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tradingjack · 2 years

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Wow! The first serious writing I'm posting on Tumblr and it's whump-y jayvik fanfiction ✨ Hope those who read will enjoy :D

Huge thanks to @thedreamlessnights and @layleigh123 for beta-reading this for me, they were both super helpful and made it not a mess 💜

(Author hasn't played league for a variety of reasons. Most of this is based off things I just picked up and made up)

Word count 5.3k, rating Mature (contains graphic description of injury and injury repair, non-consensual drug use (kinda)), has a hopeful ending

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Viktor hated Jayce.

That had been something he'd been working on solving as well; hoping to become indifferent, instead. Uncaring. Hatred was still easier than whatever his feelings had been previously, far less complicated and fairly straightforward. Acceptable for now.

Or so he’d thought.

Hatred was still an emotion, and it wasn't enough to keep Viktor from also feeling a terrible, stomach-wrenching panic at carrying Jayce's dead weight in his arms.

It was stupid. Utterly disappointing, and Viktor cursed at the whole situation as he raced through the dark streets of Zaun.

He'd watched from afar as Jayce had been fighting on the battlefield (he'd been planning on gathering more test subjects after the fact). He'd observed the fight, cataloging Jayce’s strengths, weaknesses, things Viktor could exploit and avoid in his own battles with the other man, whenever they occurred.

He hadn’t planned on intervening.

It hadn't even been a possibility to him until some shimmered-up soldier had managed to get their blade past Jayce's hammer and ripped deeply right across his abdomen. The hammer had dropped, Jayce had stumbled and fell, and even with the distance Viktor could see the dark bloom across his torn armor.

That soldier had laughed. That soldier had stood over Jayce and leveled their blade under his chin, eyes flashing and a manic grin spreading across their grimy face.

"Huh. You know, you’re just as pretty in person as you are on all those fuckin’ banners," they sneered, fingers flexing. "Most a' the mugs that end up under my blade ain't nearly as nice to look at."

They were loud; Viktor couldn't hear what Jayce tried to say, he could only hear the soldier cackle at it.

"You think that’ll work on me?! You’re stupider than they say," they laughed, before their face set back into a merciless snarl. "See you in hell."

By that point, Viktor had practically flown close enough without realizing it; he was in range, and without a single thought in his head, his third hand fired at the soldier’s hand.

The injury was more than enough to get the soldier to back off, screeching and fumbling awkwardly through their pockets (one hand out of commission, likely looking for Shimmer). Viktor didn't care. They were out of the way. Viktor gathered Jayce as quickly as he could and ran. No one else on that battlefield would try him.

Not while he was on full power, his third hand thrumming with it.

He'd been concentrating so much on getting out of there unscathed, putting on such a display of power that no one would dare approach, that he'd forgotten to check if Jayce, currently nothing but a limp body in his arms, was even still alive.

And that thought made the panic so, so much worse.

Therefore, Jayce was alive; a belief Viktor had to hold, else his legs stumble and his arms turn weak in despair of just thinking about the alternative. Jayce was alive and in his arms and terribly injured, hot red blood cooling as it ran down Viktor's armor, congealing in the joints and creases of the metal.

Viktor could fix it.

Another unfounded belief, though Viktor felt that one was a little more plausible. He'd managed to fix terrible wounds before, and though he could feel too much blood soaking his own body, he knew it was impossible to tell the severity of an abdominal wound without proper examination. Maybe it just looked lethal, and was actually surface-level. Still a bitch to repair, but plenty survivable; just stop the bleeding and stitch.

It wasn't until Viktor was basically kicking down the door of his own lab and sweeping everything off the nearest operation table that he realized he'd tunneled the entire journey. Now that his attention was actually focused on Jayce, it was obvious the man was alive. He was a whimpering, pathetic mess, but he was alive.

The instant relief that poured over Viktor's mind at that realization almost made him dizzy. He didn't even have the brainspace to be annoyed at how inconvenient that was.

