As Silco returned he rushed to the bathroom and reappeared, smelling like a cloud of lavender and bourbon.

Confused, you frowned and had to take a deep breath in to check if you were just imagining things. But as you threw a quick glance over to Sevika, she seemed to be just as confused as you were.

She shrugged, not really interested in finding out the why.

Without a word, Silco let himself fall back into his chair.

"You may leave now.", he said to her, not looking up.
Nodding, she got back on her feet and disappeared.

As she was gone, you turned around to face him.

"You smell weird.", you noted.

He shrugged, not looking at you.

"It's called soap.", he answered and kept reading.

"It smells like a Piltover perfumery."

"My usual scent. Nothing out of the ordinary."

"You just put a shit ton of it on."

Sighing in an annoyed manner, Silco rolled his eyes and put the papers down to look at you.

"Samaritan.", he started.

"(Y/N).", you interrupted.

Confused, he frowned.

"Pardon?"

"(Y/N). That's my name."

Struck by surprise he couldn't help but move his lips without a single sound escaping them. He gasped, trying to find the right words.

"That's... surprisingly pleasant.", he mumbled, still visibly overwhelmed. "How rude of me that I didn't ask for it earlier."

You shrugged.

"Not a big deal, peacock. Anyways, back to the topic.", you sighed. "You smell."

And again the annoyance retuned.

"You're very persistent about such a minor thing.", he said and turned his attention back to the paperwork. "Hold your breath if it's so terrible."

"It's not. I like it."

"Then why are you complaining?"

"I'm confused."

"What a tragedy."

Rolling your eyes, you turned your back on him again ti return to your work as well.

"As ignorant as a peacock as well...", you muttered under your breath.

Silco managed to hear it, but kept his mouth shut. He wasn't in the mood for arguments. The smell in the room annoyed him enough. Sevika had been smoking in the office, he could tell by taking a deep breath.

He would have never told you, but had smoked outside to keep your lungs from getting irritated by the smoke. Plus, he knew how much you despised the smell by now. But of course his little curtsy had to be destroyed by her no fucks given attitude.

Time passed, the dim light of the sun turned into the dark of night.

With the daylight the warmth was also fading. A wave of cold air made you shudder.

Catching the movement from the corner of his eyes, Silco got up and wrapped his coat around your shoulders. Without saying or explaining why he had done it he turned on his heel and sat in his desk again.

Frowning, you glanced over your shoulder. But he didn't not notice. His smell was stuck to the coat. Smoke and musk mixed in your nose. Somehow, the scent was soothing, the warmth of the fabric made it feel like he was hugging you.

The thought made you blush. Carefully, your fingers ran over the embroidered sleeves. Everything felt so soft, so noble.

"Pretty clothes for a vain peacock.", you muttered with a soft smile on you lips.

But again, he pretended not to hear. Instead, he got up and walked over to you. As he stood behind you he stopped and cleared his throat in order to signalise that he was looking over your shoulder.

"How is it going?", he asked, his face being the width of a finger away from your cheek.

A shiver crawled down your spine as his breath stroked over your skin. Goosebumps covered all of your body. Swallowing hard, you tried to keep your heart beat calm before starting to talk.

"Could be better, could be worse.", you said and glanced into his direction from the corner of your eyes. "We might have to try new variations. This one has a different formula."

You pointed at a glass, filled with green liquid.

He frowned.

"Are you sure?", he asked.

You shrugged.

"Not until we try. But it's not poisonous."

"How do you know?"

"I tested it."

Struck by surprise, the harsh expression on his face softened.

"On what?", hesitantly, he took a step to the side to be able to look into your face properly. "On who?"

Without paying attention to the concerned shimmer in his eyes, you shrugged.

"On myself.", you said as if it was no big deal.

"Why would you do that?"

"I needed to test it."

"On yourself? What if it would have caused damage?"

"Then I would have to suffer the consequences. My work, my decisions, my sacrifices."

"That's just stupid. I could have gotten someone to test it..."

"I don't want that. Don't act as if this is shocking. I'm used to being my own lab rat."

"But you won't be my lab rat."

Irritated by the way he formulated the sentence, you raised and eyebrow and tilted your head.

He sighed, closing his eye in annoyance while massaging the bridge of his nose.

"If it needs to be tested, test it on me.", he demanded after a moment of silence.

"It could cause you harm.", you objected.

"It could cause you harm as well. But I need you. Your well-being is important. If the tests cause me damage, you can fix it. But if you're negatively effected nobody will be able to help you."

This answer wasn't entirely satisfactory in your opinion.

But you did not want to argue with him and accepted the explanation with a shrug of your shoulders. Your fingers grabbed the syringe, filling it with a little bit of the new type of shimmer.

You offered it to him, but he hesitated.

"You need to practice on yourself.", you said as the look on his face told you that he was unsure what to do. "One day you'll need to inject yourself with it."

Pressing his thin lips together, he reached out and wrapped his fingers around yours, holding the syringe together.

His touch was surprisingly warm.

"Do me a favour and do it for me.", he asked in a soft voice. "I... want to enjoy the skills of a professional for as long as possible."