: 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]

[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?]

[hexualhealing]

[ Both of them dancing around each other, knowing and yet not knowing the other knew. It could only be so laughable until it turned pathetic. ] Ah, then I am that predictable. How disappointing, I should probably do something to throw you for a loop then.

[ Not knowing that the hand on the forearm had already done that. ]

The thing that I like about both Science and Arcane are that they are largely separate fields, and yet there is a bridge to be built between then though one must be cautious to build that bridge carefully, with a proper foundation.

[ It felt like an allusion to their relationship, and the fact that bridges could be built but also destroyed. ] I have toyed with the thought of attempting to use the Arcane to help those such as myself..

[ Oh yes, this was the path that Viktor had been on about in the previous universe-- however then he took a sharp curve. ]

Though I would like to apply those principles to creation more so than regenerative; creating something as opposed to fusing it to organic matter, though that is an interesting concept.

[hexpectations]

Don't be so sure you haven't already.

[Jayce informed him because yeah, he'd been thrown, was still reeling, would be reeling for the rest of the night. And he liked it, the dizzying rush of being in Viktor's presence.]

Yes, that's it exactly. A bridge. But all my attempts so far have crumbled before they've fully bridged the gap. I've come close, but I haven't found the right foundation yet, nothing stable enough to hold.

[A tilt of his head as Viktor also treaded that familiar path, of helping people, not just himself. There was a flicker of surprise in his features at that new twist. Oh.]

So then... making rather than remaking?

[hexualhealing]

I believe...

[ He wished he could open the notebook as he walked, he would not be able to as he was not nearly that coordinated; but he did expound upon this particular venue of conversation. ] That if things can be made, then they can be reconstructed and likely far easier because we are already aware of foundational principles from the creation process.

[ He lets go of Jayce's forearm but only so that he can brush his fingers through a few locks of his hair. ] It is merely a different jumping point, it is rather hard to guestimate molecular properties without understanding their core properties, but starting from the ground up you already have the blocks.

[hexpectations]

[It would not be the first time that Jayce found himself falling into listening to Viktor in something between awe at the other man's quick mind and eager excitement to build onto what he was saying. It was an old dance that they both knew well.

A nod.]

If we can't build it to start with, then we can deconstruct it, take it down to its most fundamental piece, a building block...

[A different approach, a new angle to the way they could harness this technology. Maybe there could be some good of this.]

[hexualhealing]

Exactly!

[ Viktor was no stranger to the feeling of ideas surging through one, and he certainly did dare a peek upward at Jayce as they walked. He also did have another universe of ideas working through him that could be reworked and enhanced as needed. ]

Reverse engineering, I do not know why we...

[ he stopped himself at that point, not completing that sentance that clearly ended with '..didn't do that in the first place' which would have given so much away, perhaps wierded the other man out? Viktor did not want to become unsettled ]

What matters is that we understand the basics of organic and inorganic material but to truly stablize a concept we have to know how it breaks down into its lowest common denominator-- there is nothing we can do unless we have a firm grasp on the engineering part-- how the gears and axles spin and turn to create harmony.

[ To Viktor, this was poetry. ]

[hexpectations]

[His heart was racing just like it had been a lifetime ago, pieces falling into place, and Jayce wanted to sweep Viktor up into a hug at the simple brilliance of it. How had they missed this? He was swept up enough that he did not notice that almost mis-speaking.]

No, you're right. Trying to go about it from the mid-point leaves too many unknowns, chances for flaws we don't in the system to slip in and fester...

[For corruption to spread and become something bigger than either of them could ever have guessed.]

It's a slower approach, smaller steps. But more certain ones. ...safer ones.

[A shake of his head.] Heimerdinger really was right all along.

[hexualhealing]

[ A glance up at Jayce as he caught that word, his eyes sharpening a little as something begin to grow. He had not caught the knowledge that Jayce knew his favorite snacks because that was quite simply not something that he prioritized (even though he knew those things about Jayce, you could not just sit in a lab with someone day by day and NOT notice) , but the mention of Heimerdinger and something that had been said while the two men were deep in their hubris certainly held pause; it was only after their initial collaboration that it had been said.

Did Jayce..?

He decided to prod if he could find our answers. ] Who is ... Heimerdinger?

[ He had stopped mid walk, they had cleared the university gardens and were far closer to Jayce's lab, but he had to know-- perhaps a hint of possibility. And he knew for a fact that Jayce was NOT good at lying or hiding anything. ]

[hexpectations]

[Jayce was in full science nerd mode, brain racing to reshape the approach this new version of himself had been taking, reshape the approach that he and Viktor had taken before, framing it in this new perspective that Viktor had suggested. It was thrilling and fascinating so much so that he hadn't even noticed his slipup of speaking of things that weren't part of this reality, yet anyway.

But Viktor had stopped walking and asked a question.

It should be a harmless question. After all, one name couldn't really mean something to someone who didn't know the name. It should be an innocent question, one that Jayce could answer simply enough. But something about the look on Viktor's face, the focus and sharpness in that gaze.

Jayce turned to face him, a tightness in his chest dangerously like hope that wanted to rise. And god he was the worst at lying anyway, so instead he offered, that shade of hope at the very edges of his voice, tentative and terrified,]

He was a mentor of mine. A lifetime ago.