Instead, worry built up again as he continued assessing Jayce; as he realized the man's voice was getting thinner, his limited movements becoming increasingly weaker.

"Absolutely fucking not," Viktor almost snarled, wrenching apart Jayce's armor and letting the pieces fall to the side of the table.

Fuck.

The smell of perforated bowel was so obvious, and gods, was that a problem Viktor just didn't know if he could fix himself. He could see the stool now, leaking into the open wound, pouring out along with the blood. Another problem Viktor would have to fix if Jayce stood a chance at surviving this: he’d already lost so much blood.

Separately, these things could have been okay. Compounded like this? Viktor didn't know where to start.

"Vik— fuck! Viktor," Jayce keened, eyes screwed shut and hands starting to hover above the gap in his stomach. Viktor let him hover; at least he wasn't grabbing at Viktor's hands, which were examining the severity of the wound. "It hurts, it hurts so fucking bad, Viktor—"

He wouldn't be able to fix this in time without help. Of course Viktor always kept some help on hand, though he'd reserved it as a last resort for himself only.

Jayce's hands were covered in his own blood. "Please," he sobbed. "Viktor, please—"

"Shut up," Viktor snapped, unable to think past fix him now and yanking the drawers under the table open, pulling bottles of supplies and vials of Shimmer out and unceremoniously plonking them down next to Jayce's weakening body. "Your whining is not helping matters."

Jayce didn't respond.

Viktor's head immediately snapped up, and he almost broke the last vial of Shimmer as he slammed it down on the table to check on Jayce.

"Defender, talk to me. Now," Viktor almost yelled right in Jayce's face.

"You just–just told me to— ah! To shut up."

"I meant to quit your whining."

Jayce barked a short, dry laugh before keening again, golden eyes screwing themselves shut and face twisted in a grimace. "Fu-uck. Ow. I feel like— feel like my whining's justified."

"You are not dying, therefore no, it is not."

"I'm not?"

"No," Viktor said, voice so thick it was obvious even through the mask's modulator; he could hear it. "You are not going to die."

"Fucking— ow! Feels like it."

"You are not going to die," Viktor repeated, voice still far too throaty for his liking, the phrase itself ridiculous. Of course Jayce would die someday, and he was right; if Viktor fucked this up, if it was too late, if the Shimmer didn't work, then that someday would be today. And Jayce's dead body would be lying in his lab, his blood and guts all over his floor. Jayce would be gone.

Jayce would die.

Fix him now.

Viktor whipped off the leather glove on his unaltered hand, shaking the hand around in the air to quickly try and dry the sweat on it. "Bite this," he demanded, shoving the glove against Jayce's mouth.

"I'm dying," Jayce whimpered against the glove. "Gods, I'm dying."

"I just said—"

"I love you."

"You are not fucking dying," Viktor growled, forcing the glove between Jayce's teeth. "Keep that there."

Jayce just gave a muffled grunt, his head falling back against the table with a bang, a fresh wave of tears starting to fall from unfocused eyes.

"Fuck you, Defender, you are not dying under my care," Viktor continued, muttering harshly under his breath more to himself than anything. He was awfully rattled; it was causing even his metal hand to shake, the third arm's claw vibrating out of control.

Damned Jayce. Leave it to him to run his mouth, to just say shit that made the whole situation so much worse, so much more stressful. Viktor continued to curse to himself as he ripped open a bottle of saline and practically dumped it all over Jayce's open wound.

Jayce's voice was still muffled, but the idiot refused to quit talking. Similarly to Viktor, he seemed to be muttering mostly to himself. When Viktor checked in, tearing the seal on a bottle of hydrogen peroxide, he could make out his name, more creative cursing, and a chanting of "ow" coming from beneath the glove in Jayce's mouth.

"Bite down, Defender. Final warning," Viktor warned him, a little louder to make sure Jayce knew he was actually being talked to this time. "This will hurt."

Jayce made a clearly confused noise, head tilting up in time to see Viktor upend the bottle over his stomach. Then the screaming started.

