The latest experiment that Viktor was working on privately was a metal platform with spires on it, similar to the expansion of the anomaly that Heimerdinger had created in another world. This one was different since it was not made with repurposed junk and was quite a bit stronger since each of the spires had two hextech gems installed in each of them. But since the arcane is outside of time, this is a different world with a very similar timeline to other ones.
Beyond the similarity of Viktor being in this timeline, there was the same old lab. The one they had used before they were funded. It was cramped and small, and bore many scorch marks from previous occupants. There could be a hex core in this timeline, but it has not been created yet. There is no violet light glowing from Viktor's shoddy desk. It's nighttime where he is, and the Jayce of this timeline had already gone back to his new apartment to study for his exams.
So he was alone with only goggles on to protect his eyes, and now he turned the machine on.
Jayce knew now what needed to be done. What needed to be changed to stop Piltover—and the world—from becoming a wasteland filled with empty carcasses and regret. He knew what to do to reach his friend, the love of his life. If he could manage to do so, that still wasn't clear; his body and soul hurt, and it would take practically a miracle to change the Herald's mind. But this is what this chance was. The gift of time travel, another attempt at fixing a many wrongs. Another chance to see Viktor.
The familiar smell of ozone reached his nostrils as magic gathered around him. He looked at older Viktor for the last time, feeling both wonder in his chest and incredible pain; he never thought he would have the chance to see his partner grow old. His image was fading, but the man's words and advice resonated in his mind. Jayce had a mission, and he was determined not to fail.
Too bad that the universe always had creative ways of telling him to go fuck himself.
The spell was transporting him across time and space, and then something...happened. He couldn't pinpoint what; this kind of wild magic was unpredictable, but he could sense that there was something else interfering. Something was pulling him towards a different direction, as if an invisible force was reaching out towards the very fabric of the universe and tugging.
From his end, after turning the machine on, Viktor would see swirling magic forming around the machine in odd, web-like patterns. There were coils of electricity crackling and making the small tools, the occasional pen, and the papers on his desk and other surfaces tremble and start to float a few feet in the air. It was followed by is a quick flash of light that might have blinded the scientist for a second, even with his trusted goggles.
The pen and other gadgets dropped from the air, making a clinking sound as they hit the floor and rolled around. It wasn't the only thing that made a loud thud; there was a dull sound like a body dropping accompanied by a heavy, metallic clank. The energy was still cracking but slowly diminishing, this time surrounding a figure hunched over. He was human in shape, with mismatched and dirtied clothes and disheveled long hair falling over sunken eyes, piercing gold in color. Jayce was holding himself upright but barely, with one knee on the floor, his hand wrapped around the hilt of the butterfly-shaped hammer, panting harshly.
It's possible that Viktor made this experiment too strong. When things from papers to abandoned tea cups started floating for a moment, Viktor started to float just a little bit too. Once everything crashed back down, he ended up sprawled on the floor, and the bright light was more than the goggles could handle, so Viktor ended up throwing his arms up over his head. He had the fleeting thought that he was about to die because, after all, he had seen the destructive power of a single hex crystal.
When the light dissipated, there were still blue sparkles shining in the air as they settled around the form of a man kneeling there in the midst of the machine. Now that was definitely not what Viktor had been going for. Sitting upright, Viktor pushed his goggles up onto the top of his head.
"... Hello? I would ask if you are all right, but I think, given the fact that you were not supposed to be here, that is probably a stupid question."
Viktor had made his experiment strong enough to influence the arcane on a time-line and inter-dimensional scale, but Jayce didn't realize it just yet. All he knew was that one moment he was atop the ruin of the Hextower from a macabre future, and the next he was kneeling on the floor of a very real, still-in-one-piece lab. That ad made no sense. He should be back at the basement of the Hextower from his own time line.
Even while the magic still sizzled around him and his vision swam due to his exhaustion and nausea, he could tell he was in the wrong place. He tried to stand straighter, injured leg protesting every movement even as he soldiered on, resting plenty of his weight on the hammer. The head made a distinctive metallic sound as it scraped against the floor while Jayce turned around to face the owner of that voice.
It sounded familiar; he would know that accent anywhere, except it was not clogged with pain. It wasn't raspy or exhausted due to lack of air or pain brought by a disease. Jayce almost dropped the hammer when his eyes landed on the other man.
Viktor.
He had wanted to see him again for so long, to talk to him, to apologize, and to tell him a million things that were always left unsaid between them. Gold eyes widened in shock as he took in the view of his partner. Younger, healthier. As beautiful as Jayce remembers him being when they first met - not like the man wasn't still striking to his eyes nowadays. But this was wrong.
"You're not my Viktor." Was all he managed to say before his eyes rolled back into his skull and he collapsed onto the floor.
Viktor hadn't recognized Jayce until he spoke. Now, with a tone of awe, Viktor reached up to slowly remove the goggles from on top of his head
"...Jayce?"
There wasn't time to try to make sense of the bearded, shaggy, dirty, and disheveled apparition that Jayce had become before his eyes rolled up into his head, and Jayce passed out.
"Jayce!"
Viktor managed to pull himself forward with both arms and quickly checked Jayce's pulse. It was steady, so now Viktor just had to worry that something might have happened to his brain. It made as much sense as this Jayce being teleported not just somewhere else but some when else, because this Jayce was clearly older than the student who had gone back to his apartment to study. He was too big for Viktor to be able to move on his own, so he did the best that he could by bringing a pillow for Jayce's head, then a bowl of water and a cloth to start wiping the grime from Jayce's hands. They were filthy, as though he had been hauling himself through dirt by hand.
"What has happened to you?"
His words were rhetorical and quietly spoken to himself as he sat on the floor with his bad leg extended next to his cane, while the other one was bent at the knee in what should be a lotus position.
Being unconscious was a blessing, a respite from the terrifying images flashing through his mind of empty corpses and twisted automatons from a dead world. It was a reprieve that never lasted. In these last months when he had been stranded in time and he had passed out from pain or hunger, he always came back to the same ruined future. Maybe this was all another dream, another nightmare.
But even in this state of half-sleep, half-awake, Jayce could feel the comfort of someone's touch, the cold of a damp cloth cleaning his hands. While checking for his pulse, Viktor might see that the bracelet Jayce always wore was gone now, the rune fused to his wrist, surrounded by a mesh of webbed magic patterns.
Jayce groaned, eyes still screwed shut, and his breath came out a bit ragged. He shook his head like that would help dislodge the terrifying images from his mind, to no avail; he glitched while lying on Viktor's lap, and then he went still. He had to come back to the world of the living properly, and after a few minutes, his glazed-over eyes opened.
