Chapter Text
Finally.
They had finally managed to build a casing for hextech that could withstand the climax of the magical power surge, essentially allowing them to contain and direct a beam of magic in a way that everything within fifty feet wouldn’t start levitating and get dragged in by a gravitational pull of the device. That made hextech actually (potentially) available for commercial use, a step in creating something that they temporarily named "hexgates".
It was also the first progress they had made in months.
It took countless repeats of trial and error replayed in a frustrating loop, four blueprints of vastly different designs, twelve prototypes and seventy eight trials to get everything right. The amount of materials it took to build a machine only for it to get destroyed seconds after turning it on made Jayce appreciate Council’s funding topping off the Kirammans’ more than ever. At this point he knew names and timetables of every seller at every hardware store within twenty miles with how many times they needed to do some quick last minute shopping. Building the last casing, the one that finally worked, required more patience and attention than anything else they’ve worked on so far… and the most expensive materials, too. If it worked, they would be in the endgame of the project, and if it didn’t... The thought was too dark to even consider.
Turning on that latest device felt like giving up a part of Jayce’s very soul, and judging by the pure desperation in Viktor’s blood-shot eyes, he felt the same. Jayce was convinced that this was the closest that two guys could ever get to experiencing labour pains.
They stared in astonishment as the hextech device powered up, the power reached its highest momentum, then crossed the treshold and... remained stable in its bubble. On the outside there were no gravitational nor electromagical anomalies, there wasn’t even a breeze to speak of. It worked, and it worked beautifully.
He looked at Viktor’s shocked face. Sleepless nights spent hunched over drawings and equations reflected on his face in paleness and deep purple bags under his eyes. His partner released a sigh that sounded like it had been cooking in his body for weeks.
"Well, that only took three months," Viktor said and then burst out laughing.
Jayce let out a disbelieving laugh himself and wrapped his friend in a tight hug. For a while they just stood there, buzzing with excitement, laughing like a pair of lunatics and staring at the soft blue hues of a hextech generator, patiently waiting to be used.
Even though the elation of the success was one of the highest highs Jayce had ever experienced, he could feel in his bones that it wasn’t enough to keep him upright for much longer. Viktor wasn’t much better; the moment Jayce let go of his partner he slipped to the floor and clung to his cane like a sailor would to a mast in the midst of a storm. They didn’t waste time trying to make the case pretty and presentable; once they turned the generator off and on again to make double sure that the case would hold they sent straight for Heimerdinger. Jayce wanted to squeeze the last bits of energy out of those four coffees he had that morning before crashing down because when he crashed, he surely would fall into a coma for three to five business days.
Jayce gathered all necessary notes from the desk, floor and chairs and made a semi-neat pile, just in case Heimerdinger wanted to look at them. (It’s not like Jayce and Viktor needed those anymore anyway; after so much time spend staring on the same numbers and drawings over and over they could recite everything backwards in their sleep). Then he helped Viktor off of the floor and they tried their best to make each other presentable in an almost telepathic silence. Once Viktor straightened out Jayce’s hair and tied his tie, Jayce helped him put on his discarded vest and took off a stray sticky note off of the back of his pants. Working with Viktor for almost a year now created a certain dynamic not just in their friendship, but in their work as well. That’s how they didn’t need any words to establish who was going to cover theoretical and practical part of the presentation; Viktor jerked his head towards the notes, Jayce nodded and cut the power off hextech, keeping his hand close to the power button. It was as simple as that. As easy as breathing.
Heimerdinger arrived too soon and not quickly enough in Jayce’s opinion. Fortunately Jayce spent the last weeks staring at equations and blueprints at every angle so intently that he could do his part of presentation even barely standing as he was. Viktor seemed to shot out every information pertaining hextech automatically too, at a speed so rapid as if he wanted to just get all words out and pass out. Later Jayce wouldn’t be able to recall a single thing either of them said but it didn’t matter; to say Heimerdinger was impressed would be an understatement.
"So as you can see professor the case stabilises the surge, thus allowing us to direct the energy towards a target of our choice and keeping magic-related side effects to a minimum," Viktor finished and took a breath which, judging by the sharpness of it, was a first one in the past several minutes.
"Spectacular! Fantastic job my boys!" Heimerdinger gave them a standing ovation and they exchanged tired but prideful smiles. "I knew I could expect marvellous progress soon. Although I do have to say, I’ve grown a bit concerned over the past few weeks when I haven’t seen hide nor hair of either of you. Don’t tell me you’ve been cooped up here all this time?"
"We gave you no updates because there wasn’t much to say to be honest, sir," Jayce admitted sheepishly. "We knew we were onto something and just wanted to chase the hunch, figure out the details to make it work. There wasn’t much time for professional or social calls."
