Jonathan pointed to himself. "I'm also a student at the Academy."
Heimerdinger looked at him, then at Jayce—who was clearly wearing an Academy uniform. Jonathan, of course, was not.
The professor's ears twitched. "It doesn't matter to me that you're not from the Academy."
Jonathan offered an uneasy smile. "Well, that makes it easi—"
"What matters is character," Heimerdinger interrupted gently. "So I'll ask again: who are you?"
Jonathan took a deep breath. "Well… I'm Jonathan Krueger," he said, avoiding his real last name. "Not from around here, as you can probably tell."
He gave a little wave with his red tail.
Heimerdinger blinked, then smiled politely. "Ah, from down under."
"No, not Australia—the Undercity," Jonathan corrected.
Everyone paused. There was a beat of confused silence.
Caitlyn frowned. "What's Australia?"
"But as for my character," Jonathan continued, brushing past Caitlyn's comment, "I'd say… nice?"
He reached into the box and, with a bit of flair, used his tail to lift one of the prosthetics.
"I designed them," Jonathan said.
Jayce added, "And I built the prototypes."
Heimerdinger's eyes lit up with curiosity. "My, that is impressive." He stepped forward and extended his small hands. "May I have a closer look?"
Jonathan nodded and handed the prosthetic over, his movements careful and deliberate.
Heimerdinger turned it over in his hands, inspecting every joint and panel with quiet concentration.
"Impressive," he murmured.
He held the prosthetic up beside his own hand, the size difference immediately apparent. "Hmm… A prosthetic hand, yes?"
Jonathan nodded. "Yeah, that one is. I'm quite happy with how it turned out."
Heimerdinger glanced at Caitlyn, then pointed to her. "By my assumption, you have some sort of partnership with young Kiramman?"
Caitlyn shook her head. "No, actually—we're just friends." She smiled, a bit softer. "Best friends."
She gestured toward Jayce. "Jayce Talis is the one sponsoring Jonathan."
Jayce stepped forward slightly, flashing his best smile.
"Talis, hmm…" Heimerdinger furrowed his brows, thinking aloud. "Talis…"
Then his eyes lit up. "Oh—Talis!" He snapped his fingers.
Jayce perked up. "You've heard of us?" he asked, surprised.
Heimerdinger nodded. "Yes, yes, my boy. Your house makes tools. You even made the semi-popular collapsible pocket wrench."
He lifted the prosthetic hand to eye level, inspecting it once more—only for Jonathan to gently pluck it away with his tail and return it to the box.
Jayce smiled at Heimerdinger. "It's an honor to be noticed by you, sir." He gave a slight bow, careful not to drop the box in his arms.
"We were supposed to have a meeting about the prosthetics before the… tragedy. Is there any way we can still have it?"
Heimerdinger turned to glance back at the hospital entrance. Enforcers and investigators still lingered near, their presence heavy.
He looked back at the trio.
"Sadly, no," he said, voice gentle. "The hospital doesn't have anyone qualified to make those kinds of decisions at the moment."
Jayce's shoulders sank. "Oh."
Caitlyn lowered her gaze too, disappointment flickering across her face.
Jonathan stared, unimpressed. "But what."
Heimerdinger grinned, delighted by the interruption. "But you're in luck!"
Jayce and Caitlyn glanced up, blinking.
"Right now," Heimerdinger said, stepping forward, "I see three people with a bright future ahead of them."
He looked at each of them in turn, his expression warm and thoughtful.
"The meeting starts now. You'll present your prosthetics to me—right here, right now, in this very moment."
Jayce and Jonathan exchanged a look. Jonathan grinned. Jayce nodded.
They lowered the boxes to the ground.
Jayce reached inside his box and pulled out a neatly folded blueprint. "Thank you for this opportunity," he said, handing it to Heimerdinger. "You won't regret it."
Heimerdinger unfolded the blueprint, his eyes scanning the precise, detailed schematic of the prosthetic hand.
