Chapter Text
He had always been an impulsive person. Jayce knew that much. However, this time he had really outdone himself.
—
He had been walking through a shady part of the black market in Zaun in hopes of finding illegal materials for his latest experiment.
He kept his pace quick and never lingered to browse. It was never a good idea to stay in one place for too long. There were far too many shady individuals with less than kind intentions.
He had learned that lesson the hard way a few years back.
Jayce kept his eyes peeled for anything that might be useful, but also careful not to make direct eye contact with anyone he passed.
His last few experiments hadn’t exactly gone to plan. Jayce shuddered, remembering how much his poor workshop got destroyed in the blast of his latest failure.
Not this time though Jayce thought to himself. This one will be revolutionary, I can feel it! If I can just get this last piece… With a sense of satisfaction he excitedly continued his search.
He had been walking around for a while before a strangled cry from a nearby alleyway stopped him dead in his tracks.
It sounded broken; like whoever it was had tried to scream but all that came out was a strained sob.
It’s none of my business. Jayce reminded himself. I only came here for one thing and once I have it I’m leaving. He decided firmly.
Another weak sob.
Jayce’s earlier resolution was shattered as he found himself rushing towards the noise.
He rounded a corner in search of the origin of the sound, only to freeze at the sight in front of him.
There was a woman, fat and ugly, she had what Jayce assumed was some sort of makeshift weapon in her grasp. She braced it as if she were about to strike. At her feet was a sickly looking man. He was curled up into a ball on the floor in front of her, evidently having been kicked to the ground.
“Eh, you damned useless bastard!” The woman screamed as she stamped her foot down on the back of the man’s neck.
A loud Crunch echoed through the near empty alley as the frail looking man’s face was smashed into the ground.
“What the hell do you think you're doing!?” Jayce yelled. He didn’t fully understand the situation yet, but the sight of the man getting one sidedly beaten was enough for him to get over his momentary shock.
“Eh?” The woman looked up at Jayce with a scowl.
“The hell? It’s nonyah damned business. Keep moving unless you want trouble.” The woman sneered.
In hindsight, this really wasn’t any of his business and he most definitely did not want any unnecessary trouble. Provoking this stranger would be a very stupid decision on Jayce’s part. After all, it was never a good idea to stick your nose in places it didn’t belong, much less in Zaun, and even less in an area as sketchy as this.
Then again, Jayce had always been an impulsive person.
“I said what the hell do you think you're doing? Why the fuck are you beating him like that? Is he a criminal or something?” Jayce barked back at her. An irrational anger surged through him the longer he watched.
“Criminal? Hah!” The woman snorted before bursting out laughing—a disgusting sound if Jayce had ever heard one.
“This is just some damaged product that I oughta get rid of.” She said with a wicked smile on her face.
Jayce had to stop himself from physically recoiling. The glee the woman expressed at the idea of “getting rid” of the man made Jayce shudder.
“What do you mean, product?” Jayce questioned.
The word tasted disgusting on his tongue.
The woman rolled her eyes and snorted again “ya new here or something? This thing here is a slave. I’m sellin’ it. See here, take a look.” She grabbed the man by the hair and roughly heaved him up to face Jayce.
Jayce felt his stomach churn at the sight.
The man was in much worse condition than Jayce had originally assumed. He was deathly pale and so skinny that Jayce was amazed he had the strength to weakly claw at the hand the woman had fisted in his hair.
He had shoulder length brown hair that looked as if it hadn’t been washed in months and his entire body from head to toe looked absolutely filthy with patches of caked on dust, grime, and what Jayce found most horrifying, dried blood. He had sharp, angular cheekbones no doubt accentuated by what was possibly years of starvation and malnutrition. But that wasn’t the worst part, No.
His eyes.
Jayce couldn’t look away from them. The man’s eyes were the most striking shade of gold he had ever seen in his entire life—A color so bright the sun would look dull in comparison. Maybe Jayce would have found them beautiful if he hadn’t been distracted by how fucking terrified the guy looked.
Jayce had never seen such raw anguish on a person's face before. Tears poured out of the man’s eyes, streaking through the dirt and grime covering his skin. He trembled, pressing his lips into a thin line as if he were holding back another shriek of pain. And, for the first time, Jayce noticed the shackles and chains confining the man’s wrists and neck.
Rage pooled in Jayce’s gut. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been so angry; if ever. Who the fuck got to decide they had the right to choose another persons fate like this?
