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Viktor finds Jayce in their dark, cold lab. The younger man's scent is suffocating underneath the bitterness of his agitation, while it surrounds him in dense fog as he stands beside the long, curved table placed in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, his stiff and unyielding body and bowed head illuminated by the light of the moon.
"Jayce," Viktor whispers into the unsettling, dead silence, the sound of his voice making the alpha's broad, hunched-over body flinch while his grip tightens on the edge of the table, his elongated claws creating deep grooves along the surface. "What…eh…exactly was that…um…?"
"Wildly inappropriate behavior back there?" Jayce finishes for him once Viktor abruptly trails off, his voice harder than steel. "Please don't do this to me now, Viktor; don't make me say it out loud and ruin things more than I already have."
Viktor swallows harshly as his pulse races thanks to how untamed his heart has become in his chest, his hands trembling, and his mind in a similar state of disarray. He makes sure to take three measured breaths in and out before summoning enough courage to say as firmly as he possibly can, "Would… that…really be such a bad thing…?"
The noticeable wobbling of his voice unfortunately ruins his attempt at boldness quite a bit, but Viktor ignores that as best as he can since his words have the desired effect, regardless. When Jayce finally does turn around and locks eyes with the omega, he opens and closes his mouth several times, the uncharacteristic fumbling for something to say back in response, driving the tension in the room up several notches.
"Fuck, I don't know, would it?"
Viktor finds himself beginning to copy the younger man's search for a suitable reply to such a non-answer but quickly stops that with a shake of his head and instead wordlessly goes off to the side, towards a tall cabinet they keep filled to the brim with mountains of sketches of various prototypes they've accumulated over the years, and rummages around in the middle of the stack until he finds what he's looking for; Jayce's eyes widen in alarm and his chest starts heaving at the sight of the plain black box with a white lace ribbon Viktor now holds in his hands. The older man can't help but feel equally out of breath as they stare down at the box as if it were another bomb destined to go off any second now, the comparison not too far off since despite his better judgement, a small part of him does hope that by the end of the night it does blow their lives away to smithereens, but for the better instead of for the worse.
"No, it ultimately wouldn't, Jayce, if what I believe this little box signifies is true after all."
"How…how long have you…?"
Jayce can't bring himself to finish the question, and Viktor can't help but soften significantly as he finally closes the gap between them.
"I don't know, how long have you been holding on to it?" He counters, smiling when Jayce's lips twitch faintly in response, before his partner sighs deeply while intertwining his hand with the one the omega was using to keep himself steady with his cane.
"Too damn long," Jayce admits as his other hand absentmindedly toys with the ribbon decorating the box. "As cliché as it sounds, I was waiting for the right moment to bring it up, you know? Where I could be all suave and dashing as I…as I…uh…"
Viktor honestly doesn't know what is doing more damage to his heart right now: the anticipation rattling his nerves, Jayce's unbearably sweet shyness, or an overwhelming combination of both. "Eh, I don't know, fighting so valiantly for my honor was pretty dashing, I must admit, even if it showed off more of that damned ego of yours, Mr. Talis."
"Oh yeah?" Jayce laughs softly, the brief flash of fang the older man sees while he does, as well as the intense eye contact afterward, knocking Viktor even more off kilter than before. "But seriously, Viktor, it really doesn't bother you to see how easy it can be for me to act so stupid about you? So jealous, so domineering, so -?"
"Possessive?" Viktor finishes for his partner, who nods solemnly, only to then stand at attention with a gasp when the omega chooses to answer that question with a kiss to the corner of the alpha's lips. "Well, no, not at all because it means that's just how fiercely you…desire me, no?"
Jayce's pupils dilate as he gazes at Viktor, absolutely spellbound, nodding along frantically with every word leaving the older man's lips; his reaction gives Viktor even more courage to say next words that have been quietly setting his heart ablaze for the past seven years and counting.
"How desperately you…love me, yes? The same as how much I…yearn for you just as terribly-!"
