s belt, carefully pulling Viktor forward with an effortless grace. He gingerly undid the belt and watched as the robe parted around either side of Viktor’s lithe body like a set of double doors swinging open just enough to grant entry. Viktor remained still, quietly observing. Eager to see what was next, but not as keen to show just how aroused he was by the unlikely scenario he now found himself in.

“Red suits you, Viktor. Too bad you won’t be in it for long.” Jayce said as he grasped the front of Viktor’s underwear, pulling them down just enough to apply pressure and make his pulse race. He twitched against the fabric, eager for the sweet familiarity of Jayce’s hand. It was instantly too much to withstand. With as much patience and as little desperation as he could manage, he reached up and gently brushed his partner’s hand aside, putting as much weight on his good leg as he could as he shuffled out of the undergarments and let them tumble down around his feet. He stepped out of them and just that little bit closer to Jayce, taking his hand and gently pressing it against his lower abdomen as warmth spread from where Jayce touched him, making his heart flutter and his ears warm.

Smirking knowingly as the tip of Viktor’s engorged heat brushed against his wrist, Jayce leaned in and pressed a warm, wet kiss to Viktor’s stomach, savoring the way his breath hitched under his mouth. It was a slight, fleeting thing, but a sound that Jayce never tired of. He pressed again, sucking. Then, licking a trail down lower as he reached his left hand behind his lover, pulling him inescapably close. Grasping him and massaging the muscles in his lower back reassuringly as he slipped him into his mouth and began to suck fervently.

Closing his eyes as Jayce dragged a long, satiated sigh out of him, Viktor relished the sensation of his tongue working around him in circles like a serpent, the resplendent warmth of his lips and mouth a balm against formerly frigid skin. Warmer still than the rest of his body had been until moments ago. Jayce drew the chill from his body and the marrow from his bones as he indulged him dotingly, relaxing the muscles in his throat as he allowed him to press just a bit deeper, working the tip of his shaft with practiced precision. Pressing his fingers against Viktor’s soft entrance teasingly before slipping just the tip in enough to heighten the sensation. Warm, lustful eyes stared up at him like a subject worshiping from an altar below as he partook of him. Watched him unravel. Feeling his pulse race.

With a wet pop and a chaste kiss, Jayce withdrew his fingers and released him from his mouth, taking note of the way Viktor’s legs trembled. He uncoiled his fingers from his own length and extended a hand to Viktor, an offer that was hastily accepted as Viktor allowed Jayce to pull him into his lap. And then, without warning, Jayce placed his hands around the middle of Viktor’s back and his weak leg supportively and shifted his weight, putting Viktor below him lengthwise as he straddled him. Stroking from his knee to his thigh with comforting, grounding pressure as he positioned himself just right on his knees, leaning over Viktor like the clouds overhead, illuminated by a flash of lightning through the torrent of rainy wind.

Viktor looked almost bewildered by the sight. The ease with which Jayce had managed the task. The silken lace draping around him like a soft curtain as his beloved leaned in and kissed his throat almost possessively. Feverishly worshiping his body as though the taste of his skin was his only salvation. As if the only way he could be closer to him was to devour him wholesale. He cradled Viktor in his arms gently, holding him against his chest for an extended period of time, indulging in the scent of his rain-drenched skin. The scent of petrichor and autumn wind. Of his love.

Reaching back to grasp Viktor’s length in his hand, he stroked him gently before bracing himself with one hand and lining him up to his entrance, smiling at the way that Viktor trembled under the intensity of his warmth and affection; under the tenderness of his touch. Jayce pressed in slowly, a deep sigh pulling from his chest as anticipation reached its zenith. And then, a spark of clarity amongst the storm. Amid the maelstrom that shook the walls of the building around them as Viktor slowly began to anchor himself inside of him. “Jayce, Wait. We haven’t-”

Leaning down, Jayce seized his jaw with his hand, pressing his mouth to his. He leaned back to look at him before resting his chin on his shoulder, bringing them close together again. A chuckle vibrated in his chest as he felt Viktor tremble from desire. From wanting. He spoke slowly, his voice little more than the notion of a whisper as his breath tickled the short hair at the edge of Viktor's ear. Methodically. As he firmly caressed Viktor’s thigh with his left hand and the middle of his back with his right, his legs holding him steady. “I took care of it. Now let me take care of you.”

The soft red robe pooled around Viktor’s back as he withdrew his arms from it and wrapped them around Jayce’s back, gripping gently but firmly. Not guiding but waiting with breathless anticipation for Jayce to indulge him. Nuzzling his chest as he basked in the warmth that radiated off of him when he rose up off of him just enough to facilitate it. Of the scent of cider, cedar, and amber as Viktor pressed a kiss to the most sensitive part of his chest and gasped as Jayce sank lower and lower, his muscles slowly engulfing him in the way that only he could. Conforming to the shape of him as Jayce accepted Viktor with all the tenderness of a lover, and all the consideration of something more. With no hesitation and heady eagerness. Another flash of lightning, followed by a boom of thunder sent a tremble down Jayce’s spine as Viktor bottomed out inside of him, causing the smaller of the two to tremble like a leaf in a storm as he groaned deeply, shuddering. Jayce gasped, struggling to pull air into his lungs as a sensation only Viktor could put in him swam in his gut and filled his insides with warmth, legs clenching and flexing in lustful dilation. He couldn’t remember the last time it had felt like this. Neither of them could.

Jayce sat back, careful not to apply too much pressure. Viktor hadn’t said anything until it was too late the first time they'd attempted this position; he'd been too caught up in the intimacy and the euphoria of it all. It had been their wedding night after all. They hadn’t been thinking, only acting.

There would be no repeats of that unfortunate bend in the learning curve. Not if Jayce had anything to say about it.

He reached down to stroke Viktor's cheekbones, his face flushed a dark pink as he beheld the utterly enraptured look on Viktor's face. His head was against the pillows, his back partially propped up as he intertwined his fingers with Jayce's at his side and stroked down his chest to his navel with his spare hand in adoration. A weary, blissful smile spread across Viktor’s face as his glassy, lust-hazed eyes worshipped the sight of him wordlessly. His jaw went slack the moment Jayce began to move, heat pooling in his gut at the sight, sound, and sensation of his beloved slowly rising and lowering down the length of his erection with deliberate slowness. It was perfect. Wholly and utterly. The way Jayce clenched around his shaft, sending pulses of pleasure coursing through his veins like the blood that sustained him. With every rise and fall of his hips and his breath, Viktor swore he sank deeper, warm breath ruffling his short walnut hair as Jayce pressed a kiss to it, his eyes closed and his breath coming in steady waves.

Raising up slightly to meet him, Viktor’s thrusts chased Jayce’s heat as he sank and rose onto his length at a steadily building pace. He met him halfway as Jayce came back down, pulling out slowly as he rose again, drawing a groan from them both as they searched for the right rhythm.

“Please… just like that,” Viktor said as he reached up and grasped Jayce by the chin, pulling him into a searing kiss, his honeyed eyes darkened by debauchery. Viktor explored every crevice and corner of his mouth with his tongue while he plunged the depths of Jayce's body with fervor, wrenching a sudden gasp and a shudder from him as they simultaneously pressed against one another in just the right way. Hitting just the right spot inside of Jayce that made his thighs tremble and his stomach tumble into a spasmic fit. His breath slowed, coming in cascades; eyes watering.

Viktor lowered his hand, brushing it down his cheek to his neck, grasping gently but firmly as he readied himself. He squeezed lightly at the sides of Jayce’s throat; more to anchor himself than anything, but it still had the desired effect. Jayce's eyes practically rolled back in his head as his chest heaved, his breath hitching with each thrust as Viktor pitched up to him with plunging, punishing accuracy. They were close. So deliciously close.

