Final chapter ready to go! I've actually never written romance between gay characters, so please let me know if all goes well.

Like always, I did not conceive of these characters and therefore claim no ownership.

Jesper groaned quietly, rubbing a hand over his face and pushing back his hair. Kaz had not been pleased to hear how little Jesper had discovered in his scouting. He hadn't yelled, or even threatened Jesper's appendages, which was a rarity. But the frosty silence was perhaps worse. Jesper had a feeling that there was a storm building in Kaz ever since Inej had been taken. He didn't exactly want to be in Kaz's line of sight when that storm burst.

Jesper had settled himself against the railing of a wooden walkway that circled the second floor of their current hideout. Most of it was rotting, and this stable section only looked onto the side of a massive, windowless building, but he found that it was better than the miserable darkness inside the hideout. Everyone in there was too quiet, too afraid of setting Kaz off or waking Nina from the sleep she so desperately needed to recover.

Jesper's fingers twitched. It had been weeks since he'd sat at a card table, and he was sorely tempted to sneak off and play a quick game or two at the nearest gaming house. He'd had to take a wide detour around some districts on his scouting mission, and even then he'd wasted good time standing and listening to the drunken gamblers entering and leaving the houses. It was pathetic, and he knew it.

The second thing he was tempted to do was pull out one of his guns and start shooting at the wall, just for the satisfaction of hitting something. But Kaz had looked like Jesper was about to take his last breath when he'd started shooting at rats the other day. He'd growled something about the meaning of a secret hideout before punching him hard in the face. Jesper's right eye was still a bit sensitive to the touch.

The third thing Jesper was tempted to do-

A loud creak sounded to Jesper's left. He swiveled, drawing and aiming one of his guns at the sound.

Wylan froze, flinching away from the sight of the barrel.

Jesper sighed, though the corners of his mouth twitched. He dropped the gun in his lap and knocked his head back against the railing behind him, eyes closed. "The boards closer to the wall are sturdier. The whole thing gets stable about five feet from me."

He heard another loud creak as Wylan edged closer to the wall, muttering under his breath.

"What was that?" Jesper called, eyes still closed.

"I said, 'what would make you want to sit out on this gods-cursed death trap?'"

Jesper grinned evilly. "I like living dangerously. Gives life flavor, don't you think?"

He heard Wylan sigh, moving to settle next to him against the railing. "Are you drunk?"

He snorted. "Don't I wish, Merchling." He kept his eyes closed, head leaned back. He didn't want to admit it, but he'd rather not look at Wylan's decidedly unsettling face. Thankfully, the magicking Nina had placed on the boy was starting to fade, albeit slowly. Wylan's hair was now a confusing mix of black and gold, the colors blending into a muddy brown where they met. It was curly again. In fact, his curls were the very first thing he'd gotten back after Nina had changed him. His skin was still darker than usual, though, and his face was in the process of settling back into his natural features, which was more unsettling than the hair.

Jesper felt the bannister shake as Wylan adjusted his back against it. "Kaz decided that I look little enough like Kuwei that I can come outside. Though I'm still not allowed to leave the hideout."

"You still look right strange, Merchling."

He heard Wylan's sigh of annoyance. "I am aware of that fact. I'm starting to get my eyes back, though."

Jesper reluctantly opened his eyes. Wylan's wide ones were staring back at him, as if daring him to look away like he had so often lately. It was true, though. The amber-gold of Kuewi's eyes had receded to the edges of Wylan's irises, leaving his natural color in it's wake. It was still gods-cursed strange, but Jesper found that he could look Wylan in the eye now without discomfort.

"That's right pretty, Merchling. Maybe you should ask Nina to keep 'em that way."

Wylan rolled his eyes, looking away. "Is there any chance you'll stop calling me that?"

Jesper shrugged. "Not much, to be honest."

"Delightful."

There was a long silence. They both stared at the wall, listening to the creaking of other crew members as they moved through the hideout.

"Do you really think we can pull this one?" Wylan asked quietly.