Dry, cut lips curled into a small smile when he met Viktor's own, the golden brown color in them making Jayce's eyes misty with unshed tears. He had missed that color so much. A calloused hand with bandages wrapped around the palm reached up to cradle the other man's cheek. Viktor still felt a bit cold under his palm, but real.
"Viktor, you're okay...." He muttered, his voice strained but filled with the sort of hope that has always been Jayce's doom because things never went as he wanted them to. "Where...when am I? Did we...is Hextech a thing?"
Viktor felt cold to the touch because it was both cold outside (and therefore in the lab) and because the blood had drained from his face when Jayce glitched. It was like the echo of another ghostly person next to him for an instant. Now it was less of a burning curiosity and more of a need to know what had happened to Jayce and what Viktor would need to do in response to it in order to keep Jayce firmly attached to this world.
Viktor raised his hands to where Jayce's was pressed against his cheek and gently guided it away so that he could wipe it down with the cloth.
"We have. We are not yet funded, but there are already some investors on the council who are interested. Jayce, I know that you are not okay, but I need to know what happened to you?"
The magic coursing through his body was still a little bit haywire at the moment. Jayce imagined that it would eventually stabilize once he got back to his right time, but he wasn't in it. He was a bit lost about what to do; this threw a wrench into his plans, but it also gave him a new chance to talk to Viktor.
"You can't...we can't do that. The investors, the towers, don't let it happen. It will only doom us all. We can't continue with this." He let Viktor clean his face, sighing softly, surprised by the kindness. It's been so long without a gentle touch, without proper company, that it helped to ease the painful sensation constricting his chest. He only allowed himself a moment, though; he could not waste time.
Jayce tried to stand up only to get dizzy again; his head was hurting. The splitting headache made him grunt out and press the heel of his hand against his face, eyes screwing shut in pain.
"I don't think this is where I should be. I was...the arcane, hextech. It went wild; we corrupted it by abusing it with our demands. With the Hexgates. It lashed out and brought me to a different future.Now I'm here and I need, I need ...there's so much to fix."
"Jayce, you need to sit down. Please? Before you fall down."
Viktor had to use his cane to get to a standing position after sitting on the floor, but when he could, Viktor pushed on Jayce's shoulders, guiding him into taking a seat on the platform.
"You are not making sense. What do you mean that there is so much to fix?"
Surprisingly enough, Viktor could accept the idea that the Arcane itself was capable of a complex emotional response, since he already had the theory that Hextech would be able to learn and therefore evolve. Clearly, that theory was correct. And just as clearly, it had awful results if the state that this Jayce was in was anything to go by.
Viktor also had to figure out how it would be possible to return Jayce to his own timeline. From what Viktor understood about temporal physics, a person could not go back and forth on their own timeline. But they could go side to side since time was not a linear progression for the Arcane. Instead, it was like a vast and always-moving river, with similar timelines creating different branch universes of possibilities.
Jayce shook his head, not to brush off Viktor's concerns and suggestion, but to try and clear it. The flashing images of the horrors he had seen in the distant future scrambled his mind, and, worst of all, the memory of what Viktor was becoming because of him left guilt nagging at his gut like a knife stab.
It was the familiar tap-tap of Viktor's cane as he stood close to him that brought Jayce's racing thoughts to a stop, and he turned to look at the other man, really look at him. The concern in Viktor's eyes, something he hadn't seen in so long, almost brought tears to Jayce's own and threatened to collapse any composure he had left. His badly healed leg was shooting pain up from his ankle to his hip from the strain, so he grit his teeth and didn't argue when Viktor redirected him to a chair. He limped when he moved, which the other man might notice. He dragged the hammer along, holding it a bit limp in his hand but unwilling to part with it, let alone let something else happen.
"In my present, your future, things are...bad. Hextech was a success, but it has caused more dangers than we could have imagined, and too many people have died for it. And more might die. I was... I'm supposed to stop that from happening. I don't know how I ended up here instead."
He looked around the lab, both confused by the familiarity and relieved for it, and then his eyes landed on a metal platform with spires on it. Hm.
Viktor could surmise that it was something to do with Hextech, though. He noticed that Jayce limped his way to a chair, and the makeshift brace on one of his legs.
"The Jayce that I know, my Jayce, went back to his new apartment to study for exams. I don't know how you would have been transported here if you were not already in the midst of being transported somewhere else? I think what happened is that I was experimenting with the machine, which meant it was a powerful, if artificial, connection to the Arcane itself and that diverted you from your timeline."
Viktor's lips thinned as he thought through the puzzle of this Jayce appearing. He retrieved the cloth and bowl of water, set that on the desk beside Jayce, and brought over his rolling stool to pick up where he had left off in cleaning Jayce's hands.
"A mistake. A big, dangerous mistake." One that they desperately wanted it to be good, to help others, and to save Viktor. It had only brought them more misery. "We built it, following your design, to help us reach a new understanding about magic. It was supposed to be a revolutionary next step to hextech, to make it something adaptable and able to evolve. But something went wrong."
He kept the details vague, not wanting to say too much for fear of how much that could interest Viktor or alarm him.
"Let's just say it was unstable; that it took more than it could ever give. Unchecked power leading to catastrophic consequences that infected the mind."
Viktor's mind, to be more precise, but it wasn't as if Jayce was the pinnacle of mental health at the moment. He had also been distracted, pulled in too many directions at once trying to please everyone, to minimize the damage of a conflict that was out of hand, and he ended up failing everyone as a result.
"Don't tell him that I'm here. I don't know how that could mess up our timelines. You and I already shouldn't be talking, but..."
He thought of his old self, the one Vikto talked about, studying in his apartment and being none the wiser. Oh, to be that hopeful and carefree again. But Jayce knew better. He was older, tired, and way more jaded, with a wild look in his tired eyes that spoke of the horrors he had seen, the ones he helped to create.
"That seems like a correct theory. I felt a strange sort of pull; when the teleportation spell was active, it hadn't happened before."
He jumped slightly when hands and a wet cloth brushed against his scarred skin, fingers twitching. His expression went from shock to guarded, to softening after letting out a shaky breath. It had been so long without a gentle touch that he didn't fully know how to handle it now, despite how much Jayce might need it.
"I crawled my way out of a pit, from the bowels of Zaun to the highest tower of Piltover." It was a bit more complicated than just that, but Viktor didn't deserve to be burdened with Jayce's pathetic life story.
Viktor only felt a sense of cold dread at Jayce's description of the hex core. Something that would affect the mind rather than the body was something that Viktor would be most frightened of.
"It will be difficult to keep you a secret, but I do agree that it will have major ramifications on his timeline and yours if he knows about your presence."
