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– Why am I here again… ?
– Oh come on, this is going to go without a hitch. Can’t you hear the sound of money in there ?
– I can mostly hear the sound of a lot of security… Are we sure this is the best plan we could have come up with?
– I trust Kaz.
– That’s not an answer, but whatever… Let’s go…
Wylan wasn’t really looking forward to this mission for a few reasons. The plan relied too much on trusting people to be idiots, in his opinion – but in Kaz’s defence, most people were stupid, and didn’t care enough to look too closely at a story that looked good enough. The other reason was that while Jesper was looking smart in a burgundy suit and matching hat, Wylan was navigating the marble tiles of the DeVries mansion in a green and pink meringue of a dress.
He nearly grumbled a curse, and at once, Jesper was at his side.
– What’s the matter ? You’re not usually this grumpy…
Wylan shrugged, something rather hard to accomplish without the sleeves slipping all the way down his arms. How did women wear these clothes without problem amazed him… Nina had done her very best to keep things in place with pins and laces and stuffing, but he could feel the frilly chemise tickle his stomach and especially the damn high heels that were a menace…
– Jesper, I look ridiculous !
– You look lovely ~
– You’re not the one wearing a petticoat and a bloody chemise, and I’m probably going to break my neck tripping over this bloody hem…
– I’ll catch you before you fall, trust me ~
– Keep your hands to yourself, Mr Fahey… We’re supposed to be discreet.
– Yes, yes, we are the respectable Mr and Mrs van der Berg, come to admire the Duchess of Bliem’s jewellery collection. Keep an eye out, hm?
“An eye out” in this case meant looking out for the exits, the blind spots, all and any hiding places, and especially how to get to the room where the jewels were kept. Wylan would draw a rough diagram as soon as they were out, but for now, they had an entire evening to pretend to be who they said they were. Once again he wished Nina or Inej were in his place, but the descriptions of Mrs van der Berg was that she was very petite, had short blonde hair, and was very shy. No amount of acting or makeup or blind luck could make that apply to either of the girls, so there had been no other choice. As for “her” dashing husband, he was apparently a Suli-born minor noble. Jesper was neither, but since Suli and Zemeni were apparently interchangeable to most people...
And no matter how much he was painfully aware of the ten thousand ways it could go wrong, it was all totally worth it to watch Jesper charm his way into the throng of people, looking like he belonged.
“Don’t get distracted”. Kaz’s last words to them before they left were ringing around in his mind, and he doubled down on the mission. Jesper was
(probably)
(maybe)
doing the same thing while sweet-talking his way through any conversation, the perfect image of a rich and charming gentleman.
And then finally, a door opened on the side of the main ballroom and the duchess herself walked forward, greeting her guests with easy smiles. The river of diamonds and silver sparkled at her throat and was answered by the earrings and the bracelets, and a very large solitaire at her left hand. So many diamonds…
Wylan hoped that his staring wouldn’t be considered suspicious and nearly jumped when an arm snaked around his waist.
– Could you not warn me – ?!
– Look at those beautiful diamonds… How many kruge would even one fetch, do you think?
– I don’t know...a thousand? Maybe more?
– Imagine what could happen with a thousand of them...a thousand times a thousand kruge… Saints, that would be enough for us to have a bit of fun for a few weeks….
– If they’re even real.
– Spoken like a true merchling. Or a true thief.
Wylan noticed that Jesper was starting to fidget, fingers drumming on his belt. It was a tell, something he couldn’t hide or control, and it was all due to the fact that his guns weren’t at his side, like they always where. He had seen Jes without his guns a grand total of three times since meeting the Crows – the man slept with them so close to the bed that Wylan had jokingly offered to leave the three of them alone the first time they’d spent the night together. But of course, no respectful gentleman would be seen with something so vulgar as a firearm, so the beautiful pearl-inlaid revolvers were currently hidden under Wylan’s poofy meringue of a dress.
Kaz hadn’t been very happy with the idea but he hadn’t tried to convince Jesper to leave them behind, so a this special hiding-place had been quickly found. Wylan could feel them each time he walked, the holsters heavy and foreign and making him move with caution – and Jesper’s hand sliding down his back wasn’t helping.
– Concentrate, Jesper…
– I am very concentrated ~
– You’re incorrigible. And keep your hands to yourself.
Jesper simply grinned and Wylan knew he was fighting a losing battle. He could argue until he was blue in the face, and point out that they had something to do and that it was important, but nothing would keep Jesper from doing what Jesper wanted to do. And to be fair, Wylan was fighting against himself.
