Work Text:
The quick creak of the lab door being shoved open is the only warning Viktor has before it slams against the wall. The abruptness of the clamor, cutting through an otherwise silent room, causes both his shoulders to jump and his pen to go skittering toward the edge of the paper.
Frown setting in at the harsh, black line now blemishing an otherwise orderly page, Viktor sets the pen down. He straightens up from the hunch he’d settled into over the desk minutes- possibly, hours- ago.
Stillness follows the sudden disturbance. His sigh is loud in its wake. Maybe this should all be more worrisome than it is; but apart from him, there’s few others stuck here- drawn here- willingly here so late. And tonight it’s no surprise. Quite the contrary, actually. Viktor expected this eventually. But, perhaps, not with such a jarring arrival.
“Woah,” Comes Jayce’s voice in time. Quietly, to himself, but trickling its way over nonetheless.
Viktor turns on his stool, just enough to scowl over his shoulder, but then fully once he finds Jayce staring bewildered at the door now stuck to the wall. The arm that had unceremoniously shoved it open is still hanging in the air as if it had moved on its own and he had no idea how things ended up this way.
“Welcome back, Jayce.”
Their eyes meet with the hurried whip of Jayce’s head and the curl of that arm to his chest. His confusion gets traded in for an apology instantly.
“Sorry, didn’t mean for that to- uh…”
“So it seems.” It only takes a moment to scan over Jayce’s current disarray- hair a little unkempt, tie loose, jacket nowhere to be found and his sleeves rolled-up. It’s unusual for him to wander about in such a state. Normally, it takes passing out in the lab or a particularly grueling deadline to get him there. It’s not unheard of, but considering he’d come from a meeting full of patrons-
Viktor cocks his head, brow lifting at the meek way Jayce’s eyes bounce from the floor, to the chalkboard, then back to him. “Forgotten the weight of the door? Or rather, the extent of your own strength? Maybe this was one too many investor’s dinners and they’ve finally drained the sense right out of you. Any supposition you care to offer?”
At that, Jayce holds his gaze. His concern slips right back into confusion, then- as if the words finally click something into place- splits into something new entirely. A smile. Toothy, red-cheeked, amused with a terrible tinge of warmth.
Ah, so that’s the night it’s been.
Either the dinner had gone horribly well or terrifically awful. Evidently, given the hour and the unfoldings of the last few minutes, it was followed by a trip elsewhere with whomever had latched onto him this time. Into the outskirts of the city, surely. Somewhere loud and lively, knowing Jayce and the company he can entertain and the places they take him. Somewhere where he clearly drank enough to give himself an unmistakable flush and an utter lack of coordination.
This isn’t the first occasion. That doesn’t stop it from being just as troublesome as each time before. He’s always particularly unruly like this, even more so than his innate stubbornness. Fumbling around like he doesn’t know the size of his own body. Letting every bit of his thoughts and feelings get splashed across his features without care for consequence or self-preservation.
It doesn’t help that there’s a certain itch and a burn that these affectionate sorts of looks bring to Viktor’s chest. Sharp like a spider bite, hot like a shot. He swiftly turns back around. He doesn’t have the time or energy for it. Out of sight, it can’t bother him anymore than it already has.
“It is rather late, no?” He picks up his pen once more, strictly ignoring the jitter worming its way into his fingertips as he stares down the papers strewn out in front of him. “I suppose you had an enjoyable time after all.”
“Huh?” Boots start their descent on him, scuffing against the floor in an uneven gait. “Oh, hardly.”
First comes the shadow, towering above the desk and hanging itself over him. Second, the warmth of a too-close body. It’s a concentrated tickle against the back of his neck, crawling down to his shoulder and up along his cheek as Jayce looms just behind him.
“You know how those things go.”
“I try my best not to.”
“And your absence is sorely noted.”
By you alone.
Viktor chooses not to supply that retort, no matter how fast it settles against his teeth. It dies out in the form of a grunt somewhere in the back of his throat, easily mistaken as being too preoccupied with his work to offer anything further.
In the stretching silence, left without engagement for a beat too long, Jayce grows intrudingly curious and his attention draws ever nearer.
Hands atop the edge of the desk, they curl in loose fists on either side of him as Jayce leans over his shoulder and peers down at the scattering of notes. “What’re you working on?”
The closeness of the question makes Viktor still, back stiffening and elbows tucking into his sides. He knew Jayce was there- he’d felt the suffocating weight of being boxed in before Jayce’s hands even came into view- but having it spoken right against his temple is startling.
