Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

"MAN OF PROGRESS DISAPPEARS DURING HEXGATE MAINTENANCE CHECK"

It was the headline on every newspaper in both sister cities, so it wasn't like Viktor could pretend he didn't know.

Of course, leave it to Jayce Giopara to do something embarrassing. How did his idiot nemesis manage to get himself whisked away to who knows where after conducting a simple maintenance check? One would think that the (co-)creator of the Hexgates himself would know how to navigate around the contraption at this point.

The people were giving Jayce too much credit by calling him an unparalleled genius of their generation, Viktor supposes — because how does this fool manage to get lost for an entire year without being found? Word around the street was that Jayce wasn't transported in any of the cities where other Hexgates stood. It seemed that wherever Jayce was, he was either dead or completely lost in another place.

Anyway, who cares about all of that?

Viktor's life has honestly never been better: no one randomly barging in his lab and prattling on about some kind of nonsense Viktor could care less about; being left in peace for once, the quiet a familiar comfort; and his ass getting a well-deserved break from the constant abuse it has to endure from Jayce's stupidly massive dick.

Initially, Viktor thought that Jayce had simply landed his sorry ass somewhere far off with little to no help. Unfortunately, Jayce was like a cockroach that refused to die — which meant that Viktor would have to deal with him again soon.

Viktor had expected a month before Jayce finally found his way back to Piltover. Then, he'd have to face that overbearing bastard once again.

But a whole year? It was way too long to disappear without any trace nor news of being spotted elsewhere. If there was anything Viktor hated more than Jayce, it was the uncertainty of not knowing what happened to him. It's not like Viktor had any other choice — he had to satisfy his curiosity no matter what it took.

That's all there was to it.

In a couple of months, Viktor had managed to create a smaller version of the Hexgates in his lab using some scrap metal he found in the local junkyard. With the remaining hex crystals in his possession, he used them to power up the contraption.

The problem was never the construction of the Hexgate nor making it work — Viktor could probably replicate it over and over again in his sleep if he had to. It was a matter of tracing back where Jayce was and if he was even near a Hexgate in the first place. Knowing that egotistic idiot, he'd most likely take his time looking around before trying to find a way back.

With the use of Jayce's DNA, Viktor managed to narrow down where his Hexgate portal would connect with. However, another problem quickly arose — it seemed that wherever Jayce had ended up was related to different timelines. It was something Viktor had theorized during his time as a student, so it was quite fascinating to have its existence confirmed now.

While Jayce's DNA was not fully reliable, it had allowed Viktor to open portals in various timelines — none of which had his own Jayce.

It was a little startling to find various versions of Jayce. Viktor always asked them the same question: "Have you seen a man who has a punchable face, a smug smile, blue eyes, and identifies as 'Jayce Giopara'?"

In other timelines, Jayce had a startled or confused look on his face before shaking their head. There were timelines where, much like his nemesis, they attacked or shot him with that annoyingly large hammer on sight. Some of them looked too... welcoming to be Jayce Giopara, that son of a bitch—

Ehem. Viktor almost let his feelings get the best of him there for a second.

Anyway, Viktor usually never got a lead. When he did, the Jayces always seemed to look a little ticked off. There was one where the supposedly better-looking Jayce had outright threatened Viktor to — and he quotes — "keep that piece of shit away from my partner," whatever that meant.

Wait, why in the world is Viktor the one getting the brunt of all this frustration anyway? It's not like he did anything wrong! Viktor should shoot them next time for their insolence. Every time he commits acts of charity, it only ever blows up on his face like a bad experiment.

On a humid day in the Entresol levels of Zaun, Viktor admits he's close to giving up. Wherever Jayce was, he no longer cared. Viktor had spent 2 months of his life on this endeavor when he could've finished his better projects during that time.

Viktor has his head propped up with his augmented arm as he taps his pencil on his notebook full of equations, hypotheses, and scrapped permutations.

I know I'm hangin' but I'm still wantin' you
Hey Jack, it's a fact they're talkin' in town
I turn my back and you're messin' around
I'm not getting jealous, don't like lookin' like a clown

The broken radio Viktor has been trying to fix for weeks has been playing in the background as he tries to think. The object has a life of its own, refusing to tune in to any other station or play or stop on command most of the time. The thing is ancient enough that it poses its own difficulties during the repair process. Even until now, Viktor can't figure out how to tame the damn thing.

During his quest to try to find his hopeless nemesis among the sea of timelines, the songs that the radio decides to play have only added to his irritation with each failure. Viktor is seconds away from sending his Hexclaw to shoot the thing to bits and pieces.

I think of you every night and day
You took my heart, and you took my pride away
I hate myself for loving you
Can't break free from the things that you do

Maybe Viktor should give it one last try before turning in for the day. He's getting a little too heated over this, and perhaps he'd have better chances tomorrow.

With a sigh, Viktor inputs the coordinates he wishes for the Hexgates to connect to. The portal opens seamlessly, and before he decides to enter, he grits his teeth under his mask before crossing the room.

I wanna walk but I run back to you
That's why I hate myself for loving you

Viktor clenches his fist and pounds the old radio until it shuts up. It isn't broken enough that Viktor can't return it to the way it used to be, but at least it's giving him the temporary silence he—

"Honey, I'm home!"

Viktor whips his head to the source of the familiar voice. Surely, it can't be...

"Quit the stupid pet names, Defender—"

Viktor's eyes narrow as Jayce Giopara — Piltover's Golden Boy, Man of Progress, and the Defender of Tomorrow — limps further away from the portal, using the handle of his battered hammer to steady himself.

"What happened to you?" Viktor asks with a flicker of caution in his voice, seeing Jayce's state. He looks like he'd been roughed up pretty badly. Whoever it was certainly had it out for him, especially seeing how swollen his face looked. He also grew out a scruffy beard that seems so unlike him.

Is this even the right Jayce?

Before Viktor can look into the portal Jayce emerged from, it closes completely with the chances of revisiting it less than 1% based on his calculations. Too many timelines with Jayce, it seems.

Jayce sighs. "Long story," he answers before slumping on a nearby wall.

"I have time."

Jayce slides down the wall with a groan, throwing his head back as it hits the cement. "I don't really want to talk about it right now," he murmurs.

Viktor frowns under his mask. He crosses the room with folded arms. "You owe me for saving you," he points out.

"I didn't... ask to be saved." Jayce squeezes his eyes shut, one eye badly swollen from the looks of it.

"Yes," Viktor says, "but you still have to pay up."

Jayce lets out a dry laugh before shaking his head. "Guess I'm really back home this time," he says with a weak laugh, clutching his stomach with a wince. "The other Viktors wouldn't treat me like this."

'The other Viktors'? What did that even mean?

Viktor wants to ask, but there's obviously a more pressing matter than that.

"Let me stay with you for a few days to rest," Jayce says.

"You are not in any position to ask me favors, Defender," Viktor scoffs. "You have already wasted 2 months of my precious time by getting so thoroughly lost out there."

"You know I can't show up like this in front of the council," Jayce says as he opens his eyes and turns to Viktor. "Just a few days, and I'll be out of your hair, V."

Viktor freezes at the nickname. However, Jayce seems to have interpreted it as a lack of any reaction from him instead.

"I'll even tell you about the things I saw out there. How about that?" Jayce offers instead, a bead of blood dribbling out of the corner of his lip. His teeth are washed with red as well, and there seems to be a shadow hanging over Jayce.

If it was Viktor's other self who had thoroughly beaten him, he wouldn't look like this. In fact, Jayce would usually be more chipper, even if he had a broken nose and bruises all over his face.

"I shall let you stay in my home," Viktor says after a minute of silence. "On the condition that you tell me what led to your present state."

Jayce lets out a broken laugh before coughing blood into his palm. He must've thought himself slick by hiding it as quickly as he could, but Viktor was too familiar with coughing out one's insides into their hands not to notice. One of Jayce's organs must be seriously injured — nothing he wouldn't survive.

"Deal."

Viktor stares at the pathetic display Jayce is making of himself on the floor of Viktor's lab before turning away with a swish of his cape. He could always leave Jayce there to fend for himself. It's not like he'll die from familiar injuries, and all his nemesis asked from him was a temporary place to stay in. Viktor has no other obligation to that man whatsoever.

Viktor exits the room to grab a medical kit and razor from the bathroom anyway.

The next day, Jayce seems to be doing a little better.

If anybody else saw Jayce, however, they might beg to disagree. In Viktor's defense, injuries look worse the day after, especially when the bruising has finally decided what color it wants to be after a night of rest. Jayce is still limping a little, relying on the furniture to keep him steady as he insists on visiting his Mercury Hammer in the lab — but at least he doesn't have that scruff on his face anymore.

Viktor isn't his mother, so he has no obligation to stop Jayce if he wants to walk when he should be recuperating in bed all day based on the extent of his injuries. He trails Jayce to the lab just in case he falls. Oh, don't get Viktor wrong — he's simply there to laugh at Jayce's face when he inevitably lands face-first on the ground.

