Chapter Text
The last thing he saw was the Mage's hopeless eyes behind the never-ending colours of the Arcane. One moment Jayce stood on top of what was left of Piltover, then he was swallowed by magic and... nothing.
Until he came to his senses again, back pressed against a soft, warm surface. He felt groggy for a while, yet free from the pain in his left leg and growling stomach. It took him blinking enough times to see himself in a bedroom back in Piltover, in a stronger, healthier body.
It is already night, yet he's still wearing his regular clothing. It takes him a few seconds to gather his bearings and sit down, finding a mess of documents at his feet. It seemed he was in the middle of something when... whatever happened.
Is he back in time? Did the Mage send him back in time just enough to stop the end of everything he holds precious?
Jayce stands up, legs shaking, and stumbles around in what he realizes in one of the guest bedrooms in the nice apartment he got after becoming a council member. Hope of finding anything that could give him a date fills him. By the clothes on his body and his home, he is already a member of the council. So he still has time to change Viktor's mind, yes. The Mage sent him back far enough to give him time to convince his partner to end Hextech. Or – at least – give that damned core its last blow.
He fumbles out of the room and into his bedroom. Soon finds his desk, moonlight spilling over a mess of papers, forgotten mugs and scrapped ideas. Even in this gilded apartment, with its high windows showing the best of Piltover, Jayce is still as messy as before. There is nothing worthy of his attention but one of his journals. It was different, though. The leather cover is a dark blue instead of the Talis' usual red, yet still has the same messy handwriting inside.
The last entry was on... Shit, Jayce has one week before the council attack. He has one week to convince Viktor and also stop his partner from dying.
Time is little, despite the Mage's attempt at sending him back with enough time to do what he needed to. Despite the high moon in the sky, Jayce knows where he'd find Viktor, and he doesn’t waste a single second as he leaves his home and goes straight to their shared lab.
***
Viktor had always neglected his sleeping schedule – if he ever had one to begin with – so Jayce is sure he'd find his partner working late into the night. Obsessing over the Hexcore, hoping it would bring good for those in need. Jayce was too mesmerized by Mel, the council and his new power to realize how harmful the Hexcore was. Not only to Viktor, but to their Hextech dream.
However, he now knows enough to make things different. The Mage gave him another chance, and Jayce won't waste it by neglecting his partner, his very own mother, and everything else that mattered way more than those selfish pricks from the council.
Jayce has no trouble reaching their lab, the short heel of his shoes echoing through the empty halls of the council building. An enforcer here and there greets him with a respectful nod, most of them taking naps in their chairs.
There are the lab’s high doors. Jayce has to think of what to say. The Viktor there isn’t the Viktor who had asked him to destroy the Hexcore should the need arise. It was still the man who saw the thing with hopeful eyes.
Jayce opens the doors; however, the lab is dark. Except for the eerie glow of the Hexcore, its soft light barred by a familiar silhouette.
Jayce’s heart drops at the sight of Viktor’s nearly bare, frail body. All he could think of were the carved runes he saw all over his partner’s limp body, barely scarring, on the day Viktor died in front of him.
“Viktor!”
The Zaunite startles, looking over his shoulder with horrified eyes as Jayce jumps in his direction and takes the injection gun out of Viktor’s hand. Everything happens too fast – Jayce drops the gun, smashing it under his boot and splashing shimmer all over it.
“No!” Viktor kneels on the floor, fingers shaking as he touches the bright shimmer. “What did you do?! It was the only one!”
Held by his bony shoulders, tears warm up Viktor’s furious eyes. He tries to let go of Jayce’s touch, but the Piltovan is holding him close by his chest. Feeling Viktor’s body so small and fragile, marked by runes that bleed into his fair skin.
“Listen to me, Viktor.” Jayce can barely speak, throat closing with longing – being able to hold Viktor again after all that time surviving in that pit. To hold a body that, despite its current state, is still warm and soft.
He couldn’t help but wrap his arms tighter around Viktor, seeking more until his partner’s uncertain hands touched his back.
“You don’t need this. We’re going to find another solution.” Promises Jayce, whispering every word as tears blurred his vision. “Together. I promise, I swear I promise. You're gonna live longer, w-we're gonna have so much time together... You're gonna look so handsome once your hair starts to grey, I just know it. A-And I'll never leave your side again, I'll always be here at the lab with you and our Hextech will help people."
Viktor’s previous rage gives in to sloped shoulders as the man surrenders to the embrace. Fingers gripping Jayce’s jacket and face pressing against his shoulder as he gives in to a wave of desperation. Tears turning into sobs, his body shaking while he almost fuses himself into Jayce’s warmth.
Never in their partnership had Jayce seen Viktor cry, though his partner had consoled Jayce many times before. But the Zaunite is consumed by his cries, face pressed against Jayce’s chest and a laboured breathing making his sobs difficult. Jayce pulls Viktor close, away from the shattered glass and spilled shimmer, and keeps the man on his lap.
Something about Viktor barely breathing as he fought his tears shattered Jayce’s heart, his own eyes now wet with tears. Settling in the promise that he would do anything to fix his many mistakes.
