: Every Timeline Every Possibility :

[hexualhealing]

[ Forehead to forehead, and an explosion of light that fell around them in a symphony of time and space while the words reverberated within his mind, 'you are perfect the way that you are'. Their souls fused, in every timeline and every possibility there could only be them. Divine clarity, that was what it certainly was. Viktor was full of it, of the breath of Jayce's breath against his own and the certainty that they would find each other.

But gods, they could not be allowed to repeat their mistakes.

So many mistakes that could've been avoided if they had only known.

Wherever they went, whatever possibility they faced-- Viktor prayed that he would know, that he would be able to guide them away from the hubris of their own machinations, and the machinations of others. Especially for the man who braved hell so that he could be here at the end with him-- Jayce full of idealism and hope, who despite choices made could push all of it aside for the two of them, to give grace to the same man who could not understand that his own choices had been just as full of error.

Perhaps they could meet in the middle?

Underwater, Viktor had been underwater. He woke up in a start with the sun just peeking just above the horizon, trailing through his window with the first glimmers of morning. A deep breath like he had never breathed before in his entire life while air filled his gasping and aching lungs-- and that ache spread throughout his entire body.

Somewhere out there, Jayce was out there.

Waiting for him. "Every timeline, every possibility" he breathed as if it was a mantra.

There were memories of a life before this moment of wake-up, but it was coupled with the sudden infusion of life before, another era and another universe. Viktor had been given a second chance, and he would not squander it-- that is if he could find Jayce. Gods, Piltover was so big, and he was but one man; countless lives on the freeway of these souls, but he needed to find the exact one. Gods, what a challenge and with the limitations of his own body which he felt keenly.

But not weakness, never weakness as he forced himself out of bed and his body to cooperate with his own fragility. His cane was reached for and then he set about to go about his daily routine which came just as effortlessly as the time before all of this. ]

Comments

[hexpectations]

Serendipity sounds right. The company is quite good so far.

[The words were said with a smile bordering on playful, bordering perhaps on just a little too familiar. Or maybe it would be interpreted as flirting, which Jayce would be fine with as well -- a thought that was far more surprising to have so loudly in his mind than it probably ought to be.

He took a cautious sip of his own coffee, reassuring himself he wouldn't scald his tongue before committing to sipping at it proper.]

Me? [Yes, Jayce, you.] I'm a scientist, a researcher, looking into new alternative energy sources.

[So yeah, still on the road to ruin, the road to trying to unlock the Arcane for mere mortals, just called a different name.]

Not very interesting, I know. [That comment was half teasing because if this Viktor was like the Viktor he'd known, well, they were a matched set of nerds.]

What about you?

[hexualhealing]

[ Eyes widening ever so slightly, if only because he had expected Jayce to be caught up in something completely scholarly, giving his all to it much like he did to everything that he did. But because he was a researcher as well, of course he was-- diving into the mind of this universe Viktor's mind, he could see that he was a researcher at the University, quietly working and researching though he did not have the charisma to be applied with grants. ]

I have to admit that I do have some interest in that study myself, though I work at the University on a special grant and so I am given the projects that do not interest most people. If I could be left alone to my own devices and without the heem and haw of the Professors, I suspect I would be able to do quite a bit more with my time.

[ Viktor realized that the road to their hubris had been at their split, perhaps if they had stayed together through all of it.. it may not have turned out the way it did. But that was merely retrospect and in the grand scheme of things? It was a penny a wish. ]

I would say that you do not look like a typical researcher but well, I can see the light of intelligence in your eyes. [ Yes Jayce, he'd been looking into those eyes-- those eyes that he knew could burn with excitement and the fire of progress. ]

[hexpectations]

Oh yeah? Looks like we have some things in common.

[This is the in, Jayce. This is the way to keep Viktor from leaving the cafe and walking out of his life without resorting to be a creepy stalker. The fact that the Jayce of this place had not yet met this Viktor was a tragedy that needed to be corrected.]

If you're interested, you should come take a look around my lab. I could show you what I'm working on. And maybe you could tell me about your research? Sort of a mini symposium. ...in the spirit of academic collaboration.

[And then he was too surprised by the words that Viktor had said to worry about making too big an invitation too soon. Instead he was fighting the way his face wanted to heat.] That might be the nicest thing anyone's ever said about my eyes.

[hexualhealing]

[ A lab invitation.

