Work Text:
Saints Wylan was drunk.
The clock struck midnight, yet the Crow Club was still as alive as ever. Drunkards swinging their glasses as song after song played, crowds of people cheering on other games and making bets. It was the same Crow Club even after all these years. No amount of time could change that.
Jesper missed it.
Living with Wylan, the love of his life, in a mansion was something he could never dream of. But some days the call to the Barrel pulled them both back— more than they'd like to admit. Jobs from Kaz were rare these days. And the ones he did send them on were mundane errands: Send a message to this person, fetch me these ingredients.
Wylan didn't complain either way. As much as he wanted to put his time in the Barrel behind him, it was a part of both of them. Sticking to each other like glue.
So maybe that's why they found themselves agreeing to Kaz's invite one night. The letter had been found on their dining-room table, which none of the staff knew how it got there. It read;
The crow club turns another year old. There is a celebration. You and Wylan should come on by after the council meetings are over.
It was simple enough. Inej was still off at sea, and Nina was now Queen of Fjerda. (Which Jesper still didn't fully believe at first. Not until a fancy Fjerdan ring was sent his way that he happily added to his collection.) And with Jesper living with Wylan, Kaz must have been going insane alone. Even if he never wanted to admit it.
Jesper knew that Kaz didn't mind their company as well. Maybe a little too much. Jesper should have questioned it when the man said their drinks were on the house. Jesper took that as a compliment.
Wylan took it as a challenge.
Jesper laughed as Wylan stood out of his seat, clapping loudly to the end of the song the current pianist was playing, glass half full on the table.
"I could play better than them." He muttered triumphantly, cheeks a rosy hue and pupils wide with the growing energy of the night. "He missed twenty keys. I wouldn't miss a single one."
"You would play beautifully. How much did you have to drink?" Jesper snorted, carefully moving Wylan to sit down again.
Wylan shrugged, reaching to grab a glass. "Wasn’t counting...Four...six?"
"Okay. Enough for you then. I’m cutting you off." Jesper smiled, taking the glass away from Wylan as he whined.
"But I'm not that drunk."
"I hate to break it to you, but you are drunk love." He chuckled. Jesper knew full well how much Wylan had, and he made sure that Wylan was limiting himself as well. For the light-weight, he was the mercher sure knew how to party some nights.
"My head hurts." Wylan whined, laying his head on the table.
"Mhm. It’s going to hurt love." Jesper gently rubbed his back, looking around the club. "How about this, we head home now and go to bed?"
"Bed sounds nice." Wylan muttered, head still faced down.
"I bet it does ."
"But what about Kaz?"
"I’m sure Kaz will understand that we had to cut the night short. Now you ready?"
Wylan nodded. Slowly lifting his head enough to let Jesper help him out of the chair, wrapping an arm around Wylan for support. Saints, this was going to be hard.
Jesper took a few steps, only for his eyes to find Kaz's, perched on a raised section of floor, peering over the club. He glanced over to Wylan with a raised eyebrow before going back to Jespers. Like the two men were having their own conversation.
"You're so handsome." Wylan slurred, a lopsided smile spreading over his red cheeks.
"Thank you, darling." Jespers turned away from Kaz as he began to haul a drunken Wylan through the club, which had its struggles when his boyfriend could barely walk on his own two feet, and the crowd filled to the brim with other pigeons.
"Nonono...Like...very handsome. I thought you were going to kill me when we first met."
Jesper knew about Van Eck’s attempts on Wylan's life, but to hear that Wylan had been that terrified on his Barrel months still hurt Jesper. "Really? Not that this man is very handsome?"
"That was my first thought." Wylan giggled. "Then it was that you were going to kill me. But I decided that if you were going to kill me, you would already— Oh, Kaz, hey!"
Jesper snapped his head to see Kaz standing in front of them, with a blank stare between the two. How did he get here so fast?
"Evening going well, I’m assuming?"
"This party has been amazing! But you should fire that pianist. They've played twenty keys wrong. Not very good." Wylan murmured. "Don't know how he got the job."
"I'll keep that in mind." He calmly said, turning to Jesper. "There's an extra room in the back of the crow club. The last thing you need is dead-weight dragging you down for miles." Jesper opened his mouth to speak, but Kaz cut him off. "I expect a payment back. I’m not doing this on top of drinks for free." The man looked over to the grinning Wylan. "But it can wait until a Councilman isn’t making a fool out of himself in front of a whole club."
