Just an FYI, this story is definitely rated M. Maybe not now, but soon. Fairly soon. Like next chapter soon. There will be cursing, sexual content, rape, blood, gayness, lesbianness, straightness, death, gore, and a lot of other fun things. And just for clarification, this will end up being an pairing story between Jayce and Ekko. Super ghey boys. GLHF!
The sun shone through the trees, through a broad and rather glamorous window, to dapple across a cluttered and very unglamorous table. Small inventions and little tinker devices were scattered across it, some looking finished and beautiful, but most looking like they needed some serious refining. A broad shouldered young man slept on one of the corners of the table, where he'd shoved out just enough room to place his head. A distant alarm rang through the building, and he awoke, his blue eyes opening wide, and then quickly snapping back shut when the light blinded them.
"What the..." He leaned back in his chair, rubbing his eyes. From down the hall, the alarm in his bedroom went to snooze. He yawned lightly, looking around the room.
"Fuck.." He finished, eyeing his lab with a light chuckle. It was an absolute mess. If Caitlyn walked in, she'd probably have an aneurysm. There were far from finished projects, almost finished projects, projects he hadn't even started on yet... all scattered rather randomly across his workplace. Jayce felt very... unmotivated. He leaned further back in his old chair, lazily listening to it creak dangerously under his weight. Nothing needed to be done. There was no rush to finish anything, no threat. There were a few commissions, but no one had even given him a due date. Most of them were parents that wanted the school to be in awe of what their 12 year old brought to next year's science fair. Nothing pushed him to finish any of his projects, except a mild curiosity in whether they would work as intended or not. Which, Jayce was around 99.8% certain that they would. He invented them, after all.
Piltover was at peace right now. Hell, all of Valoran was at peace for the moment. The past 5 months, even Noxus and Demacia had stopped quabbling. Of course, there is always a quiet before the storm...
Jayce frowned, disinterested in his passing thoughts of doom. He figured he would enjoy the peace as it was for the moment. And peaceful it was. Not even the summoners of the League had called upon him lately. Everyone was starry eyed over the new Champion that had arrived. Jayce scoffed, picking up a part of the device he'd been tinkering with before he fell asleep. The Zaunite kid, Ekko. Jayce hadn't yet had the chance to lane with, nor against him. He looked like a little gutterpunk brat...
Just the thought of Zaun left a bad taste in his mouth. Thieves, murderers, reputable psychos. Reminders of what people like Singed, Warwick, Jinx... Viktor were capable of. Jayce ground his teeth, tossing the small part back onto the mess on his table. He eyed the pieces of the latest device he'd been commissioned to make. The Primal Gear. It was supposed to extract DNA from various types of animals, break down specific components, and gift the abilities upon whoever wore it. He'd been commissioned to make the device over three months ago, but had been going agonizingly slow for multiple reasons, aside from his own laziness. Jayce had been trying relentlessly to find out who the mystery man that wanted it made was. At first glance, it seemed like an Udyr wannabe, but Jayce knew that this device could be valuable in hunting down creatures. And people.. Jayce was wary. He didn't want to be the creator of the device that was used to track down and kill Rengar, or Kha'Zix, or Nidalee. Hell, use it on just Udyr and they'd already have so much available to them.
This was the kind of device, that if coupled with a memory storage, could be an entryway to the League for whoever used it. Especially if they extracted enough power from the different beasts around Valoran. More than anything else, it would be extremely annoying to fight against on the rift. Someone who could attack you, steal your ability for an indefinite amount of time, or steal one of your teammate's abilities to use against you? Making a team would be chaotic around an ability like that. Everyone would have to watch out for abilities that countered their own team..
Jayce shook his head and stood up, sighing. He needed some air, some sunshine, ice cream, something. He grabbed his jacket from the hook across the room, heading for the door.
