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“I still don’t really know why we are doing this.”
“I want us to have a special night.”
“I thought the special nights were when we…”
Jayce laughs before Viktor can finish his sentence. His laugh is easy and free, the breath leaving him in little white clouds. The night is chilly: cold enough to bite, but not to freeze. It feels strange, being this cold by the sea.
“Yeah, I wanted another one,” Jayce continues. “But if you don’t feel well, we can go back anytime,” he adds gently. “I want us to feel good, not uncomfortable.”
“Okay.”
That’s all Viktor can answer before Jayce stops in front of the little restaurant entrance, which is decorated with strings of fairy lights, radiating warmth. The menu is next to the door, but Jayce doesn’t care about that, he just steps in confidently, bringing Viktor with him into the welcoming warmth and quiet chatter.
A waiter appears as soon as the door closes behind them, and Jayce smiles at him and casually announces their arrival. The whole scene reminds Viktor that time when Jayce was the face of their shared work, and he went everywhere with confident strides and booming voice and quick laughs, his quieter, more private side was only for Viktor to see in the lab.
Now Jayce follows the waiter with his limp, his leg brace creaking softly, and his smile only widens when he looks back to Viktor. Viktor can’t help but smile back, of course. His chest is warm from the thought that Jayce spent his time and energy on this. Just to make a special night, however unusual it is in their life right now.
“What’s the occasion?” the waiter asks as he makes sure the table is well arranged.
Jayce catches Viktor’s eye for a second and smiles at him a little playfully.
“We’ve been together for a while, but this is our first date,” he says proudly. Viktor can’t hide the fondness on his face, even though he’s never really thought about going on a date with Jayce. Dates are for people who don’t know each other well, yes? That’s definitely not them.
“Congratulations! Would you like some wine?” This time, Jayce doesn’t need to look at him before he shakes his head.
“No, we’re not drinking anything alcoholic, thank you. Could you offer something else, please?” The waiter is probably a professional because he offers freshly squeezed fruit juice without a missing beat. Viktor is fine with anything as long as it’s sweet.
“Tell me, how did you find this place?” he asks once they are seated and the waiter has left them with menus and two lit candles on the table.
“You don’t like it?”
“It’s… atmospheric.” Jayce chuckles at this and clearly doesn’t take any offense.
“Do you remember the last time you had a bad day? You asked to be left alone, and I went to run some errands.”
Viktor remembers, of course. It was awful. One of those days when he couldn’t keep his guilt hidden in the back of his mind where it belonged. He didn’t even want to get out of his bed so Jayce — bless his kind heart — made sure he got biscuits and tea on the nightstand and left with the promise he would come back a few hours later to check on him. And he did. He came back, quietly entered the room, and asked if it was okay. Viktor looked at him and reached out and Jayce sat down next to him, and Viktor could bury himself into his arms, trying to escape his guilt from the past and his guilt from the present. Because how could he deserve this lovely and quiet life with Jayce in it after he had done those things back in Piltover?
“Karin asked if I could come here to check on one of the ovens. It was… uh, the last day of the week, the chef couldn’t reach any of their repair workers, so I fixed it at least until a professional could take a look at it. The chef was so grateful that she wanted to give me a free meal, but I asked if I could come back with you later. They’re not so busy now, so we can enjoy dinner.”
Viktor reaches out across the table, and Jayce lets him grab his hand and smiles at Viktor sheepishly. Viktor squeezes his hand.
“You really outdid yourself with this. Thank you, Jayce,” he says, hopefully warm enough to chase any of Jayce’s doubts away. Because he’s grateful for Jayce for thinking of this as an opportunity to make it special. Viktor couldn’t come up with something like this on his best days.
“You think?” He lights up.
“Of course.” Viktor smiles at him. “But we could have done this at Karin’s, no?”
“Yeah, I mean we could, but… every time we sit down to eat, someone comes up to chat and… call me selfish, I want a meal for ourselves only.”
“I’m not calling you selfish for this, Jayce,” he shakes his head. It’s true that Jayce’s easygoing nature lures people around them most of the time, and they have company for their meals more often than not in the restaurant area of the inn. “I’m actually flattered.” Jayce beams at him for that, and Viktor’s pleased by this.
