[Viktor leaves the lab, sending messages back and forth with Jayce all the while. Love some pocket grade hextech for fast communication. A perfect prototype to show off, one day, but it was so useful to keep just between themselves for now. (Probably best to spare greater Runeterra from smartphone brainrot,)
Viktor hailed a carriage from the university to Jayce's home. His family home? Or had he moved out to be on his own-? Viktor didn't fully know. It didn't matter. He would be gracious if Ximena was around, she was a very sweet and doting woman. It was no wonder at all where Jayce got that from.
He is dropped off and exits with a swing of the new cane Jayce made for him after his got broken in their initial experiment. It was a much sturdier thing, proper House Talis craftsmanship. Viktor moves to the gate, and while he finds it locked, the handle of his cane easily slips through the bars and unhooks the deadbolt with a flick.
Never underestimate an Undercity man's ability nor willingness to let himself into a place. Wasn't like he isn't invited, after all. Viktor closes it behind him and goes up to the door. That he will bother to knock on and await someone answer the door proper, instead of looking for another self-service way of entry,]
[ That 'someone' to answer the door proper is Jayce, who opens the door with the enthusiasm of someone who's been waiting right next to it for perhaps the last half hour. He grins ear to ear, nervous and giddy and excited all at once to see Viktor outside of the lab. ]
Hi.
[ There are surely smoother ways to have greeted Viktor, but he can't think of a single one of them. 'Smooth' isn't really his forte. More a painful amount of earnestness.
He's about to open the door and usher Viktor in when his gaze wanders over Viktor's shoulder and down the path to the wrought iron gate swinging in the wind. His smile doesn't fall, but it does falter a little, one eyebrow quirked in suspicion. ]
[Oh, wow, he sure did open that door fast. Was he waiting by it? Viktor considers if this enthusiasm is misplaced. It's just him, after all, Jayce's partner. Is this so special?
... he supposed they had been entirely too flirtatious. Viktor has come over to sleep in his bed, but that's because he's overworked (and underfucked, but that's also the fault of his own ambitions)]
Good morning. [that is closer to what it is than good evening, at this hour of night. Viktor looks back over his shoulder to the gate, ah, he thought he closed that fully. Oh well, he shrugs. It's just security theatre.]
It was, but I had a key. [he lifts the cane in demonstration, repeating the gesture with it that he used to open the gate. One way for him to admit to casually breaking in.]
[ Jayce's gaze ping-pongs from Viktor's cane to the gate and then back again, face a little incredulous for a moment before he finally laughs. Typical Viktor. Obstacles have always been nothing more than nuisances to him. ]
I guess I'm gonna have to get better security.
[ Elbowing Viktor, he adds, ] You know, keep the ruffians out.
[ He has no desire to keep Viktor out, which is obvious. He grins, then, opening the door a little wider and stepping back to let Viktor through. ]
[Viktor chuckles softly when Jayce catches up on the joke, lifting his cane to give a playful tap-tap of the handle to the man's broad chest,]
Ooor you could avoid inviting peculiar Undercity men over to share your bed. Your choice. [He would have said strange, but he is no stranger to Jayce. Not with the time they've had their little partnership going by this point. A couple years? More? Viktor loses track of the time. There is still so much for them to do-
He taps the cane down to stride inside, though he doesn't go far, turning back to Jayce,]
[ Jayce's face pinks at the mention of inviting a man over to share his bed — is that what he did? He'd invited Viktor over to sleep. Ostensibly. It sounds an awful lot more scandalous the way that Viktor phrases it, and he averts his gaze as he turns to lead Viktor through the house. All the same, he reaches out to help guide him by instinct, a light touch against Viktor's shoulder. ]
I guess I don't sleep a lot myself.
[ A sheepish admission, after he'd scolded Viktor for being awake so long. ]
[This is what Viktor was referring to with "always petting" from Jayce. He doesn't mind it, the attachment is... nice. Actually. Yes, Viktor does think so, specifically because it is from Jayce. Anybody else and it might feel odd or out of place. With their partnership, instead it grants a sense of camaraderie between them.
