"The quietest hearts often carry the loudest secrets."
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THE Institute of Progress had become a second home, though home felt like a strange word. Even now, standing in the sterile glow of its halls, you sometimes questioned if you belonged. You were young, still rough around the edges and full of ideas others deemed too bold. Yet, your curiosity had drawn the attention of senior scientists, and with that, an opportunity most could only dream of a place here, under the mentorship of Viktor.
For the past year, you’d watched him work, silent and purposeful. The man was brilliant, a visionary who crafted theories from thin air and turned them into structures that could change lives. While others saw him as distant, his mind too focused on the work to notice much else, you’d glimpsed something more. It was in the way he muttered faint ideas to himself, or the almost imperceptible spark in his eyes when he solved a problem. You admired him. No, maybe it was more than admiration.
You never intended to let those feelings take root. Falling for a senior, a mentor, and older was absurd. And yet, it was exactly that intensity that drew you in, making you feel as though you’d been pulled into his orbit, unable to escape.
Each late night in the lab became a moment you held close, stealing glances at him while you both worked on the smallest, seemingly mundane details. Sometimes he’d pause, his gaze flicking over to you with a quiet curiosity, leaving you breathless, wondering if he saw you the same way.
But of course, that was impossible. Viktor was focused on his work, his mind beyond such attachments....or so you thought.
Then came the night you could no longer keep it in. After hours of silence, you found yourself standing beside him, your heart beating faster with each second.
“Viktor,” you said softly, afraid to speak louder. “There’s something I need to tell you.”
He turned, his gaze calm but questioning.
“I don’t know when it happened, but… I think I’ve grown to like you....” You forced yourself to meet his eyes, barely breathing as you waited for any sign that he felt the same.
Viktor blinked, taken aback for a moment. He was silent, his brows furrowing just slightly, as if the concept itself puzzled him.
When he finally spoke, his tone was low, almost sorrowful. “I wish you hadn’t said that.”
Oh.
The words cut through the air, cold and final. His face softened as he took a step back, his eyes unreadable. “You’re… gifted, full of potential. Don’t let this get in the way of that.” He swallowed, then turned back to his desk, closing off whatever might have passed between you.
And just like that, the brief hope you’d felt vanished, leaving behind a hollow ache you weren’t prepared for.
But despite the rejection, something within you refused to let go. It was just the beginning—a painful, uncertain beginning.
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“I just thought...well, I thought it might mean something to you too!”
“....Sometimes, I think it means more than I’d care to admit.”
━━ y/n and viktor
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𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐍 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐒.
• copyright. This is a work of fiction using characters from Netflix series arcane, which is not my creation, so all credits goes to them with the exception of my original characters to fit this work.
• author's note. my writing isn't great, so please don't take it seriously in terms of good writing and i only do this for fun. English is not my mother tongue either, I do grammar purely on intuition, so this fic may include mistakes.
