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realmofimagines · 1 year

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Don’t Make A Habit of Dying (Simon “Ghost” Riley x Reader)

follow @cowboybxtch (my other account) for more ghost content, as i will not be posting on this blog anymore <3

Wordcount: 3241 Content: swearing, near death, graphic depictions of gore, blood, injury, ghost is in love with u, soap is oblivious, heroic ghost, pre existing relationsip, tension Request: no Note: *just wanna preface this by saying it is not proof read lol* i am absolutely unashamed to be jumping on the ghost bandwagon. i finished the campaign yesterday and honestly i sort of rushed through it bc it was a lot of fun so this is sort of based on one of the missions but it’s all from memory so if anything is wrong or out of place just ignore it and lets call it canon divergence AO3 version here

“Fox, how copy?”

You grunted, clawing at the rain-soaked concrete and grit beneath your fingers as you stretched to reach your communications device. Your head was still spinning from the impact, and your eyes blurred as if you were lying underneath a moving river staring at the wrinkled water surface above. A high-pitched whine resonates in your ears, and you are intensely aware of the urge to vomit.

With a sharp breath, you are able to level yourself onto your knees. Your hand closed around the slippery radio, and you pulled it toward your mouth whilst collapsing your back against a slick brick wall. Your free hand pressed against the sharp, pulsating pain in your abdomen.

“(Y/N), I repeat, how copy?” Ghost’s voice crackled.

You swallowed the dryness in your throat, before pressing the voice activation button on the radio. The strong rush of adrenaline burned in your chest, but it didn’t match the wash of relief upon hearing and recognising Simon’s voice. You closed your eyes and relished in the sensation for a moment.

“I read you.”

He audibly sighed. “Thought I lost you there.”

“Nearly did.”

“You injured?”

You stared down and shakily inspected the palm pressed against your wound. Your fingers came away glistening with rain and blood, and your undershirt was soaked a deep red around the site of the injury. You replace your hand on the wound, applying as much pressure as you can muster with a heavily clenched jaw. As much as you wanted to be honest, you knew that due to the personal obligations Ghost felt toward you because of your secret relationship, letting him know just how hurt you truly were could compromise his position. He would, without a doubt, make his way straight toward you.

“I’m alive.”

“That’s not what I asked, Sergeant.”

“I’ll manage.”

“Good. Are you in sight of the church?”

You blinked hard to clear your vision and glanced around your surroundings. Through a rusted, paint-chipped iron gate, you could see the distant glow of the religious building and gathered that it was about half a mile away. You weren’t sure how much steam you had left in the tank, but you sure as shit were going to use every last drop to get your ass to that church.

“Yeah, I see it.”

“We’ll RV there. Johnny’s on his way now.”

“Copy that.”

“Do you have a weapon?”

You fumbled with your gear, cursing to yourself when you found nothing but empty holsters. All that remained on your person was a singular, small combat knife hidden within your boot, and you silently thanked yourself for taking such precaution.

“A knife.”

“That’s all you need. Stay safe, Fox.”

“Sure, Ghost.”

You released the radio trigger and clipped it back onto the front of your tactical vest. With a deep breath, you managed to pull yourself to your feet with the solid support of the brick wall. Your bloodied hand mixed with the rain, dripping down your chilled fingers and spreading the blood down your arms. You looked like a damn mess. You felt like a damn mess.

You first attempted to push through the iron gate but found it chained and padlocked from the other side.

Never the easy way, you murmured to yourself.

Turning back on yourself, you stumbled through a fruit market. Bruised and trampled limes and apples rolled across the puddled floor, seemingly abandoned in a hurry rather than packed away in their crates. Upon leaning on a stall for aid, you noticed that the civilians, presumably the shopkeepers, had been shot dead in their stalls. It was bloody and gruesome and told the tale of just how relentless the military-for-hire group were.

Your wobbly vision was clouded, and your lashes were thick with rain droplets concentrated with the blood dripping from your head. Your lips and fingers were icy cold, and each breath felt like the air was taking shots at your lungs like they were punching bags. You pressed onwards, however, knowing that if you wanted a chance at living that you needed to make it out of the Shadow’s web, and you could only do so by pushing yourself forwards.

The detour through the fruit market leads you to a couple of Shadow mercs, who chatted idly amongst themselves as if they weren’t standing upon the consequences of their war crimes. Families, including children, cried and screamed in the distance. Gunshots followed, and you tried not to flinch against the sound.

The mercenaries were armed, and they were blocking the only route you had. There was no easy way around this, but you had to improvise given your lack of weaponry and physical power. Your body was betraying you, and try as you might, you’d never be able to take these men in your current situation.

You tossed a beer bottle down the alleyway, hoping to distract them enough to get the upper hand. The left merc stubbed out his cigarette with a sizzle under his boot, before trailing down in the direction of the smashed glass in pursuit of the sound. Noticing your chance, you steadily crouch-walked your way over to the lone hostile and plunged your knife into his side and then into his neck.

“Just an empty bottle. It’s nothing,” the other merc stated, then turning on his heel with a final glance at the broken glass before he whipped his head around with a double take to notice his friend in a gargling heap on the floor, and you standing above him. “What the fuck?!”

He raised his gun toward you, leaving you no choice but to slam straight into him to throw off his aim. His gun flew upwards as he pulled the trigger, spraying an arc of loud, bright bullets into the air whilst you attempted to disarm him. He retaliated with a hard shove, though not before you were able to get your hands on the pistol in his hip holster. You flew to the ground with a thud and splash, but before he had the chance to regain composure and take aim at you again, you’d blasted two rounds into his chest, and then his throat. He collapsed on top of you in a heavy heap.

Another soldier rounded the corner, but you didn’t quite have the energy to recognise the threat before it was a second too late.

You were just lucky that Soap barged through the cafe door on your left and took him down with a clean shot straight through the temple. He turned his gaze from the man on the floor after confirming his death and reached over to you on the ground. He heaved the dead mercenary off of your chest and offered you a strong hand. You grabbed onto him and groaned as he yanked you upright, a firm hand on your shoulder to steady you as you fell towards him. With a concerned eye, he straightened you with a gentle nudge.

“Christ, Fox,” Soap murmured, eyeing the wound on your side. You immediately clutched at it defensively. “You’re not lookin’ so hot.”

You wheezed a breath and mustered a smile. “I’m running on fumes, but I’ll be fine. Let’s just get to that church.”

“Aye, Sergeant. I’ll take front.”

“Be my guest.”

You trailed sloppily behind Soap, cursing yourself for your inability to be as sharp as you usually were. You hated being a burden, but you hated letting the team down more. Your carelessness in the fight that broke out with Graves had cost you a life-threatening injury in a team that refused to leave anybody behind, even if it got them killed. You only worried that if you weren’t going to make it, you wouldn’t be able to see Simon before you went and that you wouldn’t be able to tell him you were sorry.

Your heart ached at the thought.

You and Ghost had been dating, briefly. It happened slowly. First, there were inside jokes, and then there were gentle teasing pet names, and then more than friendly touches… until one night the tension seemed to break, and you slept together, which was just a week ago now before everything went to shit. You almost regretted doing so, for fear that now you’d never get to see him again, to touch him again.

You stumbled to your knees and caught yourself barely by planting your hand solidly on the gravelled floor. Soap spun around and cursed under his breath before reaching for his radio.

“Ghost, we have a situation here.”

He leaned forward and grabbed at your biceps, throwing your arm over his soldier for support.

“What situation?”

“Fox was WIA,” he grunted with a low voice, pulling your body towards cover as a squadron of Shadows passed by in pursuit of the gunshots from only a few moments prior. Any second now, they would find the bodies and be alerted of your presence.

“Don’t piss around the bush, Johnny. How bad?”

Soap studied you with an uneasy glance. “We’re gonna need backup if we’re gonna get the lass outta here.”

“What’s your location?”

“Uh—” Soap paused and checked for any noticeable landmarks. “We’re at the coffee shop just a ways from the fruit market—”

“Hang tight. I’m on my way.”

“What about the RV?”

“Stay put, Serg.”

“Yes, sir.”

The distance from the church to the market was about ten minutes, but Ghost cleared the distance in about four. His eyes were cold and steely behind his mask but became soft and expressive upon noticing your strained face and bloodied abdomen. He was gentle when he leaned for you.

“Jesus Christ, Fox,” he murmured, his tone an edge softer than usual. He leaned toward you to help stabilise you on your feet and apologised under his breath when you yelped in pain. “Who did this to you?”

You grunted and leaned against one of his large arms for support. You blinked the rainwater away from your eyes and maintained eye contact with him. Even now, at a time like this, you felt your stomach flip. You were so in love with him and that somehow made everything scarier.

“One of Graves’ boys. Not sure who. Didn’t get a good look before I killed him.” You answered.

“Atta girl,” Ghost praised. Your heart clenched.

Soap stared on with a worried look, his back tense with stress.

“Hold up,” Soap said, raising a fist before lifting his gun to level his eyes with the sights. mercenaries stormed past the windows, and there was a sudden series of heavy bangs on the cafe door that Soap had barricaded with bar stools. “We’ve got company, Ghost.”

Ghost nodded, and then turned to you with an urgent look in his eyes. “Can you walk?”

You cringed at the stabs of pain and clenched your jaw. “Simon, I’m a liability. Leave me here and I can hold them off—”

“I am not leaving you here!”

You blinked in shock at the intensity of his tone. His eyes beyond the mask seemed desperate, and he clutched your face in a gloved hand as if uttering his silent pleas through his palm. You truly believed him and his words, for there was no reason for a man like himself to lie to you at a time like this.

“I said, can you walk?”

You nodded stiffly.

“Then let’s fucking walk,” Ghost answered, tossing your arm over his shoulder to carry the most of your body weight as he essentially dragged you toward the exit point of the cafe. His other hand gripped his pistol so hard that his knuckles began to numb beneath his glove. “Cover us, Johnny!”

Soap tailed your backs with a raised gun, and Ghost was just able to tug you out of the door before the hostiles blasted through and started swarming the place with bullets. Ghost seemed to lug you along with desperation, as you were practically limping at this point.

“You stupid girl, getting me all worried like this,” he cursed, turning briefly to shoot one of the incoming adversaries before continuing onwards. “Do you know how lucky you are that I’m here?”

He was acting characteristically sharp and dry, but you knew that it was just to glaze over his worry. Ghost didn’t often lose his cool, but you were certainly shaking his faith. You couldn’t judge him for his words and simply offered a weak smile in response.