Something rather novel for Viktor. He's used to being seen as a burden (inaccurate) or competition (accurate) by his peers at the Academy. Jayce treats him with no such bias nor ruthlessness.]
I see that. [That Jayce isn't an easy sleeper, that is.
Viktor returns the connecting touch between them, lifting his hand to hook into the crook of Jayce's elbow, giving him a light squeeze of fingertips. A little "I'm here" gesture of support, to go with a quiet and serious question,]
[ How long, exactly, had Viktor claimed to be awake and working? One doesn't do that simply because they want to, no matter how dedicated. They do it because they feel a need. Jayce gets it — there's so much potential behind what they're doing. Sometimes, every moment not spent working or thinking about working feels like a failure. ]
There's just... a lot to do, that's all.
[ A fact that becomes obvious once they make it down the hall and into what was probably once a living room of some sort, but is now a workspace. Notes and schematics are strewn all over: on the coffee table, on the couch. ]
Have you ingested anything besides caffeine recently?
We're not talking about me. [Viktor jokingly dismisses that first comment, because it isn't a direct question. Jayce could ask that same question, but should he? Doesn't he already have his presumptions-? Better to just leave them at that.]
A bit ironic, don't you think? That our shared dream so often keeps us up at night.
[he huffs to consider when he last ate, stopping to look over some of Jayce's scattered notes with chronic curiosity. Viktor wobbles his head back and forth at the outright question,]
Eeeh, define recently. [the answer is clearly No.]
[ He shouldn't have to define recently, because the answer should be 'of course I've had real food and water, you dingus'. It isn't, though, because Viktor doesn't take care of himself the way he should. Not that Jayce does, either, but it's different when it's someone else — a guest in his home, no less. ]
[Jayce powers on through the sass he's getting, making Viktor puff a short laugh beneath his breath. He crosses both hands over each other, at the hook of his cane in front of himself.]
I would appreciate a sandwich, Jayce. If you insist.
[and Viktor will follow along after him, if he moves towards a kitchen to do so. He's enjoying the wordless tour of the space, just able to take it in for himself without being guided about. It isn't like he minds the clutter, curiously eyeing project blueprints and notes with Viktor's own handwriting on them, taken home for further exploration by Jayce...]
So many of my notes... It feels as if you've already taken me home with you. [he says, plucking a page of his own notes to demonstrate what he means by that. Parts of Viktor already exist here, it's... he doesn't know, exactly.
Cute?
No, no, that's rather juvenile.
... it makes him feel appreciated. Like his work is being cherished, even when he's not around to know it. He carefully sets the notes back where he found them. There's probably some unseen organization within the chaos. He won't disturb it further.]
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2025-03-22 04:27 am (UTC)[Viktor leaves the lab, sending messages back and forth with Jayce all the while. Love some pocket grade hextech for fast communication. A perfect prototype to show off, one day, but it was so useful to keep just between themselves for now. (Probably best to spare greater Runeterra from smartphone brainrot,)
Viktor hailed a carriage from the university to Jayce's home. His family home? Or had he moved out to be on his own-? Viktor didn't fully know. It didn't matter. He would be gracious if Ximena was around, she was a very sweet and doting woman. It was no wonder at all where Jayce got that from.
He is dropped off and exits with a swing of the new cane Jayce made for him after his got broken in their initial experiment. It was a much sturdier thing, proper House Talis craftsmanship. Viktor moves to the gate, and while he finds it locked, the handle of his cane easily slips through the bars and unhooks the deadbolt with a flick.
Never underestimate an Undercity man's ability nor willingness to let himself into a place. Wasn't like he isn't invited, after all. Viktor closes it behind him and goes up to the door. That he will bother to knock on and await someone answer the door proper, instead of looking for another self-service way of entry,]
no subject
Date: 2025-03-26 04:45 am (UTC)Hi.
[ There are surely smoother ways to have greeted Viktor, but he can't think of a single one of them. 'Smooth' isn't really his forte. More a painful amount of earnestness.
