Bombs and Bullets - Wesper oneshots

I Swear I Do.

After the events of Crooked Kingdom, Jesper and Wylan are fully moved into the mansion.

~

Wylan stared out at the lights flickering across Ketterdam from his bedroom balcony. It was late in the night, although he knew Jesper was still downstairs somewhere, up and running.

Whenever he thought of Jesper, the only things he'd thought of besides the boy himself was the kiss they'd shared right after Wylan had been tailored to his original self, and what Colm had said to him in the bakery.

"You're good for him."

You're good for him. The thought rattled around in Wylan's mind. Good for him. What was that supposed to mean? For years, he'd been persuaded he'd never be good for anyone. Not his father, not his mother, not for any of the wicked world they live in.

The rushed thoughts which knocked about his head paused for a moment as a hand gently landed on his back. This house still stank of bad memories and trauma for him, so upon the feeling of a hand on his back, his own hands clenched the railing, and his head sank into his shoulders, ready for some kind of scolding or beating to be inflicted on him.

Instead, he heard the warm summer air of Jesper's voice. Like a beam of sunlight shining in the winter.

"You okay?" The tall boy inquired.

Wylan didn't reply. He just kept looking ahead of him.

"Wylan?" Jesper had slightly bent his knees and cocked his head to one side in order to be
right-in-front-of and face to face with Wylan.

Wylan, on the other hand, hadn't realized he was crying until Jesper had wiped a tear from his cheek.

"Hey. Hey, hey, hey." The sharpshooter hushed, "Look at me, Wy."

He obeyed.

"Tell me. What's going on?"

The boy moved a rusty curl from out of his vision, "Am I...good enough?" Wylan had seemed to take a sudden interest in his feet, looking down at them for a moment, and then back to the boy in front of him.

Jesper's eyes softened, his jaw eased, and it was like his mind had finally paused for a second.
Because it did.
"Wylan. Oh, sweet, little Wylan," he gushed, now leaning back on the railing. One arm spread out across the metal beside him, but the other found it's way to Wylan's hair, coiling a strand around the finger. "—You, Wylan Van Eck, are the good-est enough-est person I've ever met."

Wylan dropped his head and chuckled a bit before using only his eyes to look up at the boy in front of him, smiling. Wow. He thought. I live with this. "I don't think that's a word, Jes."

Jesper smiled a bit before the ends of his mouth drooped. "I think I need to talk to you about this," he'd sputtered. Wylan's heart skipped a beat. Actually—it skipped multiple beats. "What happened at the hotel...y'know...when we..." the taller boy trailed off, now staring at the flickering candles in windows. Ketterdam was never quiet, but it was quiet enough. Quiet enough for both of them to stare into each other's eyes and speak a million words without saying one.

"Jesper—"

"Let me go first. Wylan. You...I don't even know how to explain you. You're amazing. You're smarter than the rest of the crew put together, and—"

"Don't lie." The strawberry blond stammered.

Jesper sighed, "I'm not lying, Wy," He took the other boys pale hands in his own big ones. "I love you. I swear, I do."

His big, steel eyes were the only thing Wylan could stare at, and they were the most meaningful things he'd ever seen.

A loud thud interrupted their thoughts. Where did this thud come from? The roof. That could only mean one thing.

"Inej."
"Inej!"