“Viktor…” Jayce warned softly, speaking his name as though it were a verse of prose from his favorite work of poetry as his beloved continued to ravish him. Pushing in unyieldingly but tenderly, working the muscles apart in precisely the way that he knew Jayce loved best. Intimately. Knowingly. In a way that only Viktor could. An undeniable ache was making its way into his thighs, but Jayce hardly acknowledged it. It would vanish like dust in the wind soon enough. Such a trifling amount of discomfort was nothing when compared to the sheer ecstasy their lovemaking brought to them. Jayce’s chest heaved, and his abdomen was tighter than he could ever recall it being before, something about this position driving the nerve endings around his opening and his prostate utterly mad. Oh, how he needed this.

Viktor tisked playfully, licking a trail up his chest before taking the pert bud into his mouth, sucking with benevolent softness as he watched him nearly come undone. Felt the muscles in his stomach flutter and beheld the loving warmth in Jayce’s eyes as they gazed at one another. The way Jayce gripped him like a vice in response was heavenly, the combination of sensations nearly too much for him to withstand. Oh, how he needed him.

He’d never know how badly his body longed for this until he’d felt it.

“Jayce, I…” Viktor fought with what little control he had remaining to compose himself. To conjure consonants and vowels, syllables and verbs together in an order vaguely resembling a coherent statement. He closed his eyes and took a breath, falling back against the pillows as he struggled against every force in his body to keep his eyes at least halfway open, his body trembling like the railing on their balcony as it braved the storm outside their walls while Jayce braved the storm within him.

Every inch was like a kiss. A kiss Jayce returned in kind as he slipped his arm behind Viktor and pulled him into his arms, holding him tightly; the only sound the melding of their breath and the friction of sweet release. Viktor’s heady moans a symphony as Jayce felt him go limp from the inability to breathe as he dragged him over the precipice into nirvana. 

“Then don’t you dare move,” Jayce said with a deep, lustful chuckle and a lecherous leer as he released Viktor, laying him back against the pillows. He angled himself just right, sitting almost vertically atop Viktor as he dug in deep and picked up the pace just enough to render them both beyond the point of intelligible human speech, their brilliant minds wiped clean of anything resembling thought. There was only sensation. Memory. Love and adoration as they toppled over the precipice of pleasure in unison, Jayce grasping Viktor’s hand as he cried out Jayce’s name like a call to the heavens for relief as a flood of rapturous heat and ecstasy overtook him and sent him spiraling headlong into oblivion. The sensation alone would’ve ended Jayce if he weren’t already leaning back staring at the ceiling, his spurting shaft dousing Viktor’s chest and stomach like a firehose trying to put out the heat surging within them as he gasped and sputtered in an attempt to say something, anything. Nothing came.

Jayce muttered something vaguely, deeply affectionate, but it all slurred together in an indistinguishable haze of curses and phrases as he finally stopped twitching, completely empty and rapidly going flaccid.

With a gasp that sounded like he’d been flayed and gutted, Viktor went totally boneless, utterly spent and nearly overstimulated from the heavenly sensation of their shared release as Jayce slumped over across him, propping himself up on a pillow to watch him come back down to terra firma. He felt Viktor slowly sliding out of him, trembling at the emptiness but grateful for the relief it brought. Now his legs could stop shaking.

Slowly, light returned to their minds. Sight trickled back in, and darkness settled around them. They were back on their bay window bed, surrounded by pillows and warmth and the faint light of candles. By each other as lighting brightened the dark sky just beyond where they roosted. Basking in the unspeakable weight of everything they meant to each other.

“I’m glad you didn’t try to remove it, Jayce,” Viktor said with an impish look in his golden eyes as he smiled at him, running his fingers lackadaisically down the edge of the luxurious lace that swaddled him. It truly was a fetching color on Jayce. Viktor needed an excuse to get him to wear shades of pale pink more often. Though admitting his fondness for the shade on him would no doubt be enough. “I would’ve had to stop you.”

“Oh, I’m sure that wouldn’t have been pretty,” Jayce said without the faintest hint of fear. He smiled at the way Viktor blinked languidly and playfully swatted him as though he were a bothersome fly, scoffing.

A peaceful silence settled over them, blanketing them like fresh dew on shorn grass as they gazed at one another, enraptured by the simple joy of being in one another’s company. The comfort of being one. Being known.

“Thank you, Jayce. This was… wonderful.” Viktor played with that piece of stray hair that always seemed to plague Jayce as he smiled up at him adoringly. “I hope this was…”

Jayce kissed him before he could even ask, slow and delicate as he cherished him. Pulling away breathlessly, Jayce couldn’t help but laugh. “I would sure hope so. After all, I was doing all the steering.”

It was Viktor’s turn to laugh. “Pfft. Most of it.”

Shrugging sarcastically, Jayce shook his head from side to side. “Oh, way to steal credit for all my hard work.”

“Of course. What else am I here for? Decoration?” Viktor quipped, barely containing his laughter as Jayce reached over to tickle him and pepper kisses against his collarbone, earning himself a gentle swatting and a snort as Viktor tried and failed to worm his way out of his grasp, giggling.

And then it occurred to him.

Clarity hit Jayce like a wrecking ball as he attempted to sprint into the kitchen, his legs failing him as they buckled like jelly and he stumbled, cursed under his breath, and then recovered, playing it off as though it were no big deal. He opened the oven, nearly forgot to use the proper protective gear before thinking better of himself, and let out a relieved sigh. Nothing had burned. They still had thirty minutes at the least.

Returning to the sitting room, Jayce paused. Viktor had done it again. He’d vanished down the hall without so much as a sound. Perhaps he’d simply subconsciously tuned the sound of his cane during the time they’d been together, or maybe Viktor was just that good at being sneaky. He couldn’t say. He wasn’t sure. But the subtle shadow cast by something approaching from down the hall was enough to draw his attention.

“Good thing you lit candles, Jayce.” Viktor placed the candle he’d been carrying down that he was carrying on the small table by the front door, an almost sheepish look on his face. “The power went out, but…”

Viktor paused, noticing the fact that Jayce hadn’t put on a robe or anything more… convenient than the lace negligee. He’d seen him sprint into the kitchen… “Jayce… did you just check the oven in that?”

“How else am I going to know if it’s warm?” He fired back all too seriously. And then he grinned like a buffoon. It was a hazard, to say the least, and for the one normally grilling his partner about the virtues of lab safety, it was hilariously hypocritical. But then again, Jayce had never been one to pay attention to safety around heat if his forging habits were anything to go off of. At least he hadn’t been harmed.

Viktor just stared at him before rolling his eyes and slipped something from under his arm inside the robe. His face darkened slightly from the soft pink tint that spread across it as he extended a bundle of something soft to him. “I know you told me that it was unnecessary, but I brought you something to mark the occasion. Two things, actually. But this one first.”

Jayce received the bundle with curiosity and a pleasantly surprised smile. He was hard to buy gifts for. After all, what could you buy a man who already had the only thing he could ever want? He hadn’t wanted Viktor to lose sleep worrying that he’d be disappointed over a subpar gift, so he’d assured him that it wasn’t necessary. But as he unwound the paper and the little bow that covered the box and opened it, he was met with something that he could hardly believe.  

Another lingerie set, noticeably smaller than Jayce’s with cascading silken trails interspersed by pockets of embroidered lace that no doubt stopped just below the butt. Shoulderless with an almost corset-like central garment that flattered the long, lacy sleeves effortlessly. It was frilly and indulgent with flair and spectacle while managing to remain flattering and just as delicate and compromising. Only this one was red with little golden bows. And it had garters and the addition of a set of underwear that would serve to cover absolutely nothing.

“So. How long until dinner is ready?” Viktor said with a flirtatious smirk, raising a brow as he watched Jayce examine the garment in disbelief. Suddenly, the blush on Viktor’s face was all but gone at the sight of the look of enjoyment and anticipation on Jayce’s face. Of his shock. In an instant, he knew what Jayce was thinking, and it emboldened him. Sent a surge of assurance through him that could not easily be tamed. He liked it.