Jayce wasn’t ignorant; he had always been aware that slavery existed. It wasn’t uncommon in Piltover for the wealthy to keep them as servants or entertainers; however, neither he nor the Kirammans had ever owned any slaves. This was his first time seeing the cruelty so openly.
”If he's a product then why are you ‘getting rid of him’.” Jayce asked through gritted teeth.
“Because it is broken, see? Got broken by its last master for disobedience.” She replied before giving the man’s right leg a sharp kick, drawing a high shriek out of him.
Upon further inspection Jayce could see that the man’s right was bent at an unnatural angle. Who knows how long he had gone with a broken leg? Jayce felt nauseous just thinking about how much pain the man must be in and enraged that the woman would further injure him for no other reason than amusement.
“So what? You're just gonna kill him?” Jayce asked in disbelief.
“Yup, Ain’t nobody gonna buy a damaged slave. No reason to keep feeding and watering it if it ain’t gonna get me any profits.” The woman replied simply.
Jayce couldn’t believe what he was hearing. To throw away an innocent life so nonchalantly? What the hell…
“Anyways, I gotta job to finish, so unless yah wanna watch me beat it to death, I suggest ya leave right now.” With that she finally unclenched the fist she had in the man’s hair and he fell to the ground with a small cry.
“Wait!” Jayce shouted before he could even comprehend what he was doing. “You said you're only getting rid of him because he’s not worth anything, right?”
“Yeh that’s what I just said, so what?” She questioned.
“Well…” a small voice in the back of Jayce’s brain knew what he was about to say and warned him against it. It’s none of your business! Don’t do it! Just leave it alone!
To hell with his brain
“I’ll buy him from you.”
Both the woman and the man’s gaze snapped up to his, disbelief painted both of their expressions. Jayce found it amusing on the woman’s face, but painfully heartbreaking on the man’s. Still, if he looked close enough he swore he could see something like a flicker of hope in the man’s eyes.
“Eh, what? You stupid or something? It’s broken. Why would ya want this thing?” She asked incredulously.
“That’s none of your business.” Jayce snapped.
The woman still looked confused but was quick to overcome her shock. A sly smile curled on her lips.
“Alright then. 10k for it.” She smirked.
Jayce felt his eyebrows shoot up at that. 10k? The hell? He didn’t need to participate in buying slaves to know that her offer was grossly overpriced. Maybe for a younger, healthier slave; but an injured man who probably couldn’t even walk? It was no doubt just a ploy to scam suckers who didn’t understand the concept of haggling.
Jayce reasoned that from her perspective he probably looked like a spoiled Piltie who would be happy to throw money away.
He wasn’t exactly sure how, but the residents of Zaun always had the uncanny ability to smell topsiders from a mile away regardless of how much he dressed to blend in.
Jayce briefly considered trying to get a lower price. Sure, 10k wouldn’t be too detrimental to his bank account; but still, he had come to the market with intent to spend a lot on materials, and he really didn’t want to give this creep any more money than necessary.
He was about to open his mouth to argue with her when he caught sight of the man’s face again.
The hope Jayce swore he saw in his eyes earlier was nowhere to be found. His gaze was downcast and he was slumped in defeat.
Jayce could feel his heartbreak with every second he looked at him. The man clearly knew that the price she offered Jayce was way too much to be practical. He most likely assumed that Jayce wouldn’t take the deal and would just leave him to die.
Jayce made up his mind.
“Deal.”
For the second time that day both of them gaped at him with expressions of disbelief.
“Alright then! “ the woman said, clapping her hands, causing the man to flinch beneath her “lemme just make sure this one won’t cause yah any trouble for a while. Wouldn’t want a dear customer to be unsatisfied with our services!”
Jayce was about to question what she meant when she grabbed the man by the shackle on his neck, forcing him into a kneeling position before Jayce.
“You better be extra grateful to your master for saving your life.” She cackled before kicking him towards Jayce. “Don’t be making me and my business look bad now, eh? Go on and thank him before he changes his mind.” She threatened.
The man scrambled to crawl forward in spite of his broken leg and—to Jayce’s absolute horror—pressed a kiss onto the tip of Jayce’s boot.
“Thank you for your mercy, kind Master.” The man rasped weakly.
“Wha-?” Jayce was caught completely off guard. Before he could stop himself, he violently wrenched his foot out of the man’s hold and staggered back a few steps.
Jayce realized a little too late that this was a poor decision on his part.
The man gasped and seemed to shrink further into himself. He was shaking violently, arms braced above his head like he was expecting to be hit.
