Work Text:
Among the battery operated string lights twirled between fake ivy around the bedframe and soft pillows were Wylan and Jesper, lying in Wylan’s bed in his dorm room. They’d left Wylan’s birthday party early, as the birthday boy was all partied out and Jesper would follow him to the end of the world. It’s not like he could complain about Wylan on top of him, humming a sweet little song, the last song they’d heard before leaving the venue.
“How’re you feeling, baby?” Jesper pushed his fingers through Wylan’s curls, smiling when he closed his eyes and leaned into the touch. They’d had quite a few drinks and that never helped Wylan stay awake, just made him find the nearest soft surface and curl up.
“Feeling…comfy.” Wylan stretched his arms up and out of the blanket, the catlike gesture not going unnoticed by Jesper who moved to softly tickle Wylan’s chin. “I wish I had more cake.”
“You’d make yourself sick,” Jesper gave Wylan his hand willingly when he grabbed at his fingers and opened his eyes so he could look at his boyfriend’s nails again. Nina had been dabbling in doing her own nails and had asked to practice on them, and Jesper was happy to help. Wylan rubbed his fingertips over Jesper’s nails, Nina said they were jelly something or other. All Wylan knew was that they were blue and sparkly. “Tomorrow, we can have more.”
“It was so yummy.” Wylan nodded his head softly, pulling Jesper’s hand to his face and leading it to cup his cheek. Jesper noted that Wylan was sufficiently drunk, face hot to the touch. It was Nina’s doing for offering him so many fruity drinks, Wylan could not say no to something peachy and pink. “I can’t believe Inej made me a cake…”
“And who told Inej what kinda cake you like?” Jesper leaned in and nuzzled his nose against Wylan’s, making him grin widely. Wylan reached out to touch Jesper’s face, he was annoying and had a higher tolerance than him. He also annoyingly didn't get sleepy when he was drunk but instead twice as charismatic.
“Yoooou.” Wylan stroked his thumbs over Jesper’s cheeks lovingly and then plopped his head down on top of his chest, sighing loud. There wasn’t anything wrong but it took Wylan a lot of energy to keep his head up when he was so tired. “Let’s play a game…”
“A game? How about good boys go to bed and rest for a whole 8 hours?” Jesper picked a piece of glitter off of Wylan’s forehead gently, Nina had the bright idea to wear body glitter to Wylan’s party and it had gotten on everyone she even looked at.
“Not that one, not yet,” Wylan kicked his feet softly, because Jesper had that effect on him. He felt like he was under too many blankets right now, he let out a dissatisfied moan and before he complained, Jesper was already tossing the covers back so Wylan had more air. “Pretend I’m some random person trying to flirt with you…”
“Well, I’d have to ask you to get off of me, that is not appropriate.” Jesper said this just to be annoying about it, and Wylan pouted, not even trying to move. Too much effort and he was much too comfortable. At this point he might be stuck to Jesper, and he had no complaints.
“Pretend we’re at a party, and we’re like standing and I come up to you…” Wylan whispered quietly, so quiet in fact that Jesper could barely hear him over the ruffling of the sheets. “Hi, I saw you from across the room and you’re sooo handsome. Can I get your number?”
“Hey, I know I’m handsome, my boyfriend tells me all the time.” Jesper would play along regardless, because Jesper would never say no to a game, and also to roleplay. “I don’t have a phone, actually.”
“Your boyfriend doesn’t have to know,” Wylan murmured, batting his eyes at Jesper and trying to make himself, as a stranger, more enticing. “Then we can get out of here, right now.”
“Wow, bit eager,” Jesper snorted, catching Wylan’s hand that slid down his chest to his stomach, because this was Wylan pretending to not be Wylan but some random person. “I only have eyes for him, I’ll never ever stop loving him.”
