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A bullet wooshed past Jesper’s face and he ducked down behind a crate, firing two shots behind him at the same time. Adrenaline was pumping through his veins, and there was chaos all around him. All in all, a pretty great night so far.
The plan wasn’t to make this much of a mess. There hadn’t been a plan at all actually, just a nice night out. He, Wylan, Nina and Inej had wanted to relax a bit, away from the mess that was Kaz Brekker's scheming. So they went out to dinner and ended up sitting at a club the rest of the night. Normal things, so far.
This particular club was considered neutral, even though Jesper knew the Razorgulls had their eyes on it. But that didn’t mean anything until it was official, they were allowed there just as much as anyone else.
“I nearly punched him in the face,” Nina said, ending her story with a deep sigh.
Jesper chuckled. “We’ve all been there.”
“Some of us more than others,” Inej muttered, and the table burst into laughter.
It wasn’t often they got moments like this to relax, and Jesper truly treasured them. He had his arm slung around Wylan, who sat curled up on the bench of their booth, slowly making his way through the beer Jesper brought him. Even if Wylan was a lot better off money wise since before he joined the Dregs, he was still very hesitant when it came to spending it. Eating at a restaurant and ordering a beer, sure. But a second one after that? Jesper was less strict with the money, and was more than happy to spoil his boyfriend a little.
Nina had just been getting into a story from her time at the Little Palace, when Jesper noticed raised voices coming from the other side of the bar. People were loudly arguing with the staff and when Jesper looked closer he recognized them as Razorgulls. He and Inej shared a look, and she nodded before disappearing into the shadows.
“What’s going on?’” Nina asked, throwing a look in the direction of the argument.
“Razgulls.”
‘We should probably find another place, then,” Wylan added, scanning the room.
Jesper nodded and they started to get up, abandoning their half finished drinks. But before they could get going, a voice shouted out.
“Fahey!” The man shouting was Brouwer, a big burly man who always loved to pick a fight. “Dregs aren’t allowed in our clubs.”
“We know that. Which is why we decided to go to a club that you don’t own,” Jesper said, trying to keep his tone light as he smiled his most charming smile.
“You’re saying it’s just a coincidence Brekker's crows showed up here at the night of our negotiations?” Brouwer shot back, and Jesper heard some of the other Razgulls telling him to shut it. It wasn’t supposed to be public knowledge this was their negotiating night.
“Yes,” Nina said, “Since we didn’t know this was the night of your negotiations until you said so.”
For a moment the man seemed caught off guard, but he collected himself and scoffed. “Sure thing. It was just a coincidence. Get the hell out of our club.”
Jesper rolled his eyes. “We would have been out of here if you hadn’t interrupted us.”
“You think you’re funny?” Brouwer said, giving Jesper a push. He was keenly aware of the whole club looking at them, and felt the itc to reach for his gun. But he stumbled into Wylan, and felt a sudden flash of responsibility for him and Nina. So he fought the urge to push back, and instead held his hands up.
“Most of the time, yes, I do think I’m funny.” Jesper had hoped this would lessen the tensions, but it appeared not, as the man swung and hit him over the nose.
Immediately the club was thrown into chaos — the first punch meant anything went. Jesper felt someone grab his arm to pull him back, and the man in front of him collapsed. He looked behind him and saw Wylan holding on to him, and Nina with her hands raised.
“Let’s get out of here,” Jesper said, and the three of them headed for the door. Inej was nowhere to be seen, but Jesper trusted that she could take care of herself.
They had just got out of the door when the first shot was fired. Jesper pulled both Nina and Wylan away from the line of fire, and reached for guns. He fired two shots, and two of the Razgulls fell to the ground. The street outside had been busy, and people were running around. He quickly lost the sight of both Wylan and Nina, but reassured himself that Nina and Wylan were more than capable of taking care of themselves. So he threw himself into the fight. A bullet wooshed past his face and Jesper ducked down behind a crate as he fired two shots behind him. The adrenaline of the fight and of using his powers were kicking in, and he felt alive.
All of a sudden, something gleamed in his peripheral vision. The sudden sting of pain in his right arm and the man suddenly appearing informed Jesper he’d been stabbed.
“I like this jacket,” he grumbled, before hitting the man over the head with the butt of his gun. Before he could find his next opponent, a boom echoed between the buildings, and a large part of the area was covered in smoke.
There’s Wylan , Jesper noted. There didn’t seem to be any fire, just a lot of smoke that left people disoriented. Jesper covered his face with his jacket, assuming inhaling it wouldn’t be very smart. This seemed to be the final straw for a lot of people that started running away, and the club owner came out to shout at people. Jesper didn’t pay him any mind — he’d be without a club soon anyways. There were still Razgulls looking for a fight, so Jesper tried to keep away from the crowds, looking for his friends. Easier said than done with the smoke in the air and the disoriented people running around.