It wasn’t a good idea, it was the worst idea, it was a stupid idea and it was a dangerous idea, but he was already bothered enough as it was with the leather holsters rubbing between his legs, and Jesper was all warm breath and agile hands playing with the buttons at the waistline of the dress…
– We should probably check out some dark places… Just in case we missed something…
– Jes… Kaz said to avoid distractions !
– You know what ? Fuck Kaz…
Wylan had no intention of doing that at any point in time whatsoever. No-one at the gathering was looking at them, all too engrossed in the dazzling display of diamonds and glasses of champagne, so he took Jesper at his word and dragged him into one of the dark and empty corridors. He was probably red as a beetroot, and it only got worse when he heard Jesper’s low laugh tickling his ear.
– Easy, easy… I’m not going anywhere ~
– Better not, not that you’ve got me in this state!
– Is my Wy all hot and bothered ? I wonder what could possibly be the cause ~
The cause was the infuriatingly gorgeous man who was currently running a hand the long of Wylan’s leg under the skirt, and taking a horribly long time about it. Jesper knew exactly how to make Wylan blush to high heavens, of course he did, and Wylan bit back a tiny moan.
Which of course, Jesper picked up on, and moved his hand again, fingers playing on one of the holsters.
– Just making sure my beauties are still here.
– Jesper.
– Hmhm~ ?
Jesper’s hand crept up even higher and this time Wylan grabbed onto his boyfriend’s shoulders, stifling his shuddering breath in the other man’s neck. Saints, the man was a menace! Wylan was certain that his moan had been heard over the sound of the socialising being done in the main room, but nothing happened. At least nothing in the other room, because something was definitely happening between his legs.
– Jes…
– Hmmm...my three favourite things in one same place ~
– You absolute…-- !
Wylan didn’t even know how he would have finished the sentence because everything happened all at once : Jesper picked him up like he weighed nothing, propped him against the wall, and happily started to kiss his way up Wylan’s thighs.
Fuck.
Fuck…
Jesper wasn’t going to stop. Wylan knew him well enough and had given enough encouragement, and honestly? He didn’t want Jesper to stop. He didn’t want to do anything except tighten his legs around Jesper’s neck, brace an arm against the wall and clamp his other hand over his mouth. A fuzzy though in his mind was that he’d never noticed how strong Jesper actually was – holding him up against a wall with only one arm while the other was very deftly pulling underwear aside – and then he didn’t have a thought left in his mind as soon as he felt Jesper’s mouth on him. It was hot and wet and even with a hand in front of his mouth, Wylan couldn’t help but choke out a moan. And in response, Jesper began to move a little faster, his tongue doing
that
bloody
damn
thing
that made Wylan tremble. He was humming as he was sucking and licking, making Wylan’s breath hitch and whistle, and with every extra stroke up or down his thigh or on his stomach, Jesper’s rings left sensitive trails everywhere they brushed.
It was testimony to Wylan’s concentration that he hadn’t simply exploded at the first hint of friction… His skin was burning and he could feel the pressure mounting – he was certain the entire ballroom could hear his moans and breathy pleas of encouragement, and he couldn’t care less. He let go of the wall, curled both hands around Jesper’s neck, far underneath the stupid frilly dress, and very nearly growled.
– Jesper Fahey, you...you’d better finish what you started...or I swear – !!
And then just like that –just like that – Jesper gave a last little nudge and Wylan jerked his hips and let fly a keening cry, all the pressure bursting out of him. All he could see were stars and it took a while for him to get the rushing noise out of his ears and to hear the perfectly happy sound that was Jesper laughing.
– If I’d known how you’d react to wearing a ballgown, I’d probably have asked you to wear one sooner, Sunshine ~
– Jesper…
Clarity was coming back with the force of a well-aimed punch and Wylan began setting the pins that had slipped and making sure his chemise wasn’t poking out of the ides of the stays and how the hell did girls do this…??
– Jesper, we have to leave.
– No time for a last glass of champagne ~ ? Or even one, I haven’t even had one glass, can you imagine?
– I need to draw the layout, and I need to do that before I forget everything… Can you help me, instead of looking?
– I like to look ~
Jesper sauntered over and began putting all the things where they were supposed to go, hid the things that were supposed to be hidden and laced the back of the dress back into something resembling a dress that hadn’t been mussed up against a wall. Wylan knew he was still red from all the previous ministrations, and the kisses Jesper was peppering in his neck while lacing up the dress were certainly not helping. And once he’d finished, he made sure his own clothes were more or less alright, giving Wylan a little wink.
– I agree… We have to leave ~
– What…? Oh…
And with one last grin, Jesper took Wylan by the waist once again and they both fell back into the throng, heading for the exit.
*
Two weeks later, after a heist that went off without a hitch, they were huddled in a back-room of the Crow Club, looking with vague displeasure at the thirty-three carved pieces of rock crystal.