Chapter Text
"Fahey, I'm coming in and I hope you and Wylan are decent." Nina called, voice followed by the soft chime of the bell above the door. Jesper heard both from the back of the shop, where he was cleaning up his flower assembly table.
"I'm never decent." He snorted, collecting a few stray petals and stems.
Nina poked her head through the back door, her eyes scanning the room. "Where's Wylan?"
"He had to go back to The Red Crow, he actually values his job."
"You know I value my job." Nina said, then she shrugged. "I just value my sugar intake a bit more."
Jesper chuckled. He grabbed some peonies from their stock to replace the ones that he’d just sold to the women that interrupted him and Wylan.
For a moment there, Jesper was sure they were actually going to kiss, and he had wanted nothing more. He really liked Wylan, even if they had talked only a handful of times. He wasn’t just cute or fun to tease, he was talented and strong and brave, and so freaking adorable. He had listened to Jesper go on and on about his father and his flowers, never losing interest, like he actually enjoyed listening to him talk. Jesper really wanted to believe it was because Wylan liked him too.
"Oh, I know that look." Nina said, and only then did Jesper notice that he was simply standing there, holding the peonies and smiling stupidly at the open fridge at the thought of Wylan liking him. "Someone has a crush on the tattoo boy." She teased, her tone filled with amusement.
"Shut it, Zenik." Jesper said, finally closing the fridge door and heading to the front with Nina on his heels. "I don't tease you about your crush on the delivery boy."
"So you admit it?" She asked. Jesper could only shrug, making himself busy by restacking the peonies and hoping that she wouldn't be able to see his flushed cheeks if he kept his back to her. "Did you ask him out?" He shook his head. "Why not?" She groaned, throwing herself against one of the flower displays.
Jesper shrugged again. "I don't know, I was too busy trying not to push him against the shelves to make out with him."
Nina snorted. "Are you so sure that Wylan would mind?" Jesper didn't think he would. Not only did Wylan seem equally disappointed when they didn’t get to kiss before, Jesper had also noticed the way his eyes kept darting to his lips when he talked, a blush creeping over his cheeks every time. "I'm sure you'll get the chance to ask him, don't worry. I have a feeling he will drop by again soon enough."
Nina turned out to be right.
The next day, Jesper was sweeping the floor when Wylan walked in.
"Two days in a row?" He greeted him with a huge grin. "Keep it up and you’ll become our customer of the month."
Wylan wrinkled his nose. "I'm pretty sure I’d have to buy something first for that."
Jesper shook his head, leaning his weight on the broom. "Well, I own the shop and I say that cute guys don't have to do that." He looked him up and down, he was wearing a blue scarf that brought out the color of his eyes in a way that made Jesper’s heart beat a little faster. "So, what brings you here today? I'm afraid there's nothing left for me to show you- unless you want to see the alley out back. I hear it's a perfect make out spot."
Wylan’s eyes darted to the back door and he seemed to consider it for a second. But then he was shaking his head, the usual blush appearing on his cheeks, and reaching inside his bag. "I brought you something."
Jesper's eyebrows shot up. "Yeah?"
Wylan pulled out a folded piece of paper, giving it to Jesper. When he opened it he saw it was a drawing of a sunflower, in bright, beautiful colors. "Woah," Jesper breathed, tracing the lines with his fingers.
"It’s from the flower you gave me yesterday.” Wylan explained. Then his face pulled into a tiny frown. “Which I probably should have paid for, now that I think about it.”
Jesper shook his head, still staring at the drawing. “First flower is on the house.”
“That's a weird policy." He said with a snort. “So, um- do you like it? I don’t like my flower sketches that much, but I figured it was good practice.”
"You don't need practice, Wy, this is beautiful." Jesper said, earning a pleased little smile from the other boy.
"Seriously, whoever gets a tattoo done by you is very lucky." He continued, then with a sly grin he added, "And not just because they get to have your hands on them for hours.” His grin only widened when Wylan grew noticeably more flustered.
