Chapter Text
Jayce is the kind of guy who always gets to work in time, enjoys small talks, drinks an unhealthy amount of coffee, gets the job done and clocks out. Sometimes he'd agree to hang out with some of his coworkers when the weekend arrives, have some fun drinking and dancing with a cute girl, maybe make out a little and, if the mood is right, sleep with her to get some of that stress out of his system.
However, it's not often when he does that, mostly because Jayce prefers to relief himself from stress in another more enjoyable way: playing League of Legends, a game that he has played ever since he was a teenager. His favorite characters: The Machine Herald and The Defender of Tomorrow, the first one being his most cherished of the two.
Jayce is currently at his job, seated in front of his computer, working on some codes to enhance the company's security system on their online portal.
He's been part of the IT department at Pilt-Corp for over two years now. He loves his job. He always had a fascination with technology and computers since he was a child, so when he first heard that Pilt-Corp—one of the best computer corporations out there—was hiring, he worked very hard to get in and fight with tooth and nail to the position of 'IT Senior Specialist Tier I' he has right now.
His eyes are fixated on the screen while typing his coding when he feels a slight push on his right shoulder that makes him turn his head right away—Caitlyn, his best friend. "Hey, nerd," she says with a light chuckle, "have you heard?" she asks with a sly smile when pushing his shoulder again a few times like an annoying little sister.
"Cait, I'm busy, what is it?" and obviously the taunting worked, Jayce feeling now a little irritated since he was in the middle of an important part of his coding.
"Oh my god, are you deaf of something?" she rolls her eyes, "Of the new guy!"
New guy?
"What are you talking about?" he turns on his chair to look at her properly, "what new guy?"
Caitlyn quickly takes the closest available chair she could find and sits next to him, lowering her voice, "There's this new guy that's gonna be part of our team starting tomorrow. I've heard a few things about him, where he used to work and all of that good stuff." She paints a smirk on her face, brows rising before she continues, "And I've heard he's from Zaun. Isn't that interesting?"
Zaun... Jayce has heard a thing or two about their neighbour city, not pleasant ones, but he dismisses them when he straightens on his seat, "Oh, come on, Cait," he turns around to focus back on his computer, "you're gonna be part of the gossip in this office too? Remember what happened a few months ago when Heimerdinger got to hear some chattering in the HR department..." he side-eyes her before he continues on his task, "Do you want to be suspended as well?"
"God, Jayce, what's happening to you?" She huffs while crossing her arms, "This is different, we're just curious about the new guy. The HR one was waaay more intense, with cheating and all, like a soap opera." She lets out a chuckle when pushing his chair with her foot, "You used to be more fun, you know? What's wrong?"
And if Jayce knew, he would answer. He's been feeling kind of... off lately. Hasn't been out with friends in a while, can't drink or smoke for stress relief anymore without getting nauseous, he mostly goes straight home after work, eats something quick and goes to sleep. It's like a itch he can not scratch. Some days it bothers him to the point of becoming insane.
He first thought he was overworking himself, so he tried to hang out with friends on weekends more often.
Not it.
He later guessed it was due to not being in a serious romantic relationship in quite a while, so he dated a nice girl that worked on a building close to them. He met her in Cait's birthday party two years ago, had a couple of drinks with the chick and talked all night, she was short, slim, pale skin, blue ocean eyes, she was part of the marketing team for some beauty cosmetic brand he doesn't remember the name of... She was nice. They dated for about four months before she broke it off, stating she didn't feel seen in the relationship.
Jayce didn't even felt a thing when it was over.
One Saturday evening—just a few months ago—Jayce went to a 'red zone' downtown. Another attempt to ease his worries and to... test a theory.
After a couple of hours, a few private dances at a popular gay's bar and lots of alcohol involved, he came to another conclusion on his way home:
He's bisexual.
And the 'itch' prevails.
Great.
"Guess I'm just tired." He answered cooly, eyes fixated on his computer screen again, "Haven't slept well lately."
"Well, how can you sleep well when you're so engrossed on that damn game almost every day?" She answered annoyingly while standing up, stretching her arms out a bit before she continues, "I've heard he's really smart. Like Einstein smart. The new guy, I mean. Maybe he'll be a good competitor."
Jayce's fingers halt at the statement, his head turns so fast that he hears a small crack at the back his own skull, Caitlyn notices the confused-wide eyed look on his face, making her feel so proud with herself as she shows a sly smirk, she then rolls the chair on its original place and walks off, waving her hand slowly while Jayce keeps his eyes on her without wavering until she disappears behind a wall towards her own desk.
