Chapter Text
Viktor opened that unknown and yet familiar door; it led to a small bar. He had seen the same place through the eyes of some of his followers; he himself in the past had passed in front of the place, but he never dared to enter it. To his old self, it would have been a waste of time.
Now, he was welcomed to a rich place, not the type of richness you would find in every corner of Piltover, but by Zaun standards, that place was rich, well-maintained, and preserved. Loved. By its owner and by those who visited the place regularly.
There was no one else there, but Viktor could hear the voices and the laughter, and the sound of cups being toasted. Not one of Vander’s memories then, probably the manifestation of a sentiment or maybe how his soul chooses to manifest. Illogical, but beautiful nonetheless. And fascinating.
Vander himself was there, behind the counter, drying some cups for his invisible patrons. He was tall but nothing like the mountain of a man he had fallen asleep upon. But still taller than Viktor and stronger. Handsome and so alive. He could see why the people of Zaun would rely on his strong shoulders.
Now he has an ever-stronger psyche and weapons more powerful to defend this city. If the people of Zaun could choose, they would prefer the beast. Strong enough to protect every one of them but also scary enough to not be invited to their homes, or would they choose that man?
“Are you going to stand there all day long?”
Viktor blinked; he thought he was just an observer for that scene, but it looked like Vander’s soul chose him to be a participant in it. Well, better that way.
Whatever the case may be, he walked with proud, steady steps.
“Hello, Vander."
The bartender raised an eyebrow, focusing on Viktor’s face as if it were a puzzle.
“Have we met before?”
“In some way”
He didn’t look that different from the version when he spoke previously with Vander’s soul, so maybe that piece of the other man wasn't fully in sync with the one he spent most of his time with.
The familiar silence between the two arose again; Viktor was lost in his thoughts while the other kept cleaning the glasses and plates around him.
“Actually, you remind me of someone. But I know you aren’t the same person."
He took a step forward, surprised by his own appearance, by how his own soul manifested there. Not his evolved form, neither the ethereal one he shared with Sky, but a younger version of himself, the one that still had enough health to try to adventure the world, the way he looked when he first arrived at Piltover.
Maybe it was an unconscious decision, a ‘what if’ of what would have happened if he had tried to explore the city he was born into instead of trying his luck in the upper place. Or maybe it was just a coincidence.
Vander's eyes landed on the stool to his right; lost in thoughts, that person or that seat must have been important to him. Following the cue Viktor seated there.
“Tell me about him."
Vander chuckled, a shier form of a laugh compared to the one Viktor had heard earlier today, but it was a welcoming sound.
“Better not, he likes to...” The scenery around them changed for a second; the well-maintained bar gave way to a chaotic and ruined version of it. Whatever the connection between those two was, the memory of that man brought instability to Vander's soul. It would be best not to prod him about it. "Keep his privacy.”
Vander smiled before turning his back to Viktor; he looked unaware of the quick transformation around them. Viktor pounted, the best way to know something was to explore every piece of it, study it, and then learn from it. If he couldn’t touch that part of Vander’s soul, there would be an unknown part of him that Viktor wouldn’t be able to discover.
It shouldn’t be a problem, since Vander still looked stable enough, but it still bothered the shorted man for some reason.
“Here”
A glass was placed in front of him.
“I didn’t order anything."
“I know, but what is the point of going into a bar if you aren’t going to drink anything? Besides, I think you will like it."
Viktor looked at the liquid inside the glass, he never was a fan of alcohol, either because of his frail health and because of the bitter taste. The liquid was translucent, so he should assume it was just water.
Picking the glass up, Viktor watched in fascination as it changed its colors, from transparent to a white color, just like Vander’s void inside his soul, and then it turned into green, and it made Viktor remember his old teacher. An extravagant shade of purple, then a vibrant blue and a darkish pink, and in the end it settled into crimson. It was wine, then?
Vander continued unaware of any of these changes, so maybe it was Viktor’s own soul that couldn’t pick a drink? He didn’t know, and he also didn't have any idea where to look to find answers.
So, drinking it was the only thing he could.
He bring the cup close to his face and smelled it. Vander laughed, a deep and more welcoming sound than the last one.
“Don’t worry, it isn’t poison. It wouldn’t help with this place's reputation if I just started killing every potential patron that showed up."