When Jayce stumbles, Viktor's hand shoots forward to grab him by the collar.

"See, I told you. You haven't recovered enough to be walking around!" Viktor scolds with a click of his tongue.

"Careful, V," Jayce warns as he straightens up a little before turning to Viktor. "I'm gonna start thinking you actually care for me."

Then, Jayce shoots Viktor a wink that has what little blood he has in his veins boiling, the wires running inside his metal augments surging with energy as his mechanical heart begins to rattle in his chest. His fists shake as he holds back the urge to hit Jayce in the face at least once.

Jayce observes this with an amused smile. "You're not going to beat up an injured person, are you?" he taunts.

"I might if you won't shut up."

Feeling like he lost that one by responding, Viktor turns away as Jayce helps himself to the tools and spare parts lying around the lab before fixing his hammer. Viktor finds his seat, crossing one leg over the other as he watches Jayce's broad and bandaged back like a hawk.

"Tell me what happened to you."

Jayce is quiet, the only sound in the lab the buzzing of some of Viktor's active inventions and a panel being opened on the handle of the Mercury Hammer. Jayce replaces some of the faulty wires inside, tugging at them before removing each one piece by piece.

"Would you believe me if I said this all started because someone cut the wrong wire?" Jayce begins.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

What would the people of Piltover do without him?

Needing Jayce just to fix a little thing, as if they couldn't do it themselves. It's just a simple wire cut, but the young apprentice assigned to do the work was wracked with nerves and needed assistance. Nobody in the team wanted to risk making a mistake and had decided to call Jayce during the weekend.

He had been busy relieving tension from his body in the shower as he thought of a supple ass spanked cherry red, an indignant voice complaining about the pace being too slow, and a rough robotic moan as Jayce came all over his fist with a grunt. He was supposed to enjoy the come-down but was rudely interrupted when an enforcer came knocking on his door to report a problem with the Hexgates.

Evidently a slave to his own creation, Jayce found his way to the Hexgates with the enforcer in tow. He brought his Mercury Hammer on this ill-fated day, just in case trouble in the name of 'Machine Herald' decided to find him.

The young apprentice profusely thanked Jayce for his assistance, and the Man of Progress simply flashed him a dazzling smile. He took a wrench and tightened some loose bolts before cutting off some old wires and replacing them with new ones. It truly was a mundane and simple task — he didn't need to put his best clothes on and spritz some cologne just for this.

"Thank you so much, Mr. Giopara!" the apprentice sniffled as he wrung his hands together.

"Don't sweat it, kiddo. That's why you've got us adults to depend on, " Jayce reassured as he looked over his shoulder. He was in the middle of cutting the last wire when he noticed the young man's face.

He had angular features and sharp cheekbones, a pair of sky blue eyes, and a curious pair of moles right below his eye and above his lip. His neat dark hair was pushed back, lanky figure drawn in, as he flashed Jayce a wobbly smile.

"Is something the matter, sir?" the young man asks.

Jayce couldn't stop staring at him, his mind disconnecting from his body. He blinked twice as he narrowed his eyes at the young man, just to be sure Jayce wasn't making him up. He couldn't help himself from thinking about how this person looked like if two people decided to get past their tumultuous history and moralistic differences and let love win like in the novels.

Jayce vaguely heard something snapping before the Hexgate whirred to life.

"Mr. Giopara!"

Jayce snapped out of his reverie to turn to his work — only to discover he had cut the wrong wire.

"Fuck."

The events after that were exactly as it said in the newspaper: Jayce had saved the enforcer and young apprentice before attempting to solve the problem himself. Little did he know that the portal would suck him in before refusing to switch on again until either of its true creators came to fix it.

To Jayce, who had been whisked away, the short trip felt jarring — to suddenly be shot someplace else at the speed of light.

Yet, this time, it felt different. It was as if his very atoms were being shifted through spaces humans weren't meant to travel with the limited knowledge they possessed. First, there was light — then, complete darkness.

Without opening his eyes, Jayce knew he had been spat by the Hexgate someplace far from home. His soul echoed its displacement all over his body, rattling his bones and shifting his mind. He couldn't fight the sudden exhaustion blanketing him, and he passed out before he could even figure out where he was.

Jayce thought he must've been shot straight into the belly of the Void.

The last thing he expected to wake up to was the sight of an angel. Was he in heaven?

"Oh, you're awake," said a soft, accented voice with a metallic echo to it. A cold hand buzzing with familiar power caressed Jayce's stubbled face, iridescent eyes gentle as it assessed him.

"Did I die?" Jayce asked with a groan. The man simply let out an amused laugh behind his fist as he shook his head, shoulder-length chocolate hair with platinum streaks cascading over his purple shoulders. His body was wrapped in a strange blue dress held together by white belts.

"It would be a disservice to my efforts if you had, no?" The way the stranger smiled was so familiar — and that single mole above his lip too...

"Who are you?" Jayce asked as he slowly sat up. It turned out the other man had been cradling Jayce's head in his lap all this time.

"The members of the Commune refer to me as the Herald," he introduces, "but you alone may call me Viktor."

Now that Jayce stared at this Viktor's face and took in his features, his heart started to sink when he came to a grim realization: it had been so long since he saw his Viktor's face that he could no longer recall it with perfect clarity.

Was this how Viktor used to — or still did — look like? Jayce couldn't confirm with certainty at all.

It was easy to bury this fact when Jayce had set his mission to get back home. Clearly, he had found himself in a place far from his initial location. However, a quick conversation with this Viktor revealed to Jayce that he was further from home than he thought — he was in a completely different timeline.

It turned out he had been transported in the depths of Zaun. It seemed that a different set of events occurred in this timeline that led to this Viktor practically leading a cult.

Jayce's own Viktor would never be caught dead like this, swearing off any form of religion and the like. Of course, he didn't tell this Viktor that — especially when he'd been peddling a false narrative about how great his own relationship with his own Viktor was.

He didn't want to give this timeline's Viktor the idea that there existed a world where their relationship never expanded outside their academy years. His own Viktor didn't save him from falling off a ledge, and the start of their own partnership didn't begin with a crime.

Jayce wondered if the version of himself here — some man named Jayce Talis — fell for the dry wit and sarcasm Viktor naturally had that night.

He chased the thoughts away with a sigh.

Jayce had better things to worry about. He believed a full month had already passed, and Viktor — who had promised to help him get back home — kept on, frankly speaking, stalling. It seemed that he was always off somewhere, busy with another endeavor and concerned with the Commune, even if he had his followers who could do it for him perfectly fine.

Another revelation to Jayce was how Viktor had been merged with the Hexcore. Although Viktor was vague about how this matter came to be, Jayce had a suspicion it had something to do with him — though, what he was most suspicious of at the moment was this Viktor's true intentions.

Jayce thought that Viktor wanted to keep him there for as long as possible.

Once the second month had officially passed, Jayce had no choice but to confront Viktor about the matter directly.

Viktor only tilted his head to the side, one hand around his cane as he calmly sat on the stone wall edging framing the bed of soil with blue flowers.

"If you sleep with me, I will assist you with leaving this timeline," Viktor promised. "And this time, I shall keep my word."

Jayce let out a deep sigh. "Well, why didn't you just say that sooner?" he asked as he threw his hands up in the air. "If you had asked me the day I woke up, I would've said yes right away."

Jayce caught the way Viktor's iridescent eyes swirled into shades of pink and red.

"Oh."

And Jayce didn't waste any time either. He was quick to seize Viktor by the back of his neck before taking the lead. Apparently, in this timeline, the Hexcore had provided Viktor with a tight little pussy that practically wept for Jayce's cock.

His own variant for this timeline was so damn lucky — the poor bastard, wherever the hell he was, was missing out on the best fuck of his life.

Unlike his Viktor, this one was vocal about everything Jayce was doing right — in fact, he was so loud that everyone in the Commune probably knew what they were doing.

The Herald was needy, always demanding to be kissed as Jayce fucked his womb full of seed. He was eager and had a pretty face, especially when he squeezed around Jayce's length to milk him until he was dry.

And even though Jayce had filled this Viktor to the brim, he would demand to be taken once again, unabashedly riding Jayce and encouraging him to feel and detail every crevice of his body. Viktor was only satisfied if Jayce could envision with perfect clarity every dip and bump of his body with his eyes closed.

Of course, Jayce wasn't passive in all of this. Viktor had a tendency to openly take without being ashamed of his own selfishness and desires. It was Jayce's job to keep him in line, to tame him to behave because Viktor — seductive little vixen that he was — would even allow himself to be taken in front of an audience.

This Viktor seemed to have an adventurous streak that he wanted to explore with Jayce — and really, while he was flattered to be chosen, he couldn't help but wonder what an encounter with a version of himself here would be like. Once Jayce Talis discovered the truth, he had a feeling it would end in a fight.

Jayce thinks he'd be pretty pissed too if he caught his own Viktor with another version of himself. He needed to get home — he didn't want to make a certain someone worry with his prolonged disappearance, after all.

