Ink to Ashes / Arcane Fanfiction Viktor x Reader

32 (part two)

[itty bitty a/n: I changed the ending of part 1 (very slightly) about a day or two after publishing it, so if you read it early-on maybe have a little peep back to get in the loop]

[also apologies for the prolonged cliffhanger ':) I had an iffy time finding a vibe for this that I liked and ended up rewriting a bunch (at one point there was 2000+ words of just arguing - it was a little less hurt/comfort and more a couples therapy session oops)(sorry if anything's a bit ooc, it was rather hard trying to make anything in S2 remotely silly)]

[also also,  Wattpad was freaking out a little lot as I was editing this, so if any parts look like they've had a weird chunk deleted from it, let me know!]

[enjoy :)]

"Viktor, what happened?"

He recoiled at the question as if slapped. His fingers unfurled from your wrist; he looked momentarily taken aback, as if he too was only acknowledging his transformation. He hesitated a second, testing the weight of explanation on his tongue.

"We should sit," he said, his tone ever so slightly taut. Was it nerves, or frustration? You couldn't tell. You realised, with a slight pang, that you couldn't read him: you could recognise none of his usual tiny habits - a furrowed brow, a darting glance - that had become so engrained in your understanding of him.

As if remembering his role as host, he haltingly swept an arm to a low wall fringing a cluster of foliage. You both sat. (Did he keep a slight distance between the two of you, or were you overthinking this?)

You noticed, though he seemed miraculously cured of the ailment afflicting his leg, he still kept his crutch close at hand. Idly resting it between his legs, he propped a hand on the outcropping rest. An old habit, you acknowledged, with a welcome sense of reassurance.

"It's a bit of a long story, I assume?" you said, half-jokingly, attempting to quell the nerves simmering restlessly in your chest. He seemed to misread it as an impatient jibe.

"Oh, no," he said, a little quickly. "I won't keep you with the details-"

"No, no. I mean - I don't mind, at all. At this point, you could give me a minute-by-minute account; I've been looking for you long enough, after all."

His troubled expression didn't lighten. "... Why?" he asked. At your puzzled look, he elaborated, "Why were you looking for me?"

You had a fleeting, mortified notion that you'd somehow stumbled across a doppelganger of his. It was such a simple question, you struggled to rein in your confusion to form an answer.

"Why? You're joking. Viktor, you disappeared. One moment you were half-dead in some magically-induced coma, and the next you were perfectly revived and gone, with no explanation. I couldn't just do nothing."

You couldn't help a bite of frustration seep into your voice. The last thing you'd expected from a reunion was justifying why you'd bothered to find him, as if you could've simply carried on with life unburdened by his absence.

"Did you learn this Jayce?" he asked. For a moment, something in his expression seemed to soften as he spoke the name, and he looked as if he was going to ask another question - but continued only: "Is that all you know?"

"Yes."

"I didn't leave without explanation," he said, level and constrained, and continued quickly before you could refute him, "I had my reasons. Hextech... whatever benevolence it possessed at its conception had soured, and I was late to realise it. I couldn't standby whilst it was used for destruction and oppression. I couldn't betray my morals. And Jayce... " He swallowed whatever retort he was about to make, and finished curtly, "We did not share the same interests, evidently. It could not work."