"What would you do with it?", Jayce asked as you both sat in the warm water, your vision blurred by steam and your cheeks burning hot from what had happened just a few minutes ago.

He sat between your legs, his shoulders so broad you found it hard to see over them to catch his thoughtful gaze.

Beads of water trickled over his skin, washing away ash and dust and making the beautiful color glow. As if he were a god of the forge.

"What would I do with what?" you asked, pressing your lips against the tight muscles on his shoulder.

The touch was soft, yielding even though he looked as hard as a rock.

"With Hextech.", he spoke slowly, almost still lost in his own thoughts only to experience lucid moments now and then. "Once we've convinced the council, made preparations and realised the ideas. What would you do with it?"

He was living someone else's dream. And his own nightmare.

How much had he imagined differently?

You actually had to think about that question for a moment. It was a good question, curious and yet cautious.

"I'd see what it could do.", you admitted. "Until it reaches its limit. And then I'll see what I can do with that."

"You will trade with it.", Jayce moved in the water.

Small waves rippled the surface.

"Of course.", you shrugged. "Why not? You're trading with the Hexgates."

"The taxes are for regulation. To stop stupid things happening unchecked."

"It's still trade."

Thoughtfully, he pressed his lips into a thin line. Black, thick eyebrows drew together and small wrinkles appeared on his forehead.

"Just trading?", he finally asked. "With everything?"

You breathed a kiss on the back of his neck. The black hair there was shaved so short that it tickled your nose. Just like a chin he must have shaved a day ago.

"If Hextech can make the world as a whole a better place, why shouldn't we spread the word? A little money in our pockets won't defeat the purpose."

"Until the money is so heavy that it buries us.", sour distaste resonated in his words.

You frowned in confusion.

"I don't intend to exploit people, Jayce.", you put a hand on his shoulder to make him look at you. "Not for good causes. Wine, furniture, clothes. That's luxury. Those who can afford it in bulk should give me money in abundance. But exploiting the poor is no fun. They have nothing. I'm not enough of a monster to take everything from them and then wonder why they can't give more."

The words from your mouth caused something in his eyes to flicker. First there was a dark shadow. Then he took a deep breath, closed his eyes briefly and sighed.

"And if I were to say that everything Hextech can do should benefit everyone.", he continued. "Without payment."

Something in the back of your mind twitched.

Naive, you thought to yourself. So naive that it amounted to stupidity.

"Then I will ask you to build something that equals luxury."

He snorted.

"So that you can continue to trade...", it almost sounded like a pejorative from his mouth.

Water ran down your face. You shook your head seriously and a little stiffly.

"To make sure I get something out of this deal as well.", you leaned back, resting your arms on the edge of the tub.

Jayce turned around as far as he could. His gaze traced the lines of your body, from your neck down to your collarbones, across your chest and into the water.

He swallowed hard. But the desire that had awakened in his eyes didn't last long. Instead, that restless pensiveness returned.

Exhaling deeply, you close your eyes and let your head fall back. The beads of water rippling from your (H/C) strands hit the stone floor with a hiss.

"You can't ask me to make everything possible for you, no restrictions, no prohibitions, no questions about your methods and visions, just out of the goodness of my heart.", your fingers played with the ripples on the surface of the water. "What remains for me?"

"Do you ever think you are greedy?"

You curled your lips into an amused laugh.

"I was honest with you from the beginning. I always said I had motives.", when you opened your eyes to meet his gaze there was something deeply sad in the green. "I'll help you, Jayce. I promised you that. And in return, I get the right to sell your inventions."

He thought about it. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately. Perhaps too much. And about the wrong things.

"I'm not the one you need to be wary of.", you gently raised your hand to stroke his cheek. "When will you finally trust me?"

You came closer to him. So close that the tip of his nose brushed against yours. The touch was so gentle, so intimate that he had to take a shaky breath.

You couldn't deny your own body's reaction. He was doing something to you. Something that you had longed for a long time and that Salo had never been able to satisfy.

Was that love?

You didn't want to be stupid, not naive, to believe that this could be a deeper connection. Everything was a deal. And every deal would eventually come to an end.

Just thinking about it almost broke your heart.

"I trust you.", Jayce suddenly whispered, more dejected than ever. "But so did I her..."

His words lost you for a moment. Then your eyebrows lifted and you couldn't help but snort.

"And I thought she'd sell better.", you whispered more to yourself than to him.

Jayce closed her eyes, suddenly annoyed, almost angry.

"She tried to pull me away from you again, said your goals wouldn't be as good as hers."

"The most beautiful snakes have the deadliest venom, my dear."

He shook his head.

"But you are honest.", his eyes opened again, soft and full of hope.

"Just because I'm honest doesn't make me a good man.", you shrugged.

"For me it does.", he carefully grasped your face with both hands and pulled you into a kiss.