While the Viktor of that timeline bid him goodbye with a fond kiss and squeezed him and his hammer through a small portal, Jayce managed to leave the timeline intact.

Unfortunately, his next destination seemed even further from home than before.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Unbelievable..." Viktor trails off as he slump in his seat, an augmented hand on his forehead.

"I know," Jayce sighs as he rises in place, patting away invisible dust from his lap as he shuts the panels on his hammer. "If he only told me sooner he wanted to fuck, I could've saved so much time."

"So you really slept with him."

Jayce turns to Viktor with a raised brow. "Yeah? It wasn't like I had a choice," he says. "Though, even if I did, I probably would've taken him up on the offer." Jayce smiles as he shuts his eyes, reminiscing his time with that Viktor with a fond smile. "He's one of the best lays of my life, so I don't regret anything."

Viktor folds his arms, a deep frown crumpling his face under his mask. "He is merely a poor imitation of me!" he exclaims. "Hah. Based on your absurd little narrative, it seems I remain the superior Machine Herald after all."

"Maybe," Jayce says with a shrug. "Doesn't erase how fucking hot he was spreading his pussy open and begging me to breed him—"

"Gah!" Viktor shouts as he shoots up from his seat in indignation. "Silence, Defender! You are making me sick with this false tale you have crafted to deter me from the truth."

Jayce only shoots him that cocky grin. Oh, Viktor is practically seeing red now. "Oh? Sounds to me like someone's jealous I have a favorite Viktor that isn't you."

"Lies!" Viktor hisses, steam practically coming out of his head from how heated his entire body has become. If Jayce touched him now, his skin would sizzle from how scorching hot he was. "I am not jealous!"

Just to prove his point, he storms out of the lab, slamming the door behind him as he makes his retreat to his bedroom for the entire day. The only sign of life he ever hears from Jayce is him loudly singing along to the broken radio in the lab downstairs. Despite Viktor's actions yesterday, it seems the old thing has — once more — decided to stage a protest by functioning at the most inconvenient time.

You promised me heaven, then put me through hell
Chains of love got a hold on me
When passion's a prison, you can't break free

The next day, Viktor is better equipped to handle Jayce should he decide to steer the conversation away from the events that led to his present state.

Viktor switches out of his pajamas to sliding his mask back on and opting out of wearing his armor this time with his usual fitted attire underneath. He attaches the Hexclaw, carries it like the rest of his detachable limbs. He exits the bedroom, mornings in Zaun indicated only by the slight increase of brightness outdoors. At the Entresol level, sunlight can't find its way to the windows — the warmth outside is artificial and toxic.

Finding Jayce in his home is an easy feat, considering the man has decided to pollute Viktor's pristine kitchen with his existence. Viktor notices that Jayce has made a habit of mistaking the radio as a karaoke machine instead as he sings along while making breakfast.

In the darkness, there's so much I wanna do
And tonight, I wanna lay it at your feet
'Cause, girl, I was made for you
And, girl, you were made for me

The strong scent of coffee, bacon, and toast fill the air as Viktor observes Jayce from his spot by the doorway. He announces his presence by pressing on the radio's 'stop' button — which actually works for once after he presses on it 3 times.

"You still make your sweetmilk the same way as before?" Jayce asks without turning away from the sizzling pan.

Viktor harrumphs as he finds his seat on the small dining table. "There is only one way to make any sweetmilk," he responds.

Jayce laughs, flipping what seems to be pancakes on another pan. "That's a yes, then."

It's not long before Jayce serves breakfast — a large serving of bacon, eggs, and a pair of toasted slices with steaming black coffee for himself and fluffy pancakes with a generous serving of syrup accompanied by a warm glass of sweetmilk for Viktor.

Viktor stares at the food in front of him before making a small sound of acknowledgement. "Don't expect me to wash the dishes and pans after this," Viktor says. "I'll have you know that I am incapable of feeling hunger; therefore, partaking in meals is no longer necessary for evolved beings such as myself."

"A thank you would have sufficed," Jayce remarks dryly as he stuffs his mouth with strips of bacon. One would think with the way he's eating that Viktor starved him. "Just eat your damn breakfast, V."

Viktor rolls his eyes under the mask before lifting it a little, revealing the lower half of his face. Jayce's fork hovers in the air as his blue eyes turn piercing, gaze fixed on the way Viktor's mouth wraps around the large piece of syrup-soaked pancake pierced by a fork.

"What?" Viktor asks in annoyance through a mouthful. Without the mask on, the tone of his voice remains unfiltered. Viktor can't help but feel a little bare without it. "Are you completely devoid of manners or is this your first time seeing someone eat?"

Jayce looks away, returning the bacon to his plate. "No, it's just—" he exhales, leaning back on his seat as he sets the fork down. "You kept your mouth."

Viktor's lips twist into a scowl before settling into a moue. He swallows his food that feels more like a rocky lump down his throat instead. "What is that supposed to mean?" he asked, defensive in tone.

"It's nothing." Jayce begins to stare a hole through his plate, fork skittering as he nudges his food around. Viktor has a feeling Jayce is starting to drift away to who knows where.

Viktor prefers that, actually. At least he doesn't have to deal with Jayce as he enjoys his meal. He hasn't eaten like this in a long time, after all.

"You still haven't told me who put you in your current state," Viktor remarks as he finishes his first pancake.

Jayce sighs, seemingly returning to himself. He glances up at Viktor, cheek dimpling when his lips stretch into a small smile. "Impatient, are we?"

Viktor just stares at him in response. He's not letting Jayce escape from telling the truth this time.

Jayce picks up a slice of toasted bread with his fingers. "Fine, I'l tell you," he says before taking a bite.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

To say that Jayce's experience with his first Viktor had defined his other interactions with the other variants in different timelines would be an understatement. While most encounters led to gold, others unfortunately led to him getting hit or shot at — and he wouldn't expect any less from Viktor.

In hindsight, maybe opening with "Hey, want to fuck?" every single time he entered a new timeline wasn't such a wise idea considering how cautious every Viktor was in the first place. Still, that never stopped them from sleeping with Jayce in the end. He knew he was charming when he wanted to be — yet, it never seemed to work right with his own Viktor.

He can't help but question why his Viktor only sleeps with him after a huge altercation that colors them black and blue after.

After being shot out of another timeline where Viktor had sent his automatons to obliterate Jayce's existence, he found himself being spat out of the portal straight into a meadow. It was a complete contrast to the barren land he had just left from, where everything seemed to be in total ruin and chaos.

Jayce cursed as he caught his breath. It seemed that Viktor managed to nick his shoulder with his laser before he could safely pass through the portal. Clutching his shoulder with a groan, he rolled to his side, Mercury Hammer utterly worn down beside him after his escape.

"Oh, dear. Are you quite alright?" a kind voice inquired as Jayce heard the shuffling of feet against grass.

"Fuck..." Jayce mumbled as he squinted his eyes open. The wide blue sky and morning light were blinding, considering he'd mostly been in the dark in the previous timeline. "Where the hell am I?"

"Ehh, just some humble cabin by a river," the person answered as he helped Jayce sit up. When Jayce turned to him, it was no question who the other man was.

This version of Viktor seemed older and had iridescent lines like roots running through the sides of his face and under his clothes. There was a gentleness in his touch and an openness in his wheat-colored eyes. With some struggle, Viktor managed to help Jayce back into his cabin as they exchanged introductions along the way.

Viktor welcomed him into his humble abode by sitting him down in the kitchen before patching his shoulder wound up. It seemed that in this world, Viktor was quite adept with that. Afterwards, Viktor made Jayce some soup and fed him bread after hearing his stomach rumble with a small chuckle.

"So," Jayce began, "what point in time am I in right now?"

Based on the places he visited and the information he gathered from the Viktors he bedded, it seemed that there existed a common narrative between them. Perhaps if Jayce knew what part of the story this cabin in the woods was, he'd get a better idea of how many more jumps he'd have to make to get home.

"About that..." Viktor trails off with a hum, a fond smile on his face. "Let's just say that a runic explosion that should've resulted in death led us here. That was a decade ago, I believe."

"Us?" Jayce echoed with a raised brow as he placed his spoon back in the empty bowl. "Who's 'us'?"

"Hm? Oh, me and my husband."

There must've been something in the soup that caused Jayce's stomach to turn at the word. He glanced down at the hand Viktor had placed on the table, catching the worn silver band wrapped snugly around his ring finger.

"Didn't know you were married," Jayce said as he pushed himself away from the table and wiped his mouth with a piece of cloth Viktor had set down earlier for his use. "Who's the lucky fella?"

And, as if on cue, someone entered the cabin, setting down logs by the fireplace in the living room.

"Baby, are you home?" someone asked aloud, heavy footsteps padding across the room to look for Viktor, it seemed.

"In the kitchen, my love," Viktor called tenderly as he helped himself up with his wooden cane and crossed the room to meet his husband by the entryway.

Just then, a tall and burly man with tan skin and salt and pepper in his hair met Viktor halfway. He stooped down a little to press a kiss on Viktor's lips from the sound of it.

