Chapter Text
“Dinner's going well.” Sky shyly commented, Viktor didn't even look up from his phone. Jayce’s mother was showing Mel how to make him a plate with all the things he liked.
Jayce was silently begging her not to comment on how sexist the tradition was with his puppy dog pout. Mercifully she indulged the old woman feigning interest.
“She brought her Swarovski crystal figure in the shape of a cat, Ximena didn't stand a chance.”
“Mel seems nice, I think she would've liked her even without the present.”
“Merdarda’s a chameleon; she could charm her way out barbed wire.”
“You say that like it's a bad thing.”
He gave her a bored look, finally off his phone. “It is. there's not a genuine bone in her body. She just bats her eyelashes and everyone falls for her spell.”
“It's not her fault she's pretty Viktor.”
“ You don't use your beauty to manipulate people, it's not a symptom of pleasing aesthetics to be disingenuous, it's a choice.”
“You think I'm beautiful?…” she's tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, flustered by the compliment.
He pouted, upset she'd missed his point. His best friend was madly in love with a nepo baby who cared more about her balenciaga bag than anything of real substance and worth.
And everyone else thought they were just the cutest couple in the world. He rolled his eyes, was he really the only one in Jayce's inner circle who could see through all her tricks?
He sighed and it was so loud, even Violet heard it.
“What's wrong Grinch? Cindy Loo didn't bring you a present?”
“She tried to buy my favor long ago, believe me, she won't waste her time and money again.”
“You've should've shot your shot, don't be mad, Jayce wasn't going to wait for you make something real out of your situationship-
“Professional partnership and I assure, romantic entanglements bore me in every facet. Who the hell knows about Jayce but I'm happily married to my work,” He gestured to Jayce and Mel kissing under the mistletoe. “it's things like this that distract us from making real progress in our research.”
“Yeesh.” Vi huffed and took a sip of her drink. “Hang in there, soldier. The terrain’s looking tough.” she patted Sky's back.
Everyone except him being incredibly aware the woman was madly in love with him.
He raised a brow and Sky looked away shyly.
“Well try to enjoy yourself, you're giving off jaded ex vibes like crazy.”
“He made us take two weeks off, two!”
“God forbid the guy wanna spend time with girlfriend and family, besides Mel's only in town for that long. The long distance thing is tough, let the guy live a little.”
“He can do whatever he wants, why do I have to be a part of it? I can't get into the lab. He sealed all the entrances and refuses to give me the security codes!”
“ Crazy idea here but maybe he wanted to spend time with both the people he loves most in the world.”
He rolled his eyes. “Yes, we are spending so much time together, he's said two words to me since we've arrived and I'm sure I'll get two more before the evening ends. Real quality time.”
“He's probably worried you're mad at him, which clearly you are.”
“I'm here against my will, I'm entitled to be miserable.” He slumped his body back into the couch and sulked like a teenager.
Sky looked down at her hands on her lap and tried to hide her disappointment. This was the first time they'd spent time together out of the office in a long time. She hoped they might hit it off and she could invite him to do it again.
But it seems it was just her who was having a nice time. She pushed her glasses up, her usual nervous tick.
“I-I’m gonna get something to drink.” She quietly announced. “Do you want… of course you don't.” She answered her own question.
He grabbed her hand and put his head on her shoulder. He whined like a child. “Not you too Sky. Don't abandon me, the minute you do someone is going to try to hold me verbally hostage with small talk.”
The familiar touch flustered her. “I-I’ll be right back…”
“If you must.” He sighed and closed his eyes, upset as he felt quite comfortable in this position. “Just pour rum in a solo cup… maybe an Angry O with it?”
“Wanna add paint thinner too? Ugh.” Vi grimmaced. “Young stay here, I'm gonna go mix you guys some real drinks, my dad would freak if he knew I let someone drink that in front of me. A cider and rum? We gotta get you help.” She scolded Viktor but then sent a wink her way.
She turned bright red as he leaned more of himself against her. “When do you think it would be a good time to make a strategic exit?”
