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Jayce blew on his freezing hands and shoved them into his pockets as he blinked his eyes under the brightness of a street light. Condensing breath clouded around his head in the chilly night air as Viktor pulled out his car keys and the blacked-out Miata beeped cheerfully, unlocking.
"Hop in."
The inside of the car was cold too, and Jayce flipped the hood of his Piltover University sweatshirt up to protect the back of his neck. He sat on sleek black leather, the material squeaking a little as his full weight bore down.
Viktor clambered in behind the wheel, and pulled his door to with a snap. A glove compartment opened, and Jayce watched as Viktor produced a pair of inky black driving gloves. Jayce's mouth went dry at the sight. Viktor pulled the gloves on, and turned the car key. The Miata's engine rumbled to life, and settled into the recognizable purr of a sports car. Waiting.
The radio turned on, connecting to Viktor's phone as he pulled out of the dorm parking lot. A moody synth started in time with Viktor's left-turn signal as they turned to drive out of Piltover and across the bridge towards Zaun.
Oblivion - Grimes displayed on the screen. Viktor settled into the drive, his left hand controlling the steering wheel while his right changed the gears on the manual transmission. Jayce shifted, not sure where to begin.
"So, we're going to Zaun?"
Viktor changed lanes to pass another car and nodded.
"Yes."
Jayce was incredulous. "Just to drive?"
Viktor's tongue clicked. "The enforcers are almost never down there to catch us, and you'd said you've never been. It'll be fun."
"You know most people do dinner or the movies for a first date, right?"
Viktor's eyes flicked to Jayce, molten gold brimming with irritation. They turned onto the bridge as the song changed.
Gasoline - The Weeknd
Viktor revved the engine, and Jayce was pressed back into his seat as the Miata sprang forward. The red speed indicator climbed continually upwards as Viktor sped the car across the bridge. Glittering towers of Piltover twinkled like stars in the river's reflection as they drove. Viktor wove through traffic effortlessly, both feet working the pedals as he shifted through different gears. The golden light illuminating the car from city lights behind them dimmed more and more, overtaken by the constant smog enveloping Zaun that creeped out onto the bridge. Slimy greens and purples shone through the haze like a neon dream.
"Anywhere you'd like to go?"
Viktor's sudden question caught Jayce off-guard.
"Uhm, it's your city," he shrugged. "give me the tour."
They zipped under a street light, and Jayce caught a glimpse of Viktor's smirk. His gloved hand tightened on the wheel.
"Count on it."
They descended lower into the gloom of Zaun and the Gray enveloped them. Viktor seemed to only be driving faster, and they bobbed and weaved through the fissures as Jayce clenched his fist around the seatbelt crossing his chest, his heart climbing his throat. The song changed again and a sudden violin made Jayce look at the screen.
MONACO - Bad Bunny
If Jayce had known that agreeing to go out for a 'night drive' with Viktor would entail him clenching his butt whilst the hottest person in their mechanical engineering cohort drifted a hairpin turn in the Lanes at 11:30 at night, he might not have agreed. But now that he was here, he couldn't help but admire Viktor's absolute control of the car at all times. The engine purred, the floor under Jayce's feet vibrating as he watched dark apartments, grimy bars and young kids smoking cigarettes on street corners sweep by.
"I grew up there," Viktor nodded towards an apartment that they passed. "Got my scholarship from Heimerdinger at 17 and haven't looked back since."
"You have any family that live here still?"
"No, it's just me," Viktor got around another car, the Miata's engine revving up again. "And you?"
"Just my mom. She lives by our family factory in the manufacturing district. Having the Kirammans for patrons definitely helped me get into the Academy, but my mom's always been the one who believed in me."
Viktor hummed acknowledgment. They were still speeding through the Lanes, and the heart of Zaun's metropolis crowded on top of itself, spindling buildings of metal and glass craning upwards. Crisscrossing catwalks and bridges connected buildings as they climbed, and the city night life filtered across them like blood pumping through a giant mechanical heart.
"Want to see what this thing can do?"
