A Study in Music Theory (Wesper AU)

Seven: The Tavern

As fun as babysitting Jan Van Eck's kid was, Jesper still had a life outside the Van Eck walls. Every afternoon he picked petty fights with Dregs members and every night he worked whatever exciting job Kaz put him up to. It was exhilarating — this strange double life he was leading — but sometimes he needed a break. He just needed someone to fill in his social needs with gossip and drama. Which was exactly what Breakfast Night at Rosaria's was for.

Rosaria's was a quaint little tavern in Little Ravka that he visited with Nina every other Sunday. According to Nina, it smelled like home just as much as it looked it. The ceiling was low and there were as many little purple and red and blue flags as there were people. Lucky old Rosaria, this place would never shut down. It was never not busy when Jesper came here with Nina, even now in the dead of night.

Nina ordered her usual stack of beer-battered waffles while Jesper simply asked for water. Nina did offer to pay for them both, but Jesper made up some excuse about not being hungry. Jesper was sure she didn't actually believe him, but she let it go to begin talking about her day.

It was nice talking to someone whom he wasn't constantly trying to impress. She wasn't terrifying like Kaz, or classy like Wylan. In fact, she reminded Jesper of himself in many ways. She held herself in the same better-than-you way that came off as charming and menancing, and she'd also never back down from a fight. If they were each other's types, they would have made a couple worth fearing.

But luckily for Ketterdam (and frankly the rest of the world), Nina had her heart set on some blonde Fjierdan boy in Hellgate. Jesper didn't know much about it (nor did he really want to), but he knew this mystery man was the reason Nina even joined the Dregs. Rumor had it that she used to be in the Second Army in Ravka — maybe even one of their best officers — before she came to work at the White Rose. Jesper didn't find it all too hard to believe. There were times when she'd be caught off guard, and her hands would immediately fly to her hip or positioned for an attack.

They talked about all sorts of things; how life had been to both of them, stupid rumors going around about Kaz, local poltics, etc. Then that shifted to Jesper's day and his recent job with Kaz that had left him purple and blue. He had asked Nina to heal the bruising right before they had placed their order.

"So who's the mystery woman?" Nina asked suddenly.

"Excuse me?"

"Don't look so confused, Fahey," she said flatly. "You're usually too stuck-up to ask for me to heal you, especially if it's not permanently impairing, therefore you've got someone you're trying to impress." She looked so proud of herself that Jesper almost wanted to laugh. "So who is she?"

"She is a new job I have," Jesper said. "I've been tutoring for Jan Van Eck's kid."

"And Kaz is okay with that?"

"I think so. I mean, I haven't told him, but I'm sure he knows."

"He usually does."

"Right? That's what I'm saying! But the point is that my student — Wylan — doesn't know about my jobs with Kaz. And I don't really want him to know."

"Do you think he'd rat you out?" Nina asked. "The kid, I mean."

"No! No, he's not — it's not like that." Jesper let out a nervous laugh. "It's definitely not like that. It's just that... I don't want him to think I'm a bad person. He's really nice, actually, and really crazy smart, and I just don't want him to think badly of me."

Nina stared at him with those terrifying green eyes of hers. If eyes were windows to the soul, Nina's were two-way mirrors. All he could see in them was his confused self as she stared him up and down with a strange grin on her face.