[ Looking down at Jayce from this height isn't something new, yet it gives him a certain feeling of vertigo for the first time as if he's a hundred times taller. Darkness surrounds them, yet it's full of a million little lights. Beyond that, multicolored nebulas...
Swaying a little bit, he puts a palm to his forehead and steadies himself in the press of slightly cooler skin. ]
Mm. [ He hums, in thought or reply, and then shakes off the strange feeling. ] Yes, of course. We could make it our next project.
[ Dismounting and sliding back down to the bench, Viktor walks over to Jayce. He's assuming that he'd asked about mounting in order to replicate the process, so Viktor holds his hands out for the gelding's reins. ] Your turn.
[ The hand on his back is grounding, and even if he doesn't love that he'd been caught, maybe it's not so bad if Jayce is the one to notice. ]
Fine. [ He just has moments of remembering things that haven't happened, things that are impossible, but they're not just flashes of imagination. They feel real, so maybe it's more like a waking dream. It makes him feel insane sometimes, though, and how does he expect Jayce to be any different? He'll explain it, someday, but not today. ] A little vertigo, but it's gone.
[ his hand retreats when he thinks viktor is telling the truth, hanging back to his side. huh . . . ]
I get that, sometimes.
[ the reason for it will be similarly kept under wraps; jayce feels like his fantastical imagination sometimes feels too real, and too strange. like where do they come from? some of them don't even exist. but explaining the trickling sense of deja vu from them is more than a little crazy. he prefers to nod, and get himself situated on the gelding's side. it would have to be his right, to support his staggering left. a breath goes in, then out— followed by his tertering hesitation. it's apparent how this makes him feel. ]
—Guess it's time. [ he feels like he's said this behind packed curtains before, a little disappointed. now's not the time to be daydreaming— ] I haven't mounted a horse since the accident.
[ despite his chronic pain, he should be alright. the fracture has long been healed. but anyone post fracture has one fear.
jayce gets up on the bench, and helps steady the gelding, eyeing the triangle spaces of metal his foot should slide into, taking it by the fingers and giving it a gentle wave so as to not startle the horse. this creature is a little impatient— needs soothing. talking to. ]
[ Viktor misses the warmth and weight of Jayce's hand as soon as it leaves, but they should probably practice restraint early on or they'll be annoyingly inseparable later.
The admission isn't a surprise by any means, logical as it is to fear a repeat, but it does make Viktor inhale sharply. He can understand how terrifying it must be to consider putting his body in the care of such large, strong, and sometimes unpredictable animals. He also knows that Jayce already has enough going on in his head without Viktor adding to it with empty promises that nothing bad will happen.
Instead, Viktor gently takes the reins and comes to stand at the side of the gelding's neck where he can easily be seen. He slowly raises a hand, fully in sight, and then begins to stroke the horse's long nose, cooing at him softly. ] Good boy.
there is something about that specific said of words in that specific tone of voice that makes jayce's beat extend for more than necessary. after he notices that he's been stupefied, his brows pinch and his lips pull down, growing serious as he tries to focus on actually slotting his foot into the stirrup and gripping the horn of the saddle.
jayce can't help but to think the horse is a damn rascal for going all sweet with viktor, and with him it was all . . . impatient hoof clicking.
(he's not jealous)
finding confidence in his hold, jayce finally swings his left leg to the other side of the saddle, plops down into his seat, and then, with a little bit more work— tries to bring his leg over to the side. suffice to say, it's very hard for him. despite the atrophy, he still has big ass thighs. with some grit and grunt, jayce resigns to keeping his left on the stirrup. ]
[ Keeping most of his focus on the horse, Viktor does watch Jayce from the corner of an eye. He has the basics down, but it certainly looks harder for him given his height and generally being bigger than Viktor. Once he gets to a point he doesn't seem to be continuing, Vikot pat the gelding's neck and then steps around to look up at Jayce.
