#jesper in a lime green suit when | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

pregnant-piggy · 3 years

Text

Reminds me of home

Jesper Fahey x reader

words: 5.5k

warnings: mentions of food and animals, reader’s mother is dead, no pronouns used for the reader

A/N: this is my first time writing Jesper, so I struggled with his character and don’t think this is totally right, but I loved writing this too much not to share it with you :) please let me know what you think, thank you!

The sun was setting slowly in the sky, painting orange strikes on a gradually darkening canvas, when Jesper checked the note in his hand one final time, before stepping onto the driveway of the old farmhouse. Around the farmhouse lay a yellow-green grass lawn, with on the left side of the house a little garden with flower beds in full bloom. Behind the house stood the stables and sounds of breezing horses and bleating goats filled the air, along with the lingering scent of drying grass.

The front of the house was covering in shadow, the red bricks and woodwork a tone darker than they would be in the sunlight. Above the front door hung a single lamp, and the flickering of the fire inside of it wasn’t enough to compete with the light of the setting sun.

Jesper groaned as he walked over the driveway to the front door. He wondered what the odds were that he had pulled the farm out of the stack with hideouts.

A week ago, Kaz had come with his plans for a new job. This time the victim was a rich merchant, who had a large estate in the country lands outside of Ketterdam. The merchant’s name was Klaas Rover and he was well-known in wealthy circles.

Just recently, Rover had bought a very pricey DeKappel painting and Kaz had found out that he was moving the painting to his country-estate at the beginning of that week. The basics of the plan had been easy. As long as Rover wasn’t at the house and the painting was, it would be impossible to get it with all the security. But, according to Kaz, there would be one moment of weakness in the security. From the morning Rover would step foot into his mansion to the night he’d fall asleep there, the merchant would want to showcase his painting to everyone who’d want to see it. That night had been the night to strike.

And so had Kaz done. He had set out with a small team; Inej and Jesper had been at his side, followed by two other Dregs, Pieter and Roos. The whole operation had gone according to plan and the painting had come off the wall and outside without a hitch.

That was why it had come as a surprise when Kaz had pulled out three pieces of paper with the notion that they had to hide for a couple of days. Inej had gone with Kaz, Pieter and Roos were together, and Jesper was alone.

‘Remember, you are Thomas van Dijk now,’ Kaz had said before they had parted ways. ‘You are a student and stranded alone after a trip with your fellow students. I know the people there and they will take you in.’

Kaz had disappeared before Jesper could say anything and he had seen no other option than to follow Kaz’s orders.

So now he was standing in front of a farmhouse, silently cursing his friend before knocking on the door.

A broadly built man opened the door and eyed Jesper suspiciously. This one tried to keep his easy posture and smile, but he felt himself grow slightly uncomfortable under the gaze of the man.

‘What do you want?’ he asked brusquely.

Jesper swallowed and his hands automatically reached for his hips, finding nothing but air there as he had hid his revolvers in his bag, figuring it wouldn’t be too great of an entrance. He scratched the back of his head and let out a nervous chuckle.

‘I’m Thomas van Dijk,’ he started, wondering if the man would ever believe him. ‘I uhh… I was out with friends—a break from studying, you see? And this morning when I woke up they were gone and they took all transport… so I was wondering if I could perhaps stay here until they pick me up again?’

The man glanced at Jesper for a while. ‘D’you know farm stuff?’ he then asked.

‘Sure,’ Jesper shrugged, figuring that it couldn’t be all too hard.

‘Alright, then,’ the man nodded and stepped aside to let Jesper in, ‘you can stay here for a few days.’

Jesper sighed relieved and walked into the farmhouse, only realising inside that he had had no plan if this hadn’t worked out.

The interior of the house reminded Jesper of his home in Novyi Zem. The walls were painted in a warm colour green and an old rug lay on the stone floor. On the wall in the little hall hung a portrait of a beautiful woman standing in a field of wildflowers. She had long hair framing her face, falling down in curls around her shoulders. The woman looked like she was in her late thirties, but she had a smile that was ageless.

Jesper followed the man into the next room, which was the living and dining area. There was an open door that led to the kitchen, from where Jesper could smell whatever the man was cooking. Another door probably led to a staircase, Jesper figured by the shape of the little space behind it.

The main room was an extension of the hall. The same green coloured the walls here and more paintings hung on the walls. Jesper recognised the woman in more pictures on the wall, and sometimes she was accompanied by a child.

Jesper looked around, wondering where the rest of the household was. Kaz had spoken about more than one person, but so far Jesper had only seen one; and that one was standing right in front of him.

‘You can sit there,’ the man said and pointed at the chairs around the table. ‘You want dinner?’

‘I’d really appreciate that, sir,’ Jesper said and the man nodded before he disappeared into the kitchen.

-=-=-=-=-

The sky was dark and the last rays of the sun were setting behind the horizon when you heard the bell from the kitchen, telling you that dinner was ready.

You always spent so much time outside that your father had given up on trying to find you for dinner. Instead he had installed the bell to let you know when you had to come home, and when you cooked you used it to get your father back home.

You got up from your spot on the ground next to Klara. She was the oldest cow you had at the little farm and she had been your mother’s favourite. However, two nights back Klara had suddenly fallen ill and so far she hadn’t improved yet. You had spent the last two days neglecting your duties at the farm to take care of her. Klara was the one thing that was closest to your mother and you refused to say goodbye to her too.

Silently you slipped from the stables and walked back to the house. There was light burning behind the windows and you saw the silhouette of your father inside, sitting at the dinner table. In a flash you thought you saw your mother there too, but as you blinked the image fell away.

Stepping through the backdoor in the kitchen, you kicked off your boots and shrugged off your coat. Quickly you washed your hands and face and arranged your hair, before you walked into the living area, knowing that your father liked you to not be messy at dinner.

‘Klara’s not any better,’ you said as you walked into the room. ‘She’s just lying still and—’

You stopped talking as your eyes found the stranger at the dining table. He was sitting opposite of your father, looking at you with a smile. The boy could be not much older than you were, but by the way he was clumsily sitting in the chair, you saw that he was a lot taller than you. His dark-skinned body was clothed by a dark green suit with flashy, golden buttons, lined with a silky lime-green fabric. Below his dark eyebrows two eyes glittered merrily and his smile got a little more confident as you sat down at the table.

‘What’s going on?’ you asked your father.

‘This is Thomas,’ your father answered, nodding towards the strange boy. ‘His friends ditched him and he needed a place to stay for a few days. With the situation around Klara, I figured a little help at the farm wouldn’t hurt.’

You stared at your father for a moment and then turned to Thomas. ‘Are you from the city?’

The boy nodded. ‘Yes, I go to the university in Ketterdam.’

‘What happened?’

‘We had a few days off and decided to go on a trip here. But when I woke up this morning my friends had left. I have no transport home and after searching for a place to stay all day, I got here.’

‘Nice friends you have,’ you mumbled and something in the boy’s face turned bitter.

‘Don’t get me started,’ Thomas said and then he smiled at you.

-=-=-=-=-

Jesper was woken early by a heavy, pounding headache. The sky outside was pink from the sunrise and with the figures of the trees and houses it looked like a painting to Jesper—one that was far more beautiful than the one he stole from Rover.

As he rolled over in his bed and reached for his temples, it didn’t take long for Jesper to realise that it wasn’t his head that was pounding—there was someone at the door of the room. Groaning Jesper sat up in his bed and rubbed the sleep from his eyes with the sleeve of the shirt that he had borrowed to sleep in.

‘Coming, coming,’ Jesper groaned when the knocking kept going.

He opened the door and was met with your eager face, painted with a big smile. You chuckled at Jesper and shook your head. ‘Come on, Thomas! Work doesn’t wait!’

Just for a split second Jesper was confused as to why you called him Thomas, but then he realised that the whole show he was putting up here was nothing more than that; a show. You didn’t know who he really was and, if he was honest, Jesper did feel a little guilty about it. You were so kind to him and he hadn’t even given you his real name.

This was not the time for morale questions, however, and Jesper shook the guilt off him. ‘Right,’ he said slowly and then glanced into his room, finding the bag he had dumped on the floor. He had not brought anything other than his guns, the clothes he had been wearing and a little money. ‘Do you perhaps have some clothes I can borrow?’

Half an hour later, Jesper was standing in the stables next to the house with a buttered slice of bread in his hand. He was wearing a linen blouse and trousers of rough material that you had given him. He felt naked without his guns resting on his hips, but taking them with him had been out of the question. Now he felt like the Jesper he had been before he had gone to Ketterdam—poor, weak and unskilled.

You came back with a large sack in your arms, that you dumped into Jesper’s arms. He stumbled under the sudden weight, but managed to keep his balance.

‘My dad’s out on the fields today, so we have to take care of the stables,’ you said. ‘If you feed the chickens, I’ll do the goats and then we’ll get together again, okay? Don’t forget the eggs!’

You turned around and walked off and Jesper was left baffled. Unsure, he turned and walked to the chicken coop, finding a bunch of chickens there. A fat, white one looked up when Jesper stood over the coop and cooed softly. The chicken kept staring at him as he walked around the fence and Jesper slowly began to freak a little.

He put his hand in the bag with food and grabbed a handful of seeds that he threw as far away from him in the chicken coop as possible. All the chickens rushed to the food—including the fat, white one—and Jesper quickly stepped over the fence and lowered to his knees so he could reach into the henhouse. He was met with the angry eyes of another chicken that was still sitting inside the house. She pecked at Jesper’s hand while he tried to find the eggs that you wanted.

When he finally pulled back, he had found six eggs. His hand was throbbing and even bleeding at some places. As fast as he could he walked away from the chicken coop back to the stables, where he dropped the sack with food on the ground and sat down next to it, examining his hand.

