Work Text:
The clock in the square chimes at six bells. The Slat is quiet as the sun slips beyond the horizon to the west. Jesper packs slowly, his fingers lingering on the coat that Wylan had cheekily told him just the other day brought out his eyes. He bites the corner of his lip to hide the smile that forms just thinking about it.
His smile falters when he thinks of what comes next. When he thinks of the risk ahead. The danger and gamble of barrel life is much less of a thrill when the cost is someone else’s life instead of his. When it’s Wylan’s life on the line.
A sharp knock sounds behind him and he jumps, grabbing the coat and shoving it in his knapsack.
A metal crows head rests on his door.
“We have to get moving,” Kaz rasps.
Jesper straightens.
“Now?” He asks skeptically. “It’s only six bells.”
“The plan’s changed.”
Jesper throws his bag over his shoulder, spins his revolvers into their holsters, and darts towards Kaz.
“I’ll go get—“
“No time,” Kaz growls. “I sent Inej to the workshop to get him. Nina and Matthias have gone ahead to Fifth Harbor to ready the boat.”
“Is that wise?” Jesper asks. “They could get lost in each other’s eyes before we’re able to set sail.”
Kaz pauses and raises an eyebrow.
“Is it wise for me to take you as back up in what is likely to be an ambush, when I know you’re thinking about nothing but Wylan right now?”
Jesper ducks his head and smirks.
“Well if you’re promising an ambush, you have some of my attention.”
“Come on,” Kaz says as his cane clacks against the stone floor.
They don’t even make it halfway to Fifth Harbor before gunshots ring out and the sounds of a crow head cane striking flesh and bone echo through the streets.
When they make it to the boat, Matthias has blood oozing above his right eye, the redness indicating he’ll be sporting an impressive black eye in the days to come. Nina’s hair is out of its intricate updo and the bodice of her elegant dress is ripped cleanly on the left side. There’s a dark stain at the edges but it doesn’t look like it’s spreading.
“There’s three of them,” she gasps as she reaches toward Matthias’ eye to calm the swelling. “They were waiting for us on the boat.”
“Where are they now?”
Matthias’ hand starts toward the rip in Nina’s dress.
“Tied up in the brig,” he says harshly.
Nina touches her hand to his eye and the Fjerdan pulls away with a hiss.
“Calm down, you big lump.” She scowls at him and huffs when she can’t get a good angle on his eye. She shoves him onto one of the barrels and slides between his knees.
“Hold still. Even with my quick hands this is going to bruise badly.”
Matthias presses a hand to her side to make sure the wound he saw there is no longer spreading, and then relaxes into Nina’s touch.
“Inej and Wylan?”
Nina clenches her jaw and looks over her shoulder at Kaz. Jesper feels his stomach fall to his knees and he looks toward the direction of Wylan’s workshop. He takes off running back down the gangplank and across the harbor.
He hears the crashing of glass as he approaches the workshop door and is reaching for the buttons on his coat before he’s even down the stairs. He doesn’t hesitate to bury them in the skull of the man holding Wylan against the wall by his neck.
Jesper expects Wylan to catch himself on the way down but his head lolls to the side and he lands in a crumpled heap.
Wylan’s name punches out of Jesper’s chest like a bullet. Inej is locked in combat with another man, but Jesper’s cry makes him falter and she doesn’t hesitate to bury a knife in his gut.
“Jesper,” Inej gasps, “he’s wounded. We have to get him to Nina.”
Jesper runs to Wylan and rolls him on his side. His eyes are half closed. He lifts his face to find Jesper but his eyes aren’t focusing on anything in front of him. He’s shaking. Spots of blood dot his pale lips.
“Jes,” he rasps, and his breath catches when his chest spasms with pain.
“Hi, sweetheart. I’m going to pick you up now, okay.”
Jesper has to swallow his tears when Wylan bites back a scream. Jesper can feel something wet seeping into his waistcoat where their bodies touch.
He runs to the schooner, the only thing reassuring him that Wylan is still alive are the small gasps he chokes out when Jesper jostles him too hard. He whispers a repetitive apology into Wylan’s messy dark hair as Inej follows close behind, knives ready in case anyone comes back for them.
