Work Text:
„Hi, I‘m here to pick up Jesper Fahey? I‘m Wylan Van Eck.“
The recepionist looks up from where they are furiously typing on their computer and gives him a friendly, if slightly indifferent, smile. Wylan is fidgeting with his nails absentmindedly. Hospitals always freak him out, even the dental ones.
„Ah, yes! Mr. Van Eck!“, the receptionist shuffles through some papers on their desk, pulling out a yellow file and getting up, „The procedure went well and Mr. Fahey is already awake in the post-op, please follow me.“, they gesture for him to step through the door on the right side of the desk.
Together, they walk through a sterile white corridor and Wylan lets his eyes travel along the bulletin boards filled with various x-rays of skulls and jaws on the walls. He buries his hands in his pockets.
„Mr. Fahey has been asking after you by the way.“, the receptionist throws him a wink over their shoulder. Wylan only blinks in confusion. Hadn‘t they said it all went well and Jesper was fine? „As I‘m sure you‘re aware, many patients are a little out of it for a while after anesthesia. Nothing to worry about, but he might not be making a lot of sense for a few hours.“ They halt in front of an unassuming door. The receptionist nods at him to enter, then excuses themself. Wylan breathes out a nervous wisp of air and pushes down the cold handle.
The scene that awaits him should surprise him, really, but it’s just so Jesper. The man himself is propped up on a hospital bed, his cheeks swollen in a way that makes him look like an overgrown hamster. His glassy eyes are trained on the giggling nurse at the foot of his bed, a lopsided smile fixed to his face, clearly in his element and charming the stout nurse, who is at least thirty years their senior, like it‘s the most natural thing in the world. Wylan supposes it is, for one Jesper Fahey, certified shameless flirt. He needn‘t have worried.
He shakes his head, an endeared smile playing on his lips, then clears his throat. Both Jesper‘s and the nurse‘s head snap to him. He cringes apologetically, „Am I interruppting something?“
Jesper‘s eyes are wide with wonder and a look that can only be described as pure shock on his face. If Wylan wasn’t the subject of this very pair of storm grey eyes most of the time, he would shrink under such an intense gaze. Still, the look of pure disbelief on Jesper‘s face makes his chest grow tight with worry again.
„Oh no,“, Jesper squaks, his words slurred because of the swelling, „you have very nice hair. Clarisse, he has such nice hair.“
Wylan and the nurse snort on a laugh simultaneously, and Jesper scowls at the both of them. „Why, thank you, love. How are you feeling?“, Wylan steps up to the side of his bed, sending a smile to the nurse who is grinning back at him. Jesper still stares at him.
„Mouth hurts. But Clarisse says`s normal.“, he furrows his brows in concentration. „Shouldn‘ call me love, sir, I am very taken. Even if you have very nice hair.“ Jesper crosses his arms in front of his chest and pushes his lower lip out in a pout.
Wylan snorts again. He should feel flattered by Jesper’s loyalty, right? Even when he is clearly flirting with Wylan regardless. The nurse, Clarisse, steps up next to him. „You must be Wylan. He’s been talking about you ever since he was awake enough to talk. He‘s a charmer, this one.“, she says, winking at Wylan.
„That he is.“, Wylan smiles at Jesper affectionately, and if he didn‘t know any better he would say Jesper was blushing. He turned back to Clarisse. „Anything I should know about taking care of him now?“
Clarisse chuckled, „He will probably be a little out of it for the rest of the day. Just keep him comfortable and don‘t overwhelm him, sometimes people can become anxious after this kind of surgery. Only liquids for two days, and that should be it.“ Wylan nods along.
„Clarisse, this guy looks so much like my Wylan. Do you think they know each other?“, Jesper stage-whispers at her, poking her wrist where he can reach. He is adorable, Wylan thinks.
„Well, I‘m sure your Wylan will let you know if they do.“, Clarisse answers gently. Jesper looks at her sceptically.
