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He wouldn't exactly call what they were doing “hide-and-seek” but after he, Cait, and Vi had all accidentally startled each other several times over the course of the very loud, very crowded party Mel was hosting it had only gotten funnier and funnier to try and sneak up on one another the drunker they had all gotten. Powder and Ekko had even joined in after they caught on to their game and so now all five of them were in on their own private competition while everyone else in the Medarda’s opulent maze of a home was either too wasted or too far up their own ass to care what kind of nonsense they were up to.
They had all left their dorms that evening dressed to the nines in tuxes and dresses so fancy that all of them but Caitlyn was wearing a rental. The Kiramman's had sent a limo over so that Cait could make a good impression in front of the Medarda family but Jayce could only assume they had forgotten (or perhaps we're trying to forget) that the woman in a floral suit who’s arm their daughter clung to - as well as the rest of her plus one’s plus one's - were all far less rehearsed in the social arts. Still, Jayce felt confident enough that Cait’s parents could rest easy; with exams only just ended before the winter break they were all fairly worn down, plus they knew well enough that at fancy parties like these they should all be good little representatives of Piltover U and their respective departments. After all, you never knew who you might be making an impression on.
Thus, the night had started out polite enough: shaking hands with important alumni and executives; eating mysterious tiny foods; and sipping champagne in, something resembling, moderation. But the moment that Mel’s mother had excused herself for the night (with a suspiciously young man standing at the threshold of the front door) even Mel had quickly ended up free pouring from a bottle of liquor so expensive that it could have paid for a whole semester's worth of classes. Once she had seen to it that the music took a turn for the livelier she didn't seem content to allow hostess duties to keep her from some spicy gossip or less-than-subtle flirting with her assistant, Elora.
From then on it quickly became a night full of barely contained laughter over gilded glasses and extensive sneaking around to explore the expansive halls and pretentious spaces of the Medarda household (well, one of the Medarda households). It made their unofficial game of hide-and-seek all the more fun when you could disappear into a crowd of bedazzled guests in the art gallery, only to pop up several rooms away in a ballroom to cut in on your friends dancing. Powder had even dug a handful of eye pencils (why she had so many, Jayce couldn't begin to guess) out of her glittery, fish shaped, purse so they could mark one another on the hand when they were caught. The person with the most marks on them at the end of the night was on the hook for hangover brunch tomorrow for everyone.
By midnight, with seven tallies on his hand already, Jayce was losing quickly. Which was dangerous, because he had never seen anyone pack away an enormous brunch menu like Vi could, and even Caitlyn would put aside her regimented eating style just to mercilessly rub a loss in his face. Being over six feet tall and wearing a burgundy jacket in rooms full of, predominantly, black and navy was absolutely putting him at a disadvantage. Not to mention the fact that he was a lightweight compared to the women. He had once seen Powder hustle frat boys twice her size out of seven hundred dollars in one weekend with her undefeatable constitution for drinking. Jayce, on the other hand, had just apologized to a statue of a wolf he’d bumped into while skirting around the edge of the games room. The sounds of billiard balls cracking against one another rattled his brain and the raucous laughter of guests slapping down bets on the tables with bills in denominations Jayce dared not think about was enough to make his stomach churn. He just needed to find a good place to hide.
Towards the back of the room there was a small bar being tended to by a pretty young woman in a tidy white suit who's attention was being consumed by a pair of very inebriated gentlemen complimenting her blue-green-brown-grey eyes, which gave Jayce just enough time to dart into the slightly open door of the supply room behind her. He chuckled as he stumbled inside, all too pleased with himself for finding such an excellent hiding spot. Though, if this hiding spot had a light switch he could not find it, even with his phone flashlight. That wasn't important though, it was only temporary. The walls were lined, floor to ceiling, with windowed racks of wine and liquor, as well as several kegs and boxes full of napkins embossed with the Medarda family crest. This left very little room inside for a man with shoulders as wide as his, so Jayce awkwardly sat himself down on the floor, snickering childishly while he settled in to play games on his phone for a while. He just wanted to stay hidden long enough for the others to pick one another off for a while before he joined back in.
