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Silence.
The air was still– a bit too still. Despite the sound of birds chirping and the slight breeze, the silence was deafening. The screeching was endless as the hexcore previously collapsed around them, though it must’ve only lasted for an additional minute or two after they embraced each other. Now it was nothing but silence.
Which led them to where they are now.
Jayce opens his eyes and observes his surroundings. The first thing he notices is that he and Viktor were separated upon being teleported. The second thing he notices is that he’s in a meadow that’s blanketed with grass and flowers. What timeline he was in now, he didn’t know.
He had previously fallen when he got teleported so he’d proceed to rise to his feet to observe his surroundings further. He didn’t have to inspect for too much longer until he spotted Viktor lying in the grass on his side. His body was still and his eyes remained closed. He looked quite peaceful, especially with the sun beaming down on him and almost highlighting his pale skin and other notable features, like the blonde streaks of his hair that remained. Whether he was alive or not was hard to tell. For that reason, Jayce ran straight to him. He couldn’t lose him. Not again.
It became apparent that Viktor was still alive as he was still breathing on closer inspection. It wasn’t until Jayce put a hand on his shoulder when his eyes fluttered open.
Immediately, Jayce held onto Viktor into a hug tightly. “Viktor…” He managed to say, his voice just barely in a whisper. “You’re alive. I thought I lost you again.” He was relieved to see him alive. In front of him.
Viktor was speechless, mostly out of shock, but he still responded to the hug. He’s still alive. They both are. At some point, Viktor sat up more, allowing his and Jayce’s foreheads to touch once again, still in their embrace. Tears formed in both of their eyes, but none managed to escape.
Neither of them know how much time has passed before the hug parts. They both observe their surroundings more in an attempt to process where they were. Jayce is the one to notice there was a hill in the distance with a small, but cozy looking house. They could go for some shelter right now.
Jayce stood up and that’s when he realized. He actually had clothes, wearing the same rugged clothing from before. As for Viktor, the only true piece of clothing he had was a robe– the robe he made out of Jayce’s blanket. Probably because that was the last thing he wore before he died. On that note, his body wasn’t made of metal anymore. He was human again.
“There’s a house on that hill up there. Doesn’t look inhabited,” Jayce points to the top of the hill with the building present. “Maybe there’ll be some proper clothes. You must be cold too.”
He couldn’t deny he was slightly cold, all he had in the middle of the slight breeze was a robe. It wasn’t even an actual robe, it was made out of a blanket. Jayce’s blanket. He’s felt worse before, but he wouldn’t decline the offer either way.
Jayce turned to lead the way as Viktor stood up. Almost as soon as his back was turned, Viktor’s leg gave out. He fell to the ground and let out a cry of pain, Jayce turning to face him with an immediate look of concern. “Viktor!”
Jayce ran towards him to help him up. “Are you okay?”
Viktor chuckled a bit as a first response. “I’m fine, Jayce.” He looked unconvinced, but as long as they both were still standing. “This most likely got rid of my disease, my lungs seem to be working fine. I guess it couldn’t get rid of something I’ve had naturally.”
Jayce put his hand on Viktor’s shoulder as he gave him a soft smile.
“It’s okay.”
You were never broken, Viktor.
“You’re perfect no matter what.”
There’s beauty in imperfections.
Those words Jayce said, they continue to replay in Viktor’s head. Someone actually cares for him. He wasn’t used to someone caring for him. Sure, people have cared for him before. Many people have. But Jayce was different.
It wasn’t until Jayce helped Viktor up, him holding onto him, when they both came to a realization. The cane he had didn’t come with them. Their shelter was on a hill. “Would you prefer if I carry you up?” Jayce stared into Viktor’s eyes, his eyes as golden as he remembered them to be.
Viktor declined. “I’m not a kid, I’m capable of getting up there.” He was gonna need help to get up this hill, but he wasn’t incapable.
“This house is on a hill. You’d have to walk up a hill with your leg. I don’t want you in pain.” Viktor stared at Jayce with an incredulous look on his face. “I care about you, Viktor.”
Viktor looked away from Jayce, no word escaping from his mouth. No general sound escaped from his mouth for a few seconds, except for a sigh. “Alright, Jayce.”
Jayce slowly picked Viktor up and started making his way towards this small house on the hill with him in his arms. They both were silent on the way there. Jayce even looked at Viktor at one point. He looked like he was in deep thought, which Jayce presumed was because he was still in shock from what happened. After all, they made it, and now they’re here.
The walk up the hill was not quick, but they eventually made it inside. The living room was quite small, but it was manageable. Viktor remained on the couch as Jayce explored. He wasn’t incapable of moving altogether, he could slowly maneuver to where he needed to go with the furniture inside. He wasn’t moving because he was still deep in thought. He was thinking about what happened. How so many lives were changed because of him. Almost as if guilt over what happened was eating away at him.
He must’ve not noticed Jayce come back as suddenly there was a hand on his shoulder again, involuntarily getting him to flinch before looking towards him. “Sorry, I just wanted to know how you were doing.” Viktor saw a look in Jayce’s eyes that screamed ‘I know something’s wrong’, but all he did was look away.