Jayce felt sick. His heart was twisting, lungs seizing. Did Viktor poison his food?

"We have a visitor from another timeline," Viktor informed, a smile in his voice. His husband's face crumpled into a frown — it wasn't as if Jayce was pleased to discover Viktor had a husband too. "Oh, don't make that face. Be kind, he's been through a lot too."

As Viktor led his husband in the kitchen, Jayce couldn't help but rise from his seat as he sized up the other man. Jayce noticed he had salt in his beard too, along with a prominent leg brace on his left leg to match the one on Viktor's right.

What a pair they made. Jayce hated them immediately.

"Who the fuck are you?" Jayce spat bitterly without meaning to.

The husband's frown only deepened as he protectively gestured for Viktor to stay behind him as he dealt with the stranger in their home. The man folded his arms as his intense hazel eyes pierced through Jayce's own.

"I'm Jayce Talis," the husband answered brusquely. "Who the fuck are you?"

Realization pierced Jayce like a lance. He turned to the Viktor of that timeline, only to notice the smaller man had a coy smile on his face — as if he'd predicted this outcome.

It turned out the Jayce of this timeline married Viktor in this world.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Ridiculous... In what world would I marry you?!" Viktor practically yells as he rises from his seat. Jayce calmly finishes his breakfast, as if the revelation isn't as impossible as Viktor knows it is.

"Apparently in this one."

Viktor loses his appetite before he pulls his mask down. His mind takes him on a quick stroll to memory lane, one during his foolish youth that he wishes he can forget, and yet—

It's only because Viktor didn't know better then. He used to be so trusting and naive. It's why he made such an embarrassment out of himself over and over again.

A hopeful grin pressed over a firm and steady beating heart. A pale hand outstretched in front of morning light, a loose ring slipped on one bony finger with a clumsy but certain touch. A warm laugh shared on crumpled bedsheets as their bare legs tangled together — destined to be entwined until death do them part.

"When I become the man the world reveres, I'll finally be worthy of being called your husband."

It was a promise.

"Nonsense," a heavily accented voice remarked with a soft chuckle. He reached forward, brushing away strands of dark hair from concealing those beautiful and clear blue eyes like the midday sky. "You don't need the validation of others to be mine."

Viktor shakes his head, shoving the living corpse of the memory straight back into its grave. Viktor knows better now — flesh is the weakest substance in Runeterra.

"There must be some mistake," Viktor protests in clear disbelief. "That could have been some other Viktor and Jayce, not us!"

"True, but that Viktor has a mole in the exact same spot as the one on your ass."

Viktor turns red under his mask, internal cooling fans working aggressively. "And how would you know that about him?" he asks.

Jayce only smirks as he dabs at his mouth with a cloth he must've helped himself to in one of Viktor's drawers. What a surprise that he's picked up some manners for once. "Now you wanna know? And here I thought you didn't believe me," he teases. "Wait, unless you're jealous after—"

The Hexclaw comes to life behind Viktor as it begins to twitch, its core beginning to glow orange as it charges up. "Finish that sentence. I dare you," Viktor threatens as he steps closer to his nemesis. Jayce only rises from his seat and closes the space between them.

"If you shoot me, I won't tell you what happened." Humor drains from Jayce's face, his eyes darkening as his lips form a flat line.

Viktor doesn't feel intimidated by a sight he's already grown accustomed to. The Hexclaw inches closer, painting the side of Jayce's bruised and slightly swollen face a bright orange.

"I can live without that knowledge."

Jayce nods. "You're right," he says, "but what if I told you I got to travel back in time and change the future?"

Viktor is so taken aback by this new revelation that he can only take a step back from Jayce. "I-I won't be made a fool thrice." Surely, it's not possible—

"You don't have to believe me," Jayce tells him. "But if you're still curious, you know what to do." He nods toward the Hexclaw, a smug smile on his face because he's confident he's won their verbal spar.

Viktor knows Jayce is using what he knows as leverage. Viktor knows this and still falls straight into his rival's trap. It serves as a testament of foolishness on Viktor's part — and what he's willing to sacrifice for that knowledge.

"If you don't tell me by tomorrow," Viktor threatens as he pulls Jayce by the collar, "I will kill you myself."

Viktor releases Jayce before walking away. He coops himself up on the second floor lab inside his bedroom once more and doesn't see nor hear from Jayce after that. Even the radio remains silent throughout the day. Did Jayce decide he's finally had enough and returned to Piltover?

Viktor hopes Jayce really left without saying goodbye instead of keeping up this charade any longer.

It's midnight when Jayce suddenly barges into Viktor's bedroom. He was in the middle of changing into his pajamas before he was rudely interrupted. Mannerless oaf — Jayce could've just knocked!

"Sit down," Jayce demands as he points to Viktor's small bed.

Irked, Viktor plants his slipper-clad feet on the floor. "Who are you to order me—"

"I said," Jayce repeats, tone more stern. "Sit. Down."

Viktor harrumphs, crosses the room as he finishes buttoning up his top, and sits down on his bed — but don't get him wrong, he only does it with spite in his heart.

Jayce grabs a nearby chair and sits on it in reverse, his arms propped up and hanging off the back of the seat. Viktor glares at him behind his mask, feeling vulnerable all of a sudden. Had he known Jayce's plans of taking him by surprise tonight, he would've clad himself in his full metal getup and attached the Hexclaw on his back. Jayce's gaze burns Viktor, forcing him to turn away.

"I thought you had left for Piltover—"

"Cute PJs," Jayce comments with that smile that dimples one of his cheeks again. He reaches forward and tilts Viktor's chin up with one finger, just to tally the small cat pattern littered over his clothes. "I'm guessing your love for cats hasn't changed, huh? It suits you."

Perhaps Viktor should run an ice bath now — his entire body seems to be on fire. He slaps Jayce's hand away and lets out an irritated sound.

"That is none of your business," Viktor retorts. "Now, stop staring and tell me what you're still doing here."

"I promised to tell you what happened, didn't I?"

"Yes, well, you don't always keep your promises, do you?"

The air goes frigid from the sudden tension that rises between them.

Viktor couldn't forget seeking his lighthouse amidst the sea of mocking stares from their classmates — only to find those dim blue eyes turned away in shame.

Jayce lets out an empty laugh, his blue eyes devoid of light. "You don't have to tell me twice," he mutters under his breath before he begins.

- - - - - - - - - -

Ages ago, two powerful creatures — the mortal-god Apollo and the cosmic eldritch creature Maquina — had spent many eons fighting an endless war against each other. It went on for so long that the two had forgotten what the reason was.

Fearing the destruction of the world, a higher entity had banished the two into another world where they could continue to fight without any other casualties but themselves.

Eventually, both had exhausted themselves after a particularly arduous fight. Now, depending on who told the tale, they would say it was Apollo who had fallen first or Maquina who had been defeated by their injuries.

One thing was certain — the two beings passed far from each other, splitting the planet into two.

While Apollo's form had evaporated into starlight, his otherworldly hammer remained. They said his will to defeat his mortal enemy was so strong that from it spawned lesser versions of himself to carry out his mission. The beings didn't always act nor look exactly the same and found themselves disagreeable most times. Their side of the planet was mostly barren and had tall mountains, tumultuous weather often causing the landscape to shift.

On the other hand, Maquina's body was full of magic that their massive corpse had made the once-barren land they laid repose on fertile. All kinds of greenery grew on their side of the planet, and from the marrow of their bones their descendants were created. Born from the cosmic being's magic, they too carried the will of their creator. The landscape was lush and rich, the weather always agreeable and kind to its residents.

Jayce Giopara's trip from another timeline led him to waking up in hell, practically kicked awake by someone bearing his face. The weather was dry and harsh, the people rude and unwelcoming. At the center of wherever he woke up was a massive hammer with a handle that penetrated the sky.

If anybody asked him, he'd call the place he woke up to as 'The Jayce Continent.'

- - - - - - - - - -

"Are you trying to play a prank on me, Defender?" Viktor asks, eyes narrowed suspiciously. "I don't think a kid would even believe that story!"

Jayce tries to placate Viktor with a nervous smile. "Look, it sounds stupid as fuck. Believe me, I couldn't believe it either," he says. "But this is important, alright?"

Viktor doesn't believe him, obviously — however, he lets Jayce continue with his unbelievable tale.

- - - - - - - - - -

When Jayce tried to seek assistance from his other selves, they had been unhelpful at best and violent at worst. The mere mention of Hextech sent most of them into a spiral that taught Jayce quickly enough to be more careful about mentioning the word. He had, unfortunately, been bombarded with the story of how the world came to be in this timeline — even if it was against his will.

The only thing that he learned from it was that he needed to get out of that place and find a way to the other side of the world. It seemed the beings there — who the bastards in the continent refused to call anything else but 'The Evolved' — were the only ones who could help Jayce get out of this timeline.

Jayce had allowed himself to be drafted in a ship that was sent to attack one of the islands near the heart of The Evolved's continent. Jayce already had plans to jump ship anyway — the last thing he expected was for the ship to get shot at.

