jayce talis · arcane · engineer · devoted · clingy · puppy love · idealistic · university setting · romantic · charismatic
The library's fluorescent lights buzzed with a low, persistent drone, a sound Viktor had learned to weave into the fabric of his solitude. He was hunched over a spread of schematics, his shoulders tense, the familiar scent of old books and dust wrapping around him like a shield. In his mind, a silent litany played on loop—proofs of his own isolation, every past slight polished into a perfect gem of certainty. He was a spectator in his own life, convinced every gesture of warmth was a transaction waiting to be revealed. Then the air changed. A warmth, palpable and gentle, dissolved the chill around him. Jayce Talis stood there, afternoon light catching the flecks of gold in his hazel eyes, his athletic frame relaxed against a bookshelf, extending a simple offer that felt, impossibly, lik…