Shit! I shouldn’t have done that without thinking about how he would react…
Guilt and regret bloomed in Jayce’s chest. He had to get his act together for the sake of this man.
The woman cackled from a few feet away.
“Yah haven’t even been his slave for five minutes and yah already pissed him off.” She laughed.
Jayce could see the man tense up even more at that.
“Just go get me the damned papers so I can get out of here already.” Jayce bit at her.
“Alright, alright, sheesh. I see someone’s eager to give their new slave a test drive.” She winked before turning to go fetch the contract.
Test drive…? Jayce shook his head. He didn’t even want to imagine what disgusting things she was implying with that.
Finally alone, Jayce began to slowly approach the man again. He was still curled up with his face pressed against the ground.
“Uh, hey-… look I’m sorry for scaring you earlier but you don’t have to be afraid. I won’t hurt you, I promise…” Jayce cringed at how pathetically unconvincing his words sounded even to himself.
The man stayed silent and for a moment Jayce wondered if he had even heard him.
This time Jayce kneeled down right in front of him and went to place a gentle, reassuring hand on the man’s shoulder.
“Did you hear what I sai-“ Jayce was cut off by the man violently jerking away when Jayce’s hand made contact.
“Y-yes Master, I heard you. Please forgive me for not responding properly the first time!” The man said quickly, squeezing his eyes shut.
“I- it’s okay don’t worry, I’m not mad.” Jayce assured him with the gentlest tone he could manage.
The man nodded slightly, his eyes still screwed shut and face contorted with obvious distress.
Jayce heard footsteps approaching and looked up to see the woman walking towards them with papers and a key in her hands.
“The hell are ya doing? Why are you kneeling in front of it?” She asked, a look of disgust on her face.
Ignoring her question completely, Jayce took the papers from her and signed them.
“Not gonna answer? Whatever, it’s not my problem anymore. Here’s the key to its cuffs and those papers there prove your ownership.”
“Alright.” Jayce said shortly, hoping that she would take the hint and finally leave them alone for good. He was getting sick of seeing her face.
She raised her eyebrow at Jayce’s tone. “Alright then, just remember, I ain’t giving you any refunds. That one’s been brought back too many times and I’m sick of seeing it. If yah wanna get rid of it, just dump it somewhere to die, don’t bring it back here.” With that she turned and left.
Finally.
Now that they were alone for real this time, Jayce could feel the panic and doubt start to creep up on him.
He had been acting on nothing but rage fueled adrenaline for the last 15 minutes and now that things had calmed down, the weight of the situation dawned on him.
He just bought a slave. He was clutching the papers that proved Jayce Talis now owned another human being. Oh gods…
Jayce shook himself from those thoughts. He only did it to save the man’s life and he planned to free him the first chance he got anyways. He would have plenty of time to comprehend the emotions swirling in his head later. First, he had to get this man back to his house and make sure he was okay.
Jayce knelt down in front of the man again, careful to project his movements slowly so he wouldn’t frighten him.
“Hey. I’m going to remove your cuffs now, okay? I’m not going to hurt you.” He kept his tone as light as possible and reached for the man’s arms.
The man jerked when Jayce’s hand wrapped around his wrists. He looked up at Jayce, though not quite meeting his eyes, with a fearful expression.
Jayce offered him a kind smile as he began unlocking the cuffs. “Please don’t worry. You don’t have to be afraid of me.” Jayce soothed.
“Alright, I’m going to unlock the one on your neck now, okay?”
Jayce quickly unlocked the band on the man’s neck, not wanting to make him uncomfortable by lingering in his personal space for too long.
Now that the restraints were off Jayce could clearly see the skin underneath. The man had bruises of every color and red splotches of irritation that looked extremely uncomfortable.
I hope he doesn’t have an infection. Jayce made a mental note to thoroughly clean his wounds later.
Before he registered what he was doing, Jayce absentmindedly reached out and brushed his fingers near the wounded skin on the man’s neck; only to be surprised when the man’s gaze locked with his and he whacked Jayce’s hand out of the way.
Jayce blinked, registering what had just happened. Ah shit, why the hell did I do that for? He quickly backed up a little with his hands in the air in a hopefully surrendering gesture. He was about to stumble out an apology when he looked back into the man’s eyes.
Fire. There was an undeniable fire in those golden eyes.
Jayce felt his chest swell with hope. He had been worried that the man might be too far beyond repair, that he might never be able to recover from his past or be able to shake the idea that he was a slave; but now, Jayce could see the intense desire he had in his eyes. The desire to live, to fight.
