Chapter Text
Six months later - December 2016
To celebrate Wylan’s first Christmas free from his father’s grasp, they’d decided to host an early Christmas dinner, inviting all their friends to come over to the apartment, but in the end only a few people could make it. Given that their closest friends are almost exclusively other hockey players, most of them already had their own plans with the scant few days they have free over Christmas. Tomorrow, Jesper and Wylan will fly to Novyi Zem to spend a few days with his father. It’s the first time Jesper has been back to his home country in a while, and he’s inexplicably nervous. Not as nervous as Wylan is though, despite the fact that he’s already met Colm in person once when he came to Ketterdam and spoken to him on video chat multiple times.
Which is how they’ve ended up here, with Wylan worrying far too much about whether or not Colm will like the gifts they’re bringing (he will), if he’ll be able to see Wylan as Jesper’s boyfriend instead of his rival (he already does), and whether or not he should pack a suit to take (he doesn’t need one, but Jesper won’t complain about the chance to see him in one anyway). Watching his boyfriend get progressively more flustered while they prepare to host their first proper dinner as a couple is making Jesper’s heart do all sorts of funny things in his chest, and also serving to make him worryingly horny. That might just be Wylan though.
When Wylan starts shedding his clothes so he can go and shower before their guests arrive, Jesper grabs him by the wrist and drags him into a kiss, easily slipping his tongue into his mouth when Wylan’s lips part almost on instinct. He nudges him down onto the bed and then drops to his knees between his spread legs to pepper kisses up one thigh, then leans in to nose at his crotch. He mouths at the length of his cock through his boxers, grinning as he feels him starting to harden.
“Oh my god Jes, we do not have time,” Wylan says, but Jesper just carries on mouthing at him until the fabric of his boxers are wet with saliva.
“Just as well it only takes you about a minute to come then, isn’t it?”
A deep blush floods Wylan’s cheeks and his lips turn down into a familiar pout that Jesper has affectionately dubbed his “angry kitten face”.
“It does not only take me a minute.”
“Whatever you say, darling,” Jesper all but purrs. He reaches inside Wylan’s boxers to free his cock, now flushed and glistening at the tip, then leans in to place teasing kisses at the base, running his thumb along the sensitive vein on the underside.
Above him, Wylan groans and sinks his fingers into Jesper’s hair, nudging his head downwards just enough to make his meaning clear. “Please…”
Jesper suppresses a laugh then takes his cock into his mouth with a satisfied sigh. He loves everything that he and Wylan do in bed together, but there’s something about getting on his knees and giving himself over to the weight of his boyfriend’s dick on his tongue, the taste of him flooding his mouth, that quiets Jesper’s brain while also making him feel wildly powerful. The noises Wylan makes, the way his thighs tremble — it’s a head rush like no other. The only thing Jesper might like more is eating him out, but they definitely don’t have enough time for that right now.
“Fuck, you’re so, mm, good…” Wylan pants, fingers tightening almost painfully in Jesper’s hair.
He’s breathing heavily now, trembling shuddery breaths that Jesper can recognise for what they are: a desperate attempt to stave off his impending orgasm. If his mouth were less occupied, he’d smirk at the fact that it’s only been a couple of minutes, but he’s far too invested in getting Wylan off to even think about pulling away. He sucks wet and messy on his cock, hears himself moaning when Wylan’s hips start to jerk unconsciously. He’s so fucking hard in his own pants, he wonders if he’s going to come without a single hand on himself.
When Wylan comes, hot and thick down his throat, Jesper moans contentedly as he swallows around him. He smiles languidly, finally getting up off his knees and ignoring the way they ache so he can clamber into Wylan’s lap and kiss his overheated skin.
“Two minutes, not bad,” Jesper says, just to be annoying.
“Fuck you,” Wylan bites back, breathless, plunging his hand into Jesper’s trousers and wrapping around his cock.
Jesper doesn’t say much after that.
-
When the buzzer for the apartment sounds, Jesper is showered and more or less presentable. He leaves Wylan to frown at his messy hair in the bathroom mirror and lets their first guest – Inej – in. She kisses Jesper on the cheek and presents him with a nice bottle of wine to go with their dinner and asks if she can help with anything. Jesper shows her to the living room just as Wylan emerges from the bathroom, and he leaves the pair of them to catch up while he checks on the food.
Their other guests show up quickly after that. Kaz is next, though Jesper is busy glazing carrots so Wylan gets the door, and when he ventures through to the living room, he finds Kaz looking uncomfortable in one of their armchairs. He’s clearly not dressed for the festive season, as he’s wearing his standard crisp, black three-piece suit, but he passes Jesper an expensive bottle of whisky, so Jesper can’t be too mad about it, as much as he would have loved to see Kaz in a garish Christmas jumper.
Perching on the edge of the sofa for a few moments, Jesper rubs the back of Wylan’s neck. The first face-to-face meeting between Wylan and Kaz had ended up being quite the spectacle. Before the new season, Jesper had accompanied Wylan to The Barrel to meet with the new owner of the Crows and the rest of the revamped management and coaching team in person to discuss his contract. The only coach who had survived Nikolai Lantsov’s remodel was Kaz.
He didn’t know why at the time, but Wylan had turned remarkably pale as soon as Kaz opened his mouth to introduce himself. Later that evening, after contracts were officially signed and Wylan had been gently coerced into taking some pictures in the purple and black Crows’ jerseys, he’d explained that he’d recognised Kaz’s rasping voice to be the mysterious R, the person who had helped publicise Jan Van Eck’s and the Belendt Bombers’ corruption. Jesper had no idea what Kaz stood to gain from his remarkably magnanimous offer of help, but he knew there had to be something. There always was with Kaz.
