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It was late at night, almost 3AM, but it didn’t feel like it at all. It was still spring but it was unbelievably hot. Despite it being late at night, the windows being wide open and blankets discarded onto the floor, Jesper and Wylan’s room felt like the core of the earth. Nothing they tried to do would stop the growing heat in their room.
In spite of this, Jesper and Wylan laid in bed cuddled up together. Jesper had long since thrown his shirt on the floor somewhere while Wylan wore one of Jesper’s tank tops and shorts, since he refused to own anything that wasn’t a sweatshirt and jeans. Wylan had his cheek pressed against Jesper’s shoulder, the warmth both lulling him to sleep and keeping him awake. It didn’t help that Jesper was carding his fingers through Wylan’s hair.
Jesper was whispering tiredly about a movie he wanted to watch and Wylan tried to pay attention but Jesper’s lowered voice was like a lullaby - even if he was describing a particularly morbid horror movie. The soft baritone was enough to send anyone into a sleepy coma, in Wylan’s opinion.
To keep himself awake, Wylan took to fidgeting with whatever was in his reach, which just so happened to be Jesper.
For a while, Wylan was running his fingers lightly across Jesper’s top surgery scars, admiring them silently. For a while, he had been envious of how early Jesper got to transition - but he had learned to move past that and had gotten into the habit of just sitting and admiring his boyfriend. Plus, Jesper always loved the skin to skin contact.
It must have tickled this time though, since Jesper kept jerking away and giggling the longer Wylan kept running his fingers across the scars. Eventually, Jesper smacked his hand away so he wouldn’t wake Colm up with his laughing. In one last act of revenge, Jesper dug his fingers into Wylan’s waist - causing him to jump and yelp. Glaring, Wylan smacked Jesper’s shoulder.
Eventually, Wylan stopped, wondering momentarily if he’d be able to remember the rigidness of the scars from touch alone. Though he'd have to see if he could do that another day, Jesper would be depriving him of that tonight much to his dismay.
Sighing, Wylan draped his arm across Jesper’s torso, staring intensely at the glow in the dark solar system on the ceiling. Jesper had started complaining about something Kaz said earlier that day. As Jesper rambled, Wylan hummed to show he was listening, occasionally giving his own input, but his hand wanted something to fidget with again. Unconsciously, Wylan’s hand drifted to Jesper’s belly button piercing - the one he had only found out about a few days prior and had been looking for an excuse to inspect since.
Before he looked closer, Wylan looked up to make sure he wasn’t overstepping boundaries and his hands weren’t wandering too far. He wasn’t planning on doing anything inappropriate, but Jesper was still shirtless and it felt so intimate that he decided to check in with Jesper. Though, it didn’t seem like Jesper even noticed at first, only noticing that Wylan was now looking up at him in curiosity.
Jesper glanced at Wylan’s cautious eyes and the hand resting above his stomach. Grinning, Jesper leaned down to kiss Wylan’s forehead. “Go ahead, baby. It won’t hurt or anything.”
Nodding, Wylan traced the gems of Jesper’s piercing. The moonlight lit up the gems so Wylan could actually see it in the dark of their room. Jesper continued talking, twirling Wylan’s hair in between his fingers. Wylan couldn’t take his eyes off of the piercing, he couldn’t tell if he was blushing or it was just the hot weather.
The piercing was one of Jesper’s simpler ones; he had shown Wylan a few of his replacements. This one was just 3 pink gems, descending in size. Still, Wylan traced them gently, entranced by how good it looked on Jesper.
Noticing how interested Wylan was, Jesper chuckled. “You like it, Wy?” Wylan nodded silently, still distracted. “You know, you should get a piercing too.”
Wylan furrowed his eyebrows. “I don’t think so. I’m not sure I’d look good with piercings.”
“You’re always hot, baby,” Jesper mumbled, tilting Wylan’s face up to look at him. “I think you’d look hotter with a lip piercing though. I want to know what it’d be like to kiss you with a lip piercing.” Jesper leaned down and pressed his lips to Wylan’s as if to emphasise his point.
Wylan hummed into the kiss, considering it. Moving his hands to cup Jesper’s face, Wylan pulled away. “Okay, enough,” Wylan sighed. “You’re cute and I love kissing you and all, but it’s too hot for that and I can feel your sweat seeping into my clothes now.” Wylan pulled away from Jesper, sitting up to lean against the cool wall, sighing in relief.
“ My clothes,” Jesper corrected, sitting up to face Wylan. “We should get ice cream.”
Wylan raised an eyebrow. “At,” he looked at the time on his phone, “3AM? Are there even any ice cream places open?”
Jesper shrugged. “There’s a convenience store open not too far away from here, if you’re up to walk.”
He didn’t even have to wait for an answer, Wylan was already climbing out of bed and rummaging through their closet. Wylan pulled out a large shirt that Jesper was expecting Wylan to hand to him, but instead took off Jesper’s tank top and replaced it with Jesper’s shirt.
“Did we not bring you clothes shopping for a reason?” Jesper complained, draping himself over Wylan’s crouched figure. Wylan grunted at the sudden weight but tried his best to stay up.