It was too bad then that he absolutely fell asleep.
_____
When Jayce woke back up his phone was dead and he was incredibly thirsty. There were still sounds from outside, so the party must still have been going on, but the noises were further off now. He struggled to his feet and rolled his shoulders, groaning at the stiffness in his neck and legs as he reached for the door handle. The door handle that did not budge. Sighing, he knocked on the inside feeling like an idiot but assuming that, surely, the smartly dressed bartender would still be nearby. Unluckily for him though, it seemed she was not, and so Jayce banged harder on the door and yelled as loud as he could. To no avail.
“This isn't exactly how I'd hoped to avoid paying for brunch.” He whined to himself as he scrubbed his hand over his face in irritation. There was nothing left to do but wait until someone came by - which would have to happen eventually - so Jayce sat back down, plucked a random bottle of wine from the shelf and crossed being thirsty off of his list of concerns.
_____
He was so deep in the fog of a dream - empty wine bottle at his side - that when the door finally clicked open he didn't even stir. Someone, with no more knowledge about the location of the light switch than Jayce had, stumbled inside and tripped over his legs as the door swung shut behind them. A string of unfamiliar, but distinctly curse-like, words and a fairy-like jingling of crystalline sounds filled Jayce's woozy head as an insubstantial tangle of limbs came crashing down on top of him. The curses turned into a sharp, quickly-stifled, scream when Jayce's huge, pawing hands reached out to defend himself from the intruder in his hiding spot. More unintelligible curses later and a phone flashlight finally illuminated the space before tumbling to the floor; he and the intruder both freezing up when Jayce gasped.
He was utterly awestruck, blinking in the harsh shadows at the glittering figure sitting stunned in his lap. “A-are you a princess?” Jayce slurred a whisper, his voice audibly drunk but warm with delight and sincerity. If he’d had a clearer mind maybe he would have noticed the muddle of emotions that flitted across the pale features and golden eyes of the “princess” who had stumbled into his arms; instead, he sat, expectantly.
There must have been something intensely genuine in Jayce's expression because his princess had to stifle a laugh as they asked, “Oh? And what makes you think that?”
To his ears, it was the most beautiful voice that Jayce had ever heard, and it took him a moment before he could explain. “My mama always used to tell me these stories when I was little,” he giggled at his own memories, “about knights and dragons and princesses.” He paused for a moment, wide eyed, as he dreamily ran his fingers across the glittering cape of white fabric and starlight draped over the princess’ dark hair. “I asked her if I would ever get to meet a princess one day…” Jayce trailed off again, transfixed by the sparkling of the gems and sequins reflected in their piercing eyes.
“And?” The princess asked, a tiny smirk on their narrow, charming lips.
“She told me I would have to be a very, very good boy,” Jayce stressed the second “very” with a furrow of his brow before sighing, “and also eat all of my vegetables.”
“Oh, but of course.” The princess stifled a laugh behind long, thin fingers tipped in shiny black polish. “Though, I’m sad to disappoint you, but I’m no princess, Sir Knight.”
“I don’t believe that for a second.” Jayce frowned, incredulous; his big puppy dog eyes instantly brimming with tears as he closed his big hands around the tiny waist of the angelic vision denying his dream.
“Reality is cruel, good sir.” The princess sighed as they braced one hand against Jayce’s shoulder and leaned back to reach for the door handle. The door handle that was still very much locked.
“Reality is cruel, my liege.”
“It’s Viktor, actually.” The princess sighed deeply, pocketing the tiny key dangling from his fingers; useless to them from inside of a door with no internal key latch, “So no need for the formalities if we’re going to be trapped in a tiny box together.”
“Viktor…” Jayce breathed his name as though it were a magic spell.
“And your name? My knight in… a burgundy tailcoat?” His accented voice slurred slightly with the evidence of his own inebriation as he flopped back into Jayce’s open arms, resigned to their fate.
“It’s Jayce! Jayce Talis!” He offered, much too loud and with much too much enthusiasm as his heart fluttered in his chest. Viktor’s only reply was a deeply pained groan as he rubbed at his hip while he squirmed to get comfortable in Jayce’s lap. “Oh! Um, m-my friends are here,” Jayce went on, “I could… use your phone to call them…” He offered with deep reluctance.