It was by some miracle that the iridescent waters seemed to operate on a different natural law entirely considering Jayce didn't sink with his hammer attached to his back. When he woke up, he almost couldn't believe how bright everything was — a far cry from the darkness that seemed to hang over the Jayce Continent.

"He has awoken," a mechanical voice announced as Jayce heard the shuffling of several feet. He could hear a chorus of familiar voices.

"We should toss him back to sea."
"But, according to Blitzcrank, this man doesn't even belong in this world. It would be wrong to—"
"Don't be so naive, young one. He looks exactly like them and even bears their weapon."

"Ugh, where..." Jayce tried to sit up, but a soft pair of slender hands immediately guided him to lay back down.

"Please lie down," a soft accented voice requested. "You aren't well enough to go out and about just yet."

Jayce had to squint his eyes because of how bright it was. When they finally adjusted, he saw a youthful Viktor's face staring back at him with worry. Jayce's heart immediately went soft at the sight, his smile stretching his lips.  Who's mood wouldn't improve if they saw a cute face that close?

"Anything for you, angel."

Then, Jayce heard a familiar scoff.

"Disgusting. I should discuss with the others about reconsidering our decision to throw this one out to sea."

Jayce had to rub his eyes to ensure he wasn't seeing double. While the armor looked a little different, Jayce would know this man — even in a different life.

"V?"

Viktor clucked his tongue. "That is Machine Herald to you, Defender," he hissed.

- - - - - - - - - -

"And that's how I ended up in Viktor Island," Jayce narrates. "I met a lot of your variants there. At the end of each day, we'd all have fun together in that paradise. If heaven's real, I want it to be exactly like that."

Viktor is speechless, completely red under his mask. "A-And what does this have to do with anything?" he asks. "Just get to the point already and skip all the unnecessary details."

Jayce sighs, throws his hands up in the air. "Impatient as always... Fine, but don't ask me to elaborate if you get confused about anything."

- - - - - - - - - -

Jayce was running.

He had expected the angelic younger Viktor who had saved him a couple of months ago to help him. Instead, he was one of the Viktor variants Jayce was running away from. The entire population had sent a manhunt against him once the leader of Viktor's variants declared him a hostile existence and an anomaly that needed to be eliminated immediately.

The one who was helping him was the last person he expected — the Machine Herald.

Once they finally lost the mecha-clad Viktors, the Machine Herald dragged Jayce to the deepest room in the palace: the place where they kept the heart of the deceased Maquina. The door could only be opened by a Viktor's active staff and a Jayce's living hammer. According to the Machine Herald, it had always confounded him that the most important place in their kingdom could only be opened through the cooperation of two destined foes.

"Don't get the wrong idea," the Machine Herald had told him before saving Jayce from getting his heart carved off with a laser. "I am simply curious about what lies beyond the doors of the kingdom's heart. That is the only reason I am helping you. Understood?"

Jayce couldn't help but hide his smile as he nodded. He had visited many timelines, yet rarely met a variant who treated him exactly like his own Viktor.

Janna, he missed his Viktor. He wanted to go home so badly. How long was he gone in his timeline now? Was Viktor looking for him? Did Piltover declare him deceased? Did Viktor miss him?

Jayce was pulled out of his thoughts when he saw that — at the center of the room — there stood a massive Hexgate. It was Jayce's ticket home.

The Machine Herald wasted no time as the mechanical soldiers tried to knock the door open. Jayce could hear muffled voices behind the door. It wouldn't be long until they found a way in here, Jayce was certain.

"It seems that the Hexgate in the city you call Piltover is inactive. I can't send you there," the Machine Herald said with urgency. "However, I am tracing back your same timeline — it seems there is a current active Hexgate open in your past at roughly the same location, albeit small. It doesn't look like it will hold out for long, though."

"Wait, where are you sending me?" Jayce was too worried about the others outside to catch most of what the Machine Herald said.

"I am sending you to your past," he repeated. "It will be faster for you to get home if you are closest to your own timeline. Right now, this is as close as I can get until someone opens a portal from your exact timeline."

Jayce didn't want to tell the Machine Herald that unless his own Viktor was looking for him or someone in Piltover managed to figure out how to fix the massive Hexgate, he'd continue getting lost.

"That's fine," Jayce reassured. "I'll find my way back somehow from there."

The Machine Herald set the coordinates and opened the portal. They could hear the door to the room coming apart, the automated voices of the soldiers warning them not to proceed any further.

"Thank you, V."

The Machine Herald only gave him a simple nod.

"What would they do if they caught you?" Jayce asked as he stepped closer to the shrinking portal, his hammer strapped to his back.

"Death through disassembly, certainly. I've betrayed my own, after all. I am now a terrorist, am I not?" he chuckled. "But it was worth it. There is nothing more harrowing than choosing the sweetness of ignorance over the burden of knowledge."

The door eventually broke open, swarms of machines immediately swooping in. The Machine Herald shoved Jayce straight into the portal before anybody could get to him.

"Goodbye, Jayce."

The next thing Jayce knew, he was on a cold floor, looking up at a familiar ceiling.

A pair of bright and curious golden eyes along with a set of suspicious blue ones stared back at him.

"Eh..." Viktor turned to his partner. "Was that supposed to happen?"

Jayce — the younger version of him — scratched the back of his head. "I don't think so, V. But this guy looks kinda familiar, don't you think?"

Jayce Giopara couldn't believe it — had he really been sent back to the past?

- - - - - - - - - -

"Impossible," Viktor exhales, leaning closer. "And? What did you do? You mentioned you attempted to change the past. Did it work?"

Jayce's smile immediately drops as he lets out a shaky exhale. "It's... Hard to say."

Viktor raises his brow. "What does that mean?" he asks, folding his arms in dissatisfaction.

- - - - -

Jayce would know this place in a heartbeat — the scent of oil and sweat, the small lab he used to share with Viktor in the academy. During the day, the room was always painted with warm gold. At night, it was bathed by the blue light of hex crystals.

Once upon a time, Jayce and Viktor made magic here. To the older Jayce, it was like physically stepping into a vivid memory — for the younger version of him and Viktor, this was just their every single day.

Jayce wished he treasured it more. These days, the old memories were always soaked in sepia, the images of their nights a vague black and white.

Jayce looked outside the window to confirm that the tower where the Hexgates normally stood was absent. If it was true that the Machine Herald had sent him back to the past, then Jayce had no choice but to stay here and hope for the best. He didn't know how long he'd have to stay in this timeline, but Jayce didn't feel like reliving all the moments he took for granted — only to be forced to watch them be taken from him in the end.

Jayce felt it was wise to withhold as much as he could from the two scientists. All he told them was that he had made some wrong calculations with the Hexgate and landed himself in the past. Viktor was wise enough not to ask any further about the future, but it was adorable how he'd try to openly stare at Jayce when he thought nobody was looking.

Meanwhile, his younger self seemed to see through him a little too well — his past self must've found it odd that they'd make such a rookie mistake. For them, it was certain that they'd never make such an error. Jayce's younger self obviously didn't trust him.

As he should.

While Viktor felt the opposite and seemed to have some awe toward Jayce, his younger self antagonized him at every turn. Jayce didn't mean to act like he was trying to steal Viktor from his inexperienced self, but...

He'd be lying if he said he didn't enjoy seeing that unabashed interplay of emotions over Viktor's face. Janna, Jayce missed it — it felt nostalgic somehow, Viktor's face like an open book. He never hid anything from Jayce then — couldn't, no matter how he tried.

And his smile, his laugh... Jayce could sustain himself from those alone for the rest of his life.

Jayce only felt guilt foiling all of Viktor's efforts to help send him back home. Jayce knew it would be pointless until someone from his exact timeline opened a Hexgate. He couldn't very well tell Viktor the reason why his exact departure date was all up in the air — it would be like opening a can of worms and addressing the very thing he didn't want either Viktor or Jayce's younger self to know.

But Jayce should've known better — his younger self had grown agitated at his older self's presence. He demanded answers as to why Jayce kept pushing their progress back with the Hexgate whenever they made significant headway through his secret meddling.

Jayce couldn't tell him. All he could share to his younger self was that it was hard to explain and to simply trust him.

Maybe there was a look on Jayce's face that he could no longer hide. It had to be the only reason why his younger self stopped pushing to know the truth — maybe a part of him got his answer from Jayce's refusal and silence.

Time passed slowly as Jayce waited for his chance to get home. In the meantime, he grew out a beard just so he could pass off as his younger self's uncle to others — even if he was an orphan who had no family.

Jayce knew that, at this point in time, he and Viktor were already in a relationship. It wasn't perfect, but it was something tangible. It had a label to it — just one of the things Jayce took for granted. Maybe it's why his younger self felt so agitated to see Viktor so charmed — Jayce thinks he'd be pretty fucking pissed too if he was in the other guy's shoes.

Jayce had also taken a role to correct his younger self. He knew his own tells, knew when the younger Jayce had a fight with Viktor. Jayce offered sage advice and told his younger self to become better — to be the version of Jayce that he wished he was for Viktor back then.