It's a pretty good view. ]
Don't compare yourself to me, I've had to mount horses this way all my life. [ At this position, it's easier to see the intricacies of Jayce's leg brace. Viktor ghosts his fingers over it, feeling it would be rude to touch without asking since it was an important tool and also an intimate place given the history of the injury. ] Do you feel comfortable?
there is a budding fluttering in his belly when viktor's thin fingers poise over his leg, consequently his brace, and anticipating a full on touch (and desiring such), his thighs flex.
the same way he puffs his chest out a bit, as the visceral cluster of acts makes himself look more pleasing— his subconscious hopes. he nods with the reins bunched into his hands; and with that, the gelding starts walking; jayce is who halts him into an impatient, standing march. ]
Yeah, It's alright— and Warhammer's more than ready.
[ he raises his brows in waiting, as if to say: did I do a good job with the name? ]
[ Jayce is already an enticing thing, sitting there were Viktor could so easily touch so much of him. The way his thighs tense beneath his slacks, the nearly imperceptible straightening of this spine that pushes his chest forward, make Viktor long for the privacy of the tack room.
His attention is appropriately dragged back into the land of propriety with the name. It feels like a perfect fit, tickling the back of his mind, but he shakes the feeling off. ]
Warhammer, hm? [ He smiles, reaching for Jayce's hand and putting the reins in his palm. Turning his hand over, he pulls it close enough to kiss his knuckles, looking up at Jayce all the while. ] I suppose something like Anvil would be a little on the nose?
[ Stepping away, he returns to his mare and once again rises into the saddle. He steers her around to stand next to Jayce and Warhammer so he can (gently) kick at Jayce's good leg with his foot. ] Mercury and I like it.
[ oh, that's a good one, actually!! the rest of the reigns are taken properly, and jayce— well, his ride, is ready to go. he has a bit of effort to give in trying to slow the gelding's temperament down, but that's just the process. plus, the attention he feels releases the butterfly garden caught in his chest, and extends the same attention upon viktor tenfold—
his charming gaze goes from his face, down, back up upon recieving a teasing bump of play, and jayce is alured to follow him, taking a moment to appreciate his back and the sway of viktor's frame on top of mercury's gentle trek. ]
[ Stepping out into the open air, Viktor finds himself mirroring his horse as they both raise their faces towards the gentle breeze. Viktor's always loved dawn and dusk when the sky was a mix of tones and he could imagine it looked like his colorful dreams.
He looks back at Jayce and slows to wait for him to come up alongside so they can ride side-by-side. ]
[ and jayce took that challenge personally. if he could make this greenhorn rise— he wouldn't be used for reproduction anymore, but it'd certainly bring more name and fame to the sire and dam already on the property.
it's some pressure, but he's got this. he'll be as reliable as he says he is— how he wants to be percieved by the family, more desperately now than before.
it's not so dark yet; jayce still sees greys in the sky, but they contrast nicely. he could've sworn he saw a chip of color beneath the clouds where the sun descends, but it's gone as soon as he sees it. viktor's eyes.
he might watch the sun rise tomorrow. ]
I had a place in mind.
[ jayce gives a bit of a smirk, feels daring, kicks warhammer's belly with a gentle prod of his heels and spurrs him into a soft trot.
the slight twist of his grin back suggests he keep up. his confidence grows, his fears soothed—
he missed this. and he cant believe he's sharing it with viktor. ]
[ Though Viktor hadn't said it with any real challenge in mind, he was intrigued. Jayce had always focused on rehabilitation and proper outfitting of the horses on the estate, but he hadn't necessarily been hired to do any training himself. Viktor's parents would certainly be impressed if he showed a talent for it though, and that was a good thing to keep in his belt during courting.
That leap makes Viktor blush hot. Why had it been so easy to imagine that Jayce would go so far for him?
