Chapter 1
Ever since Jayce was a child, he had been dreaming about his soulmate. He was one of the rare cases that didn't meet their fated one in early childhood. So the young boy would often stand in between two mirrors and stare at the soul mark on his back. This mark would tell him, who his soulmate was. They would have the exact same mark at the same spot on their body. He would dream about meeting them, and falling in love. They were going to have the best life together. He was certain he would meet them very soon. His mother had been attending all the matching parties they could find. These parties were a long standing tradition in Piltover. As soon as their children's soul mark showed up around four years old, parents would attend to find the child with a matching pattern - the perfect soul that was made for their other half. And Jayce couldn't wait to finally find his companion as well.
But as he grew older, doubts started to plague him. He and his mother had still failed to find his soulmate and the older he got, the more alone he felt. Everyone he grew up with was happily partnered while he remained an outsider. The only one who was left alone.
When Jayce started his time at the Piltover Academy, he was hopeful he would meet his soulmate there. People from all over Runeterra attended the prestigious school, so the likelihood of him meeting foreigners was rather high. And since they had not been able to find his other half in Piltover, chances were, they were form a different part of the world. The thought of it frightened him. Ever since that disastrous trip he had taken with his mother so many years ago, he had been cautious about leaving his part of the world.
Of course he knew that was rather narrow minded but seeing his mother so close to death, shortly after his father's passing, had left him with scars that hadn't healed properly, yet. If he was to find his soulmate, surely he could overcome it just to see where they had grown up. He was convinced his love would be enough to outgrow his fear, even though right now, the mere thought of traveling anywhere further than Zaun made his heart freeze in terror.
It was at his first academy party when Jayce realised how isolated he was. It seemed like everyone had their partners with them. Only he stuck out, alone, like a sore thumb. Sure, people around him were nice. Some would ask him about why he was alone and assume his partner was sick. And when they found out the truth they would politely change the subject. But the subtle pity in their eyes was unbearable. Poor boy, lost his father so early. Poor boy has not found his fated one. Poor boy will end up with a foreigner. Jayce never attended another party he could avoid.
The Kiramman family had seen his scientific potential early on in Jayce's live and had been sponsoring him generously ever since. As a result, he had basically grown up with their daughter, Caitlyn. She turned out to be the companion he had been wishing for. Not his soulmate, but someone he could share his thoughts and fears with. And as fate would have it, her soulmate was also nowhere to be found, but she didn't seem to suffer from it as much as he did. Of course, for she had everything anyone could wish for in life, topped with her practical and patient nature, it only made her the match any parent would hope for.
When Jayce was denied the resources to continue his studies on Hextech, everything he had ever cared for in his life seemed to be lost. He still hadn't found his life partner and now his entire work so far was going to be destroyed, because the council had classified it as too dangerous. There was no way something worse could happen after that. Surely, this was the worst life could offer.
That was when Viktor came into his life. Before Jayce could drown his sorrows in alcohol and other unhealthy habits, Viktor offered him to break into the academy and continue his research. Proving his work held merit. Viktor was the first one to believe in him and Jayce loved him for it. And when they were working together, side by side, Jayce could not remember another time he had felt so complete.
3 years later.
Jayce woke to the tender rays of the rising sun disturbing his sleep. His neck was painfully stiff and it took
him a moment to realise he must have fallen asleep at his desk. Slowly he tried to move his neck to get rid
of the consequences sleeping in such a position brought on. Horrified, he noticed he had drooled on the
notes he had been working on. They were Viktor's notes no less! Hastily he tried to wipe them dry, without smudging the ink. It proved to be a rather unsuccessful attempt. At least he was awake now.
Viktor had been working on a way to stabilise the highly explosive Hextech Crystals they worked with and
had finally found promising results last evening. Before leaving the lab he had given Jayce his notes so
they could start experimenting the next day. Jayce had been so fascinated by the new findings he lost track
of time and must have fallen asleep while trying to design an experiment to verify Viktor's theories.