Viktor is a terrible liar to begin with and even worse at lying to Jayce
"After accidentally pulling you off course while you were in the midst of teleporting to another world, this is the least that I can do."
Viktor glanced down at Jayce's leg, the one with the brace.
"Are you still injured? You were able to walk, but I could tell you were limping. I don't have very much, but there is at least a shower that you could use in my dorm room. It is equipped with a bench that you could sit down on to get cleaned up."
Which was Viktor's very polite way of telling Jayce that he needed a bath.
He had to snort at that. Both because he knew exactly how bad of a liar Viktor was and because 'major ramifications' was putting it shortly. Maybe if he were a braver man, he would tell Viktor about how this world might be better without him, both his past self and present self. The other Jayce was in the right time—and the ruined man was standing before Viktor. If he did not think that logically, it would not be possible due to the grandfather paradox; he might even try to take his younger self out of the picture and then himself to make sure Hextech really never comes to exist.
If Jayce's heart didn't ache at the mere idea, he would tell Viktor to stay away from him so he had another chance at living a normal life, as short as that might be. But he couldn't do that, not when Viktor didn't hate him, when he still looked at him with concern and care. His partner, his friend, the only ones guiding him through the darkest of nights. It was taking all of Jayceas willpower not to reach out and grasp at him, pull him into a hug.
Instead, he had to huff at Viktor's polite calling out. He hadn't had access to an actual shower in months, and he didn't complain because having at least some water to drink was lucky enough. But now that the offer was there, it was hard to say no. Even if his time in the future had hardened Jayce, and his looks were very fair proof of that, he would still like to feel clean.
There was another moment of hesitation. He had a mission, and he shouldn't waste time on himself. But he also had no idea how to get to the right timeline. Viktor's machine would be his best chance, but it might need adjustments to ensure it sent him to the right place instead of blowing him up instantly. His mental state really was in no condition to start doing the necessary mathematical calculations and rune choosing required for such a task, not at the moment. He couldn't remember the last time he had a good rest, not with the way his leg constantly hurt or the fear of Herald's mannequins lurking while he was trapped at the bottom of the cliff.
"I can walk." Not well and not fast, but he didn't want to bother Viktor further. He also did not give a real answer to the question about his injuries; his leg was an ugly, scarred mess mixed with arcane webbing, and he could imagine that the scar on his back would look just as bad.
Jayce was also less prone to talk nowadays than his younger self. His voice almost felt strange to his ears after so long with no one to speak to; it was more gruff and hoarse, but not because he tried to sound unkind. He forced himself to give the other man a smile; it didn't reach his red-rimmed eyes, but luckily the gratitude was still very obvious in them.
"I'm sorry to burden you with this...but yes, a shower and a rest sound like heaven. Lead the way? I'll follow you."
Viktor waved a hand absently and waved away any of Jayce's apologies with it. It would be easier to hide this version of Jayce in his dorm room since he was the RA for his floor and thus he did not have a roommate.
"I'll try to find some clean clothes that will fit you while you are getting cleaned up."
The dorm was not far from the lab that they had started out in, but it was a bit of a walk. At least it was late, and there were very few people moving around at this hour. More than once, Viktor had to go ahead into the halls to make sure they were empty before he would wave Jayce to come forward. Using the elevator was a bit of a worry since there was no telling who they would encounter as they rode to the correct floor. The stairs might have been safer, but neither of them had legs to navigate them. Luck was with them in this, at least, because there was no one at the top waiting for the elevator to come up.
Once inside Viktor's room, he was able to shut and lock the door on the rest of the world, and just being able to do so helped him feel a little less stressed. There wasn't much to the room, with only a single free-standing wardrobe, a desk, and a bed. There was a used gramophone sitting silently on the corner of the desk, and beyond that, there was a single very large window with all types of plants in pots sitting on the windowsill and on the floor just inside it. The window was large enough that it took up most of one wall, so the line of potted plants crammed onto the sill was fairly long.
"I've only got the one towel, and that certainly won't be enough for you."
Viktor looked Jayce over from head to toe thoughtfully. Then he turned to the bed and pulled back the blanket to get at the sheet that was neatly tucked in. He pulled that from the bed and held it out toward Jayce.
"Here you could use this too. There is a shower bench that you will be able to sit down on already in the tub."
If someone saw them, it wouldn't be the first time they were caught sneaking Jayce into this room, except now it would be real instead of a rushed excuse fabricated to get Mel off their backs as they tried to break into Heimerdinger's face. As for the clothes, Jayce has lost some weight and muscle; living on salamanders wasn't a healthy diet, so Viktor might have less difficulty than usual finding clothes that suit him.
"That would be very appreciated, thank you, Viktor." It went without saying that he had been wearing the same ragged clothes for a while now, and they're falling apart and uncomfortable.
As they walked, or rather limped, Jayce's eyebrows furrowed close as if he was in pain; he occasionally brought a hand up to his temple or tugged at his hair in an attempt to center himself. The terrifying vision of the automatons was subsiding, but the occasional flash still caused him pain. Nevertheless, he followed quickly when Viktor told him so and tried to remain as 'in present' as his mind was able at the moment.
Everything looked so normal and familiar, even though it was the right time. No people screaming beyond the walls, in outrage or claiming justice because of the latest rising tensions. No mothers losing their sons. No chemtanks breaking into the building to cause a massacre. This was such a happier time, even though they still went through some rough moments, that Jayce's heart ached every time he glanced at Viktor. While standing inside the elevator, finding himself exhausted now that the adrenaline had faded a bit, he wanted to reach out, even if it was to hold his hands or touch his shoulder one last time. That might just confuse the other man and make him uncomfortable; he had already given Viktor enough surprises for one evening, so he refrained, his fingers tightening around the handle of his hammer.
Inside the room, looking around, Jayce allowed himself to smile for the first time in literal months. It almost hurt too, as if his facial muscles needed a minute to remember how it was done. The room, especially the plants, screamed Viktor back at him, and that was so comforting he could cry.
He walked over to see the view outside the window, to watch his beloved city and find it whole and thriving at least one last time. When a moment later Viktor sized him and offered him the sheet, he blinked at him owlishly, surprised.
"Oh, are you sure you won't need that? I could air-dry."
And of course, Viktor had a shower bench, safe and practical. And that was exactly what Jayce desperately needed. After a moment, he took the sheet, giving in and letting their fingers brush together. He was staring at Viktor's eyes when he spoke next.
"I'm sorry for abusing your hospitality, but I really needed a friend. I really...needed you. Always did."
Viktor shook his head at Jayce's question about the sheet.