After a few minutes you came back from the goats and the smile on your face changed to worry when you saw Jesper sitting defeated on the ground.

‘Are you alright?’ you asked.

Jesper quickly jumped up and nodded, hiding his hand behind his back. He forced a smile on his face and tried to look excited at you. ‘I’m perfectly fine.’

You squeezed your eyes at him but dropped the subject. ‘Okay, if you say so,’ you mumbled and then nodded your head to the back of the stables. ‘We have to check on Klara again before we go on.’

‘Klara?’ Jesper asked.

You walked off to the back and Jesper followed you, ending up at a dark stable where a big cow was lying on the ground, breathing deeply. She had her eyes closed and Jesper thought she was asleep, but when you stepped into the space, the cow opened her eyes and looked up at you.

‘This is Klara,’ you unnecessarily explained. ‘She is our oldest cow, but it’s not looking so good for her now.’

You lowered to your knees and rested your hand on top of Klara’s head. The cow closed her eyes at the feeling and let out a deep breath. You closed your eyes momentarily and as a troubled shadow crossed your face Jesper realised that Klara wasn’t just another animal at the farm to you.

‘Will she be alright again?’ Jesper asked, standing awkwardly at the entrance of the stable.

‘I really don’t know,’ you sighed and you looked up at Jesper with sad eyes. ‘She’s not worse than yesterday, but also not any better.’

‘I’m sorry,’ Jesper said and he tried to give you a reassuring smile.

You got up from the ground and gave Jesper a little smile back. ‘Thank you.’

-=-=-=-=-

Later that afternoon Jesper was sitting with you in the shadows of the house, looking out over the fields that surrounded the farm. Somewhere far in the distance he could see the figure of your father, as a little black silhouette against the bright light of the sun.

Jesper was exhausted. Although he considered himself in good shape, the work on the farm was completely different from what he usually did in Ketterdam. Normally he would crouch, run and hide, but today he had had to use brute force and the running had only applied when one of the goats had gone after him.

‘And,’ you said as you handed Jesper a glass of water, ‘how do you like it here?’

‘I’m so tired,’ he whined dramatically and you laughed, throwing your head back. ‘But it looks beautiful here. I like it—reminds me of home.’

‘Where’s home?’

Jesper hesitated for a moment, considering where his actual home was.

‘I grew up in Novyi Zem, on a jurda farm,’ he told you, while staring out at the fields. ‘My dad still lives there, works on the farm now that I… am going to the university in Ketterdam…’

Carefully Jesper looked aside after his slip-up, but you hadn’t caught it. With your legs tucked to your chest and your arms wrapped around them, you were sitting in the chair, taking in the sunlight with your eyes closed. There was a soft golden glow on your face from the sun and the point of your nose glistened.

‘...I guess that’s my home now,’ Jesper continued. ‘Ketterdam.’

‘Hmm,’ you hummed softly before you opened your eyes and looked at Jesper. ‘What’s it like? To live there?’

‘You’ve never been to Ketterdam?’

‘I have, but never for a long time,’ you said, giving Jesper an innocent smile.

‘It’s… busy, noisy, crowded. There’s people everywhere, at all times of the day. When it’s hot the canals stink and when it rains the entire city turns grey. The rich people are mean and the poor are gross. It’s never safe and there’s a lot of crime.’ Jesper stopped talking to take a breath and noticed you were watching him with a raised eyebrow. Then he smirked. ‘It’s amazing.’

You leaned back in your chair and huffed. ‘I think I prefer the silence of the country.’

‘I get that. On my first day in Ketterdam I wondered how I could ever live there. I was sick with longing for home and the farm.’

‘What happened?’

Jesper grimaced. ‘I got a taste of real life.’

You waited for Jesper to continue, but he said nothing. He couldn’t really, not if he wanted to obey Kaz’s orders. Again he felt bad for you, for lying to you. You were so kind to him and all he did was lie about who he was; you didn’t even know his real name.

-=-=-=-=-

You stepped out of your room while the sun wasn’t even up yet. The house was silent and dark, but you could easily find your way to the room you were headed for. This was the house you grew up in and you knew every secret hidden in every dark corner.

‘Time to wake up!’ you said through the door and you knocked shortly.

Yesterday, Thomas hadn’t been of great use with your animals, but you hoped that today he would. He had told you that he had grown up on a jurda farm so you figured fieldwork wouldn’t be as hard on him as the goats.

There was a grunt from inside the room and you had to stifle a laugh. Once again you knocked—a little harder this time—and the grunt from inside came back louder. Yet there was little movement in the room and you rolled your eyes and grumbled something about lazy rich boys from stupid universities, before you threw the door open.

‘What—hey!’ Thomas cried out. ‘I said I was coming!’

‘Sounded a lot more like you’d just roll over again,’ you said, leaning against the doorpost with your arms crossed.

Thomas murmured something incomprehensible and he threw the blankets off of him. ‘If you wanted to see me naked, you could’ve just asked, you know?’ he smirked as he swung his legs off the bed and stretched his arms over his head.

‘Hmm, if only I wanted,’ you shot back, but you couldn’t keep your eyes from gazing at his chest anyway. It was dark, but your eyes had gotten used to the darkness enough to be able to see the lines and shapes of Thomas’ bare body. There was no denying his fitness, but what caught your attention more were the scars littered over his torso. From small, almost innocent lines to light-coloured circles and dents. For the simple student he claimed to be, he had an awfully damaged body.

You averted your eyes from his chest and shook your head. How this boy’s body looked was none of your business, so there was no point of dwelling on it. Yet, as you turned around to leave the room, you found yourself fighting the urge to get closer and feel his body under your hands.

‘You like waffles?’ you asked over your shoulder, seeing a big smile break on the half-naked boy’s face.

-=-=-=-=-

Your father had worked on the fields yesterday, and most work had been done already. All there was left for you and Thomas to do was harvest the potatoes on the last piece of land and then sort them with the rest. It was heavy, dull work and you were glad there was someone to help you.

Thomas and you were bent over the crops, working opposite of each other on a row of potatoes. The sun was shining on your back fiercely and you felt it burning on your neck. It was long too late to prevent the sweat from breaking out and you felt hot and sticky.

Opposite of you, Thomas wasn’t doing much better. Little droplets of sweat were rolling down his temples and the shirt he was wearing was soaked with his sweat. Yet there seemed to be some sort of glow around him, like he was energetic still—even after the hours of labour.

It was late in the afternoon when you pulled out the last of the potatoes. You and Thomas dropped down on the grass on the edge of the field, both sighing with relief that the hard work was over.

‘Only sorting left,’ Thomas said, wiping the sweat from his forehead. ‘How long will that take?’

You squeezed your eyes against the afternoon sun as you looked at the boy next to you and shrugged. ‘About two hours, I guess.’

‘Two hours in this heat is an eternity,’ Thomas stated.

‘We could do it tonight,’ you suggested. ‘After dinner, when it has cooled a bit.’

‘And what do we do until then?’

You shot Thomas a cheeky smile and got up from the ground. ‘I have an idea.’

You led Thomas through the sunny fields and over the meadows around the farm, ignoring the sunshine in your face. Eventually you slowed at large bushes and a few trees and you smiled at the boy before you pushed aside some branches and stepped out into an open spot with a small lake.

Thomas burst out in laughter and turned to you with a big smile on his face.

‘Last one in the water has to get the other drinks!’ he shouted as he threw off his shirt.

You followed after him, stepping out of your shoes and trousers. As you ran towards the water you took off your shirt, throwing it somewhere behind you on the grass. You pushed off on the side and wrapped your arms around your legs as you jumped into the water next to Thomas with a cheer.

The cold water engulfed your entire body and you happily welcomed it after the whole day of sun. Gasping for air when your head reached above the water again, you turned to Thomas.

‘You were last!’ he exclaimed.

‘Only because you were already in the water when you said it!’ you defended yourself and splashed water towards Thomas.

‘Still counts!’

He pushed water back and you closed your eyes against the waves. Water dripped down your hair and face, getting stuck in your eyelashes. You blinked the drops away and swam a little closer to Thomas.

Planning to create a huge wave, you lowered your hands in the water, when you felt something slimy slither past your foot. You squealed and leaped into Thomas’ arms, almost drowning him with the sudden weight. Terrified you scanned the water around you, looking for the thing you had felt.

‘What’s wrong?’ Thomas asked, trying to keep you in his arms while staying above the water.

‘I felt something!’ you squeaked, still looking around you.

‘Don’t tell me you’re afraid of fish,’ Thomas laughed.

‘I am not! I just freaked because I—’ you started but stopped when you quit looking and found yourself very close to Thomas.

That same deep urge as this morning crawled inside your mind before you could stop it. Despite yourself you admired the simple beauty of the face so close to yours. This boy had something enchanting, and it was more than just his jokes and smirks. Something about him made you want to cling onto him and not let go.

You did let go, however, and quickly swam back to the side in silence. Thomas followed you and climbed on the grass, offering you a hand so you could get out of the water yourself.

As you got dressed—with some difficulty because you were both still wet—far in the distance you heard the sound of a bell, telling you that dinner was ready.

‘Finally,’ Thomas said, as he pulled his shirt over his head. ‘I was beginning to worry we wouldn’t eat at all.’

-=-=-=-=-

Jesper was sitting alone at the back of the house with two large baskets of potatoes in front of him. Luckily it had cooled down and it was now pleasant to sit outside.

You stepped out of the house with a tray in your arms. Two glasses of lemonade and a plate of biscuits stood on the tray that you put down on the ground between Jesper and you, before you sat down yourself.

‘How generous of you,’ Jesper started, as he took the glass. ‘Almost like you didn’t lose the race.’

You shook your eyes as you took a biscuit, which you used to point at Jesper. ‘That race wasn’t fair, and you know it.’