He turned to his notes that had survived the night unscathed. Now that his brain had finally sprung into
action, he remembered what to do. Slowly he got up to start building the experimental set up he had advised
last night. He had promised Viktor they could start experimenting today as soon as they started their day in the lab. In exchange, Viktor agreed to go home and get some of the sleep he had been depriving himself of the last few days. And if there was one thing Jayce didn't want to do, it was to disappoint Viktor.
It had taken him embarrassingly long to admit his feelings to himself, but by now, after working together for three years, Jayce was convinced by one fact - he was absolutely sure that Viktor was his soulmate. It had started with small things. Each time Viktor acknowledged his work, he would wear a smile on his face for the rest of the day. Every time they were in the same room, everything just felt right.
And when he would find himself in close proximity to his lab partner, his heart would start pounding as if it could jump out of his chest any time. It wasn't until he caught himself thinking about how nice it would be to kiss him, while they were discussing the enormous stabilising structures Hextech needed right now, that the coin finally dropped and Jayce realised he was hopelessly in love with his closest friend and that he simply had to be his soulmate.
That had been a few months ago and since then, Jayce had been on a mission to make Viktor show him his soul mark.
Ever since he started to try and find his soulmate himself, Jayce had lamented the fact that his mark was at the centre of his lower back, a spot that was basically never casually exposed. How was he supposed the see the lower back of other people unless he was at a swimming pool? Sure, he could start delving into Zaunite styles. The fashion of the Undercity was far more revealing compared to the elegantly covered silhouettes of Piltover, showing off their often massive soul marks. Piltovian marks usually resembled a small embellishment. Like Jayce's own little mark. A cogwheel covered in plants, about half the size of his palm. In contrast the Zaunite marks would often sprawl across half of their body, showing off intricate pieces of art. But Jayce couldn't possibly start dressing like he was from the Undercity, if he wanted to keep his, and his mother's, respectable position. So he had to resort to other means and developed a real fondness for swimming. Though he hadn't pursued any of that, since he started working with Viktor. In hindsight another dead giveaway that he had found the one.
Problem was, there was simply no occasion for Viktor to take off any of his clothes. On the contrary, he was alarmingly susceptible to the cold and more often than not put on more clothes as the day progressed.
Furthermore, they basically spent all of their time together in their lab, where it would be quite the safety hazard to expose so much skin. And Jayce definitely did not want Viktor to think of him as an irresponsible
lab partner who would disregard all precautions just to expose himself. That was a last resort. But since Jayce knew he had found his soulmate, he was convinced it would work out sooner or later, without him making a fool of himself.
He had just finished setting up everything, when the door opened and Viktor stepped in, looking well rested.
"Good morning." Viktor's voice was still a bit hoarse, as if that was the first thing he said this morning. The
thought made Jayce smile.
"Morning! If you want to, we can start immediately." he replied, full of enthusiasm, gesturing at the machinery in front of him. Viktor simply nodded and joined him.
They worked in tandem, well adjusted to each other, honed by hours and hours they spend together. It was shaping up to be a pleasant day at work like any other.
"Jayce?" Viktor was standing at Jayce's desk, looking over some notes. The notes Jayce had slept on. His heart sank a bit and he could feel a blush covering his cheeks.
"What happened to my notes?" Viktor's voice was heavy with accusation.
Blushing even more, he helplessly scratched the back of his head.
"I...somehow fell asleep on them?"
"You're not sure about that?" amusement evident in his voice.
"Ah no..sorry, I fell asleep and well..." he smiled sheepishly. "I'm sorry, really. I hope you can still read everything." Viktor just shook his head with a small smile but turned toward him immediately after, as if he suddenly remembered something.
"You did not get proper rest and were operating heavy machinery all day? You know that is a bad idea."
"Uh..right...well someone had to do it?" Viktor sighed.
"For your own safety, let's swap."
"Since when did you start caring about safety?"
"Since you started endangering yourself."
The obvious concern for him, expressed in such a blunt way, caused a warm feeling spreading in his chest and he couldn't help but smile. He had wanted to protest but before he could even start, Viktor had already grabbed his crutch and stalked towards him. His expression not allowing any objections.
