Archive of Our Own ^beta

Professor Talis - Professor Viktor Talis, that was - had been a dick all week.

Contrary to popular belief he wasn’t always a dick. In fact, he was more often quite the opposite. Viktor was quiet and reserved around those he didn’t know, a victim of the general population’s perception of introversion. In more comfortable company he was witty, with a humor drier than bone, and very straightforward. But he wasn’t typically mean by any stretch of the imagination.

Which was how Jinx knew something was wrong. 

Okay, sure, he apparently wasn’t allowed to teach Physics 101 anymore because of how many students cried during his first and only semester teaching it. But it wasn’t because he was a callous professor or anything, he just wasn’t exactly suited to teaching intro-level anything and made the class too hard. He wanted dedicated students who were interested in the subject matter, not a bunch of eighteen and nineteen-year-old idiots who were most likely only taking the class to check off a prerequisite.

Now, he taught higher level undergrad and Master’s level classes exclusively and while his courses were just as hard - Jinx would know, even if she aced them all it wasn’t without tremendous effort - he definitely thrived when working with a smaller class size of students who actually gave a shit about the course material. 

Faculty, staff, and students alike either feared or revered him - there was very little in between.

Jinx was one of the few who fell somewhere in the middle. She saw his genius for what it was, and they worked frighteningly well together, but it didn’t mean he’d escape her teasing nature. He had enough of his own sass that he was almost able to match her energy.

Even if he was her mentor and Doctoral Advisor, they’d worked together for so long that she was comfortable enough to mess with him in ways most others wouldn’t dare.

Hell, even Jayce treated him like the sun shone out of his ass. She’d known them one way or another, from professors to mentors, throughout the entirety of her academic career and in all that time they were still as disgustingly in love as they’d always been.

It was rather clear that Jayce was nothing short of obsessed with his husband, and even if Viktor was quieter about it he returned that obsession in kind.

This was why it was so off-putting when, for the first time in the years that she’d worked with them, she witnessed them fight. To be fair, it was more of a tense argument than an all-out fight but even that was uncommon between them. They bickered every so often, sure, but their bickering typically had an underlying current of affection.

This time, they had been disagreeing over one of their newer equations. And that disagreement turned into a quarrel which somehow grew into a full-blown argument. An argument that wasn’t resolved by the time Jayce had to leave for his week-long trip to present their research to scientific foundations and rich asshole millionaires to get new grants. The University paid for much of their research, but they still needed more.

It had been a stressful time for all of them, putting together grant proposals on top of all of their other school and research-related work. All of them had been overworked, but Viktor and Jayce specifically.

Jayce had tried to convince Viktor to come with him, but the travel was hard on the other man and he insisted that Jayce had always been the face of Hextech and he was the one these people wanted to see and hear. Not Viktor.

On top of it all, it was also midterm season which was extra work for everyone - even professors.

All of this is to say, that Jinx put two and two together pretty quickly.

Sure they were all exhausted and stretched beyond their limits, but she knew it was something else, something deeper. They’d had heavier workloads and deadlines and funding issues before. It was nothing new. What was new was how much time Jayce was spending away from the lab this time around - buttering up the university’s Board and traveling to all sorts of far away places to charm foundations out of their grant money - and it was clearly weighing on both of them.

When Viktor came back to the lab the Monday after the fight, looking worse than he had the previous Friday, and then spent half the day longingly gazing at the photo of Jayce on his desk, Jinx’s suspicions were confirmed.

The idiots missed each other.

The argument had escalated the way they did because the two of them were simultaneously pent-up and somehow yearning over one another even though they lived and worked together. And were married. It was the most ridiculous thing she’d ever witnessed. 

While she normally did not want to know or care about her mentors’ sex lives, she also needed their little spat to be solved before Jayce got back and they all had to work together again the next week.

She didn’t want their weird, sexually frustrated tension to continue to spill over into their workplace. The lab was no place for bad vibes, especially when they had a tight timeline to meet before the university’s stupid “Progress Day.”

So when the opportunity presented itself, she struck.

Sky had been desperately trying to figure the faulty equation out, mostly to quell Viktor’s bad mood. She’d offered up yet another tweak to the calculations which had been - once again - shot down nearly immediately by Viktor.

“No,” he’d said flatly. “That’s the exact modification that Jayce was trying to make and you can see he was clearly wrong. He and I already had this argument last Friday and I don’t feel like repeating it over again with you, Miss Young.”

Poor Sky. Poor, sweet, naive Sky. It wasn’t about the math. Even when the argument had occurred it hadn’t actually been about the math. 

Jinx snorted to herself.

“Something funny?” Viktor asked her, tersely.

“The math thing isn’t the problem,” Jinx said. “All this extra work to get more grant money on top of all of your other duties is keeping you and Jayce apart. You two just need to bone.”

