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

28. Wylan

A/N: I'll be honest... I almost completely forgot to post! Welp... I'm back! Hope you enjoy, have a good day/night! :)

Wylan knew he was dreaming.

He knew it because at this time, if he was really awake, he would be curled up on the empty bed frame of his cheap rented room in the Slat, wishing he could wash the stink of dyes from the tannery off him and begging any Saints or deities listening to keep him safe for the days to come. He would not be lying in a comfortable bed where he actually felt warm, and he was fairly sure he would not be having a break from his nightmares this late into the night. And if it was real he certainly would not be lying on someone else's chest.

Slowly Wylan breathed in the person's scent; the sharp incense of gunpowder and the sweeter-but-distant smell of jurda blended perfectly together, and it all felt so familiar to Wylan as he rubbed the person's soft shirt fabric between his fingers. Cautiously he looked up, squinting as he tried to see in the dark. And lost his breath.

Jesper Fahey was instantly recognisable by his gorgeous skin tone to the small curly edges of his hair, right down to every outlined part of his face that Wylan had found himself gazing at so often. Jesper had been an unfortunate resident of his nightmares since the first time they met, but whilst Wylan's care for Jesper had grown stronger, the nightmares had worsened to the point where going to sleep felt like a horror in itself.

So why was Jesper here now? In this strange world between dream and reality, where memories were fuzzy and emotions came to life. A hallucination? Or was this something more? Wylan couldn't tell, but at that moment he didn't think he cared as he let Jesper shift on the bed, pulling him closer. Every movement sent butterflies swarming through Wylan's stomach.

No. This wasn't real. It was too perfect to be real. But Wylan would enjoy it anyway, would relish in the feeling of freedom and comfort he received from the dream, a welcome relief from the waves of nightmares that had plagued him for so long. He would savour this moment while it lasted, Wylan decided as he lay his head back down on Jesper's chest, listening to the steady rhythm of his heart. Let the nightmares come, because as long as he had Jesper's touch lingering in his mind, Wylan was safe. 

Matthias: 

  "Come on, you big oaf, it's too early for this!" Nina whined as Matthias tried and failed to drag her down the stairs. Not surprisingly, the early and random wake-up calls from Kaz didn't bother him in the slightest, since he had been trained from birth to always be on time, even if he would never call Kaz his captain. More of an... unlikely acquaintance he was forced to put up with.

"I agree red bird, but I don't fancy being scolded by a demjin, and we can get waffles straight after!" He said gently, ignoring the jolt of excitement through him; Matthias was slowly learning the joy of the maple-covered wonders people called waffles.

Nina looked conflicted to say the least. Finally, she sighed. "Fine. But it's only because I actually had a good night's sleep last night."

Matthias couldn't say the same. He was a light sleeper, and had been awoken by horrifying screams throughout the night, and hurried, heavy footsteps echoing across the sensitive wooden boards right outside his and Nina's room. Luckily, after a few door-slams and more footsteps the screaming had stopped, and Matthias assumed it was just someone having a nightmare. He couldn't relate.

Well, he supposed some would call them nightmares. But to Matthias, his dreams were a small piece of a memory, like looking back through an old scrapbook. His dreams were of the Ice Court, of the echoing sheets of Fjerden stone and steel, of the years and years of hard work and determination by his fellow druskelle to build such a structure-

No. That part was wrong. Matthias wasn't... one of them anymore. He had learnt his lesson, if not the hard way, about how evil his people had become in their growing hunger for success, and he would not follow that path. His path was now intertangled with another, and Matthias would gladly follow her down any road she decided to take.

"Matthias, you're doing it again."

He snapped out of his thoughts, and smiled down at Nina, who looked concerned. "Sorry, red bird. Just thinking."

Nina rolled her eyes as if the very thought disgusted her. "Thoughts never got anything done, Helvar. I thought I taught you better!" But she hugged his arm. "And besides, it's not as if standing here is going to achieve any-"

She was cut off by a door suddenly opening from next to them. Jesper walked out, looking like an eyesore with his brightly-coloured waistcoat and trousers that didn't match at all, but even he looked a bit disheveled this morning. He saw them and shrugged his shoulders, grinning sheepishly as he leaned in the doorframe. That was when Matthias noticed the person hiding behind him.

If Jesper wasn't embarrassed, Wylan certainly was. As soon as he saw them he covered his face with his hands, still wearing his borrowed pyjama set as he tried to shuffle out of the room unseen. The room. Jesper's room. Wait...

They all stared at each other in a silent contest; one appeared unfazed, one appeared to be going into anaphylactic shock, one appeared mortified and the other just seemed confused. And it was obvious who was who.

"Oh. My. Saint." Nina muttered, staring at Jesper, then Wylan, then the open doorway, then back to Jesper. "Oh. My Saint."

"Nina, sweetheart, as much as I am loving being the centre of attention here, I think Wylan needs to get dressed." Jesper smirked, and Nina nearly passed out.

"OH MY SAINT!" She screeched like a demented volcra, and Matthias covered his ears. Wylan made a break for his room, but Nina grabbed his arm, bombarding him with screams.

"DID YOU... I MEAN, DID YOU TWO... aw, my best friends are growing up!"

"N-no! It's not like that! We didn't... I mean I'm not... um..." Wylan stuttered, as red as Nina's dress.

Matthias was confuzzled. He didn't know what all the fuss was about; so Wylan had come out of Jesper's room? They were probably just having a friendly conversation before going downstairs for the meeting with the others. Matthias didn't see how it could be such a big deal, when-

Oh. Oh.

Djel has forsaken this place. And my mind.

"You did not," Matthias tried to keep his voice calm, but inside he was screaming to find a rock to hide under. "Please tell me you did not... you know..."

"So what if we did?" Jesper said defensively. "Is that problem for you, Matty boy?"

"WE DIDN'T!" Wylan hissed, shooting daggers at Jesper, who merely winked back at him.

To be honest with himself, Matthias surprisingly didn't have a problem with it. He could tell what Jesper was hinting at though. Fjerda was very strict about love in general, especially what type of romantic relationship was acceptable at what time... and a lot about who that relationship could be with. But Matthias had learnt a lot about love in the past few months, and Nina had made sure to be detailed about her past boyfriends and girlfriends just to rub it in extra thick. Besides, Wylan and Jesper were a good match, even if neither would admit to it, but the thought of them taking that much of a step in their relationship? Well, it seemed less of a step and more of a leap-from-a-cliff-and-hold-on-for-dear-life kind of situation.

"Are you guys having a meeting of your own or something? Come on! We all need to..." the voice from the stairwell trailed off.

All four heads swivelled in the direction of the voice, not needing to wonder how they had crept up so silently. It was obviously Inej. She took one look at the scene in front of her and merely shook her head.

"Should I even ask?"

Two heads shook vehemently, one merely cocked to the side amusedly whilst the other looked like it was about to explode. Inej smiled as they began to make their way downstairs, though Matthias suspected the meeting would be anything but regular. After all, he was living with the most deadliest and wildest people he had ever met, and they were all suffering from the same lethal disease; love sickness. 

A/N: I think it's safe to say Nina Zenik is the Wattpad representative for Ketterdam; she be fangirling hard! See you all later!