You stared up at the cave ceiling above you. True to her word, Soroka's magic had sheltered you from the weight of your magic. Now that you were no longer in the void it sat like an anvil on your chest, your mind racing as it attempted to catch up. It felt like an angry whirlwind, pulling on your heightened emotions like they were a thread that could unravel your entire being.
You took a shuddering breath, your body feeling like it was on fire once more as your injuries came back full force, the Shimmer churning in your veins. You pushed yourself up into a seated position on shaky arms, your vision swimming as the toll of the last few hours pressed down on you. You needed to find Viktor, you needed to make sure he was alive, to make sure you weren't about to lose your mind more than you already had.
You pressed your palms against your eyes, trying to get them to focus. Blinking rapidly, you were relieved to find that while the world still seemed to be spinning, you could make out the shape of Viktor, slouched on the bench.
Your breath caught in your throat, a whimper escaping you as you got to your feet. You stumbled, unable to figure out how to get everything to stop spinning. There were no more apparitions of yourself, and you didn't feel like you were about to tear the world to pieces. Although you could still feel the power of the Hexcore deep within you, waiting, watching, for any chance to break loose. It was like a foreign object in your chest and you had to fight against your body's natural instinct to let it out.
You all but crawled over to Viktor, needing to hold the ground for support. You kneeled in front of him, having only been in that position moments ago, watching as the life drained out of his body.
"Viktor," Tears streamed down your cheeks, you weren't sure how you kept producing them, but they were warm and wet against your skin, "Please wake up."
Your hand shook as you reached towards him, gently placing it against his cheek. The cool metal of his neck sparked against your fingertips, but his cheeks were still warm. His breath was light against your wrist, you thought you may have imagined it, but as you put your other hand on his chest you let out a sob of relief. You could feel his chest rise and fall, he was breathing again.
You wrapped your arms around his waist, pulling yourself until you were surrounded by his familiar scent. The tears still falling down your cheeks dripped onto his lap, your face pressed up against the now cool metal of his torso. You didn't think you'd ever let go.
It was with a start that you realized that the world had stopped spinning, your grip on Viktor stabilizing your sense of direction. You don't know why but Soraka was right, everything was clearer when you were with him.
You almost jumped back when you felt a slender hand rest on your head, gently brushing through your tangled hair. You looked up, blinking through the tears, your lips quivering as you stared into Viktor's sharp amber eyes. You'd never seen anything more beautiful than him, alive in the moment.
He gave you a weak smile, "Told you I wouldn't leave." His voice had become metallic, like it was being filtered through an old speaker, but it was still clearly the same accented voice you loved so much.
You let out a choked laugh, burying your face back in his stomach, "You almost did, I felt it, you were so close to being gone."
Viktor was silent for a moment, his hand never leaving your head, "What happened?"
You sniffled, your leg had started to ache in the crouched position, the burns rubbing uncomfortably on the stone floor. You pushed yourself up on the bench to sit beside him, straddling the seat. You winced as you reopened fresh wounds.
"Careful, Mila," He said, grabbing your uninjured arm to help you up, looking you over with fresh eyes as he did. You looked down at yourself, remembering how different you now looked. The pink shimmer made your angry red wounds look worse.
"I had to save you, I couldn't... I couldn't just let you die," You wiped the tears from your cheeks, they stung as they poured over gashes on the left side of your face. At least you knew they weren't going to get infected.
"You had enough magic to do this?" He gestured towards his newly metal body."
You pursed your lips and shook your head, "I had to get more, I summoned the Hexcore."
Viktor inhaled sharply, he was well aware of what that kind of power would do to you.
"I used it to heal you," Your voice broke as you thought back to the last words you had heard before healing him, "Sky, I don't know how she was still conscious, she helped me consume the Hexcore. I think I would have died without her, we all would have."
You looked back up at Viktor through wet lashes, "I don't really know what I did, I could barely think, everything was so loud," Your head twitched to the side, eyes squeezing shut as the roaring sound of a thousand voices and fiery magic flooded out from your memory.
Viktor brought his hand up to caress your uninjured cheek, bringing your gaze back to him, "Yet you won."
"I thought I was going to lose it, I could feel my grasp on reality breaking," You nuzzled into his palm, the next slew of words speeding out of your mouth, "But then a Celestial, Soraka, she took me away, fixed my brain, and sent me back."