“I don’t believe you…” Wylan whispered, wiggling his fingers uselessly in Jesper’s grip. Jesper rolled over quickly and Wylan went with him, squished under his boyfriend for only a second before they were back where they started. “You’re not supposed to get on top of a stranger…”
“I wanted to show how dedicated a lover I am.” Jesper had grabbed his wallet off of the bedside table and opened it up. He deftly supplied Wylan with a polaroid of himself, it was from Christmas last year, when he’d put on reindeer ears. Wylan felt his cheeks getting warmer when Jesper gave him another photo, this one was when they’d taken a bubble bath together. And then one final photo of them kissing, courtesy of Nina who insisted on capturing any and all memories. “See, my betrothed, my angel, my cinnamon apple.”
“I fully thought you were going to pull out a condom.” Wylan admitted, making Jesper snatch back his photos and neatly tuck them back into his wallet. “Which is actually not good to do at all, keep them in your wallet. It wears down over time cause you’re using your wallet so much, even if it looks fine chances are pretty high it’s gonna break.”
“I don’t keep them in my wallet,” Jesper felt like he had to clear his name from this accusation, still listening to Wylan’s explanation. Guess he was never too drunk to share fun facts. “I’ve got one in my bag right now, safe and sound.”
“Yeah?” Wylan asked, and Jesper met his eyes at the sound of his voice. It was easy to miss but Jesper was attuned to all things Wylan. The slightest lilt that meant Wylan was suggesting something.
“If you ask nicely.” Jesper tilted his head to meet the suggestion and Wylan huffed, the blush reaching his ears.
“But it’s my birthday.” It wasn’t, it was just the day of the party.
“I recall already giving you quite the present.” Jesper was being annoying again, so Wylan leaned down to kiss him instead of trying to convince him with his words. As if Jesper needed more convincing than Wylan’s full body weight on him and his eager, wandering hands.
Of course the door chose this time to swing open, and Jesper’s lightning fast reflexes yanked Wylan’s shirt back down over his head and his pants back up over his hips in tandem. Wylan, agitated at the interruption, whipped his head around to identify the intruder to find two of them.
“My bad.” Matthias, who was supposed to be here, in his room, took one look at Wylan straddling Jesper and got the general idea. Wylan’s glare softened because this was just his roommate, and then his eyes almost popped out of his head when he spotted Nina in his arms.
“Our bad?” Jesper offered, mostly to Nina, because she had been trying to conquer the challenge that was Matthias Saving-Himself-For-Marriage Helvar for months now.
“I was just trying to get her home,” Matthias explained as if Wylan or Jesper were going to say a single thing about chastity right now. “But she really wanted to see Wylan. So I figured I’d bring her here.”
“To see me?” Wylan looked at Jesper to confirm he was hearing him right. Jesper nodded toward Nina to confirm it and Wylan crawled off of his lap.
“She’s wasted, so,” Matthias had carried her all the way back to their room, putting up with Nina’s monologuing and then unbridled rage and then sobbing.
“I’m not wasted.” Nina slurred and Wylan exhaled softly, wincing when Matthias turned on the lights just so he could see where he was going. “Wylan! Where’d you go? The party, oh, you didn’t like the party?”
“I loved it, Neens, I did!” Wylan got to his feet and rushed to his dresser where he’d grabbed a hair tie she’d left behind last time she was over. “I ran out of social battery.” He admitted quietly, brushing her hair away from her face with his fingers and collecting it in a ponytail.
“You can put her in his bed, Matty,” Jesper rolled out of his boyfriend’s bed and pulled the blankets all the way down to make room for Nina. He figured Matthias would have some rule against a girl in his bed, Jesper didn’t know, but he was attempting to be courteous.
“Sure.” Matthias agreed this was a good idea, clearing his throat and willing his cheeks to stop flushing.
“Mmmmnope, I’m gonna be sick.” Nina said after a few moments of silence, the tell-tale sign that her body was disagreeing with her.
“Jes! Jes, help, bathroom!” Wylan, not the most enthused around all things pukey, secured his best friend’s ponytail and rushed away nervously.