Jayce smiled to signal his approval at the man’s show of defiance.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have touched you like that without your permission. It won’t happen again, I promise.” He hoped that his apology would be sincere enough to put the other at ease.
Instead the man seemed to freeze. His eyes widened and his face paled when the realization of what he had done sunk in.
Before Jayce could say anything else the man had thrown himself back onto the ground.
“I-I’m sorry Master! I’m so sorry! I- I, please! Forgive me! How dare I, a lowly slave, dare lay a hand on my Master and oppose his will! I’m sorry!” The man trembled and clasped both of his hands together in a pleading gesture.
“W-w woah! Hey it’s okay! It’s okay I- I’m not mad, I swear! It was my fault for touching you like that so suddenly. Please stop apologizing, I’m not angry, I promise.” Jayce stumbled on his words, desperate to soothe the man’s panic.
The man was still trembling but responded with a shaky nod.
Jayce frowned. The previous hatred in the man’s glare vanished, replaced again by fear and submission.
He’s been through so much… I suppose it’s only natural for him to be afraid of me, no matter how much I assure him.
Jayce made another mental note to further comfort the man once they reached the safety of his house.
But back to the most pressing matter at hand, how the hell was he going to get this man back home; Could the poor guy even walk?
“Hey, do you think you can stand up? It’s okay if you can’t but I need to kn-.”
The man wrenched himself up to his knees at lightspeed. He planted both hands firmly on the ground and pushed himself up with what had to be all the strength he had in his weak body.
For a moment Jayce thought that he would manage to stay upright. But as soon as the man tried to put any weight on his bad leg he crashed back down to the floor with a pained whimper.
“Ah, that’s okay we can figure something else o-“
Jayce was cut off yet again by the mans second attempt to stand. This time he managed to rise to his full height, only to fall back to the ground a second later with another pitiful cry.
“H-hey you don’t have to push yourself if you can’t do it!” Jayce exclaimed urgently.
It seemed the man didn’t hear him because he continued his futile attempts at standing, only to fall back down every time. Jayce noticed the increasing panic on the man’s face every time he failed to get up properly. His movements became frantic and reckless as he tried to brace his weight on his damaged leg.
Jayce couldn’t take it anymore.
“Please stop!”
The man froze in a kneeling position, eyes wide with fear.
“I’m sorry Master. It’s my leg, I can’t…” he whispered so quietly Jayce had to strain his ears to hear him. Jayce swore he could’ve heard a trace of bitterness in the man’s tone.
“It’s okay. Please don’t hurt yourself.” Jayce pleaded, hoping the concern in his voice would deter the man from pushing himself too hard.
The man gave him another weak nod.
“Would it be okay if I carried you?” Jayce asked cautiously.
The man tensed, opening his mouth as if to answer before closing it again.
“Is that an order, Master?”
“Huh what?” Jayce had carefully picked his wording to make the question sound as least demanding as possible.” No, no it’s not an order. I just wanted to know if you're comfortable with me carrying you back to my place?”
The man furrowed his eyebrows.
“Slaves do not have the privilege of opinion… the Masters desires are my desires.” He replied, confusion evident in his voice.
Jayce sighed. Just how much cruelty did this man have to endure to say something like that so simply? He spoke with the same tone one would use when stating that the sky was blue. Like it was an objective fact with no room for argument.
“Alright then… if you really don’t have an opinion then I’m just going to carry you back. It would be faster and safer for both of us.” Jayce was careful to keep his tone even.
The man said nothing, simply staring at the floor.
Jayce hovered near him awkwardly. He really wasn’t sure how to go about this without stressing the other too much.
“Uhm-“ Jayce cleared his throat “A-alright I’m going to touch you now. If you feel any pain or are uncomfortable, please tell me. I’ll figure something else out if it comes down to it, okay?”
“…okay.”
Jayce shuffled forward, wrapping one arm around the man’s back and the other under his thighs into a slightly awkward bridal carry. Despite his best efforts to be careful, the man still flinched away from his touch, wincing when Jayce had scooped up his legs.
“Are you alright?” Jayce whispered, afraid if he spoke too loudly the man would panic.
The man hesitated for a second before nodding slightly.
“Are you in any pain?” Jayce only realized how stupid his question sounded after he’d already said it. Of course he was in pain, the guy had a broken leg and was probably starving to death as they spoke.
“…no.”
“Alright, Just hold on tight for a little while longer. Once we make it back home you’ll be safe. I promise.”