Admiring the line of Jayce's back when he hurries ahead some distance, Viktor waits a moment before urging Mercury to catch up. He doesn't want to infringe on Jayce's rediscovery of riding, of connecting with a horse and building trust between rider and stead, so he hangs back. Maybe this is a date (it's a date, right?) but it's also an important step for Jayce. It also means that Viktor can safely watch the wind in his hair, the way his muscles move beneath his shirt, the flash of his eyes which are so easy to pick out among the grey backdrop of the world. ]
[ the breathing under his legs, the power in the hooves that carry him— it was a wonderful feeling to have that back. wonderful as it was dangerous to get too cocky too soon. warhammer was exactly how they described— he knew most commands, but he was impatient and hot-tempered, his movements harsh and lacking the grace needed for show. they weren't bad— it reminded jayce of his uncouth, more carefree riding style, but for dressage of all things? it wasn't really acceptable.
but they're not training today. he's just getting a feel, getting back on the saddle. he's happy he did.
jayce looks for viktor all the while— even as his partner lags then follows suite, jayce tests the gelding's turn and circles back to him, circles around him, quizzing his stead's march— he is not only putting his form up for show, but unmistakably taking a fancy to watching viktor's. up, down, at all angles— and eyes. there're no words, only smiles, smirks, grins— jayce doesnt know how to dance, but he knows how to make this look like one.
flirt. he can rival a stallion's endearing courting attempts. without all the flashiness.
the are riding into a clearing at somepoint, where the paleness of the sky reflects off a body of water that stretches on into a field of sleeping wildflowers. at least its not so dark here, and the shadowy sky starts to point out stars. ]
[ It's a simple but beautiful dance, man and beast and the backdrop of nature, but it's one that Viktor actually understands. As a boy, he'd learned to ride instead of waltz, dressage instead of anything that would suit a ballroom. As a teenager, he'd sat on the edges of dance floors, his nose in a book rather than attempting to find someone who might dance with him, who would let him lead at a slower pace without it being about pity. He'd never cared before, because it felt like he was speaking a different language than everyone around him. For a while now, he'd given up hope of finding someone to ride with, think with, maybe even dance with.
It's something that he's never had and missed all his life.
Jayce's sweetness makes Viktor's heart tighten in his chest, the way he'd double back for Viktor not because he's impatient with the wandering pace, but because he wants to share it. He inspires Viktor to show off, too, and let the retired Mercury relive some of her glorious competition days.
By the time they reach the clearing, Viktor feels like he's dying of thirst, and the only thing to quench it is Jayce's kiss. He leads the way to a fallen tree on the edge of the clearing that will have to act as a mounting block, sliding from Mercury and then leaning against her as he stretches the stiffness from his leg. Perhaps it's lucky, this time, that he doesn't have the strength to immediately pounce on Jayce. ]
[ oh, what a damn charmer. viktor's grace goes absolutely unmatched, the light greys that kiss his skin from the moonlight and makes the color of his eyes pop. he's— beautiful. absolutely beautiful. jayce is grateful that he'd chosen a quiet, private spot away from the lights of both the manor and the city—
the sky is bright with white, twinkling specks. they barely need light at all. he'd always imagined what color it'd all be. many spoke of it's beauty. ah, but jayce . . . is distracted from trying to look up and wonder if he could see more color in the sky when the greatest of them— his first— is what he looks for once joining viktor on their tree-turned mounting aid.
swinging off the gelding and tying him there, jayce leaves a bit of space for warhammer to graze, patting at the slab of his great neck and praising him— and eying viktor through the curve connecting the slender horse's mandible and neck.
jayce has to resist the urge to catch him off guard, in pure silence, just to kiss him. his heart was riled, racing and wanting like the beat of the hooves that brought them here. his leg aches in a way that is not uncommon after a hard day's work, made more apparant by the use of his muscle to mount. he'll have to stretch it out, notices that viktor quite needs the same before asking: ]
[ Viktor hums a reply, leaving Mercury to roam as she pleases and knowing she won't run off. She's a smart girl, his heart horse, and both of them know the other won't leave them behind.
He means to say something, he does, but now that his attention isn't so focused on his leg, he looks up to the sky and then the clearing around them. It's beautiful, full of deep blacks and bright whites and all the shades in between. He can guess how beautiful it might look with color, but as Mercury wanders away and clears the space between Viktor and Jayce, all he can think of is the color of his eyes.