Jesper sucked in a deep breath. "If anyone can, it's Kaz. Especially where Inej is concerned."

"And if we can't?"

Jesper glanced over at Wylan. He was biting the end of his thumb in the way that said he was thinking hard, a furrow of concern between his brows. "Then I don't like your father's odds of surviving," Jesper said quietly.

Wylan's only reaction was to let the thumb slide from between his lips and fall into his lap. Jesper watched it's progress. "You don't seem too upset by that."

Wylan turned fierce eyes on him. "One tends to lose his filial sympathy when his father calls him such a disappointment that he commands the destruction of the ship he thinks his son is on."

Jesper nodded slowly. "I guess that would do it, yeah."

They lapsed into silence for a time, this one more awkward than the first. Jesper tapped his fingers against his leg, while Wylan sat woodenly, staring straight ahead.

Finally, Jesper let out a heavy sigh. "I, uh…read the letters your father sent you."

Wylan nodded as if he'd surmised as much. "Anything particularly interesting in them?"

Jesper snorted. "Boring merch nonsense mostly."

The corner of Wylan's mouth twitched. "I suppose I should be thankful I couldn't read them, then."

Jesper chuckled. "Probably saved you a lotta time, yeah." He coughed. "At the time, I thought your father had thrown you out because…well, not because of that."

Wylan looked slowly at Jesper. "Because of what, then?"

Jesper was struck by the directness of the comment. Ever since he'd confronted his father, Wylan's confidence had grown. He was a little less innocent, a little less happy, but he'd shocked most of the crew with his newfound backbone.

He swallowed, meeting Wylan's confusing eyes. "Because you'd rather be 'talking equations' with boys than girls."

Wylan leaned toward him slightly, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. "That's also true."

For a breath, they both sat like that, still as statues. Then Jesper closed the distance between them, pressing his lips firmly against Wylan's. He felt Wylan's breath stutter against his mouth, then Wylan reached out to grasp Jesper's shoulder and capture his lower lip between his own.

Jesper groaned softly, his own hand reaching out to grip Wylan's side. In a moment, he forgot about Wylan's altered appearance. He forgot about the fact that Inej was missing and that they were about to take on what was likely their most deadly job yet. He even forgot about his need to be at the gambling houses.

He reached up to slide his fingers through Wylan's soft curls, gripping them like he'd occasionally imagined doing when the boy had first joined the crew, hair flopping in his face as he worked on this explosive device or that. Wylan curled closer to him, lips parting and crushing against his own.

Suddenly, there was a creak and tap of the hideout door opening and closing, and Jesper looked up. The door was around the corner, but whomever had come outside would only have to take a few steps to see them. Wylan was staring at the corner with wide eyes, cheeks flushed and lips parted in horrible embarrassment. Jesper grinned, pressing a hard kiss into those lips, before standing quickly. He leered playfully down at Wylan, who was looking adorably ruffled. "I suppose I'll have to finish this some other time," he sighed. He turned and walked toward the corner, pressing his lips together to keep from grinning stupidly at the shocked look he imagined Wylan was giving him.

Today had turned out much better than he expected.

I have to admit, that was a lot of fun. I decided to give Wylan a bit more confidence and directness than is described in the book, because I think we saw a glimmer of those when he confronted his father as Kuwei. I also think that his relationship with Jesper would fall flat if he was always the shy and embarrassed one. I also decided to let Wylan's features start going back to his own, though I have no idea if that is going to happen in future books. It just felt weird if he didn't. As requested, though, I did add a bit of conflict within Jesper about his appearance. Other than that, I decided to write Jesper as someone confident in his sexuality, though perhaps a bit awkward about asking Wylan about his.

Unfortunately, I think this is going to have to be it for this story. I've found that it is very difficult to write within the nebulous space between a published and unpublished book, since there are so many questions that have yet to be answered. Perhaps I'll write more when there is more out. Still, I have very much enjoyed playing with these characters, and I hope you all have enjoyed these little moments I've created.