Archive of Our Own ^beta

Jesper wasn’t sure about the job when Kaz gave it to him. He’s not good at sneaking around - that’s an Inej thing. He’d much rather go into jobs with flare, with style, with a bit of shooting and running and fun.

Walking into a mercher’s mansion and trying to go unnoticed is not a Jesper talent. 

But he’ll try his best anyways.

Bollinger was waiting for him at the entrance to a pub a few blocks from the district. The landscape changes drastically from overcrowded slums to perfect, pristine mansions, and Kaz felt it would be too obvious they were up to something if they met in the neighborhood, so he posted them at the pub.

He can hear the sound of coins and the shuffling of cards at the back of the pub in a room off to the side, but Bollinger slaps him on the shoulder in greeting, so he wasn’t even able to take a good look. Probably for the best.

They converse for a few moments, and Bollinger even buys them each a shot to lessen their nerves. Jesper throws his back quickly, Bollinger following suit, and then Bollinger motions out the door.

On the way through the neighborhood, Jesper wrings his fingers and curls them into fists. He doesn’t know why Kaz didn’t send Inej, or even better, went himself. Or got literally anybody else to do this job.

But Kaz insisted, so Jesper follows willingly.

Despite dressing up in the nicest suit he owns, Jesper still feels out of place when they cross over into mercher territory. Bollinger is even more out of place, nearly towering over the fences surrounding the different mansions. Jesper nearly wishes he and Bollinger could switch places on this job, with him doing the smooth-talking and Bollinger sneaking away, going unnoticed.

But he’s sure that would go even worse than their current - crazy - arrangement.

When they make it to their destination, Jesper looks up at the building. He doesn’t recall Kaz doing any sort of deals with this specific mercher, but at least he knows they’re not really here for the mercher.

He doesn’t know if Bollinger is aware, however, so he keeps his mouth shut.

A guard comes out from under the overhang, calling out, “What business, gentlemen?” Maybe the nice black suits did their jobs. Marvelous. 

“We have a meeting with Van Eck at seven bells.” Bollinger explains. The guard looks between them for a moment.

“Names?”

“Phalan and Mullig.” Bollinger says, and Jesper has to stop himself from raising his eyebrows. Kaz didn’t tell him anything about faking his identity.

But the names must mean something to the man, because he pulls out a set of keys and unlocks the gate for them, and then motions them toward the door as he closes and locks it again behind them. Right as Jesper is about to lean over to whisper to Bollinger, asking about the names, someone opens the front door and welcomes them inside. 

“Please, wait in the parlor. Master Van Eck will be with you shortly.” The woman, probably a servant, instructs them. 

Jesper has to hold back his snort at the formality. Master. Sounds like a jackass.

“Ma’am, may I ask, where is your restroom?” Jesper asks instead, and the woman smiles at him and leads him down the hallway.

This is the plan he was ready for. When Van Eck arrives, he and Bollinger will have a private meeting, and Jesper will have his chance to look around the mansion. Hopefully who he’s looking for will be easy to find.

The woman motions down one more hallway at a door on the left, and Jesper nods at her with a smile and makes his way to the room. He opens the door and closes it behind him, and then proceeds to stand there for a few moments. Hopefully the woman believes he’ll be able to find his way back and won’t come looking for him again. 

He catches sight of himself in the mirror as he looks around the bathroom that’s about the size of his bedroom. This is their guest bathroom? 

He shakes his head and eyes himself in the mirror. One of the lapels on his suit is slightly out of place from him messing with it while they were walking, so he fixes it. Then he starts messing with his hair, pushing it up off to one side. Then he angles his face in different directions, pursing his lips and glancing down at himself.

After a few more moments of checking himself out, he leans back away from the mirror and dusts off the front of his jacket. Hopefully Bollinger and Van Eck are already in their meeting, and the woman has gone off to do whatever is expected of her. He hopes she gets paid well, especially after finding out she has to call a pompous asshole master. 

He peeks out the door and looks both ways in the hall before stepping out, and then repeats the same process once he gets to the corner. Coast is clear in both directions. He spots a set of stairs at the end of the corridor, and slowly makes his way to it, trying to not make any noise with each step. There’s a few creaks in the floor, and Jesper freezes on every one of them, looking around each time a noise is made.

He makes it up the stairs without any issues, and spots three doors on the second floor, and a corridor at the end. He walks up to the first door, the one closest to him, and listens for a moment. It’s completely silent. 

He tries the door, and it opens with ease. He slides in through it quietly, and only notices someone sitting at the desk once the door is closed again.

Fuck.

But the person doesn’t seem like he’s noticed him yet, as they’re leaning over a book and seem to be troubled by something.

Only, they must have noticed, when they say, “I’m trying, father.”

And then they sit up and turn around. 

Then, after noticing that Jesper isn’t their father, they jump back, knocking over their chair and falling to the floor.

It looks like a boy, maybe a few years younger than Jesper, with strawberry blonde neck-length hair and freckles, and he looks terrified.

“Don’t worry, I’m not here to hurt you. Your father sent me.”

The boy sits up from his slouched position on the floor, and Jesper reaches a hand out to help him that the boy pointedly ignores.

“I don’t believe you,” the boy says as he stands up, fixing his chair and closing the book on his desk and lifting it up in front of his chest. “My father never sends people to see me. Who are you and why are you here?”

Jesper bites the inside of his cheek, clenching his fists behind his back. He glances down at the book in Wylan’s arms. “Do you like it?”

“What?”

“The book. Do you like it?”

Wylan glances down at it, “It’s fine. Why?” He narrows his eyes. “You didn’t answer me. Who are you and why are you here?”

Jesper sighs, “Alright, let me be honest. I can’t stand those meetings, so I asked if I could use the bathroom so I could sneak away.” He looks back at the door. “If you want me to leave, I will. I’m sorry to bother you.”

Fuck. This is not how this was supposed to go. Kaz said the person he was looking for was a bit “special” and would “go easily”. Whoever this is, however, doesn’t seem anything of the sort. 

The boy looks back at the door and then at Jesper. “Are the meetings really that bad?”

“They’re unbelievably boring and I’d rather hide out in a bathroom than listen to rich merchers talk about rich mercher shit.” Jesper freezes for a moment. “Oh. You’re probably a rich mercher too, huh?”

Wylan smiles, “I’m not. I’m Wylan, Jan Van Eck’s son.”

“Oh, so you’re a rich merch ling. ”

Wylan actually laughs this time, “Sure, I guess. My father doesn’t let me sit in on those meetings, but I’ll take your word on how boring they are.”

“Really? But you’re gonna take over for him one day, right?” Jesper takes a step forward, testing the waters, and Wylan doesn’t seem to react, so he takes another.

Wylan’s laugh turns forced. “I don’t know. Maybe.”

Jesper looks around the room, trying to find something to change the subject. He finds a black case sitting in the corner beneath the window. Musical, he remembers Kaz saying about the person he was supposed to talk to. Maybe he is talking to the right person, Kaz just severely misjudged Wylan.

“Do you play?” Wylan asks, and Jesper realizes he’s been staring at the case for too long.

“No, no. We couldn’t afford instruments back home. Plus, I think my da would’ve gone insane listening to me bang on shit all day.”

Wylan giggles, “Flutes can be very loud, too.” He goes over to the case and pulls the flute pieces out, putting them together. “I’m not supposed to play when he has meetings going on, but…”

“Do you want to play for me?” Jesper asks, taking a few steps closer, rounding Wylan’s bed and standing in front of him near the window. Wylan doesn’t seem to mind his presence, and has seemingly forgotten about Jesper’s offer to leave. It’s a good thing he did, because Jesper wasn’t planning on going anyways. At least not quietly.

Wylan nods slightly, then looks at the door.

“If he gets mad, I’ll take the blame for it.”

“He’s probably already looking for you…”

Jesper shakes his head, “My colleague will keep him occupied. They don’t need me there.”

Wylan looks back at Jesper, his face still slightly tense. But then he nods, puts the last piece of the flute on and then brings it to his lips, closing his eyes.

He plays a few notes, his fingers moving over the instrument as he tries to play as quietly as possible. Jesper takes another step forward to hear better, and Wylan still doesn’t react to his closeness.

After a few more moments and notes of music later, Wylan pulls the instrument away from his mouth and opens his eyes.

Jesper snaps a few times in quiet applause, smiling at the merchling. “That was amazing.”

“Thanks. My father has been talking about sending me to some music school in Belendt. I don’t know much about it, but I wouldn’t mind going. I wonder if there’s a test to get in…”

“Even if there is, I’m sure you’ll do great on it. Then you can go and play to your heart’s desire.” 

Wylan stares down at his flute, screwing pieces off and placing them back in the case.

“There wasn’t a test to get in for the college I went to. Probably should’ve been, though. Left that place within days.” Jesper jokes, remembering the few classes he attended and nearly had to be asked to leave in every one of them because he couldn’t sit still.

“I’ve never been to a real school. I’ve only had tutors come here. They didn’t really help, though. Learning is fun, but sometimes I just can’t…” Wylan glances back at his desk for a brief moment, then snaps his flute case shut and places it back on the floor. “Anyways, why did you leave?”

Jesper shrugged, “Too boring. School is boring. There’s nothing I can learn in a classroom that’ll help me in the real world.”

Wylan tilts his head, “I guess so. Math is useful, I think.”