“Got it, got her, got you.” Jesper rushed over, giving Wylan a drive-by kiss on the temple before sliding an arm around Nina’s waist and helping Matthias carry her into the bathroom.
Wylan felt like a bad best friend for approximately thirty seconds because Nina had started gagging and he had a full-body visceral reaction to it. He fully had to leave the room, not confident in his abilities to find his phone and earphones before he started hyperventilating.
“Will you guys be alright if I take Wylan back to mine?” Jesper asked over the ambiance of Nina ducking her head into the toilet and emptying her stomach.
“Oh, yeah, it’s cool.” Matthias gave a very rigid shrug, hyper aware that they were having this conversation across Nina Zenik throwing up. “I didn’t really know what else to do, she was crying…”
“I was crying because I missed Wylan.” Nina clarified, going to wipe her mouth with her wrist when Jesper hurriedly supplied her with a tissue and she used that instead.
“You cried because you stepped on a chip that was perfectly folded over.” Matthias reminded her and she scoffed, before she was hunched over again making hard to listen to noises.
“I don’t wanna leave you to take care of her,” Jesper slowly said, his hand rubbing small circles over Nina’s warm back, as she was wearing a backless dress. “Not that taking care of Neens is shitty and not that you’re not capable of it. Just that I want to help somehow.”
“You’re helping right now.” Matthias had to force himself to not stare at Nina’s back, and it was really hard when Jesper was touching her so casually like this.
“I’m not on my deathbed, I’m just puking.” Nina popped her head back up and grabbed another tissue from Jesper. “Matthias and I will be just fine in our separate beds. Wy-bear is not gonna be happy.”
“Emetophobia?” Matthias guessed, sucking in his breath when he tucked a piece of stray hair behind Nina’s ear because the alternative was toilet-water dipped ends. Nina hummed to let him know she thought he was smart and that she was impressed.
“Yeah, actually.” Jesper felt not smart and not impressive because he needed Wylan to explain it to him when they first started dating.
“Go and enjoy your night,” Nina swatted at Jesper angrily as if he hadn’t been a great help and she didn’t love him to bits. “This is not my first rodeo, and Matthias is almost as much of a gentleman as you. He’ll take care of me, and provide in my time of need.”
“I mean we’re just heading to bed.” Jesper murmured, like he wasn’t extremely hyped to crawl into bed with his boyfriend and sleep. “Matty, make sure you get her chicken noodle soup tomorrow and it has to be with fusilli or she won’t eat it.” He patted Matthias on the shoulder as he got up, and kissed Nina on the top of the head, getting a mouthful of glitter somehow.
“Sure, I can do that.” Matthias didn’t sound so sure because honestly he couldn’t remember which one fusilli was but he’d try. “Thanks, man.”
“Byeeeee, Jes.” Nina flushed the toilet as she said it and sat up straight, flipping hair away from her face softly. “It’s just you and me, Matty, I’ll try not to be so alluring post vomiting.”
Matthias did not know if it was alright to say Nina was beautiful all the time, even after spitting up into the toilet. So he just kept it to himself, the way he kept everything to himself. He’d left home for the first time in 18 years and figured out extremely quickly that there were some things he couldn’t even tell Jesus. Found out that he actually didn’t think of praying unless his family was reminding him every night and morning.
“It’s the dress, huh?” Nina snapped him out of his self-reflective downward spiral by getting up off the floor and dusting herself off. “Very distracting and form-fitting, just the way I like.”
“You look very nice.” Matthias cleared his throat as he stood up and offered Nina an arm. She took it and laughed at him as he led her out of the bathroom and to Wylan’s bed. “If you need anything let me know.”
“Anything?” Nina batted her eyes and he looked away.
“If you need help, I mean.” Matthias clarified, sitting Nina down on Wylan’s bed and then crossing the room to get to his.
“I need help getting out of this tight dress.” Nina grinned wolfishly and Matthias made it a point to fluff up his pillows for too long.
“I can call Jesper back.” Matthias mumbled.
