Chapter Text
Everything was so quiet.
It shouldn’t have been that quiet. That much Jayce was certain of. Well, it’s not that it was quiet, exactly, but more so the ringing in his ears drowned out any other possible sounds. He knew he was on the floor and could feel the chill against his cheek. He couldn’t bring himself to move, though. Hell, he couldn’t even convince himself to open his eyes for the fear of the carnage he would undoubtedly find.
There was one noise that pierced through the haze. It was a gasp, strained and soft next to him.
Viktor!
His eyes snapped open before he sucked in a sharp breath of his own. With that one action, it was as though he was opening the door for all his senses to return to him at once. The ache pulsing through his head, the distant screams along with the whimpers and groans of those around him. It was all too much to take in at once and his eyes squeezed back shut.
As much as he wanted for unconsciousness to reclaim him as its own, the shuddering breaths next to him wouldn’t allow him to do so. Ragged breaths quickly turned into coughs and more gasps.
Whole body tensing, Jayce rolled himself over and managed to prop himself up on shaky arms. He attempted to open his eyes again, but kept his eyes cast down, waiting for his hands to stop wavering in and out of focus. Just as his sight began to clear up, something else seeped into his vision, pooling around his fingers.
Blood.
He was scared to follow it to its source. He didn’t need to, he already knew where it was coming from. Already, nausea tickled his throat as he raised his head just enough to find his partner’s gaze, staring unwavering at him. Despite his unblinking stare, Jayce knew Viktor wasn’t looking at him at all. They were resting on him, but there was no awareness left in them.
“Vikt’r,” Jayce whispered, pulling himself closer. He tried to ignore the way blood ran between his fingers with every inch he covered. It contrasted heavily against the ice encasing his heart. Every exhale carried a silent swear with it.
No no no.
This wasn’t right. This wasn’t the way he was supposed to go. This wasn’t the way he was going to go. Even if he thought this, he couldn’t stop one bitter thought from popping in his head. ‘ Maybe this would be a better death than the slow, agonizing one he was granted with.’
Jayce shook his head. That wasn’t the time to be thinking like that. He dragged himself the rest of the way, staining his clothes red. One hand slipped around Viktor’s face, smudging blood over his cheek. His other hand hovered down over his partner’s body until he found the origin. Once his eyes fell on the chunk of glass protruding from the man’s side, he couldn’t tear them away. His fingers just lingered around the wound. From the looks of it, It had been dislodged a bit or Viktor had already tried to remove it as blood bubbled around it.
Finally, he pinched the edge of it. That was all it took, just the slight touch for Viktor to tense and for one surprisingly strong grasp to latch around his wrist.
“D’n’t,” he hissed through clenched teeth.
Jayce’s attention shifted back to his partner’s face. It was difficult to discern, but there was lucidity in that fogged over gaze.
“Viktor … hey, s-stay still.” His thumb moved in small circles, spreading the red stain. “I have to remove this, alright? You … you’re losing a lot of blood. I have to remove it and stop the bleeding, alright?” He nodded as he spoke, earning a weak nod in response. He wasn’t sure if Viktor was actually understanding what he was saying or simply mimicking his movements. Either way, he took that as his go ahead.
Jayce turned his focus back to the wound and took a deep breath, held it, and slowly blew it out. He was still vaguely aware of other movements around him, of the others speaking, checking on one another, even speaking to him, but he could concern himself with none of it. That ringing was returning to his ears and the haze crept back into his vision.
He had to do this, he knew it was the best option. But every labored breath Vitkor took had him hesitating another second. He closed his eyes and swallowed hard before clutching the glass with a bare hand. Jaw tensed, he yanked, arcing fresh blood as he tossed the shard aside.
“Jayce … what are yo-”
He raised a hand to Silence Mel, eyes never leaving his task. He couldn’t afford any distractions. He was already taking a huge risk as it were. Blood was pulsing from the wound with every delayed beat of the man’s heart. With a bit of a struggle, Jayce wiggled his jacket off and tore a shred of fabric from it. Twisting it and casting a quick glance at Viktor’s half-lidded eyes.
“Sorry.”
Holding his breath, Jayce jammed the cloth into Viktor’s side. Again, probably wasn’t the best option, but in times of desperation there was no time to waste on thinking everything through. He pushed it as far in as he could get it. This time, he had two hands wrapping around his wrist, trying and failing to pull his hand away. There was a scream, sharp and nearly animalistic as nails dug into his wrist.
“Viktor … please,” he nearly begged, holding firm. “Th-This is for your own good.”
Jayce didn’t turn as another hand fell on his shoulder.
“Jayce, the medics are on their way, you can sto-”
“No!” he snapped. No, he couldn’t. He couldn’t stop, he couldn’t leave Viktor’s side. Not anymore. Never again. He kept one hand pressed over the wound and slipped the other back under Viktor’s head. As gently as he could, he maneuvered his partner to lie in his lap. Slowly, golden eyes shifted to gaze up at him, and for the first time, they were clear with lucidity.