“Well… it's only 9 so maybe around 10ish?” she offered.
“Another hour of this?” He groaned into her ugly Christmas sweater.
“Viktor!” Jayce called over. “Come on Mom wants pictures for Facebook, family photos buddy!”
He looked like he was gonna cry. “I hope Violet hurries up with that drink.”
“It's sweet that she considers you family.” Sky reminded. He merely grunted as he stood up.
“I have little antlers for you, Viktor.” Ximena presented joyfully in her hands. Waving them for him to see. “Mel said you'd look so cute in them.”
He grimaced, knowing she'd done it just to get under his skin. The heiress suppressed a devious smirk.
“Just the thing to get you in the Christmas spirit.” She taunted as Ximena placed them on him.
Two could play that game. He smirked and Jayce paled knowing that glint on his eyes.
“I'm so glad you're willing to put your own inhibitions about the holiday away.” He started, metaphorically grenade in hand. “Seeing as you're an atheist and all, that's very big of you.” pin pulled, up in the air…
“Que, que!”
Target hit.
Jayce's very Mexican, very Catholic, ( like pictures of the Pope, a crucifix on every wall, baby Jesus plastered everywhere Catholic) Mother exclaimed. “Jayce Kevin Alejandro Miguel Talis como que me traes una muchacha a mi casa que no cree en Dios! ¡Es que estás loco!”
“Mama, espera!”
He grinned up at her and removed the antlers. “I think you might be needing these more than me, you know to get into the spirit .”
“Cretin.” She seethed.
“Capitalist.” He shot back. She snatched the antlers and ran after her lover and his mother who looked like she was ready to have her baptized in the kitchen sink.
“You are pure evil.” Vi shook her head. “Aren't you atheist too?”
He took the cup she offered. “Agnostic, very different.”
“Wouldn't want you as an enemy.” Cait added.
“Don't feel so bad, I give it five minutes before Merdarda has her eating out of her palm again.”
“You certainly think highly of her for someone who can't stand her.”
“I didn't mean it as a compliment.” He frowned.
“Viktor!” Jayce called over. “A word.” He spoke through clenched teeth.
“Apparently I'm visible again.” He huffed walking over to him.
“Yeesh they almost make my family look normal in comparison.”
Cait looked away and sipped on her drink, not commenting for the sake of her own happy evening.
“Oh come on, she said she was sorry!” Powder was trying to turn over a knew leaf recently, probably so Santa would bring her what she wanted (don't ask why a 19 year old woman still believes in Santa, you won't like the answer).
“For which time?”
“Eeh…”
“Exactly.” She reminded. “Don't throw stones in a glass house, luv.”
To be continued…
Chapter Text
Jayce had twisted their arm and offered a ride home to the two of them, but as Viktor was trying to think of an excuse, Sky agreed saying taking the metro on Christmas Eve was a debacle she would rather avoid.
The car ride was tense to say the least, it was suffocatingly quiet which was unusual for the two partners as they were a deadly combination of neurodivergent hyperfixations which led to long rants and good-natured arguments. Silence however, was an odd and her opinion unwanted fourth member of the group.
Jayce stopped the car at their apartment complex, Sky lived on the 3rd floor in apartment 307 while Viktor in 303 so the two would often visit one another, though that was becoming less frequent (which she lamented).
Jayce got out of the car and went to open the door for her but the frustrated and sad look in his eyes made something snap in her.
“I-oh no! I left my purse at your house!”
Both men looked up at her a bit taken aback by her shouting about something so trivial. “I uh left my metro card in there and other-” she cut herself off realizing lying was not her strong suit so she just got to her point. “Can- Would you mind taking me back to get it, I’ll take the metro back so you don’t have to-
Jayce shook his head. “It’s fine but… can’t it wait until morning? You look pretty tired.”
“Nope it’s- It’d just… give me peace of mind?” She insisted, rather lamely in her opinion, but both men had their minds on other problems so they didn’t really give her bad acting their full attention.