He cleared his throat and tried to change the subject. “Um, have you ever thought about getting one?”
“A tattoo? Not really. I’m not particularly eager to be repeatedly stabbed by tiny needles.” He joked, heading towards the counter. Nina was there on the phone with a funeral home, writing down the details of the dozen flower arrangements they wanted. She looked up to give Wylan a cheery wave before focusing back on the call.
"The pain is not that bad." Wylan said with a shrug, watching Jesper pin his drawing to a cork board behind the counter. "You get used to it, you know."
Jesper rested his arms on the counter, raising an eyebrow at him. “Trying to convince me to get one, sunshine?”
"Maybe.” Wylan shrugged. “Is it working?" He asked, shyly biting on his lip. Jesper’s eyes were instantly drawn to his mouth and he had to force himself to tear his gaze away to make eye contact with him, shaking his head to make the thoughts of kissing Wylan go away.
“Maybe.” He echoed with a playful grin. “What do you think I should get?”
Wylan’s eyes darted to his drawing, pinned to the board behind Jesper. “A sunflower.”
“Yeah?” Jesper asked, lips curling into a smirk. He pointed over his shoulder, “That sunflower?” Wylan nodded. Jesper’s smirk got wider and he leaned even closer to him. “Is that why you drew it? Were you imagining you were giving me a tattoo? Where would you put it?” He waggled his eyebrows, and watched as his ears turned red.
Still, he stammered out, “Your hip bone or your bicep, maybe.”
Jesper clicked his tongue. “That sounds like you’re just trying to get me to take my shirt off for you.” He expected Wylan to furiously deny it, but he simply gave a half shrug. Jesper chuckled in delight. “I’ll tell you what, keep making those pretty flower sketches and I’ll consider it.”
“Yeah?"
Jesper nodded. Then, because he couldn't resist, he added, “And please, feel free to imagine me shirtless while you do it. I don’t mind.”
As expected, Wylan turned bright red. Jesper laughed, he was so easy to rile up.
They talked some more until Wylan told him he had to leave for work. On his way out, Jesper stopped him near the door and gave him a couple of daffodils. "For your next drawing."
He watched as Wylan crossed the street, head ducking down to smell the flowers.
Jesper didn't expect Wylan to actually make him another drawing, he just enjoyed seeing the way he smiled when Jesper gave him flowers. He was pleasantly surprised when the following day Wylan stopped by again to give Jesper a pretty sketch of the daffodils.
It quickly turned into a thing.
Wylan would stop by the flower shop during his breaks or on his way to the tattoo parlor every other day. They would talk- Jesper would flirt with him and Wylan would blush, and Nina would watch both of them with a knowing look. Then Jesper would pin the sketch behind the counter and choose a flower for Wylan to take with him. At first, he insisted on paying for them, but after a couple of tries he gave up, simply accepting the flowers Jesper gave him with a smile.
After only a few days, Jesper started looking forward to those little visits. If the bell chimed around the time Wylan would normally get there, Jesper's heart would speed up, whether it was actually him or not. Nina loved to tease him mercilessly about the disappointed frown that appeared on his face when it turned out to be a client instead of him.
After three whole weeks of that, Jesper still hadn’t worked up the courage to ask Wylan out yet. At least, not seriously. He joked about it, called Wylan’s daily visits ‘dates’ and threw line after line at him just to get a reaction. But he couldn’t bring himself to actually do it. Even if he noticed the way Wylan’s eyes constantly darted to Jesper’s arms when he was wearing a tank top, or the way Wylan turned pink if he touched him, Jesper still worried about rejection. He liked having Wylan around, and the last thing he wanted was to make him so uncomfortable that he would stop visiting him.
Nina told him he was being stupid, several times. But it did little to change Jesper's mind.
For now, he was happy just flirting with Wylan every chance he got. And seeing as he kept coming back, Wylan must be okay with it too.
