[ it's been a few months, and the projects have been coming along wonderfully. this partnership was the best thing to happen to jayce— he feels more at ease, more enthusiastic to do something as simple as wake up and start the day again, all under the pretense that latsr, after work, he'd get to babble the night away with viktor, pitching ideas and coming up with even greater, bolder technology. they had some ways to go, still. it's only recently that riosilitta has excelled in her march and fully recovered for sport. the rest of the herd are well on their way to near perfectly clipped hooved with little to no accidents.
things were going, well, fantastically. but one idea led to another, and jayce noticed, quite early on in their friendship, that viktor would improve his wellbeing drastically if he had a brace of his own, custom fit. the accommodation could make standing more comfortable, even walking a little more bearable when faced with chronic aches. jayce brainstormed support, weight removal, mobility and pain relief into a single, multipart design. he was even incredibly sneaky in getting viktor's measurements!
now, during the last month is where things likely started to get . . . odd, for viktor. jayce wouldn't object to their usual meeting hours, but he would begin to claim fatigue and ask to rest early.
every day.
some days, he would say he's backed up with some work he needs to do. never said what, and he'd always avoid the details. if viktor didn't know any better, yes. it was beginning to feel too frequent. even jayce knew that— he just hopes to god viktor would understand when he's finished.
it's only on a fine day, that jayce finally asks if viktor could pass by the stables at dusk. with urgency. with importance!
[ For the first time since his childhood, Viktor feels mentally stimulated at home. He looks forward to his time spent with Jayce in the stables, either riding newly-shoed horses or talking across a table covered in notes and half-drunk coffee. He didn't even mind when they started to talk about things other than work, sharing details about themselves and joking just as much as they shared formulas and diagrams. Viktor enjoyed Jayce's company in both capacities, so it was the first time since his childhood that Viktor felt he had a friend at home.
Possibly even something more than a friend. Not that he would ever admit to it, both because he wouldn't want to jeopardize their partnership and also because of the little snag of them both being men.
That second concern came to mind more and more as Jayce suddenly became tired earlier most nights, and then every night, and then busy some afternoons as well. It was a reminder that he was free to have a life outside of work, although that was often his excuse—it was entirely possible that he was busy dating someone and was trying to keep his partnership with Viktor more professional by not discussing romance.
Still, Viktor couldn't help but... miss their time together and, if he would be honest with himself, miss Jayce himself. That was probably why he rushed to see him when he was sent for, leaning heavily on his cane by the time he reached the stables. ]
Jayce? Is everything alright? Ethan said you were quite urgent about your request.
[ jayce heard the clips of viktor's cane on the ground first, and that in itself made his heart rush round like a carrossel. he ambles out from the tack room to meet him there halfway because— he too, missed viktor, his presence and ideas, his clever mind and sharp tongue that would either make him laugh or flush with humble embarrassment. it does a little of both at this moment, meeting his friend outside with a broad smile and a near relieved curl of the bridge of his brows. ]
Viktor! No, I— I mean, yes, [ the horses notice viktor's approach, causing a domino effect of whinnies and nickers of greeting between the grading of hay and flatbed teeth. it gives jayce an extra moment to restart before he stumbles on himself more; the thrum in his core keeps dancing. breathe in, wait for the silence, ] —I want to show you something.
[ The way Jayce says his name makes Viktor's heart ache a little. He's always so enthusiastic, but then again, he's also the kind of man to enthusiastically say a mathematical formula aloud. Don't read into it, Viktor reminds himself, Having a partner like Jayce is more than I've dreamed of. It's enough.
Now that he's seen that Jayce isn't injured or upset, Viktor calms enough to greet the horses that stick their faces out of their stales. Patting necks and rubbing noses, he listens to Jayce's excited fumbling. ]
Oh? Aren't you full of surprises. Where would you like me?
[ now that's a question. jayce briefly considers his bed, a place where viktor could comfortably stretch his leg as he worked, but— the implications of that answer spills red hues to the tips of his ears. they were partners. friends. only this—
truly, only this. with a heavy heart, it had to be. ]
—Wherever you'll feel the most comfortable. [ the hay bales, the many accommodating benches on even inside the tack room was alright. jayce allows viktor to choose, and as he selects his seat, he adds, with his hands folded behind his back: ] It's something I've been working on.