“The same as before.” Viktor answers, faltering more than he’d like to acknowledge.
It shouldn’t affect him so much. It doesn't always. If he were to turn his head now, they’d bump right into each other. And most of the time, that would be fine. Jayce fits himself into Viktor’s space far too often. It should be a predictable feeling by now. Usually, he feels nothing more than a moment of surprise at how comfortable- or potentially, unknowing- Jayce is with crowding around him. He’s too tired- too irritated- to narrow down the reason why this particular occasion- or any of the others in the past- has him struggling. It just does sometimes. When he has the spare time and energy for contemplation, he can start paying attention. Surely there’s a common factor among all the times these familiar behaviors elicit such unwarranted reactions in himself.
He can’t trust himself at the moment not to abandon his work entirely, so he doesn’t give more than a glance to his periphery. Catching the slightly blurred outline of Jayce’s profile is all he can allow before locking in on his notebook once more. Gripping his pen tightly, he strikes a line through the previous figure and starts again. “Did you assume much has changed since you left?”
“That was hours ago. It’s not like you haven’t figured things out in a few hours before.”
“Not this.”
“Mm, I’m sure it’ll come to you. I can give you a hand. Lend an eye. Er- ear? What you’ve got going there certainly isn’t the easiest approach, but-”
“It’s a perfectly acceptable method.”
A sigh wafts over Viktor’s shoulder and only adds to the faint curl of alcohol he had already been smelling. Between that and the slight at his method, he’s scowling again.
“Okay, well it’s got you going in circles, so how ‘bout a break instead? Despite what you think, taking a step back can be helpful. Rest the mind and whatnot. Staring at numbers too long and they all get jumbled, don’t they? Did you eat while I was gone? I told you, I could’ve brought something back-”
“Are you finished?” Viktor interjects, but without much success in getting Jayce to mind his space and move along.
A drowsy hum of assent rumbles in the small gap between them but Jayce doesn’t remove himself. He’s always seemed rather unaware of how close he stands or how much he touches- and grabs- and it appears he’s perfectly content with staying stuck to Viktor’s back.
Jayce may not say another word, but as bothersome as his rambling was becoming, his silence hangs thickly in its place.
While working quietly in parallel is nothing new, math- among any productive thought at all- becomes somewhat harder to contemplate when Jayce isn’t at his own desk but instead draped over him like a heavy coat. Warm and itchy like wool, it leaves Viktor with a bit of unrest. He does his best to continue his work nonetheless, but focus having been lost, he’s left to make another quick line separating the start of a new pesky equation from the others.
Returning to its previous state before Jayce had barged in, the lab falls into a stillness only interrupted by the skittering of his pen.
Without sound or movement from behind him, he almost wonders if Jayce has fallen asleep standing up. He’s thought to have seen such a thing a time or two- late nights in the lab have gotten the best of both them more than they care to admit- and he does briefly consider being concerned the man may collapse overtop of him- but then Jayce’s balled fists flatten out against the desk with another, seemingly more thoughtful, hum and Viktor has to consider the possibility that he’d been observing him work all along.
There’s no room to so much as turn his head for a glance. The possibilities of where Jayce’s attention may be roaming begin to cloud his notes. Numbers morph together under potential scrutiny. Messing it up again would only lead to another snarky comment from his colleague, maybe even a tease given how heedless he’s behaving. Perhaps he’s been looking about the lab- out the window- but why stay put if that were true? And if he has actually fallen asleep-
“Stumped?”
Not asleep.
“Of course not.” Viktor manages to grit out. His jotting continues, erroneous as it may be, but he forces it onto the page while the tip of his pen nearly breaks through the paper.
“Of course not.” Jayce echoes, hiding a chuckle within it.
No, not asleep. But not all together with it either, given his lax tone and the way he takes to near nuzzling against Viktor’s hairline. Very much still conscious. Aware, but careless. Doing so without means for temptation or distraction, he’s not trying to be disruptive, it’s merely because he wants to and because Viktor hasn’t put a stop to this.
His breathing’s slowed, in through the nose, tucked just behind Viktor’s ear. Out through the mouth, fanning heat down his neck.
But it’s not about whether it’s tempting or distracting despite the lack of intention. Whether or not it causes Viktor’s scribbling to slow again before altogether stopping is inconsequential. No regard is had towards the possibility of his pulse kicking or his own eyes drooping or how many times he’s said the lab is not the place for this kind of behavior. It’s simply Jayce settling in, enthralling himself in whatever it is he’s drawn to most in that moment.
