Work Text:
Jayce felt like the edges of his skull were about to cave in.
The day had started off so well. He’d had a successful counselor meeting in the morning, where a vote he’d stuck his neck out to support had been, to his shock, voted unanimously through. He’d been giddy at lunch, riding the high from the meeting, and when he strode into the lab, seeing Viktor only made him happier.
The other man smiled a warm greeting, then handed him a notebook, page open to the list of things they needed to get done. Jayce scanned over it, itching to get his hands on something after sitting and talking all day.
So they began their project, a new hextech prototype that was in its very early stages, and the hours practically flew by. Jayce had been so concentrated on the small clump of mechanics and wires in front of him that he hadn’t noticed the headache sneaking up -- until it started pounding against his temples.
He sat back, bringing a somewhat confused hand to rub the side of his head. Squeezing his eyes shut, he took several deep breaths to try and calm the wave of nausea that the pain was causing. His head hurt . He stifled a groan, leaning over his desk and gently lowering his head into his hands.
From the other side of the room, Viktor perked up an inch, turning hesitantly around. Maybe he had imagined it -- maybe it was nothing -- but he thought he’d heard a hitch in Jayce’s breathing. That usually meant that he was either annoyed, or something had gone very wrong. Usually, it meant both.
But when he turned around to glance at his partner, the man was practically doubled over himself.
“Jayce?" Viktor murmured, unsure.
“Mm?” the other man hummed, not lifting his head. It felt like someone had stabbed a knife into his brain and was giving it a twist every few seconds.
The only response was the screech of Viktor’s chair as he pushed it back from his desk, and the light, hollow thumps of his cane crossing the room. Jayce cracked an eye open to find the other man standing behind him, a line of worry intending his brow.
“What’s wrong?” Viktor asked. He sounded calm, but Jayce could tell he was worried.
“I’m fine, fine,” he quickly tried to wave away his concerns, but between the speaking and the waving, another round of pain pulsed through his head.
He winced and Viktor’s brow darkened.
“Hm,” the smaller man huffed, narrowing his eyes at Jayce, who peeked up guiltily.
After a moment, Jayce caved.
“Headache,” he explained, squeezing his eyes shut again. As a result, he didn’t see the look of compassion on Viktor’s face. When he spoke, however, Jayce could hear it in his voice.
“Well, why didn’t you simply say so?” He sounded as if he were gently scolding a child, and it made Jayce laugh -- which, in turn, made him flinch, the muscles in his neck tensing.
Viktor sighed sympathetically. Then, after a moment of hesitation, in which Jayce thought he glanced a flash of panic on the other man’s face, Viktor nudged him in the shoulder.
“Here, lean back,” he offered. Jayce was too dumbfounded, not to mention in too much pain, to question what was happening. With a grimace, teeth clenched together, he complied, leaning back against his chair. It came just below his shoulders, putting his head at an uncomfortable angle.
But it wasn’t uncomfortable for long.
Suddenly Jayce felt Viktor’s hands on either side of his face. His eyes flashed open in surprise -- it wasn’t often that Viktor initiated physical affection, and the rare times he did always managed to throw Jayce for a loop. He laughed nervously.
“Whatcha doing th-ere--”
His question was choked off as Viktor began to rub circles onto his temples. Jayce’s brow furrowed together, eyes closing as a wave of pain washed over him. But after a moment of Viktor’s fingers working against his skin, he began to relax.
The man’s thumbs were at the back of his skull, palms gently holding Jayce’s head in place as he massaged up his temple and down along his ears. Jayce sighed lightly, leaning further back into the touch. He felt something brush the top of his head, and by the time he registered that it was Viktor’s stomach, he had already dropped all his weight against it.
He peeked an eye open, hastily glancing up at the other man. Viktor had a pleased expression on his face, the corners of his mouth tilting into a hidden smile as he watched his fingers work. Jayce’s eye widened slightly before dropping closed again. Rather than think about the specifics of whatever was happening -- not to mention the strange emotions it was eliciting inside him -- Jayce let himself be swept up in the feeling of Viktor’s fingers digging gently into his skin.
The smooth pads of Viktor’s fingertips brushed across his forehead, sweeping soothingly from one temple to the other. Jayce began to feel the repercussions of the odd angle his neck was resting and shifted a bit to try and alleviate it. As a response, Viktor pressed himself closer. Without thinking -- he seemed to be doing that a lot, today -- Jayce leaned heavier into his partner.
With Jayce’s neck craned back now, Viktor began to move his hands lower. Thumbs rubbing slow circles into the base of his neck, Viktor’s fingers ran sweeping lines behind his ears, reaching down along his jaw. Jayce hummed, a blissful smile plastered on his face.