Sky made a horrified, strangled noise.

“What did you say?” Viktor asked, voice high and eyes nearly bulging out of his head in shock.

“Don’t say it again,” Sky pleaded softly.

“I said you two need to bone,” Jinx repeated.

“How dare you, Jinx. I am your Doctoral Advisor!” Viktor said, cadence rising with every word.

From there he started a rant she had no interest in paying attention to but had Sky looking more panicked by the minute.

“‘BONE?’” Viktor yelled about five minutes into his rant.

Ten minutes later, he was still going.

“What happens in my bedroom, Jinx, is none of your business.”

Twenty-one minutes later she was hit with another -

“BOOOONE?”

Finally, after nearly a forty-minute rant, it seemed he was done.

“Don’t ever speak to me like that again,” Viktor finished before basically throwing Jinx and Sky both out of the lab, slamming the heavy door behind them.

“Why did you do that?” Sky asked, face beet red.

“Dude was pent up. Now he knows. Problem solved,” She grinned, before taking off down the hallway.

When they came back Monday and everything was back the way it should be  - with Viktor and Jayce working in perfect tandem - Sky would thank her. Matter of fact, they all would thank her.

Viktor left the lab that night around seven, grumbling to himself about nosy grad students.

He did not feel bad about the lecture he’d given Jinx - though he didn’t think she was paying all that much attention to it - even if he was a little fervid in his frustration.

And he was. Frustrated, that was.

He knew it. Of course, he knew it, but it was one thing to know it and another to have it be so obvious one’s grad student had to point it out.

They’d hardly had more than a few nights home together lately. Jayce, as the face of their Hextech dream had been taking short trips to different conferences and foundations to try to increase their funding.

It had been paying off, but between the travel and the extended time they’d been spending in the lab on top of their other responsibilities the two of them had been worn thin. Jayce especially.

It had been nearly a decade since he and Jayce had met in their PhD program and, paired as lab partners, made their breakthrough discovery together. While developing Hextech had been a slow and steady process, Viktor was sure he’d fallen in love with Jayce (at least just a little)  almost immediately. He’d spent the better part of a year quietly pining, sure his affections would forever remain unrequited, happy to have Jayce as a friend, to be in his sunny orbit.

Then late one night, alone in their private lab, Jayce had kissed him. Then came the word vomit of a rather grandiose love confession that - from the look on his face - he seemed to fully expect to be rejected. The way Jayce looked at Viktor when he’d verbalized his own, reciprocated feelings was still seared into his memory to this day.

Their first time had been right then and there in the lab, and neither of them had looked back or thought of anyone else since. 

They’d been happily married for years. Current fight notwithstanding.

They were so close to a new breakthrough, one that could improve countless lives, but there was pressure from within to have everything ironed out by Progress Day, which was rapidly approaching. The stress, the sleepless nights, and the …repression had all built up, leading to their argument the week before.

Retrospectively, it was stupid.

It had started when they couldn’t agree on how to approach a new formulaic equation. So they each wrote their own and decided whichever gave the best outcome would be the one they used. Only both of their equations failed when processed through their experimental program.

Over and over and over again.

It had come to them picking each other’s math apart and getting in each other’s faces about why the other was wrong. All the while they were both wrong and they both knew it, they were each just too stubborn to back down.

They almost never argued like that, and certainly not any time recently. Viktor was fully aware that, at the end of the day, it wasn’t just about the math. Hell, it was hardly about the math. It ran deeper, and they both knew it.

Typically, they’d take some space, cool off, then regroup. But nearly immediately after their argument had quieted into tense silence, the alarm on Jayce’s phone went off, reminding him he needed to head home now to grab his bags if he wanted to make it to the train station on time.

He’d looked frantically between his phone and Viktor, then gave a resigned sigh.

“We’ll talk when I get back,” Jayce had said.

He paused briefly, looking like he wanted to reach for Viktor then thought better of it, exiting through the ornate double doors, leaving Viktor devastated in his wake.

Being at odds with Jayce made him feel unsettled, especially when it was for a prolonged period of time. They’d never left a fight hanging like this, so the feeling lingering for so long was new to Viktor, leaving him restless. And by Jayce’s parting remarks, it seemed like Jayce didn’t want to hear from him until he was home again..

And now…well now Jayce had been gone nearly a week - his longest trip yet, by far - and Viktor missed him terribly.

He’d spent much of the last week sleeping on the cheap, Ikea pull-out couch in the lab. He hated how empty their home felt when Jayce wasn’t filling it with his warmth. The lab was smaller and just as full of Jayce’s touch as their three-bedroom townhouse was, but for some reason, he felt far less lonely when he was in the lab by himself.

So perhaps Jinx was right, loathe as he was to admit.