"No, I don't need the sheet tonight, and I can just wash it and the towel tomorrow. But it is also not terribly good at absorbing water, so if you use both of them together, it should be okay. I also don't think you would want to wander around naked until you air dry."
Even though it was very obvious that Jayce had gone through a harrowing experience that had changed him, Viktor still wouldn't be capable of keeping his hands to himself if Jayce were just wandering around naked for hours. When Jayce's fingers brushed against his own while he was trying to hand over the sheet, it might be Viktor's imagination that they seemed to linger for too long. Of course, Jace looking into his eyes with as much intensity as he did made it seem like it hadn't been Viktor's imagination at all. The statement definitely caught him offguard, too. Viktor didn't know what to say to that, and he felt his face growing hot with a blush.
"Always so logical and practical," Jayce said, but it sounded like praise, because it was. Logical, practical, and caring—that was Viktor. "You've seen me shirtless plenty of times, but I'll do as you suggested."
Both because it was proper and because Jayce's body is probably not much of a pretty sight, considering the scars on his back and leg. And though the options had been laid out, and there was a hot shower waiting for him, Jayce found himself reluctant to move away. He did not want Viktor out of his sight if he could help it.
He wanted to tell his partner the full truth, tell him how his other self was blissfully unaware of his own feelings for Viktor, but they still existed; it was only a matter of time until the other Jayce saw things like he did. The path that led there was also filled with destruction and pain, and he wanted to spare Viktor of that, but this is a younger version of the man he knew, and that complicated things.
Then he noticed the color on the man's usually pale cheeks, and that finally pulled him out of his stupor.
"Umm. I'll...go get clean. Thank you again for all this, Viktor. I know I'm a virtual stranger to you and that all this seems crazy, but you're the only reason I'm still alive."
In more than one way, at that. He wasn't simply talking about Viktor stopping him from jumping off his ruined apartment; Viktor's memory also helped him while in the ruined future. He couldn't give up back then; he had all these unsaid things between them that Jayce needed to tell him. Just not now.
He gave a small, last nod and then moved into the bathroom, trying not to grip the sheet too tightly as to not stain it before he could get all the grime off of him.
Well, now Viktor had even more questions. But after Jayce closed the bathroom door, Viktor seemed to come out of his trance and blinked a few times. He didn't linger in his dorm room but instead went back across campus to the laundry.
This sort of thing had been new to Viktor, but apparently, the places that the privileged send their children to learn came fully equipped with housekeeping services. Fortunately, Viktor was on good terms with the washer women that ran the massive machines that washed and dried clothes on an industrial scale since most of them lived in Zaun while working in Piltover. He hadn't corrected the ribbing that he was getting about a romantic conquest, for trying to find clean clothes in Jayce's size.
When he returned to the dorm room, Jayce was still in the shower, so he left the set of folded clothes (without shoes since he couldn't think of a good excuse for needing shoes too) at the foot of his bed. He wasn't so heartless that he couldn't feel any compassion for the obviously harrowing experience that had brought this older version of Jayce here, but he still sat down in his chair to wait. Clean, clothed, and seated, he could allow. But after that, he and Jayce were going to need to have a serious talk. Not least of which was how they were going to get this version of Jayce back to his own timeline.
Alone in the bathroom, Jayce took a good look at himself for the first time in a long time so he could catalog the changes, the new scars, and the lost weight. He didn't like what he saw, but it was pretty much the sight he expected. Maybe not the haunted look in his eyes when he stared down at himself in the mirror, though; that was jarringly new. He looked away quickly, feeling every muscle and bone ache with his movements as he started to undress, not wanting to waste time and keep Viktor waiting.
Unfortunately, even undressing felt like an exhausting chore now that the adrenaline had faded and his leg was protesting. Thank god for that bench; Jayce was sure he would have either slipped or his knee would have folded five minutes into the tub, and the last thing Viktor needed was to deal with him concussed. He already sounded like a madman; it was a miracle the other man hadn't just called the enforcers to take him away in a straightjacket.
The hot water was such a welcome blessing that Jayce could have cried. He had the horrible fear that he might just be hallucinating all this too and would wake up at any moment down at the bottom of the ravine.
Getting clean took longer than he wanted as well; he had to wash his hair thoroughly twice to get rid of all the grime, and his body wasn't much better. His leg looked awful under the bathroom light, mostly because this was the clearest look Jayce had been able to give it and not because the wound was infected or anything of the sort. It was scarred strangely in arcane patterns, the skin multicolored like his wrist where his rune had fused with his skin. I looked alien and ugly, and even though Jayce thought he was well past that, it still made him self-conscious.
He dried himself as well as he could with the towel and the sheets, covering himself with the last one from the waist down, hiding as much of his legs under it as possible. There was no hiding the diagonal scars on his back and shoulder, so he didn't bother. Glancing at the mirror one last time, he wished for a shave, but even if Viktor did not mind if he borrowed his toiletries, Jayce's hands were not steady enough for the task. Too little sleep, too much stress.
When he opened the door of the bathroom just enough to look tentatively around the room, his eyes still did a double take when they landed on Viktor. So, not a hallucination then. Despite his old—well, not that old now—partner already looking like he meant business as he waited, Jayce couldn't help the soft smile that appeared on his lips and the obvious relief in his eyes.
"Hey." He said, still not exactly feeling very talkative but feeling like the complete silence would be worse.
He was reluctant to step out of the bathroom fully because of how he looked, but he also could not half hide behind the door forever. Mentally sighing, Jayce stepped out and into the room proper.
"Your shower is wonderful; I can't remember the last time I could enjoy hot water. Or soap, for that matter."
When Jayce came into the room properly, Viktor leaned toward his desk and picked up the deli paper still wrapped around half of the sandwich he bought for his lunch.
"I don't know if you are even hungry, but I am afraid this is the best that I can do in the middle of the night. I was able to get you some clean clothes, and those are at the foot of the bed. I can turn my back on you while you get dressed."
But he was not going to rise from that chair. The younger Jayce of his time wouldn't have much in the way of modesty, but whatever had happened over the course of years to make this Jayce so unrecognizable made Viktor feel like they were strangers to each other now. Clean and fed and safely squirreled away in Viktor's dorm room, he would allow, but even then, they still would have no time to lose before they needed to send this Jayce to his own timeline.
It took Jayce less than a second to figure out what Viktor was trying to do when he saw the man pick up a familiar-looking wrapping paper. He almost shook his head in fondness, because Viktor not eating regularly due to work, disinterest, or obliviousness was as normal as it was painful to see. Instead he raised one of his hands, despite knowing that eating—not now, but eventually—might do him good.