“Has anyone ever told you,” he breathily began. “That you’re very good… with your hands?”
Viktor smirked, tilting his head.
“Eh, a few people, maybe.”
Jayce cracked his eyes open.
"Really?”
The other man rose a slender eyebrow.
“Does that surprise you?”
Closing his eyes, Jayce shifted slightly in his seat as Viktor continued massaging his scalp. He relished in the narcotic effect it was having on him.
“Not right now, it doesn’t,” he admitted, causing Viktor to chuckle softly. Jayce could feel the vibrations of it hum throughout his body.
“Are you feeling any better?” Viktor asked.
His head still hurt, but it wasn’t pounding like before. Though Jayce wasn’t entirely sure if that was because of Viktor’s hands, or the thoughts he was having about Viktor’s hands. Jayce felt a tinge of pink spread across his face.
Viktor raised an eyebrow, then softly poked the other man’s cheek. After a moment of hesitation, he let the touch linger, and eventually, after what felt like a million years to Jayce’s racing heart, Viktor trailed his finger out and down along his jaw. When he reached his chin, the other man’s hand curled down to his throat, sweeping along the bottom part of his jaw now, only stopping when he reached the base of Jayce’s ear.
“What part of my headache was that supposed to help with,” Jayce managed after a moment of searching for breath.
Viktor scoffed, but an obvious blush was creeping up his neck.
“Shut up,” he muttered, and Jayce grinned, pleased with himself.
The warmth from Viktor’s hands disappeared as he stepped back, retrieving his cane from the back of the chair. Jayce let out a huff of protest as he felt Viktor’s weight leave the back of his head.
“Seeing as you are feeling better,” Viktor explained, and his tone of voice told Jayce that the other man knew exactly what he was doing to him. “We should get back to work.”
He began to return to the other side of the room. Jayce sat up, spinning around in his chair before scrambling to his feet. His mind kept telling him that maybe he should stop.
He told his mind that it could go right ahead and fuck itself.
By the time Viktor had reached his desk, Jayce was already halfway across the room. He reached out for Viktor’s arm, and the other man turned around, mild surprise showing on his face. Jayce leaned forward and kissed it right off.
Or maybe he only made it worse -- he wasn’t looking. Instead, he was focusing on the way that Viktor’s lips pressed against his own. The man leaned back against the impact of Jayce’s hasty advancement, stumbling slightly into the desk. Jayce came up for air, glancing down for a moment.
With a tilt of his head, he grabbed Viktor’s hips and picked him up, plopping him onto the desk. Viktor grunted in protest, trying to move papers and books out of the way before they got crumpled, but when Jayce leaned forward to press his lips against him, his hands quickly moved onto Jayce’s shoulders.
Jayce let his hands wander up to lace around the back of Viktor’s head, entangling with the wild strands of hair there. Viktor hummed deep in his throat, and Jayce couldn’t stop himself from taking the other man’s lower lip between his teeth.
That was as if Jayce had pushed a button to activate Viktor. He practically lunged forward, tilting his chin up as he pushed his tongue into Jayce’s mouth, who moaned softly, squeezing the hands that were gripping Viktor's hair into fists.
Viktor moved his own hands from Jayce’s shoulders, sliding them up his neck, laying his fingers against his jaw. They twitched, nails scraping against the stubble on Jayce’s face as Viktor pulled back, trying to catch his breath.
"So much for a headache,” he mumbled.
Jayce grinned, leaning closer between Viktor’s legs and nipping lightly at the base of his jaw. Viktor shuddered, hands wrapping around to grip the back of Jayce’s neck like it was a lifeline.
"Has anyone ever told you," Viktor gasped out as Jayce kissed down his neck. "That you are very good with your mouth?”
A low hum rumbled through Jayce, and his hands darted down to hook beneath Viktor’s legs, pulling the man flush against him.
"Oh, once or twice," he breathed into Viktor's nape.
Viktor let out a muffled sigh, fingers creeping up through Jayce’s hair. Jayce pressed even closer to Viktor, if that were humanly possible -- he was practically climbing onto the desk at this point -- and when the man let out a strangled huff, Jayce couldn’t stop himself. He rolled his hips forward, squeezing Viktor’s thighs.
Viktor grunted, a noise that was equal parts pleasure and annoyance, and gave Jayce’s hair a tug. Pulling the other man’s head back, Viktor gazed intently into his eyes.
“Absolutely not,” he said, voice firm but sly. While Viktor had intended for this to dissuade him, it only managed to make Jayce want to tackle him straight off of the desk.