Smiling a little shyly at being caught looking and also his lack of response, he holds a hand out to Jayce. ]
[ jayce is all endeared simpering until the mirth is stunned out of him, his eyes on the offered hand. hadn't he— been on a ledge, and viktor . . . no, that's not how it went. viktor wasn't there when he planned to jump. he heard the horses.
but viktor . . . gave him something. a bracelet with a gem in the middle, leather worn down from how much he'd rub at it. i think you're onto something.
i don't even know your name.
it's viktor.
with those slim amber eyes.
it's such a short, second's worth of pause, but it made jayce feel like he was stuck during a lifetime. apologetically dipping his head and smiling under his bow, he takes the hand waiting for him. ]
—Sorry. Yeah. [ he gestures to his head, and as if it were some kind of reassurance to say so, chuckling under his vreath like it's absolutely something silly: ] Déjà vu.
[ It's a small enough pause, but not an imperceptible one, and Viktor flexes his fingers as he waits for them to be taken. Once he does, Viktor slots their fingers together and uses the anchor point to draw himself closer to Jayce. ]
Do you get it often? [ It's probably a strange question, but Viktor feels the sensation with enough frequency to be curious—especially since so much of his has centered around Jayce as of late. This, on top of their shared monochromia suddenly changing on the same day to see each other's eyes, makes Viktor's skin prickle. ] It happens to me all the time.
[ it all pieces together to paint a very . . . odd and completely coincidental picture, but their shared similarities are becoming a bit too much to toss up to something as simple and vague as that. jayce was still a man of study, science and pattern—
and there is something, there.
taking viktor's hand, jayce finds a slow walk— a budding warmth furls from his middle at the touch of fingers, spreads through his limbs. putting his arm into a curve, he guides viktor's hand through the newly formed loop, and continues to hold him by gently caressing fingers to fingers. ]
[ For someone rumored to be so isolated as Jayce had been when first coming to work on the estate, he's certainly warm and charming. He brings Viktor closer, tucking him in perfectly so they can walk with even more points of contact between them. There's a bit of a chilly breeze wafting through the trees, but Viktor feels quite comfortable. ]
I asked you first, Jayce. [ He smiles up at him, mischief in his eyes, but he's not really going to hold them to any kind of order. ] It used to happen once every few days. Recently...
[ Is he going to say it? That it's been increasing ever since meeting Jayce, and especially now that he's spending even more time with him? It feels impossible, but there is evidence and a mystery that's hard for him not to consider. He also has to remind himself that Jayce is different from everyone else, that he won't call Viktor crazy or dismiss his observations. ]
[ jayce where's a look of sheepish apology; looks like he was so focused, he's forgotten to answer. now, this is getting . . . even more peculiar. the rabbit whole is getting deep. with slanted, quizzical brows, he wants to go deeper.
of course he'd understand— it's something they share. a little too on the nose. ]
I've only ever . . . Had a few in my whole life.
[ he could count them on his fingers. being saved from a blizzard by a mage— running after a mage— and falling down a cliff. ]
Now— since meeting you, [ it's come to the point that he'd have to jot them down in his notebook, like dreams that held some sort of meaning. ] A few a day.
[ they near a flat bed of grass, lit by the moon; jayce slows there and carefully lowers himself down, aiding viktor on the way. ]
—This can't be a coincidence.
[ it can't be— but he's so curious to know more about it, to explore, to understand— he feels a fire in his chest that burns like his forge. creation, pursuit— discovery. ]
[ At first, Viktor thinks that he's missed the mark. A few in his life is very different from how Viktor had grown up, but perhaps his deja vu was more harmless back then. As someone with keen observation skills and a memory like an iron trap, it might have just been more likely for him to remember being in similar scenarios—limping along with his cane, staying up late to study something, tinkering with little projects, and all the other things that used to occupy his time.
Now, though, the would-be memories include Jayce, just as his colored dreams do. How can he dream of a younger Jayce in full color when Viktor doesn't even know what colors are?
