Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“I’m sorry,” Jayce said when he finished choking, “what did you say?”

“I want to have a child,” Viktor said, “and I would like you to father it.”

He said it so simply, like they were talking about the weather and not human life. Or . . . making it. Jayce fumbled with the pen he'd been holding before giving up and grabbing his bracelet instead, the soft leather grounding. He played with it until it felt safe to talk again, Viktor waiting patiently the whole time. He was good at that, giving Jayce the time he needed. Jayce could at least hear him out (he wanted to do a lot more than hear him out). “Okay. Talk me through it?”

Viktor segued into his explanation naturally, like he was telling Jayce about a breakthrough he’d had over night. “It’s quite simple. I would like to raise a child of my own, and I am finally in a position to do so. You are the person I trust most.” Just as Jayce was starting to feel warmth in his hands again, Viktor added, “We could speak to a lawyer to ensure there are no troubles with custody. I wouldn’t ask anything from you, of course.” Then, softer, “You do enough for me already.”

Oh. Okay. That— that was fine. It was fine that Viktor didn’t really want him. There was no reason to be disappointed. Jayce wasn’t disappointed.

. . .

He wasn’t.

“It's perfectly understandable if you don’t want to, Jayce,” Viktor said gently, as though Jayce’s willingness to fuck him raw was somehow in question. “Please don’t feel pressured. I have other options, people I could contact—”

“Wait, no, I’ll do it!” Jayce blurted out, immediately humiliated. His face burned as Viktor stared at him, one brow arched in equal parts surprise and amusement. “I mean— I’m your partner. I just would feel more comfortable if it was me than some random guy, you know?” He badly didn’t want to think of Viktor having sex with someone else. And he really didn’t want some other guy to— to impregnate Viktor while Jayce was here, perfectly acceptable and virile and just a way better option. Obviously it would be in Viktor’s best interest to choose him. That was just science.

“Well, if it would make you more comfortable,” Viktor teased. Jayce would have blushed if he wasn’t already red down to his chest. “I suppose it’s settled.”

Holy shit. They were actually doing this. “Guess it is.”

Jayce was this close to asking if Viktor wanted to go to his apartment when his partner said, “I will get you some sample containers. Bring them back on your own time.”

“. . . oh.” Why did he think—? Oh God, I’m so dumb. “Yeah, sure, no worries.”

“Perfect,” Viktor said, smiling so pretty, making Jayce simultaneously regret and cherish every decision he’d ever made.

Viktor was proud of himself for only screaming into his pillow a little.

Viktor was not generally a hesitant person. He’d never had time to waste. But this was a conversation he had been dreading for weeks, made worse that it was entirely self-inflicted.

He had always known that he wanted a family of his own, something he’d lost in his childhood. He had also known how unlikely that was to happen for him. Not only because he was from the Fissures, or his illnesses, or even because he was just different from other people. Viktor was simply . . . lonely. He knew and accepted this. He tried to accept this.

With Jayce, he didn’t have to put up with it anymore. He could have a friend, a partner. Someone he loved, even if Jayce didn’t love him the same. He wasn’t even angry or hurt with Jayce for that. How could he be, when Jayce had given him so much already without thought, without a single doubt? It had taken a while to work up the courage to ask Jayce for even more. But he knew Jayce would do it.

Jayce would do anything for him.

Jayce couldn’t do this.

This was insane. Sitting on his bed and staring at the innocuous glass container was somehow more stress-inducing than standing before the council. Glancing at it, then focusing his eyes on a spot on the ceiling that might be mold was making him seriously reconsider his life. Maybe he should have taken banishment. That could not possibly take the same toll on him as this.

Why was this so hard? He jerked off thinking about Viktor all the time. More than he cared to admit to himself. Why was it worse now that Viktor . . . knew. God, he couldn’t even think it. Jacking off thinking of Viktor putting on weight, leaking milk from swollen tits, while Viktor was probably planning a nursery and picking out names felt like some kind of sin. Maybe he should got back to church. Mama would love that.