Nina arrives last, sporting a glittery top that will no doubt shed all over Jesper’s apartment and hideous Christmas tree earrings.
“I brought dessert,” she announces when Jesper opens the door, gesturing to Matthias who stands awkwardly behind her bearing two large tupperware containers.
Jesper looks him up and down appraisingly – it’s actually strange to see him wearing jeans and a sweater instead of sportswear – and shoots him a wink, because he knows it’ll make him blush, and Jesper is never one to pass up an opportunity to lightly tease a teammate.
“He’ll do,” he says to Nina. “And what’s in the containers?”
She rolls her eyes at him as she pushes past him through the doorway. “You’ve got your own hot hockey player boyfriend, leave mine alone.”
Jesper responds maturely by sticking his tongue out at her.
Later, when they’re lingering in the living room, full after dinner and dessert — chocolate cheesecake, not Matthias — Wylan tucks himself up against Jesper’s side on the sofa and pulls his feet up underneath himself. Jesper is all too happy to sling an arm over his shoulders, pressing a kiss to the side of his head.
The last few months have been sickeningly idyllic.
They’ve not made any official public statement about their relationship, but anyone important already knows, and they’re not trying to hide anything. As soon as it was announced that Wylan would be joining the Ketterdam Crows, Jesper had asked him to move in with him. It seemed pointless for Wylan to buy a place in Ketterdam when they would – Jesper hoped – be spending most nights together anyway. So Wylan had quietly sold his apartment in Belendt and moved his scant belongings into Jesper's home, and they’d spent a weekend bickering about where kitchen appliances should be stored and whether Jesper actually needed so many hats. It was wonderful.
Initially, Wylan had been apprehensive about telling the Crows about their relationship, too scarred by the blatant homophobia in the Bombers’ locker room, but Jesper had gently reassured him that his new team wasn’t like that, and if they were, it was his job as captain to shut it down immediately. On day one of practice, Jesper had wrapped an arm around Wylan’s waist, loudly declared their relationship, and told his team to be nice to their new member. The Crows had been as unbothered as Jesper knew they would be, and that had been that.
Being on the same team as Wylan is fucking amazing. They’d proved that they worked together at the All-Star game, where Wylan had played centre and Jesper had moved to the left wing on his line. Their current setup has Wylan playing centre on the second line, which the hockey world is calling a step down for him, since he’s lost the C as well, but Wylan doesn’t seem to mind. He’s happier on the ice than Jesper has ever seen him. And when the Crows manage to get a power play, Kaz sends them out together. Seeing their opponents put their heads in their hands at the two of them on the same line fills Jesper with unbridled glee.
“How is it playing with the Crows, Wylan?” Nina asks from where she’s made herself comfortable in an armchair. “Have you settled in now?”
“A reminder that your coach is right here, and you will be punished for any negative comments,” says Kaz drily, though Jesper has known him long enough to tell when he’s joking.
“It’s going great,” Wylan replies. “And I’m not just saying that because you, Kaz and Matthias are all part of the team.” Jesper notes the glint of satisfaction in Kaz’s eyes at that.
“We are very happy to have you,” says Matthias earnestly. “It’s much more fun to play with you than against you.”
“Well, he is the second-best player in the league,” Jesper says, knowing that it will rile his boyfriend up.
True to form, Wylan turns to him, indignant. “Fuck you! I am not the second best player in the league, you are.”
“I was number one draft pick,” Jesper reminds him.
“I’m above you in points–”
“I have more goals–”
“I’m faster–”
“Are they always like this?” Inej interrupts, dark brows furrowing slightly at the heated exchange between them.
“Yes,” comes the chorus of replies.
Inej turns her attention fully to Kaz now. “And you helped Wylan put his father behind bars so you could listen to them bicker all the time?”
Jesper is sure he isn’t imagining the way Kaz angles his body slightly more towards her, dark eyes flicking over her face more than once and the barest hint of a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. Interesting.
“I wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity to have the two best players in the KHL on the same team,” Kaz says. “If I got to take down a morally corrupt organisation in the process, well, that’s just a bonus.”
“I knew you had an ulterior motive,” Wylan mutters.
“I had several,” Kaz replies, cryptic as always. “Jesper, I distinctly remember giving you a bottle of nice whisky. Why don’t you go and open it?”
Reluctantly, Jesper drags himself up from the sofa. “Fine, anyone else?” At his friends’ nods and murmured yes pleases, Wylan follows him through to the kitchen to help.
Jesper opens the whisky, watching as Wylan pulls their rarely-used tumblers from the cabinet and frowns at the dried watermarks on them, grabbing a tea towel to try and polish them before giving them to their guests. He suspects that only Kaz would notice or indeed care, but he keeps his mouth shut.
“You should dry these properly before putting them away, Jes,” Wylan says with mild exasperation.
It’s a familiar argument, one that Jesper is happy to lose. Seeing Wylan move around their kitchen, nagging Jesper about something that is arguably irrelevant, fills him with a sense of contentment that he never thought would be possible for him. A future of domesticity stretches out before him; nights on the sofa instead of out partying, coffee dates and folding laundry and everything else mundane that comes with a long-term relationship. He thinks there’s probably going to be a ring somewhere down the line, likely sooner rather than later, but for now, he takes the polished glasses from Wylan with a fond smile.
“Love you,” he says.
Wylan stands up on his tiptoes to press a quick kiss to his lips. “Love you too.”