"Understandable, understandable." Heimerdinger nodded to himself wistfully before perking up. "Well, I have good news for you. You can more than make up for the lack social outings on the upcoming gala! A break from work is well-deserved and long overdue at this point, I should think."
Jayce glanced at Viktor who stiffened and curiously avoided his gaze. Silence fell upon them as Heimerdinger perused their notes.
"What gala, professor?" Jayce asked hesitantly.
"What gala?!" Heimerdinger exclaimed and his ears perked up as he snapped his attention towards Jayce. "Viktor hadn’t told you about the gala yet, my boy?"
"Uh, no?"
Viktor muttered something about cleaning up the cables and disappeared under the desk.
"Ah, but you’ve certainly heard of the Grand Piltover Gala?"
"Yes, not much though," Jayce responded half-heartedly. Technically, something did ring a bell but if he waited for his hazy mind to catch up with details they’d be standing there until cows come home.
"You see, every year there is an event held here, at the heart of the city, to unite notables from all disciplines of culture: science, arts, literature, whatever you can think of, to broaden horizons and exchange views of experts from all over the world..."
Jayce nodded along and pretended to be busy with gathering tools spread out all around the main table. He would tune back in... at some point. Heimerdinger had a tendency to drag out information that could be shared in two sentences into two hour long stories. Jayce glanced at the other working station but Viktor still refused to reappear.
"...and now since the word spreads out about your brilliant inventions I think it is well within your duty to attend as representatives of the Academy as an institution of progress. Both of you."
"You know my standing on events of the sort professor," Viktor protested immediately.
"I'm afraid it doesn't matter as I shall be unavailable and someone needs to show Jayce the ropes. You’re obligated to go and that’s end of discussion." Now Heimerdinger’s voice turned stern and suddenly Jayce grew doubtful of him inviting them being just a coincidence.
A loud thud sounded and then Viktor emerged from under the desk, massaging his brow.
"Ow. Eh, what do you mean you won't be there, sir?"
"I’m leaving in a couple of days and will be away on a science conference until the end of the month. Haven’t I told you?"
Jayce couldn’t recall, but frankly he didn’t remember much that happened in the past week that didn’t directly involve the project they’d been working on. He wasn’t sure how much he would retain tomorrow from this conversation, either; his brain worked on the highest gear for the past few days and the sudden drop of the speed made him feel like he was drunk or high... or both. A quick exchange of glances with Viktor confirmed that his friend couldn’t recall any mention of the topic either though. They shook their heads in unison.
"Ah well. Now you know. Don’t worry my boys, I'm sure you'll do splendidly and spend a pleasant night amongst other bright minds and personalities." Heimerdinger’s cheerful tone was back as he turned his gaze towards the cerulean light of hextech. "It seems to me that there is nothing you two can’t accomplish as long as you work together."
***
After twenty-two-hour long, uncomfortable but invigorating nap on the floor of their laboratory they were more than ready to go back to work. Jayce prepared a list of materials necessary for building real-sized hexgates, capable of transporting more than cogs and paper balls, which then got tweaked by Viktor who, Jayce learned over the course of the past year, always needed to have one last look over a final version of whatever they were working on. At last they placed an order for shipment of necessary parts and expected them to be delivered in about two weeks. For a while they could do nothing but wait.
So, of course, they spent that free time working.
They holed up in Jayce’s workspace since most of his paperwork on potential hextech uses remained there. Until now he saw no point in bringing it all to their lab when there was no machinery to test his theories with. Besides, one thing they had agreed on was to spread their work out in several places. That way they mostly worked on theory in the place of its origin (Jayce’s house), tinkered with prototypes and bigger projects in Viktor’s lab (which he gladly shared with Jayce) lent to him by the Academy when he got his position as dean’s assistant, and saved building the actual official projects for the main Academy laboratory that had the best equipment (and the best fire protection). They christened them "Jayce’s lab", "Viktor’s lab" and "their lab" respectively, so that they were on the same page whenever they agreed to "meet in a lab". One thing they couldn’t agree on were safety rules. Jayce was adamant about doing things by the book and kept his equipment meticulously categorised while Viktor worked in organised chaos and was more of a "if it blows, it blows" kind of guy. ("My lab, my rules" agreement somewhat worked, unless they were in the shared one. Then it was a free for all.)
Now that they finally had a physical device to work with it was time to hone Jayce’s hitherto unfinished theoretical musings so that they could be tested out in practice. Jayce was rewriting equations from his notes on the blackboard while Viktor sat at the table and drew something in his own notebook.
"So, the Grand Piltover Gala is coming huh?" Jayce asked in a light-hearted tone, not turning away from the blackboard.
"Mhm."