[ Jayce has never been one for mystery, often wearing his heart on his sleeve with Viktor. This other side of him is intriguing, to say the least.
Choosing a bench to avoid getting hay stuck to his ass, Viktor settles in. The fact that Jayce has been working on something is both a relief and a shock. Was it something that he didn't want Viktor's input on? Was he planning to perhaps patent it and didn't want to run the risk of Viktor claiming ownership? It was an issue he'd heard of with many inventors and their patrons, but all of Jayce's ideas would forever be his own—Viktor is just happy to be included. ]
Ah, a secret project? [ He doesn't want to admit his hurt outright, but it's probably written on his face. It may be difficult for Viktor to see someone else's blush due to his colorblindness, but that doesn't mean his own reddened cheeks wouldn't stand out compared to his usual pallor. ]
[ to the benches it was. jayce meanders alondside him, gaze sliding across viktor's features for answers while passing by hanging candlelights— it squeezed his chest to see a pang, but he promises. it's worth it. his complexion shifts, and for whatever reason, jayce assumes its from the shadows of dancing flames.
[ That makes Viktor's eyebrows arch higher up his forehead, curious despite everything else that warns him to be cautious. ]
Quite the secret, then. [ He closes his eyes, as asked, but can't help quipping all the same. ] I hope this isn't the kind that will steal you away from me.
[ jayce barks a laugh on his way into the tack room. he's a little glad viktor can't see his face. he's a few shades darker and a little sheepish with the way he needs to rub at his neck. clever tongue . . .
well, he had to grab "it". some shuffling and footsteps back and forth later, viktor will hear jayce's approach: a soft succession of thuds and clicks, before there is a growing weight of something quite lengthy, stuff and wrapped in the confines of thick cardboard and a large cloth that is binding it all together. ]
—Okay, open your eyes.
[ viktor will find that this thing in his lap is a crudely wrapped gift. at least, he tried to wrap it with whatever he had in hand. he couldn't afford fancy paper or even the glittering ribbons viktor may be used to after spending all of his meager allowance on the metal he needed to forge this. the paper is signed: JAYCE TALIS. TO VIKTOR. ]
I didn't, uh— have any wrapping paper, so . . . Excuse that.
[ Jayce is certainly gone long enough to further pique Viktor's curiosity. There are any number of things he could be doing, including setting up a prank or running away, but Viktor trusts that neither of those things are true. After spending time with enough cruel children in school, Viktor has learned how to judge whether or not someone is about to do him an unkindness.
Letting out a grunt when something large and heavy is deposited into his lap, he opens his eyes in time with Jayce giving him permission to do so—hopefully it doesn't ruin the surprise that he'd been unable to keep his eyes closed a second longer.
The gift is charmingly wrapped, practical and honest the same way that he's come to appreciate from Jayce himself. If there had been fancy paper or glittering bows, it would have perplexed Viktor more than anything. ]
Unnecessary. [ Both the paper and, therefore, the excusing. He looks up at Jayce, head cocked to one side. ] But there's no occasion for this, Jayce, or I would have reciprocated.
'Course there is. [ he claps his partner's shoulder, ] Happy Birthday.
[ it's not viktor's birthday. but jokes aside, he shakes his head and chews at his bottom lip, to smooth out his ridiculous grin from getting any larger. in all genuine honesty: ]
I just wanted to do it.
[ and have no obligation of any sort of exchange get in the way of its meaning. he's also . . . amazed at viktor's modesty. it is not every day you meet someone so high classed and still in touch with decency.
he finally gestures and lifts his brows, excited, and it shows in how his expectant eyes nearly glisten with anticipation for viktor to pull away at the gift's clumsy shell. ]
[ He emphasizes the negative, but he's smiling nonetheless. No matter what the gift is, it's better than all of the things that his brain had invented about Jayce spending time away from him on other ventures—which is his right to do, but it would still have hurt Viktor for him to not be honest about it.