Jayce stared at the garment, his mouth going dry as he envisioned what Viktor would look like in it. How it would cling to the curves of his lithe body. How the color would make his honey colored eyes pop. How it would look when he parted his thighs like a prize waiting to be claimed. Jayce’s gaze shifted over towards Viktor, his eyes filled with a renewed heat, his erection returning with a vengeance. And then he grinned wolfishly. Without hesitation, Jayce scooped Viktor up off his feet as he relinquished his grip on his cane, allowing Jayce to carry him down the hall. They both giggled in anticipation, not even bothering to close the door behind them as they entered their bedroom. On yes. Viktor was going to try that on right now.

Jayce had always been so full of good ideas. And so had Viktor.

—

Hehe, this one kinda made me giggle and blush like an idiot while I was writing it. IDK why, I guess I’m just a huge sap. And hey, 5.5k! I finally wrote one of these that wasn’t 20 pages! Only 13! The next story will be out ASAP, probably tomorrow if not late tonight! I hope you like Vampires because that’s up next, and I’ll also be participating in the Jayvik Vampire Week in November. Thanks for checking this out! See you in the next one-shot chapter!

[skvaderarts]

My GERD just had a nuclear meltdown.

i was drawing a lot of work lately so now i can to draw only silly modern coffee shop jayviks, sorry (i personally try to get closer to viktor with my 4 syrups at home)

[skvaderarts]

One of my all time favorites!

hehe winter holidays happy new year i guess

[skvaderarts]

JAYCE 😭 you better hope he doesn't cook you!

i was giggling the whole time drawing this

[skvaderarts]

Bottom Jayce Week Day 3: A Fathomless Depth

Summary: Word Count 9k! AO3 Link

Hey monsterfuckers, check this out...

(Domestic + Size Difference) Upon leaving Mount Targon, Jayce and Viktor find themselves amidst the thick jungles of Ixtal near the hidden capital city of Ixaocan, recuperating after a grueling journey through the Shurima desert. With a festival going on, no less. But despite the myriad of sights available to them, there is only one place they have their eyes set on. The inn’s volcanic hot springs…

This is a continuation of the version of Viktor and Jayce from the first story in Mount Targon, but don't worry. Things will get spicy to compensate for that. As I said, a different version of them in every story. This is no exception. You'll see. They've certainly gotten worse since the last time we saw them. Well, their kinks have, at least hehe.

My Bottom Jayce Week Lineup can be found HERE!

So if you want to check out all the other fics for the other days, go for it! I hope you enjoy, and thanks for reading!

A Fathomless Depth

Summary: (Domestic + Size Difference) Upon leaving Mount Targon, Jayce and Viktor find themselves amidst the thick jungles of Ixtal near the hidden capital city of Ixaocan, recuperating after a grueling journey through the Shurima desert. With a festival going on, no less. But despite the myriad of sights available to them, there is only one place they have their eyes set on. The inn’s volcanic hot springs…

—

Fireworks lit up the warm colored skies above the colorful city, spreading a menagerie of vibrant colors across what was already a stunning variety of oranges, reds, and purples. What little light that remained would soon fade, but in some respects, that was something to look forward to. The festivities would continue long into the night. Things were only just getting started.

Jayce sat beneath the shade of a tropical palm, bracing himself with his outstretched arms as he leaned back against the freshly shorn grass. The air was warm but not too humid, and a cool breeze jostled his loose clothing as he relaxed amidst the greenery. They were in the green lawn area of a public plaza, enjoying the night’s festivities. After all, the view of the fireworks was better here than at their current lodgings.

He stole a glance at Viktor and smiled fondly, chuckling to himself at the sight of him. He’d passed out against the base of the tree beside him with his legs spread out in front of him and his arms dangling at his sides like he’d been haphazardly tossed there. It seemed that all the festival food had finally caught up to him. It was bound to happen eventually.

But as he considered this, an especially loud pop from the next volley of fireworks echoed through the skies above, drawing Jayce’s attention upward and causing Viktor to abruptly jerk, clearly startled. He awoke sluggish, blinking lethargically as his blurry eyes failed to take in his surroundings. And then a look of confusion followed shortly after, the apparent lack of familiarity in his surroundings clearly throwing him for a loop. But then he realized where the sound had come from and visibly relaxed a degree, taking a deep breath and steadying himself as he scooted forward to reduce the distance between himself and Jayce.

His companion didn’t comment on the reaction, instead offering his shoulder for Viktor to grasp as he carefully pulled himself onto his knees behind him. His elbows came to rest on his broad shoulders, his chin sliding into his cupped hands just above Jayce’s head as he took in the sight of the sky above. They’d been spoiled for spectacular sights since they’d arrived, but this was still something special.

“I was starting to wonder if I was going to have to carry you back,” Jayce said nonchalantly as he chuckled to himself. He’d seen Viktor’s little food crash coming a mile off, waiting eagerly for the opportunity to tease him about it. He’d attempted to eat a little bit of everything over the course of the last few hours, so enamored by the flavors and smells of the local street cuisine that he’d thought little of the consequences. 

It had truly been a sight to behold. Viktor was typically the sort of person you had to beg to eat real food, but ever since they’d arrived, that problem had vanished. It was as if someone had flipped a switch, and suddenly Viktor had developed an appetite. Perhaps his newfound power caused him to burn through his energy stores faster. Maybe it was the food. The decadent, ingredient-rich dishes popular in Piltover had simply never been to Viktor’s liking, and he’d probably developed a subconscious aversion to much of the cuisine that was slowly coming undone now that he’d been introduced to something he actually enjoyed. It was hard to say. 

But it was fun to watch.

“You warned me this would happen. I should’ve listened.” Viktor admitted, pressing a kiss into the top of Jayce’s head, his eyes never leaving the stars above. “It’s strange. I’ve seen fireworks before, but this time it feels… different somehow.”

“It does, doesn’t it?” Jayce retorted, barely resisting the urge to double down on the statement. Poking fun at Viktor had always been one of his favorite pastimes, a trait that they both shared. But he found now more than ever that it had to be a measured thing. Viktor was skilled at concealing offenses and insecurities. At hiding physical and emotional pain for what he assumed to be both of their sakes. After everything they’d been through together, he didn’t wish to accidentally hurt him again. Healing was a slow, careful process, and while Jayce liked to think that he knew his partner’s limits, he was willing to admit that he’d once thought he knew a lot of things about him that he simply didn’t. But they were slowly rediscovering one another, relearning and adapting. It was fulfilling.

Several minutes passed in silence as the two of them took in the sights. But as the fireworks died down, Viktor leaned Jayce’s head back to press another chaste kiss onto his head, this time against his forehead. He smiled softly, soft lips brushing against his skin as he chuckled deeply.

“Do you think the hot spring is finally unoccupied?” Viktor asked the question casually, but his tone of voice gave away everything it needed to.

Jayce felt his face flush red instantly at the prospect, no ambiguity present in what the inquiry insinuated. He’d been asking Viktor about checking out the fabled hot spring attached to the grounds of their lodging ever since they’d arrived. If there was ever a chance that they might find time along there, well… tonight would be the night.

He didn’t answer. He simply smirked, stood, and offered Viktor his hand. After all, there was only one way to find out.

—

A brief trip back to their shared room to borrow towels had proven to be the only pitstop along the way. As it turned out, the entire place was a ghost town at present, everyone else opting to attend the festivities instead of strolling the grounds’ garden paths. Perfect.

The inn where the pair were staying resided against the backside of a mountain. Sprawling gardens intertwined like grasped fingers, thick with foliage and the sweet scent of exotic flowers. But at the furthest end of the acreage that encompassed what was once an old estate now turned inn, far from the line of sight in the ticket of the jungle, was a place that they’d heard many a tale about, but had never experienced firsthand until now.

