Chapter Text
While sitting through another tedious and frankly pointless council meeting, Jayce decided that today would be a perfect day to surprise Viktor. He hadn’t been able to spend much quality time with his partner and was missing him. As soon as the meeting ended, he raced down to the lab.
“Hey there, V,” Jayce said softly, a smile spreading across his face. Viktor’s tired expression brightened as he turned to face him, life flooding back into his eyes.
“What are you doing here? I thought you had another meeting today?” Viktor asked in surprise as Jayce wrapped him in a massive hug.
“We wrapped up early, so I thought I’d surprise you,” Jayce replied, pressing a soft kiss to the top of Viktor’s head, soaking in the comfort of the moment.
“Ah, well, thank you. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss you,” Viktor admitted, turning back to his chaotic work while Jayce settled into a chair beside him. As Jayce watched Viktor battling through complex calculations, a wave of guilt washed over him.
They had been working to the bone. Jayce with the council and Viktor with his upcoming projects left them both exhausted. It pained Jayce to see his partner struggling. Just as Viktor uttered a frustrated curse, Jayce gently placed his hand over Viktor’s.
“V, stop. This isn’t getting you anywhere,” Jayce said softly, his concern evident. For a moment, Viktor considered snapping at him for interrupting his work. But the sight of Jayce’s deep brown eyes, filled with genuine worry, melted away his frustration. With a heavy sigh, he set down his pencil and leaned his head against Jayce’s sturdy shoulder.
“I’m sorry,” he mumbled, fatigue dragging his voice down. “I’m exhausted, and I can’t focus.”
Jayce chuckled lightly, “It’s all right, V. This week has been hell.”
“That’s putting it mildly,” Viktor replied, a small smile creeping onto his lips despite his exhaustion. Jayce rolled his eyes playfully.
“How about we call it a day and head home?” Viktor straightened up, a hint of resolve in his demeanor.
“No, if I leave now, they’ll dock my pay.” Jayce nodded in understanding and looked around the room. Books were haphazardly stacked all over the place, and piles of paper covered every flat surface.
“What if we shift gears and spend the rest of the day cleaning up?
Viktor sat up momentarily and looked around the cluttered room, letting out a frustratedly. “Very well, let’s try it.”
*****
The couple spent the next two hours organizing and talking. Jayce shared stories about the other councilors and the drama they got into. Viktor told Jayce about a new experiment he would like to try if he could get the equations down. Once the last book was returned to the shelf, Viktor felt a sense of relief and was a little more willing to go home, even though he was leaving a little early.
As they returned to their cozy apartment, Viktor wasted no time. He slipped off his leg brace and curled up on the couch, letting his exhaustion take him while Jayce began preparing their dinner. This comforting routine allowed Viktor to rest for a little while and Jayce to unwind from the day’s stress. An hour later, dinner was ready, and Viktor finally felt a bit more like himself.
“So, any plans for tomorrow?” Jayce asked in between bites, a playful glint in his eye.
Intrigued, Viktor looked up, “Why do you ask?”
“What if we went to that used bookstore you like and spent the rest of the day relaxing? No work, no stress, no council, nothing. Just a whole day for us?”
Viktor’s initial reaction was to say no, that he couldn’t, that there was too much work to be done, but as he continued to think, Jayce’s idea became more appealing. He was exhausted, and they both were; as hard as it was to admit, he was in desperate need of a break.
He reached for Jayce’s and gave him a warm smile. “I would love to spend tomorrow with you.”
Jayce’s brown eyes lit up with excitement, and his smile grew wider, causing Viktor to smile back.
After dinner, Viktor started with the dishes while Jayce set up their chessboard on the kitchen table.
“Are you ready to lose?” Jayce shouted from his chair
“Not a chance, Golden Boy,” Viktor shot back, a competitive gleam in his eye as he joined him at the table. The matches were fierce and neck-and-neck, with the first two ending in draws. But the third concluded with Jayce’s victory.
“Ha! I told you I’d win!” he shouted, leaning over Viktor in celebration. Viktor rolled his eyes playfully and tried to push Jayce out of the way with his leg, but there was a loud, sharp SNAP. They froze and looked at each other for a minute, trying to figure out what had just happened. Viktor suddenly hissed in pain, instinctively rubbing his hip.
“Ah, that was not smart,” he groaned as he adjusted in his chair.