Viktor blinked, "What."
You chuckled, finally, you'd been the one to stump him for a change, "She's the one who first brought me to Runeterra, she was able to lock the power of the Hexcore away, although I need to be careful not to draw on it. I've still got the power of six gemstones, I don't feel necessarily stable, but I don't think I'm at imminent risk of destroying everything in my path."
"Glad to hear I won't be meeting my end again anytime soon," Viktor slapped that cheeky smile on his face, you couldn't help but laugh.
"I was so worried I was going to lose you," Your voice broke again, all traces of humour leaving you as your memories of the past few minutes came flooding back, refusing to be ignored. You ran your fingers down Viktor's neck, feeling the strange cold metal underneath.
His eyes fluttered shut under your touch, "I'm not going anywhere."
You bit your lip, nervously looking at your feet. You didn't say anything, but you couldn't help but wonder if he meant it. Even you had a hard time looking at yourself, did Viktor find it just as challenging?
Viktor held your chin, guiding you to look back up at him. He knew you well enough to know what you were thinking, "You are just as beautiful now as you've ever been, no amount of scars or Shimmer could ever change that. I loved you before, and I still love you now, Miláček."
Those words were enough for you to shake off any remaining doubts you had. Time seemed to stop in a collision of senses as your lips met his for the second time. Your fingers tangled in his hair, his cold torso pressed against yours, you moved so you sat in his lap. His hands gripped your waist like he was afraid you would fly away should he let go. He tasted sweet and metallic as he kissed you with the desperation and heat of a man who'd thought he would never get this chance again. Your stomach twisted into a knot, everything hurt, yet when you were entwined in Viktor's arms you felt like nothing could ever harm you.
When you broke apart for air, chest heaving and pupils blown wide, you rested your forehead against his. You weren't ready to create any more distance between you two. You hadn't noticed at first, but when you opened your eyes you found that you were glowing a gently blue, numbing your pain. You ran your fingers down his neck, making him shiver, his breath hot on your lips.
"Did I ever tell you that Miláček means darling?" Viktor broke the silence, hands pulling your hips closer to his.
You spluttered, leaning back, you were caught off guard, your brain was still reeling from the intensity of the kiss, "You've been calling me darling this whole time?"
He nodded, much too proud of himself.
A laugh ran out from your mouth, unable to contain the joy that floated in your chest, the weight of the future momentarily lifting from your shoulders, "All these years?"
He brushed a stray lock of hair out of your face, fingers brushing lightly against your skin, "It took me much too long to figure it out, but yes, even when I didn't realize it, I loved you."
"Soraka said that on my world I was able to watch the story of this one, I think like some sort of recorded play. It's hard to remember but she said I loved you even then when I didn't know you were real."
"It must be because of my good looks and charm," He winked at you, making you blush.
"Are you really flirting with me in this damp cave that's covered in questionable experiments," You frowned, taking in the cave around you. It seemed to grow, the walls moving farther away, making you dizzy once more.
Viktor shrugged, his hand on your waist stabilizing you as you felt yourself tip over, "It's as good a place as any."
You leaned your head on his shoulder, careful to do so gently so you didn't hit yourself too hard against his metal skin, "What do we do now?"
"Piltover won't accept us as we are, at best we would be locked up, deemed too dangerous, never allowed to see each other again," Viktor mussed, sadness tinging his voice. He had worked so hard for his life in Piltover and he had lost it in the blink of an eye.
You held on to him tightly, your hands gripping the tattered remains of his shirt, "I would tear that place apart."
He ran his hand up and down your back in a soothing motion, "Which is why we can't go back, we can hide in the Undercity until we can figure out what we need to do."
"Soraka said I'd still get visions, maybe we can still change things for the better," You leaned back, looking up at him with searching eyes, "But what about your work? Hextech was your dream."
Viktor scoffed, a cocky smile on his face, "It's all up here," He tapped his head, "I can figure out how to continue my work, though it may involve less magic."
"I've got plenty of that to spare," Your smile matched his.
Viktor moved to stand. You reluctantly got off his lap, accepting his outstretched hand to help you up. When you wobbled on your feet he put a supportive arm under your shoulder, "Why don't we get out of here before the Doctor wakes up. I don't think he'd be too pleased that you attacked him."
You smiled sheepishly, "That sounds like a great idea."