There’s an innocence behind it, seeking out comfort in something warm. He’s an open and honest man to begin with, but the vulnerability that comes hand in hand with intoxication or exhaustion is always a bit jarring.
Viktor’s never quite understood how he, more often than not on nights like these, is the flame that lures in the enthusiastic puttering of wings. It’s a lie to think it’s because he’s the only one around. He knows there’s much more to it than that. Proximity is not the explanation. This man could cozy up to anyone he wants. Many more agreeable and fit to accept it than Viktor. But however harsh his flickering may be, no matter how erratic he burns, it doesn’t deter.
He can even lash out, send a shoulder hunching upwards so hard it collides into Jayce’s jaw and he still won’t flutter away. His teeth will clack and he’ll grunt in offense, but he doesn't go far.
He hovers, rubbing at his jaw and huffing, but lingering all the same.
“I knew it.” Jayce mutters, then louder as he drags his chair over and sits heavily beside him, “You’re only this mean when you’re hungry.”
“That’s not true.” Now that he can look without risk of making things exponentially worse for himself, he turns to Jayce only to find him frowning. “And I did eat.”
Jayce seems torn between continuing to pout and rolling his eyes. He does something in the middle, brows pinching together but eyes flitting across the desk as if to look for evidence that Viktor isn’t lying.
Hunched on the chair, gripping the edge of the seat between spread knees, Jayce looks concerned. Possibly dejected. Which is much more familiar and manageable. It isn’t as eminently threatening to Viktor’s sanity as their previous positioning.
Still, there’s an inkling of regret tucked somewhere in the more basal recesses of his mind. Malaise drawn out by forcing Jayce away and causing him to look like that. Again. It’s the constant push and pull of boundaries and leniency he somehow keeps letting himself fall victim to.
Or maybe he’s the perpetrator. Rather, he knows he is.
That was farther than Viktor usually lets it go. He’s considerably strict about shifting back on his stool and hauling himself to his feet the moment Jayce gets too close. It’s enough to keep Jayce’s hands to himself. He’ll still follow Viktor around the room, less than half a step behind, chatting or asking questions or inspecting every strike against the chalkboard. He’ll carry things for him, bend over when Viktor speaks to get as close as he possibly can, smile openly and laugh loudly and lean into every word- But at least he won’t be so touchy.
That isn’t to say Viktor’s never let it go further. This certainly isn’t the first time they’d been in such a position.
Before Viktor knew better- or admittedly even after he did- he’d concede to the moments where he felt a bit greedy. He’d allow Jayce to nose along his nape, maybe even go so far as to let his head tip and give the man more space to nuzzle. On the rarest of occasions, he may have even let it go all the way until they were safely and stupidly behind the locked door of his bedroom.
He’s not perfect and neither is his judgment; but he can recognize that a night where Jayce is clingy and soft is not the time to think about those particular instances lest he let one happen again.
The lab is no place for that type of behavior.
Sighing at him, turning away from him, waving a hand at him, Viktor resumes his hunch over the desk as if any of that will be enough to get Jayce to move along.
“Pardon me for not indulging you pouring over my work and my workspace.” With a sharp, cracking wind of his shoulder that runs all the way down to a flick of his arm and wrist into position, Viktor begins work again. “I’m quite busy.”
“You seem mad.” Jayce rebuts quickly, only to soften immediately as he leans forward, “Are you mad?”
“I am frustrated, Jayce.”
“Alright, you’re frustrated.” Scooting the chair a little closer to watch him work once more, Jayce tips his head like a curious dog. “At me? Or the equation you’ve just done… mm, five different ways- none of which really look right.”
“And you’re in the right mind to judge my calculations.”
“I don’t have to be all that clear headed to tell what you’re doing isn’t working-”
Hand smacking down against the desk, the pen clacks loudly beneath it. Viktor turns to him a little too quickly. The abrupt twist of his back comes with a startling twinge but he channels it into the tight snap of his voice. “I don’t know why inebriating yourself always becomes my responsibility afterwards. Was there not enough entertainment wherever it is you stumbled out of?”
Despite how curt it was, Jayce continues on unfazed. “I’d rather have been here too, but one of us has to go to those things.”
“Yes, I’m sure your evening of fine dining and compliments was pure torture.”
“They’d compliment you too if you showed your face more than the occasions when it’s explicitly required.”