First things first, he needs Viktor to rest properly so he could take care of the carved runes. The lab is cold and he can see Viktor's clothes folded in the far end of the long workbench.
"Where's the couch?" Jayce asks, taking off his jacket and placing it around Viktor's shoulders, making sure the man puts his arms inside the sleeves.
As he does that, Jayce notices the red accents are now blue.
"What couch?" Viktor's tired voice gets his attention, his amber eyes still marked by red rims around the irises.
"The one you always insists on sleeping instead of leaving the lab."
"I don’t know what you’re talking about, Jayce." The zaunite sights heavily, allowing Jayce to help him stand up and keep him in another embrace. "I'd like to go home… I’m tired."
Jayce immediately nods, his protective arms around Viktor in order to keep the jacket in place.
"I’m sorry, Vik, of course. Mine or yours?"
Viktor lifts his head, staring at Jayce with a furrowed brow. There’s something hurting there, beyond Jayce's understanding. After a moment, his partner murmurs, "Yours."
***
Jayce can't let go of Viktor while they ride the carriage all the way to his apartment, nor can he let go of his partner as they enter the place, and he insists the Zaunite keeps the jacket even though he is fully dressed once more.
As soon as Jayce locks the door behind them, Viktor finds himself sitting down on the couch. His body is weak as he melts into the pillows, eyes tired and still marked by dried tears. That sight reminds Jayce how Viktor's illness is taking a toll on him, even though he looks a little more lively than Jayce remembers. Viktor still looks like he could put on some weight, but his face is a little fuller and his dark circles are not as bad. He looks tired and drained, yes, however, that could be fixed with a good night of sleep.
How had he ignored it for so long before? His partner was withering away right before his eyes, yet all he could do was chase Mel around like a puppy in need of attention. Sure, Piltover and Zaun were facing a serious issue, but what's the point of living in a peaceful place when his partner isn't there?
Viktor leaves the couch and makes himself at home easily, washing his face at the kitchen sink and helping himself to some water from the ice box. Not that Jayce is bothered by it – it's just... unusual to see Viktor so comfortable in his house. His partner is usually more reserved, no matter how many times they had slept on each other's couches after a night of endless scientific chatter.
"You should sit down, Vik." Jayce places a hand on his lower back, guiding him back to the couch. "Undress. It's best if we patch those wounds soon."
His partner says nothing, yet does as told – even removing his leg and back braces. Not ashamed of his bareness, left only in his underwear. Jayce tries not to look too much; even in such a state, he can't help but admire Viktor. All that time in that ravine... it had made him come to terms with his feelings towards his partner. The true nature of something that had always lived inside him and bloomed every time he was around Viktor. His love for magic and his love for Viktor were so intertwined it was hard to realize what everything meant.
Yet he wouldn't bother Viktor with talks of love and devotion. It wouldn't hurt Jayce if Viktor never loved him back, as long as the Zaunite became healthy again. That’s all that matters. For life not to turn into that barren land he had been sent to and for Viktor to live more. To be remembered, loved and happy.
He fetches the first-aid kit from the bathroom, rummaging through things as quickly as he can, before returning to the living room and kneeling in front of Viktor. Jayce ignores the tremors in his own hands as best he can, glancing at Viktor while holding a gauze in hand.
The Zaunite tilts his head to the side ever so slightly. Next thing he knows, Viktor’s hand is touching his cheek, thumb caressing his stubble.
"I'm okay, Jayce." Viktor's voice is soft, low. Gentle, as if Jayce were on the verge of tears. And maybe he is, by the way his heart is pounding in his chest just because of that touch. He had never, ever been touched in such a tender way by Viktor.
And, by the Gods, it feels so good.
With his free hand, Jayce kept Viktor's touch in place. Pressing his hand against his partner's, letting the warmth of Viktor's slender hand seep into his face as he nuzzled into the palm. He shouldn't indulge, but Jayce needs that.
He needs to feel another touch, to know Viktor is there with him, and when the Zaunite caresses him once more, Jayce almost sobs as he kisses Viktor's fingers one by one.
"None of that, milaček." Viktor sounds too kind for it to be a scolding. "Don't cry, please… It will heal in no time.”
"You should have told me what you were trying to do…" He manages to say, lightly dabbing the soaked gauze on Viktor's thighs. Seeing blood seeping through the mesh, the frailness of his leg next to Jayce's too-big hand. "We could have done it without hurting your body. Without using shimmer, you know how dangerous it is. It can… hurt your body more than cure it. I've seen what it does to the people in the Undercity."
Viktor retreats his hand, looking away.
"You wouldn't understand. You don't understand what it's like to be me... I– We've talked about this before. I don't want to talk about it any more."
That’s a Viktor Jayce knows very well. Stubborn and full of pride, keeping secrets as if that could protect him like a fortress.
"You're the only thing that matters to me, Viktor." He says it, unable to look at Viktor while doing so. "All I want is your happiness."