You heaved a laugh. “Let’s just say I owe you one.”

He seemed to soften. “Let me take you to dinner when this is all over. Call it even.”

“It’s a date,” you wheezed, your words accompanied by laboured breaths. The pain was intense and radiated in waves of white-hot pulses and aches that made you limp and shudder in the agony. Your feet and hands were starting to feel numb, and your head felt like it was full of TV static. You just needed a short break, and then you would be able to continue.

You began tripping over your feet, and albeit he tried to keep you upright, Ghost’s strength wasn’t enough to counter the sudden push of gravity as you slumped to the floor.

“(Y/N)!”

Your face was white, and your eyes rolled back. He was immediately at your side, grabbing your face in his hand to inspect your breathing, and then the pulse on your neck with fingers that he’d torn a glove from. He was momentarily relieved when he felt the feedback of your heart, regardless of how faint it was. It was enough to keep going, to revive the easily extinguishable flicker of hope.

Soap rounded the corner, seeming urgent as he fired shots down the alleyway.

“Ghost, they’re gaining on us!”

“Shit!” He cursed.

Without a second thought, he unsheathed his pistol and handed it over to Soap who took it without question. Simon scooped his arms under your legs and back and held you securely to his chest before nodding at his comrade.

“You keep us safe. That’s an order, Serg.”

“Sure, LT, but we need to get a move on— now.”

“Let’s go!”

You jostled in and out of consciousness. It was soft and gentle, like a slow beat of butterfly wings. You would open your eyes momentarily, but there wasn’t enough adrenaline supply in the world to keep you awake, and things would quickly return to darkness. Your grasp on reality started to slip when the blood loss became critical, and the only thing you were aware of was the bruising grip Ghost had on your flesh and the overwhelming fear that you were about to die.

You vaguely notice the sensation of cold marble on your body, and then the tightness of gauze and tape being wrapped around you.

Ghost was manic as he watched your pale, lifeless body show little to no reaction to his movements. He’d torn your battle vest off and inspected the damage beneath your vest. He’d swallowed his anxiety and wrapped you up as best he could with what little supplies himself and Soap had scrounged from the village and proceeded to perform CPR on you when he noticed your breathing had come to an abrupt stop.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

You couldn’t move.

Thud. Thud. Thud. Crack.

A blooming pain in your ribs.

A warm press of lips on your own, and the uncomfortable sensation of being filled with air.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

The thrum of helicopter blades. Distant shouting. Ghost’s voice.

Ghost’s voice.

“Simon…?”

——

When you next woke, it was a slow and unpleasant sensation. White, fluorescent lights pierced through your eyelids, which felt heavy to open. The sharp sensation of the gunshot in your side felt dull, and you could tell by the swimming sensation in your head that you were drugged. You vaguely recognised the sound of a beeping monitor, and you flinched. The smell of bleach filled your nose.

“Good mornin’, sunshine.”

Your eyes fluttered open, wincing against the harsh ceiling lights. You turned your gaze to the figure hunched over in a small brown chair— a heavily-built man, adorning a balaclava with a skull painted on it. Ghost.

“Simon.”

“(Y/N).”

You attempted to lift yourself into an upright position, and immediately felt a flare of agony that had you coughing out a broken sob.

“Hey, hey, take it easy there, Fox,” Ghost murmured, immediately reaching forwards to settle you back down. You grit your teeth together and blinked away the sudden onslaught of tears that were born from the shock of the pain. He tried to sit back down, but you caught his gloved hand before he could leave and he didn’t have the heart to pull away. His stature immediately softened, and his thumb smoothed over your fingers and knuckles in an attempt to comfort you.

“They outta put more drugs in you. They sure did a number on you. Surprised you’re still with us.”

“I thought I was going to die.”

Simon huffed through his nose and tugged the chair closer so that he could sit beside you and hold your cold hands in his. “I thought you were, too, sweetheart.”

“How the Hell did you get me out of there?”

You couldn’t see it, but by the wrinkle of his eyes, you knew he was smirking. “This old dog still got his ways.”

A concern suddenly popped into your head as bits and pieces of memories began to slot together. “And Soap?”

“He’s fine, unfortunately.”

You smiled gently, feeling yourself relax a little. You turned to him and held his gaze, suddenly feeling intimidated by his sharp eyes. The heart monitor next to your bed began to beep at an increased pace, and your cheeks flushed.

Ghost seemed bemused. “Am I makin’ you nervous, darlin’?”

You buried your face in your hands and only dared to peek through your fingers when you heard him start to laugh.

“Don’t hide from me just yet. You still owe me a date.”

You threw your hands down to your sides and smiled. “Look who’s gone all soft. I wonder what the boys would think of you right now.”

He rolled his eyes. “Don’t make me regret saving you.”

“Don’t kid yourself, LT, you loved playing hero,” you retorted, a glimmer of mischief sparkling through your grin. You suddenly felt the atmosphere become slightly tense and heavy with the weight and reality of the situation. You could’ve and likely should’ve died back there. You weren’t aware enough of your surroundings to remember just what Ghost and Soap went through to get you out, but you could only imagine.

“Thank you, Simon.” You said, more serious this time.

He glanced away as if embarrassed. “It’s nothing.”

You reached closer and grabbed his masked face. In private, he would remove his balaclava just for you. You felt the selfish desire that he would do so just now so that you could kiss him but swallowed your urges for you knew he couldn’t compromise himself in the med-bay. Too many prying eyes.

He grabbed your hand from his face and kissed it, the warmth and pressure of his lips still present even through the fabric on his face. You were butter in his touch, practically melting through his fingers.

“Just don’t make a habit of nearly dying, you hear me? Nearly gave me a bastard heart attack.”

You smiled, staring at him dazedly. “Yes, sir.”

#simon ghost riley #ghost x reader #simon ghost riley x reader #simon riley x reader #cod #x reader #angst #injury #pining #ghost is in love #soap mactavish #john mactavish

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realmofimagines · 2 years

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If you guys would like to sus my art of Viktor that would-be pretty neat 👉🏼👈🏼

No vik, turning yourself into a robot doesn't count as ‘resting’.

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I know the show isn’t 100% canon, but if we do get machine herald vik in the show I wonder what they have planned for that

I also swear to god if tumblr decompresses this motherfucker imma lose my damn mind 🥲

#viktor arcane

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realmofimagines · 2 years

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Brains Over Brawn || Viktor - Arcane || Part Five ||

Summary: The 10 times Viktor Needed her and the 1 time he left. OR. Strong Idiot GF with anger issues is Vik’s protector.

Pairing: Viktor x f!Reader

Words: 5.8k

Warnings: None — just that the next 5 chapters will be getting longer :))

PART 5 OF 10

A/N: I hope you all had a lovely holiday weekend <3 <3

The City of Progress! Piltover was famously known for its hounding developments in science and technology as well as it's unfathomable wealth and quality of life. Truly, it was a pinnacle to humanity and all living things.

"Welcome to Piltover! You smell that? That's the smell of progress!" Ember stepped onto the docks, holding her arms out as if to behold the giant city behind her large frame.

"Really? because it smells like raw sewage." A voice squeaked from underneath her, a boy that was no older than 18, scrawny looking with an impressive tuft of facial hair he called his 'love patch'. Scars were littered across his body, pattern like and precise.

"Smells like home," she took a deep breath in. Basking in the familiar air that she missed so dearly, even if the Piltover air was much thinner compared to the undercity. It had been 7 long years since she was back, and to say she missed it was a complete understatement.

She left roughly a year after Viktor was taken to the Academy. One of her biggest regrets was not saying goodbye to her dearest friend, but she knew how much harder things would have been if she had to face him that last time.

Adventure called for her, beckoning her to the furthest reaches of Runeterra for many things. She'd explored quite the collection of ruins and ancient cities long abandoned in her time across the seas. More recently she made herself known for being a tradesmen, running plentiful shipments of the rarest and deadliest goods the world had to offer.

If you wanted something exotic and hard to find, Ember was the person to ask for.

"You grew up here?" The boy accompanying her stared in awe at the city, dreaming to live in a place as beautiful as this.

She spun around to face the city and scoffed, "what? here? Shit no… over there –" she pointed over to the much less nice looking part of the undercity that could be seen across the river. It was almost comical that her companion had to laugh. Growing fond of his mentor as they sailed together for quite a few months since she liberated him.

But there were two reasons she was here, one was business related and the other was to see an old friend in regards to her new found friend.

"C'mon Griffin, we gotta meet these customers." She beckoned, hauling the large sack over her shoulder and flipping the dock keeper some coins. She had aged rather well, some might've said, growing into quite an attractive young woman who was just as strong as she was when she was younger.

The ill fitted clothes she wore when she lived in the undercity had long since been ditched, replaced with fine leathers that had ornate designs sewn and etched into them. Aside from her familiar face she was almost unrecognizable at first glance.

Still, her stature was strong and solid as it had been before if not even more pronounced. Especially as she carried the heavy sack over her shoulder, causing her biceps to bulge.

Naturally some things never changed, especially her obsession with cutoff shirts so her arms could be shown. It was handy to wear because it added intimidation to her negotiating skills, but it mostly served as a way to show off and impress others.

Even the Piltovians who happen to pass her on the street, beside the scraggly boy looked on with curious glances. Griffin, struggled to keep up in step with her, tripping over his own feet amazed at how she knew where to go.

"Hey how do you know where you're going?" He asked, tripping on his footing once again, only this time he was braced from falling by one of Ember's arms who gripped the collar of his shirt, letting go once he steadied himself.

"I used to come here at night for about a year to check on… a friend… he lives in one of the buildings over there actually," she pointed across the skyline to the academic district, realising that her companion may not be able to see and rectified that situation by picking him up with one arm.

"Oh sweet! Maybe we'll have time to see him?" Griffin grinned excitedly, in the short few months he knew the woman he noticed she didn't have any friends – or at least never mentioned having one before now so the thought of meeting a friend of Ember's was exciting.

She dropped him back on the ground with a sad smile, "maybe. But c'mon - you seen what you need too and we gotta go." She ushered him over to the building that was most commonly known as the council building. Her grammar was still as poor as ever now not having her walking dictionary by her side.

The two eventually made their way past the enforcers guarding the front of the building and eventually entered through the large doors. It was an impeccable sight to behold, the interior design work far exceeded the way the building looked from the outside.