Drinking in the excitement on Jayce's face, Viktor makes a show of opening the gift carefully. He can see glimmers of metal as the surfaces catch the lamplight, but it's not until he's fully unwrapped it and taken a good long look that it sinks in.
A leg brace. It looks similar to Jayce's own, but more delicate and obviously much thinner to fit Viktor's slight frame. A wide range of emotions flow through him, from sheepishness to gratitude, pain to love. He knows that Jayce doesn't see him as weak, and he's never given Viktor any physical help that wasn't first asked for; but the fact that he saw how much Viktor silently struggled with walking and took his own time and materials to make him something that would help... To be cared for is to risk also being perceived at one's lowest.
Looking up at Jayce finally, eyes a bit dewy, Viktor clears his throat. ] Thank you, Jayce. It's quite lovely. I'm always amazed by your handiwork.
[ jayce watches as emotion furls across viktor's face, a wash of his own sweetens and mellows like the kindling fire in a thriving furnace. the hand once on viktor's shoulder lowers to the side of his arm with an affectionate squeeze, by now having lowered himself to the ground in front of viktor. he has his toolbox, right here. he's eager to see if he got the fit as right as he'd thought.
it is one of his best items to day. sleek, tailor-made, the archs are beautifully dipped and there are even decorative details sculpted into the grooves of the rods, and the colors— he doesn't know. he'll have to explain that later.
it is forged with all of the care in the world. a token of his affection and how much it's grown— a preliminary view of how much it could grow even further. ]
[ Viktor runs his fingers over the details, unnecessary but beautiful in how they add art to function. He wishes he could distinguish the colors of the metal, able to tell that there are different tones but not what hues may go with them. That barely matters, however, because he can tell that Jayce has put thought into every inch of the piece and so probably picked the colors accordingly, too. ]
Oh, uh, yes. [ He shifts a little to straighten up and stretch his right leg out in front of him. ] I am curious as to how you got your hands on my measurements. Have you been snooping through my closet, Jayce?
I, ah, [ there's no running from that, and it pulls jayce's lips into a sheepish snicker; he carefully scoops the brace from its bottom curvatures, off of viktor's lap and on top of his own thighs, now. he has to loosen some of the screws manually, so he'd be able to slot viktor's leg into the structure. ] had to look into your old boots. [ a beat. ] And— pants. Clarice promised not to tell.
[ jayce seldom asked for favors, but clarice, young and roundfaced with braids a big doe eyed, was the lesser of the more serpentine staff. kind, if not a bit . . . too invested in their friendship.
it's ready, and with the consent to proceed, jayce will position the brace's open cast under viktor's leg, raises it with a hyperfocused gaze— and rests his larger hands behind viktor's knee to hold it there. jayce breathes out, quiet yet attentive to the responsibility he weilds. his other hand then swiftly works the middle buckle, just above the knee cap and metal support structure with practiced dexterity and tender effort; an aid in securing the device for later activities. ]
[ It's almost a shame to let Jayce take the brace from his hands, but he knows that the point of it is to use, not just to fawn over. Without the weight of the metal in his hands and lap, he's faced with the reality of Jayce kneeling in front of him, and now Viktor has nothing to do with nervous hands. ]
Well, she certainly kept your secret. [ The thought of Jayce taking measurements from Viktor's pants is slightly more mortifying since he'd had an accomplice, but at least he can rest easy knowing that they were most likely clean at the time.
Viktor flinches a bit at the first touch, both because of a slight static charge firing between them and because he hasn't been touched by someone in... well, he's never been touched there by another person that wasn't family or a doctor. He's quick to relax again, though, because he trusts Jayce and knows that he's familiar by now with both Viktor's leg and his own creation. ] Sorry.
[ —it hits him. a few seconds into tension he feels beneath his fingers and the broken focus after lining a buckle with a hole that he has just . . . so easily touched viktor. the charge in his palms tickles him, engulfs and invites him through an electrifying pulse that he could only feel.
gently, he realizes— especially post apology, that he has not directly asked. has he? the brace was one thing, perhaps touching him was another. he had not thought it would matter until after the fact.
after he felt it, too. he must finish, but now his hands hover. ]
Oh, I'm— No, I'm sorry, I— [ he swallows, he bows his head. he returns his gaze both embarrassed and worried. ] Can I . . . Continue?
