Chapter Text
Jayce comes over to familiarise himself with the rats at least once a week. Viktor tries very hard not to make it a thing but his attempts are futile. He only hopes no one at work noticed, which is also likely wishful thinking. He works late just so he doesn’t have to explain to his colleagues why he is entering Jayce’s car on the regular now. It’s not even strictly necessary but it is better for the rats if someone familiar takes care of them. It’s all for the rats’ benefit.
Having someone else in the private space of his own tiny flat still feels odd but it’s not as bad as he expected it to be. He doesn’t like having guests (so far only ever allowed Sky to come over, and now, Jayce, both out of necessity rather than his own choice) but he is pleasantly surprised how noninvasive Jayce is, he doesn’t even pick up any topics related to his health after that first time which is a huge relief.
It’s just so… easy, being around Jayce. So when the package they’ve been waiting for finally arrives at the lab, Viktor immediately texts Jayce:
It’s here, I will put it into the battery now.
It takes only a fraction of a second for Jayce to respond: Your circuit board!? Oh no you won’t!
Viktor cannot help but smile, imagining Jayce already packing his notes into the tiny briefcase he carries with himself everywhere.
I will unless you can clear your schedule real fast, Viktor types back, feeling an odd warmth creeping into his chest.
I'll be there at 4pm! Don’t do anything without me!
Viktor smiles despite himself. He’s still grinning at the screen of his mobile when the doors to the lab open and Heimerdinger walks in. Viktor looks up. The centre director coming in to see him is never good news.
“Ah Viktor, I was hoping I might find you here.” He says and puts a small package on the worktop next to where Viktor is sitting on his stool, the cane propped against the side.
“Professor,” Viktor nods and looks at the delivery. “What’s this?”
“That’s just a… small job, really it won’t even take you a day. One of the companies I deal with has this battery to test. They’re after a report on what might be wrong with manufacturing as roughly half of the batteries die within five years.”
“With all due respect professor you know that—”
“I know, I know,” Heimerdinger raises his hands in a placating manner and Viktor purses his lips. “But, we’ve accepted the commission. Salo is flat out at the moment and Jayce has majority of the lectures."
Viktor pinches the bridge of his nose realising he's not getting out of this one, even though he thinks Salo is lying about how busy he is. "Yes, okay."
"Splendid, my boy! Now if you excuse me," and just like that he is gone.
Jayce arrives at the lab just before clock strikes four, panting and with his face covered in a thin sheen of sweat, as if he ran the whole way here. Viktor gestures towards the circuit board without a word. Carefully he picks it up in his tweezers, inspecting it. It’s flexible, and thin as paper, but arguably the most important part of their battery sensor. A focal point, holding everything together.
“Woah. Is this—?” Jayce approaches it with reverence and awe that Viktor feels.
Viktor nods.
“Will it work?”
Viktor grimaces, he has no clue but if it does, Jayce’s project will be sorted. No, not Jayce’s, they’ve been working on it together, it’s theirs. What a weird thought.
Viktor has never shared a discovery with anyone before, didn’t even think it was possible to work with someone on that level. He’s been a loner for the majority of his life and his career has not been any different.
“Shall we?” Viktor asks cautiously and Jayce nods. He can tell his colleague is nervous, he feels his own throat going dry.
Why is it so nerve-wracking suddenly? It never used to be before. Viktor had his own share of experiments gone wrong. Yes, it’s annoying at best, frustrating at worst but never this distressing. Suddenly he has this mighty need for it to work.
Carefully, as if his life depended on it, he places it into the rig he constructed previously, which goes into the test chamber.
“And now….?”
“And now we wait.” Viktor checks his watch. “First results should be here by the morning, though of course for the full set of data we’ll have to wait a couple of weeks.”
“Oh,” Jayce looks like that’s not what he expected. “In the morning? I mean… we shouldn’t really be staying that late in the labs…”
“Jayce, when you’re going to change the world, don’t ask for permission.”
Jayce looks at him with his big brown eyes, the concept of disobeying seemingly couldn’t have been further from his mind but now that the path has been pointed out to him he appears to latch onto it with redoubled force.
“You are the most unpredictable person I have ever met.” Jayce says, eventually.
“I hope that’s a good thing.”
“It is, of course it is.”
A brief silence follows.
“Right, okay, uh. Do you mind if I work here until then?” Jayce starts nervously fidgeting. He looks like he doesn’t know what to do with himself.