He knew this happened sometimes with couples who’d been together for years and years. Knew that a couple’s sex life could wax and wane, but even in the near-decade they’d been together it had never happened to them. Even during bouts of Viktor’s chronic pain flares, they found a way to make something work. Even if things had to be done with modifications or with less rigor than they were used to. Between their mutual physical attraction, their emotional connection, and the sturdy relationship they’d worked to build over the years, there was rarely a time when Viktor didn’t have a least an undercurrent of desire running through his veins when he was in the same room as Jayce.

All of that to say, Viktor was rather used to getting dicked down by his incredibly handsome and talented husband on the regular, so sue him if going without made him a little cranky.

To make matters worse, they hadn’t spoken much over the last week. Jayce, who usually blew up Viktor’s phone with his every waking thought, had really only been sending his usual “Good Morning” and “Good Night” texts throughout the week. Viktor had responded in kind, of course, but that had pretty much been the extent of their communication.

Other times they’d been apart, they spent hours on the phone before bed. Sometimes it even spilled over into a little bit of phone sex, which Viktor would happily take over the silence and chastity he was currently experiencing.

He figured he fucked up pretty royally to be receiving the mostly-silent treatment from Jayce. Looking back, the argument hadn’t been that bad. Sure, he’d insulted Jayce’s method of calculation, but Jayce had done the same to him. Their squabble hadn’t crossed personal lines and neither of them resorted to low blows. He should’ve grown the hell up and called Jayce that first night to iron things out. It would’ve saved him a week of worry and maybe even a week of circling the same failed formula.

Wallowing in his own self-pity, he decided to treat himself to delivery from their favorite ramen place. It wasn’t that Viktor couldn’t cook for himself, he was a fully functioning adult man thank you very much, but Jayce was the better cook of the two of them. Viktor also hated cooking for just one person. It felt wasteful.

He also ordered Jayce’s favorite ramen, mostly as a first-line peace offering for when he got back but also because he knew Jayce would be bummed if he found out Viktor ordered from their favorite restaurant without him. Even though he wouldn’t be home until most likely the next afternoon it would still be good leftover for lunch.

He ate his dinner leaned against the counter of their pristine kitchen, knowing that sitting at the kitchen table without Jayce would feel far too isolating. By the time he was done, it was only a quarter past eight. He knew sleep would evade him for quite some time if he tried now. Their king bed felt overtly large and cold with his human space heater of a husband absent from it.

Instead, he decided to take a quick shower and then waste the night away in their study attempting to reconstruct their failed equation from scratch. He forwent his leg brace after his shower, but put his back brace back on, knowing if he sat hunched too long over his desk without it, he’d regret it tomorrow. In lieu of real clothes, he simply threw on a fresh pair of boxers he planned to sleep in and one of Jayce’s crewneck sweatshirts - his favorite to steal.

It was a deep, hunter green and luxuriously soft, no matter how many times it was washed. On Jayce, it was a perfect fit. Which meant it swallowed Viktor, sleeves hanging from his narrow shoulders and hem brushing to his thighs. If he couldn’t be surrounded by his lover, cocooning himself in his clothes was the next best thing.

Still, as he sat in his ergonomic chair at his cluttered mahogany desk, his usual inspiration evaded him.

He knew he should wait for Jayce to come home - that is if his husband didn’t understandably continue to give him the cold shoulder - not just because this was their project together but because he seemed to work so much better when Jayce was around. Having someone else who matched him intellectually, to toss his ideas at and receive equally inventive ones in return helped Viktor think and work in new and imaginative ways.

They bounced concepts off each other like a game of professional ping-pong, and while he had done just fine before he and Jayce had become partners, he unequivocally worked exceptionally better and faster when he was doing so alongside his husband.

He sighed, dropping his pencil and tapping the screen of his phone to see if Jayce had sent his daily “Good Night” text, frowning when he was hit with the “no new notifications” message on his screen. He slid his phone away, resting his head on his left arm and begrudgingly picking his pencil back up to focus on the fresh, empty page of his notebook.

Whatever. He wasn’t a foolish teenager anymore. He wasn’t going to allow the lack of a “good night” text from the boy he liked to ruin his night like he once would’ve. He’d distract himself with work instead, even as exhaustion crept at the edges of his focus.

Which is why he must’ve fallen asleep at some point as the next thing he was cognizant of was his name being called softly.

“Oh, Viktor,” Jayce sighed, fondly.

Two large familiar hands were placed comfortingly on his shoulders. He simply groaned in reply, already regretting letting himself fall asleep slumped over his desk with his back brace on.

“You should get to bed,” Jayce said, thumbs circling his shoulder blades just above the edge of the brace. “This can’t be comfortable.”

“You’re home early,” Viktor yawned. Jayce’s original plan had him staying in Demacia overnight and coming home Saturday morning.