The way Viktor had so easily cut him to his core. Did . . . did he know? The things Jayce refused to admit thinking about, even to himself? Not just starting a family with Viktor — that was obvious — but pinning him to his bed and filling him up with cum. Keeping Viktor there until it took. Fingering his cunt, burying it deep, making sure he didn’t waste a drop . . .

And now I’m hard. Great. Why not.

Maybe he could tell Viktor he changed his mind. He could handle that. Jayce was a strong independent inventor, literally a genius. He could totally handle the disappointment in Viktor’s eyes. That wouldn’t make him cry. And he would be fine when Viktor got pregnant by someone else, raised someone else’s baby . . .

Jayce got the sample container out so fast he didn’t even know he was doing it.

Jayce carefully set a bag down on the table where Viktor was taking his coffee, face burning red. Viktor only startled a moment before taking in his flushed appearance, hair messy from running his hands through it, the top button of his shirt undone so it wasn’t choking him. “Ah.” He set his coffee aside, eyes trained on the bag. “Is this . . . ”

“The sample you asked for?” Jayce said sample like the word was choking him. “Yes. I added an ice pack to . . . ”

“Keep it fresh?”

Jayce cringed. “Yeah.”

“Of course.” Viktor smiled, amused by Jayce’s bashfulness, and stood, grabbing his cane. “I will put this in storage,” he said, because storage sounded better than fridge. “Thank you, Jayce.” His voice softened. “I . . . appreciate this. What you’re doing for me. I truly do.”

If Jayce was blushing before, he was nearly scarlet now. His bashfulness had a boyish charm that Viktor adored. He wondered if their child would inherit it. He hoped so.

“Well,” Jayce began, rubbing the back of his neck, “What are partners for?”

“Not this, I don’t think. All the more reason for me to thank you.” He tossed one last smile over his shoulder as he grabbed the bag and walked off. “I'll bring you a new sample tube for next week, yes?”

Jayce had never gone so still so fast. “Huh?”

Viktor, looking back at him over his shoulder, frowned. “In case it doesn’t take, of course.”

“. . . Right. Of course.” Jayce ran a hand through his hair, face tilted up to the ceiling. “Of course.”

Chapter Text

Viktor took his first pregnancy test after two weeks.

Jayce waited in the lab for him, having woken before the city, alive with nerves. Viktor had off-handedly told him the night before that he would be taking a test, unaware that he was ruining Jayce’s ability to think for the rest of the day. He tried to only be a little disappointed when Viktor came in, mouth twisted up, and shook his head. Oh well. It wasn’t like he was going to stop jerking off while thinking of Viktor either way. Might as well do it for a good cause.

Every Thursday night, Jayce would think of Viktor. His long, delicate fingers, his chapped lips, the way he laughed when Jayce said something that wasn’t that funny. He imagined cupping Viktor’s small breasts, milk running over his fingers. He thought of Viktor’s pussy, imagining it soft and warm and pink, so welcoming to his hand, his tongue, his . . .

Anyway.

On Friday mornings, they didn’t talk about it. Jayce put the desired samples in a designated spot in their cooler, and Viktor thanked him without specifying why.

And once a week, Viktor would come into the lab looking defeated and anxious, even angry. With himself, always with himself. Jayce would look at him, just to check if he was okay. Viktor always shook his head. “No progress.”

Time passed. At first, Jayce didn’t worry about it, and he was pretty sure Viktor didn’t either, though Viktor was always better than him at hiding his fears. But a week turned to two, which turned into a month, which turned into more. After a while Jayce didn’t even feel embarrassed anymore. It had become part of his routine, something he did without thinking of why. He almost forgot why he was doing it.

But Viktor didn’t.

