A/N : Takes place post-season 1. Viktor survives the explosion, leaves Hextech, and becomes best friends with Jinx (that is the background to this interaction coming about).
It had been a few weeks since the Council building got blown up. A few weeks since Viktor and Jayce crawled out of the rubble. A few weeks since Viktor finally snapped at the cheating bastard. A few weeks since Viktor left Hextech and became friends with the very person who had blown up the Council building in the first place...
He obviously had his reservations about the girl at first.
Sure, he didn't have all the bullshit, classist ideals as someone like Jayce may have had, but he still had plenty reason not to trust her. After all, she had blown up the Council building, which in turn had officially sparked a civil war between Piltover and Zaun. Peace was just about to be made too. Zaun was just about to become independent when she had pulled the trigger, but now any hope at peace was lost as Jayce led a full attack on Zaun and Sevika attacked back on Piltover.
She had also previously done a wide array of crimes that Viktor was vaguely aware of, so he had plenty reason to be skeptical. But, when he finally snapped at Jayce, a lot of his moral compass finally got skewed as it had back when he'd been constantly messing with the Hexcore. He still didn't approve of some of the crimes Jinx had committed, but he also wasn't so fond of Piltover himself anymore. His resentment towards Jayce grew with every passing day, and his reuniting with Singed... Well, it was only a matter of time before he tracked down Jinx, curious of how to help with the war she'd started against Piltover.
He was surprised to find her not actively fighting against Piltover.
Their initial meeting had begun with Viktor almost getting his head blown off by the girl, but it was only a matter of time before she lowered her guard and decided to trust him- The enemy- Just as she had done with Silco all those years ago. After all, if the innocent little Powder had trusted someone who had just aided in the death of her previous father, it wasn't that shocking that she'd grow attached to yet another perceived enemy.
Viktor was over a decade older than her, so he took up a sort of big brother role and the two became very close, bonding over a shared love of science and technology. Of course, the specifics of their interests in this regard were a fair bit different (as Viktor was more interested in biology and magic while Jinx was more interested in mechanics and weaponry), but they still bonded over it nonetheless and taught each other a lot about the specifics of what they specialized in.
One dream that Viktor eventually wanted to fulfill with her was to create a newer version of Rio. Technically the original was still alive in Singed's test tube, so it wasn't that outlandish of a concept, but the pair decided to wait a while before attempting something like that. However, once Jinx learned of this want of his, she snuck into Singed's lab with a camera, snapped a photo of the creature, and created a doll resembling it for Viktor a few days later. After all, little gifts had always been how she'd shown her appreciation to Silco, so she decided to keep up that habit.
Viktor had been very grateful for both the photo (which had been used as reference for the doll) as well as the little plush. It was full of sand and had a thin, scratchy fabric for the outside (similar to how the unnerving Mylo and Claggor dolls had been), but he appreciated it all the same and would often sleep with it on his chest.
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One night, Viktor found himself simply lying in the bed which was stationed in Jinx's odd workspace with the Rio doll on his chest, just thinking his thoughts.
He did this often, both to rest his constantly aching body and also to think up new ideas and talking points. He would spend many nights like that, quietly laying there as Jinx silently focused on her gadgetry. Occasionally he would open his eyes and look over at her with a small smile. She would still occasionally twitch and whisper at a voice she heard, but he'd never seen her as focused as when she was working on a new explosive.
On this particular night, she seemed a bit distracted. He supposed it made sense, as she'd had a brief but direct confrontation with Vi earlier that day, but it still saddened him to see her distracted from the one thing she could usually focus on. Eventually, as she slowly worked on a bomb and nearly blew herself up a number of times because she wasn't paying attention, she sighed and gave up.
She silently went over to the big bed and flopped onto it before shuffling to rest her head utop Viktors forehead, using his hair as a sort of pillow. She did this often, and Viktor assured her that he was okay with it just so long as she didn't have her hair in his eyes. She agreed to these terms and quickly picked up the habit whenever she got too in her head during these quiet moments. So, when Viktor felt the sudden pressure of someone using him as a pillow, he knew that was her way of reaching out for help.
"You wouldn't..." she started hesitantly, staring up at the high ceiling. Viktor was patient as she found her words. "Leave me, right?" She finally asked. "Viktor?"
"Never" Viktor replied gently. "Why d'you ask?" he questioned. He already had a feeling as to why she was asking, of course. He wasn't stupid. He knew that she had abandonment issues ever since Vi had left her that first time. She had even told him as much in different words before. I think I'm... Afraid of being left again she had admitted one night, when Viktor had finally got around to explaining his lung condition to her. Everyone has either died or left. Don't die on me, Viktor
"I saw Vi again today, I told you that" she replied with confusion and slight annoyance. "A- And I just keep..." she took a deep breath. "I keep replaying that day, back when- When Vander and Mylo and Claggor- And when Vi abandoned me" she explained, feeling a small bit of shame forming at the pit of her stomach. "Silco used to say that I should take it as a sign of- As a growth- As a thing to grow from" She stumbled over her words, but Viktor didn't laugh or comment on it. He never did. She appreciated him for that.
"Because he got drowned- Because he never- He always acted..." she took a deep breath again and fidgeted with her fingers to soothe her growing anxiety. She slowly sat up and then repositioned herself on the bed so she was next to Viktor. The man smiled and shakily wrapped an arm around her, which helped her to calm down. It reminded her of how Silco would hug her whenever she was having one of her breakdowns around him, and those were memories she could smile at despite how upsetting they had been at the time.
"He always talked like things were- Were the same as when Vander left him" she echoed what she had told Vi back at the weird party she had set up. "And he thought that drowning was the best thing that ever happened to him" She gave a humorless chuckle. "I think he thought that- That I should think the same about when Vi left and..." she sighed. "I like who I am now... So, I guess he wasn't entirely wrong there... I had a point"
"You were upset because you were remembering your sister leaving you" Viktor reminded her patiently, and he felt her fingers rapidly tap against his side with excitement as she remembered what the point was. "Oh, right!" she sounded happy for a moment. "Oh..." she then repeated, her voice more sad. More flat. "Right..."
"Are you okay?" Viktor asked cautiously, cracking open an eye to glance down at her. She didn't reply, and instead just continued to cling to him. That was enough of an answer for him, and all the answer he would get anyway, so he silently passed her the Rio doll. She silently took it, motioning her hand from her chin outwards to say "Thank you". Viktor just smiled and nodded as she fidgeted with the doll to keep her mind off of the constant echo of "You're a jinx!" and the feeling of Vi's hand forcefully holding her face while she cried.
"Don't leave" she finally muttered to her friend, her voice slightly desperate while still sounding numb at the same time.
"I won't"