The hot spring.

Enwreathed by a vast stone retaining wall and high, thick, leafy foliage, the glittering pools gave off a soft aquamarine underglow. Surrounding the stone walkways that snaked between them were knee-high stalks adorned with delicate, almost translucent blooms that seemed to faintly gleam in the soft light. And at their center were the rock pools. Formed organically via volcanic activity, they were as ancient as they were spectacular to behold, their rough stone edges polished to a mirror shine by salt and erosion over many decades. Plumes of warm, inviting steam billowed off the surface of the water in the dim evening light, beckoning them to a place of comfortable warmth and tranquility. And debauchery.

At the looming prospect of submerging their bodies in hot water while wearing metal leg braces, the pair regarded one another silently and committed themselves to the task of disrobing, opting to remove their braces in favor of risking potential burns. There were slopes and shelves inside the spring. It would be far less hazardous to simply sit and rest should the need arise.

Jayce sat along the edge of the spring, taking off the remaining clothing that clung to the lower half of his body. With caution, he lowered a foot into the water, testing its temperature. It was noticeably warm, no illusions as to its temperature present. But in a comforting, swaddling sort of way. Like a cozy drink in front of a fire on a frigid winter’s day, instead of the scalding heat of the Shurima sands. Like the embrace of a lover.

Of the two of them, Viktor was the one partial to extremely warm water. He could fill a cast iron tub with hot water until it steamed like a kitchen pot with a freshly removed lid and then simply relax in it, utterly unbothered. Evidently, he found it soothing to his sore muscles and aching joints. But contrastingly, he despised outdoor heat and humidity, the feeling of sweating making him miserable. He didn’t mind the cold, but he didn’t actively chase it, either. Especially after their near-death experience on the slopes of Mount Targon. Chilly was fine by him. Jayce was the inverse. He didn’t mind the heat of the air, a lifetime of smithing rendering it a virtual non-issue by his standards, but he preferred cool baths after. And the cold was… well, it was not his first choice. As a result, they seldom bathed together despite a shared desire to. This was a rare treat.

Glancing over at Viktor as he lowered himself down beside him, he took silent note of the way he untied his silken robe, both of them having undressed aside from their undergarments back at their room. The satin fabric shone under the fading moonlight, a soft yellow thing that brought out the natural blond highlights streaked throughout Viktor’s walnut hair. It was long now. Longer than Jayce had ever seen it. He liked the way it framed Viktor’s face when it wasn’t up in a loose, lopsided bun like it was now. The way it accentuated his asymmetrical cheekbones and brought out the honeyed gold of his eyes. The way his eyelashes fluttered when his partner gazed at him with nothing but fervent, bottomless affection.

They’d taken notice of the fact that his hair color was gradually changing the more he dabbled with his arcane gifts. It was something that made Viktor vaguely apprehensive, but something that Jayce didn’t mind in the slightest. It was a good color on him. Everything was a good color on him.

Jayce shook his head at himself, scoffing softly at the heat that began to bloom in the lowest region of his belly as he considered it. Sometimes it felt like they were on an eternal honeymoon in the wake of their cosmic marriage, their vows cemented in everything they had given to be with one another. But Jayce wouldn’t have it any other way. He wanted to take things slowly, be lackadaisical for a change. It was good for them, even if he’d had to convince Viktor to slow his naturally frantic pace little by little.

As Jayce slipped another leg into the water, he watched the fabric that covered Viktor fall against the wooden platform that cantilevered ever so slightly over the edge of the spring, the robe pooling around him like molten gold. He couldn’t resist the silent invitation that was Viktor’s soft skin under pale moonlight, his back halfway to him. The lure of the way the fabric fell against his naked body, only barely concealing what he wanted to see. He leaned over and pressed a tender kiss to an exposed mole. And then a second, sucking gently. And then a third before sliding all the way into the water and allowing his body to sink into the inviting warmth of the spring. Jayce stood up and beckoned for Viktor to accompany him, a smile spreading across his face when Viktor humored him and allowed him to lift him under the knees and shoulder, lowering him down into the water beside him, Viktor’s eyes filled with a knowing warmth and an amused, adoring smirk. It made Jayce’s heart flutter.

Viktor adjusted his footing, using Jayce’s shoulders for leverage as he acclimated to the warm water. His face flushed as he let out a hushed sigh, content. Yes. They should’ve come their ages ago.

Reaching up with his right hand to gently cup Jayce’s chin and cheek, he curled his fingers against his earlobe, enjoying the feeling of his facial hair against his open palm. It was a good look on him, one that he was quietly glad that Jayce hadn’t expressed a desire to change. He loved every version of him, but there was something so compelling about the way it framed his face. Complemented his slightly longer hair. Brought out the wildness in his eyes.

He would have Jayce any way that he wanted to be, but if he could pick, well…

Jayce stayed still, gazing at him deeply as he brought his hand up to brush a stray lock of blond hair out of Viktor’s face, allowing his fingertips to graze the side of his cheek. He leaned in and pressed a soft, chaste kiss against the tip of his nose and then his cheek and the space just below the back of his ear, earning him a soft giggle and a scrunching of Viktor’s shoulder as he pulled Jayce’s face closer into the crook of his neck, resting his face against his broad chest as he allowed the taller man to partake.

When they finally pulled away, they both blinked in surprise. The sun had fully fallen across the horizon, far beyond the mountains. The sky had faded from a deep royal blue to a solid black, stars glittering above. They could no longer see the fireworks; save for their distant booms, there was no evidence that they existed. Instead, there was the soft rustling of the leaves that shielded them from view as they held one another. The gentle trickle of warm, cascading water as the current flowed from the upper pools into theirs.

And then they came.

As darkness settled over the little enclave they’d carved out for themselves, the faintest sparkles of light returned in the form of tiny glowing insects that let off a faint green glow. Firelights. The translucent flowers from before began to softly glow. Be it from the insects or something more, neither of them could say, but the soft violet-blue was a sight to behold. A dazzling display of bioluminescence, unlike anything they’d ever seen. It was as if the depths of the sea had pulled them in as they found themselves silently enraptured by the sight. The stars above them almost seemed to grow closer, stardust trickling down to them from the nebulae above as the spring shimmered around them. It was hard to tell where the dim pool of water ended and the night sky began.

Jayce looked down at Viktor as he held him against himself. Viktor gazed up at him, crooking his head to one side like a barn owl regarding prey. And something stirred in him at the sight, his thighs growing noticeably warm, even when the hot spring’s balmy water was taken into account. 

A knowing smile slowly spread across Viktor’s face, something heady in his eyes as he pressed his left hand against Jayce’s chest and allowed it to trail lower, slowly. Deliberately. Flicking the delicate bud that rose in response to his touch. His eyes never left Jayce’s as his partner attempted to sustain his composure. Tried to seem unaffected by the aching gentleness of his idle touch. But he couldn’t still the telltale pounding of his heart, or the tick in the side of his neck that only seemed to occur when he gritted his teeth just a bit too hard. Viktor rested his hand against the side of Jayce's hip, raising up just a bit to curl the fingers of his right hand around his chin and press a torturous, searing kiss to his partner’s waiting mouth, eyelashes dusting across his cheeks as he took what he wanted at an agonizingly slow pace. Jayce indulged before exhaling a shaky breath, smirking in wordless defeat as they parted, Viktor’s lithe fingers tickling the underside of his chin as they left him, his right hand falling against his stomach. Viktor’s eyes slowly trailed lower, examining every molecule he was comprised of. And then they darted back up towards his face, asking for permission that he already knew he had.

He’d gotten better at this game, but Jayce still lost every time.

Surely they couldn’t be the only ones who had ever ventured here and done this? And they wouldn’t be the last. There was simply no chance that someone hadn’t beaten them to the punch already. Not unless the water temperature had proven to be an obstacle, but neither of them could imagine a situation where that could be the case. Not for them, at least.

