Archive of Our Own

tap tap tap 

Only the little clicking of keys resonates throughout the apartment while Viktor, in a burst of inspiration, has been writing frantically on his laptop for almost an hour with the only sound in the background being the synthwave radio available 24/7. It was a habit he had picked up when his roommate Jayce Talis was out and he therefore had the leisure to be alone, a good cup of coffee placed on the coffee table, taking advantage of the ambient silence to look at his secret writing. Taking a sip of his latte, he rereads the last lines of the next chapter which he will put online in the evening, correcting the few spelling errors scattered here and there, which he could potentially have missed during his writing.

A month ago, Jayce had rushed into his room to show him his new find, a game he had discovered earlier: League of Legends . Jayce and Viktor both liked to spend a little free time playing video games and if Viktor was more the type to appreciate strategy games like Starcraft or more leisurely like Animal Crossing playing on the Switch in the back of his bed, LoL had nevertheless intrigued him influenced by the passion with which Jayce talked about it. 

The main reason the young astronomy student had insisted that Viktor try a game or two was absurd: two playable characters had the same first name as him and his roommate, which had made Jayce laugh and prompted him to show his friend this new fad. If the game itself was much too complex for a newcomer to the servers and with a community of, shall we say, “wild and passionate” players who had put off Viktor on every point, the world of LoL had nevertheless greatly intrigued him.

 Since then, he spent time reading short stories, character biographies and other comics on the official LoL website and took great pleasure in discovering the vast world of Runeterra through these stories. His first reading had naturally been about League 's Jayce and Viktor, curious to find out more about their gaming namesakes. 

The Viktor of Runeterra, also known as the “Herald of the Machines”, was a complex man, carrying an ideology called “glorious evolution” aimed at gradually replacing and improving the human body and mind through technological augmentations. His main argument being the affirmation of a brake on the evolution of humanity by their feelings, the repression of the latter being able to help them to concentrate on the future rather than being subjected to the tumultuous ardors of the heart. The influence of this half-man-half-machine Viktor extended throughout Zaun, the twin lower town of Piltover where living conditions were difficult and due to the discriminatory policies of the City of Progress above their heads.

In opposition to this doctrine stood “The Defender of Tomorrow” Jayce Giopara, an intelligent but self-confident and daring man, fearless and with the unwavering determination to want to stop his former science partner, putting aside their - now defunct - relationship to prevent the population from turning to Viktor's hazardous technology, this Jayce claiming that it would be a threat rather than a boon to the inhabitants of Zaun and Piltover.

tap tap tap

Sitting painfully cross-legged on the sofa, Viktor finishes writing the few missing words to complete his chapter. He opens a new tab and goes to Ao3, a site dedicated to writing and sharing fanfiction of all kinds, bringing together thousands of works made by and for enthusiasts.After reading everything there was to read about the fictional Viktor and Jayce, the real-life Viktor began to be interested in the opinions of other lore readers and wandered around Reddit and Twitter . In his research he quickly came across a very enthusiastic and welcoming community and quickly got lost in the joyous world of fan fiction. 

Fans had recommended a few titles to him that he had more or less appreciated and quickly without really realizing it, he had started reading dozens of unofficial stories about “VikJay” the name that fans had given to the Viktor-Jayce duo from LoL.

Or rather to the “couple” Vikjay.

Because yes, in almost all cases, these more or less exciting fanfictions depicted the herald of the machines and his nemesis as a former couple going through a divorce, often with the desire to get back together, the writers' intention switching between happy endings and bittersweet melodrama.

And also sex. Lots of sex in this kind of story, practically obligatory and Viktor had read things about it…eccentric so to speak. Sending his regards to the creativity and ardor of certain writers in their way of describing all kinds of possible and imaginable things with potential “special augmentations” transcending the human race during these carnal activities.

After reading a lot, it was only natural that Viktor began writing his own fanfiction. At first as a hobby then quickly in a serious way, the robotics student hidden under the pseudonym “MachineHeraldLover” had started posting his story on Ao3 and was already in the 5th chapter available on the platform. 

This project that he kept secret was his little bubble of comfort... but also the outlet for many feelings that he hid under a carpet of shame. 

He and Jayce had known each other since the beginning of their respective courses, having met one day in a joint class in the university lecture hall. Since then, they had become close friends and quickly agreed that a shared accommodation would be practical both logistically and financially. But by living alongside the radiant Jayce Talis, Viktor's normally closed heart had softened, to the point of developing sincere feelings for his partner. Feelings that would never cross the sealed doors of his lips for several reasons that seemed more than obvious to him. 

The first being that Viktor was convinced of Jayce's heterosexuality. 

He who is so popular and very often surrounded by young female students eager to take his arm and walk him around the campus without it bothering him, as well as his former relationship with Mel Medarda, a young woman as breathtaking physically as she is intelligent, were more than enough proof for Viktor to confirm his sexual orientation.

The second being that even if he was wrong on his first point, Viktor was not desirable enough to make Mr. Talis vibrate with any ardor.

Viktor is a thin man, with angular features and hollow cheeks. His birth defect in his right leg gives him the appearance of a disjointed puppet when he walks and he must constantly wear a knee prosthesis in addition to moving around with his crutch. Not to mention his respiratory failure due to the pollution of his hometown that his fragile body struggled to cope with, forcing him to cough often and to be regularly monitored by doctors. Then there is also his strong rolling Czech accent which many find repulsive. 

No, really, Viktor can't help but think it's better for him to just keep quiet about what he feels, rather than ridicule himself. And then what? Make a saccharine statement like a schoolgirl in the grip of her hormones? Very little for him. 

Instead of this unpleasant situation, Viktor still prefers to satisfy his fantasies in writing, using fictional characters to appease his buried desires, hurting no one in the process (and especially not himself).

Unfolding his aching leg, Viktor sits up on the couch, exhaling hard. 

He opens his Ao3 dashboard and reads the latest comments that he previously missed.

@Littlemaniacalv : THIS IS SO BEAUTIFUL !  holy shit I loved that chapter, can’t wait to read the rest!

@Finnicus_Gayicus : I LOVE IT ✨ Viktor's reluctance to be with Jayce despite having feelings???? UGH. PEAK ANGST.

Viktor can't help but smile slightly when reading the adorable comments he constantly receives. 

Since a screenshot of his writing was posted on a Twitter account named @yearnerjayce - a Vikjay  enthusiast having a positive  influence on the fan community and known for sharing fanfiction to everyone with ecstatic comments - the popularity of his secret project has exploded. 

He didn't expect such great support from lore aficionados, having never received anything like this in his life. Also to thank them for their commitment, Viktor always takes the time to respond to everyone even though it can be time-consuming depending on the intensity of the chapter posted.

@Brattyviktor: I love this new chapter so much! 😭How do you manage to write such a realistic story?? I LOVE IT

• @MachineHeraldLover: Thank you very much, I take inspiration from those around me and the media I consume, I’m glad you like it :) 

tap tap tap

A few final modifications and rereadings and the sixth chapter of “Can the Machine love the beating Heart” is finally available online. It is with an air of satisfaction that Viktor looks at the clock in the living room, noting that it is almost time for dinner. Just when he thinks he's hungry, but too lazy to go rummage in their fridge, his phone vibrates in his pocket. 

Jayce: I'll be home soon, I'll have some sushi, what do you want? 

He smiles when he sees the text message: definitely, his own Jayce really has nothing to do with or envy of the Piltover one.

Jayce Talis is a kind person with no ulterior motives.

Always worrying about Viktor's health, asking him if he feels well in all circumstances.

Jayce is full of little touches, like when without Viktor having to tell him, he buys him the almond milk that only he consumes in his coffee or when he gives him the space he needs after a tiring day of classes. 

Or this habit he has developed of preparing a bath for him in the evening so that Viktor can relax his stressed joints or even when he lets him put his Spotify playlist on loud even if they don't particularly share the same musical tastes. 

Not to mention all the times he is the one who takes care of the household chores without ever complaining, in order to avoid any additional pressure on his friend's sore leg. 

Some people, seeing this attitude, would say that Jayce is much too pleasant for someone proclaiming themselves to be simply his “partner” and Viktor would respond “Jayce Talis would do that with and for anyone”.

It was actually a conversation he had already had with Powder, his younger cousin, who in a mischievous tone never ceased to annoy him with salacious innuendoes. Those to which Viktor simply told her that Jayce behaved towards him like that because they both lived under the same roof and nothing more. Because he had already seen Jayce Talis help other students on many occasions by sharing his course notes or when, with the affection of a big brother, he took care of and cherished Caitlyn Kiramman, his childhood friend with whom he had grown up.

Viktor: Take what you want, don’t worry about me

Putting his phone back in his pocket, he thinks he could start sketching out some notes for chapter seven. Adding a new tab to the google doc of “Can the Machine love the beating Heart” he starts tapping on his keyboard again.

***

It is 8 p.m. when Viktor, still focused, barely hears the front door opening and Jayce entering the apartment. Staring at his screen, he jumps and quickly closes his laptop when his roommate's hand rests on his shoulder. 

“You should take a break, come eat” he just told him in a cheerful tone, putting the bag full of food on the table before adding “I’m going to turn on the heating in the bathroom”. 

And just like that, he stands up and walks his talk as Viktor feels his heart racing at the thought of being discovered playing Tolkien's Apprentice.

Well, more like De Laclos's apprentice in “Dangerous Liaisons” given the sex scene he was writing. Scene where Jayce Giopara, eager and screaming with anger, sent all the things on the laboratory table to the ground before grabbing Viktor by the hips, furious with desire and hatred, before pushing him against the furniture, out of breath and...