Ember looked down at her accomplice who was awestruck and smiled, turning her attention to a man who was standing just a few feet away.

"S'cuse – I'm meeting…" she trailed off looking at her ledger with the names written on top. Struggling to sound out the words in her brain and simply handing over the front page for the man to see, "these two… council...people…"

He gave her a confused chuckle, but nodded when he recognised some of the items on the ledger along with poorly written renditions of the council members' names. "Oh! Of course – it appears your wares have sparked a lot of interest with the council. I will accompany you."

She nodded with a polite smile, hollering at Griffin to get a move on as they followed the Piltovian through the building. He stood tall and strong but not quite reaching her height. If he was intimidated by the woman sauntering beside him, he didn't show it.

Apparently their board room was a lot further than expected, so that meant the small talk had begun. Much to Ember's dismay, she didn't really want to talk to anyone she didn't have to but she also didn't want to be rude. Customer satisfaction is always her priority because her reputation demanded it.

"I've heard a lot about your rare finds – how do you come across such valuable trinkets?" He questioned, rereading the ledger and inventory list that was scribed like a raven had scratched the paper. Not to mention the spelling was all kinds of awful. The man considered for a moment that maybe her assistant boy had written everything down but the pit in his stomach told him otherwise.

Despite her reputation, he didn't want the council getting robbed of money by a shady dealer from across the world. Maybe she had dubious intent, he wasn't sure but he could tell from a mile away that this was a hardened woman.

"You'd be shocked at how much shit is out there that people are too scared to find." She answered plainly, but it was the truth no less. Growing up in the Undercity taught her a thing or two that was valuable to her trade now.

The man chuckled, "maybe we should hire you to collect things from Zaun for us." He joked half heartedly but his smile faltered when he saw her stop in her tracks.

She heard the news – all the way from Noxus when it happened. Vander dead, a new leadership taking over The Lanes and calling it the nation of Zaun, and the shimmer crisis that was taking off within the poverty stricken citizens.

That was hard news to hear.

When she realised both the Piltovian and Griffin were looking at her is when she snapped out of it and continued forward, composing herself rather well despite the hard look on her face.

"Sorry – if I offended, I mean." The man apologised, to which she simply nodded in thanks, not entirely convinced he was sorry at all.

"No need. Well .. it's up to what you want, we're only here for a few days. Hasn't been a thing too deadly for me just yet," she half smiled at him, it was only natural that if she was going to visit the lanes once again, she should at least get paid to do it.

Griffin piped up, grinning at the man, "that's what they say! Need dangerous goods? Ember's your gal!" He had elbowed her, causing her to roll her eyes and chuckle with him.

"I'm sure we'll find you if necessary before you go… I'm Jayce by the way – and this is your stop…" he gestured to over the top oak doors that were opened wide, showing the large room with an equally obnoxious table. Sat around it weren't just the two Council members she was prepared to meet, but what appeared to be at least 4 of them.

"Ah, Ember – my, is it wonderful to see a familiar face!"

His voice was familiar but it didn't click in her brain until she saw the Yordle face to… well… knee… her smile was bright with recognition as she knelt down to shake his hand. Jayce stood at the door with a raised brow at how the two knew each other, especially considering the look of admiration the Professor had when looking up at the woman.

“P-professor Heimerdinger, I wasn’t under the impression you knew our guest… Have you done tradings with her before?” Jayce stepped forward, as he looked between the two. Curious as to what the relation was, not that it was any of his business.

Ember fought the urge to snort, never having actually heard his name before. She was lucky that she was much older learning this, as she no doubt would have cracked up laughing which would have been both rude and uncalled for. Her assistant however chuckled ever so slightly, earning an abrupt and hard shove from the woman who turned her attention back to Jayce. “Somethin’ like that.”

Heimerdinger clapped his hands and addressed the room, “right! Let’s give our guest some room to set up… Jayce, will you be staying for the viewing or is the reason for your arrival to do with any breakthroughs?”

With that, the two began talking to one another while Ember introduced herself to the three remaining council members and began to unpack the trinkets from the heavy bag. The conversation between the Yordle and man roughly a year or so older than her, was lost on her entirely with the use of big words that had no meaning for her other than sounding like buzz words.

She went on, routine as usual when listing off the items the Council members expressed interest in. It was all fairly simple business when she began her usual spiel, the confidence she had when mispronouncing some words didn't go unnoticed by Jayce, considering the spelling of some words on the ledger. This confirmed his suspicion that she could potentially be inauthentic in some way or form. Trying to swindle money from rich folk. But he kept his mouth shut for the duration of her stories as the council members probed her about how she acquired some of her finds.

As excellent of a story teller the woman was, Jayce had his concerns. It should've been reassuring that Heimerdinger was familiar with the woman, which meant she can't have been all that bad. But the Professor's judgements aren't always necessarily right, especially considering that just a year or so ago the Yordle was reprimanding the young man for his ventures into magic and technology. And now the Yordle was all about his endeavours into magic and technology.

So he kept his wits about him, standing a little behind his associate, councilwoman Merdada until it seemed business had concluded. He wasn't at all surprised that Mel had interest in whatever exotic materials was brought along with the strange woman. He had known her for over a year and that was enough time to know that Mel was a woman of special taste.

Even when things wrapped up and Ember made her way to discuss something seemingly important with Heimerdinger, Jayce tentatively left the room when he realised the time. He was due to have a chat with the professor after this, but he thought he'd wait for his business partner to arrive and for the tradeswoman to leave.

Unfortunately for him, Ember and Heimerdinger's conversation lasted much longer than he hoped for and sure enough, as soon as Jayce poked his head out of the room he locked eyes with the ever so familiar face of his partner. He must have had a look of concern or something telling for the lanky man approaching to furrow his brows in question.

Jayce hesitantly exited the room, sparing one last glance before giving his full attention to the man before him, "Heimerdinger is just with someone right now but when she goes we can talk to him with Mel… how're you feeling, Viktor?"

Much older looking now, but equally as tired and ever as lanky, Viktor offered his companion a confident smile, rather pleased with his current breakthrough and eager to discuss the future of Hextech with the professor.

He shifted his weight and leaned on his cane, "I heard this guest has caused quite the intrigue considering she was only supposed to meet with Councilman Hoskel and Councilwoman Merdada…"

Jayce gave him a knowing look as they began to walk toward the room, "yeah – you're telling me… I gotta be honest, she seemed unprofessional… didn't really know what she was saying and quite frankly… I'm surprised she managed to sell anything…something was off about her."

Viktor simply gave him half a chuckle, it cutting short as soon as the air felt as though it was knocked out of him. His eyes immediately fell on the strong figure of the woman seated beside Heimerdinger. He'd recognise her face anywhere, no matter how much time had passed and it made his heart swell with both excitement and pain.

His grip on the cane tightened as he remembered the morning he woke up when she was gone. He had known instantly why she left, and that was confirmed when he found his desk ransacked with no sign of his letter of offer. He could've killed her, had he had the chance but most importantly he just wanted to hold her one last time. Even more so evident when he got the letter that was left behind from her that was given to him.

He wanted to know if he had been dreaming, maybe an illusion or a trick of the lighting or his mind had really just missed her. But no. It was Ember. In the flesh and unchanged… save for a few scars and her build. Not to mention the ornate leathers she wore as well indicated to him that she had been doing rather well for herself.

Jayce hadn't stopped rambling about the ordeal, Viktor now realising that his partner's words of dismay were directed at his former friend and love. Solidifying even more when he caught the tail end of Jayces comment, "... She doesn't seem… very bright."

Viktor gave him a pointed look, "Jayce…" he warned, waiting for his companion to look at him before giving an appt, "shut up."

Ember's ears pricked up at the familiar sounding voice and her head shot up toward the two men who were standing at the doorway gawking at her essentially. Her eyes immediately lit up with recognition and her expression softened, feeling as though her body was going limp at the sight of her childhood love.

He had grown so much. Yet he looked the same to her. The same old scrawny twig of a kid she would pick up and get into all types of trouble with. But his features were much more sharp, far more defined and he was strikingly handsome.

She slowly approached the men, as if she was hesitant that it wasn't actually Viktor right before her eyes, but it was. He was right there, just as flabbergasted as she was, thinking that they'd never cross paths again so soon.

"...Vik?" Her voice was quiet and hoarse, reverting to an almost childlike tone. When she left, she was adamant that he resented her for leaving but the fact he wasn't beating her over the head with his cane meant that whatever feelings of resentment were present, had left.

She was hesitant but the sound of his cane clattering on the marble floors snapped her out of her freeze, moving in quickly to not only hug him but to keep him upright since his cane had been abandoned.

He wanted to embrace her as much as possible, throwing both his arms around her, knowing that if it was possible to hug tighter or get closer he absolutely would have taken the chance. He breathed in her scent which was mostly salt water and what he could only assume was pine wood and leather polish.

It felt nice, holding each other, they forgot they were even in a room with other people, let alone rarely showed this type of vulnerability around others before. Jayce most of all was in shock, never having seen Viktor like this before in the year and a half he'd known the man.

Both of their hearts swelled, the memories swirling in both their minds and most importantly the love they shared was still there, igniting once more the second they locked eyes.

When they had left their embrace, she knelt down and gave him his cane, noticing that it was more wood than metal now that she no longer was in his life and didn't have to beat a person up every other day with it.

The second he had it in his hands though, he thonked her on the top of her head with it, "you left me." A sad smile on his lips which had been mimicked by hers and the look of guilt that followed.

She rubbed the top of her head and stood up, glad that she was still taller than him and made a mental note to at least tease him for it later, "I knew you'd want to stay with me… and I wasn't gonna let that happen." She lightly caressed his cheeks, giving him a delicate kiss on the head.

It was then she realised that her tough persona had faltered immensely around the room of people, and she tried to compose herself. Most of the witnesses had found it rather endearing actually, Jayce felt guilty for opening his mouth to say unsavoury things but he was sure to apologise for that later.

