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[itookashot]

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[itookashot]

That's cute.

Trust me, Reiner is not kidding when she says that was a light response. Free Cities has a lot of dangerous tech weapons. It's why I was trying to find out a way to get to you lot and pull you out of Thorne.

[ordinar]

[He genuinely can't tell if that's flirting or teasing, so...]

Shut up.

[...Better cover all his bases.]

Am I a damsel in distress now?

[itookashot]

You shut up.

[ Laughing. ]

You're all damsels in distress and I am the handsome hero.

[ordinar]

Well, good luck. There's like a million magic wards on this place.

[Though he's definitely got the handsome part down. That goes unsaid.]

[itookashot]

Where there's a will, there's a way.

Would you run off with me if I did?

[ordinar]

Well, it would be rude not to after you went through all that trouble.

[itookashot]

I'm working on it. I'm not about to leave you lot there.

[ordinar]

You're serious.

And insane.

[itookashot]

I'm absolutely serious. I've pulled off daring rescues before.

[ordinar]

I guess you weren't joking about taking risks.

So tell me about it, oh brave and handsome hero.

[Haha jk except not jk.]

[itookashot]

I'm both always joking and completely serious at the same time.

Are you flirting with me, Pigeon?

[ordinar]

[A yes or no question shouldn't require so much deliberation. But as the latter is untrue, and the former is too nakedly bold, here he is. It's not even serious, it's...fun. A little exciting, a little nerve-wracking. Very nearly a distraction from everything burning around them.

After a long pause:]

Only because you started it.

[itookashot]

I'm always flirting. And here I thought you were straight.

[ordinar]

Guess not.

[itookashot]

Damn, you should have told me at the party! I could have kissed you in person. Rude.

[ordinar]

[Oh. Preoccupied with missing Simon — and brooding over the way they'd burned down — he hasn't given much thought to kissing anyone else. But now he is.]

You know, I thought you'd hang around longer that night.

[itookashot]

I got distracted by them telling us to use those bugs to protect Jaskier.

[ And everything that went wrong after that. Jesper himself is not that close to Jaskier, but he's still one of the Cadens family, and he's close to Geralt and Nadine. Jesper's very protective over people.]

Would you be interested in kissing me? Because we can do that in the Horizon any time we want.

[ordinar]

[Right, that was a stupid thing to say. Think. Whatever.]

I just meant

I had a good time with you.

[Although now every memory of that night is left charred by what followed, in the way fire catches hold of everything around it, the hour spent with Jesper stays one he wishes he could go back to.]

Really? Like right now?

[Or...something less embarrassingly eager. Fuck, his brain seriously needs a backspace key.]

I mean, if you're not busy.

You're probably busy.

[itookashot]

I had a good time with you too, love.

[ He's laughing. So eager! His favorite. ]

I'm not busy. A pleasant distraction would be greatly appreciated right now. If you're interested, come to the Crow Club. Hard to miss, it's a seedy-looking club with a giant crow symbol over the door. Meet me there?

[ooc: going away on Sat but we can start something here if you want!]

1/2

[ordinar]

See you soon.

2/2

[ordinar]

Wilhelm spends a good minute wondering what he's doing. Until a minute ago he'd never considered kissing Jesper. Well, maybe not never — he's got nice lips, and that's not a conclusion one can arrive at without some measure of imaginary kissing. But never seriously.

Because it's fun to be casual, pigeon, you should try it, Jesper's voice teases from some corner of his memory.

A little fun couldn't hurt. He could definitely use a pleasant distraction these days, which he watches pass by from the disheveled mess of his bed, hardly able to stand up under the weight of everything.

Another minute — this one for smoothing out his nerves enough to reach the appropriate state of concentration — and Wilhelm slips into the Horizon. Passing underneath the giant crow that marks the club's entrance, he glances around for Jesper. He works hard at assembling a casual air with his hands in his pockets.

[itookashot]

Jesper's temper has been high, his reaction to all of this was fear (for others) and fury, the first inflaming the second. It's not a good time for him to have people he cares about somewhere he can't protect them. One of Jesper's defining characteristics is his loyalty and drive to take care of his loved ones, which was easier when it was all the Crows and they lived in the same city. The sudden violence and threat of it hanging over everyone made him want to fight, which is why he signed up for the supply run.