[ there it is. maybe he should've been a little more direct about being too . . . intimate, but better this tardy than never at all. ]
Nonsense, you have nothing to be sorry for. [ Viktor waves his hand back and worth, clearing the air and dismissing any apologies or bad feelings on Jayce's part. ] Please, continue.
[ Cursing himself for making things awkward, Viktor busies himself with tapping his fingers against the bench beside him where he's leaning a hand to support himself. ] I just... [ Should he even go so far as to mention it? It's embarrassing to be so sensitive, but the reason behind it is just as awkward. He could lie and say that it was something about the state of his leg, either the nerves themselves or his nervousness around being touched. But he wants Jayce to know the real him, so he feels compelled to tell the truth. ] You haven't exactly seen any suitors banging on our door, have you?
jayce lowers his hands down, palms first, reposing against the sides of viktor's shins; the inside of a hand curves to the underside of his calf, pushing up just enough to prompt gravity to adjust the first strap and buckle. he tests the snugness of the interior cushions with a tame slide of his pinky finger. he didn't want enough space for it to slot in, but he also didn't want to leave any bigger gaps that could cause knocking. it had to be just right.
after an approving hum, jayce continues to the forth buckle, at the shin, then the first buckle, high around the thighs. his touch is meek all the while, but how his hands, hot like a furnace, clean from his shower but bulky and hardworking, travel up and down are deliberate, confidential; he feels his heart begin to flip, and race, to which he tries very hard to quell it to moderate silence.
the only result of that is greater heat around his face. the charge continues to be discernable. jayce distracts himself with the conversation, but feels a leap in his chest instead. ]
I, uh . . . [ he's so painfully focused on his tasks that if someone interested in viktor rolled up to get to know him and the property, he wouldn't have noticed. but then again he thinks he'd notice, accutely, if viktor was with someone. the thought pricks his upper lip. he tries to ignore the fire it flames. ] No, I don't think, [ he starts opening his tool box for a screwdriver. ] It's— not my business.
[ was viktor betrothed? he never mentioned it, but— what if it was something arranged? such marriages between the upper class happening more often than not, jayce . . . didn't like the thought. it made him feel possessive, angry and aching, and that led to embarrassment.
he'd understand if it were a secret he's only touching upon now, but hoped to god it wasn't that. ]
[ If Viktor didn't know any better, he would start to think it was deliberate. Jayce moves his hands like a confident creator, finding the angles of Viktor's legs like he'd put them there. It made him wonder how long Jayce had been paying such close attention from afar, mapping the lines and geometry, and that made him wonder further if it might have started before this project even began.
Wishful thinking.
Still, even if he's given consent to be touched and made his peace with it, that doesn't mean it's any easier to stop his body from reacting. He's touch-starved, through and through, so even the small brushes of a finger or the light press of a knuckle makes him react. Each tense of muscle is followed by a conscious effort to relax again, each intake of breath stifled by a bitten lip. When Jayce traces a finger along the inside of Viktor's leg, by god, it's a herculean task not to shiver. ]
W-well— [ He stops himself short. They're partners, and Viktor has come to think of Jayce as a friend, but that doesn't mean he's interested in his romantic life—or lack thereof. ] Ah, forgive me. It's an inappropriate topic.
[ jayce hasn't noticed that in his work, in his bottled attempts to defuse his heart and convince himself to proceed without any perverse ideas about his hands and viktor's thin legs (because that would be a horrible way to taint their friendship, and take advantage of a man he'd never think to violate), jayce's bottom lip has jutted a bit too far. he is pouting at his own assumptions, grown man that he was, prudently slotting the head of his tool into one of the main bolts and bending the metal to a tight fit.
how could marriage be innapropriate? it should be as average a topic as any.
he feels his throat dry, and it shouldn't be. he feels his cheeks sizzle at the tiny muscle strains under the fabric of viktor's pants. even the hike of it to expose socked ankles has jayce blinking away. ]
Would it, [ his voice is quiet, concerned: ] affect our partnership?
