Jayce was agitated. His emotions were under a stress-test and Viktor was the one applying pressure. He knew that, he was aware of what he forced his partner through. But he felt righteous about it. A bitter and angry part of him felt like Jayce deserved being treated so harshly, being haunted by this. After all, he had brought them into this situation.
Jayce’s own stir served to fire Viktor’s up. The Zaunite glared at the other and felt his anger rise like bile.
“I want to go home!”, he demanded like a petulant child, yelling it with a hoarse voice. He really wanted to go back home. To Zaun. Where he could simply dive under in the poor masses, where no one paid him any mind, where he could exist without being prodded and looked at. Where there was nothing of Piltover… nothing but Jayce, who haunted the Lanes like a speck of sunlight.
“I want to go home…”, he declared again, curling his body in; legs drawn in, knees tugged beneath his arms as he hugged himself, fingers digging into his clothes and skin beneath. He could feel the pain. Of his lopsided, bad leg, with the paralysed foot. Of his twisted spine. Of his healing ribcage. Why was he so fucking broken…?
If he wasn’t so broken, they would not have all these problems.
They would not be here. Jayce would not sound so desperate…
“Ridiculous…”, Viktor breathed out then, shakily. It wasn’t clear in the first moment, but then he repeated himself, as if he was scolding – himself.
“Ridiculous.”, this time his voice was calmer again, defiant, the same way he unfurled and wiped an arm across his face to chase away any lingering tears.
“We will not be using the funds for our research for such frivolous luxuries. The research goes above all else. It matters the most. It is money that needs to go to Hextech, to our dream. To better the lives of others. Not to me.”
Jayce’s nervous suggestion was shot down – but it had also been the key to extinguish Viktor’s upset at the current events. Only Jayce could have found that. Only he could show Viktor his own mirror image – even unknowingly. The Zaunite sat there, with his shoulders slumped a little, staring at his uneven legs.
“You spent too much on me already. I can’t just take and take from you. We... I have to focus on what matters most. It's not here. It's... can you bring some of our research here? We need... distraction.”