“I got you some matcha too, look at the bottom of the bag!” Jayce shouts at him from the bathroom, making Viktor come to his senses. Opening the contents of the order he also notices that there is only what he usually orders for himself, even his octopus sashimi which are not very popular but which he loves. Once again, Jayce had put Viktor's desires before his own and without even being asked.

But the latter would not point it out to him. 

The meal passes, the two students talking about their respective courses and the excessive amount of homework that Professor Heimerdinger gives them that they have in common. 

Jayce also tells him about his afternoon spent with Caitlyn and her girlfriend Vi - and also Viktor's cousin and Powder's sister - both of whom he adores. They also discuss their plans for the end of year holidays, Ximena, Jayce's mother, each time insisting that Viktor come spend them with the Talis because "You're part of the family now!" she had told him many times. 

If at first her welcoming attitude had confused him a little - having lost his mother at a young age and having been raised by his uncle Silco and his husband Vander, the fathers of Vi and Powder - he had nevertheless come to accept his mother's warm feelings towards him. Then she kept telling him how happy she was that her son had such a good best friend living with him and that she was reassured to see that Viktor “was taking good care of her son.” (Even if from his point of view, Jayce was the one who took care of him.)

“And this articulated arm project, is it progressing?” Jayce asks as he swallows the last sushi on his tray and Viktor can't help but look at the small grain of rice stuck to the corner of his mouth, “Yeah, pretty good.” 

That was the excuse he gave Jayce for his time spent on his computer. Not that it was strange for him to use it, but rather the times he wrote. Viktor constantly went out of his way to get rid of his homework late in the afternoon or morning on weekends to have some peace and quiet, and so it was only natural that Jayce's curiosity was piqued, when he noticed him tapping frequently in the evening and sometimes late into the night. 

It was true that Viktor had this project in mind. And certainly he worked on it when he could. But most of the time he was mainly writing his story which occupied his thoughts, responding to comments and being active on his secondary Twitter account. But Viktor couldn't tell him that: a half-lie then.

“Have you started working on prototypes? Maybe I can help you if you want, it would be a change from Hamsterdinger’s boring projects” 

Viktor chuckles at the ridiculous nickname they've been giving their teacher for a while now. “I would love to, but nothing concrete yet I still have plans to refine.” Again it was true, but he would have been done a while ago if he wasn't glued to Ao3 every night and he wondered how much longer the excuse would last. But after all, Jayce doesn't have to spy on his every move either: what Viktor does as a hobby is ultimately his business.

A “meow” is heard as Blitzcrank, the little ginger cat -third roommate in the apartment- sits purring on Jayce’s lap. 

Shortly after moving in and throwing away empty boxes, they were alerted by meows in the trash cans at the bottom of the building and discovered with horror the poor creature abandoned in an old plastic bag. The two students picked it up and decided to adopt it. Although his rescue was done as a duo, Blitzcrank was much more Viktor's cat than Jayce's. Viktor took care of it constantly and the animal did him well, most of the time stuck to his legs. What could explain the closeness between the little cat and him was undoubtedly the fact that the adorable creature was missing a paw. With a birth defect according to the veterinarian, his former owner had him amputated but never took the time to take care of his rehabilitation. Also Blitzcrank limped and had difficulty moving and Viktor was in a sense very touched, recognizing himself in him.

Until the day Jayce and Viktor worked on their very first project together: a prosthesis to compensate for his missing leg. 

Together, they spent several days drawing plans, taking more or less difficult measurements of their agile subject who was quick to sneak under the sofa and finding suitable materials. The final product was of high quality and both partners were more than delighted and proud to see their pet happily frolicking in all the rooms of the apartment. 

But despite the evidence of a favored parent, Blitzcrank still enjoyed Jayce's presence and it wasn't uncommon or strange for him to show him affection like tonight, purring against his thighs. “I'll feed him and clear the table, you should go take a bath,” Jayce announces, stroking the cat's little belly, his prosthesis gleaming under the living room lights. Viktor responds with a smile and gets up without a word, grabbing his crutch before going to his room to get some clothes then heading to the bathroom.

— .☘︎. — 

While removing the empty wrapping paper from the table and putting the leftovers in the fridge, Jayce receives a notification on his cell phone. It’s Caitlyn who sends him photos she took the afternoon she spent with him and Vi. He opens one of the selfies and sees the three of them in front of a cinema, Vi in the middle, one hand on Cait's shoulder and the other almost strangling Jayce in the crook of her elbow, making a face at him under the amused gaze of his little sister. 

Jayce: It was fun even if the movie was bad 

 

Cait: Next time you'll avoid telling my girlfriend to choose! 

They talk a little about today, about Vi, about campus. And after exhausting every possible topic, Caitlyn finally brought up the one Jayce didn't really want to talk about tonight. 

Cait: What about Viktor? Is it progressing? 

 

Jayce: If anything happened you'd be the first to know, you know

 

Cait: Still, Jayce, when are you going to decide to ask him out? 

 

Jayce: Cait, with all the signals I'm sending, if he wanted something more he would have told me already, he's not the type of guy to be shy. 

 

Cait: So what are you going to keep sending signals into the void? At least invite him to come with us next time! 

If Jayce were to keep sending signals until Viktor reacted, then that's what he would do. Not that he was in Viktor's care out of pure desire to make him fall into his arms, but because all Jayce wants is Viktor's happiness... simply the thought that his happiness could be fulfilled by someone other than him, gave him an unpleasant pang in his heart. If in his previous relationships Jayce had first gotten to know his girlfriends before falling in love with them, with Viktor it was completely the opposite. 

The first time Jayce had seen him in the university lecture hall, his breath had stopped, his body stiffened, his hands became sweaty, a state he had described as a “positive anxiety attack”, something he had rarely felt and especially not in the sight of another man. That day, he made sure to sit next to Viktor to get to the bottom of it and, above all, because it was ridiculous to be afraid of a stranger. Stammering a little, his heart racing, he quickly relaxed in the face of the calm nature of his counterpart and the two students quickly sympathized, grimacing at Professor Heimerdinger's boring speech.

The weeks passed and his friendship with Viktor was going well. Maybe too well because Jayce had his strange, distressing and new feelings, which concerned him a lot. He finally confessed them to Caitlyn and Vi and under their wise advice  realized that he was bi : a revelation which had panicked him enormously to the point of playing dead for a few days, without giving any sign of life to Viktor and the girls.The situation had become so stupid that it was Vi who had to evict him from his old student room by banging on the door, yelling at him that being gay in 2023 was not the end of the world and that he was “going to discover the joys of spanking sooner than expected if he didn't get out of there quickly” (which he ended up doing, red with shame under the surprised looks of his neighbors)

Afterwards, Jayce finally admitted his deep feelings for Viktor.

Powder, whom he had met the night Vi had almost broken down his door, had ended up proposing the idea of ​​a roommate. “Having a crush and living with the person you're interested in are two different things, and I challenge you to last 3 days with Vik” she said with an air of challenge, “and anyway he's looking for a place to sleep to leave our fathers, you can help him, right, Mr. Prince Charming?”

Jayce liked the idea because Powder was right: Maybe living with Viktor would allow him to realize that all these heart complications could disappear overnight. So he asked him to be his roommate and he was terribly relieved when Viktor accepted. 

“But if you hurt him, I’ll rip your head off,” Powder also told him. 

And this thought remained in the corner of his head, perhaps even internalizing it a little too much.

Because living with Viktor had had the perfect opposite of the expected result: instead of telling himself that he was unlivable and not as idealized as Jayce had imagined him in his mind, Viktor was on the contrary even more perfect than in his wildest daydreams.

Everything about him made Jayce vibrate, the way he played with his locks of hair while thinking about their shopping list, his habit of falling asleep on the couch after a long day, how he was wandering around their living room in the morning yawning and scratching his forearm, his way of meticulously following a recipe down to the gram when he wanted to introduce him to Czech specialties, the smell of cheap perfume on his clothes that Jayce had smelled while doing their laundry…

Absolutely everything in Viktor was sexy, from his rare laugh to his presence, from his intelligent spirit to his sober elegance, hell even the way he brushed his teeth was adorable. But as a doctrine implanted in his brain “if you hurt him, I’ll rip your head off” had discouraged him from the idea of ​​potentially declaring himself. 

Because Jayce wants Viktor's happiness and if this happiness comes through a simple friendship, then it's better not to ruin it stupidly.

The bathroom door opens to let in a shirtless Viktor, plainly dressed in gray pajama bottoms, a small cloud of condensation behind him. With a towel in his hand drying his hazel hair, he stretches as he heads towards the living room. Jayce curses his eyes as he struggles to turn away from Viktor's visible skin and forces himself to turn his head in the direction of Blitzcrank, grooming himself near his cat tree.

“The bathroom is free if you want” Viktor’s accent rolls over the words in a soft melody traveling to Jayce’s ears. “T-thank you! I’ll be there in a few minutes.” 

***

The next day of school goes calmly for Jayce. The same usual routine, getting up, breakfast, black coffee and arriving on campus. His different schedules from Viktor on Thursdays force him to go and leave the university alone, much to his dismay. After a few hours of lessons in the morning and a trip to the library to revise, Jayce returns to the apartment at around 7 p.m.

He looks in his pocket for his keys and as he turns them in the lock, he hears a crashing sound behind the door. Hurrying, worried about the source of the noise, he rushes inside and calls his roommate. “Viktor? Is everything fine ?" 