“Spoken like a true merchling,” Jesper laughs, and Wylan smiles slightly.

They go silent for a moment, and it seems Wylan has finally noticed how close Jesper has gotten to him. “You should probably get back.”

Jesper purses his lips, “Now why would I do that when I can stay right here ?” 

Wylan blushes and slinks past Jesper, going back to his desk. “Well, I guess you can stay, but I don’t want you to get in trouble, and I have to get back to my studies.”

“What a good student you are.” Wylan sits back down at his desk and gives Jesper a pointed look. Jesper just smiles and sits down on the floor, staring right back.

Wylan sighs and turns back to his book, but doesn’t say anything to indicate he actually wants Jesper to leave.

Jesper whispers a quiet “shit” under his breath because what the hell is he supposed to do now? He can’t just leave, but sitting awkwardly on Wylan’s floor as he studies is quite weird, and also a waste of time.

He won’t be able to just convince Wylan to go with him, and it’s not like he can very easily just go for an evening stroll with one of the richest mercher’s children. Plus, Wylan is smart. It may seem like he trusts Jesper, but he can tell that something is going on. 

Jesper can see the hesitance in all of Wylan’s movements, and as much as he’d like to chalk it up to general anxiety, he knows it’s much more than that. Hell, this might not even be the first time Wylan has been approached by one of Van Eck’s “colleagues”. He’s a rich mercher, he’s bound to have enemies.

In this situation, Jesper is the enemy, and Wylan is the poor soul who Kaz needs information from for some reason.

He doesn’t notice Wylan turn around in his chair, picking at his shirt. “Are you hungry?”

Jesper jumps, “What?”

“Are you hungry? I was gonna go get a snack after my father spoke to me, but since he’s in a meeting…” Wylan stands up and closes his book, probably with a bit too much force than was necessary. “I’m getting something for me, so do you want anything since you’re gonna stay in here until the end of the meeting?”

Jesper stares up at Wylan. “Uh. No. I don’t need anything.” Then he thinks. “What are you getting?”

“Whatever I can find in the kitchen,” Wylan points out, furrowing his eyebrows.

“Why don’t we go out somewhere? Like… I don’t know, a bakery or something?”

Jesper feels like an idiot for asking. No way Wylan would ever agree to that. He’s already suspicious of him, why the hell would he willingly go somewhere with someone he doesn’t trust?

“I’m not allowed to leave the house at night.”

Oh. He wasn’t expecting that response. Jesper looks out the window. The sun won’t go down for another hour.

Wylan sighs, “I… I know it sounds weird. He normally doesn’t check up on me and neither does anyone else, but he always comes in every night to make sure I did my work, and then he locks the door. It’s not unlocked until morning when someone brings me breakfast.”

Jesper startles, “That’s fucked.”

“He does it to protect me.”

“He does it to control you.” Jesper points out, and Wylan just shrugs. “So what, you’re allowed to go out during the day, but at night you can’t even leave your room?”

“I don’t leave the house during the day either. I normally stay in here, or in the music room, studying or practicing.”

As big as the house is, Jesper couldn’t imagine spending every single day there. Eventually he’d run out of things to do and would have to get out. He shakes his head, “He doesn’t let you leave during the day either?”

“I can, I just need to bring a guard with me if I’m not with him. But I don’t ever really go anywhere, and I don’t like bothering anyone when they’re trying to work so I just… stay here.” Wylan thinks for a solid minute, his eyes darting between the door and the floor and Jesper and his desk. Finally, he says, “Wait here. I’ll be back in a minute.”

“Where are you going?”

“Just wait. Please.” And then Wylan is slipping out his door and closing it behind him.

If there’s anything Jesper’s good at, it’s not following directions, but the tone Wylan used makes him listen. He paces around the bedroom, looking between the window and the door. 

A few minutes later, Wylan returns with a bowl of grapes and sheepishly holds them out. “This is all I could find without making too much noise. Sorry.”

“No need to apologize, merchling.” Jesper smirks and plucks a grape from the bowl. Wylan takes a seat back at his desk, placing the bowl next to him. Jesper takes that as an invitation to come closer.

As Wylan returns to his work, Jesper steps up next to him and glances over his shoulder at the book he’s reading. Wylan seems to be following the lines along with his finger and is whispering to himself, too quiet for Jesper to hear. He’s assuming Wylan’s just reading aloud.

Jesper catches himself glancing in the margins of pages and sees small dots, numbers, and different colors at the start of paragraphs. A few words are underlined. Huh.

“What does this mean?” Jesper asks without realizing it, leaning down and pressing his finger to the page where a purple dot is at the start of a short paragraph.

Wylan’s hand pushes Jesper’s finger out of the way, staring at the dot. “It means dialogue.”

“You mark whenever there’s dialogue?”

Wylan bites his lip, “Usually, yeah. Keeps it organized.”

“Huh.”

Wylan’s fingers clench around the book. “What?”

“Nothing, I’ve just never met someone who annotates so diligently. I wonder what your math work must look like.” Jesper muses, stealing another grape and biting it in half. 

Just then, Wylan shuts the book and reaches into his desk drawer, pulling out a stack of papers. Jesper can tell from the symbols on the top page that it must be mathematical equations.

“I was just joking.” Jesper looks over the first sheet, not understanding what most of it means. “Damn, you’re pretty smart. Annotating your books, doing equations only scientists would ever need?”

Wylan blushes and looks back at his math notes, “I think it’s fun. Math, I mean. It makes sense, and there’s only one answer most of the time.” Wylan looks back at his book, which he has nearly pushed to the edge.

“Do they teach stuff like that at your fancy music school?”

“I’m not sure,” Wylan says, “but when I get there, maybe I can find out.”

“Maybe you could put that numerical brain to good use for your dad’s business.”

Wylan looks back down at the work, “I’m not sure it would be very helpful.”

“I think it’d be plenty helpful. You could be like an accountant or go into stocks. Personally, I’d find that life absolutely boring beyond belief, but it’s a good asset to have in a business, I think. And then once you take over, you won’t even have to hire other people to do your job for you. Win-win, in my book.” Jesper remembers why he’s here in the first place and asks, “Your dad has business dealings all over Ketterdam, right?”

Wylan nods, “All over the world, from the way he describes it. Jurda farms in Novyi Zem, sugar mills out in the country, probably ice harvesting in Fjerda.”

Jesper doesn’t understand why Kaz would be interested in any of the work Wylan just mentioned unless he plans on buying out stock or competing with Van Eck. Not that the Merchant Council would allow Kaz Brekker to just randomly start buying stock from them. He’s sure Kaz and most of the Dregs are on some ban list. That’s what he likes to imagine happens in those meetings, just a bunch of old Kerch men talking about how terrible the people of the Barrel are, while being twisted in their own ways behind closed doors.

Jesper says, “Ice harvesting? That can hardly be profitable.”

Wylan shrugs, “It must be profitable enough because he still does it. I’m sure over half the ice melts by the time it gets here, but he and all his friends always have cold drinks for dinner so they must save enough to make it profitable and use it themselves.”

Jesper nods along, even though he’s never had a cold drink in his life. Once again, he doesn’t foresee Kaz doing much ice harvesting any time soon, so he doesn’t understand why any of this information will be useful. Perhaps Wylan is holding out on him, just waiting until Jesper gets caught missing from the meeting downstairs and someone comes to find him. What excuse did Bollinger come up with to keep them busy?

Perhaps it’s time to go. Wylan doesn’t seem to know the information that Kaz is interested in, so he’ll just take his leave and hope Kaz doesn’t kill him for not returning with more information.

Wylan notices Jesper eying the door. “Oh, is it time for you to go? I didn’t mean to keep you so long.”

Jesper shakes his head, “I’d rather not go back to that boring as hell meeting, but I’m sure my partner is wondering where I am. Ugh.” Jesper runs a hand down his face. Maybe Bollinger was more successful in his mission, though he finds it hard to believe Jan Eck would be too open about his business dealings with a man he’s never met before, no matter what he heard previously. 

“Well, maybe I’ll see you next time. Feel free to visit me whenever you want to get away.” Wylan offers, and Jesper can’t help but sense an underlying suggestive tone.

“You’d enjoy distracting me from my job, wouldn’t you?” Jesper says, inching closer to Wylan from where he’s still seated at the desk. 

“Maybe the distraction isn’t just for you,” Wylan tilts his head down as he whispers back, and Jesper has to stop himself from laughing too loudly. He doesn’t want anyone to hear them, after all. 

“How about you give me a minute, I’ll go check on my partner to see if he needs me, and if not, I come right back and you can make do on that ‘distraction’, hmm?” Jesper suggests, and though Wylan blushes, he nods. 

Jesper stands up and goes to the door, listening through the wood for a moment before stepping out. If Wylan is looking at him curiously, he doesn’t look. If Jesper were really here for a meeting, he’d probably get in trouble for wandering around the house, so it’s possible Wylan just understands why he’s taking such seemingly drastic measures to not get caught.

After a few moments of listening and not hearing anything, he finally opens the door and steps out into the hallway. A few lanterns are lit going down the steps and along the walls where other doors are seen, probably other bedrooms and bathrooms. The lanterns are dim, but give off enough light to lead Jesper back to the stairs. He takes them slowly, cringing every time a step creaks or the railing shutters under his weight. Eventually, he reaches the last step and slinks back around the corner toward the bathroom he was led to at the beginning of the evening. He can smell something cooking beyond the wall and assumes dinner is almost ready. Bollinger and Van Eck will be wrapping it up soon. Wylan will most likely be called down to each after the two of them take their leave.