The spasming also unfortunately started, Viktor just managing to catch one of Jayce's hands by the wrist as it made a grab for the gaping wound. Viktor could hardly think, between the bubbling sizzle of Jayce's stomach, the terrified shrieking barely dampened by the glove, and his own very real fear that the pain might be too much for the man. He practically threw himself on top of Jayce to try and get the other to stay still and not fling himself off the table, one forearm digging into Jayce's hips, the hand that had caught Jayce's fumbling around his fingers, trying to hold it instead. Between the mild clumsiness of the metal and the blood on Jayce's hand, it was rather hard.

"Defender, I need you to—" Viktor was interrupted by Jayce bucking upwards, hard. "Jayce! Jayce, calm down! Listen to me—"

"It hurts! Gods, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, fuck, fuck, fuck!!" Viktor managed to make that much out from beneath the glove. Well, it was an improvement from wordless screaming, he thought.

"I know it hurts—"

"Holy shit, Viktor, shit, fuck, gods— ahh! Make it stop, please!! Gods, I'm gonna fuckin' die, I can't, it hurts, please, please—"

"You are not going to die, Jayce, listen. Here, squeeze my hand," Viktor said, finally holding Jayce's hand in a firm grasp and grabbing his other hand with his third arm, bringing it to the edge of the table. "And hold the table. You can put as much pressure as you like, they're both metal—"

Viktor heard the squeal of metal before he felt Jayce's harsh grip, and almost regretted saying that. But it worked; Jayce was somewhat still. Still enough that Viktor felt safe releasing his hips and breaking open another bottle of sterile saline. Jayce whined, breathing heavily through his nose, the glove creaking in his mouth. As Viktor thoroughly cleaned the wound with the saline, doing his best to wash away any remaining hydrogen peroxide and stool, he felt Jayce relax further and further, his grip on the table and his hand loosening as the pain lessened.

That had been the easier part.

“I am washing it out now. You got eviscerated. Are you familiar with what that means?” Viktor asked casually, tilting the bottle to get a different angle.

Jayce looked vaguely indignant, but appeared to only have the strength to nod.

“I cannot sew your gut up in time to stop you from bleeding out, and if I transfuse the blood you have lost first, there is great risk of infection or other complications.”

Jayce groaned, head thunking back on the metal table. Viktor felt Jayce’s hand in his squeeze, and he could vaguely sense wetness against the magic metal. Jayce was scared.

“The solution I have for this is Shimmer.”

Immediately, Jayce fixed him with a glare. “No.”

“Defender—”

“No!”

“—I cannot save you without it.”

Even with his damned guts hanging out and a slobbery leather glove in his mouth and copious amounts of tear tracks running through the grime on his face, Jayce still managed to give his infamous sad puppy eyes.

“You looking at me like that will not change fact. And, actually, you do not have a choice. Feel free to pray I do not experiment on you.”

“You wouldn’t.”

And now, of course, Viktor was considering it. But Jayce had to survive this first and foremost; anything else could wait. “Regardless, I am using Shimmer on you, and it will hurt worse than the peroxide.”

“That’s the stuff you just used?”

“Yes.”

Jayce huffed, then winced and let his head drop back again, staring up at the ceiling with tight eyes. He looked pale, and his breathing was getting heavier.

“It will be easier if you cooperate.”Jayce’s eyes rolled, and Viktor refrained from doing the same. “Defender, it is only to save your life. This is my private stock of Shimmer, and I wouldn’t use it if I felt I had a choice.”

And maybe that was a little too revealing, but it worked; Jayce went slack under his hands.

"Good boy," Viktor cooed out of old habit, and he was extra glad for the mask then. At least Jayce was too out of it to notice. And then he thought, if Jayce had almost tossed Viktor with just the peroxide treatment, he'd need to reposition to have any chance against Jayce and Shimmer.

Sighing, Viktor quickly hauled himself up onto the table, sitting on Jayce's hips and kneeling so his legs were each over one of Jayce's. He took the hand he was already holding and held it down over Jayce's head, the third arm pinning Jayce's remaining arm down just a little above it, and accepted the fact that it forced him to lean over Jayce more than he would like.