Viktor couldn’t pick any strong scent from it, so he decided to just trust Vander on it. A small sip made him taste sweetness, a rich liquid that went down his throat, bringing warmth in its wake. It was far from unpleasant, so he took another sip, a bigger one this time. This time he could taste a little spice in it.
“See? Told you so.”
Viktor couldn’t stop drinking whatever that mystery liquid was, each sip making him taste something different, something he remembered tasting before but nothing he could really place his finger on. But it was good, and before he noticed, the cup rested empty in front of him."
“Do you want another one?” Vander picked the cup up, ready to refill it before his focus changed to the bell above the door, indicating that new patrons had arrived at the place. "Welcome, guys, the same as always?”
“That’s right, Vander.”
Viktor turned around, seeing the well-distinct form of the three men that just arrived. Actually, now that he was paying real attention to the place, customers filled every part of the bar, with distinct faces and features all around. Some people Viktor remembered seeing around Zaun, others he felt as if he maybe had seen in the newspaper obituary.
There were children running around and old ladies drinking what Viktor hoped was tea and chatting around. The place was alive as if they were in the real world.
“Here you go."
His cup was refiled, and now Viktor understood; that was Vander’s soul. It was sweet to those he welcomed around himself but a little spicy to represent his fighting spirit and warmth; Viktor could bet that he was always warm, exuding a strong presence to those close to him. The herald wanted to feel that. with his old body, to experience that human sensation once more.
But he couldn’t, not with his evolved body; it was better this way. For now, he would accept more of Vander’s soul and become more of a part of it.
"Cheers." Vander smiled, watching Viktor drink before his attention moved again to the front door.
Actually, everyone turned their head too there as a woman with violet hair entered; she had a baby on her arm and a small child behind her.
She looked more vibrant and alive than the rest of the patrons, the same as the kids that followed her.
“Hello Vander, how have you been?”
The two engaged in a conversation, but the sensation of being watched moved Viktor’s attention away from it; looking around, he noticed who was watching him. The kid that just arrived, with bright, pink, unruly hair.
"Oh, I see." He understood now why these person had a special place inside Vander’s soul.
“And who’s this friend of yours?”
Vander was holding the baby Powder on his arms; Viktor found that scene amusing. The difference between the man's big arms and the small child was enormous. Even those arms, made to hurt and be intimidating, could also protect and bring peace to others.
“He’s a visitor; don’t scare him away. I’m trying to make him come back."
“Oh yeah? Be careful or Silco may get jealous."
"Wha— Why would he be jealous of someone we barely know?”
“Well, he’s sitting on his favorite spot, isn’t he?”
Viktor questioned if he should make part of the conversation, but the banter between those two felt too natural to be touched as an outsider.
“Anyway, where are our manners, Vander? Hi, I’m Felicia. Those are my children, Violet and Powder. Who are you?”
“Viktor”
He answered, looking at Vander's face in search of some type of recognition; the taller man did furrow his brows but didn’t say anything else.
“Well, nice to meet you, Viktor. I hope you like our home and come back another time; just don’t let this brute of a man scare you away."
"Oi."
Felicia left laughing loudly and pushing her kids beside herself; not long after, the front opened again, and a man joined her little family.
Viktor watched them for a while; if the sisters he met wanted him to, he could show that to them, how their adoptive father still saw them even after all those years.
“That’s Connol. They look like the perfect family, don't they?"
“In a way”
He looked at Vander, and there was fondness in his eyes, but there was also a type of sadness there. He tried to be a pillar for so many people, but in the end, what his soul really yearned for was a chance to have his own perfect family as well.
That part of him still didn’t know, or didn’t remember, that he would become the family of those two girls. Not a perfect family but a family nonetheless.
“So, I remind you of that person called Silco?”
Vander noticed he was staring at the family of four, and he bashfully scratched the back of his head before returning his attention to his cups.
“In some ways, similar build, similar hair color, and similar sharp eyes. But the two of you are also very different."
The bar kept stable, so Viktor chose to probe just a little bit.
“How so?”
“Well, you haven’t told me to fuck off so far, so that’s something. Aren’t you going to drink more?”
Viktor gave a small smile before taking another sip; the liquid tasted warmer than before and also sweeter; he wouldn't mind getting drunk from it.
Vander was staring at him again, and maybe a form of recognition had happened between them, but before he could say what he was thinking, the song of a record player cut through the bar’s murmuring.