He pushed his rolling chair slightly out from under his desk so he could turn and face Jayce, who took a few steps back to make room.

“I ended up securing the funding we needed a lot easier than I expected,” Jayce said bashfully. “I tidied everything up this morning and changed my ticket to leave as soon as I could.”

“I knew you would,” Viktor said. “You’re so eloquent and charming and besides, who can say no to a face like that?” 

The face in question flitted between a series of complicated emotions as they stared at one another for a few beats of silence. Viktor’s apology was on the tip of his tongue, but it was interrupted by Jayce falling to his knees before him, arms wrapping between Viktor’s back and the chair, head falling into Viktor’s lap.

“I’m sorry. About our argument on Friday before I left,” Jayce murmured pitifully into his thigh.

Viktor’s heart lurched as he carded his fingers through Jayce’s silky hair. “I’m sorry too. I know I can be stubborn. And a little…harsh when I think I’m right.”

Jayce simply huffed. “Yeah well, I can be quite obstinate sometimes when I’m trying to make something work. But we so rarely argue, I didn’t know what to do. And Then it was time to leave for an entire week and we still weren’t on good terms the last thing I wanted to do was get on some train and head off to Demacia without talking things through first but I knew I had to because we need this funding -“

“Jayce, breathe,” Viktor cut in.

Jayce inhaled then exhaled slowly. “Sorry. Got a bit carried away.”

”We have both been more than a little overworked lately. And neither of our equations working the way we wanted them to after spending so much time on them and having an impending deadline was frustrating,” Viktor soothed. “We will do better next time. It was just very bad timing with your week-long trip. I’m sure if that hadn’t been the case, we would’ve otherwise sorted it out far quicker.”

“We’ll do better next time,” Jayce confirmed, nuzzling into Viktor’s thigh, beard chafing at the bare skin. “I’m sorry I insulted your math though. That wasn’t very nice of me.”

“Eh, it’s fine,” Viktor waved him off. “To be fair, upon further inspection, my version of the equation was shit.”

“Oh?” Jayce asked, finally picking his head up from Viktor’s lap, eyes meeting Viktor’s. 

“Your equation was also shit,” Viktor said.

“Fair,” Jayce replied with a chuckle.

“I’ve tried so many alterations to each of them and no matter what, it’s not going to do what we want it to,” Viktor sighed. “I think we need to toss the whole thing and start from scratch.”

“I came to the same conclusion about fifty minutes into my train ride Friday evening,” Jayce admitted, hand coming to rub at the back of his neck sheepishly. “I was going to text you to tell you we should scrap the whole thing, but we were already at odds and I didn’t want to make it worse and ruin your weekend.”

“Perhaps. Perhaps it would’ve allowed me to start over sooner and not spend the last week hounding on the same useless equation.”

Jayce simply quirked an eyebrow. They both knew that was a lie. As obdurate as Viktor could be, he probably still would’ve kept trying just to prove Jayce wrong. Their eyes held for a moment before they broke, laughing in sync. The tension in the room lifted, and it felt like the sun finally peeking through the clouds after a full week of rain.

“So you’re not mad at me?” Viktor questioned.

“What? No!” Jayce said looking affronted. “I thought you were mad at me.”

“No, darling. I was never mad at you,” Viktor said. “We’re both tired and overworked and haven’t seen nearly enough of each other over the last month, but I’ve not once been upset with you. I thought perhaps I’d upset you or crossed a line or something when you barely texted me while you were gone.”

“I’m sorry I wasn’t more communicative this week. I thought you were mad or annoyed and didn’t want to hear from me and I didn’t want to make it worse,” Jayce admitted, color creeping in over his cheeks.

“Oh, Jayce. I always want to talk to you,” Viktor said, hand coming up to cup his husband’s jaw. “You’ll have to tell me everything over breakfast tomorrow.”

“I wrote everything I wanted to text you in my notes app,” Jayce admitted, blush deepening. “It’s kind of embarrassingly long.”

Viktor’s heart squeezed. There were many times in their relationship when Viktor was sure that being loved by Jayce was his recompense from the universe for the cards he’d been dealt earlier in life. Even if that wasn’t the case, even if their love was just a stroke of dumb divine luck, he’d suffer through it all again - and more - if this was where it led him.

“You’ll have to read me the entire thing,” Viktor said softly. “In the morning, of course. It’s quite late.”

He emphasized the fact with an involuntary yawn. Jayce took that as his cue to stand from where he’d knelt before Viktor on the floor.

“Let’s get you to bed then, old man,” Jayce teased, handing Viktor his crutch.

“I’m hardly a year older than you, asshole,” Viktor shot back, though he groaned as he stood. He definitely shouldn’t have let himself fall asleep with the brace on in the position he did. Jayce seemed to have the same line of thinking.