Jayce patted his left pocket—then frowned. He checked the others, growing visibly flustered.
Jonathan tilted his head. "What's the problem?"
Jayce glanced at him sheepishly. "I forgot my notes. About the speech." He gave a tight, embarrassed laugh.
Caitlyn crossed her arms and raised a brow. "You're wasting your opportunity." Her tone was calm, but her eyes told him to get it together.
Jonathan shrugged. "Just forget it. Let's wing it. No use crying over spilled overalls."
He turned to Heimerdinger, lifting a hand. "That blueprint? Made by yours truly—me."
Heimerdinger looked up from the blueprint, intrigued.
"I'm not well-versed in prosthetics," he admitted, "though my knowledge far surpasses those who aren't versed at all."
He studied the lines more closely. "This is different—more unusual than the prosthetics I'm accustomed to."
Jonathan nodded and began pulling more pieces from the box.
With care, he laid out three: a leg, an arm, and a spine prosthetic.
Heimerdinger's attention fixed immediately on the spine.
Jayce noticed and pulled out the corresponding blueprint. "That one's a spine prosthetic," he explained, handing it over.
Heimerdinger held it delicately, eyes widening as he traced the illustrated metal spine, gears interlaced through the column. "I've never seen a prosthetic like this before."
Jonathan glanced at the prototype and smiled.
He remembered studying Piltover's gearwork—how the city twisted metal into movement. So he'd done the same. He'd taken their brilliance and bent it into something uniquely his.
Caitlyn stared at the spine prosthetic. She couldn't stop wondering—how does someone like him come up with this?
"It's one I'm very proud of," Jonathan said softly.
"I would be proud too, if I'd made this," Heimerdinger replied, still admiring the intricacy.
Jayce nodded in agreement. "It's also the most expensive to make. I should know—I built the prototypes myself." He said it with a tired smile, remembering the long nights.
"That's to be expected," Heimerdinger murmured. "It's one of a kind."
He looked at Jonathan. "It's easier to improve something that already exists…" he gestured toward the arm and leg prosthetics.
"…But it's far harder to create something entirely new."
He stepped back. "May I see everything?"
Jayce and Jonathan both nodded.
Heimerdinger moved toward the boxes, reading the blueprints with fascination, inspecting each prosthetic closely.
As he leaned forward, he gave a tiny grunt—struggling just a little to peer over the edge of the box.
Jonathan quickly turned away, smiling behind his hand, his shoulders shaking slightly.
Caitlyn noticed. She gave him a look and mouthed: "Don't laugh."
Jonathan glanced at her—and promptly let out a soft chuckle anyway.
Heimerdinger looked up. "What was that?"
Caitlyn stepped in quickly. "Nothing. Just a cough."
Heimerdinger returned to inspecting the blueprints.
Caitlyn leaned toward Jonathan, whispering, "Don't laugh at a councilor. It's bad manners."
Jonathan met her eyes and whispered back, "Did you see how his tiny body struggled to get over the box?" His voice trembled with restrained laughter.
Caitlyn tried not to smile, the image resurfacing in her head. She shook her head firmly. "Just don't laugh. Be more like me."
Jonathan raised an eyebrow. "So… copy you?"
"Yes," she said. "Copy me. Maybe you'll learn proper manners."
Jonathan gave a sly grin. "Whatever you say, ma'am."
Caitlyn narrowed her eyes at him. "Not amused."
Jonathan pointed discreetly. "Look. He's struggling to get out of the box now."
Despite herself, Caitlyn glanced over—just a quick peek.
At the same moment, Jonathan released a small, invisible dose of laughing pheromones into the air.
While Caitlyn watched Heimerdinger shuffle against the edge of another box, she felt a smile tug at her lips.
She tried to fight it. But it was funny.
"So I'll just copy what you do," Jonathan said casually.
Caitlyn clamped a hand over her mouth, trying not to laugh. Her shoulders trembled.