As they scramble onto the boat, he hears Nina swear loudly.
“Help us,” he gasps.
He looks down at Wylan and his eyes are closed now. For a heart stopping moment, Jesper fears they are just seconds too late.
“He’s alive,” Nina says calmly. “I just helped him rest.”
Kaz starts roaring orders at their crew, his dark eyes glinting murderously as he takes in the three of them. Outside the harbor, a bigger boat, two more heartrenders, and a privateer wait for them. If they can get to the Volkvolny, they’ll have more help managing the wounds the night has brought.
Jesper follows Nina below decks with Wylan still bundled in his arms.
“Nina,” Kaz growls. “Send one of those men up here when you get a chance. I want to know who sent them.”
“For saints sake, Brekker,” Nina mutters.
“I will do it,” Matthias grunts from above. “Let Nina work.”
As Matthias roughly shoves a man up the stairs to the upper deck, Nina gestures for Jesper to set Wylan down on one of the bunks. Jesper hesitates. The loss of contact with Wylan will make him feel empty, restless.
“Someone’s going to need to hold his hand, Fahey.”
He looks up to meet Nina’s unbearably soft, pitying gaze and swallows. He nods and gently lays Wylan down on the bed. He curls protectively at his side, holding his hand in both of his as Nina gets to work.
From here he can see that Wylan is frighteningly pale. He’s got a sheen of sweat across his brow, plastering his messy hair to his forehead. His hair is matted down on one side by blood. More blood flows steadily out of a wound in his side.
“Jesper,” Nina says urgently. Based on her tone of voice, she’s been saying his name repeatedly. She even snaps her fingers in front of his face.
“There’s a bullet in him. I can’t try to patch him up unless you get it out.”
Rage boils up into Jesper’s chest. He wants to scream. He doesn’t understand who would do this. He doesn’t understand why. If someone wanted to stop them, they should have gone after Kaz, Inej, Nina, him. Even Matthias would be a more obvious threat. But these men went to Wylan’s workshop. They were looking for Wylan.
While the Crows all know that Wylan might be the smartest, most cunning member of their crew after Kaz, no one else is supposed to know that. Wylan’s sweet face and large doe eyes make most people underestimate their demolitions expert.
He runs a hand through Wylan’s hair and looks up at Nina. She nods.
“I’ll keep him calm.”
Even with Nina’s influence, Wylan’s breath hitches as Jesper reaches for the bullet. He wants to take it out slowly, carefully, make sure it comes out the same way it went in. As the bullet comes free, Wylan’s eyes fly open and he grabs at Jesper’s coat. His breathing is ragged, coming out in half sobs.
Jesper and Nina both reach for him to try to calm him. Nina is able to get Wylan to settle back into a fitful sleep, but now Jesper is crying too. Above them, a man has started screaming.
As Nina continues her work, Jesper climbs into the bunk and rests Wylan’s head in his lap. Minutes, maybe hours go by.
The tap of a cane sounds at the top of the stairs and two sets of feet come rushing down. Tolya and Tamar sprint down the stairs to join Nina, along with a new grisha on Mal’s crew that was trained as a healer.
Wylan’s color returns slowly. His breathing evens out. He relaxes into Jesper’s arms.
“I managed to get some information from one of the men before they all tragically fell overboard,” Kaz announces from the shadows.
Nina and Jesper look up at him and he gramaces as he looks at Wylan’s sleeping form.
“A mercher hired them. It was an ordered hit.”
“On Wylan?” Jesper asks incredulously. “Why would the merchant council order a hit on Wylan? They’re the ones that hired us.”
Kaz tightens his grip on the head of his cane.
“Indeed.”
Kaz’s eyes remain fixed on Wylan. Wylan coughs in Jespers arms and Jesper startles when he realizes Wylan’ eyes are open.
“Which mercher?” Wylan rasps as he pulls himself up to properly sit in Jesper’s lap. He’s panting with the exertion, but he rests his head on Jesper’s shoulder. Jesper pulls him close and buries his nose in Wylan’s sweaty hair. He thanks Alina, Neyar, even Zoya, that Wylan is still alive. That he found him in time.