"You knew about it didn’t you?"
"It theory, yes. In practice we were busy and the date slipped my mind."
"When were you going to tell me about it then?"
"Probably never, considering that we have more important matters to attend to. Usually Heimerdinger covers this sort of thing anyway."
"By ‘thing’ you mean parties?"
Viktor sighed and Jayce could clearly picture in his mind that he was pinching the bridge of his nose.
"What do you think this 'party' is about?"
Jayce paused to try and recall what had he actually heard about the event. It wasn’t much to be honest, since it was one of those events that only the crème de la crème of society far and wide could ever hope to attend, so people of his social standing didn’t really bat an eye. And it’s not like he’d ever been interested in gossiping about the attendees like girls tended to do, either.
"I don't know," he replied eventually with a shrug. "From what Heimerdinger said it sounded kind of like the Day of Progress, just less about science and more about... everything. I mean I knew that it's a huge event but like... for elites only. My best shot is that it’s about politics and rich people getting drunk?"
"Close enough guess, although it is far more uptight than the Day of Progress. It is reserved for Piltover’s finest of the finest, international dignitaries and representatives of various standings. The only thing they have in common is some sort of higher status. Heimerdinger might have tried to sell it as a fun occasion to meet like-minded people, but in reality it is mostly about making connections. It’s an occasion to meet potential investors, sponsors, partners, whatever you want to call them, mostly for rich, influential and famous people who aspire only to get richer more influential. And it’s a good spot for old hags to prey for husbands."
Jayce snorted. His shot wasn’t too far off after all.
"Sounds… fun," he commented.
"Indeed."
"...should we go then?"
"Feel free to do so." Viktor turned several pages with a rustle. "If you’re interested in making the bourgeois interested in you."
He aimed for a mocking tone but the pure disdain rang loud and clear in his voice.
"Well, Heimerdinger pretty much ordered us to go..."
"Remind me since when do we listen to his orders."
Jayce chuckled as he twirled a piece of chalk in his hand as he pondered. He turned around to face his friend.
"I mean, it sounds like a good spot for finding additional sponsors. If our plans for hexgates get officially accepted then we’re going to need all the help we can get. We decided to go with more expensive materials, remember?"
"When they get accepted," Viktor corrected him immediately. "And sacrificing costs for quality was a necessary decision."
"And obviously a good call, but we still technically went over the budget that was already stretched to its very limit. Having other funding sources sounds like a good safety net, just in case the Council refuses to add to the deal."
Viktor let out a deep sigh again and, sure enough, pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Jayce, it’s not worth it. It’s just a night of talking nonsense and watching spectacles. Frankly, I’m not sure how many substantial things actually happen in a place like that. Besides, I’m quite positive that if we make a few adjustments we can make it work with what we get from the Council and the Kirammans just fine."
***
The shipment of the professional equipment necessary to build a real prototype of hexgates, not just a mockup made of junk, was to be delayed. Hopefully just delayed. Circumstances were strange, though. The truck was rumoured to disappear off of the radars not long after crossing the borders. The Council refused to give them additional funding, even though the loss of materials wasn’t Jayce and Viktor’s fault. Even Heimerdinger’s hands were tied as he gave a very apologetic and very diplomatic explanation that the Council had to focus its attention on security and thus hextech stopped being a priority at the moment. All their arguing only got them on Council’s bad side and they got an ultimatum: if Jayce and Viktor didn’t present something impressive and actually usable made with what they had, they could lose all funding altogether. Kiramman’s sponsorship wouldn’t cover all their expenses and obviously neither would their laughable researchers’ pay. No bank in their right mind would give them a loan this big, either.
Long story short, they could not make it work. At all.
***
One of the upper hands Viktor’s lab had over their lab was the way it was quipped. Since it was originally supposed to be an independent work station, aside from a pretty spacious workroom and a walk-in storage room it also had its own bathroom and a breakroom. Well, they had christened it "a breakroom" but actually it was like their own one-room apartment. They had adapted it so that they could disappear into a whirlwind of creating for literally weeks without contacting the outside world had they so desired. On one end two beds and bedside tables were pushed into the corner, on the other they had a small kitchenette (with a mandatory coffee machine of course) and a table with two chairs. After several incidents involving fire and caustic chemicals a dresser with several spare changes of clothes was installed too.
At the very beginning of their friendship, when Jayce realised that they couldn’t test out hextech at his house without risking another explosion and before they got their own lab at the Academy, Viktor eagerly suggested his own personal working space, claiming that he rarely used it. Turning it into their shared headquarters turned out to be a fantastic alternative to passing out on random horizontal surfaces and eating stale crackers for a week at Jayce’s.
