Chapter 4
Viktor couldn’t sleep. He was acutely aware of Jayce’s arm around his waist. Even through the thick fabric of his shirt, it felt all encompassing. He had decided to follow his brother’s advice, but this resolve had only unburied more deeply ingrained insecurities Viktor didn’t know he had. What if Jayce left him once he knew Viktor was dying to safe himself the heartbreak? He couldn’t even fault him for that. It wasn’t that he didn’t believe in Jayce. If anything he knew that Jayce was the worst liar he could ever imagine. But when faced with death, people reacted in unpredictable ways. Claggor had said that it was a risk everyone took, but Jayce was not from the Lanes. Death was not a part of everyday reality up here. What if he couldn’t handle it?
He had been so sweet, touching him so carefully as if Viktor’s body could break any moment. Asking if he would be allowed to stay for the night.
They had cuddled up together and soon, Jayce had fallen asleep, evidently exhausted. Viktor didn’t want to know what he had conjured up in his imagination when he’d been left alone all day.
He felt at peace in Jayce’s arms, the solitude of all these years living alone in a foreign city, forgotten.
As lucky as Viktor was in this situation, it also lead to something he had never spared a thought for. He had never liked showing his body, even at medical appointments. It bore all the signs of his limited lifespan, and there always seemed to be new evidence of his time ticking down when he checked the state he was in. How could he ever share that with Jayce? He was sure Jayce would never put him into a situation he didn’t feel comfortable in, but if they were to share a life, it couldn’t be avoided. The thought of this scared him more than he wanted to admit.
Jayce pulled him closer. A warm feeling spread through his heart. Listening to Jayce’s steady breathing, a sense of calm overcame Viktor. They would figure it out, together.
For the second day in a row, Jayce woke up, still excited by the events of the last evening. He would have believed it had all been a dream if it hadn’t been for Viktor’s warm presence next to him. He was already awake, sitting on the bed, his eyes absently looking out of the window. When Jayce started to get up, Viktor turned towards him, smiling so incredibly softly, Jayce felt he had never experienced anything more intimate.
“Morning.” He grinned. This was most definitely the best way to wake up. He carefully placed his head into Viktor’s lap. “Did you sleep well?” He asked with a sleepy voice, relishing in the situation.
“Quite.” Viktor had started playing with Jayce’s hair. Jayce’s wished he would never have to get up again.
Silence spread between them, finding comfort in the soft touches and warmth they provided each other.
Eventually, Viktor decided to be the sensible one. “We should probably get to the lab. I missed an entire day, yesterday.”
“Our research won’t run away if we stay here for a bit longer.” Jayce whined snuggling even closer into his partner who let out a little chuckle.
“Come on, Jayce.”
“If you must.” Sighing dramatically, Jayce got up with a groan. “But I am not letting you out of my sight!” He proclaimed, handing Viktor his crutch.
“Most definitely not.” Viktor grinned at him. “Because I am going to take a shower now. In. Private.” Jayce could not remember when he last felt so flustered.
Working with Viktor as a friend had always been enjoyable. Working with Viktor as a partner was the most inspiring thing Jayce could think of. They were both engrossed in their experiments, but every now and then, Jayce was allowed to let his touches linger or even sneak away a small kiss. Viktor would always smile and let him, not participating himself but clearly enjoying every little gesture.
They had a theory on how to condense the wild, untamed power of the Hex crystals, making them more stable and thus, fit for everyday use. Viktor had just left to acquire access to specialised testing facilities, when Caitlyn stepped into the lab. Followed by the Zaunite women Jayce had just met two days ago.
“Hello, Sprout and…” he waved his hand.
“Jayce.” Caitlyn was visually nervous. “I want you to meet my girlfriend. This is Vi.” The young woman, Vi, grinned mischievously.
“I gotta disappoint you, Cupcake, we have already met.”
“Oh how come?” She couldn’t hide her surprise.
