#skyvikss

What you're keeping from me

The pale light danced with iridescent colours on the drops of moisture hanging in the air as Viktor stood at the entrance of the commune’s main greenhouse. He mused at the sight briefly, resting on his staff, thinking of the shapeless, ever changing colours inhabiting his consciousness since his awakening. He has become numb to most sensations, few things could stir his tranquil composure, but the success of new research still woke his curiosity every time. At the back of the structure, he spied a group of his followers tending to the plants and putting the finishing touches to a small artificial pond. They noticed him arriving immediately, turning to look at him as one. Their leader, a shorter man with a ponytail came forward to greet him as the rest returned to their work. Viktor recognized the man as the first one to approach him once he arrived back to the Undercity.

“The new filtration system is working as intended!” - the follower said enthusiastically - “Now that we have more than enough clean water to provide for the whole commune, we have started to build the new section of the greenhouse. - he reverently bowed - As you have instructed. We are almost finished.”

For a while now they have been working on adding a watery habitat to the existing gardens of crops and wild flowers. The plan was to reconstruct the biome of Zaun’s riverside flora from before the pollution turned all of it into a toxic wasteland. The idea of course came from Sky’s notes, as did the rest of the greenhouse. Her words guided him through the building of their community. He read them over and over: to study everything from cross-pollination to cellular structure; to see what components were needed for an air purification chamber or a closed terrarium; to piece together whatever was left unsaid on missing pages and torn off corners. He had the booklet with him today too, clutched to his chest.

“I wouldn’t have expected any other results from such a design” - answered Viktor with approval, then his gaze shifted, searching the empty air behind his follower’s back. A faint, proud smile appeared on his lips as he noticed Sky standing there in the cover of the leaves. Sky smiled back at him shyly, tucking a strand of curly brown hair behind her ear. His fingers tightened on the notebook ever so slightly.

Of course the man standing before him hasn’t noticed anything of this little exchange, his eyes filled with vacant contentedness under the metallic fingerprints.

“If you say your work is almost done, would you mind leaving me alone here for a while?” - Viktor asked him.

“As you wish!” - he bowed again and turned to the rest of the group - “The Herald wishes to inspect the greenhouse alone!”

Viktor couldn’t help but let out a sigh once they all finally left.

“Admit it, you have been looking forward to this” - said Sky teasingly as she walked up to him.

She was right. After the last few hours that he spent with healing a group of newly arrived sick Zaunites, he was in a sore need to recuperate his strength. In these times he loved to retreat to the lushness of the greenhouses. This was also where he most often saw Sky, outside the realm of the arcane. Seeing her in her element, wearing the academy’s uniform, admiring with her the vibrant greenery, discussing with her all the different facets of her research made it seem like she was as tangible as all that thriving Eden he has constructed around her. As if she had never…

“Come!” - she reached out for his hand, gently pulling him along until they were at the side of the little stone basin.

Sky sat down on the soft green grass, patting the ground with one hand, inviting him to join. Viktor put down his staff and the notebook to sit beside her.

“The honeyfruit is almost ready for harvest” - he noted, reaching for the leafy tendrils of the plant on his right. He plucked one of its tiny, vibrant green bulbs and tossed it into the water. Just as it landed with a plop, a little bright pink head poked through the surface. And then a second. And a third. Salamanders. They swirled around the berry, nibbling at it, splashing at each other with their stubby little tails and legs.

“Now, now, be nice to each other!” - Sky reached into the pond giggling.

Viktor flinched a little, when he saw her touch leave no ripples on the surface. He threw in a few more berries to break the fighting salamanders apart. The three escaped back underwater with their prey, their swift little bodies like rose-coloured neon blurs.

“You know, I’ve been thinking about something. This greenhouse… - Sky said sitting back up and gesturing towards the arched ceiling. - …it’s not going to be good enough for very long.”

“What do you mean by that?” - Viktor raised his eyebrows worriedly.

“Just that, if these three are going to grow as big as you told me, we’re going to need a MUCH bigger one.” - she answered with a grin.

Viktor gave a chuckle, but he couldn’t deny that his heart sank a little.