"It is not far from my house and is sufficiently equipped, it should be to your satisfaction. I simply prefer working at the Academy since I spend most of my time there anyway," Viktor had said with a shrug and gave Jayce the entrance keys, both to the lab and his home. "Just in case," as he put it.
In case of what, Jayce didn’t know, he simply accepted. When he finally returned his apartment to a habitable state he made sure his friend had his own key to it, too.
When Jayce stepped into Viktor’s stuffy lab he immediately took off his jacket and started opening windows to let some residual hot air out. His friend had a tendency to work with steam-producing and very easily overheating machinery while completely ignoring ventilation issues. (One could say that he threw all precautions out the window but a part of the problem was that those constantly stayed closed. How come Viktor hadn’t suffocated yet was beyond Jayce.)
They sort of reached a passive point in their research since there wasn’t much they could do aside from theorising. Perhaps money couldn’t buy happiness but to Jayce just a little bit of steel and golden plating would be more than enough to bring him some joy right now. Heimerdinger’s idea of help was a pat on the back as he bid them goodbye and went on his trip, leaving them as they were, infuriated, desperate, and a little bit depressed. In a whirlwind of paperwork and going back-and-forth with the Council Jayce kind of forgot all about the Grand Piltover Gala... Until that morning at least, when he took an elegant looking envelope out of his mailbox.
"Look what I found in the mail today." Jayce dropped an invitation right in front of Viktor who didn’t take a single glance in its direction, busy analysing tables and charts of their theoretical expenses. Again. "I’m guessing you got yours too?"
Viktor hummed in affirmation. Heimerdinger must have pulled some strings to let mere students of his step in his place, although Jayce suspected that Viktor could’ve received an invitation all on his own, being assistant to the dean and all.
"Do I respond right now or do I just show it at the entrance?" he asked, leaning against the desk.
Viktor didn’t seem surprised at Jayce’s decision to attend, probably having come to the same conclusion as him that finding sponsors had just become their top priority and thus, attending the gala was inevitable.
"You have time until the morning of the day of the event to send a hand-written acceptance letter, confirming that you will be attending. Make sure to bring the invitation with you to the gala though so that you get let in."
Jayce’s only experience with fancy parties was when he sometimes got invited to House of Kiramman for charity parties and whatnot when he was younger, but the scale didn’t quite compare. He was really grateful that he had Viktor to guide him. Reading the program attached to the invitation was one thing, but managing tricky social nuances and technical issues was another.
"Alright, thanks. Did you send yours already?"
"No, since I'm not coming."
Jayce froze in the entryway to the breakroom and backtracked immediately.
"What? You can't be serious."
"I am."
"Oh come on, you can’t just throw me to the wolves."
Damn it, I think a pack of wolves would be more merciful than a bunch of rich people trying to impress each other, Jayce thought grimly.
"You know that now we have to go, with all the funding shitshow that’s been going on."
Viktor diligently kept on scribbling his notes.
"Please?"
Silence.
"So you want us to fail when we’re so close to bringing magic to the world?" Jayce couldn’t help the annoyance that crept into his voice.
"Of course I don’t," Viktor snapped.
"Then what's the problem?"
"...I don't enjoy festivities with large amounts of people."
Or everyday events with any amount of people, really, Jayce sighed inwardly.
"It's just one night, you’ll survive. Besides, it's not just about the people. Like Heimerdinger said, it's a party right? Come on there's gotta be at least one thing for you to look forward to. Like, uhm..."
Viktor had no friends to have a fun night with (aside from Jayce of course) and he didn't dance. What was there to do at an event of this calibre, anyway...?
"Hot guys?" Jayce tried.
"Narcissistic assholes."
"Fancy food?"
"Do not, under any circumstances, eat at the gala."
"Firework display?"
"What are you, twelve?"
Jayce threw his hands in the air and fired his last shot.
"Free drinks?"
Viktor hesitated, minisculely but noticeably. Bingo.
"See, it's something! Besides, you're Heimerdinger’s assistant, aren’t you supposed to be substituting for him? Representing Academy and whatnot?"
Jayce genuinely thought that it was a valid argument but Viktor just snorted.
"I definitely would not be his first choice. He was looking for a temporary replacement and we just conveniently happened to be in his path, but since you will be attending then it’s no longer a concern of mine anyway. I am sure that you will make a fine representant all on your own." Viktor forcefully scratched at least half of a page out with a grunt. "You charm people easily."
Jayce knew Viktor was trying to butter him up, but the compliment sounded honest anyway so decided to be honest in return.
"Well maybe, but I'd still like you to be there with me," he replied quietly.
He gripped Viktor's shoulder and noticed how tense it was. The gesture finally made Viktor look up from his reading though.