He's about to open the door and usher Viktor in when his gaze wanders over Viktor's shoulder and down the path to the wrought iron gate swinging in the wind. His smile doesn't fall, but it does falter a little, one eyebrow quirked in suspicion. ]
The gate wasn't locked?
no subject
Date: 2025-03-26 03:17 pm (UTC)... he supposed they had been entirely too flirtatious. Viktor has come over to sleep in his bed, but that's because he's overworked (and underfucked, but that's also the fault of his own ambitions)]
Good morning. [that is closer to what it is than good evening, at this hour of night. Viktor looks back over his shoulder to the gate, ah, he thought he closed that fully. Oh well, he shrugs. It's just security theatre.]
It was, but I had a key. [he lifts the cane in demonstration, repeating the gesture with it that he used to open the gate. One way for him to admit to casually breaking in.]
no subject
Date: 2025-04-02 12:46 am (UTC)I guess I'm gonna have to get better security.
[ Elbowing Viktor, he adds, ] You know, keep the ruffians out.
[ He has no desire to keep Viktor out, which is obvious. He grins, then, opening the door a little wider and stepping back to let Viktor through. ]
Come in.
no subject
Date: 2025-04-02 01:07 am (UTC)Ooor you could avoid inviting peculiar Undercity men over to share your bed. Your choice. [He would have said strange, but he is no stranger to Jayce. Not with the time they've had their little partnership going by this point. A couple years? More? Viktor loses track of the time. There is still so much for them to do-
He taps the cane down to stride inside, though he doesn't go far, turning back to Jayce,]
Why are you up so late, but not in the lab?
no subject
Date: 2025-04-02 01:56 am (UTC)I guess I don't sleep a lot myself.
[ A sheepish admission, after he'd scolded Viktor for being awake so long. ]
Too many things to think about.
no subject
Date: 2025-04-02 02:17 am (UTC)Something rather novel for Viktor. He's used to being seen as a burden (inaccurate) or competition (accurate) by his peers at the Academy. Jayce treats him with no such bias nor ruthlessness.]
I see that. [That Jayce isn't an easy sleeper, that is.
Viktor returns the connecting touch between them, lifting his hand to hook into the crook of Jayce's elbow, giving him a light squeeze of fingertips. A little "I'm here" gesture of support, to go with a quiet and serious question,]
What has you worried, Jayce?
no subject
Date: 2025-04-02 02:51 am (UTC)[ How long, exactly, had Viktor claimed to be awake and working? One doesn't do that simply because they want to, no matter how dedicated. They do it because they feel a need. Jayce gets it — there's so much potential behind what they're doing. Sometimes, every moment not spent working or thinking about working feels like a failure. ]
There's just... a lot to do, that's all.
[ A fact that becomes obvious once they make it down the hall and into what was probably once a living room of some sort, but is now a workspace. Notes and schematics are strewn all over: on the coffee table, on the couch. ]
Have you ingested anything besides caffeine recently?
no subject
Date: 2025-04-02 03:01 am (UTC)A bit ironic, don't you think? That our shared dream so often keeps us up at night.
[he huffs to consider when he last ate, stopping to look over some of Jayce's scattered notes with chronic curiosity. Viktor wobbles his head back and forth at the outright question,]
Eeeh, define recently. [the answer is clearly No.]
no subject
Date: 2025-04-07 08:16 pm (UTC)I can make something.
[ A pause, then: ] Well. I can make a sandwich.
[ He's not a chef. ]
no subject
Date: 2025-04-07 08:29 pm (UTC)I would appreciate a sandwich, Jayce. If you insist.
[and Viktor will follow along after him, if he moves towards a kitchen to do so. He's enjoying the wordless tour of the space, just able to take it in for himself without being guided about. It isn't like he minds the clutter, curiously eyeing project blueprints and notes with Viktor's own handwriting on them, taken home for further exploration by Jayce...]
So many of my notes... It feels as if you've already taken me home with you. [he says, plucking a page of his own notes to demonstrate what he means by that. Parts of Viktor already exist here, it's... he doesn't know, exactly.
Cute?
No, no, that's rather juvenile.
... it makes him feel appreciated. Like his work is being cherished, even when he's not around to know it. He carefully sets the notes back where he found them. There's probably some unseen organization within the chaos. He won't disturb it further.]