However, when Jesper gets close enough to peek around the corner, he is able to see into the dining room. Van Eck is sitting at the head of the table, a woman to his right, and Bollinger to his left.

Shit. They’ve probably been wondering where he is for ages now. Jesper sinks back behind the wall, listening in on their conversation. 

Van Eck is talking about one of the other mercher’s newest business venture, and how he doesn’t foresee it panning out. Jesper switches sides of the wall so he can see Bollinger’s back, and notices that he’s facing his plate, head slightly tilted to the right, meaning he’s listening intently. He’s probably planning to try to relay this information back to Kaz exactly as it was told.

At least one of them is proving useful on this task.

Jesper wishes Bollinger was facing him so he’d be able to signal to Bollinger if he needs to come in, but alas, his back is completely turned. He just hopes he came up with a good excuse for why Jesper has been missing for so long. 

After a few more moments, Jesper finally decides to enter the dining area, trying to make himself look as presentable as possible. He pats down the front of his suit and straightens his tie. He opens and closes the bathroom door with an audible click, hoping that’ll give his position away.

“Oh, that must be my associate. I can go fetch him,” He hears Bollinger say. Jesper listens as a seat scrapes across the ground, and Bollinger appears around the corner a few moments later. He looks slightly frantic and motions Jesper back into the bathroom. He follows him in. “Where the hell have you been?”

“I got lost, this place is too big for its own good.” Jesper quips, and Bollinger rolls his eyes.

“You’re lucky I’m here or else we both would’ve been thrown out. Did you find the target?”

“I think so,” Jesper replies, glancing over Bollinger’s shoulder into the mirror. His tie is still a bit crooked. “he doesn’t seem to have a lot of information, though. That, or he’s keeping it from me.”

“ He? I guess Kaz got it wrong. Whatever, let’s just go.”

“No!” Jesper protests. “Maybe I can get something else out of him. I just need a bit more time.”

Bollinger looks as if he’s going to protest, but then he sighs. “Fine, I’ll cover for you, but you’ll have to find your own way out. I told them you were feeling sick and probably shouldn’t have come, so now you need to make it seem like you’re leaving. C’mon.” Bollinger opens the door again and waves Jesper out. Before he can take a step forward, Bollinger ruffles his jacket slightly and loosens his tie, then throws an arm around Jesper’s waist to make it seem like he needs to be supported. Jesper puts an arm around his shoulders.

They round the corner again, coming face-to-face with Van Eck. “Is everything alright?” The man asks, and Jesper can see the resemblance between the man in front of him and the boy hiding upstairs. 

“Everything is fine, but my associate will have to take his leave now. Something he ate must not be agreeing with him.” Bollinger explains as Jesper tries his hardest to look pitifully unwell. There’s a reason he was never an actor.

Van Eck eyes him only for a moment, and he must believe it when he says, “Of course, I’m so sorry about that. Do you need me to signal a carriage?”

Bollinger shakes his head quickly, “There’s no need, sir, we already have one waiting outside. We seem to have overstayed our welcome, so we’ll see ourselves out. Sorry to disturb your meal.”

“Nonsense, boy, I enjoyed our conversation. Hopefully next time your friend here will be in better health.” Van Eck reassures them. Jesper expects him to follow them to the door, but when a servant steps up next to them and offers to help Jesper walk, he remembers that merchers are able to hire other people to do that for them. Van Eck returns to his meal with the woman still seated at the table, and even though Jesper hasn’t even met her, she waves at him with a large smile, calling out a shrill “Goodbye, get well soon!”

They walk a few feet into the hallway, and Bollinger says to the girl, “You can go on, we can handle it from here. Thank you so much for your kind hospitality.”

The woman bows and sees herself away, back into the dining area.

They get to the door and Bollinger drops his arm from Jesper’s waist to open it. He peeks his head out for a moment, then his whole body follows suit. He cracks the door and whispers, “I’ll be waiting for you two streets down. Come find me when you’re done.” 

Still inside the house, Jesper only nods and slowly walks toward the stairs. Bollinger closes the door. 

Now he’s on his own.

He starts up the stairs quietly, trying to avoid the creaks he found earlier so no one is alerted of his presence. He still ends up stepping on two creaks and freezes both times, waiting and listening for the sound of footsteps coming around the corner.

Within moments, though it feels like hours, he makes it back to Wylan’s door. He considers knocking to let Wylan know he has returned, but when he actually does so the sound is so soft he can hardly hear it himself. Instead, he slowly turns the handle and pushes the door open.

Wylan is still sitting in the same spot that Jesper left him in, though he does glance up at the movement. His face is passive, eyebrows furrowed, but he lights up after noticing it’s Jesper.

Once Jesper closes the door behind him, Wylan says, “I honestly thought you weren’t going to come back. How did it go?”

“It was fine. Your family seems to be having dinner without you.”

Wylan shrugs, “I’m not allowed in on the business meetings, even the ones that take place over dinner. Someone will normally bring me something after.” Wylan looks back at his desk, a book still open on it, the spine cracked and pages flattened as if he’s spent several hours staring at this single page. There are doodles in the corner and Wylan’s previously mentioned annotation methods, though Jesper can’t make sense of any of them. “You might want to hide if someone does come.”

Jesper nods in agreement and looks around Wylan’s room. He would probably be too tall to comfortably fit under the bed, and a mirror is on the opposite wall as the dresser so his reflection would be visible from the doorway. The only possible option seems to be the closet.

Putting the thought to the side, Jesper sidles up next to Wylan, leaning against the side of the desk. Wylan has returned to his book, and though he still seems to be following the words along with his eyes, Jesper is able to finish the entirety of the two pages while Wylan still seems to be at the start of the first. Perhaps he’s bored and spaced out. Jesper catches himself doing that too often when things are slow at the Club and he has no credit left at any of the gambling dens across the Slat. Occasionally Kaz will set something up for him just to keep him from annoying him every night.

“So.” Jesper starts, causing Wylan to look back up at him. “About that distraction.”

Wylan blushes and brings a hand up to his chest to adjust his shirt. 

However, before he has the chance to react beyond that, there’s a loud, sharp knock on the door, and a yell on the other side, “Wylan!”

Jesper tenses up and hops away from the desk. Wylan trips over his feet to get to the closet door and ushers Jesper in, slamming the door closed before Jesper is even fully inside. The bottom edge catches on his heel and he stumbles into the wall.

It doesn’t seem Wylan is too worried about the noise, though, and only a moment later, Jesper can hear the bedroom door slamming open, possibly hitting the wall, and then closing again.

“Wylan.” Van Eck’s voice sounds level, but Jesper can sense the tension in the room even from behind the door.

“Sir,” Wylan responds.

“I just got out from dinner to find a note on my desk from your tutor. Apparently, he has decided to put his resignation in, as he is unable to teach you anything new and his patience has been worn thin. Maybe he understands what I’ve had to deal with for the last fifteen years.” 

Wylan remains silent, and even as Jesper presses his ear against the window, he can only make out Wylan’s faint inhales and exhales of breath. 

Van Eck lets out a sigh of exasperation, “I have run out of options for you, Wylan. People will start to wonder why you no longer attend events and, god forbid, you’re expected to do anything of value for this family, especially in the public eye. This was your last chance to prove yourself.”

“I’m sorry, sir.” Wylan’s weak voice finally comes after a few moments of nail-biting silence. Even from the closet, his heel possibly bleeding on a too-expensive sweater on the floor, Jesper can sense the fear radiating off Wylan, and the angry disappointment from Van Eck.

“You will have no more tutors until you leave for Belendt. You will stay in the house as much as possible, and if I catch you even in the garden, you will be punished.”

Wylan murmurs, “What will you tell the Merchant Council?”

“I’ll say you are preparing for your departure and are unable to go to young Kunai’s birthday due to taking ill. I’d rather they believe you sick than defective; at least then they’ll understand and perhaps feel pity. Wasted breaths on their part, but it’s the only alternative I can come up with until you’re gone.”

Jesper clenches his fists from behind the closet door, shuffling his feet. He can feel blood dribble into his shoes but he pays it no mind. The nonsense he’s hearing outside the door is much more blood-curdling.

“You understand me, Wylan, when I say I want you to disappear? Once you’re off to Belendt, I don’t want you popping back up to ruin everything again, understand?”

Without even a moment of silence, Wylan responds, “Yes, sir.”

“Good.” Jesper hears as the door opens once again, but before Van Eck leaves, he adds, “This trip is a bigger waste of money than you deserve, but it’s necessary for us both to get what we want.”

And then the door slams shut with the finality of a gunshot from one of Jesper’s revolvers. He wishes he had them at the moment, if not to shoot Van Eck, at least to give himself something to do with his hands rather than clenching his fingers so hard there are crescent shapes imprints left on his palm.

A few minutes pass in silence, and Jesper waits for Wylan to come back to the closet to let him out. He doesn’t want to exit prematurity - perhaps Van Eck will come back for more verbal assault - or maybe Wylan needs the moments to himself, to realize exactly what Van Eck is saying, what life he has agreed to for the next however long it takes for his scum of a father to book passage to Belendt School of Music and rid himself of his ‘defective’ son.