“The clothes I got weren’t really weather diverse,” Wylan mumbled, handing Jesper a shirt. He took it gratefully, finally getting off of a shaking Wylan. Sighing in relief, Wylan pulled out pyjama pants patterned with cats. Jesper took one look at the pants and gave Wylan a judgemental look.
“What?” Wylan asked, putting the pants on.
“You’re wearing that out?”
Wylan dropped the pants before fully putting them on, effectively leaving them draped around his ankles and crossing his arms. He could see Jesper holding in a laugh. “You wore an all lime green outfit the first time we met,” Wylan pouted, pulling the pants up since Jesper looked like he was about to combust trying to hold in his laughs.
“Yeah, but I looked good,” Jesper went back to looking disapprovingly at the pants. He had no idea when Wylan even bought it.
“Are you saying I don’t look good right now?” Wylan turned around to look at himself in the mirror. “I think these pants make me look sexy.”
“You definitely look adorable,” Jesper walked up behind Wylan to look into the mirror, patting Wylan’s hips in solidarity. Wylan watched fondly as Jesper combed Wylan’s hair out of his eyes and tied it into a ponytail. Wylan had been growing out his hair recently, as suggested by Kaz, and Jesper seemed to be a big fan of this change.
Tucking a few stray strands behind Wylan’s ear, Jesper’s nose scrunched up. “You would look so hot with ear piercings.”
Wylan scoffed, leaning his head back to look up at Jesper. “Do you have a thing for piercings, or something?”
Grinning mischievously, Jesper gave Wylan’s forehead an exaggerated kiss. “Am I making it obvious enough for you to consider it?”
Turning in Jesper’s arms, Wylan pursed his lips in thought. “I am considering it, but I think Colm would go insane if I did that and I kind of want to stay on good terms with him while I live here.”
Jesper sighed. “Worth a try.”
Once they get their shoes on, they climb out of Jesper’s window. On their way to the convenience store, Jesper pulled out his phone and earphones. He gave one earphone to Wylan, who took it happily, and put on a playlist they had worked on together. Jesper held Wylan’s hand and put their intertwined hands into the pockets of his shorts, listening to the way Wylan hummed along to the songs.
There was no one else on the streets but them. Wylan hummed happily to their mess of a playlist - a mix of their favourite songs, which meant they kept switching from rock to jazz to random classical music. Still, Wylan managed to keep up with the changing moods of the playlist as Jesper skipped over cracks in the pavement and kicked stray stones.
Wylan was surprised there was actually a store open so late that wasn’t a gas station. He felt bad for the worker that definitely wasn’t expecting to see anyone at this time, much less two giddy teenage boys. Wylan gave a polite wave to the bored looking cashier, as Jesper made his way to the ice cream section.
The choice was difficult to make. There were so many flavours and Wylan was very particular about what he ate. In the end, Jesper grabbed a tub of neapolitan ice cream and took some disposable spoons. After getting the spoons, Jesper realised there was a lack of Wylan in the aisle with him. He still had his earphones in and somehow didn’t realise when Wylan slipped away. Sighing and putting his earphones away, Jesper went on the search for his boyfriend.
As he searched the aisles for Wylan, Jesper almost considered getting him one of those child leashes. He started to wonder if this is how other people felt whenever he disappeared from the group. Maybe Wylan learned it from him. They should probably start handcuffing themselves together at this rate.
Finally, Jesper found Wylan in the snack aisle. Wylan was standing on the bottom shelf, using it as a stool to try and reach some crisps on the top shelf. When he couldn’t reach it, he got down dejectedly and bounced on the balls of his feet and furrowed his eyebrows - something he did when he thought deeply about something. If Jesper listened closely, he could hear Wylan mumbling along to the lyrics playing through the store speakers. Chewing on his bottom lip, Wylan looked around the aisle as if he would find the solution to his predicament in the aisle with him.
When Wylan locked eyes with Jesper, he beamed and urged Jesper over with a wave of his hand - too embarrassed to speak out in an empty convenience store.
“Can you get that for me please? I’ll pay,” Wylan whispered, pointing to the bag of crisps Jesper had just been watching him struggle to reach.
Jesper nodded and Wylan uttered his quiet thanks. Then, Jesper put down the ice cream and spoons and while Wylan watched him expectantly, Jesper grabbed Wylan by the waist and lifted him up. The sudden movement made Wylan yell in shock, quickly covering his mouth and ducking in case the worker could see him from over the shelves. Wylan glared at Jesper, holding onto the shelf for balance.
“Well? Go ahead, get it,” Jesper nodded towards the crisps. Wylan swung his foot into Jesper’s side lightly and took what he needed. When Jesper put him down, Wylan smacked Jesper’s chest. As Jesper feigned pain, Wylan walked out of the aisle. Jesper proceeded to complain about how young people don’t help their elders. Wylan ignored him, completely embarrassed.
While they paid, Wylan pretended to not notice the weird look the cashier was giving them, no doubt having heard what had just gone down a few aisles down. Wylan has never been more embarrassed than he was while leaving that store. Meanwhile, Jesper was staring longingly at their tub of ice cream.