Jayce starts to type down on his keyboard a series of codes, but it doesn't last long, Cait's words spiral in his head over and over again. 'Smart? How smart? I mean, why would Caitlyn even touch the subject to begin with? She's normally not that interested in a random newbie.' He freezes, feeling a heavy weight in his chest, he fully leans back on his chair and looks at the ceiling with a heavy sigh.
After giving it enough thought—for some good ten seconds— he thinks it might be burnout or boredom. He feels as if everything around him suddenly became dull and gray, and can't put his finger on the reason why.
But something popped to life at Caitlyn's words. He now feels excited in a way. Other people came and went from their department, but having the agents gossip around like that for someone they haven't even met before makes him curious. Very curious.
He cannot wait to meet the guy and see what the whole fuzz is about.
The next day, when Jayce enters the office, he notices something on his peripheral view that eventually makes him turn around: a new desk with a new chair, situated 3 spaces in front of him. Sticky notes glued to them with welcoming messages and multicolor balloons floating on top that appear to be tied to the armrests of the chair.
He stands there, trying to imagine what that guy would look like, 'Is he tall? Short? Would he really be that smart, or is Caitlyn just pulling my leg like she always does?' Jayce is still not sure on why he feels threatened by the unknown fellow, maybe because he's been the top agent for more than a year, so having someone be 'as smart as Einstein' (as they say) wakes up something uncomfortable inside of his head...
Jayce turns on his heels and walks past it, erasing those questions off his mind when turning on his computer and yawning heavily, because he—yet again—spent another long night playing League.
He cannot help it, he's been a huge fan for several years. If he spends a single day without playing for at least two hours he gets restless.
So far it's the only thing that makes the itch go away—At least temporarily.
It's 7:48 A.M. by the time Jayce is on his chair with a huge 2 liter termo full of coffee, hands already busy with work.
His schedule normally starts at 8:00 A.M.
At around 10 A.M.—once everyone is in the office—their boss, Heimerdinger, asks the whole team to gather at the meeting room. Once the whole IT team is there, the smaller man enters the room with a pleased expression painted all over his face, "Good morning, my dear second family," says while the tips of his mustache curl up with a smile, "I'm pretty sure most of you already know what the meeting will be about. But for those who don't, I would like to inform you there'll be a new teammate joining us today!" A few low gasps can be heard from people who were not aware, others turn to each other to whisper some things between them, making Jayce roll his eyes, a little amused by the commotion, "Alright, I will not keep everyone waiting. Please lad, step inside."
Heimerdinger steps back to give way to the new teammate who enters the room at a steady pace, a subtle tapping sound can be heard accompanying his footsteps. The man is tall, pale skin with a few moles that adorn his neck and face, short chocolate-brown hair, slim frame and eyes so sharp that make the golden color on his irises pop up to the sight.
Jayce's eyes open as wide as humanly possible, his breathing hitches and his hands tingle, making him clutch his fists a couple times to try and get rid of that strange sensation. The new agent stands next to Heimerdinger, but keeps his eyes somewhere on the floor. The shorter man gets closer and puts a hand on the pale man's back before he speaks again, "Everyone, I present to you Mr. Viktor Cain, your new teammate in the IT department."
Claps can he heard instantly after being introduced, startling Jayce out of his busy mind and following the crowd by clapping as well. He can not stop looking at Viktor, the man just stands there, smiling shyly from the attention given, but doesn't dare to look at anyone in the eye. Viktor stays still, one of his hands on the handle of his cane, the other one fidgeting with the strap of his dark shoulder bag.
Jayce notices something—a few pins and keychains on the bag. When he focuses better he can tell they are of some fictional characters and his breath hitches again—Viktor has merchandise of The Defender of Tomorrow all over his bag.
Jayce stares at every single item, analyzing it meticulously as if not believing his own eyes, then he sees another thing: a hand-full of pins of The Machine Herald and a couple of the character Jinx. Jayce can not believe it, he finally encounters a person in real life as obsessed with the game as he is, he feels how his face goes extremely warm, he clears his throat for a moment before looking up again, only to discover the golden irises already staring at him. Their gazes linger for what feels like hours, Viktor's eyes going wide and his mouth agape.