“You know you’re not supposed to wear that thing for too long,” Jayce chided gently.

“I know, I know,” Viktor groused. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep slumped over my desk.”

“Well, it’s a good thing I came home early then huh?” Jayce teased. “How about we get this thing off you and you into bed? I can get your heating pad or even give you a massage if you’re feeling up to it.”

“Jayce,” Viktor said.

With the air cleared between them, his unquenched desire that had been building for nearly a month now was back. Sure, he was sore and his back would probably twinge with certain movements in the morning but he could handle that. The aches and pains were nothing new.

Right now, all he cared about was Jayce getting him into bed in a far less innocent context than his husband was currently suggesting.

“Or I could run you a hot bath?” Jayce continued.

“Jayce,” Viktor repeated. “I don’t need any of that. I just need you.”

Jayce’s mouth dropped into an “o” in a manner that was almost hilarious. It took only a beat, but then Jayce was gathering him into his strong arms and kissing him dizzy. And for the first time in a week, Viktor felt like he was home.

“Gods, I missed you,” Jayce moaned into his mouth. “I can’t remember the last time we were apart for this long.”

“It was barely a week, Jayce,” Viktor chuckled, though he was quickly cut off by another kiss.

“Still too long,” Jayce murmured in between kisses. “And you were right. We’ve been working so hard and such long hours that it’s been even longer since I’ve had my hands on you.”

“You’re not wrong. I maybe had some…revelations while you were gone,” he refused to admit how he’d come to those revelations. “I think the reason I even stoked the flames of that argument in the first place is because I’ve been a bit…pent up.”

“Mmm, is that so?” Jayce asked, grinning into their next kiss.

“Yes, you smug bastard. Are you going to do something about it or not?” Viktor asked, pulling back just enough for their eyes to meet.

Jayce quirked a brow. As cocky as he was being, he was just as affected as Viktor, his pupils already nearly swallowing his hazel irises in desire.

Without further preamble, he scooped Viktor into his arm with ease. There were very few instances where Viktor would accept being carried anywhere, and this was one of them. Thankfully, only a short trip down a dimly lit hall separated their office from their bedroom and soon enough Jayce was laying him down carefully on their bed.

His eyes darkened when he finally realized that Viktor was wearing his crewneck though he made quick work of getting it off. He then set to work on the velcro fastenings of Viktor’s brace, and once it was off he briefly left the bed to set it next to where Viktor’s leg brace rested next to the door of their ensuite bathroom.

He shucked his own shirt in the process, muscles rippling deliciously as he did so. Viktor wanted nothing more than Jayce’s warm, heavy body blanketed on top of his own, but Jayce seemed more interested in taking stock of their bedroom.

“You’ve been sleeping at the lab, haven’t you?” He asked after one sweep of his gaze through the room.

“Maybe. Only some nights,” Viktor replied guiltily.

“Viktor, you work yourself too hard.”

“No. I just…” Viktor sighed. “Our bed is too big and too empty when you’re not in it. The whole house is honestly.”

That seemed to soften his husband who finally climbed back onto the bed, pressing down to kiss him.

“The good news is, we’re set funding-wise for quite a while,” Jayce murmured into his mouth. “You won’t have to sleep without me for a very long time.”

Their kisses swiftly turned hungry, their mutual desperation fueling each and every pass of their lips. Jayce easily maneuvered himself into the cradle of Viktor’s legs and when their hips finally made contact they groaned in unison. With Jayce grinding against him, it didn’t take long for Viktor to go from half-mast to hard and aching in his boxers. Jayce was doing no better, his excitement was just as evident, if not more so, as Vitkor’s

Viktor was so pent up that he knew he could get off just like this, with Jayce’s body moving against his own with that perfect friction. Maybe another night, just this would’ve been enough. It would have been enough to frot against one another until they both came in their pants like a couple of horny teenagers. But not tonight. Tonight he needed more.

As if reading his mind, Jayce pulled away bracing himself above Viktor as he looked down at him with wild eyes.

“Tell me what you want,” Jayce whispered breathlessly.

“What about what you want?” Viktor asked though they both knew what Jayce wanted. What Jayce always wanted.

“I just want to make you feel good,” Jayce said with a kiss to mole just beneath Viktor’s Adam’s apple.

“You always make me feel good,” Viktor said. He felt his husband shudder ever so slightly at the praise. “I don’t think I can handle more than one tonight.”

Jayce pouted at that. One of his favorite pastimes seemed to be making Viktor come as many times as his body would allow in the span of a single night.

“I’m all yours the rest of the weekend,” Viktor soothed. “Tomorrow, we can make up for lost time and you can have your wicked way with me. You can even ride me if you want. It’s been a while since we’ve done that, yeah?