[ viktor had been joking earlier, but now jayce too, feels the sultry burn of jealousy of anything, anyone, that would spirit this man away from him. karma couldn't be so disregulated that he's being punished for blowing viktor off for a month, could it? ]
Certainly not. [ He doesn't even have time to think before he's blurting out the words, forceful and honest. Regardless of the topic, there is nothing on Viktor's side of things that would affect their partnership. There's no reason for Jayce to worry that he'll be left high and dry in his endeavors for he'll always have Viktor's backing, even if he does admit that the friendship was one-sided. His talent is too good, too important, to go to waste. ] I can be professional, believe it or not. And I remember telling you that you wouldn't be rid of me so easily.
[ a beat in both thought and work; jayce's features, as much as his broad shoulders, seem to relax from (perhaps not so hidden) tension. a small curve finally straightens out the frown.
then maybe it's not what he thinks it is, to his immense relief, and that makes him feel a little silly. unless it was all wishful thinking? ]
I could rest easy, then. [ another bolt, a cog that needed a wrench; he positions his knees together and erects his back so that leaning over for a short period wouldn't kill his posture. he cups viktor's thigh on one side with a sideways containment of palm and fingers, screws the iron on the other with soft clicks from a gently pumping wrench. ] What is it?
[ Viktor takes the change in Jayce's expression as him working out part of the fit of the brace, nothing more. There's nothing to read into right now, except for his own body language, and he's trying to hide that as much as possible.
Okay, maybe he could read into those words a little. At least it's good to know that Jayce is just as opposed to ending their partnership as Viktor is, even if for other reasons. He hums a bit, the sound pitching a bit higher as Jayce's hand cups the outside of his thigh and the other lifts a wrench to the inseam. He can feel the heat and weight of fingers wrapping around the back of his leg, and it's both embarrassing and thrilling to think of how much of Jayce's hand could fit around Viktor's leg.
Conversation. Right. Viktor swallows thickly and stops staring at Jayce's hands to focus on his face. ]
[ there's one last where jayce finalizes a turn and splays his fingers for a wider grip. indeed, his hand could easily slit right around the flesh with remarkable ease. now, the knee. alotting into the diamond shaped depression, jayce switches wrench for driver, all sides having screws to fix in place. gently, he extends viktor's leg, then bends it; not unlike he would stretch a colt to test and remind himself until what point he should stiffen the frame. viktor needed support, but he also needed a balance between that and efficient mobility. ]
The innapropriate thing you were going to tell me.
[ jayce bites his lips; a reflex of his concentration, for nowm ]
If it won't affect what we have, then it's alright.
[ he wants to be able to think that very much, at least. seeing him wed to someone else ("someone else" is laughable, in that it implies he'd ever be able to be that someone else) would hurt, but perhaps that distance was the best before these impossible fantasies overtook him.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
☆AR_CANE
things were going, well, fantastically. but one idea led to another, and jayce noticed, quite early on in their friendship, that viktor would improve his wellbeing drastically if he had a brace of his own, custom fit. the accommodation could make standing more comfortable, even walking a little more bearable when faced with chronic aches. jayce brainstormed support, weight removal, mobility and pain relief into a single, multipart design. he was even incredibly sneaky in getting viktor's measurements!
now, during the last month is where things likely started to get . . . odd, for viktor. jayce wouldn't object to their usual meeting hours, but he would begin to claim fatigue and ask to rest early.
every day.
some days, he would say he's backed up with some work he needs to do. never said what, and he'd always avoid the details. if viktor didn't know any better, yes. it was beginning to feel too frequent. even jayce knew that— he just hopes to god viktor would understand when he's finished.
it's only on a fine day, that jayce finally asks if viktor could pass by the stables at dusk. with urgency. with importance!
(please, don't be too mad at him, please—) ]
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Possibly even something more than a friend. Not that he would ever admit to it, both because he wouldn't want to jeopardize their partnership and also because of the little snag of them both being men.
That second concern came to mind more and more as Jayce suddenly became tired earlier most nights, and then every night, and then busy some afternoons as well. It was a reminder that he was free to have a life outside of work, although that was often his excuse—it was entirely possible that he was busy dating someone and was trying to keep his partnership with Viktor more professional by not discussing romance.
