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Every time when a job took a lot longer than what Kaz had estimated, you were fearing of the worst. It didn’t happen often, but still too often for you. And this time, they were more late than ever. Every passing minute, you became more and more sure that they were either imprisoned or dead, and you clenched your fist anxiously as you sat there alone.
Jesper was the love of your life and had been that since you met in Ketterdam University. You were the one who ran to Kaz and begged him to save your friend from a beating, and maybe Kaz saw potential in him as he went there and immediately the goons beating Jesper jumped off, colors drained off their faces and they looked at each other like deer caught in headlights before running away. A wise choice when the most ruthless teenager was glaring at them.
“They bloodied my shirt,” Jesper had said with his hands over his chest. “They ruined my coat.”
“But you’re not dead, are you?” you had asked, kneeling next to him on the cobblestoned ground. He leaned against the wall, breathing hard through his mouth. Kaz looked at you two sitting there, narrowing his eyes at Jesper as he waited for you to speak.
You stood up, helping Jesper to stand up too. “Kaz, this is Jesper, he’s my boyfriend. He’s a very skillful with guns, you could have use for him.”
Kaz’s eyes ran up and down Jesper’s form and took in a deep sigh. “Useful or not, he owns to the Dregs now.”
Jesper took one look at Kaz and his eyes widened. “Wait, you didn’t tell me Dirtyhands is your best friend?”
Kaz looked at you. “Best friend?”
“Well, we’ve stuck together since you joined the Dregs, I do think of you as my best friend.” You said and squeezed Jesper’s hand tight.
Kaz rolled his eyes. “We’re acquaintances. Hardly anything else.”
“If you say so,” you smirked, looking at Jesper who gave you a soft kiss on the cheek. “Come along then, let’s get to our base and wash that blood off.”
You were taken away from your flashback as you heard some shuffling from the front door and saw Kaz coming in first, then Inej, Matthias and finally… Jesper. You immediately jumped down the barstool and ran over to Jesper, throwing yourself into his arms with such force that he fell over and you immediately let tears to flow on his coat.
“Don’t you ever do that again!” you choked out as a sob against his shoulder, and he pulled you tighter against him, stroking your back softly while holding you with one arm around your shoulders. He shushed you.
“I’m here now, love. I’m alright. Still my handsome self.” He smiled as you pulled back, only now noticing that you were lying on the ground and got off Jesper. You wiped your eyes with a small laugh, realising how excited you had been to learn they were all alive.
“What took you so long?” you asked them, and Kaz sighed.
“Not important. I have to make another plan,” he said and immediately started to make his way upstairs. You looked at Jesper in question, and he sighed.
“There was this girl who was drunk and she just started praising Kaz’s looks and said um…”
“Indecorous and vulgar comments. Please do not repeat them. They are coming into my dreams in form of nightmares anyway.” Matthias interrupted him, and you blinked at the drüskelle before snorting. It was hard to imagine someone being like that to Kaz, but the girl was probably too drunk to recognize who Kaz is.
“And then we had hard time to make her leave and not alert the guards.” Inej sighed. “And eventually we had to leave early, we made it only halfway.”
You nodded and then helped Jesper up from the floor, cuddling up beside him. “I’m just happy you guys are alright.” you murmured, kissing his cheek softly. Jesper chuckled, swinging his arm around you.
“We should go to sleep, love,” he murmured and you nodded, yawning. You were so tired after today, but knowing you got to cuddle beside Jesper once more made your heart be at ease and you’d fall asleep fast. Knowing there was no danger that night, he’s right there beside you, holding you. And that made you feel so safe, so warm, that your body slowly relaxed until you drifted off in his arms.