Chapter Text
Viktor had been holding his breath waiting for Jayce’s reaction. His heart sank with every second that passed with Jayce keeping his face perfectly neutral. He needed Jayce to understand. He needed this reassurance. He knew that Jayce had been avoiding thoughts of Viktor dying. He knew that forcing that idea onto him is cruel. Even if the treatment has been helping.
But Viktor is tired. Extremely tired, and he cannot stop thinking about his mother. He had forgotten what she looked like if he was honest with himself. He remembered being scared and not wanting to look at her but he also could not picture what she had looked like. Most of his life he had been okay with that. He had a few pictures of her and his father when they were both young and relatively healthy and he was happy to only remember those faces.
Viktor had never been particularly vain. He very rarely spent much time looking at himself. Even less so when he lost his hair. With no need to try to tame wild locks there was even less reason to see what he looked like. It was only about a month ago when he had caught his own reflection in the bathroom mirror, and he froze. That was his mom staring back at him. And suddenly he’s back in that small hospital room watching as the doctors rush into the room and he is pulled a little roughly back out of the room into the hallway.
He hears the staff speaking urgently and frantically grabbing equipment, dropping the bed, and someone begins pounding on his moms chest. He remembers crying that they are hurting her! Leave her alone! And a kind faced woman grabbing his shoulders and saying something in English that he doesn’t understand yet. He remembers finally being allowed back into the room and seeing his mom with a big tube in her mouth and machines all around her beeping, hissing, whirring. He remembers walking up to her bed and looking at her face, except now all he can see is his own face.
He had blinked himself back to the present. He stared back at his reflection and can almost feel a tube of his own down his throat, the air being forced into his lungs. He spent the rest of the day researching and thinking. He had not even realized how late it had gotten until he heard Jayce call his name in his usual greeting. He had hugged Jayce just a little bit tighter that night. Stayed a little bit closer, curled in just a little tighter. He had dreamed that night. Dreamed of Jayce compressing his chest. Of Jayce bringing him back only for him to not be able to do anything on his own. He dreamed that the only reason he was considered alive was due to the machine manually pumping his heart, forcing air into his lungs.
“Okay.” Jayce’s quiet voice Viktor snaps back to the present. Jayce’s face is earnest, but he’s fighting tears. “Okay.”
Viktor sighs out the tension he had been feeling, of course Jayce would understand. Of course he will listen. Viktor suddenly felt a little guilty for his momentary doubt of Jayce’s character. Jayce has never let him down and he sure wouldn’t start now.
He squeezes Jayce’s hand then he lets go, and pulls out a few different forms from his bag that he had brought over. He hands one to Jayce and keeps the other.
“I, what is this for? Don’t you need to sign it?” Jayce asks, confused.
“This one, yes.” Viktor replied, holding up his own paper. “That one is for you. Read it.”
Viktor watches as Jayce turns back to his paper confused and begins reading. Viktor watches as Jayce's brow furrows more then begins to rise in surprise.
“V,” Jayce mutters and Viktor can not stop himself from smiling a little at his big, wide, and soft puppy eyes.
“Jayce, I trust and love you. We have already sworn “in sickness and in health” once, really this is just another extension of that.” Viktor tells him, voice serious. Jayce looks a little off-kilter still.
“I thought about getting down on a knee when I gave this to you, but I truly do not know if I would be able to get back up and I am sure that it would ruin the romantic gesture. So just pretend that I am kneeling as I ask this.
Jayce Talis, will you be my Medical Care Proxy?”
The wording had its desired effect in causing Jayce to laugh. Viktor was not expecting however to hear a watery quality to the laugh. He is taken aback even more when Jayce suddenly stands and pulls Viktor into a tight hug.
It is not a very comfortable hug, with Viktor still in his chair while Jayce is hunched a little while standing between Viktor's legs. Viktor's face is smashed into Jayce’s chest and his head is being hugged more than his body is, but he finds he appreciates it. It is not overly careful, it has not been thought about, it just is.
Viktor lets himself be hugged for just a little longer. He needed the comfort, and he suspected that Jayce did too. He knows from the bottom of his heart that Jayce would make the best decisions for him. He trusts him explicitly, and he has never given Viktor reason to doubt that Jayce would not do literally anything for him, but having these papers signed just gives him that small extra bit of security.
He slowly pulls out of the awkward hug and smiles up at Jayce.
“Thank you, Jayce, for letting me trust you with my life.” He whispers reverently. Jayce nods and wipes at his misty eyes.
“Heavens Vik, way to start my weekend with a rollercoaster of emotion. It's barely 10 am.” Viktor smiles and he tries to ignore how much said rollercoaster took a toll on him. He has only just woken up; he should not feel the need to go back to sleep so soon.
“Yes, well you did not marry me to be bored, no?” He quips back, earning a wider smile from his husband. “I will make it up to you, you can choose what we do today and I promise I will only allow myself 3 complaints of your- what is the word?- ehh it is like certain but for the future?”
“Inevitable? “ Jayce asked with amusement and- damn it, there is concern there too.
“Yes! Yes, that. Your inevitable bad decisions.” He answers, forcing cheer into his voice hoping to play it off with humor.
“Right. Thank you dear husband mine, I will treasure this gift from you. Now eat your omelet. You need the protein and I’ll think of what I want to make you suffer through today.”
They end up at the local cinema. Jayce had mentioned wanting to watch the newest sci-fi movie. He had explained it as some sort of fantasy steampunk type universe about two scientists, who grow as close as “brothers” (Yes V, “brothers”. The quotation marks are very important.) but then due to tragedy and prejudice end up turning on each other. Viktor was not too sure about it especially when Jayce mentioned that one of the scientists turns into an alien cyborg? Whatever, he promised Jayce only three complaints and he is planning on saving at least two of those for after the movie that he is sure will be terrible.