Kaz raises an eyebrow and clenches his jaw.
“Ah,” Wylan says. Jesper feels him tense in his arms.
“I’m missing something,” Nina blurts.
Wylan takes a deep breath.
“That’s um,” Wylan swallows and fixes his gaze on a spot in the corner of the room. “That’s not the first time someone on the merchant council has tried to kill me?”
Jesper stills. He feels like someone has grabbed all the iron in his blood again and tried to make it flow a different direction. He feels like he’s been hit over the head with Kaz’s cane.
“What?” He finally manages.
Wylan looks up at him through his dark, stupidly thick eyelashes and purses his lips. His jaw clenches for a long time and Jesper presses a kiss into his jumping muscle to try to ease the tension.
“What’s this about?” He murmurs into Wylan’s skin.
Wylan’s gaze unfocuses and Nina places her hands on both their arms.
“His blood pressure is really high, Jesper. We might need to wait to get answers.”
Jesper scans his love’s face and nods. A cold sweat has broken out across Wylans brow again, and he’d rather have a well rested and healed Wylan than the answers he so desperately wants now.
As Nina eases Wylan back to sleep, Jesper untangles himself and follows Kaz up the stairs.
“What does he mean?” he demands.
“I promised you a time ago I wouldn’t go spilling your secrets,” Kaz says easily. “I promised the same to him. This should be something he tells you himself.”
As the click of Kaz’s cane gets further away, Mal comes to take his place.
“How is he?” he asks.
“He’s been better,” Jesper admits.
“Do you think you’ll be able to transfer him to the Volkvolny soon? I have better quarters he can rest comfortably in. She probably rocks less than this little schooner too.”
Jesper bites his lip and nods.
By the time he’s back downstairs, the team of grisha that had been fretting at Wylan’s bedside has dispersed. Wylan is sitting upright talking to Nina and Inej. He’s still too pale for Jesper’s liking, but some of the spark has returned in his eyes.
Wylan’s eyes sparkle a little brighter when he sees Jesper coming down the stairs. Jesper stares at him, bright and alive, and for a moment he has to stop and drink it all in. Wylan smiles shyly at him and looks back at Nina and Inej to hide his larger smile.
Jesper takes a few long strides and throws his arm around Wylan's shoulder. He peppers kisses onto his hair and laughs with a relief that he can feel in his bones.
Later, Wylan is resting on a hammock below decks on the Volkvolny. He looks so small in the large hammock. His shirt, one he stole quickly from Jesper when he realized his was ruined, hangs loose on him and exposes the edges of the new scar on his torso. Jesper swallows audibly when he catches sight of it.
Wylan’s eyes dart up to him and he curls in on himself.
“I owe you an explanation,” he says softly.
Jesper blinks at him.
“No,” He says slowly. “I buried my buttons in the skull of the man who owes me an explanation.”
Wylan purses his lips and looks up at Jesper through his dark, thick lashes. Jesper knows he’s on bed rest (hammock rest?) at the moment, but that look always inspires the want to pin Wylan against the wall and kiss him breathless. He has to shake himself a little to banish the thought. The looks on Wylan’s face is serious, not playful.
“I can see a lot of gears turning in that gorgeous head of yours,” Jesper says gently.
“Jan Van Eck,” Wyaln blurts out and averts his gaze. He wrings his hands in his lap. Jesper can't stand silences, but he doesn't want to spook Wylan by offering him too much encouragement.
“Jan Van Eck is my father.”
And hold on, that is not what Jesper expected him to say. He takes a second to process. The hurried scramble to the boats. Kaz sending Inej to go find Wylan. “Which mercher” Wylan had asked. This wasn’t the first time. This wasn’t the first time his father had tried to kill him.
“We can't protect you.” Kaz’s words from that long ago breakfast come back to slap him in the face.
Wylan peeks over at him again and sighs.