She turned to the room and looked down at Heimerdinger, "right – sorry, we were still talking." She darted back over to the professor, leaving the two men to stand idly by. Viktor took the opportunity to fully come to terms with the fact his childhood friend and his childhood love was back and standing right there.

~~~~~~

Ember and Viktor sat side by side on a bench just outside of the Academy walls. It was nice, just being near each other for the first time in 7 long years, how much had changed in not just the physical sense but both of their lives.

"—I've seen the whole world Vik and it's… it's as amazing as I ever imagined… better even…" she beamed, arms folded comfortably over her chest as she grinned madly while recounting to him all of her adventures, near death experiences and special finds. "I've made a lot of enemies, met some great people and you wouldn't believe it, but the Demacia ladies… they love me."

"Oh, I believe it." He reassured her, giving her a playful nudge. He was so delighted to know she wasn't stuck in Zaun when the academy escorts came for him. There wasn't a day that went by where he wasn't worried about her being stuck down there, killed or worse… being hit by the shimmer epidemic that was growing increasingly worrisome every day that passed.

The sentiment was matched for Ember, learning how the boy turned man had excelled in his classes to even becoming assistant to the Dean of the Academy. Any doubts she ever had about doing what she did all those years ago flushed away when she realised that he thrived in Piltover.

"So…" Viktor awkwardly trailed off, the question eating away at him, "your partner… he's uh… he's good to you?" The question had him cringing inwardly, presumptuous as it was; he just wanted to know what their situation was.

Ember furrowed her brows unsure what he exactly meant by that until she went wide eyed and shook her head with a snort, "Who? Griffin?... Hah! You still have your funny words, Vik. But no."

Oh how he missed just talking with her, it was a breath of fresh air after talking with everyone who always expected him to be so professional all the time. At least with Ember she didn't care, she enjoyed the simple things and was so much easier to talk to than others.

"I found him around Noxus… he… well… he was in a cult. And no cult is a good one. That's why he has the whole –" she gestured to her face, neck, arms and just about anywhere, to indicate that the boy was horrendously scarred, "that was about six months ago… every time he talked, fixed the ship or even walked, I just saw you… That's why I'm here, I needed to speak with Hungledonger about giving him a chance."

Viktor resisted the urge to laugh, but caught it in a smile as he politely placed a hand on her knee, "Heimerdinger." He corrected her, feeling like a kid again by doing so.

"Yes — that… But... I'm glad I got to see you again… the year I stayed in the undercity, I used to come by topside when it was dark and sit on this bench… it was like being close to without being close to you. I spent a long time thinking you hated me for what I did." She admitted, picking at her fingers that had old looking scabs.

"I could never hate you." He comforted her, giving her knee a small squeeze. "It took a while to understand why you did that… but I never hated you. I was scared for you at times, especially after hearing what happened to Vander and people going missing…I wish you wrote to me so I knew you were safe."

She rested her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes and breathing out a content breath, happy to just be back and talking to Viktor. It felt like a lifetime she lived without him and now he was right here.

"You know I can't do that… that's why I got the little man to write that letter for you." She mumbled, drawing absent patterns on his knee while nuzzling her head closer to his neck. "I wanted to make sure that you could at least read the letter."

He leaned his own head down on hers and brought a hand up to give her cheek a delicate caress. "If it helps you, you can call him professor H… And I know, I saw your ledger and inventory list. As long as you can read it, I don't see why it really matters."

She smiled, "all this not smartness in my brain but it turns out I can read a map pretty damn good… if you wanna – I can take you to my ship and show you some of the stuff I don't sell."

He chuckled at her, lifting his head off her which prompted her to also lift her head, "how do you decide what's worthy of selling?"

"Not much really, the ones with nice colours sell for more but I like them the most so I keep them." She sheepishly admits but then she jolts in excitement, "oh! But I did find this toy maker in Ionia and I've kept it ever since just in case I saw you again! If you don't wanna come, I can run down and grab it!"

The way her eyes lit up with excitement and the way she bounced in her seat was simply an offer Viktor couldn't refuse, a cheeky smile appearing on his lips as he looked down at his leg and cane, "you know we are supposed to be grabbing lunch soon and I don't know if we'll make it to the docks in time if I'm walking with you.."

It was an implication firstly and secondly an invitation, watching the recognition ripple across her face as she grinned. Sliding off the seat and allowing her companion to take up the space on her back as he wrapped his arms around her neck loosely and his legs around her waist.

She tucked his cane underneath her belt and marched onward, the docks not being particularly far now that she was walking in her large strides. It was a nice moment, feeling as though they were transported back to being kids again, even more so when she picked up the pace and started running through the streets.

Nevermind she nearly barrelled over some enforcers or civilians on her way down but she didn't care, the two were laughing in sync all the way through every street and passing alley. It was nice to be able to do this without being chased down by someone who wanted her dead, that much was clear.

They were in high spirits upon setting foot on the docks, Ember promptly placing Viktor down gently and handing him his cane as she strolled down toward her ship. It wasn't anything lavish since it had to be manned by one person but it was perfect for her.

He noted fairly quickly that the ship had been previously called 'Victoria' by its former owner but had since had letters scratched off and the c replaced with a K for 'Viktor'. A smile pulled across his lips as he brought his hand up to touch the side, the rusted metal didn't feel particularly nice but the gesture of this calibre warmed his heart.

She watched his expression change several times as he stared at her ship, unsure if he was upset with her or not, but upon further inspection when he turned to face her it was the same face he had the night she left which was complete and utter love.

"He's a sassy boat sometimes so it felt right… and I needed to keep myself from going cuckoo sailing for a long time." She admitted, slowly grabbing his hand and tugging him in the direction of the entry point.

They stood on the deck of the boat which was modestly sized, a lot of barrels filled with who-knows-what lined the sides, she beckoned him down below deck which is where he assumed she slept and took respite.

He was correct, plus the magnitude of trinkets strung up on the ceiling and covering the walls, it was almost like a bazaar that was filled with many useful and useless things. Until she picked up a small tugboat toy, much smaller than the ones he made but the craftsmanship was so much more detailed and functional than his inventions.

She presented it to him by holding it up with a giddy smile on her face. "Maybe one day I could take you across Runeterra… I think you'd love Ionia...it's… magical." She gushed, thinking of her time spent across the many allied provinces of Ionia. "There was a small village I passed by and that's when I saw this and I thought about how we were going to test your boat one day but I was sick so I couldn't…"

Viktor looked at her with happy eyes, "so let's test this one."

Her grin was wide and she nodded, picking up the key that she wore around her neck as a necklace and placed it in the toy. She cranked it 7 times approximately and removed the key which kick started the motor. It began to fizzle to life, sparks lighting up from the inside until they came to a solid colour. She let go of the toy carefully which remained suspended and started to whiz around the two, leaving a trail of blue dust that illuminated the room.

Magic.

The toy was powered by magic.

His eyes lit up at the sight, following the tugboats' trail as it continued to fly around them. He was enamoured by it entirely, and also incredibly touched that she got this for him and he hadn't even mentioned a word to her about his and Jayce's endeavours into magic.

It's like she knew without even being told.

"It's beautiful… I love it." He beamed, going almost cross eyed as a fleck of dust landed on his nose and disappeared into thin air. It tickled only slightly, causing him to scrunch his nose.

She giggled lightly and brought her hand back up to it, the touch of her fingers immediately causing the magic to cease and it drop into her hand. "Even if you didn't want it this way, I think you'd have fun pulling it to pieces… so here…" she smiled, handing it over to Viktor who timidly held onto it, fearing that I might fall out of his hands or break.

"The maker said the magic is inside a little cap–uh capsil? No… capsule! So if you do pull it apart don't break that thing. I'm not sure if I'm going back to Ionia anytime soon." She admitted, yanking the chord with the key around her neck and also placing that in Viktor's hands.

He cherished the gifts, more than he could ever admit to her with just words alone but then it sunk in what her words meant, "wait… you're not staying?"

She sighed, a frown evident on her lips and a subtle shaking of her head answered his question just fine, "Vik… there's nothing here for me… just you…what's there for me to do here?"

He gulped and nodded, she was right. There wasn't anything here for her to do that could tickle her adventurous nature and thrill seeking heart. Deep down he knew she wasn't here for long, but he held out hope that maybe she was.

"Join me – join us at the Lab, Jayce isn't always around and sometimes I have to wait all night just to get something done because I don't have the strength for it." He tried to persuade the woman, overemphasizing on the notion that he wasn't as strong as he looks and that Jayce wasn't always around which was false entirely. But he was willing to try anything to keep her here now that she had returned.

But ultimately he wasn't going to force her to stay if her heart called her elsewhere.

A laugh fell from her lips as she placed a hand on his shoulder, giving him a reassuring smile and looking him dead in the eye, "... Viktor I'm not smart enough to be in a lab… you know this."

"You are smart enough and you don't have to be in order to lift heavy things, forge the right materials and make sure I don't do something stupid." He stepped closer to her, his eyes were almost pleading but he was aware that it was selfish of him to want her to stay.

"That's not fair – making sure you don't do stupid shit is a full time job." She huffed, a sly smile on her face as she watched his expression perk up for a moment. She truly wanted to stay but she wasn't sure how well she'd take to a Piltover lifestyle. After living in a boat for most of the last seven years, sleeping in an actual bed felt foreign to her. "It's a big ask, Vik…"

"The founders of Hextech may need security after all… you never know if someone wants to threaten our lives." He said this in a joking manner, but the thought had plagued him for quite some time over the last few months. With advancements in their research gushing out, Piltover will be skyrocketing into a new age of technology within the next 5 years minimum.

She laughed, her gaze set hard on his feet as she pondered the idea of staying. In her time trading she had seen the world just like she wanted to, but there was much more left unexplored that she yearned to explore. But that meant leaving Viktor again. And if she was being honest with herself she wasn't so sure she could do it a second time.

It was clear to see that even if it was selfish of him, Viktor really needed her. As a friend, a lover, a partner — whatever it may be, he was just happy to have her in his life once again.

"I'll stay…" she trailed off, standing dangerously close to the man and calmly caressing his face with her calloused hands, "... But only if you get some fucking sleep Viktor… "

He laughed, his brows furrowed and his eyes lit up, "I think I can agree to those terms," he smiled, leaning into her touch.

