two birds | arcane viktor ♡

𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘳𝘦 to help

"I never said anything about learning."

"But I know you want to."

This silenced Viktor for a few seconds, wearing his helmet before muttering something, his accented voice muffled. "I'll think about it. For now, you make ideas." He points at her smug face like a parent scolding their child, clearing his throat before finishing his sentence. "Understand?"

"Yes sir." He ignored the slight mocking in her voice, turning back to focus on his contraption, the sound of Ica getting up and grabbing a notebook was soon drowned down by the noise of his tool.

Now they're back to zero. Ica attempts to work fast, the pages are chaotic and so are the designs, fortunately she wrote down notes about her concepts, knowing he won't be able to identify what he's looking at if she didn't.

They were interrupted by Viktor's mother once more, halting their activities and turning their head to the door. She's having a coughing fit, making their eyebrows furrow with worry. They were immediately by her side when it didn't stop, both gripping her elbows to keep her from falling.

"Mom. Are you okay?"

"I'm sorry. Dinner is-" She coughed on her hand. "-is ready." Her voice was sore. It was easy for Ica to notice the drained look on her face, she seemed fine earlier, now she looks more fragile like she's going to break anytime soon.

"You did not have to cook for us if you're tired." Her arms were heavy, Viktor can almost feel them shaking. She was getting more sick everyday, but they barely have enough money to get her treated. It was painful not being able to do anything but to watch his mom get weaker and weaker.

"It's okay. Your dad did it." Despite the exhaustion on her features she still managed to smile at them, the same sweet smile that she always gives. "Let's eat."

They nodded, guiding her down the stairs with great care, walking straight to the dinner table where a familiar man sits. The corner of his mouth twitched up into a soft smile as soon as he sets his eyes on them, standing up to help his wife on a chair, muttering to her about how she should've just let him call the two to not tire herself more. Ica sat across them, Viktor following suit as he placed his cane on the side of his chair, adjusting his legs to be more comfortable.

"I'm okay, let's just eat, the dinner is getting cold."

"Alright, my love."

Viktor's dad sat back down, smiling at Ica once more as they start eating. He plays with his food, glancing at Ica repeatedly, his nervous body language making her nervous. "So. Ms. Monvener."

She hummed as a reply, almost getting distracted by the amazing taste of the food. The man waited for her to finish chewing before speaking again. "Is your mom aware of the, err...abusive consumption of her drug within the, uhh, city?"

Viktor widened his eyes towards his dad, shaking his head to signal him to stop talking, knowing how sensitive this subject is to his bestfriend. But his dad purposely ignored it, considering this was important for him.

"We don't really talk anymore, sir." Her answer was brief. She's used to people asking her about her mother and her famous yet controversial invention, she would always tell them the same phrase, which usually gets them to stop talking, but the man across her didn't back down.

"Ah, right. Well, yes, you should tell her soon. It has caused quite a commotion--here in the undercity. Criminals and thugs left and right have been using it to their, err, advantages, I suppose. However, it's very bad, very bad situation. Your mom's drug has strengthened them even more, especially targeting poor civilians to be their victims; people who does not have the money to buy Reset, or uh, get treated."