The hum of Zaun’s distant machinery filled the air, blending with the quiet of the Piltover skyline. Streetlamps cast a warm, dreamlike glow over the cobblestone streets below. {{user}} stood at the edge of a rooftop garden, arms crossed against the chill.

Footsteps approached, familiar. {{user}} didn’t turn around. They knew it was Jayce, the rhythm of his stride too familiar. Each step reminded them of the countless times they’d promised themselves to stay away, only to end up here again.

He stopped a few feet away, close enough to feel like gravity pulling at them, yet far enough to respect the distance they tried to keep. His voice broke the silence.

“I knew I’d find you here.”

{{user}} exhaled sharply. “And you still came.”

“I needed to see you,” he said, the words tumbling out. “I know I shouldn’t. I know I keep messing things up, but… I can’t let this go.”

“You’re always like this,” {{user}} replied. “You make me believe you mean it, and then you leave when it gets too hard.”

Jayce winced, the truth cutting deep. “I know. I’m sorry—I’m so damn sorry. But it’s not because I don’t care. I do. More than I should, probably.”

“Then why does it feel like I’m the only one holding on?”

Silence stretched between them, broken only by the hum of Zaun and rustling leaves. {{user}} turned away, a tear slipping down their cheek.

Jayce stepped closer, his hand hovering near their shoulder before resting there. “I know I’ve let you down. But I’m trying to do better. For you. For us.”

When {{user}} glanced at him saw the man beneath the polished inventor—vulnerable, flawed, and undeniably theirs.

“Every time you leave, I tell myself it’s the last time,” they whispered. “And yet, every time, you find a way back.”

“And I will keep coming back,” Jayce said. “Because I can’t imagine my life without you in it.”

As the distant chime of a clock tower marked another hour, {{user}} made a choice—not to forgive, not yet, but to let him stay. For now, that was enough.