Work Text:
Having Inej and Matthias over for a movie night was always a joy. Not that Kaz would admit that out loud, but Jesper knew that he was enjoying the time they got to spend together. And so did Jesper of course. The first hour was usually spent arguing over which movie to watch, while they had their food, sometimes pizza, sometimes from the Delhi around the corner, but oftentimes it was a mix of different places.
Tonight, the choice had been a tad easier, since they’d narrowed it down right from the start: Horror movies. Each one of them had brought one and since they came down to different ones - Inej and Kaz bringing the same one and Jesper and Matthias as well - they didn’t really have to make a decision on what to watch, just which one to watch first. First, though, they had to finish their dinner before they ended up kicking things over when they got scared. Not Jesper, not Inej, but rather the other two, which was something they would never admit. Kaz always said that he got startled because of Matthias, but neither Inej, nor Jesper really believed him. In the end, it didn’t really matter, because they always had fun.
“Of course they’re separating. Why are they always this stupid?” Inej sighed, leaning back again after grabbing some popcorn. No matter that they’d just had some proper food, there were always snacks to be had at movie night.
“At least they’re staying in couples and not everyone alone,” Matthias chimed in.
“Only a matter of time until they end up alone anyway. Most of them at least.” Kaz stretched out his bad leg and crossed his arms. Always the cynic, but they were used to it, and to be fair, he was right about it, since Jesper had already seen that movie ages ago, but he didn’t remember everything.
When the tension rose, they all got quiet, really engrossed in the movie, watching every step the possible victims took. There had been some jumpscares before, so they were already tense when a knock on their own door made all of them almost jump out of their seats.
“Your turn,” Kaz said immediately, nodding in the direction of the door.
“Oh yeah, of course.” Jesper huffed a laugh and slowly got up from the sofa where they’d gotten comfortable. “Keep watching, I’ll be back in a minute.”
Or so he’d thought, because when he opened the doors, he was caught completely off guard by the person standing in front of it. And not just by who it was, but also by the way he looked.
“Wylan?” he heard himself ask stupidly, because he very well knew who was standing there. Wylan Van Eck, the one person who had his heart in his hands and probably didn’t even know it. Of course Jesper had flirted with him, had teased him time and time again for the past year or so, but he’d never asked him out, had never taken a step in that direction, because Wylan was probably the only person that made him nervous about doing so. Because he really liked him and didn’t want to ruin anything and drive him away, since he enjoyed having Wylan around and hanging out with the rest of them. And now, he was standing here drenched from head to toe, shivering and was his eyelid swollen?
“What happened?”
“I didn’t know where else to go… so I came here.” There was a weak smile on Wylan’s lips, a hopeful one, and even if he’d knocked on their door any other day, no matter how he’d look, Jesper would take him in.
“Come on, we need to warm you up a bit.” Jesper carefully placed a hand on Wylan’s shoulder to guide him inside, glad that he didn’t wince when he touched him, because for now, Jesper had no idea what exactly had happened to him.
“Who is it?” Inej called from the living room, curious what was taking him so long.
“It’s Wylan. Just keep watching.” He didn’t want any of them to come to the door until he found out what was going on, especially because judging by the look on Wylan’s face, he hadn’t expected anyone to be here. Apart from Kaz probably because the two were living together.
“Sorry, I didn’t know you had company. I don’t want to bother you.” Wylan was almost ready to turn around and head out again, but Jesper stopped him.
“You’re never bothering me.” If anyone was listening in, they would realise just how soft Jesper’s voice had gotten. Carefully, he raised his hand to push the hood off Wylan’s head before gently taking his chin between his fingers to tilt his head so he could take a closer look at his injuries. His eye was really slightly swollen and changing colour, and if he wasn’t mistaken, there was some bruising on his neck, but that could be the lighting as well. He had an idea who was responsible for that, but he didn’t want to just assume that in case he was wrong. So, he asked: “Who did this to you?”