He allows himself to be led to the grass, leaning against Jayce and staring down at their hands still wrapped together. ]
We can— [ Forget it is on the tip of his tongue when Jayce confesses what Viktor had predicted—hoped—and it steals away any uncertainty. ] We can't ignore the statistical unlikelihood.
[ Looking straight ahead as their horses grazed together, Viktor squeezes Jayce's hand and chuckles softly. ] I thought we might have come here to make out, but now I want to ask you a hundred questions.
[ jayce laughs with surprise— he shouldn't be surprised because, yes, for all his intent and purposes, he wanted to sit down and kiss the hell out of his intellectual lips, he wants to kiss him right now as he speaks. the absolute size of viktor's genius makes jayce feel like he's fluttering his way into the clouds.
they're still holding hands. he doesn't know if his heart is ever going to beat steadily again. it could burst right out of him, at any minute. ]
I don't see anything stopping us from doing both.
[ he too, has so many questions, but—
jayce is so full of unfiltered devotion that he can't hold it back. it's his turn, now, to do this properly. to fix the strands of loose hair over viktor's eyes to the side of his head, the licking curl of a lock being smoothed behind his ear. fingers brush past viktor's cheek, and jayce, with unmatched charm, hushes to him: ]
And I'm guessing I did a good job, if you're jumping to making out.
[ courtship: success?? but he's a pleaser where and with who it counts. clear instructions and validations were his weakness, but the point of all that is: he's being a big tease. ]
[ A pleaser to be sure, the first person that Viktor has met who can feed all of his appetites. If they do both, he'll be spoiled by affection and knowledge, and for one of the first times in his life, he's also hungry to learn more about another person. Jayce is someone he had called a friend, but that doesn't mean that he knows everything about him after a few short months.
Those months, though they feel like a lifetime, are just the beginning. ]
I suppose I'm meant to play hard to get. [ There's no chance of it, not when he'd been the one to initiate the first kiss and goad Jayce into courting him in the first point. ] But I'm not so good at that.
[ Not when Jayce is caressing his face like this, fingers in his hair and calluses across his skin. The attention is so unlike anything that Viktor has experienced, and he's surprised to learn that he loves it. Who would have guessed that such an intellectual would yearn for physical affection? ]
Shall we make it a game? A question, an answer, a kiss.
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Swaying a little bit, he puts a palm to his forehead and steadies himself in the press of slightly cooler skin. ]
Mm. [ He hums, in thought or reply, and then shakes off the strange feeling. ] Yes, of course. We could make it our next project.
[ Dismounting and sliding back down to the bench, Viktor walks over to Jayce. He's assuming that he'd asked about mounting in order to replicate the process, so Viktor holds his hands out for the gelding's reins. ] Your turn.
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jayce does follow, but there's a pinch in his brow that's not exactly his signature smitten card. it's one laced with concern
before getting to anything, he puts a hand on viktor's back. the longer he stays there, the more he starts performing little circles with his palm. ]
You okay?
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Fine. [ He just has moments of remembering things that haven't happened, things that are impossible, but they're not just flashes of imagination. They feel real, so maybe it's more like a waking dream. It makes him feel insane sometimes, though, and how does he expect Jayce to be any different? He'll explain it, someday, but not today. ] A little vertigo, but it's gone.
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I get that, sometimes.
[ the reason for it will be similarly kept under wraps; jayce feels like his fantastical imagination sometimes feels too real, and too strange. like where do they come from? some of them don't even exist. but explaining the trickling sense of deja vu from them is more than a little crazy. he prefers to nod, and get himself situated on the gelding's side. it would have to be his right, to support his staggering left. a breath goes in, then out— followed by his tertering hesitation. it's apparent how this makes him feel. ]
—Guess it's time. [ he feels like he's said this behind packed curtains before, a little disappointed. now's not the time to be daydreaming— ] I haven't mounted a horse since the accident.