Wylan reaches out and puts a tentative hand on Jesper‘s shoulder. „Jes, should we get you home? You can even have ice cream for dinner?“, he wiggles his eyebrows at the other man. Jesper pouts at him again.
„Told you, I have a Wylan. He has even nicer hair than you, and freckles… I love him, you can‘t take me home.“, Jespers says stubbornly. Wylan couldn‘t fight the amused grin on his face even if he tried. He tugs at Jesper‘s shoulder and pulls him up from the bed gently, steadying him as he wobbles on his feet.
He leans closer to Jesper, his voice conspiratorially low, „Can I tell you a secret?“
Jesper looks at him with wide eyes again. He takes that as a yes.
„I am your Wylan. Even though you‘re right, my hair does look better than this usually.“
Jesper‘s mouth drops open in an adorable o. „You‘re my Wylan?“, he sounds so stunned, it makes Wylan sputter out another laugh. „You‘re so pretty.“, Jesper adds for good measure.
Wylan’s smile is permanent at this point, he’s sure of it. He slides his hand down Jesper‘s arm and gently circles his wrist, squeezing at his pulse point. „Thank you, my love. Now, let’s get you home.“
-
Once they’re in the car, Jesper shuts up promptly, staring out the window at the rainy streets of Ketterdam. Wylan thinks he‘s asleep for a while, but when he glances over at the passenger seat, he finds Jesper staring at him, expression witless.
„Can I… help you? Do you need more ice for your jaw?“, Wylan inquires with an edge of concern to his voice. Instead of answering, Jesper pokes a long finger into his cheek, as if to test whether he is real or not. Wylan swats his hand away. „Okay, okay. Jes, seriously, are you good?“
Jesper hums and pulls his hand back, shoving it under his thigh. „Where are we going?“, is what he settles on next. It‘s a bit like talking to a toddler, Wylan thinks. A toddler shaped like a 6‘2 Zemeni man.
„Home, love. Our flat. The doctor said you need to rest for -“, Wylan is cut off by Jesper‘s sharp intake of breath. He whips his head towards Jesper again, taking his eyes of the street before him only briefly. „We live together?“, Jesper guffaws, and Wylan lets out an exasperated breath. Ghezen help him.
„We do, love, we‘ve lived together for two whole years.“, he smiles. Their small flat just outside the Barrel was his favorite place on earth. High ceilings, large windows, a cozy kitchen nook, it was truly his dream flat. Maybe he was partial to any living space that included Jesper though.
-
Several hours later, Wylan finds himself on their sofa, with a fast asleep Jesper draped over his lap. Their living room is illuminated by a soft glow, the curtains shutting out all bright light pollution from the busy streets outside.
Once he‘d manuvered his patient inside, only with a slight detour to the other end of their corridor so Jesper could clumsily pet their neighbor‘s cat that had been lingering in the hall, Jesper‘s energy had quickly dissipated. Wylan had made sure to help him change into something other than his hospital clothes, all while patiently answering Jesper‘s increasingly nonsensical questions.
„If you were an animal, would you rather be a fish or a bird?“
„Do you think Kaz would like to watch Vampire Diaries with me? Do you think Kaz is a vampire?“
„Did you know that kangaroos lick their forearms to stay cool? Do you think that works for humans as well?“
„Have you ever counted all of your freckles? I can do it for you, if you like.“
That last one had come with Jesper practically shoving his face into Wylan‘s, in what Wylan can only assume was his attempt to get a headstart on the freckle count.
Now though, Jesper was out like a light with his face cushioned in Wylan‘s lap, his mouth slightly agape. Wylan‘s fingers were dancing along his shoulders, rubbing light circles into the soft sweater he was wearing, while Wylan was watching some sitcom re-run on TV. He wasn‘t really paying attention, smiling to himself at Jesper‘s soft snores.