"You always say that, still... look at us." The Zaunite gives a weak laugh amidst a hiss as Jayce applies a particularly stingy poultice to one of his wounds. "I'm still waiting for you to sign the papers so I can leave and you can do whatever you want. Are you acting like this on purpose? It has been a month, Jayce. I'm tired of waiting. I'm hurts to keep living here with you... pretending we are okay so people won't write gossip about us before we finish the divorce."
The gauze in Jayce’s hand falls onto Viktor’s knee, his hand still raised, frozen. His hazel eyes stare at Viktor in a mixture of awe and incredulity.
"We're married?" He has to whisper the words or they’ll prove themselves false.
For the first time he pays attention to his hand and noticed a subtle, thin golden ring on his finger. Viktor has one on his own hand, showcasing what was impossible for that Jayce kneeled in front of him.
"We are fucking married.” He holds Viktor’s hand and brushes his thumb on the man’s wedding ring. “You're my husband. You… How?”
Viktor rolls his eyes and gently pushes Jayce’s hands away from his legs.
"Since when?" The Piltovan stands up quickly as Viktor retrieves his crutch. "Viktor, please, answer me. Since when?"
"I'm going to bed." That's all Viktor says before vanishing into the hallway and into the bedroom, the door closing with a thud that leaves Jayce speechless.
It didn't take long for Jayce to find evidence of their marriage everywhere now that he knows Viktor also lives in the apartment. Two sets of clutter lying in the sink, the obscene amount of pillows on the couch, spare canes in strategic places, the many awards and certificates littering the walls – some with Jayce's name, others with Viktor’s.
Viktor Talis of Zaun. Right there, in several Hextech blueprints and written on different pill tins scattered around the house. Prescriptions of different medicines, mail pilling up, a smaller coat hanging next to a bigger one by the door.
In the rush to go find Viktor, Jayce barely registered what his apartment looked like.
The apartment still looks like they are married, so the divorce request is recent. A month, at least, based on Viktor’s complaints about Jayce. And it seems Viktor is the one asking for it.
Perhaps Jayce is just as neglectful in this life as he is in all others. A curse he could never change. Friend or husband, he’d leave Viktor behind all the same.
Jayce walks around the living room, reading Viktor's full name in every certificate and finding himself staring at pictures from the last seven years until he finds one that looks like what could only be called a marriage. They are both wearing white suits, and they look so young. Eyes glued to each other, Viktor is held by Jayce's arms in a happy, loving embrace. It looks like they were supposed to smile at the camera, but decided they couldn’t keep their eyes off one another.
They married after one year into their partnership, based on the date written behind the frame. The smile on Viktor's face was shy, yet genuine. It reached his lovely eyes and, even though the photograph was sepia, Jayce knew he was blushing.
He looks so handsome in that picture. Just like how Jayce remembers from years ago. The prettiest man he has ever seen. So charming and confident, proving Jayce they could achieve anything they want.
The Mage didn’t send him back in time – he had sent Jayce into another reality. Maybe it was a mistake. Jayce had no idea how he'd go back to his own timeline and fix things there. Maybe he was stealing the other Jayce's life, living in his body like this. Loving his husband. If Viktor still loved him, of course… the other Jayce, the one whose life he was now wearing like a coat.
He falls onto the couch, hands gripping his own hair as tears spill down his face. He is doomed to ruin whatever reality he lands in, doomed to hurt Viktor, doomed to let Hextech destroy the world. Perhaps he should have jumped before Viktor found him, that would have prevented so many things from happening. Viktor would still be a respectable assistant, perhaps he’d find himself in a well deserved position that matches his intellect. He’d be happy, away from Hextech. Who knows, maybe he’d have a lover to shower him with affection. Someone better than Jayce, someone who is not taken by obsessions to the point of forgetting what really matters is right by his side.
Before he can spiral down into hours of self-loathing, Viktor’s coughing gets his attention. He immediately stands up, ready to go see his partner. But he stops himself. Viktor doesn’t want to see him. For fuck’s sake, Viktor doesn’t want to be his husband anymore.
Jayce has no idea how their divorce would affect Hextech. Maybe it would end their partnership, and that would be for the best. A world without more man-made madness that should have never existed.
He decides he needs a bath, despite his current body being clean. The grime from the ravine is within Jayce, and even after lowering himself into the familiar bathtub and reddening his skin from how much he scrubs it with the sponge, he still feels filthy.
The reflection in the foggy mirror is of a handsome, healthy, and partially sane man. The Man of Progress. Piltover’s Golden Boy. Viktor’s partner. House Talis’ scion. He can’t recognize himself in that mirror, despite it being the last face he saw before being taken by the Arcane and thrown into a nightmarish land. Perhaps it is a blessing he never managed to see how he looked after that ordeal.
Jayce finds a pair of linen shorts hanging in the bathroom and puts them on. Out of habit, he opens his bedroom door, only to freeze the moment he sees Viktor poking out of the blankets with an irritated expression.
“Sorry, I’m gonna take the guest bedroom.”
The Zaunite sighs, his eyes turning sad a moment later. He pulls the blanket aside, inviting Jayce into the bed without saying a word.