“But tonight, I need you inside me. I want you to fuck me until there’s nothing else I can think of -  not even that stupid fucking equation - other than you and that huge dick of yours inside me. How does that sound?”

“Fuck,” Jayce whimpered. “That sounds, gods that sounds perfect, Viktor.”

“Then get to it,” Viktor encouraged, tugging at his hips. 

“Can I eat you out first? Please?” Jayce asked, eyes wide and pleading in a way he knew that Viktor could never resist.

“If you must,” Viktor sighed. He would’ve preferred to get right to business, but he was never one to turn down that kind of offer. Beyond Jayce’s unrefuted talent with his mouth, Viktor knew how much it pleased Jayce to please him.

That much was proven as Jayce gave Viktor a gratified smile. He quickly shucked the rest of his own clothes, as Viktor wiggled out of his boxers. Once back on the bed, Jayce urged him onto his stomach, with one pillow under his hips and another to support his right leg.

“That feel okay?” He asked, brushing Viktor’s hair away from his ear so he could lave at the sensitive skin behind it.

Viktor nodded, giving a full-body shiver at Jayce’s ministrations. He knew how to play Viktor like a finely tuned instrument by now, and he always used it to both their advantages. Jayce knew that Viktor would let him know at any point if they needed to reposition. Another perk of their countless years together. Jayce was always mindful, especially of his own size and strength, but he never treated Viktor like he was fragile.

Jace kissed his way down the long, thin scar running vertically along Viktor’s spine, courtesy of his two previous spinal fusions. He always paused at the small of Viktor’s back, like he knew exactly where to place his kisses so they were directly over the rods and final screws that were fused with his vertebrae.

Always so doting. Always so reverent.

Viktor needed more.

“Jayce,” he demanded.

He heard his husband huff fondly behind him before both of his huge hands were cupping and squeezing at Viktor’s ass. The strange yet familiar feel of his cheeks being spread apart and cool air hitting him where he was exposed was quickly replaced by the equally familiar sensation of a wet, warm tongue lapping over his hole.

Jayce got to work quickly, his beard scraping against Viktor’s sensitive flesh as he sucked and licked and kissed at the rim, all the while making little, pleased noises. Once Viktor was nice and relaxed, Jayce started working his tongue inside, pressing into Viktor with the thick muscle. While it felt incredible, it wasn’t nearly enough.

“Jayce,” he warned.

Jayce only groaned, doubling his efforts, eating Viktor out like a starving man. He had a bit of a one-track mind sometimes. Viktor would need to remind him what they were really here for.

“Jayce, I swear on all that is holy. If you do not fuck me soon, I’m making you sleep in the guest room and I’m taking care of this myself.”

They both knew it was an empty threat, but it seemed to break Jayce from the spell that eating Viktor out had put him under. Taking advantage of the moment, Viktor grabbed the lube from where it unabashedly sat out on their nightstand, practically throwing it back at Jayce where it bounced off his bicep and onto the bed. Jayce paused for a moment. With his back, Viktor wasn’t able to fully twist to see what he was up to, but he was pleased when he heard the telltale sound of the cap popping open.

“So demanding tonight,” Jayce muttered.

“When am I not?” Viktor countered.

Viktor took the other man’s silence as a “point taken” and soon enough one of Jayce’s thick, wet fingers was breaching his hole easily. He groaned in relief that something was finally filling the ache within him, but it still wasn’t enough.

“I can take two,” Viktor said. It would be a bit of a stretch, but Jayce had already done some of the work with his mouth and Viktor was not in the mood to be slowly and lovingly fingered open in the way Jayce typically preferred.

“Bossy,” Jayce said, but followed directions, coming back with two slicked fingers.

It was definitely a stretch as Viktor anticipated but the good kind, the best kind. He moaned as Jayce began to pump into him in earnest, feeling his body melt into the mattress beneath him. For the first time in weeks, his mind started to go pleasantly quiet as Jayce opened him on his fingers. Soon enough, two became three and every brush inside him had Jayce’s knuckles brushing against his prostate. He was achingly hard, leaking onto the comforter below him and rocking back to meet every single one of Jayce’s movements with his hips. He was getting dangerously close to the edge, and he needed Jayce to be inside him when he got there.

“Jayce, darling. That’s enough. I’m too close, I need you inside me now.”

Jayce withdrew his fingers slowly, hands coming to Viktor’s hips possessively. As much as Viktor wanted to see his face, to see every single micro-expression that crossed his husband’s features while they fucked, beggars couldn’t be choosers. Jayce settled back on his knees, heavy cock brushing up against Viktor’s perineum, as he took several deep heavy breaths.

Viktor knew he was trying to rein himself in, and that simply would not do.

“C’mon, fuck me like you mean it, Jayce. You don’t have to worry about me. I’ve been doing really well lately, you know that,” Viktor argued. “My new physical therapy routine has done wonders.”