“Please … d’n’t leave me,” he muttered as his grasp tightened around Jayce’s arm.
“I won’t,” Jaye assured, pulling the man closer.
With that, Viktor sighed as his fingers loosened before his hands dropped to his sides.
“V-Viktor?”
No response.
Chest heaving with every breath, Jayce’s fingers trailed down to Viktor’s neck to find a thready pulse. It was almost non-existent. He kept his touch there, counting each and every weak thrum of the man’s heart. He swore his own stopped in the seconds in between. Each was lighter than the last.
He was dying.
Right there in his arms.
It wasn’t fair. All the advancements they made, how much they accomplished together. And this was how it was supposed to end. No, it couldn’t be, he wasn’t going to allow that. They didn’t come so far for this . His fingers curled around the wound, bunching Viktor’s own jacket up around it.
Another hand on his shoulder, and this one wasn’t familiar to him. He cut his eyes back to the face of a man leaning over him. That’s when he gazed around the room to find others dressed in a similar fashion, all of which were attending to the other members. The man nodded down at Viktor and Jayce took the hint. He returned the gesture and shifted, but kept his one hand cupped around his partner’s head.
“Sir, please, we need space.”
Jayce shook his head. “No, I’m not leaving.”
Two of the medics shared a quick glance with one another. The man sighed and crouched down next to them. As the man inspected the wound, Jayce kept his attention locked on Viktor’s face. At no point did he show any signs of awareness. He was so pale, though, so much more so than usual. The two of them were talking in hushed tones to one another. And Jayce didn’t have to hear a word of it to know it couldn’t have been anything good. That is, if their expressions were anything to go by and he was positive they were more than enough. Jayce kept his hand cradled under Viktor’s head and kept it there even as they lifted him and shifted him over to a stretcher.
The medic looked to him again and leaned until he had Jayce’s eyes on him.
“Sir, we need to take him now. I’m sorry, but you can’t come with him.”
Jayce looked between them as if he were waiting for them to admit they were only joking. Unsurprisingly, the punchline was never delivered.
“You can wait in the waiting room,” one of the others suggested. “But, you should really let someone look at that head of yours.”
“I’m fine.”
He stood as they lifted his partner and tried his damnedest to ignore the way everything blurred with the sudden motion. A touch on his upper arm steadied him - Mel. He met her gaze for a brief moment and offered a stiff smile before stepping away from it.
“No, I’m going with you.”
“You cannot be present as we operate, but … there is a room you can wait in. I’ll warn you, it may be a while and there’s … there’s no guarantee…”
“I’ll wait,” Jayce interjected, blood-stained fists balling at his sides.
A small cough pulled in all of their gazes towards Viktor. His breath hitched before he went limp again.
“We have to go, now,” the other medic urged. The man nodded and together, they carried Viktor out. No more than a few feet behind, Jayce followed despite the voices of protest calling after him. He’d already made his decision and he was not going to go back on it. He followed after them around every turn and only stopped when someone physically stepped out to block his path.
“Sorry, I cannot allow you past this point,” the woman announced, hands crossed sternly in front of her. From the looks of it she was new and took her new job a bit too seriously. “If you follow me, I can take you to another examination room and we can treat you-”
“I don’t need any help,” he snapped, vaguely aware of the thin trail running down the side of his face. He quickly rubbed the back of his hand over it. Gritting his teeth, it took everything in him not to shove his way by that woman. Instead, he took a deep breath and turned into the room to his right instead and took a seat in the first chair he came across. Crossing his legs, he leaned back and folded his arms over his chest.
It was going to be a long wait, but he wanted to make sure he was there the moment news was available. Head leaned back, it was less than a minute before he began to doze off. Every time he was even close to falling asleep, however, he was snapping back upright when his head was filled with the images of Viktor bleeding out right there in front of him. It didn’t help matters that every time his eyes dropped he was met with crimson blotches all over his clothes.
He tapped his fingers over one another, and along the chair. He tapped his foot, then switched to the other. He counted every tile on the floor and every drop of blood that covered him. No matter what he did, nothing proved to be enough of a distraction.
Even if it worked, he was reminded by every medic and patient that strolled by. His eyes followed every passing person, but none of them were the personnel that whisked Viktor away from him. Just how long had they been in there?
An hour? Two? He stopped counting the seconds after the first minute. He couldn't even focus on doing that for very long before his mind wandered. Jayce lowered his head into his hands. For one, exhaustion was quickly catching up with him. And two, his head was really starting to become a nuisance with the progressively worsening throbbing. Maybe he should have taken up their offer.
