Chapter Text
After years of living in that village, he had grown used to the sounds of the countryside. the shepherds calling to their flocks, the creak of carriages passing by, the hush that settled when he wandered far enough from civilization.
In that meadow, there were only the gentle rustle of wind through the leaves, birdsong, and the subtle footsteps of small animals. He shouldn't have heard anything else. He hadn't expected a scream to shatter the stillness.
That afternoon, Viktor had mentioned that he was running low on certain herbs for the apothecary. Jayce, who didn't have much work at the forge that morning, had offered to gather them for him. Until then, everything had been ordinary. His husband had taught him to recognize those plants, and Jayce knew exactly where to find them.
And he did, until he heard that cry, that scream. At first, it was distant. He assumed it belonged to some animal. But as he drew closer, a creeping fear settled in his chest—a fear that proved justified when he recognized it.
If it hadn’t been for the crying, Jayce might not have even noticed the basket hidden among the grass. The herbs he’d gathered slipped from his hands as he froze, paralyzed by what he was seeing. He immediately crouched on the ground, despite the pain the movement caused in his leg.
It was a baby, alone in the middle of that meadow, wrapped in a blue blanket. He wouldn't stop crying, his face red.
It took Jayce a few seconds to react. His hands trembled as he reached for the child, terrified that even the lightest touch might harm him. Carefully, he gathered the baby into his arms. Despite the blanket, Jayce feared he was cold. He held him close to his chest, instinctively trying to warm him.
That seemed the only gesture capable of calming the baby. He clutched Jayce's shirt in his tiny hands and calmed down, gradually stopping crying. Jayce rocked him gently, praying that his racing heart wouldn't scare him.
"Hello?!" he shouted, raising his voice to the empty meadow. "Is anyone there?!"
Only the echo of distant mountains answered.
He returned his attention to the baby. He reached out a hand to gently touch his cheek. The child was calm now, but his skin was still cold. How long had he been out here?
Not knowing what else to do, Jayce opened his jacket and wrapped it around the baby while keeping him close, sharing as much warmth as he could.
"There, there," he murmured as he continued to rock the baby.
What else could he do? He stayed with the child in the same place he'd found him, giving him comfort and warmth, waiting for a stranger. Whoever had left the baby there would have to come back soon, right? Jayce just had to wait for them, make sure the little one was safe until then.
But no one came, only the afternoon. The sky began to turn orange and the air grew colder. Jayce realized he couldn't stay there any longer. He didn't know what he was going to do, but he couldn’t leave the child behind.
He did the only thing he could do when he was lost, when doubts overwhelmed him, when he needed help. He went back home.
He held the child so close to his chest as he walked through the village that no one could recognize what he was carrying. The baby remained silent, as if asleep, despite Jayce's nervous, limping gait and labored breathing.
He headed toward the apothecary. Viktor had his back to the door, focused on the cabinets where he kept his supplies. Still, he knew his husband had entered.
"Jayce, you're finally here. It was getting so late, I was starting to worry..."
He turned to Jayce, and the words died on his lips. The first thing he saw was his desperate face, his eyes red with unshed tears. For a moment, he reminded him of the Jayce who had appeared at his commune, desperate and wild, as if he'd just seen the worst of humanity.
But its appearance wasn't important to Jayce. What mattered was only the creature he held in his arms, which he slowly revealed to Viktor.
The man's eyes widened. A slender hand reached out to the baby, not daring to touch him.
"Is…?"
"I found him in the meadow," Jayce said quickly. "He's alive and looks healthy, but… but there was no one else there and…"
Viktor frowned as the baby squirmed in Jayce's arms. Something seemed to click, his mind taking over. He held out the arm that wasn't holding the cane for Jayce to hand him the baby.
"He needs to warm up," Viktor murmured. "And something to eat..."
"I know. And I don't know how we're going to..."
Viktor kept staring at the little one. He was awake, but he wasn't crying. He had opened his eyes and seemed to be focused on Viktor.
"I'll take him home, I'll take care of it," he said determinedly. He was speaking to Jayce, but still looking at the baby. "Go to Alia's house. Maybe she can help us with that..."
Alia was a woman from the village who had given birth just a month earlier. Viktor had assisted her when the postpartum period had gotten complicated; now she and her baby were fine.
Jayce did so, feeling at peace that his husband had been able to bring some order to the midst of that storm.
Viktor, meanwhile, took the baby home. He carried him, with some effort, to the armchair by the fireplace.
"You're quite big," he murmured with a small groan once they were by the fire. "How old are you? Let's see, say 'aaa'... Is that a tooth? At least six months, then. Little one, where have you been until now...?"