Both of them surreptitiously attempting to prevent the other from just walking out of their lives. It was that pull and tug, that need for things to turn out better then it had been. Perhaps they could still do good but only if they held each other accountable throughout whatever it was that they were researching. Hubris could be avoided, right? Viktor would like to believe that, so much that after a very thoughtful incline of his head (he did not want to appear too eager), he accepted. ]

I am very interested in talking to a fellow researcher, and as long this does not involve myself speaking in public, I do not mind attending this mini symposium.

[ Then after setting his cup back down on the table between them, he leaned forward with his forearms on his thighs and he peered at Jayce, into those eyes and saw the way that the cheeks flushed. ] It is not so much about your eyes but the light behind them, it is like flames.

[ And Viktor was the moth seeking warmth. ]

[hexpectations]

[They were better together, each acting as a ballast to the other, keeping them steady even when the waters of the sea around them -- astral or otherwise. Jayce knew this without doubt. He'd seen the way the world unraveled when they were apart.

He laughed, ducking his head at the reminder of Viktor's aversion to public speaking, to being the center of attention even when he deserved it, when it was something that his own brilliant mind had created.]

No public speaking required. I promise.

[Jayce was not prepared to be caught by the intensity that Viktor was so skilled at, the way those eyes could look straight into the heart of you. Neither that attention nor the words that followed did anything to help his attempts to not fully turn red.]

You're going to make me blush, Viktor. [...going to, already had, whatever it happened to be. Time was fake. Jayce knew that better now than ever.] Besides, here you are with eyes like gold and a clearly silver tongue.

[hexualhealing]

Oh I do not think so much as that.

[ Viktor said, wrapping his fingers around the coffee cup and lifting it to his mouth to take a sip-- a brew that could be both bitter and sweet, no cream to offer a buffer. It was a stinging sweetness that balanced and allowed the flavors to shine as they were.

Jayce was flirting with him.

He could recognize it more so then he had been able to when he'd been so focused on his work, where all he could think of and breath in was Hextech, not realizing his feelings for Jayce until it was too late. Or perhaps just in time, time enough to prevent a disaster. ] I am not attempting to sell you anything except perhaps that which you already own.

[ His silvery tongue, so to speak. ] Intuition.. but you strike me as the type to ignore your own merits as you lift others up around you,

[hexpectations]

[Jayce was flirting with him. He was as stupid as he was brilliant, honestly, and that stupidity had kept him from seeing something plain and bright and obvious right in front of him for years. They had both been so dazzled by the idea of Hextech, of their shared dream of changing the world and making it a better place.

But in those last fleeting seconds of their life that had stretched out past eternity, all Jayce had really wanted was to hold onto Viktor and never let him go again, and it was funny how that certain clarity had come only at the very end.]

Don't give me too much credit. I'm stubborn and sometimes my own ambition gets in the way of my remembering that unintended consequences are still consequences.

[A tilt of his head.] You strike me as the type to worry more about the good of others than yourself. [He smiled and added, coyly,] ...Intuition, of course.

[hexualhealing]

[ That was...?

Those words made Viktor smile, it was not a bright smile. No it was slow-acting and like a flower unfolding, if one glanced away within it's process it was usually gone. It was the way that he had been a bit of a dork when they first met, and that burgeoning seriousness that had taken over as life and those aches and pains hand gotten away. In this reality he remembered the pills held in a bottle behind the mirror in his bathroom, it kept the pain away and his regenerative disease from hastening at a rapid pace.

Such as he had never had access in another universe.

More could be done but he had time in this life. He was not racing against a clock that spun too fast-- though it was a clock and it did tick-tock a bit quicker than Jayce's would. ]

Intuition is indeed a wonderous thing, those gut feelings that tell you that perhaps this is where you are supposed to be?

[ Viktor was flirting, in his own way. He was no good at it, could not see feelings right in front of him and knew very little on how to act on them, but he could try perhaps. ]

When should we set this Symposium?

[hexpectations]

[How the fuck had he missed for so long how stupidly in love he was with Viktor? The other man smiled that soft little smile at him, and Jayce Talis could feel himself falling to pieces.

This was a second chance to do the right thing, to stop the horrible fate their mistakes could lead to. Could it be a second chance for them too? Was that a selfish thought? After all, he didn't even know if Viktor felt the same way.

For a smart man, Jayce was an idiot.