It should be natural, Jayce thinks. They are married, even if they’re divorcing. They’ve been married for years. Jayce should act like sleeping next to Viktor is part of his everyday life. But he can’t help but hesitate for a moment, surrendering to the need to feel another human beside him.
The mattress dips beneath him once he is right next to Viktor. Lying on his side, so he can look at his partner, whose eyes are also glued to Jayce and the loose linen shirt covering his torso seems to match the shorts his husband is wearing.
The space between the two men is no more than a hand; their shared warmth surrounds them. Still, they don’t touch, despite Jayce's desperate need for it. Viktor’s hand lies in the empty space between their pillows, fingers moving slightly. After a few seconds, he retreats his hand under the blanket.
“It pains me too, Jayce… to end the family we've tried to build together.”
“Can we try again?” Jayce whispers, despite knowing nothing about their six-year marriage. “Loving someone is a choice, Viktor… We can choose to try again.”
“You know I can’t love anyone else but you, only you. But I've given you enough chances and you broke my heart each time.” His thick eyebrows furrow in sorrow, eyes warm with unshed tears. “I can’t face another disappointment.”
“I’ll do better this time, I promise.” Jayce moves closer, enough that Viktor’s feet touch his legs. “I will… I’m sorry if I hurt you, or if I forgot what our dream should be about. I know I’ve been blind to what’s really important, but now I see. It’s you, Viktor. Hextech, the council, whatever… It’s not as important as you are.”
The only response he gets are Viktor's tearful eyes. Jayce tries to get closer, to wrap an arm around Viktor's waist, but the smaller man curls into himself under the shared blanket and all Jayce manages to do is to touch his arm.
“Viktor, you are everything to me." Jayce continues, heart aching with every word. "You always have been. It’s bigger than Hextech, bigger than whatever the council wants. If you tell me right now you want us to leave everything behind and spend the rest of our lives in a cabin somewhere, I’m ready to go.”
"Sleep, Jayce." Murmurs the Zaunite, pain in his voice as he turns his back towards Jayce and locks himself away from his husband.
***
A restless night drags on. Every time Jayce closes his eyes and lets sleep pull him under, the dreams convince him he’s back in that ravine – the cold, barren ground making his body ache, the fire nearly extinguished because he allowed himself to sleep for too long. He can feel the bugs biting the skin from where his clothes are too tattered.
Then suddenly, there’s a weight pressed against his back. Wrapping his body, locking him in like tendrils. Death has finally come to take in, after all the failed attempts at climbing out of that hole.
Jayce thrashes immediately, shoving away whatever he thinks is lurking behind him, only to be dragged back into the world of the living by the sound of a wheezing cough. The darkness around him belongs to his bedroom, and the soft snoring near his ear and the force wrapping his body were just Viktor’s spooning him. Not some creature waiting for him to finally die so it can feast on his filthy body.
Reality settles fast. His eyes adjust, and he sees Viktor sitting up, both hands braced against his own chest, hair disheveled, eyes wide and startled.
“Viktor!” Jayce pulls him close, the man still coughing and shaking in his arms. "I'm sorry, I… I’m so sorry, please, forgive me. I thought… I thought it was someone else, I–”
Viktor steadies his breathing, and his trembling hands press against Jayce’s back the moment he senses his husband crying. Jayce can’t stop it – the tears fall with the same force they did in the darkness, when he was alone and terrified, when he had to bury every fear just to survive long enough to return to the people he loved.
But now that he can smell Viktor’s scent and hear his heartbeat the tears return all at once. Like a child who finally feels safe enough to fall apart, Jayce buries his face in the crook of Viktor’s neck, breathing him in, curling around him, holding him tight.
“Jayce…?” Viktor’s hoarse, sleepy voice reaches him. “It was just a dream, hm? It’s okay, you didn’t hurt me.”
Those words are not enough to soothe Jayce. Breathing has become difficult as his sobbing takes over his body. He tries to ground himself the moment Viktor’s hand touches his back and hair.
Soothing touches in his bare skin, the careful caresses in his hair. After a moment, Viktor is the one embracing him. Keeping him tucked away as he pulls the blanket over them once again.
“I’m gonna make you some tea.” Whispers his partner, lips pressing a kiss to the top of Jayce’s head.
Strong hands quickly keep Viktor in place.
“N-No, please. Don’t l-leave me here.”
“Alright, alright.” Viktor’s arms are still around him and Jayce, keeping his face pressed onto the man’s shoulder, doesn’t notice the way his partner’s face contorts in worry. “I’m here, lásko.”
Nothing Jayce does will change the fact that he can’t keep this Viktor forever. This Viktor isn’t his; he belongs to another Jayce. Even with a divorce threatening to break them apart, at some point they were deeply in love – perhaps they still are, despite everything.
Jayce has no idea how he will return to his own timeline, only that he can’t stay here forever. Yet he can’t stop himself from holding Viktor close, rubbing his face against the man’s chest, drinking in his scent and the steady rhythm of his heartbeat.
Tears well up, and soon his whole body trembles with sobs – fear dragging him back to that ravine, to the possibility of being alone again. For all he knows, his Piltover may already be in ruins by the time he returns, having failed the Mage’s request entirely.
