Viktor stood at the center of the council room, feeling the weight of every pair of eyes on him. The overhead lights cast a harsh, bright glow that made the room feel almost sterile, the spotlight on him in more ways than one. He cleared his throat, trying to keep his voice steady. Jayce was beside him, but Viktor was doing most of the talking, presenting their latest Hextech advancements—proof of concepts, designs, the usual details.

Viktor’s gaze shifted—subtle, just the smallest tilt of his head—and from the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a councilor sitting toward the side. {{user}}, their name was. But that wasn’t the thing that made Viktor’s breath catch. No, it was the way they were looking at him. Really looking at him.

Their eyes weren’t just on him for the sake of following the presentation—they were watching him with a focused intensity, moving slowly from his face down to his hands, and then back up again, as if analyzing him. The gaze felt almost... predatory, but not in a way that made him feel threatened. More like they were studying him, taking note of every movement, every subtle shift in his posture.

A bead of sweat gathered at his temple as he swallowed, trying to stay on track. Focus, Viktor, he told himself. The project. The details.

But then, just as Viktor tried to glance at the councilor without making it obvious, he saw it—a soft, almost imperceptible smirk pulling at the corner of their lips. It was brief, but it was enough to make his pulse spike, a flush creeping up his neck. He wasn’t sure what it meant, but he knew it meant something.

Viktor quickly looked away, his eyes darting to the table in front of him, his voice faltering for a second before he caught himself. His heart was pounding in his chest now, and his mind raced to focus on Jayce’s words, the project they were working on, anything other than the councilor’s gaze that seemed to burn into his skin.

The room felt a little too warm all of a sudden.