[ despite his chronic pain, he should be alright. the fracture has long been healed. but anyone post fracture has one fear.
jayce gets up on the bench, and helps steady the gelding, eyeing the triangle spaces of metal his foot should slide into, taking it by the fingers and giving it a gentle wave so as to not startle the horse. this creature is a little impatient— needs soothing. talking to. ]
Steady, boy. Steady . . .
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The admission isn't a surprise by any means, logical as it is to fear a repeat, but it does make Viktor inhale sharply. He can understand how terrifying it must be to consider putting his body in the care of such large, strong, and sometimes unpredictable animals. He also knows that Jayce already has enough going on in his head without Viktor adding to it with empty promises that nothing bad will happen.
Instead, Viktor gently takes the reins and comes to stand at the side of the gelding's neck where he can easily be seen. He slowly raises a hand, fully in sight, and then begins to stroke the horse's long nose, cooing at him softly. ] Good boy.
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there is something about that specific said of words in that specific tone of voice that makes jayce's beat extend for more than necessary. after he notices that he's been stupefied, his brows pinch and his lips pull down, growing serious as he tries to focus on actually slotting his foot into the stirrup and gripping the horn of the saddle.
jayce can't help but to think the horse is a damn rascal for going all sweet with viktor, and with him it was all . . . impatient hoof clicking.
(he's not jealous)
finding confidence in his hold, jayce finally swings his left leg to the other side of the saddle, plops down into his seat, and then, with a little bit more work— tries to bring his leg over to the side. suffice to say, it's very hard for him. despite the atrophy, he still has big ass thighs. with some grit and grunt, jayce resigns to keeping his left on the stirrup. ]
It's harder than it looks.
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It's a pretty good view. ]
Don't compare yourself to me, I've had to mount horses this way all my life. [ At this position, it's easier to see the intricacies of Jayce's leg brace. Viktor ghosts his fingers over it, feeling it would be rude to touch without asking since it was an important tool and also an intimate place given the history of the injury. ] Do you feel comfortable?
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there is a budding fluttering in his belly when viktor's thin fingers poise over his leg, consequently his brace, and anticipating a full on touch (and desiring such), his thighs flex.
the same way he puffs his chest out a bit, as the visceral cluster of acts makes himself look more pleasing— his subconscious hopes. he nods with the reins bunched into his hands; and with that, the gelding starts walking; jayce is who halts him into an impatient, standing march. ]
Yeah, It's alright— and Warhammer's more than ready.
[ he raises his brows in waiting, as if to say: did I do a good job with the name? ]
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His attention is appropriately dragged back into the land of propriety with the name. It feels like a perfect fit, tickling the back of his mind, but he shakes the feeling off. ]
Warhammer, hm? [ He smiles, reaching for Jayce's hand and putting the reins in his palm. Turning his hand over, he pulls it close enough to kiss his knuckles, looking up at Jayce all the while. ] I suppose something like Anvil would be a little on the nose?
[ Stepping away, he returns to his mare and once again rises into the saddle. He steers her around to stand next to Jayce and Warhammer so he can (gently) kick at Jayce's good leg with his foot. ] Mercury and I like it.
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his charming gaze goes from his face, down, back up upon recieving a teasing bump of play, and jayce is alured to follow him, taking a moment to appreciate his back and the sway of viktor's frame on top of mercury's gentle trek. ]
Warhammer's Anvil has a good ring to it.
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[ Stepping out into the open air, Viktor finds himself mirroring his horse as they both raise their faces towards the gentle breeze. Viktor's always loved dawn and dusk when the sky was a mix of tones and he could imagine it looked like his colorful dreams.
He looks back at Jayce and slows to wait for him to come up alongside so they can ride side-by-side. ]
Anywhere in particular you want to go?
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it's some pressure, but he's got this. he'll be as reliable as he says he is— how he wants to be percieved by the family, more desperately now than before.
it's not so dark yet; jayce still sees greys in the sky, but they contrast nicely. he could've sworn he saw a chip of color beneath the clouds where the sun descends, but it's gone as soon as he sees it. viktor's eyes.
he might watch the sun rise tomorrow. ]
I had a place in mind.