“Wow, letting another man undress me?” Nina teased.
“That’s not what I meant.” Matthias turned off the main light, leaving them in the dark, but little bits of glitter on Nina kept catching some light somehow.
“So you’d just watch him do it?” Nina pulled her dress off with no problem, let her hair back down and crawled into Wylan’s bed with a sigh. “Thank you, I was wasted.”
“Anytime.” Matthias was referring to the second part of what Nina had said but it occurred to him too late it might not have sounded that way. “You know what I meant.”
“I do know what you meant,” Nina snorted, rolling over in her best friend’s bed and tucking both hands under her ear. “But it’s funnier to imagine you as a cuck.”
“As a what?” Matthias frowned and Nina barked with laughter, she was so telling Wylan about this tomorrow.
Jesper’s panic when he left the bathroom to find the bedroom empty was momentary. His brain worked through the options, and he saw Wylan’s phone on the bedside table, so he couldn’t have gone far without it.
After collecting all their things and swinging his backpack onto his shoulders, he stepped out of the room to find Wylan looking out the window a little ways down the hallway. Jesper wrapped his arms around Wylan’s waist and looked over his shoulder, also looking out the window.
“See anything good?” Jesper asked against Wylan’s ear, smiling when Wylan grabbed onto Jesper’s arms tightly to keep him locked in place.
“I think there’s an owl but I can’t tell…” Wylan mumbled, admitting that yes he was still a little drunk, and maybe there was an owl because he wanted there to be.
“Hmmm, your eyes must be better than mine.” Jesper blinked around a few times, it was too dark for him to make sense of anything but trees and stairs and lampposts. “Nina feels much better now.”
“That’s good,” Wylan turned around in Jesper’s arms softly and let himself be crowded up against the window gently. He snuggled right into his warm chest and got his arms around his neck. “Are we gonna go to your room now?”
“Uh huh,” Jesper got the feeling that Wylan was a little too tired to walk all the way there, so he hoisted him up and lifted him off the ground. “And you’ll be a good boy and go right to bed, hm?”
“Why’re you trying to get me to go away?” Wylan rumbled out, wrapping around Jesper tightly as they began making their way out of the hall to get to Jesper’s dorm.
“Cause it’s 2am and I know you’re sleepy, just pretending not to be so we can hang out.” Jesper knew Wylan more than he knew himself at this point. He’d do anything if it meant they’d be able to share a few more moments together, even if it meant an all nighter or doing something mildly illegal. “We’re gonna hang out in our dreams, but we have to go to bed at the exact same time.”
“You know that can actually happen,” Wylan began to babble because it was an interesting topic and Jesper chuckled softly, of course Wylan had something to say about this of all things. “It’s a little more common with siblings, especially twins, or a parent and child, or best friends, or couples.” He gave Jesper a small kiss on the neck and then realized that’s what he wanted to spend the rest of the walk doing. “I think we can do it if we think about each other…cause it’s kinda a lucidity and subconsciousness thing.”
Jesper let Wylan inform him all about shared dreaming willingly and begrudgingly let him drag his lips over his neck softly. It was really hard to pay attention and to focus on the task at hand, but Wylan was more than happy with what he was doing. He didn’t even notice when Jesper was definitely walking too fast for it to even be called walking. Maybe jogging. Wylan didn’t notice any turbulence, going on about the results of a study he’d heard about.
It had only been about seven minutes to get to Jesper’s dorm hall and ten to get to his room, but both of them were quite exhausted by the end of it. Jesper let Wylan down and opened the door, hands on his boyfriend’s waist as he ushered him inside.
“Time to go to bed, baby, it’s bedtime.” Jesper reminded Wylan who was now on his feet but eager to touch Jesper on the stomach and get his fingers tucked under his belt. “Sorry, Kaz, don’t mind us.”
Wylan paused his neck kissing and belt tugging to look over his shoulder at Kaz Brekker, who was at his desk doing schoolwork at 2am. Jesper’s roommate was broody and judging, but they got along just fine, according to Jesper.