Still, Viktor couldn't help but... miss their time together and, if he would be honest with himself, miss Jayce himself. That was probably why he rushed to see him when he was sent for, leaning heavily on his cane by the time he reached the stables. ]
Jayce? Is everything alright? Ethan said you were quite urgent about your request.
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Viktor! No, I— I mean, yes, [ the horses notice viktor's approach, causing a domino effect of whinnies and nickers of greeting between the grading of hay and flatbed teeth. it gives jayce an extra moment to restart before he stumbles on himself more; the thrum in his core keeps dancing. breathe in, wait for the silence, ] —I want to show you something.
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Now that he's seen that Jayce isn't injured or upset, Viktor calms enough to greet the horses that stick their faces out of their stales. Patting necks and rubbing noses, he listens to Jayce's excited fumbling. ]
Oh? Aren't you full of surprises. Where would you like me?
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[ now that's a question. jayce briefly considers his bed, a place where viktor could comfortably stretch his leg as he worked, but— the implications of that answer spills red hues to the tips of his ears. they were partners. friends. only this—
truly, only this. with a heavy heart, it had to be. ]
—Wherever you'll feel the most comfortable. [ the hay bales, the many accommodating benches on even inside the tack room was alright. jayce allows viktor to choose, and as he selects his seat, he adds, with his hands folded behind his back: ] It's something I've been working on.
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Choosing a bench to avoid getting hay stuck to his ass, Viktor settles in. The fact that Jayce has been working on something is both a relief and a shock. Was it something that he didn't want Viktor's input on? Was he planning to perhaps patent it and didn't want to run the risk of Viktor claiming ownership? It was an issue he'd heard of with many inventors and their patrons, but all of Jayce's ideas would forever be his own—Viktor is just happy to be included. ]
Ah, a secret project? [ He doesn't want to admit his hurt outright, but it's probably written on his face. It may be difficult for Viktor to see someone else's blush due to his colorblindness, but that doesn't mean his own reddened cheeks wouldn't stand out compared to his usual pallor. ]
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[ to the benches it was. jayce meanders alondside him, gaze sliding across viktor's features for answers while passing by hanging candlelights— it squeezed his chest to see a pang, but he promises. it's worth it. his complexion shifts, and for whatever reason, jayce assumes its from the shadows of dancing flames.
the smile he tries to hide is suspicious. ]
But you have to close your eyes.
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Quite the secret, then. [ He closes his eyes, as asked, but can't help quipping all the same. ] I hope this isn't the kind that will steal you away from me.
[ So much for a cautious heart. ]
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well, he had to grab "it". some shuffling and footsteps back and forth later, viktor will hear jayce's approach: a soft succession of thuds and clicks, before there is a growing weight of something quite lengthy, stuff and wrapped in the confines of thick cardboard and a large cloth that is binding it all together. ]
—Okay, open your eyes.
[ viktor will find that this thing in his lap is a crudely wrapped gift. at least, he tried to wrap it with whatever he had in hand. he couldn't afford fancy paper or even the glittering ribbons viktor may be used to after spending all of his meager allowance on the metal he needed to forge this. the paper is signed: JAYCE TALIS. TO VIKTOR. ]
I didn't, uh— have any wrapping paper, so . . . Excuse that.
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Letting out a grunt when something large and heavy is deposited into his lap, he opens his eyes in time with Jayce giving him permission to do so—hopefully it doesn't ruin the surprise that he'd been unable to keep his eyes closed a second longer.
The gift is charmingly wrapped, practical and honest the same way that he's come to appreciate from Jayce himself. If there had been fancy paper or glittering bows, it would have perplexed Viktor more than anything. ]
Unnecessary. [ Both the paper and, therefore, the excusing. He looks up at Jayce, head cocked to one side. ] But there's no occasion for this, Jayce, or I would have reciprocated.
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[ it's not viktor's birthday. but jokes aside, he shakes his head and chews at his bottom lip, to smooth out his ridiculous grin from getting any larger. in all genuine honesty: ]
I just wanted to do it.