Jayce is greeted by Blitzcrank almost jumping into his arms and the sound of dishes. As he approaches, he sees Viktor on the ground, picking up pieces of glass scattered around their kitchen. “Nothing serious, I just let my drink slip out of my hand” he told him in his usual calm and stoic tone. Jayce rushes to help him, soon also on his knees. Together, they quickly clean up the surrounding mess and Jayce notices his counterpart frowning and sighing in irritation. “Are you okay?” he asks, as he extends his hand to help him up and picks up Viktor's crutch from the floor. “Yeah, it’s nothing, just this stupid homework I forgot to do. Several pages due in 3 days, it's going to take me hours and my nights of sleep with it.”, he massages his temples as a prevention for his future migraine and heads towards his room.

“Can I help you?” Jayce asks

“No, it’s too specific to my course.”

“What about Sky?” 

Sky was a childhood friend attending the same classes as Viktor. When his family moved to America when he was a child, Sky had been his first friend at school. Since then they had not left each other and had even followed the same schooling until university. Jayce was also jealous of their proximity, Sky having learned Czech to please Viktor, it was not uncommon for the two to communicate in this language, forming their own little bubble. Jayce also wanted to have this kind of thing with his friend but had only managed to remember a few words with duolingo .

“She hasn’t finished her own homework, I can’t see myself asking her for her notes.”

Resigned, Jayce cannot prevent Viktor from going to his room, his laptop under his arm which he takes with a new glass of water. He closes his door and only the sound of silence is heard throughout the apartment.

***

The last 72 hours have been exhausting for both Viktor and Jayce. 

Trying as best he could to assist Viktor, the latter however kept telling him that "everything is fine" at least when he did not forget to answer him, much too busy with the ton of paper which had ended up drowning the carpet in his room in addition to submerging his desk. Jayce knew that in this kind of rush, he shouldn't be disturbed. However, Viktor in this second state, concentration taking over the world around him, makes him skip his meals, sleep and obscures the presence of others. If Jayce didn't come and feed him sandwiches at a fixed time, his imagination made him see the worst: the vision of a dried out and thin Viktor on the verge of apoplexy. Also like a cell guard, he often restocked him with snacks and coffee, of which Viktor gulped down almost ten cups every day. 

After days of seeing him lose his health, coughing more and more and with dark circles so deep that it looked like two oil deposits discovered under his skin, Viktor finally returned his duty to Hamsterdinger and his soul with it.

Exhausted from fatigue, stress and dehydration, he had washed up in his bed still dressed and collapsed to sleep. Jayce had still patted him on the arm to indicate that he should at least remove his medical corset before joining Morpheus and Viktor had done so, sighing in a final effort. 

Jayce then helped him get back on his mattress correctly and took off his shoes. Viktor hadn't even taken the trouble to remove his knee prosthesis, but Jayce, with a certain dexterity, had managed to take it off without waking him up. Finally, adjusting a cozy blanket over his aching body, Jayce took care to bring his crutch close to his nightstand before turning off the light and letting him comatose.

— .☘︎. — 

It's almost 4 p.m. when Viktor wakes up, his body stiff, his eyes sleepy and making a terrible face, feeling like a hermit crab that has been dislodged from its shell without authorization. When he tries to sit up in bed, he feels his head heavy and painful as if an army of Spartans had started singing war songs and banging their shields against the walls of his skull. With a dry throat, he undertakes the difficult task of getting up and heading towards the kitchen, begging for a simple glass of water like a madman in a desert.

Turning his head, he sees that his cane is near him, his corset and knee brace also placed carefully on the bedside table. “Jayce…” he sighs, rubbing his eyes, a smile that might have appeared on his lips if he wasn’t so tired and in pain. Pushing on his hands to position himself at the edge of the bed, he tries as best he can to stand up. But suddenly he sees the room spinning around him and unable to contain the heaviness of his body, it crashes to the ground with a certain din.

It doesn't take more than a minute for Jayce to stand in the doorway to his room, eyes wide with worry, as he walks towards Viktor. “My god Vik, is everything okay?” Jayce kneels in front of him, offering his hand to help him get up and Viktor begins to think that the sight of his roommate in this position in front of him is… “Not so bad” he replies with a sigh, a small smile on his lips, which Jayce obviously cannot interpret judging by his furrowed eyebrows.

“Wait, I’ll help you,” and putting his words into action, Jayce gently lifts him back into his bed, insisting that Viktor lie down. Then he disappears for a few seconds and returns with the bathroom care kit, bringing back some medicines, a thermometer and a glass of water. “Let’s take your temperature,” he says, handing him the thermometer, and Viktor, his brain filled with parasitic thoughts, opens his mouth wide before almost swallowing the little glass tube, declaring a “yum” followed by a small grin and Viktor would swear – if his mind wasn’t half delirious – that Jayce had blushed.

The latter grimaces when he sees the number indicating a certain fever, rushes to retrieve and read the instructions for several boxes of pills which he compares to those of the medications that Viktor usually takes for his pain, Jayce checking that no treatments conflict. Satisfied with a box of ibuprofen, Jayce takes one of the tablets which he hands to Viktor with the glass and makes sure that he swallows his new prescription. 

“You need to rest, your fever is high, you’re not allowed to get out of bed,” Jayce insisted in a firm tone. He takes the edge of the blanket and pulls it up over his body, making sure to cover him well, but when his hand reaches his shoulder, Viktor places his on Jayce's wrist. With the other, he cups Jayce’s cheek while smiling. “Thank you Jayce” Viktor’s voice is smooth, almost drowsy.

They stayed like that for a few seconds - or maybe a few hours depending on what Viktor's neurons were telling him - before Jayce pulled back. A flash of lucidity seems to cross Viktor’s mind as he asks, “Could you bring me my computer back, please? It’s on my desk.” But Jayce shows a disapproving pout “You need to rest Vik.” 

“I know” Viktor replies in his usual calm tone, but with his accent even more pronounced due to exhaustion “it’s not for work, I have to answer Jas..” he declares as if Jayce had the slightest idea who it was. But his roommate, after a brief silence, simply replied “I’m sure Jas can wait for your recovery. Sleep now.” 

“But… they're so nice to me…” and just like that, Viktor ended up falling asleep like a lump from overwork.

— .☘︎. — 

Who the fuck is Jas? Does Viktor have a boyfriend?

Jayce starts pacing around Viktor's room, sometimes stopping in the middle when he hears him breathing a little too heavily, terrified that he'll wake up and see Jayce standing like a scarecrow in the middle of the room. But he can't help it, he has to know. No, he needs to know. Who. Is. Jas.

His gaze turns to the laptop still open on the desk and Jayce is almost convinced that it is only on standby. A secret relationship? An online crush?

Approaching the object discreetly as if preparing to steal an ancient cursed relic, he takes one last glance over his shoulder to check if Viktor is still asleep. Which is the case considering the snoring he receives in response. Slowly, afraid that the computer will make a jack-in-a-box noise when he opens the cover, he almost holds his breath when he lifts it.

He is almost disappointed when he is greeted by a screen asking for a password. He tries the classic 0000 but it is incorrect. His date of birth then? Incorrect. Then Jayce thought, his favorite number. He tries: 1.618 -correct code- and Jayce thanks all the Pythagoras and Euclids for the discovery of the golden ratio. 

Upon opening, it is greeted by several internet tabs. Jayce is surprised to see Twitter open, believing that Viktor had already told him several times how futile he found using social media. The temptation is too strong for Jayce who clicks on the private messaging service looking for a certain Jas.

With a lump in his stomach he expects the worst, his feelings trampled on which will never be reciprocated, or even worse: nudes of strangers. His blood only boils and... nothing that his jealous mind has imagined is before his eyes. 

Messages of support?... But why?   He doesn't dare open the fan messages in front of him and above all Jayce already feels quite ashamed of interfering to this extent in Viktor's private life, so he is simply content to read the previews of the dozen messages in his DMs. But still no Jas.  With curiosity growing, Jayce ventures onto the other tabs. His attention is focused on a Google doc still open which has nothing to do with any homework. Was Viktor writing a book? The file is neatly organized, with each tab leading to a specific chapter.

So Viktor was writing a sort of novel, “Can the Machine loves the beating Heart” and this Twitter account was used to promote it. Suddenly, Jayce feels stupid and the shame continues to grow inside him, the reasonable part of his brain telling him to close the computer and stop searching, but on the other hand the other little voice in his skull... 

Deciding not to want to read more than necessary, he leaves the Google doc alone before his attention shifts to another open site that he doesn't know: Ao3.  Jayce quickly understands that this is the platform where Viktor posts his story and there he sees it. Present in the comments, the famous Jas.

@Jasspurr : oh my god i am so pumped ur cooking so hard setting up next chapter MHLover ! I really love the way you write, the prose is exquisite and I enjoy reading you everytime you post. Thank you for your hard work ! 

A lovely comment indeed and Jayce feels increasingly stupid for spying on Viktor. But the heavy weight that had settled on his heart a few minutes earlier had just lifted away. Viktor was still single and Jayce was selfishly delighted about it.  Just as he was about to close the laptop, one last comment grabbed his attention. 

@sapphoStirling: You said you draw inspiration from your IRL life for your fanfic, do you base it on a few people in particular or just those around you in general? 

• @MachineHeraldLover: My friends especially, but also my roommate, he is my most present inspiration on a daily basis.

Jayce's eyes open so wide that for a split second he's afraid they're going to pop out of their sockets. Was Viktor inspired by him? To write? This simple thought made him suddenly close the computer, red cheek and short breathing. He turns around awkwardly, trips and almost falls, catching himself heavily without any discretion and fears for his life when he hears Viktor turning over in his sleep. 

Then He resumes his walk quietly towards the door and leaves the room with a beating heart.

What the fuck.