But a little looking around he identified a familiar figure, turning his head in every direction. Wylan was alone, one hand covering his face with his jacket and the other one at his side.
Jesper jogged up to him. “Where’s Nina?”
Wylan shook his head. “We lost each other in the chaos.”
Jesper furrowed his brow at the slightly slurred way Wylan was speaking, a sudden spike of worry making its way to his heart.
“Let’s move out of the smoke,” Jesper said, putting an arm around Wylan’s waist. Wylan leaned into the touch, and Jesper desperately wanted to drop everything to check on him, but they needed to get somewhere safer.
As soon as Wylan made the assumption they were far enough away, Jesper dragged them into the nearest alleyway, leaning Wylan against the wall.
“Where are you hurt?” Jesper asked, immediately scanning Wylan’s body. His eyes caught on Wylan’s hand, still pressed to his side. He gently pried it away, lifting Wylan’s coat and—
“You’re bleeding!” Jesper exclaimed, too shocked to do anything else. Wylan nodded. “What—”
“I was lightly stabbed.”
“ Stabbed ?”
“Lightly stabbed,” Wylan insisted, but Jesper saw how his breathing was getting shallower and how his face was losing color. Immediately, he kicked into action.
His jacket became a temporary bandage that he wrapped around Wylan’s waist. He grabbed him under the waist, pulling him along as they walked over the cobbled streets. Most people didn’t pay them any attention, seeing someone drag a half conscious man through the Barrel was just a normal evening.
At last they reached the Slat, and Jesper immediately locked eyes with Nina. She started to open her mouth as if to say something, but closed it when she saw the state Wylan was in.
Together they helped him into the nearest private room, closed the door behind them, and helped him up on a table. Nina had never been shy, and was immediately on stripping Wylan’s upper body bare. Jesper helped, untying his makeshift bandage.
“Keep pressure on,” she said as soon as they’d pushed his shirt up over his chest. “You good, Wy?” She got a strained mmm back, and Jesper took that as get back to work .
“You’re gonna be alright,” Jesper murmured, not sure who he was saying it for.
“Okay, so like always, I’m not a healer. I’ll be able to patch up the skin, but the injury will still be there.” Nina motioned for Jesper to move his hands and he complied, watching the blood come pouring as soon as the pressure was eased. But Nina acted fast, moving her hands in intricate patterns as she worked Wylan’s body. Jesper had grabbed Wylan’s hand, trying to keep him from passing out. Jesper’s leg was bouncing, and he had the urge to run fifty times around the room, but kept himself chained to Wylan’s side.
Slowly Nina sealed the wound, the large slash growing smaller for every moment that passed. Matthias had joined them, sitting in the back with a grave expression on his face. Jesper just kept talking to Wylan, telling him the dumbest things he could think about. The butterfly he’d seen the other day, that had made him surprised since he’d never seen a butterfly in Ketterdam. His favorite horse when he’d been growing up. What he thought they should get for dinner tomorrow. Wylan chucked at some things, then zoomed out, then came back down. Jesper’s heart tumbled around in his chest, going from beating fast and hard to nearly stopping in a matter of seconds. When Nina sat back, the wound sealed, Jesper let out a deep breath.
“Now, you need to rest,” she said. She was glowing and tired, but clearly proud she’d pulled it off. Wylan nodded and let his eyes slip close. As Nina moved her hands to speed up the process, Jesper kissed his forehead right before Wylan slipped into unconsciousness.
“We need to get him cleaned up and moved,” Jesper said, desperate to have something to do again. Matthias went to grab water and a cloth, and Jesper quickly ran up to their room to get some spare clothes for Wylan. Nina stayed and watched him.
“Is he alright?” Inej suddenly appeared out of nowhere as Jesper briskly walked down the stairs.
“He’s stable, Nina fixed him up.”
Inej nodded. “Good. I wish I’d been there, but Nina and I—”
“It’s alright. I wasn’t even there,” Jesper said, trying to ignore how bitter the words tasted.
Jesper took on the cleaning task on his own, both to spare Wylan’s modesty and to get something to do. He cleaned the blood and wrapped what was left of the wound, even though he wasn’t sure it was necessary. He just needed to feel like he was useful. He swapped out Wylan’s bloodied clothes for softer and non-bloody, hoping he’d be comfortable when he woke. He and Matthias got together a makeshift stretcher and carried Wylan up the stairs, so they wouldn’t jostle him too much. After they had gotten Wylan in bed, and Matthias had bid a slightly awkward goodbye, Jesper stripped out of his clothes, and collapsed in bed next to Wylan.
His dreams were uneasy — dark corridors and bright flashing lights, voices calling him from far away. It was hard to see, it was hard to even move. His legs didn’t want to obey him, and he tried to push on forward, but nothing happened. There was something like a sky above him, but it was blurry and felt somehow even further away than the actual sky.
