Chapter Text
They both had fallen asleep on the table — well perhaps in completely different ways, but still on the table . Jayce had just drifted off with his arms crossed on the hard surface filled with papers and Viktor had curled around himself, finding his tail oddly comforting. He had been woken up by the hard noise of Jayce's shoes walking away from the chair to a distasteful white door at the end of a small corridor, opening it fast and closing it harshly, then he lost sight of him.
Viktor stumbled a little to stand up from his lying position — still having problems adjusting his mind because of the four legs — and stretched his body, feeling his tail bouncing softly in the air. It was still strange. Very strange.
He paced back to the papers that Jayce had left and stared at them. He was thankful that whatever transformation had occurred to him didn't take away his ability to read but he was certain that he couldn't hold a pen even if his life depended on it. Which was incredibly frustrating, he had to find a way to communicate with Jayce without writing or talking. Viktor had already tried to somehow make Jayce know it was him by staring right into his eyes with intention like he usually does when he has a human face because maybe, just maybe he will know, he will know that he was Viktor and then he will help him go back.
But unfortunately for him, it did not work.
It was disappointing but very expected because he was just a cat staring funny at Jayce. What else would he think?
Before he could continue reading what Jayce added to his notes, he jumped in surprise when a door was abruptly opened and hurried steps came through it. Jayce got quickly to the table, standing tall and hovering slightly to collect some of the papers from it. Viktor just looked up at him, he was wearing different clothes, his hair was neatly slicked back into place like it usually is, and he could smell the sweet familiar scent of cinnamon and metal that emanated from him. It smelled like Jayce and that was nice, soothing even.
He knew his partner was leaving for the lab, it was obvious now that he saw the academy uniform on him, that meant he was going to leave him in his apartment. It wouldn't make sense for Jayce to take a cat to the lab with him. Viktor thought very briefly to stop him by maybe biting him or scratching him but decided against it, that would be counterproductive and would give the wrong impression to Jayce. He knew how much of an overthinker he could be.
Instead, he hopped off the table and stood next to the door, eyeing Jayce while he walked fast to the kitchen and opened the fridge. He shifted his attention to one big window at the end of the room, perhaps it was open, and Viktor could go out of it and follow Jayce without being spotted. But how likely could it be that Jayce would leave unlocked the window that was clearly looking out to the streets of Piltover after the incident with the hex crystal in his previous room? Very unlikely but he would have to find out.
He was brought back to reality when he heard the clicking of glass next to him — it was two plates, one with shredded chicken and the other with water — Viktor's tail flickered excitedly at the sight. He hadn't noticed how hungry he was.
"I'll be back around nine or ten, so don't destroy the place while I'm gone, okay? It’s technically not mine, just rented."
"I'm a small cat Jayce, how much of a mess do you think I can make?" Viktor's words come only as meows and wasn't that still annoying?
Jayce just smiled pleased after hearing the meows that came from Viktor, and he had to admit that it was slightly fascinating the way Jayce treated animals or more specifically Viktor as a cat. He wondered if he had ever had any pets before. He was more inclined to believe that he never had one. The way he talked to him like it was just another person who could completely understand him—which in this case was true but Jayce didn't know that—was amusing and almost adorable. However, he is incredibly thankful that Jayce is not one to talk to animals with a so-called ‘baby voice’. Viktor already knew Piltovians tended to sugarcoat their words when talking to their pets, increasing the high frequency of their voices and using obnoxious vocabulary that sounded like a completely different language. Although, yes, he was a cat right now, he still didn't want to be talked down to. So, he appreciated the way Jayce was approaching the communication aspect of the new relationship they were having at the moment.
Viktor started eating the chicken he had been offered, and Jayce said his final goodbye, leaving his apartment to go to their shared lab.
After finishing the food Viktor wandered around the living room—he had to wait for Jayce to be far enough from his house to execute his escape plan—and he was just curious about the place his partner lived in. It was the first time he had been in it, though he had to admit that he had been invited multiple times before. Jayce insisted on having dinner together or even a drink, which Viktor had always politely declined due to not wanting to overstep boundaries and not wanting to come across as needy even if it was just a simple offer from Jayce.