"Good. 'cause you look like shit." She jested, leaning down and pressing a loving kiss on his forehead. He looked as handsome as she remembered, despite the bags that weighed heavy under his eyes. At least his cheeks were fuller than she last saw him, but it was clear he would need help ensuring he looked after himself. Maybe if she hadn't seen him this day and only stopped through to organize a place for her young helper like she intended things would've been different and she would be able to leave once again, but the look in his eyes told her he really needed her around… and she was never one to tell Viktor no.

They embraced tightly, happy to be together again after so long. It was clear the feelings had never ceased, only laying dormant for them to reignite upon seeing each other once more. Viktor never had closure after she left, parts of him still stuck on her until now — his mind, his heart and everything else was stuck back on thoughts of her even after all these years.

"I missed you." He mumbled into her shoulder.

"I missed you too, Vik."

#viktor league of legends #viktor arcane #arcane viktor x reader #viktor x reader #reader insert #Viktor #League of legends #fluff #x reader #arcane #ao3

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realmofimagines · 2 years

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Hello lovely angels who have sent in requests regarding Apex and Viktor! I am not ignoring yall! I just wanna get through Brains over Brawn first and then I’ll get those ones ready and up <3 <3 love you all

~ Court <3

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realmofimagines · 2 years

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Yall look at what @midnight-art drew 🥺🥺 their rendition of Ember made my heart swell !!!!😭😭😭 i love it so much 💕💕

you can catch parts 1-4 of brains over brawn: Over on our page because for some stinky reason i cant add links when im not on my PC 🥴🥴

#x reader #viktor arcane #art

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realmofimagines · 2 years

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Brains Over Brawn || Viktor - Arcane || Part Four ||

Summary: The 10 times Viktor Needed her and the 1 time he left. OR. Strong Idiot GF with anger issues is Vik’s protector.

Pairing: F!reader x Viktor

Words: 4.06k

Warnings: Angst! Also I DID NOT proof read this whatsoever

Notes:

PART 4 OF 10

It had taken months to heal, a long and arduous process as well as incredibly painful for Ember but she persevered at every corner. Now only sporting a makeshift brace that kept her shoulder secured and her arm essentially intact until the healing process was over.

She had a slight limp, in fact pointing out how she and Viktor matched for the time being, until her stomach wound properly healed. But the one wound that refused to heal were the mental ones, scorned into the back of her mind as she had to come to terms with essentially killing four people.

While she was a brawler, she wasn’t a murderer. Killing people was never a part of her endgame. Their faces stuck with her, like burnt images that refused to fade. Even sleep had become a difficult feat, night terrors ripping her from her slumber having her drenched in sweat or screaming in pain.

And for the first time in their friendship, Viktor took care of Ember. Wherever he could. His family had been hospitable toward her while she healed, a debt she had no idea how to repay. They provided somewhere to sleep — even if it was Viktor’s floor — they offered food and shelter knowing that the girl had done more than was asked of her to keep their son safe. Most of all, she was his friend.

Viktor wasn’t going to let his friend sleep on the floor while she was recovering from severe injuries, no. And she was most definitely not going to let him sleep on the floor in favour of her taking the bed. So most nights they spent together in the same bed. It was spacious enough that the two needn’t squish together and despite their closeness, kept to their respective sides of the bed.

Many nights the two spent awake. The ones where they could sleep would be disrupted by night terrors which Viktor was always one to calm her down. Holding her hand tightly and brushing his fingers through her hair, until she stopped hyperventilating or crying.

This night was only slightly different from the rest, it was unusually quiet. So quiet that Viktor stirred awake, half expecting to hear his companion whimpering or mumbling in her sleep but when he turned to face her, he wasn’t particularly surprised to see her eyes open and staring up at the ceiling.

The blinds to his window were horrendously beyond repair so the moonlight beamed into the room uninterrupted which captured her features and the prominent scars she had.

“Sorry if I woke you,” she whispered so delicately, her eyes unmoved from the ceiling and had completely startled Viktor who had no idea how long she knew he was looking at her.

“Actually — it was the quiet that woke me up…” he admitted softly, rolling over completely so he could face her. Aiding her back to health only solidified his feelings toward her, and he felt only a little guilty for enjoying the time he could redress her wounds just so he had an excuse to touch her or have her eyes look into his.

She rolled over onto her arm and faced him fully, causing his breath to hitch at how close they were. Feeling her breath lightly fan his face just about made his heart stutter, trying to talk himself out of this silly lovestruck nonsense. Even if he was being overtly obvious about his feelings, Ember wouldn’t be able to tell. She wasn’t one to read subtlety in the slightest. In fact he had seen people be pretty obvious with her in the past and even then she was oblivious to it.

“What were you gonna tell me?” Her voice was quiet, quizzical almost without the context which was clearly essential as Viktor looked at her with a puzzled look. She bit down on her lower lip, which had sent his thoughts into overdrive as he tried not to look at her lips whatsoever. “—That night… You were gonna tell me something… But you said you’d tell me when I was better… and alive.” She almost chuckled at the last part, but the smile that ghosted her lips fell as she awaited Viktor’s answer.

He was quite surprised she remembered in all honesty, but he wasn’t anticipating this at all. Caught completely off guard by the question and the look in her eyes, he couldn’t say anything. Not when she was like this. He didn’t want to say anything, in fact he dredded and resented the idea of telling her just so he wouldn’t have to see her face when it registered in her brain.

He sighed, looking away from her, it was gut wrenching but he just had to rip the bandaid off and get it over with. “I’m impressed you remembered…” He trailed off, stalling the inevitable. “But… I was approached by a topsider… Said he was impressed with my detailed workings in engineering and… well offered me a place at the academy.”

It took a moment for his words to sink in, sure education was never something she pursued and the very few institutes in the undercity housed those willing enough to learn. But an Academy seemed much more exciting than an institute in her brain, her eyes lighting up in happiness for her friend, “A academy sounds much better than a institute!” Her voice got a little too excited and she immediately shrunk down realising she was being a bit too loud.

Viktor wasn’t sure whether he wanted to cry or not, positive that this reaction was one because she didn’t understand what this meant from here on out. He didn’t even want to correct her on her grammar, finding his words caught in his throat as it dried up while he painfully sighed, “Ember… The Academy is in Piltover.”

Again, her expression hadn’t faltered but she was confused why Viktor seemed so upset about it, “well I get that… but — you sound like you don’t wanna go?” She frowned ever so slightly before brightening back up again, “well if you don't wanna go, we can always try someplace else, right? We could go to Demacia or anywhere you want!…Although I don't think they’d like me very much over there…”

His chest lurched with pain, his heart breaking at her inability to understand that he was the one going, and she would be left behind. He dreaded his next few words, but it was the only way to get her to understand, “you’re not coming with me… I spoke to the head of the Academy myself about maybe arranging something but —“

“It’s okay… Vik…” She sighed, seeing how worked up he was getting. She sat herself up, propping an arm across her upright knee, “I understand…”

The pain in his chest felt almost unbearable, sitting up beside her as he tried to look her in the face. Regretting that decision immediately upon seeing her sombre expression, and the way her chin shook, as if she was trying not to cry.

He placed a hand on her arm in comfort, causing her to look up and meet the gaze in his golden eyes.

Heartbreak. She was devastated. Not like she would ever admit it, but it was as clear as day to see even in the dim moonlight.

“I don’t have to go.” He reassured her, knowing that the letter of offer sat in his drawer unanswered for quite a few months and knew that they wouldn’t wait for his answer forever. Making decisions like this were tough, but he hadn’t had time to think about his future when half of his future was healing and needed to be taken care of.

She scoffed, “yes you do… You might’ve been born in the undercity but your people are up there… across the bridge…”

“You’re my people.” Viktor nudged closer to her, wanting nothing more than to comfort her but not knowing how to.

It was endearing to hear it, having had no family but having Viktor gave her this false sense of future, like they’d be together forever but realistically she knew better. She figured at some point they’d outgrow each other, two different fruits picked from the same tree but served different purposes in life.

As much as she yearned for adventure and a life of excitement, she knew she’d be stuck in the undercity, her skillset was almost identical to every other street rat with a hardened past. Viktor was different, he was smart, cunning and intelligent. He craved mental stimulation and the only place he could achieve that was to follow the path that was laid out for him. Even if that meant leaving her behind.

“I’m stupid but im not dumb… I knew this day would come soon — I just thought I'd have more time… But I want you to go…” She sighed, her bottom lip trembled as she tried not to let the emotions wash over her. Sure, Viktor had seen her cry plenty of times but this time felt different.

“I’m not leaving you behind —“

“Yes you are, Vik… it’s where you belong… It’s funny… being told for the longest time that you were my deadweight… but i’m your deadweight. And I won’t forgive myself if you don’t go because of me.”

He closed his eyes slowly, the pained breath that blew out from his lips was a sign that she was right. He just wasn’t cut out for the dog-eat-dog lifestyle that the undercity was rife with — but just because he wasn’t able to live in it, didn’t mean he couldn’t make it a better place if he tried.

“It’s not fair…” was all he could muster up, because it truly wasn’t. From the stories he was told of Piltover, the second anyone took a look at Ember, it would be over and she’d be cast out regardless of who she knew.

“Life isn’t fair… but we try our best with what we got.” She reached over and intertwined their hands together, both of them feeling the rush of emotions flood their system.

Over the last few months, it wasn’t just Viktor who had been struck by feelings of want and feelings of love. Ember had felt them too, making this night all the more bittersweet as the two soulmates experience what they believe is unrequited love.

She came accustomed to his touch over the time he dressed her wounds, enjoying the nights they spent together in the same bed so much that his presence alone was calming. And even more, she loved the way his fingers brushed through her hair when she couldn’t sleep.

“Now what do we do?” Her voice was sore, gravelly almost as she could feel the tears sting her eyes. The reality becoming more realised in her brain at the thought of not having Viktor around. She had no plan once he left, holding out that maybe he could visit her often which was better than not at all.

“I don’t know…” he sighed, running a hand through his hair and rubbing the bags under his eyes. He was at a loss, a complete and total loss of what to do. But when he looked over and saw the tears in her eyes and streaming down her cheeks, his heart broke once again.

He shifted his position, letting go of her hand so that he could bring his hands to her face, wiping away the tears that fell with his thumbs. “I’ll still visit… I promise.”

Maybe it was the raw moment or the fact that both of them felt incredibly vulnerable and high in emotions, but the silence between them and the fact their faces drew closer together meant one thing only to them.

No matter what, they still had each other.

And when that clicked in both their minds instantaneously, they came as one, pressing their lips together. Viktor being inexperienced with just about everything when it came to this had let Ember take control, mimicking her motions.