"Look, we’re in a tough spot right now and we need to get money if we want to go forward. Trust me, if there was any other way for us to find sponsors without rubbing elbows with bougie pricks I’d take it in a heartbeat. But you know as well as I do that there isn’t." Jayce saw how tightly Viktor was clenching his jaw, so he tried another approach. "Money aside, try to think of the long term gain here. If we want to interest people in our invention, show the world how great it is, this is our best chance at reaching our audience. Go big or go home, right? Come on, we're partners. This is exactly the sort of thing we should be doing together."
Viktor rubbed his temple and sighed. Jayce’s hand which remained on his shoulder moved in the rhythm of his back rising and falling.
"I wouldn't be of much help to you in the marketing department anyway," Viktor muttered awkwardly. "I have only attended the gala twice, after being promoted to dean’s assistant. Each year Heimerdinger dragged me around to introduce me to random people for about an hour until he realised I was not going to speak a word to anyone."
Jayce blinked at him.
"At all?"
"At all."
"The entire night?"
"Mhm. Then he gave up and I was allowed to sit in the darkest corner until it was socially permissible for me to leave. Since then I have managed to avoid this cursed event."
Jayce mulled this over. He knew of course that his friend was as far from a social butterfly as they come but their situation truly was dire, and he was quite convinced that he wouldn’t be able to do much without Viktor’s experience. Jayce needed him there, for moral support if nothing else.
"Well, there’s no need to introduce yourself anymore, now people probably know who you are... more importantly, you know who's who."
A plan started formulating in his mind. Jayce grabbed another working chair and sat next to an apprehensive Viktor so that they were face to face.
"Alright, hear me out. I can manage the talking but I need to know who to talk to. You had to meet at least some of these people before and I know that you have great memory when it comes to names and faces. All we need is just some additional information about other guests. I’ll make you a deal: you do the reconnaissance part and point me to the richest and most likely to invest in our project person in the room, then I go and do my best to swipe them off their feet. If I succeed – that's great, if not – rinse and repeat with another one. How does that sound?"
Viktor pursed his lips and Jayce couldn't read his expression. It meandered between annoyance and that face he’d made at the Distinguished Innovators Competition right before puking his guts out. Just when Jayce was about to give up and say "okay never mind, I'll do it on my own”, Viktor sighed again.
"Fine. Under a condition that you'll be my errand boy to the bar."
Jayce threw a fist in the air in triumph.
"Yes! Great. It's a deal. So any advice for a novice like me? Other than to avoid food?"
"When it comes to making connections go for quality over quantity and if someone shows interest in hextech all on their own then keep that interest at any cost."
Oddly specific and overly dramatic but hey, that's Viktor for you. Jayce sent him a grateful smile and gave his shoulder another squeeze.
"Thanks. I appreciate it. I'm really glad you’ll be there with me, wallflower and all."
Viktor waved his pencil at him dismissively and returned his attention to the numbers.
"Yes, yes. As long as we get at least one sponsor out of this farce."
"I promise to try my best." Jayce went to the break room to finally start the coffee machine. "By the way do you think the Academy suit is posh enough for the gala? The official one?"
Aside from the casual uniform every Academy student had another set of Academy-emblemed attire that was reserved for official occasions. Jayce supposed that it would be appropriate to wear it at an event like that.
"Highly unlikely." ...or maybe not. "Although I fail to understand how it matters."
"You know what they say: you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar," Jayce practically chirped.
He was in a whole other room but he was one hundred percent sure that Viktor rolled his eyes, but he couldn’t care less. Knowing that he would have Viktor with him throughout the dreaded event took a huge weight off of Jayce's chest and lifted his mood considerably. He waited for their drinks to get ready before resuming their conversation.
"Oh and just for the record," he said as he set a black coffee with two sugars in front of Viktor. "You can hide in a corner all night long if you want but I’m not going to pretend that I’m there on my own. If someone finds our ideas interesting enough to want to meet my partner then I’m introducing you."
Viktor immediately took a sip of his coffee and after a moment mumbled into his cup, "Fair enough."
Jayce brought his own mug up to his lips to cover his smile of satisfaction.
For the first time in the past week he felt like maybe they weren’t completely screwed after all.
***
Days passed by uneventfully. The evening before the Grand Piltover Gala Jayce decided to pay Viktor one last visit to make sure his friend didn’t accidentally forget to send an acceptance letter. He kind of felt like was hovering, but he wouldn’t put it past his partner to weasel his way out of this somehow. People tended to underestimate Viktor but he could be pretty conniving when he wanted to get something... or to get out of something.
First Jayce passed by Viktor’s lab but there was no light shining through the windows so he made his way to Viktor’s home. He made use of his keys and exclaimed, "Viktor, are you home?"