"Very well." Jayce moved aside and took the notebook Viktor had been using. Usually, when experimenting, it was Jayce's part to operate, while Viktor would document their findings. Of course this wasn't a fixed arrangement, but Jayce preferred it that way. Especially with prototypes like the one he threw together this morning, there was always something to fix while using it. And although Viktor was perfectly capable of doing so, it was always a bit more exhausting for him with his bad leg. So Jayce would take over the operating part whenever he could. But today, Viktor was right. So Jayce conceded and watched on, as Viktor put on a pair of gloves and continued the experiment. At least he got to observe Viktor at work. Fully engrossed in the task, careful concentration on his face, as if the set up in front of him was the only thing that mattered to him. Jayce wished Viktor would look at him like that one day.
Time flew by, and soon, Viktor stood.
"I think that's all the measurements we planned to take."
Jayce nodded, his eyes still locked on the results of the day.
"If you're going to analyse the data in your head, you might as well write it down and do it properly." Viktor gave Jayce a smile that made the tip of his ear turn uncomfortably hot.
"You're right. I could do the analysis for the first measurement series and you take the second?"
"Sure."
"But first, we should probably get some food. I have no idea what time it is, but I'm getting really hungry." It was only now that Jayce realised he hadn't eaten all day. "Any special requests or just a sandwich as usual?" He asked. Not even giving Viktor the choice to not eat.
"Just the usual." he replied absentmindedly. "I'll put the results on the board so we can both work on them."
He moved towards the chalk board that hung next to the door.
"Ok, thanks."
Jayce was just about to leave the room, when he saw it.
The world froze and Jace felt like someone had knocked all the air out of his lungs and punched him in the guts for good measure. The room began to spin and breathing suddenly became very difficult.
Viktor had removed his gloves and started writing on the board. His cuff buttons were undone, probably due to the tight nature of workshop gloves, and now exposed his forearm while he was writing. And there, right between all that pale skin, sat Viktor's soul mark. Decidedly not at the same position as Jayce's and most definitely not displaying the same pattern.
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Jayce knew he was spiralling. After getting food, that he had lost his appetite for, he had excused himself, citing a severe headache and returned home. That had been two days ago and Jayce just couldn't bring himself to leave his flat, or even move. He had survived on whatever he found in his cupboards if he ever even remembered he should eat. It was as if his brain had stopped working and only left him with two choices. Either wallowing in self pity, trying to not think of anything at all but how unfair fate was to him or facing the cruel reality. Viktor was not his soulmate. The image of his mark, a bright, yellow tumbler with a drop of liquid above, was burned into Jayce's brain permanently. Viktor was not his soulmate. But if he wasn't, why did it just hurt so much to find out? Why was he still aching to see him, spend as much time as he could possibly find with him, to just wrap his arms around Viktor and never let go? It didn't make any sense. He couldn't imagine there being another person out in the world that he would rather spend his life with than Viktor. As long as Viktor walked Runeterra, there was no one Jayce could ever love even remotely similarly. How could he not be his soulmate?
These and similar thoughts kept repeating in his head in an endless storm he could not pull himself out of. He didn't know how much time had passed. Nor did he care. Rationally, he knew there was work to be done, and eventually he had to move, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. Just another ten minutes, he told him self. And then another ten minutes, and then another...
The sound of his doorbell disrupted Jayce's miserable solitude but he couldn't be bothered to answer it. Even when it rang a second and a third time. After a while, he heard the signature sound of his door opening. There was only one other person with his keys.
Sure enough, Caitlyn walked into his bedroom.
„What happened?“ she asked, sitting down next to him on the bed.
“He is not my soulmate.” Jayce mumbled into the pillow he was hugging as if his life depended on it. Caitlyn was the only one he had confided in regarding his feelings for Viktor.