***

The defender of tomorrow had grabbed his nemesis by the end of his cape protruding from the hollow of his neck and with a powerful grip threw him to the ground without ceremony or compassion for the one who was once his life partner. How could he have let him slide down this slope leading to hell, the one who had already started to tear off several patches of Viktor's skin. Jayce looked at where his moles once stood proudly, splendid little marks of his humanity, now replaced by the coldness of the metal, disappeared under a mass of pulsating cables, an impassive machine. 

 

He spat out a trickle of blood drowned in his mouth following a blow received by the Herald of the machines a few seconds earlier. He whistled an unpleasant sight between his teeth, loaded with a multitude of emotions: sadness, nostalgia, hatred, pain. His heart was pounding in his chest that was much too tight for his own good, his breath short. His hope of one day having his partner back had flown away at the same time as the mechanically voiced words had come out of Viktor's mouth, when Jayce had finally gathered the courage to come and confront him in the freezing laboratory: "If you keep getting in my way, I'll kill you Jayce. Without remorse." 

 

And now the cyborg was sitting there, on the ground after his stunt across the room, breaking the stool that Jayce knew all too well, the one that once stood in their shared laboratory at the Academy. The one that Viktor used to move around more easily in order to spare his aching leg. The one that made him roll from one corner of the room to another, but especially behind Jayce so that he could place furtive kisses along the back of his neck before fleeing, perched on the wheels of the chair.

The defender's heart sank into his stomach under the weight of grief. Was that a tear he felt running down his cheek as he recalled these memories that now seemed so futile? Jayce approached Viktor who had not yet moved from the cold and sanitized tiles, that stupid iron mask screwed onto what was once his pleasant face filled with love. A love now gone, no doubt.

Jayce lowered himself to straddle his enemy, one hand gripping the red fabric around his neck again, raising his fist as if preparing to crush under its weight the regrets of a conversation he had never had with Viktor before... this change of stainless steel.

But Viktor under his grip did not move. He was capable of it, so why? A glitch in his system? Feelings preventing him from moving were not a likely answer. Because Viktor had none left. Right?

 

Jayce could not bring himself to hit him. Yet they had exchanged blows for several minutes before finding themselves there, inert, breathing raggedly, heavy salty pearls rolling along the bruised flesh of Jayce's face, their passage leaving traces frozen by the ambient air on his rosy cheeks.

 

The leader of the Giopara clan leaned over his former lover, his gaze blurred by the water, the pain, the anger. A palette of emotions crossing his mind, his body, painting abstract but so painful vivid paintings on the walls of his being.

 

His trembling lips tightening the gap between Jayce and Viktor a little more, until they settle on the phlegmatic mask. And Jayce can’t help it, his mind long gone into the limbo of a bygone time, a time when Viktor woke up next to him in the morning light, a time when Jayce held him in his arms, a time when the warmth of Viktor’s hands danced on his skin with tenderness.

 

So Jayce kisses, again and again and again, every inch of the motionless mask, the warmth of Jayce’s delicacy settling and warming the surface.

 

“I hate you.”

 

Could he say in exhausted breaths, so tired. In a loop, between two kisses, “I hate you, I hate you, I hate you” 

 

But I love you. I loved you, love you and will always love you, despite the blows, despite your departure, despite the solitude. Despite everything, even if the world exploded, the universe lost its colors, even if you killed me. Even if your hands ripped my throat out. I love you Viktor. Now and forever. 

Yet, all that came out of Jayce’s mouth in the grip of despair were three words. Three heavy words, not even half sincere as his lips refused to stop kissing the hot metal, between two sobs. 

 

“I hate you.”

Jayce had spent his late afternoon and early evening reading “Can the Machine love the beating Heart”. Finishing the last chapter that was being published, he wiped away a small tear due to the emotion felt during his reading. To what extent had Viktor been inspired by him? As for everyday life, Jayce had quickly noticed some similarities between the layout of the Runeterra laboratory and the living room of their apartment. He had also noticed similarities between some secondary characters and Viktor’s cousins, Powder and Vi. 

Jayce began to read other comments posted on Ao3 but also Twitter, his gaze amused at the observation of an incomparable fervor below Viktor’s posts, who shared some snippets of what he was writing for the next chapter. 

He too wanted to show his support for his friend. So he decided to create an Ao3 account and began to express himself under each of the chapters of “Can the Machine love the beating heart”.

Chapter 1:

@TheHammerGuy: I recently discovered your story and it's the first time I've read a fanfiction in my life. I have to say that your prose is incredible!

 

Chapter 2:

@TheHammerGuy: This way you have of describing the feelings of the protagonists is magnificent, I can't stop reading!

 

Chapter 3:

@TheHammerGuy: Oof this chapter really broke me, Jayce who thinks that Viktor doesn't feel anything anymore when he couldn't bring himself to insert all the emotional suppressants into his body... 😭

So he posted almost a dozen comments getting lost in the mass already present. Then he closes his laptop before sitting cross-legged in his bed and taking his face in his hands. He knows that Viktor answers all his fans. Would he do it for him too? As if to answer his question he hears a notification sound, an email: “[Ao3] Reply to your comment on Can the Machine love the beating heart”. 

@TheHammerGuy: I discovered your story recently and it’s the first time I’ve read a fanfiction in my life. I have to say that your prose is incredible! 

• @MachineHeraldLover: Thank you very much, it touches me to be the first story you read on Ao3 🙂 I hope you like it as much as I like writing it, thank you for this nice compliment.

Viktor had just answered him. His heart skips a beat in his chest and he hears Viktor's bedroom door open, listens to his slow footsteps heading towards what seems to be the bathroom. He's awake, he thinks, but Jayce doesn't move from his bed. He needs to know, he has to ask him. And if Viktor couldn't answer him face to face, on Ao3 on the other hand... 

Chapter 6:

@TheHammerGuy: I saw that you had already said in response on the previous chapter that you draw inspiration from your roommate to write your story. To what extent do you use him as inspiration? Are you two close? How would you describe your relationship? 

These questions are certainly a little intrusive, but Jayce is much too curious to know what Viktor thinks of him... and his anonymous cover is perfect to allow himself to ask them. 

Jayce waits a few minutes before hearing the “ding” again indicating two new notifications. He rushes to the tab he left open, but frowns when he sees that it’s not Viktor who answers him.

@TheHammerGuy: I saw that you already said in response on the previous chapter that you draw inspiration from your roommate to write your story. To what extent do you use him as inspiration? Are you two close? How would you describe your relationship? 

 

• @Bunnypoem: Without wanting to seem rude, these kinds of questions are a bit disturbing, right? Personally, I wouldn't like a stranger to allow himself this kind of parasocial reflections

 

• @Pinky: I agree with Bunny, we are on Ao3 here, it is not a dating app and even less an open door for inappropriate remarks like this, get a grip HammerGuy

Parasocial? But Viktor is right there, not even 2 meters away! You are the parasocial ones who think for him, if he doesn't want to answer me, then he doesn't have to.

But of course, he couldn't answer that without exposing his true identity. So he just ignores the messages and closes his computer. Jayce gets up and decides to go see how his friend is feeling and check if his fever is still as high.

He is at least reassured to know that Viktor has managed to get up and when Jayce comes out of his room, he sees the kitchen light on. He heads towards it and sees Viktor leaning against the counter, making himself a tea, waiting for the kettle to whistle to let him know that his water is hot enough

— .☘︎. — 

Viktor still feels his stomach knotted in the pit of his belly, the fatigue still present in his body, sore muscles. His leg itches from one end to the other and he can hardly stand, leaning as much of his weight against the counter of the open kitchen, waiting to be able to pour the water heating on his cheap tea bag. 

Viktor sees Jayce come out of his room from the corner of his eye, the latter approaching him before taking a seat on one of the stools nearby. Jayce crosses his arms which he rests on the counter after putting his phone down, the screen against the lacquered wood. 

“No more coffee?” he asks with an amused pout, because he knows that Viktor is not the type to drink tea and even less Jayce’s which he finds bland.

“No more milk”, he simply replies, almost yawning, rubbing the back of his neck as he sees Jayce abruptly stand up and head towards the entrance.

“I’ll go buy you some,” he says nonchalantly, slipping on his sneakers under the exasperated gaze of Viktor, who hadn’t planned on bothering him for something so trivial.

“Jayce, you don’t have to go, I can survive until tomorrow.”

But Jayce just waves his hand evasively, chuckling as he ties his laces.

“No, I insist. It’s purely selfish of me anyway, I don’t want to deal with a grumpy Viktor tomorrow morning.” And just as Viktor was about to retaliate with a clenched fist on one of his hips, Jayce slipped out the apartment door, which he closed vigorously. Viktor sighs and shakes his head, no matter what he says he could never stop Jayce's altruism. He notices that his friend forgot his phone in his haste but doesn't worry too much, the grocery store that's open 24/7 is only a 5 minute walk from here, Jayce wouldn't be here long. 

The kettle whistles and rings too loudly for his liking in his ears. He hurries to turn it off and pours the hot water into his mug that he places on the coffee table in the living room. Then, he goes back to his room to grab his computer and his crutch before going back to sit on the couch. Viktor checks the new messages he would have received in his sleep and those he didn't take the time to answer during his last trying days and his mind curses again against his teacher and the massive assignment he had to send, numbers still dancing in a corner of his skull. 

He quickly notices that his new reader, TheHammerGuy, has left several supportive comments all over Ao3. Viktor promised himself he would reply to everyone, so he set to work to keep his promise.

@TheHammerGuy:This way you have of describing the feelings of the protagonists is magnificent, I can't stop reading! 

• @MachineHeraldLover: Thank you very much HammerGuy, this is what I prefer to write, I really enjoy it 😊

Ding

Viktor turns his head towards the noise, Jayce has just received a notification. He will tell him when he gets home. 