A moment of silence, then a tired voice responded from where Jayce could see a tiny sliver of light coming from under the door, the only bright point in the otherwise dark house.
"In the office."
Jayce was already opening the door. That’s how he found his friend laying on his desk, face-first in a pile of papers. Jayce hesitated with his hand on the doorhandle.
"Hey, everything alright?" he asked tentatively.
Viktor just hummed affirmatively into the desk.
"I uh... I just wanted to remind you about responding to the invitation. You know, to the gala."
A sound muffled by papers came out of Viktor’s mouth that sounded like "oh shit".
"Wait, I have it here somewhere." Viktor pushed himself up and started sorting through all the papers. "Would you mind sending it?"
"Not at all."
Coming here was a good call after all then, Jayce thought absentmindedly, too concerned about his friend to really feel smug.
After a minute of searching Viktor handed him a folded piece of paper, muttered something about an envelope and dug into the drawers of his desk once again. Good thing Jayce took a look at the contents.
"Uh, I don’t think that’s it."
"What do you- oh. My mistake."
Viktor quickly snatched the paper out of Jayce’s hand, but not quickly enough for Jayce not to notice that there was a lot of names, addresses, and acronyms that probably only Viktor could decipher written on it.
"What’s that?" he asked and nodded to the table full of scribbles. "Your hitlist?"
"I did, as you put it, ‘the reconnoitering part’ and researched all the people who would be worth approaching at the gala. Thus, technically it is your hitlist."
Jayce huffed out a laugh.
"Fair enough. How did you even manage to get the guest list?"
"I asked nicely," Viktor replied in an overly sweet tone that Jayce translated to "I did something that your delicate moral standards would consider questionable so for your own sake don’t pry". Jayce couldn’t believe that Viktor had a tone for that, much less that he got so good at reading him as to recognise it. Sometimes it was scary how well they knew each other.
"There’s like a million names on it!" Jayce groaned. "Please tell me I’m not supposed to talk to literally everyone invited. I might as well just walk around with a can and ask for spare change."
Viktor snorted. Suddenly he raised in the air an empty envelope with a triumphal "aha!", cursed, then once again started looking for the letter. Jayce had a sneaking suspicion that in reality there was no letter, but he decided to humour Viktor a little bit longer before calling him out on his bluff.
"I’m afraid the amount of change that we need wouldn’t fit in twenty cans," Viktor grunted out from somewhere under the desk. "To put your mind at ease, this is the original guest list of everyone who had confirmed their attendance as of yesterday. I’m making another list specifically for our use. Like I said it isn’t the quantity that matters, but quality. It's better to have one or two trusted and wealthy investors that we will be able to keep up with than a dozen random people who would throw around money they don’t have and give us absurd conditions on spending it."
Jayce nodded in agreement. He wouldn’t exchange the relationship he had with the Kirammans for any amount of money from strangers whom he wouldn’t be able to fully trust. He was also secretly glad that Viktor finally got comfortable with addressing everything hextech-related as "theirs". For the longest time Viktor claimed that his meagre additions were nothing compared to Jayce’s lifelong dedication to the project while Jayce kept pointing out that if it weren’t for those "meagre additions" he would still be running in circles. (Or six feet under if he made that jump). When the time came to make the official arrangements Jayce stoically claimed Viktor as his partner in equal rights to all future hextech inventions and ignored his friend’s protests about giving him too much credit. To be honest, the things that Viktor brought into his life much outweighed the meagre 50% of profit that Jayce could offer him; even though they’ve known each other for barely a year, it was one of the brightest periods in Jayce’s life and most (if not all) of that feelings he could attribute in one way or another to Viktor.
At last his friend had found the letter, put it in an envelope and gave it to Jayce who, after checking its contents just in case, pocketed it in his jacket. For a moment they let silence hang in the air. Viktor’s gaze once again drifted to the mess on his desk and focused on the calculator. Jayce had a sudden urge to ask once again if he was alright.
"I can’t figure it out," Viktor blurted out in exasperation. "No matter what we do or don’t do, what materials we use or who do we buy parts from, we can’t proceed forward. Not in our current financial situation."
Jayce had tried to analyse their budget from every possible angle too with similar results so he could understand his friend’s frustration... although it was apparent that Viktor didn’t give up after a third try like he did. He was probably desperately trying to bend the numbers to his advantage so that he could miraculously escape attending the gala after all.
"Yeah, I know," Jayce said gently and moved towards him, taking a closer look at the state of the room. There were paperballs spilling from a trashbin and laying everywhere around it, along with broken pens and pencils. Viktor’s cane was on the floor across the room, most likely having been thrown there in frustration. Above it there also might have been a small dent on the wall that hadn't been there before.