He didn't know if he was speaking to reassure himself or the baby. One way or another, it seemed to work; it was as if the child was listening to his voice.
He was calm, despite being in the arms of a stranger, and the warmth of the fire colored his cheeks. It was all they needed, for the moment.
By the time Jayce returned home, Viktor had put a cloth on the baby as a diaper and was holding him in his lap. He was checking that he could hold himself up, keeping his back straight, as if analyzing the results of an experiment. Jayce was holding two full bottles of milk in his hands.
He approached Viktor and the baby carefully, extending the bottle toward them.
"Alia had some breast milk set aside. She said it's fine, that I could have these two bottles... I hope I didn't upset her, I'm worried that..."
"Do you want to feed him?" Viktor asked, stopping his spiraling thoughts. After only a second of hesitation, Jayce nodded, taking the second chair.
Carefully, Jayce took the baby in one arm and the bottle in the other. Viktor couldn't help but notice the way Jayce's eyes widened and way his breath hitched when he held the child.
"He's healthy," Viktor said reassuringly. "A little cold from being out for hours, but we've taken care of that. He's moving his head, holding himself upright, responding to stimuli."
His words, along with Viktor's gentle caresses on his back, seemed to calm Jayce slightly. He focused on the baby more than on his own anxiety, holding him carefully as he brought the bottle to his lips. The quickness with which he began to drink, a testament to how hungry and healthy he was, almost made Jayce smile.
"Easy, easy," he whispered tenderly. "It's all for you."
The baby drank until he was satisfied, finishing the bottle. Viktor put away the second bottle Alia had given them. They would have to go thank her and explain the strange situation. But that night their only priority was the baby.
Jayce held him a little closer to his chest and rocked him gently. With his stomach full and in a warm place, the baby seemed comfortable enough to go to sleep.
Viktor brought over a basket he had prepared, where a pillow wrapped in blankets served as a cradle. After a few seconds of reluctance, he convinced Jayce to leave the baby there.
He stared at him, as if observing a fragile flower in a meadow, knowing that a mere breath of wind could tear its petals away. He was beginning to notice the details of that small body he'd been too scared to appreciate before. The way his little hands curled into fists, the dark hair growing on his head, the tiny moles dotting his brown skin.
"Oh my God," he murmured, looking away. Viktor, knowing Jayce needed it, hugged him. "Viktor, what are we going to do...?"
"We'll go to the sheriff's office tomorrow. They must have a protocol for this kind of thing; they'll know what to do. So far, we've taken care of him when he needed it."
Jayce looked up, his irises trembling.
"How can you be so calm? How can you always know what to do...?"
Viktor gave him a sad smile.
"You don't understand. I'm terrified," he whispered, giving him a little kiss on the forehead.
***
"So you found him in the meadow, alone, and even though you waited for hours, no one came," the sheriff repeated, her voice tired.
"Yes. We... we didn't know what to do with him. We nursed him until we were sure he was healthy, and then we came here."
The boy squirmed in Viktor's arms as Jayce spoke.
"You did the right thing," said Meria, the sheriff’s assistant. She held her arms out toward Viktor. “Allow me.”
Viktor placed the baby in her arms, and the effect was immediate. He began to cry as loudly as when Jayce had found him in the meadow. Viktor grimaced as Meria rocked the baby, trying to calm him. Finally, she gave in, offering the baby back to Viktor
Just like that, the baby stopped crying and snuggled into Viktor's chest. He still seemed uncomfortable being there, but at least he was quiet.
Jayce stared at him for a few seconds. It was Viktor who spoke next.
"We assumed you'd have a protocol for children in his situation."
"Yes, although in such a small town it’s not common ."
"What will you do? Who... who will take care of him?" Viktor insisted.
"The first step is to try to find his parents," Meria explained. "If they don't appear, or if they can't take care of him... then we would look for a volunteer family who would be willing and able to take him."
"So... we're leaving him here so you can proceed," Jayce said quietly.
"We'll take good care of him," Meria promised with a smile meant to be reassuring. It wasn't, not enough.
When they handed the baby to the officers, Jayce kept his lips pursed and his muscles tense. He seemed to be controlling his urge to cry, unlike the child, who couldn't stop sobbing from being in Meria’s arms. However, Jayce was the one who thanked them and said goodbye. Viktor was absolutely silent.
The baby's cries filled the station after the couple left. Meria continued trying to calm him down without success, while the sheriff meditated.
"I hope the baby stops crying with its parents," Meria said jokingly, after a long moment of futile struggle. However, the sheriff sighed.