“But that’s nothing we cannot solve, right?” - said Sky, resting her head against his shoulder. Viktor leaned into her touch, but then the sight of his lone reflection in the pond gave him a pause.

“Of course” - he turned away and picked up her notebook to distract himself from the breaking illusion. He traced the leaf patterns on the cover with his finger, eyes fixed on the golden clasp. - “But are you happy with all of this Sky? Are you satisfied with what I’ve done so far? Because I’m doing this for you as much as for Zaun. I’ve tried to follow your every word. Sometimes I admit I do struggle. Some of your notes must have been... lost. Possibly when… - he sighed - But I want to make this real for you. You deserved to see your dream realised. You deserved to do good. You deserved to live.” - his last words came as little more than a whisper. He glanced to where Sky had just been sitting, but found her gone. Instead of her reassuring word, he was left with nothing, but the rustle of leaves and the soft humming of the water system

Viktor opened the notebook, carefully flipping to the pages about the watery biome. It eased his mind to see how meticulously Sky’s plans had been executed: every choice of plant and all the machinery to keep them alive. Her drawings even found their way onto the intricate glass and metal walls of their buildings. But it wasn’t just a list of instructions to follow. Her words gave him purpose at the dawn of his new existence and renewed his hope in a future he once thought lost to him. They gave him companionship, a way to escape whenever he felt drowned out by the echoes of his thoughts.

He continued turning the pages. By now, he knew all of them by heart. Where Sky left a page empty to press a flower… Where she hid a funny little doodle of Heimerdinger… Where were pages missing… He cursed himself for those repeatedly. If Sky’s research would fail in any way, because he lost her notes the night she saved him from the Hexcore… No, he couldn’t wrong her again. So he spent his free time deciphering her missing words whenever the pages stayed silent.

But now that silence became overwhelming.

Viktor closed his eyes and retreated to where he knew he would find her.

When his eyes opened to the void he was rushed by sensation. The dull numbness of his physical body instantly replaced by a charge, a lightness he could only ever compare to the first time he took to run. The surrounding space vibrated with tones of green, pink, blue and gold, the shapes slowly collapsing into one another in clouds of glowing dust.

Sky was standing before him. She gestured for him to follow her, like every time they went to explore the arcane together and disappeared behind a web of luminous tendrils.

Viktor ran after her through the maze of neuron-like structures as if in a game of hide and seek, their steps sending ripples through the invisible surface.

They finally stopped in a clearing, standing hand-in-hand, staring together to where the horizon would have been.

“Why did you leave me there in the greenhouse?” - Viktor broke their silence.

“I didn’t go anywhere.” - Sky said matter-of-factly, looking up at him, studying his face for a moment. - “What’s been troubling you?” - she asked in a softer tone.

“So much for a calming stroll in the garden” - he sighed with a grimace.

Letting go of Sky’s hand he turned away from her towards one of the gleaming walls.

“I fear that your research… or the very least what I have of it in the notebook… is now incomplete. I don’t want this to jeopardize our projects.”

While he talked he absentmindedly traced a pattern into the astral light .

“So far it never posed a problem. And if it did, I’m sure you could figure something out.” - she said reassuringly.

“I just want it to be perfect. Forgive me for not taking care of your notes…” - Viktor continued. Under his glowing fingers shapes began to appear: leaf shapes in a circle, like a flower blooming…

He was at a loss for words. Should he repeat once again how sorry he was that she had to die for him like he did already thousands of times? Tell her how his guilt went way beyond that night in the laboratory? That he needed Sky’s notes not just for her research, but to know her. To know everything about her, to surround himself with her, to atone for letting the two of them drift apart. What good would that do now, after everything he has put her through?

He ran his fingers through the translucent wall, dissolving it in the ether.

“I… I feel like I’m only talking to myself.” - he scoffed, looking away.

Sky crossed the distance between, then reached up and gently turned his face towards her own.

“Then why don’t you talk to me?” - she asked, looking into his eyes.

Viktor raised his hands to hold her palm against his cheek. If only he knew what she wanted him to say.