‘Sure, whatever helps you sleep at night.’

You rolled your eyes but there was a smile on your face nevertheless. Then you nodded towards the baskets.

‘Two piles,’ you said. ‘One with small potatoes and one with normal and large.’

You took out a few potatoes and showed Jesper how to determine the size. He got on quickly and you were already starting on the second basket when your father called you away.

Jesper continued on his own while admiring the sunset he always missed in Ketterdam. He loved living in the city and wouldn’t want it any other way, but in moments like these he did miss his old home. He missed the simplicity of life back then, of knowing exactly what was going to happen in your day. Living in the city, living with the Dregs, had taken that certainty from Jesper.

The sun had almost completely set when you came back and the last rays of sunshine reflected in the tears on your face. You sat down with a sigh next to Jesper and before he could ask you what was wrong, you burst into sobs.

Before thinking, Jesper dropped the potato in his hand and crawled to you. He wrapped his arm around your shoulder and pulled you closer to his chest. He didn’t know where the action came from or why he did it, but seeing you so heartbroken hurt Jesper’s own heart.

You buried your face in Jesper’s neck and he wrapped his arms a little tighter around you. He could feel your quivering breaths on his skin and your tears soaked his shirt but he didn’t care.

‘It’s okay,’ he whispered and pressed a kiss on the top of your head without a second thought. ‘Let it out. It’s alright.’

After a while your tears stopped and your quivering breath changed for hiccoughs. You lifted your head from Jesper’s shoulder and looked at him with an apologetic look, that he discarded immediately.

‘Don’t even dare to apologise,’ he said and you laughed softly. Jesper wiped the tears from your face and cradled your head in his hands. ‘What’s wrong?’

‘It’s Klara,’ you said as Jesper dropped his hands from your face to your hands. ‘My dad went looking at her and she’s doing even worse than before. I know she’s just a cow and everything, but she’s the strongest connection I have to my mother and I just…’

You looked up at Jesper and smiled sadly. ‘I don’t know, it probably sounds weird.’

Jesper shook his head and gave your hand a little squeeze.

‘It doesn’t sound weird,’ he said, thinking of how he had clung to the littlest thing of his mother after she had passed.

You sniffed and smiled at Jesper. ‘Thanks.’

‘Of course,’ he said, as he sat back next to you, taking a new potato in his hand.

You followed his example and for a while you worked in silence, until Jesper took the last potato from the basket and threw it on the pile left of him. He turned to you and found you staring at the dark sky.

‘What was your mother like?’ he asked finally, giving in to his curiosity.

‘She was perfect,’ you said and you smiled faintly ahead of you. ‘She was caring, kind and smart. She kept things going around here. There is not much to do, but she always made sure I was never bored.’

You laughed shortly and turned to Jesper. ‘Perhaps I’m a little biased; she was my mother after all.’

‘Maybe,’ Jesper said and he gave you a smile. ‘But you’re allowed. Who better than kids to judge a parent?’

‘She was beautiful too,’ you added. ‘Did you see the paintings? My dad used to paint a lot, but since my mother passed away he hasn’t picked up a brush. It’s a shame, I think he’s really talented.’

Jesper nodded. He had wondered why the paintings had only been of the woman young, but she hadn’t aged anymore after that.

Now that the sun had set, the warm air slowly turned cold. Jesper fought the urge to wrap his arms around his own body. He looked at you and noticed the goose bumps on your arms too. He got up and offered you his hand.

‘Come on, let’s go inside,’ he said. ‘It’s freezing out here.’

You took Jesper’s hand and followed him to the backdoor of the house. When you walked past the path that led to the stables, you slowed and pulled lightly on Jesper’s hand.

‘Can we…?’ you asked and before you had finished your sentence Jesper nodded.

‘Of course.’

The stables were warmer than outside and though Jesper still hadn’t gotten used to the smell he much rather be there than outside. He much rather be there with you than alone in his bed.

Klara lay in the back and you let go of Jesper’s hand to rush over to her. You dropped to your knees next to the cow and wrapped your arms around her. Big tears rolled down your cheeks and the soft sound of your crying filled the barn.

Jesper sat down in a pile of dried hay and stared at his hands as he listened. After a while your crying stopped and only the heavy breaths of Klara could be heard. Feet shuffled and when Jesper looked up you weren’t sitting next to the sick animal anymore but next to him.

Your cheeks were still wet from the tears, but you managed to give Jesper a little smile. He wrapped his arm around your shoulder and pulled you closer to him. Slowly he leaned back in the hay until his back found support and he was almost lying down.

Without needing more words, you pulled your legs on the hay and settled against Jesper’s body. With one hand to your own chest and the other rising and falling with the motion of Jepser’s chest, you quickly fell asleep.

Jesper glanced down at you and almost got unwell by the sense of comfort that washed over him. The longer he looked at you the more that little bubble of guilt in his stomach grew, but before he could do anything about it the hard work of the day took its toll on him and he dozed off.

-=-=-=-=-

You woke up in a pile of hay by something that was nudging your leg. Slowly and grumbling against the bright morning light you opened your eyes to find a cow standing in front of you.

‘Klara!’ you cried out and the happiness that filled you at seeing she had recovered during the night drowned out all the sleep left in your system.

You jumped up and stumbled to the cow, throwing your arms around her neck. A few tears of happiness escaped your eyes and they dropped down on Klara. After last night you really didn’t think she would recover anymore, let alone be standing on her own feet.

As you hugged Klara, you suddenly remembered that you hadn’t been alone last night. You let go of the cow and returned to the hay you had woken up in. Instead of the boy you had fallen asleep against last night now lay a little note.

Good morning sleepyhead,

My friends finally picked me up early this morning and you looked too peaceful to be disturbed. I want to thank you and your father for letting me stay at your humble farm. It did me good to be out of the city for a while. I want to thank you as well for your company and honesty. I really hope Klara gets better—she seems quite cool.

I know you don’t like the city, but if you ever accidentally find yourself there and you miss my sparkling presence, go to The Crow Club and ask the bartender for Jesper Fahey. They’ll know who to find.

Take care,

Thomas

- - - - - - - -

taglist: @is-it-really-a-secret @mrs-brekker15

MASTERLIST

#jesper fahey x reader #jesper fahey imagine #jesper fahey #jesper x reader #fahey x reader #six of crows x reader #six of crows imagine #six of crows #crows x reader #the crows x reader #soc #shadow and bone imagine

80 notes · View notes

badgrishaverseaus · 3 years

Text

Six of Crows Cheesy Christmas rom-com AU

Nina owns a bakery shop and Matthias has a pet shop next door

They are rivals because their families hated each other

But Matthias saves Nina from a car crash as they were both crossing the street

She invites him for a bite in her bakery without knowing who he is

Needless to say the chaos and angry banter that arises when she finds out

They have a full on war about who can get the most clients until Christmas and they organise lots of huge events

They attend ALL of each other's events - ONLY to keep an eye on the enemy, wht do you mean they just wanted to oogle each other?!

Nina ends up meeting his dog, Trassel, whom she immediately likes

Trassel adores her and Matthias hates it

They end up having to slow dance, to go to a fair together, they go ice skating

Nina invites him to her Christmas party

Their competition is completely forgotten and they get together before New Year's

Wylan and Jesper are co-workers at the same company

Wylan is the CEO's son - Jesper always teases him about this

They are frenemy collegues - NO THEY DON'T HIDE CRUSHES WTH

They are tasked with organizing the annual Christmas ball of the company, a very good opportunity to make deal with investors

They disagree on EVERYTHING

"Jesper, NO WAY we are buying a neon lime green fake Christmas tree", "Wylan, what are you planning to do with that damn flute, deafen all our investors?" , "If you don't put that slutty Santa suit down, I swear I'll get you fired!"

Things get even more out of control when, during a very unsuccessful pre-party, Jesper accidentally kisses his ex and Wylan witnesses it

Needless to say that a nice holiday-themed flash-mob solves everything

Grinch who? Kaz Brekker is in town

This boy hates Christmas more than he loves revenge ( maybe a bit of a stretch, but still)

Inej, his neighbour, absolutely LOVES Christmas

She is the only friend he has, although he vehemently refuses to call her that - he set up a sort of neighbourhood clan and she is is his right-hand

She is his greatest investment, he is her grumpy boss

But they are still friends, no matter what Kaz claims

She tries her best to get him in the holiday spirit: Christmas movies, gingerbread, hot chocolate, decorations - NOTHING works

The only thing he actually likes is snow

So they go ice-skating and he sees how good of a dancer Inej is

He dismisses all of her invitations to her family Christmas dinner, but does eventually show up

Her relatives think they are together and Inej doesn't have the heart (or mood) to contradict them, so they kinda have to keep up the act

Too much eggnog makes him kiss her briefly under the mistletoe

he violently denies it

He is far more willing to accept being called her friend though

#submission #grishaverse #bad grishaverse aus #leigh bardugo #love this so much 🥺#six of crows #inej ghafa #kaz brekker #nina zenik #wylan van eck #jesper fahey #shadow and bone #matthias helvar #kuwei yul bo #soc #kanej #wesper #helnik #incorrectquotesconaisseur