"I don't trust leaving this baby in his parents' hands."
Meria looked at her, her eyes wide, shining with concern. She waited for an explanation, and the sheriff gave it to her.
"If they had left the child at the door of a temple, or even here, at the police station... But they abandoned him in a meadow, far from the roads. If they left him there, it's because they didn't intend for anyone to find him. If we discover the parents, it won't be to give them the baby, it will be to arrest them."
The child began to cry even louder, as if he understood those words. Meria continued rocking him.
"Then... it's time to find a family for him."
"Yes. That's even more urgent than locking up the criminals."
***
There was an overwhelming silence back at home. They hadn't realized how full of sounds the house had been during the night. The baby's tiny cries and gurgles, Jayce and Viktor's nervous words, the tender sounds they made trying to calm him. Now there was nothing left.
Neither of them wanted to talk when they returned. Both ignored how bright Jayce's eyes were with unshed tears. They focused on some household chores to distract their minds, suddenly realizing how big that house was, how empty it seemed.
The silence lasted a full two hours. After that, the cries sounded at their door again. Viktor stood up suddenly, and Jayce rushed to open it as soon as someone knocked.
On the other side of the door was Meria, holding the baby in her arms. His face was red and he couldn't stop squirming. And the police officer looked more dishevelled and tired than she had two hours ago.
"Hello," she said, almost shy. "I'm so sorry to bother you again, but... the baby hasn't stopped crying since you two left. We haven't been able to calm him down in any way, and... this amount of stress can't be good for a child who's been through so much."
Jayce was only half-listening, his gaze fixed on the baby. He reached out carefully.
"Should I…?"
Meria handed the child to him without hesitation. Jayce gently took the baby in his arms, holding him against his chest, letting him rest in the crook of his neck. As he lay there and felt its warmth, Jayce stroking his back, he began to calm down. Little by little, his cries faded.
Meria let out a sigh of relief at the silence.
"You know, he reminds me of my niece."
Jayce smiled softly as he held the little child.
"Really?"
"Yes. She's the cutest baby girl I've ever seen. When she was a newborn... Well, maybe I'm just bad with babies, but I remember one time she was crying in my arms and I couldn't calm her down. My sister came over, picked her up like that, just like you're doing, and she just calmed down. Because she recognized her mother."
Jayce continued to rub the little one’s back, his gaze lowered.
"Clearly that's not the situation now," Jayce replied. "But I'm glad he’s comfortable here."
"It's a little different. But you found him in that meadow, didn't you? He might recognize his savior."
Jayce felt his face turn as red as the baby's. Meanwhile, Viktor approached the door and looked at Meria.
"Does this mean…?" he began, though his words seemed to fail him. "Is there a change of plans for the child?"
"We've discussed it at the station, and if it's okay with you guys… you could be a foster home for this child. Indefinitely. The sheriff isn't… overly optimistic about finding his parents."
Viktor and Jayce exchanged a glance. Their eyes shone with emotion and their irises trembled, and neither of them dared to respond.
"Of course, the town hall will provide you with a range of aid and facilities. In fact, a colleague is bringing a crib right now if you accept."
"We accept," Viktor said, his voice so low it was barely audible. But he noticed the way Jayce squeezed his arm when he heard him.
***
Jayce smiled as he continued to hold the baby in his arms, when they were alone again in the house. It was a smile that slowly faded as his eyes widened in panic.
"Oh my God," he murmured. "Viktor..."
"I know," he whispered.
"Did we just...? Are we going to...?"
"I'm afraid so."
Jayce felt his breathing quicken. When he looked up at Viktor, he wasn't much better.
"Do you have any experience with babies?" Viktor asked. Jayce pressed his lips together.
"I've babysat for some of my cousins before, but..."
"That's more experience than I have."
Viktor had a hand over his lips, and a laugh escaped. Jayce recognized that laugh, and he'd never liked it. It was a wry, bitter sound, often accompanied by tears. It was something that only came out when Viktor couldn't take it anymore.
"Jayce, what are we doing...?" he said in a small voice.
Jayce knew when his husband needed him. With one hand, he continued to hold the baby, while with the other, he gently pushed Viktor onto the sofa. The three of them sat there.
Viktor looked down at the little one. His eyes were wide open, and he seemed to be looking at the world around him.
"My God," Viktor whispered again. "I never... I never thought fate would bring us something like this..."
"Me neither," Jayce said. "But it's been one surprise after another since I met you."
Those words brought a shaky smile to Viktor's face, though his eyes were still filled with unshed tears.
