(We needed more feral Jayce.. alt universe where instead of killing Viktor, they have a sort of stand still in recovery to figure out what’s wrong.)

It’d been two weeks since Jayce had almost shot Viktor - or rather, the Herald. Viktor had bit his lip, coaxing his partner - ex-partner to lower the weapon. Jayce complied with a cry, a beg, and it was only then that Viktor realized how awful Jayce’s state was between the begging for Viktor to not leave again, and the alarming heat off his skin.

Viktor had tried to not pay much attention to how long it’d taken to help Jayce get clean again, how matted his once groomed hair had been. He liked the beard, but ultimately trimmed it while the other sat in this sort of haze.

There’d been a sense of silence over them, even now. Jayce had stopped devouring food as if he’d lose it if he didn’t eat then, and Viktor had safely disregarded the bucket that reminded him of how poorly Jayce kept down anything that was too quickly eaten or too large of a portion.

He’d tried to not remember how Jayce could eat more than that before as he held their plates. Viktor didn’t need to eat, not with the arcane fueling his body. He didn’t need to, but at the same time, he did.

Through the shines of physical recovery, though, there was one thing Viktor missed. One thing that concerned him the most, considering the man he knew used to have trouble shutting up: Jayce hadn’t spoken since the first day

It killed Viktor inside a little. So, he brought two plates, setting them down. He let Jayce have his, and waited on his own. The other stared at him, and he wished- waited/ for a verbal invitation to join. An experiment, really.