Surely… 

Jayce drew heavy, measured breaths as he regarded Viktor lovingly, trying to conceal the abundance of lust that he felt coursing through his veins. He felt his lover's finger brush against him, teasing him with the prospect of more to come. It trailed up the base of his arousal, tracing the thick vein that aided in the theft of blood from his brain for a better cause. His eyes fell to where he knew Viktor’s hand would be, but he didn’t dare tilt his head. He knew better. But Viktor caught him anyway, tenderly grasping his chin and redirecting his eyes back to his as he stroked again. And again. And again. Each time slower than the previous touch, and just that little bit firmer. The final time he flicked the tip, pressing gently into the slit as he watched Jayce try and fail to contain the full body tremble that shot up his rapidly weakening spine. Viktor smiled, and Jayce let out a hushed chuckle, shaking his head as he leaned in to kiss and suck the side of his neck with all the tenderness and passion his cloudy mind could muster.

“Always something new with you, isn't there?” It wasn't a question so much as it was a declaration. An exclamation of his fondness for his love and the way he enacted it. The way Viktor committed himself wholeheartedly to a task. The task of loving him, wholly and utterly.

Viktor closed his eyes and sighed softly, his breath tickling his ear as he turned his head just enough to whisper in his beloved’s ear. Kissing it. Gripping it between his teeth. Jayce ran a firm hand up and down his back, cupping his backside and squeezing it gently, relishing the way it fit into his grasp. His breath grew deeper still, relishing the scent of Viktor’s skin. The intoxicating rhythm of his heartbeat. The softness of his hair against the side of his face as Jayce trailed downward and took his earlobe into his mouth, eliciting a groan from his partner as he leaned in.

Pulling away abruptly, Viktor kissed Jayce again, entangling his fingers with Jayce’s as he guided his hand up to the back of his head. He released him, using his own, smaller hand to cover his, wordlessly instructing Jayce to grasp his hair, a moan escaping from the depths of his chest as his partner did as desired and gripped him firmly. Coiling his thick fingers into his long strands. Not enough to pull, but more than enough to feel.

“I suppose I've taunted you enough.” Viktor mused mischievously; the gears in his mind were obviously turning, but for what purpose, Jayce could scarcely guess. And the prospect thrilled him. “For now, at least.”

Jayce broke away just long enough to make eye contact with Viktor again, both of them slightly breathless as he leaned back and kissed Viktor’s chest just above where his heart lay. He regarded Viktor affectionately as he guided him lower, extending a hand to offer him leverage as he positioned himself on his knees, his hand resting on the space just above the back of Jayce’s hip as Viktor’s left hand gently stroked down his side, coming to a rest against the inside of his thigh. Squeezing.

The depth of the water was just high enough to present an issue, but it would not be nearly enough to stop Viktor.

Caressing the inside of Jayce's thigh, Viktor took a breath and dipped just below the surface of the water, nothing more than his eyes and the top of his head visible as he let the warm water wash over his face. He pressed a series of tender, lingering kisses around the base of his heat, rising up to take a breath and kiss Jayce's navil before descending again, running his tongue down the length of him before pausing just before the spot where he knew Jayce most wanted him to be.

Looking down at him, Jayce curled an eyebrow as if to ask if they were really going to play this particular game tonight, clearly amused by his never-ending audacity as he coiled his fingers in Viktor’s hair just a bit tighter. He hadn’t been guiding him thus far, content to simply hold on and enjoy the ride. But as Jayce teased the possibility of taking the reins, he felt a small burst of arousal shoot through him and a glimmer of that same enthrallment in Viktor's golden eyes. The prospect was mutually enticing.

As if detecting his growing restlessness at his merciless teasing and his prolonged state of impotence, Viktor playfully rolled his eyes and set to work. He lowered the bottom half of his head under the water again, looking up at Jayce with undisguised desire. With a long drag of his tongue, he slowly traced the protruding vein from the base of his arousal back to the head, running his tongue along the sensitive slit at his opening. He placed a kiss there, applying suction as he sucked and eyed Jayce mischievously. A shudder crawled up Jayce’s spine as heat blossomed low in his belly, snaking out like oak roots with every heartbeat. With every pulse of blood that shot through his engorged member.

The sight alone was almost enough to undo him. But the sensation…

And then all at once, Viktor took him into his mouth.

Jayce saw stars, blinking rapidly as he attempted to regain the ability to clearly make out his surroundings, to no avail. Viktor pulled up out of the water using him for leverage, just enough so that his nose was above the water. Just enough to enjoy the illusion of being able to draw breath. And then he plunged lower, slower. Trailing the tip of his tongue along the length of him as he raised and lowered his head at a steady, lustful pace.

He hardly noticed the way Jayce's grip tightened in his hair, his hand clenching around his rapidly unraveling bun. He didn't notice the way it began to fall against his shoulders and float in the water as Jayce's hand began to shake as his knees trembled. And he hardly registered the gentle way that Jayce began to guide his rhythm, directing him to tilt his head just a bit more to the side, well aware of his limits. But he did notice when he lowered his other hand and carefully grasped his throat from the front, squeezing in just the way that he knew he liked, using the fingers that grasped his hair to massage his scalp as he held him firmly in place.

Viktor closed his eyes and hummed in pleasure, the sound cascading forward from deep in his chest as he slowly pressed a finger into Jayce and curled it. Jayce gasped, his breath hitching as he searched for that spot he knew would yield the desired effect. As his body quaked from the sensation of the vibration that Viktor’s warm mouth and throat provided. And then he found it, carefully adding a second finger a moment later as he continued to search. And a minute or so later, as he tentatively tested the waters and added a third finger, rubbing comforting circles inside of him, he found it, a discovery announced with fanfare as Jayce gasped and clenched his thighs, his knees buckling involuntarily for just long enough to dunk Viktor fully under the water with him. 

Resurfacing, Viktor dragged back up his length with the full suction of his lips and mouth, swirling his tongue against his tip as he slid off of him with a low, wet pop. Jayce quivered, panting like a starved hound as he braced himself against the wall of the hot spring. Viktor panted lightly as Jayce released his head, but aside from his now fully loosened hair and a touch of breathlessness, he was unaffected by their little impromptu diving expedition. Jayce reached down to pull him upward into a heated kiss, his eyes glazing over with desire as he realized that Viktor hadn't withdrawn from him. It appeared that he wasn't finished with him just yet.

“Not this time, Jayce. I have designs for you.” Viktor purred in his ear softly as he used his free hand to clasp him around the front of the neck, pressing him back against the low wall of the spring. Jayce stared at him lecherously, hardly registering his words as he reached down and grasped Viktor's member in his hand, seizing his own along with it. He firmly pressed them together along the length of their stomachs, massaging them slowly. Tenderly. With almost malicious intent. It was an action that earned him a shudder from Viktor and a wicked look, one laced with murderous intent and debauched fervour in equal measure.

Viktor had always been good at saying so much with just a single glance.

“When you say things like that, I start to get a little afraid.” Jayce forced out with a low chortle, only partially kidding as his eyes fell half closed. He ran his hand down Viktor's back and then up his chest before carefully clutching his hair and pulling back on it firmly, guiding him back into a tilt so that Jayce could lean in to press a kiss to his Adam's apple. He brushed his lips against his forehead, kissing his brow as Viktor’s breath hitched from the feeling of Jayce's thumb running over his swollen tip just right. “Not that you could ever truly frighten me, my love.”

Viktor allowed his face to rest against Jayce's chest for a moment, his breathing slowing as he attempted to concentrate on regaining control. On not faltering prematurely under the pleasure of Jayce’s touch. What Jayce had said to him only registered a moment later when he was graced with a scant instance of blessed clarity. He almost seemed to perk up at the notion. Was Jayce issuing a challenge? “Oh, couldn't I?”