“Are you really that nervous about the project?” Viktor raises a brow.
“Of course I am! I’m responsible for it and we’ve already lost so much time!”
Viktor just gives him a slight smile, it’s endearing really, the way Jayce cares so much. It’s not what Viktor would have expected from the golden boy. He’s made so many assumptions back then and it turned out that the majority of them weren’t true.
“What?” Jayce suddenly looks self-conscious. “Is there something on my face?”
“It won’t be the end of the world if this technology doesn’t work. Every project ends up discovering something, even if it’s testing what doesn’t work.
“I know but—”
“But you’ve never failed before, have you? The man of progress and all that,” Viktor hazards a guess.
“Don’t you ever wonder? What if things were different?”
He isn’t entirely sure what Jayce is asking about but either way he has an answer at the ready.
“Jayce, what if the sky turns red and your nose falls off? There is no point in dwelling on the hypotheticals.”
He has, so so many times his head hurt. What if he was born healthy? What if he didn’t have all these debilitating conditions? He knew thinking like that would kill him so he latched onto the only logical conclusion he could—dwelling on it wasn’t ever going to change anything. It was simply pointless.
“Hypotheticals, huh?” Jayce sighs. “I don’t know how you can keep doing this, it’s gut-wrenching.”
“It’s worse when you work with people who only do it for the money.”
“You mean like our Chancellor?”
They both laugh, although it’s quite literally a laughter through the tears. Viktor sighs, he remembers the package Heimerdinger dumped on his desk a couple of hours prior.
“In the meantime I need a way to test this,” he rolls a cylindrical battery the size of his hand on the countertop. “Arrived today, commercial commission.”
“I thought you don’t do commissions.”
“I don’t.”
“Right. What are you planning to do with it?”
“Nothing. Salo’s student used up all connector metal and Salo is a shit absentee academic who doesn't refill consumables unless forced to.”
“Salo has students? Man, I feel sorry for them, “ Jayce says, yawning.
Viktor frowns. “Do you want some tea?” he reaches into one of the cabinets. “I’ve heard that one of our students left an illegal stash somewhere here. You wouldn’t know anything about it, Professor Talis?”
Jayce blinks and immediately turns a lovely shade of pink. “N-no? Why… why would I?” He laughs nervously which makes it even more obvious.
“You are a terrible liar, Jayce,” Viktor says, putting tea on his desk.
He then puts the soft blue blanket around his shoulders, turns towards his own laptop and starts writing a proposal for a small national funding. He can already feel his back going stiff and maybe even he will have to work from home the following day but right now, this is far more important.
Jayce finds himself some free workspace and focuses on his own work, likely preparing even more classes. They’re both completely silent and yet it makes him feel better to have company. It’s not awkward, though it has all the right to be.
When the clock finally strikes three, Viktor stands up from his spot. Jayce has been quietly snoring in his corner for a while now but Viktor had no heart to wake him up. There is still much to do—the test will only spill an endless amount of data at them which Viktor will have to analyse and plot into a chart. He might as well let Jayce sleep a little bit longer.
Mathlab speeds up that process enormously. He remembers that Salo still uses an excel spreadsheet for this which crashes constantly when presented with so much data. He shuffles his feet towards the test chamber but the usb he was carrying falls out of his hand when he gets a coughing fit. Definitely staying home tomorrow.
The first set of data is indicative only really but at the very least it will give them an idea if their custom build system is working. He pulls the blanket tighter around himself as he’s tapping away.
The first rays of sun start filtering through the window when Viktor is done with his task.
“Viktor…?” Jayce mutters from his own post.
“Nearly done, Jayce,” Viktor taps on the settings to change the data into a chart.
Jayce immediately rushes as if he was hit by lightning. “What? You should have woken me up!”
Viktor chooses not to argue because he clicks the final enter and the chart finally shows up on the screen.
“It works?” Jayce looks at the screen looking like a madman. “It works!” he shouts, ecstatic. He rolls a small metal gear that was lying on the worktop towards Viktor who catches it and rolls it idly between his fingers in turn. He allows himself only a small smile, despite the overwhelming warmth engulfing his chest.
“Of course it works, I told you it would,” he says as calmly as he can.
“No, you didn’t! You said you’re not sure. Viktor, this is amazing!”