Viktor stopped near the door, grabbing a stray cloak, most likely one that belonged to Singed. He wrapped it around your shoulders, the material stinging against your injured skin, but you would rather that than leave the cave half-naked.
Walking out of the cave was more difficult than you had thought. All the adrenaline had left your body, your attempt to heal Viktor having already left you drained. With your injuries and recent injection of Shimmer, you were feeling like you'd just been crushed by an airship.
You shielded your eyes against the blinding light of the late evening sun, you'd been in the dark cave for so long that your eyes had adjusted to the dim light.
"Jayce, what are you still doing here?" You heard Viktor ask, moving in front of you. You froze up. What was Jayce going to do when he saw you like this?
"I left like you asked, but I needed to know that you were both okay," Jayce explained, "What happened to you, Viktor?"
"You knew I was dying, Mila solved it," Viktor explained like it was no big deal, that you hadn't almost unleashed your rage upon Piltover.
With a sigh, you stepped out from behind Viktor, meeting Jayce's shocked gaze as he took you in. He couldn't see your body, but your face was left exposed from the cloak, your eyes enough for him to realize what had been done. You leaned against the wall for support, "We've been through a lot, please don't make this any harder than it already is."
Jayce's face softened, "I'm glad you're both alive, we should get you back to Piltover, we can have the doctors make sure you're okay."
"We aren't going back, Jayce," Viktor said firmly.
"What? Why not, it's your home," Jayce argued, a mix of rejection and confusion on his face.
"Do you honestly think that they wouldn't take one look at either of us and make sure we never saw the light of day again?" You asked, "You're our friend, you always will be, but we can't go back with you. I still don't know how this has all affected me, I don't think it's safe for me to be around others. The last thing I want is for someone to get hurt because I couldn't control myself."
Jayce nodded, his hands clenching into fists at his side, "I'll tell them you both didn't make it, it should give you some space to figure things out, it's the least I can do, we owe you that much."
Your stomach fluttered, you hadn't expected that.
"Thank you, Jayce," Viktor said, his old friend wrapping him in a tight hug.
"You know where I'll be if you need me," Jayce patted Viktor's shoulder before stepping back with a chuckle, "The metal is going to take some getting used to."
Viktor put his arm back under your shoulder, his hand holding your waist on the other side, "You're telling me."
"Where will you go?" Jayce asked, looking between you both.
Viktor looked down at you, a soft smile on his face, his eyes fixed on your face, "I have an idea."
He didn't elaborate.
Jayce shot you a knowing look, "I'll see you both around then."
"We won't be far," Viktor confirmed. Jayce made room on the path for you both to hobble by, headed in the opposite direction as him.
"It's about time," Jayce muttered under his breath.
"I can still hear you!" Viktor called over his shoulder, giving his friend one last bright smile before disappearing from view. You didn't know when you'd see Jayce again, the warmness of your departure leaving you hopeful that it wouldn't be on opposite sides of a war that had been brewing, on its way to fruition with the most recent attack. You had a bad feeling that it would draw Viktor and Jayce further apart. You hoped for both their sakes it wasn't true, but a sinking feeling in your gut told you otherwise.
The sun was setting as you made your way deeper into the Undercity. You didn't know what lay ahead of you, there were sure to be a fair number of challenges. Soraka had said you could save Piltover from ruin. Though you didn't know how, you were sure that as long as you had Viktor by your side, his gentle smile lighting up your day, you could do anything. You loved him and he loved you, there wasn't anything that could stop you as long as you were together. It may not have been the most ideal scenario, but you were both alive and that was what mattered.
"Where are we going?" You asked. You had never set foot in the Undercity and you had very little idea of what was down there.
Viktor leaned down to press a soft kiss to the top of your head, a secretive smile on his face, "Home."
You leaned into him, enjoying the feeling of his arms around you. You could get used to this. As long as you had Viktor, how bad could it be?
A/N:
I can't believe I'm done this! Ive never actually finished a fic before... oops
I've got a Lokixreader fic on my page if you would like to also check that out 😊
Thank you so much to everyone who has commented, liked, or done art, you all have been so amazing and I'm so happy you enjoyed my fic ❤️
I'm definitely not done with these two and will be continuing on in season 2, until then I plan on writing some one-shots (one which will probably be out tomorrow) so if y'all have any ideas/scenarios you want to see let me know!