On one particularly memorable occasion, Jesper got to see another one of Wylan’s tattoos. Other than the sun on his wrist, he had only caught a glimpse of the one on his bicep and he didn’t even know what that one was. Needless to say, Jesper was curious to know what and where they were. That day, he had asked Wylan if any of his mystery tattoos were flowers, since he kept suggesting that was what Jesper should get. When he said no, Jesper had thought he would leave it at that, but then he had added, “I have one of a musical note.”
“Yeah?” Jesper had prompted curiously.
Wylan had hesitated, then with a cute embarrassed blush, he’d said, “I like playing the flute, and singing. I guess music is to me what flowers are to you.”
Jesper had wanted to tease him, but he didn’t want Wylan to think he was making fun of something he liked, especially when he never made fun of Jesper for talking his ear off about flowers. So instead he’d said, “Can I see it? The musical note. If you want to, of course.”
He thought this tattoo was the one he'd caught a glimpse of and he expected Wylan to take off his sweater to show it to him. He was surprised when, instead, Wylan turned around and pulled up the hair at the back of his neck, revealing the small musical note tattooed on the otherwise smooth, pale skin.
Jesper had reached out to touch it, not missing the way Wylan shuddered. "I like it. Tattoos look incredibly cute on you.” Wylan had snorted, but when he’d turned around, his face was a faint shade of pink.
Jesper didn’t realize how used he was to constantly seeing Wylan until three days went by in which he didn't show up, and Jesper started growing more and more impatient. He would peek out the window every five minutes, hoping to see those golden curls crossing the street, and he was even more distracted and spacey than usual.
"If you look out that window one more time Jesper, I will slam your head against the glass!" Nina yelled at him from the counter while Jesper pretended to trim the leaves from a display of calla lilies- except they didn't need trimming, and it was just an excuse to hang around the windows without scaring potential customers. "If you miss your tattoo boy so much, cross the damn street and tell him."
It was actually a good idea, not that he would admit it to her. He waited until it was time for his break, mostly so Nina wouldn’t think it was okay to drop everything to go visit the bakery, and then he grabbed a single yellow rose and made his way to The Red Crow.
"Hey, Jesper." Inej greeted him. She noticed the flower in his hand and tried to hide a smile.
"Hi, Inej." He replied, his eyes scanning the place.
"Looking for someone?"
Jesper's face grew warm. Inej was giving him a knowing look that reminded him a lot of Nina. "I- Is Wylan here?" Inej shook her head. "Is he on his lunch break or-"
"No, the poor thing showed up two days ago looking like death and Kaz told him that, and I quote, 'he didn't want a plague outbreak in his business', so he sent him home."
"Oh." Jesper fiddled with the flower in his hand. "Okay, well, if you talk to him, tell him uh- just tell him I hope he feels better soon."
He turned around to leave, but Inej called him back. "You know, his apartment is only a couple blocks from here."
Jesper narrowed his eyes at her. "What are you saying?"
She grabbed a slip of paper from the desk, quickly writing something down before coming to stand in front of him. "I'm saying," she said in a teasing tone, handing the paper to Jesper- there was an address written on it. "That poor Wylan would feel a lot better if he got a visit from his favorite flower boy.”
"Did he really call me that?" Jesper asked with an amused smile.
"He didn't have to," Inej said with an eye roll, "Just like you don't have to tell me he's your favorite tattoo boy."
Jesper felt the blush return to his cheeks. He squeezed her arm, "You're still my favorite tattoo girl, though.”
Inej let out a surprised laugh, her entire face lighting up. "I better be, Fahey." She said, turning on her heels. "Tell Wylan I said hi."
Jesper spent the following hours impatiently waiting for closing time, eager to visit Wylan. And even if there was enough work at the shop to keep him busy, he felt like every minute dragged on indefinitely.
He knew he was driving Nina out of her mind, with his constant pacing and staring at the clock, but he couldn't help it. She finally snapped when Jesper decided to clean the counter for the third time in the span of fifteen minutes.