Viktor made a motion to get back into the vehicle but her words stopped him. “Ah you go ahead, it was thoughtless of me to even leave it behind, you should get some rest.”
He saw the logic in her words and closed the door. “Good night, Sky.” He looked up at Jayce and managed a cordial salute. His partner mumbled the same back and Jayce watched as he walked into the complex before getting back in the driver’s seat.
He pressed his forehead against the steering wheel and let out a loud, frustrated groan.
“Um… it can wait until tomorrow if-
“Ah! No!” He lifted his head up, he’d completely forgotten she was still there. “It’s just… this thing with Mel and Viktor, I thought maybe it was just a fluke or a bad day for both of them at the conference a couple months ago, but…”
“It’s not her.” Sky announced. “It’s you.”
He looked her in the eye through the rearview mirror, letting her know she had his full attention.
“You change when you’re around Mel, it’s not bad thing, but it’s hard on Viktor to deal with change-
“Don’t you dare say this is an autism thing; that his not his get-out-of-jail free card for everything-
“Maybe?” She shrugged her shoulders. “All I know is, it’s a Viktor thing.” she explained. “He doesn’t like change and… he loves you the way you are now. I think it scares him how easily you switch from earnest scientist to CEO of Hextech-
“We have to get money from somewhere, we need stakeholders, clients-
“I know but you know him, he hates that part of Silicon Valley. Loves the innovations, hates the money it takes to make them.”
“Yeah I know.”
“Mel seems much more comfortable with that part of doing business in Los Angeles-
“Ironic since she’s from London but sure I guess.”
“She’s, and I mean this respectfully, a very forward person, all business all the time.”
“She just sees the potential of our tech, a new source of nuclear energy, but generated cleanly, safely-
“I know.” She repeated. “But she can come off as more interested in that versus… us or you.”
“She’s not a gold digger, she has more money than anyone I’ve ever met. Pretty sure Bill Gates looks up to her. I know she’s not the touchy feely type but she has her own way of… showing me she cares.”
Sky nodded. “I see it, how she listens when you talk about your dream, how she laughs at your bad jokes unironically, how she’ll smile your way even if you're not looking. It’s the little subtle things. Our company matters to her, but you matter to her more. The thing is she’s not big on expressing it overtly.”
“So-
“Viktor can’t see it. Micro-expressions, gentle touches here and there. That’s lost on him.”
He sighed. “So it is an autism thing.”
“I… can’t speak to that but, it’s a Viktor thing, and Mel’s not dumb, not that he’s subtle about his distrust. She's a strong willed woman, if he’s making it a competition then she’s planning to win.”
“What’s a competition?”
“Who you’ll choose.”
“I love both of them!”
“Viktor’s not going to share you with a woman he thinks is just using you and Mel’s not going to share you with someone who writes her off as someone looking for a sugar daddy.”
“An unstoppable object meets an immovable force.” He summarized.
“Basically.” She shrugged.
He groaned and put his head on the steering wheel again. “So what… I pick one?”
She shook her head. “No! Nothing like that just… stop trying to force it. Locking Viktor out of the lab? Forcing vacation time on him? It’s like you were asking for him to be on edge.”
“He wouldn’t have come any other way! I just want them to get to know each other, they’ve got a lot more in common than they think.”
“Maybe but… you saw how nasty he can be, he’ll never admit it but he gets so jealous when you focus on her-
“I see him everyday, I see Mel every couple of months!”
“Love’s not logical, Jayce. You’ve spoiled him, usually everyone else is invisible to the two of you when you’re together. Now he knows what the rest of us feel like when we’re in a room with you two. It can… kinda suck to be the odd man out.”
He noticed the sadness in her tone. “... do you feel like that?”
She looked down and rubbed her arm. “I don’t take it personally, you’re working to make the world a better place, your secretary isn’t supposed to be your priority.”
“Don’t let Viktor hear you call yourself that, you’re our beloved paid intern, and you’ll soon have your own degree next to ours.”