“Are you okay?” Jayce’s voice filled with worry. “That didn’t sound good.”
“It didn’t feel good either,” Viktor replied, probing at his hip to pinpoint the source of the pain. “But really, I’m fine.”
Jayce studied him closely as Viktor dug his fingers into the soft part of his hip, occasionally grimacing.“Just promise me you’ll let me know if it starts to hurt, all right?”
“Trust me; if it starts to hurt, you’ll know it,” Viktor said as he rubbed and stretched his leg.
*****
After a nice hot shower, Viktor’s hip stopped hurting, and he could put some weight on it. ‘Guess it’s okay after all,’ he thought to himself. Smiling, he curled up in bed beside Jayce, who was reading.
“Feel better?” Jayce asked, briefly looking up from his book.
Viktor nodded and rested his head against Jayce’s chest. “Much, I think it’ll be okay.”
“Good, I’m glad,” Jayce replied warmly as he ran his fingers through Viktor’s damp hair.
Viktor felt his entire mind and body relax as Jayce read his book out loud. In just a few short minutes, Viktor started dosing off; he mumbled a quick “good night” into Jayce’s shoulder before drifting off to sleep.
*****
Much to Viktor’s dismay and disappointment, it was still dark outside when he woke up. Other than feeling uncomfortably hot and sweaty, he didn’t know what had woken him up until he tried to stretch.
The second he moved his leg, a burning hot pain shot from his hip to the center of his foot.
“Fuck!” he whispered, trying not to wake up Jayce. Slowly and carefully, he turned over to face his nightstand. He reached for the drawer, hoping to find his painkillers. Instead, all he found was some loose pieces of paper. He wanted to scream.
He couldn’t move, let alone get up, and after seeing how peaceful Jayce looked, he didn’t have the heart to wake him and ask for help. The only other option was to wait for Jayce to wake up.
Viktor spent the rest of that night thinking and daydreaming. He imagined everything and anything to keep his mind off the pain. From upcoming projects to fantasies about his parents and how they would be if they were still alive. He liked to think that his mother and Ximena would have been good friends and that his father would have approved of Jayce and given him tours of Zaun.
As the night dragged on, his thoughts turned darker. He thought about severing his own spinal cord. That way, he couldn’t feel the pain in his legs. He thought about asking Jayce to dislocate it or just plain ripping it off, even though he knew Jayce would rather die than hurt him.
Viktor stopped daydreaming when they became too dark for his liking and spent the rest of the night staring up at the ceiling, hoping that the sun would rise soon. A few hours later, just as he was dosing off from sheer exhaustion, the sun started to peak through the curtains, and Jayce started to stir, wrapping his giant arms around Viktor’s waist from behind.
“Get off me!” Viktor snapped as he grabbed Jayce’s arm and shoved it away from him.
Jayce sat up, confused and dazed, peering over Viktor’s shoulder, and saw just how exhausted Viktor was. He could see redness around Viktor’s eyes, and his dark circles looked even darker, but the most concerning thing he noticed was the faint line of tear stains that ran down Viktor’s cheek.
“V, talk to me, what happened?” Jacye asked in a whisper.
Viktor let out a frustrated noise.“My hip started hurting last night; it woke me up, and I haven’t been able to go back to sleep.”
Jayce sighed in sympathy, “Why didn’t you wake me up?”
“You looked so peaceful. I… I couldn’t.” Viktor said quietly.
Jayce ran his fingers through Viktor’s hair before getting out of bed and heading to the bathroom. Less than a minute later, Jayce returned with a bottle of painkillers and a small cup of water. “Take two, go back to sleep. I don’t want to see you up and about for another few hours, got it?”
Viktor gave Jayce a slight nod, took the pills without argument, and laid back down against his pillow. “Thank you, Jayce, it means a lot.”
Jayce kissed his partner’s forehead, “You’re welcome, V, but please remember it’s okay to ask me to help you; I want to help you.” Just as Jayce started to walk away, Viktor called out.
“Wait…Jayce?”
“Yeah, Vik?”
“Please stay?”
Jayce smiled and crawled back into bed with Viktor. While they waited for the pain medication, Jayce told Viktor all about a book series he’d been reading and the lore behind it. Although Viktor didn’t have a single clue about what Jayce was talking about, he didn’t care; he was just happy that Jayce was with him. And Jayce was happy to stay with him.
***