[ jayce gives a bit of a smirk, feels daring, kicks warhammer's belly with a gentle prod of his heels and spurrs him into a soft trot.
the slight twist of his grin back suggests he keep up. his confidence grows, his fears soothed—
he missed this. and he cant believe he's sharing it with viktor. ]
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That leap makes Viktor blush hot. Why had it been so easy to imagine that Jayce would go so far for him?
Admiring the line of Jayce's back when he hurries ahead some distance, Viktor waits a moment before urging Mercury to catch up. He doesn't want to infringe on Jayce's rediscovery of riding, of connecting with a horse and building trust between rider and stead, so he hangs back. Maybe this is a date (it's a date, right?) but it's also an important step for Jayce. It also means that Viktor can safely watch the wind in his hair, the way his muscles move beneath his shirt, the flash of his eyes which are so easy to pick out among the grey backdrop of the world. ]
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but they're not training today. he's just getting a feel, getting back on the saddle. he's happy he did.
jayce looks for viktor all the while— even as his partner lags then follows suite, jayce tests the gelding's turn and circles back to him, circles around him, quizzing his stead's march— he is not only putting his form up for show, but unmistakably taking a fancy to watching viktor's. up, down, at all angles— and eyes. there're no words, only smiles, smirks, grins— jayce doesnt know how to dance, but he knows how to make this look like one.
flirt. he can rival a stallion's endearing courting attempts. without all the flashiness.
the are riding into a clearing at somepoint, where the paleness of the sky reflects off a body of water that stretches on into a field of sleeping wildflowers. at least its not so dark here, and the shadowy sky starts to point out stars. ]
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It's something that he's never had and missed all his life.
Jayce's sweetness makes Viktor's heart tighten in his chest, the way he'd double back for Viktor not because he's impatient with the wandering pace, but because he wants to share it. He inspires Viktor to show off, too, and let the retired Mercury relive some of her glorious competition days.
By the time they reach the clearing, Viktor feels like he's dying of thirst, and the only thing to quench it is Jayce's kiss. He leads the way to a fallen tree on the edge of the clearing that will have to act as a mounting block, sliding from Mercury and then leaning against her as he stretches the stiffness from his leg. Perhaps it's lucky, this time, that he doesn't have the strength to immediately pounce on Jayce. ]
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the sky is bright with white, twinkling specks. they barely need light at all. he'd always imagined what color it'd all be. many spoke of it's beauty. ah, but jayce . . . is distracted from trying to look up and wonder if he could see more color in the sky when the greatest of them— his first— is what he looks for once joining viktor on their tree-turned mounting aid.
swinging off the gelding and tying him there, jayce leaves a bit of space for warhammer to graze, patting at the slab of his great neck and praising him— and eying viktor through the curve connecting the slender horse's mandible and neck.
jayce has to resist the urge to catch him off guard, in pure silence, just to kiss him. his heart was riled, racing and wanting like the beat of the hooves that brought them here. his leg aches in a way that is not uncommon after a hard day's work, made more apparant by the use of his muscle to mount. he'll have to stretch it out, notices that viktor quite needs the same before asking: ]
Does sitting sound good?
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He means to say something, he does, but now that his attention isn't so focused on his leg, he looks up to the sky and then the clearing around them. It's beautiful, full of deep blacks and bright whites and all the shades in between. He can guess how beautiful it might look with color, but as Mercury wanders away and clears the space between Viktor and Jayce, all he can think of is the color of his eyes.
Smiling a little shyly at being caught looking and also his lack of response, he holds a hand out to Jayce. ]
Sitting sounds lovely.
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but viktor . . . gave him something. a bracelet with a gem in the middle, leather worn down from how much he'd rub at it. i think you're onto something.
i don't even know your name.
it's viktor.
with those slim amber eyes.
it's such a short, second's worth of pause, but it made jayce feel like he was stuck during a lifetime. apologetically dipping his head and smiling under his bow, he takes the hand waiting for him. ]
—Sorry. Yeah. [ he gestures to his head, and as if it were some kind of reassurance to say so, chuckling under his vreath like it's absolutely something silly: ] Déjà vu.
