Day by day

Jayce was already busy at work, when Viktor entered the lab.
"You're here early." he remarked.
"I couldn't sleep." Jayce shrugged. Not addressing the elephant in the room.
"Are you well?" Viktor tried to think of a way to ask him about what exactly happened. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he was still afraid Powder had accidentally exploded Jayce before.
Jayce sighed heavily.
"Yes," he paused. "No. I don't know." He looked like a wild animal caught in a cage.
"Who was the girl yesterday?" he finally asked.
"Powder. My youngest sister." his words had a visual impact on Jayce. His entire frame relaxed.
"Has she offended you before?" Viktor asked, nervously.
"Offended? No, no. I just thought she was someone else." Viktor was not convinced.
"Are you sure? You looked like she might jump at your throat."
"I was very confused." Jayce said earnestly. "Sorry for walking out like that."
Clearly, he didn't want to talk about it, so Viktor didn't pry.
"It's alright. She did remark that my lab partner was the weirdest guy she ever met, though." he chuckled.
"Yeah. At least I made a lasting impression." Jayce laughed, all the earlier tension gone. "I would still like to properly meet her next time."
"Of course. I'm sure she would love to actually say hi next time." Viktor grinned. Relieved that his friend's reaction to Powder had not been due to an encounter Viktor was not privy to. "You missed quite the meal, though."
"Maybe we should correct that tonight?" Jayce's voice held a hopeful tone that made Viktor feel his ears turn red. He wasn't sure if it was a good idea but also couldn't bring himself to deny the offer.
"If you wish to." A smile spread on his face. "But I have to warn you. My sister ate all the pasta I had left yesterday. So we're down to lettuce."

This must have been the first time in his life, Viktor couldn't wait to leave the lab. Against his better judgment, he was looking forward to spending the evening with Jayce.
They had decided to get dinner together at a local bistro close to campus, since the prospect of shopping and cooking after a long work day was not enticing to any of them. It also ensured that this time, none of his siblings would drop in on them. Viktor wasn't sure what this was, but it certainly was not friends casually getting dinner after work. In fact, it felt eerily like a date and judging by the nervous look on Jayce's face, he must have picked up on it as well. He wasn't sure if he liked the situation but his heart betrayed him, beating so heavily he was half convinced Jayce must be hearing it as well.
"So, you have a brother and a sister and you never told me about them?" Jayce asked after they had placed their order.
"I didn't think you would be interested. In fact, I have two sisters and two brothers." Jayce gaped at him.
"Seriously Viktor, you have been my closest friend these past few years and you never thought I would be interested in your life?"
"It's not very interesting", Viktor mumbled, slightly guilty. Jayce had always openly shared everything about his life.
"I'm just. Not used to sharing personal details with people. No one up here would want to know about a Zaunite anyways."
"I would." Jayce supplied, fake outrage plastered on his face.
"There isn't much to tell really. We were all street kids. Vander took us in, so we grew up together. When Professor Heimerdinger recruited me, everybody chipped in, so I could have this opportunity. And now we're here."
Jayce looked as if he had a dozen questions on his mind.
"Where do they live now? Must be quite close by if they can drop in to bring you food regularly." he remarked.
"Oh no, they live in the Lanes. Vander runs a bar there and they prefer to stay with their kind of people. I'll probably also move back there someday." The thought of moving back in with his family was bittersweet. Of course he would like to be back home, surrounded by his loved ones, but he knew that would only happen after his health wouldn't allow for him to live alone anymore. His research could really help people and thus was far too important for him to abandon.
"You don't enjoy Piltover?"
"I do. But we never know what the future holds, do we?"
"So now your father makes meals for your siblings to drop in on you?" Jayce clearly thought this highly amusing.
"You make it sound like I was unable to care for myself."
"I will remind you that we are here because you only had lettuce at home."
"While you had nothing to offer at all." Viktor added without missing a beat.
"Looks like I have to concede this one." Jayce puffed his chest dramatically. "I shall retreat for now and return to the battlefield in full glory at a later time."
"What are you, a Noxian general?"
"Maybe in another life?" Their joint laughter was so loud it earned them a few disapproving looks from the surrounding guests. But for once in his life, Viktor didn't care. Everything about this evening felt right to him and if a few judgemental glances were the cost of it, he would gladly accept them.