Piltover was busy. Maybe it was because Jayce lived extremely close to the main blocks and it was market day, but Jayce just blamed it on the fact that Piltover was a large and successful city. That conclusion was much more satisfying. He walked along the sidewalk, pleased when he realized he didn't sleep for as long as he'd thought. The market started pretty regularly around 10, and it looked like people were just getting set up. Jayce made a beeline across the street, going as quickly as he could. It was partially because there was some serious traffic with people trying to get in a market spot as fast as they could, but mostly because Jayce knew that if Vi saw him jaywalking, she would chase him down and tackle him into the concrete...
Paranoia stayed creeped over him until he made it to the other side. You never knew when she would be there... watching... Jayce chuckled, slightly berating himself for being so nervous as he walked into his favorite coffee shop. He winked at one of the girls working there as he took a seat at one of the bar stools. She slinked over, leaning across the counter. Her cleavage nearly shined in the light, and Jayce gave her a charming smile. Light hair, tan skin, eyes the color of milk chocolate. His favorite kind.
"What can I get you, Mr. Jayce?"
"You can-"
"You can get him a little kiddy meal!"
Jayce's smile dropped as Vi grabbed him and put him into a headlock. Jayce pushed her indignantly, and her grip tightened. He listened to her laugh in his ear, and he growled. She smothered his hair with her giant glove, driving her knuckle into his head. Jayce screamed, muffled by the deputy's thick vest. Caitlyn calmly ignored them, taking a seat on the other side of Vi.
"I'll have some lemon balm tea, if you would please." Caitlyn took her hat off, setting it to the side. She smiled kindly, placing her head in her hand as she watched Jayce and Vi make fools of themselves. Finally Jayce was able to twist his way out and he stumbled back, falling off the bar stool and thudding against the floor. Vi laughed at him, turning to the waitress.
"Gimme an ale, beautiful." Vi smirked, giving the busty girl a wink. The waitress blushed, writing the order down.
"Ah, no. She will have some chamomile tea." Caitlyn interrupted, ignoring Vi's cries of protest. Jayce slumped back into his seat, leaning away from the rambunctious woman beside him. He fixed his hair slowly, seething with salt as he watched Vi flirt with the waitress incessantly. Finally the girl turned to him, her cheeks bright pink from Vi's compliments.
"A coffee would be nice, black. Three sugars." Jayce rested his head in his hand, turning to the two law enforcers that had probably just ruined the easiest lay he would ever run into. In retrospect, Vi may have been doing him a favor. This was his favorite coffee shop, and he frequented it nearly every morning. He didn't want something like this ruining that. Nothing was worse than someone who thought a one night stand was a door opener to a relationship. The waitress, as sweet as she seemed, looked like just that kind of person. A nudge prodded Jayce out of his thoughts, and he turned to Vi with a dumb look on his face. "Huh, wha? What?"
Vi glared at him, motioning towards Caitlyn with her eyes and giving him a pointed look. Jayce stared at her blankly, not really wanting to point out that he hadn't been listening, and risk another noogie from those massive gloved hands. Caitlyn looked expectant, watching them both with a small smile on her face. "Well, Jayce? What do you think?"
"Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..."
Vi tapped her gloved fist into Jayce's arm, intentionally light but still nearly tipping both him and the bar stool over. Jayce rubbed his arm absentmindedly. "I... I think that..."
Caitlyn cocked an eyebrow and Vi glared at death threat this way. The waitress came back with their drinks, setting them down one by one. Vi propped her elbow on the counter, giving the woman a cheeky smile. "I think I can hold my liquor, among many other things, at any time of the day."
Jayce rolled his eyes, taking the coffee and letting it warm his hands. The waitress giggled at Vi, setting their drinks down and pushing a sugar tray over. Jayce smiled at the young woman, mouthing the word 'alcoholic'. The waitress laughed lightly, before turning away to tend to other customers. Vi stared him down, still holding a couple of empty sugar packets above her tea. Caitlyn cleared her throat, not intending to have them wrestling in public.
Again...
"So, Jayce, have you seen the new Champion?" She asked, inhaling the soft perfume of her tea.
"The Zaunite kid? Nah, not yet."
"Just a matter of time man. You'll get your ass kicked by him yet." Vi chimed in cheerfully, ignoring Jayce's glare.
