(Basically.. there has to be ONE universe where they didn't get doomed at the commune.)

Viktor hadn't seen Jayce in months since he started the commune. They were both upset, it was given. When he gave an invite to the other man, he hadn't properly seen just how.. fractured Jayce - his partner was. Well, not until a shot was pointed at him. The scene unfolded quickly, the hammer charging and then - Jayce purposely missed. It was then, did Viktor witness what could only be described as a breakdown. Tears never shed from the other, scruffy version of the man he loved, but Viktor wasn't spared a few that rolled down his own cheeks. Jayce was filthy and hurt, a clear fever wracking his features as he gripped like a lifeline. A makeshift brace, made from scraps, rested on his leg and it made Viktor's artificial heart want to clench. There was one thing he knew; he could sense the Arcane in the other. The Arcane, Viktor realized, seemed to have rejected Jayce like an organ.

So, that's how they ended here. Jayce was submerged in a bath after some coaxing, the set of clothing he came in tossed in a corner, the smell something Viktor determined meant they should be flat out burned. The makeshift brace sat near the large tub, and he tried to ignore it. When he saw his leg, he hoped that it was just dirty. He knew it wasn't.

He'd switched out the water, hitting the fourth time before it came out remotely less murky. Grime had caked his partner in a way he hadn't seen, and he looked as if he had no access to, well, anything. Viktor could only assume it was months, judging from his beard and grown out matted hair. That fact alone stirred something inside of him.

The silence since Jayce arrived was long, but the distant look in Jayce's eyes even longer. It scared him, in a way. The man was matured from stress, matured in a way Viktor hadn't seen, despite Jayce's age being a year younger than himself. Gods..