Kaz didn’t say anything, just went back to what he was doing when he heard Jesper lock the door behind them. He sat Wylan on top of his bed, forced to carry him again because Wylan was rebelling. The second he was on the mattress he sighed happily, pretty content with going to bed.
Wylan was rubbing at his eyes tiredly when Jesper pulled his pants off and he peeked through his fingers to see what he was up to. Jesper, was just dutifully changing him into pajamas, and Wylan giggled, heart leaping in his chest.
“What’re you laughing at?” Jesper folded Wylan’s pants neatly before getting soft pajama bottoms with stars all over them onto him, even tying the bow.
“You’re really cute.” Wylan shrugged his shoulders and Jesper shook his head, a small laugh leaving his lips. Wylan was making fun of him a little bit, but it was too fond to hurt. Jesper got Wylan’s shirt off and kissed him soft before getting a band-tee over his head to replace it.
“Go to bed,” Jesper patted Wylan on the leg softly, nodding behind him at the neatly made bed and at Snuggles, the stuffed dog waiting patiently. Wylan crawled across the bed very slowly, because man, he was sleepy, and was rewarded with a tiny butt pat from Jesper. “C’mon, little faster, baby.”
“I’m going…!” Wylan squeaked, red all the way up to his cheeks, really wishing Jesper did not do that. How the hell was he supposed to go to bed now? He pulled back the blankets and slid his way in, miming Snuggles being tucked in and giggling when Jesper grinned at him.
Wylan was tiredly watching Jesper change into his pajamas, of course wearing the Hello Kitty pants and a t-shirt from a high school track event. When Jesper got into bed beside him Wylan actually didn’t find it very hard to go to sleep at all, but that didn’t mean he wanted to.
“You can’t tell me you’re not sleepy,” Jesper murmured as he pulled Wylan flush to his body, wrapping an arm around his middle and letting Wylan snuggle into his chest. “I’m gonna be here in the morning, so be a-”
“A good boy, I know.” Wylan dragged his hand up Jesper’s warm arm and hummed, head full of too many thoughts with him pressed close but ultimately overpowered by sleepiness. “I never try to revoke your good boy status to get you to do stuff…”
“Cause I do what I’m told,” Jesper said matter-of-factly and Wylan laughed into his chest, as this was historically inaccurate. “When you tell me. And that’s what matters.”
“I’m the only thing that matters?” Wylan all but purred as Jesper’s hand slipped underneath his shirt so he could rub at his bare hip comfortingly.
“Thing sounds bad,” Jesper had begun humming and it was unfair because he was literally lulling Wylan to sleep and he couldn’t do a single thing about it. “You matter most to me, is what I’m saying…”
“Mmmmmmokay.” Wylan couldn’t formulate words, the combo of Jesper’s warm hand, gentle hum, and heartbeat against his ear was about to knock him out fucking cold. “Night…night…love.” And that was all Jesper heard from him coherent vocabulary wise before he was making small breathy noises indicating he had finally passed out.
“Night, baby. Love you.” Jesper whispered, pressing a kiss to Wylan’s hair and then letting his own tired eyes close. He really did try the whole shared dream thing, thinking about Wylan and what they could do together in a dream.
But all Jesper could think about was kissing him or sleeping next to him and holding him and keeping him safe. And while that was the dream, it was also just real life. It was just Jesper dedicating himself to keeping Wylan warm and sweet and happy. And it was just this.
Tucked into Jesper’s bed with his childhood stuffed animal above their heads, safe and sound and unafraid. He already had his dream, and he’d protect it as long as he lived.
Jesper’s eyes fluttered open when Wylan let out a particularly big huff, but he was just snuggling deeper into Jesper and getting frustrated to find he was already doing so.
This was the dream of all dreams. Jesper had Wylan and Wylan had Jesper. Even in his dreams he had him.
It was almost better to stay awake.