“I found him crying in the streets a few days ago. Just after you showed me the purple park.” She turned to face Jayce. “But you look all better now, loverboy.” Jayce was about to protest when a loud noise disrupted their conversation.
Viktor had returned, his face pale as chalk, the documents he had with him scattered on the floor.
“Vi!” He exclaimed, stumbling towards her. “What happened?”
“Oh fuck! You work here?” Vi had an apologetic look on her face. “Sorry. Nothing happened. I … Caitlyn just wanted me to meet this guy.” She pointed at Jayce. “I didn’t know this was your lab.”
Viktor sat down, all the earlier tension gone. “Oh. Good.” He choked.
Jayce looked towards Caitlyn who was just as confused as him. When neither Vi nor Viktor started to explain, she decided to take over the situation.
“Viktor, I wanted you to meet my girlfriend but you obviously already know each other.”
Vi broke into laughter, effectively dissolving any leftover suspense.
“Nice to meet you, Caitlyn’s friend.” She offered her hand, fake stiffness lacing her voice.
“Haha very funny, Violet.” Viktor was clearly not amused. “This comedic sensation,” he was dripping in sarcasm as he dramatically gestured at Vi, pointedly ignoring her outstretched hand, “is my darling baby sister.”
“No fair! Last time you asked me to stop fussing like a mother hen! Now I’m a baby?” Vi gave him a small pinch in his arm. “Aaanyway this is great timing. Awesome that you already know my oldest brother.” Vi smiled at Caitlyn. “Only two more to go!” „Two more? How many siblings do you have?” Jayce could feel the same slight panic that was mirrored on Caitlyn’s face. Meeting such a large family was intimidating at best. “Just four.” Viktor cheekily answered. “And Cait is going to meet all of them today!” Vi’s enthusiasm was not matched by her partner. In fact her face turned more and more nauseous. “Today?” Viktor asked, confused.
“Yes I was going to tell you later. Vander expects you home tonight. He was really upset you didn’t stay for dinner yesterday. I believe his words were “just kidnap him if he refuses”.” Viktor couldn’t hold back a grimace. “The patriarch has spoken.” He turned towards Jayce. “Do you want to join us? I’m sure Caitlyn will appreciate having a friend around.” That broke Caitlyn out of her stun.
“I thought you were my friend!” Mischief lit up Viktor’s eyes. “Yes I thought so, too. But then you got together with my sister!”
“Jayce?” She turned towards him. “Will you also betray me?”
Jayce didn’t know what to say. Of course he wanted to meet the rest of Viktor’s family. But so soon? Was it even considered soon when they had spent basically every day together the last three years? Before he could say anything, Viktor had stood up and put a hand on his shoulder, looking straight at him. “I would like you to meet everyone, too.”
“Holy shit!” Vi nearly shouted. “When did this happen?”She frantically pointed at the two of them.
“Ummm.” Viktor’s face hat turned into a deep shade of red and Jayce was sure he only faired better because of his darker skintone.
“So the guy you were crying about was Viktor?”
“What?” Viktor looked at him questioningly. Now it was Jayce’s turn to squirm under everyone’s attention.
“Do we need to talk about that now?” He pleaded.
“Yes we do!” Vi marched right between him and his partner, her nose nearly touching his as she stared up at him. “You better had been talking about my Viktor because if you hurt him? I’m going to break every single bone in your body.” Jayce couldn’t help but swallow painfully. He believed every word she said.
“That’s enough, Violet. Thank you. For your concern.” Viktor’s voice was quiet but firm. Slowly, Vi backed off. She didn’t go against him directly, but Jayce was sure he hadn’t heard the last of it. He wished his introductions to Viktor’s remaining family members would be less eventful. Meeting Powder had been a minor disaster already and now this? Of course he was happy Viktor was so obviously loved and cared for but it only made him more anxious to be liked by them.
“Don’t worry. There is no way I would ever do anything to hurt him.” And he was absolutely sincere.