Catching on instantly, Jayce did nothing to dissuade the notion despite it not being his intention. He pressed another kiss against the top of Viktor’s forehead, rubbing his cheek against the top of his scalp. Enjoying the scent of whatever he’d washed his hair with. It was always so soft. So tempting to run his fingers through. “I doubt it. I love you too much.”

“Love has little to do with it, Jayce,” Viktor said almost somberly as he stroked his face, peppering tender kisses against the most sensitive parts of his chest. He withdrew his fingers, pressing into that spot just right one final time before bidding him farewell. Jayce only just resisted the urge to whimper, taking mental note of the shift in the atmosphere around them.

At the risk of ruining the moment, there was something he needed to say.

“I didn’t love you any less when you were at your worst, Viktor. I know who you are deep down. I never truly was, even then.” He spoke in hushed tones, releasing his grip on their erections so that he could wrap his arms around him and pull him close. He stroked a wet hand through Viktor’s damp hair, brushing it aside so that he could better see his face. Better look him in his eyes as he spoke. He could see the trepidation; the desire to turn away that Viktor fought off. The distaste for what had happened was still evident in the sadness that lingered in his warm eyes as Jayce reassured him, kissing the mole under his eye with a softness that made Viktor melt. Viktor sighed. “Besides, I helped put you there. Who would I be to run from it?”

The faintest glimmer of something indescribable played across Viktor’s face as he leaned back to regard him. He looked almost perplexed, as if he were considering something deeply personal. Viktor looked down at the water in front of them momentarily, reaching up to stroke the side of Jayce’s neck lovingly. Squeezing him just a bit tighter.

“You… wouldn’t want to run?” 

“Not for a second.” From what, Jayce didn’t know. But he knew with absolute, unwavering certainty that whatever he was describing was a part of him, and he would never back down. That, more than anything right now, Viktor desired affirmation. Acceptance. They had faced the absolute worst things imaginable together. They were better as a pair. Two perfect cogs in a gleaming, polished machine. It didn’t matter how many knicks, dents, and scratches the exterior might display. It was the inner workings that mattered. How they fit and functioned together. And they were immaculate.

“Are you sure?” This time, Viktor dared to hazard a small, slightly stifled chuckle. The notion was evidently outrageous to him. Or perhaps he was genuinely taken aback once again by the sheer depths of Jayce’s devotion to him. To their love. To their new shared dream. To them.

“Completely,” Jayce answered without hesitation. Why would he ever stop and think about loving Viktor?

A tiny, wry smile spread across Viktor’s face as some of the light returned to his eyes, and his cheeks and ears flushed a dark pink. Jayce felt his mouth go dry. He throbbed against him, something that Viktor seemed to take note of as he stared at the water before finally looking back up.

His eyes never left Jayce’s as he slid down his body, allowing his hands to drag down his chest and sides, his fingertips ghosting his skin in a way that made him yearn for his touch. Jayce couldn’t make out the details of what he said as he lowered the entirety of his body below the simmering water, but it almost sounded like he said “we’ll see,” his tone carrying a darkness to it that sent a chill through his body.

The air dripped with the scent of ozone as darkness settled over them. Jayce felt the hairs on his arms tingle as they reacted so… something. Despite the relative shallowness of the pool, Jayce could not make out where Viktor had gone, the water now far too dark and reflective to see anything at all. And then, all at once, the air around him changed; it grew heavy with static electricity. With plasma. With the presence of the Arcane.

Reflecting the night sky above, the dark pool almost seemed to spread into perpetuity, grasping at the fringes of infinity as the cosmos above blanketed them in starlight. The firelights dissipated as though disturbed by something unseen, and all fell silent. The subtle violet-blue glow of the moon lily-like flowers grew tenfold, proving the only source of ambient light as the pool turned a familiar shade of dark, ethereal purple, and a chill clung to the air around them. A thin mist enveloped them. Jayce’s eyes remained fixed on the spot where he had last seen Viktor, his heart suddenly slamming in his chest from something other than arousal.

From the seemingly bottomless depths of the water below him first rose a head, pointed on the top and adorned with a fringe of golden metallic protrusions that swept back over the back of his head like a crown. Then a set of shoulders. A torso interwoven with gold and deep purple, reminiscent of tendons layered under supple flesh. Like Kintsugi. The figure rose straight up out of the water as though it were somehow deep enough to facilitate that, towering over Jayce as he leaned back and gripped the edge of the mantle of the hot spring. Oh yes, this sight was familiar. Far too familiar. Like the scent of kindling bringing back repressed memories of the firestorm that had once claimed everything.

“... Viktor…” It was all he could manage to say, breathless and utterly taken aback. The only difference between this version of the Herald and the one he’d previously known was that the hair that adorned his head was now far longer, and it contained an equal mixture of auburn brown and pale blond locks, the gold quite literally glowing in the dim light. It seemed to float around the sides of Viktor’s head as he beheld him with eyes that glowed intimidatingly in the pitch black of the night. Like the eyes of a nocturnal creature caught under lamplight. Savouring him. Salivating despite his distinct lack of a mouth.

Oh, and of course, the addition of a very noticeable new sexual organ…

“Have you reconsidered, Jayce?” Viktor purred quietly, that familiar chorus of vaguely metallic voices echoing through what little space remained between them. Domineering yet gentle. Viktor was assessing him, that much he could tell with little deduction. Attempting to discern if he was frightening him. He seemed to vibrate, his body glowing faintly as pulses of purple energy surged through him. Surged lower. Tempting his gaze.

Jayce stared as Viktor’s eyes followed his gaze downward, the focus of his attention crystal clear. Jayce’s breath deepened and sped up as though he were strangling under the weight of the very sight of it. Where had it come from? When last he’d checked, and he certainly had, Viktor had been… deprived of that piece of his anatomy when he’d been fused with the Hexcore. When he’d been the Herald. That had changed since, yes, but… It seemed that this was a new addition, likely one born of Viktor’s own machinations. Something purpose-crafted for the occasion.

How long had he been able to do that?

And yet, here it was. Just as reminiscent of the fusion of machine and mortality as the rest of him. Just as interwoven with gold and purple energy, but undeniably longer. Larger in a way that was distinctly arousing and repelling. Would it even fit?! Curved and noticeably bulbose at the tip, Jayce felt his loins clench and his heart flutter at the prospect of what it had the potential to do to him. How it could unmake him from the inside out. Of the way that the almost scalloped texture along the top and the two thick veins that flanked the upper portions of the sides would feel spreading him open, sliding deep into his-

“What is wrong with you.” Viktor’s ethereal voice cut through the growing tidal wave of lecherous debauchery that clouded his mind like a cutting edge, sending him reeling even if his face didn’t show it. Jayce could feel Viktor’s eyebrows raise questioningly, even if he couldn’t see them. His mind had been rendered to filth by the very sight, and he was doing precisely nothing to hide how bad he wanted to feel Viktor’s new length inside of him.

Naturally, Jayce hadn’t noticed the heat burning behind his own eyes. The way they glazed over as his eyelids hung heavy with salacious, scandalous, otherworldly lust. The slack-jawed expression on his face as his lips parted and his tongue played at the inside of his bottom lip. How his pupils dilated further the longer he beheld the object of his desire.

He wanted that in every orifice he had.

Jayce diverted his attention back to Viktor’s “face”, his rapidly cooking brain struggling to settle on an answer that didn’t raise any uncomfortable questions about his sexual preferences. He failed utterly, sighing in defeat.

“I…” And then Jayce stopped talking, looking anywhere but at Viktor.

Sensing his growing disillusionment, Viktor tilted his head to the side slowly, reaching out to trail his hands up his chest with the kind of carefulness one might extend to a newborn lamb. Jayce wore his vulnerability and uncertainty on his sleeve. It seemed that his undeniable arousal was as sudden a revelation to him as it had been to Viktor. Either that, or the illusion of blissful denial that he’d been laboring under up until that point had just shattered rather unceremoniously.