No matter. He could still reach the gaping wound and the vials of Shimmer next to them with his remaining hand. And he picked the first of five up; just a tiny amount of diluted medical Shimmer, better suited for injection than topical application. It felt cold in his hand.

Jayce was staring at Viktor with a mix of trepidation and fear.

"Relax, Defender. It will go by far easier if you do," Viktor lied. It would be the same amount of pain for Jayce either way. He turned the magnetization on for his suit, popped open the vial, and reached between them to pour the Shimmer on the left-most side of the exposed guts.

The effect was immediate, as expected; Viktor watched with mild awe as the Shimmer sunk in, the cells mutating and stitching themselves back together.

Jayce's reaction was somewhat unexpected.

Viktor had known this would be painful despite not being able to feel pain, because using Shimmer in this way was incredibly uncomfortable regardless. Besides the fact it was meant to be used as an injection and Shimmer only functioned on subjects that were conscious, he'd applied it topically once, just to see what would happen, and had immediately regretted it.

Though he felt no pain, the surrounding tissue of the wound he'd had at the time had spasmed wildly, and he could feel his body trying to reject the Shimmer when it was introduced that way; a sort of burn that was wildly distressing. It still worked, but Viktor had filed away that he should avoid using Shimmer like that at all costs.

And he would have avoided it here, too, if he felt he had a choice. Jayce's fucking guts were already hanging out, it would just be cruel to cause additional pain at this point. He'd known to expect some kind of rejection, especially based on how Jayce had reacted to the peroxide.

He'd underestimated the reaction.

Viktor barely had enough vision and time to see that the Shimmer was, in fact, working before Jayce's back arched an ungodly amount, the man practically seizing and foam forming around the glove in his mouth as an inhuman shriek ripped itself out. He was suddenly glad he'd turned on the magnetization of his metal parts, effectively gluing him and Jayce to the table; the way Jayce was writhing would have thrown them both off in an instant, Viktor's full weight be damned.

Jayce was still moving too much for Viktor's liking.

Viktor let his front fall, his chest pushing Jayce's back down onto the table, their faces suddenly way too close. He tried not to wince at how piercing Jayce's screams were this close; how the man he hated looked truly tortured, frothy drool pouring from his mouth, eyes rolled up in his head, purple and unblinking, tears and snot accumulating in a puddle under his head by this point, his entire body shaking uncontrollably.

He couldn't apply the next dose of Shimmer like this.

"Jayce, Jayce, you have to calm—"

"I CAN'T!! I can't, I can't, I can't, it fucking hurts, it HURTS!!" Jayce managed to spit, eyes squeezing shut as he seemed to gain some control.

"You must. Try, okay?"

"I— Viktor, I—"

"You are doing better already," Viktor grunted, lifting himself up again slowly, to test the waters. Jayce was still shifting around a bit, but his back stayed against the table, and Viktor was able to reach the next dose. They still had to hurry; while the Shimmer would work much faster than Viktor trying to manually sew Jayce's gut back together, it wouldn't fully stop the bleeding.

"You are doing so well. So good. Stay still, stay still…" Viktor continued, trailing off as he opened another vial and lined it up to pour on the next patch of exposed guts.

"Ready?" Viktor asked, and waited for Jayce to brace himself.

The effect was still immediate, though Jayce handled it mildly better this time; his back stayed on the table, though Viktor could feel his arms and legs try to shift, and he shook his head through heavy sobs.

The third vial went a little more poorly, Jayce's back starting to arch again.

"Viktor, I can't, I can't, please—"

"Two more to go. You are doing well."

"Gods no, please, please I'd rather die, it hurts so bad, I can't fucking take it—"

"You can. You will," Viktor muttered, as if the course of events were already set in stone. After all, if anyone could get through this while still feeling pain, it would be Jayce. The man was unbelievably strong, and could be terribly stubborn, and he had to live.