„If you say so.“ Vi was obviously not convinced.
“Don’t be unnecessarily distrustful, Vi. I know Jayce well enough to guarantee he means it.” Caitlyn wrapped her arm around her lover. That seemed to calm her down. “I’m so happy for both of you! I will say it was a bit hard to watch you two dance around each other.” She smiled brightly at them and Jayce loved her for having his back.
“Thank you. Now I have to join you tonight, don’t I?”
The Last Drop was crowded to say the least. Jayce and Viktor had left the lab early and headed straight to the Undercity. In Viktor's words, "It will stop you overthinking and drive yourself crazy if we just go." So Jayce didn't even get the time to change after work but soon, he realised there was another reason for them to leave so early. Even with public transportation the short journey was visually taxing on Viktor. He wished he could help him but there was really nothing he could do other than staying by his side, pretending his slow pace wasn't anything of note. It hurt him to watch.
Viktor's brother, Mylo, had already been waiting for them when they entered, just finishing up his shift at the bar.
"Hey Vik! You missed Vi's announcement yesterday. She's going to introduce her GIRLFRIEND! Can you believe that?" He was so preoccupied he didn't notice Jayce until he sat down next to Viktor at a large table.
"Who's that?" He unabashedly pointed at him.
Jayce held his breath, curious as to how Viktor would introduce him.
"This is Jayce, my partner." He said without hesitation.
"Yeah right," Mylo did not believe him. "you never leave your experiments. He's probably your lab partner."
"He is as well." Viktor's voice was dead serious.
"Wait, you mean it?" Suddenly Jayce was faced with Mylo's intense scrutiny.
"You have great taste, I'll give you that." He didn't even bother to greet him properly. "But if you ever hurt my brother, I..."
"Stop it, Mylo." slight annoyance showed on Viktor's face. "Vi already threatened him. I was hoping you would be less hot headed"
It didn't stop Mylo. "Consider the warning doubled. Vik has always been the sensitive one out of all of us. You're a lucky guy. Got the best person there is."
"I know." Jayce smiled shyly. "And I'll make sure to be a worthy partner."
Mylo offered him a lop sided grin. Jayce saw it as a peace offering.
"Good luck with that."
The door opened and Powder stepped in, holding hands with a white haired, dark skinned young man around her age.
"Vicky." she nearly sang. "And Weirdo! I knew I'd see you again. I don't think I've ever seen our dear, married to his work, brother so smitten". She laughed while both Jayce and Viktor's faces turned into red beacon lights. She turned to her companion.
"Jayce." She introduced, pointing at him. Viktor finally found his voice again.
"This is Ekko. He'll probably join us at the academy, soon."
As the evening went on, everyone gathered around the table. It was a rowdy affair, but eventually, Jayce and Caitlyn settled in and seamlessly melted into the group. After the initial shock, fortunately no more threats, Jayce really enjoyed the cozy atmosphere. He did notice that Caitlyn hadn't received any warnings. Vander had cooked up quite the feast and even though Jayce wasn't sure what he was eating, he enthusiastically tried everything.
They had just cleared the table, when Caitlyn and Vander approached him.
"Jayce, I wanted to talk to both of you." Vander gestured towards a door in the back.
"I know you're not some stuck up Topsiders, otherwise you wouldn't be here." His voice was calm and assuring. "But I need you to know what you're getting into. In the Lanes, once you're part of the family, you're in it for life. I don't want to see any of them hurt because you are not prepared for that. So please, think about your decision carefully."
"Thank you." Caitlyn was quick to answer. "But I have made my decision a long time ago."
He turned towards Jayce. "I won’t see any of them suffer again. Especially Viktor. That boy never thinks about his own well being enough." Jayce felt a lump rising in his throat.
"I know." he whispered. "I really just want him to be happy."
"Good." Vander smiled kindly at both of them. "We appreciate you for loving them. Don't disappoint us."