Viktor reached out to take Jayce's hand and gently caressed the ring on his finger.
"I never thought I'd have any of this. I didn't dare imagine it... I thought I'd never live long enough..."
"But here we are," Jayce said, squeezing his hand tenderly.
Viktor looked into his eyes, and Jayce wanted to kiss away all those worries and insecurities. But there was no chance.
The baby interrupted them with a whimper, as if he were about to start crying again.
"No, no," Jayce said. "What's wrong, baby? You're home now, what do you need?"
As Jayce spoke, Viktor noticed the way the baby's mouth opened and closed, and the way he turned his head toward Jayce's chest.
"How long has it been since he ate? I think the poor thing is hungry again."
"Oh. Oh, of course."
He stood up. Then, nervously, he sat back down to place the baby in Viktor's arms. He stood up again and headed toward the kitchen. His nervous hands moved through the cupboards because he suddenly couldn't remember where they'd put the milk.
Viktor rocked the baby gently while he waited, trying to calm his pouting as Jayce prepared the bottle.
***
When he opened the door, Viktor didn't even recognize his visitor. He was carrying a box so large When he opened the door, Viktor didn’t immediately recognize his visitor. The boy was carrying a box so large it completely obscured his face.
“My mother brought this for you,” came the voice that confirmed Viktor’s suspicion.
“Trevor?”
He stepped aside to let the boy in, and Trevor set the box down as soon as he had the chance.
Viktor couldn’t help but notice how effortlessly he moved—the way he seemed to have crossed the entire town carrying that box. With his prosthetic leg, he no longer needed crutches; both hands were free, and he’d managed the task without issue.
“She heard about the baby and thought you might need these things,” Trevor explained as he began to open the box.
“About the baby,” Viktor echoed under his breath, his fingers absently fidgeting with the handle of his cane. “So, word’s gotten around.”
He sat down carefully on the floor as Trevor finished opening the box and showed him its contents.
Viktor saw the cloth diapers and the pile of clothes, all in different sizes for when the baby grew older. And a corner where various toys were piled up.
And he thought of the crib and stroller the city hall had given them, which Jayce was struggling to assemble.
And the milk they'd started hoarding in their fridge because all the mothers in the village helped each other that way. Alia had explained it to him; this wasn’t the first time the village had stepped in for an orphaned baby or a mother who couldn’t nurse. They were ready for situations like this.
And Viktor felt an overwhelming urge to cry.
"We also have a highchair in the attic.” Trevor added. “Mom says you can come by and take a look whenever you want."
Viktor swallowed, trying to suppress the lump in his throat.
"Thanks. You're a ray of sunshine."
He reached out and placed a hand on Trevor's head, ruffling his hair. The simple gesture made the boy laugh.
***
"Look at this, Blitz. Don't you like it?" Jayce said in a tender voice, holding a stuffed animal in front of the baby. They were both sitting on a rug near the fireplace. The little one reached out and tried to pick it up, and Jayce handed it to him.
From the doorway, Viktor watched them with his arms crossed.
"What did you just called him?"
Jayce jumped, as if he'd been caught doing something he shouldn't have. He mumbled a word that Viktor didn't hear.
"What?" he asked, approaching them.
"Blitz," Jayce repeated. "I don't know. He needed a name, even if it was just a nickname, and... I thought it suited him? I should have talked to you about it, but... I don't know, it just felt right."
Viktor smiled fondly.
"Blitz” he considered for a moment. “I think Blitz is a nice name," he finally said, making Jayce smile.
"Do you? I think he likes it too. Look: Blitz!"
The baby lifted his head the moment he heard that name, his gaze shifting to Jayce, momentarily forgetting his stuffed animal. Viktor took another step forward.
"Let me try. Blitz, come here!"
This time, the baby responded more eagerly than either of them expected. He rolled onto his stomach, turned his back to Jayce, and began dragging himself across the floor with determined little pushes of his hands and legs, heading straight for Viktor.
Jayce brought a hand to his lips.
"I didn't know he was already crawling..."
Viktor lowered himself carefully to the floor and scooped the baby into his arms.
"I did. I saw him try last night."
Jayce stepped closer, looking down at the baby nestled against Viktor’s chest. Tiny hands clutched at Viktor’s shirt, holding tight.
"He's older than I imagined," Jayce murmured. "When I found him in the meadow, he seemed so little..."
"He must be at least six months old," Viktor said, stroking the baby's forehead, up and down, with a finger. "Who knows what he's been through before..."
"What matters is that he's with us now. Right, Blitz?"
