Feveruary day 1!!
Have some feverish J/ayce for the first prompt 'Dont Get Too Close' including V/iktor who does get too close.
Midnight has come and gone when the slamming of a door and whispered curse rouse Viktor from where he’s hunched over his notes. For a moment the idea that someone less than friendly might be in the lab crosses his mind and his hand slides to the knife across the table. If his ears could perk up like a hunting dog, they would. “Hey Vik!” Viktor’s fingers loosen on the knife and he feels the tension bleed from his shoulders at the familiar voice. Poking his head into the lab and breaking into a crooked smile, Jayce steps inside and carefully closes the door behind him. “Fuck, you wouldn’t believe the day I’ve had,” he groans, dropping onto his desk and leaning on his hands as he rolls his shoulders and neck.
Sparks coil in Viktor’s stomach at the movement, the general dishevelment of the man before him making his mouth water. It’s so rare now for Jayce to look anything but perfect, immaculately tailored by his fellow councilmen. This though- this Jayce with his hair falling into his eyes and his lower lip sticking out in a pout- belongs only to Viktor. Whatever he’d been writing suddenly drips from his brain like sludge as he turns to fully face his partner. He’s changed lately, spent more time in the forge, stopped shaving in his limited time, the differences are delicious. “Vik?” Snapped from his thoughts and forced to glance up to meet Jayce’s eyes, Viktor swallows discretely and hums for him to continue. Something about funding, things he’d normally care about but can’t find the interest in tonight. He can certainly think of a few ways to get Jayce’s mind off of such boring topics too.
Maybe that’s not such a bad idea, Viktor pushes himself out of his chair, nodding at Jayce to keep talking when he falters. He holds eye contact as he crosses the lab, cane tapping rhythmically against the floor until he’s standing before Jayce. “And, um, well Heimerdinger, you know, he won’t- well he’s not on board. There might, you know, there might be, um, some-some wiggle room with, uh, with Mel, but-” Taking pity on his flushed lover, Viktor reaches a hand for his jaw and leans closer until their lips are a breath apart. His intention would be to kiss Jayce until he’s stuttering for an entirely different reason, except for the hand on his chest that stops him.
Viktor pulls back with a confused furrow of his brow, critical eyes scanning every pink tinted inch of skin available. “You, uh, maybe don’t want to get too close, V.” God Jayce has never been so wrong, that’s actually the only thing he wants to do right now. With the last ounces of his self control, Viktor pauses, jaw clenched as he reels himself in by his teeth. If looks could kill, Jayce would be dead ten times over, and Viktor can feel how that affects him. So why-? “I dont- or- I’m not-” He takes a shallow breath that tumbles back out as a rasping cough, doubling him over as he ducks away from Viktor. “Jayce!” Startled into straightening up, his eyes going wide, Viktor quickly places his free hand on Jayce’s back.
The usual warmth of Jayce's skin is replaced by a feverish heat that makes Viktor’s heart sputter. So that pink tint to his skin isn’t his flushed arousal, he feels stupid for not noticing, for not hearing the rasp to Jayce’s breathing that’s so obvious now. “You should not be here,” he commands sternly, rubbing gentle circles into his partner's back as he catches his breath. “I know, I just wanted to see you.” Jayce pouts, honest to God pouts, with his bottom lip slightly pushed out and a frown turning down his lips. The sweet puppy dog eyes he turns on Viktor are glassy with fever and slightly damp, somehow that’s worse.
Even on good days, Viktor finds it difficult denying Jayce anything, but that look simply does him in. “And am I just as handsome as you remember?” With a dopey smile that’s definitely the result of his fever, Jayce nods and rests a hand on Viktor’s hip. “Ridiculous man,” Viktor huffs with a shy grin. He gently removes Jayce’s hand from his waist and beckons for him to follow as he makes his way over to his desk. An easy quiet falls over them as both collect their things to go home for the night; albeit, far earlier than either intended.
Viktor doesn’t complain, doesn’t even tap his cane impatiently when Jayce takes far longer than usual to find his notebooks. He’s silently running through a list of medications and home remedies he remembers from childhood. Perhaps this necessitates a call to Ximena tomorrow morning while he lets Jayce catch up on desperately needed sleep. “Hh’HZSCH’eh!” Viktor is yanked from his musings to see Jayce hunched slightly forward with a fist pressed to his septum. “Ah, bless you. Going out like this was truly foolish of you, Jayce.” As if Viktor hasn’t done the same thing more times than he can count. The glare he receives reads that exact thought through red rimmed eyes, he looks away to hide his amusement.
With their things packed into their bags and the lights turned out, Viktor ushers Jayce out the door into the sharp spring air. Nights like these always do wonders for his lungs, his eyelashes flutter shut as he takes a long inhale. “I guess I’m heading home then.” Opening his eyes in surprise, Viktor furrows his brow at the way Jayce digs the toe of his boot into the pavement. “You certainly have a fever, it is not doing anything for your intelligence.” He tilts his head and studies Jayce carefully. His cheeks are flushed, eyes hazy and unfocused even when he lifts his head to meet Viktor’s sharper gaze. There’s a chapped redness under his nose, a noisy rasp to each breath, no, he won’t go home alone like this. “My apartment is closer. I should have everything you need already, come along.” Without really waiting for an answer, Viktor slips past Jayce and confidently saunters in the direction of his own house.
There’s no reason to confirm that Jayce is following him, they’ve been partners long enough for Viktor to know he’s only a few steps behind. Of course, the constant sniffling and light clearing of his throat give him away too. It feels slightly cruel to drag Jayce out of the lab into the slight breeze of the night while a fever simmers under his skin. Though there’s a promise that Viktor will remedy all of that once they make it to his apartment. The path is one they both know well, and before Jayce’s foggy brain can catch up, he’s being ushered inside Viktor’s unit. He knows it almost as well as his own home, only kicking off his shoes before he’s laying horizontal on the coach.
Scoffing lightly despite the mirth dancing behind his eyes, Viktor runs a hand through Jayce’s sweat damp hair. “I’ll make tea, just rest then we’ll have a shower, hm?” He can feel how Jayce relaxes under his touch, the tension between his eyebrows drooping. “I don’t deserve you.” Ridiculous man, Viktor tuts at him disapprovingly as he makes his way into the tiny kitchen and puts the kettle on. The warmth of the room seeps into Jayce’s bones and seems to soothe every ache from his head to his toes. He could fall asleep like this, with Viktor making him tea, despite his pristinely coiffed hair slipping out of place. Not really meaning to, Jayce does drift into unconsciousness there on Viktor’s couch, snoring within seconds.