"He's trouble, that one. Smart. Keeps working his way through the restrictions they put on him. I'm not sure the Institute fully grasps what he's capable of yet." Caitlyn said thoughtfully, staring into her drink.
"Little brat acts like her knows me. Makes these snide comments every chance he gets!" Vi sneered, slamming her fist onto the table, shaking it. "Better be thankful he's fast, I'll break his face in if I catch him."
"That's just the thing. His role versatility knows now bounds. Toplane, jungle, midlane, support..."
"Marksman?" Jayce asked, smirking.
Caitlyn frowned, "That's the annoying part."
"Fucking troll summoners, I swear!" Vi threw her arms up in exasperation, nearly spilling her tea with the action. Beside her, Caitlyn pulled out what looked like a small card. The card folded open with a light tap from Caitlyn's thumb, and a bright blue screen flickered into the opening. An alarm pinged across it, and the sheriff read it quickly before flipping it shut once more.
"We have to go. Come on Vi, there's been a report of thievery in the market." Caitlyn said, standing up and grabbing her hat. "Thank you for the drinks, Jayce."
"What."
Vi laughed at him, leaning against the counter. She watched Caitlyn leave, and Jayce could very clearly see where the deputy's eyes were following. Jayce smacked her arm, giving her a look.
"What? Like you're a saint? You fuck every man, woman, and humanoid that gives you a kinky smile, Jayce."
The inventor gave her an open mouthed stare. "I was going to say that you should talk to her. Ask her out of something. Fucking hell, Vi!"
Her head tipped back and she gave a long, hearty laugh. Jayce smiled into his coffee, shaking his head. They were dorks. Rude, violent, and unruly, but Jayce wouldn't have his friends any other way.
"Shit man, maybe I will. I'm pretty sure she doesn't fly my way though." Vi shrugged, standing to leave. "Yo, Jayce."
"Yo."
Vi slammed her fist into the table, making Jayce jump and drop his drink. He turned to the volatile woman, leaning back when he saw Vi close in on him. She pointed her finger in his face, giving him a grim look. "I fucking saw you jaywalk that street. I'll get you."
Jayce sighed, staring down at the coffee cup in his hands. The liquid was dwindling around the bottom, and a strange thought passed through his head. Did he drink too much coffee? Did coffee make his breath smell like... like coffee? Jayce felt his teeth with his tongue, and suddenly he felt dirty. A strange desperation to brush his teeth and shower came over him, and he leaped up from the park bench, deciding right then and there that he'd been lounging around town for too long.
After the ladies left for the market, Jayce had walked a couple blocks to the park to drink the rest of his third coffee and watch the Piltover population go about their days. Jayce actually kind of enjoyed people watching. Lately he found himself with a lot of time to find new hobbies. Maybe it was because he was procrastinating so badly with all of his inventions...
Jayce frowned, turning the corner and straight into the market crowd. He felt lazy, and that wasn't a pleasant feeling. He looked across the vendors and their wares as he passed, eyeing all the little devices and silly tech they were trying to sell. People from all over Valoran came to the Piltover Market to sell their items. Most were sold to tourists that thought this strange little mech they bought from a ragged old witch was kind of cool, but had no idea how it worked. Very little was found worthy in the eyes of esteemed scientists, such as Jayce. But every once in a while...
Jayce stopped, a green light catching his eye. He turned to the vendor to his left, staring at a small cylinder with a bright green glow to it. Upon further inspection, the capsule was filled with liquid. However, the liquid itself looked completely clear. It seemed to be the bubbles inside the liquid, and the air around it that gave off the green hue. Jayce grabbed it, lifting it above his head and studying it.
