Work Text:
"I understand, now." Viktor said after Jayce turned. Wordlessly, Jayce listened.
"I didn't understand what brought you to that ledge before. It was, perhaps, the greatest conundrum. One I did not solve until recently. How a mind like yours could give up fighting, what I believed was so easily. Deny the world its brilliance before ever having the chance to make a difference. A true difference."
An uneasy shuffling of feet. The feeling of eyes burning a hole in his back.
"But standing at the precipice of death, I see it. In a way. Why you made the choice."
You could not bear to continue when all that you strived for fell through your fingertips.
Words that hung in the air. Unspoken. Not needing to be said. Both of them already knowing. And yet even in losing everything, Jayce still held a privilege Viktor would never possess.
Footsteps. Urgent and hurried. A hand clasping his shoulder. Warm. Strong. Trembling. Pleading.
"Please," Jayce says. And Viktor relents. He doesn't look him in the eyes. He knows what will be there. Something he does not wish to face.
So he turned from the ledge. And let Jayce guide him home.