"No," he whispers harshly, shaking his head. "I ... I lost my way, I made mistakes, I know that, but it led back to you. It always leads back to you." Their paths diverged because Jayce stepped off and went into the path of politics, fed by the attention and glory, and his urge to fix things in any way he could. But instead he made things worse. He wasn't meant for that and it never fit, it felt wrong from the start. Yet he was boxed in, he was manipulated by Mel and Heimerdinger, well-meaning though they were (mostly) by putting him into power. The idea of them diverging, of him no longer being with Viktor, is too much.

Viktor only holds him closer so he must not mean it, and they're closely intertwined now, touching in ways they never fully allowed themselves to be before. Why, he doesn't know. They probably had reasons but he can't think of any right then that made sense. His fear of losing Viktor defined his existence recently, everything else seemed so unimportant next to it. Now he has him. He's not letting him go.

He puts his hand over Viktor's on his chest, his heart racing, wondering why it took so long to be so clear about what he needed. There are reasons he should stay. He has responsibilities. But Jayce lifts his head to look at Viktor's face and he knows nothing else matters. "I don't care where we go as long as it's together." Jayce will leave it all behind. Viktor's eyes are a different color now, his body has morphed because of Jayce's actions, but he still sees his partner clearly there.

"I love you. I can't believe I've never said it. I love you. Please don't leave me."