Viktor scoffs because while that isn’t untrue, there is a stark difference in them receiving collective commendation and Viktor being thrown the stray, customary praise simply because he’s there- by Jayce’s side- having the man give him the credit he deserves despite it being the least of their concern. He knows they’d prefer him not be there at all so they don’t have to hear it. So they don’t feel obligated to toss plaudits down from the stiff upward tilt of their chins so he’ll keep working and make sure their investments yield a profit comparable to the size of their egos.
“I don’t require their approval.”
“Well, neither do I but, unfortunately, we do need their support.”
It takes most of his body stiffening up, but Viktor manages to bite his tongue for once. He’s just aggravated and tired enough that he almost lets himself slip and calls Jayce out on the very apparent truth that he does need their approval.
Theirs. His family’s. The people’s. Viktor’s.
He wishes Jayce would see it sometimes. That it’s really the only explanation for trying to give everyone- anyone- everything they ask for. To be helpful but benevolent, even agreeable, in the face of hypocrisy and greed.
But it’s likely better for them all that he stays naive to his own ungrudging submission. He’s liked and supported because he lacks the cynicism that’s so often born out of struggle. At least on the surface. There’s doubt and worry in the layers of him. Viktor’s seen it before, peeled back and laid out for him; but the rest of them don’t care to look that closely.
Feeling mercifully and a bit weary, he lets the tiff slide away.
“And did we secure their continued support? I heard you practicing a pitch earlier- it was oh so persuasive.”
Peeking to the side, he catches Jayce’s face flicker through surprise, a bit of embarrassment, before landing somewhere neutral.
“Won’t matter if you keep being stuck, will it?” Viktor deserves the jab and he takes it with nothing more than a shrug. Apparently, it’s the only answer he’s going to get before Jayce smacks his hands on his knees and pushes himself up with a tired huff. “I’m gonna shower.” He’s turning to leave, but it isn’t without a hand landing on Viktor’s shoulder that gives a firm squeeze and slips down his back as he steps away. “That’ll sober me up enough to help you.”
Viktor doesn’t watch him go. He stays focused on the work in front of him with his eyes alone. His mind, however, trails after Jayce for the few seconds it takes him to walk out. His thoughts linger where they were tossed over his shoulder, stuck to the fading bit of warmth there.
Thankfully, the thunk of the door knocks them back into place. He rolls his shoulder once, slowly, nudging away the last bit of distraction. Without Jayce’s hovering, Viktor is determined to push through the kink in his calculations. In spite of the hours he’d already been staring at the same page of notes and the fatigue sinking in beneath his eyes and between the notches of his spine, he could get it.
He couldn’t.
He doesn’t.
By the time the lab door creaks open again, he’s right where Jayce had left him half an hour prior. Just with a few more crumpled pieces of paper littering the desk.
Instead of coming over to watch or comment, Jayce starts tidying. It’s something he resorts to often when he’s bored or anxious. Viktor doesn’t want to pay much mind to which it is now. He listens- tools clanking as they’re dropped in drawers, papers being shuffled together and slapped against the desk- it’s a ruckus that is both familiar and distracting.
He narrows his glare in on the paper beneath the perch of his pen, trying to will the numbers to align themselves in a way that makes more sense. The noise isn’t helping and the ache tugging at the harsh curve of his back is worsening with each of his sighs.
Jayce has paced the length of the lab a dozen times before Viktor abandons the effort of his work altogether. He may still be staring, sizing up the problem before him, but it’s more so the facade of being fully engrossed in it as Jayce’s heavy steps trudge about the room. The slightest break away from appearing focused, and he knows Jayce will stop and be at his side in a matter of a few quick strides. Those expectant eyes, hands neatly folded behind his back as he waits. For what? Viktor hardly ever knows what exactly he’s so keen on getting. Praise, criticism, a suggestion, an order- Jayce reacts to them all with such enthusiasm. It’s exhausting and unfortunately somewhat fascinating.
Despite his efforts, he also knows that given enough time, Jayce will wander over to him anyways. Once he runs out of things to do or goes a bit too long without speaking, he’ll start his looming again.
It takes less time than usual tonight. The room goes quiet, then the prickly feeling of someone behind him starts to crawl up Viktor’s back.
Jayce waits patiently as long as he can. Which isn’t ever long at all. He always has a hard time keeping still. Keeping quiet. It’s no feat to simply wait him out.
He makes his presence known with the quick clearing of his throat before he pipes up. “That problem still causing you trouble?”