The two felt like they were on fire, the heat from the kiss and their bodies reacting to such a fierce feeling was like they had been set ablaze but there was no pain, only warmth.

It was sweet and tender, and lasted a lot longer than either expected. But when they pulled away it was only a cruel reminder of something that wouldn’t last. Despite that feeling, they went in for another kiss, both of them holding each other this time.

Viktor leaned his forehead on hers, a slight pant as he forgot to breath both times, “I’m starting to think that staying here wouldn’t be such a bad thing…”

She gave him a pointed look, while complimented by his comment she knew that he wanted out of this shithole. “I’ll carry you all the way to Piltover if you do that…”

And that was a promise he knew she would keep if he dawdled any longer on his response to The Academy. But for the moment the two cherished this night together, stealing kisses and simply embracing one another all the way until Viktor fell into a deep sleep. It figures they would decide now to profess a naive love to one another right on the brink of the start of their lives.

Ember lay awake with Viktor passed out, sleeping on her chest and curled up by her side. She ran her fingers through his hair, laughing at how long it was getting. But she liked his hair long and unkempt, she supposed that moving to the upper class meant he'd have to keep it short and styled.

Her heart was aching, not ready for him to go but knew he needed to in order to thrive. She couldn't carry him everywhere through life, and that was something she'd have to accept on her own when he finally left.

But she knew how much he'd sacrifice for her given the chance, and the way his eyes looked into hers was a telltale sign the boy was indecisive about leaving her despite her words of reassurance.

She gave him one last look of admiration, before carefully slinking out from underneath him and out of the bed entirely. The moon was still high in the sky, which meant it would soon begin to drop as morning broke but she was quick, even with her temporary limp.

Her eyes scanned his desk, opening the drawerers to find what she was looking for. She couldn't read great, but she didn't need to in order to recognise the ornate lettering on the header of the piece of paper. She skimmed through the letter, picking out words that she knew already to ensure she wasn't about to deliver a highly prestigious academy a food menu or something.

With a pen he had laying on the desk she ticked the box that he needed to in order to accept his position and pocketed the piece of paper before leaving as quietly as possible.

Despite what many might think, The Undercity was quiet during this time, save for a few shady individuals. But the notion that it was crime riddled was preposterous at best. Vander did a great job at keeping things in check around here, even if that meant isolating the citizens to this district alone… rarely anyone set foot across the bridge, let alone any non-tradesmen type folk.

But with little people awake at this time, meant she could get to her destination quicker. The streets were barren at best, the only life she could detect were vermin, even as she closed in on the infamous bridge.

It dawned on her as she set her first foot on the bridge that she had no idea what the academy even looked like, let alone how to even get there. She'd never been to the city before and it wasn't like the separate districts within the city were public knowledge… at least for the undercity folk.

Her eyes looked to the moon once again, seeing that it had dropped from its highest point in the sky. She had a little over 3 or so hours to get this done and get out before every enforcer on Piltover chased her out of the city. Or worse.

It was a surprising sight seeing the bridge completely empty, she would've thought there would be at least a nightfill crew of enforcers ready to handcuff anyone brave enough to cross over at this time of night.

But she didn't trust the silence, or lack of enforcer presence. So she made herself scarce, scaling the side of the bridge despite the way her shoulder urged her not to, and despite the way her stomach screamed for the exertion to come to an end.

It was all painful motivation for her to continue, she was a fighter and a good one at that and even if she had to beat the door down on whoever the head of the academy was just to get Viktor in then so be it.

Scaling the bridge side proved harder than she initially thought but she made it across, even if it cost her time. As nerve wracking as it was to step foot in Piltover, her emotions were elsewhere. Giving her the drive she needed to set off into the city and to try and find where this letter belonged.

She stumbled around the streets, half in awe of the architecture and looming building and half in wonder if she was in the right place. But these buildings seemed far more like homes than they did anything else so she continued to wander the streets. Realising pretty quickly that she would have no idea where to get out if she needed a quick getaway.

But her luck began to turn positive when she stopped outside of a park that had on display a very childlike basic map of the city. Clearly it was meant for children but this meant everything to Ember who in her childhood obsession with sea adventures knew how to read a map more than proficiently.

She scanned the surface, following the groupings of districts and saw the words 'academic district' which didn't mean much to her, other than the word reminding her of 'The Academy'. It was a good lead for her to follow regardless, and she could read the city skyline for guidance. Knowing that the academy (by the childish pictures drawn on the map) was a rather large set of buildings with an incredibly angular building beside a clock tower.

When she looked up, she could see in the distance the top of a clock tower and grinned. An extra energetic pep in her stride as she followed that direction and kept in mind the height of the moon.

It was slowly descending and peaks of purple began to cut through the sky by the horizon which meant she didn't have a lot of time left, having exhausted most of it wandering around the city.

By the time she reached the buildings that she was in search of, daybreak had begun. The gated set of buildings were but a small hurdle for her climbing abilities, even with her healing injuries. She scaled the gates, clearly these were put in place to deter Piltovians but not the 'criminals' of the undercity who were actually able to scale these with ease.

Then again, they had little to no incentive to travel to the 'city of progress' when they were met with judging eyes and most likely detainment.

Her feet hit the ground with a thud and she continued forth, her eyes set on the ornate set of comically large doors in the centre building. She had no plan of how to actually deliver the letter without actively breaking in, which was a far worse crime than trespassing and she'd hate to have been taken away before the right person got a hold of the letter that was now in her hands.

"You're a lousy burglar… not many attempt to walk through the front door."

The voice startled her, catching her off guard as she looked around at the source of the voice, believing it to be disembodied at first since she couldn't seem to find where it belonged to.

"Down here."

She looked down, seeing what she assumed was a Yordle, jovial in his expression despite assuming she was here to rob the place. When he caught a look at her face his expression softened wondering why someone from the Undercity would be here of all places this early in the morning.

Ember wondered too, why he was out this early in the morning but didn't want to question in case she agitated him and he called the enforcers on her. Truthfully, he enjoyed watching the sunrise over the skyline, and for some reason something was beckoning him down by the academy grounds. Which he was glad he listened too.

"My friend is too stupid to know what's good for him… he's had this a while and it's his only chance of getting away from the Undercity." She admitted, handing the Yordle the piece of paper, the letter addressed to Viktor.

"Ah, you must be young Viktors friend… He asked about the possibility of having you accompany him but unfortunately that is simply not possible… you were brave to come this far and noble… perhaps sometime in the future we would have a place for you here at the academy."

"Thanks – but I'm not built for this life. I've had my fate sealed for a while." Her melancholic expression saddened the yordle. Guilt filling him from within for his inability to do anything to help her.

"I'm sure Viktor will honour you for this… I've yet to see someone with quite as much potential as him but you are a close second." He tucked away the letter, his words providing a strange amount of comfort for her. "We'll send for him before the end of the day."

She nodded, a bittersweet expression on her face, "good. It's easier this way. Please treat him right… it's what he deserves. And tell the head of the Academy I said thanks, for giving him a chance when no one else did."

He offered her a knowing smile, "you are welcome to escort him to the academy grounds."

She shook her head, tears threatening to blur her vision, "he won't go if I'm with him… if it isn't too much to ask though… I'm not great at writing and I wanna leave him with something at least… I don't care if he hates me for it, I just want him to know something."

The Yordle took out a pen and flipped over Viktor's letter. Highly unprofessional but it was the least he could do for the girl who travelled all the way, sacrificing getting caught just to hand deliver the letter.

"I'll tell him personally these were your words." He reaffirmed, seating himself on one of the steps while he waited for the girl to start talking. Despite her dismissal, she was great with words, she just didn't know how to articulate things properly. He helped her with the big words, crossing out her simplified wording if she got frustrated with finding the right words. If she had a little care and development, the Yordle might have considered her being a poet in the future, but she made her stance clear.

And when she was ready to leave, she scanned the note a final time before leaving. It read as such:

Dear Viktor,

I know you might be confused, maybe angry or upset with me. But this is your future. We aren't kids anymore and it's time we start to look ahead. Even if that means separately. It wouldn't be fair to drag you along silly fantasies when your mind needs more energy stimulation.

We've been friends for such a long time that it will take time to move past this. Not being with you everyday, not having someone there. Just know I don't think you're leaving abandoning me in any way. I did this for you, just like you'll stay here for me.

You have been the one thing in life I look forward to having around, so until we meet again.

I love you always,

Ember.

#Viktor #Viktor arcane #viktor league of legends #Arcane viktor x reader #viktor x reader #reader insert #viktor #League of legends #fluff #angst #x reader #arcane

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realmofimagines · 2 years

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Not really a REQUEST but for the brain and brawn fic; Ember makes me WANNA CRY I WANNA HOLD HER SO BAADDDDDD SHE HAS THOUGHTS BEHIND THOSE EYES SHES JUST-!!!! GOD and I think and wonder if Viktor is protective back towards her but even if it may not be physical, like would he be protective of her heart? She’s so sweet and I want her to be protected some way some how by him in return 😭😭😭 MY SWEET GIRL-!!!! (Headcanon Viktor calls Ember, ‘Little Ram’ at some point because she’s ready to hit if the occasion calls for it 😭😭😭)

Omfg gamer this means so MUCH im really glad yall like it 🥺🥺🥺 i have a very loose plan on whats to happen, but you’ll get to see more of that soon i promise 👀👀👀 someone gotta look out for this idiot and it can only be Viktor 👉🏼👈🏼

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realmofimagines · 2 years

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Brains Over Brawn MASTERLIST

PART ONE

PART TWO

PART THREE

PART FOUR

PART FIVE

PART SIX - Coming Soon

PART SEVEN - Coming Soon

PART EIGHT - Coming Soon

PART NINE - Coming Soon

PART TEN - Coming Soon

#Viktor #viktor arcane #viktor league of legends #arcane viktor x reader #masterlist

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realmofimagines · 2 years

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Brains Over Brawn ||Viktor - Arcane || Part Three ||

Summary: The 10 times Viktor Needed her and the 1 time he left. OR. Strong Idiot GF with anger issues is Vik’s Protector.

Pairing: Viktor x f!reader

Words: 4.9k

Warnings: GRAPHIC DEPICTIONS OF VIOLENCE, BLOOD, GORE. And sum Angst ;)

PART 3 OF 10

Footsteps slammed through the slated concreted slabs, hurried puffs of breath were being blown out as Ember ran through The Lanes and body checked multiple citizens in her attempt to flee her aggressors.