"Thank you, but no. I can't believe you didn't even finish this one. Did other me at least chide you about it?" Jayce said with a small tone of amusement, but he hoped the other Jayce did. Viktor needed the food and energy more than Jayce did, even now at his lowest.
"Besides, I'm still too anxious; you know how my stomach gets. We would be seeing the food too soon again if I tried to eat."
And the last thing he wanted was to make a mess of Viktor's room; he had already made a poor first impression when he appeared. The clothes, though, got a surprised and grateful look. "Those are perfect, V. And, uhm, that...yes, if you don't mind."
Turning around as he got dressed, Jayce meant, as he approached the foot of the bed and avoided looking at Viktor. He had changed; he knew it, and it was a painful fact for both of them. He wished he could fix the growing chasm between his partner and him, both here and in the future, but it wasn't an immediate process. Jayce briefly looked over his shoulder with a wary look, shoulders relaxing when he indeed saw that Viktor wasn't looking at him, even if guilt also gnawed at him.
"It's not that I don't trust you..." He murmured softly as he worked on putting the trousers on first, careful not to lose his balance. It was harder than he liked, with his busted leg. "I don't mind you looking at me; it's just...I don't exactly make a pretty sight."
The younger version of Jayce had mentioned that he should really finish the whole sandwich, not just half, and Viktor had waved it away as Jayce's tendency to be a mother hen. It was paradoxically comforting and disconcerting to hear the same thing echo across the years. Even with his back now turned, Viktor snorted at Jayce's statement that he didn't make a pretty sight.
"Even if you are horribly disfigured by scars all over your body, you are still the same Jayce Talis that I know, and that much has not changed over the years that are separating us."
Viktor did not turn back around until he heard Jayce sit down opposite him on the bed.
"As you are the same Jayce Talis that I know, you must be aware that your presence alone is altering this timeline from the events that you remember happening. It won't be possible to try to send you back to your own time tonight, but we will both have to send you back as soon as we are able. But the important thing right now is how I will explain your presence to the other version of you that is here already. I agree that you should not interact too much. But as close as we are, it will not be possible for me to keep you a secret."
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Date: 2025-12-19 12:56 am (UTC)Beyond the similarity of Viktor being in this timeline, there was the same old lab. The one they had used before they were funded. It was cramped and small, and bore many scorch marks from previous occupants. There could be a hex core in this timeline, but it has not been created yet. There is no violet light glowing from Viktor's shoddy desk. It's nighttime where he is, and the Jayce of this timeline had already gone back to his new apartment to study for his exams.
So he was alone with only goggles on to protect his eyes, and now he turned the machine on.
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Date: 2025-12-22 06:25 pm (UTC)amany wrongs. Another chance to see Viktor.The familiar smell of ozone reached his nostrils as magic gathered around him. He looked at older Viktor for the last time, feeling both wonder in his chest and incredible pain; he never thought he would have the chance to see his partner grow old. His image was fading, but the man's words and advice resonated in his mind. Jayce had a mission, and he was determined not to fail.
Too bad that the universe always had creative ways of telling him to go fuck himself.
The spell was transporting him across time and space, and then something...happened. He couldn't pinpoint what; this kind of wild magic was unpredictable, but he could sense that there was something else interfering. Something was pulling him towards a different direction, as if an invisible force was reaching out towards the very fabric of the universe and tugging.
From his end, after turning the machine on, Viktor would see swirling magic forming around the machine in odd, web-like patterns. There were coils of electricity crackling and making the small tools, the occasional pen, and the papers on his desk and other surfaces tremble and start to float a few feet in the air. It was followed by is a quick flash of light that might have blinded the scientist for a second, even with his trusted goggles.
The pen and other gadgets dropped from the air, making a clinking sound as they hit the floor and rolled around. It wasn't the only thing that made a loud thud; there was a dull sound like a body dropping accompanied by a heavy, metallic clank. The energy was still cracking but slowly diminishing, this time surrounding a figure hunched over. He was human in shape, with mismatched and dirtied clothes and disheveled long hair falling over sunken eyes, piercing gold in color. Jayce was holding himself upright but barely, with one knee on the floor, his hand wrapped around the hilt of the butterfly-shaped hammer, panting harshly.
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Date: 2025-12-23 07:41 pm (UTC)When the light dissipated, there were still blue sparkles shining in the air as they settled around the form of a man kneeling there in the midst of the machine. Now that was definitely not what Viktor had been going for. Sitting upright, Viktor pushed his goggles up onto the top of his head.
"... Hello? I would ask if you are all right, but I think, given the fact that you were not supposed to be here, that is probably a stupid question."
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Date: 2025-12-28 11:11 pm (UTC)Even while the magic still sizzled around him and his vision swam due to his exhaustion and nausea, he could tell he was in the wrong place. He tried to stand straighter, injured leg protesting every movement even as he soldiered on, resting plenty of his weight on the hammer. The head made a distinctive metallic sound as it scraped against the floor while Jayce turned around to face the owner of that voice.
It sounded familiar; he would know that accent anywhere, except it was not clogged with pain. It wasn't raspy or exhausted due to lack of air or pain brought by a disease. Jayce almost dropped the hammer when his eyes landed on the other man.
Viktor.
He had wanted to see him again for so long, to talk to him, to apologize, and to tell him a million things that were always left unsaid between them. Gold eyes widened in shock as he took in the view of his partner. Younger, healthier. As beautiful as Jayce remembers him being when they first met - not like the man wasn't still striking to his eyes nowadays. But this was wrong.
"You're not my Viktor." Was all he managed to say before his eyes rolled back into his skull and he collapsed onto the floor.
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Date: 2025-12-29 12:26 am (UTC)"...Jayce?"
There wasn't time to try to make sense of the bearded, shaggy, dirty, and disheveled apparition that Jayce had become before his eyes rolled up into his head, and Jayce passed out.
"Jayce!"
Viktor managed to pull himself forward with both arms and quickly checked Jayce's pulse. It was steady, so now Viktor just had to worry that something might have happened to his brain. It made as much sense as this Jayce being teleported not just somewhere else but some when else, because this Jayce was clearly older than the student who had gone back to his apartment to study. He was too big for Viktor to be able to move on his own, so he did the best that he could by bringing a pillow for Jayce's head, then a bowl of water and a cloth to start wiping the grime from Jayce's hands. They were filthy, as though he had been hauling himself through dirt by hand.
"What has happened to you?"
His words were rhetorical and quietly spoken to himself as he sat on the floor with his bad leg extended next to his cane, while the other one was bent at the knee in what should be a lotus position.