The evening had flown by and before he knew it, they were already leaving for the night. In an effort to spend more time together, Jayce insisted on walking Viktor home and was pleasantly surprised, when Viktor agreed immediately. He had expected more resistance.
When they had reached Viktor's building, Jayce mustered up all the courage he could find in himself, feeding off of the sheer bliss the evening had provided him with.
"I enjoyed tonight very much." He started slowly.
"I agree." Viktor gave him a small, shy smile. "Maybe we can repeat that occasionally."
This was all the encouragement Jayce needed.
"I like you a lot. And I would like to do this regularly." He was hot and cold at the same time. His eyes fixed on Viktor's face, overanalysing every movement. Initially, Viktor's eyes widened in surprise but shortly after, he stiffened. Jayce's heart had already began to sink, when a slight grin returned to Viktor's face.
"Alright." He nodded in agreement. "We should do that."
Jayce felt the happiest smile spread across his face. He couldn't help but pull Viktor into a tight embrace. After a few moments of initial shock, his affections were returned and Viktor carefully put his arm around Jayce.
"I should say goodnight." Viktor pulled away from him to look him in the eyes. "I'll see you in the lab."

When Viktor entered the living room, he found Vi on his sofa, sleeping like a stone. For a moment, the view made him forget all the sorrows that had been steadily building up over the evening. A happy little smile crept onto his face. As quietly as he could, Viktor sneaked over to his closet and pulled out a blanket that he proceeded to carefully drape over Vi's body. Just observing his sister's peaceful presence had a delightfully calming effect on him.
It had been a wonderful evening. In fact, it had been so nice, Viktor had found himself falling in love with Jayce all over again. This wasn't good. He didn't doubt Jayce cared for him, but even if he could change his view on finding his soulmate, there was still the fact that Viktor was a dying man. It was enough to see his family suffer with him, he didn't want Jayce to join them. And even though he didn't feel particularly more ill than usual, the fact that Vi had checked up on him every day for multiple weeks straight, was evidence enough for his deteriorating condition. Of course she had always visited him regularly, just like all his other siblings. But every day? Viktor knew he must look especially worn down for that to happen. He simply could not burden Jayce with this as well. He wondered why he had agreed to going out with him again. Regularly. But deep down, Viktor knew that he could never say no to Jayce. Not when he was looking at him with so much affection.

Vi was warming up something on his stove, when Viktor walked into the kitchen the next morning.
"Rise and shine sleepyhead!", she grinned at him. "I'm just warming up Vander's stew so we can have some breakfast before you run to your experiments."
The smell of his father's cooking filled the room.
"I don't think I'll go today."
"Dude, what happened? I always thought we would have to drag your unconscious body out of that bloody lab for you to stop your research!" She tried to laugh at it but they both knew there was some truth to it.
"I think I need a day at home." Even though she tried to instantly mask it with a grin, Vi couldn't hide her worried face. "Ok. You want me to stay with you? I don't really have any plans."
Viktor shook his head. "It's fine. I'll walk down slowly after breakfast."
"You know what? I just need to post a note to someone real quick and then we can walk down together."
"Sounds good to me."