They were halfway out of the empty parking lot and a good minute or two into Wylan’s rant about how embarrassing that all was before Jesper grabbed Wylan’s wrist and dragged him to sit on one of the curb’s in the parking lot.
Wylan just accepted his fate as Jesper ripped open the tub of ice cream and started eating. “I got impatient. It was too hot and I’m hungry,” Jesper mumbled around the spoon in his mouth, groaning when he felt himself already start to cool down. He offered Wylan a spoon. He took it gratefully and got himself a spoonful, making sure he had a mix of strawberry and vanilla on it at once.
Jesper pulled his phone out and put their playlist back on, without the earphones this time. They sat like that for Saints knows how long, just eating icecream together in the humid night air and letting the playlist play songs they had definitely not added themselves.
Once Jesper had finished his side of the tub, he let Wylan place it on his own lap and dig in. Jesper stared at Wylan contently, glad to finally not be overheating. The moon worked wonders for Wylan - the moonlight stood out against Wylan’s warm features.
He would never admit it, but Jesper was wrong about the pants. Something about watching Wylan in the moonlight, adorned in cat patterned pants and his - Jesper’s - shirt, stuffing his cheeks full of ice cream, made Jesper’s stomach flutter. Looking at the empty parking lot, the fond feeling only grew. Something about this situation made him feel like it was just him and Wylan in the world - made him realise that he wouldn’t mind if it was just him and Wylan.
Feeling Jesper’s eyes on him, Wylan turned to look at him, a silent question in his gaze, spoon still hanging out of his mouth. Brushing a strand of hair out of Wylan’s eyes, Jesper’s feelings of fondness only became more evident.
“I’ve always wanted to do this with someone, you know?”
“You’ve always wanted to eat ice cream in an empty parking lot at 4am with someone?”
“Yeah. I have. I really have.”
Wylan grinned, amused. “You like liminal spaces, hm?”
Jesper sighed, cuddling up to Wylan and resting his head on his shoulder. “I just like being alone with you,” Jesper mumbled, closing his eyes, completely comfortable in his position.
Wylan nodded, eating another spoonful of ice cream. “Y’know, this is kind of like our first date.”
“Don’t say that, baby. We can go to a restaurant or something-” Jesper argued, but Wylan shoved a spoonful of vanilla ice cream into Jesper’s mouth to shut him up.
“No, no. I love it,” Wylan pressed a kiss to Jesper’s temple. “You picked a really good night to do this.” Wylan pointed up at the clear night sky. The moon and stars were on clear display and were casting a soft glow all around them. Wylan had been entranced with it all night. “This is an amazing first date, I think. Stargazing with my dream boy has always been part of my bucket list.”
“Then, we should totally do this again,” Jesper slurred tiredly, lazily littering kisses along Wylan’s shoulder and jaw. Wylan made a happy noise, finishing his ice cream. Placing the tub of ice cream aside, Wylan shifted Jesper so he was resting against Wylan’s chest, practically laying across his lap.
For a while, they sat like that, on the curb in a parking lot, curled into each other. Wylan was massaging Jesper’s nape with his free hand, using the other to occasionally check the time and make sure they got home on time. Other than that, Wylan hummed along to the new songs playing, somehow knowing them all.
When a classical song came on, Jesper had a brilliant idea. If Wylan didn’t feel Jesper tense up, he would have gotten hit by Jesper suddenly sitting up. Waiting patiently on the ground, Wylan watched as Jesper stood up, stretched - showing off his belly button piercing again, somehow shining brighter in the moonlight and effectively making Wylan drool - and rubbed the tiredness from his eyes.
Jesper held out a hand to Wylan, who took it without hesitation - but still cautious when Jesper pulled them away from the curb and into the open space of the parking lot. With the classical music still playing in the background, Jesper pulled Wylan to his feet and wrapped his arms around Wylan’s waist. Catching on, Wylan wrapped his arms around Jesper’s neck and laughed as Jesper swayed them to the music.
“Truthfully, I wanted to ballroom dance,” Jesper whispered, as if there was someone there to listen in on them. “But I have no idea how, so I have to settle for high school style swaying.”
“That one cashier can probably see us and thinks we’re being ridiculous,” Wylan chuckled, resting his head on Jesper’s shoulder. “She probably thinks we’re crazy.”
“Or, she thinks we’re madly in love,” Jesper retorted, pinching Wylan’s sides.
“Are we?” Wylan asked, half joking. They haven't been together for long, they haven’t even told each other that they love the other yet. They weren’t expecting the other to say it, confident in their feelings for each other.
“I mean, I am,” Jesper mumbled, completely serious.
Pausing, Wylan pulled his head away and cupped Jesper’s face, running his thumbs across Jesper’s jaw. “I am too, if you need confirmation.”
Beaming, Jesper continued their dance. Even when the song changed to a random rock band they had never heard of, they kept swaying slowly. It was a sight to behold, really. Two young boys dancing in an empty parking lot to rock music, both of whom looked like they were still in their pyjamas.
Thankfully, no one, not even the cashier, questioned them or what they were doing. They got to spin and dip each other in their own comfort zone this late in the night, enjoying each other’s company in both silence and fleeting whispers.