Wylan hesitated, looking down at his own shoes, but when he lifted his head to look at Jesper, he answered him: “My father.”
I knew it.
Jesper had to take a deep breath to keep his composure and not say anything he would regret later on. Well, he probably wouldn’t regret it, but Wylan was in a vulnerable state anyway, so he didn’t want to scare him away.
“Alright, let’s get you warmed up a bit first.”
After Wylan took off his shoes, Jesper led him to the bathroom and supplied him with towels and some of his clothes that shouldn’t be too big on him and keep him warm when he was done showering.
“Have you eaten anything yet?”
“No,” Wylan said, pulling his hoodie over his head, the shirt beneath it also wet from the rain. “I’ve been outside for two hours or so. Maybe longer.”
“We’ve got some leftovers. More than enough actually. Take as long as you need in the bathroom, okay? And then you can just go to my room.”
There it was, the hint of a smile and a nod of his head, which managed to reassure Jesper at least a little bit. After closing the door from the outside, Jesper went back to the living room, feeling three pairs of eyes on him immediately.
“Care to tell us what’s going on?” Inej asked him while Kaz reached for the remote to pause the movie. They’d probably talked about them instead of paying attention to the movie, but Jesper didn’t care. All he cared about was a hurt and vulnerable Wylan who would definitely spend the night here, and probably not just one.
“Wylan is gonna stay the night,” he let them know, slightly thrown off by the look on Kaz’s face, which made him elaborate: “He stood in front of the door like a wet puppy with a bruising eye and probably more injuries.”
“What?” Matthias sat up straighter, always ready to protect the people that were dear to him, and Wylan was one of those people Had been right from the start.
“Did he say anything? Who it was?” Inej wanted more info, but when Jesper looked to Kaz, he was the one to answer in his stead.
“His father.”
“Yeah.” Rubbing a hand over the back of his neck, Jesper took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, I’m not joining you again. I’ll take care of Wylan, get him to eat something and all that.”
“Don’t worry about us, Jes. That’s more important.” With that, Inej turned back towards the TV and snatched the remote from Kaz so they could keep watching. Jesper was rather grateful for that, because he didn’t need them to ask more questions, especially because he wanted to be back in his room before Wylan stepped into it. His room was a bit chaotic, but Wylan knew that already, and there was no time to clean up properly anyway. Still, he managed to put a couple of things away, before he headed to the kitchen again to grab some food and make some tea that would help warm Wylan up as well.
With everything on the table in his room, he waited for Wylan, but wasn’t prepared to see him in his favourite hoodie. Maybe, he’d subconsciously chosen that one, because he wanted Wylan to wear it, to lay some claim in a way that he didn’t dare say out loud.
“Is everything okay? Did I do something?” Wylan asked, his damp curls a beautiful mess on his head.
“No, no, not at all.” Jesper shook his head, a smile on his lips. “The hoodie suits you.” It wasn’t a lie, he just didn’t say everything that was on his mind. “Here, take a seat and eat something.”
“I’m not really hungry, though.”
“Try to eat a little bit at least, okay?” It was understandable that he wasn’t feeling hungry with what had happened, but it was still important that he ate something, even if it wasn’t much in the end, but Jesper was proud of him for eating a few spoonfuls. The rest of the food was pushed aside so he could place the tea in front of him.
“You even made tea for me?”
“Of course. I know you prefer tea and I thought it would warm you up a little more.”
“That’s very sweet, thank you.” Wylan cradled the teacup in his hands - yes, they had teacups, even though Jesper had no idea when or where they had gotten them - and carefully took a sip. “Is there a hint of lemon in that?”
“Yes. Lemon and mint.” Just like Wylan always took his tea. He’d kept that in mind, and now he hadn’t had to ask him, though he was rather sure that Wylan would have been alright with any kind of tea at the moment. Still, making him his favourite felt good.