@TheHammerGuy: Oof this chapter really broke me, Jayce who thinks that Viktor no longer feels anything when he couldn't bring himself to insert all the emotional suppressants into his body... 😭

• @MachineHeraldLover: I wanted to convey Jayce's distress in this chapter and continue the misunderstandings, glad it touched you so much!

Ding

Probably Caitlyn texting him, Vi, Powder, Ekko and her were supposed to go out tonight.

@TheHammerGuy: You can really feel how much MH cares about Jayce but the fact that he refuses to give in to his feelings because of the current situation... I find it both extremely sad and touching. I loved this chapter!

• @MachineHeraldLover:Thank you very much again for your support HammerGuy, I hope you like the rest :)

Ding

Viktor frowns and looks towards the kitchen. He finds the timing of Jayce's ringtone oddly in line with the moment when Viktor posts one of his replies. But there was no correlation right?

@TheHammerGuy: Reassure me, we will be entitled to a happy ending? Because I don't think my heart could handle a tragic ending, they suffered so much I just want to see them happy :(

• @MachineHeraldLover: I only have a vague idea of ​​the ending, I haven't decided yet if it's going to be happy or not.. We'll see ;)

Ding

“No fucking way.”

Viktor gets up, carrying his laptop under his arm, and heads towards the device that has been getting on his nerves for the past few minutes. His heart pounding, he approaches it but doesn’t dare look at the screen. Impossible. Jayce couldn’t be the HammerGuy, could he? If that were the case, that would mean he had discovered Viktor’s secret… Did he also understand the nature of his feelings ?

Don’t panic Vik’ even if Jayce found your fic, that doesn’t mean he knows the author’s true identity.

He opens his computer one last time to answer his new admirer once again and for the fifth time, the horrible ding resounds once more in the silence of the apartment. Viktor, with a trembling hand understanding the implications that this would engender if Jayce was indeed the HammerGuy, turns the phone over. He doesn't need to unlock it to see a bit of a notification appear and his guts twist into origami in his weakened body. 

“[Ao3] Reply to your comment on Can the Machine love the beating heart”. 

“Fucking hell” 

Viktor can't stop the insult from crossing his lips as he takes the phone in his hand, his heart beating. There is no doubt, Jayce was indeed the HammerGuy. But to reassure himself, Viktor's mind found a whole bunch of excuses to explain the situation.

Jayce is the one who showed me LoL, no wonder he knows Vikjay right?

He may have seen @yearnerjayce's viral tweet and was intrigued, surely.

I've done everything to make sure I can't be recognized online, there's no way Jayce would know I'm the MachineHeraldLover.

Repeating this to himself over and over, Viktor finally calms down a bit, regaining a decent breath. He decides to go back to the sofa and swallow a sip of his tea, grimacing when the now lukewarm liquid hits his tongue. But as if to finish him off, Viktor casts his incredulous eyes on the most recent comment from the HammerGuy, Jayce.

Are you two close? How would you describe your relationship?

Why?

Why would Jayce ask him questions like that? They have nothing to do with his fanfiction and are purely personal.

Viktor's gaze goes back and forth frantically between the clock in the living room and his computer. The noise of the second hand is unbearable, loud, he wants to tear it off the wall and throw it out the window, screaming. Viktor feels the sound of his heartbeat beating in his temples, his hands are getting sweaty. Jayce has been gone for a while and will be back soon, he has to calm down no matter what. But how? 

Is he doing this to make fun of me? In his place, how would I have reacted if I knew he was writing a gay fanfiction using me as inspiration? Does he think I'm cringe ? Probably. It's ridiculous, the situation is ridiculous. And it's my fault. 

Viktor curls up on the couch, bringing his knees to his chest, burying his head against his brace, panting. Fuck, fuck, fuck

He had ruined everything. Stupid fanfiction, stupid game. He had just lost his dearest friend who on top of that enjoys making fun of him.

Jayce probably knows. He knows I lov-

The sound of keys in the lock makes Viktor jump, panicking. He can’t move or make a sound, his throat tight, his stomach in knots, his head pounding. He feels like he’s about to have an anxiety attack when he sees Jayce appear in the doorway, taking off his jacket. He already hates the worried look on him as Jayce runs toward him, setting the carton of milk on the counter as he passes the kitchen.

“Viktor, what’s going on?”

His voice is so soft, affable. But is it sincere? How long has he known? Viktor can barely stand Jayce’s bright eyes on him, feeling compelled to look at his feet to regain some control over his body.

Viktor just hands him his phone. Then after a deep breath, seeing that Jayce doesn't know what's going on, he manages to swallow a few words.

"Are you the HammerGuy?"

Viktor needs no other answer than Jayce’s dumbfounded look and his body stiffening as his question evaporates into thin air. Now it’s Jayce’s turn to not know what to answer, his gaze shifting.

Blitzcrank is sleeping in his cat tree, snoring. The second hand and its ticking are about to explode. It’s 7pm. A few passersby can be heard in the street below, the sound of stilettos against the asphalt.

“How long?” Viktor finally asks to break the unbearable cacophony that has settled between them.

Jayce stammers, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. “Today. When you fell asleep I… I saw your Google doc open on your computer.” It was even worse than any scenario he had imagined. Viktor's eyes widen as he finally manages to look at his friend. "Jayce… You went through my computer while I was sleeping?"

That Jayce discovered his story by chance is fine, but that he went through his things? While he was in a moment of weakness?

“Viktor I can explain-” Jayce continues, his voice trembling, probably ashamed. But does Viktor really want to listen to his explanation? Has Jayce ever taken his phone discreetly? Read his mail without his consent?

The embarrassment gradually leaves Viktor's body to give way to anger. Was Jayce therefore wearing a mask of kindness in his presence? He, who thought that Jayce had no ulterior motives, was wrong? What friend would allow themselves to read your privacy in secret?

Tears begin to creep into the hollow of Viktor's eyelashes "you enjoy it, don't you? To make fun of me" he spits almost out of breath and he notices the rictus that forms on Jayce's face, but decides not to care. "Viktor I-" 

Suddenly, Jayce's phone starts to ring. Once, twice and exasperated at the third ring, Viktor sighs. "It's Cait..." Jayce tells him almost in a whisper, unable to stare at anything other than the coffee table. 

"Answer her" 

Viktor orders, his body still tense, with a gesture of his hand, eyebrow furrowed. Jayce complies. 

Caitlyn -as Viktor already knew thanks to Vi- , is at their usual bar with the rest of the gang, his cousins ​​and Ekko, Powder's boyfriend. She had called Jayce to invite them both to join them, but the mere thought made Viktor's stomach turn, biting his lip.

Jayce doesn't know what to say to his sister, but Viktor makes the decision for him. "Get the fuck out of my sight." He says with a pang in his heart, "I don't want to see you anymore." His voice was calm. Too calm. And Jayce knew, the quieter Viktor was, the greater the fury.

So, Jayce doesn't even try to argue. He hangs up with Caitlyn and gets up, but stops in his tracks as he heads for the door. "Viktor I... Can we talk about this when I get back?"

But Viktor only gives him silence for a few minutes. His hands grip his knees even tighter and he just replies, "If I haven't found a new roommate by then. Now get lost."

Jayce looks like he wants to answer but ends up holding back his words. He heads back to the door and grabs his jacket before leaving without a sound.

— .☘︎. — 

“So if I understand correctly, you snooped into his private life ‘cause you’re a jealous ass? You really messed up there.” 

Vi places an arm around Caitlyn’s shoulders and with the other swallows a few sips of beer ordered earlier. A few short strands of her pink hair falling along her forehead, piercing blue eyes. Her tone between mocking and inquisitive had made Jayce sink deeper into his seat. Arriving at The Last Drop, Jayce had sat down at his friends’ table without realizing that he had cried on the way. After Caitlyn’s insistence, he had finally given in and told his fight with Viktor, its ins and outs. There was no point in lying, he needed help to redeem himself and his friends had already wisely advised him more than once in his life. 

“Vi’s right,” Caitlyn continued, “having questions didn’t give you permission to go through his computer. You need to apologize, Jayce.” Her voice almost sounded like Ximena’s when she scolded him as a child.

“How?” he asks, “Viktor doesn’t even want to talk to me anymore.”

“Man, let it sink in a bit. Put yourself in his shoes, you’d be furious too. But don’t wait too long to start a conversation with him, try to talk to him tomorrow.”

Ekko in front of him looked at him gently as he said these words. His skin is an intense dark brown, contrasting sharply with his thick white hair styled in bunches on top of his head, the rest of his hair shaved on the sides.

Powder, who hadn’t said a word since Jayce arrived, had just listened, her expression closed. Her short, vibrant blue hair moved in small waves as she straightened up in her seat, arms crossed. Jayce continues:

“What do you think I should tell him? At this point, if I manage to save our friendship, it will already be a victory I don’t deserve.” Jayce puts his head in his hands, staring at the table, the only thing keeping him from throwing himself on the floor and dying miserably.

“Why don’t you just tell him the truth?” Caitlyn suggests, “I’m sure he’d appreciate the honesty of your feelings.”

“What?” Jayce raises his head so fast that he feels a vertebra crack, “you want me to confess? But.. But Viktor might hate me. If I tell him that.. I love him “- he says shamefully, almost whispering -” he’ll reject me and I-” 

“Dude,” Vi cuts him off, “did you ever think that Viktor could love you too?” 

Jayce looks at her with wide eyes as if she had just seriously told him that the Earth was flat. “Huh?” 

