Mechanical heart (Viktor x OC)

27

Viktor was shocked to see Elvira at first, as he was not expecting her to come home so soon. Had Jayce sent her a letter, telling her that we had figured out how to save her? Viktor thought as he stared at Elvira. No, he can't have done that, he concluded, before taking a slow step towards her.

"Elvira," he said carefully, afraid that if he spoke too harshly she would disappear. Viktor immediately thought about the heart he had stashed away in the secret compartment in his desk, and if it would work on her now. Her state was horrible, she looked like she could break from a single touch. And for that reason, Viktor held back the urge to pull her in for a hug.

"I can tell by the look on your face that you're overthinking something," she broke the silence, causing Viktor to look at her again. Because even though he had been staring at her since she walked through the door, he had been too lost in his thoughts to actually look at her. 

Her body was thin and bony, and her skin was grey. She had dark purple bags under her eyes, showing exactly where the orbit of her eye was. Even though her body looked weak, her eyes still held the glow she always had, and she smiled at him to try and calm him down.

"Why are you home so early? Did Jayce send for you?" Viktor asked, allowing himself to walk closer to her. Elvira looked around the lab, taking her time before she answered. She noticed the many papers on Viktors desk and decided to walk over to have a closer look at what he was working on. Although she had her suspicions. 

"No, but I knew I had to come home," she said as she ran her hand across the wooden edge of the desk, before pulling one of the papers closer to herself. "You knew? How did you know? Neither Jayce nor I have figured out how to fix your heart, it is not safe for you to be here now, look at yourself!" Viktor started panicking, scared that she was going to die before he could help her.

Elvira found a rough sketch of the mechanical heart Viktor was working on, and she picked it up. "You haven't?" she asked as she showed the paper to Viktor, whose face went pale. "I... That is..." he stuttered, a little confused and shocked at the way she acted. She acted as she knew about the contraption. 

"I week before I left Ionia, I was on a spirit walk. I walked through memories of people and situations that mean the most to me. After I had seen the past, I got to glimpse the future. I saw you, holding this," she gestured to the paper. "I know you've been working on a robotic heart, but you are scared it won't be safe," she said as she laid the paper back down on the desk. 

"Viktor, look at me. At my physical state," she opened her arms, showing her frail form. "I spent a lot of time meditating and working on my spirit and mind, and it has never been clearer. I trust you Viktor," she reached out and grabbed his hands. "I know you would make sure it was safe," she smiled. "Jayce don't agree," Viktor admitted, and Elvira chuckled.

"Jayce is Jayce. He's just overprotective, and it is me who decides, is it not?" she gave him a moment to let him think, so she started to turn around when he grabbed her shoulder carefully, and pulled her in for a hug, wrapping his arms around her back, taking in her scent. 

Even though she had spent weeks at sea, her scent still lingered. Along with sweat, saltwater, and... blood? He wanted to ask about it, but he figured she had been coughing blood. It happens when people have a weak and failing heart. "I missed you," he admitted to her, causing a smile and a blush to spread on her face. "I missed you too." 

They stood there hugging for almost an entire minute before Elvira pulled away and looked at Viktor. He looked the same, but more tired. His cheeks were more hollow and the circles under his eyes were a little more purple than before she left. 

"Can I see it?" Elvira asked, causing Viktor to give her a confused look. "The heart," she clarified and he stuttered hesitantly, not really wanting to show her. "I don't know, it's not finished and it's not safe," he argued, but Elvira shook her head while smiling, making Viktor feel a warm and tingly sensation on his face. 

"It's ok, I just wanna see how it looks, and you can explain how it works." Viktor still wasn't too sure, as he didn't wanna give her false hope, but after she had given him the puppy eyes, he gave in. "Fine, but only because I've missed you, and you are getting annoying," he joked. "You've gotten more snarky while I was gone," Elvira chuckled, and Viktor opened the hidden compartment and reached inside to grab the metal ball. 

"I've always been snarky," he argued while pulling the heart out, and placing it on the table. "Wow," Elvira gasped as she looked at the intricate machinery. A tiny round shape, with tubing and wires around and inside it, and metal plates that were decorated with a pattern of swirls and waves in shades of copper and steel.  

Elvira looked over at Viktor, silently asking if she could pick it up. Viktor gave her a firm nod before she lightly ran her finger over the surface before she carefully picked it up. She turned it around in her hand, looking at it from different angles, really studying the incredible craftsmanship. 

"This here," Viktor started before reaching over, pointing at one of the tubes sticking out from the ball. "This would connect to your main artery and vein, leading the blood in and out of the heart," he explained, moving his finger along the outside of the heart, to show where the blood would flow. 

"The blood will first go into the right heart chamber, through that tube, and then the pumping mechanism will pump it out here, leading it to your lungs," he explained while standing so close to Elvira that she almost felt claustrophobic. 

"Then it'll come back from your lungs and into the left chamber, where it'll get pumped back out to your body again," he finished explaining, not noticing how still Elvira was standing. "But I don't know how the tubing would connect to your arteries, so it's not safe," he broke Elvira out of her nervousness. 

"Is there really no way?" she asked, and he shook his head. "Not that I know of." "And there isn't anyone you know who might know? Have you talked to Jayce?" she then asked, causing Viktor to almost look panicked. "No, he was very against the idea of a robotic heart when I first brought it up. He didn't think it was humane," he snorted, before taking the heart and placing it back inside its hiding place. 

"Like I said. Jayce is just overprotective, and it's my decision regarding what I do with my own body," she argued, earning herself a soft smile from Viktor. "I'm just glad you're back in one piece. Did you have fun in Ionia?" he asked, changing the subject.

"I actually wanted to talk to you more about what I learned about myself while I was there," she felt her hands tremble a little as she spoke. "About you too, actually. About us," she then said, earning herself an intrigued look from Viktor. "Go on," he urged her, before sitting down at his stool. 

"Apparently my spirit has its own mind because apparently, my spirit is both evil, and in love with someone at the same time, ironic isn't it?" she chuckled nervously, scared he would laugh at her. "You're spirit is in love?" "Yupp." "And you don't know who it is?" "Well, I kinda do now," she admitted. 

"Who is it?" Viktor asked, not getting the hint. "Well, it's yo..." she was interrupted by the door to the lab slammed open, and Jayce marching through, anger seeping from him. 

"ELVIRA!"