She pushed up her glasses, clearly a little nervous about having to talk about herself. “I answer the phone a lot, people get confused, it’s just easier to call myself that-
“Well, screw them!” He looked up at her through the rear view mirror. “... and screw me too, I guess. This is probably the longest conversation we’ve ever had and we’ve been working together for what… two years?”
“I don’t have much to add once you two get going.”
“That doesn’t mean you don’t deserve to be heard.”
She gently defended. “You're listening now, that counts for something, right?”
“... right.” He smiled. “So… any more sage advice?”
“He loves you.” She looked up at him as if trying to make the weight of that honor sink in. “You never have to force Viktor to do anything. And I really recommend you don’t- losing any kind of control; it’s a huge trigger for him- so just ask him and he’ll do it. For you, he’ll do it.”
“How- how long have you known him?” He questioned, marveled at how she understood him so well.
“Oh… um.” She wanted to say, since forever because she really couldn’t imagine a time in her life without him but a more prudent response came out. “Since we were in third grade, I think.”
“He never mentioned that.”
She folded her hands together on her lap and looked down at them trying not to let him see her disappointment. “It’s not important. We’ve just kept in touch, my mom knows his mom. Things like that, he uh was a T.A. for one of my chem classes, we just keep bumping into each other. Life’s full of funny coincidences like that.”
“He didn’t let me hold any interviews, you know.” He shared. “Just said, he knew someone, personally I think you’re incredibly overqualified.”
“Other internships weren’t offering pay so…” She shrugged.
He raised a brow and gave her an unconvinced look. “It’s okay to admit you just wanted to work there because he’s there.”
She waved away the notion with both hands, suddenly more lively than he’d ever seen her. “It’s not what you think!”
“Mel’s not the only one who has tells.” He declared. Yes, even he, as unaware as he was about a lot of things, was aware she had a thing for his partner.
She looked down at her hands on her lap. “We’re just… people who keep bumping into each other, that’s all. At least … that's how Viktor sees it.”
He looked up at the apartment complex, a familiar window had a silhouette against it. He grinned. “Don’t be so sure.” He gestured up with his chin. “Bet he’s been up there waiting to see if you come up safe or not.”
“He’s looking at you… not me.” She reassured. “Anyway that’s not what- Just let them warm up to each other on their own terms and just ask. Viktor would do anything for you, and try to not forget he’s there even in the presence of goddess like Mel Medarda-
“Should I be writing this down?”
She laughed, it was the first time he’d really listened to it. It was nice, like a little bell jingling. He looked up at the 3rd story window… he bet Viktor liked it too.
“You’ll figure it out, Jayce. You’re a genius.”
“Well, if Mel and Viktor have taught me anything, it’s that I can’t do this by myself. Geniuses need each other or else our egos go unchecked.”
“I’m not a genius.”
“You figured out a puzzle harder than the gordian knot, Viktor Herald. I feel like you might get a Nobel Prize for that.”
“He’s not a complicated man. He’s just… Viktor, he’s always been the same, until you.” She praised. “In the best ways, you’ve changed him. I think he’s worried, if you’re not there, he’ll change back.”
“... I don’t want to lose him either.”
“You won’t. You’ll listen.” She squeezed his shoulder. “You’re not as arrogant as people think you are.”
She started exiting his truck. “People think I’m arrogant?” He heard her close the door, then it suddenly dawned on him and he called out from his car window. “Wait! your purse did you want me to…” he trailed on as he saw the look on her face. “You… didn’t bring a purse, did you?”
She shook her head giving him an apologetic smile.
Realizing it was all a ploy to get him to listen to her without Viktor hovering by, he replied.“... you’re… way too over qualified to be working with schlubs like us.”
“Good night, Jayce.”
He nodded, “Night, Sky.” Taking out his phone, he put into practice her teaching as soon as possible.
000000000
Viktor was leaning by his apartment entrance, she looked away sheepishly. Was he gonna ask her why they never left the parking lot, what they talked about or-
“Thank you.” He quietly spoke.