100 notes · View notes

lover-of-trash-and-people · 3 years

Text

im angrier this time? netflix shadow and bone s1e7 re-watch (substituting alcohol with iced coffee this time) (oh, also, spoilers)

yes jesper shooting ketterdam cards title card omg I straight up forgot that this was the darkling backstory episode we all know I love bin bons as much as the next person but um can we petition to never see the flashback darkling look again I kind of love Luda but I find the entire backstory kind of unnecessary even though I get why they did it okay mr. barnes king of micro-expressions alright fuck you show makers with you breaking my heart showing me how the Grisha have had to go through this countless times that they have their plans memorized oy dumbass otkazat'sya man you speak the darkling's name with some respect alright I've got to accept the tricck they use against the king's men is pretty cool omg you fucking bitch this is exactly why people say acab I've seen people say why couldn't he have broken his bonds and killed them before they killed Luda and I truly believe a) he didn't want to kill unnecessarily and b) Luda's life was at stake so like I get it okay so I don't like the 'just mortal' thing they brought it to sort of drive darklina soulmates agenda home because lmao that is not why okay I get Baghra's points but I don't like her, she like made more sense in the books her position on merzost is true to the books but like her pacifist stance is not the same and it just doesn't make sense okay I like the poc tidemaker in their company the score when the king's men soon to be volcra confront the darkling is impeccable that blast of darkness that we see spread outwards from him was very cool dunno how I feel about him hyperventilating and the fold flowing from him like an inky black liquid god, the score when baghra asks alek 'what did you do' is so eerie and beautiful that transition was on fucking point HOW IS KANEJ IS SO ON POINT I SIMPLY CANNOT the Inej Jesper bond is so beautiful I love it okay I love and hate how they refer to Inej's horrible time at the Menagerie so briefly and yet try to add so much impact to it omg why is Jesper about to make me cry cut to Malina huddled together? okay, show god I hate how the amplifier storyline is so incredibly poorly developed the stag is so beautiful I can't 'maybe there's another way to do this'?! again with the sgegehshshsjsjs I hate it here, fucking explain it at least okay fine the shot of Alina lighting up as she touches the stag and smiling with the soft violin in the back was beautiful now time to say bye to the stag and cry I guess okay I love zoya, she feels very authentic to book 1 zoya with maybe a few tweaks we love to see a man with plot armour uwu okay Alina my fucking queen taking out the arrow would cause him to bleed out faster why would you do that the dumbassery okay alek you overdramatic bitch I LOVED THE LIGHT SHIELD lmao I'm gonna cry at how nasal and supervillain-y the Darkling sounds when he says 'you can't save them all Alina' like okay king maybe that line could have better delivery I'm so sorry I love you so much I'm still a BB stan 'you've lost too much blood' maybe if you wouldn't have taken the arrow out you dumbass 'you said you wouldn't hurt him' nobody said that Alina but I get it you've been through a lot you're obviously not thinking love the cut, she's always cool 'miss starkov' you're in tsarist russia stfu ono I'm not prepared for this Kanej scene I need several minutes they're so perfect 'Jesper fixed your cane' I see you writers thinking they're clever omg Amita shivering from the cold babe I'm so proud of you you're so incredibly cool I love his little jaw movements before he says 'you were right' and her composing herself before turning around due to the shock of hearing these words from Kaz's mouth okay we've all talked about the voice break when he says 'she's real' so I will not dwell on it but it was beautiful the little head bend after he says 'and you' as if catching himself before saying 'and jesper' yes sir that was very convincing AAAAAHHHH IT'S HAPPENING I CAN'T COPE yeah okay fuck you I'm crying Kaz's expression at 'I can't go back to the Menagerie' being literally 'I can't believe

you think I'll ever let that happen' you fucking idiots I hate you and how much you love each other you are disgusting David so much so as breathes I love him Him saying 'Im going to place this around your neck' comedic genius David looks so sad my baby angel it's not your fault get that man's true name out of your mouth Starkov you're not supposed to know it let alone say it in front of other people aleksander this is the first time I've truly disliked you, you fucking asshole, Alina my love please don't believe him (why am I saying it like I haven't read the books and watched this already) LUKE HAVING ACTUAL TEARS IN HIS EYES AS HE PLACES THE ANTLERS AT HER NECK WHY IS HE SO GOOD AAAAAAAAA I didn't notice Ivan slowing her heart on my first watch, is that to reduce the pain ouch I am even more sad now okay Jessie you did it again Emmy time for all of these people okay the violin being sad and terrifying this is so good Luke being sad, Jessie literally crying I fucking can't do this anymore 'this is my power' 'but now I control it' really? that was the best you could do at this scene that is meant to have this great of an impact? him sort of pushing her down made me even more upset I'm so mad right now Freddie's microexpression with the eye when Inej says 'Jes has a point' Jessie looks so perfectly shell-shocked, I love them so so much the prosthetic's so gross, I love it so much DAISY HEAD IS THE PERFECT GENYA I WILL ACCEPT NO COMPLAINTS She brought me to tears and I love it Alina pointing out the Darkling's role in Genya's circumstances this early on, we love to see a well deserved call out it seemed very unlikely to me that Kaz would agree to go home empty handed but I do think it would make sense to cut their losses at a certain point I love the Kribirsk camp sets far too much, they seem to have literally leapt out of the books the darkling coming to see Mal seems very fanservice-ey and not at all adding to the plot in any way but I love it Archie bringing that youthful brashness to Mal that we all know he would have is wonderful mal calling the darkling 'shadow man' lmao I'm gonna cry 'you are a child' yeah Alek babe it's best you don't talk about that Alina is of the same age as he is I wanna go to Ben Barnes' school of nose acting because god damn Archie perfectly bringing to life Mal's realisation of the impact that Alina's immortality will bring to their life together oof sir you don't understand how perfect it is that Ben's eyes are actually that dark 'you'll wish you killed me here' it's okay honey you lost this one the Crows being the Crows I love them can we please have Jesper wearing the Zemeni man's red suit be a stepping stone to him wearing fancy clothes of outrageous colours like lime green and orange in the six of crows timeline because the fans will lose their shit and you know it Inej looking fucking fabulous in her suit I can't Kanej smiling at their crazy little bi son's antics okay can we talk about Milo literally saving the day because writer's room im looking at you you're a bunch of crazy mfers and I love you but I also hate you also I get that Mal's a tracker but would he actually have food in his pocket I know this joke has been made before but like Mal pretending to be asleep after waking the guard up is every teenager pretending to be asleep when their parents come to check on them in the middle of the night omg it's the scene those beautiful gauzy curtains at the door of the tent, I want them so bad 'you are special' he says standing stiffly at the door with a creepy inflection why am I suddenly an anti wtf I want his kefta so bad though 'my parents' I love that the show added her losing her parents to him as well because well it makes him even more villanous in her eyes doesn't it no matter what she might have felt for him uwu first fight as a couple (I'm kidding please stop) I love Jessie as Alina so much darkles don't even go off comparing being Grisha to being half-shu you can't compare experiences of being the other that interchangeably yes baby call him out on his

hypocrisy man I'm so conflicted like I understand his motivations and his story so well but like how is this helping okay but Alina's expression changing ever so slightly at him saying 'you and me' stop breaking my fucking heart assholes why is Jessie breaking my heart more on this watch than Ben did on the first one I knew it before he said it but I still gasped when he did on my first watch the little head tilt after he says it still with tears in his fucking eyes man I love this show this was the most devastating break up I have ever experienced and I will not accept any counter arguments okay actual villain time we love to see it sir please don't erotically remove her cloak you have long lost the right again I knew it before they said it but them saying it had me screaming WHAT A GLORIOUS EPISODE

12 notes · View notes

nazyalenskyy-archive · 4 years

Text

mini big bang!

written for the grishaverse mini big bang, run by @grishaversebigbang

Thanks to my other gang member’s @punchsomeoneforme-willyou and @6crowgang for their amazing art!! (x) (x)

also known as i try to write crack. i also don’t know how to dye things or what the slat is like or what the van eck manor is like or if they have the word goth in grishaverse. I also don’t care. AND I don’t know how to put cuts in tumblr posts i’m very sorry.

At the time, letting Nina give out the dares had felt like a good idea. Now Jesper wasn’t sure he wanted to do any dare remotely involved with Kaz. She would have been better off getting Inej to do it, frankly. He was more suited to being a distraction – it was the charming personality no one could resist – and she was more suited to climbing into windows and sneaking around the slat. They’d been playing truth or dare and Nina’s idea – and it was brilliant – had been to dye the entirety of Kaz’s wardrobe a vibrant lime green. It would have their names written all over it of course, but that didn’t mean it couldn’t be fun.

The lime green dye, that Inej had flatly refused to tell him where she procured, was carefully balanced in his outside pockets. Due to the colour of said jacket, spilling it was hardly a catastrophe, but it might ruin the prank. With some flimsy excuses and much avoidance Jesper finally reached the room where Kaz slept. The wardrobe, he discovered as he opened it, was full of Kaz’s typical black clothing. Saints, this would be hilarious. He frowned and pulled out a jacket of Kaz’s and tossed it onto the bed. It wasn’t exactly something you were ever taught – how to put dye onto clothing. Kaz’s whole wardrobe consisted of the black tailored suits he insisted on wearing ironically to spite mercher’s or whatever. It was terribly boring in Jesper’s opinion.

He sighed and glanced at the jacket on the bed. According to Inej, you had to get a bucket of water (prepared by the Wraith herself), squirt the dye in and then the clothes followed. Inej hadn’t sounded particularly sure. Eh, there wasn’t much to lose. Pulling the dye from his pocket and unscrewing the lid, he somewhat carelessly emptied it into the bucket in front of him. The green of the dye fused seamlessly into the water, it looked like magic. Maybe it was. He hoped Inej could keep Kaz distracted for long enough, and dropped the first piece of clothing in. At this point he was stuck, again. Did you just leave the clothing in there? Take it out instantly? Who could say? Staring at it was unfortunately not going to yield him any answers.

He was pretty sure he’d heard somewhere you were supposed to stir it too, but there wasn’t exactly anything to use. In the end, deciding he’d get the job done a bit quicker if he did three garments at a time, he just left each in for ten minutes. The first set didn’t look all too bad. Aside from the fact they were soaking (Jesper had hung them up on hangers in various places on the top floor of the slat which was still mercifully quiet), they definitely looked like some form of green. After an hour of somewhat boring dyeing of clothes Jesper was satisfied Kaz had nothing left in his wardrobe that wasn’t at least a little bit green. The boredom would be worth it for the look on his face, which Jesper would be preferably seeing from a distance.

