Quick bulletpoint idea because I need to sleep but I need to get this out
So the get to nicodranas and the very first night fjord can’t sleep
He knocks on Jester’s door late at night and she opens quickly enough that he knows she was up too
Awkwardness ensues ofc but she lets him in
“Just wanted to check in on you. After all... that. It was a lot.”
“Oh. I’m good!” She smiles in that painfully sad way. “I mean, Artie is fine now and he’s free and all the people are probably gonna be alright. So it worked out for the best, really.”
“Right,” Fjord frowns. “Can I ask you something?”
“Were you going to do it?”
“Do what?” She feigns ignorance.
He knows she’s faking. She’s smarter than she lets the world know, but he knows her too well to buy it.
And Fjord is not happy. He doesn’t like that answer, the possibility behind it, a world where she did go.
“I mean... I really don’t,” she elaborates. “I was still trying to make my mind. Like, I really didn’t want to leave him alone, you know? He’s my best friend. And he was there for me when I needed him most.”
“But... but i didn’t want to,” she offers, cautiously, like she’s stepping over thin ice. “I- I wanted to stay. I mean, with you guys, you know? And my mama, and my dad, and everyone else.”
Fjord is quiet, still trying to process all of this. It weights heavy in his chest.
“I’m glad he’s alright. I know you love him.”
“Of course I do,” she replies, easily.
“Alright. I’ll let you sleep, then.”
And he turns to leave, with a soft genuine smile despite the pain.
“Fjord,” she calls, nervously. “Can I ask you something?”
He freezes by the door, but nods.
“Why did you jump like that? I mean... you were holding on to me, what were you going to do?”
He considers. Truth is, he didn’t even think about alternatives in that moment, as he waited for her decision.
Even now, he knows there’s only one answer.
“I didn’t want to leave you alone. You’re my best friend, too, you know?”
He doesn’t dare finish the estament.
Maybe she knows, anyway, by the way she smiles. The way she can always read him. Except her features fall quickly... like she’s just talked herself out of a particularly ridiculous idea.
“Thank you for not letting go of me, Fjord.”
Damn him. He wishes he could. It would hurt less. But he can’t lie to her.
“Any time. It’s what we do, right? We take care of each other.”
And there’s more to be said. So much more. The air buzzes, heavy with the static charge of unsaid words, but he’s terrified of the storm that will ensue if he speaks them. He doesn’t dare break this. He wouldn’t survive.
“Okay. Goodnight, Jessie.”
He doesn’t see her deflate when he closes the door.
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