"I'd rather die, I'd rather die, please, no, please, please—!!"

The fourth vial spilled over the wound, and Viktor gasped at how hard Jayce bucked and writhed against him, the table scraping around the floor with the movement as his words cut off with an animalistic shriek. He was lost to the pain of the Shimmer again, and Viktor was struck again with the fear that Jayce might just not be able to take it and survive.

"Jayce, Jayce—!!" Viktor tried, but it was hard with Jayce flinging himself around, the other man hardly breathing around his howling, head pushed back as far as it could go and eyes rolled up in his head. He was too pale, too sweaty, moving far too much to be safe, let alone for Viktor to administer the last vial needed.

"Jayce, here, look at me—" Viktor tried again.

"NO!! No, no, kill me, kill me, gods!!" Jayce screamed, eyes managing to squeeze shut for a few seconds before they burst open again. The man looked possessed, and Viktor was fascinated, though mostly horrified. "It's too much, fuck, kill me, end it, please, please, please, please, augh—!!"

"You have to bear it—"

"I hate you!! I hate you, kill me, Viktor, please, just stop it, end it, kill me—ah!! Kill me, I can't do it—"

"You have to."

"I can't, I can't take it—"

Desperate times called for desperate measures; pushing the vial down to his palm, Viktor reached up with his one hand and released his mask, tossing it to the side. He distantly heard it fall to the floor with a loud clang. Once again, he pushed himself forward, caging Jayce's body down against the table with his own, and this time his face without a barrier of any sort was brought down near Jayce's own disgusting one.

"Jayce, look at me," Viktor said softly, his voice raw.

And Jayce keened, squeezing his eyes shut again for those few seconds, but Viktor caught the focus of a purple gaze when they opened again, and held it.

"You can take it for me. Okay? Bear it for me. I know you can."

"Viktor. Viktor, Viktor, it hurts, Viktor—"

"For me, I know you can." And Viktor carefully started leaning back, and almost sighed in relief as Jayce's back stayed against the table. He was sure not to break eye contact, and kept holding Jayce's hazy, teary gaze. "My Jayce, look at you, doing so well. Taking it so well."

Jayce hiccuped around a whine, remaining still. Viktor hysterically thought about the words he was saying, and the position they were in, and how they could be misconstrued if not for the fact Jayce was actively bleeding out.

"I will keep talking to you as I give you this last vial. It is the last dose you have to take, I promise. And you do not have to reply; just stay still and listen," Viktor quietly continued, moving to do as he said. The vial was opened, positioned on the right-most side of the exposed guts, and then Viktor was pouring it.

"Do you know why I am saving your life? I believe it is because I want you to see me win. I need you to see me win." The vial was empty; Viktor tossed it aside, heard it shatter somewhere, but kept holding Jayce's purple gaze as it flashed one last time, as he grimaced and whined and shivered through the final dose but stayed mostly still. "All my victories, you must witness, or they will be… hollow. Meaningless. Do you understand? It won't matter unless you are alive, unless you can watch me succeed. I need you to be there."

And Viktor's remaining free hand, ungloved, came up to hold Jayce's face, caressing the dirty skin as it turned into his palm, taking whatever comfort was there.

"Do you understand, my dear Jayce? I need you. I still need you. So you will not die, not today."

And Jayce didn't reply, not with words, though Viktor could have sworn he felt the tiniest nod against his hand. He knew what he was doing was far too much, way too revealing, but he was on autopilot and it didn't matter. If it kept Jayce alive, if it kept Jayce with him, then it didn't matter at all. Viktor had saved Jayce in the past, and damn it all, he would do it again. He was doing everything to keep Jayce alive now. He supposed some things, for now, were just intrinsic to him.

Viktor's heart soared as he saw the purple begin to ebb.

"Breathe, sunshine. There we go. Breathe through your nose, that's it. My strong Jayce, my good Jayce, you are almost done. You are almost through it." He was too pale, but getting the blood transfusion started and making sure Jayce returned to stability could happen right after this. Not great, but he had time.