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Date: 2025-12-29 02:36 pm (UTC)But even in this state of half-sleep, half-awake, Jayce could feel the comfort of someone's touch, the cold of a damp cloth cleaning his hands. While checking for his pulse, Viktor might see that the bracelet Jayce always wore was gone now, the rune fused to his wrist, surrounded by a mesh of webbed magic patterns.
Jayce groaned, eyes still screwed shut, and his breath came out a bit ragged. He shook his head like that would help dislodge the terrifying images from his mind, to no avail; he glitched while lying on Viktor's lap, and then he went still. He had to come back to the world of the living properly, and after a few minutes, his glazed-over eyes opened.
Dry, cut lips curled into a small smile when he met Viktor's own, the golden brown color in them making Jayce's eyes misty with unshed tears. He had missed that color so much. A calloused hand with bandages wrapped around the palm reached up to cradle the other man's cheek. Viktor still felt a bit cold under his palm, but real.
"Viktor, you're okay...." He muttered, his voice strained but filled with the sort of hope that has always been Jayce's doom because things never went as he wanted them to. "Where...when am I? Did we...is Hextech a thing?"
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Date: 2025-12-30 08:04 pm (UTC)Viktor raised his hands to where Jayce's was pressed against his cheek and gently guided it away so that he could wipe it down with the cloth.
"We have. We are not yet funded, but there are already some investors on the council who are interested. Jayce, I know that you are not okay, but I need to know what happened to you?"
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Date: 2026-01-05 04:10 pm (UTC)"You can't...we can't do that. The investors, the towers, don't let it happen. It will only doom us all. We can't continue with this." He let Viktor clean his face, sighing softly, surprised by the kindness. It's been so long without a gentle touch, without proper company, that it helped to ease the painful sensation constricting his chest. He only allowed himself a moment, though; he could not waste time.
Jayce tried to stand up only to get dizzy again; his head was hurting. The splitting headache made him grunt out and press the heel of his hand against his face, eyes screwing shut in pain.
"I don't think this is where I should be. I was...the arcane, hextech. It went wild; we corrupted it by abusing it with our demands. With the Hexgates. It lashed out and brought me to a different future.Now I'm here and I need, I need ...there's so much to fix."
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Date: 2026-01-11 08:25 pm (UTC)Viktor had to use his cane to get to a standing position after sitting on the floor, but when he could, Viktor pushed on Jayce's shoulders, guiding him into taking a seat on the platform.
"You are not making sense. What do you mean that there is so much to fix?"
Surprisingly enough, Viktor could accept the idea that the Arcane itself was capable of a complex emotional response, since he already had the theory that Hextech would be able to learn and therefore evolve. Clearly, that theory was correct. And just as clearly, it had awful results if the state that this Jayce was in was anything to go by.
Viktor also had to figure out how it would be possible to return Jayce to his own timeline. From what Viktor understood about temporal physics, a person could not go back and forth on their own timeline. But they could go side to side since time was not a linear progression for the Arcane. Instead, it was like a vast and always-moving river, with similar timelines creating different branch universes of possibilities.
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Date: 2026-01-17 06:54 pm (UTC)It was the familiar tap-tap of Viktor's cane as he stood close to him that brought Jayce's racing thoughts to a stop, and he turned to look at the other man, really look at him. The concern in Viktor's eyes, something he hadn't seen in so long, almost brought tears to Jayce's own and threatened to collapse any composure he had left. His badly healed leg was shooting pain up from his ankle to his hip from the strain, so he grit his teeth and didn't argue when Viktor redirected him to a chair. He limped when he moved, which the other man might notice. He dragged the hammer along, holding it a bit limp in his hand but unwilling to part with it, let alone let something else happen.
"In my present, your future, things are...bad. Hextech was a success, but it has caused more dangers than we could have imagined, and too many people have died for it. And more might die. I was... I'm supposed to stop that from happening. I don't know how I ended up here instead."
He looked around the lab, both confused by the familiarity and relieved for it, and then his eyes landed on a metal platform with spires on it. Hm.
"Have you started designing the Hexcore?"
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Date: 2026-01-22 07:56 pm (UTC)Viktor could surmise that it was something to do with Hextech, though. He noticed that Jayce limped his way to a chair, and the makeshift brace on one of his legs.
"The Jayce that I know, my Jayce, went back to his new apartment to study for exams. I don't know how you would have been transported here if you were not already in the midst of being transported somewhere else? I think what happened is that I was experimenting with the machine, which meant it was a powerful, if artificial, connection to the Arcane itself and that diverted you from your timeline."
Viktor's lips thinned as he thought through the puzzle of this Jayce appearing. He retrieved the cloth and bowl of water, set that on the desk beside Jayce, and brought over his rolling stool to pick up where he had left off in cleaning Jayce's hands.
"What happened to get your hands so dirty?"
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Date: 2026-01-26 10:15 pm (UTC)He kept the details vague, not wanting to say too much for fear of how much that could interest Viktor or alarm him.
"Let's just say it was unstable; that it took more than it could ever give. Unchecked power leading to catastrophic consequences that infected the mind."
Viktor's mind, to be more precise, but it wasn't as if Jayce was the pinnacle of mental health at the moment. He had also been distracted, pulled in too many directions at once trying to please everyone, to minimize the damage of a conflict that was out of hand, and he ended up failing everyone as a result.
"Don't tell him that I'm here. I don't know how that could mess up our timelines. You and I already shouldn't be talking, but..."
He thought of his old self, the one Vikto talked about, studying in his apartment and being none the wiser. Oh, to be that hopeful and carefree again. But Jayce knew better. He was older, tired, and way more jaded, with a wild look in his tired eyes that spoke of the horrors he had seen, the ones he helped to create.
"That seems like a correct theory. I felt a strange sort of pull; when the teleportation spell was active, it hadn't happened before."
He jumped slightly when hands and a wet cloth brushed against his scarred skin, fingers twitching. His expression went from shock to guarded, to softening after letting out a shaky breath. It had been so long without a gentle touch that he didn't fully know how to handle it now, despite how much Jayce might need it.
"I crawled my way out of a pit, from the bowels of Zaun to the highest tower of Piltover." It was a bit more complicated than just that, but Viktor didn't deserve to be burdened with Jayce's pathetic life story.
"You don't...you don't have to do this."
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Date: 2026-01-29 07:55 pm (UTC)"It will be difficult to keep you a secret, but I do agree that it will have major ramifications on his timeline and yours if he knows about your presence."
Viktor is a terrible liar to begin with and even worse at lying to Jayce
"After accidentally pulling you off course while you were in the midst of teleporting to another world, this is the least that I can do."
Viktor glanced down at Jayce's leg, the one with the brace.
