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Jayce braced himself for what is to come as he went in where the child led him.
Anomaly shaped all around, the sphere felt so suffocating, flashbacks making him shiver. The coldness of that cave, what he had to do to survive. The feeling of a million memories of many different versions of him flooding his mind.
He tries to shake it off by focusing on what he has to do and presses forward, hesistant with his now corrupted hammer. His heart is heavier than he’s ever felt before and the universe feels like it is moving so slowly but his thoughts are rapidly going in every direction. His partner and his best friend, his spark and his love, was he truly gone?
It’s like a never-ending night, will the moon ever budge? Will he hear the morning birds sing again? He misses the rays that grazed him with warmth. He misses the time where he didn’t have to make sure the next day will come again.
He can’t stop thinking about the words the mage spoke of, the world he was shown. He has a mission, all he’s sure of is that.
Jayce reaches the end of the tunnel and looks around. When his eyes finally reach who they’re looking for, his thoughts come to a stop.
Viktor, his Viktor, is right there. Eyes closed with a dedicated expression on his face. Moles still visible and features just as sharp as he remembers. It’s been so long, too long. Jayce begins to tear up and decides he won’t look anymore, not while he has to do this. He closes his eyes and lets out a breath he’s been holding.
He braces himself, picking up his hammer and-
“Jayce..”
He hears the voice of his partner of many years and falters, his lips quivering. He shakes his head, fighting off his own thoughts. Jayce tries his best to rationalize with his mind a mess and his chest aching. It doesn’t help that he feels he’s experienced it before, and with a piercing headache the familiarity gets dizzying.
He holds his head, hand tightly gripping his now longer, disheveled hair. When the headache passes, he slowly opens his eyes and looks up. His breathing hitches at what he sees and he feels dizzy all over again.
Viktor, with the blanket he once gave him, is looking down at him. Worry in his brows.
“I feared I wouldn’t have the chance to meet with you again,” He says with his voice steady and his once expressive eyes unreadable.
His brows only furrow tighter, his lips curled downwards. “What happened to you, Jayce? You look different. Your eyes look so tired..” he trails off, shaking his head. He glances at Jayce as if he could pry the answer from the way his expression shifts.
Jayce is too overwhelmed by emotion to know how to react. He’s supposed to be strong for his world, he promised. Why can a glimpse of the once familiar rays, the voice of his sun stop him so easily? It’s so cruel. His heart wrenches and he tries to swallow the lump in his throat.
Viktor slowly descends, tubes left behind and brown and blonde streaks of hair floating gently down with him. His blanket that’s wrapped around his waist following closely, beautifully and slowly settling when he reaches the ground.
Jayce can’t bring himself to look at his face. He closes his eyes for a second, lips pursed and eyebrows furrowed trying to remember why he came here in the first place. His shaking hands and heavy heart make it difficult for him to think.
He flinches as he feels cold hands hold his cheeks. He opens his eyes in surprise, not expecting the contact but slowly melting into it. It’s been way too long since he had someone touch him.
For a second, Viktor looks shocked but it quickly turns into something else indecipherable. He drops the hands caressing the other’s cheeks and before Jayce could miss it, he holds him in a tight hug.
Grief for what could’ve been, fury for what is. Jayce’s eyes well up with tears, not knowing what to feel, every thought in a battle to get his focus.
“I’m sorry…” He manages to say through his quiet sobs. When did he start crying? He doesn’t know.
“I understand.” Viktor says comfortingly, like he knows exactly what his partner is feeling. His voice enveloping Jayce in a quiet embrace.
…
Jayce doesn’t know how much time has passed before he pulls away from the hug, staying as close as he can. He takes a deep breath and wipes away his tears, pressing their foreheads close together.
As much as he’d like to bask in the artificial light for the rest of his days, he will reminisce and he will grieve. This isn’t who he once knew, this isn’t who he loved to create with or who he wants it to be. His once shared dream, how has it come to this?
He pulls away and takes in whatever he can from Viktor’s expression, acceptance seemingly written all over his face. Like he knows what is about to happen, as if he is also grieving.
“I miss you.” He says, tears filling up his eyes again.
Viktor doesn’t move as he picks up the hammer, he doesn’t move as it charges. His eyes empty and in his final moments, he is welcoming.