Grinning, he made to leave but instantly stopped in his tracks. There were footsteps. Kaz. Followed by laughter. Not Kaz. He breathed a sigh of relief and popped his head around the door.

“Inej?” He frowned as she and Nina reached the top of the stairs and slid past him into the room holding arms full of red and purple dye. “Nina?”

“We thought we should help,” Inej said, casting a pitying look at Kaz’s room. “But it looks like you have it covered.” Her eyes caught onto one of Kaz’s suits, which was now drying and proving to be a very neon shade of green, and she burst out laughing. “He’s going to me so mad.” Jesper and Nina both snorted.

“I would have liked to see him in a pink suit too,” Jesper mused, eyeing the dye Nina was holding. He scanned the room for something else to dye and found the stack of paper on Kaz’s desk. Nina grinned.

“Anyone know how to dye paper?” she queried and went over to the stack. They did not, but the concept of Kaz sending all his letters and memos and doing his paperwork on bright pink paper was far too much of an opportunity to pass up. So they could at least try.

Nina tried squirting the dye on the paper. It didn’t go well. Inej just dropped it straight in the bucket. That didn’t yield much either. It was finally Jesper who tried using the sink and slowly dipping the paper into the dye. It truly was vibrant pink. Brilliant.

“Pink paper is the only proper way to send threatening correspondence,” Nina remarked approvingly. Jesper turned to Inej, but she was gone. All that was left were a set of purple footprints where she’d been.

“Oh saints, Nina,” He pointed to them, and for a moment considered being concerned. But honestly, it just added to the joke. With a glance at his own shoes he realised they were coated in the garish green paint he’d begun with.

“You know,” She said slowly, eyebrow raised, “This, this could definitely be exploited.” Both red and pink dye was very abundantly on the side of Nina’s boots. They were not experts in cautiousness, clearly. She ran out the room and back in, leaving reddish footprints in her wake. The wooden floor of the slat was in dire need of a spruce up.

The two of them followed Inej’s purple footprints down the trailing stairs, and Jesper couldn’t help but wonder why she’d left. Then it hit him.

“If you and Inej are here, who’s distracting Kaz?” He frowned, Nina looked a little guilty.

“We didn’t want to miss all the fun.” She admitted.

“It's hardly fun! I was not especially good at that dying business. It's more complicated than it looks. And it took me ages.” He grumbled.

“Sorry,” She muttered. “But that’s a good point. No one is distracting Kaz.”

“Brilliant.”

They reached the bottom of the stairs, and Jesper couldn’t resist a glance back at the stairs, now coated in gaudy dyes. Anika was leaning against the wall ahead of them, a very confused look on her face. Jesper merely grinned, and Nina put a finger to her lips. Jesper barely had time to blink, before Inej slid soundless around the corner and stood in front of them.

“Kaz is on his way back. Closet.” She said quickly. Then glanced at the floor. “Actually, run around a bit first.”

So, looking undoubtably extremely stupid, they began do run in circles around the floor. It was coated in multicolour by the time Inej finally usher them towards the closet that Jesper wasn’t entirely sure was supposed to be there.

“Go on! He’ll be here soon. It will be boring if he sees us before the rest of it.”

Jesper looked warily at the closet. It didn’t look like all three of them would fit.

“Please just get in the closet.”

“Oh not again,” He muttered before he could stop himself. Inej pulled the door shut from the inside, somehow, and Jesper had been right. It was a little left of comfort. Not that he would have wanted to be anywhere else the moment Kaz walked through that door. The look on his face, which Jesper could just about see between the doors of the closet, was priceless.

“What the fuck?” Kaz spluttered. It was all Jesper could do to not burst out laughing. Kaz began to angrily head towards the stairs, and by the time he was halfway up, Inej, Jesper and Nina had slipped away into Ketterdam.

***

They’d been out for waffles, as a celebration for their hard work. None of them could be bothered to go back to the Van Eck Manor straight away, and well, this was fun.

“Maybe we should have painted the bedsheets in the shape of a waffle,” Nina mused, as she finished second plate. Inej glanced at the various plates that had once had waffles on them scattered across the table.

“Maybe, but I think eating them is more fun.” Nina nodded in agreement.

“What do you think he’ll do?” Jesper mused.

“He’ll either not speak to us for a week, or Inej’s boat and your house will be bright orange by the time we get back. It’s a toss up.” Nina shrugged.

“I could live with the house being orange. Not sure what Wylan would think…”

“I could build a brand out of an orange boat,” Inej added.

“Not exactly scary though is it. Not instilling fear into the hearts of your enemies. Oh dear god, here comes the fearsome captain Inej Ghafa and her orange boat.” Jesper snorted.

“Hey!” Inej protested, snatching a waffle from his plate. “I’m plenty scary enough myself.”

“You sure are, that was my waffle!”

“Care to steal it back?” She smirked, taking a bit. He did not.

They probably kept the waffle place open past the closing time, and by the time they trudged back to manor sometime that evening, Nina’s predictions were almost true.

Wylan stood outside the manor, arms folded and a sceptical look on his face. He looked quite cute if you asked Jesper, if a little annoyed. The manor looked fine from the outside. Same as it always was.

“Did you think it would be funny to provoke Kaz so much that I return home to an entirely different coloured house?” He grumbled as they approached.

“I feel like I’m being berated by a puppy,” Nina remarked and Wylan glared at her.

“Oh come on merchling, it can’t be that bad?” Jesper raised an eyebrow, but the look on Wylan’s face suggested otherwise. To be fair, he’d made a similar face when Jesper had been trailing green around the house that morning.

“Kaz has Gothified the house,” Wylan retorted, pushing open the door. Jesper blinked incredulously. The entire thing was a strange shade of black grey that completely sucked the colour out of it. Again trailing green footprints around the place, he dashed through the house. Room after room was the same. Hell, even the food was dyed. Or painted. Whatever this was.

It would have been funny, if it wouldn’t be so bloody hard to undo.

“How did he manage this?” Nina was saying incredulously as he returned. “We were only gone a few hours.” Inej looked smug.

“What did you do Wraith?” Jesper asked, narrowing his eyes suspiciously at her.

“A magician never reveals their secrets. Kaz won’t, and nor will I,” She retorted smugly. Behind him, he heard Wylan snort.

“You complained when I put a few footprints in the house this morning,” Jesper protested. “Now the whole house is painted.”

“Well, you could put them in now. It might add character.” Even Jesper had to snort at that. He glanced at the black bucket of dye left outside the door, and he could have sworn he’d heard a click of Kaz’s cane in the distance.

“Very subtle,” he muttered, shaking his head.

“This is insane,” Nina said pointedly to Inej.

“Maybe so,” The smaller girl said, but she was grinning.

Behind them, Jesper heard a muttered “Demjin.”

He didn’t know where Matthias had come from, but maybe this time he was right.

#gvbb #grishaverse mini bang #grishaverse #soc #six of crows #my writing #soc fic #my fic

51 notes · View notes

bubblegumstardust · 4 years

Note

for the ask game: jesper from six of crows??

oooh, i love Jes!

cue me trying to remember any specifics from Six of Crows when I haven’t read it or engaged in fandom for forever 😂

Why I like them: His entire personality and the pure chaotic bisexual energy he exudes

Why I don’t: this isn’t a specifically him thing, more of a two-way thing, but I’m not the biggest fan of the way his relationship with Kaz works a lot of the time

Favorite episode (scene if movie): I like that bit in the Ice Court when he’s chatting with Wylan and uses his grisha powers

Favorite season/movie: I mean there’s only 2 books and honestly I don’t know if I could say which of the two is my favourite

Favorite line: given that I had to google lines since my brain doesn’t work properly, I’m not sure you could truly call it my favourite, but I sure like this one “You’re the fool,” Jesper snarled. “He’s smarter than most of us put together, and he deserves a better father than you.” Because we love protective Jesper and insults to Wylan’s father

Favorite outfit: Look the lime green suit thing is hideous but it’s hideous in the absolute best of ways

OTP: obviously Wesper

Brotp: NINA!

Head Canon: He likes being little spoon

Unpopular opinion: I’m not sure what opinions are unpopular in this fandom, sorry

A wish: Just let him be happy and safe with Wylan and embrace his Grisha powers please and thank you

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen: death

5 words to best describe them: chaotic, badass, caring, protective, ilovehim

My nickname for them: I just call him Jes

Send me a character!

#people talk to me

1 note · View note

call-down-the-raven · 5 years

Text

The Crows dressed up in Halloween as this meme:

Headcanon where they dress up as the quality they wanted to have EXCEPT they have to choose one member of the group which is more identified with that quality;

Wylan: dresses up as Inej, the most loved crow (even for Kaz). Seems difficult, but you're forgetting this kiddo's amazing art skills and they are both small and dangerous and that gives extra points. He's surprisingly good at make up and when he enters in the room with his costume no one (except Kaz, who, of course, memoryzed every detail of Inej herself) can recognize him.

Matthias: decides to cosplay Kaz, obviusly the most respected crow. Inej, never missing ocation, steals one of Kaz's suits and even his cane (Kaz got MAD searching it) to help him. The most difficult part was doing his hair, but Matthias, who is kinda good at haircutting (I mean-LOOK AT HIS HAIR HE'S BETTER THAN BRAD PITT IN A ZOMBIE MOVIE) mades an accurate retort (AND he wears demjin horns, of course). Everyone's impressed.