His partner grew more agitated, tense, working eternally sore muscles into knots with stress. He would hunch over his worktable with a permanent scowl, no longer bothering to thank Jayce when he came in Friday mornings. But Viktor wasn’t angry. Not with Jayce. Maybe he was angry with himself, though. And that . . . well, Jayce just couldn’t sit around and let that happen.

So he did some research and presented his findings.

Viktor was still scowling when Jayce dropped a pile of papers and journals in front of him, though it turned into confusion when he looked up and saw Jayce fiddling with his bracelet. A nervous habit, one Jayce had never tried to hide. Viktor put his pen down. “What’s this?”

“Research,” Jayce said, trying to think of this conversation as something clinical. Un-intimate. Detached. “On the effectiveness of different reproductive methods in the modern era.”

The scowl returned, Viktor’s mouth twisting up as he looked away from Jayce. “I am incredibly aware of the ineffectiveness of what I have been doing, Jayce. If you wish to put an end to this . . . arrangement, simply say so.”

“No, that’s not . . . ” Jayce ran a hand down his face, trying to hide his eyes, intensely aware of the heat spreading through his face. “There are more . . . effective methods than what we’ve been doing.”

Viktor scoffed. “Such as?”

Jayce’s silence was awkward and they both knew it.

Viktor sat up in his seat, eyes widening in surprise. “Oh.” Viktor shifted, awkward, but he didn’t look upset. Just— shocked that Jayce would suggest it. “You would . . . want to do that with me?”

Jayce was proud of himself for not screaming, YES, yes, obviously, can’t you tell? “Are you open to it?”

“Of course,” Viktor said, like it was so obvious, like Jayce was silly for asking. “But what about you? I am aware that I have already asked for much of you. Would this not be . . . too much?”

Of course it was too much. Jayce going to drive himself insane doing this. It was hard enough seeing Viktor every day. Touching him in small ways — a hand on his shoulder, a hug when an experiment panned out, massaging his back when it got bad — that was already an exquisite torture. So close to what he wanted, but never allowed to take the final bite. This might kill him.

But Jayce . . . Jayce loved him. That was it. He just really, really loved Viktor. He wanted Viktor to be happy even more than he wanted to be the one who made him happy. And he really wanted to be the one to make him happy. So if this could work, then he would make it happen. Even if it was torture. “You could never ask me for too much, V.”

He hadn’t been to Viktor’s apartment often. Both of them spent more time in the lab than at home. But sometimes they would follow one another back to the promise of takeout and theorizing long into the night, falling asleep on each other’s couches. Viktor’s home was as he remembered it. Small, but cozy, well-tidied. Not a lot of mementos, but the ones he did have were meaningful. An alcove in the entryway was home to a small altar where Viktor kept icons from the Undercity. I am no true believer, Viktor told him once, but I know better than to push my luck. Viktor lit some incense as soon as they stepped inside, and soon the room was smelling of vanilla and something else, a flower Jayce wasn’t familiar with. Probably something that grew along the Fissures.

“If I had known you were coming over, I would have cleaned up last night,” Viktor said and removed his coat, taking Jayce’s too.

Jayce kicked off his shoes, knowing Viktor hated when people wore them inside, even if he didn’t say anything about it. “You say that like it’s a mess.”

“You’re probably right. I suppose I am . . . ”

“Nervous?”

Viktor made a strange full-body shrug. “It is not everyday you invite someone to come inside you.”

Jayce only squeaked a little. He was was pretty proud of himself. “ . . . guess not.”

Viktor showed him to the bedroom. Thick curtains already pulled close, the bed neatly made with dark red sheets. A quilt of mismatched patches rested at the foot, and Jayce belatedly recognized it as his own mother’s work, a gift she made for Viktor after Jayce told her his new partner didn’t have any family to spend the holidays with. Viktor moved quickly, snatching it up and setting it on a shelf in his closet, embarrassed. As though Ximena would somehow sense what they were doing if it was left out.

Jayce double-checked the door was shut.

“So.” Jayce cleared his throat. “What now?”

