Work Text:
After the explosion of light, there was nothing.
Or so they thought.
Jayce was the first to wake, his chest tightening as despair stole the air from his lungs. For those agonizing moments his eyes had remained shut, Viktor was nowhere in sight, and his warmth was absent. He couldn’t bear to lose him — not again. Never again. This time, he had made certain that if they were to leave this world, they would leave it together.
His pupils adjusted quickly, and recognition struck him: they were in a familiar room. But none of it mattered compared to finding Viktor. As luck would have it, he noticed his senses were still intact, and beneath him lay his companion, clutching his chest, radiating a comforting, familiar warmth that blended seamlessly with the softness of the bed beneath them.
Despite wearing the same clothes from their days as lab partners, Viktor still looked so fragile... Clinging to him like a Krameria would to his clothes during a walk. A Krameria... For a fleeting moment, the flower’s shape evoked the image of the Machine Herald’s helmet in his mind, and with it came a flood of memories. Fear jolted through his body as a wave of panic overtook him, recalling the trauma of what they had survived — how close he had come to losing Viktor, himself, and…
“Jayce?”
Viktor stared at him, concern etched into his furrowed brows and creased forehead. In his golden eyes, Jayce could see his own reflection staring back. Light streamed through a gap in the bedroom curtains, illuminating Viktor’s face, once cloaked in shadow. The clarity of the image dispelled the lingering horrors in Jayce's mind, grounding him in the present.
“Did we do it?”
“I... I think so. I hope so.”
Amid their confusion, they looked down at their intertwined hands, fingers still laced together, holding each other in place where once the Acceleration Rune had been. But as they slowly opened their palms, smooth skin was all they could find — no trace of anything else, only the memory of their accomplishments.
“It’s gone…” Jayce exhaled, relief washing over him. He closed his eyes briefly before turning to Viktor with the same adoration and admiration he’d felt for years. “How did you know it had to be the Acceleration one?”
“I told you, Jayce,” Viktor replied with a sly smile, pointing skyward in triumph. “You have to crank it!”
Laughter bubbled between them, and they embraced, foreheads instinctively touching. Jayce gazed at Viktor’s face, noting the delicate beauty marks near his eye and mouth. The moment felt so natural they didn’t realize how closely they were holding each other until Jayce’s gaze fell to Viktor’s lips. Heat rose to his face as he became aware of the proximity, while Viktor remained composed, his curiosity piqued by Jayce’s reaction.
“Interesting... It’s the first time I’ve seen you make that facial expression,” Viktor mused. He studied Jayce’s face with keen interest before his curiosity took a teasing turn. “Or perhaps it’s a remnant of some past interaction with Mel?”
Jayce’s expression turned serious. Viktor needed to understand, and Jayce was determined to make it clear, even if he had to repeat himself endlessly.
“Viktor. You’re beautiful. Mel helped me realize that because, in her, I saw your reflection. It was you, all this time.”
Viktor froze, taken aback. Though he had heard similar sentiments before, accepting them was a challenge for him. He saw himself as broken, flawed — a cripple from the undercity, words that had followed him all his life and still held power over him.
“Of all my equations, you... loving me... were the one I always thought impossible,” he confessed, his voice barely above a whisper. “No matter how I tried to solve it, I… never reached that conclusion. Ever.” He turned his face away, unable to meet Jayce’s gaze.
But Jayce wouldn’t allow it. He cupped Viktor’s face and gently turned it back toward him. His teeth sank into his lower lip, torn between hesitation and the need to prove his feelings. He would do anything to show Viktor how deeply he cared — even if it meant walking through endless ruined cities again, facing the bitter cold of solitary nights, countless times. He would go to any length to save him; he would do anything to save him. But making him understand this feeling… proved to be a gargantuan task. Perhaps the only solution was to offer tangible proof, not just theoretical.
There was no time to analyze every move; hesitation meant failure. The message would never get through. The world seemed to pause, both frozen in time.
Until the quiet was broken by the soft, fleeting touch of lips.
Viktor’s eyes widened in surprise. He raised trembling fingers to his lips, tracing them as if trying to prolong the sensation.
“Fascinating... Softer than I imagined” he murmured, his golden eyes fixed on Jayce’s mouth, his insecurities momentarily replaced by unbridled inquisitiveness.
Jayce could only smile in response.
Him? Wondering what it felt like? He could have sworn that his beloved partner’s sole passion lay in his work, rejecting human connection in pursuit of progress. But Viktor must have wondered about moments like this, even if fleetingly. Perhaps he’d simply never acted on them, his attention consumed by larger responsibilities. They had both been guilty of neglecting their feelings, either way.
“Vik...” Jayce’s voice was soft, laced with concern.
“I think I understand, Jayce,” Viktor said. “At least, I’m closer to understanding.” He withdrew his fingers from his lips, moving them to gently trace Jayce's instead. “Could you... show me more? I want to understand your theory on love.”
Jayce holds Viktor's hand, pressing a gentle kiss to it, his expression filled with tenderness.
“I can guide you,” he promised, “but I want to hear your hypotheses too.”
They smiled, cradling each other's heads as they exchanged a few more soft kisses, slowly unraveling the passion they had long kept buried. For the first time, they allowed themselves to explore, understand, and analyze the feelings they had suppressed for years. Unlike their past projects, this one required no urgency, no pressure, no deadlines. It was time for them to finally do what they had yearned for all along — at their own pace, for as long as they wished, even if it meant an infinite variable.