[Please. Please whatever forces drove the cosmos, please give him this. He didn't deserve it, of course he didn't, but what he wouldn't give for this one little miracle.]

[hexualhealing]

[ It should have been an innocent question but it wasn't not really, it was a loaded question and too many threads wrapped around it-- he looked to Jayce and caught that wide eyed puppy gaze, this man who had always worn his heart on his sleeve, in his eyes.

Where Viktor's heart lay in the subtlities, the upward or downward centimeter tilt of a mouth or the fraction of an eyebrow raise when emotions were involved-- Jayce's had always been so heartbreakingly expansive and he renembered being brought back to life by Jayce and the Hexcore, and those tear-filled eyes.

He stepped a little bit closer, using his cane as leverage. ]

A... timeline ago?

[ Jayce would recognize it, if he knew-- and Viktor kept his gaze trained solely on those eyes. ]

[hexpectations]

[Subtle, yes, so subtle, but once you knew Viktor they were unmistakable, those small changes in his sharp features. And Jayce could see them now, the unspoken volumes behind that single word, a test flare shot up in hopes that it might be seen by someone who would understand it.

Jayce's eyes widened further, the faintest start of a mist clouding his vision. He answered that question in action rather than words, stepping closer and pulling Viktor into his arms, near engulfing the other man as if he could wrap the entirety of himself around him.]

It's you.

[His Viktor.]

[hexualhealing]

[ Perhaps Viktor should have expected this, he was not unused to the affection that Jayce displayed-- but still he was taken aback as he was drawn into those arms, able to look past that shoulder into a world that now existed as their new stage. Then his eyes softened and he rested his cheek against a shoulder.

His cane has already clattered to the ground, that too was fine. ]

It is me, Jayce-- it is me.

[ It felt like coming home, just as their last few moments had been where they had opted to end it for the good of humanity; he'd been afraid and yet Jayce had told him that he would not be alone, would never be alone. That they would be together in this.

Viktor was normally not emotional, however he could not help but a few feverish tears as he rested his not so gaunt (not yet) cheek against the other scientist's shoulder. He had remembered, remembered him and everything that they had done. He had known and that was why he'd been so aggressive in his friendship, because he recognized him. ]

I was searching for you.

[hexpectations]

[Jayce's arms tightened around him at those words. Simple beautiful words. His Viktor. The man he'd known and worked with and again and loved and loved and lost and found again at the very end when it mattered the most. A sound that couldn't decide if it wanted to be a laugh or a sob slipped free.]

I was looking for you too and I had no idea how to find you, and then I tripped over you. I didn't think you remembered me but I couldn't just let you go and... I am rambling.

[Rambling and not letting Viktor out of his arms for the moment. They were in the middle of the walkway but at least they were away from the crowds of the university and honestly Jayce didn't care anyway. The world could go around them.]

[hexualhealing]

You can ramble all you want, Jayce Talis--

[ He was not sure if they were free of Zaun and Piltover, all those machinations that had drawn them, but they had each other and that was all that mattered. He was not romantic and fate held only as much appeal as the man who had his arms wrapped around him.

Those golden eyes searched for Jayce's then and he offered the hint of a smile. ] Let me retrieve my cane and then we can continue on to your lab, I am not sure how much catching up we have-- as predictably before I came to in this body, my memories, I was focused on my research which... follows the same path as--

[ Hubris... ]

[hexpectations]

[The things Jayce would not do for that smile. And it had been so long since he'd seen it, too long since Viktor was flesh and blood and whole and looking at him like the world still held so much possibility for the both of them. He very reluctantly let the other man go, a bit sheepish at the fact that he'd been clinging to him quite so tightly.

Jayce crouched to scoop up the dropped cane, still on one knee as he handed it up to Viktor.]

Yeah, me too. On the road to Hextech and the Hexgate all over again. But this time... we have the benefit of hindsight. Both of us. And I... I'm so glad it's you, Viktor.

[hexualhealing]

Good.

[ Viktor accepted the cane from Jayce, and for a moment their eyes catch and he sees everything in full retrospect, the eyes and the forehead touch-- the promise that he would follow him into the dark; that they end this together. He finds himself reaching to lay his hand on a shoulder. ] And I am glad it is you too, we have much to discuss I think.

[ He was in his own mind, and Jayce was with his whole facilities as well. There was no stolen cores or stones, no council.. at least not on his part. Perhaps they could steer each other in the correct direction. ]

It's always been you, for me.

[ Forever, and in every lifetime. And he did not know what that meant except that whatever he had in his heart had been built up since their first meeting. ]

[hexpectations]

[Jayce wished for one reckless, breathless moment that he'd kissed Viktor in what he thought was their final seconds alive. But that was out of line, wasn't it? Whatever they were -- and oh they were something, were something intrinsically, irrevocably linked, souls woven through each other in a way that would never be undone -- they weren't lovers.

Even if those words on Victor's lips had him aching. It's always been you, for me. Certainly it didn't mean what Jayce wished it would mean. And that was fine. They had each other in this way, whatever it was, and Jayce would be content with having Viktor in his life as his dearest friend, his partner in so much.

He set a hand atop the one at his shoulder as he straightened up.]

For me, too. And it always will be. In all timelines, in all possibilities.

[Viktor's words from that timeless space, echoed back now because they were true and would always be true for Jayce as well.]