“Jayce, are you stupid or what? He wrote a gay fanfiction based on you. And haven’t you seen the way my cousin looks at you? How he never misses an opportunity to check out your as-” 

Caitlyn quickly muzzles her girlfriend by putting her hand over her mouth. “What Vi’s trying to say,” she continues calmly but with a certain redness on her cheeks, “is that Viktor seems to like you more than you think. At least that’s the impression we got.”

“We?” Jayce resumes, looking stunned by his sister’s hazy theory and his gaze takes in his friends around the table. Vi, still gagged, rolls her eyes at him. Ekko offers him a small amused smile and Caitlyn giggles.

But Powder slams her hands on the table, the straw of her cocktail nestled between her teeth. Her gaze makes Jayce shiver, who has a hard time supporting the tension that the young woman has just established between them.

“Hey Golden Boy,” she begins, frowning, “do you really love Vik’?” Powder stands up and suddenly grabs Jayce’s collar, forcing him to close the distance between them. She looks into his eyes, stern, determined. “How much do you love him? Because if you’re not serious and you break his heart into a thousand pieces, then you might as well not tell him anything.”

They stay in this position for a few seconds, giving Jayce just enough time to consider the question. Returning her steely gaze, he stands up in turn and grabs Powder's hand, gently breaking the hold around his neck. "If Viktor wants me in his life, I want to be there for him until we die old together. Marry him, make him happy, give him everything I have." 

A silence falls around the table, the group of friends both embarrassed and serious, studying Jayce's words. It is finally Vi who decides to break the heavy atmosphere: 

"Did you really say that out loud? You're really a fan of romantic movies, huh?"

She starts laughing, quickly followed by Ekko and Caitlyn. Powder gives him a satisfied look and sits back in her chair, Jayce following her example, ashamed as he realizes what he just said so solemnly in the middle of the bar.

“That’s an answer I like, Prince Charming,” Powder punctuated, laying her head on Ekko’s shoulder, “But good luck making it up to Vik’. It would be a miracle if he still wanted you.”

Jayce sighs as he finishes his drink, his gaze empty, his face dejected. A real miracle, indeed…

“You know Jayce,” Ekko continues as he applies small circular pressures to Powder’s back, massaging her gently, “sometimes saying or doing crazy things like you just did, can help.” He in turn put his head on his girlfriend's, placing a kiss on her forehead, "If Powder hadn't taken the lead, I probably wouldn't be sitting next to her tonight."

Ekko began to tell Jayce how Powder and he met. The two young adults had started working together in an orphanage, taking care of the children and the place together. One day, their superior Sevika asked them to paint a colorful mural on one of the walls of the building and they got to work.

Ekko explained that he had already felt something for Powder for some time but had never dared to admit it, the fear of not being good enough for her - and Powder gave him a little nudge as he explained it to Jayce -. Ekko didn't know at that time that the young woman had equivalent feelings for him. As he began to paint, Ekko had mechanically started to draw her portrait on the wall, insisting on the fact that the children loved her too much not to immortalize her face on the building. But Powder, in a bold move, had taken the brush from his hands and started to draw a mini Ekko on her arm, looking him straight in the eyes.

And if I love you, should I also immortalize you on my skin?

Since then, the two young lovers have never left each other, supporting and loving each other for more than 3 years now.

The conversation continued with anecdotes amidst laughter from the table. It was now Caitlyn's turn to tell how Vi had seduced her: At first reluctant because of her previous relationship that had ended badly, Cait' had first refused Vi's advances despite the visible attraction she felt for the latter. Vi knew it and every day without exception for almost a month, she had multiplied the little attention towards her future half. Flowers, coffee, restaurant, going to the cinema, Vi chained clichés of romantic films on clichés of romance novels, Caitlyn's favorites. Then on her birthday, Vi had asked her to stand in front of the campus building in front of which they had met for the first time. Vi had then climbed onto the roof without permission to display a huge banner - painted with Powder's help - with writing large enough to be read from across the yard: "Caitlyn will you be my girlfriend ?"

Vi had then shouted to catch her eye and despite the height she swears she remembers the surprised and red face of her future girlfriend. "I love you Cupcake, please say yes!" she had screamed at the top of her lungs before being evacuated by campus security and being reprimanded by the university director. 

"Getting expelled for several days was worth it." she finally declared as Caitlyn placed a kiss on her cheek with a smile. 

Jayce listened, envious. Would he too be entitled to this kind of moment with Viktor one day? 

"I guess it runs in the family, doing weird stuff," Powder said, sinking into her seat with a smile on her lips and her sister replied, "Yeah, as much as writing a fanfiction about your crush" and Vi gave Jayce an amused look, heavy with innuendos and Jayce responded with an amused sigh.

He also wanted to draw Viktor on his skin or shout his love from the top of a building. 

Oh...OH.

And then an epiphany crosses his body, clears his mind: Jayce has an idea. A slightly stupid idea, a slightly embarrassing one, but an idea nonetheless. If Viktor didn't want to listen to Jayce’s words, then maybe...

***

It's around 10pm when Jayce returns to the apartment. Opening the entrance, he is greeted by the same silence as when he left, but this time all the lights are off, including in Viktor's room while he doesn't see any ray of light coming from under the door.  Viktor must have been sleeping, he, who was so tired just a few hours earlier. So Jayce decides to go to his room and change, putting on a pair of red pajamas and a large white shirt. Crashing into his bed with a heavy head and heart, he starts to stare at the ceiling, his mind  wondering if his idea is not just dumb.

And obviously he had things to deal with his ceiling. Detailing each stain, small cracks and reliefs on the plaster. Unable to fall asleep, he tries to turn on his right side, left, on his stomach, before finding his back against the mattress again. An hour, then two, then three pass: impossible to sleep. He had ended up scrolling endlessly through social media and reading other short stories on Ao3. 

And finally, finally, after all this time of horrible silence and boredom, as if to answer his call for help to the desire to see and settle things with Viktor, he hears the door of his friend's room open, small noises of a cane tapping the floor under his feet. After a moment of panic in the middle of thinking about whether he should go and approach him now or wait until tomorrow, Jayce had gotten up to pace around his room.

After a while, he hears the sound of the toilet flushing and decides to leave his lair: Jayce has to go talk to him. Opening his room overlooking the corridor, he comes face to face with Viktor who is about to go back to bed. 

"Hey" is all he can say to him, without really being able to make out his face in the darkness of the night that enveloped them. Viktor's silhouette did not move for a moment but he answered him a timid "Hi" before heading back to his bed.

Jayce tries to stop him and approaches him, “Viktor I.. We need to talk.” But Viktor stops again and Jayce knows he’s not even facing him, as he makes out the back of his roommate standing in front of him. “Jayce, it’s past 1am, this is not the time. I’m tired and I’d like to go back to bed.”

 — .☘︎. ༚ ⛯ ༚ .☘︎ —

When Jayce had left the apartment earlier, it had taken at least an hour for Viktor to finally decide to move from the couch. His thoughts had jostled in his skull like a hurried crowd, looking like headless chickens, replaying their argument over and over again. Had he been too rough with Jayce? Probably. He wasn’t even angry at him anymore, but at himself: almost regretting not having declared himself sooner. 

A part of his brain kept telling him how undesirable he and his hollow cheeks were, that Jayce, upon learning of his feelings, would slam the door on him, leaving him and a broken friendship on the landing. It was also this part of him that had taken over during their confrontation: vicious, unhealthy, rejecting everything and everyone, including Jayce.

But the other part of his brain, more rational and lenient, had started to make itself heard, a more powerful voice, reassuring him: Jayce is a good person. Even if he doesn't love you, he will never humiliate you or hurt you. Think about it, Viktor, do you really think he's capable of commenting on your hobby with such gentleness just to break you later? You know Jayce isn't like that. He probably really appreciates what you write.

Viktor had tried to go back to bed, deciding that he would have a talk with Jayce tomorrow, his mind clear, the night no doubt bringing him guidance. But just like Jayce in the next room, he had only managed to toss and turn in the hollow of his bed, ruminating on his thoughts.

And now, the two of them were there, planted like stakes in the middle of the hallway. Jayce wanted to address the situation to him, now. Taken aback, Viktor has only one desire: to run and hide in his room and wait for tomorrow, when daylight might help him clear his mind.

“Jayce, it’s past 1am, this is not the time. I’m tired and I’d like to go back to bed.”

But Jayce couldn’t bring himself to let him slip through his fingers. Groping in the dark, he finally found Viktor’s hand, which he delicately took in his large palm. “Viktor, please, I won’t be able to sleep.” 

The words were hard to come out of his pasty, nervous mouth, as he thought back to his idea that had tormented him for over 3 hours in his room. Thinking over and over again how he was going to do it, the infinite possibilities of Viktor’s reactions, sometimes confident, sometimes on the verge of falling out of the window, imagining a compassionate Viktor and another acerbic one in his mind.

The two idiots that they were did not move, while they were both prey to the same feelings: the heart rate accelerating, the breathing panting, the two men in fear that one would discover the torments of the other, praying that their opposite would not notice the dampness that was beginning to settle in the palms of their hands. 

Viktor tried to free himself, without much success. Jayce held on - to his great misfortune -, while the call of a safe zone under his blanket invited him to go to his room and slam the door. Unable to answer him, Jayce continued. 

“Viktor, please give me just a minute I won't be long, I promise”

Jayce sees through the faint moonlight filtering through the window, a glint reflecting in Viktor's golden eyes as he turns to finally face him.

"You have a minute, then I'm going back to sleep, make it count Talis." Viktor finally swallows, his throat tight.

So Jayce, with the courage he had to have - otherwise he too would have started running a marathon in the street below instead of taking responsibility -, began with an uncertain voice:

“Viktor, I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have broken your trust by intruding on your privacy and what you do in your free time is none of my business, but…” He takes a step forward, closing the gap between them even further, grabbing Viktor’s other hand in his own. He can almost feel Viktor’s breath on his face, only inches away from his, “but in the delirium of your fever you mentioned a name and it disturbed me. I know curiosity is no excuse for what I did but I wanted to be honest with you.”

