promise me

[hextechhead]

WHO: Jayce Talis and close CR
WHAT: Jayce coping with the decline of Viktor's life and general feelings
WHERE: Cadens, Nocwich, Horizon
WHEN: January
WARNING: Will be TW for loved one with medical condition that could mean death and feelings surrounding that.





Starters Below

Fanart from here. If you want a specific starter message waftingcurtains on plurk or go wildcard!

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[preferscuffs]

"The life of a politician, so I've heard."

Despite Cassandra Kiramman's desire for Caitlyn to follow in her footsteps, the negatives of the job haven't been spared her. Caitlyn's heard far too many lectures about reading between the lines, finding out what they don't want to say behind what they're actually saying. Which... she'd actually used in her job as an Enforcer. Which wasn't what her mother had intended, but it worked well enough for Cait.

"Peace with Silco." It's said in a neutral tone. Caitlyn never being one to really jump to conclusions one way or the other without time to consider things. Could it work? Should it? What would peace with Silco really entail? And how would it change things that desperately needed to be changed? She's not sure anything tied to Silco could end well, but maybe that's her own prejudice speaking.

"Independence is a good first step." That, at least, she can agree with. She's just not sure what an independent Undercity would look like under the thumbs of its Chem Barons.

"You're right. There's only so much we can do." More and more it was looking like there would be no easy option, no way to really win at least not any time soon. Not without some radical changes. But honestly? Those changes wouldn't come from people like them. Maybe that was part of the problem. People from Piltover thinking they knew better. Maybe it was best left up to the people who knew. People like Ekko and his crew, like Vi.

Hugs are good. Jayce hugs are especially good. She leans into him, squeezing him close. He's been a rock for her time and again over the years, being one in return? Least she can do.

"You should." She smiles at the thought. "I think if you keep the spectacle low, it'll help." No grand ceremony. No large reception. No real fuss. None of those are things that are really Viktor. "Once he agrees that is."

And he probably would. Eventually. Just maybe not at first. Either way, she'd help out the best way she could when it came time. Plus, it's nice to think about their future instead of worrying about their present. Focus on the possibilities. The things that would happen.

Maybe we can wrap on this one since we have the newer one :)

[hextechhead]

"Yeah. Turns out, it really wasn't for me." Honestly, Jayce never thought it was. From the start he felt very strange about it. He liked the attention, he convinced himself that any ability to make change by new power was good, but it never fit him. He was pulled away from his work, from what he really saw as his dream and meaning for being. Jayce was attracted to elements of it, and he thought he could make a difference, but in essence, it never suited him. In a lot of ways, he wished it never happened. He can't go backwards.

"I know. It wasn't my first choice, but I didn't know how else to do it. In our negotiation, I planned on forcing him to destroy the rest of the Shimmer factories. I know it'll never be perfect, but it's been wrong for a long time, Piltover controlling them without caring about them." This war started long before either of them were born, and yet they were born into it, with privilege. But it still wasn't their mistake. It would only be their mistake if they let it continue on. That he was sure of.

He holds her in his hug, glad to have it. When he thought he'd never see her again, Jayce would put in his mind his memories of her, so he could find some comfort in there. Now he can have it for real. He's shared more of his real life with her here, because they both have the time.

"You're not wrong. I don't care about the spectacle. Just him." Jayce smiles faintly. He has to believe in the future. He has to believe that they can be everything they were supposed to be. He promised Viktor he'd live in the now with him, rather than off in the future, but he's going to allow himself this one fantasy. A ring on their finger, a promise on their lips.

"I have to go meet him at the workshop, want to keep me company?" On the walk at least.

Completely fine by me!

[preferscuffs]

"I know I didn't react.... very tactfully to your appointment." Caitlyn admits. Because it's kind of true. "But it never felt like the right fit." At the time she'd wondered if it was just because she's so many personal biases against the position, but with time she's pretty sure that's not true. At least, not entirely.

"I'm not blaming you. Unlike what I thought when we were younger, sometimes maybe you really do just have to choose the lesser of two evils." Which is a big concession coming from Caitlyn, but that even when you get to the extremes there are still shades involved. Gray doesn't just exist in the middle. "And if it doesn't work....well, then we just try something else."

Maybe life isn't technically like Jayce's experiments, but maybe there's something to be learned from all that time in a lab.

She doesn't have the prolonged absence, but even the small one she'd had back home had been strange. He'll always be a place of grounding for her, a touchstone if you will. And she's glad of it, hopes it'll never change.

"I know. It shows." After all, she's got a front row seat considering her living arrangements. Not that she's complaining. It's sweet, when it's not tinged with sadness and desperation. Something that, maybe, she envies a little bit. It looks nice. Not now of course, but... one day perhaps.

"Always." For all the teasing and grief they give each other "Perhaps I'll stop for tea on the way back." Maybe do some shopping, pick up a new book to read for fun. If she doesn't get distracted with something duty related in the process.