Finally, the door handle turns slowly and is pulled open delicately by a boy that does not deserve the father he has, a boy that deserves so much more. 

Wylan steps back to allow Jesper out, sitting back down at his desk. There’s a plate of untouched food to the side, and Jesper recognizes it at the meal Bollinger and the two other Van Eck’s were eating downstairs. 

“Your father’s a dick,” Jesper blurts immediately, and Wylan chuckles slightly. He can hear the pain in the noise. “I’m serious, your father is a fucking dick. I would’ve killed him at this point.”

Wylan just shakes his head and turns back to his book, ignoring the food. 

Jesper can’t help himself. He crosses the room in two long strides and wraps his arms around Wylan’s shoulders, bending over the chair so his mouth is right next to Wylan’s ear.

“I’m serious. I can go get my guns right now, just say the word.”

Wylan laughs, tilts his head in Jesper’s direction, and quirks an eyebrow, “Why would an upstanding man such as yourself kill a merch? Thought you were business partners with him.”

Jesper steps back slightly, standing up straight again, “I’m hardly upstanding.”

Wylan only smiles. “I know.” He looks down at Jesper’s outfit. “Real merchers don’t dress like that.”

Jesper scoffs and glances down at his shirt, “What’s wrong with my clothes? I think I look dashing.”

“You do. You look amazing. But merchers don’t wear floral pink ties with green leaves. Or orange socks.”

Jesper rolls his eyes, “All black is too boring, I needed to add some color to the ensemble. Plus, obviously, it got your attention. Like what you see?” He bounces his eyebrows up and down with an over-the-top purse of his lips. 

A bit of the tightness in Wylan’s voice releases as he lets out a real laugh. That’s more like it. “Maybe I do.” Then his grin drops and he shakes his head. “But you have to get out of here. If I could figure out you’re not who you said you are, then it’s not going to take long for my father to figure it out, too. Is your partner in on it? I hope you used fake names.”

“Hey, you never know, your asshole father might just be blinded by the idea of shares in Fifth Harbor that he forgot to care about who he’s making deals with.”

“Fifth Harbor…” Wylan seems like he’s trying to place where he’s heard of the location before, and Jesper hopes he didn’t just blow everything to pieces. Hopefully, Kaz’s reputation hasn’t extended to the ears of young merchlings. After a few moments, Wylan seems to finally give up and just shrugs. “Either way, you should still leave. If anyone hears me talking to anyone, they’ll come to check on me, and I don’t really want to shove you in the closet again.”

“Yeah,” Jesper looks down at his ankle, which he forgot was bleeding. “that was less than ideal.”

Wylan’s eyes glance down to Jesper’s ankle, and he gasps, “Oh Ghezen, I’m so sorry. I can patch it up real quick, just give me a second.” Wylan offers, and though Jesper thinks to tell him to not worry about it - he’s dealt with a lot worse plenty of times - he notices Wylan is backing to his bedroom door, possibly to get supplies to clean it with.

Jesper nods, and as soon as Wylan leaves the room, Jesper starts for the window. Thankfully it’s a push-open and there isn’t a screen or bars to block an easy escape, the only problem seems to be the height. They’re only on the second story, but considering he has to walk all the way back to the Slat after quite possibly jumping out a window, he’d rather find another way. Not for the first time, he wishes he had the ability to find the smallest footholds in the bricks as Inej does, but alas. Maybe he’ll be able to avoid the prickly bushes directly beneath the window if he takes a strong enough leap.

He doesn’t imagine he’ll be able to land very quietly, though. Or on his feet. 

He hears footsteps down the hallway and retreats back to the desk. A few seconds later, Wylan opens the door again, one hand holding the handle, the other, medical tape and gauze.

“It’s not too bad,” Jesper says as soon as the door is closed, but sits down on the desk chair either way when Wylan motions to it. Wylan kneels down at his feet and pulls the injured ankle onto his knee, looking over the small scrape for a moment and then gets to work.

There are only a few instances Jesper can recall getting medical treatment while in the Barrel. Mostly because he never warranted much care to begin with, normally staying clear of any seriously dangerous situations and being able to handle his own if ever a fight broke out; but he also knows that even if he did get seriously injured, there were not many means to get himself checked out by anyone in such a part of town. He also wagered going outside the Barrel for help wouldn’t be of much benefit, considering he hardly had any money to his name and, even the cheapest doctors still required some type of payment. 

Wylan serves as a good man for patching up bleeding, however. After only a few moments, Wylan pulls Jesper’s pant leg back down over the scrape, and when Jesper looks down at it, despite a bit of staining on his sock, the injury is hardly noticable.

“Thank you,” Jesper hesitates, not sure how to address the boy now that all his needs have seemingly been met, so he falls back into his tried and true method of flirting, “Sweet boy, you are.” 

Wylan leans back on his heels, placing the reminder of the supplies on his desk. He fidgets with his clothes for a moment. “It’s no problem.”

“I appreciate the favor, but,” he leans forward on his knees so he’s face-to-face with the boy on the floor, quirking an eyebrow, “is that what you consider a distraction?”

Wylan goes pink and stutters over his words, “I, well, I don’t really think there’s, a, uh, need for a… a distraction anymore?”

“Maybe not for me, but more definitely for you.” 

Wylan stands up and starts fiddling with the book on his desk. Jesper leans back in the chair, watching the movements of the boy in front of him, pressing down the edge of a page and clearing out the pen from the book crease. 

He stands, directly behind Wylan, then takes a small step forward so he’s flush with Wylan’s back, his long sleeves rubbing up against Wylan’s shoulder as he reaches around him and closes his hand over the back edge of the book, fingers touching Wylan’s knuckles as he closes the pages of printed words and color-coded notes and doodles.

“We have to be quiet.” Wylan reminds him in a quiet voice.

Jesper smiles lightly, biting at his lip and responding, “Trust me, lovely, things are almore more fun when trying to keep quiet.”

Wylan bristles slightly, and Jesper can’t tell if it’s from discomfort or interest. Either way, he doesn’t want to push it, so he steps back to give the boy room.

“I just…” Wylan starts, turning around to face Jesper, his face downward despite the glint of excitement in his eyes that Jesper only barely catches. “I don’t want to get caught.”

Jesper nods along, “I understand, but I promise you, I am very good at keeping myself silent. Are you as skilled, or do I need to do it for you?”

Wylan’s cheeks go red before he even responds, “You’ll probably have to guide me.”

Jesper’s lips nearly split at the insinuation, as well as the prospect of Wylan actually flirting back, but he has to restrain himself to only a grin. However, he has to be completely sure.

“Merchling, I don’t want you giving into this on my account. If you’re not interested, we can just sit here as I lovingly watch you do your homework like the well-behaved boy you are.” 

Wylan finally glances up at him, and Jesper can nearly feel the pent-up passion and frustration and want falling off him in waves, his gaze strong as he says, “I want to do whatever you want to do.”

And, well, if that’s not an invitation, Jesper doesn’t know what is. He laughs lightly, and from then on, lets his lips do the talking for him. He leans down and kisses Wylan gently, lips together again, keeping it chaste. He doesn’t expect a merchling to have much experience with kissing, anyway. 

And he absolutely does not. The kiss is sloppy and all over the place, he doesn’t know what to do with his tongue and his teeth keep getting in the way. He tries to follow Jesper’s lead, but even that, he’s still a second too far behind, and within seconds, Jesper has saliva all over his lips and mouth and even a bit on his nose, somehow.

But he doesn’t stop. He doesn’t even think about stopping. He leads Wylan backward to the bed, falling onto the bed once his knees hit the soft material of his duvet, and, clumsily, of course, Wylan’s body follows him. It seems gravity pulled him down more than anything else.

Jesper pulls back for a moment and holds the boy at arms length to make sure he doesn’t try to go back in for more.

Instead, Wylan opens his eyes and immediately mumbles, “I’m sorry.”

Jesper shakes his head, “For what, lovely?”

Wylan takes a second, going silent, before finally shrugging and saying, “I don’t know.”

“Exactly,” Jesper responds in a soft voice. “don’t ever apologize for being inexperienced.” And Jesper knows that’s why he apologized because most people do their first time, and considering how his father was speaking to him earlier, he imagines Wylan has to apologize for his existence all the time.

Nonsense.

Jesper looks over the boy in his lap, taking in his disheveled appearance. He has to suppress a smirk at the sweater that is already crooked, trousers that are already wrinkled. It feels good to bring someone to this state again. The last time he recalls such a look is back when he first came to Ketterdam, and it was with a girl that went to the university with him, a girl he only knew for a few weeks before never seeing her again. To be someone’s first time is always a treasured experience, but he doesn’t recall such a surge of excitement overtaking him until this very moment. Maybe it’s the prospect of defiling a merchant’s son, of bringing a sunshine boy to the dark side, of thoroughly corrupting a kid who would never quite fit in the Barrel, though even this life doesn’t seem to be the best place for him, either.

He will thrive at music school. Perhaps he can coerce himself into a visit, once or twice. Perhaps he can convince Wylan to visit him in the Barrel.

That’s not his focus at the moment. He’ll think about breaking in Wylan’s dorm room at a different time. Now, he must break in the room Wylan’s probably had his entire life but never felt truly comfortable in. 

Wylan leans forward to kiss him again. 