Then again, he was never that good at reading others... Heimerdinger’s awkward attempts at empathy over his illness, Jayce’s lingering prejudice against Zaun and their diverging ideals on Hextech… would any of this have hit him as hard as it did, had he just paid more attention to the people around him? He thought his new state of being could bring him clarity and understanding. He could access anybody’s mind just at the touch of his fingertip. Yet here he was in front of her, apparently as clueless as ever.

The light cascading on Sky’s face, the stardust tangled in the glow of her hair, it stirred memories in him. Pictures flooded his mind: the moment he first saw her by the side of the stream in their neighbourhood. Her coming to say him goodbye when he left to study in Piltover. Her smiling at him when years later he brought her the news that she too got admitted to the Academy. And her smile again when he gifted her that notebook. That inquisitive glint in her big brown eyes full of wonder got repeatedly etched into his very being. How beautiful he found it. How beautiful he found her. Did she know this? How would she react if he told her now?

“I… just can’t help but feel that there is something you are keeping from me. That I’m missing part of the picture. You are still trying to tell me something, don’t you… Sky?” - Viktor asked her instead, ashamed.

She said nothing, just held him, smiling up at him, cupping his face gently with her hands. Viktor thought he saw a kind of sadness in her eyes. And a sense of knowing, maybe, like if now she too could see into his soul.

Then, still smiling, Sky took his hand, pulling him along with her again, to run with her through the intertwining rays of light. And Viktor ran with her hoping that in time she would guide him to whatever there was left for him to know.

-

Some time later the new head research assistant of the Piltover Academy would find an envelope hidden amongst the few belongings of their predecessor. If they open it, they can see it contains nothing more than a few pieces of paper torn out of a notebook:

Dear Viktor!

Thank you so much for the notebook! It was a really thoughtful gift. Sorry for being so awkward, I didn’t expect anyone to It was so nice of you to remember the anniversary of my enrollment. I wish I could let you know how much I treasure it… Working with you has been my greatest inspiration. I would be so lonely here otherwise. But we Zaunites have to stick together, right?

Have a lovely day!

Sky

~

Hi

I hope this note will find you! You’ve been so busy nowadays. I’m going back to Zaun for the weekend to visit family. Do you want to come along?

Sky :)

~

Dear Viktor,

Thank you for your advice on my project! I really appreciated the feedback. I will consider it moving forward. I can’t wait to tell you about the results.

Sincerely,

Sky

~

Dear Viktor!

The professor told me about your illness. I’m so sorry! I don't even know what to say other than you never deserved any of this. I want a future where nobody from Zaun would have to suffer like this ever again. I pray you can be a part of that future! I hope I didn’t overstep by writing to you! If you ever need anything, I’m always here.

Love,

Sky

~

Dear Viktor

It's not like I'm ever giving you these notes anyway so…

I love you,

Contemplations about death

He was dying. 

He knew that well, and somehow suspected it for a while now, he had just been ignoring it enough to focus on something else. Something bigger and far more important than himself. And even then, he was dying. 

He had taken the day off, after the doctors and even Jayce insisted. The meds helped with the coughing and the burning sensation in his chest. Palliatives, at this point, nothing could stop the inevitable but could help him feel less pain. 

And so he ruminated about death, others and his own, sitting on his favorite spot, gazing down to the place he used to play as a kid, where so many things paved this path for him.

His conversation with Heimerdinger didn’t ease his worries, so after some long hours of contemplation without any conclusion, he decided to go back home before sunset.

There was one thing clear inside him, the certainty of death, his imminent death, his soon to come dead end, approaching with every second, with every breath. Unavoidable, unescapable, death breathing in the back of his neck. 

He was so lost inside his own thoughts that her presence outside his door caught him by surprise. Of course she was there, he thought after a moment, Jayce must have told her and now, probably after trying to find him all over Piltover, Sky was leaning against his door, waiting for him to return home.

His heart broke at the sight, for her, because she didn't deserve the heartbreak. He wasn't oblivious to her feelings towards him, he'd known for a while now, but hadn't given her a chance, nor any signs that he also felt something for her. 

He was supposed to make people's life better, to improve Hextech inventions and give it to people, to their people; and his sacrifice wasn't hers. 