There was something though, a tension that was not at all unpleasant, like the thrum of energy in the air. He managed to mostly not sound entirely breathless.]

Exactly, yes. Like something has led you to...

[To what you wanted, what you needed more than anything.]

Well. When are you free?

[hexualhealing]

[ Viktor removed from the breast-pocket of his waistcoat a little black schedule book which he flips open with those long slender fingers, flipping until he gets to this particular month. He knew that he did not have to do this, he had no real life. Viktor of this universe was by-large a loner who preferred his own company to anyone elses, but he knew.. knew that an exception could be made for this man.

His eyes alighted on a date and then he glanced upward at Jayce over the book, his smile turning into something only a little wry. ]

It appears, after carefully looking over my schedule.. that I happen to have this evening free.

[ Did it occur to him that it may be too soon? Well now it did, and that wry smile turned full of chagrin as he waited for either an acceptance or a decline; after all his schedule was mostly open save for a few slots where he was supposed to meet Powder (oh god) for some sort of cross-collaboration. ] If that is too soon, I completely understand as it is a fully reasonable expectation that you--.."

[hexpectations]

Six o'clock okay?

[Blurted out a bit quickly, before Viktor could talk himself out of agreeing to seeing him tonight. Jayce was certain it was too soon, but he didn't want to let Viktor far from his side at all right now. That wasn't entirely realistic, of course, but at least if he only had to wait until tonight to see him again, maybe he'd go a little less insane in the meantime.

A sheepish smile of his own as he cleared his throat and took a sip of his coffee.]

I can meet you on campus? It should be a nice evening for a walk. My lab space isn't far.

[hexualhealing]

[ Surprise, and then the hint of a smile flickering in those eyes; a feeling like it used to be. That surprise and yet also that rush of affection as Jayce's excitement knew no bounds. He was always surprised by it no matter what, even when he knew that he should not be. That it should be so commonplace, and yet it was not, still a treasure even after any and every moment. ]

Yes, I can meet you in front of the Statue of the Great Archivist?

[ It was a reasonably warm day, would be a similar sort of evening. Good thing since Viktor intensely hated being cold and would bundle up almost unreasonably.. if he had to go out in it. ] If you do not mind my being slow, then a walk would be quite nice.

[ A self-depreciating smile at his hobble, though he did not expect any concessions to be made for him. He was not the type. ]

[hexpectations]

Perfect.

[Jayce was well aware of Viktor's overall distaste to the cold -- something he was quite sure had at least something to do with the skin and bones state of the other man -- so the warmth of the day and evening were for the best. Still, he'd be happy to lend Viktor his jacket.]

I don't anticipate being in a hurry. Nothing wrong with a nice evening stroll.

[In good company. It was almost romantic, wasn't it?]

[hexualhealing]

[ Viktor had never been powered by romance, not in the traditional sense.

But he felt that warmth in those moments when Jayce had brought him food, when they had sat there quietly pouring over books, arcane equations and ancient texts involving theories and speculations that surely had some truth to it, the whisper of Jayce's gasp whenever he found something particularly enlightening and then the excitement as he shared it with him.

To Viktor, if he understood romance it was in moments like that which likely made him a bit.. unusual?

But this wasn't romance, it was friendship. Friendship had nothing to do with romance no matter how much he'd felt his heart develop into a pulse that seemed to quicken with each time that he felt that Jayce understood him.

Was there anything more heart-filling then being understood so completely? ]

You are very convincing, Jayce. Here I am, not having expected that my day would go like this. I should endeavor to trip other scientists more often? [ He joked.. ]

[hexpectations]

[Oh yes, friendship. The deepest of friendships, the sort where their souls had connected as surely as their intellects, and Jayce didn't know how his world had existed before Viktor. Clearly nothing romantic though, except here was Jayce wondering not for the first time what Viktor's lips would taste like, what his name would sound like sighed out softly in the other man's accent.

This was, of course, a very platonic thing to consider about your lab partner.

Jayce couldn't help another smile.]

I mean, I might get a little jealous if you start tripping other promising young researchers.

[What another incredibly platonic statement. But he couldn't help it. Things had been so dire for so long, he could barely remember the last time that they'd been able to just exist and joke and enjoy each other's company.]