“Thank you.” Before he knew it, Jesper felt Wylan’s lips against his cheek. It was so innocent, yet it still warmed his skin and made his heart beat faster in his chest. He was flustered all of a sudden. Where he was usually so suave and always had some words on his lips with anyone else, Wylan managed to make him falter.
“No problem,” he managed to say before he got up from his chair to move over to his bed and reach for his phone. “How about I put some music on?” That would at least keep him from saying anything stupid - he hoped.
“I’m sorry.”
“Huh?” Jesper quickly turned around to Wylan to look at him again, the idea of putting on music forgotten immediately. “Why are you apologising?”
“The kiss. I shouldn’t have done that. You’re clearly uncomfortable.” He ran a hand through his hair, leaving the curls sticking up everywhere even more than before and that drove Jesper a little mad. Why? Because he longed to bury his fingers in the silky strands and pull him close against his own body.
“What?” Jesper couldn’t stop himself from laughing, because it was so ridiculous, but apparently his behaviour had spelled that out for Wylan. “That’s not…” He shook his head, before he stepped up to Wylan again. “That’s far from the truth. I’m not uncomfortable at all around you.”
“Okay. What is it then?” The big round eyes that looked up at him, the genuine concern made Jesper want to wrap him in soft blankets and make sure that nothing ever happened to him again.
“You make me nervous.” There, he’d said it, but he was afraid that it was coming off wrong, so he sat down and took Wylan’s hand before he did one of the things he did best. He talked. A lot. “In the best way I mean. But I never know what to think. When I flirt with you, you don’t flirt back or even avoid looking at me, so I don’t know if that’s okay, but I love to see you blush when I compliment you, andI always mean it. And then you do something like this and catch me completely off guard and make my skin tingle and my heart almost jump out of my chest and—”
There was silence in the room and in his head when Wylan’s lips touched his own. The only thing he could think was a happy, startled oh, before he kissed Wylan back and raised his hand to cradle his cheek. He never would have expected Wylan to be so bold, but he was beyond happy about his behaviour. Especially when he did what he’d wanted to do a moment ago and moved his hand up to run his fingers through the messy curls and deepen the kiss, run his tongue along the seam of his lips to coax them open and when Wylan complied, Jesper let out a little sound that he couldn’t even describe. The way Wylan touched him, his cheek, his chest, so carefully and gently, made him feel treasured. Like he was something worth taking care of and no matter who he’d been with, it had always been… different. This was only their first kiss - and Jesper hoped for a lot more than that - and he could still feel the difference. Because he cared about Wylan.
“You talk a lot,” Wylan mumbled once their lips parted, and Jesper couldn’t stop himself from laughing out loud at that. He wasn’t wrong, but his words were rather unexpected.
“Yeah, guess you found a way to shut me up, though.” Jesper couldn’t resist stealing another kiss from him before gently pushing his curls from his forehead to look at him properly. “You have no idea how long I’ve been thinking about this, but I didn’t want to ruin anything.”
“We’re here now, aren’t we?”
“You’re right.” Slowly, Jesper reached for one of Wylan’s hands to hold it in his own, interlace their fingers. There was still the situation at hand that they couldn’t ignore completely, no matter how elated he felt right now. “You’re gonna stay here, right? Not just for tonight, but for however long you want and need.”
“You think Kaz will be okay with that?”
“I’ll deal with him tomorrow, but I’m sure it will be okay.” After all, Kaz knew what Wylan’s father had done to him tonight, and there had been days like this before as well, so there was no chance Jesper would let Wylan go back there, unless it was to grab his stuff and leave again. “But that’s something to think about tomorrow. For now, it’s just us and I want you to get some rest, okay?”
“I can agree to the rest as long as we add some kisses to the mix.”
“Oh, I think we can do that, love.” As if to prove it to him, Jesper leaned in to kiss him again, soft and sweet, but lingering a moment longer. Wylan wasn’t going anywhere, Jesper knew that, but that didn’t stop him from hugging him tightly once they got comfortable on the bed. It was just the two of them here in his room, and the rest of the world could wait until morning.