The Last Drop felt as welcoming as ever. It had been quite a while since Viktor last visited. He would like to do so more often, but the long way down from Topside had truthfully become quite taxing on his body. A lot had changed in his childhood home since he left. Everything was cleaner than he remembered and the mood was a lot more relaxed. Not only had the air quality improved significantly, anyone could feel there was less criminal energy around in general. Viktor had been sending money home, regularly, as soon as he started earning and with the discovery of Hextech, the amount he was able to provide had skyrocketed. He could see his father had put it to good use and improved the community he had grown up in.
To his surprise, it wasn't Vander behind the bar.
"What an honoured guest!" Claggor smiled brightly. "Never thought I'd see you here!"
"Where's Vander?" Vi asked, ignoring the exaggerated sarcasm.
"He just left for Benzo's to get Powder."
"So Powder and Ekko, finally?" Viktor tried to keep up with everything happening in his siblings lives, but somehow he felt like he was always behind.
"Yeah. It's pretty new." Claggor explained, looking quite smug "Little man needed a bit of a push and the rest is history. But don't tell Vander for now."
"Am I correct to assume that you provided him with the...push?" Viktor smiled back, slightly amused. He could only imagine how that "push" had looked like.
"Oh come on. The man just needed some encouragement!"
"Yeah right." Vi laughed. "He actually set Powder up with one of his friends."
"It worked, didn't it?" Claggor pouted. "Oh shoot. I promised Pow to warn them when they might get caught. Vi, could you?" "Only if you take my turn vacuuming!" She gave them a thumbs up and ran after Vander.
Claggor poured Viktor a glass of water. For a while, they sat in comfortable silence.
"Why are you here?" Claggor asked after the only other guest this morning had left.
"Do I need a reason to visit my family?" Viktor tried to look offended.
"Of course not. But you wouldn't. Especially not in the morning. It would lose you an entire day in the lab." Claggor stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Viktor sighed.
"I went on a date, yesterday." The glass that had been in Claggor's hand seconds ago crashed to the ground.
"You went on a date? With a Topsider? How did that happen?" Everything else forgotten, his brother joined him at the counter.
"It's not important." Viktor felt his face blush furiously.
"Of course it is! Our brother, finally growing a heart for love. How was it?" Claggor didn't even try to mask his curiosity.
"We had a great time." Viktor said, sounding more like they had been at a funeral.
"Then why do you look so miserable?"
"We all know I'm dying. I shouldn't bring someone else into this."
Slowly, Claggor put a hand on his shoulder. When he spoke, his voice was full of warmth.
"Vik, that's just another reason for you to enjoy life while you can." He was the only one who had accepted that Viktor might die early and didn't shy away from speaking about it. Viktor was incredibly grateful for that.
"It doesn't seem fair." He retorted weakly.
"You have spent far too much time with Pilties. When has life ever been fair? Besides. Accidents can always happen. Runa could be shot by an enforcer tomorrow. It's a risk we all take."
"Don't say that. She'll be very upset hearing about you, hypothesising about her death." Viktor hushed him immediately.
"What does this word even mean? Anyways, she'll be even more upset if she hears you gave up before even trying."
"It's different. I already know I will die young. It's dishonest to allow someone to care for me with the expectation of a lifetime." He couldn't look at his brother, staring onto the bar instead.
"Then be honest. Try it out, see where it goes. And if it get's serious, you can ... fill them in about your health. Let them make an informed decision on their own."
Viktor ran out of counter arguments, so he just closed his eyes and let out a long breath.
"You are right."
"Of course I am!" He carefully patted Viktor's back. "Just be happy."
A laugh escaped him. "Right, just be happy." Viktor grimaced. "As happy as Runa will be when I tell her what you said?" Claggor paled. His girlfriend would be furious.
"You wouldn't!" he pouted. "She'll kill me!"

*****************************************

Jayce was so happy he felt like exploding. Viktor had basically agreed to go on a date with him! He was so giddy, he couldn't fall asleep, endlessly recounting the evening in his head. So much had happened that day. The elation he had felt when he found out that Viktor's soulmate, Powder, had actually become his sister, was only multiplied when his friend had agreed to have dinner with him. It seemed like he had been right to give it a shot and listen to the Zaunite woman he met yesterday. Sometimes he forgot that Viktor had grown up there as well. The entire situation made him question why Piltovian society was dead set on soulmates. Spending time with Viktor made him so happy, there was no way he would willingly chose to leave this behind for someone he didn't know because it turned out they had the same mark on their body as him.