Time passes (minutes, hours, days maybe) like this. At some point, Wylan carefully slides out from beneath Jesper to make himself a quick dinner. Jesper grumbles and presses one of the throw pillows to his chest to make up for the loss of Wylan‘s body, but other than that stays asleep. Wylan presses a soft kiss to his temple before tiptoeing to the kitchen. He reheates two slices of pizza from last night in the microwave, and takes this opportunity to answer a few texts with his speech-to-text tool.
Nina: How is Patient Zero doing? Any less wise already?
Wylan: Ha. Ha. He’s fine, flirting with the nurse, blabbering nonsense, much of the usual really :)
Nina: Damn, you really can‘t take him anywhere.
Wylan: Like someone else I know…
Nina: >:(
Plate with pizza in one hand and a fresh mug of herbal tea in the other, Wylan makes his way back to the living room, where he finds Jesper sitting up groggily. His gaze softens when he takes in the rumpled look on Jesper‘s face. He sets down his plate and cup and plops down next to Jesper again.
Jesper whines and drops his head to Wylan‘s shoulder immediately. Wylan wraps an arm around his waist and squeezes in an effort to comfort him. „How are you feeling, love?“
Another groan sounds from Jesper, who buries his nose in the crook of Wylan‘s neck, breathing hotly against the sensitive skin. „Like shit. Hurts. You weren‘t here.“, he mumbles. Wylan can tell he is much more lucid than he was just hours before and is mostly complaining for the sake of it. Jesper had always been a terrible patient, clingy and grumpy even with just a cold, so Wylan had known what he was getting himself into. He reaches blindly for the sideboard behind the couch, where he had dumped the pain killers earlier, while sneaking his fingers underneath Jesper‘s sweater to press soothing circles into his hip. It earns him another dramatic but content sigh against his neck.
„We‘ll have to wait another hour until I can give you more medicine, Jes, I‘m sorry. Can I do anything to make it better? Ice cream? I bought that raspberry one you like.“, Wylan says apologetically, turning his face into Jesper‘s hair.
Jesper exhales with a hum. „No, it‘s okay. I‘ll make it.“
He slides an arm around Wylan‘s waist, wriggling closer. „How bad was I? Did I embarass myself greatly and beyond repair?“
Wylan chuckles, „No more than usual, love.“ He doesn‘t have to look down to know Jesper is pouting again.
„If my stupid mouth wasn‘t hurting right now, I would bite you for such a comment. My own boyfriend. And in my time of need no less.“, he informs. Wylan finds it adorable.
Tapping his fingers on Jesper‘s hip bone, he indulges, „Well, you did flirt with the nurse when I came in, then you kept going on about my hair, and then you proceeded to tell me about how you were taken and really couldn‘t keep flirting with me. Which you did anyway.“
Jesper buries his face in his shoulder. „Well, nothing you haven‘t heard before. I do love your hair.“, he takes the tale of his incoherent self in stride. Wylan presses a kiss to the top of his head.
„Wy?“, Jesper whispers, still not moving from his spot pressed into Wylan. He hums in response. Then, Jesper finally pulls back a little, to look at Wylan with his still droopy eyes. Wylan loves those eyes.
„Love you. Thank you for taking care of me.“, he says earnestly. Wylan scoffs, like it was ever even a question whether he‘d take care of his recently hospitalized partner. He liked taking care of people, especially Jesper. It was no big deal.
Jesper grabs his jaw and pulls his face to look at him again. „Saints, Wy, stop it, let me say thank you. I appreciate it, really. I know you don‘t think it‘s anything and I know you don‘t have an issue with it, even when I‘m being difficult-“
„You‘re always a little difficult.“, Wylan interjects, not because he means it but because he knows his snarky comment will make Jesper smile. It does.
„Okay, rude, my point is: I love you. A lot. Like very much.“, he presses his lips to Wylan‘s softly, but immediately pulls back with a pained expression, wincing slightly. Wylan darts down and plants a feather light kiss on Jesper‘s swollen cheek.
„My pleasure, my love. I love you, too.“, he beams at Jesper, who attempts to grin back at him but slightly fails with his facial predicament. „Shall we get some of that ice cream then?“