“I know,” Jayce whispered, letting his forehead fall to rest between Viktor’s shoulder blades, hands squeezing at his hips. “It’s not you I’m worried about. It’s me. I’m just really horny right now and I really missed you and I’m kinda hanging onto my control by a thread.”

“Do your worst,” Viktor encouraged. “You know I like it when you lose control.”

The gentle pressure at his hips grew firmer, to the point where Viktor was sure his husband’s fingers would leave bruises and he groaned in pleasure. This was what he wanted.

One of Jayce’s hands came up to tilt Vitkor’s head to the side so that he could kiss up his neck to his jawline.

“Wanna see your face, baby,” he murmured into Viktor’s cheek. “Missed that pretty face.”

“Fucking sap,” Viktor grumbled.

He started lifting himself to flip over but Jayce was faster, yanking his body slightly down the bed and taking him by the hips again to flip him over onto his back. Before he knew it, the pillow was wedged back under him and Jayce was kneeling between his spread legs, bringing Viktor’s thighs to rest over his own.

Jayce took a beat to gaze down at Viktor. He seemed deigned to take his fill, eyes tracing all over Viktor’s bare skin, then back up to his face. Viktor simply lay there and let him. It used to make him squirm - the way Jayce looked at him, especially when they were like this - but he’d grown comfortable with the attention.

It still took his breath away sometimes, the clear, unyielding devotion in Jayce’s eyes. Not once had it dimmed, not once had it wavered in all their years.

“The most beautiful damn thing I’ve ever seen,” Jayce whispered, hand tracing up and down Viktor’s thigh.

That did make Viktor squirm, in part due to the compliment but mostly because the explicit desire and honesty in Jayce’s voice sent a new wave of arousal over him.

“Jayce, please,” he whispered, wiggling in Jayce’s lap in hopes it would spur him into action. He knew Jayce was just as desperate for it as he was, maybe even more so, he just had to push him over the precipice to get him there.

“C’mon Jayce,” he said, gearing to pull out his ace on his husband. “I need you so bad. Don’t you want to be good for me and give me what I need?”

Annnnd, jackpot.

Jayce fell forward, burying his head into Vitkor’s shoulder with a moan and he felt his husband’s cock twitch against his thigh. He took a quick breath to compose himself then pressed two quick kisses to Viktor’s face. One beneath his eye, another just above his lips - right where both of his moles were. No matter how many times Jayce did that, and it was a near daily occurrence, Viktor’s heart never ceased to flutter at the tenderness of the action.

Jayce placed one final, laughably chaste kiss to Viktor’s lips before sitting back on his haunches, bringing Viktor’s left leg up and over his shoulder. He grabbed the lube, slicking himself up with a few perfunctory strokes as he tossed the bottle off to the side.

Then finally, finally he was lining himself up against Viktor and sliding in.

They both groaned as he pushed inside, Jayce kissing at the ankle thrown over his shoulder, large hands flexing on Viktor’s thighs. Jayce was…proportionate to say the least and while Viktor was quite the pro at taking him by now, it had been quite some time since they were intimate like this and he was certainly feeling the stretch.

He felt full in his favorite way possible, filled to the brim and breathless in the best way. Jayce’s first few thrusts were slow, careful. And while Viktor appreciated his husband’s thoughtfulness, he wanted to be fucked.

“Jayce,” he murmured, and Jayce’s gaze immediately flitted up to his, hazel eyes wild and pupils blown. “Show me how much you missed me, sweetheart.”

That seemed to do it as Jayce grunted then immediately started fucking Viktor in earnest. It was all Viktor could do but hold on for dear life as his husband snapped his hips in a punishing rhythm. He knew the sounds that were coming out his mouth with each thrust were desperate and obscene but he didn’t care.

Here, in the sanctity of their bedroom, it was just him and Jayce. He knew how much Jayce loved hearing every single noise he made when they fucked, to him it was just another form of praise. Viktor was a quiet man by nature, but not here, not when they were like this.

Jayce was beautiful above him, one hand wrapped almost completely around Viktor’s left thigh, the other gripping his waist. His dark hair fell into his face which was furrowed in both pleasure and concentration. Sweat dripped down his collarbone and onto his pec, catching in the patch of chest hair there that Viktor loved so much.

“You’re beautiful,” Viktor said. “And you’re so good to me. You’re fucking me so good, Jayce.”

Jayce moaned, squinting his eyes shut and biting his lower lip but never once breaking his steady pace. Each thrust nearly knocked the air from Viktor’s lungs, the pleasure was so dizzying. He couldn’t believe they’d gone so long without this. The wait had certainly made it that much better, but he was determined to never have to go so long without his husband’s perfect dick inside him ever again. There was only one thing missing.