A gentle hand glides through his hair, thin arms wrapping him in safety, making him feel small, sheltered. Viktor’s lips press to the top of his head, then to his forehead, whispering soothing words in a language Jayce doesn’t understand.
When Jayce lifts his head, he finds those golden eyes brimming with quiet tears and worry. Viktor cups his face, wiping his husband’s tears away – ignoring the single tear that escapes down his own cheek.
The sight pulls Jayce from his spiraling panic. He kisses the path of Viktor’s tear, soft and reverent, then presses a kiss at the corner of his eye, lingering on the little mole nestled there. Viktor kisses him back, one hand cupping Jayce’s cheek before their lips meet in a simple, almost innocent kiss.
But innocence never lasts long.
Something ignites in Jayce the moment he feels Viktor’s mouth on his – a spark of fantasies and long-buried dreams from years ago, from when he agreed to protect their friendship instead of risking it. Now he has nothing left to lose. In truth, he has already lost everything. Whether this was the Mage’s intention or a disastrous miscalculation, Jayce now has the chance to love Viktor – to have a Viktor he knows loves him.
So he deepens the kiss.
He tastes Viktor fully for the first time: the heat of his tongue, the soft sounds spilling from him between breaths, the way he presses their bodies together and sucks gently on Jayce’s tongue.
Jayce is starving for it. He wants Viktor – wants to be touched, to touch, to feel his partner’s body, to devour his mouth, to hear that heartbeat quicken under his hands.
Jayce’s lips grow hungrier – sucking Viktor’s tongue, biting his lower lip, then trailing down to his throat. He kisses Viktor’s Adam’s apple, leaving a path of pink blooming hickeys down his chest. With only one good hand, he fumbled with Viktor’s shirt, frustrated but determined.
The Zaunite helps him, pulling it off, already mourning the loss of Jayce’s mouth on his skin, only to feel it return seconds later. Jayce licked his sternum, nipped softly around his nipples, and ran the tip of his nose along the faint scars beneath Viktor’s pecs.
“I need you,” he whispers, the words breaking in his throat. He desperately presses his face to Viktor’s chest, as if he could hide inside the man's heart. Curl within his partner’s very essence and never leave. Be one forever.
All that time in that dark pit he had spent thinking about Viktor. Jayce needed to hear his voice again. To touch him. He'd imagine what it would be like to have him in his arms. Sometimes Jayce could have sworn Viktor was there, talking to him, helping him stay sane.
Perhaps it was the Mage, perhaps it was Jayce's weak playing tricks on him. A desperate measure so he wouldn’t lose it.
The hands on his back ground him. His partner keeps him locked in his arms, pulling him close. Viktor’s legs fall open, inviting him in. For a moment, Jayce looks down at him – lips swollen and shining, eyes blown wide with desire.
Jayce drinks in the sight, praying it brands itself into his memory so he never forgets what Viktor looks like undone by a kiss. Their hips grind together, Jayce’s hard cock pressing against the thin layers of fabric keeping it from feeling the warmth of Viktor’s cunt. Jayce slides his hands all over Viktor’s sides, palms flattening against warm skin as he explores his waist and chest – careful not to cause him any pain by touching the carved runes.
Pale skin glows under the faint moonlight that comes from the windows and the two runes carved in his collarbones break Jayce's heart. The man lowers himself closer to Viktor, peppering his face with kisses. He then moves against Viktor’s crotch, shivering when a low, breathy grunt escapes the man.
When Viktor grabs him by the neck and licks into his mouth, Jayce lets himself be pulled into another ravenous kiss. They rock against each other, grinding with a desperate rhythm, breaking their kisses only to gasp, moan, or whisper a trembling sound of need.
“Fuck, Vik” Jayce groans, lips trailing down his partner’s neck to suck on his pale skin. “You have no idea how many times I’ve dreamed about fucking your perfect body.”
Viktor shivers beneath him, baring more of his neck in an invitation Jayce accepts without hesitation. He licks the sensitive spot between Viktor’s shoulder and throat, biting and sucking until a sharp gasp escapes the other man.
Slender hands seize Jayce’s ass, short nails and slightly calloused skin slipping under the Piltovan’s shorts. Their mouths meet in a kiss that’s little more than a soft brush of lips. Their noses touch, and Viktor’s golden eyes glow like a melting sunset.
“Fuck me, lásko,” Viktor whispers, voice thick with desperation as he grabs Jayce’s waistband and tugs his shorts down. “Please, just fuck me.”
Jayce has no time to think, nor wish he could make love to Viktor for hours. No, he is taken by this sudden need as much as his partner is and takes no time to pull down Viktor’s underwear.
He takes a moment, thought, to look at his partner’s wet cunt and swollen cock. It’s beautiful, enough to make his mouth water and when he holds his dick and places it in between Viktor’s folds… He is sure he could die at that very moment.
He holds his aching, hard cock and presses its head on Viktor’s enlarged clit – it must be around 6 to 7cm long and Jayce can’t help but let their cocks rub on each other, slick from Viktor’s cunt covering both of them.