"Saints, Jesper, just go!" Nina said, taking the rag from his hand and ushering him towards the door. Jesper was taller than her, but she was strong and could easily push him around. "I'll close the shop today."
"Really?"
"Yes, yes, go."
Jesper grinned, pressing a quick kiss to her forehead. "I knew I kept you around for a reason."
She rolled her eyes at him, but her lips curled into a smile.
In her haste to throw him out, Jesper almost forgot the yellow rose he had plucked out for Wylan, but he picked it up at the last moment. He realized that he could have made Wylan a 'get better soon' arrangement, and groaned at how stupid he was for not thinking about it sooner.
Knowing Nina would close the door in his face if he turned around now, he figured the single yellow rose would have to do. Then he walked in front of a grocery store and thought it wouldn't hurt to get Wylan some supplies to go along with it.
It wasn't until Jesper was making his way up the stairs of his apartment building that he started feeling nervous. He wondered if it had been a good idea to listen to Inej- what if she was wrong and Wylan didn't want to see him?
He hesitated once he reached the door, he even considered leaving the stuff on the floor, knocking and sprinting down the stairs before Wylan could see him. But then he wouldn’t see Wylan either, and Jesper really wanted to.
So he forced himself not to run after he knocked, fidgeting where he stood. He heard shuffling footsteps on the other side and then the door was swinging open to reveal Wylan, looking miserable, but somehow, still adorable.
He was a little paler than usual, except for his nose, which was bright red. His hair was a tousled mess, probably from spending the day under the covers.
When his bleary eyes focused on Jesper, they widened comically. "Jes, what-" A tiny crease appeared between his eyebrows and he muttered to himself, "Is this some kind of fever dream?"
Jesper couldn't help but smile in amusement. "You dream about me often, sunshine?” He wiggled his eyebrows. “Dirty dreams?"
Wylan groaned in embarrassment, dropping his head against the door. "It's definitely you. What are you doing here?"
"Inej told me you were sick. She, uh⎯ she gave me your address and I thought I'd check up on you and bring you some supplies." He held up the bag.
Wylan’s eyes darted from the bag to Jesper's face. "You-" He paused to cough a few times. "You didn't have to do that."
"I wanted to see you." Jesper blurted out. He grimaced at himself. "I mean. I wanted to make sure you were alright. I was a little worried when you didn't show up at the shop."
Wylan cocked his head to the side with a little smile. "So you do this for all your customers?"
"Only the cutest ones.” He winked at Wylan, who ducked his head to peek inside the bag, and probably to try to hide his blush from Jesper. "I hope you like chicken noodle soup, Ma used to make it for me when I got sick. And the chamomile tea is supposed to bring down fever. I also brought you some cookies and sweets for when you’re feeling better. The honey oatmeal cookies are my favorite. My Ma used to make them for me too. Those are store bought though, so they won’t be as good, but hopefully you’ll like them.” Jesper knew he was rambling, but he had realized as he talked that maybe he went a bit too far. It was a lot of trouble to go through for someone he met so recently. He didn't mind doing all of it for Wylan, if anyone deserved it, it was him. Still, he couldn’t help but feel nervous.
Though if Wylan was smiling like that, then maybe he didn't have to be. "Thank you, it was really sweet of you." He said, playing with the handle of the bag. For some reason, he also looked nervous. "Um, do you want to come in?" He asked, and it was clear to Jesper that was why.
"Already inviting me into your apartment? How forward of you." He teased, but stepped inside anyway.
Wylan's apartment was small but cozy, with an open kitchen and an adjoining living room and two doors that Jesper figured led to the bathroom and his bedroom. There was a couch and a coffee table, but not much else. The decoration consisted of several drawings and pictures that hung from the walls. Some of the drawings Jesper recognized as Wylan’s, after spending so much time looking at the sketches he gave him. The pictures all showed Wylan with a woman that Jesper guessed was his mother- she had the same blue eyes and golden curls as him.
“I’m sorry about the mess.” Wylan said, grimacing at a bunch of blankets on the couch. “I didn’t expect any company.”