She certainly wasn’t expecting that. In disbelief she replied, “For what?”
“The access codes to the lab, he sent them and an apology that feels like someone else helped him craft.”
“Jayce is my boss, I can’t make him do anything, if he did that. Then it’s because he wanted to.” She reminded.
He rubbed his neck clearly anxious about his next few words.“... it dawned on me, I asked you to be away from your own family on Christmas Eve to accompany me to a party that I made you leave early with me because of… personal reasons-
She comforted. “Christmas day is more important to my parents anyways, I have to be there early so-
“It was still a rotten thing to do, making you be alone on holiday where you’re supposed to be surrounded by people you love-
“It’s just a ‘corporate cash grab holiday for the major retailers to squeeze every cent out of the sheep that believe in tradition’ right?”
He smiled at hearing his own words quoted back to him. “Yes but… it matters to you.”
“My friend needed me so I was there.” She shrugged.
“Come… just until midnight.” He opened his door. “The place is a mess but-
She tried to hide her excitement, it had been so long since he’d invited her to visit. “A couple dirty dishes in the sink is not- oh my lord did you write on the walls?”
He closed the door behind them and scratched his nose shyly. “Jayce and I were in the middle of a breakthrough but we… eh ran out of space on the whiteboard.”
She laughed. “So what happened to the whiteboard?”
“I can’t remember we were so drunk.”
She sat herself on his couch, “you had a breakthrough while drunk? Are you sure it’s sound-
He began to eagerly defend the equations on the wall, only having her laugh harder and harder the more he realized just maybe… the whole thing was useless. She wished she would've have recorded the whole thing, his expression at noticing that none of numbers added up was priceless.
“It sounded good at the time.” He muttered as she handed him some hot chocolate she was able to whip up from the few items in his bare pantry. She sat herself beside him on his couch.
“Most things do when you’re drunk.” She teased.
Suddenly his watch beeped. It was midnight. She looked down at her untouched mug in her hands.
Gown turns back into rags, carriage into a pumpkin, glass slippers disappear.
Time’s up Cinderella. Its little beep taunted.
“You said you had to be up early to see your family…” he offered her a way to gracefully exit, while she saw it as him politely kicking her out.
“Y-yeah, I-” she put the mug down on his coffee table. “Thanks for the… company-
“I should be saying that.” He dismissed.
“It’s the best present you’ve ever given me.”
“Hot chocolate?”
“... your time. You're a busy man, Viktor. You and Jayce, you’re changing the world. It’s an honor to be part of that.”
He put his hand over hers. “Jayce thinks it’s Medarda holding our company a float but the truth is he and I have no idea how to handle the clerical aspects of such a thing. Medarda brings in the money but the day to day stuff, the meetings, the press conferences, the social media accounts… that’s all you. We need you too.”
She kissed him.
She pulled away the minute she did it and covered her mouth. “Viktor I am so sorry- I-
He looked up at her bewildered by the action but not upset. “...Are you drunk?” He questioned tilting his head.
“No!”
He tried to recall what he’d seen her consume. He grabbed her face looking at her pupils. “You had, what- two, three drinks-
“I’m fine, it was just-” She shook her head. “Besides that was hours ago but-
“So you're sober, properly sober-
She shrunk away from him. “Yes, I just got… so happy that I wasn’t thinkin- Sorry, I’m sorry-
He kissed her this time, trying to help her understand why he was interrogating her. This was LA for pete’s sake, he was no stranger to a hook up on a lonely night, but he wanted to be certain she was in her right mind while offering what she was offering.
“I just need to know this is something you really want too- whoa! Sky easy-.” She pushed him down on his couch so he was lying down beneath her.
Well… she seemed to be of sound mind and body as she kissed the life out of him. He looked down at his prosthetic leg as she began helping him undress. it would be nice to have a hook up where he did not have to prepare them for the robot leg.
Her own clothes started coming off and suddenly any lingering reservations disappeared.
So much for getting into the office early tomorrow.
To be continued…