"Hey hey hands off the wares! If you touch it, you buy it!" A crooked old man growled at Jayce, his back very obviously kinked in many different places, yet he bore no cane. His clothes weren't exactly ragged, but he certainly looked like he took casual swims through creekbeds, or maybe sewers, often. All the same, he looked not unlike every other vendor in this area of the market. The market segregated certain people in different areas. Some stock was homemade, and some was stolen, and they didn't want the people who made the items they sold to be next to someone who stole the items they sold. Strangely enough, this wasn't a law or backed by any kind of enforcement. They segregated themselves. Birds of a feather flock together, and all that. Jayce eyed the old man suspiciously, still holding the cylinder.
"Where did you get this?" Jayce asked, lightly shaking it. The air and the liquid stayed nearly the same, acting quite akin to oil and water. Jayce suddenly had a strange feeling that shaking this device was a very bad idea.
"Ah, that! That is a capsule full of spacial tissue, torn from the dimensional universe itself!" The man stated proudly, giving a wide array of hand movements and dramatic facial expressions. People gathered around the man, nearly crowding Jayce out of his place. They ooed and awed at what the man spouted, all of their eyes turned to the green glow. Jayce himself was unamused by the tale, and wasn't keen on having this thing nabbed by a demacian housewife because they thought it was fucking spacial tissue.
"Aha, yeah. Where'd you really get it?"
The man stopped short, giving Jayce a suspicious look. If nothing else, his story had gotten a couple people to buy other things from him. He seemed pleased enough with himself. "If you want to know, you gotta buy it first."
Jayce sighed, taking another look at the cylinder. At the top and bottom of the glass capsule, there were specific grooves and gears suspended in a sturdy, blackish grey metal. It looked like a piece that would be a part of a larger device. It almost looked like some sort of... energy supply. Jayce scrunched his eyes, debating on the little thing. "How much?"
Greed flickered across the crooked man's eyes, and he stuck his tongue out the side of his mouth, as if contemplating. "Hm... how about-"
Jayce leaned in suddenly, glaring the man down. He almost smirked when the man jumped back, shrinking under Jayce. "If you say 5 gold or anything above, I'm telling all of these good people that everything you're selling is trash that you found in the river between Zaun and Piltover."
"But-"
"But nothing. I know your like." Jayce threatened, unamused by the man. If this was a sort of energy supplyant device like Jayce thought, then it was either made by scratch and there was nothing else like it in the world, or it was extremely expensive and probably a specific order from a big name brand. Either way, it was likely stolen.
The man flinched, giving Jayce a glare as he scratched his fingernails across his table. "Hmph. 4 gold then."
Jayce tossed the man four gold, rolling his eyes when the man mumbled about thieves and the slandering of his good name. Jayce shoved the thing into his pocket, keen on taking it apart when he got back to his lab. Ahead of him, Ziggs stepped out onto the sidewalk, holding a large bag of goods. Jayce chuckled, walking around the hyper little yordle with a small wave, which the furry beast happily returned.
Ziggs found most of his supply at the market. He used the old metal that was sold here, as well as the unstable chemicals and many different random assortments of waste bottles and jars. He would custom make all of his things, melting down the metal, doing the tedious task of disassembling the chemicals, Jayce found it kind of fascinating. Ziggs didn't believe in big name equipment. He always said buying from the market helped the recycling of gold in Piltover's economy. Jayce himself wasn't exactly... economically affluent. It was boring. Boring, boring, boring subject; Jayce wasn't interested.
The inventor stepped into his building, jogging across the empty lobby to the elevators. He quickly stabbed the button to call the elevator, repeating it multiple times when it didn't come as fast as he wanted. He really, truly hoped that no one saw him and tried to engage him in conversation. It wasn't that he didn't like all the other residents. It was that all of the other residents were also using this building as a lab, and thus, were also scientists, inventors, chemists, and the like. Everyone knew pretty much everyone, and they always asked about how their inventions/concoctions/experiments were going. And Jayce would have to lie and pretend he hadn't just been using his lab as a sex cove lately, and he'd have to make up a story about how well his inventions were doing, and it just seemed like so much work. He hopped into the elevator, sighing and resting against the wall. One bullet dodged. He tapped the button for his floor, thumbed in his passcode, and leaned his head against the wall, feeling the coolness of the metal.
