It's Written in the Stars (Jesper and Wylan)

[just_ask]

Ever since he was a kid, Jesper's been confused by his soulmate.
Whoever they were, they seemed sweet, and smart, if the cute doodles and complicated math equations were anything to go by, but no matter what Jesper tried to get them talking - jokes, questions, statements, deep dark secrets - they never replied. He didn't even know their name.

He thought, maybe, that he was annoying them - but then he'd get a cute little drawing or a smiley face on the back of his hand and surely that meant they didn't hate him, right?

Then he wondered if maybe they just didn't speak the same language, but he'd looked up how to write 'what's your name' in so many languages the words were scrawled across his skin from wrist to elbow and he never got a response.

When he moved to Ketterdam and got mixed up with the Dregs and started getting regular injuries that he knew his soulmate had to see, he tried writing apologies. He had no idea if they were accepted or not, because no matter what he wrote his soulmate still responded with the same things - drawings and maths.

(Once, when he was a little drunk and feeling sorry for himself, he wrote a long angry rant about how he just wanted a name and surely they could give him that much and why didn't they want to talk to him. That hadn't gotten a reply either)

In his darker moments, he thought maybe it was for the best. His soulmate was clearly intelligent, and not nearly as inclined towards danger and risk as he was (he couldn't remember the last time he'd seen a scar that wasn't his own on his body), maybe they'd be better off without him... but, well, weren't they soulmates for a reason?

And then Wylan had shown up, and Jesper thought maybe if his soulmate had to be soft and well-educated maybe that wouldn't be so bad, as long as they were something like Wylan - because as much as the merchling rubbed him up the wrong way sometimes, he was so much fun to tease, and Jesper found himself drawn to him more often than not.

Which is why he gave only minimal grumbling when Kaz told him to go and collect Wylan for a job, and why there's a jauntiness to his knock when he raps on Wylan's door.

He hasn't even looked at his arms all day today.

Comments

[badathostage]

"Oh good," says Wylan drily. "I love not knowing what kind of life and limb I'll be risking and for what. Don't touch that."

He hardly even breaks his sentense, just hnds Jesper a wet cloth to wipe the soot off on to. "If you fire a gun with that on your hands you won't be happy and somehow it will be my fault."

It takes another few minutes for him to clear everything away, then opens the door for Jesper to lead the way - locking it up carefully afterwards of course."

[just_ask]

"That's Kaz for you." Jesper shrugs, a vaguely guilty look crossing his face when he's caught, yet again, poking things he shouldn't be. He accepts the cloth with a sheepish smile and wipes the soot from his fingers. Wipes more judiciously when Wylan indicates it won't play well with his guns.

He tosses the cloth back to him when he's done and retreats to wait near the door, away from temptation, though it doesn't stop him from shuffling, tapping his fingers against his revolvers and trying not to start whistling. He's not being impatient, he's just.. he's being impatient.

There's no frustration to it, though, no tension in him as they step out into the street and he waits for Wylan to lock the door.

"We're going to the slat." He explains, leading the shorter boy through the streets towards the place. Kaz wanted to have this meeting in his own office, for once.

[badathostage]

Wylan doesn't mind Jesper's fidgeting by the door. He knows it's nothing personal it's just... it's Jesper, he's a fidgeter.

But he nods and rewards the gunslinger with a smile for being so patient as they head out, and he takes the first breath of - well, not fresh, because it's Ketterdam, but outside air that he's had for a couple of days while working on his current project.

"His office?" he repeats for clarification. "Is that a good thing, or a bad thing, that we're meeting there?"

Is it serious, or did Kaz decide to make a change? Jesper knows Kaz better than Wylan - better than anyone, perhaps - he might have an inkling.

[just_ask]

Jesper shrugs. Who can tell, with Kaz? Maybe his leg was bothering him and he just didn't want to walk... except Kaz would never make a choice like that.

"My guess is he wants somewhere private, but not so private the other dregs can't hear if they choose to snoop." He shrugs - which probably means the job is from Per Heskell, not Kaz himself, though that doesn't tell him much either.

"Don't think it's a bad thing." At least not by Wylan's definitions - Per Heskell's jobs were probably less risky than Kaz's, at least.

[badathostage]

"Oh well, if you don't think it's a bad thing, I'll be sure to expect lots of chaos and risk to life and limb," Wylan says. He's pretty sure Jesper was talking about Wylan's definition rather than his own, but it's worth faking the misunderstanding to get a jibe in.

As they walk, he tucks his hands under his arms to keep warm, and keeps his head up - he's still getting used to the Barrell and there's still things worth learning, but he's not so new as to let himself be obvious about his newness.

After a while he finds himself humming quietly - he's not sure why that song has spring to his mind recently, but maybe it's because his arm has been quiet all day, and that is sometimes more noticeable than the constant stream of letters.