Viktor knew there was music playing before, but that in specific made itself be noticed. Some patrons stood up and chose to dance to it; among them was the four people’s family. Felicia danced with Violet, letting her daughter step on her shoes to show her daughter how to move her feet. Connol had Powder against his chest, humming the melody of the song while rocking his baby to sleep.
Vander was paying close attention to them, to everyone actually. Also not a perfect family, but that was, in their own way, the family he built through the years. It was good music, that one that just started playing. Viktor didn’t think he had ever heard it before, but it made him feel nostalgic anyway.
Maybe he had drunk too much from Vander’s soul so that, as much as the bartender had accepted him into his soul, Viktor had unconsciously done the same.
If he still even had a soul to begin with.
He thinks he danced when he was a child, but once his legs stopped working properly, he had given up on it, but now, in that moment, he decided to give it another chance. He finished his drink on one go before getting up from the stool.
“Do you want to dance?”
Vander blinked slowly, as if Viktor had spoken to him in another language, or maybe he was just too used to being the one that watched the others dance but was never a real part of it.
Viktor could relate but not today.
“If I say yes, you promise me you will come back?”
No.
Or maybe yes, he didn’t know if Vander’s soul would be as receptive to him as today or if he'd ever get a chance to explore so much of the other man once their 'treatment' was completed.
"Yes."
In the end it didn’t matter; maybe the Viktor that spoke and drank and laughed with Vander would be engraved on the older man's soul, so he also would show up in his memories of that place. At least that’s something Viktor would like to.
He was sure that for him, Vander would be someone he would always carry with him.
“Deal”
They walked closer to the record player; Viktor didn't notice it right away, but the other patrons opened space for them to be in the center.
It was a bit awkward, with the size difference and Viktor not being used to the music, but at his core, he felt it; the familiarity from Vander’s soul to that music also made him be familiar with it in some degree. At least he hoped it was enough for him not to step on Vander’s feet by accident.
They touched to link their arms and dance closer. The people around them faded, becoming just shadows again around the place, but Viktor could still see out of the corner of his eye the pink and blues from Vander’s family around the corner.
“That’s a touching memory you choose to show me, little one."
Vander laughed; they were close enough again for Viktor to feel it.
“No, it was the opposite; you were the one who chose to show it to me."
“Is that so? So why couldn’t I remember this before I met you?”
Because the beast they forced inside you can’t dream or have memories, it only has instincts and pain. That would be the correct answer; that would be the logical answer. But Viktor doubted it would bring the peace Vander needed.
“Because now you probably feel as if there’s no risk of you tainting this memory by mistake."
Vander murmured, considering Viktor’s answer before continuing the conversation.
“Makes sense. My daughters trusted you to help me heal. And I trust you now to protect what you saw today."
Viktor looked up, searching for Vander’s eyes and liking what he saw there. Hope for the change and pride on his shoulders for what he did until today.
“Don’t worry, Vander; I have seen you. The real you, and I’ll not forget it."
Viktor closed their distance, resting his head against Vander’s chest. His enormous heart beat fast, maybe following the song’s rhythm. If he could, Viktor would leave a part of him there forever, protecting Vander’s family for as much time as he needed.
He felt Vander rest his head above his, more like an embrace than a dance per se now, but they were still moving, and there was still music playing to make that anything but. Viktor noticed a solitary figure sitting on the bar, a man with long dark hair secured in a loose bun; he watched the two men dance before raising his glass in a salute to them.
“I think it’s time for us to wake up."
“Yes, I think you are right."
Slowly Viktor opened his eyes, warmth surrounding him from all sides; he could still feel Vander’s chest against him. The white scenery welcomed him again, the hues of pink and orangey dancing around them. There was also a soft red, more embracing than a sign of warning.
“Now you don’t like so little."
Viktor raised his head, still lying comfortably above Vander's; now their heights matched the one from the ‘dream’ they just had. The wolf's open mouth on the other man’s chest didn’t look that scary now.
"I think I prefer things this way." Viktor rubbed what was Vander’s chest, hearing the other man make a sigh of contentment with the caress.
The butterflies flew around them for what looked like a minute or a century; he didn’t mind the company or the warmth Vander transferred to him. Or the fondness still present in the other man's eyes.
But even that peace and little haven had to end so that real progress could be achieved.
“Your family is waiting for you outside, Vander."
"Yes," the older man's arms tightened their embrace, making Viktor impossibly closer to him. “Let’s meet them, Viktor."