Jayce's lips are slightly chapped, but warm when they suddenly touch his in a chaste kiss that has tears pooling in their eyes by the end of it, their damp cheeks and noses bumping into each other often as one kiss leads into a second kiss, which swiftly becomes three kisses and then a fourth kiss so consuming both Viktor's crane and the box end up falling to the floor as Jayce cradles Viktor's face in between his hands. At the same time, the older man wraps his arms around his partner's waist as Jayce continues to devour him whole, while growls rumble in his chest.
"Fuck Viktor, you taste and feel even better than I ever could have imagined!" *Kiss* "Like hell I was ever gonna let that pompous bastard have a single inch of you!" *Kiss* "You're mine!"
"Yes, Yes, Jayce!" *Kiss* "Only ever yours!" *Kiss* "I love you so so much!"
"I love you too, more than anything! Just as I loved putting that lord in his place when he dared to say to us that-!"
-
"Oh, I'd certainly be happy to offer up all the support in the world to such an intriguing concept, such as hextech, as you called it, Mr. Talis? Of course, that's only if you're willing to exchange something that is of equal value to me."
In the back of Viktor's fuzzy thoughts, an alarm bell rings and sends a shudder rippling down his spine at the threat plain as day in the investor's voice; Jayce's hand, the main cause of his current distraction along with two glasses of champagne, tightens from where it's currently residing around his waist making crinkles in the fabric of the dress the older man's wearing.
It was a simple cream-colored gown with an open back and an enticing slip into his cleavage; the garment was comfortable and complemented his black square glasses and the accompanying silver eyeglass chain incredibly well in Viktor's humble opinion. The satisfaction he had gained after seeing how tongue-tied Jayce had become at the first sight of his partner had been otherworldly, his hazel eyes widening and becoming awestruck while an adorable dark blush covered his cheeks and ears and traveled down his neck.
"You, uh, look so gorgeous, Viktor," Jayce had whispered during the carriage ride over to the gala while peeking at the omega out the corner of his eye as he spoke, his pinky wrapped firmly around Viktor's, and his earthy scent a soothing cloud around them.
The village of smitten butterflies that had been running amuck inside Viktor's belly all night long ever since then had unfortunately died a slow and painful death when this particular man had found them for a chat as they rested on one of the benches near the opening of the venue; a green eyed gentleman with brown salt and pepper hair and a navy and gold decorated suit, who had lifted one of the omega's hands to his lips to scatter kisses across his knuckles after giving Jayce a very stiff looking handshake. The way the alpha's attention lingered on him so insistently after the fact had bothered Viktor deeply, especially since, in this type of situation, he was no better than the overpriced, gaudy furniture littered all over the place to these Pilties unless Jayce went out of his way to correct this.
(Which this silly, lovable boy does every single time without hesitation, with a beaming gap-toothed smile and pride dripping from every word that leaves his mouth when addressing Viktor; it always makes him swoon without fail, feel warm from head to toe like being swaddled under his favorite maroon sweater and matching scarf during the wintertime.)
Below subpar arm candy at worst and Jayce’s unimportant, unnamed assistant at best, the assumptions are so commonplace that it's even become a long-running bet between them over the years. But this mysterious man, Lord Byron from the esteemed House Vanderbilt, was so against the norm he had even tried to dance his scent over Viktor's body in the most unsubtle fashion imaginable only to thankfully be rebuffed by how thick Jayce's scent was around him already; so Viktor was only affected by faint hints of citrus as the other man finally backed a few feet away from him and cleared his throat before directing his attention fully to Jayce.
Jayce had swallowed hard as they processed such a worrying statement, his scent spiking with something tart while the hand still around Viktor's waist and the unoccupied one beside him became rigid as the younger man tried his best to keep a lid on his growing panic.
"I'm, uh, not sure I understand what you're wanting, my lord."
A lie in its purest form, especially after that inappropriate attempt at scenting Viktor a mere moment ago, but Lord Vanderbilt was nice enough not to call attention to it or the noticeable way the other alpha's voice was barely louder than a whisper and wavered a lot as he spoke.
"As fetching as your companion is, Mr. Talis, I'm more than sure that in such a bustling place like Piltover, finding another assistant will be of no trouble at all; another alpha or hell even a beta that could better keep up with something so delicate yet complex."