Viktor doesn’t answer. He lets Jayce stew in the silence until he hears him start to fidget, shifting back and forth on his feet. Only then does Viktor steal a glance over his shoulder. Far more casual than before he’d left, Jayce stands behind him; loose shirt tucked into his pants, hair toweled just enough to not drip but still damp and spiking in different directions.
“Feeling better?” Viktor asks, only to be met with a quick shake of the head.
“I was fine before.”
“Oh yes, of course. My mistake. Well then,” Turning slightly more just so the twist of his neck isn’t so severe, “How did it go?”
“Do you really want to know or are you just trying to distract me so I won’t correct your math?”
“There’s nothing to correct.” He snaps which brings out the smallest of Jayce’s smirks. “And, no. I don’t particularly want to know at this very moment; but given that the future of our research unfortunately depends on their charitability, I fear I must know if anything needs my immediate attention.”
Any hint of a smile falls just as fast as Jayce rubs at the back of his neck and lets out a tired groan. “Agh- It was just dinner, remember? This wasn’t some grand discourse-”
“It is never just anything with them.”
Jayce regards him then with a full frown. It lasts until he sighs and carries himself back over to sink into the chair at Viktor’s side. “It was as sanctimonious and aggravating as ever, happy?”
Viktor snorts in acknowledgement, just as he suspected. But being right isn’t nearly as enjoyable as it could be when Jayce looks so exhausted and defeated with his legs sprawling out and his fingers splaying over his face.
Viktor’s smugness feels out of place so he exchanges it for dropping his pen to the table and turning on his stool. Elbow propped against the desk, one knee hooking over the over,
“Do you wish to discuss it?”
“Would I have gone and inebriated myself if I did?” Jayce peeks at him through the break between his fingers, probably searching for some sort of amusement. When he doesn’t find any, his hand drops with a thud to the desk. His fist beats against it softly a few times. “Same shit as always. Hollow flattery, backhanded by some threat of urgency for things that really have no basis. I don’t think they even know what they’re talking about half the time.”
“More than half, I’d say.”
“Saying a bunch of nonsense but waving a pocketbook expecting that it’s going to make things magically possible because there’s money on the table.”
“And did you promise anything?”
“Nothing we haven’t already discussed.” But he’s giving a sheepish look- no longer at Viktor, but to the desk- and that can’t be all there is to it.
VIktor counts five seconds before Jayce’s eyes dart up to check his reaction. Viktor knows there’s an unbelieving scowl pulling his features down. At the sight, Jayce laughs. One short kick from his chest as he sits up and traces shapes into the wood.
“You told me to stay in their good favor. I said what I had to to get them to leave us alone for a bit. It wasn’t anything major. Without your input, I wouldn’t… It’s fine, don’t even worry about it. I’ll handle it- it’s just beurocratic.You know what it takes sometimes. But I didn’t just agree to agree- I know we can do it. Well, I’ll do it. And if it goes bad, next time you can talk to them-”
The quick lift of Viktor’s hand is all it takes to cut Jayce off. Without it, and he would’ve kept going till he ran out of air and tired himself out.
“I may have been in these circles longer, but that doesn’t mean their superficiality is any easier for me to cooperate with.”
“Well, yeah, but I just feel like you always know what to say-”
“I would disagree-”
“Well, I never really know how to say no without making things worse, so…”
“So?”
“I just agreed to what’s feasible and dodged the rest.”
“And that appeased them?”
“Hopefully…” Rubbing at his forehead, then his eyes, Jayce pushes through his wet hair. The strands not yet dry stick together and stay flat against the top of his head while the rest flop forward once more and scatter across his brow. “Can we go through it all tomorrow? I can’t think about it anymore right now.”
He looks disheveled, drained and unguarded. Undoubtedly handsome still, if Viktor had to admit it, but all too temptingly obtainable. It’s an uncommon sight for anyone to be allowed to see- less so inside the walls of the lab- but whether Jayce realizes it fully or not, he is a man with an image to maintain. These rare occasions where Viktor gets a look behind the well kept curtain have become increasingly common as of late. If he put enough of his mind to it, Viktor could probably find what allowed him to step around the polished front. But knowing that it would undoubtedly lead to one, if not many, instances where he let them become far too intimate with one another, he chooses to play dumb to his own ponderings.
Viktor takes pity on him, he doesn’t push any further. At least not about that. It’s too important to fly through so flippantly anyway, so he props his elbow up and leans his cheek against his knuckles.