“No use I’m afraid.” Viktor sighed as he kneaded into his thigh. “I used up all my prepaid minutes and my phone is about to…”
The light cut out abruptly.
“I’m assuming you already tried yelling?”
“Until my throat hurt.”
“Mmm… not surprising. Everyone still here is in the lounge doing karaoke and dancing like they’ve been possessed by electrocuted squid.” He wiggled his fingers dramatically despite the fact that neither of them could see it and Jayce barked a laugh so loud that Viktor flinched and Jayce clapped his hand over his own mouth.
“Sorry.” He murmured sheepishly.
“It’s alright.” Viktor assured him, his own voice undulating with repressed laughter. “You know~” He began again, as he curled himself more tightly against Jayce’s side. “I’ve heard your name before. Many times actually. Dean Heimerdinger speaks of you a lot. He makes it sound as though you might be capable of magic.”
“Magic?!” Jayce gasped, delighted at the sound of that as he unconsciously helped Viktor to settle himself higher onto his hip to give his legs more room to stretch out.
“Yeah. He said the other day that you're a wizard when it comes to innovative new ideas.”
“Whoa… I always wanted to be a wizard.” He whispered, almost breathlessly, as though it were a closely guarded secret.
Viktor huffed a tiny chuckle. “I thought you wanted to be a knight so you could meet a princess?”
“Well, that clearly wasn’t necessary.” He giggled dreamily.
“No, you’re still out of luck, I assure you.” Viktor sighed deeply as he laid his head against Jayce’s broad shoulder. “I’m just a frog under a spell. I stole our hostesses’ jacket so I could hide from a…”
“A dragon?” Jayce offered.
“Yes, a dragon. A very gin-soaked, very handsy dragon.”
Jayce quickly pulled his own hands away from Viktor’s waist at that.
“Oh, don’t worry,” He reassured him quietly, reaching down in the darkness to pull Jayce’s hand back around himself. “ Your hands aren’t scary… and unlike that slimy dragon, you smell like expensive wine and springtime.”
Jayce considered his words for a while as his fingers innocently found their way to the other man’s thigh where Viktor was still kneading at his leg, and added the pressure of his own strong fingers to the muscles which were clearly hurting him. “T-thank you.” Viktor groaned into the side of Jayce’s neck. “My leg has been hurting for hours now. I was stupid and vain and left my leg brace at home… stupid, stupid, stupid…”
“Hey~ it’s okay. If you’re stupid, I’m stupid too.” Jayce nuzzled his temple against Viktor’s forehead in solidarity. “I’m always leaving the house without my knee brace on and I regret it every time.” He laughed ruefully. “I don’t even know how I’m gonna stand up when someone finally finds us. My legs went numb ages ago.”
“Perhaps we’ll just have to die in eachothers arms then?” Viktor offered with a sigh and not a hint of concern.
“What! No! We can’t!” Jayce shook his head, with surprising strength as he closed his arms around Viktor as if to hold his lifeforce in. “I haven’t even gotten to meet you as a frog yet!”
“Oh?” Viktor huffed, full of humour and disbelief. “But why would you want a frog when you could keep waiting for a princess? Surely you’ve met some already. Miss Medarda herself is practically a queen…” His voice trailed off, sounding almost petulant.
If Viktor could have seen Jayce’s eyes he would have been stunned by the seriousness of his gaze when he asked, “If I kissed you, would you turn back into a frog?” His voice was full of honest, child-like, curiosity as he paid no mind at all to his points about princesses.
Viktor’s breath caught at the question and a long while passed before he closed his fingers around the lapel of Jayce’s coat. His voice was small and unsteady as he asked in return, “Would you even know what to do with a frog if you caught one?”
“Absolutely.” Jayce assured him, his voice calm and firm. “I even have a big fish tank in my dorm room.”
“Oh? A fish tank you say?” Laughter escaping him that sounded just the faintest bit sad.
