Chapter Text
Viktor could say with utmost confidence that Ximena’s work environment was definitely the most appealing one that he’d seen so far—not much of a surprise considering Viktor’s love and affinity for naturalness. She allowed him to tour around and admire the majority of the plants that had initially caught his eye, and he was even introduced to a few of the fellow greenhouse keepers who were extremely nice, patient, and seemingly equally as enthusiastic to answer any questions that he had. “I actually have a plant at home… her leaves have been getting a little bit droopier than normal, and I’ve tried putting her in the sun… but she hasn't been recovering.” Viktor frowned, suddenly reminded of his own troubles with Rio; she wasn’t dying by any means, but she definitely wasn’t as healthy-looking as Viktor tried to maintain.
“Her?” The man who had been helping him mused and Viktor felt his face erupt into a fiery blush when he realized his slip up—was it weird to name and refer to plants as a certain gender? Jayce said it seemed normal-enough, but he also wasn’t a part of any kind of plant community for his word to have much assurance. Sensing his discomfort and embarrassment, the man—what was his name again?—chuckled and hurried to assure him. “Ah- no need to be embarrassed… It's just funny to me that, even outside of our little isolated institute, people also seem to have a knack for naming their plants and giving them identities.” He laughed lightly and Viktor was relieved to know that it was indeed a normal sentiment and not a sign that he was a weird lunatic. “Anyways- about your plant… Do you know what kind of species she is? I’m sure you already know this seeing as how inquiring you are, but every plant is unique—not even just in regards to the species, individuals too—and it usually helps to sort them into categories whenever it comes to finding the source of any kind of complication they have.” He explained but Viktor was quick to shake his head and fidget a little.
“No… I actually don’t know what kind of plant she is.” He admitted with a sigh, feeling a little bit embarrassed to not have figured out what his own singular house-plant’s species was even after so many hours of research and studying. “I’ve found matches that are really similar, but their appearance is still different enough that I don’t think they can be considered the same species.” He shrugged with a defeated sigh, frustrated that, even after all this time, he still had no idea what exactly Rio was.
He’d tried ever approach possible; describing Rio’s appearance into a search engine and looking for matches, asking a website of fellow-plant caretakers, and even asking Ximena for her personal knowledge… but all of them weren’t quite sure what Rio was, meaning that Viktor could never be quite sure what she needed to stay healthy seeing as he had no form of guidance. “Hm…” the man hummed thoughtfully before perking up a little bit. “Well- why don’t you just bring your plant here then? I’m sure that either I or someone else here would be able to identify what species she is.” He suggested and Viktor was a little caught off guard.
“Like- come back here again? Just to figure out what she is?” Viktor asked in mild disbelief, a little startled that this random man who he’d met less than an hour ago was going so far out of his way to be kind and accommodating; though, he supposed that a woman like Ximena wouldn’t tolerate a work environment where her coworkers weren’t equally as giving and patience as she was herself. “You’d help me with that?”
“Yeah, why not? We always have work to be done, but it’s not like our jobs here require urgency and efficiency to the point that we wouldn't have time to help someone with something so small… plus, you’re an acquaintance of Ximena.” He assured patiently, smiling and nodding when Viktor had to take a few moments to process it—don’t make fun of him! He just wasn’t used to residents of Piltover who weren’t already in his small circle of intimacy being so kind to him… it was honestly a huge relief to not feel constantly judged.
“Oh- uhm… okay, then. I guess I’ll bring her next time I visit.” Viktor nodded eventually, internally cringing at how long it took him just to reply… but the man he was talking to didn’t seem to be bothered. “Thank you.” He remembered to add before they parted ways and he returned back to Ximena’s side, his heart feeling lighter and warmer than before.
“How was your chat with Mr.Garcia-“ that was his name! “Did he answer all of your questions?” Ximena asked him curiously, grinning off broadly when Viktor gave her a shy nod.
“Yeah, he was really nice… he even told me that if I bring Rio, he’ll help me try and figure out what kind of plant she is.” He explained with a grin, knowing that Ximena might find it quite exciting as well considering that she too had been stumped and even a little frustrated to not know what Rio was—it probably was even more frustrating considering she was actually a professional botanist.
“Really? That’s good! You’ll have to tell me if he figures it out… I’m really surprised that I couldn’t identify her the first time around. Maybe she’s some type of hybrid I’m not aware of.” She hummed to herself aloud. “I’m sure Garcia will be able to figure it out, though… he’s a bit better than me when it comes to things like that, and I’m sure he won’t quit until he figures it out if you do decide to bring her during your next visit.”
Next visit… Viktor wasn’t even done with his first visit—heck, it had barely even started; Ximena still hadn’t given him a tour of the actually lab part of their institute—and he was already brimming with excitement at the prospect of coming back… seriously, Caitlyn, Violet, and Jayce’s jobs were fine, but something about Ximena’s workplace in specific was extremely enticing.
He would quite like it if he could visit more often.