"First the Council preaches empty praises and words of encouragement but when push comes to shove we’re left with no one to turn to. They expect a good quality product but aren’t willing to pay for it." Viktor ran his hand through his already messy hair in frustration. Jayce noticed that his fingers were covered with ink all the way to the knuckles. "And they have the audacity to make up excuses about raising security. I can bet that all that money just went into their own pockets in one way or another."
Jayce hummed and kneeled to pick up the cane and lean it against the desk.
"I know," he repeated. "Who would’ve thought that working for the government would involve so much politics and diplomacy, right?"
"I don’t know about you but I did not become a scientist to wrangle with politics," Viktor spat out with venom, then sighed and fell back in his chair.
Jayce felt a pang in his heart. He came here ready to strongly persuade Viktor and quite possibly fight with him one more time over attending the gala, but all that combative energy fled from him when Viktor looked up at him. Aside from his recently constant stressed-out aura now he just looked... positively miserable.
"How long have you been sitting here?" Jayce asked as gently as he could.
"A while." Viktor rubbed his face as he pushed his chair away from the desk. He glanced out the window and did a double take. "What time is it?"
Which, knowing Viktor, meant that he’d been cooped up in there since morning. At least.
"Around eight. Have you eaten anything?"
"I’m fine," came an automatic dismissal.
Nice try, Jayce thought. I’m getting dinner into you one way or another.
"And how’s your leg?"
Viktor tried to move it and winced hard, biting his lip. Jayce’s face scrunched in sympathy when he noticed the entire limb trembling slightly from the strain when Viktor slowly straightened it out with a hiss.
"You’ve been sitting all day haven’t you? And... oh come on, you have a completely good brace and you don’t even use it." After quickly scanning the room Jayce asked, "Where is it?"
Viktor hesitated for a second but eventually admitted, "In the bathroom... I think."
Jayce went to retrieve it quickly, having by now memorised the layout of the house as if it was his own. Surely enough, Viktor’s leg brace was thrown onto a laundry basket without a care. He took it with a sigh and made his way back.
Shortly after they had met Viktor’s doctor advised him to start wearing a stabiliser on his leg since working intensely on hextech for hours on end was doing it no favours. Having already made Viktor a cane (Jayce felt guilty about the previous one getting destroyed) he proposed that he’d make him a brace, too. To his surprise Viktor gave in more easily than he did with accepting the cane. So now Jayce didn’t understand why Viktor was so hell-bent on not wearing it, although he suspected it might have had something to do with his friend’s pride and inability to accept help in any form, proving to everyone that he was fine and didn’t need any help whatsoever.
When he stepped back into the office Viktor was in the middle of massaging cramps out of his leg. Jayce kneeled in front of him and worked on undoing the latches of the brace. He took an occasional peek as Viktor dug his hands into the muscles from his thigh through the knee to the calf and back, wincing and letting out a sharp exhale every once in a while. Not for the first time Jayce wanted to propose to help Viktor out since it looked difficult and painful to do on one’s own, but he already knew what the answer would be. Thus, he simply waited for Viktor to finish and then wrapped the brace around his leg.
"Let me know if it’s too tight," Jayce said as he started tightening belts and adjusting every part so that it fit snugly.
"Alright," Viktor agreed quietly. "You are aware that I will have to remove it soon for the shower anyway, correct?"
"It won’t hurt to wear it in the meantime," Jayce replied as he closed the last latch. "Alright, come on. You have to eat something. Eggs on toast?"
He stood up and extended his hands. Viktor immediately started shaking his head even as he got up with Jayce’s help and took his cane.
"No, thank you, you don’t have to bother-"
"Come on, you know better than to try that one."
With that he unceremoniously turned Viktor around and ushered him out into the living room and in the direction of the kitchen, navigating in the semi-darkness without a problem.
"Wait, the documents- I have to sort it all out-"
"I’ll take care of it. You’ve done enough for tonight. We really ought to get some shut-eye soon." Jayce walked closely behind Viktor, just in case his leg decided to give out from under him. "Big night tomorrow, remember?"
"Don’t even remind me," Viktor muttered. The tone he used would make one think he was sentenced to death and to be executed the next day.
"Hey." Jayce grabbed his shoulder, which made Viktor pause and look at him uncertainly. "We’re doing this together, yeah? I’ve got you. You've done your part, tomorrow I'll do mine. Everything will work out in the end, it always does. I promise."
He sent Viktor what he hoped was a reassuring smile. His friend took a moment to search his face.
"Do tell me where do you keep all of that optimism," Viktor asked with a small shake of his head. To Jayce’s satisfaction he resumed the trek to the kitchen all on his own.
