Chapter Text
There was a hole in the fence.
The water was cold.
Jayce had the first fact memorized by heart, but he couldn't quite register the second fact through the pain of breaking the surface. He was aware of his body hitting the water. Less pain, more shock. Less shock, more darkness. His body went under as he took his last breath. His instincts tried to fight him, but Jayce forced them down. He wouldn't come back. He didn't thrash for much longer. He wouldn't come back. He couldn't swim anyway and he wouldn't come back. He wouldn't come back. It was all he could think as the current pulled him down. He had no will to fight it. Too late. Too cold. At its mercy.
He could see the sun.
It grew smaller and smaller.
Ever so slowly.
Almost in delirium, he reached up to the rippling orb. Pretended to grasp it in his hand. But he could barely feel his fingers and his movements finally ceased. His chest was heavy, but his body felt light as he was sucked deeper. Deeper down, deeper down into darkness.
The sunshine rippled around him in blue-tinted gold. The rays wrapped him like blurry curtains. It grew further away. It grew colder. Darkness framed the edges of his vision as he sink and he realized the last of the bubbles escaping him were front and center. His vision was starting to tunnel. It was quiet. It was peaceful. It was beautiful as he stared up at the retreating surface. There was a deep sadness and an emptiness inside him. This was the only time he would know peace? This? Words drifted through his mind with a hum.
"I see the light fade
Pulled by darkness, sinking
at the best angle."
...A flash of vibrant red intruded on the last of his sight.
Jayce woke up.
His whole body convulsed and he expelled the water from his lungs in one choking heave. He wasn't even aware of the hands on his chest until they'd been pulled away. His breathing was ragged, while his vision kept blurring with each inhale and exhale. The sun was in his eyes and, once he processed it, he squeezed them shut. Even through his eyelids, there was a faint sense of darkening. When he opened them up again, a hand was hovering over his face, keeping the sunlight off of it. For a moment, Jayce couldn't quite process what he was looking at. A hand, yes, but there was a thick film stretching between each finger, frilled at the edges. The fingers themselves were scarlet at the tips before fading into a lighter red, spreading out into the frills. The nails were sharp and purple.
Jayce furrowed his brow, following the arm. There were swirls of orange and red scales on otherwise pale skin. There was a gradient to them, along with specks of purple. Jayce finally managed to calm his breathing, but something else struck him, his eyes widening. He sat up in shock, the hand quickly jerking back. Jayce grasped at his neck, trying to find his collar. He'd been wearing it when he fell. Panic flooded his body and he threw himself backwards, his head becoming dizzy as his feet scrabbled against rock. He had to keep his neck protected. He had to. He had to.
"GET AWAY!! Fuck!! Fuck, get away!!" Jayce was in blind panic, keeping the back of his neck covered. He couldn't be alone with someone. Not as an Omega. Not as an Omega pushing 6'3". Alphas wanted their hands on him so badly. They always wanted a large man to submit to them. Put him in his place even though he'd always been painfully aware of it. He couldn't let himself be alone. Not when he was so easily overwhelmed by their pheromones. Not when he was so easily pushed into docility. Despite his terror, he couldn't cry. He wouldn't. He wouldn't show that submission. It didn't even cross his mind that this could just be a Beta, but just the face that he was alone with someone was too much. He curled up, trying to make himself small as he kept his hands clasped over the back of his neck.
He was on a small, stone ledge beneath the cliff, right outside of a cavern, where the water formed a lagoon inside. His heart was pounding so hard that it physically hurt. "Why are you hiding?? You have not even looked at me yet." The heavily accented voice was soft and confused. What the hell would someone else be doing all the way out here?? And not just that, why him?? Jayce recognized that voice.
"What the hell is your problem?!" Jayce snapped, his voice muffled. It was the man who'd come along with the Enforcers to his blown-up apartment. The man that he couldn't get a read on and only carried the scent of saltwater. He'd been terrified of him for this reason. There were no pheromones, which should've meant he was a Beta, but he didn't even smell like that. Only saltwater. Nothing more. "Why would you do that?!"
"...Save you?? Because you were drowning." The voice stated, like it was obvious. "I also had quite a few exploratory questions concerning your research." There was a shuffling noise and a clear, plastic backpack was set on the ground. Jayce could see his journal inside and his eyes went wide. He finally lifted his head and froze. The man was different. His hands were the frilled ones he'd seen, with the sunset gradient. Scales curled in swirls on his sharp cheeks and his ears were now the same frilled fins that rested between his fingers. The tips were lined in purple, followed by red, then orange. A spattering of purple freckles covered his pale skin. Jayce could only stare at him. He couldn't see the rest of his body, because of how the man was leaned against the rocky ledge.
"...You're a Zaunite." Jayce's voice was soft with shock and the man glanced up. He seemed amused by that, a smile tugging at his lips.