Jesper shrugged, following him to the small kitchen. “That's okay. How are you feeling?"
“Oh, I feel great. Ready to get back to work.” Wylan said with a fake, perky tone.
Jesper raised an eyebrow at him. “Really? Because you look like you’re about to keel over from trying to open that box.” He snorted, watching him struggle with the tea package. “Here, let me do it.”
Wylan huffed in protest. “I can do it.”
Jesper bit back a snort, grabbing him by his shoulders and steering him towards the couch.
"Sure you can, Wy." He said sarcastically, forcing Wylan to sit down before heading back to the kitchen. The place was small enough that he could still see Wylan perfectly while he worked on boiling up water for the tea. "But I didn't come all the way here to watch you pass out in the kitchen. Inej would kill me if anything happened to you on my watch."
“She didn’t have to send you here.”
“She didn’t send me,” He said, opening and closing drawers until he found where Wylan kept the mugs. “She just said that some Jesper time would make you feel better, and I had to agree. Making people feel good is one of my many skills.” Jesper didn't even mean that in a dirty way, but Wylan still choked on his spit, color rising to his cheeks.
“And the flower shop? Did you have to close early to come here?”
“Nope, I left Nina in charge. She was the one who kicked me out, actually.”
“Why?”
“Well,” Jesper hesitated, hanging a hand from his neck. “I was kind of driving her crazy while I waited to leave. I- I just really wanted to see you.”
Wylan got even redder, but Jesper saw a smile slowly curl along his lips. “To make sure I was okay?”
“Well, yeah. But I also missed you a little? My flowers aren’t nearly as chatty as you. Or as pretty.” He said, staring down at his hands as he stirred the tea.
"Oh."
“Yeah. That reminds me,” Jesper paused, reaching into the pocket of his jacket for the yellow rose he'd tucked inside. He grabbed the tea with his other hand and walked over to the couch. “I have something else for you. I went over to the Red Crow to give it to you before I knew you were sick. I thought you were just too busy or that maybe you were tired of me and my flowers.”
Wylan shook his head. The motion left him a little dizzy and he blinked up at Jesper a couple of times. “No, of course not. I mean. I like your shop a lot. The flowers and the colors and- all that.”
Jesper grinned. “That’s good to know.” He sat down next to Wylan, probably closer than he should considering he was sick, and gave him both the tea and the flower.
“I wanted to tell you.” Wylan said, taking a small sip. “That I was sick. But um, well we never- I didn’t have your number or anything, so.”
Jesper raised an amused eyebrow at him. "Is that your way of asking for my number?"
Wylan shrugged nervously. "I'm just saying. It would come in handy, if I ever need an emergency flower delivery or something."
"Right, of course.” Jesper said, playing along and biting back a laugh. “I guess I can give it to you then. For emergencies, of course."
Wylan hid his smile behind the mug, taking another sip of his tea.
Jesper wanted to ask him out more than ever in that moment. His leg started bouncing with nerves as he thought it over. Wylan had just asked for his number, he wanted to be able to talk to Jesper more than he already did. If there was ever going to be a sign that Wylan was genuinely interested in him, that was it.
He opened his mouth to finally ask him out on that date, but the moment was ruined when Wylan started coughing violently. Jesper thumped his back until he recovered. “Saints, Wy. Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m okay.” Wylan said, voice hoarse after that coughing fit. He scrunched up his nose. “I hate being sick and I hate being stuck in here. I just want to get back to work.”
Jesper snorted. “Well, Kaz won’t let you come back to the Red Crow if you’re going to cough up a lung all over your clients.”
“Shut up.”
“No, but seriously. Kaz once kicked me out just because I said I had a headache. A headache!” Jesper said, throwing his hands up. “He said he didn’t want a ‘patient zero’ anywhere near his parlor.”
Wylan’s mouth pulled into an adorable pout. He's so cute, Jesper thought, wishing he could kiss that pout from his face. Kissing Wylan while he was sick was probably a bad idea, but he wanted to do it anyway.