Jesper can tell it’s Wylan’s first time taking the initiative, not just with Jesper, but with anyone. If the inexperienced kissing wasn’t a dead giveaway that he’s never done anything like this before, his sheer overwhelming anxiety definitely is. Which isn’t a bad thing. Hell, it’s even a bit refreshing for Jesper, who hasn’t had such a partner in months. Everyone in the Barrel knows exactly what they want, how they want it, and how much they’re willing to give. Wylan is completely open, while also being closed off at the same time. Willing to experiment, too afraid to try anything. 

Jesper can help with that. He kisses back slowly, allowing Wylan to lead. Their lips remain closed, chaste, simple. After realizing Jesper isn’t going to take it any further, Wylan finally starts to prod with his tongue, slow and measuring. Jesper reacts accordingly, following Wylan as he starts to open his mouth a bit wider, searching Jesper’s mouth with his own, tasting him. Jesper almost feels like a new flavor of dessert Wylan’s never tried before and is thoroughly enjoying. He’s not complaining. 

After seemingly reaching every inch of Jesper’s mouth, he finally feels the pressure of Wylan’s hand on his hip. Now they’re getting somewhere.

He pulls back slightly, whispering, “If there’s something you want to do, go ahead.” 

“Are you sure?”

Jesper nods once, then leans forward again. He doesn’t connect their lips, though, waiting for Wylan to do it for him. Once they’re kissing again, Jesper feels both of Wylan’s hands press to his hips, pulling him forward with the smallest tug. 

Jesper takes the hint, and, though he’s thoroughly enjoying this, it’s possible they will be here until the morning hours if they continue at this pace. He surges forward, pushing Wylan onto his back, his legs tangling up beneath him as he squeaks.

Jesper looks down at his lower half as Wylan spreads his legs, almost seeming to be a reflex. Jesper bites his lip, and only releases it when he makes eye contact again and whispers, “Quiet, remember?” Wylan presses his lips tight together and nods. Jesper has to resist the urge to chuckle. “Good. Now, what do you want to do?”

Wylan’s head has fallen back only a few inches shy of his pillow, and the way he glances up at Jesper nearly makes him want to ignore whatever Wylan plans on saying and just do whatever he wants. A look of such lust on such an innocent face seems like it should be illegal, and Jesper should not be near as attracted to it as he is. God damn it. 

But Wylan finally does respond, saying, “Anything.” Which nearly drives all of Jesper’s self-control away.

“You can’t say things like that when you look like this, merchling.” Jesper faux groans.  “That’s a very open statement and things could get very dirty very fast.” 

Wylan giggles, and Jesper drops his head into his chest. He’s doing this on purpose, he has to be. 

“No, but seriously. What do you like? What do you not like?”

“I…” Wylan trails off, and Jesper glances up to see his lips pursed. “I don’t really know. I’ve never done this before.”

“I know, but I want you to think about it. I want your first time to be special.” He doesn’t know why he says that, since he doesn’t even recall his first time. To most people in the Barrel, virginity is the least of people’s concerns. But he finds it hard to believe it hasn’t been drilled into this boy’s head that he must be pristine and proper at all times. Maybe it’s good for him to get a bit dirty, but only on his terms.

“I guess I want you to… take care of me.” So innocent. So trusting.

But Jesper suppresses his immediate thoughts and replies with, “Anything you want, lovely.”

“I want you to be on the top.”

“I can do that. Anything else?”

Wylan bites his lip, staying silent, and it takes Jesper lifting his hand and massaging his cheek for him to finally release it and murmur, very quietly, “I want you to make me feel good.”

Jesper smiles. “Of course. I’d love to.” He waits a few more moments, just in case there are any more requests, but it doesn’t seem like there is when Wylan smiles back at him. 

He leans forward again, his hand dropping down to press into the mattress next to Wylan’s head as he kisses him, taking control again. Wylan seems to prefer it this way. 

So he leads him through a kiss, starting sweet and chaste until Jesper is licking into Wylan’s mouth and pressing his hips down into Wylan’s until he feels more than hears a release of breath from Wylan’s throat, a soft groan of pleasure and appreciation. It eggs him on, the fingers of one hand tugging up on Wylan’s shirt until it reaches his chin, and he only pulls back from the kiss to loop it over Wylan’s head. Wylan’s eyes are shut, his cheeks flushed, mouth open, waiting. Who is he to refuse?

After getting Wylan’s shirt off, he connects their lips together, his hands on a mission to find the buttons of Wylan’s pants, and possibly feel around without drawing too much attention to it. He knows Wylan would be too embarrassed if he just blatantly stared down at him, so this is the next best option. 

He finally finds a zipper after a bit of gratuitous groping, which pulled another, more audible groan from Wylan. He unzips it and fumbles with Wylan’s buttons, and perhaps he’s had too much practice taking off people’s clothes in the dark because the pants fall loose quickly.

Wylan starts shimmying out of his pants before Jesper can even pull his hands back, and the movement causes him to grind up into Jesper’s palms and a bit on his leg. 

“Saints,” Jesper whispers, and Wylan glances up at him with a small smile. Definitely on purpose. 

The pants end up in a heap of fabric at the end of the bed, and Wylan surges forward and kisses Jesper once they’re off. He has to lift himself up onto his elbows to reach, and Jesper relishes a bit in the exertion the boy is putting himself through just to reach his lips. When they meet again, Jesper lifts himself up off Wylan for only a moment to begin clawing at his own trousers. Damn stupid merchant clothes, much different from his normal attire, make him fumble. Wylan sits up on his knees and reaches a hand out to assist him. Seems he wanted an excuse to feel around a bit, too. 

Wylan must know his way around mercher clothes more than Jesper does - for good reasons, obviously - because he gets the waistband loosened and starts pushing the fabric down his thighs. 

“Getting a bit feisty, eh?” Jesper teases, but when Wylan tenses and seems deadset on retreating, Jesper grabs onto his wrists to keep them in place. “I like it. Go on.”

Though much slower, Wylan continues until the trousers reach his calves, and Jesper takes to kicking them off in one swift movement. He leans up on his knees to be level with Wylan again, though he still towers over him. When Wylan leans back to look up at him, Jesper reaches both his hands forward and wraps his hands around Wylan’s hips, squeezing onto his love handles until the boy nearly falls back onto the pillows, pliant. He lets out a sigh of contentment. 

Jesper finally glances down at the body belonging to the boy, taking in his pale chest, slight tummy, and creamy thighs. Cute. Pretty. “Beautiful.” 

If Wylan’s cheeks could flush any more, they probably would, but the red just goes to his ears. He closes his eyes and purses his lips in silence until Jesper finally leans forward to kiss him again. 

They’re almost flush skin-to-skin if it wasn’t for Jesper’s shirt. He can’t deal with the damn button right now and he contemplates just ripping it apart until he feels Wylan popping the first button with a single hand. The other is clutching at the pillow beneath him. After the first few buttons are undone, Jesper wiggles his arms out of the sleeves until the shirt falls to his hips. Wylan continues to unbutton the last few, and when it comes undone, he tugs on one side so it slides onto the sheets. His hand returns to Jesper’s hip, his lower back, tugging him closer. Their groins press together directly, pulling a trembling moan from Wylan and the first sound of true pleasure from Jesper’s mouth, a surprised gasp. 

Wylan lets out a breath and squeezes his eyes shut as Jesper begins grinding down on him, feeling himself rise as blood rushes down to his dick. Wylan has been hard for the last several minutes, and it’s most likely grown painful at this point. 

He has to be sure, though. When he presses a hand to the waistband of Wylan’s underwear, he asks, “Can I?”

“Yes,” Wylan responds in no uncertain terms, his eyes flashing open and meeting Jesper’s gaze. His fingers dip beneath the elastic, running along the trail of hair leading down, down, down to the swollen base of Wylan. The underwear disappears from Jesper’s line of vision as he continues to push them away, and his eyes are only drawn away from Wylan in his full glory when the boy in question tugs him back up to kiss him once the final piece of his clothing has been shed. 

The kiss has returned to the shyness Wylan possessed earlier, but within moments, Jesper is able to draw him out again, and, surprisingly, he whispers, “Touch me.”

So Jesper does. With a careful hand, his eyes trained on Wylan’s length, he wraps his fingers around the base of Wylan’s dick and strokes up to the head, the shaft still a bit too dry for proper movement. He rubs a finger over the head, feeling the precum bubble up and smear over his fingernail. He takes the moisture and runs it down the length, brushing the nail lightly on the skin until Wylan takes in a sharp breath. More precum dribbles out and down the side, and Jesper uses it to lubricate the skin, and then suddenly, without warning, he squeezes and runs his hand up the shaft, the motion smoother and another shuttering breath is drawn into Wylan’s lungs. 

He continues thrusting his wrist, squeezing a bit as more precum leaks from the head, and is again used to quicken Jesper’s movements, his wrist flicking up and down faster and faster until a proper, long groan elicits from Wylan’s throat, and if wasn’t for where they were, Jesper would have continued such movements until he made the noise again.

However, he has to be aware of the risk, so he shushes him quietly with a glance at the door. Wylan nods and clamps his lips shut, and Jesper begins his movements again. His other hand reaches down as well, past Wylan’s length, and instead starts prodding at the soft skin on his backside, lower, deeper, until his fingers brush against the crack of his ass, and Wylan gasps, jolting upward. 