[ and have no obligation of any sort of exchange get in the way of its meaning. he's also . . . amazed at viktor's modesty. it is not every day you meet someone so high classed and still in touch with decency.
he finally gestures and lifts his brows, excited, and it shows in how his expectant eyes nearly glisten with anticipation for viktor to pull away at the gift's clumsy shell. ]
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[ He emphasizes the negative, but he's smiling nonetheless. No matter what the gift is, it's better than all of the things that his brain had invented about Jayce spending time away from him on other ventures—which is his right to do, but it would still have hurt Viktor for him to not be honest about it.
Drinking in the excitement on Jayce's face, Viktor makes a show of opening the gift carefully. He can see glimmers of metal as the surfaces catch the lamplight, but it's not until he's fully unwrapped it and taken a good long look that it sinks in.
A leg brace. It looks similar to Jayce's own, but more delicate and obviously much thinner to fit Viktor's slight frame. A wide range of emotions flow through him, from sheepishness to gratitude, pain to love. He knows that Jayce doesn't see him as weak, and he's never given Viktor any physical help that wasn't first asked for; but the fact that he saw how much Viktor silently struggled with walking and took his own time and materials to make him something that would help... To be cared for is to risk also being perceived at one's lowest.
Looking up at Jayce finally, eyes a bit dewy, Viktor clears his throat. ] Thank you, Jayce. It's quite lovely. I'm always amazed by your handiwork.
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it is one of his best items to day. sleek, tailor-made, the archs are beautifully dipped and there are even decorative details sculpted into the grooves of the rods, and the colors— he doesn't know. he'll have to explain that later.
it is forged with all of the care in the world. a token of his affection and how much it's grown— a preliminary view of how much it could grow even further. ]
Ready to try it on?
[ he asks this with gentle encouragement. ]
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Oh, uh, yes. [ He shifts a little to straighten up and stretch his right leg out in front of him. ] I am curious as to how you got your hands on my measurements. Have you been snooping through my closet, Jayce?
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[ jayce seldom asked for favors, but clarice, young and roundfaced with braids a big doe eyed, was the lesser of the more serpentine staff. kind, if not a bit . . . too invested in their friendship.
it's ready, and with the consent to proceed, jayce will position the brace's open cast under viktor's leg, raises it with a hyperfocused gaze— and rests his larger hands behind viktor's knee to hold it there. jayce breathes out, quiet yet attentive to the responsibility he weilds. his other hand then swiftly works the middle buckle, just above the knee cap and metal support structure with practiced dexterity and tender effort; an aid in securing the device for later activities. ]
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Well, she certainly kept your secret. [ The thought of Jayce taking measurements from Viktor's pants is slightly more mortifying since he'd had an accomplice, but at least he can rest easy knowing that they were most likely clean at the time.
Viktor flinches a bit at the first touch, both because of a slight static charge firing between them and because he hasn't been touched by someone in... well, he's never been touched there by another person that wasn't family or a doctor. He's quick to relax again, though, because he trusts Jayce and knows that he's familiar by now with both Viktor's leg and his own creation. ] Sorry.
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gently, he realizes— especially post apology, that he has not directly asked. has he? the brace was one thing, perhaps touching him was another. he had not thought it would matter until after the fact.
after he felt it, too. he must finish, but now his hands hover. ]
Oh, I'm— No, I'm sorry, I— [ he swallows, he bows his head. he returns his gaze both embarrassed and worried. ] Can I . . . Continue?
[ there it is. maybe he should've been a little more direct about being too . . . intimate, but better this tardy than never at all. ]
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[ Cursing himself for making things awkward, Viktor busies himself with tapping his fingers against the bench beside him where he's leaning a hand to support himself. ] I just... [ Should he even go so far as to mention it? It's embarrassing to be so sensitive, but the reason behind it is just as awkward. He could lie and say that it was something about the state of his leg, either the nerves themselves or his nervousness around being touched. But he wants Jayce to know the real him, so he feels compelled to tell the truth. ] You haven't exactly seen any suitors banging on our door, have you?