The sunken city of Zaun was little more than legend in the city of Piltover. A terrible disaster that had led to a tragedy. Half of a great city disappearing into the dark waves. Yet, as time went on, there started to be encounters. A new species of human that was rid of the Alpha/Beta/Omega distinctions. One that no longer had a need for it. It didn't take long for the city of Piltover to recognize that these were what became of the fallen Zaunites. Adapted and changed to live in the depths, where they'd sunken so many years ago. Despite attempts at reconciliation, the Alphas' egos led to their downfall. Led to assumptions. Assumptions led to conflict. Conflict led to tragedy. The tragedy led to the fence between their cities.
There was a hole in the fence.
Jayce jerked back, slamming himself against the cliff wall as a tail splashed in the water behind the man. The fins were massive and flowing, but there was a problem. One of them seemed to be made entirely out of wet cardboard, zip-tied painfully tight to the rest of the tail. Jayce furrowed his brow. The part of the fin that the cardboard covered simply seemed to not exist. Jayce startled as the man spoke. "It is quite rude to stare, no?"
"Are you injured?? That cardboard isn't going to hold up." Jayce blurted out in concern, his eyes wide. The man seemed taken back before shaking his head. He glanced back at his tail before slipping it under the water again.
"No, no. I was born with half of my tail fin. It was... quite unfortunate." The man replied quietly. "No, the cardboard does not hold, but it gets me where I need to and I simply build something new from whatever trash the Piltovians throw into the water." Jayce's eyes trailed over him and he could see the cane strapped to the man's back. He blinked as the man pulled his journal out from the backpack. "I was reading some of your theories regarding magic-"
"You use a glamour." The realization struck Jayce instantly. "You know about magic." He crawled forward to the edge of the rocky ledge, his eyes wide. "That's how you move on land. Does anyone else know??" His voice dropped into a hushed whisper. The man paused before breaking into a quiet laugh.
"Please. You think a Yordle, a being most certainly intertwined with magic, would not be able to spot a glamour?" He asked, tipping his head. "Not only that, but I am his assistant." Right. Jayce felt a little stupid as he glanced to the side. Somehing else clicked and his eyes widened as his hand flew back up to his neck.
"M-My collar, where is-"
"I had to take it off to allow air into your windpipe. You swallowed a lot of water. I couldn't allow any obstructions, I apologize. I set it over there to dry out." Viktor said, gesturing to a nearby rock. Jayce instantly relaxed as he saw the collar laid out. There was the glint of the Rune in it. He almost instinctively went to put it on, but... There were no Alphas here. No Betas. No Omegas. Just a Piltovian and a Zaunite. Jayce glanced back over at the man. "You aren't going to go put it on? I have never seen you in the halls without it." The man seemed surprised.
"Well, yeah, it's to, uh, protect my nape." Jayce mumbled, glancing away. The man's eyes softened in understanding. He rested his head against one of his hands, his tail splashing behind him. "But... Zaunites don't have designations. So I don't... think I need to be afraid." The man tipped his head.
"Forgive me, but why are you? You are bigger than a good majority of the Alphas in the Academy." The man asked, raising a brow.
"You answered the question for me." Jayce mumbled, making the man's brows shoot up in surprise. "That's what Alphas like. Seeing Omegas submit to them. And what better power trip than to have an Omega submit that's bigger than they are?" Jayce gave a small shrug. "It's not... It's not ideal." The man seemed to think about that before nodding.
"...I suppose I never thought of that. My apologies. Despite how long I have been walking among you, I am still quite... ignorant to the ideals and the secondary biologies. After all, Zaunites are not to enter Piltover, as Piltovian citizens cannot enter Zaun. Well... not that they could." The man trailed off in thought before shaking his head. He tapped at Jayce's journal before giving a dramatic eye roll as Jayce held up his hand to stop him again.
"Can I know your name first?? Before you set me off on my hours-long spiel about my research?" Jayce asked and the man blinked before chuckling and tipping his head once more.
"Hours?" He questioned. Jayce instantly nodded, completely serious. That only seemed to delight the man more. "My name is Viktor." Viktor. Jayce repeated the name softly. "And you are Jayce Talis, who signs every page of his notes. A little egotistical, don't you think?" His voice was teasing and Jayce felt his face go hot. He scoffed at him and Viktor's tail gave another small splash. "Well? This spiel of yours?" Someone wanted to listen. Someone who wasn't just an Alpha pretending to be interested before they let their pheromones spill everywhere. Viktor wanted to listen. He was... safe with him. "I hope you do not mind my interjection. This might be less of a 'spiel' and more of a, dare I say, conversation." Viktor said teasingly.
There were no Alphas. There were no Betas. No Omegas. Just a Piltovian and a Zaunite. Just as he thought, he was... safe. The water had long washed away the perfume over his scent glands. Everyone told him he smelled like rain. Always a comment about his scent. But Viktor didn't have that kind of nose and, for once, Jayce appreciated the lack of comment or compliment. "Maybe if I let you get a word in." He said, grinning. Like he hadn't just been intent on ending it. And, luckily for him, Viktor didn't act like he had as well. Instead, his tail fin splashed behind him as he gave a grin in response, his amber eyes alight at the challenge.
"Oh, you will."