“All right?” Jesper asks, freezing his movements.

“Y… yeah. It’s fine.” Wylan takes a deep breath, clenching his eyes closed for a moment before opening them again. The wariness has returned. 

“Are you sure?” 

Wylan nods, spreading his legs further apart.. “Keep going. I want you to.”

Jesper takes an extra moment to read Wylan’s eyes, and though there’s still the shyness, nervousness, there’s also pleasure, and want, and eagerness. So he continues. His fingers continue traveling downward as his other hand picks up thrusting again, and when his fingers press to Wylan’s ass once again, he doesn’t flinch away. He keeps a light touch, trailing to his entrance, and when his fingers are mere centimeters away, he leans forward and kisses the boy’s gaze of concern away, his fingers dipping again and pressing flush to him, the hand around his length going still so all focus is on what his other hand has traveled to. Wylan is suppressing a groan at the light touch.

“You want me to keep going?” Jesper asks, one more time. The boy nods, his eyes closing and head falling back onto the pillow. Jesper wiggles his middle finger against the tight entrance, only slightly breaching inside. He adjusts his body so he’s in between Wylan’s legs instead of lying to his side. He lowers his head down to Wylan’s lower half, breath hot against skin. “I’m going to do something that might feel weird, so if you don’t like it, push me away. I won’t be offended. This is only to make you feel good, and prepare you for what comes next.”

With previous partners, Jesper never felt the need to explain the process of what he was doing, but Wylan is different. He might not know what eating someone out is. 

Wylan nods, though his eyes are still closed and he head back on the pillow. Though he doesn’t like the silent agreement and would prefer for the boy to look at him directly and tell him in words that he’s okay or not okay, he understands Wylan might not feel comfortable with doing so right now. So he lowers his head down, level with Wylan’s ass, and leans forward, pressing his lips to the sensitive skin of the underside of Wylan’s dick, then lower, lower, until he reaches the entrance. Wylan stays quiet above him, but when Jesper chances a look at him, he can see him biting his lip and clenching his fists into the sheets below, and then finally, as his tongue touches skin, a small groan escapes. A hand darts to his face to suppress it. 

“You don’t have to be silent. You can make noise,” Jesper says, and Wylan clenches around air when the heat of his words hit. “I actually prefer to hear you. We just don’t want to get caught.”

Wylan nods and looks down at him, a tight smile on his lips. Jesper lowers his lips back down, and Wylan groans a bit louder this time. Perfect.

Jesper continues his gentle kisses and licks on Wylan’s opening until it seems wet enough to warrant further prodding. He pulls his right hand off Wylan’s thigh and licks his middle finger before replacing the spot his tongue just was with the tip of his finger, going deeper, deeper, and Wylan continues groaning all the way to the knuckle. 

“Do you like this?”

“ Yes.” Wylan gasps. Jesper leans back, thrusting his finger a few times, watching as the boy’s eyelashes flutter and his nose scrunches whenever he lets out another soft groan. 

Jesper pulls his middle finger out and begins to go in again with his ring finger following, but when Wylan tenses up at the stretch, he freezes. He knows the tells of an uncomfortable stretch, but Wylan is way too anxious to say anything. He allows Wylan to adjust to the larger intrusion, and once he finally unclenches, he begins moving again. The second stretch is normally the worst, from Jesper’s experience. 

Once he goes to the knuckle, he allows another few moments of adjustment and then scissors his fingers apart. Wylan gasps, a deep inhale of breath that he holds in his chest for a few seconds before letting it out through a long, low moan.

“Good,” Jesper praises, continuing to move his fingers inside of Wylan, and brings his other hand up to Wylan’s face, running a finger down his cheek. “You’re doing so good, lovely.” Wylan just huffs and groans, though Jesper is sure Wylan heard him and appreciates it when he grinds his hips up into the air, seeking friction. Jesper can’t help but to oblige. He moves his body back over Wylan’s, and though his underwear is still on, he allows Wylan to grind up into his stomach as he continues to finger him, adding his pointer finger after a few more thrust without Wylan really seeming to notice. 

Preoccupied with his own needs, Wylan doesn’t notice as Jesper begins pushing his underwear down, and only comes to attention, when Jesper’s full length falls onto his thigh. He looks down, stopping his movements for a moment, then looks up at Jesper with wide eyes.

“We don’t have to go that far if--”

“I want to.” Wylan interrupts him, and without any fanfare, he brings his hands down and clenches at Jesper’s length. Jesper moans at the touch, his hands cool on the heat of his cock.

It’s obvious Wylan isn’t exactly sure what to do now that he has Jesper’s length in his hands, and he attempts to mimic Jesper’s movements from earlier. The slide is quite easy considering, though he has had time to build up a sweat and a bit of moisture while pleasuring Wylan. 

“I want to…” Wylan motions down to Jesper with his head, opening his mouth slightly, “but I don’t know how to.”

Jesper blinks once, nearly furrowing his eyebrows in confusion at what Wylan is attempting to say, but when Wylan scooches himself down to be more level with Jesper’s lower half, and is nearly a foot away before Jesper realizes. “Oh. Wait.” 

He gently pushes himself off of Wylan and lays to his side, spreading his legs. He motions Wylan over with one hand, and the boy scrambles into his lap a bit too fast, kneeing Jesper in the hip. Jesper winces but doesn’t allow it to show much on his face as Wylan finally settles in between his legs, crouching onto his knees and leaning over Jesper’s middle.

“I promise it’s not that hard.” Jesper has to hold back a smirk at the accidental innuendo, and if Wylan could flush any further, he would. “Just don’t bite me.”

“That’s… it?” 

“Yep, that’s it.” Jesper knows there’s a lot more he could tell Wylan - techniques, what he prefers, the light scrape of teeth on the bottom of his shaft that makes him tense up  - but he doesn’t want to confuse him or make it too complicated, so he says, “Just do what you think feels right. Don’t push yourself.”

Wylan looks as if he’s about to argue, but holds himself back. He looks down at Jesper and then leans himself back on his knees, shoulders slouching over as he lowers his mouth to Jesper’s length, taking just the tip inside and licking experimentally.

Saints forsaken. This should not be as pleasing to him as it already is, but the small kitten licks and stretch of Wylan’s lips around only his head makes him want to thrust forward and quite possibly choke Wylan. Instead, he restrains himself, just barely, shoving a hand behind his head to grip at the skin of his neck. His other hand falls down to Wylan’s hair, scratching through the curls that already have a thin layer of sweat at the edges. Jesper should not be to such an extreme state so early on, especially considering he’s the experienced one.

Wylan’s lips slide down Jesper’s cock slowly, his tongue running down the vein and conforming around the curvature. He reaches about halfway before he gags and has to pull back, coughing. 

“Careful. Open your mouth a bit wider, stretch your neck. Tilt your head forward a bit more.” Jesper instructs when Wylan looks up at him, mouth parted into what is most likely an apology. Wylan blinks a few times and then nods, coughing once more and then going back down. He follows exactly as Jesper says, and though he slows down a bit when he reaches the same spot as before, he doesn’t gag or draw back again. “Good. Only take what you can handle.”

Wylan doesn’t seem to hear him, mouth still traveling down his slowly, lips pulled taunt, throat fluttering around his cock. He nearly reaches the base when he brings a hand up and fists what space is left. He retreats slowly, hand following his path in a semi-tight grip, twisting. 

“Shit,” Jesper swears, fisting Wylan’s hair in his fingers, “are you sure you’ve never done this before?”

Wylan reaches the tip and pulls his mouth off, pursing his lips on the head as he swallows. His hand is still moving up and down Jesper’s now wet length, using his own saliva to increase the speed of his thrusts. He looks up at Jesper, eyes watering, and shakes his head with a soft, if a bit hoarse, “I’m sure.”

“Well, you’re very good at it,” It might be a bit too high of praise - Wylan’s grip is a bit too tight, his teeth scratching a bit too much, but it’s nothing practice can’t fix. Jesper hopes maybe he’ll be the one Wylan works with to improve. “You can keep going.”

“Oh. Well I was hoping…” Wylan loses his words, sitting back on his heels. At this angle, he’s towering above Jesper, his figure silhouetted against the low light of the lamp on his desk. Jesper wants to hear him say it. He stays silent as Wylan struggles for words, stumbling - perhaps it’s a bit mean to leave him hanging, but maybe this will be his first lesson in gaining confidence in himself and stating what he wants. After a few attempts and fumbling, Wylan finally pushes himself forward and hovers himself over Jesper, legs spread, bracketed around Jesper’s hips, head down and chin touching his chest. “This.”

Jesper pushes himself up, not expecting Wylan to literally show him, and before the boy spears himself down on Jesper’s cock and hurting himself, he puts both his hands on Wylan’s hips. “Hang on. This is a bit more advanced and it might hurt. Why don’t you lay on your back?”

Wylan nods and throws himself to the side, nearly falling off the mattress due to the force. Jesper still has his hands on his hips, though, so he pulls him back until his side connects with the sheets. Wylan rolls onto his back, his head still down, shoulder hunched. 

“Relax, darling.” Jesper moves himself so he’s between Wylan’s legs, shifting the boy until his head is against the pillow and his body is straight. “You’re stiff as a board.”

“Sorry.” 