But he can be just as happy to move those feelings in a different direction. They both need a distraction. Jesper's definitely thought about kissing Wilhelm, but to be fair, he thinks that about every pretty person he comes across. He likes him though, sweet and soft and interesting, and it was adorable of him to so eagerly respond to the flirting. Not at all as straight as he thought!

The Crow Club is darkly lit and seedy, even here, because Jesper had no intention of changing the ambiance when creating it. Now Kaz shares it since it's his. But the Crow Club also has this energy within it, powerful and intriguing, dark and engaging. It's empty at the moment outside of Jesper himself, sitting in the back booth area.

He looks his usual dashing self in greens, his long jacket slung over the back of the booth so he's less formal. Jesper can tell when someone is in his space, it's his after all, and he whistles from where he's casually lounging at the moment. His smile is instant and cheerful.

"Oi, Pigeon. Come back here. You want a drink?" There is a bar but he can make drinks wherever he wants.

[ordinar]

Scoping out the scene, he remembers that Jesper is supposed to belong to a gang. Extracted from the context of their homeworlds, it's easy to forget those kinds of details — whoever you were there, it doesn't matter much here. Wilhelm wonders if this club is Jesper's gang's turf. (Is turf the actual term people use?) If his mom knew that he was slinking around some club sucking face with a boy of questionable background, she'd probably have an aneurysm. Strangely, this thought only makes him more sure of what he's about to do.

Jesper's smile gets one out of him in turn, in the same way the sun spreads warmth. He does hesitate for a snap, pulled by habit toward the seat across from Jesper — but wedging a table between them wouldn't be conducive to the whole kissing thing. Correcting his course, Wilhelm slides in next to him.

"Sure," he answers, tucking a strand of hair behind his ear. "That would be great."

Now, to remember how to be a functioning person, which he's never really had a firm grasp of in the first place. He's not dressed as sharply as Jesper, but the sweater indicates some effort. He's also not nearly as relaxed, hands knotted in his lap, shoulders straight and stiff.

[itookashot]

This is the Dregs' turf, yes. Their beloved club. He never feels more at home than when he's in here. He watches Wilhelm curiously, wondering how he is going to play this. If he sat across from him, it means he needs to unwind more before they get anywhere, but he decides to sit next to him instead, which means he hasn't lost his nerve. Jesper would be fine with either option, he's very good at seducing people who are a little nervous and need a softer hand.

He snaps a finger and a drink appears before him. It's a nice bourbon, a specialty here, and what Jesper himself is drinking. It may be a little deeper than what Wilhelm is used to. "You can change it to whatever you prefer, just need to think about it." This is the Horizon. They can change anything they want, and Jesper doesn't have tight control over it.

He puts an arm around Wilhelm and smiles, gray eyes warm as they look over his pretty face and tight shoulders. Jesper is fine with soothing this sweet pigeon of his and he reaches down to take one of his hands from his lap. He lifts the hand to his mouth and kisses his knuckles gently.

"You don't need to be nervous, love. We aren't going to do anything you don't want." He turns the hand to brush his lips against his palm next, sweet and soothing.

[ordinar]

Before he can try his drink, Jesper is plucking his hand up and pressing kisses against it. The gesture might lack the depth it would possess in Simon's hands and lips — everything he did to Wilhelm seemed to have the weight of the ocean behind it — but he won't deny that it feels good. He didn't come here to brood over the boy who wrung his heart out, or to feel guilty for enjoying himself while the world burns. He didn't come here to think at all.

Curling his fingers, he traces Jesper's cheek and jaw as those kisses warm his palm.

"I'm not nervous."

His heart, thudding clumsily in his chest, would argue otherwise, but it's the good kind of nervous. After so many days of raw anxiety flaying him open, crushing his lungs and clattering around in his head, the fluttering feeling filling him now is a breath of fresh air.

To prove his point, Wilhelm cranes his neck — he's not used to doing this with someone so damn tall — to press his lips to Jesper's.