Jayce is suddenly so full of energy like a little puppy who cannot contain himself, despite pulling an all nighter. He suddenly wraps his arms around Viktor, crushing him in his embrace and lifting up a little from his seat. Viktor inhales shakily, his nose filled with the scent of clean linen and… something unmistakably ‘Jayce’. They are so close that he can hear the staccato pound of Jayce’s heart thud against him, his body heat engulfing Viktor in a veritable inferno. His cheeks are heating up but that’s to be expected when Jayce runs so hot. Surely there’s no other reason. He feels an unexpected pang of disappointment when Jayce finally releases him, beaming a tooth-gapped smile.
“Breakfast! We’re going out for breakfast. And no excuses!” He adds when Viktor opens his mouth to protest.
Viktor doesn't know why he agrees to Jayce’s invitation. He’s been making a lot of erratic choices recently, like a planet spun out of orbit. Small wonder with a rising star such as Jayce next to him—even Viktor couldn’t stay indifferent to his gravitational pull.
Viktor had to admit that Jayce is talented, he just needs a little help with organisation, a little nudge to push him in the right direction. As for Viktor… he’s finding new joy in sharing his work with someone. After all, it’s a first for him too.
They go to a small breakfast place nearest to their lab. This early there’s hardly anyone around which makes Viktor feel a little bit better, he would hate to run into any of their coworkers or worse—Jayce’s students. It’s rather cosy with little velvet booths and low hanging lamps that make the whole place feel intimate. And most importantly—it’s blessedly warm’ which his weary bones desperately need right now.
“They make mean scrambled eggs, with pieces of sausage, onion and various other things,” Jayce immediately starts once they sit down by the table, nose in the menu even as he appears to know it by heart. “Or do you prefer a sweet breakfast?”
Viktor allows himself a small smile as he’s observing Jayce who seemingly has an infinite amount of energy. And why does it suddenly feel endearing instead of irritating?
Viktor hasn’t even opened the menu, he doesn’t have to. “I will try the scrambled eggs since you so eagerly recommend. If there is no gluten in it.”
“Oh. Oh,” Jayce looks like he just solved a particularly difficult riddle. “I don’t think it does but we can ask!”
The waitress comes to them almost immediately, smiling at Jayce and nearly entirely ignoring him, and Viktor suddenly remembers why he never goes out.
“Chocolate pancakes for me and scrambled eggs for my partner…” The waitress raises her eyebrows at that but doesn’t comment. Viktor on the other hand feels warmer on his chest for no reason at all. “...can you make sure it’s without gluten? Thank you.”
“Of course. And to drink?”
“Large coffee with oat milk and green tea.” Jayce orders for the both of them without missing a beat.
It shouldn’t really hit him as much as it did but for someone who prided himself in being tentative and noticing every little detail, it suddenly strikes him that… he’s never even asked how Jayce takes his coffee.
“You like… oatmilk?” Viktor asks cautiously and long overdue.
Jayce for whatever reason turns a little bit red. “I, er— I’m lactose intolerant.”
“What?” Viktor freezes. “All this time I’ve been buying you latte coffees.” Jayce just shrugs and Viktor pinches the bridge of his nose. “Jayce, can you give me a reasonable explanation as to why you never told me that?”
Jayce shrugs. “I didn’t want to offend you.”
Viktor tilts his head. “We’re partners, you don’t have to lie to me.” He says, not believing he said it out loud. But he’s feeling hurt and guilty all at once, on top of being tired.
“I wasn’t lying!”
“You just failed to mention it.”
“Exactly,” Jayce admits as if that wasn’t proving Viktor’s point. “Wait—”
Viktor giggles and Jayce starts laughing too. He doesn’t remember when was the last time he laughed like that. It feels strangely liberating.
“There is a lot I don’t know about you either,” Jayce complains.
“Then ask me,” Viktor dares him. Not many people ever do.
“Alright Professor Just Viktor,” Jayce leans on the table opposite. It looks like up until now he’s been holding back but now he’s ready to unleash his full curiosity on Viktor. “What did you study? Theoretical physics?”
“Chemical engineering. Specialisation in electrochemistry.”
“Now you’re just making stuff up!” Jayce laughs but Viktor only glares at Jayce. “O-okay, not making it up then. But you must have had classes, what? All the time?”
Viktor shrugs. “More or less. It’s quite an intense course, but that’s rather standard in Prague.”