“Yes! But I’d convert half of it into a nice terrarium for you! With polkadot plants and perfect humidity! I’d get some rubber ducky isopods to keep you company, and-”
“Ah~ well,” Viktor cut him off, his voice softening at the sound of Jayce’s genuine tone, “if you’d be willing to go to all that trouble, I suppose I could be persuaded.”
“O-of course! After all, I… understand amphibians…” Jayce spoke quietly again; almost nervously. “Not everyone is meant to… to like things just one way…”
“Oh?” He could hear the soft smile on Viktor’s lips as he spoke; the cool touch of his fingers finding their way to Jayce’s jawline. “So you’d still love me if I was a frog?”
“Absolutely…” Jayce breathed the word with every ounce of sincerity in his drunken body.
“But what if you kiss me,” Viktor suggested, as their mouths found the warm edges of one another’s in the dark, “and you turn into a frog too?”
“I can think of way, way worse things than being a frog…”
Jayce confidently pressed his lips against Viktors, all too happy in that moment to one hundred percent commit to becoming frogs together. He reached his hand up to push back the expensive jacket Viktor had draped over his head in disguise so he could touch the messy brown hair that had mesmerized him in the deep shadows. It was soft like feathers and his wine-addled mind thought for a moment that perhaps Viktor had been an angel all along. His tongue tasted sweet as he kissed him deeply, and Jayce suddenly felt both drunker and more sober than he had been all night. He wanted out of this closet, not just to be free, but so he could properly feel all the sharp angles and smooth planes of the beautiful frog who had stumbled into his lap while hiding from a handsy dragon. He wanted to keep him safe, wanted to massage his sore leg with the balm he liked to use on his knee, and then wrap them both up in blankets in his bed to wait out their inevitable hangovers together. He didn’t want to let him go.
_____
It was nearly six in the morning when Vi finally found Jayce and Viktor asleep in the storage closet. Even as she yelled drunkenly for Cait and the others, neither man stirred. Powder eventually resorted to pouring ice water over Jayce’s head, which absolutely did the trick. He sputtered and whined as he pulled Viktor tight against his chest to shield him from Power’s rude awakening.
“Viktor!” Mel gasped, her cheeks flushed and her hair tousled as she leaned heavily against Elora’s shoulder. “Oh my god, I was so worried that you had actually left with Salo!”
“The Dragon!” Jayce whisper-shouted with a wince, all too familiar with Salo, and entirely disgusted. Viktor just shuddered, groaning in pain as he tried and failed to lift himself from Jayce’s lap.
Violet mercifully pulled him up to his feet and helped him over to a nearby couch so he could stretch his legs. Jayce was left to roll himself gracelessly out onto the floor, his knee completely unwilling to unfold itself.
“You gonna make it?” Caitlyn sighed as she stood over him, her own face flushed from drinking; her eyes thankfully looking more exasperated than upset.
“I can just die here. It’s okay.” Jayce smiled, his eyes clenched shut against the bright lights and the pounding in his head; his heart feeling infinitely satisfied.
“Really, Jayce?!” Powder groaned at him as she and Ekko stepped in to pull him to his feet. “You were swapping hickies with our physics TA in the fucking closet!? I still have to have a meeting with him before we leave for break! How am I just gonna pretend to NOT notice!?”
“Physics TA?” Jayce muttered, confused, blinking his eyes hard as he looked over to the couch where Viktor was exchanging Mel’s glittery white coat for a glass of water. “Hmm…” He pouted. “Looks like a frog to me.”
Viktor just smirked into his glass. “Ribbit ribbit.”
_____
Caitlyn’s limo driver was fast asleep when she knocked on the window and presented him with a hot cup of coffee that Elor had prepared while they’d all searched for their bags and shoes. They struggled their way into the low bench seats in the back as Cait requested he drive them to the greasiest dinner he knew of that was at least an hour away.
Powder shamelessly stripped down to the tacky patterned shorts and sports bra under her dress and folded it up like a pillow so she and Ekko could sprawl out on the floor between their feet to immediately fall unconscious. Mel, Elora, Cait, and Vi tried to recount the rest of the evening to Jayce and Viktor as best they could, but they were all lulled to sleep in short order as well. The two men themselves had been the only ones able to get even the tiniest amount of shut eye and so they both sat quietly - and a little stiffly - next to one another as their friends snored and sighed around them.