But the moment gets soon interrupted by Heimerdinger, who gives Viktor a couple of pats on the back, making the brunet turn his attention back at him, "Well, young lad, I really hope you feel welcomed with your new team. If you have any questions you can either see me in my office—or you can ask young Mr. Talis over there," he signals at Jayce, who is currently slowly coming down from whatever cloud he climbed up to, "he's our Top Tier IT Specialist, feel free to also recur to him for any inquiries." Jayce straightens his posture an inch at that, but Viktor only glances at the floor—near Jayce's shoes—and nods. "Well! Thank you so much for gathering here, everyone. Please take ten minutes before you go to your usual duties. And Mr. Talis, can you please show Mr. Cain where his new desk is?"
"Oh- Uh, yeah, of course!" Jayce steps forward while the rest of the team give their welcome to the new agent before exiting the room. He stands beside Viktor and gives a small nod to Heimerdinger, who replies with a smile and leaves them alone. Jayce's attention focuses on the brunet again, 'he's shorter than me' he thinks, seeing how the top of the other's head barely reaches his eyes.
The silence stretches for a few moments before Viktor fidgets again with the strap of his bag nervously. "Um, hi," Says Viktor when letting go of his bag to give a small wave but still not meeting his gaze.
"H-Hi!" Jayce stutters, heat reaching his cheeks, "Oh, sorry, this way, please!" He turns on his heels and signals the brunet to follow him to the hallway.
They walk together for less than a minute until the desk is on sight. when they get there, Viktor notices the balloons and sticky notes all over his desk, making him chuckle, "Wow, this is really sweet. Do you guys normally treat all new agents like this?" he says smiling, lowering his bag to the ground and rolling the chair out.
"Oh, haha, yeah, our HR department are very welcoming. Us too. Just- well, haha..." What the hell is wrong with me? He rubs the back of his neck, "I- uh, I hope you don't feel like it's too much..."
"What? No, of course not!" He answers immediately while sitting down, leaving his cane hooked on the side of the desk, "This is actually the first time I've been given such a warm welcoming on my first day of work." He accommodates himself nicely on the chair, turning on his computer to then look up to Jayce, letting hazel meet gold again.
"Has it?" Jayce lets out a small laugh, "I cannot imagine what companies you've worked for in the past that don't even make you feel welcomed to work for them, must've been pretty shitty. No offense."
Viktor laughs, "No offense taken," he smiles again, Jayce can feel something pulling in his chest at the sight of his smile, "So, how's it been?"
Jayce tilts his head a notch at the question, "Oh, uh, you mean working here? It's pretty solid, so far everything's great; good salary, flexible schedule. You're gonna like it."
Viktor frowns before he lets out a low chuckle, "No, sorry I meant-" Before he can continue, he feels two hands land on his shoulders, when he looks up he sees a tall woman with blue dark hair in a ponytail looking down at him, Caitlyn.
"Hi, Mr. Cain, seems that you're already making friends! That's good, Mr. Talis is very smart and popular, you two will get along just fine, I'm sure."
"Um, well, we alred-"
"Shouldn't you be busy with the e-mails I sent you?" Jayce interrupts him, his attention now on Caitlyn, giving her a lopsided smile, "They were a ton."
"I'll have to inform you that half of those e-mails have been already taken care of, Mr. Workaholic." She says mockingly, she soon looks back at Viktor, "I just wanted to give a warm welcome to our new teammate," her hands give a small squeeze to his shoulders, "I really hope you like it here, all of us can help with anything you may need. Well, I don't think you'd need much help anyway, I've heard you're a pro at this, am I right?" She lowers her head to meet his gaze only for Viktor to look away immediately, a light rosy tint coloring the tips of his ears that she finds adorable. When she looks up, she notices a stern expression on Jayce to which she rebuttals with a mischievous grin, "Well, the break it's almost over, so I'm gonna go to my desk." She gives Viktor's shoulders another light squeeze before she lets go, "Nice meeting you again. I'm Caitlyn, by the way." The woman straightens and walks away, leaving them alone once more.
The silence stretches for a few seconds before Jayce gets closer, putting a hand on Viktor's desk, catching his attention, "Well, I- uh, I really hope you like it here, it's a very good company. If you need anything, I'm three seats behind you, alright?" He pats the wood a couple of times before walking away.
"Oh, y-yeah, okay, thanks." He watches for a moment how the taller man walks towards his own desk, he then turns around on his chair, his expression looking more somber than anything now, "... I see... " his voice almost a murmur.
Viktor starts to work on his computer not too long after, logging in to all the necessary tools before he checks on his e-mail to converse with the correct people and start his assigned duties. He does this for hours, eyes barely leaving his computer screen, fingers typing at an incredible speed to get the job neatly and promptly done. He does it without a sweat, not aware of the pair of hazel eyes fixated on him from a distance...