Each floor in this building was a single, rentable unit. Three labs, two bedrooms, one bathroom, a kitchen, and a 'dining room' that was usually just filled with more tables that were lined to the brim with more inventions and experiments. The floors all used to be exactly the same, but depending on who owned them, were actually redone about once a year. The owners of the building itself had put in soundproof walls and floors a couple of years ago to try and help with the excess amounts of screaming and yelling at failed experiments, explosions, etc. It helped, but then they had to install alarms on all the floors as well, because no one could just scream 'FIRE' and expect everyone to hear them anymore.
Jayce opened his eyes when the elevator doors creaked open, pulling out his key and unlocking the gated door to his floor. Usually this was done in a grand and dramatic manner to impress the person or persons Jayce had brought up with him. Sometimes fellow scientists and inventors, but lately usually whoever Jayce had seduced that day. He pulled the gates back closed, locking them and slumping against them. Suddenly an alarm rang out, and Jayce nearly jumped out of his skin. "FUCK. Okay."
Jayce pushed himself back to his feet, walking through the hallway and into his bedroom. He pulled his blanket off the floor and threw it back onto his large bed, falling with it. He smacked the alarm on the way down and rested, feeling tired. It was such a comfortable bed, very expensive, but very worth it. It pulled Jayce towards sleep, telling him lies about what time it was.
"Fuck. It's only like 2 in the afternoon. I suck." Jayce pushed his face into his blanket, moping. He felt a small tug at the back of his mind, and he reopened his eyes, cursing. The call of a summoner was a strange feeling. It was like a ping, in a sense that it was one little poke that prodded you to accept the connection. It was... it was almost like having a soft little stress ball being thrown at the back of your head. Jayce connected to the summoner, waiting patiently for them.
'Ah, so you are awake. Thank goodness.'
'You called?' Jayce said smoothly, his mental voice like honey. Honestly, he didn't actually intend to flirt with everyone he met. It was almost habitual, more than actual intentional seduction.
'I am Lord Armon, I request for you to fight with me.'
'Of course, I'd be happy to help out.' Jayce tried to be more polite than charismatic, feeling almost guilty for not remembering the names of most of his summoners. In his defense, a lot of summoners called for his aid. It was only the highly ranked, famous ones, the ones whose names where displayed everywhere, that he remembered.
'Will 2 minutes to prepare be ample enough?'
'Make it 3 and I'll buy you dinner.'
'O-oh.'
Jayce smiled to himself, pulling off his jacket and tossing it aside. He grabbed his coat off the hook on his bedroom door, and walked out. The link between he and his summoner started to strengthen, and he cracked his neck. It had been some time since he fought, and despite how tired he felt, Jayce was a little excited to get back to the Rift. He walked to the end of the hall and pushed on the wall, opening a doorway to his safe. He entered a 13 digit passcode, and the heavy door slowly pulled open. The Mercury Hammer stood in all it's glory, a testament to Jayce's skill as an inventor, and a defender.
Jayce grabbed it from the stand, letting the safe fall shut and kicking the wall closed. Blue light surrounded him, and he felt the particles teleporting him far from his home; far from Piltover and the neighboring Zaun, away from the Freljord and the mountains, and springing towards the Institute of War. The method they used to teleport the champions was an inconvenient one. It could teleport you from anywhere in Valoran, but it could only teleport you to one of the Institute's towers that they had stationed in every city. Annoying. As for the teleportation itself, it could be worse. It was almost like being turned into lightning. It didn't hurt. It was like the feeling you get when the hair on your nape stands on end, and a shiver runs down your spine. Like someone giving your neck a soft, almost indistinct, kiss. Subtle, but spine tingling. Kind of orgasmic, in a way. Not enough to give you a hard on, or so you'd admit, but enough to make the thought linger in your head. The process took a lot out of you the first time, but the Champions got used to the method quite quickly.