Not sure if he could control himself, Jesper stood up and started pacing around the living room while Wylan finished the tea. Luckily, it didn’t start a coughing fit this time.
“Is this your mother?” Jesper asked, pointing at one of the pictures. Wylan looked to be around six in it and he was clinging to the woman’s leg. He hummed in response. “She was beautiful. You definitely got your looks from her.” He turned around to wink at him. “You both look really happy.”
Wylan smiled. “That was taken at a lake near our house. She loved to spend the day there, painting.”
“It’s a beautiful lake.”
“Yeah, I haven’t been there in years, but I remember I loved it just as much as her.”
“My Ma also loves being outdoors, though she prefers fields over lakes.”
“Your love for flowers definitely runs in the family.”
Jesper pointed at a few other pictures, enjoying the way Wylan’s face brightened the more he talked about his mother and what they liked to do together. They talked comfortably for a while until Jesper noticed the way Wylan’s eyelids grew heavy. He should be resting, especially if he wanted to get back to work soon.
“I should probably let you get some sleep.” He suggested. Wylan looked like he wanted to protest, but he was interrupted by a yawn, proving Jesper right.
“I need to take my medicine first.” Wylan said, trying to get up, but Jesper stopped him with a hand on his chest.
“I’ll get it for you. Where is it?”
“Um, it’s in the bathroom counter, but you don’t have to-”
He didn’t give him a chance to finish. "I'm on it, sunshine."
"Thanks." Wylan said, smiling tiredly.
Jesper winked and left to go find the medicine. He walked by Wylan’s room on the way to the bathroom, and he couldn't help but peek through the open door. He saw a shelf near the wall with music sheets, a music stand over the window, a desk and a chair. He didn't see any books, though there were sketchbooks and sheets of paper scattered around the room. The small space was so entirely Wylan that Jesper felt a sudden wave of affection for him.
He hurried to retrieve the medicine. He had been gone for less than five minutes when he walked back into the living room, but he still found Wylan lying back against the arm of the couch, snoring softly.
Jesper chuckled, shaking his head. He picked up the blanket and covered Wylan with it. Then he couldn’t resist the urge to brush a few stray curls from his forehead where they had gotten sweaty, possibly from the fever. Wylan stirred, eyes opening just a bit.
"Jes-"
"Go back to sleep." He whispered. Hopefully, he would think this was one of those fever dreams Jesper was so curious about and wouldn’t wake up.
"Mmm okay." He muttered and went quiet.
Jesper left the medicine on the coffee table, within his reach. Then he looked around until he found a post-it note and scribbled down his phone number, sticking it on the bottle.
After one final look at Wylan, who looked adorable in his sleep, unsurprisingly, Jesper stepped out of the apartment, locking the door on his way out.
He was glad Inej had suggested he came over, he was glad he had listened to her. Maybe he hadn’t gotten that date, but he had seen Wylan, and that was enough.
A few hours later, when Jesper was getting ready for bed his phone pinged with a message from an unknown number. That alone made his heart skip a beat.
‘Hey, it's me.’
And then a second later-
‘Wylan, I mean.’
Jesper grinned as he typed back a reply. ‘Hey, is this a flower delivery emergency?’
‘No, this is me thanking you for taking care of me. And not robbing my apartment while I slept.’
Jesper snorted at his phone. ‘And ruin every chance of you inviting me over again? No way.’
Before the three dots appeared on his screen, he sent another text. ‘By the way, you look cute when you sleep.’
The reply was a single smiley face. Jesper didn’t need to see him to know Wylan was probably blushing.
He thought for a while about what to send next, but by the time he came up with something not along the lines of ‘Get better soon just so I can see you again’ it was late and he figured that Wylan was probably asleep already.
Jesper climbed into his own bed. He figured he could always text Wylan in the morning. Just to check up on him. Not just so he could find out whether or not he would be at work. Definitely not, he told himself. But as fun as texting Wylan was proving to be, nothing would compare to being able to see him in person.