Their drinks arrive, and the waiter offers starters and they both agree to them. Until those arrive, they spend their time discussing the menu and what they should order. It’s not an easy decision when this world has not been theirs from the start, when specialities could be meals they’re never even heard of, let alone decided the flavor would work for them. Jayce looks for ingredients he knows from Karin’s kitchen and the streets of the town, things he feels safe with. Viktor doesn’t feel like being adventurous either.
The starters arrive and Jayce slides the plate of breaded cheese with three different sauces to him without a word. It’s routine at this point whenever they encounter any new food. Jayce has become sensitive to particular flavors and textures, so Viktor tries everything first to make sure Jayce won’t feel bad about it later. He rearranges the plate: the harder cheeses he offers to Jayce with one of the creamy-tangy sauces. Jayce smiles, takes a bite and it’s clear he likes it. Viktor takes the others, the more melted bites. His stomach isn’t picky, he still remembers the days in his life when he had to go to bed with an empty stomach. He would eat whatever was offered to him if it looked remotely edible. But the cheese bites are delicious. He feels happy about the idea now, as reluctant as he was at first about spending their night out.
But Jayce really outdid himself. He ordered a carriage because this place is higher up in the city than their usual areas, which means a lot of stairs. The ride was pleasant enough, they could talk about sweet nothings during it, and the short walk here was okay too, with Jayce’s arm around him. Well, Viktor would be okay with Jayce’s arm around him anywhere.
When the food arrives, it looks good, well arranged grilled vegetables on their plate with fried potatoes and sweet potatoes, with lovely spicy smells. Karin – their innkeep and friend, who took them under her wing when they first walked in the city with nothing other than Jayce’s clothes and Viktor’s blanket – cooks well, but she usually goes for hearty tastes, and catering is not the main aim.
“This is quite luxurious,” Viktor comments. “Are you sure we can afford this?”
Jayce grins at him with a hint of mischief.
“I promise you, I’m not going to bankrupt us for a date with you. Although, it would be absolutely worth it.”
“Are you flirting with me, Jayce?” he asks with a raised brow. Jayce’s face turns into a beautiful shade of red from the question, and Viktor loves it so much, it could burst out of his chest.
“Maybe,” Jayce admits. “I don’t think I’m doing it enough.”
“You don’t have to be cheesy if you don’t want to be,” he offers.
“Oh, I do want to be,” Jayce winks at him. Viktor feels his neck turn hot, and it spreads up to his face. He only blinks back at Jayce. The way he says this, casually yet so confidently, makes his stomach tremble in a good way. He opens his mouth to say something, but he actually can’t. He just stares at his food, thinking how it could be his life after everything. How is it possible that Jayce looks at him with so much affection in his hazel eyes?
“Hey, you okay? Is it too much?” Jayce lightly touches his hand, and Viktor looks up at him.
“Yeah, I think I am,” he nods, he smiles back. He tries to keep his thoughts here at this moment, with all his might. “I’m just… we’re usually not like this, that’s all.”
“This is our special night, remember?”
And it feels like it. It’s beautiful, magical and delicious. Jayce orders dessert, and it’s creamy chocolate and feather light sponge cake with strawberry flavored cream on top. Jayce offers it while holding a spoon, and as Viktor takes a bite, he wonders if people feel like this on their dates too. Are they absolutely smitten with their partners like that? Because if yes, he finally understands the whole ordeal, he’s not going to lie.
So when they leave the restaurant and walk down the street, Viktor stops and gently tugs Jayce’s arm so he would turn towards him. Jayce understands and leans down for a kiss. It’s sweet, soft, and lovely and Jayce’s eyes are shining when he pulls away, with the most beautiful red shade under his eyes and at the tips of his ears.
“What’s that for?”
“For our special night,” Viktor replies without a beat. “And I really want more once we’re back in our room, what do you think?”
“I think that’s manageable,” he nods along. He gives a kiss at Viktor’s forehead, before saying, “Come on, our carriage is waiting for us.”
Their arms are linked together as they walk towards the corner of the street, smiling like idiots in so much love they can barely contain.