It wasn't just about his hurt feelings, he realised. He finally belonged, finally had found the half that made him a whole person in society. Finally he hadn't been the pitiful loner anymore. Sure, after his success with Hextech, he had gone from poor young man, doomed to be with a foreigner, to a prospect parents would dream for their child to have. But in his early thirties, it was clear that Jayce's soulmate was not from Piltover and if he wanted to find them, he would have to do it himself.
It was easier for someone like Caitlyn. Having her mark being on the back of her shoulder, she could easily show it in public, hoping a passing tourist might recognise it. While Jayce was pretty much limited to swimming pools and public baths, hoping his fated one would have the same idea.
So when he met Viktor and finally realised the extend of his feelings, Caitlyn was the first and only person he told. He had been so absolutely sure that the extend of his feelings could only be explained by the fact that they were soulmates. And now the world was crushing down around him.
He felt Caitlyn’s soft hand on his shoulder.
“I can not hear you when you drown every sound with your pillow."
With a groan, he sat up, finally facing his friend. “He is not my soulmate.” He choked out. As if saying this dreaded reality out loud would make it more real. “I saw his mark.”
Caitlyn’s eyes widened a bit.
“Oh.” She seemed to be at a loss. “Oh I’m so sorry to hear that.” Her tone was grave, yet warm. She knew he needed a comforting friend right now, but there was nothing to say that could make it better. The next thing he knew, Jayce found himself in her arms crushing him in a heartfelt embrace. As if she wanted to shield him from all the hurt he felt and replace it with the warm feeling of her presence. “I know you love him. Don’t let a silly mark get in your way.”
Jayce just kept silent in her embrace. He had never even considered not ending up with his soulmate.
“But Viktor deserves to be with his fated one…” he protested weakly.
Caitlyn pushed him back softly, her eyes fixed on his.
“Jayce, not every one can end up with their soulmate. Yours might be living in Freljord and you never get to meet. Or they could have passed away. It doesn’t matter. You have someone you love so you should pursue him. You’ll only end up miserable if you don’t.” Jayce had never really thought about it in that way. He had never even considered his soulmate being dead. Quite the arrogant assumption, now that he thought of it. There were cases of older Piltovians getting together after their respective partners passed on, but it was unheard of for a first partner.
“Would you consider it?” “In a heartbeat.” There was no hesitation in Caitlyn’s answer. “If I love someone, that’s the person I’m going with. And if they turn out to be my soulmate, that’s just a bonus but won’t change a thing. I’ll love them because of them. Not because they were born with the same mark as me.” She paused. “Also, have you ever considered you might not even get along well after you meet?”
“But everyone gets along with their soulmate.” Jayce said without really thinking about it.
“Yes, most of the time they do. Because they meet in early childhood and grow up together, after their parents found a matching pattern at some party.” The tone in her voice suggested Caitlyn did not think highly of that custom. “It’s different for us. We are fully developed adults living our own lives. If we ever get to meet them, the risk of not sharing the same values or just not matching well together is much higher.”
For the first time, Jace really considered her suggestion. He knew he was a hopeless romantic and the thought of finding someone out there who was the perfect match for him had always been his dream. But his misery now prompted him to think about Caitlyn’s view of things more carefully. There was no way he could find anyone who understood him better than Viktor. Even Caitlyn, who was basically his sister, could not understand his passions and obsessions when it came to his research, or follow his patchy thoughts when Jayce was distracted. Viktor could do so easily. Spending time with Viktor in whatever way always felt right and made him happy. As long as Viktor was by his side. And Caitlyn was right. If his soulmate showed up now, there was still no way he could stop loving Viktor. So Jayce decided to follow her advice.
It still didn’t change the fact that he felt absolutely abysmal right now.
“You’re right. I should sort this out and get back to the lab…” he paused. “Hey Sprout," he asked quietly. "Can you give me another hug?”
His friend smiled brightly and wrapped her arms around him once again. The warm embrace made Jayce feel like Caitlyn could shield him from all the bad in the world.
“You should really get back”, she said while pulling him even closer. “Viktor asked me to check on you since you hadn’t been in the lab for days. He was genuinely worried.”