The living room was spacious and clean, the walls were a shade of gray with the ceiling painted white and the furniture was almost the same color. Several bookshelves filled with books and journals, a long sofa with three tiny cushions, and a simple coffee table in the middle of it all—It was incredibly boring to look at, it felt empty and even cold. Viktor was surprised by the lack of personality in the room but somehow it still manages to look fancy and refined. The only things that stood out were a few framed pictures on the walls that were located too high for Viktor to see well. Jayce did say it was rented; probably owned by the kiramman family.
There were a couple of doors that were probably Jayce's bedroom, bathroom, and perhaps a studio, but it looked like he didn't use that one by the number of papers and books clattering on the dining room table located in the kitchen where they had fallen asleep. It seems like Jayce just works there instead of using a desk.
If Viktor could make an intelligent guess about Jayce's living conditions, he would say that Jayce was alone—and it is indeed an obvious statement, there was no sign of anyone else living here—but what he means is that he is almost sure that Jayce has isolated himself from everyone, or perhaps there was no one, to begin with. Has he ever heard Jayce talk about anyone else who is not Caitlyn or his mother? The answer was clearly no, he has never once had a conversation where Jayce mentions a friend, someone he is close to and somehow that was baffling information to Viktor. How was that possible? Jayce was sweet, polite, he was mind-blowingly intelligent, easy to talk to, jarringly charming, and of course—objectively speaking—the most handsome person he had ever met. So how come he didn't have any friends? Did Viktor count as one? He wanted to say yes but that felt too personal to do and more importantly, he wasn't sure if it was his place to be prying about his partner's private life. But could he even say anything? Viktor was no better, probably worse than Jayce when it came to having a life outside of work. Who was Viktor to judge?
After some stupid amount of time wasted in some strange mental gymnastics to figure out Jayce's social life and relationship with Viktor, he had to stop himself and focus on the matter at hand—getting out of there.
He jumped to the couch in front of the large window, miscalculating slightly how high he had to hop to get there from where he was and opting to sink his claws on the surface of the soft seat cushion to pull himself up, throwing some of the small pillows to the floor and jumping again to the backrest to get as close to as he could to the window. He moved to where the lock was found, and as expected, it was locked but it was a simple latch that even a cat could open. So, with a push to one side, the window was open enough to let Viktor out.
Without looking back he carefully hopped out the window landing on all four and wandered to the academy lab.
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It wasn't too hard for Viktor to sneak in and avoid the receptionist at the entrance of the academy who was reading a magazine. He walked past some distracted students and was finally able to get to where the lab was without being noticed. Thankfully the door was slightly opened and he just slithered around it without making any noise. Strangely, his first instinct was to sniff the air as he strolled toward a nearby table, he could recognize the smell of Jayce’s cologne immediately without even looking in his direction. Viktor found a good spot to hide and get a better view of the lab and Jayce. He noticed the man standing in front of the chalkboard holding his hand up in the air like he was about to write something, but nothing was written down. Viktor wished his vision could be better so he could look at whatever was stomping Jayce. For some reason, ever since waking up as a cat, Viktor’s vision has been nothing but useless when trying to look at stuff far away. He wasn’t sure if this was a cat problem or a Viktor problem. Regardless of that, it was rather annoying.
His ears twitch at the sound of footsteps approaching the door. He could recognize Sky by how she held onto her notebook like her life depended on it. She walked with quick steps until she made her way closer to Jayce. She cleared her throat calling the scientist's attention.
“I contacted the apartment manager, and he said he hadn’t seen him since yesterday morning…” Viktor couldn’t see her expression as she spoke, but her voice betrayed her serious tone, making Sky sound uneasy. After saying that she seems to sniffle and sneeze quite loudly, startling Viktor.
Jayce moved his hand to his face, covering his eyes as he let the silence build for a moment and seemed to be thinking. He turned around dropping the chalk to the side of the board “Right, well what about Heimerdinger? Has he seen him?”
“No, they haven’t spoken for a couple of days now. He told me not to worry about it. That when Viktor was working as his assistant he would sometimes disappear out of nowhere and come back the next day… I’m not quite sure this situation is the same as the one he spoke of.”