They had time. Jayce had survived. And Viktor watched with great relief as Jayce fell fully limp against the table and sighed. The purple fully dissipated from his eyes before they slid closed, but Viktor knew the other was still conscious; he was still nuzzling into his hand.

The hardest part for Jayce was over. He would live.

“I’m—ow. I’m dizzy. ‘M I s’posed to be dizzy?” Jayce murmured, barely audible underneath the glove.

Viktor frowned, taking all of his hands back and gingerly pulling the glove out of Jayce’s mouth. His nose wrinkled at the damage done to the clothing; he’d have to replace it.

“It is a possible side effect of Shimmer, not unheard of. You have also lost quite a lot of blood, and you have been repeatedly banging your head against a metal table for at least two minutes. You also managed to, eh… bite holes through a protective leather glove, and your guts are still exposed to the air, which I imagine is quite painful and unhelpful regarding your dizziness,” Viktor listed off matter-of-factly, tossing the destroyed glove away and starting to dismount from the table.

Jayce groaned, lowering his arms back down to his sides and readjusting his hips as they were freed. “Ugh. I bit holes through leather? Damn.” And then his eyes opened, brow furrowing. “Wait, all that and my fuckin’ guts are still out?” His voice was terribly hoarse, probably from all the screaming.

“Yes. The Shimmer was to heal the holes in them.”

“Gods, fuck, this sucks. I thought you said we were done with the Shimmer! Ow.”

“We are. I will be closing you up myself. Keep this arm relaxed.”

“What for?”

“I am placing an IV. You need blood.”

“Yeah, that… that sounds right. Yeah, okay, fine,” Jayce sighed, wincing as he slid his arm over towards Viktor. “Gods, I feel fuckin’ gross. Ow, ah… Damn. I’m disgusting, what the fuck?”

Viktor didn’t respond, instead just tearing a little IV kit open and snapping the preparation, waving it in the air. One of the Chembarons had donated lots of hospital supplies after he’d helped her wife with a necrotic infection in her foot, and in the back of his mind, Viktor thought that Chembaron would be furious at how he was using the things she’d given him.

“Ouch. Since when have you been able to do that?” Jayce muttered, watching as Viktor hit a vein with the first stick and released the tourniquet, a little ways up Jayce’s arm.

Viktor didn’t respond, just taped the IV in place. He decided it wasn't necessary to point out to Jayce that he had quite visible veins running all over his arms, even with the lack of blood.

“It’s nice to see your face, by the way,” Jayce continued. “Wasn’t sure you still had one.”

“Do you ever stop talking?” Viktor snapped, standing and turning to march towards the fridge. “That whole ordeal, your guts still exposed to the air, and you still run your mouth.” Out of the corner of his eye, Viktor saw Jayce staring at him like he’d never seen his face before, and rolled his eyes as he yanked the fridge open.

“I tried to shut up once and you got angry at me.”

“The danger is past,” Viktor sighed, grabbing several bags of blood with his third hand and stalking back over towards Jayce, unraveling some tubing. “Once you are hemodynamically stable, there is very little chance of you dying today.”

“It’s nice to hear your voice, too.”

Viktor scoffed, starting the transfusion and picking his mask up off of the floor, replacing it on his face.

“Well, that’s just petty, V. C’mon, I almost died.”

“You can still die. I may murder you yet.” The voice modulator took a second to kick in.

“Nah, not after all that effort you just put in to keep me alive,” Jayce quipped, staring now at the IV in his arm since Viktor had replaced his mask. “I don’t remember a whole lot, there was a lot of fuckin’ pain, but uh. Pretty sure I full on asked you to kill me at some point, and I’m still alive.”

Viktor didn’t answer, passively hoping Jayce didn’t remember anything Viktor had said to him, and moved to place another IV in his other arm.

“What’s that one for?”

“Sedation.”

“Oh, you’re sedating me now? After all that? What the fuck, V?”