When he woke, he was sweaty, and an intense feeling of anxiety had taken up living in his gut. He tried to take a few deep breaths to chase it away, but when he turned to find Wylan almost standing up, it jumped back up.
“What— Lay down again!” Jesper said. Wylan jumped, putting his hand to his heart.
“Ghezens hand Jesper, you scared me.”
“Well you're scaring me, sit down,” said Jesper, getting up to Wylan’s side of the bed. Wylan looked skeptical, but let Jesper gently push him down again.
“Your hands are cold,” Wylan said, grabbing his hands. Jesper sat down next to him.
“It’s a cold time of year, my body is not made for these temperatures. Are you hungry?”
Wylan paused, before nodding. “Mostly thirsty, though.”
“I’ll get us some breakfast, stay put!” Jesper said, half bouncing off the bed. Before walking out he remembered he needed to put a shirt on, and got a chuckle out of Wylan when he turned on his heel right as he was opening the door.
Even though Wylan seemed a bit more energized, Jesper wasn’t fooled. He saw how pale he was, and how shakey his movements had been. Nina had explained she’s made sure he wasn’t in any immediate danger but needed to rest to heal, and Jesper knew Wylan was terrible at resting.
Grabbing breakfast he was grilled by Inej and Matthias on how Wylan was doing, and had to promise Nina he was gonna keep Wylan in bed. It made him happy to see how much the others cared for Wylan. It wasn’t like they’d disliked him at the start, but no one had grown quite as fond quite as quickly as Jesper had. But he was convinced it was impossible to be around Wylan for any longer while without starting to love him.
He brought up breakfast and tea, thinking coffee would be a bit too energizing for Wylan right now. And Wylan was still sitting in bed, seemingly only having moved to grab his sketchbook.
“Whatchu drawing?” Jesper asked, sitting down on his side of the bed.
Wylan showed him the page he’d been on. It was still a very early stage but it looked to be a cottage, flowers and plants galore around it. Jesper smiled.
“Pretty. Like you,” he added, just to see Wylan smile a little. “How are you feeling?”
“Presumably better than the average person the day after they were stabbed, but I’ve still definitely been better. It hurts whenever I move too much, but I feel less on the verge of fainting when I have all my blood in me,” said Wylan. His tone seemed pretty unbothered, and Jesper understood they’d been through a lot, but he didn’t want Wylan to be completely dezentinized to his own mortality.
“I’m so glad you’re alright,” Jesper said, reaching over to give him a kiss on the forehead. Wylan drank his tea and ate his biscuits, clearly not up to do much more. Jesper ate along with him, playing with the spoon he’d brought. Wylan watched as he blended it into a circle, then flattened it out and sharpened it.
“You should have told me right away, you know,” Jesper said, the words forming before his thoughts had even formulated them properly.
“Told you what?”
“That— That you were stabbed. If— I wouldn’t have wasted that much time, I’d gotten you—“
“You didn’t waste time. You got us out of a dangerous situation to check on me in a safer area, and acted from that. I wouldn’t call that wasting time,” said Wylan, and Jesper went quiet. He didn’t really know what to say to that, but it still felt like something was wrong. “But— You’re probably right. I just— Thought it was a bit embarrassing.”
“Embarrassing?” Jesper was unable to keep his voice from rising, out of pure shock. Wylan ducked his head.
“Yes, I know it’s stupid I just— Everyone else was handing themselves so well, and it just annoys me.”
“Darling, it’s not stupid. It’s just— Everyone has bad days, okay? Trust me, you don’t wanna know the number of times I’ve been stabbed or shot! We all have annoying days. Even Inej has been stabbed. No one’s gonna blame you for being stabbed , especially when you were the one who cleared the path for us to get out in the end.”
Wylan was silent for a while, and the spoon went through many forms during that silence.
“Thank you,” he said, even quieter this time. Jesper pulled him into his side, sliding down further on the bed. Wylan couldn’t move much, so Jesper cuddled up to him, holding him close.
“You’re so brilliant, love. Everyone else sees it,” Jesper muttered, and Wylan scoffed.
“I can buy you guys, but hardly everyone .”
“Well, then they’re wrong and it’s their loss,” Jesper said, shrugging. Wylan smiled at this, and Jesper counted it as a win.
“I love you,” Wylan said, and Jesper smiled.
“ I love you too. Do you wanna nap a bit?” Wylan had closed his eyes, and it seemed like he was getting sleepier once again. But he shook his head.
“Do you wanna— Pick up where we left off?” Wylan said, indicating Jesper’s bedside table.
“You want me to keep reading for you?” In the mess of their belongings, one of Jesper’s old uni books had resurfaced and he’d offered to read it to Wylan.
“Yeah.”
“Well then, chapter twelve it is.”