“That’s pretty impressive.” Jayce doesn’t even try to hide his amazement which shouldn’t do anything to Viktor but it does. It’s nice to feel appreciated for a change, even if he himself doesn’t think he achieved anything remarkable. “You know what? With our combined skills and a product like ours we could spin out,” Jayce blurts out as he’s stuffing his face with pancakes.
Viktor looks up at him, at the dark circles under his eyes, realises that he must look even worse right now. Normally he’d laugh such an idea off, leave university for a startup company? Riddiculous. But he thinks about the email he got from Heimerdinger this very morning, of the new recently set targets and rejection of his request for new equipment. Of the new commercial commission remorselessly dumped on his desk.
He’s been dealing with it for longer than Jayce has but he’s never got as far as thinking of setting up on their own. Until now.
“Spin out, huh?” Viktor repeats, chasing a piece of sausage around his plate.
“I mean, think about it—We have a good product, a unique skill set, there’s not enough people doing what we do, you said it yourself the other day.”
He did. “Yes but I didn’t mean—”
“Just imagine!” Jayce is completely taken by his own fantasy. “No one telling us what to do! No more HR! No more legal! We could set up a company so that actually works! Wouldn’t that be amazing?”
“Yes, well.” Viktor considers it, he never jumps on any opportunity without a thorough analysis while he knows Jayce prefers to follow his gut. “Universities have whole teams in those departments for a reason. Frustrating as it might be for us.”
“We’d employ people! Good people like Sky and we’ll pay them fairly too.”
“Not to mention how expensive it is to set up a lab, that’s tens of thousands of pounds.”
“We’ll find investors. Don’t worry about it.”
Viktor narrows his eyes. “Is that what you were talking to Mel about?”
“She’s a good person!”
Viktor rolls his eyes. He doesn’t trust Jayce’s judgement of character at all.
The truth is Viktor liked what they were doing here, in academia. They were making a difference, they were making something right. If they do a spin-out company, they would have to patent their findings, they would put red tape on their own inventions. Oh the horror, they would have to find funding. All of that terrified Viktor.
“Do you know how little sleep owners of their own start-ups get?” Viktor says because he thinks that might be one of the things that could actually sway Jayce but Jayce just laughs.
“I know V, but we’re already working around the clock as it is. Might just as well get good pay and some recognition for it.”
Truth be told, Viktor didn’t mind the pay. He was already earning way more than he ever expected he would be, considering his upbringing. It was decent enough that he could afford to buy his own flat and pay for all of his private healthcare appointments and physiotherapy. He wasn’t doing this for the money.
But the recognition part actually stung. Not for himself or his own name. But for science in general. He noticed a long time ago that bonuses and pay increases didn’t go hand in hand with anyone’s achievements but with how well universities were faring at any given time. And that had little to do with their research, it all hung on the numbers of students they were getting, particularly the international ones as they paid impossibly high fees. (Viktor is thankful for his free universities back in Czechia.)
It was disheartening.
And it’s true the atmosphere at their research centre was rather depressing with all the redundancies thinly veiled as “restructuration”, the budgets being cut, fundings of various projects plummeting. Who knows if this is not their best chance for their projects to survive? It might well be.
“We can take the technology but… what about your project?” Our project, he doesn’t say but he sees the joy escaping from Jayce’s face as if in a pierced balloon. “You can’t carry it over to your business, it will have to stay with the uni for someone else to take over.”
Jayce rubs his face. “I know,” he says deflated and Viktor suddenly feels bad for pointing it out to him, although... he shouldn’t be. He is right. “Look, I won’t do anything without you. Let’s just… think about it?” Jayce offers, the shadows of sparkles still visible in his eyes.
The idea of change on its own and out of context is an immediately exciting one—it’s full of potential and opportunities. It’s a space where everything can happen. But then comes the inevitable practicalities of it all, the actual going through with change and the disappointment of the reality of it.
Viktor cannot get the image of the joy on Jayce’s face out of his mind for a long time after coming back home.
One of the first emails he sees in his inbox once he wakes up the next day is an email from a project coordinator that Viktor is a part of, asking why nothing has been done at the very beginning of his project. The real answer being that the University was updating their HR systems for six months and they couldn't employ. He forwards that query to Heimerdinger who responds with “when I was in your position I dealt with problems like that myself.”
And that might have just done it.
Still rolling the same metal gear between his fingers, he takes out his mobile and finds Jayce’s number to text him:
Yes, let’s do this.