Jayce reappeared on a small elevated panel in the Institute, alongside two other Champions, ones that were likely also summoned to the Institute to take part in the same battle Jayce was here for. Darius stood to his left, and Twitch to his right. Jayce stayed stationary for a moment, pretending to brush something off his coat while waiting for Darius to walk an acceptable distance away. Jayce sneered. He didn't get along with the axe swinging man. And it wasn't because he was a noxian elitist.
Okay, maybe it was a little..
Jayce walked out of the teleportation area, nearly tripping on Annie. She swung out from under him, giggling as she skipped away. "Woopsie, sorry Jaycie!"
Jayce nodded, chuckling. Jaycie? Ugh, kid. Please. One's toleration levels had to be godlike in this line of work. If they weren't, you ended up like Nocturne, or Fiddlesticks. Locked up. Imprisoned. Jayce shuddered. He didn't know how criminals did it. Not that he was claustrophobic... but he might be actually. Jayce mulled over the thought as he walked on. He found it a bit indignant, but actually a realistic probability. He'd never, EVER liked small places. Then again he'd never been a small person. Genetic broad shoulders, meaty arms, and rather tall. Attractive. Jayce smiled to himself.
'So, uh, dinner huh?'
"Fuck." Jayce said, snapping his mouth back shut with a smile when Annie looked curiously back at him. A couple summoners glared at him as they walked past, commenting on his language. Jayce nodded and apologized with a charming smile and a light laugh. He turned back, sighing, and nearly jumped. To his side, Talon strode on, staring at the inventor. Jayce kept his eyes straight forward, watching the man eye him from his peripheral vision. He hadn't even noticed the assassin, how long had he been there?
"Oi."
Jayce turned to the noxian, smiling. "Ahaha, yeah?"
"Watch your mouth around the kid." Talon said darkly. Jayce stopped moving, watching Talon walk ahead, looming over Annie like some sort of tiny makeshift Tibbers. A noxian assassin just berated him for his language. What a time to be alive.
'Of course, you did give me that extra minute, after all.' Jayce sighed out loud. He'd forgotten about that, and honestly wasn't really interested in spending the night with a summoner that he didn't remember, and would promptly forget after this fight.
'Oh wow. I thought you were like, trolling me.'
'Whaaat? I would never! A promise is a promise. When do you want to get dinner?' Jayce asked, trying to sound charming and smooth in his telepathic conversation. Visually, he looked like he'd just crawled out of bed, and his deep set frown deterred everyone from speaking to him.
'After the game, I suppose?'
'Sounds like a date, Lord Armon.' Jayce frowned through the entire conversation. Once Jayce was tasked with doing something he didn't want to, he suddenly remembered many things that were at the top of his priority list. Like how the Primal Gear did, in fact, have a due date that was coming up soon. How soon, he couldn't remember, but soonish. Also, there was a new stabilizing agent he was supposed to be clarifying, and Jayce hadn't even touched that project yet. All of these things he was supposed to be doing, and he could only think of one thing. The thought of that little device was nagging at the back of his mind. He really, desperately wanted to take the glowing thing apart. The most disappointing part was that Jayce was almost entirely sure he would spend four hours taking it apart carefully and piece by piece only to find it was just some sewage water with radiated coloring.
He grit his teeth, realizing he'd never actually fucking brushed his teeth when he'd gotten to his lab. He nearly cursed out loud, before smacking his mouth shut on the first letter when Talon turned to give him a dirty look. Jayce smiled at the noxian, trying his damnest to be charming enough that it would make the assassin not target him. I'll give you a dirty look Talon, Jayce thought to himself. I'll give you a dirty something else too.
'Ahem.'
Jayce nearly kicked himself, remembering only now that pointed thoughts were translated as messages when you were tied to a summoner. He hid his face in his hands as he walked, knowing the path to the transferring chamber well enough that he could mourn his fate on the way there. He felt like curling up in a ball and dying. Gossip spread across summoners like a plague. He could only imagine what kind of looks people would be giving him tomorrow. Oh god, what if Talon found out.. Oh GOD. WHAT IF VI FOUND OUT. Jayce wanted to slam his head against something, but settled for screaming into his hands and stomping into the transferring chamber.
