Chapter Text
Fear flickered through Viktor. Waves of kaleidoscopic energy raced off him in waves. The rune clutched in his hand screamed with energy; he didn’t know if he was strong enough to keep it within his grasp.
Each crackle of energy raked through every part of him. Not just his body- or whatever reflection of his body existed in this realm of non-space- but his soul, too. He had to brace every part of himself against it just to survive.
“We finish this together.” Jayce clasped Viktor’s hand, steadying it. The rune fought back with greater intensity, but with the two of them together, it was… grounded. Dangerous, yes. Deadly, also yes. But Viktor no longer worried. Not with him at his side.
Jayce. Viktor looked at him, almost scared to settle his gaze onto him. After everything I’ve done, you still persist. Jayce’s expression was stern, but kind. His eyes, those sun-colored eyes. Viktor’s eyes softened slightly as he met Jayce’s. That one exchanged look between the two men, the look before the end of everything.
Viktor had been terrified of death for so long. He always knew he had been living on borrowed time. As he had felt his body eroding, he had become desperate, like some caged animal. He had done… all this.
No, no matter how much Viktor had told himself he was ready to face death, he knew he never was, not really. But now it was different. Now he wasn’t facing it alone. He knew this one act couldn’t make up for all the pain he’d caused, all the wrong he had done. But he hoped it could right things, just a little, towards the path of rebuilding. And he hoped that he hadn’t burdened Jayce.
‘No, never,’ those sunchaser eyes answered back.
A lull of energy. In the next moment it would be done. Jayce silently reached over and cradled Viktor’s neck, as he drew him in. Viktor let Jayce’s movement guide him closer to his partner. Their foreheads pressed against each other. No, this was no burden. The two men knew each other’s hearts too well to leave any room for doubt.
They would finish things together, like they always promised.
A final burst of energy as the rune exploded into nothing. It was a strange sensation. Viktor felt the final wave of energy, freezing and scalding at the same time. For an instant of an instant, each small beam of energy ripped a part of him away, each sailing into a different direction. This feeling… of being in a million places at once while being nowhere at all… it was not unlike how Viktor had felt when controlling those he had transformed. But this was still magnitudes more intense. If he had had the time to think, Viktor would have wondered if this feeling- familiar to him- scared Jayce, inexperienced as the slightly younger man was in such things.
Then a great, gulping current. Every bit of matter and energy was instantaneously yanked back to where the rune had just been. White energy soaked up everything in an instant.
“This is a poor use of our time.”
Confusion. Jayce didn’t know where he was.
“I’m a counselor now, Viktor.”
Did he say that? His body felt so far off, operating off instincts that had been pounded into him for nearly a decade now. He felt built-up energy buzz within his body, putting up some barrier between his mind and his body. The rune, the explosion in non-space, Viktor… Viktor.
“There are people who need our help now, Jayce.” That had been Viktor, hadn’t it?
A man in an enforcer uniform walked into the cavernous room. “You wanted to see me,” the man said. Jayce strutted towards him, his actions playing out like some routine he had practiced, one his body refused to deviate from. “Have your people ever reviewed these logs?”
“Mr. Talis, I assure you-“
“Councilor.”
The enforcer’s mustached face hid a grimace. Jayce felt the distinct impression that he was being talked down to, like a child.
“And the only assurance I need is that you will search and seize any unauthorized merchandise. I’ve made a list of suspicious transactions.” Jayce pressed the clipboard he just now realized he was carrying into Sheriff Marcus.
“With all due respect, councilor, today’s your first day,” the sheriff bemoaned.
“Second.” What was going on. He was talking with Sheriff Marcus, but the sheriff was…
“Marcus? This isn’t right; you’re dead.” Marcus stiffened. Had Jayce said that last part out loud? “Was that a threat? You may be a counselor now, Talis, but do not think for a second you can threaten me or my family,” the sheriff hissed. Shit.
“I came here to update you about the gemstone thief,” Marcus said coldly and quickly. He produced a fist-sized metal cylinder, scrawled over with bright crayon. “We found this. It’s from the Firelights, a gang in the Undercity. I have my best officers tracking them down.”
Jayce fought against whatever instincts were pulling at him, screaming at him to do this all again. The buzzing in his brain, his blood, his muscles, it finally began to quiet to a simmer. The distance between his mind and actions began to close. Jayce waved Marcus off, who quickly left. Jayce finally registered where he was, too. This was the heart of the Hexgates. Canisters of Hextech crystals lined the towering walls far above and below the central metal walkway he was standing on. Everything was wreathed in an ethereal blue glow.
