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English
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Part 10 of Wesper fics
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Published:
2023-06-07
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1,799
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1/1
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And Who is This?

Summary:

“And who is this?” Wylan asked, gaining Jesper’s attention. Jesper spun around at his voice, hands frozen where he was about to start pulling his shirt off. Wylan looked up from the toy, meeting Jesper’s gaze across the room. He was surprised to see how wide Jesper’s eyes had gotten, a hard red blush crossing his dark cheeks.

“That, is none of your business,” Jesper said, crossing to the bed in a few long strides, his hand reaching out for the rabbit as he pressed a knee into the mattress.

“She’s cute.”

OR

Wesper meets each others childhood stuffed animals.

Notes:

Cute Wesper fluff because I say so!

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Work Text:

Wylan collapses onto their shared bed as soon as he and Jesper get back to the Slat, tired after a long day of completing orders for Kaz and going on a last-minute job with the rest of the crows. He’ll get up to change into his night clothes in a minute, but uses the time lying down to unabashedly watch Jesper get undressed.

The Zemeni was currently standing in front of his dresser, unbuttoning his waistcoat. It was an earthy brown plaid, overlaid over a deep, mossy green tunic, paired with some excellent-fitting brown corduroy pants. He was pulling the vest from his shoulders when Wylan stuck a hand under his head and the pillow below it. He paused as he felt something soft and solid under the pillow, and pulled it out gently to look at. 

It was a stuffed rabbit toy, soft brown in color and obviously well-loved. It seemed handmade, and like it had been repaired several times over the years. Its button eyes were mismatched, one black and one a soft blue. Wylan wondered if it was like that originally or if an eye had fallen off and had been replaced.  The ears were soft and floppy, its legs limply hanging as he held it above his head. 

“And who is this?” Wylan asked, gaining Jesper’s attention. Jesper spun around at his voice, hands frozen where he was about to start pulling his shirt off. Wylan looked up from the toy, meeting Jesper’s gaze across the room. He was surprised to see how wide Jesper’s eyes had gotten, a hard red blush crossing his dark cheeks. 

“ That , is none of your business,” Jesper said, crossing to the bed in a few long strides, his hand reaching out for the rabbit as he pressed a knee into the mattress. Wylan frowned slightly, pulling the toy tight to his chest, all the while maintaining a gentle hold on it. He brushed a hand over one of its ears, surprised to see that it was still incredibly soft after what was probably many years of use. 

“Jesper, it's okay,” Wylan leaned away from him a bit, trying to fight the quirking of his mouth. He didn’t want Jesper to think he was making fun of him for having a stuffed toy. Jesper pauses, his hands twitching like he wanted to snatch the rabbit from his arms and hide it away to never see the light of day again. 

“You weren’t meant to see her, I thought I had put her away,” Jesper mumbles, his hand creeping up Wylan’s side, trying to be sneaky about it but failing. Wylan just tightens his hold on the rabbit slightly, noticing Jesper’s hand. 

“What’s her name?” Wylan asks, petting her ear again. Jesper looked on almost helplessly, cheeks hot in embarrassment. It was odd for him to see his childhood stuffed animal being held so gently, so fondly, by his boyfriend. No one knew about her, not until now. Realizing that he wasn’t going to let it go, Jesper groans and collapses into Wylan’s lap, smashing his face into Wylan’s stomach, his arms coming up to wrap around his back.

“Uh. It’s Tulip. My Ma… my Ma made her for me when I was born,” Jesper cleared his throat, his voice still a bit quiet, unsure. Wylan nodded, looking down at the rabbit again, holding her up in front of him, her legs dangling from his hands. 

“She’s cute,” Wylan comments, and Jesper makes a sound, burying his face further into the fabric of Wylan’s shirt. Wylan looks down at him, letting one hand drop from the rabbit to soothe over Jesper’s hair, rubbing at the nape of his neck. His skin is warm, and Wylan sighs a bit as Jesper relaxes into him. “I’m not going to make fun of you, you know? That would be hypocritical of me.”

“What?” Jesper lifts his head up to meet Wylan’s eyes, maybe a bit unbelieving about not being made fun of for having a stuffed animal. Tulip is special to him, and he wasn’t about to give up one of the last things he had that still connected him to his mother. 

Wylan shifts to get up, and Jesper rolls off of him to allow for it, gratefully taking Tulip into his ringed hands as Wylan hands her off. Jesper watches from their bed as Wylan pads over to his satchel, the man hesitating for a moment before digging his hand down to the very bottom of the bag. 

“Now, don’t make fun of his name, I came up with it when I was four, okay?” Wylan says as he gingerly takes out his own stuffed toy, a cream-colored cat with a red ribbon tied around its neck, a small bell hanging from it. It looks equally well-loved to Jesper’s rabbit, its fur slightly smashed and its nose rubbed of color. It still has its original eyes, but there’s a few spots along its body and legs that have been haphazardly sewn back shut. 

Wylan turns back to Jesper, walking over to sit back down on the bed, his cat hugged against his chest. Jesper can see where its whiskers have been bent and curled over time, its eyes a bit less shiny than he imagined they probably were when Wylan had gotten him.