The baby babbled back, as if he wanted to be part of the conversation.
***
Blitz was lying on a towel on the bed, with Viktor at his side. The man's hands were on his left leg, gently massaging the knee.
The baby must have thought it was a game, or that he was tickling him, because his only reaction was to laugh. Viktor was relieved to hear that laugh as he bent the leg, instead of the cry of pain he'd expected. He let out a sigh.
"What's wrong?" Jayce asked from the doorway. Viktor was so focused on the baby that he hadn't heard him arrive. It took him a few seconds to respond, during which Jayce came and sat down next to him.
He noticed the concern on Viktor's face, the way his brow furrowed and his lips trembled. He reached out to take his hand.
"I noticed that, on his leg…" Viktor began. He was whispering, as if he didn't want anyone to hear them. "His left leg, below the knee, is slightly twisted inward. I think it's a congenital deformity. It's hard to see with the naked eye, but I thought I noticed something when he was crawling and…"
Jayce ran a hand down the baby's leg. Viktor was right, it was hard to see, but if he looked closely, he could see that the position of his knee was strange. Blitz had stopped laughing, as if sensing the seriousness of the situation.
The man pressed his lips together, searching for a way to express what was going through his mind.
"Is it…?"
"I don't know yet how much it might affect him," Viktor added. "It depends on the individual, and it will show as he grows up. My mother had something like this too, and it never hurt her as much as it hurt me…"
Jayce stopped staring at the baby and looked at Viktor.
"So, is he like you?" he asked gently. Viktor squeezed his eyes shut, as if he'd been hit.
"Sort of. It's a similar deformity, but I don't know…"
It was difficult for Viktor to talk about this topic, and it hurt to think about it. Many sad thoughts had invaded his mind when he realized Blitz's deformity. It was a reminder of his own health problems, the reason he thought he'd never be able to have children. But that baby had ended up in his arms anyway.
He wondered if this deformity was the reason Blitz’s parents had abandoned him.
His thoughts were interrupted by a kiss on his cheek.
"Then I'm even more glad that we found him," Jayce whispered. "Because it means he's in good hands."
Viktor looked down, not daring to answer. Jayce picked up Blitz and wrapped him back in the blanket, allowing the three of them to settle into bed. After a few seconds of hesitation, Viktor rested his head on Jayce’s shoulder and reached out a hand to Blitz.
"I'll try my best."
"I know you will," Jayce said. "Listen, in Zaun you didn't have the information or the experts you needed. Blitz has you. He's not even the first child with this kind of problem we've helped."
Viktor's expression calmed slightly. And when Blitz took one of his fingers in his tiny hand, a smile dared to return to his lips.
***
There was still fear in Jayce's heart. Despite the years they had spent in that small village, in that peaceful valley, he could still dream of war and abandonment. He still feared that, one day, Viktor would slip through his fingers again, losing him forever, as if their life together were nothing more than a beautiful dream.
Even though they had built a home, and found their place, even though wedding rings adorned their fingers, and now there was a child, Jayce still had that fear.
When he woke up in the middle of the night, confused and scared, and didn't find Viktor by his side, panic struck faster than logic. Viktor wasn't on the bed, nor was Blitz in the crib. And Jayce, barely awake, had to get up and go find them.
When he opened the door and stepped out into the hallway, the terrifying silence of the night began to fade. A soft, almost indistinguishable voice sounded in the background.
“We raise no mighty towers. Our homes are built of stone…”
Jayce followed the sound of the voice, like a guide in the darkness. There were no lights on when he arrived in the living room, just a candlestick on the table, which filled the room with a dim, warm glow. And the armchair, occupied by the two of them.
"So come across the river..."
Jayce moved forward carefully, without making a sound. He stopped in front of them, and he could see Viktor cradling the baby in his arm, while with his free hand he stroked his chest, the soft song still on his lips.
“And find the world below…”
He was so distracted cuddling the baby that he didn't notice Jayce's presence until the song was over. Then Viktor put a finger to his lips, a gesture of silence. Jayce smiled softly.
He approached them, sitting on the armrest of the chair, gazing at the little boy with the same tenderness he had seen in Viktor's eyes.
"I didn't mean to wake you up," his husband whispered. "He was restless and couldn't sleep, so I brought him here…"
"What were you singing?" Jayce asked, very close to Viktor's ear.
"A lullaby from my hometown," he murmured back, almost shyly. "I thought it would calm him. It helped me when I was a child, made me… made me feel home."
Jayce's smile wasn't enough to express the tenderness inside him, which seemed about to make his heart burst.
"Maybe he knows he's home."