Jayce hoped it could change their future—

And that was when he got the idea to do exactly that. If he was truly in the past, then he could influence the future by changing things. Right?

The first order of business was Viktor's project. Viktor would leave for Zaun in a couple of weeks to assist with a major chemical spill. This would result in his creation of Blitzcrank and would lead to Jayce's first betrayal.

Jayce had planned everything out. He couldn't trust that his younger self would have changed enough to take Viktor's side — Jayce had to take matters into his own hands.

When the time eventually came, of Viktor trying to take credit for Blitzcrank back from that son of a bitch Stanwick, Jayce watched as his younger self turned away in shame when his own lover sought him out for support.

Coward.

Jayce could only clench his fist, wanting to beat some sense into his past self, before emerging from a pillar clad in a full-body armor bearing the Demacian crest. He had introduced himself as just some envoy, curious about the education system in Piltover. The character Jayce played was the perfect medium to deliver justice — he had questioned Stanwick about Blitzcrank's design and conception until he was caught in a lie.

It was surprising how fairly easy it was to make the old professor sweat bullets from nerves. In the end, Blitzcrank was returned to its rightful creator.

That night, Viktor had personally visited his temporary apartment just outside of the academy. Viktor's cheeks were bright, a smile tugging at his thin lips.

The kiss was unexpected.

Normally, Jayce would've taken this chance to bed Viktor if it were any other variant of his. But this was his Viktor, wasn't it? Whatever progress he made now, it wouldn't be wise to sleep with the younger Viktor and strain his relationship with this timeline's Jayce.

Jayce couldn't risk it. All he could think about was his own Viktor and if his lips would feel the same: chapped, yet soft and pliant.

Jayce turned Viktor down and told him not to kiss anybody else but his own boyfriend. Then, Viktor said the strangest thing before leaving Jayce's apartment.

"Whatever happens to us, Jayce, I think I'd have to stop my own heart just to stop loving you," he said, his lean figure and simple cane illuminated by the glow of candles. He looked over his shoulder, a serene look on his beautiful face. "And, even then, my affection would find a way to survive."

Jayce told himself that Viktor was only saying it with such confidence because he didn't know what was supposed to happen to them. He turned away, his throat tight, before he dismissed the younger Viktor.

"Good night, Viktor."

The biggest amendment Jayce had to make to the past was getting nearer by the day. Jayce had been confronted by his younger self. As expected, he felt pathetic seeing his older self make being brave look so easy while he turned away from the person he loved when he needed Jayce most.

"I understand now why you're here," the younger Jayce said. "We lose V, don't we?"

Jayce couldn't answer him immediately.

"We don't have to," Jayce reassured his younger self, placing a hand on his shoulder. He seemed smaller then — was he always that powerless? "Just do what I tell you."

"What do you want me to do?" he asked.

"When the time comes, don't report Viktor to the academic council."

The younger Jayce flinched. "But, his ideas... They're dangerous, aren't they?" he whispered. Decades later, Jayce still thought so too. Viktor would go on to conduct even riskier experiments left unchecked, using his own body to test his own mad ideas.

Jayce held his younger self by the shoulders. "Listen. When you make that choice, just know that you'll be choosing between your career and Viktor," he said. "It's important that you know which one you want to have for the rest of your life before you decide."

The choice of Jayce's younger self came in the form of a date.

On the day that Jayce was supposed to report Viktor to the council after they argued once again about the moral implications of overriding the diver's sense of fear with their gear, his younger self had suggested they both step back from the project for a while and think it through. Jayce offered to go out, have dinner. And, if Viktor was too tired, they could always stay in and just order something back in their shared apartment.

The tension from Viktor's body began to evaporate little by little. Jayce was proud that his younger self was dealing with this better than he ever did.

Good. This was what Jayce wanted. If he had foresight or a better understanding of what mattered most to him, he could've treated Viktor better. He could've held him longer, kissed him more, and kept making love without getting sick of it.

Maybe they could reform Viktor through love instead of bloodshed.

This would've ended perfectly if a portal opened in his own timeline at that moment, just to see how Jayce's actions in the past affect their future. Did Viktor graduate from the academy with honors? Did they continue being partners? Did he get to marry Viktor? Did they ever decide to adopt a litter of cats and start their own family?

Unfortunately, the Hexgate only seemed to lead to other timelines instead. Jayce would still remain stuck in the past, it seemed.

Jayce thought he could continue to fill his memories with the sight of Viktor blooming with joy under his younger self's better efforts. He thought he could revel more and live vicariously through his younger self until he could reap the benefits of his own efforts.

Jayce had been too optimistic.

The next time Jayce visited the academy, Viktor was in the lab, packing his things inside a box. His eyes were swollen, nose red and runny. It seemed he had been crying all night. Enforcers were stationed on each of his side while the younger Jayce could only stand at the side and watch everything unfold.

It turned out that a jealous classmate had caught wind of Jayce and Viktor's moral argument and had reported it himself to the academic council, submitting Viktor's audio logs as proof.

As Viktor was paraded down the academy hallways, students whispering amongst themselves as they watched one of their best be led out by enforcers, he glanced up from his box of things to search for a pair of familiar eyes in the crowd. He found Jayce's own peeking behind a pillar, and all Viktor did was smile weakly at him before nodding once — as if he had already accepted his own fate.

When Jayce returned to the lab, his younger self was evidently furious.

"You lied to me!" the younger Jayce seethed as he roughly shoved his older self by the shoulders to the nearest wall. "You said if I trusted you I wouldn't lose Viktor, so why?"

Jayce couldn't answer him.

"Tell me!" the younger one demanded, shaking his older self desperately as his blue eyes brightened with unshed tears. "Me and V, we were going to be happy. I chose him — so, why did he get taken away?"

"I... I don't know." It was the only thing Jayce could say. He felt equally lost by the situation, blindsided by the sudden turn of events. Time simply refused to let Jayce forget his mistakes, atoms and elements preserving his only regret in life like a fossilized roach — so that when it came to Viktor, he would always wind up picking the wrong choice.

"And Stanwick, that fraudulent fuck... He took Blitzcrank away too."

It turned out Stanwick had used Viktor's expulsion from the academy as a way to steal Blitzcrank back and have the research accredited to him — because surely the academy wasn't going to credit a disgraced Zaunite with such a groundbreaking creation: a sentient automaton.

In the end, all of Jayce's efforts were for nothing.

"Did— Did you know this was going to happen?" the younger Jayce asked. "Do you just want to see me suffer because I'm happier than you?"

Jayce could only stare blankly at the floor.

"You're a selfish piece of shit, you know that?" the other Jayce spat as he slammed his older counterpart against the wall. Of course, Jayce can count on himself to always be right. "You saw that I was going to have a better life than you and couldn't deal with it, so you had to fuck up my life just to feel better about yours."

Jayce glanced up just to glare at his younger self. What a fool.

"You don't know what you're saying."

"Shut the fuck up!" the younger Jayce exclaimed before landing a punch straight to his older self's jaw. He heaved deep breaths, his fists shaking, before he landed another hit on Jayce's face. With his own experience in battle, Jayce could've easily subdued his younger self — but he didn't want to.

He didn't think he deserved it. This was penance.

Jayce let his younger self beat him black and blue until he stumbled to the ground. The other man had resorted to kicking Jayce in the stomach over and over again until he was satisfied, until the tears could be chalked off to sweat from exertion instead. His younger self cursed him over and over again, wishing they never met.

Was Viktor better off having never met him?

Jayce didn't want to tell him that maybe they were destined to lose Viktor. In the end, it was better that his younger self blamed someone else than having to carry the guilt of what he'd done to the only person he ever loved — the only person who loved him just the same — for the rest of his life.

And never be forgiven for it.

When the younger Jayce had grown tired, he dragged Jayce's hammer and threw it inches away from his head. Then, he powered up the Hexgate after making a quick fix on the wire that his older self kept messing with.

"Leave," his younger self ordered as he pointed to the portal. "I don't care where you end up. Just don't come back here again."

Jayce helped himself up with a wince, using his hammer to support himself. He turned to the portal and could faintly hear the sound of music. If he passed through now, there could be the very real risk that he would end up in a timeline where Viktor wanted to genuinely kill him again.

But Jayce knew he had more than overstayed his welcome in a past he was destined to destroy. It was time to move on. He limped toward the open portal before glancing back at his younger self.

"You don't have to worry about that," he said with a bloody smile. "I'm not planning to."

And because he didn't want to be remembered by his younger self as someone who was defeated by fate and failure, he stepped into the portal with a smile — even if he could very well be walking straight into his own death.

"Honey, I'm home!"

- - - - -

Viktor feels highly disturbed by the revelation. He can barely move from his spot, unable to voice out his dismissal or attempt to downplay the situation.

He's frozen.

"Pathetic, right?" Jayce lets out a dry laugh as he pushes back his hair with one hand and glances down. "I know I should've just come out with it that day you got me back, but every time I opened my mouth, I could only talk about the timelines that let me hold you without consequence. From the looks of it, I don't think it worked since you don't have those memories."