She deserved better, so much more than he could offer. His body was broken, his mind was devoted to science, his heart alone wasn't enough for her, she deserved everything, and he couldn't give it to her, even less now that death was soon to claim him. 

She deserved more, so he'd let her be free, even if that hurt both of them. At least she had the choice to move on, to find someone to give her all she deserved. 

“Viktor!” She said when she saw him, detaching from the door and coming to greet him. “Jayce told me what happened and… Well, I…”

She struggled to make eye contact as usual, but instead of just blushing, her brow knit in a worried expression.

“Maybe I earned the I told you so,” he said, not really stopping to greet her, but kept walking towards the door.

“What do you mean?” She asked, walking next to him

“You asked me to walk with you yesterday and I insisted on keeping working. I should have listened, you can say it.” 

“You know I'm not like that,” she answered in a whisper, and whether it was an angry reply or disappointment, Viktor wasn't really in the mood to figure it out. And still, the guilt built in his guts and he opened the door, offering her to come in. It was the least he could do, to talk about it, he owed her that, for all the years they've known each other.

“Are you… in pain?” Was her first question when they sat down. 

“The meds are helping with that,” he reassured her, leaning unceremoniously on the couch. “Zaun is gonna kill me anyway,” he lamented, hopeless, dry. 

“Jayce said- Well, the doctor said it was something to do with the gasses in the fissures.” 

He nodded slowly, “from all the times my father took me to the mines to help him repair the machines,” he added, unable to smile at the memory. 

The silence stretched for a moment and Sky fidgeted with her fingers before speaking again, “so it’s the same that took my brother and dad…” 

“It would’ve taken my father too if it wasn’t for that explosion,” he joined in the grief. So many corpses were piled upon the different hazards in the mines.

Both sighed deeply, looking away to the emptiness, letting the bitter memories pass over them. 

The soft touch on his hand startled him, and if it hadn't been Sky, he would have pulled away. Instead, he watched her hand rest on his, he calmed down, and slowly looked up to her. She blushed and her lips parted enough to let out a gasp, she pursed her lips then and looked away, but before she pulled her hand away, Viktor took it in his. It was a firm yet a kind hold. When she looked back at him, her cheeks were bright red and he couldn't help but smile at that. 

She had always been bright, in all the different meanings of the word. Ever since they were childrens and she saw his inventions and understood how they worked. Her shy smile from a distance was enough to lighten up his grayest day. And her beauty, he couldn’t deny that either, he had admired her from afar for so long, their whole lives, in secret, afraid to diminish her brightness with his gloomy fate. She had been kissed by the sun, and he had been kissed by death long before their fates had crossed.

And now, closer to death than ever, he wondered if that had been the right choice. What could have been if he had said something earlier, if they had tried, if he had let her in years ago. Would this moment hurt any less? Knowing he’ll go and she’ll stay to grieve for him, as she did for her father and her brother before him. As both grieved for their families as Zaun took them in different ways, in different moments, yet took them anyway, as it would happen to him soon.

“You know, even some flowers survive the gasses in the fissures, maybe you can too,” her voice was soft and full of hope. 

He straightened and leaned closer to her. 

When had he focused so much in his work that forgot to look at the sun, at her brightness. Sky, his bright Sky, giving him hope even when there's nothing left to try. He’d left this world with so little to show, with so much unfinished work, with little legacy but most of all, grieving everything they could have had together. A different life with a similar fate. 

He leaned down, slowly, until their foreheads touched. She was warm against his cold, soft against his sharp edges, the sigh that escaped her lips made his heart skip a beat. 

She lifted a hand and slowly placed it in the back of his neck, holding them close, holding him together. He did the same, feeling the warm, soft skin, a light touch to stay grounded, to her, to this moment, to the bit of life that he still had. 

He was still young, he could have so many years ahead of him, but now, remembering the years Sky had been by his side, playing by the stream as kids, comforting each other when their loved ones passed away, sharing the struggles of being Zaunites in Piltover, the smirks and stolen glances in the lab… Somehow he felt the years had been long, yet he didn't dare to think how much it would feel like to have more. For now, right now, he had her, they had each other. 

“Thank you for your company, Sky.”