boyofprogress | closed rp for [recursiveimpulse]

"Ha, ha," he says with an eyeroll at the actually sound. There's another slow rumble of thunder, and his shoulders hunch up around his shoulders a bit.

"No, the numbers are fine. I just, uh. There's a storm headed in. It's giving me a bit of a headache, that's all." It's a half-truth, not a complete lie. He does get headaches in bad weather. But it goes deeper than that, unfortunately.

"Oh."

Light, almost dismissive - but Viktor's expression is one of suspicion.

"...That does not sound ridiculous, Jayce. That is a headache." Without missing a further beat, he's moving to his satchel, rooting around inside it.

"I have painkiller. I have - well, I have a few painkillers. It's still mild, you said?"

The light in the lab dims as the clouds fully cover the sun. He's starting to regret the fact that they have such large windows, and he turns his chair to face away from them, rubbing at his face.

"Hmm? Um -- yes, sorry. Still mild. Just sort of... creeping. It's annoying, that's all."

The glance up towards Jayce to seek an answer has him watching the other man moving around, turning away from the windows, and...Viktor is sharp-eyed as ever, watching that tension building in his partner.

He pulls a little white pill out of his stash, then makes his way over to Jayce, offering it out with a little frown and a look of scrutiny.

"...Jayce, is something wrong? You are...eh, not as pale as I am, but giving me a run for my money."

He takes it, because he really does have a headache coming on, building behind his eyes, and tosses the pill back with the last of his coffee. But he can feel Viktor's gaze on him and sighs.

Jayce keeps his back to the window, but he can still here the rain start to patter against it. Slow at first, but rapidly picking up speed and intensity. Great. "I just -- I don't like storms." Which is an understatement, but he doesn't quite know how to explain to his partner that he sometimes shuts down due to the weather, of all things.

Oh. Of course.

It hits him all at once - the memory of what Jayce had said happened to him as a boy, the tension, that LOOK creeping into his eyes? This isn't something to tease. This is a trauma response.

In an instant, Viktor's expression goes from suspicious to calm - and he gets up, immediately and without explanation moving to one of their blank chalkboards and rolling it into the middle of the room.

There's a strange scraping noise coming from behind him, and Jayce whips around to see what it is, his nerves already frayed from the oncoming storm.

Viktor is, inexplicably, dragging a chalkboard across the floor. "Whoa -- whoa hey!" he calls out, scrambling to stand and make his way over. "Don't do that by yourself, let me help? Where do you want this?"

"It is just a chalkboard, Jayce. I am not made of glass, you know." But he takes it in stride - once Jayce is up, he gestures towards another chalkboard stand, beckoning.

"Just bring that one over here, next to this one, about...eh, approximately five feet apart. Parallel."

And then he's off into a cabinet, rooting around in the supplies for something.

"It's a little unwieldy, that's all. More of a two-person job, usually." But he listens, a little confused but trusting whatever Viktor has planned, and dutifully moves the chalkboard where he's told.

"Can I ask what you're looking for?" he calls to Viktor in the cabinet.

"No," he answers, simple and short, head still in the cabinet - but he is successful a moment later, and he comes bustling back over to the chalkboards with an arm full of sheets and storage blankets.

With no further explanation, he tilts both boards on their stands until they're parallel to the ground. Then he starts to fling the blankets over them both, making a sort of crude shelter underneath.

He straightens up, nodding in satisfaction, then walks over to his desk to grab his thermos and the notepad he was working on when Jayce had first piped up. "Grab a work light."

... it's a fort. Jayce is startled into a laugh and shakes his head a little, but grabs his work light to go join Viktor under the blankets. Which do, to Viktor's credit, help block out the windows and therefore the storm.

"This is nice," he says, setting up the light nearby. "It's cozy."

It takes Viktor a minute to get settled comfortably on the floor - but it's far from the first time he's been huddled under a shelter with a notepad, braces or no.

Expression serene, he pours some sweetmilk into the cup-lid of his flask.

"...When the enormity of nature gets to be overwhelming, sometimes, we need cozy.

When I was little, I built a lot of forts like this. Except they weren't indoors."

It's a piece of Viktor, given gently. Offered like a precious treasure, and Jayce happily accepts it, along with the sweetmilk.

He rubs his fingers against the side of the cup, looking pensive. Finally, he says -- "Ever since the blizzard, I've hated storms of any kind. A light rain is fine, but when it gets to be like this..."

He sighs and sips his milk, brow furrowing in frustration. "That's why I said it's ridiculous. It's not even a snow storm, I don't know why it bothers me this much."

It's the least he can do, Viktor figures, somewhere deep inside. If he's going to fall apart anyway, then at the very least, he'd like to leave a piece or two of himself with someone who will care for them after the fact.