“Kiss me,” Viktor pleaded.

Jayce quickly unhooked the leg on his shoulder, placing it back in its spot from earlier over his own thigh so that he could lean down and kiss Viktor breathlessly. The kiss was clumsy and messy and perfect. Viktor could feel himself hurtling back toward the edge as they made out gracelessly.

“You close?” Jayce asked as they pulled apart, always so attuned to his lover.

Viktor could only nod, tugging slightly at Jayce’s hair. Jayce didn’t have to be told twice, bringing one of his hands down to pump at Viktor’s swollen, neglected cock in time with his thrusts. The perfect pressure of his huge, forge-calloused hand was the final addition Viktor needed. It hardly took half a dozen strokes before he crying out, back arching off the bed as he came all over Jayce’s hand.

Jayce worked him through it, gaze trained on his face with a litany of yes, yes, yes Viktor as Viktor saw stars, nearly blacking out from the pleasure. As he came back down to earth, he realize that Jayce had slowed his thrusts, most likely trying not to overstimulate Viktor in the aftermath.

As sweet as it was, it certainly wouldn’t do.

“Keep going,” he urged.

Jayce didn’t need to be told twice. He picked the pace back up, selfish for once as he chased his own release. Sweat beaded at his forehead as he watched the spot where they were joined in rapt pleasure. He was nearing the edge, Viktor could tell. 

“Jayce,” Viktor moaned. “Inside. Please. I need it.”

Jace nodded, thrusting one, two, three more times before he was burying himself as deep as he could within Viktor practically whimpering as he came with small jerks of his hips. He eventually stilled, breathing heavily as his grip loosened. He pulled out carefully then collapsed on the bed next to Viktor, immediately pressing up against his side and tangling their legs together.

“Fuck,” Jayce huffed into the meat of Viktor’s shoulder, thumb rubbing idle circles on his stomach.

Viktor chuckled, with a kiss to Jayce’s sweaty forehead. “I’ll say.”

They were content to lie like that for some time, Jayce running his fingertips up and down Viktor’s body, Viktor carding his own through Jayce’s thick hair as they collectively caught their breath. Eventually, though, Jayce braved the cleanup, demanding Viktor stay put (which he was more than happy to do) while he got a warm washcloth from the bathroom. After, he seemed to have just enough energy to take a quick shower to wash his travel day away.

Soon enough, he was back in bed, hair still slightly damp and turning on his side - signaling to Viktor that he wanted to be the little spoon.

Viktor was powerless to deny him that comfort, after everything, so he plastered himself along Jayce’s muscular back, arm coming around to hold his waist. He kissed at Jayce’s warm skin idly, nearly drifting off before his husband’s voice broke through his exhaustion.

“Let’s never fight again,” Jayce murmured resolutely, hand covering where Viktor’s rested on his abs and squeezing. 

“I’m not sure that’s a promise either of us can make,” Viktor said. “We are only human, it is bound to happen again. Does not mean it’s the end of the world.”

“Well I hate it,” Jayce complained. “Fine, then let’s promise to never leave an argument like that unresolved for that long ever again. It was the most miserable week of my life.”

“That, I think, is a far more viable promise,” Viktor replied. “Even after our many years together, there are always new ways to learn and grow. Like I said, we’ll do better next time.”

“We’ll do better next time,” Jayce agreed, seemingly placated.

For the first time in over a week, sleep easily enveloped Viktor, effortless and warm. 

When both Professor Talis’ walked into the lab the next Monday morning - fifteen minutes late, mind them - with twin grins on their faces and one of Jayce’s large hands spanning the back of Viktor’s neck, Jinx knew everything she needed to know. 

The suspiciously shaped bruise enwreathing the mole that sat just above Viktor’s shirt collar only confirmed her suspicions.

She was always right. 

“Viktor, I think I’ve figured out how we can fix the equation,” Sky said excitedly. “If we take - “

“No need, Sky,” Viktor said, not unkindly. “We’ve got it sorted.” 

“Oh! So the fight is over?” Sky asked.

“Yep,” Viktor confirmed.

“Because you fixed the calculations?”

“Nope.”

“Because you guys - ” Jinx started.

“Yep,” Viktor cut in quickly.  

“Knew it,” Jinx gloated. 

“We realized we’d have to scrap the whole equation,” Jayce said. He’d been so focused on Viktor since they’d breezed in that he was oblivious to the entire exchange. “But it’s fine because we were able to figure out a better one over the weekend that will allow for less energy use on our end.”

“Oh, I’m sure you did,” Jinx teased. “In between rounds of boning.”

“Jinx!” Viktor chastised. 

Sky made another horrified sound. Jinx cackled. 

Jayce looked between the three of them, the confusion plain as day on his face. “Wait. What did I miss?”