“Too much to drink after all? Seems as though it’ll take more than a shower to correct.” He’s teasing but it only worsens the woeful look Jayce is giving him. “Apologies for leaving you to have such a terrible time-”
Pouting, puzzled and close to grumpy, Jayce grouses, “You said you didn’t want to go.”
“To the dinner, yes.”
“Oh, right, but you would’ve enjoyed going out drinking and definitely would have said yes to following a bunch of strangers around the city?”
While he most certainly wouldn’t have, a shrug is all he needs to give to abstain from proving Jayce right for at least a little bit.
Jayce just huffs at him then. “You know, I stopped inviting you out because every time I did you’d just give me a dismissive look and then go back to whatever you were doing. I get it, it’s not your idea of fun, so I figured I’d quit bothering you when I already know the answer- But you can come. No one’s stopping you. Especially not me. Next time, I’ll ask.”
He can keep himself from talking. He can keep his hands to himself. Around most anyone else, he can be as unobtrusive as a fly on the wall. But when it’s the two of them and Jayce is back to prodding at him, he can only keep his face smoothed out for so long. It slips back into a sneer before he thinks to stop it.
Jayce catches it without wasting a beat, “And there’s the look.”
“What you do in your leisure is of no concern to me.”
“Of course not. So, then, no asking?”
“As long as it doesn’t interfere with your work here, I don’t need to know your whereabouts at all times. And no, to give you an answer, I do not want to go. Whoever it is, I can assure you they’re not-” my people. “Well, I don’t-” belong there. Viktor frowns, squaring his shoulders and tilting his chin up a little. “They invite you because they like you. I don’t foresee having much in common with anyone you may meet at these sorts of things, so my being there wouldn’t make a difference.”
“It would for me.”
Jayce is quick with it. There’s no deceiving him when he’s staring head on. He was listening to every word despite them not making a bit of difference. Whatever Viktor is feeling to make him snap like this isn’t anything Jayce doesn’t already know.
“I don’t wish to be at your heels all night.”
“It’s not like that.” Jayce smiles, hauling himself to his feet and into the small space between their seats. “I always feel better when you’re there. I feel like I’m better when you’re there, not that it’s just for my own gain or anything, I just-” Jayce has him by the shoulder again, not squeezing this time, but rubbing gently with a thumb along the line of his collar. “We’re a team, aren’t we?” His smile goes sharp, teeth peaking out a bit and nose crinkling. “Quit with that one too.”
It’s annoying how charming he is. How patient and approachable.
Despite Viktor’s best efforts to stay guarded and keep his dissatisfaction known, the tension all but sloughs off of him. An attractive face and a quick remark, is that really all it takes?
“Which look is it now?”
“The one like you’re about to bite my hand off.”
Viktor’s eyes narrow with a click of his tongue, “What has led you to believe I won’t?”
There’s that charge again, crackling between them and wanting something to latch onto. It tingles through the fingers still pressing down into him.
He doesn’t like to admit that sometimes, that’s enough to catch. Sometimes, a few sparks and a bit of contact really is enough.
Tonight, there’s a chance he’s been too surly. Which, keeping their best interest in mind, is how he should be in the face of advances they have no time for.
But when the moment fizzles and Jayce withdraws his hand with a defeated sigh instead of lifting it to Viktor’s cheek or sliding it to the back of his neck, Viktor can’t help but lament the loss by pulling the slightest frown.
“More people like you than you think.” As if it’s the most obvious point he can make, Jayce says it so offhandedly as he walks off. “And that includes people other than our oh so generous benefactors.”
Grabbing his cane and pushing himself up, Viktor’s moving before he quite knows what he’s following for. There’s urgency in his steps, like letting Jayce walk off now will strip him of the opportunity to keep refuting that.
Like it matters.
Like they haven’t had this very disagreement countless times.
“It makes no difference to me.” Jayce leads him round the room, seemingly nowhere specific but Viktor stalks after him nonetheless. “Be it them or whoever else you find yourself in the company of.”
Jayce is walking slower than his usual pacing. When he’s thinking- when he’s moving swiftly about with purpose- his feet fall heavily across the floor. But this aimless sort of wander is light and almost like a dance. He peeks over his shoulder just enough that Viktor can catch the glint in his eye. He’s being corralled, he’s being taunted, as if there’s a treat on a string dangling from the cross of Jayce’s arms behind his back.
“It would be a waste of time to worry about my likeability or whether or not my natural disposition is favorable to other people.” Viktor is taking the bait willingly, he can’t even help himself when there’s some need to gain inch after inch on Jayce’s heels as they circle their desks. “I thought I’d made it quite clear that I don’t wish for people to like me, especially if it’s purely transactional.”