He watches Jayce thoughtfully, quietly, and thinks for a beat or two about his reply.

"...When something hurts you that much," he begins, a weary smile on his lips, "It's not like...a knife that leaves a gash. It's more like...a ripple when a stone falls in. There's the entry point, yes, but...then there's everything that surrounds it."

Hesitation, and then:

"I am...afraid of very little, anymore. But...suffocation. That still scares me."

"How are you so wise?" he asks, leaning their shoulders together. Comforting Viktor as much as he's comforting himself. They both, in this moment, need a little support. A place and person to lean into. He can provide that, at least.

"How about this: I will promise to keep you from suffocating, however I can. If you promise to keep me from freezing." And he holds out his hand, to seal the deal.

"It comes from having to grow up too soon. But it...does give me the tools to help people, sometimes. I know what pain really is."

When Jayce leans in, Viktor doesn't lean away. They've been closer than this, physically, now. He's learned he can trust this man to touch him kindly.

And touch him he does. A little smile crosses his lips and he takes the hand and shakes it.

"It is a deal." There's an idea, even - in the back of his mind.

Maybe later. He's feeling...soft, pensive. When he speaks again, it's very softly, almost a whisper.

"...I want you to know, Jayce, that I would never be cruel to you when you are afraid. I would never do that to anyone, but - well." His expression turns a bit timid, his head ducking a little to try to hide the color blooming around the tops of his ears.

"...I definitely couldn't...not to you."

"A deal." And, on a whim, he brings Viktor's hand over to him and kisses his knuckles. It's been nice, being able to touch Viktor like this. Since finding out that not only did Viktor want Jayce to touch him, but would reciprocate those touches, as well. Maybe not as freely or as often as Jayce did, but it was there. And perhaps the scarcity of them made them even more precious.

The sentiment has him sucking in a breath. Not Viktor's usual dry wit, but a deep sincerity that touches Jayce. Another little piece of him. "I might tease you sometimes, but I wouldn't ever be cruel to you, either. You mean too much to me for that."

It's easier, anyway. To let the physical affection happen with Jayce, instead of railing against it. That's a good reason, too.

(His cheeks still burn deeper when his knuckles are kissed, all the same.)

"...Thank you. Really. For being someone I can...actually trust. I haven't had a lot of that, you know."

"You're welcome, really."

Another long peal of thunder rumbles behind them, and Jayce clings a little more tightly to Viktor's hand, leaning a little more firmly against him. "I can't think of very many people I'd trust enough to spend a storm in a fort with. So thank you, for that."

And...slowly, gingerly, Viktor's arm creeps around Jayce's shoulders, inviting him closer still for comfort. It's chilly anyway, and the other man is warm.

"Of course. I couldn't have just...ignored you like that. I know I have a reputation for being a little severe, but I'm not that cruel. Not to someone who has done nothing to harm me."

Viktor isn't sure Jayce COULD harm him, honestly.

"Maybe you're a secret sweetheart, deep down." Oh -- there's an arm around his shoulders, and Jayce leans into it happily. Tucking himself up against Viktor. There's a brief hesitation, but he decides to allow himself the extra comfort and slip his arm around Viktor's waist, as well.

"I can't imagine why I'd ever want to do anything to harm you. So I guess you can keep being not-cruel to me."

"I don't mean for it to be a secret in the first place."

It's...nice, being tangled up like this. Jayce is huge, warm, solid - good balance against Viktor's small, chilly, delicate frame. He leans into him a little in return, his breath rattling softly as he relaxes.

"Good - then you understand. You can tell me...anything like this. If it matters to you, then it matters to me."

"You know that goes both ways, right?"

It always amazes him, how well Viktor fits against him. All his angles slotting into place with Jayce's curves. Complimentary pieces. Even the slight wheeze of his lungs brings Jayce some strange comfort, because it means that at the very least Viktor is still breathing.

"There's nothing too small, or too big, for you to tell me."

"I do. I do know that."

A soft chuckle, a shy smile, the splash of color across his cheeks.

"You have made it...very clear that I can trust you. And I do. I trust you very much."

There's another crackle of thunder behind them, and a flash of lightning briefly illuminates their little fort. Jayce closes his eyes and takes a deep breath.

With Viktor this close, his scent surrounds Jayce in a way that blankets and comforts him. Anise, of course, and whatever soap he uses. He noses into his partner's hair and takes a few deep breaths like that.

"I'm okay," he finally says, quietly.

(no subject)

recursiveimpulse - 2025-07-02 09:02 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

boyofprogress - 2025-08-05 07:46 (UTC) - Expand