As soon as the sun rose, Jayce hurriedly got ready for the day, eager to get to the lab. Eventually he had gotten a few hours of sleep, but in the end, he had still woken up early. The thought of seeing Viktor soon, had swept any concept of tiredness away. When he entered the lab, Viktor hadn't arrived, yet. Jayce didn't think much of it, deciding to concentrate on his research first.
The door behind him opened and Jayce nearly jumped out of his seat. But when he turned to see who had arrived, it was jus a colleague, asking to borrow a wrench. Why hadn't Viktor showed up, yet? He was usually never late to work. Was he not feeling well? He had seemed alright when they had parted last night.
A small unwelcome thought wormed its way into his brain. Maybe Viktor was avoiding him.
He quickly dismissed it. Surely something must have come up. Viktor had obviously also enjoyed their time together. That was why he agreed do go out again, right? Had Jayce done something to make him change his mind? Had it been too much to hug him in the end? Viktor had been quite stiff at first. But Jayce had assumed it had been due to him being surprised. Maybe he had interpreted his shy response the wrong way? Had he only returned his affections to get rid of him, quickly? Before he could lose himself in self doubts again, Jayce tried to get back to work. There was no way he'd get to know more by brooding over it. Viktor would probably be here any minute with a perfectly sound explanation.

The sun was already setting but Viktor hadn't come. By now, Jayce's mental state had devolved into a nervous mess, questioning everything that had made him so happy just a few hours ago. His lunch must have contained stones, because his stomach felt like it had completely cramped up. Briefly, he considered staying in the lab to take his mind off things. Maybe Viktor would show up after all. But why would he show up now, when he had left Jayce hanging the entire day? And then again, he might really have had medical issues? Anyone who had spent some time with him would see how fragile his health was. What if Viktor was at home, suffering alone? Jayce couldn't bear the idea of him being ill without anyone noticing. So he decided to check if he was home and everything was alright. Even if it meant he would find out that Viktor simply didn't want to see him.

An overwhelming sense of relieve washed over Jayce when Viktor answered his door and looked like his usual self.
"Jacye." He was genuinely surprised.
"Hi. I just wanted to see if you were alright. You didn't show up." Viktor gestured for him to enter.
"Something came up." He didn't offer any further explanation. They sat down in the living room.
"Are we ok?" Jayce asked carefully. His heart was going to kill him one of these days, if it kept beating as loudly as it did right now.
"Of course we are." Viktor's voice was calm and gentle, but he was staring at his hands.
Jayce was a bit taken aback. There was obviously something bothering Viktor and he wouldn't talk about it.
"Are you sure? Because I was really looking forward to seeing you today but you never came." His voice sounded much more hurt than he had intended.
"I'm sorry." Viktor still wouldn't look at him.
"Talk to me, Viktor. If you don't like where we were headed to yesterday, we can always just go back to how we were." As much as it killed Jayce to say it, he'd rather try and let go of his love for him than lose the friendship they had.
Viktor sighed. He still avoided his gaze but to Jayce's surprise Viktor leaned his head onto his shoulder! Jayce didn't know how to react. He blushed furiously, hyper aware of the contact. He was delighted and afraid at the same time. Eventually, he just leaned into his friend and hoped this would never end.
"No." Viktor's voice was so soft, it was barely audible. "Yesterday was wonderful."
"Then why are you avoiding me?"
"It's just... a lot..." his voice faltered. "Will you leave me once your soulmate shows up?"
Jayce couldn't help but flinch. Of course, he had basically told Viktor he'd never settle for anyone but his soulmate before. With both hands, he reached for Viktor's arms, so he finally couldn't avoid him anymore. "I could never leave you like that. You mean far too much."

Viktor stared at him, as if he was trying to solve a puzzle. Jayce smiled, encouragingly. He hoped he could convey his feelings even though it was not possible to put them into words.
But this was Viktor. Viktor who knew him better than anyone else.
Their faces were so close to each other, Jayce would only have to lean forward to kiss him. He curbed his thoughts. Fantasising about kissing Viktor now was highly unhelpful and he didn't want to ruin this moment of closeness.
"May I kiss you?" Not even in his wildest dreams had Jayce ever dreamt of hearing these words from his best friend. His heart rate exploded and his brain completely blacked out.
In all this emotional mess, he must have managed to nod, because the next moment, Viktor was carefully kissing him.