"I’m not making a fool—"
"Thank you." Jesper sighed in relief. "I appreciate it. This event as well, thank you for inviting us, Kaz. I’m sorry we couldn't stay longer to enjoy it."
"There are always other events. I will have someone check on you two tomorrow. Goodnight Jesper. Wylan"
"Goodnight, Kaz, I love you!!"
Jesper restrained a grin as he saw Kaz’s exasperated sigh.
Kaz shook his head, walking off as the other two men walked through the club, behind the counter, and into a smaller hallway. The rooms in the Crow Club weren't used often. Mainly, Kaz and other guests used them if needed. Jesper was nonetheless grateful they could use it for the night.
"You have very nice rings," Wylan muttered as Jesper lowered him to the bed. Wylan was still leaning against Jesper, hands reached out to grab his fingers to twirl and mess with the emerald ring he had on. "And fingers. Very...very good."
"Oh, I am well aware." He cracked a smile. Jesper was going to have a field day when Wylan sobered up.
"Do you want to marry me?" Wylan asked, still fixated on his fingers.
"Whatever you say, love." Jesper looked around the room. He would need to get some water for Wylan, the headache tomorrow would be a killer one, and Jesper didn't want Wylan to feel even more sick. The words didn't process with Jesper for a few seconds until his brain finally caught up with his mouth, and his head snapped back. "Wait. What?"
"I wanna marry you— I mean, I don't have a ring yet, but..one of these can work. Right?"
Jesper's brain short-circuited. "I-" Was he hearing Wylan right? Was he drunk as well to imagine words?
Wylan paused, looking up with those big doe eyes. "Do you not want to marry me?"
"No! No, I want to marry you too, but—" Jesper's brain was exploding with a million thoughts a second. Wylan didn't want to marry him. Surely not. He was drunk on liquor and not thinking correctly. "You're drunk... Very drunk. I don't want to...impose something you're not ready for."
"I am ready for it."
"Saints." Jesper breathed out, unsure how to approach this situation. He wasn't sure if the pounding was from his own heart or the club outside. The music was loud, and so was this moment. "We should wait to talk about this at home tomorrow."
"Why?" Wylan protested.
"Wylan, you can't be sure—"
"I know what I want." Wylan said, blue eyes piercing back at Jesper's grey ones. "What I want is you."
The topic of marriage wasn't unknown to the two, but to hear that Wylan wanted to live the rest of his life with him...Jesper didn’t want to believe it. Why would anyone want to marry him?
But of course, Wylan would.
His sweet, kind, generous Wylan, who would move the world if he had to.
Yet it didn't stop the fears from growing in Jesper. Would Wylan remember this in the morning? Would he regret it? Why would he even want to marry someone like Jesper?
"I’ve wanted to marry you for so long." Wylan continued to drunkenly talk as if he could read Jesper's mind. "You're just so...handsome, and so...yourself. I love it."
Jesper smiled weakly. "Thank you, darling. Still have a headache?"
Wylan nodded. "Kaz needs to get drunk next time."
"I’m not quite sure he can. But we can try. Maybe he can finally share all his deepest secrets about Inej."
That made Wylan giggle. "He still hasn't confessed his love to her."
"To be fair, he bought her a ship."
"Will you buy me a ship?"
Jesper laughed. "Wylan, you're the rich one. You can buy a whole shipyard if you want."
"But it’ll be—hot if it comes from you."
"Don't you get seasick?"
"Can’t be any different from being drunk."
Jesper shook his head, "Alright. You still need to sleep before you get a worse headache."
"I know," Wylan muttered as he laid down, head resting on the pillow. "Ghezen, I’m so drunk."
Jesper laughed. "You've said that before."
"Do you...Would you actually want to marry me?" Wylan asked after a moment. "If I wasn't drunk and asked?"
Jesper paused, running a hand through Wylan's curls. "I do." He said. "I would always want to marry you. It just took me by surprise tonight."
Wylan shifted, moving to his side, yet his eyes never left Jespers. "Ask me tomorrow about the proposal...In case I forget."
"I really doubt you’ll forget you wanted to marry me." Jesper chuckled. "I want you to ask me again though. Once you're sober. And then we can celebrate with water when we both have a hangover."
"Really?"
Jesper nodded slowly. "Of course.
Wylan’s eyes shimmered like diamonds in the sky. "I love you, Jesper Fahey."
"I love you too Wylan Van Eck."