Blood was spewing from her face, an all too familiar sight for many to behold as she dashed by the faces she passed on a daily. This was becoming a nearly weekly occurrence but she didn't care, some people needed to keep their mouths shut.

It was an unfair fight, 4 on 1 and she absolutely initiated the brawl. Once again, the others inability to keep their mouths shut had prompted her to lash out. People knew she was hot headed and always poked the bear.

It was nearing sunset but she continued forth, it wasn't like she had a home to go to anyway. But it wasn't the most ideal way to spend her 17th. She was due to meet Viktor within the next few minutes but found it rather difficult to shake the angry mob that chased her down.

Plan b it was.

She slid around the corner of an alley, bracing herself on the wall so as to not slam into it full force. Stumbling only slightly on her footing but managed to recover well and continued to run to her destination.

It must have either been fate or just pure dumb luck and timing but as she rounded the corner of housing buildings she spotted Viktor slowly making his way to their usual hideout. She had a good lead on the 4 but if they knew where the two hung out, they would be relentless.

Slowing her steps down to a jog with no time to catch her breath or provide Viktor any explanation she hollered at him. "We gotta go," her voice was airy and almost unheard by him, merely in shock by the cuts on her face as well as what he could assume was a broken nose.

He looked to the street behind her and saw the swarm of teenagers out for blood and gave her an unreadable look, "again?"

She nodded, motioning for him to jump on her back to which he obliged with a sigh of disappointment? Or was it just one of those days? She couldn't be sure and didn't have time to overthink his mannerisms.

"Where are we going this time?" He asked as she took a moment to sike herself up and started running as quickly as she could despite the angry group of people hot on her heels.

"No clue." She answered swiftly, it was all she could muster up breathlessly. Heaving him up when it felt like he was beginning to lose his grip on her. He was too tall to do this, not as tall as her but she insisted most of the time. "Maybe use that brain of yours." She gasped out, narrowly missing the edge of a fruit stall as she bounded down the market district.

He pondered for a moment, fighting the urge to run his fingers through his hair in fear that he might fall off her, "we could lose them by the docks – they won't chase us when we're that close to topside."

Now that was a plan she could get behind.

The two had been edging closer to Piltover since they were much younger so it only made sense that they had no reservations or fear about straying too close to the city.

She took a quick detour, avoiding the main gateways that people used for trade routes and to get to and from the two cities. The small laneway was narrow and barely could fit the two comfortably but it would force the mob behind them into a single file line which was her best hope at losing them.

Her shoulders were scraping up against the wall uncomfortably, chastising herself for wearing a sleeveless hoodie of all things. But she was only slightly vain and liked how her arms looked without sleeves. 'it's how I pull the ladies,' she had jokingly stated once to Viktor who kept asking her why she cut the sleeves off her shirts. Confiding in him that not a lot of the guys were interested in having a girl that was marginally stronger than them but a surprising amount of the girls in the Lanes were partial to a buff lady. It was a minor insecurity of hers, relationships and the likes but Viktor provided comfort where he could.

As the two had broken free from the narrow laneway, she had taken a hard left. Ember was a quick thinker when it came to these things, seeing that there might be no need to get to the docks as she noticed a small back door to a venue with barrels that hid the door and with a swift motion, beckoned Viktor off her back and pulled the two into a crevice that was easily overlooked if they remained hidden behind the old grease barrels.

The two were chest to chest as they awaited the assailants to run past, clearly her plan had worked rather well as the mob seemed to be held up in that narrow alley.

"Did I see Aubrey in that angry mob? Or was that another pink haired girl who hates you?" Viktor whispered, trying his hardest to not get too excited about the fact that they were extremely close together, in fact he could feel her breath on his face as she panted quietly. Despite the fact that the two seemed to be in a constant race for height, Ember grew taller — which she absolutely used over Viktor when they’d have petty arguments.

"Sure was," she answered quietly, blowing out a shaky breath, keeping her eyes and ears peeled for any movement or sounds that indicated the group were nearby.

"I thought you two got back together?" He raised a brow, trying to focus his gaze anywhere other than her face, lips or eyes. It was already incredibly hard to hide the heart hammering in his chest but at least he could blame that on the adrenaline of being chased down.

Very cliche of him, he was aware, being in love with a childhood friend seemed to be something he read constantly in books or the subject of many theatre shows but he couldn't help it. She was the light in his life that was a constant reminder that there were some good people in this world that shouldn’t be subjected to the life they were given.

It was near comedic timing as the sounds of multiple footsteps thundered into the laneway as gruff voices spoke to one another. "If you find her, leave her to me. She's as good as dead." The familiar voice the two knew as Aubrey sounded, she definitely wasn’t looking for the girl to just ‘chat’.

Ember gave Viktor the smallest of glances, a shrug and a glint in her eye that was one that resembled humour. Clearly she wasn't too cut up by the situation.

The angry mob scattered off, not even looking in the small crevice behind the grease barrels where the two were. But the two waited just to be sure first and foremost.

"We broke up." Ember chuckled half heartedly with a laugh, still ever so quiet just in case.

Viktor blew out the breath he was holding, giving her a quizzical look, "again? You two will be back together soon." It was near on laughable the amount of times the 'happy' couple broke things off and then got back together in no time. It was starting to irritate Viktor actually, feeling frustrated of having to deal with a mopey friend who only went out of her way to date jerks.

"Nah. Not a chance — we're done done." She reassured, giving him a confident smile. It would've looked nice had she not been covered in her own blood or had a broken nose.

"You said that last time, remember?" At this point he was only poking fun at her feeble attempts to sever connections with toxic people, usually needing a large pep talk from the boy to get her anywhere close to cutting away dead weight.

If she could shove him playfully she no doubt would have, but alas, in the enclosed space she merely scoffed, "sure – but this time I mean it."

Viktor pondered on that for a moment. He believed her that much was clear but he was now curious as to why she was practically in love with the girl not just two days ago and right now seemed to be completely fine and okay with not ever seeing her face again.

When it felt like the coast was clear, they exited their small hiding spot and took one last look around. Not a single soul was to be seen aside from the two.

Confident that they'd be okay to trek back to their hideout, they retraced their steps back through the narrow lane, Ember offering Viktor a hand if he so needed it.

But he was happy to trail behind her, the walls were so close together he could brace himself against them as he moved.

"What did she do so bad that caused all this?" Viktor had asked innocently once the two made it back through the market district. She gave him a sore look, unreadable at best which was interesting because he had grown accustomed to reading her expressions with ease.

She looked around, as if someone might be listening in, "we can talk about it when we get back, Vik… I gotta get cleaned up." She dismissed, a very bad habit she developed over the years. It wasn't out of malice or annoyance that she dismissed her problems, she just never wanted to burden Viktor with such things.

Yet every time without fail he would pry it out from her one way or another.

The walk back to their little shack was a quiet one, both far too exhausted to really say all that much but once they were inside and the door shut behind them, Viktor was hot on her heels with an expectant look on his face.

"Sit." He pointed at the chair by his desk, a demanding voice that was rare to come out but Ember always listened when she heard it.

A sigh escaped her as she slumped into the chair, the wood rotted legs groaning under the sudden pressure and slid back on the old floor with an unfavourable screech.

He gathered a small box that had a collection of medical supplies that were specifically for the girl before him, the amount of times she would arrive at the shack with cuts and welts was sometimes otherworldly but he was always around to help her get cleaned up.

"This will sting," he warned, applying some alcohol onto an old rag and began to clean her facial wounds.

She didn't even flinch at the contact, being so used to this type of cleansing and it always felt nicer when Viktor did it. Despite his annoyance he was often always gentle when he dressed her wounds.

"Would you care to tell me why your nose is broken," he kept his eyes trained on her cuts, a hand cupping her chin so he could move her face with ease and keep her still.

“Not really — but you’re gonna ask anyway so…” her words were soft, and her eyes averted his piercing gaze so that she wouldn’t have to see the disappointment in his eyes. She hated that her fuse was short, in fact she even tried to be a better person so that Viktor wouldn’t get fed up with her constant brawling but people knew how to get under her skin.

“I broke things off with Aubrey… for good… and well… she didn’t like that very much. Or her crew.” She sighed, beginning to pick at the scabs on her knuckles despite how tender they were. Sometimes she just liked how the pain felt.

Viktor paused to look down at her hands, “if you keep picking at them you’ll scar your skin.” His voice was equally as soft, despite how exhausting it was to see his best friend treat everyone like an enemy and have her coming home covered in her own blood or others, he would never belittle or berate her for this.

“Sorry —“ she mumbled, flattening out her hands on her lap and letting him proceed, liking the way his hands felt on her face, “but uh… yeah they started on their usual shit. The classics I’ve heard before y'know. ‘Streetrat’ or ‘your parents dumped you’ and ‘you have nobody’. That doesn’t work on me anymore… I hate making you worry so I don’t let those assholes get to me…” she shut her eyes and sighed painfully, not due to Viktor, no. This was deep emotional wounds that had her like this.

“So when they realised I wasn’t gonna give into whatever shit they were pullin’. They started to threaten you…” she finally paused to look up at Viktor who had once again stopped, his golden eyes meeting hers in appreciation? Endearment? She wasn’t sure, but he looked at her like he didn’t expect her to get so worked up about it. “Said some nasty shit too… And I seen the way they go after people and… well… I snapped — I think people are startin’ to get that threatening you is how to get me angry. I’ve just made you the easiest target in the undercity.”

Guilt, she was riddled with guilt. Never before had she realised that her brazen attitude would end up being detrimental to her or Viktor. She didn’t even care what people wanted to do to her, she burnt a lot of bridges with the people in the undercity but by doing this means that disgruntled people would turn their attention to the one person she cared about.

Viktor’s expression was unreadable, placing both of his hands on her shoulders to not only steady himself but to provide comfort to Ember who was clearly hurting. He had nothing to say because he wasn’t sure what to say in this situation, obviously his heart swelled at the thought of her trying to turn a new leaf for him and inadvertently fucking things up in the process but he didn’t care.

“You saw… ‘I seen’ isn’t grammatically sound… or use ‘I’ve seen’…But you don’t need to worry about me. I will be just fine.” He reassured her, his voice was so soft and soothing to her ears. For such a fuck up, she sure got treated with care and respect by him which astounded her to this day.

“So this is where you rats hide?” The voice was so familiar, with so much venom within it that it packed a serious punch. It was Aubrey and her cronies. Ember threw her head back and groaned, having had enough of this and just wanting things to be normal but that wasn't possible.