“Look at that” he is basically murmuring to himself in awe, almost drooling. “You’re so big… Can I taste you?”
Viktor shivers, whining something in a foreign language every time Jayce uses his tip to circle around Viktor’s cock. Seeing them two pressed together, slick and precum mixing together is a sight of the heavens.
“N-Not now” he manages to say, back arching the moment Jayce slaps his cock right against his partner's sensitive spot “I need you inside.”
In another life, he would spend hours eating Viktor up. When they’d be reborn with another chance of finding love and he has his own Viktor, not one from a life that doesn’t belong to him.
“Stop messing with me,” Viktor says, his voice cutting through Jayce’s daze as he guides him into place. “Just do it, you won’t hurt me, I promise. Jayce… I miss you inside of me.”
“I– I know, Vik…” Jayce breathes deeply. “I need you too.”
They share a look, and his heart feels like it might pound straight out of his chest. Guilt flickers – he’s letting Viktor believe it’s his husband with him, the husband he is divorcing probably out of neglect – but another part of Jayce doesn’t care at all. That part is living a dream he knows he’ll never get again, so he will take every chance he gets.
He lifts Viktor’s right leg, careful not to disturb the patched-up carvings along his tight. Their eyes meet for a heartbeat before Viktor smiles, raising his leg until it rests on Jayce’s shoulder. His foot brushes Jayce’s cheek, and Jayce turns to press a soft kiss to the sole, earning a quiet chuckle from his partner.
“Are you comfortable?” Asks Jayce “Is your leg hurting? Your hip? Your back?”
“I’m fine, Jayce.” His thick brows frown a bit, before he caresses his husband’s arms. “You don’t want to do it…?”
“I want this more than anything.” Confesses Jayce, whispering a desire he long kept hidden, for almost eight years. “I’ve always wanted this, I… Ever since I met you I’ve had those thoughts. Of us together like this.”
His partner smiles at the confession – what is a confession to Jayce, but must be a well known feeling between him and his actual husband. Yet, it makes him smile, fingers wrapping around Jayce’s cock and positioning right against his hole. For a moment, he let their cocks brush against each other, shivering with the sensations.
“Then do it, lásko. I’m yours, you can fuck me whenever you want.” He says that so gently that it becomes obscene, each word going straight into Jayce’s throbbing cock. “You know that.”
Then Jayce sinks in fully. There’s some resistance from the lack of proper preparation, but also a warm, unmistakable welcome. Viktor smiles, eyes fluttering shut, and when he rolls his hips, Jayce can feel the subtle brush of Viktor’s cock against his pubes, sending a shiver down his spine.
He needs a moment and all he does is behold – Viktor under him, his silky short hair all messy and eyes blown with pleasure. Jayce would have stayed there, admiring the way his partner’s cunt took him all in, but the need to move was growing stronger.
“I want you to be rough” Fingertips brushed on his lover’s tights, going up to his hips and gently caressing the happy trail on Jayce’s lower stomach. “Can you do that for me?”
Swallowing dry, Jayce nods and holds Viktor by the hips. He watches as his cock almost comes out completely, only to slam it all back in with one hard motion.
Viktor arches his back, biting his lips to hold a moan. Jayce does it again, slowly, but harder, and feels his blood boil with lust every time he goes balls deep into his partner.
They stop for mere seconds, Jayce holding Viktor’s hip and guiding his partner until the Zaunite is on his stomach, placing one of the pillows under his hip so it helps him arch his back. It isn’t long until Jayce pushes his cock back in, the same rough rhythm that makes their shared, sturdy bed shake.
They both need it for different reasons. Jayce was hungry for Viktor. Body and soul. Missing the sound of his voice and touch of his skin in a way he never had. However, it is now laid to him like a feast, so he devours it. Takes everything he can, pressing his body over Viktor’s back, covering him whole and kissing his shoulders.
Mouth pressend against the crook of his lovers neck, Jayce sucks on pale skin until it bruises and holds onto slender hips as if he fuck Viktor deeper than he already is.
Viktor’s fingers turn white as he grips the sheets, face buried in the mattress while Jayce plows into him. Bodies shocking with obscene sounds, the way Viktor’s small ass starts to turn red by all the impact.
Jayce squeezes the buttcheeks and spreads them to better see his cock being swallowed by his partner’s cunt.
“Spank me” Viktor demands and his wishes are immediately answered when Jayce’s warm hand spanks his ass hard enough to leave a mark. “ Yes! M-More, Jayce. More!”
The Piltovan does it again, cock buried deep as his hand slaps Viktor’s pale flesh again and again. One hand wrapped around his partner’s waist, allowing him to keep a fast pace.
Harder, faster, Jayce obeys him like a loyal servant, mesmerized as he watches his cock fucking Viktor’s cunt in and out. His enlarged clit is bigger, aroused to the maximum. Jayce runs his fingers around his lover’s throat, until his thumb is pressing against Viktor’s mouth
Without second thoughts, he sucks on it. Moaning around his thumb, circling his tongue around it.