“Now, I undress. Surely you understand the process, Jayce,” Viktor teased, and he was gonna give Jayce heart problems as this rate.

Oh, who am I kidding. He already did. And he was okay with that.

Jayce had just reached out to undo Viktor’s tie when his partner turned around and began to undress in silence. Oh. Right. This isn’t— right. Jayce wasn’t sure exactly how naked he was supposed to get. He settled for removing his tie, his vest, and his socks, folding them neatly atop a dresser and feeling his ears heat up as he heard fabric fall to the ground. He could probably do this with his pants on, right? It would be good to keep a measure of distance between them, wouldn’t it? Yeah. That made sense. Jayce unbuttoned his pants, already embarrassingly hard. He palmed himself through the thin fabric of his boxers. Viktor probably wouldn’t want this to take very long, anyway.

Before that thought could depress him, Viktor said, “I’m ready.”

Jayce turned around.

Viktor was gorgeous. Obviously, Viktor was always gorgeous. But Jayce was . . . God. Leagues of creamy-pale flesh on display as he lay sprawled across the bed, waiting for Jayce to come and fuck him. But right now, Jayce could only stare, cataloguing each new mole or freckle, every little childhood scar, how soft and round his breasts were under his unbuttoned shirt. He still wore his leg brace, but his pants and underwear were gone, leaving him gloriously bare to Jayce’s eyes. Jayce didn’t even realize he was moving until he was already cupping Viktor’s thigh, so soft and sweet under his hand. Viktor let out a soft breath, but didn’t say anything. Jayce asked, gently, “Are you okay with the brace on?”

Viktor rolled his eyes, fond. “Yes, Jayce, I am fine. I will take it off to shower later. Just know I can’t bend my knee so much while it’s on.”

“Got it.” Jayce let his hand fall lower, knuckles brushing over— fuck, he’s as soft as I thought he’d be. Jayce struggled to clear his throat. “Guess I just . . . get on with it.”

Viktor nodded slowly. Every move he made was slow now, as though he were wine-drunk, wading through water in his head. “Please do.”

Viktor said please and Jayce didn’t need to hear another word. He shoved his hand down his boxers and freed his erection, blood rushing through his ears as it sprang forward, inelegant. Viktor’s eyes widened. “You are . . . ” He licked his lips, seemingly without thinking. “Very large.”

“Sorry?”

Viktor snorted. “It was not a complaint.” Then, like he was trying to drive Jayce into a sanatorium, he tilted his hips upwards to take him. “Do not hold back on my account. You may think about anything or . . . anyone you like.”

Jayce scowled even as he wrapped a hand around himself. “I’m not gonna think about someone else while we’re making a baby, Viktor.” As if he’d ever even want to. As though anyone in the universe was as worth thinking about as Viktor. Jayce pumped himself, hips twitching forward mindlessly. God, I’ve wanted you so bad, for so long . . . Viktor didn’t want to hear that, though. Maybe wasn’t interested in this part of the process at all. Didn’t want him . . .

But he had chosen Jayce. Asked Jayce. And Jayce was not going to disappoint him.

They let out twin breaths when Jayce slipped in. Just the tip, just the head. Viktor’s hand twitched, spreading out over the sheets. Jayce watched, entranced. “Good?” Jayce asked, embarrassed when it came out as a gasp, pathetic and wanting.

“Good.” Viktor nodded. His eyes glittered, or maybe that was Jayce seeing what he already believed. “You’re being a lovely guest.”

Jayce chuckled and shook his head. “Easy when the host is so agreeable.”

Viktor started to laugh, then let out a squeak when Jayce grabbed his leg — the left, mindful still — and pulled him forward, sheathing his cock inside of him. They gasped at the same time, but Jayce’s eyes were trained on Viktor, his dilated pupils, the way his throat strained. It nearly superseded what Jayce was feeling — everything he’d dreamed of for months, heat and warmth pressing down on him from every side, enveloping him like a warm bath. “Fuck,” Jayce whispered. Then, thrusting for the first time, “Fuck.”