[just_ask]

"Hey!" Jesper looks offended, but amusement plays in his eyes despite himself. The marching has some bite, and Jeaper always enjoys when he manages to annoy it out of him.

"Isn't it your job to cause the chaos?" He points out with a smirk - explosions are not subtle, after all. Though admittedly Wylan has plenty of tricks up his sleeve that don't go boom, but acknowledging that would ruin the joke.

The humming catches his attention and he smiles a little.

"What's that? It sounds good."

[badathostage]

"Nothing much," Wylan says, instantly clamming up. He's beginning to feel a little more comfortable around Jesper, but he's still a bit self conscious of his privileged background, his history as a soft music lover. That's not as useful as his skills with chemistry.

So he doesn't want to admit he wrote it - even though it makes him smile to think that Jesper likes it, even if it wasn't written for him,.

"Just a little reminder that not everything has to be chaos."

[just_ask]

Jesper feels bad that he caused Wylan to stop, he was enjoying it, but he feels like saying so will just fluster the merchling even more. That's fun, of course, but he doesn't want to do it too much.

It makes him think of the music his soulmate sometimes wrote, though Jesper didn't know it well enough to know any of the tunes that got scrawled across his arm, and it felt too personal to ask anybody else about it. Sometimes he thinks about trying to learn, but he doesn't know where to start. Maybe he could ask Wylan for some lessons.. or maybe not.

"It doesn't?" He says, feigning a pout "but the chaos is what makes it fun!"

[badathostage]

Maybe he could - Wylan would probably oblige, but he'd be very surprised that anyone other than him would be interested in a skill with no practical use.

"For you," he observes. "I like to cause the chaos from a distance."

[just_ask]

"Well then it's lucky you have a skill suited to doing just that, isn't it?" Jesper asks cheerfully, leaning over to nudge Wylan with his shoulder.

"Don't worry merchling, Kaz probably doesn't want you in the thick of it."

Mostly because he's green and likely to be a liability, but Jesper, at least, is nice enough not to say that out loud.

[badathostage]

Luckily or not, Wylan can fill in that bit for himself. It's okay, though. He doesn't want to be in the thick of it.

He weathers the nudge, and without thinking nudges Jesper back.

It's nice, he thinks, that Jesper's warming to him. Likes that they can joke and be close even though they both have soulmates - Wylan almost gave up on ever finding his since he moved out of his father's house where they would start sending letters out, if he was able to read his arm. But in the Barrel, it doesn't seem to matter. No one asks and no one cares.

[just_ask]

There's too many people in the barrel with bad stories, too many people who have lost their soulmates or been separated from them, nobody asks because it's a dangerous question, and that's before you even consider just how personal a question it is.

Jesper wished that Kaz was his soulmate, for a while, but despite the lack of words there was always something sort of friendly about the images his soulmate shared, it could never have been Kaz.

(Besides, he's seen enough of Kaz's injuries not reflected on himself to know it wasn't him)

These days, his feelings for Kaz fading from childish crush to slightly more grown up respect, he thinks whoever Kaz's soulmate is, they've got their work cut out for them.

Mostly, he doesn't talk about his own soulmate because he thinks they might have their work cut out for them, too. It's clear they're educated, more sheltered than he is, he's almost afraid to find them, afraid to see the disappointment and rejection when they find out who and what he is.

Asking about anybody else's just invites questions, so he doesn't ask.

It doesn't take them long to get to the slat, to climb the rickety stairs to Kaz's office, where Kaz lays out the plan for the next job. It's technically correct that Kaz doesn't want Wylan in the thick of it, but neither does he just want Wylan's only involvement to be making things for them; with the numbers they have, he doesn't have anybody to spare to set the charges after Wylan's made them, so he's going to need Wylan to be there to do it himself.

[badathostage]

That's not great, but it doesn't sound too dangerous, either. Not with Jesper there to do the actual fighting, anyway. Wylan listens carefully to the plan, and then nods.

"I'll need to get some things before we go," he says.

And that's how Jesper ends up having to escort him shopping.

[just_ask]

Jesper gives a cursory grumble to the idea of having to trail after Wylan while he shops, but it's mostly because he's also been given funds to restock his ammo and Wylan is keeping him from gambling it just as much as he's playing escort, and of course he's going to object to that.

Even if it is necessary.

He saunters after Wylan, eyeing up the shops and stalls as they pass.

"What is it you need to get, then?"

[badathostage]

Wylan gives a few names of the things he wants, not expecting Jesper to really know the words, but at least the sharpshooters eyes might be able to pick them up from labels. Maybe.

Not that he needs to. Wylan knows exactly where he's going and exactly what he wants looks like. He doesn't stop at any stalls on the way, just heads towards the first place.

They know him here, are used to the way he looks at each vial personally rather than the labels, and when he asks one stallkeeper if they have any saltpetre she doesn't even point out the 'sold out' sign behind her.