[hexualhealing]

[ Viktor attempted to hide his smile behind his coffee, there had been a time when Viktor's smiles had been like this, free and yielding. Before the wear and tear of their research had come into play; the beginning when they had been each other's all, before the machinations of everyone else had stepped in and gotten in the way-- the herald to the time when their path started to diverge. ]

I do not think that I have the strength to trip anyone else, to be honest. So I suppose that I shall have to make do with tripping you in new and heretofore unexpected ways.

[ Golden eyes that danced, before his melding into Hextech had turned them an iridescent grey. Warmth in those eyes now, a memory of a time when it had been them; seven years of time that seemed far too short. ]

I should...

[ His coffee finished, he reached for his cane and then pulled himself up using it. He'd been searching for Jayce, but now they had plans to meet again and their paths were now conjoined.. hopefully. ] I have much work to get done but I will meet you this evening then?

[ Just to be sure. ] I look forward to it, Jayce.

[hexpectations]

[It had been too long since they'd been young men without the weight of the world -- and of their own mistakes -- on their shoulders. Jayce had almost forgotten what it felt like had almost forgotten what Viktor's soft little smiles looked like.

Almost. Somehow those smiles were etched into the antechambers of his memory.

He didn't want the moment to end, and he half started to object as Viktor started to stand. But right yes, tonight. It wouldn't be long. And Jayce should do his best to orient himself into this version of himself that he was supposed to be here.

He stood though, ever the gentleman.]

Yeah, I'll see you tonight. I'm looking forward to it too. Until then, Viktor.

[hexualhealing]

[ There was one thing that stood out in Viktor's mind as he stood up. He remembered the first time that they'd spent time together, and Jayce had been very effusive of trying to accommodate him, though Viktor had been very quick to grouse that he did not need any special help, that he could cobble along just fine.

But Jayce had not erred nor defaulted into that.

Very strange. He was not unpleased by this, but it felt almost like Jayce knew what his preference were. There was also the cookies, a little hint of something like recognition before finally he gave a very slight bow and then started to walk toward the door, with the empty cup in his hand. Which he calmly disposed in the trash.

Another glance over his shoulder, another wry smile and then he headed out and toward the university. Might as well see what he was dealing with, he knew some of this life but only from recollection-- not actually having lived it. His life had started this morning upon waking, and now was the time to figure things out.

Viktor did not bother going home, he worked through the late morning and early afternoon, ignoring everything except for pouring through the notes he had written, deciphering it and understanding it. It took more than enough time in the interim of waiting, but by the time that five thirty rolled around, he had a glancing idea of the sort of life that he had led. One largely of academics and research with very little within the loopholes.

Much as he had before he'd met Jayce in that previous timeline.

These thoughts occupied himself on the walk, and as he reached the statue-- he realized that he was probably 10 minutes too early, and so he settled to lean against the base of the statue and wait. ]

[hexpectations]

[It would be impossible to forget that lesson, that Viktor was not the type to want to be coddled for his physical limitations. On the contrary, Viktor was determined to need no one else so far as Jayce could tell.

He watched as Viktor left, still standing, looking to anyone watching (no doubt) like some lovestruck fool, which, yeah, was accurate enough.

Eventually he dropped back to his seat with a shake of his head. New world. New life. And he'd found Viktor.

Oh fuck he'd found Viktor and he was going to show him his research, and as he took a moment to try to settle into the memories of this life that he'd been dropped into, he realized with a cold, sinking feeling that it was exactly the sort of research one would expect. Research into harnessing the powers of the arcane through science itself and he...

No it was fine. He knew better. He knew better, and they wouldn't make those mistakes again. He wouldn't let it happen again.

He did go home, changing and trying to put himself into some sense of order rather than the frazzled mess he'd been when he'd run out shortly after waking. In fact he might have dressed up, just a little, you know, for the Symposium.

For Viktor.

In any case, Jayce was also running early, and as he jogged his way up to the statue, he immediately caught sight of Viktor's familiar form, and settled himself leaning beside him.]

Hey. Do you think I look too eager, if I show up ten minutes early to meet someone? I'm hoping to play it at least a little cool here.

[hexualhealing]

[ Viktor had been flipping through one of the spiral-bound notebooks with all of his research, the equations and the theories; the hypothesis that would spell the start of something that could end in ruin. He attempted to think of when it all started, and knew when exactly it was-- when he'd interfered in the life of a young child as he had come from one timeline to make contact in another.

Chills ran up his spine.

This had to be guarded, this had to be quiet. No one needed to know about this, his grip on his notebook tightened though he was drawn out of it by a voice, and then he looked to the side and up into those warm eyes. ] You crept up on me.