“Do not fret. It does not bother me, even a little.” It was Viktor’s turn to comfort Jayce. He leaned in, slipping his hand behind Jayce’s shoulder blades, caressing him reassuringly as his hand fell low, tracing the curve of his shoulders, the barely perceptible ridges of his spine through the firm muscles in his back. Grasping affectingly at the base of his spine before releasing him and leaning him back, letting his long, nimble fingers slide into place. Parting him. Resting his fingers precisely where they needed to be. “In fact, I believe it suits you nicely. Befits us.”

Jayce couldn’t think. Wouldn’t think as his head swam and his vision blurred. The Herald slipped between his legs, parting them as he used his right hand to massage Jayce’s left leg affectionately. Despite the metallic texture of his flesh, his fingers were warm as they squeezed his flesh; as they prodded his entrance, pressing quizzically. Requesting permission. Jayce nodded despite himself; despite the flurry of excitement, anxiety, and uncertainty that gripped him like a vice, holding him captive under the allure of Viktor’s eldridge radiance.

Viktor leaned in slightly and pressed in slowly. 

His fingers were bigger. Longer. Jayce wasn’t daft; he’d certainly noticed before he’d submitted himself to him. But they felt like they went on forever, curving into his body like a chisel chipping away, tap by precise tap, at his throbbing insides as they carved a path forward. Once he was nearly fully inside of him, he added a second, pushing in to just past his second knuckle. Jayce felt his heart pound, nothing but the sound of blood rushing through his body evident to him as Viktor spread his fingers apart at a leisurely pace, studying him for any semblance of pain. But despite how visibly overwhelmed Jayce was by the sensation, Viktor found none.

So he added a third finger.

Jayce gasped, his eyelashes fluttering as he looked up at him. He could feel everything. Even the slightest quirk of Viktor’s fingers set shockwaves of unbearable sensation rocketing through him. He leaned in, looming over Jayce like a great spire casting a long shadow. Jayce felt a pulse of energy cascade off of him into his skin. And then Viktor rotated his fingers and dug them into precisely the right spot and watched him dissolve.

“Perhaps you-” Viktor was not allowed to finish. Instead, Jayce reached down and clung to his arm, practically vibrating from the force of his ever-growing arousal. He did not care about the consequences. About the uptake in pace. He cared only for the bottomless well inside of him that made his insides clench, demanding to be satiated in the only way that he could be. Clawing at salvation, he gasped through gritted teeth. “Yes.”

Viktor managed an astonished schoff before withdrawing and removing his hand from his leg. Jayce whimpered at the lack of friction, his chest heaving as he looked up at him. But it would not last. In one swift motion, Viktor seized him by his right leg, hefting his leg up over his shoulder as he caressed his thigh and allowed his grip to come to a rest against the underside of his knee. Prodding his entrance while angling slightly down into him from above with the shaft of his newfound member, he reached down and pressed his right hand against Jayce’s chest, twisting his torso so that the bottom half of his body lay nearly horizontal, splayed out in front of him like a willing offering upon an altar to a deity. An offering he would accept. Viktor stroked his hand down his chest to his belly, pressing against the base of his stomach, and then he pressed the very tip into him at a pace so torturous that Jayce could only hiss as the tender muscles of his sphincter parted and allowed him entry. And then he pressed in.

Ecstasy. It was the only adjective that came to mind. The only thought his beleaguered mind could conjure as he was plunged into the depths of insanity. As every muscle within him parted to allow him entry, peeling back against his protruding heat like water quenching molten steel. Every nerve ending in his body felt like it had been electrified, pulsing like a magnetic field in a steady rhythm with each tentative thrust as he pressed into him with firm, shallow thrusts, easing himself in. Jayce couldn’t breathe as his muscles tried and failed to expel him despite his fervent desires to the contrary, every centimeter pushing him beyond his limits. Oh yes, he could feel it. The stretch of him. Every ridge and crevice, every throbbing vein and pulse of arcane ichor that brought warmth to his supple metallic flesh.

Perhaps the Glorious Evolution wouldn’t have been so bad after all…

And then suddenly he felt pressure somewhere he’d never felt before. Against muscles he didn’t realize could be reached. Tender and deliciously sensitive, Viktor made a sound somewhere between a purr and a metallic whirl as the tip of his shaft brushed against the deepest place within his partner that he could conceivably reach, stretching him to his very limit as he somehow managed to fully seat himself within him. He allowed Jayce a moment to adjust. A blessed reprieve from so much sensation. And then he withdrew until the very base of the tip of his head teased his opening and plunged back in to the hilt, bottoming out again.

Every muscle in Jayce’s body clenched as the combined nerve endings of his sphincter and prostate roared to life, igniting like sparks of flame from a pine tree struck by a bolt of lightning. Jayce let out a choked sound, gasping as he reached forward and clung to Viktor’s arms. He could only hold on, his face dispelling the question on his lover’s metaphorical lips as he curled his toes and his eyes watered. Viktor purred again, soothingly, his otherworldly body glowing as he repeated the thrust, this time faster, again and again as he carved a path through him, ruining him completely.

Jayce tried to gargle something out. Tried to conjure some semblance of intelligent thought. But he could only lean back and close his eyes as Viktor pressed his face against his chest and grasped his wrists, pulling them up over his head in a single motion. The feeling of his large hands around his, the inverse of the norm between them; something that would normally be impossible, made his heart hammer harder in his chest as Jayce gasped and opened his eyes to look up at where Viktor held him, a trail of drool running out of the corner of his mouth as he nearly choked on his own spittle. As Viktor thrusted the air from his lungs and back up his throat as his punishing pace increased.

He would never recover from this. And he was fine with that.

They typically held the opposite preferences regarding pace. Jayce enjoyed the slow, doting, sensual way that Viktor attended to him. The way he tended to command him wordlessly as he caressed his chest and back, dragging slow, fulfilling strokes in and out of his body. In antithesis to that, Viktor preferred the opposite. He enjoyed a faster pace, the feeling of Jayce buried deep within him as he pulled out to a medium depth and then slammed back into him, all the while losing breath to Jayce’s fervent, worshiping kisses, and his large hands clasped tightly around his hip and throat. Jayce was insatiable, ever feasting. And Viktor was indomitable. Like trying to win a fist fight with a hurricane. Their mutual insanity suited them.

So it was rare that Viktor did something like this to him. Took him in such a raw, bestial manner. They would need to change that. Expediently.

Viktor continued to take as much as he gave, raising up to look down at Jayce as steady pulses of purple energy flowed through him, building in speed. His hair seemed to shimmer in the dim light, growing brighter and lighter as more strands of dark brown faded into golden blond, threatening to blind him with their brilliance should Jayce still be capable of seeing. His eyes never left Jayce's as he took in his breathless, flushed face, the sheen of sweat that coated his body, and the never-ending fountain of precum that dribbled down his erection. The way the muscles in his abdomen spasmed and twitched as he purred and released his grip on his hands in favor of stroking a hand gingerly up his body to grasp his neck firmly, tilting his head so that Jayce was looking at him. He wanted to see it. Wanted to feel the soul-stifling shockwave that overtook Jayce as his end came and his release washed over him with the force of a seismic collapse. Wanted to feel every muscle in his body grasp onto him from the inside out as he permanently embedded the shape of himself inside of his body, molding the walls of his tight, velvety heat. Claimed him in a way that nothing else in existence could.

“Look into my eyes, Jayce. Don’t you dare close them.”