"I kept some aside for you, Wylan," she says instead. It's not a lot but it will be enough for this.

[just_ask]

Jesper nods, and he does look out for the labels as they go, but he realises quickly that his help isn't really required since Wylan obviously knows where to get what he wants.

His gaze flicks to the sign when he asks, thinking Wylan is being a little demanding to ask when they don't, only it turns out they do so maybe he just knows to ignore the sign... He's probably charmed all of the stallholders around here, he's sweet like that.

"Why don't any shops give me special treatment?" he complains jokingly as they move away.

[badathostage]

"You're not as pretty as me," Wylan says sweetly, thinking that Jesper is perfctely pretty and that that's part of the problem: He oozes too much charm to be trustworthy.

"Also I always pay upfront and never ask for credit."

[just_ask]

Jesper looks dramatically affronted because he is very pretty thank you very much.

"No I think it's that second one." He says with a disdainful sniff - and, well, it's true, because that's pretty much exactly why.

(Except, actually, he thinks it's because Wylan is way too cute. In some parts of the barrel that makes him a target, but not here)

"You are very pretty though." he adds with a wink

[badathostage]

There's no answer to that coming easily. Wylan ducks his head, and tries not to be too obviously flustered.

It's not really fair. Jesper wields that charm like a weapon, sometimes, andd he keeps trying to poke Wylan with it and then... never does anything about it.

"We need to get your ammo as well," he mutters.

[just_ask]

Jesper likes to annoy Wylan more than he flirts with him, but sometimes the flirting just happens. It's not his fault, it comes naturally to him, but when he does it with Wylan.. it shouldn't fluster him as much as the merchling but somehow it does, he's just better at hiding it.

He plasters a smug, satisfied smile on his face and nods.

"Whatever you say, pretty boy." He says cheerfully, because he's an idiot, and strolls off towards the gun shop. At least the smell of metal and powder and gun oil settles his rattling nerves, makes him feel comfortable and at home. It's one of the few shops in the barrel where he is welcomed, despite his bad behaviour, and the Zemeni man behind the counter gives him a warm smile as he saunters in.

[badathostage]

Wylan hangs back, watching the interaction between the shopkeeper and the customer, as he looks around idly at what little is on display. There are notices he doesn't pretend to read, but makes a note of what is said about what, to see what he can pick up.

And, like he sometimes does when he's not immediately occupied, he checks his arm to see if there's anything to look at.

Nothing. His soulmate must be busy today.

[just_ask]

Jesper should be asking for what he needs, but instead he's been drawn into a conversation about a new line of revolvers coming in from Noyvi Zem and how they compare to the classic pair strapped to his hips. The consensus seems to be that they're not any better than the ones Jesper already has, but that the newest rifles might be of interest to him.

He catches Wylan checking his arm out the corner of his eye and it makes him wildly curious, both about what might be on Wylan's arm, what communication he might have with his soulmate, and about whether there's anything new on his own. It would be weird to check now, though, right after Wylan did, right in front of the shopkeeper. His arm twitches like he wants to anyway and he forces himself to pay attention to the conversation again.

The older man doesn't seem bothered that he got distracted, he's met Jesper before, and he wraps up what he'd been saying about the new rifles by suggesting Jesper come and take a look at them when they arrive next week, and then moves on to a gentle encouragement to the actual matter at hand - what did he come in for today? And does he actually have money to pay for it?

Jesper ducks his head sheepishly and confirms, with an awkward laugh, that he does have the money to pay for it, and gives the man a list of the ammo he needs.

He turns to Wylan while the shopkeeper bustles about behind the counter gathering the boxes of supplies.

"Did you need anything for your stuff? Gunpowder or whatever?"

[badathostage]

"Uh," Wylan considers it - he did have a lot of what he needed, but now Jesper mentions it he could probably use some of the stuff a gunseller might sell. It's not his usual place, though, so he's not exactly sure what they have.

"What grades have you got?" he asks the shopkeeper directly, trusting that they're often used to people who never read signs.

[just_ask]

Jesper's gaze flicks to the sign that explains that very thing, but maybe it's just a quirk of Wylan's that he doesn't trust the signs - clearly it paid off for him, before, so maybe he's just chancing it, or asking about what the guy has in stock rather than what he sells at any point.

It's strange, but not so strange that he can't excuse it away in isolation.

The shopkeeper certainly doesn't seem that put out, he apparently takes it as a stock question and tells Wylan what he has in just now, and roughly how much.

[badathostage]

Wylan makes his order and gets out the purse Kaz gave him to pay for both that and Jesper's ammo, gathering his own purshase up and safely stowing it in his satchel, carefully separate from his other supplies.

He tries to ignore Jesper's glance at the sign, wishing that he just wasn't so bright all the time.

But brightness is what he always liked about him.

"Okay, let's go back."