Sky tilted her head as she explained to Jayce. It seemed like the two of them were still trying to figure out Viktor’s whereabouts. Which was comforting, knowing that he was not being forgotten by the people he worked with, even if he was sitting in the same room as them just as a cat.
Jayce sighed, running a hand through his hair, his frustration palpable. “I don’t know, Sky. This isn’t like Viktor. Sure, Heimerdinger says he’s known to disappear, but this… it’s different. His desk looks like an explosion took place and he would never leave the hex crystals unattended on the floor,”
Viktor felt a strange mix of emotions hearing Jayce’s concern. On one hand, he was touched that Jayce was genuinely worried about him. On the other, the guilt of causing unnecessary stress lingered in the back of his mind. Not that he could have predicted this bizarre transformation. Still, listening to Jayce and Sky try to piece together his sudden absence was oddly amusing.
Sky hesitated, clutching her notebook tighter. “Do you think something happened to him? Maybe… an accident? Or—” Then came another sneeze as she covered her mouth with her sleeve.
“Maybe… I don’t— I’m not quite sure yet. What if someone broke into the lab and tried to steal something?” Jayce’s voice trailed off as the thought settled in, and his expression darkened. His head shifted as he looked toward Viktor’s now-empty workstation, lingering on the scattered notes and the half-completed blueprints Viktor had been working on before his transformation.
Sky frowned, her brow furrowing as she followed Jayce’s gaze. “But there’s no sign of forced entry. The crystals are still here. And if someone did try to take something, why would they leave behind Viktor’s work? That’s invaluable.”
Jayce rubbed his chin, pacing from left to right. Viktor could tell by the action that Jayce was deep in thought, the man was barely able to stay in place when they worked on something. Always moving or fidgeting with his pencil. He seemed to have an unlimited amount of energy in his body. He stopped as he glanced at one side of the lab, where the window Viktor had opened yesterday was now closed. Jayce’s expression shifted although Viktor couldn’t tell what emotion it was showing exactly as he could mostly see a blur of Jayce’s face.
“Yesterday when I walked into the lab, that window was open,” The man pointed with his hand as he spoke to Sky like they were both solving a mystery. “I’m pretty sure that’s how the cat got into the lab… What if someone got into the Lab through it and wanted to steal the crystals but somehow dropped them.”
“What if Viktor got hurt? Maybe there was a confrontation! We— we need to do something. Viktor could be injured or Kidnapped or worse!” The more Sky talked, the more anxious she sounded. Making her voice come out fast and squicky with nervousness. Every once in a while she sneezed again and apologized right after.
Viktor could only flatten his ears as he hated the feeling of making people worry about him to this extent or in general. If he could make people never have to worry or feel pity for him, he would do it in an instant. The overwhelming feeling of embarrassment and shame he was holding in his chest at this moment was almost enough to make him want to run out of the room. But he stood his ground as he knew he needed to know what Jayce and Sky were going to do about his disappearance. He took a deep breath, remembering that the lugs he had in this body were not damaged and he felt lighter than ever, the air almost too cold through his small nose.
“Right, right. We need to get in touch with the enforcers or the council. There needs to be a search party and flyers all around the city” Jayce said, starting to sound frantic himself.
“Yes, yes, maybe we can even get those dogs that are good at tracking smells.” Viktor’s tail puffed out at the mention of tracking dogs. Absolutely not. I’m not about to have some slobbering beast sniffing around for me, he thought with a mix of indignation and panic. The man wasn’t sure if this reaction was because he was a cat or if it was just because he didn’t like dogs that much. He forced himself to stay calm, though his whiskers twitched in irritation. This situation was spiraling further out of control.
Jayce was already pacing again, his hands gesturing as if trying to pull a solution out of thin air. Viktor could feel the equivalent of a human headache in his cat’s head appear from their conversation alone. Both of them seem to be feeding each other’s anxiousness and what a great combination that was for Vikor. He couldn't have the two people who were the most likely to turn him back into a human, constantly making the other worse. Viktor definitely didn’t need the enforcers or much less the council being involved in this mess. If things go that way, then he will never be a human again. He softly tapped his head against a pile of books in frustration.
He had the two most anxious people working together to try and figure out what happened to him… Great.