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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no subject
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.
no subject
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."
no subject
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."