“I see…” Jayce trails off in a way that makes Viktor worry he’s going to keep challenging him on this, but then he stops walking abruptly.
With the way they’d been going, the sudden change has Viktor nearly smashing into his back. A quick plant of his cane stops him half a step behind. He leans away, fully ready to continue his argument, but Jayce turns and cracks that lopsided grin at him.
It’s an awful sight because he’s going to try and be funny. He’s thinking he’s being clever. It’s always just as annoying as it is terribly charming.
“I have some terrible news regarding our partnership then.” Jayce says, the richness of his voice coming out soft but purposeful.
They’re too close, the slightest nudge would have them colliding, but neither makes a move to put any sort of distance between them. Fingers curling tightly around the knobbed handle of his cane, Viktor steadies himself with an exhale pushed sharply through his teeth.
“Oh, yes, I’m sure you do. You’ve only humored me this long because you’ve been interested solely in my intellectual contributions, is that it?”
“I’m sorry to admit it was all for the success and profit.”
“And the rest?”
“I’ve just been tolerating it, I guess”
“Is that what you call it?”
“Have a better suggestion?”
Appreciating. Admiring. Adoring.
Viktor feels his face grow hot at the thought of suggesting any of them. He shakes his head, subtly, barely moving at all.
“Perhaps it’s best we leave it at that.”
“Of course.”
Jayce nods, rather straight-faced now in his agreement. He sweeps his palms across Viktor’s shoulders, brushing them off, absolutely as some excuse to establish some sort of physical contact. His eyes have dropped, unable to keep the mischief out of them. He won’t look at Viktor, but he will hum and stroke and pat his arms like he’s preening him for something.
The way Jayce is touching at him may have felt strictly friendly if it weren’t for such little space between them. If Viktor couldn’t feel the warmth coming from him and hear every slight change in his breathing or the click of his throat as he swallows and contemplates,
“Who knows what anything more than that would lead to?”
“Nothing beneficial. Potentially even scandalous, what with a city’s worth of eyes on you.”
“On us-”
Viktor’s mouth opens, pulling in a quick breath but he stops them from descending through the same spiral once more. The thinned out line of his mouth and furrowed brow do enough to convey his agitation. Though, they do nothing to deter Jayce’s smile. It stays gently spread across his face as he starts fiddling with Viktor’s collar, doing little to smooth out the stubborn wrinkles in fabric.
One more shift away, one shrug of Jayce’s hands off him and that would be it for tonight. He’s sure of that. But there’s that buzzing again, always inevitable and heady. Viktor lets him touch because it sends a tickle up his neck and he can only try to withstand it for so long.
Most of the time, he’s sure Jayce doesn’t mean to wear him down. But he does. He always does. The touching, the gentle expressions, the patience, the care. Jayce can’t help himself.
And neither can he.
He’s not gentle, he’s not patient. He’s blunt and obstinate and fairly irascible, but Jayce cares for him all the same. Viktor may not bother with thoughts of if people like him- it may not change a thing about what he does or what he wants to achieve- but in the face of someone who goes out of his way to show his affection despite all that’s good and smart- he can’t help but want just a little.
Jayce smiles at him with all his quiet devotion, and in turn, Viktor is taking a fistful of his shirt and pulling.
A single tug is all he needs.
If Jayce weren’t entirely willing, maybe even expectant, it wouldn’t have moved him at all. But he tips forward without any resistance. He lets Viktor yank him down and mash them together in a kiss that’s just as much fueled by frustration as it is yearning.
Jayce doesn’t lock up with the sudden shock of it. He’d stop reacting with surprise every time Viktor made a move on him months ago. It couldn’t be a good thing that Viktor had let this become common enough that it’s like Jayce was just waiting for him to snap.
Instead, he jumps at the chance to engage, instantly snaking a hand to the small of Viktor’s back and the other to the curve of his neck to hold him as close as he can.
Viktor meant for it to be just one kiss. To get it out of his system and then shove Jayce off of him to go about his evening. To be quick and efficient and then insist Jayce see himself to bed instead of impeding his work any further.
But give this man an inch and he will take a mile. If he had to, he’d do it on his hands and knees. For now, he’ll take it through the insistent grip of his fingers and the drag of his lips, methodical and thorough. Moving just how he should, sighing and humming between each kiss so it all slips down Viktor’s throat and sinks pleasantly into his gut.