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Do you get it often? [ It's probably a strange question, but Viktor feels the sensation with enough frequency to be curious—especially since so much of his has centered around Jayce as of late. This, on top of their shared monochromia suddenly changing on the same day to see each other's eyes, makes Viktor's skin prickle. ] It happens to me all the time.
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[ it all pieces together to paint a very . . . odd and completely coincidental picture, but their shared similarities are becoming a bit too much to toss up to something as simple and vague as that. jayce was still a man of study, science and pattern—
and there is something, there.
taking viktor's hand, jayce finds a slow walk— a budding warmth furls from his middle at the touch of fingers, spreads through his limbs. putting his arm into a curve, he guides viktor's hand through the newly formed loop, and continues to hold him by gently caressing fingers to fingers. ]
How often?
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I asked you first, Jayce. [ He smiles up at him, mischief in his eyes, but he's not really going to hold them to any kind of order. ] It used to happen once every few days. Recently...
[ Is he going to say it? That it's been increasing ever since meeting Jayce, and especially now that he's spending even more time with him? It feels impossible, but there is evidence and a mystery that's hard for him not to consider. He also has to remind himself that Jayce is different from everyone else, that he won't call Viktor crazy or dismiss his observations. ]
Recently, several times a day, if we're together.
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of course he'd understand— it's something they share. a little too on the nose. ]
I've only ever . . . Had a few in my whole life.
[ he could count them on his fingers. being saved from a blizzard by a mage— running after a mage— and falling down a cliff. ]
Now— since meeting you, [ it's come to the point that he'd have to jot them down in his notebook, like dreams that held some sort of meaning. ] A few a day.
[ they near a flat bed of grass, lit by the moon; jayce slows there and carefully lowers himself down, aiding viktor on the way. ]
—This can't be a coincidence.
[ it can't be— but he's so curious to know more about it, to explore, to understand— he feels a fire in his chest that burns like his forge. creation, pursuit— discovery. ]
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Now, though, the would-be memories include Jayce, just as his colored dreams do. How can he dream of a younger Jayce in full color when Viktor doesn't even know what colors are?
He allows himself to be led to the grass, leaning against Jayce and staring down at their hands still wrapped together. ]
We can— [ Forget it is on the tip of his tongue when Jayce confesses what Viktor had predicted—hoped—and it steals away any uncertainty. ] We can't ignore the statistical unlikelihood.
[ Looking straight ahead as their horses grazed together, Viktor squeezes Jayce's hand and chuckles softly. ] I thought we might have come here to make out, but now I want to ask you a hundred questions.
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they're still holding hands. he doesn't know if his heart is ever going to beat steadily again. it could burst right out of him, at any minute. ]
I don't see anything stopping us from doing both.
[ he too, has so many questions, but—
jayce is so full of unfiltered devotion that he can't hold it back. it's his turn, now, to do this properly. to fix the strands of loose hair over viktor's eyes to the side of his head, the licking curl of a lock being smoothed behind his ear. fingers brush past viktor's cheek, and jayce, with unmatched charm, hushes to him: ]
And I'm guessing I did a good job, if you're jumping to making out.
[ courtship: success?? but he's a pleaser where and with who it counts. clear instructions and validations were his weakness, but the point of all that is: he's being a big tease. ]
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Those months, though they feel like a lifetime, are just the beginning. ]
I suppose I'm meant to play hard to get. [ There's no chance of it, not when he'd been the one to initiate the first kiss and goad Jayce into courting him in the first point. ] But I'm not so good at that.
[ Not when Jayce is caressing his face like this, fingers in his hair and calluses across his skin. The attention is so unlike anything that Viktor has experienced, and he's surprised to learn that he loves it. Who would have guessed that such an intellectual would yearn for physical affection? ]
Shall we make it a game? A question, an answer, a kiss.
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