"Nowhere, everywhere, I don’t know," he replied as he started rummaging through Viktor’s barely stocked cupboards in search of anything edible. "I just feel like at least one of us should have some faith and if that has to be me, so be it."
Viktor hummed as he busied himself with preparing tea, taking two mugs out without even asking Jayce if he wanted something to drink.
"If only we could achieve our goals on faith alone... You would have had hextech up and running years ago, sponsors be damned."
"Yeah, but then I probably wouldn’t have met you." Jayce send his friend another smile as he put together a sandwich with some cheese that he’d managed to find. "And where would be fun in that?"
From the corner of his eye he saw that Viktor stared at him strangely. Jayce noticed that peculiar gaze occasionally, usually when Viktor thought he wasn’t paying attention. It was quite difficult to describe; on anyone else it would probably resemble affection, tenderness even, but Jayce had not once seen anything of the sort of Viktor’s face... Well, save for those rare times when his friend looked at him like that.
And Jayce had no idea what to make of it.
The moment was broken by a whistle of the kettle. Viktor blinked and just like that there was no trace on his face of whatever feeling was there just a second ago. Jayce had a rising urge to ask about it, not for the first time, but bit his tongue. His friend looked he hadn’t slept in the past few days, it wasn’t a good time to start a deeper conversation. For now he would just made sure that Viktor didn’t starve himself to death. That was enough.
***
Later that night Viktor lied in his bed, wide-awake, sure beyond any doubt that he wouldn’t be able to get a blink of sleep, already feeling dread of tomorrow’s escapade settling deep in his bones. He got more and more worked up every time he accidentally glanced at the suit he had dug out from the depths of his closet that now hung on the door, freshly cleaned and ironed. Viktor was too anxious to sleep and since Jayce had stolen all of his paperwork to make sure he wouldn’t spend the rest of the night and morning hunched over it (rightfully so), there was nothing for him to do but stare at the ceiling and think.
And, of course, he thought about Jayce.
Jayce had a... thing for physical touch. Viktor observed that it came to him as naturally as breathing and there was no rhyme or reason to it. Usually it didn’t matter who the recipient was, a long-time friend or a stray dog, Jayce expressed his affection with similar enthusiasm. And Viktor couldn’t escape his clutches either. He didn’t care much for physical touch, but he would be lying if he said he didn’t care about Jayce’s touch. At first it was a shock how touchy-feely his partner turned out to be, but Viktor quickly got used to it. Then he almost awaited another moment of when he could feel Jayce’s warmth. Then his body practically yearned for it and it wasn’t just a matter of simple sexual attraction: he craved a pat on the back, a hand on his shoulder, a brush of fingertips when he was being handed something... He longed for any point of contact.
Unintentionally Viktor signed his own death sentence the first time he’d accepted Jayce’s offer of helping with put on that damned leg brace. Alas, Viktor only realised how much harder this would make battling his infatuation when he started seeing Jayce on his knees in front of him on an occasional basis. Sometimes even a genuine ache in his leg wasn’t able to combat desire pooling in his groin. (Not that he pretended to be in pain of course... He could have had simply exaggerated his symptoms a little bit sometimes). Usually reminding himself that Jayce was painfully heterosexual did wonders for his overexcited libido. With time though Viktor’s purely sexual fantasies developed into longing for more, startling him with their intensity and... mundanity. He didn’t just want Jayce’s body for a night – he wanted to make two cups of coffee in the morning instead of one, to show Jayce around the places he grew up in, to be able to introduce him as his partner and not worry about having to explain the meaning behind that word.
God damn it, he just wanted Jayce to be his, in every possible way.
Which was highly alarming, considering that Viktor didn’t do relationships.
After a few attempts at something semi-serious a few years back he realised that the cons outweighed the pros and he exchanged dating for an occasional random tryst. He greatly valued his personal space and routine, and a boyfriend always seemed to barge into his life only to disrupt it. To be brutally honest, the longest partnership of Viktor’s was the one he had with Jayce. Which ironically wasn’t even a romantic one, even if sometimes the line was dangerously blurry, so much so that "he is straight, he would not be interested" had to become Viktor’s daily mantra.
The reason why it was so hard to be around Jayce was because it was so easy.
It was easy to make Jayce a part of his routine. Easy to talk to him. Easy to work one moment and fall asleep on each other’s shoulders the next. Easy to show vulnerability without having to worry about being gawked at or pretending that he was feeling alright at all times as to not make another person uncomfortable. Jayce not even once indicated that he considered Viktor to be "emotionally and physically high-maintenance" as one of his (shortly lived) boyfriends put it. It was like that from the very first day of their partnership. As easy as breathing.
Viktor just wasn’t sure how much more of this delectable torture he would be able to endure without finally snapping and making his feelings known, possibly ruining their friendship beyond repair.