He’s learned to do this so well. Eager and attentive every time. He’s not as clumsy as he once was. He’s no longer nervous at the very anticipation that he might get to touch, let alone embrace- or fondle- or cling and lick and bite-
Viktor can feel it all in his knees, a wobbly tingle that has him bearing weight onto his cane and leaning into Jayce’s hold. He won’t acknowledge how pliant it makes him, nor would he own up to sounds that may or may not bubble up in his chest when there’s a tongue parting his lips.
Jayce doesn’t push too much. He doesn’t rush. Their desire- however demanding and persistent it may be- remains languid, softened further by drowsiness. The lab, dim- Jayce’s scent, familiar and clean- the comfort- the warmth- Viktor could probably melt if it went on too long. He’d have to be scraped up and carried out.
This is why he can’t give in all the time. They’d get nothing done. It’s hard enough to focus as it is, and it’s becoming increasingly arduous the more they intertwine themselves.
It’s a relief he doesn’t have to pry Jayce off of him- if he had, Viktor isn’t sure he could have mustered the willpower to do it. Maybe he’s becoming so aware of every shift and tell in Viktor’s being that he simply knows to ease off once he’s had his fill.
Jayce slows down, loosens his grip, kisses at the corner of Viktor’s mouth before his cheek- then his temple- always so sweet with it.
When Viktor finally releases Jayce’s shirt from his grasp, he can’t bring himself to pull his hand back fully. It flattens out rather than falling, spread over the broadness of Jayce’s chest as he huffs.
There’s calm in the moments after. Quiet, breathing in each other’s presence, like a salve spread over the stress of everything.
Viktor isn’t sure just what loops Jayce’s mind does to lead him from where they are to where he heads next. Perhaps it’s the rush of a few kisses or the joy he gets from pushing Viktor’s buttons. Maybe he really is still drunk. Whatever the reason, his head lolls to the side, face and tone shifting toward somewhat serious with the way he asks,
“Earlier today you mentioned something you wanted me to look through- What was it?”
The sudden change catches Viktor off guard. His thoughts lag, a little goopy and tired. Blinking up at the crease of Jayce’s brow, he comes back to himself slowly as the heat starts to trickle away from his cheeks. “Ah- yes.. A journal I found in the library- it was just published this year, and I-.” His eyes move to the desk. A quick search for the thinly bound book comes up unsuccessful. “It slipped my mind… I must’ve left it on my table at home.”
“That so?” Jayce all but coos at him. It’s that tone where he’s trying not to give himself away but his intentions are as clear as if they were printed across his face.
And really, they are. The lilt lures Viktor’s eyes right back, and with the way Jayce’s mouth curls up and his eyes shine like a dog ready for their bone, Viktor knows he should shut him down before he has a chance to continue.
It would be better to dismiss him now and redraw the boundary of being colleagues instead of falling susceptible to whatever it is that’s been happening between them.
But Jayce is still touching him. He’s still thumbing at the line of his jaw and soothing a slow path back and forth along his back, and it’s quite troublesome because Viktor doesn’t want it to end.
So he doesn’t push him away. He doesn't huff or roll his eyes or chastise Jayce for being so obvious.
He plays along.
“I can’t imagine it being anywhere else.”
After the hand on his face falls away, Viktor can feel it lace together with the other against his back. Jayce seems content with having him caught in the circle of his arms. “Well… Guess I’ll have to walk you there so I can pick it up? Unless you were planning on staying here all night, that is.”
“I hadn’t quite decided yet.”
It’s a bluff. One that isn’t convincing in the slightest. They both know he’d planned on doing exactly that, catching some sleep here and there either hunched over his desk or curled up on the small cot they’d brought in unbeknownst to anyone else.
But despite it, Jayce’s smile doesn’t falter- if anything, it only grows. “Can I persuade you otherwise?”
Viktor sighs, feigning exasperation that’s no more believable than his lie.
Of course he can.
Jayce could sway him towards almost anything these days. But he’ll put up the final bit of his fight to keep his poise as long as he can. -
Casting his gaze to the side, shrugging all coy and indifferent, he knows it’ll only make Jayce more deadset on dragging him home.
“I’m sure you’ll certainly try.”
He hears the quiet rumble of Jayce’s laugh before there’s a hand on his cheek dragging him right back toward another kiss.
While it’s not exactly what Viktor expected; not a whisper of doubt flashes through his mind that it’ll be anything other than an entirely compelling argument.