I've been the best I can be [JayVik, Arcane]

I've been the best I can be

When autumn finally settled in the Piltover air, Viktor was gone.

He was alone when it happened, but his passing was as peaceful as it could have been, a deep sleep being the only thing to show him mercy. God forbid he had suffered.

The night before, he and Jayce had been in the lab, as close to a new breakthrough as they'd ever been. Laughter filled the air, casual jokes and snarky remarks passing smoothly through the space between them like they could return to it the morning after. Viktor's eyes were dim, his face skeletal and limbs weak, but he didn't know it was his time. No one did. The mood of the evening was so calm and perfect that Jayce could never have guessed anything was wrong. He was too busy gazing longingly to play boy saviour. Viktor had always been hyperfocused on his work, desperate to finish what he had started, but that evening it was as if his own cogs stopped turning, pulling him away from his countless lists of equations and forcing exhaustion down his throat. Jayce had asked multiple times if he was okay, and if he'd only have asked once more, Viktor might have finally said no. He simply allowed Viktor to leave early and thought nothing of it.

By morning, all of the nights the two had spent in hospital together felt futile. The treatment, the discomfort, the pain Viktor had been through and the hours he had spent begging for it to just be over had finally amounted to his end. After everything he was subjected to, all in vain, his death hit harder than it ever would have had he refused treatment. It came too soon for what they put him through. He only accepted the help so he could continue his research into the preservation of his own life, and even that had now amounted to nothing.

The news reached Jayce by the time the autumn sun was at its peak. It was rushed to the table of the council, addressed to them all but spoken directly to Jayce. His smile was warm in the moment, expecting a fresh report on the success of hextech: something he could tell Viktor about when they met in the lab in the evening. The sun illuminated his back, golden hues swimming across his skin as he beamed with open ears, the nimble doctor in front of them swallowing hard before speaking.

'It's, um, Viktor, sir.' He muttered, fumbling with his glasses. 'He's... passed.'

Jayce's face fell flat, eyebrows pinching in slight confusion as he felt like he'd misheard, scanning his hands quickly before looking back up in disbelief. Passed? Passed an exam? Viktor didn't have any exams. He'd never sat one. Passed something on? Maybe. He always had messages for Jayce. The council looked on in silence, watching contemplation twist across his perfect features. He prayed it was anything but... that.

'Passed?' He repeated finally, desperately chasing a different explanation. As the silent seconds ticked by, his nerves grew. It simply wasn't possible. Viktor had been perfectly fine the last time they spoke, and the two of them had work to do as soon as Jayce got away from his duties as councillor. His voice grew shaky as his eyes widened, focused on the unfamiliar figure in front of him while the rest of the council watched on, distraught and confused. Jayce was a strong believer in fate, but not like this. His entire future had been written out with Viktor as soon as they found a cure for his ailments.

'Dead, Mr Talis. Found this morning.'

The fatal blow. Jayce barely flinched. The room stilled suddenly, air stagnant as Jayce couldn't find it within his chest to breathe. He blinked repeatedly, mouth opening and closing as if he was desperate to speak but couldn't find the words. As his entire body froze, Viktor's name slipped softly from his lips, only loud enough for him to hear. It was involuntary, but it felt like a desperate call that would bring his missing partner running to him, as healthy as he'd ever been, and the two would hug like their lives depended on it. And yet, Viktor never came.

'Jayce.' Mel muttered from beside him in the softest voice she could muster through tear-stricken eyes, but it fell on deaf ears. Jayce was angry and terrified and despairing beyond words, but he stayed silent. In times like this, he needed Viktor. He couldn't be gone.