Jesper: dresses up as Wylan, the most appreciated crow (it was actually an excuse to cosplay him, but he's not wrong). Like the fashion king he is, his outfit is PERFECT and PERFECTLY GLAM. Wylan thinks he actually stole clothes from him, but Jesper LIKE THE FASHION KING HE IS made his own accurate replique. He doesn't lose ocation to flirt with Wylan, who litterally. Blushes. All. The. Time.

Inej: dresses up as Jesper, the most happy crow. Steals lime green pants and a bright pink tie (Jesper has always one in his pocket, FIGHT ME). She's great at knife-cutting, so she kinda personalyzes Jesper's clothes and the result is awesome. (Also, he almost kills him for saying she's too short to wear his clothes). No one recognizes her (except Kaz, OF COURSE).

Kaz: dresses up as Matthias (spoiler) the most...dead crow. Ignores both Inej and Nina's dissapointed looks. He just puts a sheet on himself and says 'I'm Matthias Helvar'. No one recognizes him. Iconic.

Nina: obviusly, she's a cat. But she's not a normal cat (DO YOU EVEN KNOW NINA??) she's a #dramaqueen #glamdream cat. She gets a fashionable furry coat (of course, synthetic-everyone's animalist here) and cat ears (covered in glitter btw). She does her hair and it's EVEN more STUNNING that usuallly (Matthias faints). Her make up is just amazing, and she's voted as the best Halloween costume.

Bonus; Kuwei: kiwi.

That's all. KiWi

0 notes

thescriptorium · 7 years

Text

[demons and thieves]

Jesper&Wylan

It wasn’t as though illiteracy ever helped Wylan, but it’s sure never gotten him in this dangerous a situation before. And this situation just so happens to be in the form of a man, with a terribly tacky suit.

When Wylan imagined the devil, he pictured several things. The first that came to mind was the leathery red skin, the sharp horns, the hooves for feet. A try-hard for terror that never quite terrified people. It was the children’s book version that wanted to scare you into being good—like an evil Saint Nick.

The second he pictured with a more personal approach; perhaps the devil had no skin horrifying enough to scare every person on the planet, so he took on different forms for different eyes. The demons that haunted your sleep, the one you’d curse with your dying breath, the face to the unexplainable fear and rage inside you. For Wylan, it was his father. Everyone had someone, and if you didn’t, then the devil made it a game to finding the face he would unveil to you in your last seconds.

The third, was the real form. The face Wylan couldn’t dream in his sleep, couldn’t imagine, couldn’t believe.

When Wylan imagined the devil, he didn’t look like a dark, gorgeous man with a lime green suit and revolvers by his side. And he certainly didn’t picture himself immediately attracted to the enigma either. Yet, here he was—here they were.

If Wylan wasn’t terrified at the moment, he might’ve blushed. Caught in the candlelight, the figure flickered orange and black. It was late out, dark, and lonesome. The room they were in was cramped and smelled of tobacco—a cheap hotel Wylan had to pay a petty amount of kruge to stay in.

At first it didn’t seem real: someone just appearing behind him. Surely he was imagining things. He was exhausted, his eyes burned, dreaded of sleep. Emotionally and physically worn. It had been a rough couple of days. It’d be logical, even, if he imagined up some very good looking boy in his room in the middle of the night.

Only when the figure moved, did Wylan realize he was not dreaming. He scurried out of his chair as the figure advanced him, tripping over books and tables to press his back to the wall. His eyes flicked to his two exits: the four story drop from the window, or the door, which just so happened to be on the other side of the room, and blocked by a gaudily dressed devil.

“Well don’t act all surprised I’m here,” the figure said, “You summoned me, remember?”

Wylan found it hard to speak. He found the man wasn’t going for him, but the drink on his table. He downed the rest of the coffee and quietly set it back, a grimace on his face. Probably because of how cold it was. Cold and bitter.

When he finally found the will to speak, the words came rushed and jumbled, “I did what?”

The man looked to Wylan finally. His gaze travelled up and down, slow and deliberate. Amusement found his eyes, yet he spoke nothing. Fingers leaving a trail from the mug, he picked up the paper Wylan had been sitting in front of. Then he glanced to the book underneath.

“Pretty heavy stuff here.” he commented. “You don’t strike me as the type to be into this kind of thing.”

Wylan could feel sweat bead on his neck. Shadows still crossed over him as if he were made of them, as if he were intangible, not really here. Something aired off of this man, something Wylan couldn’t explain, but at the same time would dedicate years to figuring out. His heart thudded so harshly he was sure the figure could hear it.

“I don’t— who are you?” his eyes flicked to the book, then quickly back to the man, as if afraid he would disappear if left unattended for even a second.

“Different people call me different things,” he said casually, flipping the book shut, “Most call me beautiful, endearing, gorgeous, that kind of thing. Can’t blame them. Others call me not so nice names; can’t blame them for that either, but not my most personal favorites. But, since we are just meeting and I understand how uncomfortable you are with all of this, feel free to call me Jesper, but handsome or honey will do it too, if you want.”

Wylan saw him now, stepped into the light—a fire blazing behind him. All prim and proper, not a single fleck of dirt on him, his skin dark and smooth, as if crafted from a perfect drop of paint that no brush would be good enough to smear. A masterpiece. Confidence in a form of long legs and a side-tipped hat.

“What are you?” he asked now. When he felt sure enough to know that this man, this enigma, was not human.

“Oh, what? You don’t know?” Jesper asked, and that secretive amusement had never really left his eyes. He picked the book back up, with the paper stuck between the pages. “You summoned me. Didn’t you know what you were saying?”

The bead dripped down his collarbone; Wylan shook his head. “I didn’t—I was just…”

Jesper’s attention faded at his stuttering and went to the floor. More precisely, the balls of paper and books he had been tripping over since he first arrived. Obviously an outburst had occurred—papers scuttled everywhere, an overturned chair, even a book with pages ripped out. He kicked around the mess, and picked up the remnants of a book, “Brushing up on your modern literature? With a touch of archaic necromancy?”

When that last word reached Wylan’s ears, he could feel it skiver down his spine. “I didn’t know what I was saying. I didn’t even know what that book was, I was just trying to…”

The words drifted off back down his throat. His entire mouth was dry—cotton between his cheeks. Jesper noticed. He allowed the switch of their eyes in the shadows, the curve of his smirk widening with each second. Wylan winced; he could feel him rummaging through his mind.

I can’t read.

Picked apart and prodded, that one fact fell hushed from Wylan’s mind between them. Silence rolled over them like a thick fog, suffocating and distinct.

“Don’t do that.”

Jesper’s smile was wide. “Do what?”

“Whatever you just did. Don’t do that.”

“Sorry,” he said, pulling out a chair and sitting in it. He stretched out his long legs and crossed an ankle over his knee—all in one fluid motion that suggested he’d practiced it to perfect it. Like every step he took was calculated and intended, with as much ease as it took to breathe. “You were being all mysterious, I couldn’t help it.”

Perhaps it was because Jesper had finally taken a seat, but Wylan finally willed himself away from the wall. His muscles ached with the strain of pressing himself as far away from the man as he could. He only toed with getting any closer though. “I just wanted some practice, to see if I could…get it. I didn’t even know what books I picked out at the store, I just got what I saw first.”

“Nice choice,” he remarked, and if he had a glass of whiskey, he would have raised it in salute.

Wylan felt embarrassed as he realized his mistake. Picking up and reading aloud a necromancy book that summons…unrealistically good looking men. He could feel his face burn; he must look like an idiot to him.

“I was practicing my words.” he said, dryly, “I didn’t think it’d actually summon…the devil.” The picture on the cover did look suspicious. It was covered with runes, but Wylan figured it might’ve been some ancient book on Grisha history—something he knew nothing about.

“Devil?” Jesper’s laugh was sharp, “That’s a new one.”

Wylan cringed at himself. “Isn’t that what you are?”

Jesper sat up then, and again in one swift, effortless movement, placed his elbows on his knees. “No. The real devil is named Dirtyhands, and he’s the most frustrating asshole you’d pray to never meet. You’re lucky you were a word off in that spell, or else you’d be stuck with him and not with this gorgeous face.”

“So I’m considered lucky to have a demon pop up in my room?”

“This particular demon, yes,” Jesper confirmed, with a mighty smug twitch of his lips. “Because you are stuck with me for some time now.”

Another bead of sweat trickled down Wylan’s back. “Some time?”

In the dark shadows, the demon’s eyes gleamed. “You have no idea what you’ve gotten yourself into, have you?”

No. Wylan had no idea. “Can I fix it?”

“Afraid not.”

Shakily, Wylan took a seat onto the edge of his bed. Not nearly as smoothly as Jesper. He ran his hands on his pants, twitching and sweaty, his mind a whirlwind of bad thoughts and unethical curses.

“What does this mean, then? What do you want?” he willed himself to ask, despite not ever wanting to know the answer.

Jesper stood, clearing his throat and flattening his jacket. With long strides, he came to face Wylan, who was too lost in his own thought to even notice. With a gentle snap of his fingers, all attention was to him.

“This means you have two options. First, and most basic, you do what you summoned me for. You get to ask one thing of me, one favor, and in return, I take your soul. After you’ve expired of course.”

Wylan’s face showed he didn’t much like that option, so Jesper continued.

“Second option, you back out of our deal, and take it up with Dirtyhands. You remember what I said before? Unpleasant guy? That’s barely scratching the surface—honestly wouldn’t recommend that option. Ruthless, terrible, overall a bastard. Now you can take your chances with him, maybe he’ll have mercy and set you free, maybe he’ll be grumpy and take your eye; it could go either way.”

With a concluding shrug, Wylan couldn’t keep his mouth shut. “These are my only options? Are you serious?”

This is it. My life is over. My dad was right, being too stupid to read really would kill me one day. Wylan was dumbfounded.

“Well, there may be a third choice.”