Viktor glared through the mask, flushing the IV. “Shimmer only works when the subject is conscious. Otherwise I would have knocked you out myself the second we set foot in here.”

“Huh. Hah. Well, ‘m not complaining ‘bout it now, I guess. Just don’t, uh, don’t replace anything.”

Viktor ignored him, flicking the syringe and releasing some sedative from the top before attaching it to the IV. “Sleep, Defender.”

“Hmph, back to Defender. Whatever,” Jayce grumbled, relaxing against the table, eyes drooping closed. Viktor removed his mask again after he was sure Jayce was out; normally he wouldn’t have minded it, but for the repair he still had to do, it would be easier to do his best job without it.

Jayce’s blood pressure was okay, and Viktor placed a pulse oximeter on one of Jayce’s fingers, just to be sure the man didn’t stop breathing while he was working. He replaced the blood bag when the first one ran dry, and carefully reconstructed Jayce’s abdominal wall, using a fancy dissolvable mesh he’d developed and some synthetic skin in closing to leave minimal scarring. The color was fairly close, a little lighter than Jayce’s normal skin tone, but not terribly noticeable. Viktor didn’t imagine a lot of people would be staring at Jayce’s abdomen, anyway, and certainly not to the level of detail of an incredibly minor skin color change. They’d see the scar sooner. Viktor idly wondered if anyone saw Jayce now like Viktor used to be able to. He imagined Jayce still had his pick of whoever he wanted, if the man was interested.

Well, almost whoever he wanted. Their ship had sailed. Viktor was mostly successful about not feeling too sad about it, slightly less successful about not feeling horrible envy towards whoever Jayce did pick. If he had.

Gods, it didn’t matter. With a frustrated grunt, Viktor tied off the triple knot of the last stitch and cut it before gathering all the remaining medical supplies and empty containers and dumping them into a nearby trash can. Sometime during his work, he’d realized Jayce would have to stay under longer, and he’d overestimated the amount of remaining time he’d need. Jayce would be out for a while now.

Viktor sighed, staring down at the unconscious man. As much as he stood by his idea of glorious evolution, that machinery was superior… there was something about Jayce. Something that made him seem perfect as is, despite almost dying just an hour ago. Something that made Viktor feel terrible about even considering replacing any of Jayce’s parts.

Something he wondered about as he cleaned Jayce’s face with a soft towel in his left hand, the sterile glove covered in blood removed to leave his bare flesh exposed once more. He scrubbed lightly across his brow, around his jaw, down the muscle of his thick neck, across the divot of his collarbones, coming to rest over where his heart would be.

“You love me?” Viktor muttered, voice crackling from disuse. “We both know that is ridiculous. Absurd. A thing of the far past, diseased and rotten. We both know that.”

Jayce, of course, was still asleep, and didn’t respond.

Viktor set the towel aside and let his hand splay out over where Jayce’s heart was. The other man still ran so warm, a furnace against Viktor’s skin. Supple muscle cradled his bones. It still felt good to touch.

“So fucking stupid,” Viktor scoffed, removing his hand and forcing it down to his side, clenching and unclenching his fist. Jayce’s vitals were still normal; Viktor quickly removed both IVs, bandaged both arms, his job done. He considered just dumping Jayce somewhere near the border, while the man was still out, but felt that was just mean. Assuming someone worse didn’t get to him before he woke up, he’d still be in awful pain when he did wake up. He’d be vulnerable.

Viktor was too tired for a trip like that anyway. Ever since he’d gone to that stupid fucking battlefield that morning, he’d been using his power like crazy; he needed to recharge.

He docked the suit, replaced the Gemstone in each limb, and collapsed in a nearby cot. Watching Jayce’s chest rise and fall with each breath, Viktor thought he’d probably be able to take a nap and still wake up before Jayce. It wasn’t a huge deal either way; if Jayce woke up before Viktor, he’d probably just try to leave quietly. He ignored the churning in his stomach at that thought, and let himself drift off, mind exhausted and heart frustratingly heavy.

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