They get there and find their seats. Viktor uses his first complaint on Jayce deciding to buy some candy to share but not getting any black liquorice.
“It is delicious. Jayce, you simply do not have an advanced taste plate.” He tells him haughtily.
“Taste plate?” Jayce says with a laugh, but he looks at Viktor with a crease in his brow. “You mean palette?
Viktor frowns, yes it is palette, he knew that. Strange. He grabs a handful of m&ms and watches the previews.
He is pleasantly surprised by the film. Or well, he liked the parts he saw, he fell asleep about a third of the way through according to Jayce. He had not remembered even closing his eyes. He remembers hearing some distant explosions or something but he only really recalled Jayce gently shaking him awake and realizing that the lights were all on and the teenaged custodian was already working his way through the now empty rows with a broom.
He sat up and coughed a few times into his elbow wincing at the sharp scratch on his throat and ache in his lungs.
“Sorry.” He muttered on the way out to their car. Jayce just pulled him close and kissed him on the forehead. Holding him for a moment. “The parts that I saw were surprisingly good. Perhaps we will have to buy it when it releases.”
Jayce hums an agreement. “I have somewhere I want to take you after lunch, but only if you’re feeling up to it hon.”
“Yes, I am okay Jayce, I told you this was our day out together. I can not remember the last time I did not have any appointments on a Saturday. I want to spend it with you.” Jayce just nodded and started the car with a small smile.
They ate lunch, well more accurately Jayce ate lunch and Viktor choked down a few swallows of broccoli and cheddar soup and nibbled on a crust of sourdough. Then Jayce drove them just outside of the main. Used his second complaint as soon as he recognised the local recreation center, then continued to stare at Jayce incredulously as he pulled into the parking lot and got out of the car.
“Jayce, you cannot be serious. What on earth could I possibly want or even attempt to do here?”
“Come on V, don’t you trust me?” Jayce said with a teasing look in his eye and Viktor felt a bit of anxiety for whatever Jayce might be planning. He opened his mouth to try to argue again when Jayce cut him off.
“Nope! You used your complaints! No more! Lets go, I will carry you in there if I need to.”
“That did not count! That was a continuation of my second one.” He tried to argue. Jayce just got out of the car and opened Viktors’ door, beginning to reach across to unfasten his seatbelt.
“No! Jayce!”
“Love, yes. I promise you will enjoy it. I really will carry you in.”
“You will do no such thing.” Viktor states petulantly.
“Okay you asked for this.” Before Viktor can even untangle his arms from his oxygen tubing and his forearm crutches Jayce has slung him over his shoulder and is grabbing all of Viktors’ tangled equipment in his other arm and confidently begins striding towards the main entrance. Viktor would be yelling and screeching but Jayce's broad shoulder is pressing into his already weak diaphragm making him a little short of breath and he would really rather not pass out in public so he saves his breath.
Jayce does not put him down when they get inside, or when he pays for a half day pass for the both of them, or when he runs into one of his friends from his regular gym. Viktor is going to kill him. Promises on complaints be damned.
He finally does put him down when they enter a large mostly empty room. And Viktor sinks into the nearest chair to catch his breath feeling a little dizzy. Jayce does not apologize. He only increases the oxygen flow by a half liter and pats his shoulder gently, then spreads his arms out in a “ta-da!” gesture.
Viktor glares at him but does sweep his gaze around to take in the room. There are tables scattered around and a few teenagers looking through some piles of what looked like random electronics. At the front of the room there is a large paper poster that reads “Advanced Robotics Club”. He can not help the laugh that came out. It of course turns into a cough but that is neither here nor there.
“Jayce, what are we doing here?” He asks.
“Well number one we are here to absolutely crush the competition here. These kids won’t know what hit them.” Jayce says quietly with a conspiratorial look in his eye “And these kids have been promised a special guest lecture by an actual professional, with multiple PHD’s in mechanics and engineering.”
Viktor will later blame the slight brain fog he had been fighting today, and the mild hypoxia on his slow reaction and confusion.
“You abducted me from the car to watch you teach a bunch of children how to make rudimentary robots?” Viktor asked incredulously.
“No, oh love of my life, I abducted you from the car to watch you teach a bunch of kids how to build a robot that will not only function but also shoot fire for reasons unknown to any logical person.” Jayce said softly. “If I must be entirely honest with you, I have missed hearing about the legendary hijinks that Professor Novontny gets up to.”
“How? I only told you this morning that today was for us.” Viktor asked.
“Ok so maybe they had reached out to the university, and the university asked me but this is so much better. I know you’ve missed teaching babe, I know you miss this and I really think that I would bore these kids. You know I'm not very good at impromptu explosions.”
Well Viktor could not argue that. Jayce, despite his rocky start with dangerous experiments in uni, was usually the one to try to be more conservative in their shared projects even if Viktor never really listened anyways. Besides, it was true that he missed teaching. It was one of the worst parts of his condition. He could not stop the grin forming on his face even if he wanted to.
“Thank you Jayce. I do not deserve you.” Viktor tells his husband.
They leave far later than the class was meant to go for and with a few singed fingers, bandages on three fingers, an invite back for next month's meeting, and a brand new little robot that, while not fully complete due to lack of a few parts, will function as an air filter for their home. Viktor calls it Blitzcrank. And yes, he can in fact shoot small, mostly harmless lazers. For the flies obviously.