She turned away from Heimerdinger and looked at Jonathan with wide, accusing eyes.
He looked innocent. "Did you know curiosity killed the cat?"
She blinked, confused. "What?"
He pointed past her. "Oh no, he fell."
Reflexively, she turned her head—and saw Heimerdinger tangled awkwardly with a second box, arms flailing just slightly as he tried to regain balance.
She lost it.
"Hahahahahaha!"
Jonathan joined in without hesitation.
"Hahahahaha!"
Jayce and Heimerdinger turned toward them, both looking completely baffled.
Caitlyn immediately went pale, frozen mid-laugh.
Jayce slowly brought a hand to his face, sighing.
"Oh no…"
Heimerdinger tilted his head.
"What's the source of your laughter?"
Caitlyn opened her mouth to answer—honesty threatening to escape—but Jonathan cut in smoothly.
"Sorry, I just told Caitlyn a funny joke," he said, glancing at her.
"Right?"
Caitlyn nodded quickly.
"Yeah, sorry. I was just really in the mood for a joke." She added a sheepish smile.
Heimerdinger nodded, apparently satisfied.
"Well, it's good to have a laugh once in a while."
Then he turned to Jayce, growing more serious.
"It's genius—the prosthetics. The unique blueprint design. As a councilor, I approve of these being used in Piltover hospitals."
He extended his hand.
Jayce's face lit up. He carefully shook Heimerdinger's hand.
"Thank you. Truly."
Caitlyn let out a relieved breath, visibly happy with the outcome—though the memory of her outburst still burned at the back of her mind.
Jonathan stepped forward, casually.
"I feel like I should get a handshake too."
Heimerdinger chuckled and extended his other hand, shaking Jonathan's.
"I should be the one thanking you both. You reminded me that there are still brilliant young minds out there."
The handshakes ended with mutual respect lingering in the air.
Heimerdinger let out a soft sigh.
"Well, now comes the tiring part—paperwork." He glanced toward the bustling hospital.
"A handshake won't make it official, I'm afraid. Wait here. Once night falls and I'm done here, I'll escort you personally to take care of it."
Jonathan gave a polite smile, then leaned slightly toward Jayce and patted his back.
"Jayce is sponsoring me. He could do it in my place."
Jayce sighed. "I'm the only one here who knows how to deal with paperwork, so… I'll wait."
Heimerdinger nodded. "It's good to have a recognized name behind the project. Makes it easier to win people over."
Jonathan smiled. "Alright then, I'll be off. I can't spend all day here. Come on, Caitlyn."
He turned and walked off.
"Farewell, young Jonathan," Heimerdinger called after him.
Jayce just waved as he crouched by the boxes.
Caitlyn quickly caught up to Jonathan.
As they walked, he glanced at her.
"I still can't believe you laughed at a councilor."
Caitlyn blushed slightly. "I couldn't help it—it just slipped out."
Jonathan muttered with mock disappointment, "So much for teaching me proper manners."
Caitlyn pouted. "Can't teach an old dog new tricks, I suppose."
He raised an eyebrow, amused. "Did you just call me a dog?"
She nodded, smirking. "Yep. A wild, untrained, troublemaking stray. I mean—I don't hate dogs…"
"But?" Jonathan prompted with a grin.
"But you need to be a good, well-mannered, properly trained dog," she said matter-of-factly.
He laughed under his breath. "That's rich coming from someone who cracked up at a councilor stuck on a box."
She bumped his shoulder lightly. "You started it."
"I just pointed," Jonathan said innocently. "You were the one who gave in to curiosity."
Caitlyn blushed at the reminder of how easily she'd cracked.
"Aww," Jonathan teased, leaning just slightly closer. "You're blushing."
"Of course I am," Caitlyn muttered, not even trying to deny it. "Now be a good dog and don't state the obvious."
They both fell silent for a beat.
.
.
.
.
.
"The sky is blue," Jonathan said.
——————-
I don't know how people can sleep without a fan.