Viktor feels his heart about to explode, rolling around in his chest. Even though he can’t clearly see Jayce in the dim light, he can’t help but stare at the wall in the hallway. 

“Why..Why didn’t you just ask me when I woke up, instead of grabbing my laptop? I don’t understand.”

This is the moment Jayce had been replaying over and over in his head. It was now or never that he had to act, hoping not to make Viktor uncomfortable. He replays Ekko's words to give himself courage " You know Jayce, sometimes saying or doing crazy things like you just did, it helps."  

Jayce momentarily releases his grip to grab Viktor's wrists with the tenderness of an angel. He directs Viktor's hands to his mouth, hiding the lower part of his face, the small mole above his lip, a part of his nose. Viktor raises his eyebrows in an expression of incomprehension but doesn't dare say anything through the gag made of his own skin.

“I didn’t dare,” Jayce continues, “I was too jealous and I didn’t dare tell you, the truth Viktor is that…” 

Jayce cups his hands on Viktor’s burning cheeks, hoping he doesn’t move from the position Jayce had just put him in. With his gaze filled with all the love he has for him, hoping Viktor can feel it, he remembers that scene from “Can the Machine love the beating heart” that had brought a little tear to his eye earlier.

If Viktor can't accept my words, then maybe he'll understand with his own, the full extent of my feelings. 

Jayce presses his lips against Viktor's fingers to place a kiss there, then another, then another, again and again as between two sighs, very softly, whispering, as if by raising his voice too loudly he could break the body of the man he loves so madly, into millions of pieces of glass scattering on the floor, he repeats over and over like his namesake the Defender of tomorrow: "I hate you, I hate you, I hate you." 

And Viktor knows it. He knows perfectly well that these three words, little prayers that he now feels wandering on the tops of his fingers in Jayce's warm breath, invoke a powerful feeling that is the exact opposite of their initial meaning.

Because he is the one who wrote them. He is the one who knows better than anyone the value they represent. Viktor feels a wave of heat rising in him that progresses throughout his body, he trembles a little against Jayce's hands. He can't control the tears that now flow down his cheeks, resembling small diamonds formed in the hollow of his curved eyelashes under the soft light of the moon. 

After a good minute that seemed like an hour, a decade, eternity, Viktor decides to stop Jayce by removing his hands from his mouth. His heart beats so fast that his mind becomes foggy and he almost feels faint under all this pressure accumulated over the last three years. 

Since he met Jayce Talis in the academy's amphitheater. 

Since Jayce moved in with him. 

Since Jayce opened his heart with this smile as bright as gold.  

“Jayce.. do you really love me?” 

He finally asks in a sob as the two men get even closer and this request makes Jayce crack, who refuses to let Viktor’s beautiful face leave the surface of his palms. 

“V.. I want to kiss you, I want to cherish you please.. Let me be with you.”

“V” A single small letter, a nickname that only Jayce had the right to pronounce. Viktor nods while Jayce with the circular movements of his thumbs, blurs the rain from his lover's face. 

Slowly, Jayce brings his face closer, rests his forehead against his and after a few seconds his lips intertwine with Viktor's. A click . Like two puzzle pieces that finally fit together, like two inseparable pieces of everything, the two faces of the same cog.

Their kiss is sweet, tender, loving. Viktor's leg hurts like hell, his crutch long since fallen to the ground and Jayce realizes it as he places his two large hands on his hips to give him support. Soon their chaste kiss turns into a multitude of it, short, fast. Jayce's tongue easily finds Viktor's in the access to the latter's mouth. 

Viktor's mind in the clouds can almost visualize the cacophonous orchestra of the moment he is living, each instrument representing a part of their being: the violins of their lips dancing around them, the piano of their hand searching, brushing the skin of the other, the wind instruments of their breath, but especially the drums of their hearts beating the measure in rhythm. A fucking Vivaldi concert , Viktor can't help but think, fast, surprising, melodious.

But their frantic pace must eventually stop at some point so that nature can remind them that breathing is mandatory for all living things. So with some regret, they move a few inches away, their foreheads touching again.

They look at each other and start laughing, a simple, affectionate laugh, realizing the line they had just crossed.

“Are you tired?” Jayce finally asks, “I can let you sleep if you-”

“Jayce,” Viktor cuts him off, “pick up my crutch and take me back to my room.” He says in a falsely inquisitive tone, a smirk on the corner of his lips. Jayce, reassured to see that their evening together was not yet over, kneels down to pick up the object under the burning gaze of desire of Viktor, who bites his lip. He gets up, hands the metal support to his man and the two young people go to Viktor’s room.

“I can’t believe you replayed a scene from my fanfic,” he says with a chuckle, “you freaky man.”

“Hey at least it worked”, Jayce replies, “Besides, there’s another scene I’d like to do.” He adds, a certain amusement in his voice that doesn’t escape Viktor, raising an eyebrow.

Viktor goes through the doorway first, leading the way in and Jayce can't help but position himself behind him, pressing his chest against his back, starting to kiss him against the nape of his neck, over and over again.

"Jayce!" Viktor exclaims, stifling a laugh, visibly tickled. 

But his attention quickly turns to the stiffness in Jayce's crotch that is starting to make itself felt in his lower back. 

His breath is short when he asks "what scene Jayce?", his skin burns, his heart has long since left his ribcage to perform some beatbox album somewhere far away. 

Jayce steps back and leaves Viktor in the middle of the room as he heads towards the desk still submerged in notes and paper. He makes sure that nothing breakable is there, noticing that the laptop responsible for the current situation is placed on a chair not far away. 

With a quick and vigorous gesture, he sweeps everything that is on the surface of the furniture, paper, pens, notepad. But while he is in the excitement of the moment, he feels a creature pass between his legs, fear in his stomach, in a plaintive "meow !"

"Shit Blitz!" Jayce exclaims surprise and Viktor can't help but laugh at the absurdity of the situation "Pff poor thing !". 

What a magnificent laugh. Jayce's embarrassment is nothing compared to the feeling that this rare laugh coming from Viktor gives to his heart which melts at the sound of it. He finally rubs his neck and turns his gaze to Viktor "I didn't plan on this sorry." He says in a small voice, but Viktor simply answers him with compassion "Jayce, I don't care, close this door and carry me to my desk". And that's exactly what happens, Jayce complies.

He gently wraps Viktor's sore leg around his hips and in one precise, powerful motion, lifts him so that Viktor can completely encircle his strong shoulders with his pale arms, his second leg following the first, finding a comfortable spot in the hollow of his back. Jayce leads them both over to the furniture and sits Viktor against the ash wood.

Jayce knows that Viktor is a trans man, having been told about it by Viktor before, but a slight tension stiffens his body. Would Jayce be disgusted by it? He doesn't really have time to worry about it as Jayce sets to work, removing Viktor's shorts and tossing them to the floor without ceremony.

The thought had crossed Jayce's mind quickly but he had put it aside, judging it futile. Whether Viktor had a vagina, performed an operation or whatever a cosmic angel had between his legs, it didn't matter: Viktor was just Viktor and that suited him perfectly.

Discovering Viktor's underwear he couldn't help but salivate at the sight of the wet spot sitting between Viktor's thighs.“Fuck V, you’re already so-” “Wet?” Viktor cuts him off in his reflection “Yes, I wonder who’s fault it is.”

They kiss again, much less chaste than before, sloppy, almost desperate. “I want to taste you V,” Jayce whispers in his ear, making Viktor shiver. “Be my guest,” he simply replies, placing a hand in Jayce’s messy brown hair, the latter beginning to remove the last piece of fabric preventing him from reaching the object of his desire.

Jayce kneels like a believer in front of the altar, praying to the deity before him, beautiful, ethereal under the moonlight that their eyes had grown accustomed to for some time now. He takes in every detail in front of him, eyes wide looking at his pubic hair, Viktor’s flushed and dripping cunt, dotted with moles. Jayce places a kiss, then two, on the inside of Viktor’s thighs while, breathing in the air and the salty smell that emanates from his lover’s wetness, he begins to gently lick the soft and silky skin. 

“Ha- Fuck Jayce–” Viktor lets out between two moans as Jayce picks up the pace. The latter begins to gently massage Viktor’s throbbing cock with his thumb, in rhythm with his tongue going back and forth around Viktor’s walls. One of his large hands that until then had been gripping around Viktor’s ass, moves to the drenching spot between Viktor’s legs. 

The moans and obscene noises bounce off the walls of the room and Jayce’s mind goes crazy, wanting more and more as Viktor pants beneath him, with “ahs” and “Jayce, please, right there”, “so good”, “more please” . Viktor tilts his head back and closes his eyes, his back arching under Jayce's tongue as it touches the perfect spots between his legs. His breathing is ragged, he feels the sweat beading on his back, a knot forming in the back of his throat.

Jayce’s tongue leaves his lover’s drowned lips to wander and suck on his little and rosy cock, while his fingers sink inside Viktor with an ease that makes him completely lose his mind. His dick trapped in his pajamas pulses along his leg but he can't take the time to take care of it, because the man is on a mission. The mission is to make Viktor cum, again and again, all night long if necessary, so that he can forever mark the body of the man he loves with his presence.

“Oh my fucking god– , right there Jayce ” Viktor almost screams in his room at a decibel that Jayce doesn’t recognize, while he feels Viktor’s grip close more firmly between his hair, bringing his face, his mouth, closer and closer into Viktor’s cunt. Jayce feels that he is on the verge of…“Don’t stop, don’t stop-- !”