"Are you still injured? You were able to walk, but I could tell you were limping. I don't have very much, but there is at least a shower that you could use in my dorm room. It is equipped with a bench that you could sit down on to get cleaned up."
Which was Viktor's very polite way of telling Jayce that he needed a bath.
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Date: 2026-01-31 07:18 pm (UTC)If Jayce's heart didn't ache at the mere idea, he would tell Viktor to stay away from him so he had another chance at living a normal life, as short as that might be. But he couldn't do that, not when Viktor didn't hate him, when he still looked at him with concern and care. His partner, his friend, the only ones guiding him through the darkest of nights. It was taking all of Jayceas willpower not to reach out and grasp at him, pull him into a hug.
Instead, he had to huff at Viktor's polite calling out. He hadn't had access to an actual shower in months, and he didn't complain because having at least some water to drink was lucky enough. But now that the offer was there, it was hard to say no. Even if his time in the future had hardened Jayce, and his looks were very fair proof of that, he would still like to feel clean.
There was another moment of hesitation. He had a mission, and he shouldn't waste time on himself. But he also had no idea how to get to the right timeline. Viktor's machine would be his best chance, but it might need adjustments to ensure it sent him to the right place instead of blowing him up instantly. His mental state really was in no condition to start doing the necessary mathematical calculations and rune choosing required for such a task, not at the moment. He couldn't remember the last time he had a good rest, not with the way his leg constantly hurt or the fear of Herald's mannequins lurking while he was trapped at the bottom of the cliff.
"I can walk." Not well and not fast, but he didn't want to bother Viktor further. He also did not give a real answer to the question about his injuries; his leg was an ugly, scarred mess mixed with arcane webbing, and he could imagine that the scar on his back would look just as bad.
Jayce was also less prone to talk nowadays than his younger self. His voice almost felt strange to his ears after so long with no one to speak to; it was more gruff and hoarse, but not because he tried to sound unkind. He forced himself to give the other man a smile; it didn't reach his red-rimmed eyes, but luckily the gratitude was still very obvious in them.
"I'm sorry to burden you with this...but yes, a shower and a rest sound like heaven. Lead the way? I'll follow you."
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Date: 2026-02-06 11:52 pm (UTC)"I'll try to find some clean clothes that will fit you while you are getting cleaned up."
The dorm was not far from the lab that they had started out in, but it was a bit of a walk. At least it was late, and there were very few people moving around at this hour. More than once, Viktor had to go ahead into the halls to make sure they were empty before he would wave Jayce to come forward. Using the elevator was a bit of a worry since there was no telling who they would encounter as they rode to the correct floor. The stairs might have been safer, but neither of them had legs to navigate them. Luck was with them in this, at least, because there was no one at the top waiting for the elevator to come up.
Once inside Viktor's room, he was able to shut and lock the door on the rest of the world, and just being able to do so helped him feel a little less stressed. There wasn't much to the room, with only a single free-standing wardrobe, a desk, and a bed. There was a used gramophone sitting silently on the corner of the desk, and beyond that, there was a single very large window with all types of plants in pots sitting on the windowsill and on the floor just inside it. The window was large enough that it took up most of one wall, so the line of potted plants crammed onto the sill was fairly long.
"I've only got the one towel, and that certainly won't be enough for you."
Viktor looked Jayce over from head to toe thoughtfully. Then he turned to the bed and pulled back the blanket to get at the sheet that was neatly tucked in. He pulled that from the bed and held it out toward Jayce.
"Here you could use this too. There is a shower bench that you will be able to sit down on already in the tub."
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Date: 2026-02-07 11:24 pm (UTC)If someone saw them, it wouldn't be the first time they were caught sneaking Jayce into this room, except now it would be real instead of a rushed excuse fabricated to get Mel off their backs as they tried to break into Heimerdinger's face. As for the clothes, Jayce has lost some weight and muscle; living on salamanders wasn't a healthy diet, so Viktor might have less difficulty than usual finding clothes that suit him.
"That would be very appreciated, thank you, Viktor." It went without saying that he had been wearing the same ragged clothes for a while now, and they're falling apart and uncomfortable.
As they walked, or rather limped, Jayce's eyebrows furrowed close as if he was in pain; he occasionally brought a hand up to his temple or tugged at his hair in an attempt to center himself. The terrifying vision of the automatons was subsiding, but the occasional flash still caused him pain. Nevertheless, he followed quickly when Viktor told him so and tried to remain as 'in present' as his mind was able at the moment.
Everything looked so normal and familiar, even though it was the right time. No people screaming beyond the walls, in outrage or claiming justice because of the latest rising tensions. No mothers losing their sons. No chemtanks breaking into the building to cause a massacre. This was such a happier time, even though they still went through some rough moments, that Jayce's heart ached every time he glanced at Viktor. While standing inside the elevator, finding himself exhausted now that the adrenaline had faded a bit, he wanted to reach out, even if it was to hold his hands or touch his shoulder one last time. That might just confuse the other man and make him uncomfortable; he had already given Viktor enough surprises for one evening, so he refrained, his fingers tightening around the handle of his hammer.
Inside the room, looking around, Jayce allowed himself to smile for the first time in literal months. It almost hurt too, as if his facial muscles needed a minute to remember how it was done. The room, especially the plants, screamed Viktor back at him, and that was so comforting he could cry.
He walked over to see the view outside the window, to watch his beloved city and find it whole and thriving at least one last time. When a moment later Viktor sized him and offered him the sheet, he blinked at him owlishly, surprised.
"Oh, are you sure you won't need that? I could air-dry."
And of course, Viktor had a shower bench, safe and practical. And that was exactly what Jayce desperately needed. After a moment, he took the sheet, giving in and letting their fingers brush together. He was staring at Viktor's eyes when he spoke next.
"I'm sorry for abusing your hospitality, but I really needed a friend. I really...needed you. Always did."
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Date: 2026-02-08 12:35 am (UTC)"No, I don't need the sheet tonight, and I can just wash it and the towel tomorrow. But it is also not terribly good at absorbing water, so if you use both of them together, it should be okay. I also don't think you would want to wander around naked until you air dry."
Even though it was very obvious that Jayce had gone through a harrowing experience that had changed him, Viktor still wouldn't be capable of keeping his hands to himself if Jayce were just wandering around naked for hours. When Jayce's fingers brushed against his own while he was trying to hand over the sheet, it might be Viktor's imagination that they seemed to linger for too long. Of course, Jace looking into his eyes with as much intensity as he did made it seem like it hadn't been Viktor's imagination at all. The statement definitely caught him offguard, too. Viktor didn't know what to say to that, and he felt his face growing hot with a blush.