Jayce was trying his best (and failing) to resist more than polite glances at Viktor next to him. It was impossible though. He was undeniably handsome in his slim-fit black trousers and emerald colored jacket. He had completely lost a button on the front of his shirt and the collar laid open scandalously, exposing both his sharp clavicles and the deep bruises that Jayce’s attentive mouth had left upon his pale skin. Every mole and freckle he’d discovered there was already seared into his mind in a way that no amount of alcohol could ever make him forget. That he would never let himself forget.
“So, uh, how long have you known Mel?” Jayce finally asked him quietly; desperate to break the silence.
“A few years now.” Viktor sighed out his words, as though he’d been holding his breath. “We met in a poli sci class in first year, but I’ve worked with her a lot more since I became Dean Himerdingers assistant.”
“You work with Himerdinger?!” Jayce almost shouted before reigning himself back in.
Viktor chuckled. “Yes. I’m working on my masters degree and it pays well enough, along with being a TA.”
“Wow…” Jayce smiled genuinely; the same sincer look of adoration from before filling his eyes and making Viktor turn away as he felt his face flush.
“I’m just about to finish my bachelors of engineering, but I still have so much more I want to do.”
“From what I’ve heard,” Viktor turned to him again, doing his best to match his sincerity, “nobody could possibly stop you but you, Jayce Talis.”
“I mean…” Jayce laughed quietly as he pawed at his neck nervously, “a few hours ago I was willing to give it all up to become a frog, so…”
Viktor couldn’t keep a smile from his lips as Jayce leaned into him; his soft gaze still just as puppy-like and adoring, even as he sobered up.
“You know, there’s a very nice pond in the conservatory behind the biology department,” Viktor smiled as he inclined his shoulder in response to Jayce’s wordlessly ask permission to his personal space, “if you’d like to go there with me some time?”
“I think,” Jayce nodded back, leaning further into Viktor as he reached up to trail his fingers gently down the marks he had left upon the once flawless skin of his neck. “I would like that very much.”
If Cait had been awake she would have beaten him with her shoe for the shameless way they kissed then and Jayce would have gladly accepted the punishment. Everything about Viktor’s mouth and his hands in his hair felt perfect; like they were somehow meant to fit together. They laid unspoken promises against each other's necks and collarbones until exhaustion finally claimed them too. Jayce sighed dreamily, overwhelmed in the most euphoric way with the gravitational pull Viktor seemed to exert upon him as he gathered his long-limbed frog prince against his chest tightly, certain that he never wanted to fall asleep again without Viktor in his arms.
_____
“Were we this gross when we met?” Vi snorted, half smiling and half disgusted as she talked through a mouthful of pancakes.
“Surely not.” Cait rolled her eyes as she refilled her water glass.
“A day ago I’d have said you two were the cringiest couple I ever met.” Powder pointer her fork at her sister and her girlfriend accusatorily. “But you’ve been overthrown in less than twenty four hours!”
“Agreed.” Ekko seconded.
“Hey!” Vi threw her napkin at them.
“Sure, but…” Caitlyn tried her best not to let the sisterly sappiness she felt towards Jayce overwhelm her too much, “I’ve never seen him like this before, it is kind of cute…”
“Honestly, I get it.” Mel shrugged, sighing into her coffee. “They’re actually a lot alike. I would have introduced them years ago if I’d realized Jayce was bi. Now I just feel guilty.”
“Do you think it was love at first sight?” Elora suggested, leaning on her elbow over her fruit salad, lips drawn into a tight smirk to keep herself from swooning over the fairytale feel of it all.
There was a collective groan at the notion and they kept on eating as they passed around a bottle of painkillers from Caitlyn’s purse and refilled their water glasses over and over. Meanwhile, on their own side of the booth, Jayce had his feet pulled up on the bench as he sat back in the corner with his head against a planter full of fake ferns; Viktor’s narrow frame was tucked between his legs, snuggled against his chest, fast asleep under a warm blanket of jackets.
If he had been awake to hear their teasing, Jayce would absolutely have agreed with Elora.