“None of that, remember? Take a deep breath.” Jesper waits for Wylan to follow his instructions, massaging his thumbs into the divots of Wylan’s hips and the smooth expanse of skin over and beneath. The gentle rolls of Wylan’s body mold around his fingers, and he physically feels as Wylan’s body relaxes. Jesper spreads Wylan’s legs a bit further, pushing his feet up to rest on the mattress, knees bent. “Good. Stay like this. If anything hurts, tell me and I’ll stop. Anything.” Jesper looks around the room, biting his cheek before asking, “You don’t happen to have any oil in here, do you?”

Wylan’s eyes are closed, eyelashes long and contrasted against his reddened cheekbones. “Under the bed,” He says softly.

Jesper frowns, “You had lube all this time and never told me?”

“I honestly forgot. I don’t use it. Much.” 

Jesper chuckles and runs a finger down Wylan’s cheek until his eyes flutter open. He kneels down onto the side of the bed and looks underneath it, finding a few pairs of mismatched socks, a shirt, and a corked bottle of oil. He returns to the bed with the bottle in hand, seating himself between Wylan’s legs again. He has to rub his hands on the sheets a few times before he can finally get the bottle uncorked, and when he does, he tips it up so a generous amount falls on his palms.

He lubes up three fingers and presses them to Wylan’s hole, sliding inside easily, still stretched from the prep earlier. He scissors his fingers and prods around inside of Wylan until the boy’s legs tense up and begin to shake. Wylan squeezes his thighs together and begins to thrust up, driving Jesper’s fingers deeper, his entire body clenching as he lets out a gurgling moan of absolute delight. Perfect.

Jesper thrusts his fingers a few more times, watching as more precum drips from Wylan’s hard cock, and then pulls all three fingers out in one go. Wylan clenches again, groaning at the loss. 

“Shh, lovely, just give me a moment.” Jesper glances back at the door for just a moment, ever careful, and only returns when he feels Wylan’s legs squeeze around his hips and pull him forward by his heels digging into his back. “So impatient.”

Wylan nearly whimpers as he watches Jesper spread an overabundance of the oil onto the palm of his hand, then onto his cock, properly lubing himself up and quite possibly relishing in the way Wylan’s heated gaze watches him. He corks the bottle half-heartedly and places it over the edge, hearing it thump to the carpeted floor below. 

He readjusts Wylan’s legs, pulling them higher around his waist and leaning forward until the boy is nearly curled in on himself, thighs still holding strong around his hips. Jesper leans further forward into a feverous kiss, all traces of the shy innocence gone as they lick into each other’s mouths. Jesper can taste himself on Wylan’s tongue, urging him forward as he feels the grooves of his teeth biting down on his lips. Jesper leans back, a trail of saliva falling between them and onto Wylan’s chest. 

He reaches behind him and grabs onto Wylan’s feet to loosen the grip the boy has on him. “Just in case you need to pull away. Are you ready?” Wylan’s feet fall back onto his lower hips heavily, resuming his previous position and leaning his head back into the pillow. Wylan closes his eyes, clenching them shut as he stretches his spine and neck, body tense again. Jesper is ready to remind him to relax again when Wylan’s eyes open, his body loosens, and he nods.

“I’m ready.” He replies, voice steady, perhaps the most confident it has sounded since the start of the night. Maybe Jesper’s lessons are already coming in handy. 

No matter. Jesper smiles down at him, removing a hand from Wylan’s hips to grip his cock and line himself up with Wylan’s entrance. The boy remains relaxes even as he feels the head touch him, his most sensitive area, skin fluttering around it already, ready and waiting.

Jesper gives the smallest movement forward until the head breaches past the first wall of skin, and Wylan’s eyes close tightly. Jesper’s eyes are wide open and he immediately stops moving.

Wylan seems to be fighting to keep himself from tensing up, teeth biting down so hard on his lip it’s most likely going to bruise. Jesper immediately brings a hand up and whispers, “It’s okay, it’s okay. Tell me to stop if--”

“ No.” Wylan seethes out through clenched teeth, sucking in a deep, shuddering breath. His eyes are still closed shut, but Jesper can see a small tear leak from his left tear duct. 

Jesper is about to pull out anyways despite Wylan’s protests, but Wylan’s legs grip tighter around his hips, almost painful. The sudden movement causes Jesper’s body to shift forward, driving him deeper inside, and Wylan cries out. “Wylan--”

“Please don’t stop.” Wylan grits out, “I’ll adjust. Please. Just give me a minute.”

So Jesper does. He holds himself as still as possible as Wylan’s body forms around the intrusion, getting used to the stretch, the burn. His teeth are still clenched and another tear has slipped out of Wylan’s left eye again, his nose scrunched up in pain. But Jesper continues to hold his position.

Finally, after what feels like hours, Wylan’s face slowly relaxes and he blinks his eyes open. His irises have gone a lighter shade of blue, almost turquoise due to the held-back tears and redness in the whites. His lower half begins to slowly fall limp, his feet dropping down onto the mattress again. Jesper stays completely still until Wylan meets his gaze, and with a shaky exhale, he says, “Keep going.”

Jesper puts a hand on Wylan’s hip and the other on his cheek, wiping the remnants of tears away with his thumb as he finally moves forward again, cock slowly going deeper and deeper inside Wylan until the entire shaft has disappeared. Once settled inside, Jesper keeps strong eye contact with Wylan, and though a bit of tension has returned to his jaw, he makes no vocal complaint nor does his lower half tense up again. His eyes are still open, wide, and the tears that gathered have dissipated. He lets out a sigh of relief and nods, urging Jesper on.

Jesper pulls out slowly, down to the tip, and then surges forward again in a deep, slow thrust. Wylan’s body shifts with the movement, stomach rolling up and chest heaving. He sighs out again.

Jesper continues the thrust again, slightly changing the angle to reach a bit deeper, a bit higher, and then again, aiming lower. Wylan makes no audible reaction, and his body seems to only be going along with the power of Jesper’s thrusts.

“You okay?” Jesper pants, and perhaps the slowness of the thrusts has taken more out of him than he thought. 

Wylan nods, blinking down at the space between them, at his flagging cock. “Maybe a little harder?” Wylan suggests.

Jesper complies, pulling out and driving in faster than before, his knees nearly giving out when Wylan’s body surges backwards, the power driving his head further up on the pillow. Still no reaction. Jesper thrusts again, faster, and then faster again, hoping and waiting for a sigh, a groan, a whimper, or even a complaint. 

“Again.” Wylan says when Jesper pulls out, and while he’s thrusting himself forward, Wylan lifts his legs back up onto Jesper’s hips, only for him to squeak and tense up, head falling back into the pillow almost as if he’s fallen unconscious. 

“Wylan?” Jesper asks, stinting his movements, but Wylan’s feet dig into his buttocks and drive him further forward, holding Jesper’s cock in place as his hips thrust up and down, thighs tight around Jesper’s hips. Jesper gives a shallow thrust and Wylan chokes out a moan.

“Fuck,” Jesper groans, thrusting again in the little movement he has, bracketed between Wylan’s vice-like grip around his hips and the deepest reaches of Wylan’s insides, the movements shallow, but seemingly enough to make Wylan get lost in his own thrusts, his groin drilling up into Jesper’s stomach, cock tight and swollen, seemingly painful.

Jesper let’s go of Wylan’s hip and wraps his fingers around the base of Wylan’s dick, gripping tightly as he flicks his wrist in tandem with his thrusts, up and down as he goes in and out, Wylan’s groans growing louder. Jesper reminds himself of where they are, and though he’d love for someone to walk in and watch this merchling be properly fucked by a Barrel Brat, he has a second mind to bring his free hand over Wylan’s mouth to quiet him. He leans forward, whispering through bated breath, “Quiet, milleof.” 

Wylan groans again, the sound deadened through his hand, a sharp exhale of breath releasing through his nose. Jesper continues thrusting his hips forward, snapping his wrist up and down on Wylan’s cock, hitting his prostate on every upstroke, rubbing his thumb into the slit as Wylan grinds into his skin, any friction he can find egging him on further and further.

Jesper can feel Wylan’s fingers curl into the back of his neck, fingernails digging in and running down his back while Wylan grasps for stability, losing control of his movements as his hips drive forward too fast for Jesper to keep up with, trying to match his rhythm. Their groins clash together almost too painfully as sweat slicks up the back of Jesper’s thighs, and he takes grip of both of Wylan’s legs - risking leaving Wylan’s mouth free and open - and pushing them further up his back, nearly reaching his shoulders, taking control as he’s finally free to move without restrictions. He rears back, down to the tip, feeling as his balls tense up when he surges forward again with nearly reckless abandon, the headboard of the bed mere centimeters away from hitting the wall. One of Wylan’s hands grips at his chest, clenching tightly around his collarbone as he loses complete control, each thrust hitting his prostate directly, and he comes with a stunted yell that he cuts off by throwing his arm over his mouth, teeth digging into his forearm.

Jesper’s movements are restricted once again as Wylan’s entire body clenches up due to his orgasm, and the tightness around his cock as well as one more deep thrust pulling a sob from Wylan’s mouth causes him to also tilt over the edge of conscious thought, and he quite possibly shouts as well, thrusting deeper and harder until the headboard really does hit the wall, and he releases into Wylan right as his body falls limp.

_-_-_

Several minutes later, Jesper finds himself half-naked, running a hand through a very naked and very tired Wylan’s hair. 