'Ah, another one for the scoreboard after all,' Viktor thinks in a daze as the tartness stinging his nose grows and grows, now underlined with a spiciness that warns of Jayce's equally consuming building anger.
"And what would you do with Viktor instead?" Jayce barely managed to ask through clenched teeth, the "Man of Progress" charm slipping away faster than sand through fingers, causing the younger man's smile to become a rough, mangled thing that showed off a bit too much of his teeth.
Lord Vanderbilt either hadn't noticed or had been completely unbothered by his partner's crumbling demeanor as he raised an eyebrow at Jayce.
"Why, courtship and marriage, of course, young man. I require an heir, you see, and what luck is it that with this arrangement we get to kill two birds with one st-."
"No."
"Oh?" Lord Vanderbilt asks, amused in the way a parent is when indulging in their child's inflated posturing to try to appear more imposing than they really are. But the flashing of red in Jayce's eyes was very much the real deal, as was the way he had shifted his body in front of Viktor's, every instinct in both of them at high alert. "My eyes aren't detecting a collar around Viktor's neck, let alone a mating bond, so what exactly is the issue here?"
The alpha even took it a step further by taking a step closer and trying to trail a finger across the smooth skin of Viktor's mating gland, only to end up violently flinching backward when Jayce, faster than the speed of light, seizes hold of Lord Vanderbilt's offending wrist in a punishing grip.
"I suggest my lord, that if you don't want to undergo the messy, painstaking process of my teeth severing off your hand from the root, you walk away from me and my omega right, fucking, now."
Jayce's scorching red-eyed glare and hollowed-out voice had chilled the omega down to his very bones as the other two men then spent what felt longer than an eternity silently measuring each other up with their hackles raised before, in an unexpected turn of events, Lord Vanderbilt eventually wrenched his arm away from Jayce with an ear-splitting hiss and flared nostrils, his eyes now also blood red and his scent so sour and spoiled it had made Viktor's throat sore and eyes water.
"You insolent little brat!" he had rasped with feral shaking eyes as he'd slithered away from them. "You will regret this, boy, mark my words!"
-
Despite the euphoria coursing through his entire being, the other man's ominous promise is a nasty lingering thing in the back of Viktor's mind, as Jayce carefully maneuvers him onto a nearby chair with one last thorough kiss before getting down on one knee before him with the black box back in his hands.
Jayce now gazes up at Viktor from underneath his lashes, his eyes burning brightly, and his lips transformed into a smile so wide that his cute gap tooth and dimples come out in full force. "Viktor," he whispers hoarsely, as if speaking any louder would shatter this gentle, priceless moment between them."Please…will you…allow me the greatest honor of becoming my mate?"
Viktor is already nodding before Jayce's even halfway done talking, with both hands covering his mouth and a fresh round of tears streaming down his face, his eyes locked onto the frilly Talis red double ruffled collar coupled with white lace and a large white ribbon sitting nice and pretty right in the center; the small golden O-ring dangling underneath the ribbon has a blank golden tag attached to it that makes the omega's face blush darkly and heart race impossibly fast all over again.
"I know it's really presumptuous to be thinking about marriage this early on," the alpha continues sheepishly with a little shrug of his shoulders as he nibbles on his bottom lip. "But I won't lie and say that the thought of…having our house and names engraved on there…after having the ceremony didn't cross my mind while I was making your collar… every now and again…"
"Yes!" Viktor damn near weeps while making grabby hands at the collar. "I'm forever yours for the taking, Jayce, however you'll have me, so please, please, please!"
"Oh, baby," Jayce sighs blissfully as he gets up and then latches the collar nice and snug around Viktor's throat with soft, reverent fingers. "Those are dangerous words to say to a man like me, remember?"
"Don't care, love you," Viktor mumbles while nuzzling into the younger man's neck, right over his mating gland, while purring up a storm that soon grows in volume when a deep rolling purr from Jayce joins in.
"I love you, too," Jayce says as he leans down to kiss the older man on the forehead, on the tip of his nose, and then once more on his lips as the first traces of snow begin to fall outside.