“It’s nothing. I’m thinking, that’s all.” He could tell in the corner of his eye that Jayce wasn’t convinced.
“It doesn’t look like ‘nothing’. You can tell me if there’s something wrong.”
Viktor remained silent and didn’t look back at Jayce. He couldn’t get himself to. Jayce sighed and looked around. He could tell Viktor was stressing over something and he was going to do whatever he could to make him feel better.
It took a minute of thought before Jayce came up with something. “How about a bath? You liked those, right–” He wasn’t sure he was getting anywhere with Viktor’s lack of a reaction. “–It’s a good stress reliever. You used to take one if you were stressed, right? You just went through everything that just happened… We both did. It’ll be a good way to unwind.” He was also dirty from teleporting, and then falling in an open meadow. They both were. It wasn’t obvious, but it was still noticeable. Viktor finally looked up at him.
He had to stare into Jayce’s eyes for a bit to make a decision. He gave him a small nod in response. They weren’t words, but it was something. Jayce got off the couch and went to the bathroom, once again leaving Viktor alone.
He was still in deep thought, but he’d eventually get up and slowly maneuver his way to the bathroom with the help of holding onto the furniture placed in both the living room and hallway. There Jayce was, standing next to a filled bathtub. A bubble bath. Viktor stared at him like this was far-fetched. Almost like this man cared too much for him. Jayce knew exactly what he was thinking. “Hey, I did say this could be a good stress reliever.”
Jayce stood at the doorway with his eyes staring down the hallway, probably to give privacy, as Viktor slowly removed the robe – the blanket – and lowered himself into the warm water. For the first time since he woke up, he let out a sigh of relief. That sigh of relief made Jayce feel a bit better. But almost instantly he went back to looking distant and staring at the wall in front of him.
Jayce got his blanket off the floor and was almost out of the bathroom when he heard a small voice behind him. “Jayce.”
He froze in his spot and looked towards Viktor. “You didn’t have to do all this for me.”
“I didn’t have to. But I care about you, V. I always will.” Viktor had a lack of a response to that. Jayce sighs and runs a hand through his hair, his other hand still carrying the blanket. “I’m gonna run this through the wash. There are clothes in this house, I’ll put some on the sink.”
Jayce exited the room with his blanket in hand. Viktor sat there, still in deep thought. His actions hurt others, why did Jayce care for him so much? He sacrificed everything. His emotions. His own humanity. And all it resulted in was him hurting others. He wasn’t a hero like everyone in that commune thought him out to be. He was a monster.
Jayce was going to the bedroom for clothes, but his focus was averted to Viktor as he saw him looking just as distant as before. There was something wrong and Viktor wasn’t telling him, he knew that deep down. So instead of going to the bedroom, he sighed as approached the side of the tub and kneeled next to it. If he had to provide comfort, he was going to provide comfort.
Viktor knew he was there, but he didn’t acknowledge him. He didn’t say a word, nor did Jayce say any words back. Eventually, without making eye contact, Viktor spoke up, his voice small. “Please… join me?”
Jayce froze in place, mostly in confusion. He was planning to wait until Viktor was done. Not only that, but he didn’t even look like he wanted human contact right now. “Are you sure?” Viktor didn’t look at Jayce. He wanted comfort, even if he didn’t want to admit it. He’d slowly nod.
Jayce entered the bath behind him about a minute after, allowing him to wrap his arms around Viktor’s chest. It felt nice, but the same look remained on his face. Viktor couldn’t speak. Even if he wanted to, his throat felt closed. Jayce broke the silence. “Do you want me to clean you up? You look like you’ve seen better days.” All Viktor could do was slowly nod again. He didn’t have the energy.
Viktor remained completely silent as Jayce washed his hair. His eyes were now shut, he believed that maybe the thoughts going around in his head would be less rampant that way. This wasn’t the case. In fact, they got worse.
It wasn’t until Jayce was cleaning Viktor up when uneven shaky breaths started coming from him. Jayce stopped what he was doing, a look of worry present in his eyes. “Are you okay?”
Viktor turned his head slightly in Jayce’s direction, though he didn’t look directly at him. His voice finally broke what was mostly silence between them. “I’m sorry. I’m an awful person.”
“You’re not an awful person,” Jayce held onto both of Viktor’s arms for reassurance. “None of this was your fault.”
“All I wanted to do was help people. And instead, all I did was hurt them.”
“The hexcore was corrupting you, Viktor. None of us knew this was gonna happen. If anything, it’s my fault. I should’ve destroyed it when you told me to and I didn’t.”
Viktor wanted to reply, but he turned towards Jayce and hugged him instead. Not really a hug, it was more so clinging onto someone for comfort. Jayce wrapped his arms around Viktor anyway. He remained silent. It was silent between both of them.
Viktor started to sob in his arms.
“It’s okay. None of this was your doing. You realized and stopped what you were doing.” Jayce tried to shush him. All he wanted to do was let him know that this wasn’t his fault. None of this was.
“That doesn’t change the fact I still hurt people. Including you. I’m a monster, Jayce. I hurt you and so many others, yet you still persist.” Tears continued to fall as he said this.