It was clear that the two were followed, otherwise no one knew that they inhabited this rundown shack. Not that they were keeping it a secret by any means.

"Oh give it a rest, would you?" Ember brushed Viktor's hand away from her and stood up. He gave her a look of warning and worry to which she gave him a reassuring look.

"Hmm that's funny – I don't recall you feeling the same way when you broke Desmond's back." The pink haired girl scowled, stalking closer into the shack and closer to the two.

Viktor looked at his friend with surprise, "you broke a guy's back?"

"Well he had it coming —," Ember looked back at Viktor with a nonchalant shrug and then turned her attention back to the four goons, "— I am so sorry about that. Y'know I'm really tearing myself up about it." She announced, her tone indicated that she wasn't sorry at all. That and the fact she took a defensive stance knowing that no matter what happened she was in for a beating, but she'd try her damndest to keep them occupied and away from Viktor.

"You're relentless, you know that?" Aubrey folded her arms, a pointed look on her face that mixed with annoyance of having to deal with this mess.

Ember narrowed her eyes, standing dangerously close to her ex-girlfriend, "I don't even know what that word means."

"Figures, you always were a halfwit."

Ember stood idle, she wouldn't be the one to throw the first punch here unless it was called for, and name calling or insulting didn't warrant for her to lash out. But she was in a confident position, she had Viktor behind her and she could feel his gaze burn into her skull. That and she could feel his cane up against her leg.

It was only when the pink haired girl clicked her fingers and gestured for her cronies, pointing them in the direction of Viktor did Ember think to react. Gripping the cane around her fingers and in a quick motion whipping it up and uppercutted the girl in the face, thankful that Viktor had it reinforced with steel due to her tendencies to break things by accident.

Blood spewed from Aubrey's mouth along with a string of saliva as she was blown back by the sudden attack.

"Your beef is with me — not him." Ember twirled the cane in her hands before keeping a defensive position and holding it tightly. She didn't want to do this but if they were after Viktor it was her only hope of scaring them away.

Whenever one of the goons got close to her she would forcefully beat them with the cane, aiming for a head blow to knock them unconscious. But they were hard headed folks, that was easier said than done.

One anticipating the attack had grabbed the cane which immediately halted the momentum. He gave her a look of anger before ripping the cane from her arms and tossing it aside. This one was the biggest of the three, bigger than Ember by sheer mass so this was going to be a challenge.

She did what she did best and that was use her fists. Launching herself full force into a violent barrage of punches, it was visceral and raw. Sure, Viktor had seen the girl get into many fist fights but this time it was different… Her assailants were out to do bodily harm, not squander over a petty argument like he had seen so many times previously.

They wouldn’t quit until she was maimed or killed it seemed, and it was the first time in his friendship with her that he was genuinely worried for her. Especially seeing the equally deadly punches thrown back onto her in this unfair fight, it was by sheer luck that Aubrey took less action, making it a 3 on 1 rather than 4 on 1.

But she did have her own motivations, taking advantage of the fact her three goons dogpiled onto Ember and forced her way to Viktor who was essentially defenseless.

Ember was struggling against the 3, trying to use her entire bodily momentum to evade getting grabbed, which was beginning to fizzle the more exhausted she got. She was completely capable of holding her own but they could easily see the tired expression on her face, the way her chest heaved and how it took longer for her to recover from punches.

It was about time she slipped up, one grabbing her arms which reduced her attacks to her legs which were equally as deadly as her fists but not nearly as controlled. She hyperextended her body while kicking one in the head with a meaty blow which knocked him out, in the process dislocating her right shoulder causing her to grit her teeth and groan loudly.

The one holding her had hesitated in surprise, allowing her enough time to rip away from his grasp, winding her body up and using her now limp arm to back hand him as she swung her body around with enough force that it drove him into the ground. She stomped down on his head while he lay prone to knock him out further and returned her attention back to the final one.

He had Viktor’s cane in his hands, seeing the rage in his opponents eyes and with the aid of the adrenaline rush coursing through his veins brought the cane over his knee and snapped it in half. Reinforced steel or not, it seemed to snap with ease that even had Ember faltering as she tried to prepare for this fight with one working arm.

She hawked out a glob of blood that pooled in her mouth, the iron taste overtaking her senses and reminded her of the injuries sustained. It wasn’t over. But it was about to be if she was smart.

Viktor stood in paralysis, he could barely make it to the door even if he tried. The shack looked ransacked with the amount of stuff that was strewn across the floor from bodies flying into tables, shelves and walls. This day was supposed to be one of celebration, a time where the two could relax and he could share his exciting news but it was turning into one of horror at potentially losing his best friend in one of the most gruesome ways.

His eyes hadn’t moved from the brawl, that he didn’t even notice Aubrey come up and pull him into a tight hold. Her arm forced him down into the chair and the other hand held up a makeshift shiv to his throat, causing a noise of surprise to erupt from his mouth.

The sound of his surprise immediately hit Ember’s ears as she whipped her head around to see her ex’s smug face with Viktor in her clutches. It was the perfect distraction needed with her attention elsewhere, the remaining goon drove in half of Vitkor’s cane into her stomach.

Her body lurched forward at the force at first unsure why the air around her turned cold. Viktor’s eyes widened, he was sure he screamed out for her but it sounded muffled like everything stopped around them and all he saw were her legs shake and knees begin to buckle.

She was stubborn — always was, and before she could fully process or inspect the extent of the injury she grabbed the gas lantern that sat on one of the tables, it inching closer to the edge every time the table was bumped into. The heat from the flame on the glass seared its intricate pattern in her hand but she was numb to the pain from all the adrenaline.

It was a vindictive attack, up until this point she was only wanting to beat them down and scare them away but they had forced her hand by threatening Viktor. She needed to get to him quickly and she was losing this fight. So with a shaky breath she threw the lantern down by the goons feet, letting the flames catch onto the old wooden floors and fan out to the fabric of his pants and shoes.

In his haste to shake the flames off from him, he dropped the other half of Viktor’s cane, it rolling closer to Ember as she finally locked eyes with Aubrey, “you’re a fucking psychopath, yknow that right?”

Aubrey’s grip on Viktor tightened, her expression was both severe and panicked as she watched her cronies fall at the hands of one girl, “maybe — You always cared about him more than me or anyone else for that matter… We could’ve been great. All I’d ever need was you and no one would tear us down but you just kept going back to this fucking… leech every time.”

Ember had dropped to her knees in exhaustion at this point, ignoring the smell of burning flesh that began to fill the room along with the pained screams. Her breaths were getting far more ragged, the cane planted in her stomach stuttered a lot of her breathing but she managed for now.

“You talk too much.” Ember coughed, more blood pooling in her mouth. The metallic taste was getting more intense. She rested her fist on the ground, as if trying to compose herself while the other remained limp to her side. It must’ve been quite the sight, she most definitely figured she looked about as good as she felt; like shit.

“What about our future? There wouldn’t be a single person in the undercity who would cross us… Not even Vander… Last chance — or you can kiss this deadweight goodbye.”

Ember sighed, the slightest chuckle erupted from her as she couldn’t find the right emotion to express what she felt. The fire had spread exponentially and the screams of a guy getting burnt alive had since ceased, the heat was beginning to tingle her own skin and smoke began to poison the air.

It was quick, like a flash of light. With all the remaining energy Ember had left, the other half of Viktor’s cane soared through the air and embedded itself into Aubrey’s chest. Forcing her to stumble away from Viktor, dropping the shiv and looking at the buff girl with a look of betrayal.

Viktor had hardly any time to process what had just happened, let alone decide whether or not he was repulsed by what happened. But his thoughts remained on one thing and one thing only; Get Ember somewhere safe.

He wasn’t sure how he was going to do that, most of the shack was on fire and he no longer had a cane to support him. Ember could see the panic in his eyes and she wasn’t about to let them both die to a house fire of her own making. She gritted her teeth and made her way over to Viktor, her hands, face and body were covered in both her blood and someone elses.

“Are you okay?” She asked breathlessly, upon closer inspection one of her eyes had suffered a great deal of trauma, blood vessels had burst from being punched over and over. Her eyes shifted over to Aubrey who was still processing the metal fragment poking out from her chest.

Viktor gave her an incredulous look, as if to question why she was asking him if he was okay when clearly he was fine. “Better than you,” he joked, finding it difficult to process what happened in the span of less than fifteen minutes. It all happened so fast.

She didn’t wait to hear anything else, with her good arm she gripped the wrist of her limp arm, ducking down to scoop Viktor into her arms and using her firm grip to keep a tight hold of him and to ensure her other arm gave out. Her last sparing glance to Aubrey was one of sorrow before she turned her back fully and continued forward. It was painful, her shoulder beginning to sear in pain and the lanky boy’s stature would knock the cane fragment inside her with every step she took out of the shack.

It was absolutely appalling that she was even doing this in the current state she was in but she had her mission and was destined to complete it. She could rest when she knew Viktor was safe.

And she did just that, carrying him out to the street and placing him on his feet before giving him a loving look and one of reassurance. She dropped to her knees before slumping back onto the street. By now it was nighttime and the only light that illuminated the quiet street was the building that was set aflame.

Viktor began to panic, he wasn’t prepared to watch his best friend die, not like this. He dropped to the ground beside her, unsure what he could possibly do to help her other than cry out for help. He wasn’t fast, he wasn’t strong and he had nothing on him that could help her at all.

“Ember — don’t fall asleep… you can’t go like this.” He brought a tender hand to her face watching as her face changed expressions from pained to comfort. “Please… I need you.”

He heard her moan slightly in pain, a slight chuckle fell from her lips, “I’m not dying Vik, I just need to rest.” Her words were slurred and despite her words of reassurance she was most definitely dying.

“Your body is shutting down and I don’t know how to help you.”

“Tell me your news — what were you gonna tell me,” her voice was soft, eyes barely open but looking at Viktor nonetheless.

He brushed her hair away from her face, caressing her cheek delicately, “I’ll tell you when you’re better.”

“You’re a bastard… now I really can’t die.” She laughed painfully.

“I thought you said you weren’t dying.” His eyes welled with tears but his smile was pure. She brought her good hand up to meet his face, unaware of the blood she accidentally smeared on his face.

It wasn’t like how he’s seen it in the theatre shows, it wasn’t quick or dramatic. She was awake for quite some time, thinking that he only had a few last moments with her but he should’ve known better, she was stubborn after all. He cherished the way her hand felt on his face for a moment before he tried to scream for help again.

There was not a chance he was going to let her slip away when he needed her.

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