Viktor noticed this. Jayce could tell by the glint that had filled his eyes, which he narrowed.
Then Viktor was tugging Jayce’s head back by the hair, tilting his face so he had to peer up into his eyes.
“We have work to do,” he whispered, voice husky.
“Yes,” Jayce breathed, hardly trusting himself to speak. “But I don’t think I can, with my…” he swallowed hard, “headache.”
Viktor raised a slender eyebrow.
“Oh your headache, hm?” he smiled wryly before snaking a hand down Jayce’s abdomen.
“Yes,” he replied through gritted teeth, voice coming out more forceful than necessary, which only dug him further into the hole in which he seemed to be buried.
“But I thought I’d already fixed that,” Viktor peered innocently down at him.
“You’re an asshole,” Jayce laughed breathily.
Viktor’s eyes flickered across his face. Then he smirked, pleased with himself, which drove Jayce absolutely insane -- not to mention that Viktor still had a firm grip on his hair, keeping his head tilted ever so slightly. Jayce could scream.
However, when Viktor opened his mouth, his voice was barely a whisper.
“Help me off this desk, would you?”
Jayce wanted nothing more than to lean forward and kiss the smug look right off of his face, but Viktor’s hold on his hair wouldn’t allow it. He sighed, surrendering. Giving Viktor’s hip one last tug, he pulled him down.
But Viktor wasn’t the only one who could be a teasing asshole -- two could play at that game. While lowering Viktor to the ground, Jayce stood exactly where he was, nearly pressed up against the wood surface. The resulting effect was that, in order to stand, Viktor had to slide down Jayce’s front.
Viktor narrowed his eyes, and Jayce shot him his most innocent expression. With a challenging tilt of his eyebrow, Viktor leaned forward into his chest, pulling a shaky hiss from him.
“I suggest you take care of your headache so we can get back to work. We are in a professional setting, after all.”
Jayce furrowed his eyebrows.
“My head--” Oh.
Staring into Viktor’s eyes -- not wanting to risk looking any lower -- Jayce was starting to feel like he had died. He wished he had, with how many variations of red his face was turning.
“Right,” Jayce sputtered, and Viktor -- that damn man -- looked so pleased with himself that Jayce wanted to kiss him all over again.
“Ah , don’t even think about it,” Viktor warned, raising a finger. “I’m serious this time. I think I’ve figured out what’s gone wrong with the energy converter.”
“The energy conver-- are you serious right now?”
Viktor raised his eyebrows innocently.
“What?” he defended. “I get some of my best ideas when I’m--” He stopped short, suddenly finding the other side of the room very interesting.
Now it was Jayce’s turn to smirk.
“When you’re what?” he asked with a grin.
Viktor turned around and began flipping through a notebook, trying his best to ignore the other man.
“When you’re what, Viktor?”
“Get back to work,” he muttered, and Jayce could hear the smile in his voice.
Jayce beamed, immensely pleased with himself. Viktor might have had the upper hand in… whatever that had been, but now Jayce had him hunched over his desk, scrawling flustered notes into a book.
“You know what, V?” Jayce began, and Viktor leaned his forehead against his palm. “That really did work, I feel completely fine. I’ll be sure to seek out your assistance whenever I get a headache in the future.”
Viktor’s shoulders drew slightly together, though he didn’t grant Jayce a look in his direction. When he spoke, the casual tone of his voice had Jayce concerned again.
“I’m confused, are we still using ‘headache’ as a euphemism for…” he let the sentence trail off.
Jayce choked on the mouthful of coffee he had just taken.
“If that is the case,” Viktor continued. “Then perhaps next time you could at least wait until after we are out of the lab.”
“But what if you need help getting any more… ideas,” Jayce drawled, causing Viktor to straighten up.
“Well in that case, then it may be me who is the one seeking you out,” he replied, a serious look on his face.
Jayce stared at Viktor long after he had turned his back, trying to catch his breath -- and trying not to think too hard about what he'd just said. What he’d insinuated. Trying not to think about how Jayce wanted it to happen now, not later.
“Jayce,” Viktor pleasantly called, and he only managed a strangled noise. “Would you kindly stop thinking so loud, it is quite distracting.”
He clenched his jaw, mouth bunching up as he glared into Viktor’s back.
“And that look was entirely uncalled for, I might add.”
Jayce scoffed, throwing his hands up. “Alright, wise-ass, what am I gonna do next, huh?”
Viktor turned around to pass him a strict expression.
“I have no idea, Jayce. Don’t be ridiculous." Then, “Pass me that screwdriver, please.”
Jayce had no idea what was happening. His head felt like it was spinning off his shoulders.
But at least it didn’t hurt anymore.