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jayce lowers his hands down, palms first, reposing against the sides of viktor's shins; the inside of a hand curves to the underside of his calf, pushing up just enough to prompt gravity to adjust the first strap and buckle. he tests the snugness of the interior cushions with a tame slide of his pinky finger. he didn't want enough space for it to slot in, but he also didn't want to leave any bigger gaps that could cause knocking. it had to be just right.
after an approving hum, jayce continues to the forth buckle, at the shin, then the first buckle, high around the thighs. his touch is meek all the while, but how his hands, hot like a furnace, clean from his shower but bulky and hardworking, travel up and down are deliberate, confidential; he feels his heart begin to flip, and race, to which he tries very hard to quell it to moderate silence.
the only result of that is greater heat around his face. the charge continues to be discernable. jayce distracts himself with the conversation, but feels a leap in his chest instead. ]
I, uh . . . [ he's so painfully focused on his tasks that if someone interested in viktor rolled up to get to know him and the property, he wouldn't have noticed. but then again he thinks he'd notice, accutely, if viktor was with someone. the thought pricks his upper lip. he tries to ignore the fire it flames. ] No, I don't think, [ he starts opening his tool box for a screwdriver. ] It's— not my business.
[ was viktor betrothed? he never mentioned it, but— what if it was something arranged? such marriages between the upper class happening more often than not, jayce . . . didn't like the thought. it made him feel possessive, angry and aching, and that led to embarrassment.
he'd understand if it were a secret he's only touching upon now, but hoped to god it wasn't that. ]
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Wishful thinking.
Still, even if he's given consent to be touched and made his peace with it, that doesn't mean it's any easier to stop his body from reacting. He's touch-starved, through and through, so even the small brushes of a finger or the light press of a knuckle makes him react. Each tense of muscle is followed by a conscious effort to relax again, each intake of breath stifled by a bitten lip. When Jayce traces a finger along the inside of Viktor's leg, by god, it's a herculean task not to shiver. ]
W-well— [ He stops himself short. They're partners, and Viktor has come to think of Jayce as a friend, but that doesn't mean he's interested in his romantic life—or lack thereof. ] Ah, forgive me. It's an inappropriate topic.
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how could marriage be innapropriate? it should be as average a topic as any.
he feels his throat dry, and it shouldn't be. he feels his cheeks sizzle at the tiny muscle strains under the fabric of viktor's pants. even the hike of it to expose socked ankles has jayce blinking away. ]
Would it, [ his voice is quiet, concerned: ] affect our partnership?
[ viktor had been joking earlier, but now jayce too, feels the sultry burn of jealousy of anything, anyone, that would spirit this man away from him. karma couldn't be so disregulated that he's being punished for blowing viktor off for a month, could it? ]
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then maybe it's not what he thinks it is, to his immense relief, and that makes him feel a little silly. unless it was all wishful thinking? ]
I could rest easy, then. [ another bolt, a cog that needed a wrench; he positions his knees together and erects his back so that leaning over for a short period wouldn't kill his posture. he cups viktor's thigh on one side with a sideways containment of palm and fingers, screws the iron on the other with soft clicks from a gently pumping wrench. ] What is it?
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Okay, maybe he could read into those words a little. At least it's good to know that Jayce is just as opposed to ending their partnership as Viktor is, even if for other reasons. He hums a bit, the sound pitching a bit higher as Jayce's hand cups the outside of his thigh and the other lifts a wrench to the inseam. He can feel the heat and weight of fingers wrapping around the back of his leg, and it's both embarrassing and thrilling to think of how much of Jayce's hand could fit around Viktor's leg.
Conversation. Right. Viktor swallows thickly and stops staring at Jayce's hands to focus on his face. ]
Hm? What is what?
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The innapropriate thing you were going to tell me.
[ jayce bites his lips; a reflex of his concentration, for nowm ]
If it won't affect what we have, then it's alright.
[ he wants to be able to think that very much, at least. seeing him wed to someone else ("someone else" is laughable, in that it implies he'd ever be able to be that someone else) would hurt, but perhaps that distance was the best before these impossible fantasies overtook him.
(jayce hasn't realized it already has) ]
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