[ More like bounded. ]

I.. I am afraid that I am habitually early so I suppose that it goes the same for me, yes? [ Tucking the notebook underneath his arm even as he noticed that Jayce looked put together and well.. dressed up? ] Oh, I did not realize that there was a dress code for this Symposium.. else I would have gone home to change my shirt.

[ Another wry smile, the sparkle in his eyes as he cast his eyes both up and down. ]

[hexpectations]

Not often I'm accused of being stealthy.

[Jayce opined with a laugh. He could tell that Viktor had been distracted, but he'd seen his partner lose himself in his thoughts and work before, so it wasn't an entirely strange notion.

He also knew that Viktor was indeed a punctual man, to put it lightly. So maybe he'd expected that the other scientist would have beaten him here. When his change of outfit was called out, he glanced down at himself and shrugged with a sheepish tint to his smile.]

I spilled coffee on myself. Had to change. And you already look perfect. [Pause.] ...for a symposium.

[hexualhealing]

Well, I tend to get absorbed. [ He held up the notebook with those slender fingers. ] I suppose you could call science my hyperfixation and there is never a time when I do not want to discuss it-- with the proper company of course. [ Viktor knew when to keep his mouth shut when it was clear that there was no interest in it, in fact he tended to avoid that sort of company. ]

I have found that life is too short to be tolerated and coddled.

[ Ah, life was too short wasn't it?

Another widening of the eyes, very faint as he heard those words 'you look perfect'; and he remembered when Jayce had called him perfect, that his leg had not been a disability but rather something that made him who he was. He looked down at the notebook, and was reminded of so much that started to well and fill within him; and then a glance back up at Jayce. ]

You promised me a walk so, shall we? [ He decided that perhaps he could for the first time in these realities, rely on Jayce and so he did by putting trust on the line and taking Jayce's arm. In this entire movement he conveyed without words 'I will allow myself to lean on your strength' ]

[hexpectations]

Good. I'd like to think I'm the proper company, because I want to hear all about it.

[Talk science to him, Viktor. Nothing would be hotter than that.

Except, as it turned out, having Viktor take his arm in a way that the other man never had before, not in any version that Jayce could remember of their existences, allowing him to offer that scant bit of support for what it was worth. They both knew Viktor could manage perfectly well on his own, without needing anyone else; what Jayce had hoped they'd both learned -- even if it had only been at the end of an existence, with another Viktor entirely -- was that he didn't have to.

His heart went skipping over itself and he couldn't help the way his opposite hand reached over to rest briefly atop those clever, slender fingers, a light warmth weight, there and then gone.]

I did promise you that, so yeah. Let's go, while we've still got the sun with us.

[He'd lead them off then, in the direction of his own lab space.]

[hexualhealing]

[ As they started walking, Viktor found out that Jayce generated so much heat-- entrancing heat that drew him like a cat was prone to pick the warmest spot in the house to lounge. And the way that Jayce drew his warm palm away had been so close to making a sigh of displeasure escape is mouth.

The Hextech scientist managed to keep it at bay. Jayce was a furnace, and Viktor felt as if cold was a constant state for himself, and now that he indulged once-- he knew he would be in trouble further down the line. ] You mentioned something about Regenerative Energy? Tell me about your Hypothesi.

[ That would fill in the space and he did like hearing Jayce speak, liked seeing the other man get caught up in his passions. ]

[hexpectations]

[He was a human space heater, it was true, and all that warmth was available to Viktor if he gave any inclination at all that he wanted it. Really it was taking all Jayce's willpower not to just wrap Viktor into his arms and hug him as tightly as he could and tell him how terribly he's missed him and how this time will be differnet.

But he'd reminded himself that this Viktor was still a stranger. This Viktor had only met him this morning, and it would take time to build a friendship, but they had that chance. And Jayce would do as much as he needed to keep Viktor in his life.]

Straight into it, huh? I kind of thought you might be the sort...

[A gentle, playful tone in his voice.] My hypothesis is predicated on the fact that the forces of the arcane are no different than the other physical forces in the universe, save that science hasn't learned how to harness it yet.

[Oh god he could hear himself saying the words and cringed inwardly at the realization of how they were being set to play out this drama on the stage of another world. It would be different this time. It had to be. How many times could Orpheus look back at the last moment and lose it all?]