And Jace doesn't stop.

Despite Viktor's spasms in his legs, crying in his orgasm, while semblances of words and loud onomatopoeias are the only things that can come out of his mouth besides the trickle of drool along his lips twisted with pleasure, Jayce doesn't stop. Again, come again for me, he thinks as Viktor almost struggles under his fingers that grip him from the inside in a hook, even harder, faster and Viktor can't hold on anymore, his hips no longer obey him, fucking Jayce's face so hard as he waters him uncontrollably, the liquid gushing out without him being able to do anything about it.

His whole body shakes like it never has before, Viktor biting his hand until it bleeds to keep from screaming and alerting the neighbors, Jayce almost feeling his hair ripped from his scalp. Jayce finally slows down, gently, to help Viktor go through his second, powerful orgasm.

He finally pulls away his face soaked by Viktor's mess, which he looks at intensely while wiping his face with the back of his hand. "Look at you. You're so beautiful, my love…" He tells him as he gets up. Viktor hums, his eyes still closed as Jayce sets about kissing him again, calmly, Viktor feeling his own taste on Jayce's tongue. 

When he opens his eyes again, his golden gaze filled with tears of ecstasy falls on Jayce. Viktor cups his lover's cheeks. My man, mine, forever. He thinks, as Jayce begins to place small kisses on his moles, above his lip, under his right eye, in his neck giving him the sensation of small butterflies settling along his skin. But as he lowers his head, he easily notices Jayce's stiffness, his cock still not free from his clothes. “You didn’t.. yet?” He asks, pointing at the shape in Jayce’s pants.

“Um I…” Jayce blushes at the question as he rests his head against Viktor’s shoulder. “V, I’ll take care of it, but I want to hold you in my arms first.” And putting his words into action, he hugs Viktor, his head completely buried between Viktor’s neck and shoulder, the latter raising his eyebrows. “Take care of it? With your hands? You’re kidding me,” he says, gently caressing Jayce’s back, as his hand begins to venture under the shirt still screwed on his body, much to Viktor’s dismay as he wants to undress him from head to toe. “V, you just… squirt and came so much, I don’t want to overwork you.” 

That’s the stupidest sentence Viktor has heard tonight.

“Listen to me Talis,” he says, cupping Jayce’s chin in his hand so that he leaves the crook of his neck and can face him fully. “You’re going to fuck me here and now, on this damn desk. Do I make myself clear?” His gaze locked into Jayce’s, powerful, determined, leaving no right to answer other than yes to Jayce, whose eyes widened at the honesty of the words that have just come out bluntly from Viktor’s mouth. “Yes my love.” Is all he manages to answer as he takes off his shirt, still soaked from their earlier romp.

Jayce quickly removes his pants and underwear too, while Viktor enjoys detailing each muscle of his athletic body, considering himself the luckiest in the world to be able to contemplate such a view. Jayce, naked in front of him, hard and so big, just for him.

“Come here,” he says and Jayce places himself between his two spread legs, still sensitive after the mess Jayce made of him. “Kiss me while you put it in… please.” Viktor begs in a sigh as their faces are close again and Jayce readily obliges. As he kisses his lover, tenderly, searching for his tongue and sucking on his lips, he takes his hard member between his fingers and positions it at Viktor’s moist entrance, who exhales heavily against his skin.

With his free hand, Jayce positions Viktor's legs on his shoulders to facilitate the access that his dick wants to penetrate so badly. Then, gently, inch by inch, he pushes his cock inside Viktor, under new moans that Jayce can't help but appreciate, in a slowness almost unbearable for Viktor who feels the walls of his cunt spread to make room for Jayce, so hard, so good, so thick. 

“Jayce, you’re so good to me...” he says in a breath, as Jayce pushes again until he’s totally inside, Viktor feeling so full and spread under Jayce’s hold. They don’t move for a moment, as Viktor, wanting more than anything for Jayce to finally move inside him, tries to roll his hips against the pressure of his lower belly. He looks down, curious to see Jayce inside him and his heart skips a beat as he observes the roundness forming in his gut, Jayce is so big that he causes a visible bulge from the outside.

“Fuck you’re so big, please move Jayce, please.”

But Jayce doesn't move, his mind elsewhere as he asks in a worried voice, "V, does your leg hurt?" Viktor studies the question and places a kiss on his cheek before answering him "Listen, Jayce", he begins in a smooth voice that makes Jayce tremble discovering it for the first time, as if until now everything he had heard from Viktor's mouth was as pure as the first snows of December. 

"Tomorrow you will massage me, you will take care of me like you always did and you will make sure that my leg, my back, my whole body is in perfect shape while I will grumble thinking that you are doing too much, as usual." Then, he continues by bringing his mouth closer to Jayce's ear, "But for now Talis, you are going to fuck me. I want you to destroy me." And Viktor can feel Jayce’s cock pulsing inside at the sound of his dirty talk, to his absolute pleasure. 

Those last words make Jayce shudder and pop the last latch containing his poor psyche that has been put to the test for several minutes now and his instinct takes over as he starts to move back and forth inside Viktor, growling like a beast because this is just all too good for him. He doesn’t deserve it, this beautiful man he wanted for so long, and now he’s here, inside of him, being a part of him in this instant. 

“Viktor, Viktor, Viktor.”

Jayce fucks Viktor with all his will, gripping his hips vigorously as he can feel the hot, pulsing, insides of Viktor's cunt around him, joining his moans with Viktor's as he picks up the pace. Viktor is babbling now, body trembling as Jayce is thrusting harder and harder, sobbing under pleasure, he throws his head back with closed eyes, uneven gasps coming out of his mouth, feeling his toes curling while his heels dig into Jayce's shoulders. “Jayce, Jayce ! I’m gonna, I’m gonna– oh fuck I‘m so close.”

Jayce abruptly stops all movement of thrusting under the surprise of Viktor “ Why ..Ke-keep going, please. ” He begs, before letting out a small cry as Jayce digs the fingers of his right hand into the flesh of Viktor’s buttocks, and with the other gently grabbed his painful leg out of his shoulder and rolls it around his hips, supporting it the best he could. To ease the pain in Viktor’s limb, even if he asked Jayce to destroy him . Because Jayce can’t help it, making sure Viktor is as comfortable as possible even in moments like these. 

Then, he orders him in an authoritarian tone : “wrap your arms around my neck as hard as you can”. 

Viktor complies and lets out a bigger scream of surprise as Jayce straightens up, carrying him in the air, while Viktor must learn to quickly control the fear of falling that suddenly invades him. “Jayce!” 

"I won’t let you fall, I promise.”

And Jayce resumes his jerky, powerful pelvic movements, pistoning inside Viktor, in and out, in and out, again and again, as he feels he’s not gonna take much longer before he cums. Viktor screams with pleasure, his shame of being heard long gone, “I’m yours Jayce.” He manages to say, crying, wanting all the street to listen to his moans and ecstasy, to affirm he belongs to Jayce and Jayce belongs to him.

And it’s too much, it’s fucking too much for the both of them, but Jayce can’t cum yet, he must resist, because he wants to keep his promise and will not drop Viktor on the ground.

“Jayce, I love you , I love you so much.”  Viktor yells as he cums again around Jayce’s almost bursting cock, he’s squirting again  for the second time tonight but this time on the stiff member of his lover, feeling the liquid dripping from his spasmodic cunt, feeling his clit convulsing. “Viktor– V, you’re so good to me, my love.”

Jayce has to stop under the delirious sensation as with what little lucidity he has left, close to orgasm, he finds the bed and sits on the edge, lowering Viktor's trembling leg from his shoulders to rest it around his waist with his sore one, settling the both of them into the lotus position.

Viktor can’t speak, still shaking in Jayce’s arms while the latter resumes slow movements, making Viktor bounce up and down on his exhausted dick. “V, I’m gonna-”, he pants, “Inside,” Viktor cuts him, “please, give it to me.” 

The sound of their skin slapping echoes through the room, Jayce’s mind gone, as he finally reaches his limits, thrusting a bit more, the last few hip gestures. “I love you too V.”

He manages to say in a breath at the same time Jayce is emptying himself inside Viktor’s hot body, feeling his semen spurting into the wet and exhausted hole of the man of his life. 

They stay like this for a moment, whispering soft words to each other, how much Jayce loves Viktor and how much Viktor wants to be with him forever, gentle, almost silent prayer gliding through the air, only them can hear.

Then, Jayce carefully flips Viktor’s back onto the mattress and kisses him tenderly, on his lips, his cheeks and his forehead. He stands up and heads to the bathroom, bringing towels to dry his lover and clean the room, before lying down next to Viktor under the blanket.

“That was amazing.” Viktor says and he can almost hear Jayce purr at the praise while he puts his head on Jayce’s torso, relaxed. “I’m so glad you’re an excellent writer.” He responds, chuckling, “You literally wrote my confession’s script, without it I would have panicked earlier.” He says while caressing Viktor's hair kindly, leaving kisses on his temples, cheeks, neck. 

“What can I say,” Viktor answered,smiling, “I’m a genius.” 

They both giggle into each other's arms, kissing and hugging before Morpheus calls them into the middle of the night.

 In the sunlight of the morning, Jayce opens his eyes and admires Viktor’s beautiful face. I’m so lucky , he thinks, while Viktor wakes up yawning at his sides. “Hi”, he says quietly, “Hey.” Jayce responds.

A beautiful first day sight   Viktor thinks, while smiling at the man he wants to live with until the end, until the world explodes, until the universe loses its colors, until the end of time, no, eternity itself . 

And all of this new feelings will surely be a good inspiration for Viktor and Jayce's next life chapter.