“You know what I just realized?” Wylan mutters, his eyes closed, an arm wrapped around Jesper’s bicep. 

“What’s that?” Jesper asks, pulling the sheet up a bit higher to cover Wylan’s chest. He seems to appreciate it. 

“You never told me your name.” Wylan goes quiet for a moment. “I understand if you want to tell me a fake one, though.”

Jesper contemplates. Honestly, he has no reason to tell Wylan his real name. He has no reason to get attached to this random merchant’s son, and if it wasn’t for Kaz insisting he collects information, he never would have even met Wylan. And, well, if he had done his job correctly, he probably would never have any reason to see Wylan again. 

But he knows Kaz won’t be happy with the information he brings back, and will probably even call him out for procrastinating from doing the job - which technically is slightly true, though it never had anything to do with being unable to, just that he couldn’t find it in himself to interrogate this boy when there were so many more interesting things to do with him instead. 

Finally, after minutes of thinking and Wylan almost seems as if he’s fallen asleep, Jesper whispers, “Jesper.”

Wylan stays silent for a moment, and Jesper is sure he really did nod off, but he replies with, “Is it Zemeni?”

Jesper chuckles and nods, “Yeah, I’m from there.”

“I knew it,” Wylan declares.

“Uh huh,” Jesper responds sarcastically, “sure you did.”

“I really did. You have a slight accent to your Kerch. I’ve spent all night trying to place it.”

“Oh yeah? So what gave it away?” Jesper is aware he has a very slight lilt of his birth-tongue in his voice, but no one has ever really pointed it out so directly. Ketterdam is full of several people from all over the world; it’s not unusual to hear amalgamations of accents in the Barrel, and Jesper seemed to get along better with some folk because of it. Others, not so much.

Wylan lifts his shoulders in a weak shrug, “Something you said a few minutes ago. I think it translates to ‘sweet’ or ‘honey’, I’m not sure. I just recognized the language.”

Did Jesper slip back into Zemeni? He didn’t even notice. He was a bit preoccupied. 

“Thank you for telling me.” Wylan finishes, and Jesper can physically feel as his body relaxes and is pulled into sleep. He curls closer in on himself in his sleep, and Jesper continues to run his fingers through Wylan’s hair for a few more minutes.

If only he could stay here the rest of the night, but Bollinger is probably about ready to sound an alarm of him not returning, so with a long stretch and suppressing a groan as his joints click at the movement, he finally stands up again and makes his way to the window. As quietly as possible, he pulls up on the latch and pushes out, one of the panes creaking on its hinges. 

He chances a glance back at Wylan, still curled up on the bed. Jesper pulled the sheet back up over his body after moving, and he looks so content, if a bit troubled. Maybe he noticed Jesper leaving and is seeking some form of comfort in his absence.

Jesper hesitates at the window. In any other instance, he would just jump, probably tumble and make a huge ruckus, and then be on his way, possibly with others in pursuit of him. But tonight, he doesn’t want to risk Wylan being caught. With the way his father spoke to him earlier, it’s very likely Wylan would get in huge trouble if he was caught climbing out his window in the middle of the night. Though, it seems Wylan gets berated no matter what he does, so Jesper doesn’t want to run the risk of making it worse for him.

God damn it. He should just leave. The boy will be fine. Once he’s in Belendt, maybe he’ll find an excuse to go visit him without his father’s knowledge.

But at the same time, he feels uncomfortable leaving Wylan here, alone, after overhearing such a heated conversation earlier. It’s ridiculous, Wylan will be off to school in only a matter of weeks; there’s no need for Jesper to interfere.

But Kaz. Kaz will complain he didn’t get enough information and might send him back, which is an even bigger risk. Van Eck said Wylan was to stay inside until his departure in a few weeks. Would it be so unbelievable that the boy possibly ran away?

Yes. It is absolutely unbelievable. If Wylan was that unhappy, he could have escaped ages ago if he really wanted to. Or maybe that’s just what Jesper wants to think - that every person has the ability to escape the predicament they’re in. Jesper escaped from the boring daily life on the farm, and once again the lackluster university that was chalked up way more than it deserved. Inej escaped from the greedy hands of that damn peacock at the Menagerie, Nina escaped Fjerdans, Kaz escaped whatever demons he fraternized with in hell. 

Not all of them are necessarily better off, but at least to him, the Barrel has afforded him more opportunities than he ever would’ve thought possible. Of course, it’s a high-risk lifestyle, but that’s the fun of it.

Would Wylan be cut out for it? Has he ever even considered it?

Damn it, why does Wylan have to be asleep. He should’ve asked if he wanted to join him. Inviting someone to the Barrel never seems like the best idea, but when has Jesper ever had a good idea?

Plus, Kaz still wants information. Might as well bring the source to him.

So, without allowing any more annoying thoughts of this is the worst idea ever you idiot invading his mind, he returns to the bed where Wylan is still sleeping, and hoists him onto his back

Now the fall is going to be even heavier. He should’ve asked Inej to teach him some wall climbing techniques. 

Alas, this is all he has. And just as he would any other time, he takes the leap without another thought. 

Wylan jostles on his back, but somehow, miraculously, Jesper manages to stay on his feet and doesn’t drop the boy on the way down. Huh. Maybe Inej did bless him before he left. Immediately after hitting the ground, though, he backs up to the wall, feeling a thorn prick at his thighs as he tries to flush himself with the concrete. 

The walk around the building is slow and methodical, and he’s already returned to being on alert, ears open, eyes wide - a demeanor required to survive in the Barrel. As well as escaping important mercher mansions with an important merchling perched on his back. 

Surprisingly, there doesn’t seem to be much security around Van Eck’s at night. It’s possible they all go in at night and sleep without a single worry about what could get in, or get out, in this instance. Such a life is laughable only a few miles down. 

He gets outside the gate relatively easy, though not having the lock-pick abilities like Kaz does make the process a lot longer than it has any right to be. He closes it safe behind him, glancing up at Wylan’s window on the side of the house. It’s still pushed open, making it seem like Wylan did in fact just escape on his own and had no intention of hiding it. 

Bollinger is waiting exactly where he told Jesper he would be, and he quirks an eyebrow at the dead weight on Jesper’s shoulders. 

“What? He told me to get information.”

Bollinger shrugs, “Whatever you say, man. Kaz didn’t tell me we’d be stealing a kid, but that’s his business, not mine.”

Jesper has never been more thankful for Kaz’s infuriating tendency to leave out vital information until the moment it’s important enough to mention. Jesper never even thought to ask what Bollinger was told to do tonight because it’s not even like Kaz would ever tell him. As long as they both complete their jobs, it doesn’t matter who knows what to the Bastard of the Barrel.

The walk back to the Slat is slightly awkward, or maybe it feels that way because this is the first time he’s had to walk with a person on his back who isn’t black-out drunk, nor is he three pages to the wind himself. He’s made such a walk multiple times in much rougher states and situations, and he wasn’t nearly coherent to care enough if anyone was sending them confused glances. That’s the guise he’ll go with if anyone asks.

The Club is still not too busy, considering how early in the night it is for party-goers, so Jesper is able to make his way up to Kaz’s office without much of a fuss. Pim sends him a suggestive look, waggling his eyebrows when he catches sight of Wylan. Jesper just rolls his eyes and shakes his head, knocking on Kaz’s door.

He can hear the familiar clicking of Kaz’s cane on the floor getting closer until the door swings open, and Kaz lets him in. 

“The hell.” He says, deadpan, looking at Wylan. “Why do you have Van Eck’s son.”

Jesper steps into the room and places Wylan on the couch, if only to give himself a second of rest before he has to surely carry him somewhere else after giving his report. “You told me to get you information. Bollinger will talk to you soon--”

Kaz’s gaze is sharp when Jesper turns around. “ Jesper. Do you have any clue who this is?”

“Yeah. The target. Your information.” Jesper opens his arms wide, gesturing to Wylan like he’s a present. “And also Van Eck’s son, even though the man doesn’t seem to appreciate his son at all so I decided--”

“That,” Kaz steps in front of Jesper, pointing a finger at Wylan until Jesper drops his arms, “is not the target. That is Van Eck’s fucking son, who I did not tell you to kidnap. I told you to talk to Alys Van Eck, who I sure hope you don’t have stowed away somewhere. Jesper, what the hell were you thinking?”

Alys. Wylan’s sister? “Well, either way, I brought you your information.”

“No, you didn’t. You brought me the son of a very important merchant whose bad side we definitely do not want to be on. He will turn this city upside down looking for Wylan - why the hell did you think this was a good idea.”

“No, listen, I have it all figured out. Wylan’s supposed to be going to a music school in Belendt in a few weeks, so I thought we just keep him here until he’s scheduled to go. Van Eck wanted Wylan to stay out of the public eye until then so it’s perfect, and if Van Eck investigates, Wylan will just tell him he decided to leave early.”

Kaz scowls, “And what makes you think this kid will just agree to such a ridiculous story?”

Jesper looks back at Wylan, thinking back on the horrible things his father said to him only a few hours ago. Maybe Jesper was stupid to think Wylan would want to come to the Barrel, that he’d be comfortable bunking with criminals for a few weeks, but he’s sure of at least one thing. “He’s better off here than at home. Trust me, he’ll go along with it.”

And maybe, possibly, Wylan might just consider staying.