“My father hired every tutor in Kerch to try and teach me to read? I- It didn’t work. The letters just get so, so jumbled, o-on the page, and I could never – never really make any sense of them. When my father married his new wife, she became pregnant with his new heir, someone he assumed wouldn’t be a complete failure and could inherit his business instead of me, and I-I guess he started looking for a way to discredit me of my inheritance.”
Jesper can feel his face heating up with anger. He reaches over and stills Wylan’s restless fingers, and Wylan flinches away for a moment before he leans into the touch and takes a step out of the memory that's haunting him in his head.
Wylan steals another quick glance at him and continues.
“One day he came to me and says he finally found a place that I could go study, that had accepted his bribes to never tell anyone of my- my affliction.”
Wylan swallows. Jesper squeezes his hand between his.
“The music school in Belendt,” Wylan continues. “ I was so happy. I didn’t care that he was probably going to write me out of his will, I was just so happy. I could go study music. He handed me my papers, and some money, and I was so stupid.”
Jesper searches Wylan’s face.
“I didn’t even try to read them. He knew I wouldn’t.”
Wylan sighs heavily and pulls his hand out of Jesper’s. He crouches in on himself, something Jesper has noticed he does often when he’s ashamed or scared.
“Sweetheart—“ Jesper starts but Wylan shakes his head and cuts him off.
“They were blank, Jes. There was nothing on them.”
“Oh. How did you —“
“When the man my father hired to escort me to school put his hands around my throat and held me over the boat rail. I jumped in the canal when he got distracted.”
The crunching sound to their left startles them both. Jesper realizes with a start that he’s accidentally fabrikated the little water cup Wylan had been using with his restless hands and hot anger. Wylan looks at the crushed cup and huffs out a little laugh.
Jesper looks at him again. Takes in the little furrow between his eyebrows, the tension in his smile lines. Wylan still can’t meet his eyes.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Jesper asks.
Wylan shakes his head.
“Why didn’t I tell you? Tell you that my father tried to have me killed because I can’t read? It’s not exactly an easy thing to bring up over stroopwafels.”
Jesper shrugs.
“I told you,” he says.”I want to stand with you. In front of all the stroopwafels, Daturma Ox things, and even the attempted murders. I’ll make sure I wear vests with extra buttons though if I’m ever to be around your dad.”
“If you kill my dad, we won’t get paid.”
Jesper scans his face, sees the hidden meaning there and gives Wylan a sad smile.
“I’m not above taking off a few fingers then.”
A small smile dances at the corner of Wylan’s mouth and Jesper counts it as a win. He’ll look forward to talking to Kaz and Inej about Van Eck later.
“And Hendriks?”
“It was my mother’s name.”
“Rolls off the tongue a little better than Van Eck, to be honest. Though we could call you Wylan Van Sunshine.”
Wylan scrunches his nose and shakes his head.
“Perhaps just my sunshine, then.”
Wylan looks away from him to hide his growing smile. Jesper reaches out a hand and turns Wylan’s face toward him, very gently. He hesitates, wanting to make sure that Wylan feels well enough, but Wylan surges across the gap for a kiss.
Jesper laughs against his lips and the hammock tilts Wylan a little deeper into his arms.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa sunshine. Let's do this a bit more safely, yeah?”
Jesper climbs into the hammock next to Wylan, and Wylan snuggles himself into Jesper’s side.
“You’re not mad?” Wylan asks.
“Mad? At you?”
Wylan nods.
“No, no, no, no, no. While I am slightly hurt you didn’t tell me you were a merchling —“
Wylan grimaces.
“—no, love, I’m not mad. Not at you.”
Wylan hums and pulls Jesper in for another kiss.
“You’re very handsome when you’re defending my honor,” he says.
Jesper laughs and deepens the kiss. He reaches under Wylan’s shirt and runs his fingers over the raised skin there. It sends another pang of hot anger through him.
His own father did this to him. His own father sent those men.
Kaz sees them curled around each other in the bunk when he comes down later from the upper deck. He looks at Wylan’s sleeping face and then nods at Jesper.
“He’ll pay for it,” he says lowly, so as not to wake Wylan. “I already have a plan.”
Jesper grins and winks at him.