The Love of a Crow - Wesper/Crows Fanfiction/AU

25. Jesper

A/N: Hi everyone! I'm just dropping in to warn you that this chapter makes no sense. I wrote it over the span of a week and it kind of feels like a lucid dream, but it's got Wesper in it, so who cares? I hope you enjoy, have a good day/night/anything in between! :)

What a day.

First Jesper had swooped a merchling off his feet. Then he jumped in front of a bullet. And finally, he had run for his life to save that very same merchling from being blown to bits. If that didn't deserve a holiday then he didn't know what would.

Because of this, the safe house seemed quite dull after the others had left, even though Jesper knew Scales could jump out at them and kill them if he knew where they were. Their defence was weak, and running would do no good in the long, winding streets of the Warehouse District. They were sitting ducks. Literally.

That was all they did. Sit. Jesper had barely spoken to Wylan in the hours they had been together. No matter what he did, he couldn't find the right words to say to the merchling. What do you say to someone after you save their life by revealing a magical power? Jesper doubted there were any relationship books about that.

Wylan didn't seem to know what to say either, but that was a given; the boy could barely ever get his words straight. It was one of the things Jesper liked about him.

No! There he was again! Fantasising things that he could never allow to happen. Sure, he had lost his strength in that room at the Crow Club, but that was over now; he couldn't start to give Wylan the wrong idea.

Jesper wished he could find a way to make things work out with Wylan, but his head wouldn't allow it, no matter how much his heart beat for him. Wylan was a pure, untainted ball of courage that Jesper couldn't bear to see get hurt. And he would hurt Wylan; it was in his nature. Jesper couldn't hold onto a relationship if it ran to him and glued itself to him. Wylan deserved so much more than a one-night stand and then a ghosting. He deserved someone who would care for him and treasure him like the most beautiful revolver. And though Jesper would love that person to be him, he just couldn't see it happening. How could a merchling ever love a gambler?

So he began keeping Wylan at a distance, and Wylan seemed to catch on quickly, constantly avoiding Jesper's gaze and not talking much. Jesper hated to admit that it hurt to see Wylan give up so easily, but it was for the best. A handsome boy like that would find a way to get over Jesper quickly anyway.

Slowly the hours began to trickle into a day, then two, until by nightfall Jesper felt he was going mad. All he wanted to do was to sprint to the nearest gambling parlour, or take a deep swig of booze, or shoot at a complete stranger. The feelings made him restless, the constant need to fulfill them never stopping. There was one thing that stopped him though.

Wylan lay slumped across an armchair on the other side of the room, mindlessly fiddling with two bits of metal as of they would magically make a bomb. His eyes fought to stay open as he was supposed to be keeping watch (Jesper didn't trust Anika and Pim's abilities in the slightest). Wylan hadn't been the same since the scrape at the Crow Club, but Jesper still wasn't sure why. They had made it out alive alright, so what was the problem? But no matter how much Jesper pondered these thoughts, it didn't change the fact that Wylan was in no way to defend himself, no matter how many bombs he had stashed around the place.

Oh. That reminded Jesper. "Hey, have any of your cuts opened again?" He asked.

Wylan started awake, before shaking his head. Jesper knew he was lying; small spots of blood had already appeared on his bandaged hands.

"Here, I'll fix it for you," Jesper marched over, and Wylan didn't have time to move away.

"Don't," he whispered, and Jesper froze. "We... we shouldn't do this."