No. He knew it wasn’t very logical, but the more people focused on other, less dire things, the less help they would have for Viktor. He began to rub small circles along his temples. He was sure he had at least a minor concussion now, but it was manageable.
Jayce sat back straight just as the door to his right creaked open. The same man as earlier peered around it before approaching.
The second Jayce laid eyes on him, he was on his feet and met him halfway.
“Well?” he demanded, fighting the urge to grab the man by his collar and shake him. His hands even trembled at his sides at the thought of it.
The man met his gaze and for a moment said nothing. Jayce’s heart burrowed down. He already knew it wasn’t good. Hell, it wouldn’t have been good for someone in peak health. His teeth ground together and he was half of a breath away from wringing it out of the guy.
“He’s … alive,” he finally said.
The way he left it, Jayyce was waiting for the ‘ but’.
“He’s lost a lot of blood. An alarming amount. It’s nearly a miracle he’s alive at all.”
Jayce nodded along, just hearing the words spoken but not giving them much time to really sink in. “Is … he going to be alright?”
Again, the man hesitated to answer. “It’s hard to say at this moment. We’ve stitched up the wound as well as the internal damage. He’s been given a transfusion, but it was still a lot of trauma for someone in his … state.” That was the first time he met Jayce’s eyes.
“Let me see him.”
“Sir, I don’t thin-”
“I’m not asking!”
He raised a hand, and pushed the man out of his way. Maybe it was the fact that he was bigger than the guy, or maybe it was the authority he held, but there was no attempt to stop him as he sauntered down the hall. He glanced into each room on the way by. There wasn’t exactly a lot to search, so it shouldn’t be long befo-
He stopped dead in his tracks, gaze settling on one bed in particular.
Jayce almost missed him. He was so small. Almost blended it seamlessly with the sheets. He stopped in the doorway and for a while could only stare and watch the all too slow rise and fall of his partner’s chest. Sometimes the seconds between were so stretched out, he feared the next breath would never be drawn.
He stepped in closer, close enough to make out the thin sheen over his features. Even though he slept, distressed lines marred his face. Even as he rested, every breath was a strenuous task for the man.
Jayce stepped closer, and then he could hear the raspy exhales and how each one rattled in his chest before clumsily made its way back out. Then, he crossed the last couple of steps to stand by his side and let his hand fall to cup his partner’s cheek. Despite the shine of sweat, he was cool to the touch.
With how thin the man had become as of late, there was plenty of room for Jayce to take a seat on the edge of the bed. Viktor showed no reaction to his presence. Not even when Jayce brushed the stray hairs from his face. His eyes drifted to the edge of the sheet blanketing him and caught a glimpse of gauze peeking from underneath. Pressing his lips together, he pinched the edge of the cover and pulled up a little higher.
“I know you can make it through this,” he whispered, smoothing out the blanket over Viktor’s chest. “We have big plans … and I can’t do that alone.”
Sighing, Jayce brought both his hands to rest in his lap and dropped his eyes to the floor. He still listened to every breath Viktor took, though. He gazed around the room before finding a chair in the corner. He supposed sitting there would be more comfortable for the both of them. Sliding his hand from Viktor’s chest, Jayce rose to his feet and took a single step.
That was all he was allowed to take. Or rather, all Viktor was letting him take. A shaking, cold hand locked around his wrist. It lacked all the strength from earlier.
Jayce paused, unable to react for a solid few seconds. He was unsure if he was imagining the sensation. It was the small, broken voice that cued him in on the reality of the situation.
“J’ce.” It was hard to make out under his unsteady breaths. His hand drops as if that small task required too much energy for him to maintain. And from the way his next inhale wheezed in, Jayce was sure that was exactly the case.
“Yeah … it’s me,” Jayce said softly, crouching closer. “Take it easy … you’re … you…”
“Alm’st died…” Viktor finished with the corner of his lips turned slightly. The humor failed to reach any other part of his expression.
Jayce nodded and went to stand once more, fully intending on dragging the chair closer. But, the moment he moved, that hand was clasped back around his wrist.
“Wait … please … don’t leave,” he pleaded again.
Jayce stood there, staring into Viktor’s eyes. They were as clear as ever.
“I won’t.”
Nodding, Viktor let his eyes close back as his head sank into his pillow. Though it was never said aloud, Jyace took the hint and sat back down on the bed. Now that he sat there and scanned the surface he realized, there was a little more room than he first thought. That or Viktor had moved over a tad bit. He would have made sure it was alright before he did it, but the man was already asleep again. Well, he figured the fingers still wrapped around him was all the permission he needed.
Taking a deep breath, Jayce lied down, facing Viktor just to keep an eye on him. Curled ons his side, he continued to watch Viktor’s slow and small breaths. Before he knew it, his eyes were closed as well as he still listened to their steady rhythm. He focused on them and let them relax him until he, too, eventually fell asleep.