Guttural, wet coughing sounded behind Jayce. He turned around to see Viktor, leaning over the far side of the metal railing. “Viktor!” Jayce raced to the other side of the circular walkway. His hands laced around Viktor’s shoulders, steadying the shorter man. Jayce held his breath. Was this really Viktor? His Viktor? Had some twist of fate thrown them back in time, into some different reality all too similar to their own?
“Jayce…” Viktor’s voice was soft, almost a whisper. “…are you real?” The thin man turned his head to Jayce. Blood dripped down his nose and chin. The two men locked eyes, Viktor’s gaze panicked and resigned. “Yes, Viktor! I’m real.” Jayce’s heart pounded. Every emotion washed over him at once: relief, dread, affection, excitement… “I’m here.”
Viktor’s amber eyes softened with relief. “Jayce. It’s really you.” Viktor leaned back into the railing, soft blue light reflecting off his face. “The rune- by all accounts we should be dead.”
“But we aren’t.”
“No, this is-“ Viktor searched his vision, desperate for some explanation, some rationalization.
“This is a second chance, Viktor,” Jayce said, eager to take hold of this twist of fate. Viktor’s grip on the railing tightened. He didn’t share Jayce’s enthusiasm. No, his expression only sunk into something cold and exhausted.
“It is one I do not deserve. After everything I have done, after everything I failed to do-“
“After everything we failed to do,” Jayce insisted. “I let you down, Viktor. I betrayed you and I betrayed our dream. You can’t just blame yourself.”
“Do not drag yourself into my sorrow, Talis. Grief does not suit you.” Viktor sighed. “Death would have been a mercy for me.”
“Don’t say that, never say that.” Jayce tightened his grip on Viktor’s shoulder, unable to bear the pain in the pale man’s voice. Viktor turned to face Jayce. His face was sunken, resigned, but Jayce thought he saw a twinge of hope, of yearning in Viktor’s eyes. Maybe it was just wishful thinking on Jayce’s part, but he had to believe that there was some hope deep within his partner that could be coaxed out.
“I have always been forced to struggle against time,” Viktor began. He said the words slowly, deliberately, weighing each one. “Love and legacy, I realized, are things someone like me simply cannot afford, not in the end. I don’t want to place that burden upon you, Jayce. You have ambition, optimism, kindness… You have all the time and admiration in the world. Do not waste it on me. I have proven myself unworthy of it.”
Jayce couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “That night after the explosion at my old lab, when we first met face to face,” Jayce explained. “You saved my life that night. Without you I wouldn’t be here, Hextech wouldn’t be here.” The words continued to spill out like a torrent. “I have always admired you, Viktor. Your singular drive, your commitment to building a better future no matter the obstacles. I’m sorry I left so much unsaid. You were always my better half, Viktor.” Viktor’s eyes squinted shut, and he leaned into Jayce’s shoulder. His crutch clattered to the ground. Jayce wrapped his arms around the frail man, pulling him close. “You deserve the world, Viktor. If only I could give it to you.”
There was a long moment, one spent simply in each other’s arms. Viktor finally spoke, quietly. “Jayce, it was my greatest joy to work towards a better future with you, with what time I had left.” Viktor sighed. “We labored so long for that future, but it was always an uphill battle against the council and its politics. When you left to join the council, I was alone.”
“I know. I left you when you needed me most, and I didn’t realize until it was too late. Gods, I was so stupid.” Jayce let out a long sigh. Another long pause. Finally Viktor spoke, hesitation tinged in his voice. “Would you really take this ‘second chance,’ you called it? You would have me, after everything?”
“Yes, a hundred times yes. I’d take however you are any day. So long as you’ll have me, too,” Jayce replied. Viktor scoffed under his breath, giving that brief, barely-raised smile he so often did. “You are golden, Jayce. I… I will always hope to be worthy of you.”
The two men locked eyes. Jayce’s heart began to pound again. Their faces were so close together now. Jayce could… No, now wasn’t the time for that. Jayce still felt like- well like he’d just been thrown into another reality. Viktor probably felt even worse. “B-blood, your chin,” Jayce stammered, suddenly re-remembering the blood that had trickled out of Viktor’s mouth and nose. “Oh.” Viktor reached into his pocket and pulled out a handkerchief, which he drew to his face.
“Here, let me.” Jayce took the handkerchief from Viktor, and gently wiped the now partly-dried blood from his face. “We should get you cleaned up at my apartment,” Jayce said. Viktor nodded wordlessly, taking back the handkerchief and tucking it away. Jayce kept one arm out to steady Viktor as he bent down to pick up the man’s crutch. He handed it to Viktor, who quickly slipped it under his arm with rehearsed ease.
Both men headed to the exit, side by side. Jayce place a reassuring hand on Viktor’s shoulder as they walked. A second chance, Jayce thought to himself, one with Viktor in it, one where we can truly work for the future we both want.