Jayce turned to Viktor, and felt the blood draining from his face.
"Did I not before? We just drifted around the fissures!"
Viktor laughed like Jayce had just made a hilarious joke. Jayce might be sick.
"Hold on, Jayce."
Jayce's head immediately hit the headrest behind him. He was pinned, and the buildings around them melted into a blur of neon. Viktor drifted corners with squealing tires as Jayce clasped the handle over the door like he'd die without it. The song changed, and Jayce couldn't believe the irony.
Vroom Vroom - Charli xcx
Blue and red lights pierced the interior of the car. A blacked out police car pulled out behind them, giving chase.
Enforcers.
"Shit," Viktor cursed.
"I thought you said they never came down here!" Jayce was going to have a heart attack.
"I said almost never," Viktor corrected him as if it should make Jayce feel better. "It's just bad luck. I can lose them."
"Lose them? You need to pull over, Viktor!"
"Please, they have factory-tuned cars. Only go up to 180kph. If i can top that, we'll lose them."
Jayce was going to die. His date was insane and he was going to die. Viktor shifted up another gear and the Miata charged forwards. They dove through back alleys and main roads, even doubling back once or twice. The enforcers were still hot on their tail, and a light going yellow ahead of them made Viktor curse. He took his right hand and kissed his first two fingers through the glove, pressing it to the roof of the car as they sailed through the light before it turned red.
Jayce stared. "What was that?"
"For luck. I don't know, I've always done it."
Behind them, the enforcers' patrol vehicle screamed through the red light, narrowly avoiding a collision with another car as horns sounded. Jayce craned his head behind him to look as Viktor chuckled.
"It hasn't failed me yet."
Viktor drifted every turn as he continued, and the enforcers lagged further and further behind. The speedometer reached 180 and sailed past it with ease when they came to a straight. Moments later, the blue and red specks in the distance turned off, and the patrol car took up vigil in another dark corner of highway to wait for a car it could catch.
They were safe.
Jayce laughed incredulously as Viktor whooped. Adrenaline charged through Jayce's veins, and he began to understand why Viktor liked doing this so much.
Viktor's accent seeped through his words.
"Ready to go home? I think that was enough excitement for one night."
Jayce nodded in agreement.
"Let's."
The car revved and Viktor turned back onto the highway leading back towards Piltover. The song changed once more as they broke out of the Gray.
VISION - Dreamcatcher
The City of Progress glittered in front of them, and the tallest spires of the Academy rose in alabaster and gold. Viktor slowed as they crossed the bridge, and Jayce released a breath he didn't know he'd been holding.
"I'm sorry if you didn't enjoy yourself."
Viktor sounded a little hurt, and Jayce immediately felt like an asshole.
"N-no!" he was spluttering. "I really enjoyed it! It wasn't what I was expecting, but I'm glad I got to see where you grew up. I didn't realize Zaun was so beautiful, I'd like to go again sometime. If that's okay."
Viktor nodded, seeming satisfied.
"That can be arranged."
Sparkling crystal gleamed in the distance, and the golden glow of the street lights filled the car once more. The song continued softly in the background as Jayce and Viktor chatted: about school, their lives, and Heimerdinger's micromanagement of their cohort.
Jayce was laughing at a story about Viktor's cat as they pulled back into his dorm's parking lot.
"I can't believe she did that!" Jayce wiped a tear from his eye. "Rio sounds like a handful."
"She certainly keeps me occupied."
The car idled in front of the stairs leading up to Jayce's apartment.
A pause. Jayce didn't relish getting out of his warm seat, but he opened the door and stepped back into the chilly night. Viktor rolled down the window so they could keep talking as Jayce's nose started to run.
"I had fun, Jayce. Maybe we can do your dinner and movie soon? I'd like to keep seeing each other."
Jayce blushed.
"Definitely dinner. Next week okay?"
"Of course. And the movie…?"
"Well," Jayce smiled sheepishly. "no time like the present. Wanna come up?"
Viktor grinned and turned off the car.
"What do you think about Star Trek?"