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Date: 2026-02-08 10:48 pm (UTC)Both because it was proper and because Jayce's body is probably not much of a pretty sight, considering the scars on his back and leg. And though the options had been laid out, and there was a hot shower waiting for him, Jayce found himself reluctant to move away. He did not want Viktor out of his sight if he could help it.
He wanted to tell his partner the full truth, tell him how his other self was blissfully unaware of his own feelings for Viktor, but they still existed; it was only a matter of time until the other Jayce saw things like he did. The path that led there was also filled with destruction and pain, and he wanted to spare Viktor of that, but this is a younger version of the man he knew, and that complicated things.
Then he noticed the color on the man's usually pale cheeks, and that finally pulled him out of his stupor.
"Umm. I'll...go get clean. Thank you again for all this, Viktor. I know I'm a virtual stranger to you and that all this seems crazy, but you're the only reason I'm still alive."
In more than one way, at that. He wasn't simply talking about Viktor stopping him from jumping off his ruined apartment; Viktor's memory also helped him while in the ruined future. He couldn't give up back then; he had all these unsaid things between them that Jayce needed to tell him. Just not now.
He gave a small, last nod and then moved into the bathroom, trying not to grip the sheet too tightly as to not stain it before he could get all the grime off of him.
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Date: 2026-02-12 10:53 pm (UTC)This sort of thing had been new to Viktor, but apparently, the places that the privileged send their children to learn came fully equipped with housekeeping services. Fortunately, Viktor was on good terms with the washer women that ran the massive machines that washed and dried clothes on an industrial scale since most of them lived in Zaun while working in Piltover. He hadn't corrected the ribbing that he was getting about a romantic conquest, for trying to find clean clothes in Jayce's size.
When he returned to the dorm room, Jayce was still in the shower, so he left the set of folded clothes (without shoes since he couldn't think of a good excuse for needing shoes too) at the foot of his bed. He wasn't so heartless that he couldn't feel any compassion for the obviously harrowing experience that had brought this older version of Jayce here, but he still sat down in his chair to wait. Clean, clothed, and seated, he could allow. But after that, he and Jayce were going to need to have a serious talk. Not least of which was how they were going to get this version of Jayce back to his own timeline.
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Date: 2026-02-16 10:21 pm (UTC)Unfortunately, even undressing felt like an exhausting chore now that the adrenaline had faded and his leg was protesting. Thank god for that bench; Jayce was sure he would have either slipped or his knee would have folded five minutes into the tub, and the last thing Viktor needed was to deal with him concussed. He already sounded like a madman; it was a miracle the other man hadn't just called the enforcers to take him away in a straightjacket.
The hot water was such a welcome blessing that Jayce could have cried. He had the horrible fear that he might just be hallucinating all this too and would wake up at any moment down at the bottom of the ravine.
Getting clean took longer than he wanted as well; he had to wash his hair thoroughly twice to get rid of all the grime, and his body wasn't much better. His leg looked awful under the bathroom light, mostly because this was the clearest look Jayce had been able to give it and not because the wound was infected or anything of the sort. It was scarred strangely in arcane patterns, the skin multicolored like his wrist where his rune had fused with his skin. I looked alien and ugly, and even though Jayce thought he was well past that, it still made him self-conscious.
He dried himself as well as he could with the towel and the sheets, covering himself with the last one from the waist down, hiding as much of his legs under it as possible. There was no hiding the diagonal scars on his back and shoulder, so he didn't bother. Glancing at the mirror one last time, he wished for a shave, but even if Viktor did not mind if he borrowed his toiletries, Jayce's hands were not steady enough for the task. Too little sleep, too much stress.
When he opened the door of the bathroom just enough to look tentatively around the room, his eyes still did a double take when they landed on Viktor. So, not a hallucination then. Despite his old—well, not that old now—partner already looking like he meant business as he waited, Jayce couldn't help the soft smile that appeared on his lips and the obvious relief in his eyes.
"Hey." He said, still not exactly feeling very talkative but feeling like the complete silence would be worse.
He was reluctant to step out of the bathroom fully because of how he looked, but he also could not half hide behind the door forever. Mentally sighing, Jayce stepped out and into the room proper.
"Your shower is wonderful; I can't remember the last time I could enjoy hot water. Or soap, for that matter."
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Date: 2026-02-21 08:35 pm (UTC)"I don't know if you are even hungry, but I am afraid this is the best that I can do in the middle of the night. I was able to get you some clean clothes, and those are at the foot of the bed. I can turn my back on you while you get dressed."
But he was not going to rise from that chair. The younger Jayce of his time wouldn't have much in the way of modesty, but whatever had happened over the course of years to make this Jayce so unrecognizable made Viktor feel like they were strangers to each other now. Clean and fed and safely squirreled away in Viktor's dorm room, he would allow, but even then, they still would have no time to lose before they needed to send this Jayce to his own timeline.
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Date: 2026-02-24 07:58 pm (UTC)"Thank you, but no. I can't believe you didn't even finish this one. Did other me at least chide you about it?" Jayce said with a small tone of amusement, but he hoped the other Jayce did. Viktor needed the food and energy more than Jayce did, even now at his lowest.
"Besides, I'm still too anxious; you know how my stomach gets. We would be seeing the food too soon again if I tried to eat."
And the last thing he wanted was to make a mess of Viktor's room; he had already made a poor first impression when he appeared. The clothes, though, got a surprised and grateful look. "Those are perfect, V. And, uhm, that...yes, if you don't mind."
Turning around as he got dressed, Jayce meant, as he approached the foot of the bed and avoided looking at Viktor. He had changed; he knew it, and it was a painful fact for both of them. He wished he could fix the growing chasm between his partner and him, both here and in the future, but it wasn't an immediate process. Jayce briefly looked over his shoulder with a wary look, shoulders relaxing when he indeed saw that Viktor wasn't looking at him, even if guilt also gnawed at him.
"It's not that I don't trust you..." He murmured softly as he worked on putting the trousers on first, careful not to lose his balance. It was harder than he liked, with his busted leg. "I don't mind you looking at me; it's just...I don't exactly make a pretty sight."
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Date: 2026-02-26 10:10 pm (UTC)"Even if you are horribly disfigured by scars all over your body, you are still the same Jayce Talis that I know, and that much has not changed over the years that are separating us."
Viktor did not turn back around until he heard Jayce sit down opposite him on the bed.
"As you are the same Jayce Talis that I know, you must be aware that your presence alone is altering this timeline from the events that you remember happening. It won't be possible to try to send you back to your own time tonight, but we will both have to send you back as soon as we are able. But the important thing right now is how I will explain your presence to the other version of you that is here already. I agree that you should not interact too much. But as close as we are, it will not be possible for me to keep you a secret."