“F-Fuck!” Face pressed against the pillow, Viktor hiccups the moment Jayce’s fingers circle his clit as fast as he keeps pounding. “I’m… Ah, please!”
Jayce’s own body is at its limit. Climax approaching, cock squeezed in the warm walls of Viktor’s cunt spamming as the Zaunite cums all over him.
“Inside?” Jayce grinds his teeth, almost grunting while keeping his fast pace. “You want m-my cum inside you?”
Viktor nods, gasping every time his husband’s cock presses just right and makes it all flow through his orgasm-sensitive clit.
“Always inside, lásko. Fill me in.”
It takes Jayce a few more thrusts before he sinks as deep as he can, pressing on his partner's cervix as he fills his cunt to the brim.
His body gives up, laying on top of Viktor as they both catch their breaths. Jayce kisses Viktor’s flushed face, a hand gently running through his short hair.
“You are so perfect,” Jayce whispered, pressing his face into Viktor’s neck, deliriously. “I love you so much. So much…”
After a short moment, Viktor moves under him. Not because of the very comfortable weight of his husband, just so they can look at each other. Soon Jayce was once again slotted between his legs, mesmerized by the flushed, abused cunt of his partner.
“Gods…” Jayce uses the tip of his cock to push the oozing cum back inside Viktor’s hole. “Get it all, Vik.”
Soft chuckles and Viktor is keeping a quiet smile to himself, still taken by the post-orgasm laziness. A soft gasp escapes him when Jayce pushes his cock back in slowly, just to keep his load in place.
“Come here, my love” Viktor pulls him closer, mouths meeting in a tender kiss. Tongues circling, teeth biting lip, sighs of pleasure being shared on the same breath.
But suddenly Viktor’s body shudders beneath him, and a coughing fit seizes him. He pushes Jayce away, hunched over as the coughs take control of his body.
Jayce is immediately with him, eyes big with worry.
“I’m sorry.” Viktor manages to say in between coughs, fingertips coming out painted in red as he touches his bleeding nose. “Shit…”
Before Jayce can do anything, Viktor leaves the bed in a clumsy hurry towards the bathroom and closes the door behind him.
Alone in the bed, Jayce stares at the empty bedroom as he hears another endless coughing fit take a toll on Viktor.
There's nothing he can do for his prideful partner but fix the bed sheets and put his shorts back. He hears the running water from the sink when he passes by the hallway and into the living room, returning to his bedroom with the first-aid kit and a glass of cool water.
When Viktor comes back to their shared bed, Jayce is already there. His partner doesn’t see his eyes, but Jayce can see his droopy eyes as Viktor searches for his underwear and dresses himself.
“Are you okay?” Whispers Jayce, offering the water which his partner takes with a quiet nod.
The Zaunite retrieves something from his bed-side table – a breather big enough to cover his mouth and nose, alongside a small cylinder he connects to a short rubber tube.
“I’m sorry I ruined it all again” he murmurs, mouth covered by the breather. “I am feeling better… Breathing better, most of the time. But some damages cannot be undone.”
“That was the best sex I ever had.” Jayce smiles at him, carefully getting some of the poultice onto a new clean gauze. “We can always make it work, Vik.”
“Don’t lie to me” Viktor gives a humorless chuckle, pressing a valve on the small can and taking a few deep breaths.
Jayce watches as his partner takes in some sort of medicine – judged by the label on the cylinder, bearing the Viktor Talis of Zaun name in the prescription tag.
He waits while Viktor inhales the medicine and allows himself the freedom of taking care of his carved skin wherever their previous activity had removed the poultice.
In silence, they exchange a glance, then Viktor finishes with his medicine and leaves the whole thing by the table.
“We used to do much more than a quickie in the middle of the night.” says him, bitterly. “The strap is collecting dust somewhere in this house.”
The thought of Viktor, all handsome, with a strap, is enough to make Jayce blush and chuckle.
Viktor doesn’t dodge when Jayce reapplies the thin layers of poultice on his carved skin. Only when his husband lifts his eyes and faces him, finding Viktor’s golden eyes filled with mourning.
“There’s nothing to be sorry about” Reassures Jayce, putting away the first-aid kit. “Through sickness and health, Vik. The strap is waiting.”
The other man quietly nods before caressing Jayce’s forearm. He allows his husband to help him back into the linen shirt, the fabric keeping his once-again patched up skin safe.
“Want to talk about whatever was haunting your dreams?”
The Piltovan remembers each one of his nightmares, always the same even when he is awake. But he dodges the question with a subtle smile.
“You made me forget it with all this quickie in the middle of the night thing we just did.”
Viktor clicks his tongue and rolls his eyes, yet offers his arms to Jayce whose bigger body quickly finds its place in a tight embrace.
***
Jayce tosses and turns until he no longer feels Viktor pressed against him. Still, he manages to fall asleep again, only to be woken by a subtle touch on his shoulder when sunlight is already spilling through the open windows.
“Jayce, wake up.” Viktor’s accented voice reaches him, a hand shaking him gently. “You have a council meeting in an hour, it’s almost noon.”
