He was definitely suffering from the sugar rush.
Three mocha frappuccinos, one melted strawberry dipped in chocolate, two minty chocolate chip blast, one s'mores drink, three croissants, one granola bar, four sugary green teas and two and a half bathroom trips later, Wylan's head was jerking from the sudden inhalation of sugar, and judging from Matthias and Paja's expressions, they weren't doing any better. Well, Matthias' (who actually was doing vastly better). Paja was lying on the floor in a fetal position, and he wasn't sure if she was conscious or not.
Thump. He tilted his twitching head and watched as Paja's figure uncurled and fell hard onto the floor, extending her arms and legs into an obtrusive starfish position.
Lazily, Matthias hiked himself up from the chair he had sat on and observed Paja with a dubious expression. "Do you think she's alright?" he inquired, having had much less sugar then both Paja and Wylan.
Wylan shrugged, trying to get his head to stop shaking so much. "Probably," he said in response as he looked at himself in the mirror. "I'm more concerned about my permanent twitch I have going on. What if it never stops?" he made a face as his hands lifted to physically restrain his head and did nothing. "Fuck."
Matthias' hand moved slowly as he extended it and dropped it directly onto Wylan's head, the weight of it forcing his skull to stop. Wylan shot Matthias a half-smile. "Thanks." He wasn't really sure about the etiquette for dealing with somebody that stopped you from twitching like a lunatic.
Matthias shrugged it off without making another comment and Wylan bit his lip before he said something he would regret. Finally, he decided to just go for it. "So how are you and Nina doing right now?" he asked, blushing as he thought of what had happened in the elevator.
Matthias' cheeks tinted red as well and Wylan was relieved that he wasn't the only one that had to deal with a seductive... the thought trailed off and he wondered what him and Jesper were. Jesper had made plenty of comments about how he looked like, or just a lot of sex jokes, but had never said anything referring to them being together.
Like, together together.
"We're doing pretty well now," Matthias said instead, flashing Wylan a tentative existential smile. "I, um... I'm sorry about what you went through in the elevator."
Wylan tried shaking his head but it was useless, due to the fact that Matthias' hand was still on his head. Instead, he settled for words. "It's fine, honestly," he said truthfully. "Sure, I was the colour of a tomato the entire time that happened. And yeah, it was kind of cringe-y. But at the same time from what I heard, I'm glad you worked through all your issues."
Matthias' blue eyes searched him thoroughly, as if trying to find a lie in his statement. Wylan didn't look away, and after a while his blue eyes slid away from him, as if finding what he wanted. "Thanks," Matthias said softly. "It wasn't easy. Nina and I had a lot of issues to work through."
"Oh?" Wylan asked, trying not to pry. Jesper and Inej had mentioned a lot about Matthias' backstory, and from what he heard it was pretty rough. They hadn't said much about Nina though.
"Yes," Matthias murmured, eyes lost in thought. "I... my hometown was hit by my country's own military. They say it was an accident, but I've looked into it and they don't fire weapons of such high grade destruction that easily. They were targeting civilians, and wanted to play it off as a mistake."
Wylan hid his sharp intake of shock, choosing instead to lightly pat the massive blonde's shoulder. "I'm so sorry," Wylan said apologetically. "This can't be easy to relive."
Matthias shook his head but didn't stop. "And my stepfather - Jarl Brum - wasn't any better. He was my foster father after I had to move out of my hometown, and Djel knows why but he was constantly attacking my hometown. Said the people in it were poisonous. He tried to turn me against them too."
He didn't really know what to do in response to all of this, but he tried to keep up a steady level of patting. Matthias didn't stop though, or seem to notice him at all. "I think that left scars," Matthias said softly. "And Nina, Djel knows she's been through a lot too."
"I'm sorry," Wylan whispered, keeping quiet. The sugar high had died down, but Matthias kept his hand on his head. "I'm so sorry about everything that happened to you."
Matthias shook his head again, keeping his blue eyes trained solely on Wylan. "No," he told Wylan. "Don't be. I met some amazing people - even Kaz, that snow-storm starting bastard - and I don't regret it. I regret the imprints Brum left on me, but aside from that I am happy with how it turned out."
His eyes twinkled at the memories, and Wylan hid a smile. He thought back to his own childhood and as he looked back up at Matthias' eyes, he realized that it was probably his turn to say something.
He swallowed. "Well, my dad is actually somebody pretty famous. He's a globally known CEO and when he found out that he had a dyslexic gay son, he wasn't too happy. He's also pretty controlling, so moving to my own apartment for college is pretty much one of the greatest decisions I've ever made." He kept quiet about all the other shit his father had done to him. Jan Van Eck had a habit of looking down at anybody that wasn't himself - something Wylan hadn't been subject to until he was officially registered as a moron on medical records - and that meant little comments. Comments designed, not to hurt, but to remind him of his own disability in case he was getting too cheerful.
They generally weren't too bad (that came in when he was around fifteen) but before that, it had only been small mocking comments. When he had turned fifteen was when it had really began to spiral downwards. It had gotten so bad, his mother had called desperately for a divorce. After getting it, she had moved out as soon as she could. The last of Jan's love for Wylan had disappeared with the fading memory of Marya Hendricks.
Belatedly, Wylan realized why he hadn't taken his mother's last name.
Why didn't you take me with you Mom? he wondered inside his own head. You knew what Dad was doing to me. You could see it happening.
Marya Hendricks had abandoned him when he needed her most, and as a result, Wylan hadn't seen a trace of her since he had watched her walk resolutely out of his father's house.
"Wylan?"
Wylan blinked back the flow of memories and looked at Matthias, who was shaking his shoulders. "Sorry, yes?"
"Are you okay Wylan?"
Wylan sighed. "Yeah Matthias," he said after a beat. "I'm good."
Matthias didn't take his hand off of Wylan's head, and it was in the quiet comfort of the moment that made Wylan's eyes flutter close and finally let him sleep.
*
a/n: and here is the chapter i promised would come out the next day! it's currently 8:46 and that means i didn't wait until the last thirty seconds to post this chapter!
additionally, i was reading this novel on wattpad called 'Now Hiring: New Villain Wanted' by Scarlet R. Flame and it's hilarious. It's not a six of crows fanfic, but the author's writing is really good (and at one point i was crying on the floor from laughter). check it out!
thanks for reading,
mercy