Wylan could tell Jesper was having too much fun with his expression, but he found he didn’t care. He needed a way out of this, one where he could keep both his soul and his eye.

“You work for me. Indefinitely.”

With this proximity, Wylan could see Jesper’s eyes were not dark. They were silver-grey, cold and draining. Gleaming with something otherworldly, flecked with something incomprehensible. He couldn’t read them to save his life. And in this situation, that went literally.

“Meaning forever.” He didn’t have to ask.

White teeth shone brightly against the demon’s dark skin. “Somewhat.”

Rubbing continued on Wylan’s pants. His palms were sweaty again, heart thudding. He had closed his eyes to calm his thoughts, to think clearly on his next words, and when he opened them, he saw Jesper staring.

“If I said yes,” he began, mouth dry, “What would I have to do?”

“Anything I say.”

“Like…kill?”

“If need be.” Jesper admitted. “Though if you think that’s all demons do, then you have some prejudices to overcome. Especially before meeting the gang.”

Gang of demons. Wylan really didn’t like this.

“Can’t I just run errands or something? I’m good with numbers, I can do other things—”

“Easy now,” Jesper hushed him, “I’m not gonna force you to do anything you’re not willing to do. Part of being a demon: consent is taken very seriously.”

“Really?” Wylan bared a laugh, “So what if I don’t consent to any of these options?”

Jesper half smiled at the rise in his tone. “Cute, you’re really looking for all ways out of this. But thing is, you already consented when you read those words over there.”

“I didn’t know what I was saying.”

“Can’t prove that, now can we?”

Wylan grimaced, “What is this? Court?”

“Similar,” Jesper sighed, “But the fact remains. You consented to a deal, now I’m giving you three options on how to continue. Pick now, or I will for you.”

Wylan flurried with himself, a tumble of questions he needed answered. His eyes followed Jesper as he strolled around the room, “What do I get out of serving you? In the first option you said I get a favor for my soul.”

“Ah, that’s the thing about those who work for me,” he replied, picking through clutter on the dresser, “They gain some of my characteristics.”

“Like what? I get claws and an extra foot added to my height?”

“No,” he gave him a side-eye, “More like immortality, and a new way of experiencing things.”

Now, that made Wylan freeze. He could hear his heart thudding again; he pressed a hand to it to make sure it wouldn’t pop, and also to make sure he was still alive and not in some half-dead limbo. He could stay alive. Forever. If he worked with this mysterious, unearthly, demon for the rest of whenever.

“What if I want to die though? Like, at some point?” he asked, thinking too far ahead into the future.

“Then I definitely recommend option two.”

Wylan sighed. In the end, he knew when he was beat. But thinking about spending eternity with Jesper, had him considering—just considering—option two. Perhaps ending it all right now was the easiest way out.

A silence stretched, too long for comfort. Wylan stilled, statue-like, his hands in his hair—curls wrapped around his fingers, elbows on his knees. His eyes closed, focusing on the darkness that seemed to cloud around his feet.

When enough time had passed, Jesper decided to speak, his voice softly, unusually, level. “Mistake or not, everything has a price. The results of these options are the same. You’ve a debt to pay now, Wylan,” his silver eyes glinted, “All you have to do is choose is your form of payment.”

When Wylan didn’t move, Jesper crouched. He stared at the slumped form before him, how heavy his head seemed in his hands. “Soul or life.” he listed, “A little of both, none at all. Where I’m from, there are no guarantees. Just very likely scenario’s that almost never play out how you want. And almost always end up bloody. But that’s the thing with me. I bet everything I have on that one word.”

Almost.

“Maybe it’s time you start betting as well.” he said. “Why give in when you have nothing left to lose?”

Was Wylan to this point? Had his life truly gotten so pathetic that he was willing to gamble his life, his soul, his being, for…what? The best case of the worst scenario? Or possibly the worst case of the worst scenario?

Either way, the scenario was shit.

And Wylan had nothing to lose.

“Crap,” he breathed. Finally, his hands wrenched away from his curls. He dragged his fingers through and through his hair, before the ringlet wisps settled back in front of his eyes. Jesper smirked slowly, from one sharpened edge to the other.

“Maybe once we get rid of that pesky soul of yours, we can have some real fun,” he crooned, “Starting with teaching you how to curse.”

The laugh that passed Wylan’s lips was bitter, beyond tasteless, but it was a laugh nonetheless and Jesper appeared accomplished. He stood and flattened out a wrinkle in his vest, his fingers drawing quick circles over the buttons of his coat, before he fisted those finicky digits, forcing them in his trouser pockets.

“I’m assuming your taste in fun is slightly different than my taste in fun.” Wylan said, looking up to him.

Jesper’s head tilted, and his silver eyes glimmered. Wylan almost accused him of picking through his mind again, but for some reason, he knew he hadn’t. He realized his face must’ve given some stupid, boyish thought away, and the heat that now colored his cheeks only confirmed it all. He hadn’t meant for that sentence to be some implication, but it was obviously taken the wrong way by the demon.

“Who knows,” replied Jesper, “Maybe our tastes are more similar than you think.”

A cautious step forward had a familiar rigidity returning to Wylan. He went still as Jesper had approached him, the words pouring from his lips like liquid gold, molding him in place. His hands still placed in his wool pockets, Jesper leaned. His frame seemed to tower over Wylan, and out of the corner of his eye, Jesper’s hands had clenched behind the fabric. Whatever space between them was filled with short breaths and held ones, and a golden chain that dangled from around Jesper’s neck.

For a second, Wylan thought he might try something. And for a second, he didn’t know if that was good or bad.

Bad, he guessed. Most likely very bad.

But, before any rational thought or comment could pass Wylan’s parting lips, he blinked; and Jesper was gone.

To be continued.

Wylan couldn’t tell if those words really left the demon’s mouth or if was just an echo in his head, but despite they left him on his tongue. Gone. Just like that.

Had he imagined those grey eyes lowering? That smirk sharpening? The way he drifted closer, inch by inch? He must’ve. There was no way—it was stupid.

He was the devil incarnate. He was immortal. He was…he was.

He was everything. He was anything Wylan could imagine, and probably more. And what was he?

A kid with nothing to lose. A screw-up who couldn’t last a week away from home without getting into some otherworldly mess.

A kid who couldn’t survive without his terrible father.

Joints like rusted hinges, Wylan finally collapsed. The bed squeaked on boxy springs. His muscles ached, body sore, heart erratic. His sigh weary and exhausted.

By the time his eyes were closing and he was dozing off, Wylan was a boy again—asleep in his family’s manor, deep in his silken sheets, and wishing for a mysterious somebody to come and take him far, far away.

#wesper #six of crows #soc #jesper x wylan #jesper fahey #wylan van eck #wesper fanfic

32 notes · View notes

ohmytheon · 7 years

Text

Heat Stroke (Kanej, Six of Crows)

Honestly, this is pure crack. It's fluff with a tinge of angst because I can't write anything but that, but also because Kaz is the most melodramatic and Extra person there is. Boy, could you just be easy for once? Based on this post that had me rolling. I'm a sucker for jealousy fics. Also, this is low-key one of my favorite tropes. This is my first Six of Crows fic. I don't plan on writing many because I've got too much on my plate and I don't know if I can get a handle on the characters. But I did have fun writing this. Kaz kind of reminds me of Roy in a strange way tbh.

The mere idea of going to the beach sent Kaz into a silent, near frothing rage. Who in their right mind would want to go to the beach? What was good about them anyways? There was too much sun, too much pointless salty water, and far too many people, most of whom were in an ungodly state of undress that made him want to pay them to cover up.

Sure, it would be easy pickings, considering that people left all their belongings just lying around in the sand on their blankets while they splashed about like ducklings in the ocean or snoozed in the sun, but that wasn’t even fun. What was picking money off of lazy tourists after breaking into an impregnable prison and destroying the lives of not one but two filthy, scheming bastards?

There was no way in hell that Kaz would step foot on those sandy shores. He’d hightail it back to Ketterdam and its slums before he did that.

Then, of course, he overheard Inej mentioning to Nina that she couldn’t wait to be on the beach again. The last time she had been on one, she had been stolen from her family. She was excited to make new memories, much happier ones, to replace the one that had been forced upon her. Would the sand feel the same beneath her toes -- like quicksand? Would the ocean water lull her into a daze until she felt like she was drifting in the center of the universe? Would the sun warm her skin and bleed color into her again?

And that was how Kaz found himself standing on the edge of a beach, just inches away from the sand. Enough of it had been tramped onto the sidewalk, grainy underneath his shoes, and he scowled at the contact.

Everyone else was ready and excited to have some proper fun. Nina had made sure to set up their base camp on the beach, including a large umbrella, so that, in her words, “Kaz could have somewhere to sulk in the dark”. He hadn’t appreciated the remark, but he would undoubtedly spend his time under it anyways. Already the sun pricked at his pale skin irritably. He wasn’t meant for this kind of weather. Where were the clouds? Where was the rain? Where was the dreariness that seeped into a man’s bones and left him shivering?

Jesper snorted as he came up to stand next to Kaz, flipping up his sunglasses. “Nice suit, Kaz. Not sure it’s for the right occasion, however.”

Kaz glowered at Jesper, but it didn’t have the same effect as normal. Being out in the sun in a place like this was going directly to the other boy’s head. He looked right at home here with his flamboyant lime green and blue swim trunks and his skin gleaming darkly in the sun and soaking up the rays. Jesper was the complete opposite of Kaz, who was wearing a dark suit, though not with as many layers as normal. He’d opted for something made with thin material. At least he wasn’t wearing his gloves, though the amount of near naked people had him itching to snatch them from Inej’s bag where he’d put them.

“Come on, relax! Have some fun! Even you deserve it.”

“This,” Kaz pointed out, “is not my idea of fun.”