Fighting his speechlessness feels like thawing himself. The air in the room feels thin, the atmosphere too cold all of a sudden.

"Why..." Viktor gulps down the bile rising up his throat. "Why was it so difficult for you to just come out with the truth?"

Jayce shrugs, looking away with eyes forlorn, like the sky and sea in winter. "I guess I just... didn't want to accept that not even my knowledge of the future could prevent me from losing you."

Something inside Viktor snaps — maybe it's faulty wiring, lines sparking until they burst into flames. He rises from his bed, pulls Jayce up by the collar of his shirt — and Jayce goes easily, not a single fight left in him.

For the first time in the longest time, Viktor feels truly, genuinely... angry.

"Do you expect me to forgive you just because you feel sorry?" Viktor asks, his grip around Jayce's collar tightening. Jayce can't look him in the eye, his face still bruised from the beating he took from his younger self.

"No."

"Then stop looking so pathetic. This isn't like you." Viktor clenches his teeth, jaw clicking from the force of it. "Out of everything you could have decided to change, why—"

"I don't know, V," is all Jayce can say. "I don't know."

Viktor releases Jayce, looking away from his former partner because he can't bear to look at him — not when he looks so defeated. Jayce has no right to look like that after everything he's done.

"You crushed my dream," Viktor whispers. "My parents and the people in my community, they gave everything they could to give me a shot at studying in the academy. They put their hope on me, and I failed them."

Jayce can only hang his head in response.

"I have to carry the mark of your betrayal forever, and changing the past of another version of us hasn't changed anything for you and me," Viktor says. "I still hold onto every promise you broke like a grudge, and all my intentions are evil in everybody's eyes thanks to your 'acts of heroism.'"

Viktor is envious of the version his Jayce saved — because even if he had lost everything, he would still have the heart to trust and believe in the person who would've been his undoing.

Jayce glances up, blue eyes fierce and glassy. He takes a step forward, meeting Viktor eye to eye as he grabs him by the shoulders and shakes him. "Do you think I'm fucking happy to lose you, Viktor?! To know that the only person that matters in my life hates me? Do you even know me at all?"

"You are egotistical and self-righteous. You would trade— No, you have traded what we had, and you'd do it again because that's who you are."

"Will I never amount to more than the sum of my mistakes in your eyes?" Jayce asks, eyes searching Viktor's own behind his mask for answers. His grip on Viktor's shoulders is going to leave a bruise on his skin if they keep this up. "Will you never want to meet halfway and see the man who stands before you now?"

Viktor frees himself from Jayce's grip before slapping him hard on the face. The cracking sound echoes in the room, Jayce's head snapping to one side.

"Meeting you destroyed my life," Viktor spits in Jayce's face, jabbing a finger over his heart. He feels suffocated enough that even his mask begins to serve as a prison instead. Viktor needs to be alone. "Get out," he orders, pointing at the door.

Jayce doesn't need to be told twice. He returns his seat back where he got it before exiting the room, letting the door click quietly behind him.

Viktor spends an hour pacing his bedroom, restless even as he takes off his mask. He lies down in bed and can only toss and turn as an hour turns into two. Viktor can hear his traitor of a radio that Jayce brought to the kitchen start playing once more.

"You are now listening to 143.1— bzzt! —ik FM."

Why can't things ever be easy with matters related to Jayce? Viktor wished hating Jayce genuinely came easy, but the truth was it felt like fighting a current most times — and Viktor hated himself for being as brittle as he used to be during his academy days.

I still love you, baby
Don't you cry tonight

Viktor thought that augmenting every weak part of himself would fortify him from the things that only held him back. He thought that replacing his heart with metal, perhaps, would excise him of these pesky emotions he only had an inconvenient abundance of. His heart had always been among his weakest organs, prone to failing the rest of his body and falling for the wrong person.

The improved valves and chambers of his heart no longer echo deceased vows and house ghosts of the past he no longer wishes to identify as his own. Here, Viktor has the autonomy he's always wanted — there's nothing he can't control if they're made by his own hands.

But Jayce — and everything that entails — didn't just make a home in his heart. He rooted himself in the folds of Viktor's brain, existing as a stubborn, solid mass pressing against his hypothalamus.

Jayce exists as a brutal reminder of Viktor's humanity — that even if he stopped his own heart or replaced it entirely, he would always find himself returning to the same place he'd run from.

Give me a whisper
And give me a sigh
Give me a kiss, before you
Tell me goodbye

Viktor tries to turn over the puzzle piece that used to be the man he loved. He didn't return the wrong version of the guy to this timeline, did he? Jayce would never be so forthcoming or vulnerable — not with Viktor, at least.

And if he can be?

For most of their relationship, all Viktor has known to exchange with Jayce was insults and blows. The closest to a kiss Viktor has ever gotten was Jayce's bloody spit on his mask. Would it make sense to hypothesize that Jayce had gone through such lengths because of something foolish as... love?

It can’t be.

Viktor had been in love before and swore he knew better.

Golden days spent in the lab, the glow of the hex orb reflecting against Jayce's face.

That brilliant smile turned Viktor's way at every victory they achieved together.

The gala where a stranger with magnetic blue eyes and a smart mouth had shared his grievances over being forced to attend such a pretentious social event.

Begrudgingly, despite knowing better, Viktor thinks he's still in love now.

Weekends spent beaten and bloody by each other's hand, patching each other up in Viktor's living room while exchanging soft words molded into knives.

That cocky grin aimed at Viktor before shooting at him with his stupid Mercury Hammer.

The tight alleyways in Piltover where they frequently hid, catching their breaths as their bodies pressed together. They'd wait for enforcers to leave them alone, Jayce checking to see if the coast is clear — and Viktor tracing the vein bulging from his rival's neck with his eyes.

Even with the knowledge Viktor possesses, it seems he can't outrun his own past — after all, it's the only thing Jayce truly loves about him.

Jayce chases shadows and bygone days, hoping that the machine that stands before him could embody even a trace of the man he used to be. Jayce doesn't love or accept him for what he is now — if he did, he wouldn't be so adamant to change the past. Viktor finds it unfair that the bastard dared to ask they meet each other halfway, and for him to see Jayce as the man who acknowledges his wrongdoings and wishes to do better.

Jayce doesn't even acknowledge Viktor in the present without seeing his greatest mistake and biggest regret in the eyes of the man he claimed to love.

Viktor rises from his bed and decides to go to the kitchen to stop the radio. He can't sleep with all this noise, his mind already in chaos as it is. He slips on his fluffy cat paw-shaped slippers along with his discarded mask and descends downstairs, the only source of light coming from the lamps on the desks and drawers.

And please remember that I never lied
Oh, and please remember how I felt inside, now, honey

All it takes is for Viktor to click stop once for the thing to cooperate for a change. It certainly takes him aback for a second — it usually puts up more of a fight than that. Viktor pretends to switch off the lights in the other rooms, just to check if Jayce is still around.

While the rooms are devoid of life — including the guest room — it seems Jayce has forgotten to take his Mercury Hammer with him since it's still where he left it in the lab. Viktor doesn't care — he'll likely disassemble it come morning for spare parts.

When Viktor rounds the couch to turn off the last lamp illuminating the ground floor, he almost jumps in surprise when he spots a large body occupying the couch. Viktor almost lets out a curse before placing a hand on his chest. He squints and realizes it's just Jayce, snoring softly as he embraces himself in his sleep.

Viktor should wake him up and kick him out. The door is just a few steps away.

Instead, Viktor feels relief wash over him to know Jayce didn't leave this time. He sits on the floor right by Jayce's head and observes the rise and fall of the man's firm chest. Viktor takes in the way the single golden light touches each line and curve of his body like a lover. Viktor reaches forward, ghosting the back of his fingers against Jayce's bruised cheek — the place where he'd been slapped earlier.

How did their relationship become so twisted and dysfunctional?

"You should have just left, Jayce," Viktor whispers softly. "The one you love is only a memory now."

When Viktor turns away and stands up, the last thing he expects is a firm grip shackling his wrist and chaining him in place.

"Don't go," Jayce mumbles in a gravelly voice as he rubs the sleep away from his eyes. "Say that... again." He cracks his eyes open and turns to Viktor, his eyes widening a little at what he sees.

"You love a version of me that no longer exists," Viktor says quietly. Jayce loosens his grip when he realizes Viktor has no plans of running away from this. "You want me to be him, but I've changed too much to be someone else again — and I wouldn't have it any other way."

Jayce sits up with a groan, a hand on his stomach. "I love every version of you, V — even the ones that try to kill me," he says.

"You know that is not my point."

"But I do love you for who you are now."

A beat passes, the only sound from the way the city breathes — cogs and machines ticking and turning in a perpetual cycle it was never made to escape.