“You did help people. You just didn’t know what it’d lead to. You stopped and now we’re here. Together. In peace.”
Viktor buried his head in Jayce’s chest as he cried more. Jayce put his hand over Viktor’s head for comfort.
“Why do you care for me… after all I’ve done?” Viktor sounded so weak and vulnerable. It broke Jayce’s heart.
Because I love you, he wanted to say.
“Because you’re perfect.” That was all he could put into words.
Viktor calmed down about a minute or two after, maybe even more with no track of time. Jayce didn’t speak until Viktor calmed down. He didn’t speak until their foreheads were touching again.
“It’s okay. You stopped, you knew what you did was wrong. We both knew what was wrong. We’ll have to live with the past going forward, but that was in the past. The hexcore is destroyed now. We successfully finished what we started. ”
Those were the last words Jayce said before there was silence between them. It was only an hour, but with the lack of time, this silence felt like an eternity. The embrace between them broke, them continuing to face each other. Jayce was the one staring at Viktor. Viktor still tried to avoid eye contact.
Jayce resumed cleaning Viktor up now that they both have calmed down. That was also when the silence finally broke. “Jayce… I don’t deserve any of this. I don’t belong here. Not with you. I deserve to be back in Piltover. Locked up, potentially facing execution.”
Viktor continued avoiding eye contact. He was examining his hands that were out in front of him. Like he didn’t see himself as human, despite having his human body back. He still thought of himself as the same metallic monster he was when the whole glorious evolution started. Until Jayce put a hand on his shoulder again. The emotion in his eyes had Jayce catch his breath in his throat for a split second.
“You deserve this, not being back there. You’ve been through so much… We both have, but you especially…” Jayce coughed to change topics so he wouldn’t break down. “You belong here, Viktor. You don't belong in some prison waiting to be executed. You belong here, with me.”
They didn’t stay in the bath for too much longer after. Jayce waited until Viktor started to feel better. It took awhile, but he felt better over time. He felt better wrapped in his arms.
Viktor might’ve not had a crutch for him to easily get around, but aside from Jayce helping him out of the tub so he wouldn’t slip, he insisted on going to the bedroom and getting dressed himself. They must’ve been there for awhile as they could tell the sun was now setting through the window.
Viktor still had second thoughts and it showed as he was sitting on the bed, so Jayce approached him and ran a hand through his hair. He figured, if he wanted Viktor to know he was loved, he’d might as well do it sooner rather than later. “You’re perfect, beautiful. Everything about you is.”
“Jayce–”
“I admire you, Vik. Ever since we started working in the lab for the first time. If you weren’t beautiful, I wouldn’t be here. I’m here because I care about you. Because I love you.” Jayce’s words had Viktor freeze in his spot.
He didn’t look at Jayce. One part of him still had second thoughts about him being perfect. The disease he had, his leg, what him trying to help people resulted in. Other things weighed him down, but mostly those three. He was an outsider in Piltover after all. The other part of him kept thinking about what Jayce said in the astral plane. Beauty in imperfections, words that continued to stick with him. But now that man loves him. He wanted to argue, but he couldn't. Because he felt the same way about him. Fresh tears escaped and rolled down his cheeks, which Jayce gently wiped away. That was when he finally looked at him, the smallest smile on his face. It was small, but solemn. Jayce kept his hand gently on Viktor’s face.
Jayce cleared his throat before speaking, his eyes switching between staring into Viktor’s eyes– or at his lips. “Um… Can I?”
Viktor blinked, visible confusion on his face. That’s when he realized what Jayce was looking at. He couldn’t respond with words, his throat was closed again. He gave a small nod.
Jayce was nervous all of a sudden. He slowly leaned forward until their lips were pressed. Something felt different right then and there. Almost like a spark. Like this was meant to be. Like it was always meant to be this way.
After the kiss parts, Jayce uses both of his hands to hold onto both sides of Viktor’s face. “Do I have my partner back?”
Viktor nodded, his throat still closed and unable to produce words. Jayce pulled him into a big hug. His emotions were everywhere, but he was mostly happy. He was thrilled to have his partner back. Viktor hugged back, fresh tears falling down his face again.
The sun had only just set when their hug broke apart, but Viktor was exhausted. Jayce could tell. “You should get some rest. We both should. We’ve been through a lot. We’ll see what we can do about your cane tomorrow. I’ll make one myself if I have to.”
“Jayce–”
“As I said. I care about you.”
Viktor turned to face the wall again, mostly to hide his face heating up. He still couldn’t believe someone actually cared for him, loved him. Jayce got off the bed and went his way to the doorway, to do some final touch ups before going to bed, he told him. They were far from where they originally were, he knew that. This was something they were gonna have to get used to.
“Jayce.” Viktor’s voice stopped Jayce from leaving the room, him turning in his direction. “What do we do? I don’t even know what timeline we’re in, if we’re even in the same timeline. Where do we go from here?”
“We get our lives back to normal, that’s what we do. It’s just you and me. For eternity. In all timelines.”
Inextricably bound.