“Go con some hapless tourists if it’ll make you feel better,” Jesper told him. He put his sunglasses back down and glanced behind them. An amused and sneaky grin found its way onto his face. When Kaz turned to look, he saw what had caught Jesper’s attention: Wylan, attempting to carry far too many things at once, his wavy red hair practically glowing in the sun. “Some of us are going to enjoy every last bit of this vacation.”

Once Jesper left to help Wylan -- or tease him or both -- Kaz turned back to face the beach and the ocean and shoved his hands into his pockets. He might’ve liked this at one point in his life. Large bodies of water held little enjoyment for him these days, but it was more tolerable than before. Besides, the blue ocean of the Ravka shore was much different than the rough, freezing waters that surrounded Ketterdam. Nothing terrible looked like it could happen here, although he knew that even the prettiest of places held dark secrets and terrible wounds.

Maybe a shark would pop up and cause a thrill. That would at least be entertaining.

Familiar laughter drew his attention, the one laugh that reminded him of the sun and made things brighter even in his dark mind, and his eyes snapped in that direction. There was Inej, sitting cross-legged on the blanket. She was smiling as Matthias blushed and attempted to help Nina with her sunscreen. The Heartrender was making it as difficult as possible for him, lounging in an unseemly manner, which caused him the bluster every time she moved or breathed. Her swimsuit, red of course, hugged her curves in a way that dragged the eyes of every man and woman twenty feet from them, but she only had eyes for Matthias.

Well, almost every man. Kaz was mainly focused on Inej.

She was still wearing a loose-fitting black shirt and shorts. He knew that she was nervous about showing skin. The last time she had shown so much skin in public was when she had been trapped at the House of Exotics. She had kept to modest clothing since then, except for the time when she’d been forced to don a costume again during the Ice Court heist. But this would be all her, no one forcing her to do anything, hence why no one had tried to goad her out of her clothes. If she wanted to swim in them, no one would say a word, least of all Kaz.

He glanced down at his own clothes. He knew a thing or two about armor and levels of comfort.

But he also knew how much she wanted to do this. She had confessed to being nervous, but also that she wanted to prove herself capable. She was stronger than her past. She was ready to take more steps forward. Again, Kaz’s bare hands itched for the safety of his gloves. No, she was right. It was time to be stronger.

He still wasn’t going to like any of this.

Jesper blew past him in a rush, walking through the sand like it was nothing. When he reached their blanket, Nina squealed and scolded him as he kicked up sand, peppering him with threats that he ignored. Instead, he threw himself down next to Inej, holding a pair of goggles, and the two of them marveled at their darker complexions next to Matthias who was already starting to turn pink.

“It won’t be so bad,” Wylan’s voice came from the left. Kaz looked down at him, but the shorter boy wasn’t paying attention. He seemed almost as hesitant to enter the sand as Kaz, tentatively touching it with his bare feet before shaking his head and sliding his flip flop back on. At least he didn’t comment on Kaz’s poor choice in footwear or clothing. “But you’re going to want to put sunscreen on, even if you hide under the umbrella.”

“An expert on the sun, are we?” Kaz replied.

Wylan gave him an awkward smile. “No, just a lesson learned through experience. The sunburn was unbearable. I could barely sleep for three days.”

Not much of a difference from Kaz’s normal sleep schedule. But he didn’t fancy the idea of getting a sunburn. All the dead, peeling skin made him want to shudder and possibly throw up. He begrudgingly took the bottle of sunscreen that Wylan offered him, but said nothing in return.

Together, the two of them braved the sand, neither one of them fairing as well as the others, but they eventually made it to the blanket. Kaz ducked under the umbrella, just as everyone knew he would, while Wylan flushed and wiggled away as Jesper fought to get his shirt off to rub sunscreen on him. Despite everything, Kaz could tell that everyone was having fun. There was a happy glow about them all that had nothing to do with the sun. It would never be like that with him, but he was fine with it. If they could have a moment of unburdened happiness, then good for them. He’d helped them get here. If not for an easy life like this, then for what?

While Nina proclaimed that she was going to sunbathe -- “I have to get extra sun to make up for Kaz” -- the others decided to head to the ocean. Inej glanced at Kaz, who merely nodded his head, and smiled as she stood up to join the others. The boys were already down to their swim trunks, although both Matthias and Wylan seemed hesitant to part with their sandals and dare the heat of the sand on their bare skin. In the end, both boys ditched them, took deep breaths, and bolted towards the water, Wylan half squealing and half cringing as he did so. Matthias was probably too proud to admit any pain.

After a moment’s hesitation that involved looking at the people around her, Inej seemed to come to a decision. No one was going to notice her, not with Nina right there. Part of Kaz thought Nina was being so outrageous was to draw attention away from Inej to make her feel more comfortable. It was a very sneaky thing to do, but thoughtful as well, something that sounded very much like a Dregs thing to do. Underhanded compassion. Was there any other way?

Slowly, Inej began to peel off the outer layers of her clothes. Kaz made sure to look elsewhere. He desperately tried to focus on a bird skimming over the water, but he could feel her out of the corner of his eyes, beckoning him to look. He gritted his teeth. No, he wouldn’t make her feel uncomfortable. He wouldn’t let his gaze rove over her. He wasn’t a pig. He was stronger than this. It was nothing. This was nothing.

It was definitely something though. Kaz was scanning the area, avoiding her, when he noticed another young man their age perk up. Kaz wasn’t going to look. He wasn’t like that idiot. He didn’t even want to look. It was just Inej, just another outfit. The excess of skin was nothing. And then she was laughing, darting towards the ocean.

“Oh, that is a lovely bikini,” Jesper noted. “Did you help her pick it out Nina?”

“I wanted her to be comfortable,” Nina sighed happily, “but also feel stunning.”

Kaz couldn’t help it. He didn’t mean to turn his head to look. He was only trying to find one of the books that Inej had packed for him, but then he saw her and his mind turned to actual sand, all thoughts slipping right through him until he was staring intently. Nothing else mattered. Not the silly pigeons waiting to be picked, not the annoying actual birds flapping over them, not the awful sand or the despicable sun. Just Inej.

It was a simple swimsuit really, not a full on bikini. Short shorts and a crop top, both solid black, but it stuck to her body. The amount of her skin showing made Kaz almost shiver. He’d never seen so much of it before. It was like his brain didn’t know how to register it. He wanted to run his hand up her arm, down the smooth skin of her thighs, her belly that had a few scars marking it. He wanted to just run and leave this place, get as far away from her as he could, because he didn’t know what to do with himself.

How could he want something and be so terrified of it (of her) at the same time?

“Wow,” Jesper said, “she looks great. Just gorgeous really.” He chuckled and went to nudge Kaz in the side, though he missed Kaz by a few inches. He never actually touched Kaz, just faked the gestures. “Looks like some of these boys here have never seen a Suli girl -- at least not one as beautiful as Inej. Any of them could ask her out.”

“Not if I kill them first,” Kaz grumbled under his breath without thinking.

Jesper howled with laughter while Nina harrumphed, not even bothering to adjust herself. She laid perfectly still, sunglasses framing her face, as she hummed, “So romantic.”

Kaz blinked, suddenly aware that he’d actually spoken aloud. He hadn’t even thought about it. The words had come out of his mouth. He’d thought that he just thought them. He finally managed to jerk his eyes away from Inej to shoot daggers at Jesper, who was grinning cheekily as his laughter slowly died down.

“Well that’s one way to ensure you win a girl’s heart,” he said. “Kill off all her potential suitors.”

Refusing to acknowledge the subject any further, Kaz snatched a book out of Inej’s bag and opened it up, not bothering to even see what it was about. He wasn’t really one for reading, seeing as how he had better and more important things to do, but was surprised to find it was a history on the Council of Tides -- or what little history and facts could be gleamed about the mysterious group. She’d packed thoughtfully, knowing that he would be bored and wouldn’t like being at the beach.

A few seconds later, Jesper left to join the others in the ocean, leaving Kaz and Nina alone in silence on the blanket. The book was interesting enough, considering that it was what he was researching in Ketterdam right now, but every now and then, his eyes would find their way back to her. Water slipped off of her as she jumped out and then dove back under, her dark hair slick and dripping. His breath almost stopped every single time and then he would force himself back into the book.

What felt like hours later but could’ve been minutes, Nina abruptly said, “I didn’t think you’d come.” When Kaz didn’t respond, she propped herself up on her elbows and looked back at him. “Why did you?”

Because I wanted to see her smile. I wanted to hear her laugh. I wanted to be in her new memory. I wanted to be a part of something good for her.

“I felt like I was getting into a rut,” Kaz told her instead. “A break and going somewhere new can jog something.”

Nina gave him a lazy, knowing smile. He could tell that there was something she wanted to say, but unlike Jesper, she kept it to herself. He was both relieved and irritated. He hated it when people kept things from him. Still, he had a fairly good idea what she was thinking about and he didn’t want her to say it out loud. “Well, I hope it ends up being a productive trip. You could do with some sun and air after rolling in the stink of Ketterdam.”

“I happen to like it,” Kaz pointed out. “Fits me quite well.”

“Hm, yes,” Nina replied, lying back down, “but I’m sure you’ll find other things that you like as well. Better things, prettier things.”

Kaz’s eyes flickered back to Inej, who glanced at him right when he did. She smiled at him, the kind of smile that he’d start a war over. It burned him worse than the sun. It wasn’t so bad. He could learn to tolerate places like this if it meant seeing that smile.

#kaz brekker #inej ghafa #kanej #kaz x inej #six of crows #jesper fahey #wylan van eck #nina zenik #matthias helvar #jesper x wylan #nina x matthias #crooked kingdom #soc #soc fic #kanej fic #crack crack and more crack #everybody lives bc I am weak ok WEAK

241 notes · View notes