[ Any concerns Jayce had about maybe going too hard are let go when Viktor's noises are reassuring and he can tell it's helping. He is very pleased that this is going so well and he knows Viktor barely if ever does this sort of thing, so he wants to be thorough. And already puts that in his mind as something he can do regularly, when Viktor allows him too. He'll be more relaxed than ever before, between the orgasms and the massages. He continues kneading into the spine on either side from his neck down to his back right in front of where Jayce currently hovers. ]

I know that, V. I'm not doing anything because it's something they did. Otherwise I would already have been married with a kid of my own and working permanently in the forge.

[ If Jayce wanted to be exactly like them, they did a lot of other things by their thirties that weren't Jayce's path. He isn't against marriage or kids theoretically, but he had different ambitions and priorities. He's not a very conventional man despite appearances; he wouldn't have been experimenting with forbidden magic instead of making friends if so.

Viktor isn't entirely wrong that there is a part of Jayce's fantasies for them that is ill-advised, putting all his eggs in one basket so to speak, but there's no real way to get around it. He knows the odds are against them, but he refuses to let that bring him down. Jayce may have become more realistic since his current experiences knocked him a few pegs down, but he still has hope. Especially now that he has Viktor in his arms.

He works meticulously on each part of Viktor's back until he can feel him relax, and takes a temporary break from it to press his hands into Viktor's hair but to massage his scalp as well, digging a thumb into the space right between the tip of his neck to the back of his skull where he's found some relief before himself. ]

I've always liked calling you by nicknames, because it feels special to us. It's why I don't call you V in front of other people, it's an us thing.