ravenous to know what you'd do with John/Cassian in a Historical Bookshop AU
i screamed in my own home, such was my delight at this dynamite concept.
OK, for starters we have to go to the pristine and beautiful well of “John Wick restores antique Victorian children’s books as a hobby and they cut it from the movie because of COWARDICE”.
We are now Victorian as heck. Starched collars everywhere. Everyone has a mustache. But we’re still in NYC, so I guess it’s like...the Industrial Revolution?? That time, but America. In the wake of his wife’s death, a retired Jonathan Wick is left alone to anonymously tend his bookshop. It is a little shabby, a little sad, but John finds structure in his work, bookbinding and restoring rare volumes, and he and his two dogs* while their days away peacefully but very boringly.
That is, until Cassian arrives at the shop, on a mission from Lady Gianna D’Antonio to acquire some rare volumes for her collection. He’s surprised to run across John, who he recognizes from the bad old assassin days of yore, but way too stoic to register that surprise. They proceed to RP a very polite store owner/client conversation that serves as a smokescreen for John to plead with Cassian to keep his mouth shut, and for Cassian to agree. John sells Cassian the books he’s looking for. They shake hands. It is a lingering handshake.
The D’Antonios are avid collectors of art and literature, so there are many places Cassian might go to acquire items on their behalf, but if he’s in town, he never misses an opportunity to stop by John’s bookshop. He browses shelves for hours. He lingers, reading in the aisles, turning the pages mechanically while watching John out of the corner of his eye as he like punches holes in paper and meticulously mends broken book spines. He will, on occasion, ask John an unnecessary question about a book, purely to prompt another bizarre coded conversation so that they can casually reveal how they’re doing and feeling. John probes about Cassian’s reading preferences and lends him books (you know, so he has to come back). Cassian reads them all avidly, even if he doesn’t like them, purely so he can discuss them with John later (but the discussions are all like, “Did you enjoy it?” “I found it....edifiying.” [20 minutes of meaningful staring]).
Cassian returns to New York, checks in at the Continental, and is surprised to find a message from John waiting for him at the front desk, saying that John has a book he needs to give him. Cassian immediately heads to the shop even though it’s after closing, because this all feels...off. Also, he has to return a book (and tell John what he thought about the book?) (and talk to John??). When he arrives, he finds carnage everywhere. Multiple assassins: dead. Bookshelves: destroyed. John: OK, but bleeding a lot. The dogs: totally fine, because I say so. Cassian’s like “can i invite you to join me at the continental this evening” and john’s like “[weakly] sure.” But he grabs a book before he goes.
Cassian takes John and dogs to the local Continental and patches him up in his hotel room to avoid having to call the hotel doctor and attract attention. John explains that he ordinarily would not throw down in this fashion over a stupid book, but these guys were absolutely planning to kill him over it regardless. It is a book of shady provenance, given to John by an assassin who asked him to pass it, securely, to Gianna. So John, of course, got in touch with Cassian for help with that because Cassian is both Loyal As Heck and Competent As Heck, but then mystery assassins showed up and John had to do them all a murder.
A new wave of assassins pursues them to the Continental which a) rude and b) yeah the dogs were kind of a giveaway, so Charon is now on dogsitting duty and Cassian&John must murder their way through a giant pile of assassins while making their way to Gianna with the message. And it’s Victorian times so they gotta get to Italy by fucking boat or train or zeppelin or some shit. So many setpieces!
And, listen, i’m not here to plot anything other than burgeoning sexual tension but it turns out that the book is an encoded message from an agent of Gianna, warning her that her brother Santino was planning to assassinate her and take her place at the High Table. That agent, knowing that Santino’s people were onto them, put the message in the hands of John Wick, knowing that he is good at murder and also good at heart, and would be able to get the message to her without being very murdered himself.
When it comes time to turn the message over to Gianna, John urges Cassian to take all the credit and leave him out of it. Cassian, who is also Noble As Heck, balks at this. Summoning all of his ability to speak emotionally, Cassian asks John if he’s happy with his bookshop.
John asks, in return, if Cassian is happy with the D’Antonios.
The two part ways.
Cassian presents the message to Gianna and she gets the jump on her brother, eliminating him and securing her place at the table. Cassian should feel a sense of satisfaction, but he doesn’t feel much of anything at all other than like...the ache of loss.
John hops a boat back to NYC, spends the entire voyage grimly staring out to sea, goes straight to the Continental and pays Charon an exorbitant dogsitting fee, and goes home to clean up his bookshop. Finally, he can rest. But he’s not happy.
One day, Cassian comes to the shop and he drops off the book he was supposed to return to John originally, which has been in his coat pocket the entire adventure and is now waterlogged and charred and generally enfuckened and Cassian’s like “please allow me to compensate you”
and John’s like “no need. it was a gift.”
[45 minutes of charged staring]
Cassian’s like “my work calls me to [Far Off Location]. I admit I would prefer to remain in the city for a time.”
[An additional 45 minutes of charged staring]
Cassian’s like “well, i’ll be going” and he goes in for that lingering handshake but instead John grabs his wrist.
And John’s like, “if you ever grow tired of your work, I could use some help around the shop. someone i can trust.”
[45 years of charged staring, because they’re married now]
theeee end
* Daisy is fine because I say so, Other Dog is also there, also because I say so.
stormborns
vaporwave