“Huh…?” Half his soul is still trapped in sleep, but he can make out Viktor sitting at the edge of the bed, holding a steaming mug of herbal tea.
Rubbing his face, Jayce sits up and faces a fully dressed Viktor. Everything is covered, except for his hands and head, hiding away the carved runes and hickeys from the night before. The deep purple of his simple suit only makes his dark circles stand out more.
“Where are you going? You should stay here, resting.”
The Zaunite sets the mug on the nightstand and rises, grabbing his crutch as he begins searching the room for his shoes.
“I’m having lunch with your mother at her house today.” He stops, glancing over his shoulder at a still-groggy Jayce. “And… I have to tell her about the divorce. If you won’t, then I will.”
That’s enough to jolt Jayce fully awake. He jumps out of bed too quickly, dizziness forcing him to sit right back down with a thud.
“No, wait!” Viktor looks at him with concern, one leather shoe in hand. “Please don’t tell her yet. Let’s… work things between us first, okay?”
Viktor nods quietly, expression heavy with sorrow. Jayce can’t help but wonder what Viktor’s relationship with Ximena is like.
“I’ll go see the Council, but I’ll be home soon. I can pick you up from my mom’s,” he offers, only to be met with a slow shake of the head as Viktor sits back on the bed and pulls his leg brace from beneath it.
“I’ll be fine, Jayce. Don’t worry about me.”
“I insist, please.” Quick to act, Jayce kneels in front of him, helping fasten the brace. “I have to visit her… so please wait for me there. I won’t take long.”
“If you show up too late again–”
“I won’t.” Gods, what a terrible husband he must have been. “I’ll be there to take you home, Vik. We’re going home together.”
Slender fingers comb through his hair, melting him instantly against Viktor’s knee. Jayce rests his cheek against the cold metal of the brace and kisses Viktor’s leg through the fabric. Despite everything, knowing Viktor is his husband makes it impossible not to touch him more.
“There’s something different about you,” Viktor whispers, his hand still stroking Jayce’s hair. “Are you taking your medication properly? You know you can’t skip a single day.”
Jayce’s eyebrows furrow slightly before he remembers to put up a facade – whatever medication he takes in this reality, it must be important for Viktor to ask him that. The thing is, Jayce has no way of knowing if his previous self took it or not… For whatever reason he needs medication.
His body feels fine – feels better than his own body before everything turned into a nightmare. Ah, he knows he is not sound in his mind after everything, but Jayce is sure his other self is not broken like him.
Without a reply from Jayce, Viktor clicks his tongue before pulling his hand away from his husband’s hair. He rummages through the bedside table on Jayce’s side and retrieves a tin filled with white pills. Jayce does nothing but watch as the man who wants to divorce him counts every single pill on the palm of his hand.
A man who doesn’t love him wouldn’t do that. Yes, sure, they had sex the night before and Viktor seemed to be in great need of Jayce’s touch, however… There is something bigger in the way he counted the pills, sighted in relief and put them back in the tin.
“I… Took it?” Jayce finally says something, going in blind – hoping his other self took better care of himself than Jayce ever did in his own timeline.
“Then take today’s dose” Replies Viktor, placing a single pill on the table right next to the tea. “Now go get ready, Jayce. You’re going to be late, I’m already giving them trouble enough by being sick all the time.”
“I’d rather stay with you.”
“It’s an important meeting, you can’t miss this one.” His fingers move idly through Jayce’s short hair. “Your mother is waiting for me.”
Face still pressed to Viktor’s knee, Jayce looks up at him.
“Just give me one more chance.”
Viktor takes his time studying the man at his feet. His hand slips away from Jayce’s hair and returns to his lap, only for Jayce to shift closer, slotting himself between the Zaunite’s legs and holding both his hands.
Viktor stiffens slightly, but Jayce is too focused on those honey-colored eyes and the feeling of Viktor’s fingers pressed against his lips.
“I promise, Viktor.” He vows, kissing each knuckle gently. He can’t leave that reality and let this Viktor and the other Jayce fall apart. They must stick together, their love must prevail.
After a long sigh, Viktor pulls his hands away, leaving Jayce’s lips cold with longing.
“I can only stand one more broken promise, Jayce. I… I’m glad we had sex last night, but that's not enough to change everything that had fallen apart. However, I will give you another chance. Despite everything, I wish we could be like we used to. Before everything… That."
Jayce knows he’s an impostor wearing the skin of another version of himself. But what harm would it do to make Viktor happy? He doesn’t know what awaits him once he returns to his own timeline – if he even returns at all. He doesn’t know how long he’ll remain here; perhaps the Mage will appear again and pull him back.
In the meantime, he must repair what his other self destroyed and give the Hexcore the ending it needs. But he can’t do that without mending things between the other Jayce and Viktor. And without peace between them, Jayce doubts Viktor would ever be convinced to end Hextech.
Viktor doesn’t need to know that the man kneeling at his feet isn’t truly his husband. He only needs to know he is loved beyond the boundaries of time, that in every reality they could ever inhabit, Jayce will always love him.