"It doesn't seem that way to me," Viktor disagrees with a sigh before turning to the side, their shadows stretching into one. "How can you love something that serves as the living reminder of your greatest failure in life? When given the chance, you would eradicate my existence in favor of those days with my foolish and powerless self — that person who was forced to bow against the academia's long history of corruption." He clenches his fists on his sides. "No longer will I subject myself to such humiliation ever again."

Jayce lets out a sigh, eyes staring at the golden light emitting from the lamp. He can't meet Viktor's eyes. "My biggest regret is being a coward," he confesses. "I didn't take your side and let your research be stolen, and I thought of the worst thing you'd do when we fought over that fucking dive suit. My life has never been the same after you left."

"Then, how can you call it love when you never listen to me and believe that all my actions are immoral?" Viktor asks, his eyes stinging as he rises from the floor with tense shoulders. "I loved you, Jayce, and I never would have done half the things you did to me. You tell me that I only see you for your flaws, but were you not the one who taught me that?"

Jayce turns to him then. He reaches forward, holds Viktor's arms as if in plea, before glancing up with repentance in those incomparable blue eyes. The last time Viktor had seen him look like this, they were in a battlefield — and Viktor had sent his creations to kill Jayce in response.

Because it had already been too late for them.

Viktor considered his ability to separate himself from Jayce as a testament to his detachment to his own mortality, the vulnerability of a heart that felt too much, and everything it entailed. Jayce was a tether that only held Viktor back, one that he cut with his very own hands.

Yet here, bathed in the golden glow of the only lamp illuminating Viktor's own home, he starts to question if what he thought to be 'late' was simply a matter of wrong timing. As Jayce openly dissects himself with honesty and allows Viktor to partake, he can't help but wonder if tonight is finally the right time to settle things between them once and for all.

"I know, I fucked up in ways only a man can. I understand if you don't love me like you did before, but I also know we're too stubborn that our philosophies may never align. The longer we're away from each other, the further the gap between our beliefs will become. I have to let you go — we both know that — but I can't," Jayce says with eyes as intense as a soldering pen. His fingers tremble, even if his hold around Viktor's augmented arms feel like iron. "I'm selfish, you know this — I'd rather you hate me than never think of me at all. If I can't have your heart, then let me be the burden you have to live with for the rest of your life."

How insolent and cruel, to demand something human from the likes of Viktor.

As always, Jayce disregards Viktor once more by saying and doing everything he wishes. His words are syrupy and sweet over Viktor's walls that have flattened like a pancake. His mechanical heart skips a beat before it begins to race. It's an anomaly, something he can't figure out nor control. Viktor hates that he can't will his own creation to follow his command, as if Jayce has seized administrative access to his control panel.

"As always, you are a conceited bastard. And they call you a hero," Viktor spits, frozen in place as Jayce's warm hands ease their way around his waist. "I still can't forgive you. I don't want to — you don't deserve it after everything."

"I know, V. I know," Jayce whispers, keeping his eyes on Viktor as he pulls him into his lap.

"You hurt me," Viktor admits in a small voice. It damages his pride to say it out loud. However, if tonight is a revelation of truths, then Jayce needs to know what it's been like in his shoes all this time. "You always question everything I do at the expense of other people's lives. You know all I ever want to do is help my people."

At least Jayce has the decency to look genuinely apologetic. Viktor thought he'd never see the day. "I... I know," Jayce says.

"I let you crush my heart and use my body for your pleasure," Viktor adds as he gets comfortable on Jayce's lap, his hands finding their way to the other man's chest. He can feel Jayce's heart humming under the wired nerve endings of his palms. "It sickens me that all you know is to take from me, and yet I still let you."

"V, please... Let me make it up to you."

"I shouldn't listen to you," Viktor says — because he knows better than to forgive the man he still loves despite everything. "And yet I want to believe and give you a chance — foolish it may be — that this time, you truly mean it."

"I won't fail you. Not this time." Jayce takes Viktor's hands in between his, pressing a kiss on each cold metal fingertip. Somehow, they still manage to find a way to fit together like pieces of a puzzle — Jayce's hand rough with work and battle entwined with Viktor's cold metallic ones with small scratches from daily habits and weekly fights.

Viktor can only hum, still doubtful of Jayce's heart and words. "Hm. I hope so."

Jayce's eyes flutter shut as he lets Viktor go in favor of wrapping his arms around the other man's waist. He buries his nose in the dip where Viktor's neck meets his shoulder. This isn't forgiveness, but perhaps it can start here.

"Can I tell you something, V?" Jayce asks against Viktor's augmented neck.

"What?"

"Despite everything, I still think you love me."

Viktor lets out a bark of laughter. "Do I?" he asks.

"Yes..." Jayce answers as his lips brush against the metal running up Viktor's face until they find their way to his ear. "Because you can only forgive someone who's done every single thing wrong if you do," he whispers, voice low and sensual.

Jayce's breath tickles Viktor. His thighs press together as he feels a familiar warmth in his core. Viktor's cheeks are warm, and he can only be thankful that he has his mask on. "Wh-What utter nonsense..." he mumbles in response.

Viktor can feel Jayce's lips stretch into a smile. "You're not denying it," Jayce points out.

"You don't know that."

"Let me see you, then." Jayce pulls away, the knuckles of his hand caressing the metal mask. "When I see you, I'll know."

"I— eh, Jayce... Hold on," Viktor suddenly feels bashful, placing a hand on Jayce's chest to push him back a little and put some space between them. Out of everything, the memory of Jayce's trysts with his other selves is what surfaces above the rest. "I... I may not look the same way you remember. Perhaps you have been misled into thinking that I'll be like the other variants of myself you slept with."

"Getting shy now, are we? C'mon, I'll be the judge of that..." Jayce trails off as he begins to unlatch Viktor's mask carefully by the sides. Viktor's permission is his submission, allowing Jayce to navigate how to remove the thing that separates him from his prize — the secret that Viktor has kept hidden from the rest of the world for so long. "Besides, I don't want you to be like them. You're special to me, V," he adds.

Viktor just wants him to shut up now. Jayce's words are doing a number to his rattling heart.

Once Jayce finally figures out how to unlatch it, he slowly takes off Viktor's mask like it's some grand reveal. He places it on the couch and initially looks taken aback, wide blue eyes scanning every cell of Viktor's altered face.

Frankly speaking, it's unnerving seeing Jayce so focused, like Viktor's features are a scientific marvel that he can't wait to study. Jayce catalogues the changes, his eyes shifting from one point to another.

"I told you it's not how you remember it to be," Viktor says, unable to hide the scrunching of his brows or the disappointed downturn of his lips. "Now, let me put my mask back on." He tries to reach for the mask but finds his wrist seized once more.

"You're right. It's not how I remember it — somehow, it's even better."

Viktor tries to will down a... a blush. He feels weak.

"Oh, so you're saying I looked less appealing before?" Viktor quips back with a short awkward laugh, trying to ease the growing tension between them. Without his mask and armor, Viktor feels vulnerable. It's been a long time since he's felt this way.

"We both know that's not true," Jayce says as his hand reaches forward tentatively, a finger brushing the cut of Viktor's cheekbone then tracing down the slope of his nose. "See? Here, you still have the same cheekbones as sharp as your mind, still the same noble nose..."

His hand finds its way to trace the arch of Viktor's brow bone. "Still the same expressive eyebrows..."

His finger travels to the space under Viktor's eye. "Still the same intense golden eyes like the sun, a star that's finally found its way to space from the looks of it."

Viktor feels his own cheeks turn pink as Jayce continues to wax poetry about his face. They're just average parts of the human body — there's nothing special about it, completely replaceable assets that can only be improved upon with augmentation. "Okay, stop. You have made your point perfectly clear," Viktor tries to say but finds himself distracted by how gentle Jayce touches him — like he's afraid to shatter this moment or lose the opportunity given to him.

Then, he rubs each distinct mole on Viktor's face and counts them aloud — the one under his eye and the one above his lip. In the past, Jayce's lips have constantly found their home there. He'd kiss them softly after they made love or if Viktor made him coffee first thing in the morning. "And, you still have the same number of moles on your face. Would you look at that…" he says with a smile. "They say it's the places your lover liked to kiss you in a past life. After being in other timelines, I can definitely say that's true — regardless of what point in time we're in."

Finally, Jayce's journey ends on Viktor's lips. "Still the same mouth — the path to your heart and everything I love about you," he murmurs. The pad of his finger presses against Viktor's lower lip before Jayce locks eyes with him. "I wonder if this right here still feels the same?"

Viktor gulps, his eyes flicking down to the cut on Jayce's lips. Will it taste like iron on his tongue?

"Why don't you come and find out for yourself?"

Jayce inhales sharply, brows furrowing as his tongue quickly darts out to wet his lower lip. He closes the distance between them slowly, like a satellite orbiting the moon — as if he wants to give Viktor a chance to think this through and push him away again.

But Viktor — despite all his misgivings about Jayce's intentions and where they stand tonight — has never been so certain.

He fists Jayce's collar and meets him halfway, their sealed lips crashing against each other. Viktor feels tension leave his mechanical body as he parts his lips and finally lets Jayce in.