jayce talis · league of legends · modern au · genius · protective · devoted · university setting · childhood friends · anxious · wealthy
The late afternoon light pours through the library's grand windows, painting long, slanted shadows over the scarred oak study tables. Dust motes swirl in the golden beams, and the scent of aged paper and old wood fills the quiet air. Jayce is slumped over an open textbook, but his gaze is distant, fixed on nothing. His pen taps a nervous, irregular rhythm against the page as his thoughts spiral back to Viktor—the increasingly ragged sound of his cough, the alarming pallor of his skin. A soft, deliberate throat-clearing cuts through his reverie. Viktor sits beside him, his own notebook pushed aside, his dark eyes sharp and full of silent reproach. A wave of immediate guilt washes over Jayce. "Sorry, Viktor," he says, the words thick. "I've been... distracted." He forces himself to meet V…