Viktor was perfect. Viktor was always perfect, but especially now, taking Jayce’s cock like he was made for it. The way his eyes kept drifting shut before Viktor forced them open again, as if he didn’t want to miss a thing. His clever fingers pressing over his stomach until he found Jayce’s cock, the way he giggled when Jayce twitched bucked his hips harder when he pressed down. “Enjoying yourself?”

Jayce wanted so bad to be cool and nonchalant. “Fuck, yes.” He failed. “Fuck, Viktor—” His hand bore down on Viktor’s leg, pressing into him like iron as Jayce pumped his hips, barely letting himself pull out an inch before he was back. He kept stopping himself from closing his eyes, needing to take in every moment, every soft breath Viktor let out, every heheh, the way he stretched around him, so sweet and accommodating. One hand brushed down over his chest, his nipples, the hard bulge of his pelvis where— Fuck, that’s me. That’s me inside you. Jayce thrust harder, beating Viktor’s ass with his hips and biting his tongue so he didn’t say something stupid like I love you.

“Like that,” Viktor whispered, voice falling apart, eyes fluttering shut like he was fighting to keep them open. “Just like that, Jayce.”

I love the way you say my name. Almost as much as he liked the way Viktor writhed in place while Jayce fucked him. Gasping like a slut. Shoving his foot into the bed, squirming when Jayce fondled the one he held. Like he needed to move, but he needed Jayce to fuck him, breed him even more. Like the thought of Jayce getting him pregnant was almost enough to get him off. It was almost enough for Jayce. He stared, mesmerized, at the tears running down Viktor’s face. Viktor tossed his head to the side and Jayce wanted to cup his cheek, turn him back, tell Viktor to look at him and keep looking. Jayce wanted Viktor to see exactly what he did to him, just how insane he made him with every little thing he did. “Viktor.” The name was so delicious on his tongue. “V, can I touch you?”

He was already reaching for Viktor’s pretty pussy, eager to touch and touch and make him feel good, when Viktor shook his head. “Don’t—” He choked on a gasp and shook his head again. “Don’t. Just— like this.” Viktor’s eyes screwed shut. “Just keep going, please.”

It was like he dumped ice water over Jayce’s head. It was worse than if he’d told him to stop. “Oh.” Jayce dropped his hand, letting it fall awkward and pathetic to his side. “Right.” He wasn’t— he wasn’t here for that. He was here to do a job. To do something for Viktor. He could do that. He could be good for Viktor. Do only what he asked, and nothing more.

Jayce would be good for him.

Jayce let go of his leg, listening to Viktor’s little yelp with a pit in his stomach. Viktor sat up on his hands, frowning. “Jayce? What are you—”

Viktor cut himself off when Jayce pushed him back down on the bed, one broad hand flat over his stomach. Viktor gasped when Jayce pulled out, cock glistening from both of them. His hips brushed forward, pushing the head back in. Viktor choked on a gasp. Jayce held him still as he jerked off, holding Viktor’s pussy open and fighting to keep his mind blank. Don’t think, don’t think, don’t even think of how soft and slick Viktor was under his thumb, how easy it would be to slide his hand over and make Viktor feel as good as he did—

The noise Jayce made when he came was broken and pathetic, hips twitching as he pumped Viktor full. His cock was still twitching when he grabbed a pillow and slid it under Viktor’s hips, propping them up so not a drop was wasted. There was a bump in Viktor’s pelvis, showing where Jayce had filled him up, marking him inside. Even then, with noise rushing through his head and drowning everything else out, he couldn’t look away. Couldn’t stop staring at that gorgeous shock of white on pink. Couldn’t decide whether he wanted to lick it up and stuff it back in. He couldn’t have either.

“I’m gonna take a shower.” Jayce stumbled out of the room. Viktor didn’t stop him.