“What’s his name?” Jesper asks, a small smile pulling at his lips as he stares at it. 

“This is… Mr. Cat,” Wylan mumbles, looking away as his own cheeks blush red. 

“ Mr. Cat? Saints, Wy, that was the best you could come up with?” Jesper punches out a laugh, and it makes Wylan laugh too. It’s so ridiculous, two fully grown men showing each other their childhood stuffed animals. 

“I told you, I was four!” Wylan defends, pulling Mr. Cat up to rub against his cheek. Wylan always loved the feeling of soft things on his face and lips, and even though Mr. Cat wasn’t exactly soft anymore, it was still a comfort for him. 

“Ridiculous, Wylan. Mr. Cat ,” Jesper mumbles, pulling at Wylan’s hand to get the man to lay back down next to him. They roll to face each other, their animals held close to their chests. The animals’ faces are facing each other, and Jesper chuckles at the idea of them having a little conversation of their own. 

“Well how did you come up with Tulip’s name, then?” Wylan half-mocks, his eyes rolling. He’s playing absentmindedly with the bell around Mr. Cat’s neck, rolling it between his fingers. 

“It’s my Da’s favorite flower,” Jesper answers, a hand reaching out from around Tulip to rub one of Mr. Cat’s ears between his thumb and finger. Wylan’s breath hitches lightly, but then he just loosens his grip and holds his cat out for Jesper to take. 

Jesper hesitates for a moment, but then gently grabs the cream-colored cat and trades it for his rabbit, extending it out for Wylan to take instead. Then, they’re just laying there, holding each other’s stuffed animals and staring at each other in silence. 

Then they’re both laughing again, the tension fully breaking over the absurdity of it all. Embarrassment still ran red over their cheeks, but it was better now that they knew they were both in the same boat. 

“My mom got Mr. Cat for me. It was the only stuffed animal I was ever allowed to have, and I had to hide him after she died,” Wylan whispered into the space between their bodies after their laughter had fizzled out, his eyes fixated on his stuffed cat in Jesper’s long arms. Jesper nods like he understands, and Wylan isn’t sure if he does, but he appreciates it nonetheless. Jesper’s hand moves to rub the cat’s ear again, his fingertips moving gently over the fabric. 

“The last things I have from my Ma are Tulip and my guns,” Jesper shares, since this has somehow become the time to do it. Wylan smiles at the idea of how similar they are, that they both connect their stuffed animals to the memories of their mothers. They hadn’t really talked about their parents much before, so Wylan didn’t take advantage of the opportunity to learn more about Jesper. He understood how hard it was to talk about things like this. 

“Anyone else know about Tulip?” 

“ No , and it’s going to stay that way, okay?” Jesper reaches out to pinch at Wylan’s ribs playfully, forcing a giggle from his mouth.

“Uh huh. As long as you keep Mr. Cat’s existence to yourself, too,” Wylan pokes back at Jesper’s stomach, watching as Jesper squirms from his touch. 

“Sure. Then it’ll just be between me and you and Tulip and Mr. Cat,” Jesper concludes, shaking Tulip’s limp arm as he says her name before doing the same to Mr. Cat’s. Wylan nods, finally leaning forward to press a kiss to Jesper’s lips, his cheeks finally having cooled back down to a manageable pink. Jesper kisses him back, a hand rubbing at his hip. Their stuffed animals start to get squished as they lean into each other, and Jesper just reaches between them, grabbing both animals and propping them up above their pillows. The animals fall into each other, and Wylan giggles at the sight, imagining them being friends and holding each other. 

Wylan’s light laughs get drowned out as Jesper rolls to kiss him again, pressing him into the mattress, his now-free hand coming up to card into his hair. 

“Jes, I still have to get changed,” Wylan mumbles into his mouth, and Jesper pulls away with an annoyed groan, squeezing at his hip. Wylan yelps at the touch before pulling himself up from the bed and quickly changing into more comfortable clothes to sleep in.

He falls back onto the bed, seeing Jesper adjusting their animals to make sure they don’t fall off of the bed, his hands incredibly gentle as he touches them. Wylan’s heart warms at the sight, as no one had ever been that gentle with Wylan’s things other than his mother, so very long ago. 

They cuddle back together after one more long kiss, Wylan’s cheek pressed up against Jesper’s chest, their arms wrapped around each other, their legs tangled under the blankets. Tulip and Mr. Cat look down at them from the head of the bed, and Wylan lets his eyes fall shut as Jesper turns off their last lantern without shifting from Wylan’s hold. 

Wylan sleeps easier that night, knowing Jesper all that much better, and knowing that Jesper knew him a bit better, too. Mr. Cat was the one thing he held most dear, other than his flute, and it made his heart swell with love to know Jesper was the same way. 

Love and stuffed animals, who knew. 

Notes:

Tulip

Mr. Cat

 

Also, think about the fact that Wylan had kept Mr. Cat in his satchel on the boat to Belendt so he didn’t end up losing him in the canal 🥲.

-Soup

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