“Viktor I-” Jayce wasn’t afforded the opportunity to finish his statement. Instead, a wave of vibration traveled through his body, bringing with it a pleasure so indescribably overwhelming that he could only yield to its power as his overstimulated body erupted into wave after wave of euphoria. Viktor released his neck and brought his fingertips to the front of his forehead, gently placing them against the spot where he had once marked him as he waited for permission. Jayce huffed in response, gasping as his back arched from the sensation of Viktor infiltrating the depths of his mind, filling him with another wave of ungodly arousal. Sharing with him the sensation of what it felt like to be buried so deeply within him. The way his clenching walls brought him to the brink of release. Extending what was already a spine-shattering orgasm. And then, Viktor leaned his head back to behold the cosmos above, straightened his back, and released with a force so great that his entire body began to glow faintly, his hair tumbling down his back and shoulders like the tentacles of a cephalopod. Spending himself within the deepest recesses of Jayce’s body. Coating every crevice of his insides in unmistakable heat and shades of iridescent purple.

Trembling weakly, Jayce felt the connection between their minds began to fray as the capacity for coherent thought vacated Viktor’s subconscious. But as the last vestiges of it parted ways with him, he felt the last twitch of Viktor’s climax pass over him as he dragged his length out of his body, and, with one final deep breath, he pressed back in, slumping over onto him as a second, admittedly weaker if only by a small margin, mutual orgasim shot through his body. The fourth in only a few minutes that Viktor had seen fit to bestow him with via their cognitive link. It made his knees quake as Viktor slowly began to come to a stop within him, spending the remainder of his energy on the task of extending Jayce’s orgasm as he thrusted into him in time with his quivering muscles. 

The mental link between them faded, and Viktor slowly began to devolve back into a more familiar form. Arcane energy pulsed through his body as his skin tingled from the sensation of reverting to its original state, his withering erection faltering inside of Jayce as Viktor slid down him, slumped backward, and full body collapsed backward into the warm waters of the hot spring. Jayce was pulling himself upright in an instant, slumping exhaustedly down on his knees to search the water for any signs of life. Had Viktor just passed out? Had the combination of pleasure and power gotten the better of him? The surface of the water was utterly still.

But just as he was starting to panic internally, his breath racing, Viktor sat up in the water in front of him, the warm liquid just deep enough to cover the top of his chest. His eyes lacked clarity, and he took deep breaths as he cleared his breath, but he was unharmed. Jayce sighed. What a relief.

“Now you know how I feel,” Viktor said tiredly as he was pulled into Jayce’s waiting arms by his hip, bringing his right hand to rest against Jayce’s chest. Jayce cradled him between his legs as he sat facing him and regarding him with a concoction of emotions so complex that Jayce could only smile drunkenly. Viktor pressed softly, relishing the sensation of Jayce’s warm skin, a comfort no hot spring could ever hope to measure up to, even if it was like sleeping cozied up to a forge at times.

“Hehe… Ehhhh…” An exhausted chuckle that devolved into a heavy sigh was all he could manage; the capacity for intelligent thought thoroughly pounded out of him by thoroughly skilled loins. Viktor leaned his face against Jayce’s shoulder, listening to the steady rhythm of his pulse as the warm water gradually soothed his sore, oversensitive nether regions. He was quietly shocked that Jayce could even sit after such an ordeal as he absentmindedly kneaded the muscles in his partner’s thigh. Jayce craned his head back to kiss the top of Viktor’s scalp, abruptly doing a massive double-take as he took a closer look at him. “Wait. Viktor, your hair.”

Reaching up to run his fingers through it under the assumption that it was simply tangled, Viktor stared blankly at the tangle of long, coiling platinum blonde hair that clung to his wet forearm, opening his mouth to speak before closing it again and reaching back to grasp more of it. Everything he could see was the same. He looked to Jayce, expecting to be dissuaded, but instead he nodded in confirmation, and a wave of instantaneous disillusionment slammed him right in the chest. Yes. He had just expended quite a lot of Arcane energy, hadn’t he…

“Oh. Does it look terrible?” Asked as he reached up to worry the back of his head in futility. Jayce leaned back and made enough space between them to get a better look at him, reaching up to place a hand on his shoulder.

“Eh,” Jayce responded, shrugging nonchalantly in a clear imitation of a similar gesture that Viktor was oh so fond of making. He’d made it the very first time they’d tested Hextech together, in fact. All those years ago.

Viktor stared at him blankly, seemingly surprised by his mimicry. Unsure of what else to say or do, Jayce doubled down.

“Public sex with the physical manifestation of the Arcane’s vision for its Herald is one thing,” Jayce said as he moved his hand from Viktor’s shoulder to his chin with all the delicateness of a butterfly taking to the sky, gently grasping his chin between his thumb and his index finger as he tilted his head up. He brushed the pad of his thumb over the beauty mark next to Viktor’s lip, stroking it softly and watching as his face turned a pretty shade of light pink. Jayce pressed a chaste kiss to his lips before drawing back to regard him with unrestrained adoration, nothing but fondness in Jayce’s large brown doe eyes. “But I draw the line at blond hair.”

For a moment, Viktor just stared at him blankly. And then he smiled brightly, creasing his lips as his eyes watered slightly and he tried in vain to bat away the unspent tears clinging to his eyelashes with rapid blinks. He raised his hand to rest against his face, his open palm cradling his jaw and covering his lips as he attempted to discreetly conceal the growing grin he couldn’t suppress. His entire face, ears, and neck were flushed.

“Jayce Talis… Never change.” Viktor said, wrapping his arms around his neck as he guided him down into a tender kiss. “Stay just as you are.”

Jayce smiled against Viktor’s lips as their kiss deepened, slow and intimate. Just the way that he liked. He could do that. He would be more than happy to. As he was now, he was a version of himself that he’d come to respect, to feel comfortable with after everything he’d endured. There had never been a doubt in his mind that Viktor cared for him, but to hear him say it, to speak so transparently of how he adored him, made his heart soar.

They would stay a little while longer, their arms around one another, basking in the gravity of their cosmic love amongst the twinkling stars and the iridescent blooms. The cool breeze kissing their skin as the Firelights returned. Cradled in one another’s embrace. Tranquil. Their legs reduced to little more than jelly, but their hearts were full.

It was going to be a slow, limp trudge back to their bedroom.

—

It was not shorter, but the wait was longer. I am so sorry. At 9k, this is the longest oneshot to date, but I think this might be the best smut scene I’ve ever written. Certainly the most deranged. So there’s that. I tried to be more unhinged, and I think that shows. Maybe. I’d love to know what you think! I'm really glad I got to sneak in Blond Viktor and Arcane Herald in the same fic! In case you are deranged and have terminal Jayvik brain rot like I do (which is likely if you read this), Arcane Herald Viktor’s new *ahem* enhancement is based on Amon the Wingless. 

Yes, I went to Bad Dragon for this. I needed reference ideas. My search history is ruined.

Up next is Day 4. Time for lingerie and toothache-inducing cuteness via an adorably shy season one timeskip Jayce. Surely that chapter won’t be 8k again. I hope. See you in a few hours. Thanks for reading!

[skvaderarts]

Only Jayce and Viktor could build something this wrong 😭

Engineers

(Full version)

[skvaderarts]

This has happened to me once in my entire life and I'm still not over it.

Those who understand understand.

[skvaderarts]

Yup seriously this makes life worth living ❤️

but what if i read one of your fanfics and then went to your ao3 accounts and read all of your fanfics and left a comment on every single chapter of every single one and you got spam emails from all of my kudos and comments and it made you smile, what then? what if i brighten your day with my words like you did mine, what then???

[skvaderarts]

I've been lucky enough to get comment saying something like this to me and it always brings me joy.

my dream as a fanfic writer is for one day, one of my fics to be someones comfort fic. like the fic that they reread when they don't feel good and want to be happy. i want my words to comfort someone one day

[skvaderarts]

they're called happy trail, love handles, beauty marks for a reason. everyone shut the fuck up!!

[skvaderarts]

Jayce NOOO!

Viktor: *silent treatment*

Jayce: *dies*